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BioWare's reputation is unshakable and celebrated by such truly epic and memorable games as Baldur's Gate 1-2, Neverwinter Nights and, of course, the unforgettable KotOR, which still serves as a clear example of this Canadian studio's genius...
Mass Effect is the first independent concept created by the company itself. A new universe, not yet overused by Hollywood or any other sources, became a real surprise for fans of space sagas and is already ready to compete for the title of the most perfect science-fiction story born in the form of a game...
Igromania Review:
Some negative trends have recently emerged in the RPG genre. We wouldn't risk calling it a crisis, but stagnation is evident: once or twice a year, sequels to famous series are released that don't even hint at an attempt to develop the genre in any way. In the general flow, only "The Witcher" stands out, but that thing is so hardcore and niche that it's unlikely to affect RPGs as a whole.
In fairy tales, a knight on a white horse usually appears at such moments and saves everyone. We don't live in a fairy tale, of course, but now that's exactly what happened. As you have probably guessed, the name of this savior is Mass Effect, and this—no joke—is a completely new gaming experience, something that has every chance to set the vector of development for the entire genre.
At the same time, it is important to note that Mass Effect succeeds not so much through innovations in Gameplay, but through finer matters: direction, staging, stylistics and everything we call art in games. This is almost a standalone cultural phenomenon that is clearly too cramped within the concept of a "game." This, friends, is a real space opera, no less exciting or large-scale than "Star Wars" or Star Trek. With one correction: you are the main character of this epic narrative.
On the Highs
Even the most run-down secondary planet in Mass Effect is modeled with love.
It is very important that this time BioWare set the game's action in its own universe: their works fit with difficulty into the framework of Star Wars (Knights of the Old Republic) and near-Chinese mythology (Jade Empire). In this case, nothing held back the imagination of the Canadian developers, and they had the opportunity to show what their creative genius is truly capable of.
And as it turns out, it is capable of a lot. When trying to describe the Mass Effect universe, adjectives like "huge" and "detailed" immediately come to mind, but most importantly—"alive." This is the foundation of foundations: the player must understand that they have not come to a deserted and lifeless world, but to one where many events occurred before their arrival and where they are just another supporting actor. At least at first.
We won't be allowed to wander much through the Citadel, but it will definitely be hinted that this is simply a HUGE station.
So, in 2148, humanity was slowly exploring the Solar System when something incredible was discovered on Mars. Namely—traces of an extraterrestrial civilization. The mysterious aliens—the Protheans—had advanced so far in their development that even a superficial decryption of their legacy pushed human development forward by several centuries. Just a few decades later, humans discovered mysterious star gates, which upon closer inspection turned out to be an entire network of portals for interstellar travel. All this predictably led to the construction of extraterrestrial colonies and the beginning of the exploration of the galaxy. However, a shock awaited the colonists: it was soon discovered that there was particularly little left for them to explore. In the known part of space lived at least a dozen sentient races who had long ago mastered Prothean artifacts (their traces were predictably found not only on Mars but also on a bunch of other planets; by the way, they also invented the interstellar travel system) and divided space into spheres of influence. The so-called Council, a conglomerate of the three most advanced races, manages the affairs of the galaxy from the Citadel—a titanic space station built, again, by the Protheans. Humanity was admitted to the Citadel as a "developing" nation, and to prove their significance and even more so to enter the Council, something extraordinary must be done.
Joker is a supporting character, but a very vivid one. By the way, he is voiced by Seth Green (creator of the unforgettable animated series Robot Chicken).
The mission to raise the prestige of humans in the eyes of their sentient brothers falls on the shoulders of Commander Shepard (the last name remains unchanged regardless, but the first name, gender, appearance, as well as origin and military specialization can be customized to taste). However, as you can imagine, it's not that simple, and a "ordinary" secret mission to retrieve an important scientific artifact turns into a story about saving sentient life in the Galaxy. In general, no one expected anything else (as for why such a turn of events surprises no one, see the sidebar nearby).
Despite the abundance of clichés and predictable twists, the plot remains one of the strongest sides of the game. It's all about how it is presented to the player. Until now, no one—except perhaps the authors of Metal Gear Solid—has managed to tell such a large-scale story so convincingly. The player literally lives from one dialogue to another, from scripted scene to scripted scene. Everything else—Gameplay, the role-playing system and character development—acts as a connecting link and a supporting exercise for warming up the fingers. The main thing is the story of Commander Shepard and his team.
The Milky Way Galaxy. Sixteen sectors, five to six systems in each, and habitable planets almost everywhere. How about that?
The staging and direction in this game are, without exaggeration, magnificent. If the credits said the game was directed by Spielberg or Lucas, everyone would believe it. You see and feel Mass Effect fundamentally differently than any other RPG. And yet there are very few innovations: BioWare simply added things here that were previously in any decent action game or quest. Take dialogues, for example. Previously, in any RPG, a scene of artistic blinking talking heads played out before us. The most characters could do was move their lips, shift their bodies slightly and make faces. Now the heroes walk freely around rooms and demonstrate convincing animation (including facial; it turned out simply wonderful—even a humanoid reptile can depict believable emotions). If they quarrel during a conversation, they will start pushing each other and waving their arms; if the atmosphere is strained to the limit—they'll point weapons at each other. All this is shown from several angles and accompanied by special effects. And don't forget the main thing—you can directly influence what happens!
Every second fight in the game is accompanied by such charming explosions.
The effect of all this direction is fantastic in every sense. It's one thing to observe a situation from the side, and quite another when you realize that the development of the plot may depend on your actions. In certain moments, the atmosphere literally sparks with tension. Dialogues in Mass Effect are not a supporting tool for feeding you another portion of plot, but a full-fledged part of Gameplay. Moreover, an extremely dynamic part. You can't play this game over a cup of tea—it calls for decisive action. Therefore, the system of response lines devised by the developers seems especially elegant to us. The thing is, we don't choose a specific phrase, but only set the direction of the dialogue. This is logical, considering that in real life an answer is born in our head even before the interlocutor finishes their thought. It's the same here—no kilometer-long sentences, just concise phrases like "I disagree," "Die, scum!" and "What did you say about the Protheans?" And this, in turn, also adds dynamics to the conversations.
All these artistic techniques can be boldly multiplied by everything that makes BioWare games strong: detailed character personalities and an excellent graphic style. And if screenshots more or less convey the latter, then something must be said specifically about the game's heroes. Naturally, each of them is unique and keeps a whole company of skeletons in their closet. We can have thoughtful conversations with each of them (though, as usual, no one forces you), which will more than once overturn your perception of this or that companion. Take Rex, for example. At first glance, he is an uncommunicative and gloomy mercenary. But if you get him talking, he'll tell you a lot of new things about his race (Rex is a representative of the dying Krogan race, which in old times struck terror into all civilized space, but the Council army crushed them and forcibly infected them with a genetic virus that reduces the survival rate of newborn children to one in a thousand), about his complex relationship with his father and about past exploits. And such a story is ready for every character—you just need to give them time. It's almost awkward to even mention the unique quests and rewards they sometimes provide.
On the Grounded
Periodically, the game puts on a serious face and shows us spectacles like these people impaled on stakes.
Perhaps it seems strange to you that we still haven't said a word about Gameplay? In fact, this is quite logical—the gaming process, as we already said, is if not secondary here, then certainly not as important as its artistic component.
No, please understand us correctly: the Gameplay in Mass Effect is wonderfully good. It's just that it's completely, well, not a bit new. Moreover, what we have before us is nothing other than... Knights of the Old Republic, improved and expanded. A kind of KOTOR 2.0.
Here's how it all looks. In peaceful times, the character spends time wandering around space stations and planets. Gets quests, communicates with NPCs, buys equipment—everything as usual. Occasionally they give you a ride in the "Mako"—it's an armored personnel carrier, fast and jumpy.
To avoid spoiling your enjoyment of the game, we will under no circumstances comment on this screenshot.
Moving between worlds can generally be done in any order. At our disposal is the experimental spaceship "Normandy" and an entire galaxy. No more than two dozen planets are available at once. At the same time, four or five locations are plot-related, while others are reserved for side quests. The latter suffer from the Assassin's Creed effect: exploring abandoned bases and saving miners is interesting the first five to ten times, but then a deadly boredom sets in. However, the plot of each side quest (meaning the text part—the Gameplay is always the same: arrive at the location and kill everyone) is unique, and studying it is always interesting.
Tactical pause looks bulky, but using it is quite convenient.
Moving on to the role-playing system. It's simple as a turnip, but proven. There are three main classes: soldier, engineer and, let's say, psionic. The first can shoot accurately, the second—pick locks and play tricks on enemies (shut down shields, overload robot electronics, throw off sights, etc.), and the third lifts enemies into the air and hits them hard against walls. In addition, there are four hybrid classes. As you complete quests and kill enemies, heroes gain experience and grow in levels. With each level, we are given a certain number of points that we invest in improving abilities. At the same time, any basic ability eventually opens access to a more advanced one; there aren't enough points for everything, and you have to decide what is the priority. Beyond this, Shepard has two additional capabilities: persuasion and intimidation, with which he manipulates his interlocutors.
Another trademark of the game—giant towers.
Do you not have a feeling of déjà vu yet? If not, here is a description of the combat system. It unexpectedly resembles... third-person action games. This is no joke: all fights take place in real time and we actually need to aim at enemies with the mouse (you can choose the level of "help" in aiming—at minimum, the game becomes almost indistinguishable from something like Kane & Lynch). There is one fundamental difference—at any moment you can hold down the "space" button and put the game into tactical pause mode. Here, orders are given to companions (few options—attack, hide and follow the hero) and special abilities are activated. In addition, heroes know how to take cover behind nearby debris (in full accordance with recent action trends), throw grenades and generally behave like real special forces. Recently, it's hard to surprise anyone with such a concept, but for BioWare and RPGs in general, this is new. And (yes, yes, again!) it fits perfectly into the overall fast pace of the game.
Combined with all other joys, the action mechanics turn Mass Effect into a fierce, savage game, and thirty hours (that's how much is required on average for completion) fly by as one.
And finally, about things that are completely grounded. The porting of the game to PC was handled by Demiurge studio. There are practically no changes compared to the console version, except that they optimized the interface for mouse and keyboard control (playing is quite comfortable) and changed the mini-game that accompanied lockpicking. None of the promised graphics improvements happened, but we weren't particularly upset—Mass Effect looks pleasant even without any plastic surgery.
