Gwendo
Augur
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2004
- Messages
- 989
oh my dear god, this game is amazing so far....wow.
I haven't really followed Mass Effect through the stages, except the occasional screenshot, but jesus christ the graphics in this game are ridiculously good... and WTF, Bioware basically created a 3rd person shooter a la GRAW, complete with cover system.
then underneath that is a deep RPG with an intriguing story and really good voice acting.
only a few hours in so far so take these impressions with a grain of salt. but whoooa, 30+ hours of this sort of bliss? who knows, maybe it'll suck in the 20th hour.
I can see myself leaving COD4 in its wrapper until I'm done with Mass Effect.
I'll post more detailed impressions once I get further into the game.
------------------------------
I'm literally scratching the surface of the game. So far, it's fairly linear but I've only had a few encounters on the first intro planet. Tutorial dialogue boxes are literally still popping up.
Still, I've been really impressed with the gameplay so far. There's none of the faux action game bullshit here a la Jade Empire. This is basically a 3rd person shooter first and RPG second, with a ton of other stuff going on underneath the action, as well as the ability to pause the action and tell your party how to kick ass.
------------------------------
KOTOR doesn't hold a dying matchstick to Mass Effect so far, simply on the merit of gameplay alone.
And then there's the graphics... fucking ridiculous!
------------------------------
I had plans to do an elaborate post about this the whole time I've been playing.
I'm about 8.5 hours into the game now and it's just gotten better and better.
Too much to talk about really, so I guess I'll just answer RStein's question.
Combat is really fun. There are occasional problems with the AI, but it's really nothing 3rd/1st person shooter fans aren't already used to in teammates found in the genre (GRAW, RS: Vegas, etc). I set my squad to "active" which lets the AI use both defensive and offensive abilities on their own (without you having to pause the action, choose targets, and say "perform a neuro blast" or whatever). They definitely get the job done and I often find them stealing my kills. Thankfully, XP and loot goes to the party and it's up to you to divvy up items.
When I said earlier that this game is a shooter first and an RPG second, I was wrong. It's really a great balance of both genres. Mechanically speaking, this is an action game through and through. You dodge bullets, spring to cover, and do all the things required of you in games like Gears of War. You point your gun at something and fire and there is a 1-to-1 cause-and-effect reaction and shit takes damage and blow up, etc.
Stats act more like modifiers. For instance, if I do a full auto burst with my assault rifle, the reticle will gradually grow wider and bigger the longer you fire, representing the kick and recoil of the assault rifle. As a result, the spread of your shots will go from tight to practically useless through the duration of your burst. As you invest in your assault rifle skill, that behavior improves so your spread is tighter even if you fire longer. Of course, if you play the game like I do and just do controlled bursts, it really isn't too much of a problem.
This basically goes for all weapons (sniper rifle, shotguns, etc.) and I think it works great. In the end, combat is an action affair and really there's no other game like Mass Effect where it combines my favorite genre with a genre I no longer play. It's such a nice RPG homecoming.
The only aspect of the combat that can be clunky at times is trying to get under cover mode against an obstacle that's shorter, as it requires you to duck. Whereas Gears of War automatically makes you duck and puts you against lower cover, you have to do so manually here so there's the added click of the left stick -- and in the heat of combat, it can be frustrating... particularly because combat is really chaotic and crazy at times.
Anyway, I know it's too early to know what's GOTY at this point since I haven't played SMG, COD4, or Uncharted, but I know for a fact that Mass Effect is already an easy contender.
I'll take some phone pics and post 'em tonight. This game is RIDICULOUSLY gorgeous and 8 hours later, I am still slackjawed.
------------------------------
Some crappy pics from my crappy phone camera. Seriously does not do Mass Effect justice.
Here's the character I made. What's amazing is that the face/character you create really becomes THE experience you have throughout the game. It just blows me away to think that all of you will have totally different main characters, acting out different behaviors.
Here's a little note on the space exploration -- it ROCKS. I was jumping around different systems and orbiting their planets in search of minerals, or habitable landing areas and I came upon this distress signal. So I decided to check it out...
Here we are right after landing. The person in the forefront is one of my soldiers. She specializes in sniper rifles. Good for wide open combat obviously.
Whoever thought the Unreal engine couldn't handle huge outdoor areas deserves a big lol
The lighting and atmosphere in this game is off the fucking hook. Every planet has its own look, and from what I've seen so far, there are a ton of planets. Not all will allow you to land (for instance, planets which are gas giants or nothing but oceans of sulfuric acid), but I've poked around 1 system and have already found 2 really big random worlds.
Vehicle controls are sweet, and the moon patrol buggy is crazy fun to drive. You can literally climb any mountain, and you have little thruster jets. Also, vehicular combat is pretty cool -- a cross between the Scorpion tank and the Warthog. You can also exit your vehicle any time you are on a relatively flat surface. Yeehaw!
That's it for now. Time to play more.
------------------------------
Q. I don't think planets are fully explorable (as in you can go anywhere on the the entire surface)
You can go anywhere. Seriously. Those mountains in the background, you can climb them.
In other words, it's ALL GEOMETRY.
Obviously, there are some building structures and such that will block your path, and overall, planets have an ultimate boundary (so it's basically a very large square sandbox) although it'll take you a long time to get from one end to the other.
The feeling of "discovery" is definitely here.
------------------------------
Q. This game does have AA, right? It being UE3 and stuff.
Yeah, aliasing really isn't an issue in this game.
There are some indoor area backgrounds (like the occasional sign) that might catch your eye, but you will never see jaggies on stuff like character models/faces, vehicles, weapons, etc.
Again, UE3 is pretty much kicking my ass.
------------------------------
I'll post more impressions and answer questions later today. Going to play more now.
Dude, this game is too much. It just keeps throwing shit at you to do. I'm about 10 hours into the game and I've barely even touched the main quest.
To answer the question about the moon buggy physics... no it definitely isn't a canned go-from-point-A-to-point-B type of affair. Like I said, it's Warthog meets Scorpion tank and you have thrusters so yeah you are doing INSANE stunts the whole time. You can't ever flip over (although you come close and then the computer rights you up again) but you can do some pretty funny stuff.
Vehicular combat is also very satisfying. There's also a "hood view" for the moon buggy if you pull down the left trigger. Makes it REALLY immersive when you're exploring new worlds or an ancient ruin... driving slowly in hood view, right thumb on the right turret stick, looking independently of where you're driving... so awesome.
And yeah, different planets have different climate effects. I went to one planet where it was having a meteor shower or something. Shit was raining down from the sky... of course, it wasn't like you had to dodge the meteors but it looked and sounded cool as hell.
The characters are really good in this game too. I've already become attached to 2 of my characters, and because I'm playing a female character, I've already had one of my male Biotic engineers hit on me during one conversation. It was... uh, awkward.
But it's the NPCs and the plot in this game that really does it for me and propels you forward. I've never really been a fan of Bioware's console RPGs (yeah, gasp, I know) because I felt they were trying to do these emotional, deep, cinematic dialogues, but it would always fall flat on its face because of the game's shitty graphics which couldn't support the kind of drama Bioware was going for. Plus, it didn't help that KOTOR had basically like 10 character models in the whole universe and you kept running into the same black guy or the same alien guy.
Well, that is NOT the case here... every character in the galaxy has been unique so far, and fucking WOW at the graphics/acting/voiceover for the most part. There has been some good writing and very interesting interaction with both my crew and the rest of the NPCs out there. Really awesome informational tangents and personal anecdotes. At first I was playing with subtitles on because I didn't want to miss any details or whatever, but after a couple hours, I turned them off and I swear to god it was like watching a gorgeous CG movie where you can somewhat control the outcome of events.
This is next gen RPG folks. Gonna go play now before the wife wakes up and makes me go to the farmer's market.
------------------------------
Q. Wow, I hope Seth Green's character does not have too many lines because his voice does not match the character at all. He also can't act without a physical scene and props to carry him.
I'm sure 90% of the actors will be good but that Seth Green video is laughable.
Seth Green guy isn't too bad, but you also don't talk to him much either. He plays "Joker", who is your hotshot pilot of your ship/corvette. He actually has an interesting back story which I won't spoil.
Just another note. The music is fantastic. Total ambient '80s synth a la Vangelis, Cabaret Voltaire and early Front 242 (think Geography LP era). I need this soundtrack!
------------------------------
Sorry, I played the shit out of Mass Effect on Sunday after I got home from going out with wifey. Didn't have time to update.
I will write a lengthy one today, with much more real impressions/reviews since I'm now about 18 hours or so into the game and loving it more and more. The story and characters stayed with me as I laid in bed last night, wishing I didn't have to go to work in the morning and was still playing till the wee hours of the morning.
It's not without its faults, but even still, this is currently my GOTY, hands down. (Outside of Forza 2 that is! )
Congrats, Bioware.
------------------------------
Sorry, sp0rsk trolled me so I had to throw out some filler.
If I had to rate the different aspects of the game, I would put it in this order:
1). Story/characters -- both of these play into each other and combined makes Mass Effect one of the most immersive RPGs ever made -- and think about it, RPGs are many things but they're not typically "immersive" like an action shooter. The characters are quite memorable, especially your own party, who do offer up exchanges with each other at random moments, but mostly when you're in elevators for some reason. But when it happens, it's pure gold.
I'm at the 23 or so hour mark and I'm still pretty obsessed. The story is very well done, although there is the occasional melodrama that doesn't quite click (actually, I'm only really referring to one scene in particular that was like suddenly seeing B movie quality acting and lamenting in what's been so far a triple-A experience -- I dunno, some of you may not have a problem with it).
There is so much rich characterization and dialogue and exposition in this game. Bioware is really not afraid of giving you a ton of backstory (all of it is optional, and if you do explore the satisfyingly meaty dialogue trees, you gain a small amount of XP as incentive) to a very interesting universe. There is so much I could say here, but it's hard without giving up some spoilers so I'll refrain.
2). Graphics and ambience (including soundtrack) -- The graphics continue to be fucking insanely next-gen, despite occasional problems with slowdown and tearing, something Gears of War didn't really have much of a problem with if memory serves correct.
One thing to note is that I am playing Mass Effect off a "green disc", which is a pre-retail DVD that is sent to journalists. Green discs load much slower than retail discs and they have contributed to some of the jerkiness I've experienced. We ran into the same problem with the greens we sent out for Forza 2 as well, to the point where we actually considered sending them discs they can install to their debug HDDs.
Anyway, the game is jaw-droppingly gorgeous, and like I said in my earlier posts, you really can't do the sort of ambitious space opera type of scripts (where you're staring at character's faces all day while they emote) without really good graphics that can express subtle emotion.
Another really nice thing about Mass Effect, and still amazing to me when I think about it is the fact that all of you will have a vastly different image of the game in your mind, simply based on your custom avatar charater's face. You do spend a lot of time staring at it, so my advice is to create a face you really like and one that you would like to see in an epic sci-fi movie or serial.
Personally, I really like my character Mako and when I think Mass Effect, I see Mako's face in my mind, much like others would see Master Chief or Sam Fischer's face in their mind when they think Halo 3 and Splinter Cell.
It's too bad the cover art for Mass Effect is so generic in terms of the leading character. He's just such a square-jawed Biff-type. In reality, the game, both visually and narratively, allows you so much leeway for customization, it makes the cover sleeve a little misleading. In fact, when I saw it earlier in this thread, it was almost jarring for me because that's not the Mass Effect I'm currently experiencing.
3). Combat System -- This aspect of the game will definitely be the most controversial. To put it in very rough terms, the action-oriented combat system in Mass Effect (and yes, it's very fast, very chaotic, and sometimes very unforgiving) is more fun, and works better than say, the melee (or ranged) combat system of Oblivion.
Strip away the stats and powers and modifiers and you've got a 3rd person shooter a la GRAW and it's pretty fun. Add in all the customization you can do and the character stats/evolution and party management/pausing action and you've got a pretty unique marriage of KOTOR and something like Gears of War (it's pretty obvious Bioware played a ton of Gears).
Right now, I'm playing a soldier class, and since I did quite a lot of "grinding" (i.e., random exploration of planets and leveling up by finding loot or killing enemies), my character is pretty handy with guns, allowing me to engage combat more like a straight shooter affair (take cover, pop out, fire off a volley, throw grenades). Meanwhile, I've got 2 "biotic" experts who use decent pistols but they're deadly with all these crazy powers. As soon as we get into a skirmish, these biotic guys are lifting fools and throwing them across the room and casting gravitational blackholes, etc. Anyway, the combo works.
There are two negatives about combat so far -- one of them you can workaround and the other doesn't happen that often but it's definitely noticeable.
First of all, since there's really no slowing down time or anything, combat is fast and furious and you will die often if you get gangbanged from all sides while your shields are down. This isn't that big a deal since, like a good shooter, every time you reload the game, the action happens differently and you learn various tactics depending on the layout of the room/environs to not get caught with your pants down again. The important thing to do is to save often -- as often as you would in any PC shooter or RPG. The other more annoying aspect of combat is the occasional framerate chug when the action gets insane, like there are 8-10 guys shooting you in the room, and your biotic characters are lifting enemies and furniture and all sorts of crap into the air with these crazy plasma effects AND you're firing like crazy, trying to survive. If you're a framerate whore, consider this your warning.
Anyway, I'm going to get back to the game now. It says volumes about the game at 23 hours in when I've got an unopened copy of COD4 on my desk and have no real desire to turn off Mass Effect.
Source: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=204973
I haven't really followed Mass Effect through the stages, except the occasional screenshot, but jesus christ the graphics in this game are ridiculously good... and WTF, Bioware basically created a 3rd person shooter a la GRAW, complete with cover system.
then underneath that is a deep RPG with an intriguing story and really good voice acting.
only a few hours in so far so take these impressions with a grain of salt. but whoooa, 30+ hours of this sort of bliss? who knows, maybe it'll suck in the 20th hour.
I can see myself leaving COD4 in its wrapper until I'm done with Mass Effect.
I'll post more detailed impressions once I get further into the game.
------------------------------
I'm literally scratching the surface of the game. So far, it's fairly linear but I've only had a few encounters on the first intro planet. Tutorial dialogue boxes are literally still popping up.
Still, I've been really impressed with the gameplay so far. There's none of the faux action game bullshit here a la Jade Empire. This is basically a 3rd person shooter first and RPG second, with a ton of other stuff going on underneath the action, as well as the ability to pause the action and tell your party how to kick ass.
------------------------------
KOTOR doesn't hold a dying matchstick to Mass Effect so far, simply on the merit of gameplay alone.
And then there's the graphics... fucking ridiculous!
------------------------------
I had plans to do an elaborate post about this the whole time I've been playing.
I'm about 8.5 hours into the game now and it's just gotten better and better.
Too much to talk about really, so I guess I'll just answer RStein's question.
Combat is really fun. There are occasional problems with the AI, but it's really nothing 3rd/1st person shooter fans aren't already used to in teammates found in the genre (GRAW, RS: Vegas, etc). I set my squad to "active" which lets the AI use both defensive and offensive abilities on their own (without you having to pause the action, choose targets, and say "perform a neuro blast" or whatever). They definitely get the job done and I often find them stealing my kills. Thankfully, XP and loot goes to the party and it's up to you to divvy up items.
When I said earlier that this game is a shooter first and an RPG second, I was wrong. It's really a great balance of both genres. Mechanically speaking, this is an action game through and through. You dodge bullets, spring to cover, and do all the things required of you in games like Gears of War. You point your gun at something and fire and there is a 1-to-1 cause-and-effect reaction and shit takes damage and blow up, etc.
Stats act more like modifiers. For instance, if I do a full auto burst with my assault rifle, the reticle will gradually grow wider and bigger the longer you fire, representing the kick and recoil of the assault rifle. As a result, the spread of your shots will go from tight to practically useless through the duration of your burst. As you invest in your assault rifle skill, that behavior improves so your spread is tighter even if you fire longer. Of course, if you play the game like I do and just do controlled bursts, it really isn't too much of a problem.
This basically goes for all weapons (sniper rifle, shotguns, etc.) and I think it works great. In the end, combat is an action affair and really there's no other game like Mass Effect where it combines my favorite genre with a genre I no longer play. It's such a nice RPG homecoming.
The only aspect of the combat that can be clunky at times is trying to get under cover mode against an obstacle that's shorter, as it requires you to duck. Whereas Gears of War automatically makes you duck and puts you against lower cover, you have to do so manually here so there's the added click of the left stick -- and in the heat of combat, it can be frustrating... particularly because combat is really chaotic and crazy at times.
Anyway, I know it's too early to know what's GOTY at this point since I haven't played SMG, COD4, or Uncharted, but I know for a fact that Mass Effect is already an easy contender.
I'll take some phone pics and post 'em tonight. This game is RIDICULOUSLY gorgeous and 8 hours later, I am still slackjawed.
------------------------------
Some crappy pics from my crappy phone camera. Seriously does not do Mass Effect justice.
Here's the character I made. What's amazing is that the face/character you create really becomes THE experience you have throughout the game. It just blows me away to think that all of you will have totally different main characters, acting out different behaviors.
Here's a little note on the space exploration -- it ROCKS. I was jumping around different systems and orbiting their planets in search of minerals, or habitable landing areas and I came upon this distress signal. So I decided to check it out...
Here we are right after landing. The person in the forefront is one of my soldiers. She specializes in sniper rifles. Good for wide open combat obviously.
Whoever thought the Unreal engine couldn't handle huge outdoor areas deserves a big lol
The lighting and atmosphere in this game is off the fucking hook. Every planet has its own look, and from what I've seen so far, there are a ton of planets. Not all will allow you to land (for instance, planets which are gas giants or nothing but oceans of sulfuric acid), but I've poked around 1 system and have already found 2 really big random worlds.
Vehicle controls are sweet, and the moon patrol buggy is crazy fun to drive. You can literally climb any mountain, and you have little thruster jets. Also, vehicular combat is pretty cool -- a cross between the Scorpion tank and the Warthog. You can also exit your vehicle any time you are on a relatively flat surface. Yeehaw!
That's it for now. Time to play more.
------------------------------
Q. I don't think planets are fully explorable (as in you can go anywhere on the the entire surface)
You can go anywhere. Seriously. Those mountains in the background, you can climb them.
In other words, it's ALL GEOMETRY.
Obviously, there are some building structures and such that will block your path, and overall, planets have an ultimate boundary (so it's basically a very large square sandbox) although it'll take you a long time to get from one end to the other.
The feeling of "discovery" is definitely here.
------------------------------
Q. This game does have AA, right? It being UE3 and stuff.
Yeah, aliasing really isn't an issue in this game.
There are some indoor area backgrounds (like the occasional sign) that might catch your eye, but you will never see jaggies on stuff like character models/faces, vehicles, weapons, etc.
Again, UE3 is pretty much kicking my ass.
------------------------------
I'll post more impressions and answer questions later today. Going to play more now.
Dude, this game is too much. It just keeps throwing shit at you to do. I'm about 10 hours into the game and I've barely even touched the main quest.
To answer the question about the moon buggy physics... no it definitely isn't a canned go-from-point-A-to-point-B type of affair. Like I said, it's Warthog meets Scorpion tank and you have thrusters so yeah you are doing INSANE stunts the whole time. You can't ever flip over (although you come close and then the computer rights you up again) but you can do some pretty funny stuff.
Vehicular combat is also very satisfying. There's also a "hood view" for the moon buggy if you pull down the left trigger. Makes it REALLY immersive when you're exploring new worlds or an ancient ruin... driving slowly in hood view, right thumb on the right turret stick, looking independently of where you're driving... so awesome.
And yeah, different planets have different climate effects. I went to one planet where it was having a meteor shower or something. Shit was raining down from the sky... of course, it wasn't like you had to dodge the meteors but it looked and sounded cool as hell.
The characters are really good in this game too. I've already become attached to 2 of my characters, and because I'm playing a female character, I've already had one of my male Biotic engineers hit on me during one conversation. It was... uh, awkward.
But it's the NPCs and the plot in this game that really does it for me and propels you forward. I've never really been a fan of Bioware's console RPGs (yeah, gasp, I know) because I felt they were trying to do these emotional, deep, cinematic dialogues, but it would always fall flat on its face because of the game's shitty graphics which couldn't support the kind of drama Bioware was going for. Plus, it didn't help that KOTOR had basically like 10 character models in the whole universe and you kept running into the same black guy or the same alien guy.
Well, that is NOT the case here... every character in the galaxy has been unique so far, and fucking WOW at the graphics/acting/voiceover for the most part. There has been some good writing and very interesting interaction with both my crew and the rest of the NPCs out there. Really awesome informational tangents and personal anecdotes. At first I was playing with subtitles on because I didn't want to miss any details or whatever, but after a couple hours, I turned them off and I swear to god it was like watching a gorgeous CG movie where you can somewhat control the outcome of events.
This is next gen RPG folks. Gonna go play now before the wife wakes up and makes me go to the farmer's market.
------------------------------
Q. Wow, I hope Seth Green's character does not have too many lines because his voice does not match the character at all. He also can't act without a physical scene and props to carry him.
I'm sure 90% of the actors will be good but that Seth Green video is laughable.
Seth Green guy isn't too bad, but you also don't talk to him much either. He plays "Joker", who is your hotshot pilot of your ship/corvette. He actually has an interesting back story which I won't spoil.
Just another note. The music is fantastic. Total ambient '80s synth a la Vangelis, Cabaret Voltaire and early Front 242 (think Geography LP era). I need this soundtrack!
------------------------------
Sorry, I played the shit out of Mass Effect on Sunday after I got home from going out with wifey. Didn't have time to update.
I will write a lengthy one today, with much more real impressions/reviews since I'm now about 18 hours or so into the game and loving it more and more. The story and characters stayed with me as I laid in bed last night, wishing I didn't have to go to work in the morning and was still playing till the wee hours of the morning.
It's not without its faults, but even still, this is currently my GOTY, hands down. (Outside of Forza 2 that is! )
Congrats, Bioware.
------------------------------
Sorry, sp0rsk trolled me so I had to throw out some filler.
If I had to rate the different aspects of the game, I would put it in this order:
1). Story/characters -- both of these play into each other and combined makes Mass Effect one of the most immersive RPGs ever made -- and think about it, RPGs are many things but they're not typically "immersive" like an action shooter. The characters are quite memorable, especially your own party, who do offer up exchanges with each other at random moments, but mostly when you're in elevators for some reason. But when it happens, it's pure gold.
I'm at the 23 or so hour mark and I'm still pretty obsessed. The story is very well done, although there is the occasional melodrama that doesn't quite click (actually, I'm only really referring to one scene in particular that was like suddenly seeing B movie quality acting and lamenting in what's been so far a triple-A experience -- I dunno, some of you may not have a problem with it).
There is so much rich characterization and dialogue and exposition in this game. Bioware is really not afraid of giving you a ton of backstory (all of it is optional, and if you do explore the satisfyingly meaty dialogue trees, you gain a small amount of XP as incentive) to a very interesting universe. There is so much I could say here, but it's hard without giving up some spoilers so I'll refrain.
2). Graphics and ambience (including soundtrack) -- The graphics continue to be fucking insanely next-gen, despite occasional problems with slowdown and tearing, something Gears of War didn't really have much of a problem with if memory serves correct.
One thing to note is that I am playing Mass Effect off a "green disc", which is a pre-retail DVD that is sent to journalists. Green discs load much slower than retail discs and they have contributed to some of the jerkiness I've experienced. We ran into the same problem with the greens we sent out for Forza 2 as well, to the point where we actually considered sending them discs they can install to their debug HDDs.
Anyway, the game is jaw-droppingly gorgeous, and like I said in my earlier posts, you really can't do the sort of ambitious space opera type of scripts (where you're staring at character's faces all day while they emote) without really good graphics that can express subtle emotion.
Another really nice thing about Mass Effect, and still amazing to me when I think about it is the fact that all of you will have a vastly different image of the game in your mind, simply based on your custom avatar charater's face. You do spend a lot of time staring at it, so my advice is to create a face you really like and one that you would like to see in an epic sci-fi movie or serial.
Personally, I really like my character Mako and when I think Mass Effect, I see Mako's face in my mind, much like others would see Master Chief or Sam Fischer's face in their mind when they think Halo 3 and Splinter Cell.
It's too bad the cover art for Mass Effect is so generic in terms of the leading character. He's just such a square-jawed Biff-type. In reality, the game, both visually and narratively, allows you so much leeway for customization, it makes the cover sleeve a little misleading. In fact, when I saw it earlier in this thread, it was almost jarring for me because that's not the Mass Effect I'm currently experiencing.
3). Combat System -- This aspect of the game will definitely be the most controversial. To put it in very rough terms, the action-oriented combat system in Mass Effect (and yes, it's very fast, very chaotic, and sometimes very unforgiving) is more fun, and works better than say, the melee (or ranged) combat system of Oblivion.
Strip away the stats and powers and modifiers and you've got a 3rd person shooter a la GRAW and it's pretty fun. Add in all the customization you can do and the character stats/evolution and party management/pausing action and you've got a pretty unique marriage of KOTOR and something like Gears of War (it's pretty obvious Bioware played a ton of Gears).
Right now, I'm playing a soldier class, and since I did quite a lot of "grinding" (i.e., random exploration of planets and leveling up by finding loot or killing enemies), my character is pretty handy with guns, allowing me to engage combat more like a straight shooter affair (take cover, pop out, fire off a volley, throw grenades). Meanwhile, I've got 2 "biotic" experts who use decent pistols but they're deadly with all these crazy powers. As soon as we get into a skirmish, these biotic guys are lifting fools and throwing them across the room and casting gravitational blackholes, etc. Anyway, the combo works.
There are two negatives about combat so far -- one of them you can workaround and the other doesn't happen that often but it's definitely noticeable.
First of all, since there's really no slowing down time or anything, combat is fast and furious and you will die often if you get gangbanged from all sides while your shields are down. This isn't that big a deal since, like a good shooter, every time you reload the game, the action happens differently and you learn various tactics depending on the layout of the room/environs to not get caught with your pants down again. The important thing to do is to save often -- as often as you would in any PC shooter or RPG. The other more annoying aspect of combat is the occasional framerate chug when the action gets insane, like there are 8-10 guys shooting you in the room, and your biotic characters are lifting enemies and furniture and all sorts of crap into the air with these crazy plasma effects AND you're firing like crazy, trying to survive. If you're a framerate whore, consider this your warning.
Anyway, I'm going to get back to the game now. It says volumes about the game at 23 hours in when I've got an unopened copy of COD4 on my desk and have no real desire to turn off Mass Effect.
Source: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=204973
