Mass Effect - How It Took Over the World @ CVG

CVG has a piece on the evolution of the Mass Effect series, arguing that BioWare has found the "near-perfect" combination of RPG and mass-market accessibility:

With ME2, that growth wasn't undeserved. Bioware responded quickly and accurately to every major criticism of the first game, and kept pace with the trends in gaming. They stripped out the Mako sections and devoted a whole team to improving the combat; the result is a much smoother cover shooter with tactile, punchy guns.

Without ever compromising the powerful element of player choice, Bioware tweaked their RPG into a near-perfect hybrid of traditional role-playing and modern action games. The sales confirmed it was exactly what gamers were looking for.

ME3 is going further. If one word could describe the new combat system, it would be 'heavy'. Weapons fire slower, sound deeper and pack more punch. Melée is no longer a playful slap: each character class has a different instant takedown performed with the holographic blade. The cover system has kept pace: you can now sneak around corners and dive from cover to cover. It's effective enough that it actually adds a stealth element.