Mass Effect 3: Rage against the machines

MASS EFFECT 3

RATING M for Mature

With its Mass Effect series, BioWare has created the first video-game universe with the scope and ambition of Isaac Asimov's Empire or Gene Roddenberry's Federation. But there's one problem: As Mass Effect 3 begins, the whole thing is about to be obliterated.

See, while humanity has been busy expanding across the Milky Way, meeting a variety of intelligent species, along the way an ancient race of machines, the Reapers, has been lurking.

And now that we've gotten smart enough for interstellar travel, we're ready to be harvested.

As Mass Effect 3 begins, the Reapers have invaded Earth, and the only way to stop them is by joining forces with all the other civilizations in the galaxy.

It's much more complex and, ultimately, more rewarding than the binary, man-vs.-monster conflicts of less ambitious space-combat games like Halo or Gears of War. During the 40-plus hours of Mass Effect 3, there's time for exploration, diplomacy and even romance, and many of its most memorable moments involve simple conversations between Shepard and the crew of the spaceship Normandy.

Make no mistake: Most of the action involves combat against the Reapers and Cerberus forces.

There's more to the battles, though, than just picking the right assault rifle and firing away. You and your squadmates can also use "biotic" powers to sling fireballs, combat drones or miniature black holes at your enemies. -- AP