Release Dates

11/20/07

TBA

11/23/07

TBA

Mass Effect will be the first of a trilogy of action role-playing games developed by Bioware exclusively for the Xbox 360. The game's story is set in the year 2183 when machines are said to be coming to invade the galaxy. The player takes the role of Commander Shepard whose mission is to stop the armies of a rogue agent. He soon discovers that there is a much greater threat.

The player controls a character and can give orders to squad members in combat simply by pressing a direction on the D-pad. Combat is real-time and the player controls the player's actions directly rather than selecting from a menu. You can aim and zoom with a weapon to get a better shot or hide and peak around barricades.

Characters develop through skills you choose and how you advance them with experience points. They can be armed with various weapons such as assault rifles, sniper rifles, shotguns, and grenades. Changing a character's armor will also change their appearance. The characters can also acquire upgrades to improve weapons and armor.

Mass Effect features a more fluid NPC conversation system where the player can choose dialogue options while an NPC is speaking. The player can choose how he responds to NPCs along with directing the conversation to different topics. How the player responds will result in earning Paragon and Renegade points.

The title has sold:
November 2007: 472,793 copies (US) (Source)
December 2007: 401,000 copies (US)
(Source)