I'm not inside my own mind today... I recently fought the fight, I saved the galaxy. Commander Bryce Sheppard defied the odds, defied what seemed to very well be FATE to unite the galaxy and stop the forces of evil...
Of course, what I'm trying to say is I finally finished Mass Effect 3. There are a lot of emotion's I'm currently feeling so I think it's best to just start at the beginning.
How far back do we really want to go?
Let's go to to 1998.
I would have been 10 or 11, just got my first Sony Playstation. Now I used to take what little money I could scam out of my mother the odd weekend to rent video games at a store called The Jolly Gamesman. Typically I would rent sports games. This time was different, a game jumped out at me in particular.
It was called Final Fantasy VII...
Now I had played Final Fantasy games before, mainly Final Fantasy II for my Super Nintendo. This was a game I really enjoyed so surely the 7th "Final" fantasy would be worth a try as well right?
Little did I know I would be starting an adventure that would go unparalleled in my personal mythos. The tale of Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and AVALANCHE as they take on the evil SHINRA corporation to save the world was one that set a standard that would take decades to even come close to seeing met again by a video game.
Lets fast forward to 2007... My friend Geoff told me about this game called Mass Effect and honestly I should have taken his suggestion with a little more weight than I did. For a long time, Geoff tried to get me into this band you may have heard of called RUSH. I resisted for the longest time but Rush would eventually become one of my top favorite bands.
It was a long time between when Geoff first told me of Mass Effect and when I would actually play it. Years, as a matter of fact. Probably AT LEAST two.
I found Mass Effect for the unstoppable price of twenty dollars at Staples after I moved to Nova Scotia. Starting it out, I wasn't sure what to expect really.
Let me digress momentarily with a little bit of background: I've never really been into science fiction. Other than watching the majority of Star Trek: Voyager in the days when I only had two channels of TV to watch, I hadn't really enjoyed sci-fi outside say, Star Wars. I didn't exactly go out of my way for it either. Coincidentally, BioWare, the developers of Mass Effect, made some very good Star Wars games you may have heard of called The Knights of The Old Republic (As well as the recently released MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic).
For those of you who have never played Mass Effect, I will try to keep these as spoiler free as possible. I WILL discuss plot elements of the games but I will TRY to refrain from ruining any parts of the games that I wouldn't want ruined for myself. IF you wish to remain blissfully ignorant to any of the plot points of MASS EFFECT 1 than please do not read any further. I will let you know when it's safe to read again. Mass Effect takes place in the future, in the 2100's. Now, technology moves very fast in this world. Humans have JUST discovered the technology for faster than light travel which allowed them to explore the universe. In 30 years, Humanity has 'earned a place' among the galactic civilization which houses numerous alien species. This is something that has always made me raise an eyebrow. Humans can barely co-exist with each other and yet we somehow can peacefully co-exist with numerous alien races?
Okay, okay... it's just a video game. Anyway, YOU are Commander Sheppard. As the game begins, you go through a brief character creation process to "personalize" your Sheppard. You start out on The Normandy as it's heading toward a planet called Eden Prime. You soon learn things are not what they seem and before you know it you're on a race across the galaxy to stop a rogue named Saren from enacting his evil plan. Saren has become indoctrinated by a force known as The Reapers, a sentient race that is more or less the purveyors of a destruction cycle of genocide that takes place once a species has reached its apex of evolution. Sheppard, of course, takes exception to this.
OKAY... this is where I stop revealing plot points, you are safe.Now Mass Effect 1 takes a bit of time to get going, there's an epilogue that takes about a half-hour to an hour to complete and then by the time you're actually given free reign to roam the galaxy you have already played for close to two hours. A lot of people I've tried to get into the game seem to have a hard time getting past this early lull in the game but once you get past this you are brought to a whole galaxy to explore.
Mass Effect drew me in hard with its emphasis on the characters. Early on as you meet Garrus, Tali and Wrex, you are introduced to the diversity of life the Mass Effect universe has to offer but you're also introduced to a game that places heavy emphasis on Character Development which directly affects the player experience. You grow yourself attached to these various characters as they aid you through your seemingly impossible journey. These characters and their points of view, racial "quirks" and hatreds toward each other (such as the volatility between the Krogan and everyone, as well as the Quarian and the Geth) help shape a world as complex and unique as the one we live in. This suspension of disbelief is so important in any science fiction or "futuristic" setting. It's the reasons shows like Star Trek and Babylon 5 were so popular.
In the game you make choices that lives depend on, the decisions you make in the game could affect thousands of lives and these choices are not made easily. As Commander Sheppard, you are in the forefront of a battle for the galaxy in Mass Effect and you are thrust into some sticky situations and these situations are not weighed lightly. When most games simply make you a facilitator for an event to happen, Mass Effect is making you as the player, literally and directly impact the game you are playing when so many games just take you on a ride like a roller coaster. When you're drawn into the conflicts of the game, these choices you're forced to make become harder and harder and as a lovely side-effect you are pulled deeper into the game's mesmerizing atmosphere.
When I completed Mass Effect 1, it was mere months before Mass Effect 2 was due to be released. Now that I knew I had something to look forward to that wasn't another Hockey, Baseball or Football game, I was VERY excited. Little did I know what kind of rabbit hole I was crawling in to...
TO BE CONTINUED....
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