14 DAY TRIAL // Dedicated franchises always had the power to either make or break a console platform and Mass Effect is one of Microsoft's flagships for Xbox 360. Developer Bioware has been working on the Sci-Fi role playing game for quite some time now, and although the release date was never set in stone, previous estimates placed the game in late 2006. But the most anticipated RPG of this year's E3 will hit retail in Q1 2007. It's all official now, since Microsoft confirmed the rumors going back as far as six months.
Questions regarding the actual release date first surfaced when the game was showcased for the media almost one year ago in Amsterdam. Bioware's casual response indicated "winter", which turned to "winter 2006" along with a wink once IGN reporters insisted. The good news is that no one is pressing the development team to actually stick to this self imposed deadline. A poorly kept secret or anyone's wild guess, it's now clear why you won't be seeing Mass Effect on any list of games released this fall.
Given the extra time available to finish up the rough edges, Mass Effect is expected to keep true to its promises, delivering a breath of fresh air to the waning RPG genre on Xbox 360. To this end, Bioware delivers an impressive action filled story placed in a fictional future, where every 50000 years a ruthless race of machines comes back to salvage all organic life. Within this cinematic reality you are the captain of SSV Normandy and with help from your crew, you can shape the future of this foreboding prophecy, as the whole universe shall flourish or perish according to your actions.