Author: Logan Pendragon
Introduction
The name of the game is Mass Effect. It’s part 1 in a string of games that are all going to be deeply connected. This means, choices in ME1, are going to affect things in ME2 and 3. Choices in ME2 are going to affect ME3. This cycle will repeat until they stop making them.
Gameplay 10/10
This game, is currently the funnest game, I have had the pleasure of playing. The gameplay mechanics are top notch. The Combat is so well rounded and balanced that you will feel it’s just the right match. The game itself had wonderful gameplay. The gameplay mechanics were great, the controls were very good, and the general systems were even better. Your stationed on the Normandy. There are a great deal of things to do here. You can talk with your members, get gear out of your locker, and visit the galaxy map. The mechanics for the conversations are good as well. You make choices based off how you want to play the game (Paragon (good), Renegade (evil). You can make decisions while speaking with people that will give you either paragon, or renegade points. This entire layer of gameplay brings out the most of even the simplest of conversations. Another wonderful gameplay element is the Mako. Your going to feel like a real explorer when you start getting out on uncharted planets and driving around and up hills and investigating various areas of space.
Story 10/10
The story is absolutely amazing. Out of the thousands of games I have played, very few games have as good of stories as this one. Not only the story, but the character development. It will suck you in so bad, that you’ll actually feel what the characters are feeling. It’s full of memoriable characters and events that will keep you coming back for more. It has a better story than most other games, and the character development helps to allow you to get immersed into the story. The best thing, is some things you do in this game, will affect the story in the second game. IT really makes you think when you start to make a decision, because this is also going to affect everything in the second game, on a large scale.
Graphics/Sound 10/10
The graphics in this game are unreal. You will notice it at the start in subtle ways. You’ll notice that the characters and character animations are done very nicely. You’ll notice that when they talk it looks very realistic. The only complaint I have about the character models are two things. The first one, is during some of the DLC content, Shepard tries to smile..but they did it wrong. He does kind of like a half way smile that made him look weird. That is the only character animation flaw that I saw that stuck out. Those are only the minor details. When you get further in the game you’ll notice the wonderful ship graphics. However, these aren’t the best parts of the graphics. The main thing are the planet detail. When you land down on a planet you are going to notice this wonderful graphical presentation of different planets. Nothing is quite like landing on a planet, and looking up into the sky and seeing a giant planet looming over you, or a blazing sun or small moon. This is the only game that I find myself tranced by. There have been times I was dropping down on the planet and found myself staring up into space for 10 minutes. There is one planet that shows you right beside a gas planet. You can see the gas move around on the planet and it looks amazing.
The sound in the game is great as well. You won’t really notice it because of how well it blends into the moods, they picked the right sounds and music for the right situations.
Play Time/Replayability 10/10
The replay value on this game is great. The game itself is normally reported to take about 10-20 hours. I am a perfectionist. Playing the game at a standard pace, doing everything there was to do, exploring all conversation options, and draining the game for everything it had to offer…i found myself at around 39 hours my first game, and 49 hours my second game. So I am going to rate this game around an average of 20-50 hours depending on what you do. I got an entirely 100% perfect game and it lasted me awhile. Another thing is that this game ties into the second game. That alone adds more replayability. Because if you play ME 1 and make a lot of choices, they all affect ME2. Then if you want to try different choices you have to replay ME1 to get those different choices so they carry over into ME2. All-in-all you can get hundreds of hours out of the first one alone, just making different saves. I know you can get 1 good time through the game on Paragon (estimated 30 hours). Then you could get one more on Renegade (another 30). Also you have male/female choices. So you can also end up playing one for male and one for female. Not to mention there are two romance options in the game. This allows you to have 2 more playthroughs, one with each romance options. As well as various CRITICAL decision areas that can also affect ME2. All in all someone could easily drag 3-4 playthroughs out of this game or more over a period of time.
Final Recommendation
The game is worth playing. I can recommend this game. If I was to compare it beside Dragon Age and ME2 it doesn’t quite match up. However, as a stand alone experience, it’s one of the greatest ones I have had. I have only beat it 2 times so far, and I am still not bored with it. It’s a great game and I really like it. There are some issues here and there with technical glitches but they are almost unnoticeable. Sometimes Shepard gets stuck behind something because his party members get in the way, or he hangs. Another combat glitch which can really get in the way, is when the characters get stuck. There are quite a few times when a member gets stuck on something and my orders are ignored. I have to fight the entire battle with just me or me and another member because they got stuck. This is very annoying. Especially when I have to bump into them or shoot them to get them unstuck. Out of a 30-40 hour playthrough, it happened to me 3 times total the second time I played. Also they are kind of dumb. If you close a door your team members can’t follow you or open it, so you have to go back and get them, or wait for them to respawn beside you after awhile. Those are the only complaints I have, the game is more than worth the price tag.
Not to mention, the fact that these choices carry to the second game. Someone would be missing out on a LOT if they tried to play the second one without exploring the first one thouroughly. This game isn’t for everyone, but there aren’t many people who would not like it. The combat is also pretty straightforward so there is not a long learning curve.