Mass Effect - The First Hour http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=164790 A few highlights: Quote: Jack Bauer and Space Zombies; that's what you can expect in the first hour of BioWare's latest RPG masterpiece Mass Effect. Co-founder and co-doctor Ray Muzyka is calling it "a next-gen BioWare game on steroids". We're calling it "24 in space". The Bauer reference is particularly fitting, not just because of the break-neck speed of the game's opening action scene, but because of the emotional and heart-breaking choices you're forced to make during gameplay. Moments which Muzyka promises will truly test your conscience. Quote: This level of interaction with the characters, and not just the world, is something that BioWare is really hammering home. We don't think Pixar will be off to the job centre any time soon, but it's obvious the people at BioWare have buckets of talent behind the camera. The game's intro sports the kind of cinematic flair and attention to detail Kojima pours into the Metal Gear series. The camera stalks the great red spot of Jupiter and spindles through space as a spaceship floats by. Inter-cut is the back of Shepard's head as he bowls through the bridge of his might vessel, attracting the attention of crewman and giving a sense a sense of authority to Mass Effect's clean-shaven hero. Quote: Special mention has to go to the fantastic audio work; the electronic thump of a enemy laser sounds powerful enough to rip a hole through flimsy flesh, and the synthy sound of robotic chatter is like sex in our ears (but without the mess).