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| From: Microsoft
List Price: $29.99
Buy Used: $13.98
You Save: $16.01 (53%)
New (33) Used (45) from $13.98
Rating:  276 reviews
Sales Rank: 418
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Shooter Action Games
ESRB: Mature
Media: Video Game
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Age: 17 - 20 years
Operating System: Xbox 360
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 5.3 x 7.5 x 1
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
MPN: M59033
Model: M59-00033
UPC: 882224355254
EAN: 0882224355254
ASIN: B000OLXX86
Release Date: November 20, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Complete with original disc(s), case, and manual. In stock and ships right now!
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 276
 Horrible. December 7, 2007
Adam Ruining (Albany, NY)
16 out of 28 found this review helpful
The game's riddled with loading screens, the characters are prone to freezing themselves to the ground, the combat's loose and tedious, there are only 4 dungeons repeated 100 times for every quest, 3 humans, 2 ways to solve any situation, and 1 galaxy to explore.
But damn if I don't love some woman/alien woman loving and committing genocide.
Best game ever.
 Loading...Boring. February 28, 2008
seamonkey10 (st. louis, mo)
16 out of 45 found this review helpful
It seems half-baked. It's a bad shooter, bad driver, and the story is blah. Where's the excitement? Long loading times walking around exploring make it even more boring. Cut scenes and long loading times before every battle make you want to put the game down after a few deaths.
I get a spaceship!...oh wait, I just point and click on a planet : (
I get a gun!...oh wait, I have to level up instead of just getting better with it : (
There's something exciting I get to do in a city!...oh wait, I have to talk to him, go here, go back, go back to the first place, go back to talk to him, and go back again...Loading...wow I got 10 XP : (
I realize some people like this genre, and overlook its flaws, but a game should make you want to play the game instead having to fantasize about what you think it could be.
If I had to say good things about this game, I would say the talking system is innovative, and the idea of exploring planets and shooting the place up is intriguing, but it doesn't quite come through in this game.
 Mass Defects? December 4, 2007
Ripped Off (Boston, MA USA)
15 out of 24 found this review helpful
Let me get this out of the way. I am a Bioware fan and an avid RPG player. I loved both Baldur's gate and Kotor. However, I thought Jade Empire was decent at best. I rate Mass Effect moderately higher than JE.
Many Amazon reviews in general come in at the very high end of the range or conversely, at the very low end. You'll find more objectivity here. I'll also try to be as brief possible. Lastly, keep in mind that this review is written mainly for RPG fans.
On to the review.
The Good:
-The graphics and voice acting are superb. Wrex (a party member) looks insane. The Normandy (your ship) looks highly polished. Some reviewers complain that this game simply talks too much. I didn't find this to be a problem, in fact, I wouldn't mind more talking from party members. More on that later.
-The storyline for the main quest is well thought out and highly enjoyable. In addition, I appreciate the time Bioware put into the codex, it creates a more immersive experience.
- The conversation system adds a bit of suspense because you never quite know what Shephard will say next. Nice touch.
The Bad:
I am surprised that Mass Effect has an many technical problems as it does. A lot of reviews mention the abundance of technical glitches; maybe my 360 is on roids because I did not experience any technical glitches except for an occasional Thresher Maw spawning directly underneath the Mako.
-The preponderance of reviews mentioning technical problems leads me to believe that they do indeed exist. I would urge Bioware to address these ASAP.
- The player interface and inventory management system is awkward.
- Not enough interaction with party members. The romance sub-plots are weak.
The Ugly:
There are far too many entries under this category. I was expecting much better from Bioware. In no particular order:
- The side quests are beyond boring and highly generic. Most planets seem virtually identical. The enemy lairs on most planets are highly similar if not the same. The main storyline, with its well crafted areas, is simply too short to overcome these defects.
- Getting to most lairs requires the use of the Mako. I kid you not when I say that you will spend what seems like 40 percent of your play-time in this ridiculous vehicle (assuming you do the side quests). It steers and shoots terribly. More importantly, I simply do not want to spend that much time in a friggin vehicle. This ain't Gran Turismo.
- The weapons and item selection lacks imagination. Your weapon choices are highly limited. You may only choose amongst shotguns, assault rifles, pistols and sniper rifles. Aren't these weapons in use today? Is this Call of Duty? Some creativity is in order.
- There is only one major city. Thats it folks. I'm not joking. Bioware should have designed 4 to 5 highly detailed planets with their own unique cities.
- The game-play is weak. The firefights, many a time, felt unsatisfying. Enemy AI is quite unintelligent. Also, I'd love the opportunity to use futuristic melee weapons. I do like the engineering and biotic abilities however.
- I also want the opportunity to select and choose from various character attributes like intelligence, agility, wisdom etc..
Conclusion:
Mass Effect in many respects is a significant step down from Kotor. I really wish I could have given it a better score. Bioware needs to spend less time hyping it's titles and instead pour in more time/resources into game development. Stop trying to make an "accessible" RPG. Stop trying to be a shooter and an RPG. Kotor was a huge seller and not nearly as diluted and dumbed down. Despite all of Mass Effect's many flaws I still eagerly await the next installment. 3.5 stars.
Is There Anything Bioware Can't Do? November 20, 2007
J. Gable
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
Bioware has a pretty impressive track record for RPGs. Their most famous work to date, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, garnered almost every "Game of the Year" award in the video game industry back when it was released.
Now a few years later, we get 'Mass Effect'. A Sci-Fi adventure that at times can seem as if it has endless choices for you to make. A few examples are things such as your character customization options (including gender and specializations), weapon and armor customization, and your "good or evil" path choices.
Actually, boiling it down to Good or Evil is a mistatement. It isn't that simple with Mass Effect. You are set out to be a 'hero', but how you get there is your choice. You can choose to work with the citizens you encounter to get complete your mission and be a Paragon. You can also choose to be a take-no-prisoners type of character and be a Renegade. If neither of those suit you, play it right down the middle a be a balance of both or neither. Your choice.
The story is Bioware's best plot ever. If you played the original Knights of the Old Republic, that's saying something. I won't give anything away, because the story is one of the main selling points of the game.
The combat is simple. In fact, some might find it overly so. However, I think people are missing the point. This isn't trying to be the greatest Third Person Shooter ever created. It's trying to revolutionize what RPGs can be.
The graphics are beyond stunning. Sometimes you will find yourself staring at your surrondings in awe and completely forget what you were doing. There is a minor buffering issue where all of the textures are loaded a second or two after you regain control of your characters, but it's nothing that really detracts from the games overall beauty.
In my opinion, I think Bioware succeeded in once again showing us the true potential of what the RPG genre can put forth. In fact, if there is one RPG out this year that is a must have, Mass Effect is it. Do not hesitate to order because you won't regret the purchase.
Massive Defect November 24, 2007
Yourhero
14 out of 21 found this review helpful
Let me start by saying that I am a patient gamer. I have played, and enjoyed all manner of sandbox titles, such as Morrowind, Oblivion, Final Fantasy 12, and to a lesser extent, KOTOR. I am an avid gamer, and I delight in customization and detail.
That being said, Mass Effect, is an incredibly flawed title. I went into it expecting KOTOR with polish. A decent shooter, wrapped in a stellar story. What I found was a game that can't decide what type of game it wants to be, and subsequently, fails at most of them in the process.
As previously mentioned, the shooting aspect is tricky and unforgiving. One minute you are plowing down waves of robotic husks, the next, you are getting paralyzed and euthanized time and time again by some Biotic nightmare. I chose the support class, the Infiltrator, hoping for a spec-ops type sniper character, but I discovered that no matter how many ranks I put into sniping (I am currently maxed out) the crosshair still shakes like I've got Parkinson's, and overloads after 2 (usually missed) shots. As far as my technical skills, I found that even though the word 'stealth' is mentioned in conjunction with my character type, I could find no such skill to back such a claim, merely a few weapon/shield overload abilities, and an enhanced sniper shot.
My teammates, with the exception of Wrex's wry one-liners, and Ashley's flirtatious dialogue tree, are utterly utterly useless. The tactical squad commands might as well all have the same function, as no matter what command I dole out (stay, go, rally, attack) they inevitably seem to stand there, usually confounded by the ominous presence of an impeding wall, muttering about how they can't seem to see what I'm pointing at. This, coupled with the aforementioned shooting problems, makes combat an exercise in restraining yourself from spiking your controller on the floor like a touchdown-winning football.
However, the aspect most adept at removing me forcibly from my suspension of disbelief, is the constant, and unwavering texture pop-ins. It seems like every time the game loads a new area, or changes to an in-game movie sequence, I have to wait a good 5-10 seconds (not exaggerating) before Shepard and his colorful cohorts are fully garbed in their detailed armor. I realize that with a game as massive and self-reliant on in-game movies, that something like this tends to be unavoidable (see Bioshock) but this is steadfast in it's persistence, as if it were programmed intentionally into the game's mechanics.
On a similar note, I have found myself the victim of many a strange glitches, including one where my character became pinned onto a crate in a kneeling position, his neck elongating gradually until I resembled some sort of spacefaring giraffeman, and then I was shot. The gameplay can range anywhere from somewhat, to EXTREMELY buggy.
For all of it's myriad flaws, Mass Effect is a really good game; it might even be great, if one is willing to ignore it's formidable technical problems, in favor of it's rich story, and likable characters. In closing, here is a game that could have used a few more months in development, some love for the shooting system, and some more efficient texture mapping, and this might have been everything people are saying it is.
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