EDIT: Sorry, the review was posted with only one category finished. If you are reading it at the time of original posting, you will see it is incomplete. Just wait and it will be up fully soon.

Ok, I have decided to start writing reviews for several games I have, both to pass the time until Christmas and get myself into the habit of writing stuff again. I'll be reviewing games like LotR: Conquest, TESIV Oblivion, Fallout 3, Universe at War, Shadow of the Colossus and so on; obviously most of these aren't from this year, and they are just games I want to review. Everyone is free to post their opinions on these games and my reviews, and I'll discuss stuff with you about that stuff as best I can. Also, I might chuck in a movie review about Avatar. I will split my reviews into structured paragraphs poiting out the pro's and cons of several main categories, and some thoughts.

MASS EFFECT

Mass Effect is a game that was met with much sceptisism and doubt, but ultimately surprised many people when it debuted on the 360 in 2007, and consequently was released on PC in 2008. It is currently held to be the greatest Xbox 360 game of all time by many gamers/critics, and has a special place in the hearts of others. NOTE: This is the PC version review.

Gameplay:

To shooter addicts and people who like realism, Mass Effect's weightless guns and the fact that you receive every base weapon at the start of the game was a massive turn-off. For most others, it was just simple and easy fun. Yes, I'm going to stop referencing public opinion; I love the combat system, to put it simply. I played through the game first as a Soldier on easy difficulty, and had little to no trouble running and gunning through the whole level, blasting away at organics and synthetics alike. On easy, it's just too easy, just too simple; you really don't feel like anything is going to challenge you, that anything can possibly stop you. This wasn't a problem for me, because I knew Mass Effect's selling point wasn't the gunplay. However, I took a turn afterwards on normal difficulty as an adept; the ME equivalent of a magician, who uses physics-based powers to destroy and survive. Boy, it really feels like Gears of War now. You learn that if you don't take cover, you get ripped to pieces; you also learn that if you don't use your abilities and powers all the time, you are just going to fail. Biotic powers are awesome and make the rather basic shooting aspect much more appealing, and it's lovely tossing a grenade (they stick) at someone then throwing them into a cluster of enemies. Nice. Also, what is with those damned Krogan getting back up once you deplete their health bars once? It never happened on easy.....nice touch though; it sure as hell can screw you up when you turn around and a big alien behemoth smashes you in the back of the head, awarding instant critical failure (death). Now, the variety of enemies in this game makes it very appealing, but it usually comes down to the same six or so enemy types, just with variations. That isn't a problem at all, though some people think it's stupid; personally, I think it's non-sensical to start fighting new races then never fight humans or Geth again, but that's a bit on the biased side. The boss battles are unique from each-other and really make you feel dread when you fight them, from the massive Thorian to *Spoiler* synthetic Saren *Spoiler*; each is well done and very fun and challenging to fight. The conversation wheel is a nice change from most rpg's, allowing you to choose a response before the other talker is finished to make it seem more like a real and flowing conversation; the cover system is reminiscent of Gears of War but with it's own merits, and it's generally just fun for me. The Mako is awesome too, and the exploration is simply staggering. I have a small niggle with the equipment section, but it doesn't detract all that much, and this is why I give this compilation of mechanics a solid

9/10

Sound:

 Now, sound tends to be downplayed by some developers because they think it isn't all that important, when in reality it is just as pivotal as every other aspect of a video game; if Bioshock had really bad music, would it have been as loved/highly rated as it is? The point is, if a game has good music/sound/voice acting it will most definitely get a higher score than it would without, thus making people more interested in it than if it had a lower score. This is especially true of RPG's, but any game tends to need sounds and music that suits it. Bioware, like always, has went all out on this aspect and has truly tried to personalize Mass Effect into what it is; the result? They nailed it. From the opening theme that plays in the awesome introductory cinematic to the climactic final boss fight music and the always amazingly done voice-overs, Mass Effect truly is an experience that has to be heard to be believed. The music suits every part of the game solidly; with the cool-techno style of battles and the evil and depressing track that plays in the game's big reveal, I doubt anyone is going to walk away unsatisfied with this part of the game's structure. The voice-overs are typical Bioware, being one of the first few big American RPG's to have fully voiced text for the main character (this was because people tended to want their own ideas of how their character sounded) and sporting a dazzling amount of it. Every interaction in the game feels real as if it isn't recorded in some box and you are actually listening to aliens and people talking to each other, and this alone gives the game value. Now, on to the actual noises in the game....well this is where I can be a bit divided. There is a lot going on here; rustling winds, comets screeching overhead, the loudness and authenticity of futuristic guns, the smashes and booms of explosions....There is quite a lot of stuff to listen to. However, I just feel that there are some things that should have been different; especially the biotic powers. They don't have much to them in reality, and sometimes you barely hear their accompanying noise over the background of combat; that isn't an issue at all, but I just feel that throwing someone with your 'mind' should have a sort of tearing noise to it like you are bending the fabric of reality. That's just my opinion though, and doesn't really reflect on what I think of everything else. Thus;

9.5/10

Story:

The story of a game is important too, but with some games it doesn't matter all that much (Demigod and Left 4 Dead come to mind). It really depends on what the game is, but still, there should always be a backstory to base something upon instead of just tossing players into a world and telling them to slaughter/help/save everyone (or whatever). And this is where almost every RPG will want to shine in, and something Bioware games consistently outdo everyone else in. Now, people might say Dragon Age is generic high fantasy or Knights of the Old Republic played too heavily on the stereotypes of Star Wars, but you gotta credit the entirety of Bioware and all it's divisions for consistently making great stories; even then, it's not so much what happens that might grab you so much as how Bioware shows it to you. They are universally admired for being one of the greatest storytelling video game developers in the buisness, and deserve it rightly so. You could just say I'd give Mass Effect's story a 10/10 and be done with it, but I won't I'll explain (without spoilers). Firstly I'll say that I find absolutely no problem with this sci-fi epic; even if some might feel it is stereoptypical, I certainly don't. Now, when a game grabs you this tightly and makes you really feel like wanting to blast in the traitorous Saren's head with a laser pistol, you know there's something good happening. When a game delivers an unexpected yet still easily deduced plot twist that shakes you to the very core and makes you want to stare at something in thought for days, you know it's great. But when a game literally forces you to make perhaps the hardest choice you might ever make in a game, and you are still sitting in shock, you just know it has to be better than great. And that's my reason for giving Mass Effect's story a

10/10

Presentation:

Mass Effect's presentation can be like it's gameplay; very simple. UI doesn't clutter your screen during gameplay, menus are easy to go sort and go through, everything feels connected and there's very few problems. Except for a big problem that I touched on briefly in gameplay (it is part of both); the terrible equipment system. I moan every time I have to sort through dozens of items, because it takes so bloody long! Plus, it can be so very hard to find what you are looking for, which makes it an utter waste when you want to find and compare the best equipment you can use. Unless you have a good memory, your going to want to start writing stuff down. However, I don't believe this is a game-breaker; not for this category, and certainly not for Mass Effect as a whole. So....

8.5/10

Visuals:

Oh my....the graphics! Lords.....this game is so bloody beautiful! Case in point; watch the space battles, watch the massive ship take off on the first planet and see the amazing and interactive terrain of Virmire. These are parts of the game you will experience no matter what you do, but that doesn't cover all the different planets, moon and bases you will explore. Ice worlds, volcanic worlds, terrestrial worlds, desert worlds....this game has it all. The environments consistently amaze, with some of the most jaw-dropping sights as you crest hills on your Mako and see the world beyond, the bright stars in the sky and the dazzling space all around. Stars can be many colours, and if you are on a moon you can sometimes get views of massive planets filling your view of space, or suns striking irridescent and beautiful rays. The lighting is absolutely phenomenal here, the terrains are always amazing, and the humans are all that remind you this game is using the stellar Unreal Engine 3. The character models are really detailed and stunningly realistic, especially the turians and krogans (in my opinion). Everything flows together into one of the most amazingly done games ever made, and though it isn't exactly the technological beast Killzone 2 or the artistic masterpiece Shadow of the Colossus, this has it's own unique thing to show you; everything that you could ever hope for in a video game. Some bad texture pop-in and the fact that some turians have stuffed up faces on the PC version are all that brings this down from a perfect score.

9.5/10

Lasting Appeal:

Yes I know, this is a lot like IGN's review system, save for one additional category; I like it, so don't judge. Anyway, Mass Effect has enough content to keep you occupied through one playthrough for a very long time. If you do just the main story, on any difficulty it should take you like 10-15 hours depending on whether you die a lot and if you skip dialogue (please don't!). However, if you take in all the exploration of dozens of planets and finding all the stuff on them and taking in the sights, plus all the hundreds of side quests, this could easily cost you in excess of thirty hours. Amazing, huh? Plus, there's all the repeat playthroughs you can do with a finished character to level them up to the big target of level 60 and see what it's like having all your abilities on day 1, plus choosing differently in all the extremely numerous and game-changing choices throughout Mass Effect. Also, the game will feel a lot different each time you start up a new character, especially if you choose someone of a different sex. So far, I've sunk over 100 hours into Mass Effect, and I don't even play it all that often any more, nor do I go for the 'complete' playthrough thing. You'll be happy with your time. Trust me.

10/10

Thoughts and Notes:

I obsess over Mass Effect, and for a person like me that's a hard thing to accomplish (for something to do that). I love the game, and there are many things I love especially about it. I always have Garrus and Wrex accompanying me; always. The turians are my favourite alien race in the whole game, and I never read the blasted Codex (though I admit its great). When a game makes me think so much about stuff, and connects me so deeply to it's characters, I know it's an absolute treasure.

Overall Score: 9+9.5+10+8.5+9.5+10=  56.5/60  (approximately) 9.4 out of 10.

Sound off below about your thoughts on this review and Mass Effect!