Mass Effect (PC)

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The new HUD makes combat much more intuitive

The long loading times are still in place. The game's much maligned lifts still take what seems like an age to get Shepard and the gang from A to B, especially in the Citadel. In some cases this is inevitable, since certain mission-triggering dialogue occurs in the lifts, but we can't help but feel a tinge of regret that in all other non-essential cases lift waiting hasn't been totally eradicated.

The biggest change, however, is the HUD overhaul. The power wheel has been scrapped in favour of a much more efficient weapon select and special ability interface. This is triggered by pressing the space bar. By rotating the camera so it's pointing at the desired location or enemy you can order each ally to move to different, exact areas. The arrow keys are reserved for more general commands, like follow or stay put. As for Shepard, you can assign special powers to the number keys for instant use and the scroll wheel allows you to cycle through each of the four weapons quickly and easily. Couple this with the more precise movement and aiming of the mouse and keyboard interface and you've got a level of squad control the 360 version is simply incapable of.

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Because of this combat is all the more satisfying. While I always found the combat in Mass Effect on 360 a wonderful thrill (yes, I know many of you didn't), squad mates were always capable of the odd stupid moment, either suicidally running into enemy fire or suffering from serious path finding issues. There can be no doubt that this has been improved upon. Flanking is now a real possibility, and, on the harder difficulty levels, employing strategy with careful squad mate placement is a much quicker and intuitive process. You'll be amazed at how quickly you'll be able to tear through the combat heavy worlds and side-quests in the PC version.

It's important to note that the PC version has the same achievements as the 360 game, but they're not not linked to Windows LIVE, so you won't be able to accumulate another 1000 MS points. And while the game doesn't ship with the Bring Down the Sky DLC that 360 owners have to pay for, PC owners will be able to download it free of charge as soon as they've got the game installed on their computer, which is obviously ace.

Mass Effect is one of the greatest RPGs ever made

Despite the essential changes, tweaks and performance improvements, the blown away effect I experienced when playing the game on the 360 back in November was dulled, perhaps inevitably, this time around. Anyone who's played the 360 version and loved it will love it on PC, but that wow factor isn't there to the same degree. All I can say to PC-owning Mass Effect virgins is: I'm jealous. I wish I could play it for the first time once again.

There are some who would say that Mass Effect feels more at home on the PC, that when you take into account the higher resolution, the performance improvements and the interface tweaks it's somewhat of a director's cut. This would be an understandable assessment. But I happen to think that both games have different strengths and weaknesses. Mass Effect PC is unashamedly hardcore. It's the 360 version of the game refined to please PC owners. Is it better? Functionally, yes. But there's not enough here for us to recommend a purchase if you've already got it on 360.

Some BioWare fans viewed EA's recent purchase of the studio with concern and cynicism. Mass Effect and any subsequent games in the series would now be ported to every platform under the sun as quickly as possible and with scant consideration for quality. That is, as hardened gamers say, the EA way. Now that we've ploughed our way through the game for a second time on PC we can safely say that there was nothing to worry about. BioWare could probably have released a PC version identical to the 360 game and got away with it. But it hasn't. It's done it properly. It has listened to the community - its moans, groans and gripes - and given fans what they've asked for. This is a port, but it's more than a port. BioWare, with a little help from a friend, has made one of the best RPGs ever made even better.

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