Mass Effect: Andromeda

[Shrinweck]

I just wrote this in the Now Playing thread in response to Kali but it was basically all about Andromeda so I figured it was more worthwhile to give it its own thread lol

Andromeda looks alright if you're into Bioware RPGs, it's just the same old naysayers who want to hate everything, mixed with the people who will never ever forgive them for Mass Effect 3 (LUL). The animations are the big meme-y complaint but I fired up Dragon Age Inquisition last week and quickly reminded myself (even before the memes started up) how derpy bioware animations have always been. The other complaint being too much dialog... in an RPG. These are the people Fallout 4 was made for. Fuck 'em. And after Torment I laugh at, and welcome, the idea that Bioware could have created a more word-y experience than that. The other major complaint being the entire opening sequence isn't great and doesn't underline what the game is supposed to be about - exploration. This is actually an arguable point against the game, but RPGs more often than not have bad openings... so meh.

This time tomorrow I'll have played it with the early access 10 hour trial thing so I'll know for sure. But honestly, I have like 300 hours between Inquisition and Dragon Age 2 and it's genuinely hard to believe Bioware could do worse than those two (which I still liked for the most part). Mix that with them piggybacking on what people liked about the ME3 multiplayer (as opposed to the horror of Inquisition multiplayer) and it should be a good time.

[Eric]

I don't get why EA has 10 hour early access for Mass Effect. Like, just unlock the fucking game if I've already preordered it. It's 5 fucking days, not a month or 3, or a year, or even a ultra early demo, the game is done.

[Shrinweck]

Yeah it's annoying. If it makes waiting easier for you, there's a day zero/one patch that those of us playing the ten hour trial will not be getting until the game releases.

[Eric]

Nein!

[Shrinweck]

I played through the opening sequence up to when you get set up in the ship (~3 hours if you talk to everyone, explore, do side missions, etc.). The core gaming experience of Mass Effect is identical to the last couple Mass Effects. They didn't reinvent the wheel with targeting and general combat stuff, but locking to waist-high cover constantly is much less of something it constantly wants you to do. The leveling and skill system is much more open with your initial 'class' selection having potentially very little with how you develop your character. It's very similar to Mass Effect 3s leveling only with many more options.

The writing in the opening sequence jumps the gun a bit but in general it was a good introduction to who you are, what you're doing, and all the things an introduction should be.

Animations and graphics are about as lacking as every Bioware game. Still, it's serviceable and there are still moments that are wonderful looking.

In any case, in general I like it and look forward to playing more.

Edit: It took another 1-2 hours to hit the limit in the story set by the trial. My opinions remain the same, though. Looking forward to diving in at release. I might motor around and do all the extra exploration-y busy work Bioware put into the game with my remaining trial time. There's an early access on the multiplayer, too but I don't really want to get into that before release.

[kali o.]

As usual, I will hold off giving a firm opinion until I finish. My initial impression:

- Animations are a joke
- Gameplay is highly repetative
- Voice work and writing are lower quality
+ Some elements (crafting) seem improved

I am leaning towards an....average... opinion. It still plays like Mass Effect, so if thats what you want, you will get it.

[Eric]

As usual, I will hold off giving a firm opinion until I finish. My initial impression:

- Animations are a joke
- Gameplay is highly repetative
- Voice work and writing is lower quality
+ Some elements (crafting) seem improved

I am leaning towards a...average... opinion. It still plays like Mass Effect, so if thats what you want, you will get it.

Concur, this game had a troubled development.

[Shrinweck]

I like the game a lot. I can see playing it another few times to futz with different things. I think the general idea of the problematic animations is overblown but it's probably a good thing it's happening since it's been an issue with Bioware for a long time now - in a post Witcher 3 world it's shoddy work. Not that every game needs to do animation as well as Witcher 3 into the future, it's just... you shouldn't release something this much worse.

Luckily the REALLY keyboard smashing repetitive stuff is optional even if you want to hit 100% viability on each planet (well... out of the two planets I've hit 100% viability with this is the case). There are some TRUE horror show collection quests (like all Bioware games since the original Mass Effect, I suppose) but once again they really have no effect on anything whether it's viability, maxing your level, or roleplaying/interesting dialogue.

I can't say I take any issues with the voice work and writing as a whole but there's some bad stuff in there for sure.

I'm glad that crafting is in there and a loot system is nice too. ME2 and ME3's upgrade and gun finding systems were both pretty disappointing and a near-total lack of loot in an RPG just feels wrong. I don't need a Borderlands-style gun drop fest, but I do like the way it works in Andromeda. The research points are an interesting way to reward people for finding lore.

As a game in general this game is probably objectively a strong 7 or a soft 8. Another AAA game that probably could have used another year in development for pollish passes. Still as an RPG in a unique universe that's nice to come back to... it's hard to be overly turned off by it. If this were the first game in the series I'd probably take a pass on the subsequent sequels until they were on sale lol



I finally bit the bullet and bought a used PS3 for Persona 5 lol. At least given how long it's been out in Japan we would know if it was terrible/didn't stand up to the others.

[kali o.]

After playing some more, my feeling is Shrinweck is being exceptionally forgiving for writing and voice work, if nothing else. That's a pretty damning flaw, considering Bioware is really only "famous" for their great RPG writing (comparatively for videogames, obviously). With ME2/3 in mind, and now Andromeda, it's pretty clear Bioware lacks the writing talent they once had.

Now all that said, I think if you like the previous "Mass Effect" gameplay, you will still like ME:A and it's probably worth the purchase. I am basing that on what I've played so far - which has been mostly enjoyable, but I am completely not invested in the plot or the characters.

There are a number of bugs, at least on the PS4 version. The worst was the sudden boss fight on Eos (with something called the Architect, that has no story context or introduction whatsoever)...damn fight crashed three times on me during the third "round". Wasted like an hour total.

[Shrinweck]

That sucks I've fought three architects with no crashes on PC. I've had one crash in the ~40+ hours I've played so far and it was 1.5 seconds into a multiplayer match so it didn't waste all that much time. The first couple architects are only loosely hinted at. I think they wanted to go for a "SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKER" thing out of it. There is a bizarre total lack of lore/whatever I've found about them in game so far, though.

[ManaMan]

I'm on the fence with this one (purchasing it). Doesn't sound like anyone is really blown away by the game so far.

[Shrinweck]

If you like Mass Effect and want a new game then it's definitely worth buying. If you're genuinely on the fence on the series (or Bioware) then it probably won't improve your outlook on it, though. Another tip is to wait. EA has been having really great sales on their games lately, even when they're only like 2-3 months old. That is, the PC versions of them. Judging by Kali's experience the PC version is the one to get if you have a PC with the specs.

[Eric]

This game's technical issues are extremely frustrating. I'm used to Bioware jank, but it's getting a little frustrating.

On more then one occasion I've pulled out my weapon and gotten stuck on terrain, unable to move or jump because I'm stuck floating in mid-air.
Quests/missions are bugged with waves of enemies, that are clearly supposed to spawn 1 after the other all spawning at the same time + a boss or mini-boss. In addition sometimes a mob will disappear leaving you unable to complete the objective. If it's the boss/mini-boss not even leaving the planet and returning can correct/fix the issue.
I've had the game straight crash while loading twice(PC ver) for no reason.

If you're thinking about getting it, don't, there's better games out there to play. Even if you liked the first 3 games, there's enough of a disconnect here that you'll live if you just straight up skip this one. If you insist on getting it, wait for a price drop or a better patch to come out to fix some of these issues(if that's even coming).

[Shrinweck]

I've gotten stuck something like three times and had to reload but I've never had any issues with spawning. Are you on a console too?

[SineSwiper]

[Eric]

http://kotaku.com/sources-bioware-montr ... 1795100285

Whelp, hopefully it's more Dragon Age hiatus and less Dead Space hiatus

[ManaMan]

I got a copy of this (thanks!) for XBox One and I've played through the intro, I've got the ship, and I'm on my first mission. I'm not expecting much as I've never played any of the other Mass Effect games. I agree with many of the points from the 2nd video Sine posted above. However, I'm playing through with the Male character Scott Ryder and that experience seems quite a bit better than he had with Sarah Ryder. Voice acting seems OK, gameplay is decent, my main beef is with the clunky menus & the number of unnecessary cut scenes (though luckily you can skip these).

Overall an enjoyable game and I'll keep playing it.

[Shrinweck]

Everything has been improved and it wasn't as bad as those videos made it out to be to begin with. Not that they fucked up Scott Ryder but I definitely preferred Sarah.

Still a shit release, I suppose. Bioware shouldn't have given a series with so much emotional charge/fandom to the b-team studio. Or at least pushed EA to give them another 6-12 months of dev time. The facial animation algorithm they set up was a huge mistake (they have improved it and lighting to a decent effect since) and literally only having one face for all Asari except for Peebee was another. Kali's crashing on a console version shows just how incompetent the release was.

If Anthem is good then losing out to another iteration from an otherwise sequel mill of a studio will be very welcome.