Mass Effect Review
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But what is worth noting is how it's told. First off, you create your own character (last name Shepard) with a remarkably versatile creation tool. We've seen that but to see that model seamlessly integrated into all the cut scenes is a remarkable achievement that goes much further than I expected to personalize the experience and involve the gamer in the story. But that's just the beginning, every character interaction is voice-acted, and voice acted well. The difference this makes far exceeded my assumptions, there's a smoothness and immediacy that held my attention. It's also notable that much of the dialogue is not exposition and is more centered on conveying character and drama. When you do learn about situations, it's nicely blended with the speaker's biases and dispositions.
BioWare didn't feel that stopping at these achievements was sufficient. Perhaps the most stunning development is the digital acting. Eye movement, facial contortions, and overall body language add a layer of depth and meaning to the story that grants it a level of maturity absent from most games. The care and attention I applied to my character's decisions were due to the fact that visual representation of those choices was so strong.
The rubric of decision making is another impressive achievement in Mass Effect. The radial list of character responses is no longer the raw copy of what you character is about to say. Instead, it demonstrates tonal choices, which are then further mitigated by other aspects of your characters disposition to result in responses that will be just as fresh and surprising as it is to the other digital actors. Additionally, the decision to allow players to view the conversation choices before a characters lines have been completed keep the flow of the cut scenes far more electric that anything I've seen before.
