XBOX 360: Mass Effect (2007) - Should Be Call Mass Addiction Since I Did Nothing But Play it for About 35 Hours of Free Time Straight

WOW...there's nothing I can say about Bioware's Mass Effect that game critics everywhere haven't already said. Best game of the year is an understatement...this could possibly be the best game ever! I can't tell you too much about it because half the people I know are playing and I just finished it. I will NOT SPOIL the plot for anyone (and please don't in your comments either).

Mass Effect lets you play the role of Commander Shepard, the first name you get to choose and you also get to choose whether you're a male or female commander. Male or female changes the story slightly which is cool right from the start. I'm not going to detail your mission...let's just say that you're job is to save humanity and leave it at that. You can be good...you can be bad. You can be helpful or not. You can kill people that get in your way or in some cases, take them along with you for your mission. Holy choice making. This along with a pretty good shooter combat system and customizable character skill sets...oh...and AMAZING graphics, make this the best game I have ever played.

If you've ever played Knights of the Old Republic games on the original XBOX, the format will be familiar to you, but it's taken to the next level in Mass Effect. I can't rave about this game enough...I'm on my second play through. The first time, I played Shepard as a man and I pretty much played it neutral (I tried to be on the evil side, but some things I just couldn't do). My second time, I'm playing a female Shepard and she's going to hate on everyone. Katharine will play the goody goody Shepard, so I'll get to see how that story goes at some point too. She's warming up with a repeat play of Knights of the Old Republic so she won't get there for a little while.