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a few points

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: January 25, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I m about couple days into the Mass Effect. Just a few points I like to point out base my previous RPG games exp. Overall it's a great game, Sci-fi is definitely my kind of stuff.

I hope Bioware can see this post when they develop their next one.

1. Inventory management needs improvement, player cannot sort inventories like armor, weapon, or upgrade by any criteria like name, cost, effectiveness. With 150 items one can hold, this gets frustrated. I rely on go to a merchant (or requistion officer to see how many items I have) because there is no inventory management)

2. It's not neccessary to show the entire list of armors when I'm try to arm Garrus (the Turian Agent). I really don't need to see all Human armors I have, cuz Garrus cannot wear them anyway.

3. Upgrade can be pain too, currently I have to press X button twice to do a simple upgrade. One for Weapon upgrade and one for ammo upgrde. Because there are two slots.

I would like to thank Bioware to create such a fantastic game and I'm looking forward to the next one.

A masterpiece of the art form

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: January 25, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game is a crown jewel of the industry. Easily the best game I've played this year.

A lot of bang for your buck.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 01, 2008
Author: Amazon User

The game has some frame rate and texture pop-in issues, but this is more of an engine problem. Even with these problems, the game provides a hundred hours of enjoyment.

You'll certainly get your money's worth.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 03, 2008
Author: Amazon User

There certainly is a lot to keep busy with in Mass Effect. My first play-through was right around 40 hours. Exploring all of the various planets is pretty fun, thought it has the slight potential to become repetitive after a while.

The narrative was very well-written. Towards the end there I found the story to be very engrossing.

There are a few annoying issues with the UI and the inventory system. I think the developers gave each item two or three levels of skin detail. At first, they load all of the lowest quality skins, then the higher quality ones. This is a good technique to have a lot of detailed skins on-screen at one time, but the drawback is that quite often you can watch the skins draw onto the characters and environments. It isn't a problem at all, but it can be distracting at times. The inventory system was the source of greatest frustration for me. Toward the end, I spent about 10 minutes after each mission selling unneeded items to the store guy. It doesn't allow you to sell multiples of an item; if you have four of an unwanted item, you have to sell each individually. It isn't a deal-breaker, but it can be annoying if you have a lot to sell.

Overall, a terrific game. If you liked Knights of the Old Republic, then you will probably like Mass Effect.

One of the most incredible, immersive videogames ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 05, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Mass Effect is an incredible leap forward in videogame interactivity and storytelling. The combination of storytelling, impressive visuals, film techniques, and intuitive interaction lifts Mass Effect to a whole new level.

Which is actually a funny thing to say considering that each element on its own is really not so great an advance, more of a slight evolutionary step that still has its own flaws. The story feels so much like Knights of the Old Republic that I wondered at times if I was really playing a new game. I could name the SF movie from the past 30 years (mostly Star Wars) that inspired nearly every line of dialog. The gameplay mechanics are almost identical to both KOTOR and Jade Empire, with plenty of meaningless side quests to take up my time and give me minimal additional XP. The visuals, while beautiful and obviously painstakingly created, are jittery and susceptible to pop-in from the very beginning of the game.

However, the evolutionary step forward in each individual element leads to a truly remarkable creation. Sure, the dialog's derivative of far more popular SF, but I really cared about the people who were speaking it in this game. Sure the game plays out very much like KOTOR and Jade Empire, but those were outstanding games too. By the time I finished this game, I was thrilled with the heroic stand I was able to take, and I was truly saddened by the characters who died along the way toward this conclusion. Extremely few games have made me care this much.

The bonus content on the limited edition set is good. You get a couple small books (which I actually haven't even read yet), a making-of DVD with some fun interviews, and a ton of gamer pics and dashboard themes. It's worth it if you're a fan of this genre / company / game, but probably not for the casual player who isn't too invested.

Overall, this game is a truly remarkable experience, and they can't put out Mass Effect 2 soon enough.

One of the best games I've ever played

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 22, 2008
Author: Amazon User

When I first heard of this game, I had mixed feelings about it. KOTOR was a great game, but wasn't exactly one in my favorites list. Same with Jade Empire, so I had kind of medium expectations of the game. When it was released I decided to give it a chance, and bought the Limited Edition of the game.

At the very start, I was a little bored but as soon as I started playing on Eden Prime I was hooked. From that point through the rest of the game I was addicted to this game. I reached level 60 on my second play through and I can't wait for "Bring Down The Sky" to be released. The story itself is an amazing achievement.

I really enjoyed how the story plays out by your choice of multiple paths while in conversation, as well as being rewarded with EXP for choosing your paths. Another thing I enjoyed about the game is the gameplay itself.

Unlike KOTOR, its Action based, not turn based which really got my attention and helped made this game so fun, as well as the multiple side quests that can be done.

The only things about this game I did not like was not being able to skip cut scenes my second time through and the many glitches I encountered but other than those two I give this game a perfect 10.

Another Bioware Classic.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 10, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Mass Effect is the latest in a long line of classic Role Playing Games from Bioware. Their previous games include Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights and Knights of the Old Republic. Mass Effect is the first game in a planned trilogy of games, and Bioware has stated the intention of having your character carry over from one game to the next.

Pros:
- Great atmosphere: The music and visuals evoke memories of classic sci-fi films like Aliens and Blade Runner.
- Intriguing Story: The storyline and inter-character relationships were engaging, and the game presents some interesting moral decisions.
- Replayability: The variety of classes and choices offered can provide new experiences over multiple replays.
- Achievements: The unlockable Xbox Live achievements do more than just increase your gamerscore; they also unlock abilities in the game.

Cons:
- If you do not have a High Definition TV, the text can appear blurry and hard to read. I started playing Mass Effect on a 36' standard definition Sony Wega TV, and the text was small and blurry enough to cause eye strain (and I have 20/20 vision). While most of the game is voice acted, there are still large amounts of text to read. I was able to finish my first play-through in spite of the blurry text, but I credit Mass Effect with being my main motivation for upgrading to a HDTV. After upgrading to a HDTV, the game is even more beautiful, and the text is crystal clear.

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