Pros: good graphics, excellent musical score and voice acting, tons of replay value
Cons: Perhaps somewhat short, bit of a learning curve
The bottom line: A great game - I've played through twice already. Could be longer - and definitely not appropriate for kids (language and some sexual references)
Mass Effect is a game that has been out a few months now, and one that caught my eye right away. First off - I am a fantasy fanatic. I would rather play Warcraft than Starcraft and watch Lord of the Rings than Star Trek. That is not to say I do not enjoy science fiction, but it is not my favorite genre either. Still, the reviews for Mass Effect have come in frequently over the last several months, and by and large they have been quite positive. Additionally, the company - Bioware - is one that created the Neverwinter Nights series, and I thoroughly enjoyed the first one.

Graphics: These are pretty solid overall. The environments look good, the character models are solid though they do sometimes move a bit stiffly and the lighting effects are generally appealing as well, though I have seen them create odd skin tones and textures on facial models, which are quite expressive. The menu looks good, but can be a bit clumsy right at first as well. There are a lot of cutscenes and they all look quite crisp. For the most part the graphics are a success because they convincingly pull you into the storyline.

Sound and Music: The music is good - if sometimes quiet, but it does lend a sense of support to the scene instead of attempting to overpower the events that are taking place. The voice acting is quite good throughout - with a special nod to the character Joker on the ship. My wife noticed right away that the voice acting was done by Seth Green, whom both of us like from various TV shows and movies. All in all, this effectively keeps the game's illusion in tact for the player.

Game play: This is probably where the game struggles the most. The learning curve is a bit rough at first, with some things of importance being glossed over in the beginning. The menu also took a bit of getting used to, though once I did it turned out to be quite useful to me. Characters do not move as smoothly as I would like, but at least the camera angles can be adjusted - because often they rotate to bad angles during combat. Also aiming in combat can be a bit touchy until you learn the basics.

Overall this feels like more of an experience than a game at times. By the time I had logged about five hours into the game, I had been in less than three different combat stages. Still, the storyline is excellent, and the choices you make in the game are very important to what happens - an excellent feeling of ownership that makes you feel like your choices matter. The vehicles were not my favorite part of the game to control on planets, but they at least did help to add some variety. Also there is pretty good flexibility in how you can develop your characters. The game is like a hybrid between a third person shooter (if it reminds of a game during combat, it would be Gears of War - you take cover and shoot around it at enemies and you can zoom in to some degree as well), and a role playing game. You gain levels, can put points into areas of focus to improve things like combat damage, health, armor, skills and more. Plus the ability to interact with characters is quite cleverly handled - with a branching system of options to almost every part of the dialog, and all of it voice acted out. I got off to a somewhat slow start with Mass Effect, but the more I played, the harder it was to put down. My wife got to watch me play for hours on end and as soon as I beat it - I wanted to start up a new quest with a totally different character just so I could try different storyline branches - so that speaks well of the game's replay value. I would consider this game to be 5 out of 5.