A typical RPG is a creature not easily defined. You might think Elder Scrolls while I think Final Fantasy but it is hard to pinpoint what makes some seminal, genre-defining classics and others… well, I have forgotten about them already. Whether it is the characters and plot that drive it or the game mechanics that let you repeat the same tasks ad infinitum in new, entertaining ways – whatever that mysterious ingredient is, be assured that Mass Effect has it in abundance.
You take the role of Commander Shepherd of the Earth Systems Alliance, a flashy way of saying you are a space marine! But you are no ordinary space marine. In fact, you are the first human considered worthy of becoming a SPECTRE: a small group of elite individuals who operate above the law, making you a kind of intergalactic Jack Bauer or James Bond. Plunging straight into the action, you race to a remote colony where an ancient artefact has been unearthed, attracting the unwanted attention of the villains of the piece: a sentient machine race thought to have disappeared long ago.
The story progresses on rails for a brief time as you encounter certain key characters and events that build up the foundations for everything that is to come. After initial events have unfolded, you may proceed entirely as you wish, pursuing any amount of side missions that interest you or choosing the next major plot world that you wish to visit to progress the story. One of Mass Effect’s great triumphs is that there is a truly epic story at work here which you would be forgiven for wanting to complete as quickly as possible in order to reveal the ending. That being the case, you could probably expect to get about 10-20 hours of riveting gameplay out of Mass Effect. But while the sheer magnitude of alternate routes and side missions on offer might serve to unintentionally dilute the significant story elements when played over time, a thorough gamer can look forward to 50 or 60 hours of peerless play and that is before you even consider taking your character in for a second playthrough!
In advancing any story element, whether it is part of the main plot or an optional side quest, you will inevitably encounter BioWare’s genius and yet oh so simple ‘I-can’t-believe-it’s-never-been-done-before’ invention: the dialogue wheel. Put quite simply, this is how all RPGs should be done in future. Gone are the days of being forced to read every potential response, only to then have your character repeat your choice verbatim for the benefit of your pathetic goldfish memory. A more accurate description here would be that your options represent the tone of your response rather than the actual words, which, when combined with the cinematic camera changes, make the process an absolute pleasure to engage in. Also implicit in your choices is the game’s morality system which, unlike previous generation titles like Star Wars: KOTOR, is more ambiguous than simple good vs bad, but it still holds the potential to lead you down wildly different paths.
As Shepherd, you will most often find yourself in control of a three-man/woman/alien squad and, a thankful departure from those never-ending RPG combat menus, the cyclical dial theme pervades most aspects of your control here too. The basic combat structure makes use of simple bumper-operated wheels controlling both weapons and abilities for your entire squad. This allows you to play with a classic run-and-gun approach and still achieve a degree of success with the straightforward LT aim/RT fire method borrowed from Gears of War. You can also make a little more strategic use of your team and their skills. You may discover in the heat of battle that the more specific squad commands are a little too clunky to accurately direct your team but for the most part it works as a respectable squad-based shooter. And seriously, for an RPG, you cannot complain about that as I do not recall the conversation options in Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and those of its ilk being up to much.
There is a wealth of customisation possibilities and unrivalled depth of play available when considering your squad in Mass Effect. Each character’s strengths are spread across distinct disciplines, including engineering skill for hacking computers etc. and biotic skills that supply the 'magic' you would usually expect to see in this genre. The possible combinations of abilities make each member of your team invaluable at different times on different missions. The tried and tested formula of gaining experience points through completing objectives is also employed with the use of a simple branch structure of skills for each teammate. You are able to spend experience points to add or improve talents and improve weapon efficiency and over time you will begin to see improvements in their performances.
As stated, the story here is as compelling as you could hope for and is in part due to the level of effort and detail that has gone into creating a background for this game. In four years, BioWare has created a fully developed universe containing planets as diverse and alien as, well... the aliens. The races on display here are not simply different because they are blue or green – the various races each have unique histories, economies, systems of government and military tactics that are consistent with how they behave and how you interact with any one member of that race. The scope of the game in this regard is actually astonishing. When you consider that any interaction might have significant, impossible-to-predict consequences later in the game (way beyond the point of reloading and trying again), it may be that Mass Effect will succeed in making gamers think differently about how they play in the future. Given that the game is designed to be the first part of a trilogy, the developers are even suggesting that your decisions in this game will have an impact on the events of the second and third installments!
It goes without saying that a game on such a grand scale holds enormous replay value with increased difficulty levels, character customisation options and skill bonuses carried over into future games. If you need more encouragement, there are even some achievements that can only be won with multiple playthroughs. Add to that richness of design a superbly gritty and dark appearance to the characters and environments throughout and the moody Blade Runner-esque music which seems to expertly capture the tension and provide the necessary suspense at any given moment and you are left with what must truly be described as a space opera aimed at the more mature sci-fi fans. That said, with so much going on, it is unsurprising that you are often faced with random load screens and some jerkiness when fighting breaks out. With your movement speed apparently slowed in development to cope with the changing environments, it suggests that the game is making use of absolutely everything the 360 has under the hood.
But pay no attention to these quibbling faults, Mass Effect is a truly awe inspiring next generation experience from start to finish. Whether you are a sci-fi fan, an RPG fan or neither of the two, you should be playing this already.
