Fun game! Loaded with hours of gameplay and awesome action/battle scenes. Cant wait till' the 2nd one comes out.
Mass Effect
(2007, Video Games - Role Playing Games, Rated M, Play it on: Xbox 360)
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Ambitious space journey with mature themes.
Why We Rated This 
The good stuff
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Educational value:
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of Mass Effect was written by Brett Molina
Parents need to know that this game has one brief sex scene involving an apparent female alien. The scene more alludes to sex as opposed to showing graphic acts -- but the encounter even occurs when you create a female character, which opens the door to same-sex relationships. The in-game violence is on par with most shooters, but isn't gratuitous; players will shoot with pistols, shotguns, and rifles, and use grenades. But the focus of this game is on the interactive storyline where players decide the dialogue of their characte, leading to moral decisions about whether you traverse the galaxy as a diplomatic hero or a renegade willing to bend the laws, and these decisions have consequences.
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More on Mass Effect
What’s the Story?
In MASS EFFECT, your character must traverse galaxies to thwart an ancient machine race's effort to wipe out all organic civilization. How that story unfolds is mostly up to you. You'll start by selecting a character -- you can opt for the standard protagonist, Commander Shepherd, or create your own from scratch. Gamers have six classes to choose from, each with varying degrees of combat, technological, and magic-like ("biotic") skills. Players control their character's dialogue, and can therefore dictate how interactions play out in the future.
Is It Any Good?
Mass Effect represents a bold attempt at reshaping the RPG, if you can get past the glitches and inconsistent action.
It's anchor is its engaging, robust storyline. Powerful voice acting, lifelike facial models, and cinematic presentation make Mass Effect's story one of the few you can truly invest in. Action, on the other hand, doesn't reach the high bar set by the story. For the most part, it's solid, but suffers through inconsistencies.
Publisher’s Details
Developer: BioWare
Released on: 11/19/2007, Price: $59.99, not online enabled
ESRB Rating: M for Blood, Language, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Violence
Released on: 11/19/2007, Price: $59.99, not online enabled
ESRB Rating: M for Blood, Language, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Violence
Our Members Say
See all 39 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title on for age 12 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Easy to play
Mass Effect
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Easy to play
a great RPG
The fact that your character can have a minor sexual encounter is pointless all it shows are silhouettes and the violence is minor. Also blood is red you may notice that red blood is rare to see in this game because you fight robots and aliens that spatter green and purple goo not red blood
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I rate this title on for age 15 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Inappropriate sexual content
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
- Easy to play
The sexual stuff is all blown WAY out of proportion...
Don't let redshirt2188 scare you away. The character doesn't 'straddle' you and the scene is skippable and very brief, max 30 seconds. Another thing is this game is amazing, you can't replace a space RPG with a space FPS and this game is miles above Oblivion in story telling. The story is far more enjoyable in Mass Effect and the pacing is perfect. You're never confused about where to go and the violence is no worse than your average teen rated shooter. Best comparison on violence i can think of is Uncharted.
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I rate this title on for age 14 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- My highlights are:
Amazing game, it could be T if they took it easy on the sexual stuff.
This is one of my favorite games. The RPG elements combined with FPS makes it really great. Fox News lied though, there is no "full graphic sex that leaves nothing to imagination". In fact, I never even got the opportunity to partake in the sex scene, which doesn't really show anything. However, there is a strip club that you have to go to a couple times, and you have the option to sit down watch a practically naked alien chick dance in front of you. Your character has the option to make moral decisions, which could be either good or bad depending on your kid. The violence is very mild, and you are normally fighting robots or aliens. In short, this is a very good game, but a few elements might be a little too mature for younger kids. Definitely recommended for ages 14+
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
- Safety isn't an issue
- Easy to play
I am a teacher and a parent of two teenagers and a 10 year old. I asked one of my students in sixth grade what a good video game was that I should get my fourteen year old for his birthday. He recommended Mass Effect, so i got it and my teenagers loved it! After seeing the game being played, i realized that it had little blood and almost no explicit content. I let my 10 year old play it, on the grounds that any innapropriate content would be reported to me. A few swear words came up, but that was all. It really does not deserve an M or a Not for Kids.
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Ratings at a Glance
| 67% | of parents say it gives kids positive messages |
| 50% | of parents feel the site is safe |
| 50% | of parents say there are good role models |
| 33% | of parents say it's educational |
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For Your Family
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