Top 10 RPGs for Genre Newcomers

5. Mass Effect

Mass Effect was a rather unusual beast when it first arrived in 2007. The sci-fi title takes two previously thought to be incompatible genres—shooters and RPGs—and melds it together in such a way that fans of both genres can really enjoy Bioware's space epic. Nowadays, that doesn't seem so absurd: The Mass Effect series is three games strong with a fourth in development, and now other series have worked to mix shooter mechanics with RPG style skills and leveling up, with varying results.

While Mass Effect 2 may arguably be the better title to recommend to RPG newbies due to the fact that it has the smallest ratio of RPG to shooter in the mix, the scope of Mass Effect's continuous story make it a poor idea to skip the first title of the series. The first three titles follow the story of Commander Shepard, an avatar that you can customize to look and play however you want (including gender). In this relatively open title, you explore worlds and interact with plenty of people, both human and alien, and eventually unveil a dark secret that threatens the entire universe.

But other than the deeply engaging story, you have plenty of choices as how to go about exploring these strange new worlds. You have a variety of dialogue options to respond to the many denizens of the universe, and will label you are either a Paragon or a Renegade, unlocking skills specific to being 'good' or 'a jerk'. As the commander of spaceship, you'll also have many decisions to make that can affect the outcome of the story of both the original Mass Effect and games to come, and some of these decisions can be far harder than others. With a real weight behind how you have to handle each situation, it can make Mass Effect's tale far more compelling than the average, linear plot many RPGs take.

Combat is, again, a mix of shooter elements and RPG elements. You level up, get new equipment, and earn new skills, but you also mainly attack by shooting enemies, and there's a distinct focus on finding cover and shooting enemies in their more vulnerable areas. It plays pretty well for the most part, and offers fans of shooters a bit of familiarity in what is otherwise a narrative driven, RPG heavy title.