The male Shepard is way, way above average for computer games, so I was surprised, but Jennifer Hale's performance is probably one of the best in computer game history (which might not seem like saying much, but it's really good). Naxuul - I was so intrigued by the allegations regarding Jennifer Hale's better job on RPGnet, that I played through Mass Effect with a female Shepard to test this - And it's completely true, especially if you go Renegade.

More than that, unlike Star Wars (or even most episodes of Babylon 5), Mass Effect is actually SF, in that it's explores speculative ideas (to some extent), rather than merely re-situating a story that could be told at any point in history/technology, and that some of it's technology actually matters in it's specifics, whereas technology in SW is merely there for effect (talking about the core movies here - the EU typically takes SW in a more SF direction). I'm very glad that it's not trying to ape Star Wars, personally - As you say, Babylon 5 is the closest comparison, and an infinity closer than Star Wars. I have an HDTV, an X-Box 360 Elite in almost perfect condition, and a Mass Effect disk in almost perfect condition, but the grain was still there I found this to be incredibly annoying, and it drove me mad during some cutscenes and areas where the grain is massive.

Works better in this game cause of the fact that youre in the gritty Terminus systems a lot. When I play, I always find it annoying how grainy the screen is. Plus its integral to the cinematic experience of mass effect. Click to expand.Edge are professionals in the field of 'missing the point', seriously, they've been experts at missing the point of various elements of games since the mid-1990s. The film grain is a lot more subtle in this game, and its well done.

Mass effect film grain