Mass Effect XBOX 360 review

After Bioshock was released, I was convinced it would be the best game of 2007. That was until I got my hands on Mass Effect ! This game beats any XBOX game released so far, hands down. It's a mixture of several genres; a little FPS with some RPG in the mix and a pinch of adventure added in there (shaken, not stirred).
I think the mix is done so well, that if you like any of these genres, Mass Effect will be worth your while.

The game starts out with you creating your character from 6 classes. You can also modify his looks in great detail and choose a character background 'story'. These may seem like silly details, but they have been integrated into the story and gameplay in such a way that the next time you create a new character you will probably choose a completely different option so you can see how the game changes because of that. The game excels in the role playing genre because of these elements. There are some truly in depth story branches that occur because of how you have developed your character. A lot of how your character develops depends on how you react in conversations. I won't go into any detail here and would refer you to the WIKI for exact game rules, but even though this kind of system has been seen before in 'Knights of the old Republic' - it reaches an unseen level in Mass Effect.

You can play Mass Effect several times over and each time have a completely different game experience. The easiest for people who have not played role playing games (often) yet will be to choose to blast your way through as if it where a first person shooter. After that you will maybe try the route where you use psychic powers to throw your enemies around while using your team mates to attack the enemies.

That being said, I'd like to conclude by saying some things about the graphics and gameplay mechanics. The graphics of Mass Effect look at least as good as any of the latest shooters and similar games on the XBOX 360 platform. In particular the conversations with some alien races are spectacular. Even sitting beside someone who is playing the game is an enjoyable experience as the system used to choose the answers in conversations allows you to keep the story going seamlessly, in effect making it just like you're watching a movie.

Comelling story, awesome graphics, solid gameplay and high replayability value. Those are the strong points. If I'd have to point out any weaknesses in ME at all, I can only say that the game is sometimes still loading some textures but will allow you to start walking around already. Although I'm not sure that's a negative thing, since it does decrease load times - which increases the enjoyment of the whole experience.

Go out and buy it now …