I've wanted to play Mass Effect for a quite a while now and only got around to actually do so now. It's one of those "came out for Xbox and then came out on PC" crowd of games. Jade Empire is another good example from the same developer. People seem to think highly of the game and now that I've played it myself I understand why. I'd go so far as to say that it's one of the better Bioware titles available.
+ The story is great. People expect as much from anything with Bioware attached to it but I'd say this tops a lot of their previous work. I wouldn't say it's as good as KOTOR but that game was in a league of it's own if your a Star Wars fan like me.
+ The game universe is immersive and well thought out. The major races have plenty of backstory and there is an in game encyclopedia of sorts that explains a great deal if your the kind that likes understanding the world they are playing in.
+ Fantastic voice acting. The whole game is voice acted and in general it's superbly well done.
+ Lots of incentives to play it again. There are three choices you make over the course of the story that have huge implications and aren't necessarily easy to choose. Several awards given during a play-through have benefits for your next play-through.
+ Actual morally grey areas. The above mentioned three choices are actually really hard to call, unless your an animal loving hippie or a corperate thug. The rest of us grey human beings will have a tough time with those.
+ Third person shooter combat? But I thought this was an RPG. The blend of RPG and shooter elements is masterfully done and it's the best hybrid of the genres since Deus Ex. The combat is great and skill points spend during level ups have a noticeable impact on weapon handling.
+ Difficulty was just right for somebody like me. Between your regenerating shields, first aid kits, special abilities, and your fellow party members it's pretty hard to die. That's not to say that you can just run around nilly willy and shoot at whatever moves. Once those shields get knocked out you can die pretty fast.
+ Great soundtrack. Not something your going to be humming after your done playing but while you are playing it's rather enjoyable.
- The game is woefully short. Maybe that's why a lot of people love it as not everybody wants to sink 60+ hours into one game anymore. But clocking in at around 45 hours I felt like the game could have been so much more. It's not like I sprinted through the game, I did all the sidequests I came across and I was still done in a fraction of the time I've invested in other great RPGs.
- The vehicle sections are pretty meh, mostly due to lousy physics for the Mako. The vehicle feels like it's made of styrofoam and bounces off the ground if you go over the smallest bump. Also it's uncanny ability to drive up mountains at an eighty degree angle bugged me.
- The character interaction feels stiff a lot of the times, especially the romance dialogue. It basically boils down to you walking up to your party members in between missions and them gushing their past all over you with you just standing there asking questions now and then.
- That good ol PC framerate slowdown is here. If your character is one that makes use of the games titular mass effect powers you will likely see slowdown when the action ramps up and you have a bunch of effects going off at once.
- Not enough interior environments. Outside of the story areas the sidequests will take place on planets you land on. On with there are a total of three interior possibilities to be found. A small mine area, an underground bunker type area, and an above ground two story building. A little variety beyond the placement of boxes inside would have been nice.
- "Meh" AI. Enemies generally strafe around and move between cover but on average are pretty brain dead. The only time your really in trouble is when a tank ****enemies rush you and start smacking you around a la melee. The same can be said for your other party members. They do pretty well on their own but they often get stuck on things and they won't attack things unless they can see them. You could be fighting for your life in a doorway with a buddy right next to you but he'll just stand there with his gun drawn unless you charge in or manually order him to go into the next room ahead of you.
- Lack of enemy variety. You've got krogen warriors and several versions of geth droids which have a jrpg upgrade system of both that are visible due to different color schemes. This droid is harder because it's white, this korgan is harder because he's wearing black armor, ect. That covers 75% of what you shoot at over the course of the game.
I think a lot of the things that bugged me stem from the games short length. I suppose being short it's a great game to replay but personally I could have done with more of everything. The main story is intense and has several great moments and aside from the meh vehicle gameplay the sidequests do a pretty good job of being varied and interesting. Gripes aside I have to admit that it was a great game and ranks well with the many great games I've played this year. I'll certainly be looking forward to playing Mass Effect 2 whenever I pick that up.