Probably the most "deceptive" 6/10 I've ever given to a game.
I wanted to like Mass Effect more. The universe is very well crafted, the codex texts are fun to read, and the lore as a whole is very interesting. Sometimes the desolate atmosphere of exploring a planet is all I need to switch off my brain, and I find the party interesting enough for the game, with all the characters undergoing some kind of development (and in some cases, like Wrex, their arc ends up having a direct impact on the directions your choices can take).
But I think the game fails too much in certain aspects as a game. The menus are not intuitive to navigate, the amount of places to explore ends up being excessive and extremely repetitive with little variation, and I don't find the integration of sidequests good.
Moreover, the main planets and especially the Citadel are horrible to explore. The Citadel, in particular, is all confusing and has a very strange layout. I genuinely had less trouble exploring and memorizing the layout of certain dungeons in Shin Megami Tensei than navigating the Citadel.
A universe as rich as this one would probably fit better as a TV series or a book, something like that, although the interactive part of Mass Effect 1 isn't all that bad either. And all the mystery behind the Reapers (and THAT cutscene on top of Virmire) makes everything worthwhile and quite interesting in the end.
I wanted to like Mass Effect more. The universe is very well crafted, the codex texts are fun to read, and the lore as a whole is very interesting. Sometimes the desolate atmosphere of exploring a planet is all I need to switch off my brain, and I find the party interesting enough for the game, with all the characters undergoing some kind of development (and in some cases, like Wrex, their arc ends up having a direct impact on the directions your choices can take).
But I think the game fails too much in certain aspects as a game. The menus are not intuitive to navigate, the amount of places to explore ends up being excessive and extremely repetitive with little variation, and I don't find the integration of sidequests good.
Moreover, the main planets and especially the Citadel are horrible to explore. The Citadel, in particular, is all confusing and has a very strange layout. I genuinely had less trouble exploring and memorizing the layout of certain dungeons in Shin Megami Tensei than navigating the Citadel.
A universe as rich as this one would probably fit better as a TV series or a book, something like that, although the interactive part of Mass Effect 1 isn't all that bad either. And all the mystery behind the Reapers (and THAT cutscene on top of Virmire) makes everything worthwhile and quite interesting in the end.