Yesterday, when arriving home from work, a package from Gamestop lie at my doorstep and inside was my #1 anticipated game of this Christmas season.. Mass Effect. I purchased the limited edition version, which is only available online.
I probably should've bought it from amazon, rather than the price gouging money grubbing monolith Gamestop, but I'm actually satisfied that they got me the game before the thanksgiving day weekend. I was scheduled to get the game on Monday, but it's here today ^_^. I can't complain about that.
Anywho.. here it is:
Lots and lots of Mass Effect goodness. I got the pre-order bonus with it as well, so overall I have 1) the game, 2) 2 bonus discs with extra content, 3) an art book with pretty concept art (unlike the crappy halo 3 artbook), 4) a log book with background and information on the worlds and aliens of Mass Effect, and 5) a crappy tin box to hold everything in. This crappy tin is far better than the Halo 3, so it's not all bad. I'm still keeping my game in the pre-order box for easy access, though.
When beginning Mass Effect, you have the choice of playing John Shepard, or creating your own character. I created a custom male character and began playing the game, but I could not continue. My dude looked like a chump.. How am I supposed to care about some guy I'd run into at a bar? I scrapped that game and began anew with a female lead..
The character is much more solid compared to Oblivion. The controls and customization are so loose in Oblivion, you really have to work on a character to not be Ugly. Even the random generated characters look like crap. Not so with Mass Effect.. You really have to work on a character to make them Ugly.
The characters look really nice, but all the guys look rather plain. I would rather play as John Shepard, than a custom male character. The female custom characters are pretty hot though.. The character I ended up creating looks like a young badass Captain Janeway.
Before you mess with looks, you have to choose your character's past. You have 3 choices for childhood, and 3 choices from military past. For childhood you can be an Earther, living on the streets, running tricks, and joining the military as a last resort (much like Captain Tylor), a Colonist, whose home was destroyed by an invading alien race (kinda like the dude in Nadesico), or Military, both parents alive and raised you while serving (kinda like every macross character).
Your 3 choices from military past are Sole Survivor, where you were the sole survivor of a failed mission, War Hero, where you have battled and lead your team victoriously, or Ruthless, where you'll win a battle at any cost.
You also choose your ailments, where it be all out gunplay, techplay or magic, or a combination of two.
When you're out on a mission, you are shooting up evil aliens in Gears of War / Rainbox Six style. Third person shooting and killing while commanding your team to do certain things.. like heal or attack. Much like KOTOR, you have a party of 3.
It's pretty fun so far, but I REALLY miss the melee attack from Halo 3. The melee attack really is the last line of defense between you and your enemy and being forced to shoot an enemy at point blank range seems unnatural now.
Oh well, I'm not supposed to let enemies that close anyways..
blah blah .. what else can I really say about the gameplay. It's a third person shooter.
Anyways, so far, after 1 hour, the game is pretty amazing. It's already building up its massive political story, so it should be a great time sinker. Check it out.
Mario is also a great time sinker, but in a much different way. The generation gap is what sets these two apart, but they are perfect examples of their genres.