one of the best games on 360
Story:
Mass Effect (ME) is a role playing game like any other to date and its universe is considerably more complicated. The cosmos at large feels positively alive with political conflict and thinly-veiled hostility. Of course, where there's bureaucracy, there's corruption, and rooting it out isn't difficult solely because the perpetrators are hard to detect, but also because the long-term consequences of your own actions are so difficult to predict.
As complex as the big picture is, your personal journey is almost as complicated. All good things, that engross you into the story and create a new, fresh experience in gaming. Before you move a muscle, you are responsible for the very creation of your character, Shepard. You can run with the stock character, John Shepard, soldier, but you can roll your own through a cleverly designed character creation process. The process of creating your character alone can take you 30 minutes if you want to play with every feature of creating the character.
'The beauty of this system is that Mass Effect embeds whatever details you choose for your character's past inside the larger story that follows. Even if all roads lead more or less to the same place, the attitudes you encounter and project along the way are drastically different based on your background and actions. In a game with so many thousands of lines of dialogue, and branching choices for how you present yourself in every single conversation, the sense that your character is a living and breathing individual in an unpredictable world is utterly convincing, whether you choose to be a paragon of virtue with an honorable past or a renegade scumbag who rose up from the societal muck.'
The dialogue is compelling and the conversation can continue seamlessly if you choose your dialogue quickly, it is like a movie. The facial expressions are amazing and the most realistic to date.
Game-Play:
The game takes you through space, and you are given the options to choose what planets you explore. The game is considered an RPG, but it is not like Final Fantasy. Yes, you create and equip your character with weapons, armor, and biotechnology-can be used like 'magic', but the battle gameplay is very different. You control the movement of your character and take cover like gears of war. The game starts on Normal difficulty, but can be overwhelming at first battle. You can lower the difficulty during the gameplay, and once you are used to the battles, raise the difficulty. You may die frequently in the beginning if you don't. :)
Graphics: 4.8 out of 5 = Graphics are gorgeous, facial features superb. Some of the environments do get bland creating a less than perfect score from me
Controls: 4.5 out of 5 = The back button for grenades=lame. Controls otherwise are very good and responsive.
Sound: 4.5 out of 5= Great sound- Not much environment sound however, you can overhear people's conversations which is a great addition.
Fun Factor: 4.5 out of 5: Very fun and enthralling gameplay; however due to length and some side missions are a bore, it can get somewhat repetitive at times.
Replayability: Moderate High (You are encouraged to replay the game, especially if you want achievements. Some achievements are only given after you play through the game a few times!)Read full review
