TiresiasBC

I will forever associate this song with the awesomeness of the final scenes and decisions of Bioware’s epic Mass Effect.  In a way, it’s a shame that Mass Effect 2 was such an exponential improvement over the original.  The sequel still looks great, with a cover mechanic as awesome and intuitive as Gears of War’s.  The original, not so much.  Yet the original has a broader scope and introduces the conflict that drives the series.

(And lacks a Southpaw option, ie. has no option to switch movement to the right joystick and aiming to the left, but I digress.)

It also has a far more kickass ending song than 2, which simply plays a soundtrack.  I think.  I can’t even remember, which says it all.

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If a game or movie ends well, there’s a unique opportunity to encapsulate the emotions of that moment within a song.  It lets you revisit that feeling of watching the movie for the first time in a way that’s otherwise impossible.  The Jason Bourne movies played this to the hilt, always ending on a strong note and immediately cutting to Moby’s “Extreme Ways.”  How perfectly did this capture the feel of movies about an assassin who lost his memories?  ”I had to close down everything; I had to close down my mind…”  That song is still my ringtone.

In Mass Effect, your final decisions are exhilarating.  The whole game builds up to those moments, and lets you make the sacrifice or vent your frustration as you see fit.  As you walk off, the music starts.  Would I even like this song if it weren’t for Mass Effect?  I have no idea.  It has the emotional payload of a game I spent an embarrassing number of hours completing in detail.

I would say more, but Mass Effect is the kind of game that I don’t want to spoil, even four years after its release.  You should play it.