Some games play by the rules, some games break them, and some games redefine what the rules are. The question here is what  type of game is mass effect? A ground breaking adventure, a frankenstenien creation that never should have seen the light of day,  or maybe something in the middle…

Now Mass effect has been around for a while to be perfectly honest, and many people reading this will already have played it, or  in some cases decided not to. In the light of the announcement of Mass Effect 2, a direct sequel to the first adventure of  Commander Shepard, the time is ripe for another look at this game.

On the surface Mass Effect is an action role playing game, with a few twist on the norms of the style. Although neither of these are  ground breaking, it is refreshing to see a game that wants to separate it’s self from the “middle earth” like fantasy setting, so common for this genre, as well as a third person camera that is more reminiscant of games like Gears of War. Instead the game throws you into the action of this Sci-Fi future letting you play the part of Shepard cutting to cinematic camera angles during conversations that generally feel very right.

The game starts like so many games, with a character creation tool. Your last name will be Shepard, whether you like it or not, otherwise there are a good number of options. Male or Female, you can make your character look unique, and customize the way they’ll play. Despite this system being relatively deep, it’s really difficult to not be slightly disappointed after having played games like Oblivion. The one shining point is a combination of two sets of questions. One defines, where you came from, not in terms of race but in terms of whether you grew up in space, on a colony, or on earth. The other defines why you are exceptional, I chose to be a war hero. These two options then come up in conversations throughout the game, which although might not be a critical feature is a nice touch. Hearing from a random passer by that you helped save their colony, is if nothing else a little heart warming.

Once you’re character is created you’re thrust into the world of Mass Effect, or more aptly, the Galaxy. Unlike most games which keep your feet firmly planted on a single world, mass effect let’s you hop between many different fully explorable worlds. On the surface this sounds a little overwhelming, however, not all planets are explorable. Most planets simply pop up a message explaining what you found. Even with this eating into the experience, there is still a massive amount to see. The galaxy holds numerous systems, with at least one planet being explorable in each.

Mass Effect takes it’s story and universe to new levels of depth. Beyond the massive scope of worlds to visit is an entire encyclopaedia of information waiting to be read. Each planet, weapon, company, building, race, clan etc… has an in depth entry in your codex. This means that if you want you can read up on every aspect of the universe of commander Shepard. Taking your understanding of the events to new highs, this is a nice touch, which isn’t necessary for most people, but there for those that really want to sink their teeth into this game.

In regards to story, it’s an immersive adventure with numerous twists, and they all depend on how you play. The story mainly driven through voice acted interactions between characters, where you almost always have the right dialogue choice for your given situation and mood. The voice acting is for the most part competent, with only a few lines standing out for being either badly delivered, or poorly written. The musical score is well handled, helping to evoke the right emotional queues. Sound effects, like the weapons fire, or doors are all well chosen. Like a most films this is a universe where people will hear you scream, but unlike most of those films this sits out like the original Star Wars Trilogy for the fact that it’ll sound right.

Perhaps the biggest let down with Mass Effect then is the graphics, which to be fair are amazing… most of the time. The one big chink in this games armour is perhaps how long it takes textures to load. Also there are some odd visuals during some of the dialogue sequences… That aside though and the graphics look good, and do a good job of creating diversity in the vistas of space.

Gameplay is fluid with the exploration dynamics easy to use. During combat the game shines, giving you a comprehensive basic commands system, that can be expanded on by directing your alies to use specific Bionics and Techs. A great addition for this style of game is a working cover system, that in conjunction with unit commands and special abilities, allows for many different play styles.  Your team while ok, could have spent a little longer at school, as at times they do ignore immediate threats, instead choosing to fire at some one off in the distance. Ennemies on the other hand seem not to suffer from this lack of smarts, as they work well at out flanking you or throwing a well placed grenade or power behind your cover at opportune moments.

All in all this is one hell of a strong title, of course there are things that could have been better like faster elevators, or a few more biotics and engineering skills. These are minimal and in general this is a game that doesn’t just make you want to explore space, it lets you. This is a game that tears up the rule book for action RPGs , and tells the industry to try to beat it… I can’t wait to see the second instalment.