Score: 5 out of 5

From the company that bought you KOTOR comes another epic tale. This time it's a shooter/rpg.

The three primary classes are soldier, engineer and adept. There are 3 other classes which are hybrids of the primary classes. The soldier class as one would expect lacks other special powers, has the ability to use all weapons and can take a lot of damage. The adept class has special effects that are offensive such as throw and warp. The engineer class' abilities are mainly passive and are defensive in nature. But fear not as you will be traveling in a group of three and you change the settings such that you have complete control over your AI partners' special abilities. But it is probably something you only want to use on hard fights and bosses. When kept at automatic the computer tends to use all its abilities as soon as possible, not entirely a bad thing. 

As is the fad these days, Mass Effect too employs a cover system. However you won't need to use it much as simply hiding behind objects and coming out to shoot works as well for its gameplay. That is not to discount the shooting system for this game as it is quite good. In addition using the special powers does add to the flexibility, strategic and the coolness factor. What I particularly loved about the gameplay was the character development. During the later parts of the game when my powers started to maximize it made the character feel very strong and felt easy to beat even the largest and strongest of rocket launcher wielding adversaries.

Another significant component of gameplay comes when you ride the Mako. A space vehicle used for travel on the different planets. This part of the game is medicore at best and lacks depth in gameplay. You have the machine gun and the cannon and then go hide when taken high amounts of damage.

Story

The overall story in the game is really very good. I would go so far as to say that the story is better than any sci-fi tv show or movie I have seen, including Star Wars and Star Trek (yes I went that far). The main story is told as you go along completing the required missions. You play a character that represents a hero to the human race and therefore is being considered to be nominated to become a spectre; the galaxy's secret police. You become a spectre early in the game and your main objective is to chase down one of the finest spectre who has gone rogue. The story line unravels along your travels and it keeps unraveling until the very end of the game, this is because it has a deep story line that eventually will lead to sequel(s). The secondary stories, history lessons and further information on different races are told via dialogue amongst different species in the game. 

Although the dialogue gave four to six different choice of words, often half of them would be redundant that would lead to the same script. With sufficient talent points and given circumstances you can use "charm" or "intimidate" to avoid conflict and solve problems.  

Design and sound

The game definitely has one of the best graphics. The different worlds are all unique and beautifully designed. The dialogue is done really well and the sound effects help the environments come alive. The music composition is also rich.

This is not very much like KOTOR

Sure you play the role of a spectre that is not answerable to anyone but its council, and ordinary people have mixed feelings about the group, but that does not mean it is similar to being a jedi. Sure you can throw, lift and use other powers that are like using the force, but it isn't the same otherwise it would be called the force. Sure you roam about in space with different species around but it is not like star wars because the species and creatures are different!

Final Word: Although KOTOR players may feel they are in a similar setting, that is not a bad thing. The gameplay is different, faster paced and done really well due to it being a 3rd person shooter. The sights and sounds along with a strong story line easily make this one of the best action rpgs out there.

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