Whether you have an Xbox 360 or a PlayStation, there is a good system-exclusive game out there for you.

For 360 owners, there’s “Mass Effect,” an action role-playing game from the creators of “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.”

Warning: Playing “Mass Effect” could make you lose sleep, friends and/or your job.

OK, that’s a bit overdramatic, but BioWare manages to pack so much into “Mass Effect” that it will keep you busy for a long while, even if you completely ignore the main storyline and do only side quests.

“Mass Effect” puts players in the shoes of Commander Shepard, whose first name and gender you can choose. Nearly 30 years earlier, humans discovered that they weren’t alone in the universe. In fact, there was a whole society of aliens (kind of like the United Nations) going on outside of Earth’s awareness. Now, everybody’s life is at stake as a rogue special agent named Saren wants to destroy everything. It’s up to Shepard to track him down and stop him.

The game is an action-RPG, meaning there are elements of both, but it’s heavy on the RPG portion. There is a lot of talking, about seemingly useless things. But it’s all very well written and vocalized by actors, and all of it contributes to a deep, interwoven backstory.

The dialogue also plays a key part in the gameplay, as players can choose how they want to respond: as a neutral party, as someone who wants to help everybody, or as someone only in it for the money. The choices you make in setting up the character and in dialogue affect how other characters react to you.

The action part comes from the battles, which are in third-person shooter style. The class you choose for your character dictates how you will fight. A soldier, for example, can use most firearms, while a biotic uses something similar to magic to weaken opponents.

Battle is also squad-based, with two other party members (chosen from six) coming along for the ride. You can tell them what to do or let them do it on their own. The squadmates’ AI is decent enough that they do OK on their own.

Once you gain control of a spaceship, you have an entire universe at your disposal, which is a big part of why there’s so much to do. You can travel to different galaxies, and within each there are a number of star clusters.You can land on planets that have quests. With others, you can either survey or read detailed descriptions of them.

The side quests vary from surveying for gases and metals to searching for downed space probes to taking out enemy outposts. Along the way, you also look for loot, which can be new armor, weapons or upgrades.

All of this is done with great-looking visuals, and just talking to people has a very cinematic feel to it.

“Mass Effect” is one of the most in-depth games I’ve played. A lot of work was put into the little details, and it really shows. While people who only like to run and gun might find its pace a bit slow, most players quickly will find themselves absorbed.

Meanwhile, “Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune” offers PlayStation 3 owners a fantastic combination of third-person shooting and platform puzzle solving.

A comparison to “Tomb Raider” probably can’t be avoided, but “Uncharted” rises well above “Tomb Raider,” with excellent gameplay, beautiful visuals and outstanding dialogue and story.

You play as Nathan Drake, a descendant of explorer Sir Francis Drake, who sets out to find the treasure of El Dorado. Francis Drake’s journal leads Nathan to an island in the Pacific. Meanwhile, enemies are trying to stop him from reaching the treasure.

The lifelike motion capture in “Uncharted” is fantastic. Nate can take cover behind objects when he’s under fire, and he can dive, jump, roll and punch. All these actions flow into each other naturally, without the jerkiness found in some games. There are even times when Nate, hanging from a ledge, can pull himself up just enough to shoot over the top of it without exposing his body to gunfire.

The environmental puzzles in the game work well, as Nate must jump from ledges, swing on ropes and avoid traps while navigating through 2,000-year-old ruins. The levels themselves have a natural, organic feel to them, with extra touches such as bats and birds that fly away when you get close.

While the gameplay in “Uncharted” is great, it’s the characters that are the most memorable. Nate, his buddy Sully (a role I think would be perfect for Bruce Campbell) and television show hostess Elena play well off each other. The dialogue is natural and snappy, with voice acting that’s so good even the cheesy lines come off sounding great.

Nate reacts realistically to occurrences in the game, frequently muttering “oh, crap” or spewing something nonsensical when something bad happens.

Elena, meanwhile, seems more like a real woman than many found in games (I’m looking at you, Lara Croft). She’s likable and has normal looks, which makes her believable.

 The characters are all so endearing that you really care if something happens to them.

The only downside to “Uncharted” is it’s a bit short, maybe eight to 10 hours total. But a system of rewards will keep players coming back. You get medals for achieving certain tasks, such as making five headshots in a row or finding 20 of the treasures hidden throughout the game. The medals then unlock behind-the-scenes videos and cheats.

Simply put, “Uncharted” is a must-have for PS3 owners.

Reach Aimee Green at 473-7326 or Aimee.Green@lee.net.