Mass Effect is a rip-roaring success of an RPG, creating a truly believable universe with a high level of detail.
Mass Effect
Xbox 360
Review by Simon Kemp
Mass Effect first appeared on the Xbox 360 last year and was a huge hit.
After an initial story setting/tutorial mission you are let loose on the galaxy in your own spaceship - complete with landing vehicle to save your legs when you reach a planet.
The game is made up, as are most RPGs, of a series of missions which lead you through the story.
How you do this is entirely up to you - once you've got your ship, Normandy, you can pretty much explore on your own, picking and choosing when to follow the main mission or go off on one of the many side quests.
These extra quests can provide you with more experience, which you can use to build your team's skills or collect booty in the form of weapons, armour, information, etc.
Whichever path you choose, you pick which crew members to take with you, where they go, which weapons and biotics (biological enhancements) they use - basically, you're in charge of everything.
The fiddly control of your squad was one of the weaknesses of the Xbox 360 version, but for the PC version, the interface has been redesigned and improved massively.
As well as being able to issue commands on the fly, when you press the space bar you freeze the action and get a chance to plan structured attacks, change weapons, etc.
The inventory and weapons screens are still overly complicated (changing ammo type, for instance, takes quite a few clicks and menu changes) but overall, it makes the game much easier to play than its console brother - something that doesn't happen often.
A simple point-and-click menu lets you choose how you interact with people, and how you treat them affects the way they help or hinder you along the way.
I'm not sure if, or how, this affects the final outcome, but there's a certain satisfaction to be had by shouting at people for not helping in a firefight or giving you the answer you wanted.
The level of detail is incredible.
If the mood grabs you, you can literally spend hours finding out about the characters, races, planets or technology you come across by talking to the people/creatures you meet or by using your electronic journal.
This isn't necessary to complete the missions but it adds to the whole believability factor.
As do the cut scenes and hours of dialogue from some well-known voices (including Counsellor Troy from Star Trek!).
Graphically, the game isn't as good as some.
I played it on a pretty high-spec PC and the Xbox 360 version appears slightly more polished, but that doesn't take away from the actual game play at all.
The game as a whole is immense and a joy to play - the main quest will keep you occupied for weeks and the believable universe that Bioware has created will keep dragging you back for more.
