A tale of three RPG’s. Part two.

In the kingdom of video games, there was another publisher by the name of Bioware, who also decided – “hey, wouldn’t it be great to make a Space RPG with lots of moral choices, great dialogue and an epic story? Its certainly like nothing we’ve ever done before…”
Mass effect is a game which blew me away from the very moments I loaded up the menu screen. The game radiates with deep narratives and excellently conceived video-game lore. Even from the first menu that you enter, it is clear that Bioware has focused on totally immersing the player into their rich tapestry of fiction. This is unsurprising taking into account the reputation Bioware has for video-game fiction (KOTOR <3). However, the game is not without its faults either.



I will first expand on Mass effects good qualities. The main quality that really stands out in Mass effect is how deep the game is. By this, I do not mean in a philosophical sense (although it is in some ways), I mean that the amount of content is quite literally overwhelming. The game takes place across the Milky Way. At least 10 clusters are accessible to the player. Each cluster has 2 or three solar systems. Each solar system has around 5 planets, most of which are playable. You get my point. To illustrate Mass effect’s scale I will mention my side quests panel. At around half way through the game it was swarmed with entries, most of them uncompleted, as almost every character you meet gives you a side quest. One of the great features of Mass effect is that these side quests are actually good. Unlike a few unnamed *cough* Assassins creed *cough* … RPG’s Ive played recently. The side quests in Mass effect range from bounty hunting across the galaxy, to simply interacting in the social world (you even get to meet a fan), and this is why they are so great – they are varied and complex. In essence, they’re not linear.
The feeling of depth is not without an immersive and excellent narrative. The voice acting and dialogue system are excellent, the character progression and social interaction is fantastic, and the characters motivation is also well presented. However, one minor drawback was that despite being able to start primary missions at any time, I found myself racing through the storyline because of my curiosity to reveal the next instalment of the story. Before I knew it, I had completed the game – which meant I had missed out on a ton of side quests. Granted, this adds to replayability, but it would have been nice to be able to enter side quests after the main missions were completed.



So, now on to the combat. Oh no. Mass effect is clearly not geared towards a genre which it tries to imitate – that genre is FPS. Unfortunately, the main missions are strictly linear and very repetitive, often leaving the player to platformer type gameplay. The enemies are not varied, neither are the levels. However, there are some saving graces to the combat. The special abilities are fun, and the ability to customise weapons and also buy/find upgrades keeps a sense of achievement present. Another negative point to add would be your squad mates. Why Bioware, why? Often, I would find myself using these guys as cannon fodder and completing the mission by myself because of how un-intuitive these guys are. They don’t look for cover, run into combat alone, and are considerably weaker; sometimes they even get in your line of sight!
Despite the combat, this game is a game of quality, often surprising you with what it offers, so don’t necessarily be put off by it because of one issue - and take it as an RPG which dares to cross genres. For better and for worse.

That will be all in this week’s instalment of Albert Bezman’s WASD blog. And remember, if you see me. You’re probably in, the twilight zone.