GB Feature: Mass Effect E3 Preview

The first installment to our E3 2006: The RPGs editorial is now online, which features a detailed preview of Mass Effect, BioWare’s upcoming sci-fi RPG for the Xbox 360. Here’s a bit to get you started:

The demo began in a bar on Citadel, a 30-mile-long space station that will serve as the game’s introductory location. The first thing we noticed is the game’s finely detailed graphics, including facial animations that have been tailored to show specific emotions (even on aliens!). While The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion may have set a new standard for graphics on the Xbox 360, Mass Effect may just be the first game to meet and even exceed that standard. In addition to facial animations, Jay also pointed out the lengths the team has gone to in order to make the NPCs that inhabit the universe more realistic in their day-to-day duties. Even characters that have no bearing on the storyline will go about their lives, carrying on conversations with one another and performing small tasks like ordering their own drinks from the bartender.