Mass Effect - Retrospective @ Zero1Gaming

Zero1Gaming has a short article taking a look at the enite Mass Effect trilogy.

The series has something of a dichotomy as it progresses through its various iterations, however. The first game has you travelling across the galaxy, visiting planets, landing and exploring, which made you feel like you were really a space explorer and lent the game a feel of a vast physical scale. This was reined back extensively in the subsequent games, with planet visits limited to scanning for ore from space (just as exciting as it sounds that) and the galaxy hubs feeling not much more epic than a given region of Super Mario Land. Also, the areas in the latter games are much smaller and you’re more conscious of them being levels, in the true sense of the word in gaming context, which does hurt the immersion a bit. This narrowing of the feeling of physical scale is in complete contrast to the scale of the storyline, which build and builds to an epic crescendo as your focus expands from a single planet to a whole universe. The term space opera is one that sounds kind of silly, but that’s what it is; a modern sci-fi tale in the tradition of the epics of old.

So, taken as a whole, is the Mass Effect trilogy perfect? No, but then if you’re waiting on a perfect game, I suggest you give up now. What it is, though, is a game quite unlike any other you will have ever played. If you value a game with a narrative that will captivate you and keep you coming back and you’re one of those gamers who can’t help but do all the side missions and want to see a story develop, you must give this a go. The trilogy, given the chance, will account for several hundred hours of your life and, you know what, you’ll really feel it was time well spent.

The Mass Effect trilogy is one of those series of games you’ll tell your kids about in 20 years’ time and after all, isn’t that really the hallmark of a defining game of a generation?