Title: Dragonball Z: Burst LimitPlatform: Xbox 360
Genre: RPG
Publisher: Bioware
Release Date: October 24, 2007
Rating: 9.1
BioWare, the masterminds behind “Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic,” are back with a new RPG that aims to please.
“Mass Effect” has a brilliant story that is only augmented by an excellent voice-over talent roster (starring Keith David) worthy of games like “Marvel Ultimate Alliance” (Everyone who played Marvel UA can still hear Thor saying, “You stood little chance against the god of Thunder!”). Though the game uses an old sci-fi story arc, machines that have wiped out all advanced organic civilization, its choose-your-own-adventure style delivery will immediately drag you into the epic tale.
As Commander Shepard of the SS Normandy, you will take your elite recon squad across a galaxy in turmoil, in a desperate race to stop the return of an enemy without mercy. To stop this enemy, you must act without remorse, without hesitation, and outside the limits of the law. Your only imperative is to preserve the safety of civilized life in the galaxy - at any cost. You must become the tip of the spear of humanity, for you alone know the full extent of what is at stake if you should fail.
In typical RPG style, “Mass Effect” allows you to create your own customizable version of Commander Shepard, choose your squad-mates, your weapons, skills and abilities, and customize your vehicles, armor and appearance - giving you complete control over your experience.
Whereas in “Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic” you chose between what side of the force your allegiance lied, in Mass Effect you’ll gain Paragon or Renegade points. In Mass Effect you choose to follow the path of the soldier, the tech-specialist, or the biotics-specialist…each of which brings an arsenal of unique yet equally powerful abilities to use against the enemy. Wield a multitude of weapon types with precision accuracy…utilize your technical skill to turn enemy war machines against their creators… or unleash the full power of Dark Energy against your foe with devastating effects.
The role you choose to play in “Mass Effect” will have tremendous consequences on the galaxy around you. You will face moral dilemmas in which the decision you ultimately make will significantly alter the fate of civilized life in the galaxy.
Voice-over isn’t the only thing that kicks this game’s realism factor up a notch. The animation is down right superb. The amazing animation shows off character emotions right down to subtle nuances in their facial expressions. That’s right, now you can catch every wrinkled brow and slight twist of the mouth. Now, if that doesn’t spell out Saturday night fun, then nothing will!
One caveat is that the controls can be clunky, especially when driving, but it’s tolerable. Also, much like Marvel Ultimate Alliance expect some small glitches that made it into the final product.
Overall “Mass Effect” is a brilliant game with a compelling story that raises the bar on console based RPGs.
Buzzfocus.com rates Mass Effect a 9.1/10.
“Mass Effect” hit video game stores everywhere Nov. 20.
I have to agree that it’s always mroe fun to play games online. Times have changed since the days of Final Fantasy VII. I try not to spend 60 hours playing a game just for the sake of leveling up and unlocking every secret the designers smuggled into the game.
That being said, I still love jumping from planet to planet in Mass Effect. The responses you give really have a significant impact on the outcome of the game which makes it a truer RPG.
I won’t say the controls are 100% clunky. You just have to remember it’s a RPG and not a FPS. Although, the vehicle control could have used some fine tuning.
This game is quite unique and it’s refreshing to see people experimenting with game concepts once again. Bioware is good for that. Bless their souls!
I just love how the Sony fanboys are drinking some major Hatorade, saying that this game looks terrible and plays terrible. I admit that the controls are a bit more clunky than they should be but there is tremendous gameplay depth so it’s understandable. For some reason, this game reminds me of what Fable could have been (I wasn’t too pleased with Fable) with a sexy Sci-Fi twist. I dig that since it’s a space that has needed some titles for a while (I miss the days of XCom, Laser Squad, Tegel’s Mercenaries, Phantasy Star, etc.).
This game definitely looks beautiful but what’s more important is that there is tons of replay value. I swear, this game plays like a huge cut-scene… It’s just that epic and sexy. I’m sold, which says a lot since I only really dig online multiplayer games these days. It’s about the only thing I have time for!
It’s not Oblivion but it is still good. I haven’t played a sci-fi RPG before so it’s a cool change
Whoa, I just picked up this game and it’s great.