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Mass Effect as a Board Game?

For starters, I think that Mass Effect would really suck as a board game because it is so dependent on watching conversations and the story. Most boardgames don't really have stories. So I would probably cut back on this aspect and turn the game into a boring galaxy exploration thing, like Space Quest. Ironically, this is the least interesting part of Mass Effect but it is best suited to the board game style. What does that tell you about board games?

Naturally all close combat and interactive conversations would have to be removed because the only way to fight on a piece of cardboard is through turn-based strategy. Perhaps there would be space combat based on the RISK format. Characters could compete for star systems through fortification and attacking. Certain aspects of the video game could be brought in such as species and politics. Players could choose whether they want to play as a human, an asari, a salarian, or a turian and each faction would have different bonuses. Alliances could be formed as well, but the carefully-crafted history would be entirely meaningless because the only players in these politics would hold no grudges like the real turians and humans do against each other. It would just be friends versus friends and probably lack in tension.

The key to this game would be to copy off of RISK because that form, while slow, works well for a strategy game. There would be three types of units (based on the three classes of ship from the video game): fighters (weakest unit), cruisers, and dreadnoughts (strongest unit). Each unit would be worth more attack/defense points and combat would be carried out through rolling dice.

If a story were to be incorporated, it would be set in the midst of turmoil after the events of Mass Effect 1. Each species tries desperately to take hold of the galaxy and eradicate the other species. Economic elements could be added as well. Perhaps each planet or solar system could be enriched with a certain metals and that provide bonuses to your units or even allow players to add extra units to the board.

But really, this game would be a failure, like the Halo board game because it takes the universe of Mass Effect and uses it to make a buck while cutting out what is fun in the game. It would be nothing like the dramatic and evocative story that the video game is, but instead a cash in on a popular franchise and a rip-off of RISK. I don't believe the simultaneously cinematic and fast-paced Mass Effect could be successfully turned into a board game. It wouldn't be worth the effort.

Things Mass Effect should have done better...

Audio - While the voice acting and music are top notch, the other diegetic audio in Mass Effect is merely adequate. The weapons sound effects do the job but they aren't memorable. Many of the creatures make the same cries over and over again. Also, dialogue outside of the cinematic conversations is often too quiet, overshadowed by the music. Most problematic is the lack of ambiance, though. The world seems very quiet, which does not strike me as realistic for an environment teeming with life.
Downloadable Content - Fans were probably hoping for more downloadable content from Mass Effect. We got one item so far, and to its credit, it's pretty well done, however one DLC mission in over a year is not very impressive. Apparently they're planning to release one more package to tie Mass Effect 1 and 2 together though it will focus mostly on combat, which is another part of the game that needs work. Combat - The shooting gets repetitive pretty quickly. It brings nothing new to standard shooters though it does not control as well as most of them. The enemies all walk forward in the same stiff stances and are not inflicted with wounds when they are shot, making the weapons seem ineffective. It would be nice if I could blow chunks out of a geth's torso or blow a batarian's head off. The game is rated Mature, so they may as well make the most of it. NPCs - These are one of the many well-done things in Mass Effect, however, improvements could be made. More animations would make their actions more unique and realistic. Also, their eyes often appear to be staring in multiple directions, even though they look real and have character. Exploration and Environments - I'm tired of riding the elevator. The dialogue is good but I'd rather see it in an interactive conversation than while standing stiffly in a slowly moving elevator. Off of the Citadel, there are not even conversations or news reports to keep you interested while you slowly make your way between floors. It may be a necessary evil to disguise loading times but if the designers are creative, I bet they can think of a few other ways to mix things up a bit. Next, driving the Mako around uncharted worlds is just a pain in the ass. Often times it will move forward without you telling it to and end up off a cliff or in lava. It's a tedious way of getting to your objective. What's worse is the terrain you traverse. It's all so similar and all so mountainous. It's like they just made a bit of random relief and just pasted a different texture on it for each world and added a different weather effect. Personally, it makes the game less immersive by making me well aware that I am playing a video game and not walking on the surface of the moon. Side Quests - The biggest problem for me in Mass Effect are the side quests. They don't serve much purpose other than helping Shepard gain experience, level up, and do some more shooting. Very few of them have interesting plots to them and they don't really help develop any of the characters like those in KotOR did. They also seem to be less important than stopping Saren and Sovereign from destroying the galaxy. After all, would Commander Shepard really bother to hunt down a murderous geneticist when the fate of trillions hangs in the balance? Perhaps if the main plot wasn't so imminent, he would be justified in doing so or better yet, if the side quests were more tied in with the main plot or if the player would gain something by doing this besides boring equipment, they wouldn't be so bad. Ultimately, they just don't feel relevant to the core story.

Things Mass Effect does well...

Mass Effect is mostly good and all the complaints I've made over the past few months have the hope of being improved in the two upcoming sequels. Still, I won't forget what a great game the original is. First of all, Mass Effect's story is quite compelling, as mysteries usually are. It is made even more so by its imaginative setting that (while borrowing a lot from decades of science fiction) brings a lot of original ideas to the table. Most impressive, the world is presented as though it could actually exist, and scientific explanations are given for every piece of technology, life form, and phenomenon (except for sound traveling through a vacuum). This adds credibility to the Mass Effect universe. Another thing done brilliantly in Mass Effect is the characterization of your party members, aids, and antagonists. Originally, I complained about Saren's lack of villainy, though this really does create a dramatic moment at the end. Your crew is exceptionally emotive and perfectly voiced. They are all very well animated (except for a weird glitch that makes Ashley look cross-eyed) and given well planned backgrounds that create character arcs for some of them. The individual relationships between Shepard and each one of his crew are fairly meaningful. It's as though he need the support of each one to continue with the mission. Another kick-ass element of this game is the music. It fits the mysterious, otherworldly setting well and superbly guides the gamer's emotions through the story. There is a slow and sad piano tune after someone dies a hero, majestic minor keys for Saren's evil appearance, and a heroic ending tune for Shepard's victory. During the battle on Virmire, the music really sets the suspenseful mood. Time is of the essence and the longer you delay, the more good soldiers will die. Of course this is only implied, so the music is very essential to creating the exciting atmosphere and making your actions seem meaningful. For the most part, the visuals are fantastic too. While there isn't much variety, what is shown looks great, especially the NPCs. The people all have expressive faces that work with the VOs to make believable emotions in the characters. Even the aliens have maleable faces. When a player can tell how a species they've never encountered before is feeling based on their appearance, then I'd say he or she is playing a successfully crafted game. Overall, the textures and animation really stand out on the technical side of Mass Effect. I've mentioned it several times before, but the conversation system is great in Mass Effect. It allows dialogue to flow so much more smoothly than previous RPGs like KotOR. Even better are the accompanying animations and expressions. The voice work in KotOR was just as good as in Mass Effect but the way the characters interact with each other, their surroundings, and themselves entirely changes from a stiff, repetitive style to a realistic one.

Win Conditions

As I discussed earlier, ultimately winning Mass Effect is simply reaching the end of the story by defeating all the bad guys and protecting the good guys. Commander Shepard must return to the Citadel and prevent Saren from unleashing the Reapers on the galaxy. There are a few ways to do this though combat is a must. To get to the top of the Citadel Tower, Shepard and his crew must fight through a horde of geth and krogan mercenaries. When the player reaches Citadel control Saren confronts him/her and prepares for the "final confrontation." Here is where the player can make his/her first choice on how to finish the game. If he/she is persuasive enough, he/she can convince the heavily indoctrinated Saren that there is enough good left in him to change his ways. It reminds me strongly of Darth Vader's transformation in Return of the Jedi except instead of the destroying the real bad guy, Saren kills himself and allows Shepard access to Citadel control. After taking control of the hub of the galaxy, Shepard has another option available to him. The Counsel is under heavy siege in their ship and Shepard can give the order to the humans to move in and save them or to let them die. This is one of the character defining moments for Commander Shepard. If he is a racist and cruel fellow he will likely allow them to be vaporized, but a paragon Shepard, concerned with the well being of all the galaxy rather than just humanity should probably rescue the Counsel. After making this decision, the fleet will attack the giant Reaper when Shepard and company are ambushed by a reanimated Saren, with all organic material melted away to reveal a robotic shell. This creature is controlled by the Reaper and must be fought by Shepard and his friends in a death match. If Shepard dies, the player loses, but killing the droid will result in victory. The game is virtually over. A cinematic of the Reaper being blown up and the heroes being placed in peril by flying debris sets up gamers to think Shepard is dead. But of course, he/she strides heroically out of the wreckage to fight another day (or maybe not; see Mass Effect 2 teaser). A final interactive conversation between your mentor and the ambassador (includes the Counsel if they survive) decides who will take charge of humanity and then the game ends and the credits roll. Victory is yours! Rewards throughout the game that count as minor winning conditions take the form of solving the problems of each planet you visit. Shepard travels to many planets but must visit at least five and take care of some scripted business there. The reactions of the characters there as well as your Journal tell you when to move on because the planet has been "won." There are also achievements that can be earned to increase your Gamerscore, something that is meaningful to some players. Achievements include "Pistol Expert" (register 150 Pistol Kills: +10 gamerscore), "Tactician" (complete playthrough with shield damage greater than health damage: +25 gamerscore), "Geth Hunter" (register 250 Synthetic enemy kills: +25 gamerscore), and other such goals. I really like that it is up to the player to judge their actions as "wins" or "losses." If you want to be a bastard and ignore pleas for aid and kill those that annoy you the game does not call you a loser, whether you are or not. You can win any way you want. I generally try to win like a hero though this is not always realistic. Even though it may be the "nice guy" choice to save a few hostages now, it makes more logical sense (to me, at least) to take down the terrorist leader and prevent him from killing millions more in other plots. I've never tried completing the game as a balance between two extremes but by the way Shepard justifies his actions, this would seem to make him an inconsistent character. How can a person say, "[I'm not like the Batarians, I wouldn't let those people die]" and then try to defend a sacrifice for the greater on another world with "[Sometimes you have to make tough choices. Better to let a few die so that many more could live]." The game is good at defining a specific character based on either a Renegade or a Paragon but a mixture of the two wouldn't be very congruous.

Non-Player Characters

The NPCs of Mass Effect, meaning the characters controlled by the game's AI, all fit into the "Fantasy" character type. Since I've already covered the personalities and story elements of the main co-protagonists and antagonists, I'll look at the characters of various species that populate the galaxy and do not have scripted reactions to your actions. Instead, they need to adapt to everything that happens immediately. In combat, the co-protagonists become this kind of NPC and assist you to the best of their ability. Often, this assistance includes running into your line of fire like secret service agents for your enemies or standing in the open and absorbing plasma when they should be taking cover. There is a squad command system which is pretty easy to use but it would be nice if you didn't have to worry about your allies so much. However, if you allow them to freely use their powers, carefully build up their skills, and properly manage their gear, they can really be quite helpful. It's always cool to be a millimeter from death only to be saved by a biotic throw from one of your teammates that sends your assailant tumbling away. Another type of NPCs are the friendly or neutral characters that just stand around as window dressing or heralds for sidequests. Depending on what planet you're on, about 15%-50% of these characters will be eligible for conversation and a handful of them will have quests, such as: "smuggle this merchandise for me" or "assassinate my competitors." These kinds of duties can be gained from the undercover criminal types and will lead Shepard down the path of a renegade. Other characters, like Admiral Hackett (only heard, never seen, and voiced by Lance Henriksen) will give you more noble goals, like: "take down the extremists while making sure not to hit the civilians." These talking NPCs have their dialogue scripted to respond to Shepard's queries the same way every time. They will not vary depending on the circumstances. The window dressing NPCs do not change either, eternally waving their arms like they're conducting an invisible orchestra and nodding their heads in silent conversation with their fellow NPCs. These quiet, nameless beings make the environments seem a little less dead but it's quite rare to find any that move and they provide no cacophony of noise to supplement their presence. There also seems to be only one gender of every species other than human. For the mono-gendered asari, this makes sense but why are there no turian chicks? Your enemies are all NPCs as well. They engage you more intelligently than your allies engage them but often aren't too sharp either. Fighting them would be more fun if they were a bit more varied. Basically, all you do is shoot and shoot until they fall down dead. There is no option to merely disable enemies and no more strategy involved in killing them. I would especially like to see some creativity implemented in the boss fights. All you do is hold down the trigger as Saren floats around firing missiles. For the most part, you fight geth, a robotic enemy. They make neat sounds when communicating to each other during combat and sometimes will make decisions that surprise you (I wish that all the enemies would be damaged by your gunfire, though; blood may fly out of them but there is no wound to indicate where it came from. I hate it when games do this, even though most of them do). Overall, the enemy AI is perfectly acceptable. I don't play the game for the combat. Concept art for the lead villain can be seen below. Notice the spines on the side of his head and robotic arm that make him clearly distinguishable from other members of his species. Other strategies Mass Effect uses to make NPCs stand out are unique colors, voices, and animations. One HUGE benefit that Mass Effect has is that all of the NPCs look great. It is a breath of fresh air after the sloppy and hideous characters from Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. I'm not suggesting that every character needs to be attractive (half the aliens would have to be cut from the game), but they need to look "good," which is a vague way of saying they should fit their roles. If a character is to be respected (like the comical elves of Oblivion were) they shouldn't look like clowns. Furthermore, they can't be stiff, stoic, and expressionless. Mass Effect's NPCs emote and gesture realistically, even if it is sometimes repetitive.

Gameplay

The "choices, challenges, and consequences that players face while navigating a virtual environment" mentioned in the text book are apt descriptors of Mass Effect's gameplay. It can be broken into two basic categories: free roaming and cinematic. The free roaming gameplay is where the navigation and combat of the game take place. It is consistently played from the third person perspective in which the camera can be rotated around Commander Shepard in three dimensions but is usually at a fixed distance. The player runs about various environments, bound by the game's rules, and either shoots enemies or interacts with objects or NPCs with the A button, which frequently leads to the cinematic gameplay of Mass Effect. This second plane of gameplay involves the "choices" while the combat embodies the "challenges." The cinematic gameplay mainly consists of interactive conversations that Shepard has with NPC characters. The player chooses what to say using the previously discussed interface. While surviving the free roaming gameplay can be difficult at times (especially on "Insane" difficulty), it is quite easy to get what you want through conversation, perhaps too easy. The game tries to balance the free choice experienced in the cinematic gameplay with the challenge of physical conflict. These battles primarily test the player's Spatial Awareness and Reaction Time. Defeating your immediate enemies and surviving the firefights triggered by the primary quest is an explicit challenge while implicit challenges can be set by the player for him/herself. For example, perhaps I will set the goal to be mean to the NPCs in all of my conversations. This is difficult for me to do (and possibly affects my real world behavior) but as it is not a direct objective set by the game, it is implicit. Victory Conditions can be based on individual encounters but ultimately, winning in Mass Effect is playing through the entire story. Loss Conditions are simple; every time you die, you lose, though you can keep playing by reloading a game. On a smaller scale the conditions may change. For example, in the altercation with Wrex on Virmire, the player might consider it a loss if they are unable to reason with the krogan verbally and he must be killed. On the other hand, they may feel it is a victory to be able convince him to remain on Shepard's side. These feelings the player has could be seen as "implicit" victory or loss, while completing the game or dying in the attempt are "explicit" victory or loss. Sometimes, a Trade-Off must be made. For example, you might implicitly lose a little to implicitly gain a lot. Letting a few hostages die on the hijacked asteroid might have you feeling bad about yourself, but at least the evil terrorist leader isn't free to run around the galaxy killing hundreds more. Much of what counts as positive or negative feedback depends on what the player wants out of Mass Effect. Intrinsic Knowledge, or knowledge given to the player by the game, is very important to Mass Effect because it allows him/her to understand the plot and figure out what he/she has to do. Also, as is true with most games, the Time of Mass Effect is "limited" to the player's location. The sun never sets and the weather never changes. This is because the scale of the levels (or planets/space stations) is not great enough that the player will spend days there. By contrast, in open-world games like Grand Theft Auto 4, the player spends all of their time in one city and to make it feel authentic, it must go through the expected daily transformations. Extrinsic knowledge the player might want to bring with him/her are basic assumptions about the world of sci-fi. For example, if one makes contact with fast-moving, glowing beams of energy, one will die. It is also helpful to understand the rules of the universe such as physics. This will help you pilot the Mako. Speaking of the Mako, there are also minigames and vehicle sections in Mass Effect but the minigames do not advance the story and driving the Mako is similar to running around on foot but with more firepower and a greater chance of falling into a pit of lava or off a cliff. The Interactivity Mode of Mass Effect is Player-to-Game. There is no multiplayer and the player is confined to the environment of the game. While it does not involve other human players, the NPC antagonist and his followers have an opposing goal to the protagonist. Therefore, within the story, the game could be considered "Zero-sum." It is quite impossible for these two opposing forces to work together. If anything, the dynamic of Mass Effect is Restorative because the static balance is upset in the beginning and Shepard is working to make things "orderly" once more.

Interface

Mass Effect employs the Manual interface for both the Xbox 360 console and the PC, though I'll focus on the Xbox, since I've not played the PC version. The controller layout for action gameplay is similar to Gears of War, though a bit more complex and a little more sluggish because they are not designed simply for tearing things into bloody pieces. You can use the D-pad to give your squad mates orders and the bumper buttons to switch/select weapons and use powers. The powers are the most awkward thing to control as a result of using only one button. This is unfortunate because the X button simply takes your weapons out, which can be done just as easily with either the right or left trigger. It's just a poorly utilized button, especially considering you need to use the inconveniently placed Back button to throw and detonate grenades. Overall, however, the shooting is really easy to get the hang of, especially for anyone who has played a shooter before or just turns the auto-targeting on and the difficulty to easy.
During combat you'll see the HUD, the heads-up interface, which is passive. It displays relevant information about Shepard and his allies like how much health and shields they have left, the commands your team is following, the minimap for navigation (which could use more detail), and how close Shepard's weapon is to overheating. There is no ammunition to worry about in Mass Effect. This is definitely a relief because combat is not the coolest part of the game for me by far. If you are engaged with any enemies, they're name, shield, and health data will appear at the top of the HUD when you lock on to them.
Mass Effect is not an extremely envelope-pushing game, however, one of it's key innovations is in its conversation system, which presents different options for dialogue in a circular formation that can easily be chosen by rotation of the right analogue stick. Rather than giving the full line of dialogue for the player to choose, the game presents a brief summary that Shepard will transform into his/her own words when selected. I've come to think of these short lines as the thoughts going through Shepard's mind at the time. This system makes selecting what you want to say so much easier than scrolling up or down and reading through long lines of dialogue, keeps the flow of the conversation realistic, and actually allows the player character to speak audibly! For even greater ease of use, the mean options are usually at around 5:00 on the clock-like configuration while the nice responses are around 2:00. More investigative choices are over at 9:00. The Persuade and Intimidate techniques can also be used with the wheel just like talking regularly except they appear in blue and red respectively. The one problem with talking through abbreviated lines is that sometimes the thought will differ slightly from what Shepard actually says and sometimes the thought is funnier than the actual line. That is what makes me think the dialogue options represent thoughts. We humans often have extreme emotions and impulses that are disguised by more mellow words. The best part about this new conversation system is that the characters actually act, emotionally and physically, during the dialogue portions of the game. You have no direct control over how Shepard follows your orders, he/she just does as you tell him/her, but it's a HUGE improvement over KotOR's stiff looking characters, repetitive gestures and motions, and fade outs whenever their was an implied action with no animation. This wheel system can also be used to control actions. Sometimes during a conversation, an option such as [Shoot Him] will appear and Shepard will comply if this is selected. Sometimes, the context of the thought is enough to get Shepard to take action. Other times, the wheel is only used for actions and not conversation, as seen below. In addition to the HUD, the occasional cinematics are another passive interface that exists to tell Mass Effect's story. Most of the plot is laid out in front of Shepard's and the player's eyes during the above-mentioned conversation sequences, but even the Spectre can't be everywhere at once. After the first mission, for example, a cutscene shows Saren getting all agitated about one of his plans being foiled. It reveals a bit of his character and evil plan that cannot be witnessed by the player character who is in a coma at the time. The character creation interface functions well. It is designed for precise detailing of your characters face. Changes to most of the sliders do not significantly change things and different preset structures form the basis for Shepard's face. However, it still allows for a very different face every time you play the game. One of my favorite features is the scar slider that provides you a selection of slashes and burns to make your Shepard into an unlucky soldier or gnarled veteran if you want. It's not hard to make a sexy character either, though rugged may be more realistic. My female version of Shepard was much too fine to be running around fighting aliens. Like most of the interfaces in the game, the player creation interface is active. Another example is the pause menu. There are a bunch of options available to the player here, including the Options menu, the Equipment management interface, the Codex (basically just a Galactic encyclopedia that completes itself as you advance), the progress Journal, the Squad screen, and the options to Load or Save a game. The "Options" menu has the basic audio, visual, and difficulty customization choices as well as some other related items. The Squad screen allows you to level up Shepard and your team. You can also access a Map from the pause menu, which permits you to see the constrained area in which the action is taking place. Along with this map comes a chart on a much larger scale, the Galaxy Map. This tool looks pretty cool as a floating hologram in your ship. It makes navigating the vast galaxy as easy as finding Waldo, even if it's a bit repetitive. You zoom in on star systems and then on planets, while the map calculates your Mass Relay route automatically. Getting a close up view of planets is interesting because every single one has its own description, even if you can't land on it. The only problem I had with the Galaxy Map was trying to zoom out. You're supposed to press X but my intuition kept telling me to press B, which exits the map. Then it has to load again if you want to go anywhere. As for the audio in Mass Effect, I would not consider it part of the interface. The only time it comes into gameplay is when your teammates constantly yell out "Shepard's been hit!" or "Enemy Sighted!" Other than that, the music and sounds really only serve to make the experience intense and dramatic and they are only of high quality during the cinematics and conversations.

Rules

Like many RPGs, one of Mass Effect's primary selling points is its freedom of choice, which translates to freedom from certain rules that may constrain more linear games. The player has the option to select how Commander Shepard will look for the duration of the game, what his/her back story is, and how he/she will react to situations, verbally or physically. The player is not even restricted to the world of the story. Even though the mission to stop Saren is the core part of the game, there are other planets the player can visit if he/she chooses. A strong effort is made to make the player feel as though they are in control of their destiny and that what he/she is doing is meaningful. The rules in Mass Effect are not based on achieving a high score or defeating another human player through mental or physical means, but rather accomplishing various objectives to eventually solve a mystery and defeat a villain. The goal is to have an emotional experience with the core story and the exploration of the galaxy.

1. Operational Rules: While there are a few sequences which must be completed quickly, defusing explosives before the timer runs out for example, Mass Effect has no overall time limit. Commander Shepard is free to go around the galaxy at his leisure. The only thing compelling the player to finish the game is the emotional impact the game has. Of course, the galaxy won't really end if the player doesn't stay up late to beat the last level instead of taking care of it in the morning. Within the game, the physical rules are realistic to our universe with certain exceptions, such as the common inaccuracy of sound being able to travel through the vacuum of deep space when ships fly through it (though the dogfights would be a lot less dramatic in silence). Also, the convenient discovery of Prothean technology and biotic powers allows the weapons, vehicles, abilities, and especially locations to be literally out of this world. Other than that, though, physics [attempt to] behave realistically. Gravity holds you to surfaces and environmental factors like lava incinerate you while you explore these surfaces, just like in real life! Sadly, realistic rules do not always apply to the NPCs. The civilians standing around cannot be fired upon and if you want to shut Liara up, you'll need to find a way past her invincible shield that absorbs every projectile you throw at her. Programming outcomes for these actions into the game would be nearly impossible though. The possibilities would be endless. The consequences that have been put into the game involve certain gameplay penalties or rewards and what emotions the player feels in response the situations that arise, the NPCs that die, the relationships that form, the musical score, and the gameplay itself. It is difficult to quantify these and they will be different for every player. On the other hand, more standard processes, like the death of Commander Shepard, will probably happen for everyone. If he/she absorbs enough high velocity particles to drain your shield and life bar, the Commander will die. This is only temporary of course. The player has the power to travel back through time using the Save and Load features and can try sections of the game until he/she can complete them.
Sources of damage for Commander Shepard come from the assault weapons of his antagonists, melee attacks from less sophisticated creatures, or even a suicidal grenade thrown by the player. On the other hand, if you make your enemies absorb enough high velocity particles to kill them all, and can manage to find solutions to the fairly simple puzzles on each planet, you will eventually win.

2. Constitutive Rules: Reducing Mass Effect to its most basic mathematical structure is not recommended because it severely cuts down on the immersion you feel. When the player becomes aware that they are playing a game, the constitutive rules, the underlying structures that make regulate the game, are noticeable. Even though conversations are a big improvement over Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and KotOR, you can still tell they are scripted. The construction beneath the story are fairly visible whenever a line of dialogue or a motion (like the fist into the palm) is repeated. Other obvious repetition can be found on most of the side quest planets. They are mostly just very similar mountainous regions with different textures and environmental effects pasted over them.
Using elevators to get between floors is another annoyance that is necessary for the game to disguise load times. It is preferable to a blank screen, especially when an interesting dialogue accompanies the ride, but there are just too many of them, especially on Noveria, where there are also no news flashes or conversations between your party members. Some of the rules exist to keep the game balanced and functional. For example, it might be prudent to take all of your allies and the marines from the Normandy with you to help in your battles but you can only have two NPCs with you at a time. Each character has his/her own skill so it is up to the player to decide how to balance his/her squad for maximum combat effectiveness.

3. Implicit Rules: Any of the gaming standards that Mass Effect conforms to could be considered "implicit rules." The basic controls, for example, should be familiar to most console gamers. They are written in the instruction manual and should the player need to refer to this, the control scheme would likely fall under "operational rules." It is also implicit that your actions will have consequences. The game is basically a life simulation, even though the life is outlandish and in extreme circumstances, and in life, actions have reactions.

Characters

THE HERO:

Commander Shepard
Commander [John, Jane, Jack, Max, Elizabeth, etc.] Shepard is the player's avatar, that is he or she is the sole player-controlled character in Mass Effect. His or her gender is really only relevant to the optional, but meaningful romantic side quests. Shepard clearly fills the role of the classic "hero" archetype and is the game's protagonist. Like all of the characters in Mass Effect, Shepard fits the "fantasy" character type. The Commander walks the walk of a proud soldier to which either a brutish or heroic personality can be applied. This personality is up to the player to create. Through conversations and actions the player can make Shepard into a chivalrous hero or ruthless agent. As a good guy/girl, Shepard is who I want him/her to be: generally nice, but not ridiculously benevolent. Shepard is a soldier, not Santa Clause. Like I mentioned previously, being a douche bag is not as fun as it could be. He's mean without taking a lot of action and often for no good reason. This is a little at odds with his mission to save the galaxy. Still, it's humorous to punch annoying civilians on occasion and it's refreshing to just order your team to start shooting instead of wasting time being diplomatic. Too often unfortunately, the choices you make are followed by very similar consequences. There is repeatedly no difference between outcomes other than the way the NPCs react emotionally. These reactions are quite evocative, as I said before, they often make the difference between choosing good over evil. However it would be nice if there were heavier repercussions to your choices a little more often, because when the choices do matter, the game excels.
One of the problems with Shepard's character arc is that the character does not really transform or even gain much enlightenment. It's partially because the player has a great deal of control over Shepard's thought and he/she is not likely to go through any significant life changes or experience any epiphanies while playing Mass Effect. Therefore, the player's choices will probably remain consistent throughout the story. Also, the story doesn't leave much room for the character to advance. He/She starts out as an experienced soldier and ends the game the same way. Sure, Shepard's skills increase as he/she gets more experience but this is not tied to the story at all and the Commander doesn't learn any significant new abilities. Early in the game, Shepard does at least attain the unrestricted rank of Spectre, which means he can go around doing pretty much whatever he wants to get the job done. This doesn't really affect his character as much as it affects his rights though. Once again, I feel the need to bring up KotOR because of how the protagonist in that game goes through the arc of starting off as a foot soldier, then learning to use the Force and becoming a Jedi, and finally becoming the savior of the galaxy. The growth of your character made it feel like more of a journey than just a mission. One more thing that would add depth to Shepard is some kind of personal flaw. The story isn't a tragedy so it isn't a necessary device but it seems a bit strange how he never really makes a mistake. Shepard's advantages over KotOR's hero come in the form of his/her definable background, very variable appearance, audible voice, and even his/her authoritative position. While it doesn't give the Spectre much room to change, it does give you a lot of freedom and the respect of most people you meet across the galaxy. This story is more immediate than KotOR's and any time spent learning lessons could slow down the pace too much. Controlling Shepard's thoughts and feelings is also quite intuitive and his/her resulting lines are fairly well-written. The Commander's "the only kind of person who can protect the galaxy," no matter what you make of him/her.

EDIT 2/21/09 - The teaser trailer for Mass Effect 2 is telling us that Commander Shepard has been Killed In Action! WTF? Will we be playing as someone else? I just realized now that I'll really miss Shepard if he/she is dead.

ALLIES:

Lt. Kaidan Alenko
The lieutenant with biotic powers is the first member of your core party you meet as he is already a member of your crew. If you choose to play as a female, you can form a romantic relationship with him. I cannot attest to his sex appeal, but women (or those claiming to be women) on YouTube seem to like him. He's pretty cool, though not quite as interesting as Carth Onasi of KotOR, who shares his voice. He doesn't have his own side quest other than the relationship with Shepard but his backstory is still interesting. He lends Shepard his moral support when the chips are down and his ability to unleash "dark energy" and tech powers is useful in combat. On the whole, he's a good, dependable guy and it's a sad thing to choose to let him die on Virmire. On the other hand, it's harder (for me at least) to sacrifice the other possible candidate.

Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams
Here we have, in my opinion the hottest member of the crew, though that's not saying much considering her competition of various species. She is hot anyhow, with a fiery and frequently funny personality to match. I really like Ashley and I found it easy to make Shepard like her too, even though their possible romantic interest in each other has no clear starting point. She's a skilled soldier who specializes in weapons and is always up for a fight. She is not a perfect person, with some prejudice against other species and a headstrong attitude, but her flaws make her more human. Either she or Kaidan must die on Virmire and it seems natural to save Ashley if you're a good guy and save Kaidan if you're a good girl. If you're a renegade, it probably doesn't matter because you'll likely have spurned any romantic advances. Either way, it's a sad moment. If you do fall in love with Ashley and rescue her, you'll have the option (as you do for any of the romances) to participate in a tastefully choreographed sexual encounter, which includes a brief, controversial shot of her polygonal ass. It seems ridiculous for FOX News to bitch about this when the Internet and games like Grand Theft Auto exist, but as usual, nudity is more treacherous than bloody violence against civilians and police officers. Anyway, Ashley's awesome.

Garrus Vakarian
This guy is like a space police officer. He has a really neat introduction where he pops some stupid hostage taker in the dome from twenty feet away, but after that he has no more slick signature moves. He does have a character arc, though. With Shepard's influence, Garrus can change his views on his methods for getting things done. He starts off with a fairly logical but merciless point of view. He is in favor of execution and justice. If you're a nice guy/girl you can convince him to "do things right or [not do] them at all." This arc ties into his side quest which involves an organ-harvesting mad scientist. It would be nice to see the rest of the characters have their own arcs, especially if the player has the power to influence them. Garrus is a decent addition to the party, though his analytical tone gets a bit dry sometimes. A few more of those nice moves would have made him more interesting.

Tali'Zhora nar Rayya
Tali is sort of the kid of the ship. I don't know how old she's supposed to be but that's just what she seems like; a little homesick, fascinated by new sights, and inexperienced. I expected that she would be lame at first, but I soon grew to like her because of the enthusiasm conveyed by her high, excited voice and her commitment to the mission. In addition to being an ally to Shepard, she also takes the role of "herald" by providing information that changes the course of the plot and sets Shepard and his team in a new direction. She's quite useful for cracking computers and locked doors and also handy with grenades.

Urdnot Wrex
This krogan mercenary is probably the most badass, well-written character in Mass Effect. His dialogue is short and to the point and all delivered in an wonderfully rough, gravely voice. He's often quite humorous too, with lines like, "Anyone who fights us is either stupid or on Saren's payroll. Killing the latter is business. Killing the former is a favor to the universe." He's also the only one who has the balls (4 of them according to Garrus) to stand up to Shepard. Wrex has a tough exterior but you can tell there's a lot more to him than mindless brute force. He has an interesting past and, like Garrus and Tali, a side quest. I found this quest to be a bit disappointing for such a great character because it just seems that fetching a family heirloom is beneath this warrior. Plus, there are no cinematics for it, a common annoyance in Mass Effect's side quests. At one point in the game, you can choose to shoot him if you really want to. Yet even playing as a villain, I keep him alive. He's just too cool to kill. Besides, you'll want him by your side in later battles, throwing synthetics around with his biotic powers and blasting them with his shotgun, growling, "Give me something to kill!"

Liara T'Soni
If I wanted to be mean, I could call her the opposite of Wrex. Dr. T'Soni is the third and last romancable character and can be wooed by either a male or female Commander. Ostensibly this is because her species has only one gender and they can meld their minds with other life forms but part of me suspects the designers knew a "lesbian" sex scene would be a selling point of the game for some people. She will always be the one of the points in the potential love triangle between Shepard, Ashley/Kaidan, and her. Despite being of another species, Liara is easily the least interesting option for courtship and possibly in the entire party of key characters. She has trouble knowing when to shut up and her voice is a bit monotonous. Some of her explanations seem as long-winded as my descriptions of character and story (but not even close to the melodramatic monologues found in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots). I still feel for her though, especially after she has to help kill her own mother, who works for Saren. She devotes all her skill points into using biotic powers, which is occasionally helpful when the fighting starts. Still, she is probably the least of Shepard's six core allies.

THE MENTOR:

Captain David Anderson
Eloquently voiced by Keith David, Captain Anderson serves as Shepard's primary mentor, though most of the mentoring happened before the game begins. Early in the game, he talks the Commander through some objectives and gives advice. Though you can't tell by his poorly-designed uniform, he's actually a badass, and is instrumental in the success of Shepard's mission. He represents what Shepard could become if he chooses the path of the paragon, the good guy. He has a balanced personality and is an able leader. He has a past with the villain, Saren, which you can learn the details of if you read the prequel novel to Mass Effect.

THE SHADOW:

Saren Arterius
I would have to describe this bad guy as an "exaggerated" antagonist because to be realistic, I think his species would have to exist. Also, he is part machine, rides around on a hovering pad that fires rockets, and seeks to bring unstoppable, genocidal robots to power. Saren is a sinister villain that needs a little more development to be seen as truly frightening. Even though he shoots one of the minor good guys on the first mission, his brutality is hardly ever witnessed, just talked about. I think it would have been helpful motivation for the player if Saren's evil doings were presented more clearly. Comprehensively, he is a pretty good bad guy; he looks great and sounds great, but he talks to much and what he says is sort of noncommittal. It is too easy to turn him away from his evil scheme at the end of the game so I recommend taking the quickest way through the conversation and just blasting him. Luckily, his hesitation and lack of zeal can be explained by the evil Reaper controlling him. This giant machine is the real threat to the galaxy and it's freaking huge and powerful. The idea that there are a whole bunch of them is more menacing than Saren ever is. It's okay though. Saren's just a bit more complex than you might expect.

GUARDIANS:

The Geth and others
These synthetic AIs work for Saren because they worship the Reapers as gods. They are just tools, but they have an interesting past and personalities, something I wasn't expecting from droids. They basically come in many forms, all of which try to kill you and your party members. They are the guardians of Mass Effect, along with some other species and strange creatures that attempt to prevent Commander Shepard and his allies from saving the galaxy.