I’ve been anticipating the release of Mass Effect for months. I’ve been a Bioware fan for a while, and I totally believed in what their vision for Mass Effect was.
Have I been let down?
NO.
I originally planned to lead people on that I didn’t like the game until the very end of my post, but I just couldn’t do it. I am head over hells for this game. So the game fulfills all the things that Bioware set out to do?
Right?
The answer is a little vague right now, I’m merely 6 hours into the game at this point, but I feel like I’ve experienced more in those 6 hours than I’ve ever experienced in an RPG.
Oh yes, this game is very much an RPG. Don’t let the fancy graphics and 3rd person shooting fool you. This game is a couple 20 sided dice from a complete RPG nerd-nest. I’ve spent just as much time labouring over which skill track to upgrade to maximize my party as I have spent in combat.
And then there’s the dialogue, oh the dialogue. Mass Effect might just be the best looking game out there right now. It may soon be eclipsed by the likes of Metal Gear Solid 4 but for now I think it’s on top (even better than Uncharted). It’s funny that this is one of the things I notice as I traverse the branching conversation trees. It does take quite a bit of concentration to remain immersed in the conversations.
I can also see the man behind the curtain a lot. repeated dialogue seems so strange juxtaposed to the otherwise immersing speeches. I think the guys at Bioware are hitting the character uncanny valley, when the conversations seem so lifelike little things like characters saying the same exact thing each time you talk to them becomes a very visible sore.
So far, though, as long as you don’t go out of your way to do things that break the system the experience is unparalleled. Once I finish Mass Effect I think I’ll have a lot of things to say about it.
