Mass Effect - Gaming Saturday

Hey all! How are you all doing?! :)

Before I say anything about this game, I would say that Yes! They do put in immense efforts to make games realistic these days. If aliens were to be believed, then the scientific back ground of this game is just too good! Well anyways, I'm talking bout the game - Mass Effect.

In the Mass Effect universe, “mass effect” is a physics phenomenon adapted from what real life scientists call dark energy that has properties along the lines of other physics forces such as gravity and electromagnetism.

Mass Effect is a series of sci-fi action role-playing video games developed by the Canadian company BioWare and released for the Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and, from the second installment on, also for the PlayStation 3. The first game in the trilogy centers around a player-created character named Commander Shepard and his/her mission to save the galaxy from a race of mechanical beings known as the Reapers, and its followers, including Saren Arterius. The first game sees Shepard facing Sovereign, a Reaper left as a vanguard, who plans to allow the Reaper fleet currently hibernating in extra-galactic dark space to invade the Milky Way, and destroy all sapient organic life, continuing a mysterious cycle of destruction. The second game takes place two years later, and sees Shepard battling the Collectors, an alien race abducting entire human colonies in a plan to help the Reapers return to the Milky Way. The third and final game centers on the final battle against the Reapers.

Since the beginning, the series has been a major critical success. All three games have received critical acclaim for their storyline, characters, romances, voice acting, choices, tolerance of diversity, and the depth of the galaxy. Video game website GamesRadar called Mass Effect the best new franchise of the generation, saying that the galaxy was so well-constructed that it felt like a decades-old franchise and that it represented "a high-water mark for video games as a story-telling medium."

The game is now a trilogy including Mass Effect(2007), Mass Effect 2(2010), and Mass Effect 3(2012). All the three games have received great response from the gamers and indeed the games are superb. Mass Effect 3 is the final installment of the series as said, but who knows! LOL!

I have played just Mass Effect 2. The game-play was just awesome! I mean damn amazing! :D The game is really superb in terms of storyline too. What I didn't like was after some point, the game seems getting redundant. What I mean is, it starts to seem like we are doing the same things again and again. For sometime it's fun and challenging to kill aliens, scavenge planets off the resources and build the team and upgrade the equipment, but after sometime, that resource collection and fighting same enemies becomes altogether boring. The visual effects and sound effects are just marvelous, no doubt in that, but hey! I cannot do the same thing over and over again! :/ Else the story is damn good.

A trilogy of games has been released, each continuing the game's story in chronological order. The Mass Effect series combines action role-playing game elements, with the main series games being in third-person perspective. The protagonist can use two AI-controlled squad members in battle; which usually consists of members he or she has recruited, from various places and for various reasons, and taken onto the Normandy, Shepard's starship. The player could make perspective decisions depending upon the situation. At these times, the player has multiple sets of dialogue choices with which to respond to NPCs, separated by tone. Starting from Mass Effect 2, the player can interrupt cut-scenes calmly or aggressively. The games often have various mini-games in them as well, such as drinking and dancing.

The game has got many associated things with it. What I mean is the game's got additional features like bonus rounds and making relationships with your teammates, which in some cases could be extended to, ahem, unmentionable levels! LOL!

Talking about the characters, I would talk only about the main character, Commander Shepard. The player can choose whether he or she wants to play using a male Shepard or a female Shepard. The storyline remains same, although the difference comes in the fact with whom and what type of relationships would exist, if you go in to that part making the game become an actual roleplay one, rather than just sticking to playing the game as Rampage.

The game shows Shepard to be a person who is perhaps the best in the universe! Exaggeration, right?! LOL! To quote directly from the internet about Commander Shepard:

"Lieutenant Commander Shepard is the human protagonist of Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3, whose gender, appearance, skills and pre-service history are all customizable and have an impact on the story. Shepard's first name is also customizable, but is never stated in-game. The default pre-made Shepard is a male Soldier named John, with the Earthborn/Sole Survivor profile. Shepard was born on April 11, 2154, is a graduate of the Systems Alliance N7 special forces program (service no. 5923-AC-2826), and is initially assigned to the SSV Normandy as Executive Officer. Shepard later becomes the first human to join the Spectres, an elite special task force for the Citadel Council. The male Shepard is voiced by Mark Meer, and the female Shepard is voiced by Jennifer Hale."

Wow! They tell about him/her as if he/she exists! LOL!! Birth date and graduation and all! hahaha! :D They really take all this seriously! Haha! :D

Anyways, I would like to mention the names of certain characters that are there in all the 3 releases of the game:

LIST OF CHARACTERS IN ALL THREE INSTALLMENTS!

Commander Shepard
Jeff "Joker" Moreau
David Anderson
Liara T'Soni
Ashley Williams
Kaidan Alenko
Garrus Vakarian / Archangel
Tali'Zorah vas Normandy/nar Rayya
Urdnot Wrex
Ambassador Donnel Udina
Admiral Steven Hackett
Councilor Tevos
Councilor Valern
Councilor Sparatus
Conrad Verner
Dr. Karin Chakwas
Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani

The games received a superb review by all the players throughout the world. Mass Effect 1 got a score of around 92%, Mass Effect 2 got a rating of 8/10 and Mass Effect 3 actually got a rating of 10/10 and 9/10!

The main Trilogy

Mass Effect (2007)

: The first game in the series was originally created as an exclusive title for the Xbox 360 but was later ported to Microsoft Windows by Demiurge Studios. The game focuses on the protagonist, Commander Shepard, and his/her quest to stop the rogue 'Spectre' Saren Arterius from leading an army of Geth to conquer the galaxy. During pursuit of Saren, Shepard learns of a far greater threat in the form of the Reapers. Saren has been mentally enslaved by the Reaper 'Sovereign', a vanguard sent into Citadel Space to initiate the purge of all advanced sentient life in the galaxy, a cycle repeated by the Reapers every 50,000 years. Mass Effect was received with critical acclaim by many industry reviewers, and has garnered a large fan-following.

Mass Effect 2 (2010):

The second main game in the series was released on January 26, 2010 in North America and January 29 in Europe. A great deal of secrecy surrounded the game prior to launch, with few details emerging other than Casey Hudson, Project Director for BioWare, stating that "players should keep their save files, because decisions made by the player in the first game will continue to have influences on their character in the sequel." The game takes place two years after the events of Mass Effect. Human colonies are being attacked, their colonists disappearing without a trace. The game's protagonist, Commander Shepard, is forced into an uneasy alliance with the pro-Human paramilitary organization, Cerberus, in an effort to discover the cause. Evidence emerges pointing to the 'Collectors', an advanced, enigmatic race of insect-like humanoids. Adding to the threat is the revelation that the Collectors are working for the Reapers. Shepard sets out on a "suicide mission" to stop the Collectors, accompanied by a hand-picked team of soldiers, assassins, mercenaries, and specialists. Mass Effect 2 has received overwhelming critical praise since its release, for its characters, storyline, voice acting, and refined combat and gameplay with many critics calling it a major improvement over the original and an easy Game of the Year contender despite its January release. At Gamescom 2010, it was announced that a PlayStation 3 version would be available in January 2011. Although PlayStation 3 owners will be able to play the second installment, Microsoft still has publishing rights to the first.

Mass Effect 3 (2012):

The third and final installment in the Mass Effect trilogy, the game was released on March 6, 2012. Casey Hudson commented that Mass Effect 3 "will be easier to develop because we don't have to worry about continuity into the next one." However, decisions will still be imported from the two previous titles to Mass Effect 3, as to keep continuity within the series. In the final chapter of the trilogy, the Reapers have returned in force, and have begun their purge of the galaxy, attacking the human home world of Earth. During this attack Commander Shepard is on Earth and forced to flee. After fleeing Earth Commander Shepard must race against time to rally the advanced races of the galaxy to make one final stand, not only to save Earth, but also to break a cycle that has continued for millions of years. Casey Hudson stated in an interview at the Consumer Electronics Show that Mass Effect 3 would complete the story arc of Commander Shepard, and would pull in over 1,000 variables from Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 to shape how players experience the final chapter. The first official trailer was unveiled on December 11, 2010 during the Spike TV Video Game Awards show.

Original Reviews by Original Reviewers for Mass Effect 1!

"One of the best role-playing games in recent memory... Makes you feel like the badass warrior you were meant to be... The refined PC version is your best choice for experiencing this excellent game."
- GameSpot: 9/10 | Editors’ Choice

"Raises the bar for the role-playing genre... Mass Effect's greatest strength is the quality of the narrative… Mass Effect takes interactive entertainment to new heights and is wholeheartedly recommended."
- GameSpy: 5/5 | Editors’ Choice

OFFICIAL TRAILER OF THE GAME!

As Commander Shepard, you lead an elite squad on a heroic, action-packed adventure throughout the galaxy. Discover the imminent danger from an ancient threat and battle the traitorous Saren and his deadly army to save civilization. The fate of all life depends on your actions!



Official Website