Played on:
Windows
1.66Ghz Core 2 Duo CPU
3GB DDR2 RAM
GeForce 8800M GTS Video
Windows XP
System requirements
Legendary developers Bioware upset many PC gamers last year with the Xbox 360-only release of Mass Effect, their impressive action-RPG in an entirely new sci-fi universe. These are the guys that made the incredible Baldur's Gate series and brought many people into PC RPGs, and here they are working with Microsoft and consoles - it's something that dedicated PC gamers now find a real sore point as more and more money and attention have been paid to consoles since the release of the 360 in 2005. But Bioware has gone back and made up for it with Demiurge's PC port of Mass Effect that clearly shows they understand their target audience.
Mass Effect seems like an answer to LucasArts' deflated interest in completing the Knights of the Old Republic trilogy - a beloved series which now sits in limbo, the third game barely more than a rumor. This Star Wars series was groundbreaking in its storytelling and wonderful with its lightsaber action, but Bioware knew that if they struck out on their own with a new sci-fi franchise, they were going to have to change more than just the setting. Here, the fighting has gone much more into the realm of third-person shooter, with a combat system that should satisfy your thirst for twitch-based gunfights yet doesn't forget the RPG.
"Shepard" ... "Wrex"
You'll be rolling with two party members - there's a choice of several, and you're sure to find at least two you love - and will talk and shoot your way into dealing with a major new threat against the galaxy. The human race, having discovered interstellar space travel by uncovering ancient alien ruins in their solar system, are trying to gain a foothold with a covenant of aliens that so far rule the galaxy. You, as Commander Shepard (either male or female), are to become the first human Spectre. Your ability to work above petty law enforcement and requirement to answer only to the galaxy's ruling council will give you a lot of power, and the game makes sure you feel that power early and often.
You can sometimes talk or intimidate your way out of a fight, but not to worry: Mass Effect makes sure that if the bullets start flying you'll still be having fun. You'll have a pistol, shotgun, assault rifle, and sniper rifle on hand along with grenades, medpacks, special Engineer-like tech abilities as well as Bioware's answer to The Force, biotics. Sure, it might seem a little dull having the same four types of guns you see in every action game, but with the number of upgraded weapons as well as both gun and armor upgrades you can configure and new abilities you can unlock for Shepard and the squad, you'll find a ton of depth here.
There are plenty of ways of dealing with your enemies who are generally pretty smart and will catch you off-guard if you let them, so make sure you think about your situation before you jump in. Holding the spacebar will let you pause the game and figure out a plan of attack, and this also lets you switch weapons on any of your three characters and direct any special abilities. This is good when you've given Ashley a nice sniper rifle and built up her skill with it and she decides an assault rifle is the best choice. Unfortunately, Mass Effect keeps you locked into the role of Shepard and doesn't let you take direct control of your companions, but I have found that for the most part your companions do well enough without much meddling.
Added depth where you don't need it
And that's where the potentially biggest new feature in the PC version of Mass Effect falls flat. Unlike with the 360 version, you can order your buddies to move to specific spots, fall back, charge forwards, or stay with you. It works as intended, but for the most part it's simply not needed since the difficulty and fights haven't changed in the port from the 360 to the PC. Sure, if you're playing on the game's ridiculously high difficulty it'd likely help, but most gamers won't take much advantage of that so it feels a little useless overall. Maybe if the whole game was rebalanced to add the necessity of ordering your squadmates around then we'd have some real depth, but overall it's just not terribly helpful.
The interface is pretty slick, though, and has been completely reworked for the mouse-and-keyboard control scheme. You can place special abilities on a hotkey bar, and can pause at any time and quickly fire out abilities with the mouse-based menus. It's not that playing on the 360 felt that much different, but Bioware have done a great job giving us a game that feels like it belonged on the PC in the first place. My one gripe with any of this is that the inventory system has admittedly been improved, but it's still pretty clunky compared to many other RPGs out nowadays. Once you hit the limit of 150 items and have to start liquidating them either into Omni-gel or cash, it can get tedious.
There's also a new hacking minigame that resembles, of all games, Frogger but the "cars" are little blocks in concentric circles and you have to dash your way through to the center. The problem here is that they replaced the 360's annoying and repetitive mini-game with a somewhat different one that you'll see dozens or hundreds of times by the end of the game. If Bioware wants to keep using mini-games, they need to spend more time on this and create multiple ones for different kinds of hacks. I'm pretty sure that 2K Boston has learned this lesson after BioShock's hacking/plumbing game.
