In 2007, I made a large investment into my recreation time; I bought an Xbox 360. It was a great investment too, and after only a few months (and about a grand spent), I had a decent library of great games to choose from. Not only that, but the games released between then and 2009 seemed to rarely disappoint. “Force Unleashed” aside, I was able to spend countless hours wasting my life, and I couldn’t be more thankful.
Being almost 2010, it has come to the point where some of these games that started the cycle are now releasing sequels, and the game I want to focus on for this post is Mass Effect.
In late 2007, Bioware and Microsoft unveiled a game that would change the way we think about RPGs. Sure, when you think about RPGs, you quickly go to the idea of near motionless characters taking turns striking the air, causing a number to pop into the air denoting your effectiveness of that attack; but this is not the case here. Instead, you fought in a mixture of Knights of the Old Republic (a former Bioware product) and Gears of War. This brand of adventure allowed you to cut down enemies while being able to halt the combat to use special abilities that could either sabotage a weapon or disrupt shields. In addition, you were able to position your party using simple commands on the control pad, allowing you to effectively command your troops without needing to control them specifically. Finally, the story of the game rivals that of a great Star Trek episode or any miniseries on Sci-Fi network, and that just makes it a must have for any Sci-Fi Geek. Oh, and it had a sex scene in it that pissed off Fox News, so you know this game is truly a diamond.
With a sequel slated for release in 2009, I have been able to take time to revisit this truly magnificent product, and I can’t wait for Mass Effect 2 to hit the shelves on January 26. So, until then, here’s a link to buy and watch the trailers:
