Developer Bioware has a solid pedigree of creating some of the most immersing gaming experiences ever. Their RPG resume includes Dragon Age, Star Wars:Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2, Jade Empire, and even the original Mass Effect. What distinguishes Bioware’s RPGs from the rest of the pack is the excellent storylines and the complex yet intriguing characters that populate their games.
The first Mass Effect was ambitious to say the least, as it promised not just an open world experience, but an open universe experience in which players could travel all over the galaxy recruiting team members and completing countless missions all on their path to save civilization. The end result fell a bit short of most people’s expectations. The pacing was a bit slow at times, there were issues with textures loading, the combat interface seemed clunky, and many of the numerous side quests seemed recycled throughout the game’s massive campaign.
Despite all of these flaws, it is still considered one of the best Xbox360/PC games to date. Now that Mass Effect 2 is out, everyone is wondering whether it can live up to the expectations of the first game or whether it will actually raise the bar. I’m happy to say that this bar has been raised quite a bit.
http://www.7milesdown.com/2010/02/03/mass-effect-2-xbox360-pc/
