Video Game Review: Mass Effect

In 2012, friends gifted me the first two Mass Effect games. I had heard a lot about them but had never got to play them so they had decided to fix that. I’m very happy they did! Right when I got them, I started playing the first game but got frustrated and blocked as the class I had chosen didn’t work well for me. So I just let the games be until end of August 2014.

I am a huge Bioware fan. Knights of the Old Republic, The Old Republic and the Dragon Age franchise are among my favorite games, so trying Mass Effect out, especially as a Science Fiction fan, seemed only natural! So, after a third game of Dragon Age 2, I decided to go for another try at the first Mass Effect. This time was the right one and I couldn’t stop playing the game as I completed it!

I loved the game and I have already started the second one. I liked being able to import my character and saves from the previous game, but let’s talk about the first game for now. The mechanics were quite practical, both for character skills and equipment. I liked that your character could develop both paragon and renegade paths, and that you weren’t forced to just choose one. It was a great element. I picked soldier this time and it worked very well.

Driving the Mako vehicle drove me insane at first, but I eventually got the hang of it. I hate piloting/driving of any kind in video games. Seeking artifacts and resources across the galaxy as side quests was a lot of fun, more than I had first expected.

I found the universe decent but not so impressive at first, but the characters and story blew me away as I kept playing. The narrative is one of the most impressive bit of Science Fiction I have engaged with in the past years, regardless of the medium.

The voice acting was stellar, and I was completely fangirling over the fact that Jennifer Hale voiced female Shepard!

I also loved the ship, the Normandy. I have a thing for great space ships. Three characters I found particularly great, who weren’t among the lead’s companions were Captain Anderson, Jeff ‘Joker’ Moreau and Dr. Chakwas.

As for the companions, my favorite were Garrus Vakarian, Ashley Williams (who would have been my choice if she had been a romance option for a female Shepard), Tali’Zorah nar Rayya and Kaidan Alenko. I wanted to like Liara T’Soni, and even romanced her as well as Kaidan, until I had to make a choice. I heard good things about how she develops in the following games but I just didn’t care for her in this first game, which motivate my choice to lock the romance with Kaidan and save him instead of Ashley.

So, Mass Effect joins the list of my favorite games, which should be no surprise given my love for the Bioware games.

Kalidia Shepard