Malcolm's Review: The Inagural Edition

OK, I know I've been promising to do some game reviews, but haven't really made the time. So, I decided that I'll do some mini-reviews to let you know my thoughts on a game. I tried that, but there is just too much on this game to do it justice.
My first review is of a game that I had been anxiously waiting to come out, Mass Effect for the Xbox 360. Mass Effect is a sci-fi, RPG made by the geniuses at Bioware. If you haven't played a Bioware RPG (Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire), what the hell have you been waiting for. I'd say, that hands down, they make the most robust role-playing games for any system.

I am a RPG junkie, but to qualify that, I am not a huge fan of the typical Japanese RPG (I do like a lot of them), but am a classic D&D fan. I like a RPG that has a story, but doesn't pigeon hole you to only that plot. Mass Effect excels in this aspect of gaming. Of course to finish the game you have to follow the plot, but you can follow it as you see fit. I've finished the game on the standard and the hardcore difficulty. I actually did more missions on hardcore since I wasn't pushing myself to finish the plot of the game. If any of you have played Grand Theft Auto or similar games, you know the feeling.In order to keep this a little more brief, I'll cut to the chase. I'll break down the things I love about the game and the things that need work.

LIKES: First of all, the graphics in this game are top notch. There is a lot of detail and the environments are outstanding. This is next generation gaming at its finest. The combat system is one of Bioware's better implementations. They have been trying to find that perfect balance between turn based and real time, and this is their best effort yet. Combat flows with the game and never really seems to get in the way of the plot. The writing and voice direction is top notch. I now see why there is already going to be a downloadable add on (coming in mid-March), and I love the fact that there a lot of veteran voice actors that worked on this game. The methodology of conversation is the best of any game I've played so far.....bar none. Even on the second play through, I found myself more often than not listening to the whole conversation than skipping it. I really hope that Bioware can copyright this and let other games (Square Enix) use this dialog system. One other thing I like is there are not an overabundance of cut-scenes (Square Enix), so you do feel like you are part of the universe and not just watching from the sidelines.

DISLIKES: OK, now it may be just my experience, but my major gripe is that the game locked up on me way to often. I've seen a few people complain, but it is not to the point that the game is non-playable, but it becomes annoying after a while (I imagine it is worse for someone that has not heard of "save early, save often"). I also have a problem with the tutorials and manual. They do not clarify a lot of details about combat and upgrades. It wasn't until my third start that I realized that there was a lot of extra little things that I could do to make the game experience better, i.e. knowing the difference between add-ons, qualities of add-ons, using special powers. The inventory system is pretty intuitive, but it is not practical. There was nothing that ever said that you could only have a finite number of items in inventory (weapons, armor, add-ons and everything else), but when it did tell me that I reached the limit, I lost about 15 items that either could have proved useful, or been sold. I also believe there needed to be more side missions, even though it is not a short game, there is really no way that you will reach the highest character level on one play through.
Now, despite my criticisms, I rate the game as a 9 out of 10. If you have an Xbox 360 and don't have this game, you should be ashamed of yourself. If you like RPGs and you don't have this game, or have not bought a 360 so you can play this game, shame on you. Even if you do not like RPGs, the combat in the game will remind you enough of a first person shooter with the added bonus of being a tactical and emotionally fulfilling game...you should have this game. In other words, I cannot see any real reason why everyone should not own this game. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.