Some of you may know, and some of you may not, but I’ll tell you all the same: GamePartisan has never scored a 10. Before I came here and after, no game has ever been given that rating. Thus, when I told Jonny DeViney that I intended to rate Mass Effect as a 10, he was very skeptical. I can’t blame him in that regard. 10 is to be near perfection. A game that has nearly no flaws and that delivers in every category, and provides tons of fun. I think Mass Effect delivers that, and I’m here to tell everyone why. Faithful readers of GamePartisan deserve to know why I handed Mass Effect the first 10 of GP.

Let me first start out by saying that I’m not a light reviewer. I am extremely brutal to games, and as such many people find me to be a bit of an [expletive deleted]. I’m fine with that, as I know that I’m doing my job and not cutting any game any breaks. Period. However, I’m not scared to give out a 10. I know a ton of games that I’d give a 10 or a 9.5 and not bat an eyelash. However, many of those games are older and I have no intentions of reviewing them. I’m sure people would go “Whhhhaaaaaa?!” if I suddenly tossed out a Chrono Trigger review. I’m not that nostalgic. So, 10’s and 9.5’s are not often given, and I can see the distinction between the two.

If a game has stellar, unparalleled Multi-Player but only a good single player (and it excels in ALL other categories), then I’m going to give it a 10. Why? Because it concentrated on one form of gameplay. Some games don’t have to throw in the single player (or vice-versa) and do. Those that do and fit it in well, deserve the accolades. People criticize too much for giving people options. Mind you, if the single player (or multi-player) is terrible…Then that’s a different matter. Mass Effect, as I’m sure a lot of you know if you’ve read my review, has no multi-player. It doesn’t try to be something it isn’t, and I won’t penalize it for that. Multi-player or single player are not requirements, they are options given to the player. Now, I’ve gotten a bit off subject, but I felt I should mention that I don’t penalize for that reason.

Mass Effect has excellent combat. It mixes action and RPG elements as well as any game out there. Not a surprise, as Jade Empire did the same. Graphics, Audio, Story…Everything in Mass Effect comes together and clicks, and they are near perfect in every regard. I don’t hold 10 as being the “perfect game”. No game is perfect, and that would mean that 10 is not achievable. If it isn’t achievable, it should be 9.5 out of 9.5, not 10 out of 10. We can’t expect a game to be perfect to earn a 10. What we can expect is it to be nearly perfect. That if it has any flaws, they are minor and don’t hinder ones playing or enjoying the game. Mass Effect does this and more. The game should also provide enough either enjoyment or replay value to keep you coming back for more. Mass Effect does this as well. As such, it more than warranted the 10 I gave it.

I’m not afraid to defend my stance on this. I told Jonny that, and I told others. I am stubborn about something I believe in. As such, I’m going to do something I don’t normally do. I’m a fairly private man. I don’t go screaming on every message board I go to that I work on a gaming website. I would say modest but let’s be honest…About other things, I’m not so honest. Like if I won the lottery, once I had that check in the bank I’d be screaming it to the rooftops that I am [Expletive Deleted] rich! So, here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to provide an email address. Anyone who wants to know more about my stance or wants to comment on my article, review, or other pieces on this website can reach me at TheLordHugo@aol.com. Hope to hear from at least a few.