[filmfreak71]

Right Mass Effect has been out for a few days now and seems to have created a few opinions, so lets have your reviews

A 10 should only be given for a landmark game that sets new rules, a 9 for a truly excellent game without flaw, and an average game that does things right but nothing special should get a 5 (not a 7 or 8 like some would have you believe).

Please only vote if you've played enough of the game to comment. In the case of this game around 4 or 5 hour worth should be enough to give you a suitable opinion.

[CAS FAN]

When I first played it I would have given it a 9, but after playing 2 separate games (restarted my 1st one) with a total of around 12 hours play i'd give it a 10.

It's the first game i've ever played which really brings together the quality combat of a great squad based tactical combat game, with the depth of a full scale RPG. Oblivion took the genre forward for me by bringing a solo fantasy action/RPG title with real time hand to hand & ranged combat. This takes it even further with full real time squad control and brings a fantastic story with some amazing voice acting and character representation.

I feel attached to the characters and the story more than I ever have in any video game and for me this moves on from Oblivion and really brings the RPG game to a whole new market. I can see fans of Halo, GRAW, Rainbow Six, Elite, Oblivion, Anarchy Online and probably quite a lot of other games, really enjoying this title. Oblivion cast the RPG net further than any RPG game before it and attracted a lot of non RPG fans to the genre. I can see this game casting it even further as it really brings together the best elements of several genre's (RPG, Squad based tactical combat, Space exploration) into a game where all the component parts work pretty much flawlessly as one.

To date this game defines the RPG genre better than any other and on top of that it is a completely involving and amazing game. Graphically it's certainly one of the best games on the 360. The game universe is beautifully realised and the environments are the best i've seen on the console.

This has become my 2nd favourite game of the year on all platforms.

[Bill Hicks]

I'll be frank, i thought it started well with its gorgeous graphics and intriguing story but after about 4 hours of frustratingly difficult gunplay, and spending an eternity travelling in what must be the slowest lifts in the universe, i found myself putting Warhawk on instead! Before you all jump to your keyboards in disgust, let me say that if you are a fan of role playing games, then Mass Effect will be the best thing since sliced bread! (or Oblivion at least) But if your cup O tea is 1st/3rd person shooters then you'll probably fell a little dissapointed with this games gunplay! Overall i'd give Mass Effect 7/10 for its involving plot and characterisation. But for me i found it a little boring.

[mabo]

For me, this is like Oblivion with a sci-fi setting. I absolutely adored Oblivion and i'm still scratching the surface with this but already i'm feeling the same. If there were criticisms to be made, i'd say like Oblivion, the combat isn't the most stisfying out there, but this isn't a straight shooter much like Oblivion wasn't a hack n slash fighter. These are adventure RPGs.

One thing i have to say deserves special note is the music. Even the note that's played when you hit start just feels right. This reminds me of every great sci-fi movie i've ever seen. At moments it's reminiscent of Total Recall with the grand tones that accompany it's ancient alien monuments to Blade Runner with it's deep noir brooding.

I'm loath to give a score before i get inot the real meat of this game but on first impressions it's a solid 8 for me. Once i get deeper in it may go a point either way, but for sheer atmosphere it's a 10 much like Bioshock. It inhabits a completely believable universe with details so painstakingly crafted that to waste it on just one game would be a travesty- thank God it's going to be a trilogy.

My only gripe would be that i still ahven't bought any rear speakers so i'm missing out on the complete atmosphere. It's the kind of game that genuinely makes me tempted to stop playing it until i've got them hooked up as i dont want to waste a second of the potential experience.

[LiFo]

I really am the only person that dosn't like this game, i've put about 5 hours in now, thinking it's going to step up a notch in a min, it's got to, but it never does.

I *runs for cover* also think the locations are bland.

But lets not focus on the negatives, there is a game for everyone

Edit, oh sorry ed, i missed your post, lol yeah those lifts want to make you break your xbox in half, but you are wrong on one thing, i am a fan of rpg's but this just dosn't work for me

[CAS FAN]

Originally Posted by LiFo

I really am the only person that dosn't like this game, i've put about 5 hours in now, thinking it's going to step up a notch in a min, it's got to, but it never does.

I *runs for cover* also think the locations are bland.

But lets not focus on the negatives, there is a game for everyone

Edit, oh sorry ed, i missed your post, lol yeah those lifts want to make you break your xbox in half, but you are wrong on one thing, i am a fan of rpg's but this just dosn't work for me

I can only think that some terrible mistake has occurred at the disc pressing factory! Somehow a copy of Halo 3 must have become imprinted on your Mass Effect disc - return it at once .

Not sure what you want it to step up to? It's had me gripped from the off to be honest. The lifts can be slow, but I also really appreciate the attention to detail in them, such as the views outside in some of them and the movement of the characters, lip synching perfectly as they stand there in the lift. Sure when you've gone up and down some of the longer ones a few times they do get a bit tedious but thankfully you can pretty much avoid them all by using the travel system once you've been round it all once or twice.

The only scenery that I have found bland is the scenery that's supposed to be bland (i.e. the rocky desert on one of the planets you visit). The scenery in the Citadel is superb with a fantastic attention to detail.

To be honest though, as with every game, not everyone will like it and what I enjoy about a game, someone else may find tedious and vica versa.

[xSequentialx]

best game i have ever played. have played about 25 hours now and cant put it down lol. i got completely gripped by the story line im currently doing it 2nd time thorugh as i hardly did any of the side quests 1st time mainly because i was going to do them after i had done the main missions but realised u cant.

2nd time thorugh is amazing aswell im not normally a person who plays games over a few times but this was outstanding. i love the combat style more fps than that horrid and boring take ur turn to attack crap. but at the same time it others depth as u have to fully customize ur weapons for who u r fighting especially on harder difficulty.

it took me like 17 hours to do the main quests with a few side quests but ive just spent another 8 hours doing side quests and i still have loads more to go. and once done side quests and fully upgraded will prob do a 3rd time on insane setting lol.

the lifts can be slow but what would u prefer to see a lift or a blue bar at the bottom of ur screen saying loading every time u go somewhere i think it breaks it up nicely and u get info on side quests aswell.

[LiFo]

i do have a confession to make, the 2 visits i've had to this game, i've been pretty hungover, this might make it very unenjoyable.

i'll hop on again tonight. with a clear head

[silvercue]

I am enjoying this game. I love the setting, the story, politics, characters etc.

I really like the combat.

However, it is not perfect and therefore most certainly not deserving of a 10.

CAS - I am particularly suprised that you can give a game a 10 when you have said in your posts that you had to scrap the whole thing and start again after over 7 hours of gameplay - because a section is, as far as you are concerned, impossible due to decisions you may have made hours before. Quite frankly, that is dreadful, even unforgiveable, game design.

I am a few hours in and have not come accross that section yet, but if I find the same problem (not having tons of health packs, or levelling up on side quests means I can't proceed) - the game will be sold.

I find the game very immerssive, but also a bit too slow sometimes, so I can understand why many would find it easy to put down after an hour or two.

There are also the graphical issues that have been discussed.

I would like to have seen the sub game of decription made more challenging, maybe like in Bioshock. As it stands its a gimmick and seems impossible to do wrong.

Overall, I gave ME an 8 because I think the game is excellent and best of its class. I prefer it to Oblivion as it is far more "adult". I also love it because the story is fantastic and worthy or TV, Film.....even Ci-Fi books.

They have got the hard bits right, but...I just feel a few of the simple things could have been done better.

[dennis]

great game! i think we have been spoilt to be honest,we quibble about a few graphic glitches but think back to say ten years ago and remember what the games were like? and we loved them yet they were no where near as good as todays masterpices of technology.

[CAS FAN]

Originally Posted by silvercue

CAS - I am particularly suprised that you can give a game a 10 when you have said in your posts that you had to scrap the whole thing and start again after over 7 hours of gameplay - because a section is, as far as you are concerned, impossible due to decisions you may have made hours before. Quite frankly, that is dreadful, even unforgiveable, game design.

I disagree, I failed due to playing the game badly and it was my own stupid fault, not the fault of the game. I wish more games were as brutal in many respects as the feeling of achievement that this gives for playing well and building up your characters properly is immense. You can always save at key points (i.e. on your ship before you start a mission) and this will never be a problem. Finally it was probably just impossible for my ability and i'm not saying that it was 100% impossible, just very, very, very hard .

I give it a 10 because it's not only my favourite 360 game of the year, but because of the reasons I mentioned in my post relating to the way I feel this game re-defines the sci-fi RPG/combat genre.

I've rated 5 video games a 10 this year (Bioshock, The Orange Box, Call of Duty 4, Mario Galaxy and this). I wouldn't change any of those scores to be honest. At the end of the day, they are my opinions and I wouldn't expect everyone to agree with them.

[silvercue]

Originally Posted by CAS FAN

Finally it was probably just impossible for my ability and i'm not saying that it was 100% impossible, just very, very, very hard .

..Ah, so you are saying that you play like a girl then?

Originally Posted by CAS FAN

I've rated 5 video games a 10 this year (Bioshock, The Orange Box, Call of Duty 4, Mario Galaxy and this). I wouldn't change any of those scores to be honest. At the end of the day, they are my opinions and I wouldn't expect everyone to agree with them.

IIRC you also gave FIFA08 a 10. I did too. In fact the two games I submitted for the GOTY thread were FIFA08 and Mass Effect, so our game tastes are not a million miles apart. I just feel that when a game score of 8 is "Excellent" we use 10 too much..... I just can't agree with you on The Orange Box and simply cannot equate value for money with genre defining achievment.

[DaddyDee]

Great game! The story is reallly interesting, lots of side missions. Gunplay to me is just right. I'm not too good at FPS games but love RPG's, so this game is a great mix of them both for me.

I'll give it 9/10

I would have given it 10, but I've knocked a point off because my game freezes quite a lot and the performance is a bit off at times.

[CAS FAN]

Originally Posted by silvercue

IIRC you also gave FIFA08 a 10. I did too. In fact the two games I submitted for the GOTY thread were FIFA08 and Mass Effect, so our game tastes are not a million miles apart. I just feel that when a game score of 8 is "Excellent" we use 10 too much..... I just can't agree with you on The Orange Box and simply cannot equate value for money with genre defining achievment.

Yes sorry I did indeed. FIFA's 5 v 5 mode is simply genre defining as I believe it will change the way we play footie games for ever. It's also a very good footie game. My reasoning for TOB was due to the amazing Portal (pretty much created the FPS puzzle genre, let alone defined it), TF2 (which was IMO the most original and best online FPS on the 360 when released - IMO COD4 has surpassed it however) and also containing 3 episodes of one of the all time greatest single player FPS games. The sheer value of the compilation was a tilt factor IMO.

I agree that we do seem to have similar tastes in games and although our ME scores (and whether it defines it's genre or not) differ, our views of the game are similar in many respects.

[evolved77]

I'd have to agree with all the good comments and even some of the anti ones too...

I've given it 8/10, due to the small glitches and slight lack of originality, and also Im never keen on giving 10/10, as I always like to think new games can evolve and become even better...

Its a great game, very polished and well thought out, but yes there are those little graphic glitches, but these are easily forgiven!

One thing I would say, that I don't think anyone has picked up on yet, is how silimar it feels to the two Stars Wars, Knights of the old Republic Games?

I realise its by the same developer, I dare say ME simply the new installment of KOTOR.

And as for the guy who said about the combat, yes I agree its not perfect, but I don't think combat is what this game is really about!

I read a review of this game that slagged off the buggy element, but having played the game, I think the buggy is loads of fun!!

Originally Posted by mabo

For me, this is like Oblivion with a sci-fi setting.

...Spot on Mabo!

Some improvements I would've loved to have seen, perhaps some space-combat, as the flying around seems a little linear compared to other parts of the game. Also, the gambling element, its just not very interesting or varied.

However, I can't wait for new content and episodes of ME to be added to Marketplace, which I've read much about.

So yes, if you love sci-fi, Stawars and RPG, THIS IS THE GAME!

[CAS FAN]

Originally Posted by evolved77

Im never keen on giving 10/10, as I always like to think new games can evolve and become even better...

That's not the point of a 10 though. A 10 is not a perfect game that will never be bettered. It's a superb game that could be described as genre defining when it is released. With the logic that games can always evolve every game should really get 1/10 as in 100 years time they will probably be a joke compared to games then. Oblivion was worth a 10 on release, but IMO this betters it. The characters and acting in Oblivion was laughable compared to Mass Effect for example.

With the 1 to 10 scale we have here the whole point is that some games can get 10 and some can get 1 and obviously every score in between.

[evolved77]

Originally Posted by CAS FAN

That's not the point of a 10 though. A 10 is not a perfect game that will never be bettered. It's a superb game that could be described as genre defining when it is released.

I disagree. 10/10 has to be for perfect game in its given genre. Surely a game that defines a genre could be less than perfect?

The Halo games for example, I agree these are genre defining, but I wouldn't say they are perfect.

Also, Mass Effect, I'm more than happy to stand by and say its genre defining - theres very little on 360 I would say comes close, except for Oblivion but that is a very different tyoe of RPG, but ME far from perfect, so how can it get a top score, well it can't.

But I guess this is all about opinions and when it comes down to it, I just like to know what others think and the discussions!

So CAS.... you play the perfect game... what do you rate it as??

[BrianC]

Played a fair bit of this now and I'm pretty happy with it. Its main competitor is Oblivion and the main story feels stronger while the ranged combat is definitely much better due to being able to control your squad.

However it feels rushed as the side quests aren't anywhere near as well developed or complex as the majority of the side quests in Oblivion ones. Puzzles are also very simple. Also the customisation options aren't varied enough and don't seem to have enough effect while its lacking something like the alchemy section from Oblivion to let you get really creative.

I do like that you can carry an infinite amount of stuff and that you have a shop at your base, I don't like the fact that you can't adjust the sorting of the goods and its not easy enough to compare prices between sellers.

No close combat - I know they can't have light sabres but something should have been added, the bash is pretty poor and very limited. Cover is still not as good as my bench mark of GoW but is roughly as good as R6V so its acceptable. I'd have liked the option to tell your squads to target bad guys with weapons as well as with "magic" attacks.

I guess it sounds like I hate the game, but it does the basics really really well, it just needed another six months or so in development to really give it some much needed polish to turn it from a game that you can put 100 hours in to a game you can put in 300 hours in.

8/10, Oblivion being 10/10.

[MikeKay1976]

Hi

I am tempted with this, however, for some reason oblivion never "clicked" with me. I loved the fact that you could wonder round and go and just randomly figh in the sewers etc but i hated the fact that the baddies simply leveled up with you.

is this the same with ME?

ie i would prefer a game where if you go in the wrong place too early on you are screwed, BUT at the same time, if you DO do that and survive, you get yourself some really cool stuff.

i didnt like the fact that no matter what you faught and killed in oblivion you never seemed to find any rare items. Am sure its just me, and a sci fi settign is definately more my bag however............

[featherhall]

I gave this a '6'. Yes, it is vast, and yes it is initially impressive, however I personally found that I dont like the interface at all. Also, the conversations I feel are labouress and boring after a while. The combat is a mess, and feels like pot luck half the time.
No doubt I am in the minority, but after 10 hours I really dont feel like going back to this, and that is not how I felt about Oblivion or KOTOR.

[evolved77]

Originally Posted by CAS FAN

That's not the point of a 10 though. A 10 is not a perfect game that will never be bettered. It's a superb game that could be described as genre defining when it is released. With the logic that games can always evolve every game should really get 1/10 as in 100 years time...

Again, I just disagree. A perfect game isnt a superb game?

And also, we all accept that games look and arguably play better as consoles improve, but surely a rating out of 10, applies to that game on that console?

Halo 3 isnt gonna be as much fun on my spectrum as my xbox 360 is it?

I just think your making a point for its own sake...

A 'perfect' game should get 10. A superb game should get 9. A average game should get 5. A awful game should get 1.

What does anyone else think?

[MikeKay1976]

Originally Posted by evolved77

Again, I just disagree. A perfect game isnt a superb game?

And also, we all accept that games look and arguably play better as consoles improve, but surely a rating out of 10, applies to that game on that console?

Halo 3 isnt gonna be as much fun on my spectrum as my xbox 360 is it?

I just think your making a point for its own sake...

A 'perfect' game should get 10. A superb game should get 9. A average game should get 5. A awful game should get 1.

What does anyone else think?

actually a perfect game should get 100%....

a mark out of 10 is difficult, i would give a lot of games 10/10 but not many for 100%.

ie 96% would have to rate as a 10/10

i think a 100% title is one that cannot be improved *on that platform* in any way.

it doesnt HAVE to be genre defining imo but lets face it it helps!.

[CAS FAN]

Originally Posted by evolved77

I disagree. 10/10 has to be for perfect game in its given genre. Surely a game that defines a genre could be less than perfect?

The Halo games for example, I agree these are genre defining, but I wouldn't say they are perfect.

Also, Mass Effect, I'm more than happy to stand by and say its genre defining - theres very little on 360 I would say comes close, except for Oblivion but that is a very different tyoe of RPG, but ME far from perfect, so how can it get a top score, well it can't.

But I guess this is all about opinions and when it comes down to it, I just like to know what others think and the discussions!

So CAS.... you play the perfect game... what do you rate it as??

There is no perfect game so in the scoring system you describe no game would ever get a 10. - i've played 1000's of video games over the past 25+ years and have not played a perfect game yet.

What I was saying previously was that the thinking behind the AVF scoring scale is that a 10 is not for a perfect game, more a genre defining game. Of course games that define a genre will not be perfect as there's no such thing as a perfect game. You name me one perfect game.

Originally Posted by evolved77

Again, I just disagree. A perfect game isnt a superb game?

And also, we all accept that games look and arguably play better as consoles improve, but surely a rating out of 10, applies to that game on that console?

Halo 3 isnt gonna be as much fun on my spectrum as my xbox 360 is it?

I just think your making a point for its own sake...

A 'perfect' game should get 10. A superb game should get 9. A average game should get 5. A awful game should get 1.

What does anyone else think?

All I was doing was explaining to you how the scoring system works here. There's been loads of discussion over the years about the fact that no game is perfect and can therefore never get a 10 thing and this scoring system is one which came out of all those discussions. As said above a 1-10 scoring system also allows limited room for movement in the scoring system that you describe. A 9.8/10 game would get a 10, as would a 9.5 out of 10 (providing you round up at 5 or above). What's the point of having a 10 if so game is perfect and will never achieve it? 9 just becomes the new 10 (i.e. the best that any game can ever get). It's just flawed.

[CeeJay775]

Originally Posted by evolved77

Again, I just disagree. A perfect game isnt a superb game?

And also, we all accept that games look and arguably play better as consoles improve, but surely a rating out of 10, applies to that game on that console?

Halo 3 isnt gonna be as much fun on my spectrum as my xbox 360 is it?

I just think your making a point for its own sake...

A 'perfect' game should get 10. A superb game should get 9. A average game should get 5. A awful game should get 1.

What does anyone else think?

Do you know what I think on this, its simple really. Its all about opinions, if IMO its a 10 thats just that My opinion. If you think its not you dont need to keep asking for explanations untill you can say ah ha see I was right, if I someone or you think a game rates high low or anything else then thats great is it not. I rate COD4 as a 10, theres nothing there thats not be done before but its gener defining to be because its the best of the best in its field. If someone thinks Mass Effect is a 10 then to them its the best of the best in the RPG gener, in there opinion that is. Simple no,

[Korum]

Originally Posted by MikeKay1976

Hi

I am tempted with this, however, for some reason oblivion never "clicked" with me. I loved the fact that you could wonder round and go and just randomly figh in the sewers etc but i hated the fact that the baddies simply leveled up with you.

is this the same with ME?

ie i would prefer a game where if you go in the wrong place too early on you are screwed, BUT at the same time, if you DO do that and survive, you get yourself some really cool stuff.

i didnt like the fact that no matter what you faught and killed in oblivion you never seemed to find any rare items. Am sure its just me, and a sci fi settign is definately more my bag however............

I also didn't 'click' with Oblivion and prefer Sci-Fi settings.

I didn't really like the KOTOR games either but seen as I buy most top releases I gave Mass Effect a go and It's superb, the sense of taking the role of Shepard is amazing. I like the fact that you can use the pre-defined character and not spend ages with character creation screens. I much prefer Biowares universe to the star wars one and the members of your team are so realistic with their idle chatter in the background.

The graphics are brilliant (I love the film grain) and the framerate issues which everyone comments about are in way way a problem, it's a fair trade-off when you see some of the vista's

I haven't been able to stop playing this since Friday and I'll be gutted when it ends so you've got to give it a try.

[silvercue]

Originally Posted by MikeKay1976

Hi

I am tempted with this, however, for some reason oblivion never "clicked" with me.

IMHO ME is far better than Oblivion. Oblivion was smoke and mirrors, a game pretending to have a real time world that in fact had nothing of the sort. ME is a much more "adult" game entirely. It is also quite unique.

Oblivions combat was also so simplistic and dull, whereas the combat in ME is tactical as well as requiring skill.

I would advise any 360 owner to try ME - it is cinematic and engrossing. I know many people love Oblivion, but I would not recommend it to people myself.

[CAS FAN]

Originally Posted by silvercue

IMHO ME is far better than Oblivion. Oblivion was smoke and mirrors, a game pretending to have a real time world that in fact had nothing of the sort. ME is a much more "adult" game entirely. It is also quite unique.

Oblivions combat was also so simplistic and dull, whereas the combat in ME is tactical as well as requiring skill.

I would advise any 360 owner to try ME - it is cinematic and engrossing. I know many people love Oblivion, but I would not recommend it to people myself.

Agreed, I did like Oblivion and when it came out it was a breath of fresh air for RPG's and I put a good 50+ hours into it. I much prefer Mass Effect though and it simply blows any other RPG experience (Oblivion, KOTOR, FF etc.) out of the water IMO. No game has ever made me feel part of the world i'm playing in as much as ME. I just get lost in the game whenever I turn it on and when I sit down to play and glance at the clock it shows something like 9 and then I look again all of ooohhh 30 mins later and we're at 2am!

I agree that the combat is far better in ME and the whole squad element adds a whole level of strategy to how you tackle each battle. FPS skills are required instead of really just relying on your characters abilities and it takes a lot of good inspiration from games such as Planetside as well as the tactical combat games like Graw, Rainbow six etc.

[dimples]

I give it a deserved 10. I do however feel it was too short, this being its only flaw.

I experienced no crashing and found the combat better than Oblivion, the odd graphical glitch didn't interfere whatsoever with the experience. It's like playing a lead role in a superb Sci-Fi story.

Hopefully the sequels will be longer.

[jamiey]

I usually can't stand RPGs, they're not really my cup of tea.

I totally, totally love this.

The conversation engine is excellent, the look is fantastic, the score is good, the characters are really interesting.

Issues?

Steep learning curve (especially if you don't realize you have to level up), team control issues, loading screens.

The only thing it could do with is a little more humour about itself.

[RockSteddyEddie]

Well I've given Mass Effect a 9. Is it genre defining, I'm not sure. Is it outstanding, abso..bloody...lutely