Impressions: Mass Effect

Mass Effect is brilliant, plain and simple. The RPG of this gaming season hands down. Created by Canadian developer Bioware, delopers of Knights of the Old Republic and Neverwinter Nights, Mass Effect is set in a futuristic world where humanity has discovered the technology to become a space-fairing species and have left Earth and joined the galactic community.

The technology they discovered was left behind by the ancient Protheians and their tech is the basis for all advancement in the galaxy. I’m not going to go too deep into the story because it is best if you find it out for yourself by playing the game, but suffice to say the narrative is solid and intriguing and will keep you playing until the end. As all Bioware games have, the aspect of good and evil and the consequences your choices have on the world and the effect on your personality and reputation. Though in Mass Effect, good and evil is called Prothian (good) and Renagde (evil). This system works well and indeed the conversation points in the game are indeed one of the most enjoyable aspects, with character faces being fantastically modelled, lip syncing perfect and voice acting realistic.

 

Taking a different approach to the camera angles in Mass Effect compared to previous games (KOTOR being the main reference) the conversation scenes look far more theatrical, with use of focus and zoom and different shot types (wide shots, close ups). It gives a whole better feel to the scene.

The intriguing part of Mass Effect is the combat. Bioware’s past games have been based on the Dungeons and Dragons turn based combat system but they have taken a totally different direction with Mass Effect and introduced real time third-person shooting combat. This is likened to Gears of War, it in-fact plays in combat a lot like Gears of War with taking cover a crucial aspect on the higher difficulty levels. Combat is generally frantic and fun and you have several weapons to choose from. Weapons are the assault rifle, pistol, sniper rifle, shotgun and grenades. The nice thing about the weapons in Mass Effect is that they don’t rely on ammo (you can upgrade the type of ammo the weapon uses though). They overheat when used too quickly (like continued fire from the shotgun) and works really well with the combat in the game. In a game of this size and scope, having to keep track of ammo would just be a pain so the weapon system works well.

The other addition to combat are the biotics. Biotics are Mass Effects word for Force powers but are fantastic fun to use. They come in all flavours and are useful in many situations. For example, you are faced with a sniper who has you pinned down, with Biotics you have many different ways to handle this situation. You could lift the snipers cover, then proceed to create a vortex around him and crush him to death. Or, you could freeze him in stasis and throw him off the edge of a cliff (or rush him with your Shotgun). Biotics change the pace of the gameplay.

All other aspects are part and parcel with an RPG, you have numourous types of armour, ammo upgrades, armour upgrades and the like are there which you procure by either looting or purchasing them from merchants.

Probably the best part of the game is the galaxy itself. Bioware have created a huge galaxy for you to explore, with many different star systems. You can travel from system to system in your ship and land on numerous planets within those systems. On these planets you can engage in side quests (which you also can get from people on the main quest planets) or just explore. When you are on a planets surface you have with you the Mako which is your all terrain vehicle which is another curious choice for an RPG, but nonetheless works well.

 

Mass Effect is one of, if not the best RPG’s I have ever played in my life and is right at the top of my all time favourite games list, its narrative and ability to make you become emotionally attached with the characters in the game is second to none, it is graphically beautiful (though there is some texture pop up in the game which is sometimes very noticeable) and its gameplay is solid and fun. For anyone who wants to know, I chose a soldier my first run through with the default Shepardface and back story, I’m not sure why but I wanted to see the game from the perspective Bioware made it. I’ll be a space-fairing renagade Vanguard the second time around (with a custom face of course). I recommend Mass Effect to any and everyone.