Dview: Mass Effect (Xbox 360)

The Bottom Line:
Released in 2007, Mass Effect is probably my favorite WRPG this generation.  i view this as the last good BioWare game.  In this sci-fi/action/shooter RPG you play as Commander Shepard and get involved in the a galactic problem.  There were things i definitely had problems with - weird movement glitches, the Mako (i hate the Mako) and numerous elevator rides.   


This is essentially a watered down (in my view, that is a good thing) third person shooter where you play as a team of three.  There isn't ammunition per se, but your weapon will overheat if fired too much consecutively.  Unlike the other games in the trilogy, this one is focused more on RPG elements.  There are three main roles (with some hybrids): soldier, biotic (magic user), and tech (sabotage, weapon hacking,etc).  To get the full experience (not to mention Gamerscore) it takes probably three or four playthroughs in the differing roles (though you can replay the game keeping your current level). The game starts off (in a prologue) on a human colony Eden Prime where events unfold...

One of the cool thing that this game did was to reward you for getting achievements.  If you get certain achievements it will allow you to learn a skill that the current class may not normally be entitled to (or maybe it will increase you XP, stuff like that) on a future playthrough. 

There are two DLC add-ons to Mass Effect: Bring Down the Sky (included with the Platinum Hits Version) and Pinnacle Station (400 Microsoft Poins, $5). 
Grade: B 
What to Expect:
* Dialog wheels
* Mini-games that require timed (prompted) button presses
* Numerous planets to explore
* Numerous side quests to complete
* Characters to recruit - and mabye have Fox News disapproved relationships with
* A horrible vehicle to control (at least for me) when you land of planets
* Resources to mine, secrets to find, etc
* Options in some events: good (paragon) or win-at-all-costs (renegade)
* Weapon and armor mods and upgrades to find throughout the game.
* Gaining XP (experience points) for defeating enemies, hacking, etc
* The ability to level up abilities (up to 49 or so for the first playthrough)

How i Played:
Difficulty: Casual
Playtime: 21 Hours, 13 Minutes (20+ hours previous playthrough and likely 40 more hours to go)
Achievements: 24/49 (610 Gamerscore - i don't have Pinnacle Station)

Achievements:
Mass Effect has 45 achievements for 1,000 Gamerscore.  Downloadable content includes 4 more achievements for 200 Gamerscore: 1/50 (Bring Down the Sky), 3/150 (Pinnacle Station).  There are two achievements for hard difficulties (hardcore, insane), achievements for kills with weapons, using powers, story related achievments, using ally X most of the game, beating the game twice with one character, and others.