Mass Effect

“The best looking game we’ve ever seen. Simply outstanding,” said GamesMaster. “We are quite literally counting the days until its arrival,” commented CVG, while GameSpy believes “Mass Effect looks like the next-gen RPG to beat.” Praise indeed, but any game from the consistently brilliant BioWare Corp is always going to generate this level of interest.

But is there any substance behind the hype? “Mass Effect truly defines the nature of an epic title,” asserts Stephen McGill, head of gaming and entertainment at Microsoft. “Developer BioWare has a rich heritage in creating deep, involving titles and Mass Effect is no different. The sheer size of the game world is just staggering.”

Mass Effect very much follows in the footsteps of one of the most celebrated and successful games on Xbox: Knights of the Old Republic.

Players can expect an epic storyline spanning several star systems, introducing hundreds of individual characters and containing the kind of believable situations and dialogue that made it probably the best Star Wars game ever created. With Mass Effect, BioWare is attempting to ramp up player possibilities, craft one of the best looking games of all time and create a rich moral universe.

At the heart of the title is choice. Players will be encouraged to go their own way, choose a path through the game’s moral maze and respond to character interactions in countless ways.

While a similar morality system was present in Knights of the Old Republic this title does not ask players to merely choose between good or evil. The situations require careful consideration with moral grey areas existing in nearly every decision.

You play Commander Shepard, a veteran soldier who is tasked with defending galactic peace by thwarting the advance of a new threat in the form of the Saren. One of the main themes of Mass Effect is the relationship between biological and artificial life. Every single species in the galaxy relies on computers linked to a vast data network. If a rogue agent could access the network the results could be cataclysmic.

As the player meets new characters the plot deepens, leading to twists and revelations along the way. New recruits can be taken on by Shepard with a maximum party of three getting involved in any planetary activity and combat situation. The matrix of choices is said to be truly mind-boggling.

While some of this may seem too hardcore for a casual audience, BioWare has also made great strides to create inclusive RPGs. “Classic RPG elements are present and can be exploited as deep as the player wants,” adds McGill.

“The player can completely customise a wealth of their characters’ abilities if they so wish. However, the game also employs an intuitive system where the game will also level up your character automatically, depending on the way you’re playing, completely catering for the hardcore RPG fan and more casual gamer alike.”

The game has already won accolades for its looks, with most previews stating that Mass Effect exceeds Halo 3 in terms of visual finesse. But it’s the sheer scope of the title that won it Best Console Game and Best RPG at E3 2007.

Of particular note are the game’s ‘digital actors’ – a huge cast of non-player and player characters each with realistic facial and body movements. A revolutionary dialogue and AI system gives each a dynamic personality with in-game conversations playing out like Hollywood encounters. It has to be seen to be believed.

“Players can choose to completely immerse themselves in the RPG side of this epic title, or simply play through the incredible looking environments as a deep, tactical squad-based shooter through the real-time combat,” continues McGill.

“The game is probably the best looking title we’ve ever seen on Xbox 360 (or any platform for that matter), a statement much echoed in early press coverage. The real time game has cut-scene-like quality, and delivers a completely immersive, cinematic game experience.”

While any BioWare game is capable of generating millions in unit sales even if it were sold in a brown paper bag, Microsoft will be capitalising on the specialist hype with a heavy weight pre-order and POS campaign.

“The run-up to launch will see an increased focus on pre-order and POS,” concludes McGill. “This will also be supported by two-month blanket coverage across all gaming publications, while lifestyle advertising will target film and sci-fi publications. We have a strong plan in place for Mass Effect at retail which will be supported with a range a range of POS, available through Gem, including A2 posters, oversized dummy boxes and inlays.”

With titles like Forza Motorsport 2, Bioshock and Halo 3, Xbox 360 gamers have already been blessed with deep, immersive software this year. Expect Mass Effect to be every bit as genre defining and successful when it’s released on November 23rd.