The events of Mass Effect occur sometime in the future following humanity's discovery of ancient alien technology, technology which has enabled faster-then-light travel throughout the galaxy. Players embody the character of Commander Shepard, an elite intergalactic peacekeeper. BioWare has previously referred to Shepard as being 'Jack Bauer in space', and indeed, this representation is fairly accurate – players must do everything in their power to ensure the peace and stability of the greater universe, whether it be above-board or not.
Mass Effect allows players to customise the personal background of their Shepard as well as his or her facial appearance. The facial creation process is extremely detailed, and you could well spend hours creating the perfect character as there are a plethora of options to choose from for every imaginable feature, such as eyes, skin tone and hair style. Players are also given the opportunity to select from one of six character classes, each of which grants specific powers and attributes. For example, players who choose to play as the soldier class are able to invest points into each of the four Mass Effect weapons types. However, if players select to play as the engineer, points will only be able to be put into the pistol weapons talent as well as numerous other technical abilities, such as Decryption and Hacking.
Saren – alien and all-round bad guy.
Once players have created their Shepard, they will be thrust into engrossing science fiction story. A rebel alien soldier named Saren is out creating havoc in the galaxy, and it is you job to stop him. Shepard operates from a spaceship known as the Normandy – a sleek and stealthy vessel that transports your character across the universe. Over the course of the game, players will be joined by numerous human and alien NPCs that also accompany Shepard on ground-based assignments. Combat in Mass Effect occurs in real time, although the game may be paused at any time by pulling the right bumper, which brings up a menu with your squad's abilities. While paused, players can line up powers to be fired off against enemy combatants.
Indeed, Mass Effect's controls are very simple and robust. If you choose to use weapons rather then technical or biotic powers (force-like abilities that, for example, allow enemies to be lifted off the ground) when in combat, the game will control like a conventional third-person shooter, although there is an option for targeting assistance for those less versed in the shooter genre. Squad members can be told to take cover, fall in or move to a particular location by using the D-pad. You can also enter cover be pressing against a flat surface. The cover mechanic is a little more sensitive then in games such us Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and will likely take a few goes to get used too.
Conversations in Mass Effect play out similarly to Knights of the Old Republic, except this time a radial menu is used to select the various responses. Depending on choices that are made in the game, players will be able to accumulate both Paragon points – the righteous option – and Renegade points – the ruthless option – at the same time. Shepard's cumulative Paragon and Renegade meters will affect the game's ending, of which several are promised.
During conversations, responses are selected from a radial menu.
Mass Effect is built on Epic's Unreal Engine, and from what we have seen so far, the graphics are looking quite detailed and polished. Characters models and animation are all top-notch, and lip-syncing is fairly accurate. The vary array of environments in the game all look very real, and the different types of skies are astonishing. From the time that we have spent with the game so far, we have found the frame-rate will sometimes drop, but thankfully not during any of the combat situations. There are also some issues with the AA, but for the most of the time the jagged edges are not really noticeable.
Mass Effect is promising around 20 hours of gameplay alone to complete the main quest, with another 10 to 20 hours to complete sidequests. BioWare is also promising post-release downloadable content on Xbox Live, although at this stage it is unknown what form it will take.
Overall, we were very impressed by Mass Effect. The story appears to incredibly immersing, and with all the different subplots, character classes and endings, this game is shaping up to be a very solid investment. With top-notch graphics and a classic sci-fi soundtrack, BioWare's upcoming title is sure to be one of the jewels in the Xbox 360's crown. Look out for Mass Effect when it is officially released this Thursday, and PALGN's review soon after.
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