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| Mass Effect |
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| Action/RPG |
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| Bioware |
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| Microsoft |
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23rd November 07 |
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20th November 07 |
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N/A |
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N/A |
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Bioware, the team who are developing the forthcoming Mass Effect, garnered plenty of praise and respect from gamers with the two titles they brought to Xbox gaming. Knights of the Old Republic, was a Star Wars inspired role playing game (RPG) and the more recent Jade Empire, which was a fantasy driven adventure game focusing on martial arts. Their success was paramount to the fact that western developers are quite capable of creating epic RPGs without copying the traditional Japanese turn based affairs that most gamers are familiar with. Since the Xbox 360 launched we’ve seen only one true epic adventure game thus far and I think most people would agree that Elderscrolls IV Oblivion is a benchmark title for the system. In the near future we have games coming in from the Japanese that should provide gamers with all new adventuring experiences; however what lies ahead from Western developers? Well Bioware are proud to present, Mass Effect exclusively for the Xbox 360 which was first announced during X05 in October last year. At the time there were few details surrounding the game other than a very short teaser trailer. Since then plenty more details have surfaced as well as some more revealing movies from this year’s E3 in LA. So, what is Mass Effect and what makes Mass Effect one of the most anticipated games of the future?
Mass Effect is an Epic Sci-Fi third person action role playing game which features an immersive storyline set in an incredible science-fiction galaxy, inspired by movies such as Blade Runner and Alien. The year is 2183 which is a time when the human race has become part of the inter-galactic community. In Mass Effect, gamers assume the role of Commander Shepard, a veteran soldier and the first human “Spectre”. The Spectres are tasked with the job of undertaking the Galaxy’s most important missions in which harsh decisions will have to be made and ultimately affect others in the game world to ensure galactic peace. In Mass Effect there is an underlying horror of a terrifying legend which states that every 50,000 years a gate opens and spews forth a race of machines. The machines are programmed to harvest organic life, which includes various human and alien civilizations. Well it just so happens that the year 2183 is exactly 49,999 years from the last attack and so Shepard and the rest of the galaxy are really going to have their hands full.
From the beginning of the game, players actually define who Commander Shepard is by choosing what sex he or she is and also by customizing his or her appearance. Players will be able to customize Shepard’s features such as face shape, eyes, skin tone and hair as well as choosing which character class they will be throughout the adventure; which will have a major bearing on Shepard’s playing style. There are three primary classes players can choose from which include a Soldier class, your typical combat ready character; an Adept class, a character class that combines regular combat with dark energy powers and an Engineer class, which offers the player the choice of using powerful tech based attacks. There will also be other classes available which combine elements from the three primary classes. We’re not sure if Mass Effect will go the whole hog and offer players the chance to create their own custom classes by using facets of the three primary classes and so we’ll have to wait and see when more details are released.
Throughout the game, players will be able to perform further customizations to their characters with the use of weapons, amour and new abilities. What is an interesting direction the team are planning, is the fact that players will be able to shape some of Shepard’s history with details such as place of birth and military service details. Having the option to play as female or male and being able to decide on Shepard’s history is a great inclusion and no doubt will affect how Shepard is perceived by others, ultimately changing the way the story is told. Mass Effect is all about telling an epic story but with the customization options available means that players will be required to make choices from the start and throughout the game. As you would expect from Bioware, the choices players make will have a greater impact on the storyline and hopefully will offer different playing experiences.
Alongside the main story portion of the game there will always be some sort of distraction which seems to be the norm in adventure and role playing games. In Mass Effect the player will be tempted to embark on a number of side quests which will no doubt offer plentiful rewards for the successful such as new equipment, weapons and presumably lots of cash!
Mass Effect takes place in a sci-fi galaxy where Shepard is able to travel in his spaceship the Normandy, to distant planets in the system to uncover the truths and lies and to simply do what it takes to get the job done. As a Spectre, Shepard has the utmost authorization to complete his tasks and so his actions have ramifications for masses of people including entire civilizations. There’s certainly going to be some moral issues in the game and the team have stressed that they aim to go beyond simply being good or bad. The game world in Mass Effect is divided into various inhabited and un-chartered planets of various climes, in which Shepard is able to freely explore using an all terrain rover. I suspect that Shepard will act as a detective to a certain degree and will no doubt have to travel to one planet to gather information and then head off to another based on the information gathered. This certainly opens up a lot of play options especially as Shepard is able to explore the un-chartered planets to find life and other pieces of the giant puzzle. Naturally un-chartered planets will pose their own sets of problems and of course will no doubt contain dangerous inhabitants of various unknown kinds. Mass Effect will also feature some space battles although piloting of the Normandy is handled by the ships crew. I’m not sure whether we will have sections where Shepard controls a gun emplacement on board the ship as seen in Knights of the Old Republic but we are informed that gamers should expect face to face battles as the mainstay for combat. I assume any major space battles will be deeply tied to the main story.
Players won’t be alone in Mass Effect and in true RPG fashion; Shepard will be able to explore the galaxy with a bunch of controllable allies. During missions and combat Shepard is able to be accompanied by two allies at a time which are chosen prior to the missions (I assume before leaving the Normandy). What is more, the allies will each have their own back stories and will constantly make remarks regarding the decisions that Shepard makes throughout the adventure sometimes creating some rather conflicting situations. With Bioware’s track record in making extra characters influential to the playing experience we can expect lots of dialogue as well as different results being gained by taking certain characters on missions whilst leaving the rest behind on Ship. I’m sure many of you are aware of the classic dialogue from assassin droid HK-47 in Knights of the Old Republic and that much of it could easily have been missed if players chose not to include the droid in their party. I assume Mass Effect will have its own set of distinct characters which in itself will no doubt encourage multiple plays to simply experience what the game has to offer by including characters in your party you didn’t use the first or second time round. The allied characters will no doubt interact with each other as well and so potentially there are plenty of opportunities for the additional characters to respond not only to Shepard but the other characters in the party as well making for a more believable story.
Mass Effect aims to offer a seamless and realistic playing experience and with the huge amount of dialogue featured is presented in an unusual manner. In Mass Effect conversations will happen in real time where players will be able to choose a particular response. However the non playable characters (NPCs) will react not only to the choices the player makes but also when the player makes their conversation choices. This translates to players actually being able to interrupt NPCs which can have varying effects such as changing the conversation pathway or simply intimidating the NPCs in giving you the information required. The conversation element seems like an interesting spin on simply choosing from a list of possible responses as seen in other games. If this element of real time NPC reactions is handled well then this makes the conversation aspect of the game very intriguing indeed.
When it comes down to the combat, Mass Effect will be a stat driven game played out in third person and in real time. The stats will have a major effect on Shepard’s combat abilities and so players will be encouraged to level up his/her skills and the allies’ skills too. The combat itself allows players to zoom, aim and fire their weapons in real time as well as perform special attacks which are based on class. One of the more interesting parts of the game’s combat is the option to switch to another member of the party and control their actions as well as being able to pause the game and issue specific orders. No doubt with all the various planets and races in Mass Effect, there will be a fair number of enemy types which will range from the small to the extra large!
Mass Effect certainly sounds like it has all the key elements in place to make for an epic adventure with some neat game play devices and features to really drive the story along and involve the player fully. One of Mass Effect’s more noticeable features which gamers can clearly see from the videos is the quality of the in game graphics. Bioware seem to be pushing the boundaries with the character models which look highly detailed with the use of fluid animation, lip synching, impressive use of lighting and shadows making for an even more believable playing experience.
To surmise, Mass Effect sounds very similar to Knights of the Old Republic in so many ways and I guess this is only natural as the team have built on and improved what was in those games. With no Star Wars license to entice fans this time round means that the extra depth afforded from more powerful hardware has to be put to good use by the team and it looks like they are doing so. The inclusion of real time combat and squad tactics propels the game into another dimension and if the team can pull it off by offering plenty of unique combat experiences means that Mass Effect should not only be an appealing title to RPG fans but action fans as well. Mass Effect aims to bring an unprecedented visceral experience with compelling characters, amazing worlds and of course enough depth and variety to make sure that every player has their own needs catered for. Everything about Mass Effect, so far seems to be firmly on the pulse of what is required for a good game. How all of its features transcend into playable code and ultimately a finished product is unknown at this time but with all the right parts in place I’m confident the team at Bioware will not disappoint when the game releases some time in early 2007.
You can view the E3 Mass Effect demo HD movie by simply clicking here.
Preview By: Robert Cram
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