Pros: A lot of fun, good graphics, really great story.
Cons: I wish it was longer. I'll pay for the sequel.
The bottom line: Great story driven Sci-Fi RPG. It's a genre that's really lacking, and this game sets the bar.
Mass effect is a Sci-Fi Role Playing Game with a strong shooter component. The game is very story driven, but for the sake of not giving away anything, I won't go into too much detail about the story, except to say that it is a uniquely deep story, set in a world that almost seems real due to the incredible level Mass effect is a Sci-Fi Role Playing Game with a strong shooter component. The game is very story driven, but for the sake of not giving away anything, I won't go into too much detail about the story, except to say that it is a uniquely deep story, set in a world that almost seems real due to the incredible level of detail and complexity the writers built in to it. There are a great many characters and locations that have nothing to do with the story, and almost nothing to do with the game, other than the depth they add.

The graphics are very good, not quite movie like, but better that most games (probably on par with Gears of War). There are some (a few) slow loading details in the graphics that can take away from the experience, but I turned down off a "grain" option, and that improved performance, and didn't really effect the quality.

The dialog system forces you to sit through all of the dialog. You can't just skip past it they way you can in some games. I though I wouldn't like that, but I forced me to get into the really good story.

The combat system is pretty good, and very similar to Gears of War. The game consists of quest like missions and tasks obtained from either non-player characters or objects discovered. There are planets, a city, and other structures to explore. You will frequently encounter enemies that you need to fight to progress. There is also a fighting vehicle that you use to explore planets and fight enemies.

The equipment system is a little complicated. There are a couple of classes of weapons and armor, a couple different weapons in each class (for example, a couple of different assault rifles), different quality levels for each different weapon, and upgrades for weapons, armor and ammunition, which you can mix and match depending on they type of enemy you are facing.

The game gives you a lot of freedom in terms of the story, the order of quests, whether to engage in side quests, character development, skill level upgrades and exploration (or surveying) of uncharted plants.

I hear this is the first in a trilogy, and I am looking forward to the sequels.