Facebook – Top 100 FAVORITE Video Games: 7

It seems fitting to have this game the day before the announcement of its second sequel. Its a big deal, this game, of that there can be little debate, and its influence and importance will be something we all talk about for years to come.

7: Mass Effect (XBox 360/PC)
Developer: Bioware
Year: 2007

I love the every living shit out of Mass Effect. The game is the primary reason I own an XBox 360 in the first place: my older brother wanted to get one and I convinced him to get the system specifically for this game. As a lover of KOTOR AM IS LOVE, I knew this game would be amazing, too. He got it, played it, loved it. I went to his place, played it, loved it. He then got L4D and I wanted to play it, too, so I got myself an XBox 360 as a result. So, in a way, the very existence of Mass Effect has brought me to this point in my life: a second renaissance of console gaming. See, prior to this, I played a PS2, but not religiously. I was sure my gaming days were over. Not after I touched this game.

Its easy to talk up how great Bioware’s gameplay mechanics are… I mean, the first Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age: Origins, and the second Mass Effect game are all on this list… that’s a majority of the game’s this company put out in the past seven years. That means they know how to make fun games. But the thing that really sets this game higher than any of the others – and really, above a ton of the recent games on this list, even – is character development and story-integration. These two facets of character writing are the key thing that links the player to the characters in their game, and while Bioware has done this kind of thing before, Mass Effect’s character generation is the best example of narrative-driven gameplay to feature a character you designed.

characters like this mother fucker

While I could spend all this time discussing why Mass Effect’s Shepard and the rest of the cast are great characters (note: both Shep and this game’s bad guy, Saren, were featured on my top 10 Protagonist and Antagonist lists, respectively), the real thing to talk about here – above all else – is why I rank this game higher than what some would call the superior sequel. And, while its true that the second game has the benefit of including the first and best “import your character” aspect going for it, one simple truth remains: Mass Effect 2 is a slightly prettier, but in-the-end streamlined version of the first game’s much more broad, realized scope.

The first Mass Effect seemed to take place in a living, breathing universe. While ME2 had its narrative more driven toward one thing, the first game set the entire system before you with a mystery to solve, pieces of the puzzle to pick up, and truths to be uncovered. It was vast and open and new. Yes, it had some flaws (vehicle sections just. don’t. work.) but even the elevator business in this game trumps the static load screens of the sequel. The only time you get to talk to your teammates in the second one is on the ship or during their quest, but in the first game you get that plus the running commentary and jokes and jabs they tell in the elevator. Its a great way to continue to get to know them while masking the awkward load times. So few games present you with a multitude of opportunities to get to know your party, and this game presented a few oddball moments that you wouldn’t expect to see.

All in all, the game is a master stroke of genius. Its true that the sequel improved upon some things, but the care and dedication put into this game is apparent immediately from the start. Its just made of “epic win” and that’s not something I say that often. Playing out like a fantastically long (and good) sci-fi movie, Mass Effect pulls the right punches – or more accurately, allows you to pull the right punches – without shortchanging on story, gameplay, or immersion into both. Few games have this ability, and even fewer developers know how to achieve it. Bioware’s final game in the Mass Effect trilogy is reportedly being announced tomorrow evening during the VGA’s, and with such heavy anticipation for the finale, we can all look back on the first game and remember just how goddamned good it was to take on Saren and Sovereign.

Classic Moment:
I love the hell out of almost all of this game, but the classic moment for me is finding that coward hiding on the game’s first planet, Eden Prime. Its the first real moment – for me – that I had to seriously stop and think to myself: “how big of a dick am I?” in regards to my treatment of the coward and how to punish him. In a game full of these moments, its the first one to make you really start down a path, the first one to set your Shep in motion. While not the most exciting decision you have to make with him/her, it is the most important, because – likely – you’ll base the way you play on those early choices. From that moment on, you’ve got a road to follow.

ps: parts of this game are just beautiful

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Added April 13, 2017
Come on, Bioware… Mass Effect Trilogy on the Switch. You want it, I want it. Let’s make it happen, baby. Charge me $70 for the games and all the DLC. Don’t update the first game. I don’t care. I want the gold.
GIVE.
ME.
THE GOLD.