I just got this game yesterday and I am blown away…
Mass Effect is more then a simple RPG. It is playing a story driven character game that throws in just enough combat to make it one of the best games to date.
Sure, there are issues, the graphical glitches are plenty, textures take awhile to load during dialog but that is forgivable. Your squads path finding is horrible, they get caught on almost everything, but they magically catch up at the next dialog section. The elevators are boring but a nice touch compared to seeing loading screens.
I’m only through the prologue and on my first planet, and I am completely immersed and amazed at the game. The story telling, voice acting and execution of the scenes are all professionally done giving you that sense of suspension of disbelief needed to get that emotional buyin to your character.
I was so immersed in the game, that at the moment my character was accepted as a Specter, I was actually happy for the character, not that I had accomplished it, but that my character in game had done it. Subtle difference, but one that made me stop and go, wow.
Is Mass Effect perfect? No, but it moves the single player RPG sci-fi genre a light year ahead of anything else. If you like sci-fi and good story plus some good action and a full universe to explore and plenty of side missions to distract you, then Mass Effect is for you.