Mass Effect - Mass Appeal (Mass Effect (PC))

Member Name: twentyonemile

Product:	Mass Effect (PC)
Date:	12/06/09 (13 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Engaging Story, Beautiful graphics, Haunting soundtrack

Disadvantages: Few

For a long time Xboxers and PS3 owners had a lot to gloat about. Invariably the best games get released on the big consoles up to a year before their PC counterparts and playing the these games in advance gives the console owners a smug satisfaction.

Thankfully studios like Bioware (and Demiurge) give us PC users weapons to fight back with in the form of higher resolution graphics, additional content and far more intuitive control systems.

Sure we had to wait a year to get Mass Effect on the PC but boy was it worth it!
Ignoring bragging rights about your chosen platform, Mass Effect is a stunning game to behold. - Something Console and PC owners would agree on.

Set in the not too distant future the player takes on the role of the somewhat customisable but always rugged Commander Shepard. A candidate for the elite special forces unit of the Galactic Alliance - the Spectres.
Aside from the physical and combat challenges facing Sheppard in this challenge, he and all humans alike, are treated with mistrust and in many cases outright prejudice as the existing alien members of the long standing Alliance are wary of the rash and bold approach of the newly joined humans.

Shepard's role moves from becoming a Spectre, to gathering a crew for his new ship (the fine looking SSV Normandy) and ultimately his pursuit of a rogue agent of the same organisation intent on bringing forth a evil empire long forgotten.

The storyline of Mass Effect is fantastically sculpted and matches, if not betters, the best of the genre. In addition, the attention to detail will in many cases leave you awed.

As with any RPG, you-the player/character are faced with numerous decisions and conversations to shape the story but what really impressed me was that actual facial expressions and subtle looks from other characters can be read just like real body language. The smarter player can know the right response often without even hearing the conversation at all.

On his travels Shepard will be gently guided across the galaxy to form the main story, hopping from planet to planet. However once the player commands the Normandy he/she can decide to take any path they wish. Want to spend weeks exploring every back water asteroid from here to Noveria? No problem. In fact you are often rewarded for your curiosity by more money and additional experience. These side missions and random planets aren't as detailed and different as those of the main story but still inspire the explorer within thanks to the sheer scale of the universe available.

In fact the player can gain more experience and missions simply by wandering about the ship and getting to know the crew. In another example of the attention to detail each main member of your crew has a backstory and unique personality that can be explored or exploited (depending on how nasty your Sheppard is!).

Graphically this game excels in creating a full cinematic experience. PC users can try some pretty hardcore resolutions and while your processor may protest you will be granted some truly beautiful vistas across the alien worlds. Also apparent is the detailed facial textures and musculature of characters, again tough on the hardware, again marvellous to behold.

A final pat on the back goes to the audio and musical team. Hauntingly poignant and reminiscent of Vangellis' Blade runner, the score never treads the clichéd full orchestral path so often walked by John Williams but instead feel fresh, often sparse but always futuristic without overdue pomp.

As the story develops you the player are faced with real life or death situations given all the more gravitas for the relationships you have developed with your team. The consequences of which fully add to the adult appeal of the game.

Interestingly Bioware have confirmed that Mass Effect 2 will continue from the saved games of the original, going on to say any characters that died (or you killed) will not return - "They are dead!", a far cry from the pretty but dumb condition afflicting large portions of the gaming world.

In summary Mass Effect is a hugely engaging, well thought out game that often blurs the boundry between Pixels and celluloid.

Bottom Line - A SciFi classic

Summary: A SciFi Classic