Review 9 - Ian Connolly - Mass Effect
From DIT Experimental Gaming Group
Developer: BioWare
Engine: Unreal Engine 3
Console: Xbox360 and PC
Release date(s): Xbox360 November 2007 ,Pc June 2008
Contents |
Story
This is the first in a three part story. The story takes place in the year 2183 you play Commander Shepard a Systems Alliance Military officer who becomes a spectre(an elite military operatives who answer to the council and are above the law). You are given a mission to capture a rogue spectre name Saren. As you follow Sarens trail through the galaxy you find that Sarens ship Sovereign is in fact one of the AI specie call Reapers and have been waiting for organic life to reach a certain level of advancement so they can exterminate all organic life in the galaxy as they have done before. With all this information it is your quest to stop the Reapers from coming back to the galaxy and exterminating all organic life. This part of the story ends when Sovereign and Saren are killed. Depending on your actions humanity will be ask to join the council or take command over all the other species.
Gameplay
Mass Effect is a Action role-playing game.
Character creation and classes You can choose between a male or female character and customize your face so that you have a unique face by changing your whole face or just a specific area. You can choose you childhood background from three choices and as well your military background from three choices. When you have chosen them you get to pick you class from six choices
Controls The controls in this game I found easy to use with the triggers on the Xbox360 controllers used for the weapon system and the shoulder buttons for picking your weapon and your biotic powers and skills. The D-pad is used for commanding your squad members and the other buttons for all the other actions.
Combat The combat system in Mass Effect is in real time but like other BioWare games you can pause the game action and can give commands to your squad and pick skills or biotics but unlike Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic you can’t take direct command of them.
Visuals/Sound
Mass Effect is power by the Unreal Engine 3 which allows BioWare to have great detail in the game. The only thing I didn’t like about the graphics is that sometimes when you change areas it take the graphics a couple of seconds to load so you are left with just the base colour. The sounds and voices for the characters are clear and well done. The voices of the actors suit there characters well.
Opinion
Overall I feel that Mass Effect is a great game to play there is a style of play for everyone, it has around 18 hours of game play that includes the side missions, it easy to pick up and learn the controls, it has great graphics when they load and there is great replay ability for the game where you can find more side missions or more informantion about something in the game. The only thing I have a problem with other then the slow loading of the graphics is that your AI squad members don’t take cover and sometimes don’t complete the commands you give them.
Video
trailer
In game
