Mass Effect Review

Twelve days ago I wrote a post saying I had just finished Mass Effect and was very close to maxing out my character from my first playthrough...I guess I was wrong. It took me up until a few hours ago to finally achieve everything I could with one character, largely because of a few misunderstandings concerning how to unlock certain achievements in the game and because of a ridiculously steep curve for gaining experience points in your last ten levels. I almost played through the game three whole times to get everything in, and that's not to speak of the many, many hours I'll most likely be playing the game with at least two other characters. That said, I think I'm going to impose a ban on Mass Effect for the next few weeks so that I can get back to a more normal life and also to put some distance between the game and me for a bit.

So, onto the review... Despite seeing the same story play out three times already (I made the same dialogue choices on repeat playthroughs so as to make the future playthroughs more interesting), Mass Effect is still the best game I have ever played. Granted, not everyone loves action-RPGs or sci-fi stuff, but if you do, it's hard to imagine not loving this incredibly immersive gaming experience. In fact, I'm not really sure this game is as much a game as it is a choose-your-own-adventure book (so to speak)...I really felt like I was a part of the story and that the choices I was making had serious consequences. This enveloping gaming experience is what led me to post the game trailer above, as this is almost more like a movie or a book than a game.

I could talk forever about this game, but let's just suffice it to say that it's incredible and anything negative I could say about it is HIGHLY forgivable considering how great the story, voice acting, (inter)action, and sandbox experience is. I'm certain this game will be the sort that I'll be playing for a long time, especially after the sequel comes out in 2009. There are other games out for the 360 that are supposedly comparable to Mass Effect in terms of quality and gameplay (games like Fallout 3, Grand Theft Auto IV, and Fable II), but right now I'm having a hard time imagining myself falling in love with one of those games as whole-heartedly as Mass Effect. We'll see though...