Mass Effect

Developed by BioWare, creators of Baldur's Gate and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect is an epic next-gen RPG released worldwide in November 2007 for the Xbox 360.

Taking on the role of Commander Shepard, you lead an elite squad on a heroic, action-packed adventure throughout the galaxy. In the not-too-distant future mankind discovers alien technology on Mars that allows them to begin exploring the galaxy by finding and activating "mass effect relays" that have been lying dormant, left behind by an ancient alien civilisation that disappeared 50,000 years ago. Humans are able to join in with the galaxy's other species and begin to spread across worlds.

Not everyone is pleased with these events, however. Some species resent how quickly the humans have established a strong presence, and a traitorous elite Spectre agent named Saren has turned rogue and is pursuing his own agenda.

Mass Effect allows for open-ended gameplay amidst a deep, immersive story and is presented in a cinematic style.

Plot
The story revolves around an ancient alien prophecy stating that every 50,000 years a portal opens that separates the "normal" universe and a realm beyond, releasing an ancient artificial intelligence that will harvest all organic life, and the time of their return is approaching. As the first human Spectre—sworn defenders of galactic peace—Shepard's mission is to halt the advancing armies of Saren, a legendary Spectre agent gone rogue. Saren has mysteriously taken control of the Geth, a race of rudimentary A.I. networks, whom he intends to use to shape the galaxy in his image, and to exact revenge against humanity for their perceived injustices against his people.

One of the main themes of Mass Effect is the relationship between biological life and artificial life. "Attempting to develop artificial intelligence is one of the few things banned in the Citadel Conventions. Developing purely synthetic life, whether cloned or manufactured, is considered a crime against the entire galaxy. Experts from nearly every species predicted that true artificial intelligence, such as a synthetic neural network with the ability to absorb and critically analyze knowledge, would grow exponentially the instant it developed the ability to learn. It would teach itself, quickly surpassing the capabilities of its organic creators, growing beyond their control. Every single species in the galaxy relied on computers that are linked into a vast data network of the extranet for transport, trade, defense and basic survival. If a rogue AI program was somehow able to access and influence those data networks, the results would be catastrophic. Conventional theory holds that the doomsday scenario isn't merely possible, it is unavoidable. According to the Council, the emergence of an artificial intelligence is the single greatest threat to organic life in the galaxy."

According to BioWare founder Dr. Gregory P. Zeschuk, the game has consequences in which the player makes critical choices that lead to several different endings. The choices themselves are based on the actions of the player up to that point. He states, "We kind of have a secret idea on the trilogy so I really can't answer that part of it but it all makes logical sense. The end itself has two sequences where you make choices and it's interesting because the choices that are available to you are dependent in some part on what you have done at that point. There's a few different endings and there's a few different subtle tweaks as well. It kind of involves a matrix of choices."