Graphics II

Next we’re going to look at two settings that we immediately didn’t like; Film Grain and Motion Blur.

These two settings are some of the only other settings in the game that you can immediately toggle – the other main one of which is dynamic shadows and has a very obvious and tangible effect.

By default both of these settings were on for me, but within minutes they both got turned off – when I play a game with high resolution graphics (and customisable controls!) I want to actually be able to see all the details that our fancy graphic cards are capable of.

What I definitely don’t want to see if a blurry, grainy mess that makes the game look like it was film on 9mm stock rather than the fancy holographic shizzle I’m sure they use in the future. No, BioWare, stylistic choice isn’t an excuse.

Motion Blur

Motion Blur by itself isn’t all that bad, but we personally found that it had been dialled up a notch or two too far and the effect ended up making us feel a little blurry around the edges too. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t have an option for this setting other than On/Off.


OK, so maybe the effect here is a little less than we might have made it seem, but trust us that when everyone on screen is blurring as you continually adjust your aim it’s a whole different story.

The main place to look here to see the full effect of the Motion Blur setting is in the bottom left, at the carefully crafted bottom of my main character Dylan Sheppard as she sprints across the surface of an alien world, weapon in hand. With Motion Blur On you’ll be able to see gentle blurring along the left edge as she runs away, while with the other setting you won’t.

At the end of the day, this setting is totally a matter of taste. My choice was to turn it off, but if you’ve got a stomach made of sturdier stuff and aren’t worried about getting a little dizzy then you may feel differently.

Film Grain

This is a setting I’ve never really understood and just why BioWare ever chose to lay this filter over the top of the Xbox 360 version always baffled me. Why spend all that effort making a great looking and cinematic game if you’re just going to put a blurry On/Off filter over the top?


The difference here then is fairly obvious. On the right we have a picture that shows us what Mass Effect looks like on the PC. On the left we have a picture that makes you mumble about how you need to clean your glasses one of these days, or maybe buy a new monitor – though if you want to see the full effect of the difference then you'll need to look at the larger images. The effect is especially noticeable in the background of the screenshot too.

Again, this is a setting that is all about personal choice. If you want to play the game the way the developers meant it to be played then by all means turn this setting on and get squinting.

If on the other hand you actually want to be able to see what you’re shooting at clearly, instead of fighting Space Invader pixel-monsters in the distance then this is something we’d advise turning off. It only exists to hide the complete lack of anti-aliasing.