Nick Hide
Nick has been playing videogames for 20 years. He believes games are as valid an art form as music or film. They are interactive sculptures capable of profound emotional impact, so it really annoys him when games come out where you can mug old women.
Thursday 29 November 2007, 3:08pm
Mass Effect presses all the old buttons
I got my eager, nerdy hands on a copy of the Xbox 360 sci-fi epic Mass Effect just over a week ago, a few days before its official release. My friends on Xbox Live were not happy -- "You jammy git!" was about the friendliest response to them seeing what I was playing. Forget Halo 3 or BioShock -- for dorks of a certain age, Mass Effect was why we bought a 360.
Sadly, this RPG hasn't been universally well-received, especially in the UK (although a metascore of 92 is rather good). Many reviewers have been disappointed with a variety of elements, from rather buggy graphical effects to the not-quite-Gears of War combat, to the undercooked exploring elements. All of these are very fair criticisms, and the disappointment stems from the developer BioWare's stunning track record in this genre -- Knights of the Old Republic on the original Xbox is one of my all-time faves.
And to be perfectly frank, Mass Effect really isn't anything new. It's KotOR with a wider range of planets to visit and prettier graphics. The gameplay hits all the same buttons: playing through a grand science-fiction story, seeing everything in the galaxy, and (most importantly) customising your characters through levelling up skills, choosing equipment and making moral choices.
Maybe it isn't the cutting edge of next-generation gaming, but I love it all the same. It's a huge pleasure to experience these familiar, comforting pieces of gameplay in a lovingly crafted, beautifully written new universe. I'm about 20 hours in, and I'm already planning my second character -- if I'd paid for it, I'd certainly get my £40's worth (cue more abusive messages from irate games-buying chums).
BioWare has planned to make Mass Effect into a trilogy on 360, which is a mouth-watering prospect. You'd definitely expect all the bugs and flaws in this game to be eliminated in a sequel. My only concern is that it hasn't sold very well -- it didn't even get into the all-format top ten on its week of release -- which would discourage investment in a Mass Effect 2. Hopefully people will pick it up next year when there aren't so many games around. It'll certainly keep you busy in the traditional New Year game drought.
Articles by Nick Hide
Survey: Asus laptops more reliable than Apple, Sony
Crave US warranty firm SquareTrade has researched laptop failure rates and found that Asus is the top of the pile. Bad news for HP though
CNET UK's games console reliability survey: 60 per cent of Xbox 360s have broken
Crave We commissioned a survey of UK gamers to find out how reliable the different consoles have been. The results don't reflect well on Microsoft
Intel settles with AMD for $1.25bn
Crave The rival chip manufacturers have settled their bitter legal disputes in a massive deal that also sees them sharing patent rights for the next five years
OpenOfficeMouse has frankly preposterous 18 buttons, joystick
Crave With 18 buttons, 63 profiles and an analogue joystick, the OpenOfficeMouse by WarMouse is set to be the most customisable peripheral ever. And the most insane, by some distance
EMI Abbey Road Live: Instant gig recording
Crave The major label has announced a new service that will sell recordings of gigs, mixed and mastered at the gig itself, and sold to fans as they make their way to the car park
Sony BDP-S760 Blu-ray player: Super bit-mapping reality enhancer
Crave Sony's new top-of-the-range Blu-ray player, the BDP-S760, is jammed full of exciting new features such as Wi-Fi Internet access and multi-channel headphone mode
Nokia Booklet 3G hits US: Hands-on verdict
Crave Nokia's Booklet 3G netbook has arrived in the US and our chocolate-voiced NYC colleague Dan Ackerman has one in
IT execs: 'UK will never create a tech giant'
Crave Leading British IT executives believe the UK doesn't have the skills, economic environment or governmental help to make a global giant like Google or Microsoft
