| Platform | OVERALL |
|---|---|
| Xbox 360 | 9.00 |
| Overall | 9.00 |
|
My experience with Mass Effect is a strange one as I played the much improved sequel first. This of course gives me a skewed view of the game but even though the game is pretty rough the story and overall world Bioware has created is bleeding with quality. What I love most about the series besides the great shooter gameplay is the sci-fi universe Bioware has created. It has a well designed history, every species is detailed enough so you get a clear view of what they are like and the technology is detailed enough to understand how this universe functions. Bioware does this in a simple database that is easy to understand and not overblown like The Elder Scrolls. This universe is quickly becoming one of my favorite sci-fi settings and I really hope there is more than just games in this series future. The story of the first game is a far more classic Sci-fi good versus evil tale unlike the sequels suicide mission story which sort of felt like a side story. This story involves the entire galaxy and all major players as a grave new threat reveals itself. Sovereign and Saren make for great villains which makes every story more exciting. I grew to love Shepard and his crew, all have interesting personalities and gives the story a Star Trek like feel. Sadly this game doesn't flesh out the background of each teamates like the second game does, no loyalty missions to earn their trust. For the most part this story is more exciting and engaging than the sequels. The ending had me jumping out of my chair, it was like a finale of a Star Wars movie. Major choices which have huge impact on the story litter the game making it feel like you are in control of the future of the galaxy. Of course many of the results of your actions will only be revealed on later games, such an ambitious idea and Bioware is pulling it off. The core gameplay is of a third person shooter but with force powers mixed in. The combat is very rough with a cover system that is basically useless. Its best to just strafe out from behind a wall while shooting. You have teamates but you can't guide them the same way you do in the sequel. There are far fewer shortcuts to your powers forcing you to pause the action to use the power wheel all the time which destroys the flow of the combat. Enemies only have shields making the combat far more simple compared to ME2. Weapons lack the pop and diversity of the weapons in the sequel. In general it feels like a basic shooter. The powers make things far more interesting as they are very powerful and mixed with the shooting makes gameplay interesting enough. I definitely prefer this to most RPGs combat systems. The RPG elements are a major point of debate between gamers, apparently ME1 has far more RPG elements. I don't believe so, it has more complicated, time consuming and messy RPG elements. You level up in a traditional way and you earn skill points which to spend on many categories. There are a bunch of categories and you need to fill up slots which usually do minuscule changes like "make weapon power 1% better". As you fill each category you reach major skill upgrades where you actually get something meaningful like a power upgrade. This system is just more time consuming and in reality doesn't really do anything that ME2 does with more efficiency. Then there is the item system which like so many RPGs is 95% all useless junk. You find weapons and upgrades everywhere, sadly almost all of it is either something you have or something worse than what you have. Again this comes with more messy menus as you have to check every new gun to see if it increases your stats. Plus ammo load outs which focus on certain enemy classes have to be changed in a menu instead of on the fly like in ME2. It is a completely useless system, it does nothing to add to building your character as you are just always going to pick the more powerful gun, I am so glad it is all done away with in the sequel. Fans of menus though must be very upset. Exploring the galaxy is done on map screens but when you find a planet of interest you land on it on a vehicle. These areas are all the same, its a square map with a bunch of mountains that are hard to get around and about 4 or 5 points of interest of course scattered around for maximum time wasting. Usually you find some resources and artifacts, always getting exp in the process. Then you will find a base of some sort where you enter and fight a group of enemies in the same room you will see a million times over. The side missions are all copy paste with new enemy load outs. In some places you will have to engage in vehicle combat against turrets or even a giant monster called a maw. So much more could have gone into this, the idea is sound but if you are going to allows driving around a planet make it interesting. When the vehicles are used on major missions it is usually handled with better care and is far more exciting. You will drive down corridors while gunning down armies of enemies and battle their giant tank like vehicles, fun stuff. If the side missions were only handled with that care, sadly it is almost all filler. Graphically the game is pretty rough as some textures and areas look pretty bad. The models look good at times and the planet drop backs are beautiful as always. There are framerate issues even with many effects turned off. Yes graphics got much better since then but still some areas are rough even for an old game. The music and voice acting is all top notch though. I am in love of the classic 70s/80s sci-fi musical vibe they have created. Mass Effect is still a great title flaws and all. It was Bioware's first attempt at something totally new, an RPG where the combat was almost all skill based, not stat based. Mixing RPG elements with a shooter is a genius idea and when put in such a rich sci-fi backdrop like this makes for an instant classic. Even though the combat is rough the story and RPG like exploration with choices keeps the game very compelling. Mass Effect while fun in its own right makes me appreciate the sequel even more than I already do. |
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Posted by Dvader Tue, 14 Feb 2012 03:46:07
Recently Spotted:
robio (4m)
Either that or I just don't get what I am supposed to be doing. Which is a good chance.
I love everything else about it.