Mass Effect - Review @ Worthplaying

A new review for BioWare's Mass Effect is up at Worthplaying, with a score of 9.5/10 despite some criticisms. Here's a bit on conversations:

Most conversations contribute to your character's development as a "paragon" (all-around good guy, Optimus Prime-like in a way) or a "renegade" (mercenary-like antihero). Conversations are very well-written, and they became a huge highlight of the game for me. I learned everything about my crew members, my ship's engine systems, why some strangers are where they are — it's almost impossible for one to digest it all. The long talks also add to a journal, which records and details all of the tasks you have before you. And if you want, you can have a lot of stuff to do. When you're not tracking down Saren, you'll stumble across business conspiracies, get tasked with finding a group of missing troopers — and even try to get the military to return the corpse of a dead space marine to her husband. Much like Oblivion, you could literally spend whole days doing nothing but side-quests. That's a bit much for my plate, but it's an RPG fan's dream come true.