Mass Effect posts (Subscribe to this feed)
Metareview: Mass Effect (Xbox 360)
by Dan Dormer 
{ Nov 19th 2007 at 2:35PM }
We here at Joystiq are all primed and ready to save the universe, use our
- GameSpy (100/100): "Mass Effect's greatest strength is the quality of the narrative. BioWare has a track record of producing amazingly engrossing storylines, but never before have you been presented with this level of meaningful interaction. You'll experience difficult and thought-provoking situations, including moral and ethical questions without a clear right or wrong answer. The Commander Shepard character is thus defined by player involvement, sublimely capturing the essence of role-playing."
- IGN (94/100): "Mass Effect is game that is greater than the sum of its parts. Technical issues abound, but the majority of Mass Effect is so expertly delivered that it can transcend its weaknesses. Applying number ratings to a game like this doesn't do it justice because there is no way you can ignore its technical flaws. Simply put, Mass Effect is a game that must be played. Then it must be played again. Don't pass this one up."
- Eurogamer (80/100): "Forced to stumble towards a conclusion, I'd say that despite the niggles, Mass Effect is most definitely a great game with an awful lot going for it - but one that doesn't quite deserve unquestioning praise. For what it achieves in delivering a compelling narrative and wonderful atmosphere, BioWare deserves a huge amount of credit, as there are few games that come anywhere near it in this regard. The dialogue system, and the impact it has on individual missions and the game as a whole is exceptional, adding greatly to the potential replay value. Where it doesn't quite hit the mark for me is in the action stakes. Although it underpins the game with all sorts of excellent ideas that ought to make it a deeper, more intelligent and immersive experience, the simple truth is that the minute-to-minute combat simply isn't as intense and involving as you'd expect from a game in 2007. Throw in some grumbles about the somewhat unoptimised state of the frame-rate, texture pop-in and v-syncing terrors, and it's a game that just falls short of our expectations. An eight, then, but a good one..."
Sci vs. Fi: Mass Effect airing Tuesday
by Griffin McElroy { Nov 17th 2007 at 9:01PM }
For those who didn't catch the Halo 3 edition of Sci vs. Fi (on, you guessed it, the Sci Fi network), you missed an interesting look at the game from a number of different perspectives. Scientists picked apart the game from a logistical standpoint, Bungie discussed the creation of the game, gamers talked about how the game differed from it's previous iterations, and Brian Posehn brought the funny. A good time was had by all.
Tuesday night, Sci Fi is airing a special look at Mass Effect on the program. From the looks of it, we can expect the commentary of Keith David (Requiem for a Dream creepster who voices Captain Anderson in the game) and the ever insightful observations of the Cho-Bot. Of course, by that time, you'll probably have the game in your hot little hands, your mind aflutter with all the galactic exploration you'll soon be doing. We won't blame you if you forget to set your TiVos.
Mass Effect love scene now less safe for work [update]
by Dan Dormer { Nov 12th 2007 at 12:25PM }
WARNING: Unlike the sex scene we linked last week, this one can be described as "not safe for work," "not work safe," "NSFW," "NWS," and "not safe to play around female spouse." Any potential job loss, spouse loss, or sleeping on the couch that you incur from watching this video lies solely on your shoulders. That said, there isn't any Asari nipple to be seen in the video, so this is an FX level skin drama at best.
Said video, containing some (female) Commander Shepherd on Asari action beneath the break. Yeah, we tease like that.
Mass Effect launch trailer elevates excitement to critical mass
by Griffin McElroy { Nov 11th 2007 at 3:05PM }
For those not lucky enough to snag an early, blue light special copy of Mass Effect, we humbly offer you this incredible launch trailer to slake your thirst. The short video does a great job of showcasing the game's ambitious cinematic qualities - we just hope it doesn't collapse under the weight of its own hype. Remember, you're just nine short days away from getting some strange tail in space.
Kmart reportedly breaks Mass Effect street date
by Griffin McElroy { Nov 10th 2007 at 2:45PM }
It's official - 2007 will henceforth be known as the "Year of Broken Street Dates." First, BioShock was sold a week in advance by Toys R' Us, then there were the reports of number of early sales of Halo 3 throughout Europe, then the recent Rock Band mix-up at Best Buy, and to top it all off, a number of lucky gamers have apparently gotten their hot little hands on copies of Mass Effect from Kmart - a full ten days before the game's official release date.
As with every instance of broken street dates, there's no guarantee that your local Kmart will be selling the game early, or that they will have any in stock. But if you're as anxious as we are to board the SSV Normandy to explore the Milky Way (while making some sweet, sweet, FCC-approved love), then you'll make the trip to your local Kmart, braving the Saturday shopping crowd, and sightings of terrifying anthropomorphic light bulbs.
[Thanks, Alex]
Game Informer gives Mass Effect 9.75
by Richard Mitchell { Oct 16th 2007 at 12:15PM }
Game Informer has reviewed Mass Effect for the Xbox 360 and the news is good. In short, the magazine thinks Mass Effect is one of the best games ever made. In particular, the magazine lauds the game's storyline and compelling characters. The review praises the game, noting that it has a deep and rich universe easily on par with Star Wars, even noting that it is "the next big franchise for science fiction junkies to latch onto." More importantly, the review notes that Mass Effect represents "a huge step forward for video games" and that it "rings in a new age of interactive storytelling."
The only downside of the game seems to be the combat, which is apparently hampered by balance problems and wonky AI. The review notes that the combat certainly isn't a deal breaker, and that it's still fun to play, but it's not quite on par with the grand universe present in the rest of the game.
All in all, Game Informer gives it a 9.75. How exactly one equates a game's deficiencies to a value of 0.25 we don't know, but we're sure the team at BioWare is pretty damned pleased (as are their new overlords, no doubt). Keep an eye out for the full review in the latest issue of Game Informer.
[Thanks, Morphy]
Joystiq hands-on: Mass Effect
by Kevin Kelly { Jul 11th 2007 at 2:55PM }
We were shown the basic in-game talk interface: get near another character and hit the A button to start talking. You can direct the flow of the conversation, by selecting your responses with the left thumbstick, choosing from a radial menu. For instance, if someone is telling you about an attack, you can pick things like "Too bad they didn't kill you" to "I'm sorry" to "Really? What happened?"
They aren't exactly what your character will say, they're more like the gist of it. We tried to piss the people we encountered off, but no one took great offense. One woman we encountered really wanted to tag along with us, and although we tried as hard as we could to dissuade her, the last talk menu we were offered with her was something like, "Sure", "Go ahead", and "Okay". No, "Get lost!" option, so she must be important to the mission.
Gallery: Mass Effect
Mass Effect screens dazzle the eyes
by David Dreger { Jun 18th 2007 at 8:00AM }
[Thanks, Tyler]
Rumor: Mass Effect 'delayed', due in September [update]
by Ludwig Kietzmann { Apr 23rd 2007 at 2:05PM }
A CVG report asserts that the Xbox 360's role-playing space opera, Mass Effect, has been "delayed" until the horrifyingly distant month of September. Of course, having never had an official release date to begin with, it seems exceedingly impatient to consider the game delayed just as its first potential release window is revealed. Though there have been hints pointing towards a May or June release, September would be the first month Microsoft and BioWare have openly committed to -- if indeed the report is wholly accurate.We'd prefer a month that was sooner (like April), but it seems the utterly blinding level of light bouncing off all the shiny spaceships, futuristic weapons and revoltingly moist aliens in the game just isn't enough for BioWare to stop polishing. The only worrying aspect of such a September release is that it would be awfully close to the August arrival of Hironobu Sakaguchi's Blue Dragon. Having access to both time-consuming RPGs within 30 days could prove socially, economically and hygienically disastrous for fans of the genre.
Curiously, when asked for comment on the September date (which could specifically be for Europe), the Mass Effect publisher only offered, "Microsoft has not announced a release date for Mass Effect."
Update: "We have not made any official announcements regarding release timing for Mass Effect," adds Microsoft. "At this time, any information about the game's release date is purely rumor and speculation."
Joystiq contacted CVG for clarification. We were politely informed that the information originated from a Microsoft employee and that it has yet to be "officially" announced. In other words, we're waiting on that official announcement letting us know we have to wait until September for the game -- point being, we're waiting.
Mass Effect pushed back, may arrive in September
by Dustin Burg { Apr 23rd 2007 at 11:30AM }
BioWare's golden child of an RPG Mass Effect may have been bitten by that dreadful delay bug. CVG is reporting that during a Microsoft held event this morning they learned, in quite unofficial terms, that Mass Effect has been pushed back from a Summer release to sometime in September. Quite frankly we shouldn't use the word "delay" since there was no official release date set, but our collective consciouses expected the game to come rather soon. So, until official word gets out or this is cleared up, we'll err on the safe side and re-program our brains to expect a September release.Final Mass Effect transmission is ... final
by Dustin Burg { Apr 5th 2007 at 2:30PM }
Last week we told you about those viral Mass Effect emergency transmissions and today we're semi-pleased to announce that the final transmission was posted. Embedded above is the "Final Emergency Transmission" and to be honest, we still have no clue what the point of all this YouTube video fun was for. Maybe it was Mass Effect's marketing team planting seeds of Mass Effect'ness into our brains and nothing more, but we've come to expect more from viral campaigns. But, in the end, we have three blurry and compressed Mass Effect videos. Yup, it'll do for now.
Bioware explains those icky Mass Effect screens
by Dustin Burg { Apr 4th 2007 at 2:00PM }
The other day we posted about new Mass Effect screenshots hitting the intertubes and some of you noticed that they weren't all that pretty. Honestly, when we posted them we didn't notice the obvious lack of prettiness factor that Mass Effect has come to epitomize and therefore didn't touch on it. Anyway, you guys weren't the only ones to notice the degrade in quality, because CVG ran a story about all the ugliness. And today CVG got a response from Bioware agreeing that these screenshots are fugly, but having an answer to why they are in an explanation that goes a little like this;
"The whole truth of the matter is that the person at BioWare who took those screenshots made a mistake. People in our industry don't admit this much, but we do make mistakes. The person took those screens at the last minute as they were needed for the article. He did take them in game from areas of the game that worked and then he sent them off... He didn't clear them with Casey and the ME team though."
Indeed, those screenshots came from the game, but came from an unfinished non-representative portion of the final gameplay. Which, we might say, is quite comforting. So, in response to all this talk, Bioware released another Mass Effect screenshot representative of the actual game as seen above. Great communication and transparency of the development process always clears things up, thanks for the honesty Bioware.
New Mass Effect screenshots emerge
by Dustin Burg { Apr 3rd 2007 at 12:30AM }
Are those Mass Effect viral videos just not giving you enough visual stimuli? Does your inner fanboy just yearn for more? Well, you can thank Gamespot for coming up with four brand new Mass Effect screenshots for you to look at. In these screens you'll notice not only a fair share of specular bloom goodness, but a whole bunch of those long legged spider creatures. Hopefully these screenshots will feed your insatiable appetite for Mass Effect content and if not, you could always analyze all that fansite kit goodness. Make the jump for more screenshots.
[Thanks, DjDATZ]
Emergency transmission: Mass Effect viralness
by Dustin Burg { Mar 31st 2007 at 2:00PM }
Tiz the time of year for grass to grow, showers to fall, and viral marketing to begin. And Mass Effect seems to be joining in on the swing of things by starting its own viral fun over on the inter-tubes of YouTube. YouTube member Spectre2183 posted two "emergency transmissions" and in the first one (embedded above) you can see what looks to be helmet cameras shooting all the action of an intense battle. The quality isn't all that great, which was probably intentional, but you can easily see some Mass Effect characters and gameplay. Also, further giving proof this is real marketing goodness, Spectre2183 has only posted these emergency transmissions and joined the YouTube community on March 26th. The second transmission is embedded after the break and be sure to tell us what you think this viral marketing will end up leading to.
[Thanks, Jason]
Bioware offers Mass Effect fansite kit for ... fans
by Dustin Burg { Mar 28th 2007 at 8:15AM }
Fans who are eagerly anticipating Mass Effect's release and want to start their own fansite will be happy to know Bioware just released an official fansite kit. This beautiful and functional fansite kit comes complete with wallpapers, avatars, screenshots, renders, logos and website GUI elements. It's pretty much a complete Mass Effect website in a box, just add water and mix vigorously for three minutes. On a side note, why can't we get over how darn pretty this game looks? It's simply stunning.
