Shepard is thrust right into the action  and the one thing player’s will notice is that Mass Effect looks amazing; lighting, environment and facial effects are top of the line. Contributing to the overall effectiveness of the story is the conversations you will have with party members and NPC's alike. Mass Effect is 100% voice acted and includes the voice talents of Seth Green and many other known actors. The depth of facial features and animation is astounding; no longer can you be rude and get lifeless faces replying, be rude and recipients may scowl, scoff or even tear up. Also the way of selecting responses has drastically changed from the KOTOR days; instead of pre determined responses and the awkward silence as player's read and choose their words, Mass Effect uses an effective wheel system to adhere to realism. Instead of lines of responses the wheel uses small statements or words to sum up the players feelings; "how about a corpse" won't be what Shepard says but the player gets a solid idea of where their responses will take them. Additionally charm and intimidate options become available after training in certain areas.

In strict BioWare fashion a morality system has been included for Shepard. This sense of morality is not your standard good and evil affair; it's more of a help those in need or help yourself approach. Unlike many morality based games the morality of your character does not affect the outcome of the game. Players will save the galaxy but your morality affects how you get there. Be a Paragon and stop to help anyone who asks or be a Renegade and help only those with the credits. Logically certain quests can't be undertaken by a Paragon if it requires you to break the law. Morality is also based on a "fill up this meter" scenario rather than a see saw so players who wish to stay neutral can do so if they wish.

Combat is kind of a hybrid between KOTOR and Gears of War. In real-time players have an over the shoulder view of the action and can shoot their enemies like any FPS. But press a bumper and combat freezes bringing in the RPG element to combat. The left bumper brings up the weapon wheel where players can swap their weapons and those of their party on the fly. The right bumper brings up the talent wheel where players can direct the use of biotic and tech powers. Your favorite power can even be hot keyed to a button for quick use. Squad commands are very basic; ranging from take cover to form up, and are seemingly non essential to overall combat.

Sure Mass Effect isn’t perfect, no game is, but the negatives mean nothing compared to the positives. There are slight texture issues and slowdown, not to mention the horrid squad commands but compared to an enthralling story, breathtaking visuals, stunning voices and personable characters these negatives are like a mugger coming at you with a stick of butter. Bring on the sequel.