Mass Effect 3: First Impressions

Editor's Note: Because reviewing a game that encourages continuous play, and which will only ever really be "complete" on each gamer's own terms, we're taking a slightly different tract with our review. You will have read quite a few, if you go in for that sort of thing, and most will have said it's ONE OF THE BEST GAMES EVER!!!!!! But hyperbole is a cruel mistress that can creep on unsuspecting journalists and gamers who don't give themselves enough time to feel the full effects of their subject. So without further ado, here's part one of our probably not very ground-breaking multi-part Review Diary for Mass Effect 3, written and directed by our very own Michael Atkinson... Looking back on my time with Mass Effect 2, I can safely say it's one of the most enjoyable and engrossing gaming experiences I've ever had. Mass Effect 3 therefore has a lot to live up to, and on first impressions it's just like riding a bike, fitted with lasers and aliens you'd like to touch. Sexually. But feeling as if I'd finished playing its predecessor yesterday (the fact I did shouldn't deter from the sentiment of that statement) ME3 has a different flavour, thanks in large part to the soundtrack. Now, this might sound like a secondary detail when put into context with the whole game, but it differs from other games in the sci-fi genre as it all feels very... 80s. And this is a great thing: the rawness of it amplifies that necessary feeling of insignificance and desperation from the off, which coincidentally is the story €“ End of the world and all that. But think Terminator/The Thing/Kurt Russell/Kurt Russell's tight black leather vest and you can probably hear it too. But the soundtrack kind of makes the dialogue seem perfectly suited to the theme. I just don't remember having this notion that I was playing in an 80s action-sci-fi film in ME2, but going forward I see no option but to embrace this revelation (a revelation to me anyway). Visually I don't see anything groundbreaking or game-changing at this early stage, aside from the juiced up buddies with their muscles and their pretty faces. It just looks like Mass Effect (which you can probably take as an inexplicit compliment). One thing is for certain though, I love it. It already feels like I'd much rather be playing in this world, than living in the real world playing a game with a world I'd much rather be playing in... Anyway, hopes are high, so stay tuned to WhatCulture.com for my Mass Effect 3 Review Diary. Coming soon €“ The First Six Hours €“ Where the Hell is Everyone?