I’m going to go ahead and get this out in the open right now: I’m a BioWare fan. I positively love their work. From Baldur’s Gate (PC) to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC/Xbox). They are an icon in the RPG genre, and in video games themselves. They deserve to be mentioned alongside companies like Square Enix. Many right now are shaking their heads or screaming out that I’m biased with this review. No. Far from it. With my love of BioWare’s games comes a bar I set for each. Any flaws I’m quick to point out. I went into Mass Effect knowing I had no problems giving this game a 0 if it so deserved it. However, it does not. In fact, it’s nearly as flawless as the other great BioWare games.

The graphics in Mass Effect are absolutely gorgeous. From the moment I turned on the 360 and popped in the game, I was sold on them. The landscapes are beautiful, and the game supplies many to traverse. From moon-like planets to ice planets to planets teeming with life, each has had a lot of care and detail put into it. The diversity isn’t always there, but with a game of this size that is easily forgiven. They supply over 25 planets to explore (to a degree) so that things never get dull. Yet, the landscapes pale in comparison to the detail put into the characters and their attire. I was stunned at how life-like the people look. Mass Effect has, by far, the most character detail I’ve ever seen. Mind you, I haven’t played games like Crysis, but I feel that even that graphic-heavy game couldn’t be too far above ME.

Audio is ever the hard thing to review. Mass Effect, especially, relies a lot on this section. Since every conversation is voiced, voice-acting is especially important. However, it seems BioWare realized that as well. The voice-acting, as such, is simply superb. I was losing all hope for next-gen RPG voice-acting after the likes of Blue Dragon and Oblivion (which were fairly atrocious in that category), and was begging for a return to the good ole’ text conversations. Mass Effect gave me an all new respect for voice-acting. It truly makes Mass Effect more of a living, breathing, and believable world. The voices are great, and -gasp!- the lips actually move WITH the speech. Many games could learn a lesson here.

Overshadowed by the voice-acting are the other categories that get lumped in with audio. Music and the overall sound. It’s not hard to see why since the VA is superb. However, those two are stellar as well. The music is especially fitting. So many games have such a clash in music…Like classical for action scenes and punk for romance. Mass Effect has a musical score that actually feels as if it belongs. It feels futuristic. Sound overall is great, but I’m sure everyone is getting tired of hearing me throw out “great” or “superb”. A little story will suffice here. I was once in a fire-fight in the game and kept hearing hard smack. I couldn’t figure it out. I fired from cover several more times…and then died. I realized then that the smacking sounds was the sound of an enemies feet as he flanked me and my party. That, I would say, is sufficient to warrant a “superb”.

On to the gameplay! Huzzah! Why am I so excited? Because this is easily the second best category Mass Effect has to offer. I’m sure you’re asking which is first…We’ll get to that! Be patient, remember, patience is a virtue. Mass Effect plays out like a third person shooter. Your party is each equipped with a gun (Pistol, Assault Rifle, Sniper Rifle, or Shotgun) which, to state the obvious, you shoot in that third person view. Now is when the strategy aspect and RPG aspect enter in. Each character has a class (there are 6), and thus you can build a party of your preference. Whether you choose a Biotic (a class with powers of the mind such as levitation, similar to Star Wars’ “The Force”), a Tech (a class that allows manipulation of machines and other similar abilities), or a plain old Soldier who is quite the brute in combat. You can also choose a class that mixes two of those together.

I have gotten off my point though, the fact is…You will be given loads of strategic options in combat. That also means you should choose which skills to increase wisely when you level up. It also means that you need to choose the right weapon and armor for each party member, and equip upgrades to those accordingly. All of this seems complicated, but it becomes quite fluid to switch in and out once you’ve gotten the hang of everything. Throw in squad commands that (while limited) will add to your control of battle and dash in the ability to take cover a la Gears of War, and you have a game that shows it can blend action and RPG elements and make them work.

Let’s head on to exploration and character interaction, which are both a large part of Mass Effect. After a certain story event (I will give nothing away) you are free to explore the galaxy. You will have main missions to advance the story, but Mass Effect will throw dozens of side quests at you to keep you busy until you’re ready to advance. They also reward you for exploring the maps fully, as you may find hidden artifacts or minerals that will supply you with Experience Points and money. The side quests are often knocked for how quick they are without much build-up; however, that allows BioWare to provide a ton of different ones. Quality vs. Quantity is argued everywhere, but you’ll hear no complaints from me.

Well, now we advance to one of the most important aspects of Mass Effect (if not THE most important) which is character interaction. People in conversation with you are voiced, though I won’t go into detail right now about voice-acting. You get a ton of different options in conversations. Generally, most people you can just probe for information that might lead you to quests or teach you more about Mass Effect (as if the Codex that provides tons of information as you play isn’t enough). However, you will be rewarded in some quests if you talk you way through things. This is especially helpful as you build your character towards a moral side: Paragon (Light) or Renegade (Dark). Two skills help in this regard: Charm and Intimidate. I could go on all day about the options this creates, but I’m fairly sure I’ve given you more than enough for you to go on. Quality over Quantity! Or is it Quantity over Quality…?

Story is next, and I regard Story as being the most important aspect of a great RPG. All the great ones have them, so it’s not at all that strange that I judge them harshly. Mass Effect, however, is just…wow. BioWare spared no details on building a vibrant universe for their new RPG series. I won’t go into “Mass” detail, pardon the bad pun, but I will outline what it tells you from the beginning. Mass Effect is set in a universe in which Humanity has just started cutting its piece of the pie. Humanity, years ago, found highly advanced technology on Mars that was developed by an extinct alien race (the Protheans) that existed 50,000 years ago. Since then, Humanity has learned how to develop Faster-than-Light travel and thus has finally met alien races.

Already that would be a story that could span many books, but you are thrown into the time frame where humanity struggles to advance when the Council that rules all these worlds already has only 3 races represented. You can see the uphill struggle, and it’s one you partake in. I will stop there to spare any spoilers, but suffice to say your mission branches out and the ending will leave you stunned and ready for Mass Effect 2 (yes, it is confirmed).

“Well, how about the Camera Mr. Rausch?”…Glad you asked Mr. Dude I Made Up to Segue into the Next Bit! (Yeah, lame, but you’re not here to critique me…) The camera is fairly spectacular. It’s really a requirement in any game that involves Real-Time Combat. The sticks allow you to flick the camera around with relative ease. That’s especially useful when you are taking cover and need to find the next bit to crouch behind, or the next enemy to target.

The controls are smooth and responsive, and actually fit well on the Xbox 360 controller. Many people complain about the Mako (the ground vehicle you use a lot in Mass Effect), yet I never found its controls to be complicated. Sure, it will take some getting used to for some, but the controls work well and I actually found them to be the best fit. After all, the controller isn’t as good for vehicles as a steering wheel or the mouse/keyboard combo are. The only complaint I could find would be about grenades being slapped on the Select button, but since you can’t aim them very well anyways, it doesn’t much matter and makes the other controls much smoother. With limited buttons, it’s a give and take process.

Mass Effect is an excellent game. After all the stuff I read I found I was hyped, but also cautious. I felt sure that this game could not live up to the lofty expectations that come with a BioWare game, or with any RPG’s that touted what BioWare touted about Mass Effect. I’m glad to say I was wrong. This game is nearly flawless. It appeals to both RPG fans and those who don’t like them, due to the fact you don’t have to spend time leveling up, conversing with everyone, or learning more about the world. The choice is there to do it, but it isn’t a requirement. As such, the game will fit nearly any gamer. The combat is excellent, the story and lore is among the best out there, and everything clicks nicely. You can’t do much better than Mass Effect.