In less than a year or so we’ll have our hands full with Bioware’s Mass Effect 2. Trotting around the universe on an epic journey of human survival, war, and the love of aliens will be the focus of at least a month of our gaming time. Mass Effect 2 is set to continue the storyline of the first game, even bringing back several cast members (dead or alive, it seems) all the while improving on any flaws of the original. In anticipation of the sequel, I had realized that I never actually played the first game. I took some time out recently to play the first Mass Effect and find out what the sequel would potentially have to live up to, as well as to see how the game could hold up against competitors a year after its release. This is the “Late to the Party” review of Mass Effect on the XBox 360.
Notes:
Serving size: 1 Player
System played on: XBox 360
Length of time to complete: 50 hrs
Difficulty level reviewed: Medium (unchanged)
Released: November 2007
Developer: BioWare
Publisher: Microsoft
Ingredients:
– One hero, any customized design
– 6 playable cast members, in parties of 3
– Guns, technology, magic, and skills
– Western RPG with a JRPG epic storyline
– Several missions outside of main storyline
– A gallon of Unreal Engine 3 gloss
– A pinch of troubling issues
The great thing about Mass Effect is that it is an RPG that can be played in small doses. And, perhaps that is the best way to play it. Developed to appeal to Western gamers, the storyline and history within the game is incredibly well planned out, giving Battlestar Gallactica a run. The game is played as a hybrid FPS/3rd-person shooter with some slight turn-based gaming and intense dialog trees, mixed together in a traditional leveling-up system more commonly found in Final Fantasy games. It prides itself on story development and customization, and was always intended on being the first game of a trilogy.
Likes:
- Length. The game’s overall length is not too long, not too short, but just right. It took me about 50 hours to complete, but I was being very nit-picky in my efforts to acquire everything.
- Visuals. The game is gorgeous. The visuals are rich and colorful, and the character models are extremely detailed and realistic. Where other game companies strive for realism in human characters, Bioware has succeeded here.
- Story. The incredibly deep manufactured history that the game is based on and constantly refers to allows the story arc to unravel as clues to the whereabouts of your nemesis are revealed. Some of the traditional twists found in JRPGs are here, such as “the end boss is not really the end boss”, but these still seem fresh in Mass Effect as the majority of the game has you striving for the same end goal.
- Sidequests. The amount of missions and quest available is great, although repetitive. The game can possibly be completed in under 15 hours, but the plethora of missions and sub-plots is almost obsessive-compulsive. Like Pokemon, you gotta catch’em all.
- Battle system. I loved the method of engaging enemies. Having recently played games such as Dead Space, I am in love with well-designed third-person shooters and action games. In Mass Effect, the battles are never overwhelming, and never make you feel as if you are playing the game wrong. The quick circular HUD that pops up to select bio techniques and skills is well-planned. Coming from a 3d-software background where HUDs like these have been prevalent for decades, I felt right at home.
Dislikes:
- Repetitiveness. Although the game had many, many quests, the locales were all too similar. The planets, caves, and buildings were carbon copies of each other, and the missions were usually identical: Go into a zone, visit 3 buildings, and kill the warlord (or cultist) in the third. The game is as repetitive in nature as Grand Theft Auto IV.
- Loading times. The infamous elevator scene is truly gut-wrenching, sometimes taking up to 2 or 3 minutes to load a new area.
- Texture issues. The game also suffers from extensive loading and popup of textures when entering new areas. This can lead to a bland arena for a few seconds until the image is refreshed and fully loaded. I was half-expecting to see a box with a red “x” in it on some occasions.
Overall, the game is a joy to play. While the storyline is nothing new and often leads to expected results, it still manages to draw me in. Had I played this game when it was released, it would have easily landed in my top 5 of 2007.
Best served with: Red Wine
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