Mass Effect Andromeda Cinematic Trailer Shows Off New Enemies, Including Giant Space Worm

[ffronw]

Mass Effect Andromeda Cinematic Trailer Shows Off New Enemies, Including Giant Space Worm

Today is N7 Day, and to celebrate, Bioware has released the cinematic trailer for Mass Effect Andromeda.

Bioware is celebrating N7 Day with a new cinematic trailer for Mass Effect Andromeda, as well as more information on the game's main characters. Also of interest in the trailer is the first look we've seen at the game's new enemy alien race, which has been named in leaks as the Kett (or Khet).

Andromeda will give players the choice of playing as one of two siblings - either Sarah or Scott Ryder. Sarah is voiced by Fryda Wolff, who previously provided the voice of the narrator in Civilization: Beyond Earth. Scott is voiced by Tom Taylorson, who you might recognize as the voice of Octodad in Octodad: Dadliest Catch.


Your father, Alec Ryder, will be voiced by Clancy Brown. If you didn't recognize his voice in last week's teaser [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/168742-Mass-Effect-Andromeda-Trailer-Invites-Gamers-to-Join-the-Andromeda-Initiative], you might remember him as Hades in God of War III, among other roles.

Loyalty missions are back as well. Bioware's Mac Walters told Game Informer [http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2016/11/07/loyalty-missions-return-in-mass-effect-andromeda.aspx] that all of the loyalty missions will be optional, and won't affect the ending.

"The big difference between this and ME2, where you did a loyalty mission and that all impacted the ending, is that they're much more optional in this case. If you don't want to engage with them, you don't have to. If you want engage with them after the critical path is done, you can do that."

If this trailer isn't enough to tide you over until the game arrives in the Spring of 2017, you can expect a full gameplay trailer to be shown off at the Video Game Awards on December 1.

[gallery=6613]

Permalink

 

[RJ 17]

How about showing us some god damn gameplay, Bioware?

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

Alright; now I'm officially intrigued. I'd forgotten that Bioware can actually pull shit off. I loved KOTOR, Dragon Age and Mass Effect 1 & 2. Mass Effect 3 was good up until you realised none of the choices you made in 1 and 2 counted for anything.

 

[mad825]

Oh dear Bioware
I really don't have much hope for it. Hopefully this marketing shit is just for the blind masses.

 

[fix-the-spade]

How about showing us some god damn gameplay, Bioware?

Each Mass Effect game has stripped out a couple of gameplay elements from the previous one, I almost expect this to be a 20 hour series of quick time events.

I'm still not sure about this, it looks gorgeous, but it also looks very Gears of War, I was hoping for a sense of exploration and wonder and a bit less BBWWWAAAARRRRRRMMMM. Mass Effect used up it's entire allotment of BWWWAAAARRRRRRMMMM and then some with the Reaper invasion.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

I don't care. The bit of gameplay that we saw a few months ago looked bland and generic. A typical modern AAA RPG from a shitty publisher who doesn't give a fuck and wants to cater to the wide audience.

 

[enginieri]

It looks (between the fades) and sound (what can be heard between the BOOOMS) to me like a Mass Effect made by a secondary game studio branch at the side and below original Bioware, similar to Borderlands the Pre-Sequel.

 

[Godzillarich(aka tf2godz)]

I'll just make the obvious reference


That is all

 

[JamesStone]

"Loyalty missions won't affect the ending"


And just like that, I'm done.

So you can do them, they're there, but they have no effect whatsoever on the world at large?

We got another Inquisition boys. You heard it here first.

 

[enginieri]

Andromeda? It's 2,500,000 light-years from my front porch, I can care less for what happens in that mote of light In the ME trilogy my atoms somewhere where small part of an semi-important planet.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

Blah blah, BioWare aren't what they 'used to be', blah... Spiritual betrayal, blah, the last 15mins probably killed my dog and called me names, blah etc.

Has that covered the whinging adequately? Doubt it, but one can hope...

Trailer: seems--- action-y. Another Big Bad and/or cosmic mystery-threat looks dull, sure, but I care about characters and writing far more than plot or story (or gameplay, and none of ME's core combat was anything special), so as long as the quality on those two counts is around the equal of ME3 and DA:I, I'll no doubt enjoy it regardless of what it isn't.

As for designs; I definitely appreciate the more scuffed feel they're going for with some of the suit designs. A triple-A budget guarantees time and money, sure, but it still needs hard working talented people to make something of both of those resources, and so far - for the characters and suits, at least - it's looking promising. Ditto the ships, but they've not really been shown in enough detail yet.

Each Mass Effect game has stripped out a couple of gameplay elements from the previous one, I almost expect this to be a 20 hour series of quick time events.

How did ME3 represent a reductive follow-up from ME2? ME3's loadout customisation was superb, and cannily created all kinds of hybrid builds that neither of the two previous games could match.

I'm still not sure about this, it looks gorgeous, but it also looks very Gears of War, I was hoping for a sense of exploration and wonder and a bit less BBWWWAAAARRRRRRMMMM.

Yeah, agreed on the sense of wonder and awe - the idea of hopping between galaxies and finding new worlds segues nicely with Interstellar, and I'd have loved ME:A to be far closer to that from the outset. However, we've not seen any characters being shown off, nor core gameplay, and so it's still possible a sense of awe and wonder's there but not in this flashy action focused promo.

 

[Hawki]

"Loyalty missions won't affect the ending"

And just like that, I'm done.

So you can do them, they're there, but they have no effect whatsoever on the world at large?

We got another Inquisition boys. You heard it here first.

If anything, that sounds appealing to me. Optional content that remains optional.

Trailer: seems--- action-y.

Has there ever been a Mass Effect trailer that didn't show action, apart from the "many choices" trailer in the first one? I'm not giving the trailer any props, but it's not exactly an oddity.

the idea of hopping between galaxies and finding new worlds segues nicely with Interstellar, and I'd have loved ME:A to be far closer to that from the outset.

Preferably it should stay as far away from Interstellar as possible.

Ironically, hopping between galaxies is more in Andromeda's territory (i.e. the show, not the game). Andromeda isn't necessarily a show I'd recommend emulating, but it's certainly a better fit for the game than the mess that Interstellar was.

Anyway, it's a moot point. It takes them 600 years to reach Andromeda, they're hardly going to be hopping back to the Milky Way anytime soon.

 

[Ishigami]

I don?t like the cut of the trailer.
Too much fade in and fade out without much cohesion. Then it?s another of those ?bwoooooong? trailers? it?s just overused.

Had to google Fryda Wolff to hear her voice. Regrettable that they opted solely for male Ryder in this trailer.
Apparently she was also in Octodad, so it?s a reunion?
In any case the voices of the Ryder family seem pretty good.

I tend to disagree that the marketing fails to address exploration and wonder. The first gameplay reveal was exploration only basically.

I recognise that more gameplay is revealed later at this award show thing. Hopefully we get to see all kinds of different gameplay elements and not only combat.

The aesthetics are nice as usual.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Please tell me we can customize their faces, because male hero looks like every other bland, brown hair action hero. I mean, at least he's not bald, but seriously...that could almost be Nathan Drake there.

So if the loyalty missions don't have anything to do with what happens in the end, isn't that kind of...gutting one of the main draws of Mass Effect? Choices matter and all that? I mean, I know they gutted that for the end of the original trilogy, but you'd think they'd learn, seeing how pissed off their fans were about all of that.

And that was a Salarian running at the end there, I believe. If that is the case, he is by FAR the oldest member of his species to ever live. I wonder what that's going to be like for him.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Why does this do absolutely nothing for me and feel like a completely generic Sci-Fi game that was already in development when Bioware decided to rename it Mass Effect and change a few words and character models around to retroactively fit in the Mass Effect canon?

 

[fix-the-spade]

Each Mass Effect game has stripped out a couple of gameplay elements from the previous one, I almost expect this to be a 20 hour series of quick time events.

How did ME3 represent a reductive follow-up from ME2? ME3's loadout customisation was superb, and cannily created all kinds of hybrid builds that neither of the two previous games could match.

I felt the turret sections and total lack of vehicle or exploration based segments was a big step backwards in ME3. Granted in ME2 these were added in the Firewalker and Overlord expansions but they were still present. ME3 only had infantry shooting or talking. Weapon customisation doesn't add anything unless it changes a weapon's behaviour drastically (as in Doom), the stat alterations present in ME3 weren't terribly meaningful beyond ability recharge, but that meant I just took one gun and went for power spam with every class. Didn't really do it for me.

I hope Andromeda moves to a closer mission structure to the first game though. I enjoyed dropping onto planets and then having to find your way to the mission in the Mako, then find out what's going once you get there. I know the Mako could be glitchy but I still enjoyed it enormously.

 

[RedDeadFred]

I seem to be in the minority with this, but this trailer actually sparked my interest. After the bullshit ending of ME3, this seems so far removed tonally that the only thing remaining is the solid lore and gameplay. People complain about ME becoming too shootery, but IMO, they did it well enough to get a pass on that. I enjoyed the actual gameplay of ME3 way more than most other action shooters.

Anyway, I'm loving the truly alien vibe of this trailer. "We are the aliens" is cheesy, but it sets up an interesting idea of us being treated as invaders and I hope the choices throughout the game allow us to either go towards confirming that suspicion or alleviating the fears. Also, from the rather brief looks and dialog, I get the feeling that we'll have a real villain again. The problem with the Reapers was that when they were mysterious, it was sort of like going up against a Lovecraftian horror. Once they were truly revealed in ME3, they lost most of what made them compelling.

So ya. Colour me somewhat intrigued.

Edit: and my hype is dead http://ca.ign.com/articles/2016/11/08/first-mass-effect-andromeda-story-details-revealed?read
Pause and play gone
Class system is gone
Honestly sounds like they're turning it into a generic shooter. I liked ME3 because it married solid shooting with interesting class loadouts and the strategic pausing to assess your next move.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

I don't think the gameplay trailer will even decide whether or not I get this game at launch (though it will decide if I get the game at all), what will decide if I get it at launch or not, will be the Pre-Order Hype.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

If anything, that sounds appealing to me. Optional content that remains optional.

I can see the merits of both design paths, at least in theory. I think I prefer how ME2 did its loyalty missions, because I get the feeling any truly optional content simply won't be very substantial (then again I suppose ME2's actual missions took just an hour or so, if that?).

DA:I's core design was mostly highly questionable, but at the moment it kinda sounds as if ME:A's character missions will be closer to it than ME2, and that might be quite good, i.e. what with the mention of being able to pursue character arcs after the [at release] story's been resolved.

Has there ever been a Mass Effect trailer that didn't show action, apart from the "many choices" trailer in the first one? I'm not giving the trailer any props, but it's not exactly an oddity.

Yeah, that's a fair point, actually. Just watched 1 and 2's first full trailers (as far as I can tell) and they were mostly just the usual epic-action-plot nonsense. ME:A's is just more action and far less actual story, however, so it feels--- well, overly stylised and a little dumb.

Preferably it should stay as far away from Interstellar as possible.

Ironically, hopping between galaxies is more in Andromeda's territory (i.e. the show, not the game). Andromeda isn't necessarily a show I'd recommend emulating, but it's certainly a better fit for the game than the mess that Interstellar was.

Well, to each their own; as my pic suggests, I adored Interstellar, and think it's a singular contemporary sci-fi film in a genre of very slim pickings, and arguably Nolan's best yet (certainly on a technical level of tradecraft it's going to be hard for him to beat). Kip Thorne's superb book on its science/theoretical physics definitely enhances its impact and my respect for it, too - all sci-fi films - and games - could look to it as an example of how to push what's mostly theoretically possible (even the corners it cut for narrative/cinematic convenience are fascinating) to the edge and visualise it on the screen. As a spectacle and experience I can't think of anything quite its equal. Incredible sound design and one of Zimmer's finest scores, too.

I really hope BioWare at least nick some visual cues from the film, because none of the ME's so far have really explored just how freaky the cosmos is/can be.

I felt the turret sections and total lack of vehicle or exploration based segments was a big step backwards in ME3. Granted in ME2 these were added in the Firewalker and Overlord expansions but they were still present. ME3 only had infantry shooting or talking.

Eh, ME was always terrible at trying to do exploration - window wiping maps for POI's on 50 palette swapped worlds of variously frustrating terrain ain't 'exploration', at least not to me. We have games simulating entire galaxies right now, so anything an action adventure lite-RPG tries to do on that note will just seem quaint, frankly.

I think it was a mistake to just axe the Mako in 2, sure - that was a kneejerk reaction from BioWare, cutting instead of refining. But 3 was so packed with consequential content that it'd have needed another year or two in development to appease anyone wanting some 'exploration' as well. ME3's focus was a little different, sure, but I think it's very unfair to say it was a reductive design shift.

Weapon customisation doesn't add anything unless it changes a weapon's behaviour drastically (as in Doom), the stat alterations present in ME3 weren't terribly meaningful beyond ability recharge, but that meant I just took one gun and went for power spam with every class. Didn't really do it for me.

Well, with the full suit of weapons and the cooldown system you could tailor very different playstyles, so the variation is in the range as well as what the player wishes to do. I fail to see how that's a negative evolution from 1 and 2; the former was painfully clumsy, ill suited to an 'RPG' and frankly bordering on immersion breaking at times (Shepard's an N7 and a Spectre candidate right out the gate - and s/he can't control recoil on the pea-shooter weapons you start with? pft... ), whilst 2 at least refined the core combat mechanics to be something less absurd but had a pitiful range of weapons, ergo variations in playstyle/class hybrids.

ME's combat was always underwhelming to me, but 3's was very impressive given BioWare's games always try to wear multiple genre hats at once. I liked the more percussive, ballistic feel to many of 3's weapons, as well.

I hope Andromeda moves to a closer mission structure to the first game though. I enjoyed dropping onto planets and then having to find your way to the mission in the Mako, then find out what's going once you get there. I know the Mako could be glitchy but I still enjoyed it enormously.

I liked the idea of the Mako, but mostly loathed how it was implemented - on multiple runs it was like some kind of prolonged torture as opposed to a gameplay mechanic...

I'd agree it'd be nice to have those vehicle drop sections before key missions, but that alone wouldn't appease those looking for 'exploration of worlds', and I don't believe anything BioWare do will satisfy half the vocal playerbase let alone everyone. If they introduce larger spaces then those are meaningless without worthwhile things to do in them (I eventually came to enjoy DA:I, but the majority of its content and zones are, genuinely, utterly inessential and inconsequential and I really don't see that as a constructive design choice).

If they focus on smaller, contained areas then people will complain you can't 'explore'. Where's the middle ground? Firewalker? I'm not sure that is particularly fondly remembered - I always found those areas a nuisance in between actual on-foot story content, especially on higher diffs playing peek-a-boo with those turrets shredding the paper thin Hammerhead.

 

[MortalKomic]

Each Mass Effect game has stripped out a couple of gameplay elements from the previous one, I almost expect this to be a 20 hour series of quick time events.

How did ME3 represent a reductive follow-up from ME2? ME3's loadout customisation was superb, and cannily created all kinds of hybrid builds that neither of the two previous games could match.

I felt the turret sections and total lack of vehicle or exploration based segments was a big step backwards in ME3. Granted in ME2 these were added in the Firewalker and Overlord expansions but they were still present. ME3 only had infantry shooting or talking. Weapon customisation doesn't add anything unless it changes a weapon's behaviour drastically (as in Doom), the stat alterations present in ME3 weren't terribly meaningful beyond ability recharge, but that meant I just took one gun and went for power spam with every class. Didn't really do it for me.

I hope Andromeda moves to a closer mission structure to the first game though. I enjoyed dropping onto planets and then having to find your way to the mission in the Mako, then find out what's going once you get there. I know the Mako could be glitchy but I still enjoyed it enormously.

Mako was totally the bees knees, and when they brought it back in ME2 I was soooo happy. Even though the side world's were barren and kinda bland, just jumping around with that leapfrog was a blast.