Banana Scoop

Alright, so admittedly I haven’t delved much into the single player campaign, and although I haven’t really gotten into the depth of this amazing series, I can at least give my current opinion on it. Mass Effect is a game similar to others like Dragon Age, in which the choices you make determine the outcome of the game. I can call it similar to Silent Hill in that there are always multiple endings depending on the path you chose during the story (such as Paragon or Renegade, which are essentially good and evil respectively). You play as Commander Shepard on the default, with the ability to change your characters looks and background with a few simple choices (or import your character directly from an ME2 file). Essentially the choices you make determine the outcome of the game and the fate of the universe etc, just like many other games of this genre. Read more to see my in-depth review of Mass Effect 3.

Alright then, I’ll start this review off by going into the gameplay essentials (primarily for multiplayer). Your character’s class always has three abilities, assigned to the L2, R2, and Triangle buttons respectively, normally with at least two on a recharge timer and maybe one with a limited capacity (such as grenades) and no recharge timer. The game is played in third person, looking over the shoulder of your character as opposed to the traditional FPS flavor of many other games like Halo and very similar to games such as Gears of War and Uncharted. The gameplay is essentially a strategic mix of finding cover and covering your corners.

Unlike other games where the object is to destroy as many enemies as possible, Mass Effect truly relies on team-based tactics and coordinating with your teammates to get the best results. In multiplayer, for example, the player is tasked with going through ten rounds of enemies with three mission rounds in which there are multiple objectives ranging from king-of-the-hill to capture-the-flag scenarios. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this is completely and utterly impossible for anyone to do on their own or without proper support from a good team (assuming you run silver or gold). Despite the game having a few hiccups every now and then, I find that the gameplay is refreshing overall and a nice change of pace from the normal PVP style element of a lot of FPS games.

As far as the storyline is concerned, from what I’ve played this game has a lot for you to both find and experience in multiple playthroughs. With the storyline and interactions changing with every choice you make, it’s hard to get a full grasp of the scope of the game with just a single play through. Since I’m not even ten percent through my initial game, I don’t think you should take my opinions as seriously as someone who’s had much more experience with this (such as the creator of this blog). I’ve got a general grasp of the storyline, but despite the fact that this game is a few months old, I won’t spoil anything besides you have to save the world from an alien menace known as the ‘reapers’. Your team grows as the games progress, with many of your teammates coming back from game to game. I’m a little disappointed that the original Mass Effect wasn’t ported over to the PS3 along with its sequels.

Overall, this series as a whole is an iconic look at what gaming is for the current generation. I don’t mean gaming as in competitive eSports or grinding in an MMO, I mean gaming as a role playing experience, one which has grown with us throughout the few decades that video games have been around. We’ve gone from pixelated, cube-like characters and cell-shaded worlds to realistic people with beautifully rendered landscapes. I’m not at all surprised by the progression of video games as they are now, although I must say that I’m incredibly excited for what may come in the future with the advent of the next-gen consoles. Mass Effect may become a staple of what games were like during this day and age, as its already created an incredible global community due to its amazing and compelling story.