| Pre-Order Grand Theft Auto IV |  |
|
|
| Pre Order Grand Turismo 5 |  |
|
|
|
Mass Effect (PC DVD) | 
 enlarge | Category: Video Games
List Price: £34.99
Buy New: £17.99
You Save: £17.00 (49%)
New (6) Used (7) from £9.00
Rating:  100 reviews
Sales Rank: 718
Platform: Windows Xp
Genre: role-playing-games
Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Media: CD-ROM
Operating System: Windows XP
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.6
EAN: 5030930065683
ASIN: B0015M0PYI
Release Date: June 6, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
| |
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk
Story Summary: You take the role of Commander Shepard starship Normandy, the last hope for all life in the Galaxy. Saren, a rogue member of the elite and untouchable Spectre agents, has discovered the secret to unleashing an apocalyptic force upon the galaxy, and only you stand in his way. To save the lives of billions, you must do whatever it takes to stop Saren and prevent the return of an ancient force bent on the destruction of all organic life. Highlights: Experience a rich and engrossing story where your choices decide the fate of a galaxy
Engage in emotionally charged interactions with the most realistic digital actors ever seen in a video game, using an innovative new dialog system
Immerse yourself in an incredible new adventure from world-famous masters of the RPG BioWare
Stunning high resolution graphics for PC
Optimised GUI and controls for PC gamers
Dominate the battlefield with new individual squad member commandsystem
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 95 more reviews...
 Forget the concerns over copy-protection - this is one of the best story-games ever August 3, 2008
8 out of 12 found this review helpful
Ok, first off there have been some concerns with the copy-protections. I have encountered none of these, and in fact have had any fears allayed on the BioWare website where the developers have responded positively again and again to people's concerns. (Remember, if they didn't protect their investment we wouldn't get games like this).
Right, now to the game. This runs in a long line of spacefaring story-based games: Wing Commander, Privateer 2, Star Control, Utopia, Homeworld, Dune, Freespace, TIE Fighter, and, more recently, Knights of the Old Republic. I grew up on many of these games, playing them on the Amiga and PC, and I have memories of being dazzled by my imagination going wild on where I was in the story and the part I played, much like the generation before me talked about Elite, and perhaps the generation before that talked about Star Trek on TV (I am 25 now). The point is, this is a story, and the player is deeply involved in how it turns out. And, not to give anything away, Mass Effect not only comes up with a strong story of good and evil with plenty of betrayal and treachery along the way, but interweaves this with incredibly deep issues of law, order, justice, corruption, politics and morality that resonate with some of the key questions of our time (I am living in Britain, so perhaps I mean in the West). To me, an avid sci-fi reader, it is clearly the product of the whole wealth of the genre: in it I can see the themes of Asimov, Frank Herbert, Frederick Pohl, a spot of Heinlein, etc. Even the sprawling nature of human civilization has overtones of the film Blade Runner and others.
Specifically, the story is played out as a role-playing game in much the same form as KOTOR, which, incidentally, is another BioWare product. If you know the usual RPG format of characters / traits / abilities / personalities you will know what I mean. Your character, Shepard, will grow too in morality, Paragon vs Renegade, too. The character classes are between soldier, biotic (ability to shape the world around you by influencing mass effect) and tech. Anyway, read the review on GameSpot.com to get the full picture of how it works out. The capacity of the player to drag their character and companions this way and that emotionally, to start relationships among them is a key feature of knowing you are involved in the outcome. In fact, I don't really know of any game which is quite as 'adult' as this, not that I mean it is deliberately pornographic or whatever, but that it involves the whole range of human experience, emphasised and expanded upon even by the inclusion of aliens who exhibit particular human traits in exaggerated forms and without others. It is up to you to decide where to go, what to do, who to relate to and in what way - but at the same time it is not Elite: you are certainly not cast off to explore the universe aimlessly. Like a good novel, everything is tied up with the central story and central themes.
The combat is excellent too. It appears like a third-person shooter, yet you have the capacity to pause the game with the space-bar to issue orders and employ biotics and skills - in turn these can be mapped to keys on the keyboard if you are quick with your hands. My only concern is that sometimes the action can be overwhelming to me for the sheer pace of it and the options at my disposal, and my companions sometimes too foolhardy to use cover and think for themselves.
Anyway, I could go on forever. For me, this game, unlike so many which seem like doing the same things over and over again, belongs to the category of the few which stand out from among them with individuality, character and story. My final thought is the galaxy map through which you take your ship the Normandy from star to star exploring the galaxy on your quest. Even if you don't play the game. Find someone who has it, and just play around with it for a little while, and wonder at it. I am in awe in the same way I was when I first saw the map in Frontier Elite 2 like 15 years ago on my Amiga.
Stunning! June 7, 2008
14 out of 24 found this review helpful
Well, I can understand the major issues with the games DRM system. I'm not exactly an advocator of DRM myself. However, if you can get past these issues then you'll be in for one heck of a treat. I am a PS3 owner and was gutted when I heard that Mass Effect was a 360 exclusive. But also owning a PC saved me.
The game is simply amazing. Graphics are second to none, storyline and gameplay are the same. I don't have a high end PC (In fact I'm running it on an Apple iMac with BootCamp) and it looks great, not all the settings are turned up, but I can deal with that.
Buy it. That's all I can say.
Activation changed May 10, 2008
19 out of 37 found this review helpful
The activation scheme has been changed. It now has a one time activaction and it only activates again when downloaded content is added. It still has a 3 system install limit, but if the limit is reached a call to customer support can enable more system installs. It can be installed and uninstalled on the SAME system as many times as you like.
A Fantastic Game! Don't be put off with everyone's doom & gloom stories! June 5, 2008
13 out of 25 found this review helpful
I really don't see why everyone is moaning incessantly over the DRM - it's game is an example of a rare case where the developers actually stopped and listened to the fans and changed their policy so instead of a weekly check, its now a one time check to make sure the copy you are playing is authentic.
The game is amazing - certainly on-par with all the other Bioware games such as Knights of the Old Republic and is definately a contentder for Game of the Year!
EVIL DRM November 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Avoid this game unless you dont mind your pc being infected by DRM
EA can keep their DRM infected games.
In contrast there is a software publisher called Stardock (Sins of a solar empire) who have a totally different view on how customers should be treated.. here is Stardock's Gamer's Bill of Rights:
1. Gamers shall have the right to return games that don't work with their computers for a full refund.
2. Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.
3. Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game's release.
4. Gamers shall have the right to demand that download managers and updaters not force themselves to run or be forced to load in order to play a game.
5. Gamers shall have the right to expect that the minimum requirements for a game will mean that the game will play adequately on that computer.
6. Gamers shall have the right to expect that games won't install hidden drivers or other potentially harmful software without their consent.
7. Gamers shall have the right to re-download the latest versions of the games they own at any time.
8. Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers.
9. Gamers shall have the right to demand that a single-player game not force them to be connected to the Internet every time they wish to play.
10. Gamers shall have the right that games which are installed to the hard drive shall not require a CD/DVD to remain in the drive to play.
If enough people boycott EA (with their pay per play plans) and support companies like Stardock, then our PC gaming future may be something to look forward to..
|
|
|
Copyright (c) 2007 - 2008 PS3 Games, Consoles and PS3 Accessories - a MrCrip site
All rights reserved. Information about prices, products, services and merchants is provided by third parties and is for informational purposes only. Sony PS3 Games Consoles does not represent or warrant the accuracy or reliability of the information, and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use.
PS3 Games, Consoles and PS3 Accessories: Home - PS3 Games - PS3 Consoles - PS3 Accessories - Blu Ray DVD
Other MrCrip sites: Nintendo Wii Games & Accessories - LCD TV, Plasma TV - Singstar Games - Grubby Little Web Man | |
