Mass Effect Review

[GameBanshee News]

RPGFan has reviewed Mass Effect and while they do have some points to complain about they are impressed overall, giving the game 90% and the editor's choice.

At this point, you are asked to join the Specters, an organization of sentient species that act as a sort of super special forces problem solvers. As the first human member, you have the dual responsibilities of finding the bad guy and representing humanity, the latter being a task that, if successful, could result in a spot on the galactic council. But hey, no pressure.

While the story is engaging, it's far from novel. There are no seriously major plot twists, and while there is character development for the important NPCs, it's very predictable. Of course, anyone who has ever played a BioWare game knows that the real meat is in the character interactions and dialogue choices. You see, while the basic missions available to you are the same no matter how you develop your character, your skills and how you talk to people determine how they react to you and how you resolve those situations. For example, you could answer nicely and diffuse the hostage crisis, or you could say 'screw it' and go in guns blazing. Sometimes there's even a third option, which is refreshing when most games that give you such choices opt for the strict "persuade or kill" policy. And while the characters aren't particularly original, I really liked Kaiden's character, as he was the only one who didn't seem like a predictable cliché.