Mass Effect / PC : $9.99 at Steam

Mass Effect / PC (89 at Metacriticc) is half-price at Steam this weekend.

Mass Effect is a space opera action RPG from BioWare, the development company that brought us — well, let’s just say, “all the best RPGs of the last ten years.” Starting with Baldur’s Gate, through Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, and the recently released Dragon Age, they’ve been doing the genre right.

Mass Effect bolsters BioWare’s credentials in the area. In their ‘A-’ review, 1up said:

…You play as Commander Shepard (gender and appearance of your own devising), who gallivants around the galaxy solving disputes involving medical reparations, freedom of the press, and the genocide of a thought-to-be-extinct-but-not-really alien species. It still follows the BioWare role-playing-game formula: A linear beginning eventually gives way to a central hub (in Mass Effect’s case, a galaxy map) full of plot-advancing areas and optional side quests; you divide your time among map gazing, driving a gravity-defying space truck, walking, talking, and shooting. You still go through various galactic dilemmas as either the paragon of diplomacy and grace or as a renegade space jerk that quips first, shoots second, and then finally gets around to asking questions. Your decisions still have an effect on potential future quests and, occasionally, which party members live or die.

Here’s the trailer:

1up also said, “By all counts, Mass Effect for the PC is essentially the definitive version of the game; it runs much smoother on decent machines and just generally plays better…”

Mass Effect is planned as a trilogy. The second episode comes out in January. The early buzz is strong.