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Latest News Review - Mass Effect (PC) | Review - Mass Effect (PC) |
| Written by Marco Fiori | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tuesday, 24 June 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Bioware stand above most. They've got thirteen years of creating games, franchises and graphic engines. You only have to mutter names like Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, MDK2 and Shattered Steel to start RPG fans salivating. They're renowned, revered and respected. Mass Effect was their 2007 foray into the Sci-Fiction and it was released to critical acclaim on Xbox 360. PC owners had to wait patiently until May 2008 to finally dip their toes into Mass Effect's waters. The Xbox 360 reviews were seeping of praise, so there's no doubt that Mass Effect on the PC would be a success, especially when you factor in seven extra months of development and the versatility of the PC itself. We're going to be blunt. If you've played the 360 version, sell it now and buy the PC version. It's equivalent to the prodigal child and we're welcoming it with open arms. Mass Effect has the usual Sci-Fi story. The game is set far in the future within the confines of our galaxy, the Milky Way. The exact year is 2183 and thanks to a technical discovery from an extinct race called the Protheans, Mankind has learned how to travel to the edges of space. Obviously, we're not alone in the universe and a multi-species harmony is kept by a Council made up of a coalition between the Asari, the Salarians and the Turians. Humanity has little power and commands little respect. Cue the protagonist's entry; Captain Shepard. In true RPG fashion you can customize your character to the full. The surname's the only thing that's static. Facial features, body shape, sex and class are all tweakable with easy to use sliders. Your choice of class defines the preference of your skill set. There's your usual spread of occupations ranging from the no-nonsense Soldier, to the Biotics-centred, Adept (Mass Effect's magic system) to the tech focused Engineer. There's also the Infiltrator, Sentinel and Vanguard ripe for the taking. You can still level general weapon skills no matter what your class, but your choice will lean you in a set direction.  Once that's done, you're greeted by a generic plot. A mission goes wrong, a Turian Spectre is murdered (Mass Effect's equivalent of the MI6) and Shepard (after much pleading) is sent to investigate. The game then opens up, letting you leave behind the safety of the Citadel (a gigantic megalopolis space station). You're in control of the Normandy, a prototype space craft that can travel wherever you wish. The game presents the main story objectives, as well as optional side missions in a simple journal. With those at the forefront of your mind, you can travel to any systems and the planets that occupy them. Interstellar navigation is via a zoomable map, which has you pointing and clicking your choice of destination. Sadly there's no direct control over the Normandy, but that would require a whole new gameplay system. Once in a system, you can survey planets (for pointless collectible quests) or land on those that allow it. Getting around a planet's surface is in the safety of an APC. It's got cannons and machine guns for any enemies you come across and thrusters for getting over tricky hills. On the map there's usually a quest objective and a few other points worth visiting, (again, for those collectible quests). Sadly that's it. The planet exploration is where Mass Effect stumbles. There's nothing to do, and they're usually indistinguishable from one another. It's usually a respray of the terrain texture and a reskin on the skybox. Planet-enjoyment is also hampered by the clumsy handling of your vehicle. It jumps about, is sluggish to the touch and handles like an elephant in a small box. Bioware have tried to convey a sense of scale, but its fallen at the old hurdle of “Make a large space, but put nothing in it.” It is monotonous and a blemish on Mass Effect's otherwise clear complexion. You're free to get out of the APC at any time and you'll have to when entering the indoor sections. Following a quick loading screen, the game turns into an action-orientated, run and gun shooter. You can zoom in with any gun for a first person approach otherwise just treat the game as an over the shoulder firearm fest. Gun wise, there are pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, sniper rifles and grenade launches. You'll also pack a variety of armour, upgrades, health packs and grenades for the journey. The game hides the maths of combat and leaves the aiming in your hands.  Running on the Unreal 3 engine, this is Bioware's best looking game to date. It shunts Neverwinter Nights 2 to the curb without even a whimper. The game applies a (toggleable) film grain overlay that increases the cinematic feel, and subtly hides any texture / anti-aliasing problems. It's sneaky, yet in line with the approach of the game. Even so, Mass Effect need not worry about graphical problems as the framerate is smooth and textures deliciously sharp. We've only had one crash, but there are some wider problems that people seem to be suffering from. We're sure patches will solve any widespread issues. Character models are shockingly realistic, on par with Crysis, helped by the superb lip-syncing.
Characters are brought to life, not just by their looks, but also by their voice acting. Mass Effect is story-orientated. You'll sit through large portions of dialogue, where the delivery of speech rates better than most B-Movies. The game has an easy to use speech tree. Every character that you meet along the journey has their own personality. The smallest of choices can affect the overall story so it's best to think about what you say before you insult a crazed fan or get too personal. Mass Effect's story has to be seen to be appreciated. If you're there purely for the combat and leveling, then it may become a bit of a drag.
Give it the time it deserves and Mass Effect encompasses it's genre's name. It's role playing at its finest. You get lost in the story and feel as through you're Captain Shepard. We just wish we could have experienced it aside Xbox 360 owners. It harks back to the glory days of story telling with enough modern day comforts to silence the graphic-obsessed populace. It's by no means a short game and if you go after every mission, you'll be there for a month.
Score: 9/10
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