Well described, Easy to read and well illustrated. Made the game alot more enjoyable to play.

Of course I purchased the Xbox game guide and I have the PC version of the game, but otherwise, it was a good guide.

I want more games like Mass Effect. But that's not to say it's perfect.

Pros:

Very, very cool atmosphere. There's a codex that you can access throughout the game (and it is updated throughout) that documents, with full voice over work, the history of the game's planets, species, past conflicts, etc etc. Plenty of characters will talk to you and you can probe them for more info.

Voice work is spot on. Combat is great, much like the system in Gears of War. You can use cover simply by approaching a wall, crate, etc. You can issue orders to your squadmates, level them up, order them to use specific skills (essentially, "Force-like" abilities that can toss enemies off the ground) and weapons, order them to fall back, attack, follow you, etc etc.

The story is fascinating and there's dozens and dozens of side quests. There's a lot to do here, and it really does make you feel like the captain of a ship.

Graphics and sound are amazing. Slowdown will occur, especially during cutscenes and driving sequences, however.

Conversations are a lot of fun, since you can usually select different options. Do you kill everyone in a colony that has been hypnotized, or simply gas them and try to revive them later? Do you give an inspiring speech to your crew, or a pessimistic one? Do you kill X or spare him?


Cons:

Some of the combat sequences are not so great. I spent about 30 minutes shooting identical looking aliens on my way to destroying some Over-mind like creature on Feros. Very frustrating, very boring.

The Mako (the ATV that you can drive on planet surfaces) is like Halo's warthog. It's VERY cool in theory, but the controls are very taxing, especially on some of the wintry planets where you're battling worms that can kill you in one hit, or cliffs that are also instant death.

The game occassionally grinds to a halt and throws a very lame trial and error puzzle at you that feels like it's from a bad 1990 adventure game. Also, many of the side missions are repetitive and involve landing on a planet, driving for 30 minutes, and killing tons of aliens in samey-looking corridors. It kind of kills the immersiveness.

Also, while the conversation system offers a lot of choices, many are not really choices and yield the same result. E.g., I was once presented with there choices -- "Yes" "Okay" and "Fine." All of them, I found, do the same thing. Even when they don't seem identical, often times the choices simply result in the same outcome. Bioware DOES have some moments in this game where you influence the dialog but it's MUCH less often than the game lets on.

Finally, the equipment screen is awful. It's just a mess and I became frustrated with it, which is a problem because it meant I wasn't really selecting the best armor/weapons/etc for me and my crew.

Overall, this is a 3.5/5. Definitely fun, but the side missions (should you do them) are usually quite boring. With some improvements this would be really great.

You've seen all the reviews above. So I'll be brief. This is a guide on what all the who's and what's and fiddly bits are in the game. The 1st few chapters are a perfect primer for getting your head around the game mechanics and concepts. Especially if you are a person with a busy schedule (and or family) whom can't spend hours on end in front of the screen. You don't have to use the walk-through, but it's nice to get you out of sticky spots.

Definitely recommend this as a buy!

I dont understand why people waste their hard earned money on Game Guides...i mean not only can you find strategy on the internet but in the case of Mass Effect it is a pretty straight forward game. I've beaten the game on Hardcore mode and I'm working on Insanity and I have used no game guide at all. Stop wasting your money and just play the game

This book has everything you need to save the universe from Saren. Everything. Walkthrough includes bot Paragon and Renagade choices. A must have really.

I have to agree, this publication have typo errors, uneven sized fonts, unacceptable wrongly inserted words/phrases, missing sections etc.

The reason I bought this was because they bundled it together with the art book (which would cost more if bought separately).

Doing such sloppy work and knowing people will buy this because of the Mass Effect name, Prima should be ashamed of themselves (or is that a word not in their vocabulary)

This game is highly customizable. You can customize your background, psychological profile, and most notably, your appearance.

Playing around with the various sliders in the appearance creation is so deep, you could spend hours messing around with that feature alone!

The gameplay is awesome. It uses a 3rd person perspective, and plays like a 3rd person shooter, HOWEVER, you must open up menus mid-battle to select abilities that you can aim towards one enemy or more (with your squad). It definitely require brain-power and strategy during firefights. All of your weapons and upgrades make a big difference in battle, so you must be aware of all your items, and what would be most useful with what enemy type.

The story is quite epic (and awesome). Your choices in dialog affect certain (not all) situations. There are 2 mission types: story, and side missions. The missions for the story are much longer, yet there are few of them, maybe 5. You can get through the main story in one weekend, but you need to do the side-missions to level up, and there's TONS of those.

The missions are varied, though the indoor environments are not. This isn't really a big deal because it's still tons of fun to play. My first playthrough clocked in at 39 hours, and that was with 99% completion of all missions.

If you own a 360, you like RPGs (NOT turn-based), and sci-fi interests you, then you MUST MUST MUST MUST MUST own this game.

I purchased this game for my son for christmas. When I asked him how he likes it his response is always, "IT"S AWESOME".

I have to agree with the multiple reviewers that call this a shoddy product. There are more than a few pages missing. For example in the table of contents, it skips straight to Appendix 3, without listing Appendices 1 and 2. However, multiple times in the text of the book references are made to these missing appendices.
Also, on a few occassions, the only mention at all of some of the numerous side missions, called assigments in the game, is a checklist at the beginning of each chapter; no explanation on how to better complete them is given.
This book is not all bad as it does give a rather extensive list of equipment available, as well as extensive talent matrices that will help you maximize your player's abilities. However, in comparison to some of Prima's other game guides, this one is subpar.

Incomplete, inaccurate, in short, the worst excuse for a game guide I've ever seen. How can such a great game, authorize such a crappy guide? Don't waste your money on this.

This guide was rushed into production so it could be released along with the game. "MassEffect" is a game that you don't need a strat guide. Write your own as you play. In otherwords, take notes and lots of them, and don't spend your money on this product. Seek help with online guides if you need it.

I love this game, I cannot put it down. Planet Hopping in a non-final fantasy roleplaying environment(I don't have a PC and do not play MMO's) with real-time action is something new for me, and I love it. Why the four instead of five? Well, the game's flaw is combat. Even though I've gotten used to it, it is clunky at times and completely outrageous at others. It's kind of like Gears of War where cover plays a key role and there is no auto aim. This can be rectified by upping the reticle speed in the options menu, and I suggest you do it because it will prevent you from having your butt handed to you like mine was until I sped it up. The AI for your team is almost worthless-at one point all the enemies in the area were dead and my squadmate was standing directly in front of a wall blasting away for no reason I could see. This is unfortunate as it would be nice to have some companions who are more useful when you aren't controlling them(which you can't in this game except picking their weapons and using their powers with a pausing menu). However, that bit of boo aside, I'm completely hooked on this game right now and my bare minimum of a social life is taking a big hit, so if you like sci-fi and roleplaying elements, give the Mass Effect a shot!

I bought this game with the idea that it would keep me busy for a month or so. As good as the game is, I'd have to say it is a lil short. I completed the game at a normal difficulty in less than a week. Everything else in the game is put together well. I will probably end up playing the game again as a different character and at a higher difficulty level next time.

I'm a total completionist when it comes to RPGs so having a decent guide is a must. The Mass Effect guide, while not perfect, did the job for me with excellent maps and codex entries and good to very good game play strategies. All of the landable planets featured full maps including all of the points of interest which saved me hours of driving around in circles trying to find obscure collectibles. I also loved the assignment checklist at the start of each major walkthrough section, once my journal started to overflow with mini-quests having that walkthrough was a lifesaver. There are a few obvious omissions in this guide, for example, why was there no walkthrough for the romance quest? The romances were pretty easy to initiate and navigate through, but since they were the most interaction you had with the crew I expected there to be a little more than just a couple of paragraphs. Also I felt the walkthroughs for some of the minor quests especially for some of the uncharted worlds should have been more substantial; I was always able to make my way out of trouble but if the guide were clearer I wouldn't have landed in trouble in the first place. Even with those two issues and a few minor problems with proofreading that were missed, I still feel that I got my money's worth both from the guide and the game.

First, I would like to say that I finished this game without even breaking the plastic on the book. It does not require a high IQ, it just requires you to be patient, and it requires you to be meticulous and thorough.

However, that being said, if you run in to a place where you get stuck, just head over to the spoiler section of Bioware's forums and you are more than likely to find your answers there (you have to register to post).

Instead, spend your money on the soundtrack. It's awesome.

I agree with the other posters Somewhat,about missing certain plots ,i.e. subplots in this Excellent "Game of the year " period.. But if you want all the goodies and don't want to be confused ,ESPECIALLY in the main 7 or so missions You will need this guide,trust me ,unless you want to keep getting killed or walking in circles,my i.q. is pretty high and i still found this guide Really does help, ( and who doesn't love romance in a time of war) helps your morale ,Buy the guide ,hope this helps and you liked the review ,if the review didn't help, your very naive.......BUY IT.....

This is the worst game guide I have ever purchased. There are numerous typos, and printing errors. There are even errors in the table of contents. There are references to appendicies which do not exist. There is no information on the romantic subplots. Whole sections are printed out twice in a row. Save yourself a headache and do not buy this guide!

Game guides are a difficult product - since they are usually published at the same time as the game, they are often rushed to print, and it shows in this case. There are entire sections of the guide missing, including the interpersonal subplot section (even though it's referenced elsewhere in the guide!). Some "how to do this" descriptions are explicitly left out (for example, one acheivement says "It's up to you to figure out the rest."). None of the choices that must be made for certain conversation rewards are laid out. Only buy this guide if you absolutely must; otherwise, searching the internet for online guides written by fans will give you much more precise, helpful, and accurate information.