In part 2 of our Mass Effect review, Tom's Games takes an different look at the science fiction RPG and examines the game's interactive story and deep narrative.
 
http://www.tomsgames.com/us/2008/0 [...] t_review2/

Very good review. Agree that the good points of this game far outweigh the bad points..although I would have loved to see real time combat with no pausing between powers..this would have been a killer on the pc with plenty of buttons for each power. Although the pausing grated on my nerves at the start by the middle of the game I wasn't taking heed of it anymore..
Plus I definitely have to play it again to see Saren kill himself..everytime I've played it (3 times) I was never high enough to convince him even with Charm maxed out..must be the intimidate skill then.

Good review. I didn't think the original 7.5 score was justified. 8.5 is a lot better.

Good review, Great game I got sucked into it from early on and I didn't hardly notice any of the flaws until after I'd finished the game and read a few reviews.

Anyone else choose Liara in the romance subplot? Seems like most people on the official Mass Effect community forum favored Ashley.
 

Very good review.
 
I think by far the biggest problem is the constant loading even in very small areas, but if you can get 2-3 hours into the game before you get put off entirely, you won't be able to stop yourself from finishing.
 
I chose Liara - mainly just to see the some different character interactions and personalities, as my party usually contained Ashley and Tali.
 
I would definately like to see my evil deeds in this game making a significant storyline difference in the sequel, but I highly doubt it will happen  

 
Traajel, I take it you went more to the Renegade side of the equation. In regards to the romance subplot, I wasn't sure if it mattered whether your character was a Paragon or Renegade, but apparently, it doesn't.
 
And I'm with you -- I hope my decision to spare the Rachni queen somehow plays a role in the next installment.

Yes - Renegade all the way. I generally find 9 times out of 10 storylines and character development are more interesting when you can play as an evil character in games. If I can be bothered to run through it again, I will try Paragon, but I thought the Renegade ending was one of the best I've seen in recent years. Of course I don't have plans for galactic domination in real life... honest guv! <Note to self - they know too much!>
 
I was really hoping that I would end up having to fight the Rachni queen when I let her out, but alas, it wasn't to be. Here's hoping I can kill her next time!

 
On the first play through I picked Ashley (because she was the human one) and I played mostly Paragon (except for the odd choice were the Renagade option sounded to good to pass up,
 
second time I played more Renagade and picked Liara

I was able to save Wrex since I had Charm maxed but literally I only had maybe a handful of major moments to even use my charm.  To be honest, I would have rather had him die since he was so boring to me.  I originally was using Liara and Ashley during the beginning, but switched to Wrex when he joined the party in the hopes he'd bring some fun dark moments to the game.  Thinking back now, the only moment with Wrex that I can really think of that I enjoyed was the whole "save my race" conversation.  The rest of his commentary was pretty bland.  Regarding Charm, to hear that you convinced Saren to shoot himself is very surprising, as I thought that'd only be an option for someone who maxed charm like I had.  Did anyone try intimidate?  Any good moments with it?
 
Romance was something I didn't get as much exposure to, and I couldn't gain access to it without starting the entire game over (thanks Bioware), as I literally hadn't noticed that the romance subplots involved your own crew until the end.  Sure, I did a little bit of flirting, but I never got any action.
 
Inventory, the Mako, combat, item upgrades... all shameful coming from Bioware.  Glad you guys can look past it though.  The Disc Read Errors were the icing on the cake for me, and so many others.  
 
I have to say that I still stand by my score, even with all the time to think it over.  I tried to go back and play it again but I just couldn't.  I honestly was tempted to ebay my Limited Edition since it's just going to collect dust.  My vote so far is going to go to The Witcher for one of the best games of 2007.  Unless The Witcher falls apart in the final moments, it definitely wins over Mass Effect.

I'll give you a fiver for it