I thought it might be time to do a thread on this upcoming game for the Xbox 360:
Mass Effect is an action role-playing game under development by BioWare exclusively for the Xbox 360. It is scheduled for release in Q1 2007 and it will be the first installment of a planned trilogy. The game takes place in the year 2183, the player character is an elite human soldier named Commander Shepard, working for an organisation called Spectre. The story revolves around an ancient alien prophecy stating that, every fifty thousand years, machines come to the galaxy to harvest all organic life, and the time of their return is approaching. As the first human Spectre – sworn defenders of galactic peace – Shepard's mission is to halt the advancing armies of a legendary agent gone rogue. Shepard will lead an elite team across hostile alien worlds and discover that the true threat is far greater than anyone imagined.
One of Mass Effect's unique gameplay elements involves its conversation system. Previous Bioware titles such as Baldur's Gate, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire employed a conversation system where the player chose from several responses after non-player characters had finished speaking. Mass Effect introduces a new system in which responses to non-player characters are displayed and can be chosen from before the non-player character has finished speaking. This allows for more fluid and natural conversations, which gives character interaction a cinematic quality. There is also the possibility that the player can decide not to say anything leaving the next character to make his/her comment.
Commander Shepard is a veteran soldier, who's seen a lot of action in many engagements across the galaxy. And Shepard doesn't have it very easy either. Charged with the most important missions in the galaxy, Shepard is therefore authorized to get the job done at all costs – and it's up to you to determine what that cost will be. Often, something must be sacrificed to get further in your mission, and all of Shepard's decisions are important ones, where people's lives hang on the details of each choice.
Each character's in-game appearance is entirely dependent on the gear they wear. No characters in Mass Effect have a stock armour appearance. If you equip a huge, hulking helmet, it'll show up in real time. Same thing with weapons, which appear strapped to characters' backs and legs. This allows for a huge variety of character appearances, reinforcing the game's already impressive customization options.
It should be noted that, although the game's screenshots and concept art all show the same Commander Shepard, you are able to fully customize appearance, gender, abilities and even military background.
In combat, you'll be able to switch between all of the characters under your control on the fly, and we're told that the artificial intelligence of those accompanying you won't disappoint. However, you'll have the option to give them simple commands using the directional pad (ala Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six Vegas, Gears of War etc.) and even to issue more complex orders by pausing the game and using a Full Spectrum Warrior-style interface. The whole screen gets a yellow tint when you pause the game in this fashion - it's overlaid with a tactical-looking grid - and your colleagues are represented by 2D icons that almost look like chess pieces. Using this interface, you can tell the other characters where you'd like them to go (behind cover, for example) and which of their abilities or special powers you'd like them to use. It's an interesting control mechanic and one that promises to afford you a far greater degree of control over your allies than most.
The abilities and special powers that your characters have at their disposal will be determined by the skill sets you assigned them at the start of the game and how you've been spending your experience points since then. Some of the more memorable powers that have been seen in action include a telekinetic "lift" that could be used to pick up objects and enemies, and a tech ability that lets your alien friend drop the shields on a large, four-legged mechanical alien.
Although the game will follow a story, Mass Effect will include a large number of side missions and free-roam "unexplored planets". In addition, besides the plans for a trilogy, which Bioware claims "will cover the Xbox 360's five-plus year cycle", episodic content to be uploaded to Xbox Live Marketplace will fill in the story between each game, though are not essential for understanding the story of the other games.
Mass Effect's showing at E3 2006 was generally well-received, and resulted in the game winning several awards. These include:
* Game Critics Awards': Best Role Playing Game.
* 1UP's Best of E3 2006: Best 360 Game award.
* Team Xbox's Best of E3 2006: Best Xbox 360 game / Best of E3 2006: Best RPG.
* GameSpy's Best of E3 Awards 2006: Best RPG.
A complete list of awards can be found at the game's
official website.
I strongly recommend that you download and watch the two following videos (start by watching the E3 vid first!):
E3 2006 Video - 26.7MB
HEREX06 Demonstration - 45.7MB
HERESen
Topic: [NEWS] Mass Effect (Read 1412 times)