Mass Effect is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare for the Xbox 360 and then ported to Microsoft Windows by Demiurge Studios. The Xbox 360 edition was released worldwide in November 2007 published by Microsoft Game Studios. The Windows edition was released on May 28, 2008, published by Electronic Arts.
The game takes place in the year 2183, with the player assuming the role of an elite human soldier named Commander Shepard, set out to explore the Galaxy on a starship, the SSV Normandy .
In addition to plans for two sequels to complete a trilogy, BioWare plans to release episodic content online to fill in the story between each game, though these episodes are not essential for understanding the main plot line. The first downloadable content package, Bring Down the Sky , was released on March 10, 2008 (with a PC version released on July 29, 2008 ) The second downloadable content package, Pinnacle Station , was released on August 25, 2009 for the PC and Xbox 360.
Gameplay
Player creation and character classes
Although most of the game's screen shots and concept art show the same "default" male Commander Shepard, it is possible for the player to fully customize his or her character's appearance, gender, abilities, and even military background.
The game includes six character classes. Each class contains several "talents"; as each talent is leveled, the character either gains stats (extra health, stamina, etc), unlocks new abilities (for example leveling the Shotgun talent unlocks the "Carnage" ability, which allows the character to fire a concentrated explosive blast from the shotgun), or unlocks other talents. Each class also possesses a unique talent with the same name as its respective class; the characters may also have talents tied to their background. Characters who have reached level 20 will unlock a "Rogue VI" side-mission on Luna (Earth's moon) in the Sol System, in which upon completion, allows the player to choose one new specialist class. This unlocks one new "bar" of talents which can be earned. The specialist classes the character is offered depend on the base class.
When characters are first created, six classes are available: Soldier, Engineer, Adept, Infiltrator, Sentinel, and Vanguard. Soldiers are the most skilled with weaponry, Engineers make use of the omni-tool and tech-abilities and the Adept are the best at using the biotics. The other three classes are combinations of the first three. Infiltrators are a combination of Soldiers and Engineers, the Sentinel is a combination between the Engineer and the Adept, and the Vanguard are a combination of the Soldier and the Adept. These combination classes don't have as much skill as the main classes (e.g. Vanguards have access to half of the soldier skills and half of the Adept skills).
Players also have some control over their character's back story. They are able to choose either to have been a "spacer" (born and bred in space), a "colonist" (born on one of Earth's extrasolar colonies), or an "Earthborn" (hailing from the streets of one of Earth's cities). They also choose whether they have been the sole survivor of a terrible battle, a war hero, or a ruthless soldier. These backgrounds have only a small effect in the game, although many characters reference the player's chosen background when talking to Commander Shepard, and these can also affect whether some side-quests become available or not. Except in a few situations, the player's background does not directly affect the player's dialogue choices.
Dialogue and morality
Previous BioWare titles such as 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 (NPCs) had finished speaking. Mass Effect has a system in which responses to NPCs are displayed as the general tone of the message, rather than a word-for-word transcription of the message (e.g., if the player chooses "You're worrying too much," Shepard might actually say, "You always expect the worst").
A radial command menu, divided into six equal sections like a pie chart, is shown at the bottom of the screen when a conversation is initiated. Each section is assigned a brief description of the response's intent, usually a short phrase such as "What's going on?" The response is selected by moving the analog stick (or the mouse in the Windows version) in the direction of the desired response on the circle and pressing a button. The command menu is organized such that each section is assigned a particular inclination (being nice, aggressive, etc.), so that after players have become comfortable with the system they no longer have to read the menu, and are able to respond appropriately, immediately, if desired. BioWare intended the system to allow the game to be more cinematic and free players from reading large amounts of dialogue, as would be required with the commonly used system of simply having the player choose from complete, sometimes long, written statements.
Dialogue is central to the game's morality system. The side story and the number of character interaction choices in Mass Effect are affected by the player's chosen morality. Unlike in BioWare's previous titles, emphasis on becoming a pure "good" or pure "evil" character is lessened. The overall story is also affected by the player's personal choices. Project Director Casey Hudson of BioWare has said " style of play throughout the game will result in diverging endings that determine the fate of humanity itself," affecting not only the first installment, but also the planned sequels. Morality is mostly determined by the player's choices during conversations.
Hudson has further stated that instead of the "good" and "evil" approach that past BioWare games have taken, Mass Effect morality is based on giving points as a "Paragon" for choosing more polite and professional military actions, or as a "Renegade" for taking a more ruthless and take-no-prisoners approach. "Paragon" and "Renegade" points are scored on two separate scales (i.e. taking a "Paragon" option does not negate a past "Renegade" option), as opposed to other BioWare titles such as Knights of the Old Republic in which morality points were scored on a single scale so that making a "Light Side" choice negated the morality change characters underwent for making a "Dark Side" choice. NPCs react differently to a character depending on their past morality choices.
Combat and abilities
Combat in Mass Effect takes place in real time, but the player can pause at any time to change the squad's weapons, select different abilities for the squad members to use, or to give general squad orders. The player and his allies use firearms (modifiable with various upgrades throughout the game), Tech abilities (to interfere with enemy equipment and abilities), and biotics (similar to magical attacks or Force powers in other games) to fight their enemies. Players directly control their character's actions as well as their squadmates' attacks, but cannot take direct command of their squadmates. They can, however, issue commands using the directional pad, allowing the player to tell other characters to get behind cover, regroup, attack a specific target, or to scout ahead. Weapons and abilities of the squad members are selected via the use of two "wheel" interfaces: one for the weapons at the squad's disposal, and the other listing the available powers of each squad member and their respective recharge times. The command interface was reworked for the Windows version into displays on either side of the HUD for each squad member.
The abilities and special powers that characters have at their disposal are determined by the skill sets assigned to them at the beginning of the game and how further earned experience points have been allotted since then. Some special abilities include a biotic lift that can be used to pick up objects and enemies, and a tech ability that reduces the shields of enemies. Two other abilities, Charm and Intimidate, are dependent on points, storyline progression, and the amount of Paragon or Renegade points the player attains; raising the levels of these will not unlock any attacks, but instead open new dialogue options within the game.
Special abilities that the player can use in the game are tech abilities and biotics. Tech abilities are support powers used against enemy weapons and technology, as well as biotics. They are activated through the omni-tool, which three of the main classes can use: Engineers, Infiltrators, and Sentinels. These abilities include destroying enemy shields, sabotaging enemy weaponry, and hacking robotic enemies to fire on their own squad. Tech abilities also have passive uses, such as the Electronics talent, which allows the party to open locked crates or salvage components from wrecks. Biotics are powers accessed by the characters using implants that enhance natural abilities to manipulate dark energy, with mass effect fields. These abilities include hurling enemies around with the mind, raising shields that are resistant to enemy fire but still allow the player to fire through them, and creating small singularities that cause enemies and destructible parts of the environment to swirl about. Three of the main character classes are able to use these powers: Adepts (the main biotics class), Vanguards, and Sentinels.
Weapons and equipment
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