Pros: Customization of character, awesome game play and story.
Cons: Textures don't always load immediately.
The bottom line: Overall, awesome game. Great for any fan of sci-fi and RPGs.
Great game play, great characters, great game! I spent a whole weekend devoting myself to this game when I got it, and have since played through it once more.

One of the things I liked most about the game is that after the initial "intro" phase of getting introduced to the world and storyline, you were pretty much free to do as you wanted. You could go straight ahead and blaze through the plot in a few hours, or you could take your time. For people like me who enjoy exploration, collection, and open-ended game play, it's great. But for those who don't like those things, you can opt to skip them.

Once you achieve Specter class, you gain control of your ship, the Normandy. Once aboard, you use the map of the galaxy to visit different sectors and through that different planets. Generally, each system has one planet you can land on. Others in the system can be scanned to obtain items for side quests. Quests are categorized as one of two types. Missions, which will move the plot forward when completed, and assignments, which are optional. Several of the assignments just involve collecting things, either by scanning planets or investigating anomalies on uncharted planets while doing other missions there.

Your character, Shepherd, is the first human Spectre. Spectres are an elite class of soldiers, chosen by the Council. They are free from things such as laws and regulations, and are trusted to do whatever is necessary to protect the peace of the galaxy. Since Shepherd is the first of the human race to be given this honor, there is a lot of pressure on him/her by the human alliance. They will often be calling you for help on various things.

The assignments take place on uncharted worlds. You land in a six-wheeled car/tank called the Mako, which has its own guns and grenades. The controls on it are a little wonky, and it can be hard to make it go the direction you want it to. But there are few times when you actually need to take it into combat. Generally, you can just drive to your destination(s) and complete the assignment. These assignments can play out very differently, depending on the choices you make. One, for instance, can be completed without firing a shot. Or it can end in a bloodbath.

The missions are a little different. There is still plenty to explore but it does feel more like a level than a planet. As in, there are set paths and rooms for you to explore, rather than just roaming around a vast expanse of land. Many missions also have assignments you can do as you complete the actual mission, so once you go planetside try to talk to as many people as you can so that you do not miss these.

I would recommend taking time to talk your team members in the ship between missions, as well as exploring some of the uncharted planets. Many aspects of the Mass Effect universe are fleshed out by doing this, and I personally found it very interesting. One assignment is only available after Shepherd befriends Garrus.

This is YOUR story. In most games you're playing out the events of someone else's life. In Mass Effect, not only do you create your character's appearance, but you also choose their past. And of course, you make your own choices in the game.

But, while it's nice to choose what you're going to say and do, I wish they had given it a little more variety. This is not obvious in your first play through, of course. I found that although they gave me different options, my character often said similar things no matter which one I picked. Likewise, the NPCs will often respond the same way to a paragon response as they would to a renegade response.

I was very impressed with the graphics. At least, once the textures loaded. It would have been nice to use the hard drive to have some of that stuff pre-loaded, rather than have the jarring effect of waiting for textures to load.

The sound was also quite good. I especially liked the music during the (optional) romantic cut scene. (Yes, I do consider it to be a romance scene rather than mere physical interaction.) The music is often subtle, but it does a good job of helping creating the right mood whether or not you notice the music directly or not. Particularly in the more emotional parts of the storyline. The voice acting was also great, I was especially impressed with Garrus' and Tali's voice actors, but I preferred the female Shepherd’s voice to that of the male version of Shepherd.

Mass Effect is rated M for Mature because of blood, language, partial nudity, sexual themes, and violence. It requires 4MB to save the game. On X-Box live, there is some downloadable content. So far it is just one extra assignment that costs 400 MS points, but there are plans to release more before Mass Effect 2 hits stores.