Mass Effect will be released for the Xbox 360 published by Microsoft Game Studios this year and we’ve been turning our resources upside down to give you some juicy tidbits on what this game is all about.

Mass Effect is a sci-fi, action and role-playing game developed by BioWare (the people behind Jade Empire and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic) so we’re expecting good things.

Mass Effect will be an exclusive for the Xbox 360 and some of the features of the game include:•   Incredible science-fiction RPG with a rich, engaging story line. On a distant planet an amazing discovery is made. Players must determine the fate of humanity as they lead an elite tactical strike force in an effort to stop an entity so malevolent that it threatens to tear apart the very fibre of galactic civilization. •   Exploring uncharted worlds and uncovering a mystery that defies imagination. In addition to the main story arc of the game, players will be able to visit a large number of uncharted, unexplored planets that are side quests independent from the main story. At any time during the campaign, a player can choose to explore one of these planets and have an opportunity to discover new alien life, resources, ruined civilizations and powerful technologies.•   Real-time, squad-based combat. Mass Effect features a real-time, squad-based tactical combat system. Players will be engaged in third-person action and squad-based combat. Players and their squad-mates will be able to engage the enemy with ranged weapons and covering fire, biotic powers and science-based magic, and technological powers.•   Character customization and deep role-playing systems. Players will be able to choose from and customize a variety of photo-realistic character appearances at the start of the game, and can increase various statistics that will affect their performance during gameplay.