Mass Effect

I haven't played through this game for a few months now, and I'm hearing sci-fi themes in other games that are similar to it (even just a few similar notes and tones will do it) that bring back memories of it.

I'm going to come out and say that Mass Effect is probably my most favorite game of all-time. I've played through it about 4 and a half times (the half was because my hard drive data got corrupted in the middle of a play-through). It's absolutely outstanding in every way a single-player, campaign-style gaming experience should be and can be.

There's really only one appropriate word to describe the experience of playing that game - Enchanting. I don't know what it was about it. The first time I played it, I popped it in, played for an hour or two and let it settle, as I'll typically do with any new game. After that, it was literally wake up, play Mass Effect, eat somewhere in there, go to sleep. I did that for about 3 straight days.

The story structure to this game is unbelievable. I've never, ever played a game that had a story backdrop like this. Typically games' stories either seem tacked on or written by total amateurs, and Mass Effect is a clear stand-out when it comes to story and story depth in video gaming. Whoever put this story together is an absolute writing genius. It's not simply "let's go here, let's go there", it stems out to every facet of writing a story that creates it's own world, including character development, strong and reasonable motives for opposing parties, political structure, history... the voice acting on top of it just sews it all together.

I'm extremely excited for Mass Effect 2 and I really hope they can keep the same things that made the first one great. Rumor has it that there will actually be splitting story paths depending on the decisions you make in the game.. even one that will kill off the main character!?

Anyway, I just felt that this needed to be said. Mass Effect is amazing in every way a game can be amazing. It broke down barriers and re-wrote expectations when it comes to providing a cinematic and engaging gaming experience. If you haven't played it yet.. WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!?