So I just got out of my 1st ever “behind-closed-doors” meeting for an upcoming game…. and it’s one at the very top of my list of most-wanted’s….. Mass Effect.

It felt like a show-n-tell we used to have at school, albeit about a video game I can’t wait to play. They demo’d a few different segments of the game, and if you’re a fan of KOTOR or Jade Empire you’ll find a lot to like here.

The demo started on your ship, which is huge compared to in-game vessels of other games. But the main area here of interest is the galaxy map. It’s what you’ll use to fly around the universe. It may not sound like much but you’re able to fly around and sometimes land on a planet, zoom out to the solar system level, or to the nebula level or the galaxy level. It’s astoundingly huge in scope, and while not all the planets are able to be explored on a surface level, it gives an indication to the size of the game itself.

People familiar with Bioware’s previous games will be happy to know that your conversation choices and the decisions you make will have more impact than ever before. Unlike KOTOR, where you had one slider bar that moved between good and evil, Mass Effect has a separate bar for each which they’re calling Paragon and Renegade. This will allow for more custom experience of playing through the game because you may just be doing something that is good for the universe while at the same time doing something horrible to a singular person, or vice versa. This one’s going to have to be played through more than once.

The conversations are a lot more fluid this time around compared to previous BioWare titles. Your responses will pop up while the other person is talking so the back-and-forth banter flows much more naturally. This also gives you the ability to both cut someone off or not say anything at all. Not only that, but all the dialog is recorded so you’ll be able to hear everything being said, and not just reading the subtitles. It makes for a more cinematic feel and long term will add quite a bit.

Also, you’re going to be able to make serious and game-changing decisions quite often. The conversation system is set-up in a way that it looks like you may make more changes though talking than with shooting, which I like. The pen is mightier than the sword, after all. For those that played Jade Empire, the decisions you could make there seemed to be dwarfed here. That’s not to say there isn’t any action of course.

For the demo Commander Sheperd and his crew landed on the planet Virmire and mounted up onto a huge, very moon patrol-looking vehicle to make an approach on an enemy base. After laying waste to some enemies outside using the mounted guns, the party made it’s way inside the base itself. You’ll be using the D-pad to order your teammates around and looks to work very well, A.I. wise. Fellow party members didn’t just run into firing lines to get where they were supposed to go.

During the ensuing fire fight I learned that you’ll be able to modify and enhance all the weapons in the game with different abilities. The example we were shown was a shotgun with the ability to freeze an enemy solid. Your character also has use of some force-like powers like the old “Force Push” from KOTOR. There’s also an easy looking leveling system that let’s you add points to different abilities like “throw” and “pistols.” As you add points to different categories you’ll not only improve but at certain levels open up new abilities (like adding enough points to the pistols ability will enable you to use start using shotguns).

It was great to see the game in motion live. I would’ve loved to have gotten my hands on it but se’ la vie I suppose. Either way I’ll be playing the game like crazy this fall when it finally gets released. After watching the demo, I’m more excited that before.