Video games: An epic alien adventure

Video games like "Mass Effect" don't come around too often, and it's a good thing: This new science-fiction epic is so good it's basically sucking away all of my free time.

Action addicts who'd rather shoot first and think later might find it somewhat pedantic, but "Mass Effect" (Rated M, $60) is a wonderful example of dorky digital storytelling.

It's a space opera in the "Star Wars" tradition, sans the constant father-son limb chopping and the inanely pubescent romantic dialogue.

What we have here is a distinctive universe where the Milky Way becomes a staging ground for intergalactic political intrigue, some racy interspecies romantic flings, (yes, they went there) and, of course, battles with viscous aliens.

If you prefer aliens of the E.T. variety, fret not: There are plenty of boring, friendly creatures to chat with, too.

The back story is interesting even if you've been through the usual gamut of interstellar epics like "Star Trek" or "Battlestar Galactica."

In "Mass Effect," humans have only recently begun to find their place in a considerably larger galactic community. That's right: We arrogant humans hardly matter.

Sadly, we hardly ever see him during the game. Beyond that, unleashing a race of life-squelching monsters turns out to be dumb decision -- at least if you have any say in the matter.

As human Commander (insert the first name of your choosing here) Shepard, you engage as a planet-hopping, alien-quashing superagent, called a Spectre, who goes sniffing around the vacuum of space for Kryik.

Like those endearing Choose Your Own Adventure books, "Mass Effect" gives players many paths to follow -- good, evil and somewhere in between -- by selecting from one of several responses during even seemingly mundane conversations.

There's a ton of dialogue and it's all well-done and relatively interesting by video-game standards.

My earlier caveat to action gamers is warranted because this isn't a title where you'll want to run into the fray like some trigger-happy maniac. You'll die.

There are many role-playing elements, which is cool because you can really tweak Shepard and your computer-controlled companions for the many missions. Planning, strategy and skill-point allocation far outweigh fast reflexes, that's for sure.

The graphics are superb on the Xbox 360, with some of the most realistic-looking aliens around, if that makes any sense. The dialogue sequences are shot like big-budget movies and feature wondrous backdrops such as sprawling space stations and seedy, dimly lit bars.