are you going to buy mass effect andromeda?

[Zeras]

I'm loving the demo so far (I pick up the game tomorrow); to me it combines the best parts of ME 1 with the improvements of ME 2/3 - the exploration alone is getting me excited to get the full game! [And the fact that we don't have to deal with fuel, and that the new species - in the demo - don't have a translator to speak with].

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

Probably not for a long time if ever. The first three games got progressively worse and really burnt me out on the franchise. Plus this one looks... not good. I have really limited time for games nowadays and those animations, voice acting, and general woodenness don't encourage me to sink dozens of hour into it. I'll spend the money on Nier instead.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

And regarding genre; what genre? Triple-A SP A/RPG sci-fi with a focus on character narrative? Did I miss a shedload of other games in that genre?

I agree with this. There's very few actual RPGs being made as very few actually focus on ROLE-PLAYING. The "RPG elements" aren't what make an RPG but what enhance the core role-playing, which pretty much every video game RPG forgets about (even the likes of Witcher 3). Leveling, inventory, acquiring new skills/abilities, new weapons/gear, etc aren't what makes an RPG. Does DnD cease being an RPG if you start at max level with any and all equipment you want? Hell no because you are still role-playing the character. You can take out the triple-A and sci-fi aspect of the "genre" and there still are hardly any games that fit in.

With that said, this is want makes me the most worried about Andromeda...

Generally postive but one thing that bothers me is that most of them say that a lot of the content seems like filler. Hell, a couple are saying that the main missions are kinda boring. Both of those are making me feel like this isn't something I'm really gonna care for.

That is exactly what I was worried about. I want quality over quantity in any game I play and especially RPGs, which are really the worst with padding and filler IMO. I want a solid and lean Mass Effect game like the previous games that can be completed in 30 hours. I don't want sidequests that aren't on the level of loyalty missions.

Coming back around to Darth Rosenberg's post. Yeah, Andromeda is one of the very few games of its kind we get but I'm not going to put up with shit either just because it's the only option either.

 

[Erttheking]

The concept interests me, but I'm going to wait for the dust to settle and for people to stop freaking the fuck out over everything, and probably wait until it goes on sale. Unless I hear it really sucks from people that I personally trust.

Even then, I might just decide that there's too much bitterness surrounding Mass Effect now for me to get back into it. I don't need that shit in my life right now.

 

[Jandau]

Genre as in either RPG (and it's a pretty bad RPG, by most accounts) or Third Person Shooter (in which case it's solid, but unspectacular).

But would you agree there isn't actually any direct competition in terms of what ME's offer? It's always been a worse RPG and 3rdP shooter than games dedicated to either.

But again, I hope the game is all you want it to be. I'll be sitting this one out for now.

Cora's apparently straightsville and the Nomad's still probably too much like the Mako, so I doubt it'll be all I want... See also: probably a second rubbish BioWare antagonist in a row.

The specific sub-niche that ME:A fills is indeed a bit empty, so if that specific combination of themes and genres is an itch that you just have to scratch, Andromeda would be your best bet, I'll grant that. As for it being worse than dedicated games, I'm going to have to disagree. ME1 was a solid RPG with good writing and amazing worldbuilding, with dodgy shooting. ME2's overall story was a step back, but the individual character storylines were awesome, while the shooting was IMO the best of the series. ME3 was a hot mess, at least to me.

Also, why is Cora being straight a problem? I mean, I heard something about people being pissed about that, but I couldn't see what the issue was...

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

That is exactly what I was worried about. I want quality over quantity in any game I play and especially RPGs, which are really the worst with padding and filler IMO. I want a solid and lean Mass Effect game like the previous games that can be completed in 30 hours. I don't want sidequests that aren't on the level of loyalty missions.

Coming back around to Darth Rosenberg's post. Yeah, Andromeda is one of the very few games of its kind we get but I'm not going to put up with shit either just because it's the only option either.

I mentioned a dislike of filler at the top of my post, so yeah, I agree with that concern. ME2 and 3 were, I feel, paced and structured wonderfully.

But given how distinct BioWare's offerings are, I do have a high tolerance for negatives (nothing is perfect, after all). Hell, I put a few hundred hours onto DA:I, after all[footnote]Though, mini disclaimer: I started out on the utterly risible, broken, half-finished wreck that was the last gen version, which I practically detested. Took current gen, the Golden Nug, Trespasser, and an appreciation of just how much you can ignore of DA:I's filler for me to actually really enjoy it - puddle shallow combat aside.[/footnote]...

As for it being worse than dedicated games, I'm going to have to disagree. ME1 was a solid RPG with good writing and amazing worldbuilding, with dodgy shooting. ME2's overall story was a step back, but the individual character storylines were awesome, while the shooting was IMO the best of the series. ME3 was a hot mess, at least to me.

Definitely agree to disagree on that assessment (to you 2's story was a step back - for me that was perfect because it allowed the world and characters to shine, away from fairly bland 'invasion' narratives).

Also, why is Cora being straight a problem? I mean, I heard something about people being pissed about that, but I couldn't see what the issue was...

It denies the player choice, and I don't see a single character in BioWare's SP line-up (from KotOR on) whose story necessitates a fixed orientation of any kind.

RPG's are there to embolden player choice, right? And given BioWare's fairly narrow role-playing parameters, that means every single possible building block of a projected role becomes very important. Romance arcs in such games can be an important part of an RP. Fix characters orientations, and you simply close down choices at the gain of nothing, in my view. Allow players to make their RPG playthroughs as straight/gay/bi/whatever as they wish.

Cora evidently joins the list of Ashley Williams, Jack, Miranda, and DA:I's Cassandra as what I feel are great female party members 'off limits' for a female lead, and frankly I'm getting a little tired of it (particularly as FemShep's choices for men were, frankly, almost exclusively boring as fuck). Would any of those character arcs change meaningfully if they were available for both male and female Shep's? If not, then what has that design decision added to the RPG experience?

 

[The Madman]

Game is sitting at a respectable but far from spectacular 75 on OpenCritic, with the general consensus being that the game has a mediocre story and companions but fun combat and entertaining exploration elements. Environments are supposed to be gorgeous, in spite of some pop-in and framerate issues, but character models are generally panned as being a weakness for the game.

So if you're looking for a semi open-world action game with the occasional bit of corny dialogue, you're golden. Otherwise if you're looking for an more story-driven experience you might want to give it a pass.

Also worth noting that in spite of the 75% rating, only 42% of critics outright recommend the game with quite a few of even the more positive review comparing it unfavourably to other recently released titles like Horizon and Nier.

 

[dragoongfa]

In the theoretical scenario that I would violate my life long EA embargo AND somehow get enough brain damage to forget the ending?

No, its story looks crap, the character dialogues from the clips I have seen are the definition of cringe and a bog standard third person shooter is not enough of a draw for me to get over the sub par story and the characters.

And then there is the fact of how ugly the characters look, especially the main characters.

 

[Traviltar]

When Hell freezes over. I'd rather save my money for something worthwhile.

It's happened before; game series gets "finished" gets a "reboot" from a completely different studio. Game, at best, is mediocre.

Nihil sub nove solum.

 

[MCerberus]

I expect 3 things from a bioware game:

1. a good iteration of an already-existing combat system
2. narm
3. a shitstorm of controversy on launch

So. Yah.

 

[DeimosMasque]

Bought it. Have it. The fiancee is making her character right now

 

[Zenja]

Also, why is Cora being straight a problem? I mean, I heard something about people being pissed about that, but I couldn't see what the issue was...

It denies the player choice, and I don't see a single character in BioWare's SP line-up (from KotOR on) whose story necessitates a fixed orientation of any kind.

RPG's are there to embolden player choice, right? And given BioWare's fairly narrow role-playing parameters, that means every single possible building block of a projected role becomes very important. Romance arcs in such games can be an important part of an RP. Fix characters orientations, and you simply close down choices at the gain of nothing, in my view. Allow players to make their RPG playthroughs as straight/gay/bi/whatever as they wish.

This video immediately jumped to my mind.


I am pretty sure Bioware is going to allow you to be gay or bi just not with Cora. and that is simply world-building which is important because allowing the player to mold the world however they see fit also destroys the concept of "meaningful choices".

As for the topic, no. My backlog is too full and the PR around this game is too risky. My question is can Bioware afford to shoot themselves in the foot AGAIN and still keep getting away with it?

 

[TheVampwizimp_v1legacy]

Yes.

I'll give it a while. Let the inevitable patches come out, at least some of the dlc. Wait for the hype (of every kind) to wear off and see if people like it after they get some perspective on it. Then I'll be able to gauge my expectations and buy it at a price I think it's worth.

I preordered the collector's edition of ME3, and before you ask, no I was not disappointed, but I don't see Andromeda being anything better than a step back from the trilogy. I don't have a choice in the end, I need to play it, but right now I'm not in a great hurry.

 

[darkcalling]

I really don't get the hate for this game. The was plenty of goofy stuff in the first three games and they never got near as much flack for it.

But then I can't remember the last time I was disappointed by something I was particularly hyped for so maybe I'm just less critical and more willing to accept a game's flaws than some people. Y'all are welcome to your opinions but the only game that's ever actually made me feel angry is Crackdown 3 because Crackdown 2 was hot garbage yet it's sequel is safe while the ONE xbox exclusive I was excited for, Scalebound, got cancelled.

 

[peabuddie]

I don't know. I enjoy third person cover shooting. ME:A's comnbat looks fun, but the soft cover system always pisses me off. The open-ness and the focus on what looks like really clunky jump packs don't appeal to me either. And I'm not confident in the ability of whoever is developing this to make exploration fun. And the voice acting in general is really annoying. I know the characters are somewhat younger here, but man... It's like every characters is Jacob.

As for the animations, well, ME has never been amazing with them. If voice acting is all Jacob, then animations are all Miranda. when this game has such nice graphics the shitty animations really stand out. And they do seem worse than usual.

So yeah, gonna wait for a sale. Like almost every game coming out recently. Of the most recent games, only Zelda and Horizon Zero Dawn seemed to meet people's expectations. Injustice 2 is up next and I am no longer excited for it.

" It's like every characters is Jacob." oh god I hope not I can't stand that guy. It pains me to have to talk to him. I would have let him die a million times if I wasn't a perfectionist and have to have everyone survive.

 

[peabuddie]

Absolutely. I may take against it (especially if it repeats the BS filler nonsense and 'exploration' DA:I pulled), but what other character focused triple-A production SP A/RPG sci-fi epic is there to buy instead? There are none. BioWare are still doing things no one else does--- *pause for variously moronic 'witticisms'/snark* ---and so as long as that's the case they'll have my cash.

If a company offered them direct competition, then great. But, again, there isn't any. You can't blame BioWare for that, you blame the rest of the oftentimes dumbass industry.

It's not a terrible game, but it's hardly a standout for the series, the genre or the recent months.

What is the series "standout", though? Some say ME1 for the plot or, apparently, the awful and cluttered RPG 'depth'. Others say ME2, but that's a game that could've only existed after the universe was set up, so comparing ME:A to what amounts to a kind of soft reboot/offshoot isn't very fair.

Personally whilst ME2 is my sentimental ME fave, I think ME3 wipes the floor with 1 and 2 in terms of overall cohesion, quality, polish, gameplay, etc. On those counts I feel it's the best game BioWare have ever made, but, again, it's impossible to directly compare that - which was a game that built a rich continuity over a trilogy - to ME:A, which represents a clean slate. It is, however, fair to compare the core combat (which I don't think's ever been great in ME. ME3 was the most polished and responsive, ergo it 'wins' by default), and I've heard both very good as well as some negative things about it.

And regarding genre; what genre? Triple-A SP A/RPG sci-fi with a focus on character narrative? Did I miss a shedload of other games in that genre?

agreed 100%

 

[JohnnyDelRay]

Hell no. After everything I invested in the first 3 games to get burnt by the ending so badly, they can fuck off. And it's an EA game anyway, so whatever. Now it's a meme-generator, ok so what I usually wait for reviews to come out afterwards. Skyrim and Witcher 3 had hilarious bugs too, but didn't affect my decision to purchase.

What annoyed me about ME3 (besides the ending) was it seemed to oversimplify and dumb down everything. Inventory, controls (one-button-to-rule-them-all syndrome), and stupid extra arbitrary tasks (a mobile phone game???) the game just couldn't recover itself after that, for me anyway. From what I've seen of Andromeda, the trend of dumbing down continues, and with all the added bullshit of boring and cliched writing, nah thanks, I'll give it a pass. Much better stuff on the horizon or in the backlog to even consider ME:A.

 

[Dalisclock]

I really don't get the hate for this game. The was plenty of goofy stuff in the first three games and they never got near as much flack for it.

Well, at least now people are complaining about more tangible issues then "Derp Faces"(with optional SJW conspiracy because reasons). I'm very likely not gonna get it(just like I didn't get DA:I) but because it sounds like there are enough issues with the game to not make it worth my time(that and I have a huge backlog anyway), not because animation issues or which characters are gay/straight/bi datable.

 

[Elijin]

Why, in this day and age, does there exist separate launch dates for a digital product? Such a pile of wank.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Never played on Early Access, but from what I have seen and heard, nothing about this game is blowing wind up my skirt. So at this point in time, I'm not interested. Maybe I might get it, depends on if the animations and bugs are patched. The reviews pointing out the dullness of the fetch quests is not heart-warming news, but I suppose without them, ME:A would go from a 40 hour game to an 8 hour game.