BioWare is famous for its sci-fi RPGs. Star Wars: Knights of the Old
Republic is arguably the best one to date. Their latest effort, Mass
Effect, is no slouch either, but some unnacceptable technical issues
hold it back from true greatness.
Mass Effect's plot isn't exactly revolutionary: the galaxy is in
trouble, and it is up to you to beat the odds and save it. However,
there are some twists. Humanity is a mere fledgling in inter-galactic
politics, so when you are tasked with saving the galaxy, you are not
only representing yourself, you are representing your entire species.
Also, because of humanity's status (or lack thereof), the galactic
council does not fully believe you, nor offer their support when you
discover that the galaxy is in far greater danger than it is originally
thought. What the deceit, heartbreak, and suspense boils down to is an
engaging plot that keeps you on your toes from beginning to end. The
plot is deep, and chalk-full of surprises, despite being rather linear.
Mass Effect is an interesting shooter/RPG hybrid. While the weapons are
the like of sniper rifles and shotguns, you will level up your
characters as they gain experience points from defeating enemies,
picking locks, and completing missions. When you level up, you obtain
skill points that can be used to improve your weapon skills, increase
your health, or even open up new dialogue options. The levelling system
doesn't have so much influence that it can dictate your success of
failure in a certain mission. You never feel like you have to grind to
beat the next mission. Rather, it simply makes missions easier or more
difficult, depending on whether you are high-levelled or low-levelled,
respectively.
As for the actual gameplay, the shooter elements get the job done,
striking a nice balance between the simple and the complex. You have
four weapons at your disposal- a pistol, an assault rifle, a shotgun,
and a sniper rifle. However, only one of the six classes can use all
three weapons. There are also tech- and biotic- abilities. Tech allows
you to disarm enemies, open more complex locks, or scan more artifacts.
Biotic abilities can distort space, stop time, hurl your enemies
through the air, or otherwise incapacitate your foe. Each of the six
available classes uses a combination of tech abilities, biotic
abilities, or weapons to create a unique combo. Fighting with each
class, you will have to adapt your strategies to suit its strengths.
The Soldier, pure weaponry, relies on brute force to bust through your
enemies. Using the engineer and tech abilities, it's best to hang back
and disable your enemies while your teammates finish them in close
combat. If you've chosen the adept, a user of biotics, you will want to
incapacitate your enemies by freezing them or throwing them around,
then finish them with your light weaponry.
In addition to the classes, Mass Effect offers a good/evil system
called Paragon (good) or Renegade (evil). Your Paragon/Renegade meter
is affected by your choices in conversations and your actions in-game
(for example, several times in the game you will have to choose whether
to kill someone or let them live). While this system offers some
interesting moral debates, it would have been nice to see it have a
greater effect on in-game events. Rather, it simply changes how people
talk to you, and alters some cut-scenes. It has no overall effect
whatsoever, although your actual choices do. For example, you can be a
complete jerk to one of your comrades, but they will still become your
partner at the game's conclusion if you speak to them often enough.
During actual combat in Mass Effect, you focus in on your enemies by
holding the Left Trigger and fire with the right. To use tech or biotic
skills, you hold RB and choose your or your allies' attack by spinning
a wheel with the Left Trigger and selecting one with A. Mass Effect
also features a cover system that is unfortunately best left alone, due
to an alarmingly common tendency to become stuck in the object you have
chosen to hude behind (if you do choose to use the cover system, it is
activated simply by pushing up against a wall or box). To open locked
crates or scan objects, you play a short minigame in which you have to
press A, B, X, or Y according to the prompts. Many times if you fail
you'll have to use precious Omni-gel to blast the lock, but once you
get used to the game it's pretty easy. Once nerf that detracts from the
controls is that grenades are assigned to the "Back" button, which is
incredibly awkward and illogical. Fortunately, grenades aren't often
used in the game, so it isn't a major problem .All this may seem
confusing at first, but once you get used to it, it seems natural and
doesn't slow down the gameplay at all.
While exploring uncharted worlds, you will travel in an incredible
ATV/tank/jeep hybrid thing called the Mako. The Mako handles like a
brick, is equipped with powerful thrusters, and can travel up almost
any mountain that slopes up under 90 degrees. It is equipped with a
blasting turret and a machine gun that absolutely obliterate your
enemies. Unfortunately, the Mako can sometimes get stuck, and the
camera can be a pain when it swings under the vehicle or out to the
side.
Mass Effect is a great-looking game. Character models, apart from some
odd lighting and shading effects, are great, especially Urdnot Wrex, a
behemoth alien who's face is a veritable masterpiece of crags, lines,
and scars. Every character in the game seems perfectly rendered to
compliment their personality and traits. The cut-scenes, too, are
beautiful. Facial expressions on characters can sometimes get a little
odd, but for the most part are surprisingly realistic. There is nothing
quite like the majesty of Commander Shepard's ship, the Normandy,
lifting off from a docking station and soaring into the starry sky. And
you might even get a little scared when you enter a dark room,
triggering a scene in which a hulking monster bursts from the ground
with a guttural growl, saliva dripping from it's razor sharp teeth, the
usual ritual which signals one of the game's epic boss fights.
In such a large-scale game, the environments are hugely important.
Fortunately, they are superb, for the most part. The Citadel- a huge
space station from which all intergalactic communications are
monitored- is truly a sight to behold with its soaring windows,
cavernous rooms, and varied inhabitants. The planets too, look
beautiful, from the red glow of volcanoes to the whirling white blur of
snowy envrinoments, and thus it is safe to say that developers put a
lot of effort into giving each planet its own, distinct appearance.
There is a problem with the planet environments, however. It has
nothing to do with outdoor appearance. This problem occurs when you
enter a building on a planet. Originally, the interior appearances of
buildings seems great. From the rough walls made of some foreign
material, to the doors that slide open with a pneumatic hiss, to the
sterile appearance of white-washed rooms. However, if you do a lot of
side-missions, you'll begin to notice that there are only three or four
variations on the building designs. You'll see one of the same,
recycled appearances within each building you enter, and it just looks
lazy. Perhaps this was done on purpose; maybe in the future, there is a
company "Buildings Inc." that fabricates pre-made buildings for remote
outposts, but if this is so, it is not cleared up in the game. Instead,
it just appears that the developing team got lazy and rehashed the same
buildings tenfold.
One other thing that looks absolutely fabulous is the sky above the
planet you are on. Sometimes, a golden sun shines brightly overhead. If
you are perhaps on a moon, you can view a beautiful planet above your
head, complete with swirls of cloud and whole continents to examine.
Other times, asteroids hurtle through space, trailing fiery trails.
Yes, the sky is a beautiful thing in Mass Effect.
Mass Effect's sound gets the job done. The music is simply superb, and
one tune that really stuck with me is a mournful horn solo that plays
as you traverse the snowy peaks of the planet Noveria. The music really
adds a lot to Mass Effect, as its orchestral swells are really well
done. As for the weaponry, the four guns sound good. The Sniper Rifle
emits a low boom that echoes satisfyingly, and the Assault Rifle
patters like a jack hammer as you pump your foes full of
plasmic-energy. The dialogue is absolutely fantastic. The lip-syncing
is the best I've ever seen, and the voices all seem just right, from
the monotone of the Elcor to the breathy tones of the Quarians. All of
the background noises, like the low chatter of the Citadel's occupants
or the clank as docking magnets are pulled back from the Normandy
really add to cut-scenes or gameplay. A neat feature is that you can
hear whole conversations between people as you trot through the
citadel. Sometimes, if you listen in, they can actually trigger small
side-quests.
All of this achievement in visuals, acoustics, and overall impact
doesn't come without a cost, however, as Mass Effect is fraught with
glitches. Far too often in the game, you will get stuck in walls or
other material, experience horrendous frame-rate slowdown, or have the
game simply freeze and cease to play. One particularly disturbing
experience I had was early on, when a character essential to advancing
through the game simply failed to load. Without his presence, it was
impossible to move on to the next level, and I was forced to restart my
entire game from the beginning.
All taken into account, is Mass Effect worth your hard-earned cash?
Definitely. With a healthy amount of class options and multiple
endings, you are likely to play through Mass Effect two or even three
times. Despite a short main quests, literally hundreds of side-quests
are sure to keep you busy for roughly 40 hours, if you take the time to
enjoy the experience. This is the sci-fi RPG that 360 owners were
hoping for.
Despite its technical flaws, Mass Effect is still a great game that
sets a new benchmark for storytelling in a video game. It's visual
presentation is simply superb, and the gameplay effectively mixes the
best of shooters and RPGs, two of the most popular genres of this gen.
At times, I felt like this game deserved a mere 7 out of 10 because of
its frustrating glitches. However, now that I can look back on my full
experience, I realize that Mass Effect is the best RPG this gen, a
robust experience with a fantastic plot, fluid combat, a great
orchestral score, and beautiful graphics. All taken into account, Mass
Effect could have been one of the most engaging and immersive virtual
experiences ever, but the inexcusable technical issues hold it back. I
award this game a 9/10 and the title of best RPG this gen, and that is
nothing to sneeze at.
