Mass Effect (Xbox 360)

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It is usually not until after completing one of BioWare's games that one realizes what an expert command of the role-playing game (RPG) form the developers have. It's only after experiencing the breadth of one of their worlds that the magnitude of what they've built comes into focus. Not so with Mass Effect, and this is only partly because it's been such a long time coming. From the moment you start it, you are left with the feeling that you are digging into a colossal work -- one that, by means of its stellar quality, fundamentally redefines what's acceptable in terms of a game's narrative presentation. Indeed, it's not the way the game plays that draws you in; in fact, it may actually turn you off at first, if you're not keen to dig into the expansive world that's on offer. But from those relatively weak opening sequences till the moment the game truly opens up and begs you to explore it, there's little room to doubt that BioWare has taken its craft to the next level.

Eschewing the convention that dictates most RPG protagonists should start out as nameless, humble nobodies, Mass Effect immediately thrusts you into a position of mass consequence. You are Commander Shepard, executive officer of the SSV Normandy (the product of a rare human/alien co-action and the most advanced ship in the Alliance fleet), and a certifiably notable personage -- the particulars of your backstory depend on which of the three background archetypes you choose during character creation. People know your name, and they hold you in high esteem. Eventually, you even become something of a goodwill ambassador, representing our fledgling species as it begins to make moves on the galactic stage.

Very much in keeping with RPG conventions, though, Commander Shepard starts the game as a bona fide 100-pound weakling, lofty profile be damned. Thanks to the combination of a character-advancement system that takes a few levels to really get into gear and as a real-time combat system that sometimes tricks players into behaving like they're playing a shooter, you're probably going to have some rough battles in the early portions of Mass Effect.

The class you choose at the outset largely dictates how well you'll handle things, especially early on. Soldiers, able to specialize in heavy weapons and use higher-end armor, typically fare the best in the early game. Adepts, who focus on using "biotics" (read: Mass Effect's quantum-theory-inflected response to The Force), can muster some admirable offensive output, though they're at their best when supported by beefier allies. Engineers, meanwhile, get their really impressive abilities a bit later in the game, though once they've come into their own, they can wreak serious havoc, especially on robotic enemies (which are in no short supply). There are also hybrid classes, incorporating abilities from each of the abovementioned: vanguards, who use guns and biotics; sentinels, who use biotics and technology; and infiltrators, who focus on tech and guns.

Regardless of whether or not you're new to RPGs, you're going to undergo a serious baptism by fire the moment you get into your first real conflict in Mass Effect. For all intents and purposes, combat occurs in real-time. Unlike most of BioWare's RPGs, though, it isn't immediately apparent that it's a good idea to pause combat and issue orders to your NPC companions when the going gets rough. Before you learn better, you're probably going to be popping up from behind cover, firing off a few rounds, and hoping for the best. While you can indeed pause the game at any time and execute special abilities or swap weapons from a radial menu for both yourself and your squad mates, this isn't ever satisfactorily explained through any sort of tutorial. Neither is the fact that you can give rough positioning orders via the directional pad. This alone may turn off players who aren't fully invested in experiencing some BioWare-quality role-playing, as the game isn't particularly fun when played as a squad-based shooter, and it isn't until you're about halfway through the story (give or take, depending on how many experience-rich side-quests you do) that your characters become accomplished enough to do some of the more impressive stuff that the combat system allows.