As requested, here's a place where we can discuss Mass Effect.
I just finished the game, and overall I'm very pleased with it. It has a few hiccups, but overall the experience was very cool and worth the purchase, I think.
The story is fairly simple, and by itself would be good, not great. However, it's made great by great delivery and execution. This is the result of good writing and good voice acting. What could easily be cheesy is made epic by how it's treated. Every conversation feels very fluid and what you and others say feels substantial (and I never caught myself getting bored walking around looking for people to talk to). The touted conversation system is done beautifully, so I can see why this feature was so praised. The dialogue feels cinematic, and very rarely do you ever feel like you're just queuing up sound files with a button press (only repeating yourself will take you out of that experience). These are aided by what must be a great lip-syncing system. Subtle emotions are picked up very well so you actually feel like you're a part of the conversation.
While the plot might be thin, it's given depth by a huge back story of all the planets, races, etc. You have a codec in your inventory that is constantly flashing with new information on the various species, places, events, etc. so those who wish to just sit and listen to all that information can do so. Apparently there's a book that depicts what happened before your arrival on the scene and details a lot of the mythos behind what you see in the game. I haven't read that but I might be more inclined now that I've finished it. The individual species are distinctive and interesting, however a lot of the main story doesn't really involve most of them (some side missions, do, tho). It's a solid, gripping experience all the way to the end, I feel.
The story structure can negatively impact the RPG-ness, tho. I feel like there really isn't much flexibility in how you can control how events unfold. The RPG structure at times feels like Bioshock 2.0, where you are technically becoming more powerful and are acquiring more powerful items but none of this really effects the story, just how you play it. You make your decision about character class and spend the game building that character up. I could be wrong about all that, tho, as I played the game once and I played it as a "good" guy. Perhaps things are different if I decide to go the evil route but I expect it doesn't change the story, just how people react to you (or so I've heard).
That said, it is fun to play. My playthrough was with a "Vanguard" or magic/weapons hybrid. I think this must be one of the easier classes to play through as once I figured out how the combat works most encounters were a breeze (although not without challenge). I've heard some people were down on the combat system, but really by the middle or so of the game I was really enjoying it. It doesn't really have the visceral response of your typical shooter, nor does it have the pure strategy of a turn based RPG. It manages to strike an interesting middle ground. Inaction will lead to immediate death, so as soon as the shooting starts you quickly freeze the game and pick out a set of commands for your AI team to use then unleash hell. The act of doing so never really got tired, for me. It managed to find an interesting balance between challenge and "fun", which is all too rare in many games. One minor complaint I have however, is I never felt the controller rumble ONCE throughout play. This is so vital for feedback of any sort nowadays its a surprising omission (doesn't break the game tho).
Graphics are good, and get the job done very well. There is, however, that typical Unreal Engine issue where the textures are still loading in for the first few seconds of a level. This is probably the result of the disc never using the hard drive except for saves. It doesn't completely take you out of the experience but it is very noticeable. The lighting is nice, however I was a tad disappointed with some of the explosions/physics. Explosions and shots were likely a die roll on how much damage was dealt so you never really get the satisfaction of hitting something besides seeing a life bar diminish. Oh well, overall it's still pretty good.
Two major problems, tho. Firstly the save system SUCKS. You have to remember to save all the time or you're screwed. After a while you get used to it but for it would be a huge source of frustration to die because you made a stupid mistake then have to start where you were 20 minutes ago. Secondly, the inventory system SUUUUCKS. It's slow to go through and getting rid of items is tedious. Knowing what to buy/sell requires you to memorize the stats of what you own and is damned useless. By the end of the game you get the gist of what sucks (a lot of things are numbered) but it continues to be an unnecessary burden throughout.
I think the sound in this game was really supporting the entire experience. Like I said earlier, I actively ran around looking for people to talk to because of dialogue. A lot of effort went into getting the right people for the main roles, and the supporting cast aren't bad either. Talk once with Wrex, and you know this dude's a badass (he's got that much presence).
Add on top of that a very interesting choice in music. They went for that Blade Runner vibe, and frankly it works wonderfully. I'm going to see if I can get a hold of that song that's played during the credits.
So while this can feel like RPG-lite or FPS-lite to those looking for more of one than the other, it manages to be a solid game with a engaging story. I have no doubt I'll be hopping right back in soon to play it again as a different class/character. It has flaws and isn't really my game of the year, but I think those scores out there of 9.0-9.5 aren't far off. I highly recommend it.
I just finished the game, and overall I'm very pleased with it. It has a few hiccups, but overall the experience was very cool and worth the purchase, I think.
The story is fairly simple, and by itself would be good, not great. However, it's made great by great delivery and execution. This is the result of good writing and good voice acting. What could easily be cheesy is made epic by how it's treated. Every conversation feels very fluid and what you and others say feels substantial (and I never caught myself getting bored walking around looking for people to talk to). The touted conversation system is done beautifully, so I can see why this feature was so praised. The dialogue feels cinematic, and very rarely do you ever feel like you're just queuing up sound files with a button press (only repeating yourself will take you out of that experience). These are aided by what must be a great lip-syncing system. Subtle emotions are picked up very well so you actually feel like you're a part of the conversation.
While the plot might be thin, it's given depth by a huge back story of all the planets, races, etc. You have a codec in your inventory that is constantly flashing with new information on the various species, places, events, etc. so those who wish to just sit and listen to all that information can do so. Apparently there's a book that depicts what happened before your arrival on the scene and details a lot of the mythos behind what you see in the game. I haven't read that but I might be more inclined now that I've finished it. The individual species are distinctive and interesting, however a lot of the main story doesn't really involve most of them (some side missions, do, tho). It's a solid, gripping experience all the way to the end, I feel.
The story structure can negatively impact the RPG-ness, tho. I feel like there really isn't much flexibility in how you can control how events unfold. The RPG structure at times feels like Bioshock 2.0, where you are technically becoming more powerful and are acquiring more powerful items but none of this really effects the story, just how you play it. You make your decision about character class and spend the game building that character up. I could be wrong about all that, tho, as I played the game once and I played it as a "good" guy. Perhaps things are different if I decide to go the evil route but I expect it doesn't change the story, just how people react to you (or so I've heard).
That said, it is fun to play. My playthrough was with a "Vanguard" or magic/weapons hybrid. I think this must be one of the easier classes to play through as once I figured out how the combat works most encounters were a breeze (although not without challenge). I've heard some people were down on the combat system, but really by the middle or so of the game I was really enjoying it. It doesn't really have the visceral response of your typical shooter, nor does it have the pure strategy of a turn based RPG. It manages to strike an interesting middle ground. Inaction will lead to immediate death, so as soon as the shooting starts you quickly freeze the game and pick out a set of commands for your AI team to use then unleash hell. The act of doing so never really got tired, for me. It managed to find an interesting balance between challenge and "fun", which is all too rare in many games. One minor complaint I have however, is I never felt the controller rumble ONCE throughout play. This is so vital for feedback of any sort nowadays its a surprising omission (doesn't break the game tho).
Graphics are good, and get the job done very well. There is, however, that typical Unreal Engine issue where the textures are still loading in for the first few seconds of a level. This is probably the result of the disc never using the hard drive except for saves. It doesn't completely take you out of the experience but it is very noticeable. The lighting is nice, however I was a tad disappointed with some of the explosions/physics. Explosions and shots were likely a die roll on how much damage was dealt so you never really get the satisfaction of hitting something besides seeing a life bar diminish. Oh well, overall it's still pretty good.
Two major problems, tho. Firstly the save system SUCKS. You have to remember to save all the time or you're screwed. After a while you get used to it but for it would be a huge source of frustration to die because you made a stupid mistake then have to start where you were 20 minutes ago. Secondly, the inventory system SUUUUCKS. It's slow to go through and getting rid of items is tedious. Knowing what to buy/sell requires you to memorize the stats of what you own and is damned useless. By the end of the game you get the gist of what sucks (a lot of things are numbered) but it continues to be an unnecessary burden throughout.
I think the sound in this game was really supporting the entire experience. Like I said earlier, I actively ran around looking for people to talk to because of dialogue. A lot of effort went into getting the right people for the main roles, and the supporting cast aren't bad either. Talk once with Wrex, and you know this dude's a badass (he's got that much presence).
Add on top of that a very interesting choice in music. They went for that Blade Runner vibe, and frankly it works wonderfully. I'm going to see if I can get a hold of that song that's played during the credits.
So while this can feel like RPG-lite or FPS-lite to those looking for more of one than the other, it manages to be a solid game with a engaging story. I have no doubt I'll be hopping right back in soon to play it again as a different class/character. It has flaws and isn't really my game of the year, but I think those scores out there of 9.0-9.5 aren't far off. I highly recommend it.
), but let me tell you, doing different moral paths can really change the ending, and I'm wondering how they're going to incorporate them within the planned trilogy (whether they're going to have one accepted ending, or incorporate both which will be a massive undertaking). I'm also planning on doing harder difficulties with the characters I already beat it with (you can use previous characters' levels, stats, but not morality to start a new campaign). 
