Massively Effective

Ok, stupid puns aside, Mass Effect is a masterpiece. It got its claws deep in me right around this time last year, and hasn't let go since. I've never regretted trading in a game more. Thank God I downloaded Steam. For only 20 bucks, I get maybe the best game of the current generation.

Ignoring the fact that I have now paid 80 dollars for the game, let's talk about why I bought it again. As an experience, Mass Effect is simply unmatched. Amazing graphics, movie quality voice acting, engaging story, varied gameplay, and lesbian sex. Honestly, what more could you ask for? Well, for starters, having the thing actually work. The Xbox version is marred by massive slowdown, graphical issues out the ass, and a menu system that could best be described as "haunting". For a game that spends as much time utilizing a menu as Mass Effect, you'd think the developers would want you to be able to read the menus, or use them in an effective way. Oh no, 360 fan, not you! For you, the menus will be as muddled and complicated as possible. Oh, and you'll have to go through several levels of menus to get to the one you want. Then, when you finally figure out which upgrade to use with your shotgun, the game will lag to the point of almost making it meaningless. Awesome, right?

That may be somewhat overstating the problem, but not by much. Thankfully, and much to the chagrin of anyone who has to play the game on a console, the PC version is far, far superior. While the game itself isn't different, the way you ineteract with it is. First off, you can actually use the menus. I was able to find everything I wanted, use it the way I wanted, and then get back to playing with a simple mouse click. While there is slowdown, the graphical issues are not nearly as present with this version of the game. Being able to hot key and easily tab to equipment and squad screens is a revelation. It's obvious that Mass Effect is meant to be played on the computer, with the console getting the red headed stepchild of Bioware's RPG family. Every single thing is better. If I sound giddy, I am.