Video Game Review – Mass Effect (Xbox 360, PC)
BioWare's Science-Fiction Masterpiece Goes Above and Beyond
Sep 21, 2008
While perhaps most famous for bringing the legendary Knights of the Old Republic to the gaming scene in 2003, BioWare is a Canadian corporation that excels in bringing cerebral, immersive role playing back into the spotlight – a refreshing take on a genre that has been plagued by tedious menu systems and flat characterizations. Mass Effect, launched for the Xbox 360 and more recently for PC, is the first in a planned trilogy of epic proportions.
Plenty of Action and Gunplay
Mass Effect delivers an extremely unorthodox experience when it comes to the combat model, which takes place in a third person over-the-shoulder style quite similar to Gears of War, also for the 360. The action is brisk, can be extremely challenging, and is a huge improvement over traditional role playing battle systems.
BioWare has been largely responsible for reinventing the combat engine in each installation of their flagship games – Jade Empire's arcade styled martial arts fighting engine is a perfect example of a unique approach to combat. This focus on action is extremely important in that it allows the player to remain immersed in the game rather than to scrabble for a calculator each time a conflict begins.
A few minor hitches with framerate during particularly heated gunplay and a few minor bugs detract from the experience slightly, however these issues are minor compared to the positive aspects of this innovation.
Dialogue, Voice Acting, and Plot
Mass Effect features some of the best voice acting ever put in front of console gamers – each character displays a range of emotions and the dialogue is crisp, ingenious, and extremely plausible. It is obvious that the creative team at BioWare put a lot of effort into maintaining that suspension of disbelief that is of utmost importance in creating an epic storyline. The player's experience as Shepard may vary immensely in each playthrough.
The plot is fantastic, if short, and introduces multiple political and social dilemmas that truly do ask a lot of the player. The game features an extremely inventive dialogue system gives the player a range of options that expand without cliche or predictability – in this case what might be seen displayed on the screen as a conversation option is not at all what will emerge from Shepard's mouth.
The option of choosing a gender, and having your female Shepard be just as well-acted as the male counterpart is also quite a nice touch.
The Codex, a narrated backgrounder on the Mass Effect universe that expands as both the fantastic and the mundane is explored, is an amazing addition to the menu that really beefs up the games creative credentials. The Mass Effect universe feels extremely intricate and lifelike – never before has this level of detail been highlighted so strongly.
Brilliantly Scored, Amazing Visuals
The soundtrack for Mass Effect feels like something that Vangelis might have done if commissioned to write the score for the game, with a firm electronica influence that cannot be denied. The sound effects are top notch, but the music composition for Mass Effect is leaps and bounds ahead of it's competitors – the combination of synth ambience and a pounding military brass is enough to stir the blood of even the most introverted players out there – is perfect and extremely unforgettable.
Echoes of Blade Runner seem to be instilled in the soundtrack, and it is this noir influence that also sets the scene for much of the realism of Mass Effect. Characters may die, some even executed in cold blood, all in an extremely realistic visual and aural environment.
The graphics are nearly unparalleled, and though there is some texture popping (textures rendering during dialogue scenes, etc) the graphics contribute much to the game's overall feel. Facial expressions change during dialogue, characters no longer feel flat and unanimated, and body language is used throughout the game to indicate mood and to force the player to often read between the lines – interpreting what is not being said.
This extremely developed approach to character interaction and plot development is a sign of excellent production quality and a development team that truly cares both about the technical aspect of the game as well as the fictional universe it takes place in.
Mass Effect is unequivocably one of the best games of the year, a must buy for any serious fan of science fiction, RPG's, or simply great games.
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