Let me hand out a dire warning right from the start: if you happen to be the type of gamer that boasts a low attention span, or simply lacks the patience required to slog your way through a massive amount of dialogue, then stay clear of Mass Effect. It's a title that isn't filled with instant gratification, rather a meal slowly stewed, coming to a head at precise, calculated moments via intelligently planned action sequences. If you fancy a trip into an incredibly involving and cinematically inspired Sci-Fi saga, then it's time to give reality the flick and prepare to be transported into a galaxy filled with creatively designed alien races, through unimaginable stashes of futuristic technology and an inspirational story spiced with romanticism and bravado that will have you glued to the screen just like any decent Sci-Fi TV show would have.

...and this is my "Blue Steel"

With a similarity too hard to ignore, Mass Effect's story is a tale heavily borrowed from popular modern day Sci-Fi authors such as Ian M. Banks, Kevin J. Anderson and particularly more so from the present giant of the scene, Peter F. Hamilton. It's not regurgitation, rather a refinement of a classic Sci-Fi theme which sees humanity trying to mingle with the odd arrogant aliens who see these new upstarts as trouble personified. Human successes breed resentment among the older, more established sentient races, which sets off a chain of events ultimately leading to a galaxy wide space opera filled with tension, drama and every other facet you'd expect from the pages of a book or TV screen, only this time with you at the helm.

Think Star Trek Next Gen or even Voyager, Babylon 5 and Battlestar Galactica all compressed into one game and you'll get a sense of the immensity and scope of this title. And that also should account for the huge amount of in-game dialogue. Actually, no - that's an understatement. There's an 'oh my god' dimension to the narrative and amount of dialogue. As a result, the time spent hunkering down playing this title – or rather listening to it - seemed at first too much to bear. Just at the point of being stupefied senseless though, the game kicks into hyper-drive and simply leaves you breathless with its complex narrative and rich characterisations all set within just about the biggest gaming canvas you could possibly come up with: the entire bloody galaxy.

The game is easily characterised with one word: choice. The choices start early with you picking through a myriad of selections defining gender, facial structure and personality traits during the character creation process. Each of the six classes offered have their own distinct characteristics which ultimately define your eventual abilities and playing style. There are the three main classes; Soldier (combat), Engineer (tech) and Adept (biotic). As expected, the Soldier class provides the means to be at the coal face, slugging it out wearing heavy armour while packing the most punch as well. The Engineer class on the other hand allows the player to provide a secondary line of support with such abilities as countering enemy defences, healing and hacking open containers – making it a worthwhile option indeed. The Adept class however provides a significant alternative to the Soldier class. Through the manipulation of dark energy, Adepts are capable of using 'spell' like abilities, such as lifting enemies high into the air and then throwing them out a distance. If you don't appreciate playing such defined classes, and prefer to play a hybrid with a mix of abilities, Mass Effect provides here too, with three sub-classes: Vanguard (Biotic/Combat), Infiltrator (Combat/Tech), and Sentinel (Biotic/Tech). Considering the vast difference in gameplay possible dependant on the class chosen, it won't come as a surprise to find yourself exploring the possibilities with multiple characters made early on.

Pink blobby thing... That's how I roll!

Before we carry on further, let's clear up something that might just spell blockbuster sales on one hand and worrisome frowns upon the older non-gaming crowd on the other. Depending on what sex your character is, a certain love sub-plot might or might not reveal a spot of alien lesbianism. While I certainly don't have a problem donning my girl-on-girl role-playing +10 love making hat when called for, apparently certain groups do, proven by the recent banning of the game in Singapore. Either through a sudden uproar by male groups wanting to express their female tendencies or through a review of certain classification laws (I'd like to think the former); the government just as suddenly changed their minds resulting in the Singaporean populace getting the chance to taste some virtual forbidden fruits. Of course, the whole thing is nothing but a sensationalist beat-up, including this paragraph (you already knew that), so given the chance to show how much of a dirty old man I really am, I chose to play as a woman.

If there's one thing you can be certain of receiving from a Bioware title, it's an engrossing tale driven by numerous characters each with their own unique story to tell. Mass Effect isn't what you'd consider standard fare in any sense of the word, with what has got to be the biggest darn narrative I've ever witnessed on any platform, let alone the Xbox 360. Via the game's dialogue system, the way you converse with others and the path which conversations take are quick, fluid and intuitive. You can either be nice, verbally shrug your way through or be hostile. Either way, your decisions reflect what paths the conversation leads and ultimately the end result, which may be either good or bad. Angel, devil or indifferent fence sitter, it's a play on morality where your choices govern the way everyone and everything behaves around you. In terms of coverage, you'll eventually get into the position of being strangely compelled to chat with literally every single damn character that can be spoken to within the game, in contrast to the early stages, where you try to convince yourself that you won't waste precious gaming time chatting to everyone. You won't notice exactly when you cross that bridge, but when realisation suddenly hits that you just agreed to help some out of the way, flea-bitten colony which has a need for power cells and nothing to do with the main quest line, you can't help but throw a little smirk, then continue playing to the wee hours of the morning.