They call it the greatest discovery in human history... Mass Effect

January 26th, 2010 marks the release date of one of the most highly anticipated games of 2010, Mass Effect 2. With that date just around the corner, I figured now was the time to take a look back at the original Mass Effect. In my opinion one of the greatest RPG's ever created, and one of the most in-depth stories ever told in a video game.

Mass Effect takes place in the year 2183. 35 years ago (2148), humans discovered an ancient cache of alien technology on Mars, left behind by an ancient race known as The Protheans. This discovery has jump started our technological advance. Humans have now branched out into the galaxy using the Prothean technology. Mass Relays are spread all over the galaxy and allow Faster Then Light Travel (FTL Travel) between any two relays in the galaxy. Using FTL Travel, humans have spread beyond the confines of Earth and built colonies, space stations, and outposts on other worlds. We also live among the many other races of the galaxy, not always peacefully. The central seat of government is the Galactic Council. The Galactic Council is made up of the three most powerful races in Citadel Space, The Asari, Solarians, and Turians. The Citadel itself is a giant space station capable of housing millions of residents. Almost every race has some form of representation on The Citadel. But many of these races populating Citadel Space resent humanity for their ambitious nature and headstrong mentality. After all humanity has only been a member of the galactic community for 35 years. And In that short time they have accomplished more then many of these races have in thousands of years.

The main character in Mass Effect is Commander Shepherd. You are a commander in the "Human Systems Alliance," the name given to the human galactic military. You are also (after a brief introduction period) made the first human Spectre in the galaxy. Spectres are the Council's special military force who operate outside the law, answer to no one but the council, and use any means necessary to get the job done. A rogue Spectre, a Turian named Saren, has apparently sided with the Geth, a race of sentient AI machines who left our area of the galaxy 300 years ago. Saren and the Geth have attacked the human colony of Eden Prime, and now appear to be hell bent on destroying all life in the galaxy. Your job is to track down, and stop, Saren and the Geth. Without me ruining any more of the story, this is your quest, and you will travel across the galaxy to see it through. Along the way you will gather a wide variety of traveling companions. Some will be fellow Alliance military officers, others will be aliens from various species. Even though the motivations for these people may be different, everyone has one common goal… stop Saren at all costs.

Mass Effect is a RPG at is core, but the game-play style reflects more of a 3rd person shooter. Like most RPG's, as you progress through the game you will gain experience for killing enemies, completing missions, and exploring. You can then use this experience to add points to your abilities. You can gain more damage with different weapons types, increase your healing capabilities, and gain more powerful tech and biotic abilities. But unlike most RPG's, your weaponry is assault rifles, shotguns, pistols, and sniper rifles. Also, whether you hit an enemy or not and how much damage you do, is not determined by behind the scenes calculations. Your accuracy with your weapon is based on your skill as the player, just like in any shooter type of game. This isn't your typical, old school, turn based battle system for a RPG. The story for Mass Effect is told in an unusual way as well. Instead of progressing step by step from A to B, you can take on any of the main quest and side quest story options in any order (not counting the first and last planet). This lets you build your own story line as you explore, and there is A LOT to explore. Mass Effect has 17 different star clusters, each with between 1-5 solar systems, and each solar system has at least 1 planet to land on. That makes a total of around 50 planets to explore. The other planets you can't land on, you can survey for mineral deposits (which earns you money and experience), or sometimes there are rare artifacts located on these planets. In addition to all the in game content, there is also 2 pieces of downloadable content which add another side quest and planet to land on each. By my calculations that makes a shit-ton of things to discover, and all of the side quests are unique, so it's always a new experience wherever you land.

Lastly, I would like to mention 2 things about Mass Effect. These 2 things, in my opinion, are what make this game (and series) the amazing piece of work that it is. #1 Mass Effect is a planned trilogy. You can pick up your game save from one game to the next. You can keep your character, your gear, your levels, and when you meet some one from the previous game, they will remember you. So after you complete one game, don't delete your save file. You will be able to use it for the next game. #2 The history behind Mass Effect is extremely in-depth. In just the first game there are several hundred codex's to collect, each giving a little back-story and history about various things in the galaxy. Codex entries can be about an individual person, an entire race, a specific group or association, or an entire planet, and more. There are also (currently) 2 novels that are written by the lead writer on the game series, which provide even more back-story. There is also a comic book series planned. These are just the things we know of planned so far. This game series has the potential to have a Star Wars level of lore behind it, told through all mediums, not just video games. Ok, well maybe not as crazy and in-depth as Star Wars, but you get my point.

The blend of RPG and 3rd person shooter elements, combined with fantastic visuals, free reign of exploration, and an amazing story and history, make Mass Effect one of the greatest video games ever in my opinion. I have been playing video games for over 20 years. Because I've played so many games for so long, It is hard for me to rate "greatest games of all time." But to me Mass Effect is definitely top 5. It's one of only a handful of games that I can say, "it's about as close to perfect as you are going to get." For the current generation of consoles this is a must have. I have been looking forward to the sequel for over 2 years. And with January 26th just a stone's throw away, I can't fucking wait!