Mass Effect Review by Video Game Talk

VGT's Mike Flacy reviews and scores Mass Effect. His conclusion:

"Mass Effect certainly has flaws, but it's easily the most enthralling space adventure that's ever been created for a video game platform. It honestly makes the Halo narrative look like amateur hour. Much of the credit goes to a writing staff that incredibly created this world with nothing more than pure imagination. While Mass Effect isn't a revolutionary step for Bioware, it's certainly evolutionary. Combining the elements that made KOTOR so entertaining with a combat system that's much more accessible to the teeming masses of shooter fans will make for a highly successful combination on the Xbox 360. I can't imagine anyone being without a copy of Mass Effect this holiday season."

Ratings (out of 5 stars)
• Plot: 5 stars
• Gameplay: 4.5 stars
• Graphics: 4 stars
• Audio: 5 stars
• Replay: 4.5 stars

• Overall: 4.5 stars (out of 5 stars)

[cloud360-7th_account]

8.5 on gamestats it will be at end

9.5 mtacritic (owned by gamespot)

[iceice123]

Another game on the 360 that tops all your games. Man, regretting that purchase yet, well I guess there's no need to ask, of course you are.

[TheMART]

Ah you silly sad PS3 fangirl... Let's view the console exclusive games of the PS3 and the 360 that released the last few months (on Gamerankins)

PS3:

Uncharted - 87% (and dropping)

http://www.gamerankings.com...

Ratchet & Clank - 89% (and dropping)

http://www.gamerankings.com...

Heavenly Sword - 81%

http://www.gamerankings.com...

Lair - 56%

http://www.gamerankings.com...

360:

Bioshock - 95%

http://www.gamerankings.com...

Halo 3 - 93%

http://www.gamerankings.com...

Mass Effect - 92% (and that one will only go up because of one review that was total off out of only 5 given yet)

http://www.gamerankings.com...

And don't forget those other 360 exclusives on or over 90% that the PS3 has NONE of (only 2 multiplatforms like Oblivion and COD4)

Gears of War - 94%
GRAW - 91%
Forza 2 - 90%
PGR3 - 90%
COD 2 - 90%

Ah well a Sony fangirl can only dream about having EIGHT console exclusive games on or over 90% average when they have none, nada of it themselves.

[Hadtosay]

Mart you do understand that you are clueless, right?

[Pika-pie]

Mart = Blind fanboy

Do yourself a favour and walk your ass into oncoming traffic.

[Wii60_FTW]

Wow. The Mart just owned the ever loving sh1t out of you n00bs. Just walk away. Just walk away.

[power of Green]

Expect the PS3 fanboys to turn their attention on 360 games to comfort themselfs about their own games short commings.

[neogeo]

I could care less about a review.
Mass effect= boring star track geek game
bioshock= good lighting but crap graphics
Halo= liner crap 640p BS
Gears=old and dark with nothing on screen
360= broken down crap that will go down in history as one of Microsofts last mistakes before they went out of biz.

[toughNAME]

....................count it!

[HarryEtTubMan]

This game looks boring.

STFU u tool.... I HAVE A 360 AND I THINK MASS EFFECT LOOKS LIKE A BORING PIECE OF SH!T. I don't troll either my friend, Mass effect really REALLY looks boring to me. If it doesn't to you that's awesome man... love it up! LOL You guys are MORONS... I'M NOT A FANBOY I DON'T EVEN HAVE MY PS3 YET... I'M JUST NOT A IDIOT. I beat Bioschok OVERRATEDAS HELL!!!! Gamertag: get shank d.... I don't give a DAMN what u think .... I hope u like it. I won't be giving it a try. UNCANNY VALLEY. UNCANNEY VALLEY. BORING AS HELL GAMEPLAY. Yea I'm getting a PS3 but I've only played my roomates and I do really like it... thats not really the reason I'm not getting Mass Effect I could. I don't want it. I will be trying out Uncharted though. XD

i'm not a fanboys fvcking idiots I JUST DON'T THINK MASS EFFECT LOOKS GOOD!!! God stop being so definsive not everyone wants to play shatty Sci Fi games!! I'm not 16 anymore! I don't like Halo either... and I used to be an AVID Halo fan. I get the feeling Halo has lost alot of fans beacuse of Halo 3 though. My firends think its really gay. I liked gears and Bioshock was cool for 3 days. 360 isn't that great fanboys. You can keep saying it is but I HAVE ONE FVCKING LOSERS. aND IT HAS GOT THE RED RINGS TWICE. i'M A MORON FOR LISTENING TO U LOSERS AND BUYING IT OVER A PS3.... IT CAN'T DO ANYTHING THE PS3 CAN... And next year this will become MUCH more obvious... and the next year and the next year. You will lose. I'm sorry Xbox just isnt a Playstation and never will be. Nintendo is better too.

[JokesOnYou]

is that the best you can do, why not the usual long winded hate filled rant? oh, I guess you're getting tired of making a fool of yourself, ME is awesome, nothing you can say will change that=

JOY

[bootsielon]

You also make plenty of hate filled rants against PS3. So you're just like Harry, except Harry at least admits he is a fanboy.

[BLACKJACK VII]

Awesome - another excellent review. The only real negative is some framerate problems experienced in large scale battles, the only real negative mentioned about gameplay. Funny, no other reviewer has mentioned this. Everything else was very positive - the story, the graphics... can't wait for Tuesday !!!

MASS EFFECT FTW !!!

KEEP ON HATIN' TROLLS, WHILE THE REAL GAMERS KEEP ON PLAYIN' !!!

[bootsielon]

Says the guy that had lame ps3 usernames. Supposedly.

[BIoodmask]

that Mass Effect is getting high marks. The gaming community needs more orignal IP's like this and less movie licensed garbage and clones of subpar games that sold well.

Bioware has a good track record for puting out some truly great RPG's. This game will tide me over until their next great RPG arrives. I will be patiently waiting until KOTOR 3, Jade Empire 2, or Mass Effect 2 is finally anounced.

To all gamers that like truly great RPGs, Do Bioware a favor and go pick up a copy so they can make back all the money they put into developing this title and see a big profit margin.

And for the people posting hate. I don't see the logic, do you not enjoy Western style RPGs??

[solar]

why are some of you guys so defensive?

i might buy an xbox for this game. looks pretty cool :D

[power of Green]

I don't know who you're talking to when you are saying people are defensive all I see is people either happy with the game or people replying to the attacks on the game.

[OOG FunK]

yea looks like and sounds like it will be an experience indeeed cant wait to be able to put time into it

[HeavyweightInTheGame]

Already pre-ordered it long time ago. One of my friends on my friends list already has it. Says it is the best game he's played all year. Followed by COD4.

[Gamingisfornerds]

Only thing that bothers me is that it's supposedly not all that lengthy without the sidequests. And the sidequests are lame and repetitive, atleast, according to the 1UP lads and ladies.

Can anyone that has played the game either confirm or deny this?

The game looks great and seems like the RPG I've been longing for a long time, I just wish it was a bit more polished than it is now judging from the recent videos. The combat looks solid enough and the enviroments are really gorgeous. I just can't wait to explore every inch of this game!

[gdguide]

Hmmm..... 1-2 second framerate pauses and textures don't load quickly enough when you just rotate the camera too quickly? Looks gorgeous in screens, but it sounds like it's bit off more than it can chew. Yeah. They said 1-2 second freezes. I hope it doesn't pull too many interactive slideshow moments during battle. Maybe they should have pulled a Halo 3 and render it all in 640p and upscale. :/

Still kicks a$$ though, and puts most games to shame. I just wish devs wouldn't release games with slowdowns that will piss you off during battles and that sort of thing.

[Maestro]

Galaxy got a 5/5 from that site, so like I knew, Mass Effect doesn't have a chance anymore of be goty.

[power of Green]

COD4 and Assasin's Creed loads textures slow too and scriped AI in COD4 sometimes forgets what it is suppose to do. Lets focus on whats great about the games not things the bulk of gamers will expect in games or should I say except in games without having a cow.

#12 Galaxy has recieved worse low score than Mass Effect when talking about less than perfect scorees. Lets hope Mass Effect's good point far weigh the bad points.

[kewlkat007]

"Distress call" commercial. Being a VG music junkie I like the track of that commercial,[give me gooseumps] but what I don't get is

1. As a gamer do you purposely "Deny" the request for HELP?
2. So can you be a total d^ckhead in the game?

***************************** ******************
"-NORMANDY! Do you copy? We're under attack
Incoming transmission from Novaria(?)
-Normandy? ARE YOU THERE? Repeat: requesting immediate aid!! Please! Arghh!! Pl...
Request Denied....setting new course for Calistan."

Many decisions lie ahead, none of them easy."
***************************** ********************

Since you have to make many decisions, will I be towards the end and REGRET something I did early in the game?...[if, so, man that's so next-gen]

In one of the Video you hear one of the DEVS saying:
"It's a rush because you are guiding the narrative, and if at the ending you thought the narrative sucked, well it's was because You SUCKED" -devs

All I know is, I'll be setting my course for Calistan, Tuesday Night.
Major Shepard is coming don't ya worry. Can't wait to create my character. This looks like this game, COD4, Halo3, and Bioshock will hold the 360 well into the new year.

[fjtorres]

As the review points out, you can be a goody-goody or a total jerk.
You can refuse to help people in distress or even sow discord among your crew for the hell of it. You can try to sweet-talk NPCs or intimidate them.
You can be a multicultural Paragon or a xenophobic alien-hating racist Renegade.
And (if your character is male) you get to make out with a female human or an alien that looks female. If your character is female you can try to establish a romance with a male or a female crewmember. No word if male-male romance is an option or if you get decked by the guys if you try it. ;-)
All of this is along the lines of previous bioware XBOX games (KOTOR, Jade Empire) so it is *expected* in a bioware rpg. You're the protagonist; you choose how to act and live with the consequences.
Word is, Mass Effect 2 will have the option to read a Mass Effect 1 saved end-game to set the starting conditions for the sequel.
The difference in the western rpgs like Oblivion and Mass Effect is *you* control large amounts of the story action rather than being a passive observer of pre-rendered CGI.
80 hours and counting down...

[TheMART]

Greatest comment:

"I can�t imagine anyone being without a copy of Mass Effect this holiday season."

Which means you need a 360 with that. Another Killer App/System Seller for the 360! This Christmas will give insane 360 sales

[ichimaru]

this isa ME thread, not a flame site.

[Die_Sloe]

Chalk up another big W for the XBox team........

[crank]

Looks like a pretty great game, but honestly, it's the fanboys that make everything diluted and abominable when it comes to these reviews.

Seriously, Mart, you are the meaning of the word FANBOY.

Your comparisons mean absolutely jack. (and dropping) LOL

Have you ever considered being cool for a second, and not being a fanboy first.

Congrats to Bioware for making a story not half***ed and derivative. (halo3)

And by the way, I would play not only Uncharted and Ratchet before Halo 3, why don't you throw in Sigma and Folklore while you are at it.

To be honest, Gears and Halo are overrated Tripe. Gears was definitely good, but man that story was just plain terrible.

And no ranking will ever change that, we all know and can prove it to ourselves by playing the game.

It was written by the likes of one very untalented writer.

Halo 3 didn't do one ******* thing for anyone but crack open a can of sequalitus.

A sequel less imaginative by a light year than Ratchet or Galaxy.

So again, Congrats to Bioware on the great game.

Fanboys suck.

[JokesOnYou]

"To be honest, Gears and Halo are overrated Tripe."

Why, because they outsold everything on the ps3 by millions?

yeah because if sonykids say its overrated it must be true, ha ha I bet sony is praying for just one (1) overrated game, huh? you and #4.2 boots should try harder next time, both of you calling out fanboys as if you're any different=

JOY

[mesh1]

u sir are brainlesss move along hahaha follore and rachet over halo 3 hahaha jug on kid ur just a newbie that got into gaming becuase of nextgen.

[akaFullMetal]

good for ME, but is it going to sell though??? Havent seen any advertisement for this at all, besides gamestop, wonder how well it will do, lets hope it does great

[mesh1]

the good thing about exbox live is theirs a special mass effect thread there haha so 100% of all 360 owners kno about mass effect that the perks of having an xbox,

[ceedubya9]

There has actually been a commercial that's been running since last week. I've seen it a couple of times. I think it can also be downloaded on Live. But regardless, I don't think it will matter too much. The thing that ME has going for it is the KOTOR/Bioware fanbase. These people (me included) will buy this game, regardless of any hype and media attention.

[green_ghost5]

Oh, believe me it will sell, far more people know about this game then you may think.

[360Crusader]

Xbox magazine said in their words. The greatest story ever told in a video game. Thats a bold claim. Game does look awesome GOTY.

By the way their doing a 30 min launch special on the Sci Fi channel
11-20-07 at 11.00 pm I think. XBL has it posted.

[crank]

Yes, I am hardened fanboy that owns a Wii! nothing else at the moment.

A massive collection of ps1/ps2 triple AAA games and play nothing but a Wii and computer emulation, currently playing chrono trigger and FF6 retranslated and better emulated on a MAC.

Yes, I just scream FANBOY!

I could not care less about the rants of of some of the folk here, I just like to have some fun every now and then.

Plan to get a pS3 in a year or so.

I am no fanboy, not even close.

And nice try to place me in your ranks but, alas, it can't be done.

I argue for the artists, that is all.

At the end of the day all you have is sales,

as if sales have ever been what the greatest games in history are all about.

What the great arts are about.... SALES! AS IF you are the devil itself.

SALES!

YAY! something is better because it sells better?

Your logic fails.... and gears has a story written by an amateur at best. It would easily have been one of the greatest 35 games or so with a story written well and thought out past the, HEY DUDE, let's kill some **** scenario it stalls itself in.

Anyway, Mass Effect is a much better game on the whole.

And besides the PC version of Gears is better anyway.

JOY

[ps1h1ch]

It is better on some PC's but deffinitely not on my current and most of PC's currently in use. (Not all of them have a 300$ graphic card)

[JokesOnYou]

If you want to talk logic then its clear yours is lacking, YES sales are a important measure of whether or not a product is good or not, YES there are *rare occasions where a inferior product has great sales for many different reason which I won't go into, the point is 99% of the time any product that tops the charts is almost always in that position due to its appeal/value/quality to the mass public, even when you do have the rare occasion of a bad product selling well *initially it will always reflect by having no longevity, and if something sucks the 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc in the series never continues to get stronger and more popular. Sonykids defense is idiotic at best they complained that the reviews for Gears and Halo3 dont count, its biased, both games had phenominal sales and Gears still has good sales for a year old game, while Halo3 sales are still great= but NONE of these *typical and *important TOOLS for MEASURING SUCCESS count because according to sony or wii-wii-kids like yourself it doesnt matter, lmfao ask sony if it mattered for the ps2, ask ninty if its matters for the wii hardwares sales right now, nah I say the wii sucks so hey everybody who brought you're stupid because I dont like it(sarcasm)= NO, the reality is ps2 is considered a great console for its time becasue the masses chose to buy it more than its competition, same reason why the wii is selling out in most places right now because the public is choosing it for the new controls, I think the wii is a gimmick but it doesn't matter what "I" or "YOU" think in terms of how the wii's greatness will be measured, reality is every *product created to sale to the public will be judge ultimately by its SALES= NOT 1 GUYS OPINION=

next time don't bring your stupid opinionated bs to an arguement about logic=

JOY

[crank]

Hey, Mesh, time to hit the dictionary DUMB***.

[mesh1]

i hit a nerve aye ? hahhahah kids

[PS360PCROCKS]

:) yay yay

[Elginer]

But what about MGS4 and FFXIII?

[Lex Luthor]

FF12 sucked, so i ain't getting my hopes up for 13.

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

Guess the PS3 fans will just to keep on waiting, till uhh, ummm, uhh well they will just have to keep waiting.

[jazzmanb]

GOTY IS MASS EFFECT OR BIOSHOCK...

[Elginer]

that Final Fantasy XIII will be better than this. With all the space on a BRD they won't have to compress so much and be free to do as much as they want. Not to say that Mass Effect won't be a great game because it really looks like it will but you can tell it's already taxing the system.

[x440Magnumx]

The 360 is still early in it's cycle, so there's a learning curve for the devs to figure out how to efficiently extract maximum power from it. So far so good.

Aside from it's nearest and dearest fans (which I will give there are quite a few), Final Fantasy is a washed out franchise.

MGS4 is a no brainer, it will be a great game, and undoubtedly a system seller for the PS3. But it's another shooter, so comparisons dont track well over to Mass Effect, which is at it's core an RPG.

It also doesn't have the boost thanks to being a holiday title along with being very well advertised and critically acclaimed that Mass Effect has.

Mass Effect will be a no brainer for any 360 owner that remotely likes RPGs, and I'm certain more than a few people who have been holding out on the 360 saying it's a "shooter only" platform will give in this holiday season.