For those of you that may have been living under a rock or somehow managed to stay disconnected from reality for the past couple of years, let me light your way. Mass Effect is a game trilogy published by Electronic Arts and developed by Bioware Corp., leading company in the industry and creator of many popular titles such as Dragon Age, Jade Empire and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. The first two in the series have already been released and garnered tons of awards since, with the much-awaited final installment coming out on March 6, 2012.
Tailored as a role-playing game/third-person-shooter hybrid, Bioware’s landmark product offers players an experience so customizable that it could easily become the most re-playable game ever. The outstanding way it grants players the chance to reap the benefits and consequences of every decision and witness how they overall affect the outcome of the story is what gives the Mass Effect experience its weight.
Although each installment functions as a standalone game, Mass Effect was specifically rigged to enable players to carry all their decisions from the previous game over to the sequel, thereby dipping players further into the story as it unfolds in a unique way. Even the seemingly trivial side quests most went all the trouble to solve have a definitive impact in the subsequent story. No other game rewards the player’s investment in such a remarkable way.
In addition to a streamlined character build-up system, intense action and decision-making process, and all the essentials that make up the backbone of any worthwhile role-playing/shooter game, Mass Effect 1 and 2 deliver a powerful storyline so enthralling that the player is bound to find irresistible and actually care about. The core story was developed by renowned Canadian writer and novelist Drew Karpyshyn.
Mass Gamer 