Mass Effect = Trek Wars

I keep playing far too much Mass Effect at night, mostly because the game is really that fun, flaws and all. When I first heard about the game I though, "Bioware is doing Star Wars without the license, that's cool". The more I play the game the more I think that Bioware really built a Star Trek game with force powers and no license.

Lets break down the comparisons:

Humanity has only in the last generation or two perfected FTL travel and discovered other alien races with more advanced tech.

You command the most advanced scout and exploration ship in the fleet

You have an entire crew at your command

In that crew there are a select few that you take with you on away missions

The captain always goes on the dangerous away missions

The captain spends a lot of time trying to shag blue skinned aliens

The game basically feels like you're exploring the galaxy as captain Kirk. The story elements are quite difference, after all there was never an ancient extinct race who's ruins are used by the galactic government in Star Trek, but the feel of the world is very much in that vibe.

That realization does not at all bother me though. The game is still fun and the world is still interesting. The main story also does enough in my mind to combine the best of the SciFi/Fantasy I've seen in the past and still feel original.