IF YOU are a science fiction fan, you will be totally blown away by Mass Effect.
It feels more like watching an epic sci-fi movie instead of playing a space role playing game.
When the game begins, you have totally no idea what to expect. You are a space marine on board the Normandy space ship, and you find your colleagues sounding worried about the current recon mission.
There is a Turian - one of many alien races - on board and he is a Spectre - elite soldiers who are above the law and who reputedly can take on an entire squad of 40 soldiers single handedly.
Turns out the Normandy is on a top-secret critical mission to get a beacon left behind by the Protheans - an ancient alien race which disappered 50,000 years ago - which the human colony at Eden Prime has just dug out.
And you must lead the ground forces to retrieve it.
Decades ago, humans found a small Prothean cache which gave the humans the technology for interstellar space flight. This beacon could leapfrog the human race further forward.
The Citadel Council (the equivalent of the United Nations Security Council) is also eyeing you for the first human Spectre, and Nihlus, the Turian Spectre on board, is there to assist and to assess if you are good enough.
The human race is the youngest race to join the international space community, which is filled with international strife and inter-racial envy.
Suddenly, a video transmission from Eden Prime shows the colonists being attacked by the evil robots called Geths.
You rush down with your squad and Nihlus to investigate. And the next thing you know, you save a beautiful human soldier and Nihlus is shot in the back by the top Turian Spectre called Saren.
And that's just the prologue to the game. It took me about 90 minutes to get to this point. To truly enjoy the rich universe of this game and understand the background behind the different races and political situations, you have to spend a lot of time talking to other characters and even checking out information stored on computers.
In terms of gameplay, this title is very similar to game developer Bioware's earlier hit, Star Wars: Knight Of The Old Republic.
Instead of turn-based combat, you engage in real-time action. However, your squad mates aren't particularly intelligent, so you truly need to depend on yourself to survive the battles.
Which is why I chose the soldier class which specialises in combat. There are also two other main classes - the tech and biotic specialists. The techs are great with hacking locked containers and disabling machines while the biotics can do serious damage to multiple foes but these skills have a recharge timer. You can also choose hybrid classes which comprise two of the three main classes.
As the plot thickens, you find yourself the new captain of the Normandy and having to traverse star systems in the Milky Way in search of clues that will help you save the entire galaxy from total annihilation from an ancient race.
If you are here for senseless violence and non-stop action, Mass Effect is not the game for you.
If you are here just for the Asari-human lesbian sex scene which caused the game to be initially banned, don't bother, you will have to spend days to get to the lame scene.
But if Babylon 5, Stargate and Battlestar Galactica are your cups of tea, I guarantee you won't be disappointed with Mass Effect.
This game truly deserves an Oscar for the best 'movie' of the year. Thank the stars that the censors did a U-turn and unbanned this game. Otherwise, it would have been an epic misadventure of galatic proportions.
RATING: 9/10
Mass Effect
» $69.90 » RPG (genre) » Xbox 360 (platform)
THE computer's artificial intelligence sucks, so you need to depend on your shooting skills to survive. That's why choosing a soldier is a good choice because he can use all weapons and is best in combat.
In addition, you automatically make use of the support skills of your squad members like first aid to heal, and electronics to open locked containers, so it is less crucial to have them for your main character.
Charm and Intimade are important talents to take up for your main character as they will open up new dialogue options for you. Both skills also reduce the cost of your trading of items.
Don't rush through the game. You need to explore every nook and cranny and speak to everyone to truly enjoy it. Sometimes, you need to complete certain missions or find some items before a character in the game will talk to you.
The sniper rifle is great for taking out enemies from far, especially those semi-hidden by cover. Shotgun mastery lets you deal massive area-of-effect damage at close range.
