Lewis Denby writes:
"Despite all this nitpicking, Mass Effect is an absolutely essential experience, all the better for its transition to the PC. Absolutely improving on everything from the genre's previous benchmark, it forges a high-sci-fi universe into something magical at every turn. Not in years has a game captivated me so much from start to finish, instilled me with such a sheer need to play on and on until completion. That it achieves this in such an effortlessly emotive way is testament to BioWare's immense talent as both developer and storyteller. This is one of those rare titles that has had me enthusing about its quality to anyone who would listen: my friends, my girlfriend, my parents, even newfound acquaintances. It's the absolute statement of the current-generation RPG, and it would be a crime not to play. Don't be stupid, Commander. The universe depends on it."
