Some games transcend the gaming timeline, defining a genre, era, or entire generation of games and gamers. Some are not as influential, but leave their own mark on the industry, shaping their genre or leaving behind some revolutionary new game mechanic that may be used by others in the future. Despite the fact that some of these games have been released some time ago, they deserve to be covered because of their significance, and that will be what this Backlog feature is about. There is hardly a better game to begin with than one of the most influential, and arguably best, of the last few years: “Mass Effect.”

The science fiction RPG (role-playing game) was released in 2007 (and the improved PC version a year later) by the RPG mavericks at BioWare, one of the most beloved development studios of all time. It followed the story of human Commander Shepard, an elite marine who becomes humanity’s champion in raising the race’s profile in the galaxy, being relatively new to the intergalactic community. Shepard is tasked with hunting down Saren, a rogue Turian agent, subsequently uncovering a plot that threatens the entire galaxy.

It was a highly anticipated release, as the game promised much in the way of gameplay and technical evolution. It touted detailed, realistic graphics as one of its main draws, showing off life-like character models, animations, and incredible speech lip-synching. The other big draws to the game were a deep role playing story, and intense shooting action. But to really passionate gamers, that was only the tip of the iceberg on what the game had to offer. 

The flagship feature was an unprecedented dialogue technology, a tree of interactive conversation choices that could be chosen in real-time and effect the entire plot of the game, or a small detail of a side story. While an NPC (non-player character) was speaking (all fully voiced with quality, well acted voiceovers) to your character, you have the option to choose from one of multiple responses, some of which will lead your Shepard. And what a runaway success it was; the dialogue trees offered a level of immersion not previously possible in a video game.

The game is truly movie-like, an interactive film in which you decided the outcome. One may think that a game always depends on player input, naturally. And while that may be true, the vast majority do not come close to the degree of control the user has in “Mass Effect”. One can literally change the face of the entire galaxy in which the game takes place, affecting millions of fictional characters and races, dozens of which the player will meet.

Conversations and actions can be as little as helping a stranger out with a task, or as big as deciding to condemn an entire race to extinction, all of which affect the player’s in-game morality, determining (depicted on a meter in a menu) whether the player is a Renegade (heavy-handed and brutal, but not necessarily evil) or Paragon (benevolent, but firm and just as dangerous). Every action can also carry over to the game’s successor, “Mass Effect 2,” if the player chooses to load their saved character into the sequel, another previously unseen feature from BioWare.

The game’s highly praised dialogue technology would be nothing without solid writing to make it believable and worthwhile, and “Mass Effect” delivers again here. Characters are realistic and well-developed, and each of Shepard’s party members has depth and a unique back story, into which Shepard can delve and resolve an uncovered problem. In addition, there are dozens of NPCs who ask for help, and they are just as believable, however brief the player’s time with them is. The user can roam the galaxy at will, taking Shepard’s ship, the Normandy, to any planet or station to complete a quest or further the storyline.

It is a credit to the game’s depth and quality that so much good has been said about it without yet mentioning one of the main portions of gameplay, the combat. It’s solid, fun, and spaced enough to not become boring. There are weapons, armor and upgrades to choose from as the player level’s their character, and they can equip their party members as well. It’s the game’s way of accomplishing many tasks, as part of Shepard’s persona, whether he is Paragon or Renegade, is his military and combat skill, and players will grow to become feared and respected in the galaxy.

The game isn’t perfect, of course, but no game is. A large portion of the side quests are repetitive, involving landing on a foreign planet and exploring the wilderness in the land rover vehicle, the Mako (which is, admittedly, fun to drive). Aside from that though, shortcomings are few and far between.

“Mass Effect” is all about atmosphere, making the player feel part of an experience. One doesn’t play just to have an interesting conversation or to just read the extensive, beautifully crafted Codex full of lore and information about the Mass Effect universe. One doesn’t play just to look at the gorgeous graphics, or have an intense firefight. Players play to experience all of these features at once, and that is why “Mass Effect” is such a unique, revolutionary, and fantastic package.

 

 Overall: 9.7/10