This is honestly one of my favorite games of all time. The different factions are all so unique and well-written, each having their own merits and faults. It also has some of the best writing and dialogue out of any game I've ever played. It's witty, it's hilarious, it's enthralling, it's heart-breaking. Nearly every character has so much to say about the world and the situation they find themselves in. The world design is also immaculate. There's rarely a moment in this game where you won't see a location or landmark off in the distance and think, "Ooh, that looks interesting. I wanna check that out." However, by far the best part of this game is the freedom of choice it gives you. Choice in how to approach and finish certain quests. Choice in play-style that varies from going in guns blazing to sneaking around and putting live grenades in people's pockets to talking your way out of nearly every situation you encounter. Almost every decision has consequences, too. If you help out one faction, chances are the other factions aren't going to be too happy with you. Some might even send assassins after you if you piss them off enough. The choices you make can cause entire empires to rise or fall. That's how gripping the stakes are in this game. I could write a 20 page essay about how amazing this game is and it wouldn't even scratch the surface of what makes this game so good, not to mention that it has one of the largest modding communities of any game ever. If you have to pick one RPG to play in your lifetime, pick this one. 10/10.

My favorite game trilogy of all time. Mass Effect has such an intricate and fleshed out world to explore, it has some of my favorite characters in any game I've ever played, and with the exception of the first game, has some of the best and most unique combat of any RPG. The effort put into every aspect is amazing. There's hundreds of planets to visit, all with unique descriptions, and some with resources to gather or surprise encounters or quest items. Experimenting with different combat builds is fun, as well as testing out squadmate combos, which also sometimes lead to unique story dialogue. It also has the unique distinction of being one of the very few games where decisions from previous games carry over to the next, all of which can affect how the story plays out in a variety of different ways, from simply changing some dialogue to completely changing the possible outcomes of major decisions. Overall, Mass Effect is one of the most fun and unique game trilogies of all time, and the only Space/Sci-Fi RPG I would ever recommend. 10/10.