Mass Effect Reviews
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Despite the quality of the cut scenes and conversations, everyone knows most problems are solved with firepower. At any given time, you'll be accompanied by two of your six crew members, who range from human soldiers to Wrex, a hulking, reptilian alien with the teeth and temperament of a crocodile with a toothache. And regardless of appearance, they can all use guns.The Laser gives it an A.
Thus, despite heavy RPG roots, Mass Effect's combat feels more like a squad-based, third-person shooter than anything else. You can use cover, you have customizable firearms, grenades and a melee attack, and the D-pad gives your wingmen instructions to go there, come here, shoot that, or take cover.
While the solid detailed storyline, innovative communications system and sterling gameplay mechanics are excellent, one of the major appeals of Mass Effect lies in its graphics and visual presentation. Each character, especially the main ones, features extensive facial animation which makes them look and feel almost photo-realistic. You can see the lines in their faces, look at their reactions and movements and if you squint a little, you'd think that actual living actors are playing the roles. Of course, these impressive character models wouldn't look nearly as good if you put them into bland environments. Mass Effect's look and feel is remarkably consistent, and while you can see the influence of films like Star Wars and Blade Runner in its massively scaled, yet cleanly scientific architecture, the game's overall aesthetic isn't strictly retro, as there are modern touches such as holographic touch screens and brutal sniper rifles to keep things up to date. The game's soundtrack is likewise impressive, with a rich, synthesized electronic feel that adds to its futuristic and evocative approach. Extensive attention to detail is evident throughout, from small touches like the sliding doors to the incredible scale of the planetary bases and the main ship itself, Mass Effects brings its science fiction universe to life vividly in ways that effectively showcase the game's brilliant graphics engine. You're bound to be impressed by the game's design which is as coherent and believable as any seen on any console to date, making it one of the more impressive achievements we've seen in any title to date.And the punctuationless Video Games NZ gives it a 94%.
Space travel for me was the highlight of the game. You travel on the state of the art uber modern Normandy space cruiser and as you blast off you can travel galaxy to galaxy, cluster to cluster, system to system or planet to planet. You can effectively only land on the planets that are important to the game either as part of the main story or as a side mission but each planet you can highlight has a back story to it.
When you land on planets more often than not you are in the Mako a moon buggy type vehicle with an awesome cannon and pretty good machine gun available. The Mako missions are always fun and they play a very major part in some of the plot changes and the big surprise towards the end.
