From Dean Takahashi, on his MercuryNews.com A+E Interactive blog: "I owe an apology to you for writing a bad review. I also apologize to BioWare, which made a better game than I thought, and gulp, to Microsoft. The game play is not as flawed as I thought."

At least Dean did own up to his review. He did admit that the total play time he spent in Mass Effect was 8 hours. Action/RPG titles need a good time to learn not only the story and characters in the setting, but the mechanics of play. You'll see in Dean's apology article that he wasn't even aware of some critical game mechanics. There is a bit of learning time in the first few hours of play, but the rewards of absorbing the characters and play mechanic are great.

I've gone through one play through of Mass Effect, which was about 40 hours total (as a male Vanguard Paragon). You can actually complete it in less time than that, but you will still be missing a lot of the story and sub-plots. I have started a second play as a Female Soldier Renegade, which opens up different dialogue and interaction (which I have to say, has been even more fun). There are few games I would do a second play-through. Other than Oblivion, this is the only other title in the last two years that I'd do that.

So what can we learn from this? Playing an action RPG, with years in the making, will take at least 20+ hours of experiencing before coming to a judgement. I also recommend looking at sites like GameRankings.com or and/or user reviews on GameFly.com. Even then, if you're unsure, rent the game and make a decision for yourself.

From The Mercury News

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