First, I have something to say. I think Mass Effect made me
a better PC gamer. No bullshit. I’ve already explained that I am not much of a
PC gamer. Never have been, mainly because of the controls. I found I had little
patience for learning what keys do what on a keyboard and remembering them. I
do play a couple of MMOs, but the controls are so dummy-proof that there’s no
way I can mess that up.
When I first started this game with my Adept, I was a little
shaky with the controls, which resulted in a few unfortunate—yet hilarious—deaths,
but I stuck with it because I was enjoying the game. (Or it could’ve been the
trademark Aries stubbornness coming out.) Then, I created a Soldier while
playing my Adept and became really comfortable with the controls. By the time I
piddled around with an Infiltrator and a Vanguard, I was whizzing through
missions that took me some time to complete as my Adept (and even my Soldier).
This game was much more impressive than I thought it would
be. Sure, friends told me it was a great action game with a solid storyline,
but I still held off.
Once I got into this game, I was amazed at how rich this
universe was. In some ways, you’re sort of thrown into the story. The world has
an established feel to it, if that makes sense. Rather than there being a lot
of time introducing you to everything cool and exciting in the world or
starting you off early in Shepard’s career, you’re immersed in the world and
learn about it more as you advance through the game until you feel like you’re
really a denizen of this world.
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| The Eye of Sauron... er.. the beacon. |
You do have a codex that provides you information about the
races, wars, and various other things, though, that don’t necessarily affect
the main story. I read it frequently in the beginning, but after a while, I
didn’t really need it to learn most things because I often found these things
out through conversation with characters in the game. I love exploring worlds
completely, so I talk to whoever I can and do whatever I can. Speaking of
conversations, every line in this game had spoken dialogue, even the
conversations you would overhear was all voiced (and nicely so). Character
interaction in this game was excellent. I think I played the game more for the
interactions than the shoot ‘em up part.
The story was amazing
and executed with such craft that, when I neared the end, I didn’t want this
game to end. I’d really come love and hate many of the characters, becoming
more emotionally attached than I intended. You can tell they really spent time
and effort creating this world, these characters, and this story.
One of the things that I liked about the story is that it
presented you with plenty of complex moral choices to make, even if you’re
taking the paragon path. There’s many moments in the game that are blurred
between black and white, and you just have to go with the decision that you
feel is best (or the decision you feel your character would make). Do you save
the hostages or do you go after the warlord? Do you intimidate/charm this
person to end a situation without violence?
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| I'm being inspirational here. |
There was also plenty of action to keep my brawler side
happy, as well. I didn’t find many of
the enemies challenging once I got the hang of the game and the controls,
especially late in the game when I was nigh unstoppable and could run into a
room with my soldier and just start taking out everything standing. (Okay, a
few enemies can STILL be a pain in the ass late in the game like the Geth
Colossi, and I really hated the Husks, too.)
Where it lacked in difficulty, they made up for it by having plenty for me to shoot. I never
thought it’d be so satisfying to shoot a bunch of robots for more than half the
game. I’m sure once I play the game again on a harder mode I won’t say they’re
easy again, though.
Another thing I liked is having the option to play as a
woman. I appreciate that they wrote the story in a way that works equally as
well for a female character as it does a male character. They did nothing to diminish the female
Shepard’s role unlike some other games who add a lot of unnecessary, mindless
crap to a female’s story. Sure, there are a few areas in the game where a
character you interact with will call you a beautiful woman or be a complete
pig (and maybe the same holds true for the male character), but there’s usually
plenty of room there to put them in their place. Other than that, the story stays the same no
matter if your flavor is male or female.
There wasn’t much that I didn’t like about this game. The
two major things that bothered me most were the in-game romance and driving the
Mako.
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| Two things I hate together! |
I’ve already
ranted
about Mako, but in a nutshell, I didn’t appreciate the controls on it at
all. While it was needed to cover long distances and to protect me from
hazardous atmospheres, it was the most cumbersome experience that I have ever
had with a game’s vehicle. You only have
two options when driving Mako. You either play a game of stop-and-go in order
to keep the vehicle in control, or you decide to not give one single damn and
drive it wide open.
I did a little of
both. Mako has a few redeeming qualities, though. The weapons on it are useful,
especially the cannon against Geth Armature, Geth Colossi, and turrets. It also
has a gun you can utilize while waiting for the cannon to cool down. It’s also convenient to use as something to
hide behind when picking off the enemies you’ve weakened. (You only get half of
your XP for killing something while in Mako, but you can use it to soften up
foot soldiers with the guns and then get out the tank and finish them off.)
My second issue? The romance. This was probably one of my bigger peeves than
Mako. Okay, let me explain. I don’t have
anything against the fact that there’s “romance” in this game at all, but it
seemed somewhat forced on me. If I showed any interest in the two love
prospects I’m allowed in this game (Kaidan or Liara for Femshep), then my
actions were misconstrued as romantic interest. I just wanted to get to know my
crew, and in the case of Liara, also learn about different cultures.
I asked all my crewmembers about their background and life
because the stories are great, but it just seemed extra “attentiveness” was
tacked on to my questions and responses toward my love interests, and there was
no real way to get around it without being a total bitch to them. I wish that
had been treated more as a side mission—like maybe throw in some responses that
hinted at something “more” and inquisitive responses that were neutral.
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| There was no "Pump yo' breaks, homeboy..." option. |
Also, I didn’t like how this “love” had to develop around
the major missions. The main storyline isn’t that long in this game, and you’re
only allowed to establish your relationship after each major mission. So, if
you’re like me and do all the side missions, you’re left with big gaps where
you don’t talk to your love at all—at least not about romance, anyway. This is another
reason that I think it could be treated like a side mission. It would give
those who want the romance some time to flesh this out and make it mean
something. This game does such a wonderful job on giving this story, this
universe, so much weight, yet the romance lacks terribly—and can come off, as
is my case, inconvenient.
However, those issues weren’t enough to deter me from the
game. Overall, this was an enjoyable game, and I’m glad that I decided to
finally give this a play. And yes, I’ve already started on Mass Effect 2.
