Martian Outpost

Welcome back everyone! I’m sorry I haven’t written for some time. The holidays have taken a lot of my time, not to mention a couple of new video games I got from Santa.

I got both Mass Effect and Call of Duty 4 for the Xbox 360. I really wanted Mass Effect. Call of Duty was more of a bonus game. I had heard good things about Mass Effect for a few months leading up to my acquisition.

I unwrapped the game and put it in the 360, flipped it on and got ready for another “good” video game. I was in for a surprise.

Initially I began to create my own character. It was fairly customizable, although not as much as Oblivion. I tried to create my character to look somewhat like me. He turned out pretty good. It is funny…now that I see commercials for Mass effect I think to myself “that’s not what shepherd looks like!” You also get to pick the history of your character, which affects the way dialog is played throughout the game.

The game started out with a great story line. It was amazing how answering questions so dramatically effected the way the game played out. Often times I would save the game, re-load an older version and see what would happen if I picked a different choice. Often times the game offered upwards of six different choices.

One great aspect of the game is how much control you have during play. Not only is there a “choose your own adventure” aspect, but there is some great in-game action, shooting, control and play. The music is even good. Not soon into the game I felt the “Normandy,” the focal spaceship, was my own hangout.

You end up with the ability to pick two from a pool of six characters to attend you on missions. You get to become good friends with them and earn experience as you develop relationships. This also changes the play of the game.

You can upgrade weapons, armor and abilities. You also have the option to play the main quest or play dozens of side quests. You take on a renegade or paragon personality throughout the game based on decisions. Because the game changes so much based on your decisions, it really does become a new game each time you play it. I am already playing the game a second time and am enjoying it just as much. This really extends the shelf life and value of the game.

The acting talent is amazing. You can tell they hired voice actors who knew what they were doing. They even got Marina Sirtis to play one of the main characters.

Like I previously said, the music is good. I even picked up the soundtrack. The visuals are stunning, the story telling is wonderful. Can you tell I liked the game? I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but if you have an Xbox 360 and like Sci-Fi, this is a must-have game! Trust me.

I still love Halo 3 as a first-person shooter, and the storyline isn’t half bad, but I still have to pick Mass Effect as my favorite video game of 2007. Halo 3 comes in at a close second, especially for multiplayer capability. I give Mass Effect a 9.5 out of ten!