Developed by Bioware, Mass Effect is the Xbox 360?s latest, big Sci-Fi role-playing game. In Mass Effect players control a single character and build relationships with his crew as they explore different worlds in an effort to uncover the game?s massive plot. This time players are in the shoes of Commander Shepard of the Systems Alliance Military. Aboard the starship Normandy, it is up to the player to decide how the human race will fair in a galaxy very much under the rule of other alien races and an even greater threat that has been brewing for decades.

From start to finish, Mass Effect holds to the soldier clich? with plenty of offensive language cropping up in many conversations and uttered on the battlefield. There is also a club found in the main city that features live dancers dressed in skin-tight tops with plenty of cleavage and thongs. Depending on how cozy Shepard gets with his crew, there is a possible sex scene found later in the game which, if players chose to play Shepard as a female character, can turn into a lesbian act.
Shepard also tends to get offered missions to help those in less influential positions obtain illegal items such as drugs. One mission tasks Shepard with the objective of using an illegal device to collect data about the machines in the casino that is used to increase the odds of winning exponentially. Some of the casino?s machines are playable.

Another potential issue is Mass Effect?s violence. In one scene, impaled soldiers sit upon large poles. A cut scene also allows players to look on as a live soldier is held down and gets impaled with full blood splatter. Blood splatter is also included during many battle scenes with non-mechanical enemies, including other humans. Though possibly avoidable, one non-human character puts a gun to his head and pulls the trigger as the camera holds a close up of his head so that players can see the full impact.

Quite a few minor bugs in the controls and scripting hold Mass Effect back as does a large amount of mature sexual content. The game, however, is a sight to behold and its Sci-Fi role-playing experience will keep players going until the game?s cliffhanger ending. An in-depth story draws players into Mass Effect to the point that once begun, the ending must be witnessed.

» By Stephan Mack, Plain Games. Published 12/12/2007 9:26:37 PM.