Video Games: Mass Effect

I'm hopelessly behind on my video games, so it was with some trepidation that I decided to report how I just got around to finishing Mass Effect (for the PC) this weekend. I know, I know ... I suck.
Anyway, I thought it was a fantastic game. The story was extremely compelling (thanks to Drew Karpyshyn) and I loved the versatility of the combat system.
Fighting in space? Check. Vaporize robots with irradiated buckshot? Check. I mean really, what else do you need?
Personally, I think Mass Effect was the best RPG I've played since Knights of the Old Republic. It had a great story, some outstanding gameplay and the graphics looked spectacular to boot.
One more thing -- the music was phenomenal. It's hard to describe, but I'd say it fell somewhere between 80s synth and freak-out space rock (yeah, I don't know what that means either, but it sounds kickass). The soundtrack is available on iTunes for a measly $9.99 and features over 35 songs.
The theme for Saren and the ending song by the Faunts were my favs.
So I jumped on the Mass Effect wagon pretty late in the game, but if nothing else that should shorten the downtime I have to suffer through until Mass Effect 2 is released in early 2010. Word has it they are planning a trilogy (or perhaps more), so yay!
Check out the recently released Mass Effect 2 trailer below. Enjoy.