In just over 35 hours, I completed Mass Effect. That might seem like a long time, but it was well worth it to me. I finished every sidequest I could, explored every planet in the galaxy, and played through the Bring Down the Sky expansion. I was very thorough, talking to all the NPCs and opening every storage locker or crate I could find. Now that it’s over, I’m satisfied but a little sad that the awesome ride had to come to an end.

I have already written extensively on Mass Effect, but with a game this vast, I find there is still more to discuss. I may have complained about some of my frustrations, but I have found a lot of value in this game. The story was absolutely fantastic, especially from Ilos to the end. Those last few hours were some of the best paced in the game, and when it was over, I felt a real rush. I got to make important choices up until the very end, and I felt that I was as much a part of the action as the characters in the brief cutscenes.

The story was facilitated only marginally by cutscenes. The main elements of the narrative were conveyed through the fantastic dialog. Mass Effect has been praised for its innovative dialog system. Choices are displayed around a circle, and the dialog shown represents the general idea of the line, but not what is actually said. It felt like what I selected was the thought and what my character said was a more tactful way of expressing that idea (at least for the paragon choices). This system allowed me to better identify with the character, as I felt that she was expressing my thoughts and feelings in the best way possible.

I really enjoyed the addition of so many sidequests. The main path of the game could probably be beaten in ten to fifteen hours, but I chose to play the extra twenty or so to really explore and immerse myself in the Mass Effect universe. I loved the feeling of stumbling across an uncharted resource or coming to the rescue of some helpless people. Some of the sidequests included really tough decisions, which enriched the game and gave me a sense of responsibility. I liked having the freedom to control of the ship and choose the sidequests that I wanted to pursue. The introductions to the quests were vague so I was often surprised by what I found. Even though some of the areas were very similar in structure (likely due to limited art resources) the diversity in the quests was still there and kept it interesting.

Aside from the flaws that I have already discussed, Mass Effect had only a couple other drawbacks: a lack of tutorials and a poor inventory system. I had no idea that I could jump with the mako until halfway through the game, and I never figured out that I could zoom in on enemies in the mako until after I beat it. If I didn’t have a friend to talk me through the beginning of the game, I doubt that I would’ve become as skilled in combat.

Also, the inventory system was cumbersome for someone like me who likes to collect all the items from the game. Given the number of sidequests, I continued collecting hundreds of weapons, armor, and upgrades. I was continually struggling to keep my inventory down so I wouldn’t have to leave anything behind (or convert it to omni-gel). The limit of 150 items was way too low. Due to the abundance of items in the field, I never had to buy anything at the stores. (I did buy the spectre weapons on the Normandy at the end of the game, but some of the later weapons that I found were comparable.) Hours from the end of the game, I maxed out the money. This meant that I had to spend a ridiculous amount of time re-equipping my team to make sure I wouldn’t destroy something that I needed. It took a long time to scroll through items, and I wished the inventory could be sorted.

While Mass Effect did have a few flaws, it was still a fantastic RPG experience. I highly recommend it to people who love immersing themselves in a rich sci-fi world with engaging characters and plenty of content to keep them busy. It is probably the best game experience I’ve had since Okami, and possibly one of the best games I’ve ever played in terms of the emotional impact. I really identified with my character because I was the one who was molding her into the person that I would like to be.