GDC 07: Mass Effect eyes on

We sat down with Bioware's Ray Muzyka to check out the first hour of Mass Effect. Great games, he said, are memorable because of emotional moments. Muzyka stresses that Mass Effect will provide players with a truly cinematic, emotional experience. As if to prove his point, the demo takes place on a crisp HD display with a very loud surround sound speaker system. Muzyka picks up a control, starts the demo, and we begin Bioware's latest adventure.

There are several character backgrounds from which to choose. The background you choose affects the overall story of your character, Commander Shepard. Muzyka chooses a soldier. The story begins with well acted cinematics. Everything is well rendered: characters, backgrounds, everything. It's immediately evident that the game plays on a galactic scale. The facial animations are nice. The eyes, though, seem slightly off. It doesn't pull you out of the experience, but it's worth noting considering BioWare's consistent talk of emotional gameplay. Overall the graphics are extremely polished, with lots of cinematic effects added.

In particular, we notice that character dialogue has much more interesting camera work than BioWare's previous efforts. No longer are you presented with back-and-forth cuts between characters. Now the camera moves, changes locations to present more interesting angles. Another neat effect, the camera focuses on the characters that are talking while blurring the background. This depth of field effect helps create a cinematic environment.

After a bit of dialogue with his superiors, Shepard is dispatched to a planet called Eden Prime. Now we get to see Mass Effect's combat engine in action. Cinematic storytelling is nice, but the combat engine may wind up stealing the show. Mass Effect's combat should satisfy a broad range of players. Combat plays out in real time. Players can issue commands to teammates (who are smart enough to take cover and defend themselves appropriately) and are capable of running and gunning solo as well. Should you desire, you can even pause the action to deliver specific actions to each team member.

In real time, the game essentially plays out like a loose FPS. Players have standard weapons and also biotics -- essentially Mass Effect's magic system. Biotics aid you in many ways. Muzyka showed off an offensive biotic that destroyed enemies and another that created a shield that can be used as portable cover. Overall, the combat seemed visceral and satisfying.

The game promises to have tons of customizable options. The main character, of course, is customizable, with options of background, class, and appearance left to the player. Weapons have a variety of modifications available and even have different types of ammo to pick from. Armor also affects your character's appearance.

All in all, the game is shaping up nicely. Whether or not we'll get to experience the truly emotional moments that Muzyka is hoping for remains to be seen. There is one thing, though, that we think is perfectly clear. The game looks fun. We'll take an emotional experience if we can get it, but we're happy to settle with fun.