Dharma Bum

I’ve been awaiting Mass Effect for over a year now, and it’s finally out. It is a Bioware title, so it’s a purely story driven game, with combat put in as an afterthought. The writing is great, and the cast of voice actors hold their own for the most part. Especially great are Keith David as the captain of the Normandy, Seth Green as the brittle boned pilot of said ship, Lance Henriksen as a wry member of military brass and my other favorite Deanna, Marina Sirtis, as a 1,000 year old blue skinned alien with great cleavage that belongs to a species comprised of only females.

The game allows for a huge amount of exploration, as you literally have about thirty solar systems to check out whenever you want to. Some of them have civilizations and cities, others are just fun to roam around in your tank. If you want to play the game for sixty hours, bumming around, helping out the galaxy and collecting mineral samples, you can. If you stick to the main story, it’s probably going to be about ten hours to finish the game.

The character development is a lot of fun, but doesn’t stray too far from previous Bioware titles. Some previous stories and ideas from Knights of the Old Republic have been reused with some characters, but the writing has definitely improved overall. How much each character effects the story is up to you, and you’re even given a choice as to which members of your party live and die in some circumstances. There are also four romance quests – man and woman, woman and man, woman and female alien, man and female alien, plus an option to have casual sex with a female alien consort. The scenes are short and aren’t explicit, but they definitely are erotic.

The complicated plot and high brow writing, mixed with the mature sexual themes and mild violence, cement Mass Effect as a very adult game. I’d never imagine letting my girl’s little sister play this game, or even watch me play it, so yes, I’m enjoying it a lot by myself. The story is concerned with the end of the universe, how politics can get in the way of our best interests, and why some people choose to betray their humanity. The main character, Commander Shepherd, is completely customizable, and since the gamer can choose what to say during any conversation, can range in personality from Jack Bauer on a bad day to Luke Skywalker in Empire. The commander’s sex and facial appearance are also modifiable when rolling the character, and even his/her background can be laid out by the player. The sex and background has a significant impact on how the game progresses, and opens up new paths and subplots to explore throughout the game. Some small things change if you choose to be a male colonist who survived a massacre, than if you choose to be an Earth born woman who has a reputation for being ruthless on the battlefield, but its noticeable and very cool.

No two games will be the same, and adding to that is the depth of the class system. You can either gun through the game as a soldier, manipulate the laws of physics as a biotic, concern yourself with technology and let your friends do the fighting as an engineer, or pick a hybrid character. All of the classes are a lot of fun, but I’m a run and gun guy, so I liked being a soldier the best.

All in all, Mass Effect was worth the wait. An expansion pack is coming out some time next year, and two more sequels and another expansion pack will be coming after that. The game plays out like a great 1980s movie, and I can’t wait to see what comes next. Much like Wolverine, Michael Ironside and maple syrup, Mass Effect is a triumph of Canucklehead imagination, and is worth sixty bucks.