 Review By: Nick Arvites |
Developer: | BioWare |
| Publisher: | Microsoft | |
| Genre: | RPG | |
| ESRB: | Mature | |
| # Of Players: | 1 | |
| Online Play: | No | |
| Accessories: | HDTV 720p |
Character appearance can also be altered. There is a long list of appearance options that go beyond the deeper create-a-player modes in sports games, but it falls just below Oblivion in terms of total control. The balance is good, and I was able to get an acceptable character built (unlike Oblivion, where every character I made looked deformed). Players can change the sex of Commander Shepard, and can change the first name (defaulted to John or Jane). The last name cannot be changed, and the game is better for it. This allows more believable dialog that doesn’t resort to leaving out the player name in conversations because the voice actors rightfully didn’t record themselves saying every name they could think of. The goal of the character creation is to essentially immerse the players into the character and make them their own. The approach works extremely well, even without diving too deep into the customization.
The game takes place in two general areas: the Normandy and with an away team on a planet. The Normandy is a prototype human ship equipped with a state of the art engine and stealth technology. The ship is designed for getting your team in and out of trouble situations without being detected, and primarily serves as your base of operations. On board, you can interact with your crew and party. There’s also a requisition officer that sells you supplies based on the various manufacturer licenses you find/buy throughout your travels. You can manage your party’s equipment loadout and interact with them to find out more about their personal lives.
Interstellar travel is an interesting affair. The command center on your ship, the Normandy, has a massive map that pops up to a fully-colored screen. This screen allows players to navigate the Milky Way, complete with images that feel like they were ripped off of the Hubble Space Telescope. Instead of seeing simple blips, players can zoom out to see the entire galaxy or zoom in to one particular planet. Planets are plentiful, but there’s only one planet suitable for landing per system. The rest can be scanned for resources or artifacts, making visits worthwhile for your quest log. Periodically, your ship finds things that trigger quests, or you receive distress calls or calls from the fleet that activate quests through your travels.
Landing parties are made up of Commander Shepard and two other non-player characters. Normally, the three-person party limit annoys me to no end. It makes no sense in games like Knights of the Old Republic, where it was essentially you and your group against the entire galaxy. In Mass Effect, the small group size works because you’re going in under the guise of a special ops team. I wouldn’t mind one more party member to make it a four man team, but a three-man team feels sufficient. Choosing a party is a balancing act. While it might be easier to fly through combat using intensive firepower and biotics, you’re not going to be able to hack open doors or equipment lockers. Conversely, if you don’t bring enough firepower, it might be problematic to get through any combat zones. You also cannot switch to other characters in the party as your control and viewpoint never leaves Commander Shepard. Lockpicking abilities and decryption are based upon the highest skill available in your party. For example, if Shepard is a Soldier and thus has a 0 skill in lockpicking, the player can still access storage lockers if another character has the appropriate skill to open it. This makes balancing teams a crucial part of missions, at least if you want to get enough loot to either sell or use. Locks and terminals are accessed using a “hack” system similar to the one present in Mech Assault 2. The screen shows an A, B, X, Y button display, and you have to press the corresponding button that lights up. This does lead to the hack system being extremely easy, which is a welcome change from games like BioShock, which forced you to play a sometimes overly-challenging puzzle sequence.
The Citadel serves as a galactic hub. It also serves as the only major city accessible to the player, bringing an assortment of NPCs, shops, and bars to wander around. It also provides a hub to find new quests, especially early on in the game. The quests, accessible in your quest log as either Primary Missions or Assignments (side quests), send your team to all ends of the galaxy. Like prior BioWare games, players find themselves deluged by side quests and requests ranging from all ends of the moral spectrum.
The basic quest structure sends your team to some far off planet in a system. Your team drops onto this planet in the Mako, an all-terrain tank. The Mako makes getting around the vast and inhospitable terrain much easier, though it feels a little quirky. It handles almost exactly like a Warthog from the Halo series, although it doesn’t turn as sharply. You can engage in combat with the Mako, utilizing its machine gun and turret to take out whatever enemy is attacking you. Almost inevitably, your team will have to infiltrate the objective building in order to complete the quest. Inside these buildings (and in some cases, on foot in larger areas), your team can engage in close quarters combat.
Posted: 2007-11-19 18:43:14 PST