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. lucaduende
    Jul 5, 2016
    8
    ELEVATOR!!!! AND VEHICLE SECTIONS!!!! THAT MAKE MARIO KART LOOK LIKE A MASTERPIECE. IT ALSO DOESN'T HAVE A WAYPOINT ON THE MAP SO U GON GET LOST. But oustide of that pretty good game and amazing story.
  2. FacundoCritics
    Jun 26, 2016
    9
    Excelente historia, gráficos muy buenos para la época, la jugabilidad muy mejorable. El peor vehículo que conduci en cualquier videojuego. Muy buena experiencia y todo lo que sea ciencia ficción es pura crema.
  3. Captain_Chaos
    Jun 22, 2016
    8
    2/18/2012: Mass Effect is not a perfect game. It is plagued with bugs and inane design decisions, and yeah, Mark Meer's performance isn't exactly stellar. But there is a good thing about it for every bad thing, and unlike say, Dragon Age: Origins, It didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth at the end. It's a fun trip back to the days of pulp Sci-Fi, and bears as much in common with Star Wars2/18/2012: Mass Effect is not a perfect game. It is plagued with bugs and inane design decisions, and yeah, Mark Meer's performance isn't exactly stellar. But there is a good thing about it for every bad thing, and unlike say, Dragon Age: Origins, It didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth at the end. It's a fun trip back to the days of pulp Sci-Fi, and bears as much in common with Star Wars as it does with the new Battlestar Galactica. I much prefer action RPGs to traditional ones, but ME1 is so clunky it might as well be the latter. The inventory system is utter garbage, and there are a few too many featureless planets with inconsequential battles to fight and wreckage to salvage. I for one LOVE the Mako, one of the most-hated elements of this game. Still, I forgot a lot of the game's problems during fights and especially during dialogue. A word of warning: The first time through this version of the game, it crashed on me constantly.… Expand
  4. The3AcademySins
    Jun 7, 2016
    8
    An amazing action/RPG/shooter space opera that tells an incredible story. While it hasn't aged too well (the combat in particular) this is still an unbelievably good that game I have no qualms recommending!
  5. LuisFrancisco
    Apr 23, 2016
    4
    This game is not a shooter and not also a RPG. Your choices, even though varied, lead always to a linear plot. For those who are familiar with good shooting games, this is extremely tiring and with limited resources. Each time you die of sudden form is bound to retrace huge paths and tedious dialogues. The game does not allow you to save during this huge dialogues and not during fightingThis game is not a shooter and not also a RPG. Your choices, even though varied, lead always to a linear plot. For those who are familiar with good shooting games, this is extremely tiring and with limited resources. Each time you die of sudden form is bound to retrace huge paths and tedious dialogues. The game does not allow you to save during this huge dialogues and not during fighting in any creature that kills you with a touch.… Expand
  6. moonlight_shado
    Apr 22, 2016
    10
    Better than Skyrim, Witcher 3 and Dragon Age all together. Unfortunately every next ME game was more and more stripped down from their rpg mechanics, being more consolized, but this one, this has all the magic. The plot is fresh and well written, the story unfold in a proper, narrative way. The choices. The inventory and character development is the best as well. Exploration of planetsBetter than Skyrim, Witcher 3 and Dragon Age all together. Unfortunately every next ME game was more and more stripped down from their rpg mechanics, being more consolized, but this one, this has all the magic. The plot is fresh and well written, the story unfold in a proper, narrative way. The choices. The inventory and character development is the best as well. Exploration of planets makes it almost perfect sandbox game. Graphics for an almost 10 yo game still looks very good and doesn't stand out from today's standards. What else for me to say. Maybe that i wish Bioware stop the trilogy with... the first and only Mass Effect. Instead of reapers make the Saren Diablo-like treat to entire galaxy and voila. ME2 is at least fun but ME3 is so dumb (and i'm not **** only about the ending) that it almost kill the pleasure of entire game but gladly i overcome it and for me the history of Shepard ends here, with ME1 and the rest i leave for my imagination.… Expand
  7. INSI
    Mar 30, 2016
    9
    After 8 years Mass Effect proved itself as a all time RPG classic with its great narrative and story, which would start the arguably best gaming trilogy ever made...
  8. 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.
  9. Mellow_Online2
    Mar 9, 2016
    9
    I never really hopped onto the train of Mass Effect fans when the Mass Effect series first got popular because I couldn't really see why it had so much popularity. I feel bad for doubting this game.

    Gameplay in Mass Effect is typical to any sort of RPG by Bioware. The gameplay is a blend of dialogue and talking to people, third person shooting and exploring tons of different planets in    I never really hopped onto the train of Mass Effect fans when the Mass Effect series first got popular because I couldn't really see why it had so much popularity. I feel bad for doubting this game.

    Gameplay in Mass Effect is typical to any sort of RPG by Bioware. The gameplay is a blend of dialogue and talking to people, third person shooting and exploring tons of different planets in tons of different galaxies. I was amazed by the shear size of Mass Effect, 8 different galaxies with around 5 or more in each and each planet feels unique and I don't think it is just a copy and paste of different planet. The character customization of Commander Sheppard, even though it's limited in some areas, I find is well done where you can customize your appearance to make him be as ugly as you want and you can even customize his backstory. What makes the character customization of backstories even better is that characters will have different dialogue responses depending on your choice of backstory. Most of the gameplay feature are good but I do have a couple of complaints. The third person shooting mechanics aren't that well done. They aren't terrible, they aren't on the scale of being unplayable but it feels like the third person shooter segments were just added in as an after thought and it took me a lot of getting used to. The second and final problem I have with the gameplay is the karma system. One thing that I'm not too fond of in RPGs (despite RPGs being my favourite genre of video games) is the karma systems some off these games have) I like to build my character, now knowing if the choice that I just made was good or bad, I like to make a bad choice if I'm in a bad or annoying situation without an affect on my karma. Because in these games I find it way too easy to be the good guy and way too easy to be the bad guy. I just like to be the character that I build my character up to be. Apart from those 2 complaints there aren't really any other complaints I have about the gameplay.

    The story in Mass Effect is that you play as the main character Commander Sheppard, who you can customize his appearance and even his backstory. He joins up with a crew lead by Captain Anderson. His crew is given a task to procure a military beacon on the planet Eden Prime. However, after a disaster, involving one of the crew mates dying by the hands of a rogue spectre, who are the protectors of the council, the crew ends u failing. After providing evidence to the council that this spectre has gone rogue,it is up to Commander Sheppard and his crew to bring the rogue spectre down to justice. This general idea of a plot has been done a lot but Mass Effect throws enough twists and turns in the story to make it seem unique.

    Graphics in Mass Effect are OK but could be better. While the game looks, in general, good, there are several graphical bugs and awful looking textures and slow loading textures which definitely hold the game back. Sound is really good. There are creative sfx for sci-fi related objects that I wouldn't have even thought of which fit in excellently.

    This game will have you consumed for hours, I'm still busy exploring the galaxy and discovering all sorts of new stuff. There is also replay value in this. You will want to play the game again and try different dialogue choices, try and see if you can solve a problem either calmly, declaring war or see if you can find another creative way to solve a situation.

    Mass Effect is a gem of a game that I recommend to literally anybody that enjoys either SC-FIs or RPGs and if u fit in this category, this game is a must have.    … Expand
  10. Klewer
    Feb 1, 2016
    8
    I do think this is a brilliant game. There aren't many games that you play for 15 hours, it finishes and you get that feeling it was over so quickly.
    Has a great story and universe to get involved in and play through. Well wroth it in that alone. Sadly the combat and mechanics while solid enough are a little clunky and at times frustrating.

    Well worth playing and the start of a great series.
  11. Ninja_Se7eN
    Jan 25, 2016
    9
    Disclaimer:
    I've never played a Mass Effect game before. I've played other BioWare titles before such as Knights of The Old Republic and Dragon Age: Inquisition and I enjoy a good RPG.
    I've purchased the trilogy on Origin. Intro: Mass Effect is a Sci-Fi RPG and it has most of the clichés you'd expect: laser guns, space ships, aliens. The game throws you into a universe where mankind    Disclaimer:
    I've never played a Mass Effect game before. I've played other BioWare titles before such as Knights of The Old Republic and Dragon Age: Inquisition and I enjoy a good RPG.
    I've purchased the trilogy on Origin.

    Intro:
    Mass Effect is a Sci-Fi RPG and it has most of the clichés you'd expect: laser guns, space ships, aliens.
    The game throws you into a universe where mankind is one of the most recent species to have achieved space travel.
    This means that there are a whole bunch of alien species who've been exploring the universe a lot longer than humans and also means there's a whole intergalactic government established that you must cope with.
    As commander Shepard you're tasked with proving mankind's worth to these aliens and save the entire universe while you're at it.

    What I liked:
    - The combat system: the combat system was a bit weird for me and not at all what I was expecting from an RPG. It's a third person Borderlands with skills/powers you can activate. The combat is fast paced but it falls short when comparing to actual third person shooters (e.g. Uncharted). Still, for an RPG it was very enjoyable.
    - The story: it's nothing you haven't seen before but it's well made and keeps you motivated to finish game. There are some intergalactic politics in the mix and some choices to make. Most of the choices are trivial but there was at least one of them that stopped me right on my tracks and I had to seriously think about it. Overall it has a highly enjoyable plot and got me hyped to play the second game.
    - Facial expressions: it's been nearly 8 years since this game launched and the facial expressions in this game still managed to impress me! Seriously, at a certain point in the game my romantic interested gave one of the sexiest looks I've ever seen in a videogame while telling me we could talk somewhere more private.

    What I didn't like:
    - Map repetition: There are very few enemy bunker/bases and you'll see repeated maps a lot outside the main quest.
    - Few quests in the main quest: It took me 39h to finish Mass Effect and while I enjoyed the story, I got the feeling there could've been more quests in the main story.
    - Conversation expression reset: Occasionally the character's facial expression would completely reset between each line they said. It was weird and broke immersion a bit.
    - Bugs and glitches: Enemies getting trapped in geometry, conversations about how we (Shepard's team) were nearly at the end of the main quest right after the first main mission after getting a ship, Shepard moving around while I was using the directional keys to hack something.

    Conclusion:
    Mass Effect is a good RPG and if you enjoy the Sci-Fi RPG genre you should definitely pick it up. Just bear in mind that it's not perfect and could really use more polishing.    … Expand
  12. Tomle1202
    Jan 22, 2016
    8
    Mass Effect is not large, yet people may be surprised to explore the depth it brings to the galaxy while being able to easily set a new standard to role-playing games.
  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. ankittoms
    Jan 2, 2016
    8
    Amazing sci-fi story and reasonably good graphics especially with mods. Like playing Star Trek with your own ship.

    Graphics: 8
    Game play : 8
    World Design: 8
    Content: 9
    Immersion: 10
    Story: 10
  15. gracjanski
    Dec 26, 2015
    8
    The big plus of this game is the universe, they created. A masterpiece on the same high level as Morrowind or Baldurs Gate. The graphic is great, there are some mods, that enhance it, so it looks like a game from 2012 more or less. The sound is immersive too.
    BUT there is one big mistake that is really sad: the gameplay is far too easy: The dialog system is so simple, you dont have many    The big plus of this game is the universe, they created. A masterpiece on the same high level as Morrowind or Baldurs Gate. The graphic is great, there are some mods, that enhance it, so it looks like a game from 2012 more or less. The sound is immersive too.
    BUT there is one big mistake that is really sad: the gameplay is far too easy: The dialog system is so simple, you dont have many options to consider and the enemies are so easy. A pity, I am still sad, that I dont want to lose my time in playing the second and third part, that are even more action orientated. This is not RPG, it is mainstream.    … Expand
  16. escograu
    Dec 13, 2015
    2
    AI of your teamates and fight is really awful, REALLY AWFUL. Story probably was written in 1-2 nights, cuz is completely not interesting and short like a chinese dick. Story seems like from some old, sci-fi book which costs 1$ and nobody knows that it is even exists.
  17. delegate
    Dec 9, 2015
    8
    Since Xbox One released backwards compatibility, I thought it would be a good time to play the first Mass Effect. I had never played the series before and after playing, I was mad at myself for not getting this on 360 sooner.

    Pros: Great, well-written, choice based dialogue. Very unique setting and environments. Good graphics (I thought they were pretty good, and I'm playing in 2015).    Since Xbox One released backwards compatibility, I thought it would be a good time to play the first Mass Effect. I had never played the series before and after playing, I was mad at myself for not getting this on 360 sooner.

    Pros: Great, well-written, choice based dialogue. Very unique setting and environments. Good graphics (I thought they were pretty good, and I'm playing in 2015). It is overall a very unique, role playing experience. The characters feel realistic and they all have a story to tell. You can make enemies, choose who to romance, or who to ally with, it is all up to the player. If you like Dragon Age, Fallout, or Oblivion, i'm almost positive you will like the Mass Effect series.

    Cons: The combat can be confusing and clunky at times. Firing your guns doesn't feel all that smooth and sometimes does not connect. Combat isn't the main focus here, but it could defiantly be improved. Tip: Save every time you get out of combat, because the auto save is not reliable at all. There is also a few bugs I came across that caused me to have to reload back a few minutes, but nothing game breaking.

    Like I said, I was mad at myself for not picking this up sooner with my 360. Now I will have to wait for ME 2 and 3 to become backwards compatible on the One. From what I hear, ME 2 and 3 only improve on ME 1. Since ME 1 is so great, I am excited to play the next two.    … Expand
  18. Nojbee
    Nov 29, 2015
    8
    Mass Effect's first episode is an excellent starting for a perfect trilogy. The combat system is bad, but the story and the characters are great so doesn't matter. When you start to play Mass effect, you can't stop playing. You see every corner you talk every NPC and bang the end of the weekend.
  19. MrDaxter25
    Nov 7, 2015
    9
    Mit Mass Effect hat der kanadische Spieleentwickler BioWare ein weiteres Mal ein außergewöhnliches Rollenspiel herausgebracht, dass vor allen Dingen durch seine enorme Detailliertheit heraussticht.
    In seiner Komplexität übertrifft es meiner Meinung nach selbst Skyrim. Über die Story will ich hier nichts weiter verraten, es sei nur gesagt, dass sie extrem spannend, dicht und vor allem    Mit Mass Effect hat der kanadische Spieleentwickler BioWare ein weiteres Mal ein außergewöhnliches Rollenspiel herausgebracht, dass vor allen Dingen durch seine enorme Detailliertheit heraussticht.
    In seiner Komplexität übertrifft es meiner Meinung nach selbst Skyrim. Über die Story will ich hier nichts weiter verraten, es sei nur gesagt, dass sie extrem spannend, dicht und vor allem ausgefeilt (d.h. frei von Logikfehlern und tiefgehend) ist. Das einzige was hier zu beanstanden ist, ist das das Spiel insgesamt nur etwa 30 Stunden lang ist, was aber bei der Story und dem Preis durchaus angemessen ist.
    Die Grafik des Spieles war für 2007 sicherlich überragend, für die heutige Zeit allerdings eher zweitklassig.

    Insgesamt ist das Spiel in jedem Fall zu empfehlen und ich freue mich bereits auf den zweiten Teil.    … Expand
  20. 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
  21. jelikey
    Sep 8, 2015
    8
    this game is great shooter and RPG mixed game. i like the view of world of this game. Although i want to give the score 9, because there is no controller support -1 score.
  22. Kubka4
    Aug 19, 2015
    10
    This game has a great thrilling story. Also characters are brilliant and they have deep personality. I loved to play along them. Just perfect game, which you must play.
  23. KaienShiba
    Aug 3, 2015
    8
    Would have given it a 10 except, there are a few flaws. 1) Doesn't matter which setting you have it on the scales still the same. 2) The programmers did love their mountains as a playtime extender, so instead of adding material to the game instead put mountains so you have to search for the best route. 3) Added senseless romance, which Bioware has been known to do. 4) Add exaggeratedWould have given it a 10 except, there are a few flaws. 1) Doesn't matter which setting you have it on the scales still the same. 2) The programmers did love their mountains as a playtime extender, so instead of adding material to the game instead put mountains so you have to search for the best route. 3) Added senseless romance, which Bioware has been known to do. 4) Add exaggerated amounts of xp just to get us to feel good, level 20 was more appropriate on 1st run through. 4) Maybe, never did answer the question about the Reapers who are they or why do they feel compelled to destroy galactic civilization.… Expand
  24. MenaBanana
    Jun 30, 2015
    10
    The best installment in the entire series. The game that started it all. The questions presented in this game will keep you hooked for the whole trilogy, and you will come to miss many of the RPG elements that 2 and 3 downsized.
  25. Nuker
    Jun 26, 2015
    8
    - Good: Story, Characters, Setting
    - Mixed: Atmosphere/Mood, Exploration, Writing, Gameplay
    - Bad: ---

    Very solid and enjoyable game, you should definitely play.
  26. inkblowout
    Jun 24, 2015
    8
    The PC port of this game is a disaster compared with the other 2 games. (due to different studios working on the game at the time) And the PC port will never be fixed. I don't have many problems with the game. I think everything fits well into the entry. Like character development, exploration, and the story are prefect. The story is original as it gets, The story is pretty much a wildThe PC port of this game is a disaster compared with the other 2 games. (due to different studios working on the game at the time) And the PC port will never be fixed. I don't have many problems with the game. I think everything fits well into the entry. Like character development, exploration, and the story are prefect. The story is original as it gets, The story is pretty much a wild goose chase across the galaxy to stop a rogue spectre and to stop an attempted event to release the reapers. The squad members of the game are the best in the series. (but I think that's just my nostalgia talking.) But the character development is interesting, you get to learn about everyone's lifestyle, family, and their personal events and they usually tell a good moral about their action. (like garrus' past with c-sec and his willingness to just kill the enemy instead of showing mercy. and wrex's family life where he explains that his father tried to kill him.) And just in general, you can explore the milky way for rogue planets, to get side missions, to gain the extra levels and etc. Some planets aren't capable of landing, but it provides a nice description to show how much effort was put into this game.

    But my real problems are the technical problems in the pc port. I mean it's straight out bad, the excessive lagging in the presidium in the citadel destroys your framerate for some reason. combat heavy fights also drop the framerate and finally sometimes the framerates drops for some reason and I had solid hardware before upgrading to the r9 280x. (r7 250x and that was enough to play the game.) and not only that.. my computer refuses to play in full screen because it gives you a black screen of death. so fullscreen isn't an option. I swear I spent like 4 hours on the configuration window and on various tweaking websites before playing starting the game for the first time because the game couldn't show up on my screen for some reason. (and I wasn't the only problem with this.) Also There is the dreaded black textures bug which appears on the first building of peak 15 and the entire mission of Ilos. It's a unfixable bug which seems to target AMD graphic cards and just make a big mess of black pixelated textures. There is a fix of the bug but it's temporary and it screws up the lighting. So the only way to go through the mission is to play the fix with bad lighting and or just suffer through the horrible graphics. Bioware will never come with a fix for this bug as they have focused their shifts into newer projects.

    So all in all, I recommend this game. Because it does play an enormous part in the mass effect series but it's a nice experience. It is the short game in the series. (I've stretched 13 hours on my first play through with minimal exploration and the second play through with about 19-20 hours of the game play. Completing most side missions and the "Bring down the sky" dlc. ) Mass effect 1 is the most rpg out of all of them and the game provides you with an unforgettable experience.    … Expand
  27. DegenCutter
    Jun 17, 2015
    9
    A great game that introduced the world to a fascinating new science fiction setting, Mass Effect was a triumphant game for Bioware. The shooter mechanics were unfortunately a slight bit rough and would subsequently be improved in both Mass Effect 2 and 3, but there is an indelible charm to the first Mass Effect game and I still have nostalgia for the first time I discovered the wonderfulA great game that introduced the world to a fascinating new science fiction setting, Mass Effect was a triumphant game for Bioware. The shooter mechanics were unfortunately a slight bit rough and would subsequently be improved in both Mass Effect 2 and 3, but there is an indelible charm to the first Mass Effect game and I still have nostalgia for the first time I discovered the wonderful setting and was introduced to some of the great characters like Wrex, Tali, Liara, and Garrus.… Expand
  28. tiho
    May 17, 2015
    9
    I was pleasantly surprised by the fact it really is an RPG, much more than a shooter. The story is captivating and it`s tons of fun to play, besides a few cumbersome & repetitive parts (planetary exploration and inventory management notably).
  29. 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
  30. LXQUICKJUSTICE
    Mar 25, 2015
    10
    PC gamers need to get the "MEUITM" texture mod to properly enjoy this game in 2015 and beyond, but it would be epic without the enhancements. I resisted playing mass effect for years because I was told by others that it was just another gears of war clone, but man was I wrong. I was SO wrong... This game's story is beyond awesome, and it turns out that playing third person in an action rpgPC gamers need to get the "MEUITM" texture mod to properly enjoy this game in 2015 and beyond, but it would be epic without the enhancements. I resisted playing mass effect for years because I was told by others that it was just another gears of war clone, but man was I wrong. I was SO wrong... This game's story is beyond awesome, and it turns out that playing third person in an action rpg can be very satisfying. I couldn't believe how good the voice acting and plot was, and still can't while writing this review. I just finished ME3 and now am deciding which of the 3 games in the trilogy I want to keep playing because they're all good. The first one will always be the best in many ways because it's all so new. Normally laser beams and space aliens turn me off because they're not realistic, but this thing manages to keep it together with some of the most impressive voice acting you will ever hear in a video game. Female Shepard is, hands down, the BEST character I've ever played in any game next to Garrett from the Thief series. (Garrett from the real thief games-not that reboot abomination.) A game hasn't sucked me in like this for years. If you've never played a Mass Effect game you'll need to start here, because the story builds with each installment, but you're only hurting yourself if you miss out on this wonderful journey.… Expand
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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

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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.
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  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.
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