Between working, being a husband, and raising 2 children I have finally managed to finish Mass Effect and I have to say that this is by far the best gaming experience that I have had in years!!!!

From top to bottom Mass Effect delivers pretty much on everything they promised. Gameplay is terrific with, at least for me, a very easy to use interface with regards to upgrading your squads attributes, and managing your squads equipment. The use of the shoulder buttons to control your weapons and biotic powers did take some time getting used to, but after a few hours into the game it pretty much becomes second nature to use.

Bioware have done also done an incredible job in making sure that each character within your group (except Kaiden, I just couldn' t stand that guy) has their own unique personality. Each has their own background that you just can' t help but end up almost caring about where they came from, what they are doing out in the galaxy before you find them or they find you, how they got to where they are, and where they will go in the future (most likely they all have contracts to come back for Mass Effect, LOL).

Now what makes this game, for me at least, the best game I have played in years is the story. I have read reviews online and comments on other forums in which people say that Lost Oddysey is more of an interactive movie than a game. While this may be true as I have not had a chance to play the game yet, Mass Effect can be put into this category as well. From beginning to end, you really get the feeling that you have been put into the Star Role in an Epic Sci-Fi movie. The storyline has been together better than most Hollywood attempts in recent years have been at making an Epic Sci-Fi movie. I have played a lot of games in which the story has jumped around so much, that I feel that I miss alot of stuff that is important to the plot. Mass Effect guides you through its story perfectly. You can really see the time, effort, and skill from Bioware which isn' t surprising at all. Instead of building a story around a game, they build the game around a great story. Good on ya!!!!!

On the graphical side, Mass Effect ranks right near the top this gen so far in my books. While some of the female human character' s faces do look a little bland, the detail that has been put forth in the environments, the human male characters, and alien races are spectacular to say the least. My only real complaint would be the shadowing on the faces of the characters can be a little annoying as they flicker quite a bit, but this is something that can easily be overlooked once you are pulled in by the story. One little thing I did want to mention that blew me away is something very small that I am not sure anyone noticed. I was on a side mission on a planet with a Blue Dwarf Star very close to the planet. Now everytime I am dropped in the Mako, I always take a moment to look around the environment because I like to see how " Pretty" it all is. Now I looked up into the sky to look at the Blue Dwarf Star, and I could see the surface of the planet moving like lava across it' s surface. Maybe it is something small and unimpressive to some of you, but for me I was absolutely blown away that Bioware took the time and effort to include something so small into their game.

Now I know this isn' t as good a review that we get from Eddie and Majik, but I just finished this fantastic game and needed to post my impressions before my brain loses them. All in all a great gaming experience from top to bottom. 9.5/10.