I've whittled away roughly ten hours of BioWare's Mass Effect and, I believe I can safely say, it does quite a bit very right. However, very quickly into the game, I realized I had done something quite wrong.

I did a poor, poor job of modeling my main character.

Since I don't play many MMORPGs, Second Life or the like, I don't often spend much time crafting playable characters. In fact, the last time I recall being struck by a character-creation process was in Sega's Phantasy Star Online, way back in the heyday of the Dreamcast. Mass Effect's character creation process may not be utterly groundbreaking, but I found it interesting, especially the way that many potential features fail to flatter your character. Poor complexion, loads of scars, nightmarish eye lashes, forgettable haircuts – granted, she's a Space Marine, but I was determined to mince together something striking.

Unfortunately, in my quest I neglected to take full advantage of the camera. My character cut a decent swath head-on while I was creating her but, upon seeing her in the game, her chin looked terribly weak and, even worse, was exacerbated by a mistakenly weighty neckline. Her lips appeared too be too taut, toad-like even, and her closely cropped jet-black hair, while smart on its own, did little to smooth out her face's rough edges. The first time I saw her turn her head, I cringed slightly. All because I didn't turn the camera 45 degrees!

I didn't want to admit that she was unappealing, at least, not at first. Partially because I had spent the better part of a half-hour crafting her facial profile, but also because I was anxious to just start playing the game, to experience BioWare's unique take on dialogue trees and to marvel at their alien universe. But, the further I progressed, the more and more annoyed I became at my character's presence. She simply felt fatigued, sometimes sullen, and her voice and body language certainly didn't match up with her physique. I thought I'd grow to love her face, to bond and identify with it. Instead, I looked to erase it.

Assorted female character possibilities (via TeamXbox)

Unfortunately, I came to this decision a bit too late, a tad beyond the point of no return. My initial time investment of several hours seemed to out-weigh the positives in creating a new profile, so I decided to simply settle. I've been playing with her ever since, feeling vaguely dissatisfied with myself whenever the camera cuts to her face.

So I'm left to wonder, why am I so upset with her looks? It could be that I'm just not used to playing a character that has incongruent features, but that's not true. The entire ensemble of Silent Hill had a litany of physical nuances and unconventional looks, and they never elicited such feelings from me. In fact, I loved them even more for it! Perhaps it's because I'm not used to being able to create an avatar that isn't conventionally attractive, that isn't a buxom blonde with a fair complexion. It's certainly a bit of a challenge in Rock Band, but several other titles have given me such opportunities, and I've never felt distressed whenever I've done so.

No, I'm frustrated that the character I crafted doesn't quite fit the role I wanted her to play. While I'm the one that created her face and mold her in-game responses, her overall physique is still very pre-disposed, not to mention her stance and voice. She doesn't feel like the character I set out to inhabit; her voice is gruff, but her shoulders are hunched, and she has a slack air about her. It doesn't match what I had hoped to create: a whip-smart and capable woman, ready for the wonders and dangers of space. Instead I ended up with a woman incapable of seizing breakfast, much less command of a ship. Her face and body are simply at odds with the lines of dialogue and actions I feed the character.

Assorted male character possibilities (via TeamXbox)

What's strange is that, if I were forced to play Mass Effect simply as this character, without being given a choice of gender, hair type, or complexion, I would have simply accepted it. I would have just pasted their physical attributes onto what I expected from the rest of the story, that the script would play off her looks and I would have been fine with that. But that game would be at odds with what Mass Effect is trying to accomplish, the sort of game where you craft your character's look, demeanor, and actions, where you only have yourself to blame for their faults.

And I do blame myself, but I'm still begrudgingly playing through Mass Effect with Ms. Helen Shepherd. I'm acclimating to her looks, although I still frown slightly when I see her from the side or when the light strikes her poorly (which seems to happen a lot). I can't help but wonder if her physical demeanor will affect my gameplay, if I'll eventually align myself with her body language and suddenly feel the need to call it a day. Maybe I'll simply give up on the game and lay slack on the couch until I can create a new character that can muster up a bit of energy and inspiration. That hasn't happened yet though as I've already restarted my trials on one planet, thanks to my initial lack of ability to handle the quests in a competent and diplomatic way, and not simply mindlessly slaughtering all who get in my way. While my character might not look the part, at least I can see through her features and disposition and see her for what I envisioned her to be, and I can play her accordingly.