REVIEW: Mass Effect (Spoiler Free)
By Jacob Bond
January 4th, 2010

At the end of this month Mass Effect 2 comes out, so I figured it was a good time to finish the first one. I actually started playing it way back in October, but during the Christmas and New Year's breaks took some time to finish it up. I'm actually surprised at how different I feel about it now from when I first began.

The RPG/shooter combo is sci fi epic as your character, Shepard, tracks down a nefarious villain. Along the way you meet aliens of all kinds and learn clues about the past. It's an interesting idea; besides Star Ocean I don't think there's been a RPG set in space, and there certainly hasn't been anything made quite like what Bioware has done here regarding the sheer size of the thing and how it's put together. Technical achievements aside, however, I couldn't help but feel indifferent about the game when I started. In fact, I nearly didn't bother picking it up again after a few hours of play because it wasn't the type of game I'm normally into.

I gutted it out, though, although the results were no different. I played for maybe an hour or two but never felt compelled to continue, and at this point was sticking it out partially for achievements and partially in hope that I would see what it was that made this a Game of the Year candidate. Around the twenty hour mark something clicked and I finally saw the light.

To be fair, right from the start I focused on side missions rather than the main story. The completionist in me couldn't stand to see all of those unfinished missions and I had to clear the list before continuing with the meat of the game. This is probably why I felt so indifferent in the beginning; driving long distances between locations on bland brown-and-grey-planets for missions that were, for the most part, meaningless didn't exactly excite me. I think had I focused on the main game my feelings would have quickly changed. Then again, the side missions are there to enhance the game, and at least in my experience Bioware failed in this. They got much better as the game progressed, but for an opening hook they didn't do much to make me want to try the rest.

It also didn't help that the game has no built in tutorial to help a player learn what's going on. For much of the beginning I was flying blind, randomly pressing buttons hoping I correctly figured out what they did. As someone who doesn't normally play shooters this was particularly frustrating, as the combat in the game is definitely almost all shooter elements rather than RPG. I'm sure someone familiar with that type of game would have been fine, but for someone that has relatively little experience with it, it took a while to catch on. All of these factors did not help get me hooked. Even after I figured out the controls I was still waiting for that one thing that would make me fall in love with the game.

Once I continued on with the main story I found exactly what I was looking for. I can't say what exactly was the turning point. I kept hearing how cinematic the story was and that it played out like a movie, and for the longest time I didn't see it. Somewhere around the twenty hour mark, however, it all clicked. As the clues to the bigger picture were being revealed it DID suddenly feel like the epic story others said it was. I found myself playing for hours at a time, something that doesn't happen much these days with me. I didn't want to put the controller down.

So it's a good game. I'm glad I didn't give up on it. It doesn't mean it isn't without problems, however. As I mentioned, the lack of a tutorial didn't help things at all. For experienced shooter fans this probably wasn't much of an issue, but the game was sold as a RPG. To RPG fans who might not delve into the shooter realm that often, this was a totally different beast and a little direction would have helped.

The weapon system also didn't seem to add much in terms of RPG elements. In most RPGs you can upgrade your abilities by adding certain items which would give different powers or affects. With Mass Effect this comes in the form of ammo, which the player can equip to different weapons. This isn't such a bad idea at all, and actually fits the type of RPG Mass Effect is, except in the end it didn't seem to matter much at all. In a game like, say, Final Fantasy players are encouraged to equip different materia based on what an enemy is vulnerable to. Perhaps a boss can be taken down very quickly by adding Lightning, or maybe using Blizzard actually heals him. These kind of affects are part of what makes those games interesting because the player has to think about how their equipped items plays out in a battle. With Mass Effect, however, it seemed irrelevant. Sure, there were bullets that, according to their description, would have added damage to mechanical enemies. There were some with radiation affects (essentially the "poison" equivalent of the Final Fantasy games). And sure, I could have taken the time to go through and make sure I had the proper bullets set up for certain areas. What I found instead, however, was that it didn't matter: any bullets I used pretty much did the job. Sure, maybe one would have added a little extra damage, but it wasn't like my normal ammo had no affect at all. This made the whole system seem pointless.

I'm willing to give the makers the benefit of the doubt on this, however. Maybe I needed to play with it a bit more and learn the system better. Maybe I was just under the impression my attacks didn't feel any weaker based on certain ammo. I could be completely wrong and the ammo DOES have a big affect on how enemies are taken down. Still, if I am wrong I must have lucked out with the ammo I selected, because it seemed to do well against whatever enemy I faced.

The other big problem is the visuals. A lot of the game is absolutely beautiful. The grainy look helps give it a more classic sci fi movie feel, although after a while I hardly noticed it anymore. The way the game designers made certain worlds feel absolutely massive was amazing. Still, certain things were lacking. Some characters (I'm looking at you, Anderson) looked absolutely horrible. Some animation felt a little clunky to me. More common than not the game had to 'catch up' when filling in details; access the character stats and watch as the character's details slowly build in front of you until they look like they way they should. This seems to happen often in the game, especially when there's a lot going on to process. It's a quick way to get taken out of the experience and kills, if only a tiny bit, the movie feeling the game seems to be going for. I also also a little disappointed with the planets. Most were nothing more than rocky terrain, completely void of life. There are a few exceptions, but I was hoping for at least a few lush and alien looking worlds to explore.

I also highly recommend turning off auto save. Convenient? Yes. Potential game save killer? Definitely. When exploring other planets, once you are out of the Mako it is really easy to find yourself stuck in a ditch somewhere with no way to climb out. Without access to the actual Mako you can't escape the planet, either, and with autosave on a reload of the file will only put you right back where you are. The same can happen when the game glitches at inopportune times, such as when my character was stunned but ended up stuck in a wall. Had autosave been on I would have wasted about twenty five hours. I can't imagine that's a pleasant realization for someone who did use the feature.

AI in the game can be a little wonky as well. Squad members will, for whatever reason, put themselves in situations and locations ensuring an eventual death. It isn't as bad as some games where teammates weren't just useless but a detriment (I'm looking at you, Gears of War), but it does occasionally leave you fighting what should be an easy fight on your own. It still isn't so bad that they are useless, however. A few times the AI did bail me out of some potentially game ending situations.

Those are all the complaints I have for the game, however. The music is nice and the voice work is pretty good, for the most part. The main story really begins to shine when you get a few hours in, and little details enhance the overall experience. The writers put a LOT of effort into the aliens, exploring their individual histories and explaining little culture differences that shape their personalities the way they do. Lately it seems sci fi movies and shows merely copy other sci fi movies or shows when it comes to their aliens (or in the case of something like the newer Star Wars movies, simply take an ethnic stereotype to build around), but this game goes out of its way to be different. It's a refreshing to see such unique looking (and acting) aliens in a science fiction story.

The story itself is pretty amazing once the full scope of it becomes clear. Like with traditional RPGs you spend a lot of time talking to people, which usually leads to side missions becoming available. There are also usually two potential ways to go with an answer: be the nice guy (Paragon), or be the jerk (Renegade). Your answers and actions give you points for the appropriate personality type and can affect how plot elements play out. The story is also good at making such choices have a real impact. Sometimes it's minor; declining to do something possibly devious might close off potential side missions. Doing something noble may come back to haunt you down the road. Or you might be forced to make a hard decision that will have lasting affects throughout the game. The point being is that while there is a set story and path you are following, your actions can play a part in how certain things unfold. Since Mass Effect 2 is supposed to use save data from this game, I imagine these same actions will immediately come into play with the sequel. It's something worth thinking about before you kill that merc just to be a jerk.

By the end of the game I had completed most of the side missions, sinking 33 1/2 hours into it. The main mission is probably five or six hours, at best, which is short but seems to be pretty standard these days. Still, there's plenty to do if you don't mind looking at some rather bland looking planets for the majority of the game. For a game I felt pretty 'blah' on I find that I really want to play it again, this time going through the Renegade story elements. It took a while to grow on me, but I came around. It is an amazing game, despite its flaws.

SCORE: 9 / 10