23. Mass Effect (X360)
Having proved their mastery of the RPG with Baldur's Gate, and of the space opera with Knights of the Old Republic, Bioware decided to make a... crummy shooter? What the hell is this shit? I shot that guy in the head, but it only did a little damage. Okay, I CLEARLY shot that guy but it missed anyway! FUUUUUUUUUUUUU...! Yeah, the shooting mechanics leave a lot to be desired here. And yes, the Mako wouldn't even have made the cut for an Earth Defense Force game, and it's a violation of international anti-torture laws to force someone to drive it across one of Mass Effect's many barren, copypasta planets. This game also marks the genesis of Bioware's insistence that every game of theirs shall include a laughable and weirdly robotic sex scene because it's "mature and emotional". In fact, I can't even remember what I like about this game... oh yeah. I guess it was the fact that it fucking rules in spite of all that! It's just a massive, epic (tragically overused word, but it sure fits) space opera in video game form, with music that is second only to that of Halo's in the genre. The pacing is fairly impressive as Bioware introduces you to its newest world (galaxy, whatever) reasonably quickly, and then off you go to try to save it from the evil Saren but really from evil spaceships! Along the way you'll meet some truly memorable characters, and the choices you make will determine their fates, some in truly profound ways. In this, Mass Effect does an outstanding job of conveying the weight of leadership. You really do feel like there's something at stake as the plot builds to its incredible crescendo. The final hour or two of the game was unforgettably intense, one of the finest moments I've had this console generation, and I really felt by the end of the game that I'd been through something of a war... but also suspiciously like that war was only just beginning. (Sequel time!)
