Mass Effect

Has anyone pick this one up yet? It is getting great reviews. Right now my Xmas wish list is MAss Effect, COD 4, and Assians Creed. I am having a hard time putting down Halo 3 multiplayer. I LOVE IT AND I GET MY ASS KICKED EVER NIGHT BUT STILL LOVE IT!!!!

Mass Effect is a ridiculous game. The scope is huge, and there's a million things to do. The story is one of the more well written video game stories I've ever played. It is a sci-fi RPG though, so if that's not your cup of tea, you might not like it.

What is Mass Effect?

Is it anything like Knights of the Old Republic?

It is pretty much Bioware's way of creating a new KoToR franchise without being tied to Lucas.

Combat is weak, and it not as polished as a typical Bioware release, but that's still better than 99% of game releases.

If you liked KoToR, Mass Effect is probably a slam dunk. If you didn't, you may not like Mass Effect, either.

Is it anything like Knights of the Old Republic?

It's like they mixed KOTOR's rpg elements with the gameplay style of Ghost Recon.

Combat is weak, and it not as polished as a typical Bioware release, but that's still better than 99% of game releases.

I have heard a lot of people complain about the combat system, but I like it better than the turn based system in K.T.O.R. The real time fighting takes a little bit to get used to, but it's much faster and realistic.

I have heard a lot of people complain about the combat system, but I like it better than the turn based system in K.T.O.R. The real time fighting is takes a little bit to get used to, but it's much faster and realistic.

Well, the game is obviously a lot more cinematic; you can't do cinematic immersion when you're doing turn-based combat based on die rolls and flashing a bunch of numbers on screen. Going to a shooter mechanic for combat is a much better way of maintaining that level of cinema experience.

That said, the combat mechanic in the game now is nowhere near as sophisticated as the one they were showing at E3 two years ago, and a lot of design decisions were made by people who neither play nor have ever worked on shooters before.

Again, if you're an RPG player, a KoToR fan, a Bioware fan, or a Sci-Fi fan in general I think you'll be just fine with the combat, but if you're, say, a hardcore Halo player, you will absolutely be disappointed with the combat mechanics.