Mass Effect review (PC)

It's been a while since I've played a Bioware game. In fact, the last one was the stonkingly good Knights of the Old Republic, so it looked like the stars were all coming into alignment again when Harry gave me the code to download the latest space opera RPG from the Canadian developer. There really was no need to worry anyway; Mass Effect had already garnered a huge number of accolades for its release on Xbox 360 last year, so the PC version would be a case of more of the same, only better, right? Well, we'll deal with that contentious claim later, but now is a time for beginnings.

You are Shepard, blue-eyed apple pie munching star turn of the Human Alliance (note the omission of a first name, as you can play as male or female, although it has little bearing on proceedings). You're also a dab hand with special powers, pistols or really big guns, according to which of the six available character classes you decide to play as, with the usual bases of healer, support, long range DPSer and tank being covered.

With the preliminaries out of the way, you are dropped in at the deep end, as the game integrates HUD and control familiarization into the initial part of the storyline. This is a good thing, as BioWare is one of those developers that knows how to spin a ripping yarn, so you don't really notice the tutorial elements as you progress. With respect to the plot, I really don't want to give too much of it away as it is one of the main draws of the game, but I will say that the enemy you will face, Saren, is one of the most dastardly and oddly beguiling since, appropriately enough, KoTOR's Malak. Comparisons with the Star Wars themed RPG are relevant in other areas too, as you use the pride of the Alliance fleet as a hub for travelling across the galaxy to explore exotic new worlds.

Shepard's crook

Squad based combat is very much the focus of the gameplay in Mass Effect, and you'll need to marshal your troops effectively to see your way through any hostile situation. Unfortunately, most of the time your squad mates aren't exactly situationally aware, which means that you'll have to give them orders such as where to take cover, which biotic powers to use and so on to get them through without biting the bullet. If they do take some lead though, it's only a temporary setback as they miraculously recover once combat has ended.

As you cut your way through enemies, experience points are awarded in the usual fashion, counting toward the all important level up. At this juncture, you are awarded Talent points, which you can use to improve any existing Talents of you and your squad. The Throw Talent, for instance, allows you to hurl enemy characters across the room, but by spending additional points in it you can increase the strength of the throw and gain access to an additional Talent, Lift, which causes enemies to hover in an immobilised state above the ground. As you'd expect, you can spend these points as you see fit, but you can also delegate the responsibility to the PC, which will spend them according to your initial class choice.

Def Shepard

The musical score complements the on-screen action perfectly, ranging in tone from the otherworldly, Moorish theme of the signature tune to brooding, synth-driven pieces vaguely reminiscent of early eighties John Carpenter. Happily, the sound effects don't disappoint either, with weapon noises sounding meaty and powerful, while most of the voice acting is so expertly delivered that it could accompany an animated Hollywood 'toon (in fact you'll probably recognise the voices of a few of the more prominent characters). A particularly nice effect in this last respect is context sensitive comments from your squad-mates, which not only inform you of your current situation but also serve to enhance the atmosphere.

The visuals are supplied by Epic's Unreal engine, and they scale very well to produce agreeable results on hardware that isn't exactly cutting edge, such as my own, which sits somewhere between the minimum and recommended specs. Naturally, though, if you've got the horsepower there are options to turn on all the graphical bells and whistles. Of particular note are the facial expressions on NPCs during dialog scenes, as they are the most realistic I've yet seen, although believable lip synching remains something that has yet to be mastered by any game, Mass Effect included.

Fleeced?

So how exactly does PC Mass Effect compare to its console counterpart? Well, one condition that blights most console to PC conversions is an inadequate control scheme. Happily though, there's no button mashing here as BioWare makes full use of the PC's keyboard and mouse combo, with special mention going to the newly introduced quick slots for easy access to abilities. There's no fuzziness to the controls either, with mouse aiming feeling deadly precise. Another often aired criticism is of a convoluted UI (PC Assassin's Creed's menu system being one prime example), but again the developer has worked a little bit of magic to take advantage of the PC's greater capabilities, shoehorning in a tactical HUD that lets you control your party members more accurately.

Inevitably, we come to the bad points, the chief offender of which is vehicle control. You get to drive an APC-style vehicle known as a Mako, presumably because it flounders around like a fish out of water. Controlling this contraption really is an exercise in floaty futility, as on uneven terrain it seems determined to bounce around in any direction other than where you want to go, a problem which is exacerbated by the fact that you are often required to fire its weaponry while driving. It's slightly puzzling how they failed to nail the control issues with this aspect given how well they executed the third person shooter mechanics.

Red sky at night...

Still, despite my best attempts to think of something else negative to write, BioWare have quite simply surpassed their previous excellent efforts to deliver what is arguably the best single player RPG to emerge on the PC since Deus Ex. And as for being better than the console version?

Well, it's hard to see how the control scheme on the Xbox 360 could be any more precise and satisfying than the PC scheme. The words stunning, engrossing and addicting just don't do this game justice, and if it wasn't for my belief that no game will ever be truly perfect (as well as the vehicular silliness and the occasionally suicidal squad antics), the score you see below would have crept into double figures.