There are certain franchises in the video game industry that have become iconic because of their captivating game-play and mesmerizing stories. The “Mass Effect” trilogy is an ideal example of such a franchise. “Mass Effect 3,” released earlier this year, is a perfect conclusion to the critically-acclaimed science-fiction trilogy.
Before I begin reviewing “Mass Effect 3” (and the “Mass Effect” trilogy as a whole), I must say something very important: I cannot completely review the game in one article. “Mass Effect 3,” (or ME3), is such a huge game that, in order to do it justice, I will have to break it down and explain each element separately. In order to properly do this, I will be writing multiple articles about ME3, covering everything that needs to be explained. This article, “Part 1,” is simply an overview of what type of game ME3 is.
The ME trilogy is a science-fiction RPG (role-playing game) series. An RPG is a game in which the player creates his/her own character to play as in the main story, or campaign. In ME, players play as Commander Shepard; the last name is the only thing players cannot change. Otherwise, players can create their own appearances of Shepard by changing characteristics like gender, facial structure, and eye, skin and hair color, to name a few.
It doesn’t end there. The RPG element in ME even goes as far as to let players choose what to say in conversations with other characters. In almost every conversation, the player is given multiple choices of how to respond; the player chooses how to respond based on whether he/she wants Commander Shepard to be a selfless, endearing hero or a cold, ruthless one. At certain points in the story, the choices the player makes have a vital impact on the story itself; the story of ME is an interactive one. Even though the mythology and basic plot structure are the same, the outcome of the story and the way it unfolds are different for each player depending on the hundreds of choices they make throughout the story. Furthermore, ME2 and ME3 allow players to import their save files from the preceding game (ME1 and ME2, respectively) so that all the choices that the player makes in the preceding game are reflected in the story of the next game. This is what makes the ME trilogy so unique; literally hundreds of choices, both big and small, carry over into the next game and thus create an incredible, mesmerizing flow to the story of ME.
I know what you’re thinking: Okay, so the game-play allows for a unique, well-crafted story. But what is that story? What is the ME trilogy about?
Well, the brilliant, pulse-pounding story of Mass Effect… will have to wait until Part 2.
