Mass Effect (2007 Video Game) User Reviews

This game is my favorite 360 game so far

[Valkonian · 9/10 · 6 December 2007]

I would have given it a 10, but 10 is perfect and this game isn't perfect. But with it's slight flaws the game is still amazing. This game's story is very gripping and draws you in. Few games can do this. I like RPGs and shooters, and this game really appealed to me. I guarantee it will appeal to the die hard RPG fans and the shooter fans.

The acting is VERY good. When you play this game you feel like you are watching a movie, but you are directly involved. The mystery, the thrill feel is all there.

Even when you are not in action, but talking and interacting with people it's very interesting and compels you to continue onward with the story.

The game is excellent after you've finished it, and almost seems more fun the second time around. You get to maintain your level and experience after you finish the game.

Just a fun fun fun game overall. My favorite game of the Xbox 360 thus far.

Fourteen hours of unparalleled gameplay

[Trouter2000 · 10/10 · 25 January 2008]

As a fan of both bioware's Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire, I had extremely high expectations for Mass Effect, their latest RPG for the console. Although skeptical at first, I found that it surpassed either of the latter two games, and achieved something no other RPG had on the console.

Mass Effect revamps every aspect of bioware's typical games, improving it vastly, without changing their unique gameplay style. Rather then duplicating Knights of the Old Republic again, bioware has decided to branch off in a unique and interesting direction. The result of this is a game that will surely stand the test of time through the ages, being for the Xbox 360 what Morrowind was for the Xbox or Zelda for the Nintendo.

The combat system is probably the greatest change, taking away any codified system, and allowing it to become a third person shooter. This allows a lot more skill to develop over the course of the game; the AI is quite good, and you'll have to think about tactics. On any difficulty aside from easy you will probably die a lot getting the hang of it, but once you are accustomed, it is much more rewarding than any of the previous games systems. The weapon variation is a bit lacking, but this is balanced out by the biotics system, similar to force powers in KoTOR. However, rather than having good and evil powers, a character specializing in them has access to all of them. I found that the leveling system in relation to these powers was very well thought out, and improvements made were very obvious upon combat.

The class you choose, whether it be exclusively weapons, powers or mechanics, or a mix of two is very important in deciding the balance between weapons and powers you will be using. As a first time player the most obvious choice is a mix, but the game is flexible to accommodate anyone who gets the hang of their chosen gameplay style. I found that the character creation was much more developed and sophisticated compared to the latter two releases.

Another, and by far my favorite change, is the good/evil bar. Rather than make it a moral system, with clear definition of good and evil, bioware has introduced a system that is removed from moral reality. Every choice is just that, a choice, with given consequences you must live with for better and for worse. You can opt for a Machiavellian pragmatists style character, with consequences of your ruthlessness, or a humanitarian with just as many disadvantages for the more sympathetic choices. This is ideal for allowing the game to encompass a level of realism, and attaches deeper feelings for characters. Certainly a lot trickier than a simple good/evil bar, but bioware pulled it off, and the result is fantastic.

Overall I thought that Mass Effect succeeded with its characters (character development), storyline and combat system. The graphics are wonderful and the gameplay is easily up to the standard of any typical RPG. I found very few flaws, except the seemingly short length, and frankly didn't find any of it less than enjoyable. Give it a try, and savor bioware's newest gift to the console.

Astronomical

[nvseals50 · 10/10 · 15 March 2008]

OK, first off, I just want to say that I am very fascinated by space to start with, but this game will amaze anyone who likes video games. Mass Effect is so masterful that it's hard to pick where to start. OK, I guess I'll start with the character creation.

If you're a fan of customization, that's already enough reason to buy Mass Effect. The creation goes so deep, that it's almost annoying.

The graphics in Mass Effect are indescribable. As i said before, I'm obsessed with space, and it's almost like I was there. When you land on Earth's moon, and you drive up a steep incline, Earth rises billions of miles away. If you've ever seen a picture of Earth from space, you know how beautiful it is. When I saw this, my jaw almost dropped. It was like they used a real life picture!!!!! That goes for the entire rest of the game too. Best graphics ever for years and years to come.

The story telling in Mass Effect is stuff of legend. The imagination in this game is incredible. Think of Star Wars, only yes, I'm about to say it........better.

If you're a fan of games at all, you will pick this up, and love it. Mass Effect is so convincingly real, you actually begin to think to yourself if the future 200 years from now will contain the things that Mass Effect does.

The aliens in Mass Effect are so amazingly detailed and unique, you are actually sad you can't pick your species. Lets just hope that you can in Mass Effect 2.

If you hate space and aliens and sci-fi, still get Mass Effect, because it does an amazing job of not only being a great RPG, but also a great 3rd person shooter!!!

The Benchmark for All Other Games

[nilkanth · 9/10 · 18 February 2008]

This game has to be one of the best games to be released in the recent past hence all the praise that is flowing towards it. Although not a RPG fan I was enthralled by the sheer power and beauty of it right up to the very end. It feels more like a movie that you are involved in, all disguised in a game's body. You will have the experience of your life time with this game. The developers have gone into great lengths to provide us with a brilliant and captivating story that will have you at the edge of your seat till the heart stopping finale. If you are not overwhelmed by the action in the game you will be once you see the breath taking graphics in store for you. The characters feel life like as if they have jumped right out of the screen of a wonderful adventure movie. The action is nail biting stuff and done in a grand scale just like a futuristic drama.

This is out and out game of the year material but it isn't without its shortcomings. There are a few graphical glitches and some game stuttering, the side quests could have had a bit more weight and should have been rewarding towards plot development but after all is said and done if you can over look these minor problems you will have a really good time.

It will take pages and pages to truly capture the pure awesomeness of this epic journey. It is best left unwritten because this is an adventure you will want to experience for yourself, again and again. This is hands down the must buy game of the year.

The game for Sci-fi geeks.

[jaywolfenstien · 3 October 2008]

ME combines the spectacle of Space Opera with the explorative spirit of Science Fiction.

The game is laced with little touches to make us fans smile – casting genre legend Lance Hendriksen (Bishop, from Aliens) as Admiral Hackett, presenting narrative parallels between Prothean beacons and the monoliths in 2001, and let's not forget the Thorian. Sci-fi has often explored the concept of plant life that challenges our ideas of what a plant's characteristics are. Oh yeah, and the Thorian has the ability to control people … an indirect nod to Invasion of the Body Snatchers? The makers of ME knew their genre.

And how about weapons named after Chess Champions? Don't make me break out my Karpov ...

In addition, ME's world sports little spices of realism that makes this future feel like a genuine possibility for our world. For example, the alliance uses naval terminology for interstellar travel even though the setting renders the words obsolete ("shore" party?). There's also a consistent naming scheme for Alliance vessels (named after significant battles). Our ship? The best in fleet? It gets named after the most significant battle in human history – The Normandy.

The universe is populated by some colorful alien races like the Elcor who speak in an eternal monotone, Solarians with an upside-down blink (the lower eye-lid is the more articulate lid), the Volus completely enclosed in space suits due to the living on low pressure worlds, the insect-like Rachni deliver a delightful homage to the Alien franchise while exploring Novaria.

Then throw in a codex where, if a player cares, they can find explanations that approach HG Wells levels of detail – things like why you never run out of ammo, to history of the various alien races, to stupid little pieces of trivia. If the player does not care, they can safely ignore it. There will be no quiz later.

While the setting is firmly established in the realm of Science Fiction, the story and presentation is distilled Space Opera. You take control of Commander Shepherd, an established hero in the human world about to make his mark on the intergalactic stage. A newly inducted "Spectre", you're charged with hunting down the traitorous rogue, Saren. The odds are stacked against you, and the fate of all sentient life hangs in the balance. May the force be with you.

As for the gameplay: you wander around the outposts racking up Mission Objectives and Side Quests ala any other RPG in existence. Mass Effect contains barely a handful of friendly outposts (located exclusively on Mission worlds), which is a plus in my book. I never liked needle-in-a-haystack RPGs. The combat side of the game is divided between the landrover vehicle named "Mako" (which the controls and the camera do not like) and battles on foot. Both take place in pause-able real time.

It's not that the Mako is unplayable, but it very noticeably lacks the precision you would expect. A simple task like driving out from behind cover, firing, and returning to cover is far more difficult than it needs to be. Also, when you have the main cannon's scope engaged, it's not uncommon to drive into an obstacle, nearly flipping the whole Mako over while Geth Armitures bombard you. Can't someone else drive while I aim and fire? I mean, c'mon Bioware, in this same game I can get Ashley and Garrus to charge into an ambush, Ashley lay down suppressive fire and use her Immunity ability to soak up more damage while Garrus Sabotages the enemy's Weaponry rendering them temporarily useless all while I bombard them with Singularity fields from a distance … can't we get some basic coordination going in the Mako?

Anyway, Mass Effect lacks the flashiness of, say Final Fantasy's magic and summons, but there is a certain charm to "Lift" which simply elevates an enemy into the air so you and your allies can fill them full of lead. "Just call me Darth Shepherd." And there's something satisfying about using "Throw" to push two Krogans over a railing to their deaths when you're standing 20 feet away. Or use AI Hacking to turn drones against each other.

As much fun as I had with Biotics and Tech abilities, I most enjoyed taking out a Mercenary Camp from a distant hill with the Sniper Rifle. A close second would be standing in the middle of a field with said Sniper Rifle while zombies (Thorian Creepers, whatever) raced towards me. "Run Forest!" Kaboom! "Aw, so close …"

On the negative side, inventory is a royal pain in the ass. Like other games in the genre, you outfit not just yourself but the rest of your team, and the amount of loot you acquire can make this a tedious and time consuming task made worse by some downright stupid menu behavior. For example, let's say you open a crate and find out you've exceeded the 150 item limit. Well, you're stuck in that window until you reduce that loot to omni-gels (essentially, destroying the items you just acquired.) Why can't I waste older, cheaper, and less effective crap? Or here's an idea – why can't I leave this new crap in the crate where I found it and come back later?

Also, while the main objectives take place on unique world with their own specific landscapes and features, all of the side quests feel like copy and pastes of one another. All the worlds have painfully similar terrain, the only difference being the color of the sky and the color of the ground. Same goes for the explore-able structures on the worlds – exact same building, exact same furniture … only the furniture is in different places. Hello monotony.

Oh well, minor complaints. It wasn't enough to stop me from immediately replaying it … and I haven't done that since Chrono Trigger thirteen years ago. Take that for what it's worth.

A Great Story, Good Graphics and Fun Gameplay all come together to make an awesome RPG.

[nikibabs · 9/10 · 31 July 2010]

In the 22nd century, where humans have discovered lightspeed and have met and colonized with many alien species, a skilled commander must take his crew and teamates into enemy territory in order to find and either capture or kill a powerful alien who has means to bring back a dangerous alien species.

I've never been a huge fan of RPG's, thus I wasn't interested in Mass Effect at first. However, I soon decided to get my hands on it. Well I gotta say I'm glad I did!

Pros: -A fantastic and immersive storyline. -Very deep and well acted characters. -The graphics are nearly spot on and great. -The sound is perfect, but nothing that stands out. -The score is very varied and fits the futuristic setting. -Fun and easy gameplay.

Cons: -Although still fun, some gameplay elements( such as vehicle controls, weapon functions,etc.) can get a bit irritating. -Could have been more weapons.

Overall, despite some minor flaws, Mass Effect is a fantastic game that cannot be missed, RPG fan or not.

One of the best authentic science fiction game of our time.

[aligalaxy · 10/10 · 24 May 2021]

Brought this on Steam when Legendary Edition was out with improved graphics and refurbished combat screen. I was not at all disappointed. I have just completed mass effect 1 and boy what an experience it was. You feel like you are part of a story and your decision affect the outcome of the mission. The science fiction technology and plot is very intelligently return and it never felt like it was too much or have become a fantasy lore. Now that I have completed the first part of the series, I no more can wait to experience how the story will unfold. I am ready to experience the journey into the cosmos with Shepherd and his crew of aliens, together we are part of something much bigger and grandeur than any individual or species from countless planets in our galaxy. I can't wait to explore the possibility and mystery the universe awaits. Shepherd signing out.

Not like Elder Scrolls IV, but better.

[psbassplayer · 9/10 · 31 December 2008]

I disagree with the previous post about this game being similar to Elder Scrolls IV. There was no glitchy combat system, no repetitive storyline of 'run in this thing and destroy it', and much unlike Oblivion Mass Effect has actual character development.

The voice acting in Mass Effect has one of the best casts I've seen in a game. Nothing is over exaggerated or monotone, and the character's movement goes along with that. Bioware has introduced another great game with a fantastic storyline as they did with KOTOR. The combat system takes some getting used to if you want to play on the hardest difficulty, but you can play the game like a 3rd person shooter if you have it on easy.

The only reasons I give this game a 9 out of 10 is because sometimes you can get stuck in the geometry of the game whether you are walking or more often when you are in the MAKO vehicle, and need to finagle your way out. Also while the character classes were varied the character customization left something to be desired in my opinion. All in all i found Mass Effect t be a very enjoyable game to play and found myself becoming immersed in the beautiful graphics and intense storyline. A definite must have for an role player who has Xbox 360.

Mass Effect - The beginning of the best Sci-Fi story epic ever conceived.

[KeyC0de · 9/10 · 7 January 2018]

You are commander Shepard, a war hero, or a sole survivor or a ruthless & notorious cutthroat who knows how to get the job done. You will get to pick your background. Shepard is called on a mission to salvage an unearthed Prothean beacon uncovered at the remote human colony of Eden Prime. It turns out that this mission isn't that simple after all. The colony has already attracted the Geth, a synthetic race who have formed an alliance with what they consider their God and have seized control of the colony. Saren the principal antagonist, a member of an elite, peacekeeping squad called the Spectres has gone rogue, by siding with the Geth. He plans to find and activate the Conduit which will allow Sovereign to signal the return of the Reapers, an enigmatic civilization which recycles all life in the galaxy every 50,000 years. Shepard is on Saren's trail to stop him. In order to accomplish his mission he must assemble a team of diverse & talented individuals, each one experts in their fields and essential to the mission, scour planets to acquire intelligence, form alliances or go to war. It always seems as though Saren is one step ahead of him though. Will he manage to succeed and how will his choices affect the future of the galaxy?

The player decides how the plot will unfold. If there's a game in which you feel that your choices do matter it is this one. It's not just minor or secondary objectives, you actually get a say on many major outcomes of the game. You will explore and make decisions that will shape the future of a planet, or colony, in ways you cannot begin to fathom (play all 3 games and all DLCs to find out how deep the rabbit hole goes; save games carry over to the ME2 and ME3). Bioware has made all players interactions with NPCs so realistic, due to its cinematic design to conversations. Character development is off the chart, and second to none (except the sequel Mass Effect 2). You will love meeting new squad members and talking to NPCs everywhere. Depending on species, race, gender, personality everyone feels totally different, in fact each one is unique. This level of realism is in part attributed to the perfect voice-acting and lipsync of all characters and to the vast lore that has been meticulously crafted for each location the plot takes place in the universe. 5+++/5 for the lore & story (best one EVER in a video game)

To learn more about the overwhelming new amounts of information on this universe you can can visit the Codex menu which gets automatically updated with new entries as you progress through the game. I found myself reading and listening to everything in the Codex because i wanted to learn as much as i could about this amazing world. Never again have i felt like i wanted to read inside a game (i was never interested in books and the lore in Skyrim, or Oblivion, but that's partly because i prefer sci-fi to fantasy). Everything seems so real and likely to occur in real life, in the future. In fact it's all taken from real life and you can use it to expand your own knowledge. This game has got me interested in science and technology and i now have a Bachelor's degree in computer science. In this game your choices matter deeply. 5/5 for characters, direction & impact

What i consider a negative aspect of the nearly perfect plot is that it sometimes feels overly dramatic, like it is leading you to the next part by very unlikely scenarios. For example ((SPOILER IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH)) you originally learn about Saren because of a lazy soldier who was sleeping behind the crates before the Eden Prime attack started. As such he was able to hide from the Geth (who along with Sovereign have super advanced tech and as such would be most likely able to id everyone in the colony) when everyone else got wiped out AND he happened to stand on the best spot to listen when Saren killed Nihlus. If that soldier wasn't there, there was no way that Shepard would find out about Saren. This one simple act of his, simply created the entire Mass Effect story arc, involving Shepard. I'm sure the developers could find a more believable reason to track down Saren, but anyway, i am nitpicking here. Pacing isn't the best either, but that's not necessarily bad, because you are simply given plenty of freedom to explore the galaxy between main quest missions (even when a lot of things are pressuring the continuity of the primary quest, which breaks immersion a bit; but anyway). 4.5/5 for the plot

The graphics are fantastic. I noticed very few graphical glitches every now and then. The cutscenes are fantastic (somewhat dated for 2018). The system requirements for PC aren't that high, especially for a modern PC. The score is phenomenal. The main theme rivals that of Star Wars (which was composed by the legendary John Williams) and that says a lot. I personally got the soundtrack separately and listen to it whenever i feel like it. It is so soothing and transports you into space whenever you hear it. No other major technical issues that i noticed. Even mods are possible now if you are an advanced computer user (if so check out "Mass Effect Explorer" program). 5/5 graphics & technical achievement, 5+/5 for Audio & Soundtrack

The combat system is very good as well. Bioware has expanded on the old system they use in KOTOR, primarily RPG focused and modified it such that it is more fluid and fast paced like an action game. Combat is faster, yet tactical, as you get to pause the game during combat and tell your squad members who to shoot, where to go/cover, which abilities to use. Everything can be micromanaged, or if this distracts you from the action, you have the option to let the AI automatically make these decisions. You won't be disappointed either way, because the AI is decent. I rarely felt the need to micromanage everything, unless i was playing in max difficulty, or was in a very difficult or boss fight. Overall the combat system isn't great though and could certainly be improved by various alterations to the system. For example sniper rifles are wielded like the player has Parkinson. It would be nice if the squad management was simpler, or if the AI was a bit better. Most of these negatives are fixed in the sequel. 4/5 in gameplay.

The secondary objectives give you an opportunity to explore new planets and star systems. Some of them are actually quite good, but unfortunately most are repetitive and are a go there - kill that, or fetch that kind of missions. They aren't as varied as i would like. Nevertheless you'll still want to complete them all. This drawback in side quests is pretty much the only significant one (which is thankfully also fixed in Mass Effect 2). 3.5/5 for length.

I played Mass Effect for PC in 2008 when it was released. I remember after seeing the epic trailer i thought it was some Star Wars offshoot. It is my favorite science fiction universe ever, even better than Star Wars, yes even better objectively speaking. In fact, i will go as far as to say that the Star Wars universe is childishly explained in comparison to this. Star Wars lore involves more fantasy than science, ie. less emphasis given on scientific explanations, technology and more in fantasy. Mass Effect universe and the lore is very mature, it is an expansion of our own universe (in fact it is set ~170 years in a -very possible- future). Bioware did not simply create a game but an experience. After they crafted the universe they wanted and the laws that govern it, they conceived the storyline, which is unfolded through the eyes of Shepard. 5/5 for enjoyment/entertainment & impressions

Finally you can find value in replaying the game with new character classes. There are 6 to choose from and each one has 2 unique specializations. Each player class plays drastically different, with unique talents, abilities and personalities. The combat and progression is linear, but you can replay to explore many different scenarios because of the choices you make which can be completely different on a new playthrough. 4.5/5 for replayability

The Mass Effect franchise is in my top 3 video games of all time, and it is my No1 fictional universe of all time.

To sum up: Do not miss Mass Effect. Grand, epic story. Deep universe of unprecedented scale. Cinematic feel and intense cutscenes. Living, breathing characters. Choices that impact the future of the universe and carry on to the sequels.

Rating 9/10 - Amazing

Universe Expanding

[RobTortureWright · 10/10 · 2 June 2021]

This game has to be one of if not THE best game I've ever played.

I've been playing this game 2 weeks straight now (Mass Effect legendary edition) and I'm blown away by the sheer scale and expansiveness of the game. Before purchasing the legendary edition I played the original as a test to compare, and the upgrades, especially to things like graphics, UI and taking steps to fix the somewhat janky movement/cover system were a huge improvement. However apart from those things not a lot has been changed and it's kept all the life and more importantly soul of the original. Something I'm still in shock at is how a game that was made in 2007 had such scale and the ability to draw you in to a throughly addictive story and character progression. The story of Commander Shepard and his quest to defeat Saren and save not only one planet, but entire universes and species is excellently laid out and each individual character, friend or foe plays a vital role in your journey, something I've never seen in game before or since. You know you've found a real gem of game when every day you wake up and the first thing you think about is booting the game up and exploring new areas, speaking to new friends or slaying your mortal enemies. The addictiveness of finding out what happens next is a joy and with progression and events carrying over between games Mass Effect truly rewards you for exploring and speaking to that hidden away person in a corner or searching and finding that piece of evidence that solves a galactic mystery. The game honestly has almost zero downsides with the only minor issues being the cover system which feels slightly sluggish and janky at times or the doors that are very slightly annoying as you have to press a button to open then wait a second or so before you can enter. That's it. Nothing else negative I can say about it. The last thing I'll say is that some games feel planet expanding, but Mass effect, both figuratively and literally is Universe expanding. Truly wonderful game. 10/10.

The best game ever by miles

[intothebluegreatness · 10/10 · 3 May 2008]

Mass Effect is so addicting it isn't even funny. Before you read this, I must inform you that I am a big wonderer of space, and admirer of all it's beauties.

Anyway, lets start with the character creation. It is masterful. You can literally look at your friend, just like a professional artist, and make him or her as Commander Shepard. Yeah, it's that in-depth. Also, the fact that you can pick your background history, reputation, and military class is one of the best things I have ever seen in a video game. You can literally be, you.

Now we move on to the conversation options. The conversation options have revolutionized video games. Not only do you create your own character, but you get to say what you would as if you were Shepard. In every conversation tree, there is a ruthless thing to say, a good thing to say, and an in-between thing to say. If you are that person who loves to intimidate and be mean, then say what you must with the click of a button. Also, I will mention that you can even make drastic choices with these options. Throughout the game, there will be times where you actually choose if an innocent person (or alien) lives or dies.

The aliens in Mass Effect are so amazingly detailed that it will actually frustrate you that you can't be one of them as a player. It really puzzles me how a group of people could think of so many different models and creatures. There are so many species of aliens in Mass Effect that you will have trouble naming them all even by the fourth or fifth play-through. Not only this, but in the codex, (your information journal) there is a fairly large background paragraph on EVERY species. The developers had to start from scratch hundreds of times to stop and think of the species names, where they came from, how they originated, how they reproduce, what position they have with the council, what kind of personality they have, if they are good in combat, and much, much more.

The story in Mass Effect is absolute brilliance. With all of the aliens already making the game unique enough, the story is even more original. Nothing was taken from Star Wars or any of that (and if it was, they did a great job of making you believe they didn't). From Spectres (a rank among the council) to the Citidel (Huge space station), Mass Effect just keeps the surprises coming.

There are many planets you can go to in Mass Effect, all of which have a unique environment, (and once again a fairly large description of it's population, hours in a day, days in a year, and characteristics. The hours in a day and days in a year are in comparison to Earth.) Most of the planets contain a side mission that you may choose to do or not do. One thing you cannot miss is going to the moon, and looking into the sky to see Earth. If you have ever seen a real life photo of Earth from space, you will realize how amazingly real it looks.

The graphics in Mass Effect are absolute genius, and nothing comes close to comparison. All of the characters look like real people, and the aliens are so fantastically designed that you will think they are standing right in front of you.

The lasting appeal of Mass Effect is so good that it almost becomes a life-waster, but for good reason because of how good the game is. When you kill enemies, you obtain experience points. When you reach a certain amount of experience points, you level up. Every time you level up, you will need more and more experience points to get to the next level. The top level is 60, and when you are at level 60, you are the elite of the elite when it comes to space soldiers (ha ha) It will take about 2-3 beatings of Mass Effect to obtain the level 60 rank, if you do every side mission each time. If you don't do any side missions, and only choose to play the story, it will take about 4-5 beatings.

Mass Effect is the best game to have ever been developed at this point in time. It will remain the greatest for years to come, and when years have past, it will still be ONE of the greatest. It is a legend.

Mass Effect Review

[thescholar22 · 8/10 · 12 June 2015]

I played this on the Xbox 360 when I was 16 or 17. This is pretty much all those 80's sci-fi movies in one and almost Star Wars worthy material. You play commander Shepard a guy or girl and whatever class you can pick. For the newcomers you can play the Solider to get a feel of what the game is like. It brings you to all these amazing worlds and on some you go into a small tank.

You also have options to be good or bad during the talking parts. The top of the text options is the positive and the bottom is the negative. You can also investigate and know more about certain people and places.

After you beat it though it feels like a pretty straightforward path at times or when you try a different path or class. The stuff you do also transfers to Mass Effect 2 and 3 and it sometimes takes awhile to complete all of the achievements.

A Disappointment

[jb_swedeking · 6/10 · 6 November 2009]

Mass Effect is a game which many people like, so you should probably decide for yourself, but I just wanted to let my opinion out. As a disclaimer I am also generally not a fan of SciFi anyway.

Essentially, Mass Effect is supposed to be a great story. I cannot say for sure whether or not this is true, but I am leaning towards disagreeing. I disagree because I felt that the characters generally felt pretty shallow, and the fact that this is a game and not a movie destroyed it's pacing.

Here's what I mean. The game feels like a movie where you can make some dialogue choices that (rarely and minutely) affect the outcome of it. And then, it feels like somebody pauses the movie every so often and says, now the hero ran around killing things. It turns into a game, and a really bad game. The game play is playable, but not enjoyable. You are slogging through these segments to get to the next movie part. By the time I was halfway through the game, this wasn't enough for me, and I just started making my conversations shorter so that I could just see how it ended. The games climax was week due to this, and since finishing it, I do NOT want to play it again, even though there are tons of things I haven't done in the game. I don't want to because I know it wouldn't be fun.

Mass Effect 2 does have my hopes up, as they say they are trying to make it more shooterey, and if it's anything like Borderlands, it'll be lots of fun and I might actually be able to pay attention to the story without constantly being annoyed at the game.

Good for its time

[AKeeb · 4/10 · 14 March 2012]

The graphics are poor by today's standards. The sound is weak, although the voice acting it okay.

Whilst not technically linear, the structure of the game is very dull and the "quests" are very poorly written. Some of the dialogue is very lazy and it is rare to feel involved in the storyline without just checking the journal to see where to go next.

Intermittent crashing (when auto-save has done nothing for hours) and bland locations (design one room and multiply it by 20) complete the experience.

Not worth playing through - skip it.

This game kicks butt!!!!!!

[mysticnox · 26 October 2009]

Very very good game.

The amount of work, and research, that went into making this game (including the science) accurate is just mindboggling. Part of the fun is just reading all the information entered into the codex, never mind the detail.

Its like a really good movie. It has you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what happens next. And what you do actually matters so make sure you keep your save games if you're going to play Mass Effect 2.

And its so very cool that they managed to get Seth Green, and Marina Sirtis for voices, not to mention the same guy that did Carth Onasi's voice is the guy that does Kaiden's voice in this game (always loved his voice).

Bioware, you did it again. Every time I've ever played a game this company has created, its extremely good. Makes me proud that this extremely good company is from my home country.

Nothing short of a masterpiece

[yasenkiranov · 10/10 · 3 February 2013]

In this review I won't just discuss "Mass Effect",one of my all-time favorite games,but also my opinion on RPGs,so please bear with me.

When I was a little kid(about 10 years old) I didn't quite understand the concept of RPGs.I thought they were slow paced and lacked action,in other words-boring.That was until I played a couple of them and saw that this is the most unique game genre.Why,you may ask.Well if you compare any FPS games you will notice that the concept is basically the same.There are some differences in the game mechanics,but really you just run around and shoot stuff.RPG games have much more variety and each franchise is unique in some way.The charm of Bioware's RPGs is a well constructed story and likable characters.In that regard "Mass Effect" does no disappoint.

Although the game itself is somewhat linear(there is not nearly as much freedom for exploration as in,say,"Fallout 3"),but there is more than enough content(there are also 2 DLCs) to make the game's length more than satisfying.The gameplay is sort of like a mix between a third person shooter and "Star Wars:KOTOR"-it's a little strange.I like that there is a strategy element to it.

The dialog is my favorite part of the game.It's very well- written,sometimes it's also funny as hell.Speaking of that the game has a fair bit of humor in it,but that's not to say there is no drama,either.It's a perfect blend between both,kind of like "Lord of the Rings".The characters are also likable. "Mass Effect" is a fantastic game,I strongly recommend it.

One of my favorite games.

[Anton-krutyakov97 · 10/10 · 11 April 2010]

The "Mass Effect" is defiantly one of my favorite video games. The game has a lot of action while not being a "dumb shooter" like call of duty. The key element is the RPG. You can either play as a good character defending galaxy while saving people, or you can be a "badass" character while still defending the galaxy, you will be able to look cool and punch an annoying news reporter. Now another cool part is that you get your own ship. You can explore the galaxy and do many side quests. The weapons choice is big but they mostly look the same. Almost same thing with armor. Combat system is 3rd person but still very cool. The other cool thing is "classes". You can be a soldier, wearing a super heavy armor while carrying an assault rifle. You can be a biotic. If you like lifting, throwing and freezing enemies, then biotic class is for you. And also the tech class. You can disable a robot while being covered by the rest of your team. Can't make a choice? Want to be a biotic and tech. Or perhaps a soldier tech? Well you can. You can have a combination of two of three classes. Of course they wouldn't work as good as if you were just having one class but they are a good idea.

Stellar

[Jeremy-93 · 9/10 · 17 November 2009]

Bioware's space-opera in RPG form is, on the whole, a magnificent piece of storytelling and a thoroughly absorbing, playable and re-playable game that goes out of its way to accommodate newcomers to the genre but doesn't lack depth. Here I'll concentrate on the more 'filmic' qualities of Mass Effect, on the assumption that if you want a review that focuses on gameplay you'll go to a gaming website. Suffice to say I've enjoyed playing it through multiple times (on the PC); one could pick holes in various bits of the implementation, such as the AI in combat and the inventory system, but the strengths far outweigh the weaknesses in gameplay terms.

Mass Effect is, up to a point, what you make it. Commander Shepherd, the protagonist, can be selfless, principled even to the point of being holier-than-thou, or unsentimentally pragmatic; he/she can explore the blurry boundary between patriotism and xenophobia, or hold out for species-blindness; there are politicians to be mollified, tolerated or deliberately alienated, as well as a crew representing five different species, none of them straightforward quasi-racial caricatures, whose inner lives Shepherd can discover (or not), sympathize with or mock. He/she may find herself falling for one or two of them, but there are also sacrifices to be made. It's testimony to the quality of the writing, character design and animation and (not least) voice acting, that most of this feels supremely persuasive. One can feel really guilty about some of the choices one's forced into.

Technically, the game is often miraculous. Something it manages really well is the focus on nuances of character, helped along by a magnificent facial animation system, and some first-rate voice acting in most of the primary roles. Special nods go to the always excellent but never better Jennifer Hale as the female Shepherd; lovely, characterful work from Raphael Sbarge (Alenko), Kimberly Brooks (Ashley) and Brandon Keener (Garrus), and a fine performance from Fred Tatasciore as Saren, no one-dimensional villain. Not all the squad-mates are as well-written or performed, and neither Tali nor Liara quite comes to life as a character; their line readings tend to sound less spontaneous, but the actresses really do have much less to work with. (Edit: but Liz Sroka is quite wonderful in Mass Effect 2, given much better material and delivering it with terrific dramatic power.)

There are limits and compromises to the game's self-conscious feminism: when the female characters aren't tough soldiers they tend to be a bit feeble, and the exploitative character design for Matriarch Benezia should have been sent back to the drawing board (she's voiced by an uncomfortable-sounding Marina Sirtis). On the plus side, supremely solid support comes from the likes of Keith David as the compassionate, experienced Captain Anderson, and the unmistakable voice of Seth Green is very well cast as Joker. He gives a subtle, variegated performance that steals a few scenes without ever seeming to be doing so on purpose.

There are two fundamental tensions which Mass Effect has to disguise, if we're to suspend disbelief. The first and less important is pacing. In a race against time to save all civilization from an ancient foe, there's always time for a long chat, a side quest, a shopping trip. I'm happy to accept that as a necessary fudge; it's the price you pay for replayability. More serious is the tension between choice and linearity. For all the nuance with which you can create and develop 'your' Commander Shepherd, you gradually discover on multiple playthroughs that most of your choices are less meaningful than you think. Whatever you choose, the consequences are much the same in terms of plotting, and have only limited ramifications at the level of personal relationships.

This is one of those moments where a technical necessity starts to become a philosophical tenet by accident. Mass Effect presents itself as a morality, a story about choices and their consequences, but the more you play the game, the more you become aware that those consequences are locked down in advance. Of course they are: just imagine the inefficiency otherwise - the amount of dialogue, cut-scenes, character relations and plot developments that would branch off. Mass Effect simultaneously flatters and explodes the heroic illusion that every choice one makes changes the universe. That at least is a provisional conclusion: it'll be very interesting to see how, and how far, the sequels work out the consequences of choices made in the first game. And I for one will certainly be playing.

The Start Of Something Magical!

[brandon_lee420 · 10/10 · 17 April 2010]

Review: Mass Effect PC

Developer: Bioware

Director: Casey Hudson

In the beginning there was Half Life.....Then there was Halo......Now we are blessed with Mass Effect. After forty eight hours of fun and games on my personal computer, I finally finished this long, long game. You might be wondering why it took me so long to finish and you are probably calling me a noob right now but if you consider the painful side quests, you will get an idea in your head. If you don't...mmmm...I am gonna tell my mother! The experience was magnificent, jaw dropping, eye popping, and a galaxy of fun had ended once you finished the game. It was really sad that you could not go back and finish the side quests once you finished the game and that made me start the game all over again but apart from this problem and a couple of others, this game should definitely be in your game collection. Weeks ago, before I brought the game home, I was in a difficult dilemma between buying this game or Crysis. A text of reviews, video reviews, and a whole lot of persuasion form friends and family, I took home this lovable game. And thank God for letting me choose this game! As you start your career, you can choose to customize Commander Shepard, the character that you will be in control of for all of the game, and you can also decide one whether to make him a woman or man. Once you decide on which sex, you can then change his facial appearance... mine looked like Dolph Lundgren. After you finish with all that stuff (was about to say crap) you are faced with the difficulty of which class do you want your character to be in: Soldier, Engineer, Adept, Infiltrator, Sentinel, and Vanguard. Soldiers are, obviously, the ones who are the most skilled in weaponry. Engineers and Adepts are skilled in using biotics, techs, and omni-tools. The other three classes are a mixture of Soldiers, Engineers, and Adepts. You can also choose between "spacer" (born and bred in space), a "colonist" (born on one of Earth's extrasolar colonies), or "Earthborn" (hailing from the streets of one of Earth's cities) as your characters back story and your choice will affect your line of story. The dialog and morality are very similar to previous Bioware titles, such as Star Wars: Knights of the old republic and Jade Empire, and your choice of words can earn you Paragon (good) and Renegade (bad) points. To me it didn't really matter what you choose to say because in the end, the ending is still the same. When the panel comes up waiting to see what you would say, in a conversation, there will be around three or four choices to choose from which are not on word-for-word basis but they match the tone of the message. The creator (or director) Casey Hudson has made something along with his wonderful crew that will be enjoyed for generations to come and with Mass Effect out now, he really has touched the sky and beyond. Can't wait to buy Mass Effect 2 once it gets lower than one hundred and eighteen bucks. Whoever wrote the story should be proud of themselves because they have created storytelling that is enjoyable and the story is something which will stay in your mind for a while.

I don't want to tell you the story because even if I give you the slightest hint everything will be ruined. It is very hard to keep myself from telling you the story. The story is something which you will be drooling over and the soundtrack and music that goes along with it really creates that atmosphere that feels right. The music is quite good during combat as you are wiping enemies out but that soon changes into awesomeness as you watch a cut-scene. The ending for Mass Effect really made the stupendous story and the greatly composed soundtrack really stand out and that is why I keep on replaying that memory over and over again. The Combat is a whole other thing that will take time to get used to. I am a hardcore First Person Shooter and to play a Third Person Shooter really felt weird and fun at the same time. I like FPS because you can only see a gun and a hand but now I am really start to like Third Person Shooters. The game also has a cover system which comes in handy when there is a whole lot of enemies in your way or if your health is greatly low. The assault rifle is great and never runs out of ammunition, same with all the other weaponry, but it can over heat a little too quickly. The pistol was hardly used in the game because it is too weak. The Shotgun is also another formidable weapon and it can do lots of damage. The Sniper is one of the worst in a long time. It moves around too much and overheats way too quickly. I would have really loved to see some Alien weaponry but it isn't included in the game, hope they included it in the sequel. The AI is not very smart but what they lack in intelligence they "sometimes" make up in strength. The Mako, the only vehicle used in this game which you can control, has terrible controls but does do very good damage. Your allies are easy to get used to and they are fun at times. Garrus and Wrex are the best teammates after Alex and Freeman. The game is better than Half Life 2 in storytelling and dialog but sucks in combat. The graphics are the best of 2007 but the film grains are useless and annoying. You can change that in the games menu. The elevator rides are too long and why is the sex scene in this game so controversial? Buy this game!!

A masterpiece of storytelling

[gardnerjpgardner · 9/10 · 19 January 2012]

I am going to start with my overall impressions of the game when I first bought the game 3 years ago, at first I thought it was incredibly boring it was a slow game with some pretty okay shooting, or shooting I wasn't used to at the time. I had just finished playing Oblivion and when I started Mass Effect I expected an open world, sandbox game similar to Oblivion which of course Mass Effect isn't. During my begrudging beginning few hours of the game I decided I would try to stop comparing the game to Oblivion and treat it as it's own title; to do this I sat down and went through the codex entries. During this time I fell in love with this game and it quickly became my favorite game,(and to this day it still is my favorite game of all time), each codex entry was seemed like it was meticulously crafted and edited to craft a whole universe. Not only did the codex entries explain who the different races were but they also explained their culture, history and religion. Normally games in the past have just introduced an alien race and that is the end of it but Bioware made an alien race and gave them texture. When I mean texture they gave each alien race a certain personality and moral codes amongst their kind, the benefit of doing this is that when you are talking to one of the various alien races you will know why they act a certain way. Mass Effect is a science-fiction RPG and Bioware put the science in the science-fiction, they went out of their way to create a pseudo-science to explain how everything works in the game. I loved how masterfully Bioware made a believable universe for you to explore.

On a story standpoint the game is top notch with superb voice acting. Each character is believable and you will find yourself caring about them by the end of the game. *Spoiler* There is one character in the game that I personally could not connect with and when an important choice came later I made it easily because I couldn't connect with this character. This isn't saying the character is poorly developed it is just the opposite, all the characters have interesting story arks it was just my personal taste that kept me from liking the character. Overall the story for Mass Effect is phenomenal and to risk sounding pretentious Mass Effect would make a great movie.

Okay game play, here is where some of my complaints come into play. The game does freeze from time to time, it isn't a pervasive issue it just hindered from the experience because it takes you out of the phenomenal experience. The combat is satisfying and me personally being an RPG fan I am glad the combat relies more heavily on the player's gear and abilities more than player skill. Combat abilities are separated into three categories, pure combat strength, tech powers, and biotic. Combat strength has abilities like carnage and overkill which allow the player to deal large amounts of damage in a short amount of time. Tech powers allow the player to hack into synthetic enemies, overload enemies shields while biotic have area effect powers like lift and singularity. Combat focused players in RPG terms will be tanks or DPS guys while tech specialists and biotic are their to debilitate enemies. At the start of the game the player will choose one of the six classes to play as in the game, all the classes will either focus on on of the categories of combat, tech or biotic and also hybrid classes which mix them together. On my first play through I played as an Infiltrator which is a mixture of combat and tech. On top of picking an area to specialize in the player can choose what type of weapons they would like to specialize in, in the skill tree. The skill tree is robust and allows a lot of choice for the player, as an infiltrator I could choose to put points into sniper rifle proficiency; to let me take enemies out in one well places shot or I could put points into hacking and overload debilitate my enemies. There is also sections of the game where you get to drive a vehicle called the Mako, the Mako is fun to drive but it falls prey to some clunky controls and you will often find that you are going the opposite direction you wanted to go. Sections with the Mako would have been loads of fun if the controls were refined.

The inventory and squad management menu can be a bit overwhelming at first but you will gradually get used to it. The game makes it easy to compare items to see which is best for you and which you can just sell to vendors. Also Bioware, cleverly hid some load screens as elevator rides where the player can listen to his or her squad members have some playful banter or even get a new quest from listening to the news. The elevators can be boring at times but it adds to the believability of the story, the protagonist of a game isn't going to be knee deep in action all the time, there will be slow parts for the them.

On a whole Mass Effect is a game you cannot miss if you are an RPG fan and a fan of science-fiction. Even if you do not like either of those the game is still a must buy because of the wonderful story. My minor complaints with the game are completely drown out by everything that Bioware did right in this game and it still is to date my favorite game. Even after my 16 runs through the game I am not bored of it, every time I come back to it, I am amazed at how well this game was crafted.

Mass Effect 1

[kenyae-cagle · 10/10 · 27 October 2015]

This game was awesome from start to finish. I loved how you could build personal relationships with certain characters in this game I love Liara, and Ashley. I also, loved how the game really gave me a comfortable feeling as if I were in the future and the game allowed you to say responses whether they were good or bad. I wish I could play more games like this in this nature of the future. I loved the friendship between the character as I played as male Shepard and Garrus. Those two seemed like a really good team. I enjoyed all the boss battles as well between Shepard and Saren who we discovered was controlled by a Reaper and Data bass called Sovereign. I love this video game and would love to one day be a voice actor with it.

Epic Saga

[mbsjogren90 · 10/10 · 13 March 2011]

What can I say? This incredible space saga turned me from beginning to end. I've sat and played day in and day out, and have never get tired of the game. I have played it 1-3 times. Likewise with the sequels. It is something that makes this game even more amazing. You can start the game and go which way you want, as brutal or kind-hearted. If you missed something in the game, why not start afresh? What makes me happy is the new gaming concept that allows you to get with you the saved files to the sequels. Me1, Me2 and now ME3 It is basically nothing I am disappointed with Mass Effect, it is perfected, radiates warmth and love and made ​​me feel like one of the characters in the game. Everything about the game itself makes it more exciting as side quests, characters you meet, music and graphics. Everything you do has a significant role.

I have played both number one and number two in the trilogy. And now waiting with bated breath for the THIRD in the amazing saga. Bioware has not disappointed me with Mass Effect, on the contrary, actually.

And now comes the best, my favorite video game of all time appears to to be a movie . Bioware has succeeded over the game so I do not hope that the film becomes a flop. Like any other game-to-film has become.

One of the greatest games for xbox360

[erik15792 · 10/10 · 24 March 2009]

The first xbox had its share of great Bioware rpgs (Kotor, Kotor 2 and Jade empire) and with Mass effect they have entered the xbox360 market. Mass effect is an rpg much like Kotor, it takes place in a sci-fi world but this time the universe is created by Bioware themselves. It is not set in the Star wars universe like Kotor was. Bioware games have always been story driven and this one follows the pattern. The story is what matters in Mass Effect and it is just wonderful, fit for a movie. The actors are amazing in portraying their character, everyone has their own back story and you really come to love or hate all of them. It doesn't matter which of the two feelings, the important thing is that they affect you and feel like true humans (or aliens!). The graphics are beautiful, all the enviorments and characters are created with a great deal of creativity and intelligence Mass Effect does not only bring what is expected of the rpg-masters but also add some new material for the genre. They added a whole new system of selecting what your own character say, and he actually got a voice! You can argue if this takes away the feeling of you being the character but to its defense, you can still select what you want to say (more smoothly than ever) and the fact that the character has a voice makes it more realistic. One more great note is the character creation, its the best that I have seen and you can make your character look in a whole lot of ways. Not like in The Sims though, were you can make your character look like some kind of alien, you can only make realistic avatars. Third, the combat system. Old, hardcore rpgers might not like the new fighting system which is much more action oriented. I however, found the combat to be more intense and fun than ever before. I have one major complaint though. The side-quests. Every single one of them start out intriguing and interesting but it all just ends up with you going to a planet with no content except for a base which the enemy's are stationed in. There are side-quests you do on the real planets and they are great but its the other side-quests which are what I don't like. You will end up doing the main-story instead of these side-quests, most of the time. But the rest in Mass Effect is still all of what i expected from Bioware and all the great content in this game weighs up for the lacking in some side-quests. Bottom line, Mass Effect is a must if you own a 360 or a good PC, it combines rpgs with action in a wonderful and great way.

I just don't get the hype...

[becky-511-186626 · 7/10 · 10 June 2021]

I never played the original trilogy but I played Andromeda a few months back so having really liked that one I pre-ordered the Mass Effect Legendary remaster. The story is really good I'll give it that. The characters were mostly good but some of the acting seemed over the top. Mainly Kaiden, he was quite shouty. I liked the main story and the main planets were all good and different but I gave up on the sidequests as the different sidequest planets were literally carbon copies of eachother down to the layout of the underground bunker things. The Mako is so gonky even though they "repaired" it in this version so I'd hate to see what it was like in the original! Some of the controls definitely haven't aged well. I know it was made a fair few years back and will have been ahead of its time but for me it's just lacking something.

I will definitely carry on with the other two games as the story has grabbed my attention (even though I know how it all ends). There's enough that I liked to keep me playing and I am enjoying the main game. Maybe if I'd played it originally when it first came out I'd have liked it as much as the diehard fans. Maybe I'll enjoy 2 and 3 more.

Unpopular opinion but I'm still sticking with Andromeda as my favourite so far.

Ass effect

[BuddyCam97 · 1/10 · 1 March 2021]

Terrible game not good story terrible characters why do people like trash