Mass Effect

 PC
User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 3921 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3,338 out of 3921
  2. Mixed: 443 out of 3921
  3. Negative: 140 out of 3921
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  1. prossnip42
    Jul 29, 2018
    7
    Now before we begin i know i am very late to this but i recently purchased the Mass effect trilogy and i played through the entire thing. So let's start with the first one shall we

    Pros: -The atmosphere and the world building are top notch. Mass Effect works perfectly in establishing it's universe, the lore, the different species and the inevitable Armageddon coming your way to destroy    Now before we begin i know i am very late to this but i recently purchased the Mass effect trilogy and i played through the entire thing. So let's start with the first one shall we

    Pros:
    -The atmosphere and the world building are top notch. Mass Effect works perfectly in establishing it's universe, the lore, the different species and the inevitable Armageddon coming your way to destroy us all. Not at any point was i bored or disinterested. Hell even some of the more fetch based sidequests were very interesting

    -The story is phenomenal. People told me about how great the story in this franchise is and they weren't lying. Every decision you make can go back to bite you in the ass or even benefit you if you know what you're doing (Until Mass Effect 3 but we'll get to that). The voice acting is alos great for the most part

    Cons:
    -Now as much as i would love to say that Mass Effect one is a phenomenal game, it isn't. For one, the combat. It's awful. Like, really **** bad. The controls are slippery, using energy instead of ammo is pointless and cumbersome and the cover system is bar none the worst in the entire franchise.
    -The love interests. As i kept playing through the Mass Effect games i found out how important the love interests were. And Mass Effect 1's love interests aren't that great. There's Liara who's just amazing and then there's the boring space racist Ashley and the boring boring bucket of bore Kaidan. Seriously what do some of the fans see in Kaidan. He's so boring you might as well be romancing a stick with a gun

    In conclusion, all though flawed, Mass Effect 1 is a good start to what would become a great franchise    … Expand
  2. Sten-Bengt94
    Jun 4, 2014
    6
    I did not get immersed into this game and that is not the because of the story but it is because of the controls, hud and graphics of the game. It also got a bit repetitive so I couldn't continue because it wasn't fun enough to continue. Do not know why I bought it on sale because I regret it.
  3. Hambarr
    Jun 18, 2018
    7
    First of all, the main story of this game is fantastic. It is a really good introduction for the Mass Effect series which is one of the most iconic trilogy I have ever discovered in my video gaming experience. Each character is appealing in his own way, every companion has his own temper.

    However, there are some points that displeased me during my playthrough (maybe for some of them the    First of all, the main story of this game is fantastic. It is a really good introduction for the Mass Effect series which is one of the most iconic trilogy I have ever discovered in my video gaming experience. Each character is appealing in his own way, every companion has his own temper.

    However, there are some points that displeased me during my playthrough (maybe for some of them the reason is because I played this game recently and was disturbed by things that were considered good when the game was out) :

    - The side quests were really boring, most of the time they consist in exploring an almost empty planet then clearing a building which often looks like the one you cleared for the previous mission.

    - As I just said, the planets you will explore for the side quests are empty except for some resources and a building filled with enemies. This becomes quite repetitive after visiting some planets and makes exploration boring.

    - I personally disliked the fighting system with heating and weapon precision acquired through skill points, I found it very frustrating to wait until my weapon cooled to keep fighting.

    Nevertheless, I would still recommend to play the game for its main story and its character design which are his strong points.    … Expand
  4. AdamC
    Sep 2, 2008
    7
    An initially impressive game that is ultimately too short and too repetitive. I clocked a game time of less than 15 hours, and this included many of the side missions. While the main storyline and the core gameplay (think action FPS/RPG hybrid) are fun, the side missions are unfortunately mostly boring, generic, and repetitive and dont add much to the game. Since there are a couple An initially impressive game that is ultimately too short and too repetitive. I clocked a game time of less than 15 hours, and this included many of the side missions. While the main storyline and the core gameplay (think action FPS/RPG hybrid) are fun, the side missions are unfortunately mostly boring, generic, and repetitive and dont add much to the game. Since there are a couple lingering and annoying bugs, I'd wait for another patch or two and for this one to hit the bargain bin before picking it up.… Expand
  5. marto
    Aug 8, 2013
    6
    After I played for about 8 hours I finally surrender on the first planet outside the Citadel. Moving around is painfully slow, the dialogues are too long and most side missions are dumb as hell from the opening sentence. The inventory is so unpleasant that I don't look at it any more. Giving it a 6 because of the effort put into the game. It works. But it's so much behind Fallout.
  6. Ubermetalhed
    Sep 24, 2011
    7
    Over hyped and overblown, this game is not terrible but it isn't great either. It is good in the most average sense of the word. Great graphics aside, repetitive combat, dull characters, atrocious driving controls and a story which doesn't become interesting till the last 5th of the game make it distinctly average. It's functional but the game feels extremely shallow, surprising seeing itOver hyped and overblown, this game is not terrible but it isn't great either. It is good in the most average sense of the word. Great graphics aside, repetitive combat, dull characters, atrocious driving controls and a story which doesn't become interesting till the last 5th of the game make it distinctly average. It's functional but the game feels extremely shallow, surprising seeing it came from the makers of the exceptional KotoR.… Expand
  7. cunningmunki
    May 23, 2012
    7
    A great story, brilliant design and enjoyable gameplay is marred by an appalling inventory and user interface. The acting and dialogue is better than most RPGs, and the combat is good, although a little restrictive at times. The Mass Effect universe seems vast to start off with, and an overload of new characters, species and back-stories in the first part of the game can make you feel likeA great story, brilliant design and enjoyable gameplay is marred by an appalling inventory and user interface. The acting and dialogue is better than most RPGs, and the combat is good, although a little restrictive at times. The Mass Effect universe seems vast to start off with, and an overload of new characters, species and back-stories in the first part of the game can make you feel like it's going to take a lifetime to remember all the races, politics and history, but eventually you learn the important parts and the rest fall into place. Unfortunately, the poor interface takes so long to learn and get used to, it takes a while before you really feel in control of your character and their abilities and really start to enjoy the game.
    I'm looking forward to playing part 2.    … Expand
  8. JaydenPickens
    Feb 20, 2019
    5
    This game is a mixed bag. Sure, it has an interesting story, but what else? The gameplay is tedious, the speed of our character is a joke. I saw turtles running faster than Shepard. I played the game using a trainer, so I could run faster and guess what... did 100% of the game and finished it in 20 hours. I don't even wanna know how much time I would lose with that snail running the gameThis game is a mixed bag. Sure, it has an interesting story, but what else? The gameplay is tedious, the speed of our character is a joke. I saw turtles running faster than Shepard. I played the game using a trainer, so I could run faster and guess what... did 100% of the game and finished it in 20 hours. I don't even wanna know how much time I would lose with that snail running the game has. And most of the game is just about movement. Developers do not respect our time. Stop making games with slow running, because I'm tired of looking for solutions for this. The story kept me going and there were not many decisions to choose from as the game advertised. This is not Fallout New Vegas my friends. I won't call this a waste of time, because I really enjoyed the story, but it's not something I will play ever again by my own volition. I hope the second game is better. Pickens can't choose!… Expand
  9. davenbettridge
    Jul 11, 2011
    7
    Mass Effect is a mixed bag. On the one hand the conversation events, dialog, character and creature design, interior environmental design, its ambitious decision making ideas, some game play and RPG ideas are great and work well together but on the other hand the overall story becomes predictable, too much of the sci fi is cliche, the lack of tutorials means you dont understand how theMass Effect is a mixed bag. On the one hand the conversation events, dialog, character and creature design, interior environmental design, its ambitious decision making ideas, some game play and RPG ideas are great and work well together but on the other hand the overall story becomes predictable, too much of the sci fi is cliche, the lack of tutorials means you dont understand how the game works (even after finishing it), the shooting mechanics are crappy, the loot system clunky and the third quarter of the game becomes tiresome and repetitive. Mass Effect could also learn a lot of a game like Zelda Ocarina of Time for game pacing as there are large long sequences where the player finds themselves trapped in a non combat RPG environment for hours and hours rather then rewarding the player with new areas and action to break up the monotony. I found myself several times wanting to quit Mass Effect while playing and even found myself forcing myself to finish it. I dont want to seem over handed with my criticism as half of Mass Effect is good, but everything the game doe right, is then bogged down by issues. Mass Effect is a must play because of its superb sequel but as it stands by itself is only good, not great.… Expand
  10. KostasI.
    Dec 20, 2009
    7
    This game is flawed. Quite flawed. It has mediocre combat mechanics, boring and small sidequests, empty planets, a vehicle that as a necessary evil cannot be hurt even if thrown 1000 feet down from a mountain range and into a crater filled with natural spires and the game itself is as dumped down as you can get for "console" use. However these "problems" are as far as the negative This game is flawed. Quite flawed. It has mediocre combat mechanics, boring and small sidequests, empty planets, a vehicle that as a necessary evil cannot be hurt even if thrown 1000 feet down from a mountain range and into a crater filled with natural spires and the game itself is as dumped down as you can get for "console" use. However these "problems" are as far as the negative criticism can go. The space opera that Bioware has created is for the most part an excellent piece of making something from nothing. From this point on the game "sucks" you in. The characters for the most part are interesting and the conversations between them realistic. It helps that your own character talks and acts (though the female protagonist is notably better than the male one) with enough believability for you to not feel detract from the experience. Musical score is excellent, visuals are sharp though they perform a little unreliably and the low res textures show their ugly face in a lot of places (like characters cloths and bodies). Its too bad that the game lasts only 20-25 hours and another good 10 or so with the sidequests counted in but its enough to satisfy. Overall the game can use a lot of improvements here and there but its a testament to the rest of the work done with this game that it feels as such. Dragon Age origins on the other hand....… Expand
  11. ultraviper
    Mar 22, 2012
    7
    Great graphics (for its time), great story, and fun gameplay. It's a great game with a few flaws. The biggest flaw is the publisher. EA Games has completely stopped supporting this game. If you install it from scratch now, you can no longer get the (free to PC players) bring down the sky DLC as the webpage to download it no longer exists. You can't even add the cd-key of the game to EA'sGreat graphics (for its time), great story, and fun gameplay. It's a great game with a few flaws. The biggest flaw is the publisher. EA Games has completely stopped supporting this game. If you install it from scratch now, you can no longer get the (free to PC players) bring down the sky DLC as the webpage to download it no longer exists. You can't even add the cd-key of the game to EA's Origin service without help from a support representative, as the page to do so will tell you the registration was successful but then not add the game to your library. As for flaws in the game itself, skipping conversations is hard to do without accidentally picking a dialogue option sometimes because the skip key is the same key used to select an option. Also there is way too much loot in the game for the low inventory limit you have. You will tire of the "you are getting close to the 150 item limit" message very quickly. Other than that, the game is pretty short for a RPG but it's enjoyable, and the dialogue system adds to replay value because of the different options you get depending on whether your character leans toward good (paragon) or evil (renegade). And you'll definitely want to play this game just to get to its sequels if you haven't played it already!… Expand
  12. karmasleeper
    May 30, 2011
    5
    Otherwise decent story and characters diminished by lackluster combat, cookie cutter environments, cumbersome AI, and black and white morality system with virtually no impact on the characters or game outside of final decisions made at the end of the game.

    Mass Effect has a cover system which at first leads you to believe you'll be needing to use it. Using cover is almost always a    Otherwise decent story and characters diminished by lackluster combat, cookie cutter environments, cumbersome AI, and black and white morality system with virtually no impact on the characters or game outside of final decisions made at the end of the game.

    Mass Effect has a cover system which at first leads you to believe you'll be needing to use it. Using cover is almost always a disadvantage since the terrible AI will almost always bum rush you in large numbers. Staying OUT of cover is an advantage in these situations as you have more camera control and are able to protect yourself from their suicide rushes. This reduces the vast majority of encounters to simply running around wildly. Additionally, while Mass Effect boasts a number of character classes to choose from, there is some overlap between abilities with certain classes, making the game seem more varied than it really is.

    Environments, outside of the main story missions, are almost entirely identical. Mass Effect allows you to explore a wide variety of planets, but the terrain differs little and often only in color pallet. While exploring or doing side missions, you come across many structures with identical layout and rooms. Side missions are plentiful, but differ little in structure. Go here, kill this, find that, come home. There is little incentive to explore the galaxy and partake in content outside the main story line. The morality system, if you want to call it that, changes little beyond Shepard's responses. Acting like an avatar of virtue and justice versus an impatient killing machine carries no serious ramifications nor does it alter the course of the narrative in any meaningful way beyond a few encounters in the main storyline. Mass Effect's interface is another weak point. The menu system was obviously designed for consoles. No effort was made to create a more streamlined and user friendly interface for the PC port. When shopping, there is no way to compare what you currently have equipped with what you are looking to buy. The game requires you to exit the shop, open your inventory, memorize the stats of the item in question, talk to the shop owner again, click through his dialogue, open his inventory, and scroll through the list until you find the item you were trying to compare. The story is good but you'll get the feeling you've heard it somewhere before. The characters in your party are generally interesting each with their own unique backgrounds. Some of the most fun I had with this game was wandering around the ship and getting as much background info out of the various characters that I could, even if a couple of them are somewhat flat. The universe is well fleshed out and there is a lot of interesting glossary material to read through for those interested in lore.    … Expand
  13. Sirik_Matak
    Jan 11, 2016
    6
    The first Mass Effect is the best from all three, but it doesn't mean it's actually something to write home about. Well, at least to someone who read anything in his life beyond pornographic fan-fics and pretentious novels of 2000s. Unfortunately, the big chunk of post 2000 playerbase is made of the illitarate defined by the lowest possible denominator.

    Mass Effect is a mediocre third    The first Mass Effect is the best from all three, but it doesn't mean it's actually something to write home about. Well, at least to someone who read anything in his life beyond pornographic fan-fics and pretentious novels of 2000s. Unfortunately, the big chunk of post 2000 playerbase is made of the illitarate defined by the lowest possible denominator.

    Mass Effect is a mediocre third person shooter with little character customization that offers 2 ways of playing the game. Shoot everything and shoot everything with space magic. Bare bones, if you add a typical HOT pop-a-mole combat philisophy implemented in this game, that doesn't even tries to cover (pathetic pun intended) itself.

    One thing bugs me after my second playthrough. This game looks half-baked, or aborted in an early production phaze. There are parts of the game, where it seems that there was a creative spark somewhere, someone had a vision of a great s-f/space opera game, that wouldn't just make money, but will offer all s-f tropes and classics from all over in one place for everyone to enjoy. Then the writing started, art-direction department attempted to do something with style, aaaand... few weeks later they had to say "eh - ♥♥♥♥ it". And left the game with few interesting places to visit, few Codex (in-game lore encyclopedia) entries and a whole lot of filler content probably made by unexperienced interns. I do believe that most of the content in the game is a work of unexperienced hacks, just look at the Mako part of the game. I don't believe it would be passable even for a student. It boils down to disattachment between the lore part of the game, and the actual gameplay. The lore, places and characters are giving you a premise of varied experiences, but at the end of the game it all boils down to TPS action in a terribly designed locations. C&C boil down to occasional speech check (and since no one will play without these skills maxed out, everyone will get that option) that will end all filler quests non-violently with absolutely cringe-worthy dialogue lines. Just listen to the final dialogue with Saren. I couldn't help myself but laugh while listening to it. It's like taken straight from a terrible 10 years old s-f writer on the Internet. Just terrible.

    For a buck it's worth checking out. Just prepare for some cringe-fest and a lot of autism-inducing activities.    … Expand
  14. DW
    Aug 22, 2008
    7
    A decent but not great game that has been overhyped in the media. Granted, it is a Bioware title so you can be assured of some good degree of quality but unfortunately, as with Mass Effect--Bioware's homebrew game universe--the quality and depth of the game play has become progressively shallow in Bioware's RPG games of late. Having said that, Mass Effect is an excellent game A decent but not great game that has been overhyped in the media. Granted, it is a Bioware title so you can be assured of some good degree of quality but unfortunately, as with Mass Effect--Bioware's homebrew game universe--the quality and depth of the game play has become progressively shallow in Bioware's RPG games of late. Having said that, Mass Effect is an excellent game for those who enjoyed the Kotor games as Mass Effect mimics the style, narratives, and mechanics in many ways. On the downside, the overall campaign is fairly short and somewhat predictable even the first time through, leaving replay ability to suffer. This is further compounded by the shallow character system and mostly linear nature of the campaign and campaign options. Graphics, sound, and overall ambiance are what you would expect from a Bioware title and the game is truly a visual treat from start to finish. Equipment and character customization is a little tedious and woefully underdone for a game pronounced as an "RPG" but fits the bill for the style of the game offered. In all, if you're looking for an RPG with depth and engaging character development, look elsewhere. If you want an action-centric RPG-lite in a sci-fi and Star Wars like setting, this game was made for you. Once you've played it, If you think Mass Effect feels like an RPG designed for a casual console gamer, you'd be right--a mild learning curve, generally low difficulty factor, shallow game mechanics, and tons of action and eye-candy; these all describe Bioware's Mass Effect succinctly.… Expand
  15. Ghoster
    Jul 23, 2012
    6
    Great story, characters and overall whole world created around this game. Decent graphics for time period.

    Now the bad stuff. You should play this part only for story line. Game play is totally wrong and annoying. To be forced watching 5 min. Cut scenes without option to skip each time you die in boss fight is something i don't understand. So, must play just because of story and    Great story, characters and overall whole world created around this game. Decent graphics for time period.

    Now the bad stuff. You should play this part only for story line. Game play is totally wrong and annoying. To be forced watching 5 min. Cut scenes without option to skip each time you die in boss fight is something i don't understand. So, must play just because of story and preparations for part 2 and 3 which are pure 10. They fixed most of bad things in next parts.    … Expand
  16. SoManyGames
    Mar 11, 2012
    6
    Gameplay: Walk slowly down hallways, aim slowly at bad guys, press a button to take cover as they slowly walk and aim at you. Like every other console third person shooter, only especially slow.

    The story; you are a space marine fighting an alien force bent on destroying life. Sound familiar? It should, and I shouldn't have to list the HUNDREDS of examples. The definition of    Gameplay: Walk slowly down hallways, aim slowly at bad guys, press a button to take cover as they slowly walk and aim at you. Like every other console third person shooter, only especially slow.

    The story; you are a space marine fighting an alien force bent on destroying life. Sound familiar? It should, and I shouldn't have to list the HUNDREDS of examples. The definition of average.

    The one thing this game has over similar titles is the duologue options and customizations that allow you to feel like your game is special. It's not, but at least they pull off the ability to make you feel it is.    … Expand
  17. Joe
    Jun 5, 2008
    6
    Another HYPE game, like Crysis. Mass Effect has all the makings of a good game, but it is just simply awful to play. It has massive consolitis, as well as having the worst action sequences ever. As many have commented, the weapons are simply unusable and ineffective. Battles appear out of nowhere, and you get killed 1000 times, before magically, you don't. Very console like. The save Another HYPE game, like Crysis. Mass Effect has all the makings of a good game, but it is just simply awful to play. It has massive consolitis, as well as having the worst action sequences ever. As many have commented, the weapons are simply unusable and ineffective. Battles appear out of nowhere, and you get killed 1000 times, before magically, you don't. Very console like. The save system is insane, you can only save when you're NOT in an action sequence. Which means you start a battle, and cannot save during it, which means you make no progress. The storyline is decent, the voicing decent, and the overall Sci Fi feel is nice. But the action is simply terrible. It is NOT a shooter, nor a real RPG. Its like an interactive movie, which is cool, but it is grueling to get through scene after scene. The most disappointing part, is that beside Bioware releasing a game with massive technical problems and bugs, they delete posts on their forums from frustrated users asking for help. Sounds like a shenanigans to me.… Expand
  18. ChauncyB.
    Jun 21, 2008
    6
    Overhyped. A lot of fun stuff but at its heart it's a bland shooter mixed with a bland driving game mixed with a bland rpg. Imagine three games from ten years ago mixed together. I think all the positive professional reviews are because the beginning promises more than it delivers if you take the time to grind through it all. Bioware peaked with Knights of the Old Republic and has Overhyped. A lot of fun stuff but at its heart it's a bland shooter mixed with a bland driving game mixed with a bland rpg. Imagine three games from ten years ago mixed together. I think all the positive professional reviews are because the beginning promises more than it delivers if you take the time to grind through it all. Bioware peaked with Knights of the Old Republic and has not been able to recapture that level since.… Expand
  19. DylanB
    Jan 14, 2010
    5
    For such a high budget game, Mass Effect doesn't really offer not even average gameplay. The story is cliched and the pacing is beyond horrid during the beginning of the game. However, there are some great moments, Sovereign is pretty traditional in his goals, but the game manages to have its moments. If you can get past the mediocre gameplay, choice that doesn't change For such a high budget game, Mass Effect doesn't really offer not even average gameplay. The story is cliched and the pacing is beyond horrid during the beginning of the game. However, there are some great moments, Sovereign is pretty traditional in his goals, but the game manages to have its moments. If you can get past the mediocre gameplay, choice that doesn't change anything, and a somewhat predictable plot, you will have a good experience. It just feels like we've done this before.… Expand
  20. BruceH
    Jul 18, 2009
    5
    Great story ... at least from what I can tell from the constant crashes. If you own a quad-core forget about playing this game until BioWare gets around to patching the game. Countless people are complaining about the same thing. Great game, but virtually unplayable due to a plethora of bugs. It constantly floods the HyperTransport of the quad processor and locks the game. It sits on my Great story ... at least from what I can tell from the constant crashes. If you own a quad-core forget about playing this game until BioWare gets around to patching the game. Countless people are complaining about the same thing. Great game, but virtually unplayable due to a plethora of bugs. It constantly floods the HyperTransport of the quad processor and locks the game. It sits on my desk now as a paperweight until (or if) Bioware fixes it ... one year after it has been released for PC.… Expand
  21. ChristopherJ.
    Jun 25, 2008
    6
    This game is fun but not great. Things I liked: the non-linearity of the crucial missions, the optional missions were nice, the relationship building with all your crewmates (including lame romances), the depth of the information about the alien races and the history of the galaxy, the RPG character diversification, the sky was pretty in the various worlds, the final cut-scene, the music This game is fun but not great. Things I liked: the non-linearity of the crucial missions, the optional missions were nice, the relationship building with all your crewmates (including lame romances), the depth of the information about the alien races and the history of the galaxy, the RPG character diversification, the sky was pretty in the various worlds, the final cut-scene, the music during the credits. Things I didn't like: the computer partners attacking inanimate objects, having to re-watch looooong cut-scenes when replaying a difficult boss, the lack of physics-engine-related interaction (you basically just push buttons--you can't even jump! Half-life 2 is on another level because it brought real-life physics into the actual gameplay), I'm not sure the paragon/renegade points had any effect on the game, the lack of multi-player anything, the cumbersome process of omni-gelling items I didn't want in my inventory (this was soooo painfully dumb!), the optional missions got repetitive because the rooms have one of two lay-outs every damn time!--the designers obviously got lazy, and the steering on the vehicle seemed off. That's just about all I can remember liking and not liking in the past 2 minutes. I'm going to try Bioshock next week.… Expand
  22. ChrisB
    Apr 21, 2009
    6
    In typical BioWare fashion, they try to put in a bunch of conversations in the game to fill up a rather basic and simpleton plot point, or plot hole based on your viewpoint. Graphically beautiful, the graphics still don't make up for the fact that the story stuff tends to drag down the rest of the game on average. The game is also fairly short, and unfortunately, the replay value is In typical BioWare fashion, they try to put in a bunch of conversations in the game to fill up a rather basic and simpleton plot point, or plot hole based on your viewpoint. Graphically beautiful, the graphics still don't make up for the fact that the story stuff tends to drag down the rest of the game on average. The game is also fairly short, and unfortunately, the replay value is less than stellar because even though they have a hidden achievement system in the game, there really isn't a major desire to go back through it all to see it again just to see an alternative ending or text dialogue that doesn't really influence much else in the over all story.… Expand
  23. timtalosi
    Jun 5, 2009
    6
    This is a b movie. If i want to watch a movie instead of play a game i will go to the video store/ netflix and rent one. there are far better movies that dont require me to click my mouse to advance the movie. Though i know games will continue to evolve, and im getting older and more out of touch everyday, i wouldn't call this a game. I do love the visuals and the fact that they triedThis is a b movie. If i want to watch a movie instead of play a game i will go to the video store/ netflix and rent one. there are far better movies that dont require me to click my mouse to advance the movie. Though i know games will continue to evolve, and im getting older and more out of touch everyday, i wouldn't call this a game. I do love the visuals and the fact that they tried to make a story, but i have to stick with old rpgs like fallout 3, wow and such.… Expand
  24. AlanT.
    Jan 1, 2010
    6
    I was really excited to purchase this game from steam a couple months ago. Thinking it would become one of the best RPG games I would be playing and considering the high ratings people has been giving it but sad to say, it's not really enjoyable. This game certainly deserves a a better score if you can suffer through the long but confusing story of mass effect that has hours of I was really excited to purchase this game from steam a couple months ago. Thinking it would become one of the best RPG games I would be playing and considering the high ratings people has been giving it but sad to say, it's not really enjoyable. This game certainly deserves a a better score if you can suffer through the long but confusing story of mass effect that has hours of gameplay is extricating. The gameplay is fun but gets absolutely boring and excessive and most of the skills u are unlocking becomes one sided because u would be using the same skills over and over again. I recommend watching a few videos before purchasing this game. I love RPG games but this game doesn't suit my style. Graphics are decent but character designs need some more spicing up. I rate it a 6 for good voicing acting, huge environment to work with, and good story dialogues.… Expand
  25. AndreasH.
    Jan 29, 2010
    6
    Surprisingly weak game, considering the hype surrounding it. Lackluster graphics. Slow and repetitive combat. The Inventory. Level design. The saving grace for this game is the great character design and the interesting dialogue trees. I'm really surprised this game was so mediocre. Did not expect that. Well, there's hope with the second one.
  26. Surumbu
    Mar 20, 2011
    6
    ME is an ok game, not my favorite Bioware title but playable. The dialogue wheel created a huge disconnect for me as an RPG player, which hindered my overall enjoyment. But there's a lot to do in the game and it is very expansive, and has some nice "ooh" moments story-wise. IMO it's worth the time and money to play at least once.
  27. Nicotine
    May 1, 2011
    5
    Mass Effect: when X-treme Intergalactic Offroading is your flavor of the month. Mass Effect has a cult following rabidly defending this game with tooth and limb, and for good reason. The storyline becomes epic, the voice acting is stunning, and the sheer scope of the game is awe inspiring. You play as Commander Shepard, a space grunt with a few guns, some nifty tricks and an unwaveringMass Effect: when X-treme Intergalactic Offroading is your flavor of the month. Mass Effect has a cult following rabidly defending this game with tooth and limb, and for good reason. The storyline becomes epic, the voice acting is stunning, and the sheer scope of the game is awe inspiring. You play as Commander Shepard, a space grunt with a few guns, some nifty tricks and an unwavering urge to curbstomp whatever so much looks at him funny. It's an over the shoulder shooter, in which a lion's share of the gameplay involves you blasting your way past waves of enemies to reach an exit to advance the plot. The ability to outfit my weapons to evolve them, which seemed like a good idea at first, ended up becoming a race to see how many damage modifiers I could staple onto my shotgun, regardless of heat generation. A shotgun with enough damage boosters pretty much one-shots 90% of the games enemies. The controls are tight and responsive, regardless of the class you pick, though it bears mentioning that some classes are much more overpowered compared to others. Playing as a Solider class fit my play style best and helped take some of the edge off of the game's difficulty. Shepard's squadmates, the heart and soul of the game, are engaging and can be surprisingly complex if you let them. The main plot is largely linear, with a few branches for you to pick and explore and seventy tons of side quests which serve, largely, as busy work. If you're as obsessive about having a clean mission log as I am, you'll spend hours on the side quests which serve no real purpose in this game, which makes for a very tedious experience. The release of Mass Effect 2 means that the decisions you make in this game carry over, whether through brief cameos or minor storyline changes. If you enjoy ME2, then playing through ME1 exactly how you want is the best way to get the character and events in the second game set up, which means playing all the side missions, and making all the "right" choices. Like most Bioware games, the Karma system is in full swing. You can play as a Renegade, which means you place your own needs, and the needs of Planet Earth, before anything else, or you can play as Paragon where you try to be the nice guy, rewarding people for their trust in you rather than betraying them, and save as many folks, alien or otherwise, as you can. For the more indecisive of us, playing as something the middle is also fully possible. Who you chose to kill and who you chose to save carries over into ME2, resulting in shifts in the storyline reflecting these changes. It's sad to say, but unless you play ME1 to completion and carry over your save file to the new game, your experience in ME2 will be slightly diminished, especially if you enjoy a Paragon route. The graphics were stunning for their time, though they may seem slightly dated by today's standards. I found the main storyline to be rather dull, until the last few sets of missions, where things ramped up resulting in a powerful and breathtaking climax that you take part in. While many folks seem to have taken a shine to ME1's music, most notably those guys from Penny-Arcade, I found the 1980's retro space synths to be dull and repetitive. Speaking of dull and repetitive, the side quests involve you visiting the same half dozen locations, shooting things, hopping back into your tank (called the Mako) and scaling a mountain to reach yet another location. The amount of time you spend in your tank scaling rocks is tiresome and takes away from all the space-badassery. Granted, most of these side quests can be skipped all together, they still could have done a better job varying locations up. If you've been to one transport/abandoned research facility/space mine you've been to them all. Lastly, there is the issue of the alleged romance scene. Let me spoil this for you: it's about as risque as an episode of Family Guy. Fifteen seconds of kissing with a single butt shot left me rather disappointed, considering all the hoopla that was churned up over it. Standing by itself, Mass Effect does many things right, but its repetitive nature dulls much of the excitement. Playing Mass Effect just to set up Mass Effect 2 just the way you want it is akin to pulling teeth. Mass Effect had several moments of clarity and an ending that was supremely satisfying, however the repetitive Mako missions, uninspired action sequences building up to the climax and impotent combat permeating the core the ME experience leaves Mass Effect wanting. Unless you dig the ME lore, you're interested in developing a world different from the default setting in ME2, or if spending hours in a tank trying to navigate impossible mountains is your cup of tea, then skip ME and go right for its superior younger brother: Mass Effect 2.… Expand
  28. JimCorbett
    Jan 27, 2014
    6
    I found Mass Effect to simply be an average game. Though, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt since i never played it when it was originally released. The story was easily the highlight of the game. It's just unfortunate that it was so confusing for the first 5 hours of play. The gameplay is pretty stale, it's imply a cover-based shooter with some magic powers to use as well. ReallyI found Mass Effect to simply be an average game. Though, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt since i never played it when it was originally released. The story was easily the highlight of the game. It's just unfortunate that it was so confusing for the first 5 hours of play. The gameplay is pretty stale, it's imply a cover-based shooter with some magic powers to use as well. Really nothing new there. The vehicle segments are completely boring and i experienced a strange bug where all characters in the game world, friendly and enemy, turned to solid black pixels in several levels. I'm going to attribute that to this being such an old game and not made to run on current hardware. Also in the game there were tons of side missions and other planets to explore but there really wasn't any reason to do so. I never felt i was under-powered as I strictly followed the main quest line. In retrospect, i feel that if i did do all those side missions, then i'd be woefully overpowered for the storyline fights. Mass Effect is full of good ideas, none of which are fleshed out enough to make it a game worth playing unless you are a die-hard Space fan.… Expand
  29. birdman3
    Dec 11, 2013
    7
    I play this game having been an avid fan of the 2nd and 3rd installments in this trilogy. After having played through both games multiple times, I finally bought this game and played it. This game is much more like KOTOR than it is like Mass Effect 2; the influences of the KOTOR series are clearly evident. The first thing that struck me as odd was the sheer number of items in the game. InI play this game having been an avid fan of the 2nd and 3rd installments in this trilogy. After having played through both games multiple times, I finally bought this game and played it. This game is much more like KOTOR than it is like Mass Effect 2; the influences of the KOTOR series are clearly evident. The first thing that struck me as odd was the sheer number of items in the game. In Mass Effect 2, you handle only so many items (e.g. only a few different SMGs, Pistols, Assault Rifles, and a few sets of armor). In this game, inventory management is a necessity because you pick up items left and right. It's not bad, it's just different. It personally wasn't my thing.

    2nd point- the graphics in this game are quite dated, as is the combat system and AI. The graphics and textures are fuzzy at best, even when played on max settings. The combat system feels much more turn-based, like KOTOR, than free-flow, like Mass Effect 2. The biotic and tech powers don't have the level of depth that is presented in Mass Effect 2, and the weapon systems is very biased. I played as a Sentinel for the first time in my Mass Effect career, and I was mostly unimpressed. At the beginning, when I only had a few tech/biotic powers, battles were very boring because I could only use my abilities once every other battle because of the long cooldown. I relied heavily on my pistol, which was the only weapon I was allowed to use because of my character class. For the rest of the game, the only other weapon I fired was my shotgun on the rare occasion that I felt that it would be useful. This rarely ever happened. Once I leveled up high enough to have multiple powers, I felt unstoppable because I would blow all my cooldowns in every battle and destroy all my enemies. This was more fun, but I was still stuck using a pistol. Finally, the controls (especially while in cover) were very finicky. I found myself rarely ever taking cover, and mostly just ran around with my gun pointed out to shoot down baddies.
    Every thing that this game does right is continued in the future games in the series. Luckily, the things that just stand in the way of fun have been removed.    … Expand
  30. stern
    Dec 8, 2013
    6
    I have played many Bioware games: Baldur's Gate, Kotor, Dragon Age: Origins, Swtor... I came to play Mass Effect a long time after release due to a recent fascination with scifi books and movies, and a sudden free time in my life. So I consider my review somewhat mature and balance, and I'm not a Bioware hater neither a stupid fanboy.
    First, one of the reasons I think so many reviews are    I have played many Bioware games: Baldur's Gate, Kotor, Dragon Age: Origins, Swtor... I came to play Mass Effect a long time after release due to a recent fascination with scifi books and movies, and a sudden free time in my life. So I consider my review somewhat mature and balance, and I'm not a Bioware hater neither a stupid fanboy.
    First, one of the reasons I think so many reviews are high about this game, is because it fills a very empty niche. It's a clear fact that the scifi and space opera themes aren't much represented in the rpgs, and when it comes a game that let's you explore remote planets, imagine humanity future, dwell in galatic politics with different species... Well, this game is going to a thirsty and numerous audience who grew up with Dune, Star Trek, Star wars, etc, and always hoped to experience the same thing in a game.
    And Mass Effect delivers what it promises: it has great concept art, great graphics, a great feel, an eletronic and 80ish soundtrack, an average to good lore... But suffers from the same problems of many others BW games. One wonders how much they spend with writers while the company grows. Is the writing an underfunded sector? Are the writers few? Because their plots, dialogues and (some) characters, are as bland, immature and immerson breaking as one can get. And it's the same old formula of any BW rpg since Kotor, you always have a bulky, angry, agressive companion who worked as a mercenary and who tell plenty of stories of his battles; the protagonist is always a stupid manicheist characte, being either a perfect stupid and law abiding paladin or a ruthless monster who doesn't care about anything at all, withou grey tones between these two poles; the romatic relationships are always dealt with a complete lack of sublety and maturity; etc.
    What actually most surprised (and disappointed) me was to see that Mass Effect main plot is an exact copy of Kotor: an ancient space faring civilization built powerful stuff which is buried in several planets, a villain is after these artifacts and you are in a race against this villain, with all the universe hopes and future on your shoulders, but, ironically, the very own governments and political entities leading this universe you try to save doesn't recognize the threat.
    As you can imagine this leads to very bland experiences where no question is proposed to the player, where no though and conflicting choices need to be made, where you feel sometimes as banging your character head in the floor, only to be able to answer or react to things diffferently. Oh, but if you did that you would be acquiring "evil" points... And after you reach the half of the game, it's basically pure grinding and repetitiveness until reaching the end, and being interesting again. Add this to a worse combat system than Kotor or Dragon Age, where you can even change whom time member you control and this it.
    But Mass Effect isn't only bad points, as I mentioned is amazing to imagine humanity future, colonies in Mars, wars against others species, psionic powers... The Quaranians for example are very interesting and give many food for thought, specially as a reflection of real world politics.
    So, as a tl,dr: Play Mass Effect without expecting too much or a big deviation from your average BW rpg. Just be advised that this isn't like the first Deus Ex and there isn't any mind blowing event or amazing writing, just the overbeated "epic" story of good against the evil.    … Expand
  31. MeritCoba
    Nov 2, 2015
    5
    Games like Mass Effect that are hard to be valued in a single number. Back in the day, 2008, it awed me. It offered the immersion and character building of a roleplay game blended it with the fast paced combat of a shooter. This made the game different from many others and for me a most satisfactorily pastime. But how well does Mass Effect hold up seven years later?

    Most games get old    Games like Mass Effect that are hard to be valued in a single number. Back in the day, 2008, it awed me. It offered the immersion and character building of a roleplay game blended it with the fast paced combat of a shooter. This made the game different from many others and for me a most satisfactorily pastime. But how well does Mass Effect hold up seven years later?

    Most games get old eventually and what used to be interesting features becomes mainstream or redundant. So with the game features getting old the emphasis shifts to things like story telling. Unfortunately Mass Effect isn't well suited for this as its strength was the mix of combat, story telling and exploration. And with both combat and space exploration getting tedious the game is required to limp on the story alone.
    The main weakness of the combat is the enemy. The AI knows three tactics, standing in the open and firing at you, staying in cover and sometimes firing at you, or assaulting you directly. To slightly vary movement there is a sequencer put in which makes it appear as if they move left and right because of smart tactics. Your own team member's AI are even worse and you will find that they often won't advance, get stuck or fire at obstacles instead of enemies.
    Exploration is boring. One part of space exploration consist of flying to planets to look at them. You get a small story and sometimes you survey them. The other part to landing on some planet. For that you use the Mako, which is uber powerful. It has the only cannon that instants hits, while the enemy only shoots rockets and balls of power which take time to travel and do not track so you can move out of the way..
    Another subject is character building. There are only skills to assign. Each class has a fixed set of limited skills.You level often and the story flow is often interrupted while you fix your characters skills before moving on. Halfway through the game the skill point assign becomes pointless as by that time you have maxed out all your important skills.
    Another aspect of the game is finding equipment. You get hundreds of useless weapons, armor, and upgrades that you all have to shift through and you can't sort. At some point you start to dread the crates, containers and lockers because you have to open them all just in case you might find that one thing that is better than what you have. And selling them in a store, far and in between, only gives you a trivial amount of money.

    What is left to discuss is the story. The storyline is the politicians-suck-so-soldiers-have-to-save-the-universe-from-the-bad-guy version with ambassador Udina and the Council of the Galaxy taking the brunt of the scorn. This nonsense will continue throughout the series and it hammers in that politicians are double dealing inept scum, private enterprises are corrupt at best and nefarious at worse and only soldiers, members of a non-democratic authoritarian organisation, can be trusted to do the right thing.
    The main adversary, Saren, is the most interesting character while your main character Shepard is a dullard. A soldier through and through without anything interesting to say. How bland Shepard is can be witnessed whenever Anderson is in the same scene: he just steals every scene.
    The women of the party consists of Ashley, a whiny **** Liara, a bland character, leaving only Tali to offer some personality. The men are better of with the Wrex having the best character related story line that ties in well with the fate of the galaxy and is a shining example of well done story telling. Garrus is another well rounded character. Kaiden is easily forgotten.
    Mass Effect faces the problem is to make you belief that a one single person can make a difference. This results in hilarious inconsistencies. Somehow everyone knows you are a spectre, a highly secretive operative, yet when the plot requires it they don't know. You have a powerful spaceship that is special because it has a cloaking device, but it seems unable to give you air support for most of the time or even to intercept enemy ships. At one point during the game it lands so you can place a nuke, but it can't drop the nuke!
    More inconsistencies. The council doesn't believe anything you say yet they do sent in an infiltration unit to investigate the enemies secret lab. The enemy moves its fleets everywhere, using the Mass Effect relays to attack colonies and planets, even some important ones,but somehow only you can stop them.
    However, the story makes up for all of this at the end when it works towards a climatic end that still is one of the best I have ever seen. When you crash land the Mako through a Mass Effect relay as part off confronting the bad guy Saren, it does what is right. And when you have your final verbal bout with him you realize that it is Saren who dominated this game the whole time and not you. Funny that.    … Expand
  32. Hack
    Jun 9, 2017
    6
    I'd say the game holds up surprisingly well given its age, far better than most games from that time period. Visually it's a mixed bag, with some textures and models looking damn good for the time and others looking really bad, quite an inconsistent presentation overall I'd say. The audio was good, some great music coupled with solid voice acting for the most part, there were some reallyI'd say the game holds up surprisingly well given its age, far better than most games from that time period. Visually it's a mixed bag, with some textures and models looking damn good for the time and others looking really bad, quite an inconsistent presentation overall I'd say. The audio was good, some great music coupled with solid voice acting for the most part, there were some really noticeable poor jobs though, male Shepard was so bad I had to switch to female, and I also thought Kaidan Alenko was poorly voiced. Gameplay was OK but I'd say this is where most of the issues were, the biggest being the woeful AI, enemies would often stand in the open not firing or hide behind cover permanently, never making an attempt to attack or find a better position, your own squad would constantly try to shoot hidden enemies through walls and pillars etc, it was just poor in every way. Another sore spot was the Mako, driving that thing was not fun at all because it handled so poorly, you'd hit a pebble in the road and end up doing a 4 flip somersault, I really hope this is tightened up in the next game. Those were the biggest gameplay issues but I also feel the cover system could be better, it got me killed a couple of times and I wasn't a fan of the planet map system, it felt slow and clunky navigate. The last issue I had was the head bob/camera shake when sprinting, it actually made me feel nauseous so I spent most of the game jogging instead.

    The story is a huge part of any RPG and it was good, well told and interesting and I felt it really picked up in the last couple of hours, the ending was satisfying and I even got some chills from the final scenes. I like how there were some tough decisions throughout the game that had a major impact on the story. I feel they ended the first game well and it makes me want to jump straight into the sequel.

    Overall a solid first entry with plenty of room for improvement, Mass Effect 2 is downloading now and I'll get into it very soon, I'm looking forward to seeing the improvements they made, it's not often you get to try the sequel straight after the original so the changes/fixes should be very apparent.    … Expand
  33. ShawnD
    Jan 9, 2018
    6
    Great ideas ruined by terrible controls.

    It's hard to describe how awful the controls are in this game. Here's a sequence of events you will encounter dozens or possibly hundreds of times throughout the game. 1 - Holding the right moust button to aim. So far so good. 2 - Walking while aiming. Still good. 3 - Get too close to a wall or something while walking. 4 - Shepard stops    Great ideas ruined by terrible controls.

    It's hard to describe how awful the controls are in this game. Here's a sequence of events you will encounter dozens or possibly hundreds of times throughout the game.
    1 - Holding the right moust button to aim. So far so good.
    2 - Walking while aiming. Still good.
    3 - Get too close to a wall or something while walking.
    4 - Shepard stops aiming, puts his gun down, turns his back to the wall, and leaves his head completely exposed to enemy fire.
    5 - Shepard dies from a shot to the back of the head.
    6 - Reload the game and experience the exact same thing on a different wall or a different piece of furniture.

    If Bioware wanted the game to be impossibly difficult, why didn't they just make the enemies harder to hit? Or make them do more damage? Giving me good equipment but terrible controls is probably the worst design choice possible. Mass Effect easily rivals the NES Castlevania games for worst controls in video game history.

    I should have known something was screwy when I noticed options for auto aim in a PC game. That's when the developers know the game is completely broken. They know the game hates you and doesn't want you to aim at anything, so they try to balance it out by adding auto aim instead of just fixing the damn controls.    … Expand
  34. godunow
    Mar 22, 2016
    5
    Very mediocre, boring game.

    Great production values - animations, voice acting - but the story is really lame and shooter gameplay bored me to death.
  35. 345Y
    Aug 22, 2016
    6
    Bought this game on Steam-Sale. Played ME first time and finished ME1 under 10 hours. The game is not bad, but also not as good as its hyped. The story, though, is nice. But compared to other games its not that good. Still I'm going to play ME2. All in all its an O.K. game, but there are far better ones, but also far worse ones.
  36. Cuervo_Funebre
    Mar 18, 2017
    7
    Si hablamos del argumento, es de sobresaliente. Tenemos un villano con bastante profundidad y una amenaza que supera por mucho lo que la comandante Shepard habría podido esperar. Pero por mucho.
    La trama avanza de forma ágil y bien construida que favorece la inmersión.
    Sus personajes, empezando por la mismísima Shepard, se sienten como personas reales, rozando lo cinematográfico. Ese es    Si hablamos del argumento, es de sobresaliente. Tenemos un villano con bastante profundidad y una amenaza que supera por mucho lo que la comandante Shepard habría podido esperar. Pero por mucho.
    La trama avanza de forma ágil y bien construida que favorece la inmersión.
    Sus personajes, empezando por la mismísima Shepard, se sienten como personas reales, rozando lo cinematográfico. Ese es el gran punto fuerte y el sello de identidad de Bioware.
    Y bueno, el enfrentamiento final es de 10.

    Hasta aquí todo lo bueno que puedo decir. Mientras resalta por su argumento, todo lo demás lo convierte en un suplicio rejugable para mí. La novedad de la primera vez empañó todo esto y me impidió centrarme en muchos aspectos flojos del juego.
    El sistema de combate es imperfecto y molesto en su mejor momento y desastroso en el peor. Aunque claro, esto puede variar según el estilo de juego de cada uno, claro. Como soldado fue horrible. Una experiencia de una y no más.
    La introducción de tus compañeros de equipo es contrainmersiva ya que está claro quiénes van a ser mucho antes de serlo. Es del tipo "cientos de krogan sin nombre y justo uno con nombre y algo de narrativa. Mmm, seguro que será el krogan 35". Eso con todos los compañeros, siendo quizá Liara la única medianamente bien introducida, por obvias razones ya que la intención del estudio se huele de lejos.
    Pero lo más desilusionante es la capacidad de explorar decenas de planetas idénticos que sólo cambian en la paleta de colores que usa y en los coleccionables que contienen. Al menos conducir el Mako me resultaba entretenido.

    Es un gran juego, no me entendáis mal, pero no soporta que lo vuelva a jugar. En PC es cuanto menos mejorable.

    Pros:
    -El worldbuilding es impresionante.
    -El desarrollo de personajes y su profundidad.
    -El argumento bien trabajado.

    Contras:
    -El sistema de combate sin pulir.
    -La exploración vacía.
    -Los bugs.    … Expand
  37. Kulac
    Apr 4, 2017
    7
    Not so interesting as next parts of Mass Effect but it is beginning of great universe. Very boring and monotonous side missions, dead planets and bland characters. Nevertheless, a strong storyline and good graphics, music, and good lore doing their job
  38. Trenos
    Nov 29, 2017
    7
    The beginning of epic trilogy,..... hasn't aged too well. Still great story, soundtrack and characters but very bad game-play and terrible side-quests. Still, it is worth playing!
  39. yota71
    Jan 10, 2020
    6
    Maybe in the 2007 this was a good game, but i have played it in the 2016 and let me say this game hasn't aged well, a pretty **** AI, companion that are blocked behind a wall, incapable to escape from an elevator and so on and so on, ME2 is a way much better
  40. kevin32
    Oct 28, 2020
    7
    It's all for ME2 and ME3 but it's quite enought, too. why jane CAN'T romance with Ashley?
  41. NeilJ.
    Jul 7, 2008
    7
    The conversation trees/voiceover/storytelling and the cinematography/cutscenes are excellent, maybe the best in any game ever. Some of the music is fabulous. The sound is good. The character art is spectacular. Everything else in Mass Effect is limited and substandard. The single main quest line is incredibly short; map design is a rudimentary rail-ride of long hallways and stairwells The conversation trees/voiceover/storytelling and the cinematography/cutscenes are excellent, maybe the best in any game ever. Some of the music is fabulous. The sound is good. The character art is spectacular. Everything else in Mass Effect is limited and substandard. The single main quest line is incredibly short; map design is a rudimentary rail-ride of long hallways and stairwells filled with boxes so that the cover system can work; the combat is wonky; the side missions are a boring, bare, repetitive steppinfetchit 360-accomplishment-geared affair, where 'replay value' is based on how much time you can waste collecting crap (this is 'content'?); the vehicle sequences-- bigger, longer hallways-- are pure garbage and nothing more than padding. As another review said, "Mass Effect is a bland shooter mixed with a bland driving game mixed with a bland RPG." I agree with the first two. It's a bland shooter mixed with a bland driving game mixed with an incredibly sophisticated and polished, but ridiculously short and content-limited, RPG.… Expand
  42. AbhijeetM
    Nov 6, 2009
    7
    Mass Effect's a good game. But certainly not good enough to deserve a 100. The gameplay is interesting enough, but all the guns feel the same after a while, and the sidequests are the most unimaginative in RPG history. Story is amazing, with the new dialogue system giving it a cinematic feel, with scenes flowing continuously. The voice acting, however, is standard. Not as good as the Mass Effect's a good game. But certainly not good enough to deserve a 100. The gameplay is interesting enough, but all the guns feel the same after a while, and the sidequests are the most unimaginative in RPG history. Story is amazing, with the new dialogue system giving it a cinematic feel, with scenes flowing continuously. The voice acting, however, is standard. Not as good as the reviewers are saying it to be. Commander Shephard voices most lines pretty monotonously. Get it if you're an RPG fan, looking for a good story, but at the same time, looking for an FPS view.… Expand
  43. JohnR
    Jan 11, 2010
    7
    If Mass Effect supported the use of a wireless 360 controller, and if the player could jump, then it would be an awesome game. Graphics, sound, animation, voice acting, and story are all top notch.
  44. GytautasP.
    Jul 14, 2008
    7
    Highly overrated (maybe because nothing better on the scene). Graphics is OK but nothing spectacular. Story and idea is a mixture of many games, but nothing new.
  45. MikeN.
    Jul 24, 2008
    7
    Top-notch voice acting and animation. The game design is not very impressive however. Gameplay consist of unexciting and repetitive FPS action in a series of look-alike rooms. I actually enjoyed the tank fighting more than the shooter segments, but this is hardly a deep game either. The RPG elements are also exceedingly simplistic. The biotic powers are simultaneously overpowered and Top-notch voice acting and animation. The game design is not very impressive however. Gameplay consist of unexciting and repetitive FPS action in a series of look-alike rooms. I actually enjoyed the tank fighting more than the shooter segments, but this is hardly a deep game either. The RPG elements are also exceedingly simplistic. The biotic powers are simultaneously overpowered and uninteresting. The whole "Mass Effect" concept that gives the game its title amounts to little more than the ability to float your enemies around the room while you shoot them to death. That, plus some stuns, are pretty much the entire biotic game. The dialogue trees, in traditional "talking RPG" fashion, consist of two dialogue choices----- both of which do the same thing. Your choices mean nothing. So, to sum up, we have a sham RPG combined with a lame shooter and a shallow driving game. The voice acting is memorable and the villain is actually somewhat frightening, but, honestly, as an interactive game, this is fairly weak. Considering that the story is the only good part of this game, there is the additional problem that the story is far too short. I experienced frequent crashes, save often.… Expand
  46. JeremyL
    Jul 21, 2008
    7
    Terribly, terribly overrated. It's basically a third-person shooter with some limited team tactics thrown in, buoyed by some excellent voice acting and a fairly lame plot. There's very little difference between the missions: creep around complex, hide behind crates, shoot bad guys, get in vehicle, shoot big robots, rinse, repeat. It's fun, but if you're a decent Terribly, terribly overrated. It's basically a third-person shooter with some limited team tactics thrown in, buoyed by some excellent voice acting and a fairly lame plot. There's very little difference between the missions: creep around complex, hide behind crates, shoot bad guys, get in vehicle, shoot big robots, rinse, repeat. It's fun, but if you're a decent shooter player and have the PC version with a mouse and keyboard, it's ridiculously easy. I'm not great gamer by any stretch, but finished this game in about 18 hours. Very disappointing, considering the ratings. Oblivion absolutely, totally and utterly owns this game. As a shooter, Call of Duty 4 is better, as a third-person shooter Gears of War is better. Bioware mailed this one in compared to what it could be and their press lackeys/fatuous public lapped it up. Lots better fare than this out there, even though it is a fun game most of the time.… Expand
  47. Aika
    Nov 16, 2009
    7
    Don't believe the hype. I love space opera and I love Bioware products, but with this one they got me mightily disappointed. Mass Effect DOES feel like a great space opera, no doubt about that, the cinematics are fine, the production value great, the story immersive, but the game itself is surprisingly mediocre. In fact, it's everything you can expect from a console port RPG - Don't believe the hype. I love space opera and I love Bioware products, but with this one they got me mightily disappointed. Mass Effect DOES feel like a great space opera, no doubt about that, the cinematics are fine, the production value great, the story immersive, but the game itself is surprisingly mediocre. In fact, it's everything you can expect from a console port RPG - the gameplay is simplified, quite shallow, very often boring and not very engaging. The worst part of the game is the combat, the items and the character development. The side quest are repetitive and the rewards are not very rewarding or useful. All in all, Mass Effect feels like the developers put a lot of work and effort into the polish and appearance, but neglected some core gameplay and environment design aspects, some of which feels positively cheap. But don't get me wrong, it's not a terrible game, it just feels more like an interactive movie than a proper RPG. But if you like it that way, you will have a good time playing Mass Effect.… Expand
  48. Squadinho
    Mar 18, 2013
    7
    Just finished my latest play through of this after a year or so break and what a brilliant game. I'll cover the negatives first, as for me there are couple.

    It is fairly slow to get going. The pace at which you move round the world for me is a little bit too slow. This can be helped in certain locations by using 'rapid transit' terminals which instantly transport you around, but you    Just finished my latest play through of this after a year or so break and what a brilliant game. I'll cover the negatives first, as for me there are couple.

    It is fairly slow to get going. The pace at which you move round the world for me is a little bit too slow. This can be helped in certain locations by using 'rapid transit' terminals which instantly transport you around, but you risk losing out on side missions if you do this.

    The main missions themselves also follow the same, repetitive path. All involve a lengthy and boring drive along a basically one way road, simply blasting enemies that offer no real resistance to you (even on higher difficulties). You then reach where you need to be, get out and kick some ass.

    The side missions as well are also very repetitive. All featured in pretty much identical in their layout, there seems to be three different layouts which you visit over and over again. Again, driving around makes up a good portion of these missions in terrain that is at points a massive pain in the neck to negotiate.

    Where this game makes up for it though, is the story and interaction with your squad mates. Each has a backstory and you feel you want to get to know them. A couple of choices through the game are almost heart-wrenching, and even playing it through for the fourth if fifth time they really make you think.

    On-foot combat is fun and engaging, although the AI doesn't seem particularly intelligent. You just get rushed, so hiding round a corner with a shotgun is your best bet.

    This game would be average at best if it wasn't for the story and characters. If you're looking for non stop action, this game isn't for you. If you want an engaging story, then you have to play this.    … Expand
  49. SomberMitsuki
    Jun 8, 2021
    5
    I've recently started replaying this sci-fi classic. I had originally played on the whichever xbox it was out on at the time. At first it was fun to relive a bit of that Nostalgia. The grand music scores, the expansive rich story full of lore for so many different alien races. Even the old jankyness has it sort of charm. However my joy faded sooner than anticipated as i've had to repeatI've recently started replaying this sci-fi classic. I had originally played on the whichever xbox it was out on at the time. At first it was fun to relive a bit of that Nostalgia. The grand music scores, the expansive rich story full of lore for so many different alien races. Even the old jankyness has it sort of charm. However my joy faded sooner than anticipated as i've had to repeat a question over and over anytime combat starts. Were the squadmates always so...flimsy and unresponsive?

    Over and over i've had to one many army fights because Garrus would immediately all over dead at the slightest sneeze and the fearsome sight of our foes sent Ashley fainting. At first i thought maybe it was the gear we were using, maybe the armor was just not stury enough so i upgraded but no. Lo and behold every combat situation as soon as it starts my squadmates go down.

    Even if they do last long enough for me to be able to issue them directions to get into cover most times they will stand there, unmoving like "Nah, I got this, watch me catch their bullets with my teeth." It's gotten to the point that i can only play the game in hour at most bursts because of the frustration caused the teammate a.i drains any fun from the game.    … Expand
  50. Toffenuff
    Jun 19, 2013
    7
    While I can agree, to a point, that the story for the first game is somewhat better than the second, I think part of it is because it introduced us to the world no, universe of Mass Effect in a fantastic way. Definitely a story-driven game. There are a lot of twists and turns in this game, a lot of choices that have to be made that impact how the rest of the story, and own characterWhile I can agree, to a point, that the story for the first game is somewhat better than the second, I think part of it is because it introduced us to the world no, universe of Mass Effect in a fantastic way. Definitely a story-driven game. There are a lot of twists and turns in this game, a lot of choices that have to be made that impact how the rest of the story, and own character development plus their relationship with Shepard as the game progresses.

    Graphics are decent for the year it was released, but I feel like some of the textures could've been improved and bumped up at least to look better on the PC version. They used what they had well though to create large, believable environments that gave you the feeling that you truly were trotting around the universe in an effort to save it.

    Combat is okay. I actually prefer the combat of the later games.

    Knocked points because of the following gripes/cons that really dampened my gaming experience: overly long and repetitive Mako driving, tedious and confusing inventory and looting system (terrible UI in general, but that's what you get from a console port). These were serious issues for me would've given this game a 9 otherwise.

    The only one of the Mass Effects that I haven't replayed at all because of the gripes I have listed. But still a great game if you haven't gotten into the Mass Effect series than you MUST play this (I know people who only play ME2 and then ME3).    … Expand
  51. MightyThor
    Apr 2, 2014
    5
    I think I made the mistake of playing these out of order. I started with ME2 for pc. Amazing game, one of my top 5 easily. Going back to try and replay this one I can never get further in than a couple hours.

    My main gripe is the combat is atrocious compared to the sequels. You're still supposed to use the cover system but it's broken, nearly impossible to shoot without completely    I think I made the mistake of playing these out of order. I started with ME2 for pc. Amazing game, one of my top 5 easily. Going back to try and replay this one I can never get further in than a couple hours.

    My main gripe is the combat is atrocious compared to the sequels. You're still supposed to use the cover system but it's broken, nearly impossible to shoot without completely leaving cover in many fights like in the bar fight early in the game as you look for Wrex. Then the weapons are so confusing. Unlike the simplistic yet effective system in 2 (weapons are limited by class) and the innovative system in 3 (you can use any weapon but heavier ones increase your power cooldowns), in this one you can use any weapon but if you don't have the training for it you miss shots or do less damage or something. I can't quite figure it out.

    Then there's the openness and rpg elements. I was expecting a 3rd person action game with rpg elements like the sequels. Mass effect 1 tries to be a much deeper rpg with convoluted skills and TONS of gear. Like you collect dozens of weapons and put individual part upgrades on each one. It's complete overkill for a game like this. If I want more complex skills I'll go play DA:Origins or if I want tons of loot to manage I'll look into Torchlight. I just don't feel it adds to the game here and it gets annoying.

    Judged on its own the game is probably better than a 5, but compared to the sequels it doesn't have a leg to stand on and I have to rate it low simply cus there is no point in playing this game when you can play the excellent follow ups. Just read the wiki to get a synopsis of the story and you're good to go.    … Expand
  52. neacaisa
    Apr 2, 2013
    6
    A great example of how reviewers got the standards lower every year. Mass effect is not such a great game, the only really good thing it's the main story. Apart from that, we have uninteresting and repetitive secondary missions, combat with potential but it goes down due to horrible party control, bad inventory interface, mostly uninteresting party members and unbalanced gameplay (the gameA great example of how reviewers got the standards lower every year. Mass effect is not such a great game, the only really good thing it's the main story. Apart from that, we have uninteresting and repetitive secondary missions, combat with potential but it goes down due to horrible party control, bad inventory interface, mostly uninteresting party members and unbalanced gameplay (the game gets easier halfway through). It's sad cause the setting was really good with an interesting plot, but on most aspects the game was really disappointing.… Expand
  53. ERB
    Jul 31, 2013
    7
    Good game.Love it.With good graphics and game play This deserves to have a good rating from the critics.But only reason why I put it a score of 7 is because the ending is bad.But you should play this,It is worth it.
  54. sft
    Jul 7, 2013
    6
    Not quite the full kilo

    MASS EFFECT is a mixed bag of a game: everything about it is good in some ways but not in others. The most notable achievement perhaps is the rich storyline and detailed universe created by the developers (there is plenty to read here I started by reading every word but confess to scanning some texts as the game progressed). The graphics are good in parts but    Not quite the full kilo

    MASS EFFECT is a mixed bag of a game: everything about it is good in some ways but not in others. The most notable achievement perhaps is the rich storyline and detailed universe created by the developers (there is plenty to read here I started by reading every word but confess to scanning some texts as the game progressed). The graphics are good in parts but not in others (I know this game came out in 2007 but then so did Crysis). The voice acting is overall pretty good and there are plenty of branches to the dialogue trees. And this is where MASS EFFECT’s strengths lie: in the role playing aspects of the game. You’re given the opportunity to be the good guy or the not so good guy, depending on how you wish to play. Less successful is the combat, which, for the most part, failed to engage. Also the side missions are very repetitive and dull. The vehicle you get to drive on numerous occasions bounces around like a drunken bouncy thing, and there are endless elevators that take too long to ascend or descend. Oh, and the UI for selecting skills, weapons etc. is needlessly complex.

    Overall MASS EFFECT is worth playing but the whole experience is oddly detached and vaguely unsatisfying. I have MASS EFFECT 2 also. I understand it’s much improved on the first.    … Expand
  55. urisvesk
    Nov 15, 2013
    7
    Good game with awesome characters and story. The gameplay is good engough once you realize how it works. It has also an Awesome soundtrack! Totally worth to be played.
  56. AdamCroston
    Oct 27, 2013
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Decent game play with an interesting level up and dialogue (which has nothing on the walking dead) system. Additionally the game throws up some crucial decisions for you to make which can alter the event of the game in a small way but never strays to far away from the inevitable (yet satisfying) ending. Slightly spoiled through the absence of controller support but when I got around that enjoyed the game. Plenty of hours in this game with many side missions to complete. Cannot deny that this game is at times engrossing through it's great dialogue and gripping story line regardless of the many texture failures and crashes that you may encounter. BioWare have definitely convinced me to carry on my involvement with this series with this game, with myself already purchasing Mass Effect 2 just moments after the completion of the first one.… Expand
  57. entelejent
    Mar 9, 2014
    7
    Both ambitious and disappointing. The foundation is mostly built but lacking. Some things are almost amazing, but ideas are generally implemented and left unfinished or ragged. Some examples:

    –The characters are a tricky bunch. People are too shallow and often cliché to be believable. Some of the better characters could have been incredible, but even the well-developed ones suffer from    Both ambitious and disappointing. The foundation is mostly built but lacking. Some things are almost amazing, but ideas are generally implemented and left unfinished or ragged. Some examples:

    –The characters are a tricky bunch. People are too shallow and often cliché to be believable. Some of the better characters could have been incredible, but even the well-developed ones suffer from plot-induced inconsistencies of their own.
    –Character creation is limited yet confusing; both verdicts are by today’s standards.

    Personally, I enjoy watching good cut scenes, and I appreciate how many this game has. But the quality’s not all there.
    –Transitions are obvious, too choppy.
    –Cut scenes are in a similar predicament as characters. Several cinematic details are very satisfying, yet they often share space with insensible things that are common in games. Here, those stand out all the more because of the satisfying moments.
    –With interactive dialogue, less is offered than might seem; choosing a different dialogue option does not necessarily provide a different sentence, nor are answers regularly changed or streamlined in response to how a question is asked.
    –Movie segments can’t be skipped, which can be annoying. Dialogue segments can be, though they’re orchestrated in a way that pressing the button to skip the next line will run a high risk of inadvertently selecting your next response as well.

    –Though the equipment system is impressively done, if feeling incomplete, money doesn’t have much value. Generally, by the time you can buy something, you’ve found and equipped all your party with better items. The game can be finished without ever buying equipment.
    –The equipment system is not structured for new players. A first-time player may sometimes regret putting points into a skill, when some equipment makes the skill almost obsolete.
    –Combat is in some ways poorly done and becomes repetitive. It does have some good things about it, keeping it overall OK.

    With the things so far, I would have awarded this game a 9. But the skill system and story, such important parts of an RPG, are in some ways below just lacking, they may be better off thrown away then replaced by other ideas than touched up.
    –The skill trees and vocations are very poorly done for such a large game: they’re far too simple, trivial, and unexciting. There’s also very little specialization, and characters tend end up sharing most of the available skills.
    –The main mission system is short, and could probably be completed in several hours. To get into the double digits of playing hours, the side missions are necessary. Unfortunately, those side missions aren’t connected very well with the main missions, and you may be left with a, “So what?” feeling when completing them, especially because the good moments make you expect more. And you can easily finish the game before realizing that you haven’t visited some worlds or done some things.
    –The in-game descriptions are botched. Backgrounds and explanations tend to be ludicrous; the developers usually show shallow understanding of how a system works, and they often pile possibilities onto ideas without contacting experts, or even asking less knowledgeable but somewhat logical people, to see whether something can apply or is possible. At other times they overwhelm with jargon, keeping people from understanding how something works; meanwhile, people who already understand it will realize that the explanation, again, doesn’t work.

    Mass Effect reaches out and takes risks, which is very nice to see. But, maybe from the developers focusing on innovation, both basics and polishing suffer, and the game as a whole is only part of what it could be, and sometimes not even that.    … Expand
  58. Colestramus
    May 14, 2015
    7
    I just love Mass Effect, especially the story and how you grow with other characters. It makes me feel like I actually could shed few tears if they die in combat...and thats also the problem. They die CONSTANTLY. AI pretty much sucks in this game. When you for example, tell them to go against the wall, youd think they automatically take cover...but noooo... "Hello, my name is Talia, ImI just love Mass Effect, especially the story and how you grow with other characters. It makes me feel like I actually could shed few tears if they die in combat...and thats also the problem. They die CONSTANTLY. AI pretty much sucks in this game. When you for example, tell them to go against the wall, youd think they automatically take cover...but noooo... "Hello, my name is Talia, Im just standing here, middle of the fire". Doh.… Expand
  59. Inheritance92
    Nov 10, 2018
    7
    An obvious console port.
    Very short, terrible and clunky UI (buying/selling, travelling, quest log are a real torture), low poly environments. Even minigames are built for a controller. Prepare to see the same 2-3 dungeon layouts everywhere.
  60. ilovetaifu
    Jul 9, 2016
    7
    I'm not really into american RPGs (I usually prefer JRPG) but this one is very good. The story is good. I like the possibilies of customization and that it's not too action-based like some other recent AAA games. Still, the game becomes repetitive at times, with all the fetch quests.
  61. CoreGamer1408
    May 17, 2019
    7
    Interesting science fiction space exploration ARPG game. The execution was not so great, but a lot of great concepts and ideas all in one package. More fun that fail for sure.
  62. kch3691
    Apr 8, 2018
    6
    I really wanted to like this game but the clunky combat and lack of immersion from the narrative made me progressively loose interest in this one. The world building is great but canned dialog and by the numbers space opera plot dissapointed me.
  63. jeidoz
    Jan 26, 2021
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Як для гравця із 2021го, інтерфейс є доволі складним і не зразу привичним. Сюжет і варіативність діалогів просто епічна як для гри 2007-2008го року. РПГ система на висоті: ти можеш страдати і намагатися вбити боса, а можеш просто відговорити його фразами Героя чи Відступника; Ти можеш зберегти життя набридливої тобі Ради Галактики, чи пожертувати ними ради збереження життів мешканців Цитаделі; Можеш обрати хто буде представляти сторону людства в Раді: військовий Адмірал чи старий політик, що підтирався до минулої ради (якою, ти в свою чергу, вже подертвував). Відчуття загалом задовільні. Мінус пару балів за кривуватий порт із коробки на ПК (текстури мильні, анімації персонажів інколи хаотично перепригують, обриваються фрази діалогів, не дуже зрозуміла механіка бігу, і пздц довгий перегрів зброї, да й вобще хрін поньмеш де гранати відновити, аби колоністів не вбивати на вашій сюжетній місії, коли ти по тупості скинув цілебні гранати в мобів, що не рахувались зараженими колоністами). А так за музику, атмосферу, РПГшність і можливості на 2008 заїбісь.… Expand
  64. Nerp47
    Aug 17, 2018
    7
    Mass Effect is a great RPG/Tactical Third Person Shooter with an interesting story and great characters.

    Pros: +Support for newer resolutions. +Well written characters with interesting backstories and realistic personalities. +Unlike most current gen RPGs, Mass Effect's side quests feel like stories, and are almost always well written and don't feel like they were tacked on just to    Mass Effect is a great RPG/Tactical Third Person Shooter with an interesting story and great characters.

    Pros:
    +Support for newer resolutions.
    +Well written characters with interesting backstories and realistic personalities.
    +Unlike most current gen RPGs, Mass Effect's side quests feel like stories, and are almost always well written and don't feel like they were tacked on just to have more content.
    +Well written and interesting lore and history of each and every race.
    +Exploring space is fun and the descriptions and details of planets is well made.
    +Ordering characters to use their powers is quick and simple and can lead to some cool combos.

    Cons:
    -Combat feels bland and lacks impact.
    -On higher difficulties you can't always tell you're being hit until you die.
    -Controls can feel clunky especially when moving in and out of cover.
    -Animations are bad even for it's time.
    -Sound quality for everything other than voices is pretty mediocre
    -Lack of anti aliasing

    Mass Effect is a badly aged but fun TPS RPG with a great story,great characters and interesting world
    While it is a Third Person Shooter, It's more of an RPG before it's a Third Person Shooter.On a side note, I really wish we could have more orders for party members.    … Expand
  65. kycokkycka
    Jan 8, 2019
    6
    не оч не оч не оч не оч не оч не оч не оч не оч не оч
  66. 4ya5h1
    Jun 7, 2021
    6
    worst game in ME triology but still pretty good. now, in 2021 this game feels a little old, but anyway mass effect is must play, and i would recommend at least try this version, not remastered
  67. Vanco
    Jun 4, 2019
    7
    Great worldbuilding with lots of things to explore. Great main storyline. Side missions are pretty lackluster.
  68. jared1209
    Feb 7, 2020
    6
    Whilst fun and a good time, this game is a little bare bones. The story is interesting but overexplained. The huge amount of dialogue in this game is both impressive and redundant. The script needs editing and dialogue scenes need something more visually interesting to be happening. It needs different shot sizes, camera movement and character action. I hope you enjoy 3 recycled shots thatWhilst fun and a good time, this game is a little bare bones. The story is interesting but overexplained. The huge amount of dialogue in this game is both impressive and redundant. The script needs editing and dialogue scenes need something more visually interesting to be happening. It needs different shot sizes, camera movement and character action. I hope you enjoy 3 recycled shots that look exactly the same for all dialogue scenes because thats 60% of the game.
    This game takes forever to get going with a very long winded opening that feels like a walking simulator for the first few hours.
    Massive fail not allowing you to play the game past the end mission.
    2nd play-through wasn't worth it as the difference between classes and dialogue choices are not interesting enough to keep you playing.    … Expand
  69. Alentejano
    Aug 19, 2020
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Really interesting game that was ahead of its time.
    All the characters are great and interesting and the voice acting for everyone (including NPC's) is amazing and realistic. Besides that, the worldbuilding is perfectly planned out and this universe is well put and connected to the characters and in-game alien races.
    The story isn't anything new but it's good enough. There are some problems like: the villains are taken out of the game and don't interact with the main characters for half of the game; the shooting isn't anything spectacular but gets more interesting in the final sections of the game; the vehicle physics are incredibly stupid and have really sensitive controls; these sections are really boring, they are just running around and trying to control the vehicle while constantly shooting enemies...and the music is just decent in these parts and the game as a whole; there is some awkwardness in cutscenes: characters are being attacked and feeling pain but there is no reaction; the RPG elements and upgrades are a bit annoying.
    Even though there are a lot problems this game is something special because of the characters and a great universe and that's what is important in this game.    … Expand
  70. Corefitz
    Feb 15, 2020
    5
    Too much focus on loot in a RPG game.

    That pretty much describes what Mass Effect 1 was for an experience to me.
    Played it once to get the story.
  71. GraysonUA
    Mar 31, 2020
    7
    Цікавий світ та сюжет, різноманітні персонажі, можливість будувати з ними відносини. Але механіка бою храмає, не відчувається імпакт зброї.
  72. ProfAmateur
    Mar 12, 2022
    7
    ENGLISH & GERMAN Review and I played the remastered version.
    -> Game time with some side quests: approx. 25h
    + Great story - Big universe with some planets to explore. Some planets offer many shootouts, others diplomatic quests. + The (background) story can be explored in more detail in the various dialogs. But you don't have to if you don't want to. + The side quests are not simply    ENGLISH & GERMAN Review and I played the remastered version.
    -> Game time with some side quests: approx. 25h
    + Great story - Big universe with some planets to explore. Some planets offer many shootouts, others diplomatic quests.
    + The (background) story can be explored in more detail in the various dialogs. But you don't have to if you don't want to.
    + The side quests are not simply all marked on the map and just as often the goal is not. You have to listen carefully and if necessary read up on where exactly you have to go.
    - The dialog options are mostly just a gimmick - with no real effect on the dialog or its outcome.
    - Sprint bar is used up so quickly. The slow movement speed is annoying.
    - Shooting experience feels rather stiff.

    ___

    -> Spielzeit mit einigen Nebenquests: ca. 25h
    + Tolle Story - Grosses Universum mit einigen Planeten zum Erkunden. Einige Planeten bieten viele Schiessereien, andere diplomatische Quests.
    + Die (Hintergrund)-Geschichte kann in den diversen Dialogen genauer erforscht werden. Man muss dies aber nicht, wenn man nicht will.
    + Die Nebenquest sind nicht einfach alle auf der Karte markiert und ebenso wenig häufig auch das Ziel nicht. Man muss gut zuhören und allenfalls nachlesen, wo man genau hingehen muss.
    - Die Dialogoptionen sind grösstenteils nur eine Spielerei - ohne wirklichen Effekt auf den Dialog oder dessen Ausgang.
    - Sprint-Leiste ist so schnell aufgebraucht. Das langsame Fortbewegungstempo nervt.
    - Shooting-Erfahrung fühlt sich eher steif an.    … Expand
  73. EsteticBomzh
    Jun 24, 2020
    7
    Отличная игра с точки зрения лора, сценария, персонажей, режиссуры роликов и т.д. Но геймплей у игры всегда был довольно устаревшим и довольно спорным. В целом я люблю эту игру, но всегда ради сюжета приходилось терпеть скучную стрельбу. В целом серии mass effect необходим ремейк.Отличная игра с точки зрения лора, сценария, персонажей, режиссуры роликов и т.д. Но геймплей у игры всегда был довольно устаревшим и довольно спорным. В целом я люблю эту игру, но всегда ради сюжета приходилось терпеть скучную стрельбу. В целом серии mass effect необходим ремейк.
  74. kultigin
    Jan 3, 2021
    6
    Tried to play it in 2021 after reading all these great reviews, but had no fun out of it. Gameplay mechanics are very bad, after each dialogue, the cutscene ends and a new one starts and you feel it which makes the game unrealistic. It should be great at times but not today.

    People claim the story is great, so you can play it for that maybe. I don't think the money you should pay    Tried to play it in 2021 after reading all these great reviews, but had no fun out of it. Gameplay mechanics are very bad, after each dialogue, the cutscene ends and a new one starts and you feel it which makes the game unrealistic. It should be great at times but not today.

    People claim the story is great, so you can play it for that maybe.

    I don't think the money you should pay (%50 discount still after 13 years, WTH!!!) will worth it. My score is this bad because of the price. Otherwise, I wouldn't even post a review.    … Expand
  75. FRIST_008
    Jun 14, 2021
    7
    игра, в которую я не смог себя заставить играть, из-за однотипных второстепенных миссий
  76. FirstSpawn
    Aug 8, 2021
    7
    Игра действительно крутая конечно, тем более для 2008 года, но есть в ней косяки, которые лично меня сильно отталкивают. Например: мини локации под копирку; дубовое управление и местами непроходимость из-за мелких объектов. И что самое худшее, развитие сюжета и погружение в атмосферу, примерно первые 20% игры, на две головы выше чем при дальнейшем прохождении.Игра действительно крутая конечно, тем более для 2008 года, но есть в ней косяки, которые лично меня сильно отталкивают. Например: мини локации под копирку; дубовое управление и местами непроходимость из-за мелких объектов. И что самое худшее, развитие сюжета и погружение в атмосферу, примерно первые 20% игры, на две головы выше чем при дальнейшем прохождении.
  77. BenzoSt
    Jul 12, 2022
    6
    I think this game takes a tremendous amount of inspiration from Star Trek. This game features a fresh new science fiction universe with richly detailed descriptions of alien species, futuristic technologies, spaceships, and so on. The plot, characters, and dialogue are also exceptionally strong features. The action, however, is simple and boring, and inventory management is a tedious painI think this game takes a tremendous amount of inspiration from Star Trek. This game features a fresh new science fiction universe with richly detailed descriptions of alien species, futuristic technologies, spaceships, and so on. The plot, characters, and dialogue are also exceptionally strong features. The action, however, is simple and boring, and inventory management is a tedious pain in the buttocks if you insist on optimizing your equipment.… Expand
  78. vova22379
    Jan 15, 2023
    5
    ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
  79. Dnische
    Oct 7, 2021
    5
    pure **** This game killed belief in vidya inside me. RPG/action fusion accomplished in the worst way possible. I regret about wasted time, i wish i haven't played this game.
    5/10
  80. JustinForgueims
    Mar 2, 2023
    6
    Really disappointed with this game and its great expectations.
    Is a good movie but a bad game.
    It has a good story, not the best ever seen but solid and deep, specially with the epic ending. The narrative is good same as the NPCs development and the side missions. Out of this everything else related to the game needs big improvements: - The combat is not smooth. It's not a FPS    Really disappointed with this game and its great expectations.
    Is a good movie but a bad game.

    It has a good story, not the best ever seen but solid and deep, specially with the epic ending.
    The narrative is good same as the NPCs development and the side missions.

    Out of this everything else related to the game needs big improvements:
    - The combat is not smooth. It's not a FPS neither a tactical combat. It's something in between that's not working at all.
    - The locations are just boring. Out of a couple of history related locations, everything looks the same. Same planets with stupidly steep mountains, just with different colors. All the bases, caves, buildings, ... with exactly the same interior design and rooms.
    - The driving sections are a nightmare. You have a dummy car that bounces like an air balloon regardless of the planet gravity. The camera and controls are a real mess, not responding to the directions you're commanding.
    - The "opening things" minigame is annoying as hell. Not because it's difficult but because you have the same minigame over an over for everything: opening boxes, investigating minerals, searching bodies, ... You really don't need minigames for quite basic actions and absolutely not a kind of decoding game when you're doing any activity that's not related to electronics at all.
    - The inventory management sucks. Long lists of items without any other distinction than text stats. So many sections and nothing you can equip/unequip/compare dynamically.
    - No one can understand how an elite space marine can only sprint 2 meters and then has fatigue during a long time. Same with the car that has only a few seconds boost that does not even serve to climb the smallest mountain.
    - There's no point on most of the dialogue options. Regardless of your selection, its tone and meaning, Shepard always says the same and most of the time not what you're expecting because of your selection.
    - Taking into account the amount of dialogues in the game, more language translations would be appreciated.    … Expand
  81. IronWolfFang
    Sep 30, 2022
    7
    Hard game to enjoy now but still not bad, and this game lead to the creation of the best game of all time
  82. JornoWiesel
    Feb 28, 2023
    6
    It is really good for the first part of a series and the positives out weight the negatives. You can see that the potential is there for a great game. Highlights are the dialog, dialog option system and the world building. Most of the design is also very excellent and the graphics have not aged to bad. The negatives lie with the weapon collection system, the mako sections and theIt is really good for the first part of a series and the positives out weight the negatives. You can see that the potential is there for a great game. Highlights are the dialog, dialog option system and the world building. Most of the design is also very excellent and the graphics have not aged to bad. The negatives lie with the weapon collection system, the mako sections and the repeating level structures. Most of the time you find way to much different weapons that are not different from each other and the selling part is very tedious. The mako sections are so boring and overly stretched. Most of the main missions had to have a mako part, which is very unnecessary. Mostly the side missions are very repetitive in building structure and design, which leads to boring side missions.
    Overall a very promising start to a franchise. Sadly doesn't hold up that well for multiple play troughs, but it was nice as a one time experience.    … Expand
  83. DonyDoNya
    Sep 9, 2023
    6
    I played the Legendary Edition Mass Effect 1. Good graphics but there's no detailed regulations of it in settings. Poor face expressions, a lot of frame looses on dusty planets (on RTX 3050, xeon 2666) but playble still.
    Gameplay is decent shooter, appreciate the rpg element with different guns and modifications. But the problem is you can't switch guns easily and it takes long to do it.    I played the Legendary Edition Mass Effect 1. Good graphics but there's no detailed regulations of it in settings. Poor face expressions, a lot of frame looses on dusty planets (on RTX 3050, xeon 2666) but playble still.
    Gameplay is decent shooter, appreciate the rpg element with different guns and modifications. But the problem is you can't switch guns easily and it takes long to do it. There is no upgrade to do switch guns faster, and also no upgrade to make stamina of run bigger or replenishing faster. What makes it different from other shooters you can use skills which adds tactics to fights, enemies also can do that. I would like to have more skills though
    You can be a hero or bad guy. Nice rpg element. But there are not a lot of such moments where you can really feel the difficulty of your choice. And dialogues vary is not very creative. Its always either 1) good guy, 2) not concerned guy 3) Bad guy.
    Big minus is the boring story. Big enemy just wants everyone dead, its just the thing it does... Its not hungry, it doesn't want money, power, sex, etc. And its your menace, seriously. Apart from this the other big thing of the story is to prove that human race is cool and ready to serious bussiness in cosmos politics which is bollocs because other races are doubting in humanity because its younger than others and aliens didn't know that humans have deduction (first dialogue of Shepard with Council)! Everything in Mass Effect is about race, race, race. Its clearly just racism problem that story writer finds as interesting theme. But most of the races that you see are not very different. Why player would even think about hating or respecting or even care other races? But story writer puts you in front of all these choices when you either hate or respect some race. It makes me think that story writer is a dummy    … Expand
  84. Hyperfailure
    Nov 27, 2022
    7
    (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
    ┻━┻ ︵ ヽ(°□°ヽ)

    ┻━┻ ︵ ＼( °□° )／ ︵ ┻━┻

    ┬─┬ノ( º _ ºノ)

    (ﾉಥ益ಥ）ﾉ ┻━┻

    ┬──┬ ¯_(ツ)

    ┻━┻ ︵ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ︵ ┻━┻

    ┻━┻ ︵ ¯(ツ)/¯ ︵ ┻━┻

    (╯°Д°）╯︵ /(.□ . )

    ʕノ•ᴥ•ʔノ ︵ ┻━┻
  85. Giero
    Jan 4, 2023
    6
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  86. Naked_Snakee
    Apr 7, 2023
    7
    Just text (crutch) to save the game to the list. Such things. Maybe I'll do a review later.

Awards & Rankings

7
#7 Best PC Game of 2008
6
#6 Most Discussed PC Game of 2008
5
#5 Most Shared PC Game of 2008

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 45 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 45 out of 45
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 45
  3. Negative: 0 out of 45
  1. GameSpot
    90
    Whether you're a seasoned Spectre looking to suit up again, or a newcomer who has never set foot on the Normandy, the refined PC version is your best choice for experiencing this excellent game.
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  2. PTGamers
    95
    Mass Effect PC wasn't rushed, this version has clearly been thoroughly thought-out to exploit the advantages of this platform.
    Read full review
  3. G4 TV
    100
    Computer owners are getting everything found in the Xbox 360 game, including achievements and online leaderboards, but with better visuals, smoother action, and a more streamlined interface. That the game rings up at a lower retail price and offers the first expansion pack as a free download is simply icing on the cake.
    Read full review
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