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Mass Effect is yet another of the big Xbox360
exclusives that have remained at the forefront of the console’s
agenda since it’s launch over two years ago. Along with
Halo 3,
BioShock and the forthcoming
Lost
Odyssey
and Alan Wake, Mass Effect has been one of titles
that has had more pull for gamers than even the likes of
Assassin’s Creed. And why might that be? Perhaps it’s because it
comes from the studio that brought you Star Wars: Knights Of The
Old Republic on Xbox? Maybe it’s due to the graphical splendour
and obvious high-production costs of the title? Or perhaps it
because of the hype surrounding the title’s suggested level of
freedom? Whatever it might be, Mass Effect has now arrived,
and it’s time to see whether the extensive wait has been worthwhile.
From the outset, Mass Effect does it’s best to
establish itself as an “The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion in
space”, and does it well. The Character Customisation features are
limited by comparison, but offer more than enough scope to develop
even the most pugilists of avatars. The player is then plunged
immediately into Eden Prime; the training element of the campaign.
While the Role-Playing element is a huge aspect of the game, it’s in
combat where Mass Effect establishes itself as an RPG with a
difference. The combat is real-time, but also centres around the
idea of squad-based shooting. Tackling enemies by pressing the R
Trigger, manoeuvring your team mates with deft presses of the D-Pad,
is the most basic of attacks, with the more complicated Tech and
Biotic abilities prescribed to wheel-selection on the RB. The combat
is very well balanced, and while the player will often find bouts
will last more than four or five opponents, each is intense and the
player is never quite left feeling indestructible.
The Role-Playing element of the title is obviously the
biggest draw. With the reported level of freedom available in the
game – purportedly seeing the player able to alter the outcome of
not only relationships, conversations and specific Missions,
 but
also the game itself, using an intricate Conversation System – many
players will undoubtedly have picked-up the title before the reviews
began publication. In this respect, the title overflows with
fantastic ideas, but has been somewhat hemmed-in; seemingly due to a
lack of resources to see each out to its most thorough conclusion.
The Conversation System is well drawn-out – with many new options
becoming available as the player increases his/her abilities in
these areas – however, many discussions will inevitably end in the
exact same manner regardless of the players personal choices. With
so many side-quests and complicated relationships to follow-through,
it seems that BioWare may have been curtailed by a decision between
depth and breadth, and so have amicably settled their differences
between the two. Once exploring this system, it soon becomes obvious
that Mass Effect isn’t perhaps quite as free-form as it had
been previously touted. The title establishes itself in a cleverly
constructed world which gives the player the feeling that they play
an integral role; it’s not til the second-play through or under
heavy criticism that the title’s shortcomings show-through; and it
is here where Mass Effect has most definitely succeeded. With
videogames thus far having failed to construct a coherent series of
conventions akin to that of films or television, Mass Effect
does more than any title in recent memory to hone that which the
hardcore would be accustomed to into an easily comprehendible
repertoire of unacknowledged traits. It’s a shame then, that those
most likely to experience the title at it’s fullest will be those
who already accept that a bloodthirsty alien may be convinced to
join your cause by merely two lines of dialect.
The universe in which Mass Effect takes place is
simply huge, and with the possibility of further planets being made
available through Downloadable Content, it only stands to grow.
Planned as the first part of a trilogy, eyes are on the recent
BioWare buyout by EA as to what will happen with the sequels.
However, a representative from BioWare has suggested to
Electronic Articles that the second and third instalments are
already in-production, and shall have BioWare and EA listed as the
developers, while Microsoft Games Studios will continue with the
publishing rights.
Graphically, Mass Effect is a confusing title.
Sporting some of the best Character Models and lip-synching ever
seen in a videogame, the title also features some incredibly basic,
drab textures. With the animation of even an irrelevant bystander
being equal to anything those big-budget Hollywood movie productions
can achieve, you wouldn’t expect to be reminded of the structure of
an underachieving Nintendo64 title; but many areas in Mass Effect
reflects that of Konami’s ambitiously flawed Hybrid Heaven.
The sound quality, however, is without flaws, and the varied pitch
and tone of the speech samples coupled with the now-a-typical
Role-Playing videogame soundtrack cast Mass Effect into the
top run of Xbox360 aural treats.
Mass Effect is a fine construction. Allowing the
player an experience currently unrivalled on the Current-Generation
of videogames consoles, little released has managed to touch Mass
Effect in terms of scope, design or simply entertainment. Never
has the player felt such a tangible sense of being able to adapt
your own destiny – even if it really is simply wool being
pulled-over-the-eyes – and never have they been granted such freedom
in between. And not only is there freedom; but there’s even
actually interesting activities to do during these moments when
not chasing the main storyline. As with most of the Xbox360’s
catalogue, Mass Effect may not be for everyone, but given the
Xbox360’s sell-through rate on First-Person Shooters and RPG’s;
Mass Effect is a title that at least ninety percent of it’s host
format market should be getting in.
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