History Videogame / MassEffect1

* HundredPercentCompletion: The main storyline can be completed in roughly 10 hours, but there are dozens of assignments as well, and there is an achievement for players who complete 75% of the game. There are also achievements for completing a majority of the game with each squadmates.[[note]]As part of the game's major overhaul in the ''Legendary Edition'', this was changed to completing five missions with each squadmate to make it easier to get the achievements in few as one or two playthroughs.[[/note]]
* AbandonedMine: Some assignments take place in these from recovering missing Alliance intelligence to killing [[OurZombiesAreDifferent husks]] of a mining team that DugTooDeep.

The plot revolves around one Commander Shepard, a military officer who becomes the first human Spectre, a member of [[SpacePolice an elite interplanetary peacekeeping force]]. They are tasked with tracking down a rogue Spectre named Saren Arterius, who has apparently allied himself with the geth, a race of [[MechaMooks murderous robots]]. As the storyline progresses, Shepard explores a variety of worlds, encounters a wide range of sapient species, and uncovers an ancient plot involving the [[DoomyDoomsOfDoom coming doom]] [[ApocalypseHow of every sapient organic being in the entire galaxy]].

There is a selection of plot-relevant missions and, if you focus exclusively on those, the game would be in the realm of 9-10 hours, but being an RPG, there is an entire galaxy for you to explore as you engage in [[{{Sidequest}} assignments]], expanding the game to upwards of 25 hours or more. The game lacks a traditional good/evil KarmaMeter, and instead gives you options on how to proceed with each encounter based on the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism; you are a hero either way, but your heroism can range from KnightInShiningArmor to UnscrupulousHero. You can choose whether to recruit all of the characters optioned to be part of your crew or ignore them and do it all yourself. You even have the option of different characters to [[RomanceSidequest pursue a romantic relationship with if you so desire]], including a possible LoveTriangle.

*** When pressed on her distrust of aliens, Ashley tries to clarify that it isn't that she ''hates'' them per se, but she knows that, if the chips came down to it, any specie (humans included) would sacrifices others to ensure their own survival, which is why she dislikes you placing so much trust into aliens crewmembers. [[spoiler:Comes the third game, and that reasoning is thrown back at Shepard almost word-for-word by the Council as to why they don't want to take huge risks defending Earth and prefer to focus on their respective defenses]].

* CryonicsFailure: [[spoiler:The fate of most of the Protheans on Ilos who went into stasis to escape the Reapers' purge of the galaxy. Admittedly, they realized this might happen and specifically programmed Vigil to cull non-essential personnel first, leading Wrex to snark that he doubts said non-essential personnel were told about ''that'' probability]].

* HitchhikerHeroes: Apart from Kaidan, who is actually part of your squad at the beginning of the game, and Liara, who you are specifically sent out to pick up, every squadmate joins either of their own free will or because Anderson thought they might be useful.