Mass Effect Andromeda first impressions?

[Redryhno]

The loss of ammo powers is both a blessing and a curse though. If they're gone entirely, then yeah, that's pretty poor. If they're back to being weapon mods like in ME1, I'm not too fussed - I prefered the greater variety of ammo types, were they better balanced, and not needing to waste levels on what is really just an equipment system that doesn't make a lot of sense to be a character ability anyway.

They are not gone, they are consumables. You can pick up to 4 types of consumables to bring into the field (well, 2 initially and then another 2 once you buy/craft upgrades), consisting of shield/health boosters and ammo as far as I can tell. They last for a set number of reloads and then you have to spend another consumable to keep it going. As far as I can tell, the system is potentially neat but the initial set of only 2 consumables means you'll be limited to 1 ammo type and the shield booster, which is integral if you get caught in a bad spot.

Problem is that the moment you make something like that a consumable is the moment it is never used again. Boosts in general are sorta a bad gameplay mechanic these days simply because you never know what's coming or when they might actually be useful as opposed to complete overkill.

 

[Paragon Fury]

First impressions?

Facial animations bad. Story interesting, if slow to start - writing could use some work (though original trilogy is guilty of this too). Class system interesting, if not as fun as original trilogy. Combat is good. Haven't tried MP yet. Art, visuals and soundtrack great.

Though your new Asari teammate still looks like a space raccoon.

 

[votemarvel]

My first impression is why am I having to go through a VPN to play the game now? Seriously in this global age why do I need to wait another 24 hours to play?

Next was "why do I need to press SPACE in order to get to main menu? Why only one button instead of being able to press any key? I'm going to guess 'press A to start.'

I had heard the default key mapping was terrible but it's really not that bad. Some minor tweaks and I think I'll be back in familiar territory.

Face choices are terrible. Default male and female Ryder are okay looking but you can't customise a single piece, not even a bit of lip colour. The other choices are all terrible looking abominations. The custom option gives a lot of potential, I think ME1's Ugly Shepard might finally meet his match with this character creator.

I've not gone into the game proper yet. Just a bit of messing around in the menus and character creator, too much beer on my week off has tired me out.

First impressions? A console port but with more attention given to the PC than Inquisition gave.

 

[wulf3n]

I guess this game will be a good barometer to tell who is capable of distinguishing good writing from dogshit.

Haha

I said pretty much the same thing about ME2

 

[Jerast]

Not to be that guy but I usually spend hours in character customiser making my MC waifu tier and the fact this games faces are so hideously ugly even by bioware standards means I'm definitely gonna have to wait for mods.

Haven't even played yet.

 

[votemarvel]

Some first gameplay impressions.

I'm not sure if I like having to hold down E to initiate a conversation or action. I'm sure I'll get used it but feels odd at the moment.

Getting into the powers menus I see they've pulled an Inquisition and cut down the amount of active powers you can have assigned at one time. Much like Inquisition I suspect this has been done to service multiplayer. A shame they couldn't have pulled a ME3 here and made single player and multiplayer unique.

Field of View slider seems next to useless. When your weapon is holstered you can pull out to a pretty big degree but as soon as you pull your gun, it becomes pretty much pointless with completely opposite sides of the slider being near identical. I honestly don't see the point in changing it from the default setting, as it makes entering and leaving combat far more jarring.

What the hell is that bright light every time I return to the game from the menu? It's really annoying.

Movement animations aren't bad but to be honest, they are worse than in ME1. I set the field of view on the Hyperion to what it is for Shepard on the Normandy at the start of the first game, ran around both ships a little, and Ryder just doesn't move as naturally. There's something offputting about it that I don't find with ME1.

Facial animations also aren't as terrible when you see them outside of the bad moments. They suffer the same problem as in Inquisition however, everyone has been on botox their faces move so little. Again I find more expression on a ME1 face.

Don't know what I feel about the move to a Dragon Age 2 style 'tone of voice' dialogue wheel. I quite like it but I can't help but feel as if Mass Effect and Dragon Age are moving too close together in style and they don't need to, and really shouldn't, do that.

I'm knocking any further play on the head until I can play without the need for a VPN, so I can access some hopefully better looking community Sara Ryders.

 

[Redryhno]

Movement animations aren't bad but to be honest, they are worse than in ME1. I set the field of view on the Hyperion to what it is for Shepard on the Normandy at the start of the first game, ran around both ships a little, and Ryder just doesn't move as naturally. There's something offputting about it that I don't find with ME1.

Facial animations also aren't as terrible when you see them outside of the bad moments. They suffer the same problem as in Inquisition however, everyone has been on botox their faces move so little. Again I find more expression on a ME1 face.

I think part of the reason for that is that Shepard is sorta trotting around, arms at chest height, closed hands, weight is sorta exaggerated in how it's distributed. Ryder's almost running with arms by their side or pretending to be Barry Allen with almost no inbetween. Alot of the indoor environments are a bit too large too I think which may contribute to it. Normandy had an elevator behind the galaxy map, which was behind the pilot seat and a row of just random techno-babblers. There just wasn't alot of wide open space that didn't particularly needed to be there.

But yeah, facial animation aren't as bad as people say, but they're noticeable, and the lack of facial expression and wind-tunnel head just doesn't do many favors for it. Voice acting and script is a mixed bag too, a bit moreso than in previous games.

 

[SlumlordThanatos]

After seeing that IGN gave the game a 7.5 even after all of the shilling they did for it, I think I'm gonna wait for a bit. Maybe Bioware will fix some of the janky animations, or maybe the community will find a way to do it for them.

I'll probably still buy it used somewhere and then look up some sliders for a Sara Ryder that doesn't suck.

 

[kiri3tsubasa]

THe only thing I am interested is the multiplayer, if it is included, how is it?

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

Problem is that the moment you make something like that a consumable is the moment it is never used again. Boosts in general are sorta a bad gameplay mechanic these days simply because you never know what's coming or when they might actually be useful as opposed to complete overkill.

Normally I'd be inclined to agree with you, but considering I ended up with something like 6 shield boosters in the first 15 minutes of playing I think that it won't matter too much. I'd have preferred a system of selectables with unlimited uses but extended cooldowns, but boosts sort of work too I guess.

 

[BaronVH]

After three hours...I like it. A lot. As for the faces, I get what the issue is. The characters are actually much more expressive than typical video game characters. They smile, have realistic teeth, have emotions. But they needed a few more tweaks. Instead of it being amazing, it is off, but not anywhere near as bad as people say. The duck lips are weird, but it is fine. The controls are very responsive, and it is nice seeing a very colorful game. Certainly am not nearly in it deep enough for conclusions, but it is better than I was led to believe, at least on the surface.

 

[Redryhno]

THe only thing I am interested is the multiplayer, if it is included, how is it?

At least on par with ME3's from what I've seen. Classic Horde mode with a few "hold this area", "find the mcguffin", and "kill big bad before you're swarmed" rounds thrown in. Really strange that they decided to go with 7 rounds before you run for the exit though, seems like such an odd number besides it actually being an odd number.

Also, slightly less pop-in enemies, which isn't all that much of an important thing, but it does help with immersion and the "whew, last on- WHY ARE THERE A HALF DOZEN BANSHEES AROUND ME" moments are quite a bit more rare.

Problem is that the moment you make something like that a consumable is the moment it is never used again. Boosts in general are sorta a bad gameplay mechanic these days simply because you never know what's coming or when they might actually be useful as opposed to complete overkill.

Normally I'd be inclined to agree with you, but considering I ended up with something like 6 shield boosters in the first 15 minutes of playing I think that it won't matter too much. I'd have preferred a system of selectables with unlimited uses but extended cooldowns, but boosts sort of work too I guess.

Oh, sorry, I was just talking about the damage boosters. Shield boosters I'm just seeing as "I'M GETTING FUCKED BY GEOMETRY" buttons. Worthwhile to have I think since they couldn't figure out how to program your movement over 2 inches of rock without doing the jump jet(which I have a few issues with regarding the recovery animation).

And I feel there's a bit less clarity in where you're being shot from or where the enemies are. Maybe it's their coloring mixed with the environments or I'm going blind, but it always seems like there's guys that appear in areas you just were seconds before. HP-ups I don't have as much of a problem with since it's clear when you need them.

After three hours...I like it. A lot. As for the faces, I get what the issue is. The characters are actually much more expressive than typical video game characters. They smile, have realistic teeth, have emotions. But they needed a few more tweaks. Instead of it being amazing, it is off, but not anywhere near as bad as people say. The duck lips are weird, but it is fine. The controls are very responsive, and it is nice seeing a very colorful game. Certainly am not nearly in it deep enough for conclusions, but it is better than I was led to believe, at least on the surface.

Yeah, but, their expression end at the lips is my biggest problem. Eyes don't really do much beyond randomly dart around and make polished silver look dull no matter the lighting and like someone else was saying, everyone's got botox.

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

And I feel there's a bit less clarity in where you're being shot from or where the enemies are. Maybe it's their coloring mixed with the environments or I'm going blind, but it always seems like there's guys that appear in areas you just were seconds before. HP-ups I don't have as much of a problem with since it's clear when you need them.

I got that a lot until I turned the FoV slider all the way up to max. Up until then I felt that the FoV was way too narrow whenever Ryder pulled a gun and I had a really hard time navigating the battlefield and finding enemies not directly in my line of fire. It felt like starring down a pipe or something and made the combat much harder then it had to be on PC.

But yeah, I got that you were talking about damage boosters and as far as I can tell the player is given plenty of them if they just open a few containers. I might be wrong, of course, but when the game hands you some 5 or 6 ammo boosters per hour of play, I don't think scarcity will be too much of a problem. You can't pop them all the time, but it sure seems like I could pop them whenever there was a significant fight coming up. This might change in the full game though.

 

[putowtin]

Enjoyed what I played, some odd animations but not game breaking (and certainly not worth threatening to kill someone over!)
Many reviews bash it but I found the review at http://www.pcgamer.com/mass-effect-andromeda-review/ to be unbiased, it acknowledges the cons (poor writing and voice work in some of the side quests) and the pros (Massive open world [galaxy] and amazing looking)

Oh and I didn't get too many of the facial glitches but I did create my own femRyder and a lot of folks found the glitches were with the default character.

 

[SweetShark]

I never touched a Mass Effect games after I played the first one, but please tell me I am the only one I prefer the weird reactions than the standard neutral one?
I believe if the "twitch" some facial animations in the correct moments, I believe I would like it even more.
It is so abnormal to have weird reactions with your face? Last time I checked in real life the faces the people make are somehow like that.
Some fixes all is need.

 

[DeadProxy]

Well I am weak and stupid.

I bought the game, and god damn, I can't even make it past the character creator, it's so garbage. I thought that most of those "SJW" jokes about the game were just people blowing things out of proportion, but this CC is really changing my mind.

You're choices are so freaking limited to varying horrifying faces with features you can't swap, only warp. You get barely 10 hairstyles that look any different from each other, and this is the part where I guess I sound like one of those people spouting the "swj's are ruining this game" shit, but I want to be white in this game, and as a pale as fuck ginger person, "white" means practically blinding, and you do not get that option in this game. The closest is the default male Ryder, but you can't customize him at all, and the game does not let you become as white as him, which makes no sense at all.

I honestly don't even want to play it. If additions/fixes for the CC are announced soon, then I will actually play this game. Until then, I'll just regret making this purchase and being a fan. And to anyone telling me to just pick the defaults... no, they suck too. I want to be a ginger in any game that lets me, and this game isn't meeting that desire, so I would rather not settle for the bland male ryder, or the monster that is the female one.

 

[sniddy_v1legacy]

Alas until EA decide to come back to steam I'm not playing anything

Yeh, I know Orgins better etc etc, but ultimately it's EA wanting to make more money - I don't want to split my game library over 2 systems so EA can make $2.50 more on DLC

So - as much as I'd kinda like to go through the original trilogy I'm kinda barred due to my own decision - nothing they've released has been enough to make me want to go ahead and change that decision, so my 1st impression, another lost sale from me

 

[Zhukov]

Just finished the prologue.

I enjoyed it.

God fucking damn it those facial animations though. Sheesh.

 

[Ravenbom]

I'm probably not going to hate the game... but it's not great so far.

It's so unpolished. No performance upgrades on PS4 Pro, and lack of consistent frame rates along with the sound bugs that all the versions seem to have.

Here's an example of the lack of polish:
I'm in the store right now.
Coolant Cells - Salvage - Value High
Intact Neuro-Coil - Salvage - Value Moderate

Wanna know how much 1 of those sell for? 100 credits. 1 unit is high value and 100 credits and the other is moderate for the same single unit.

Not only that, the controls are sloppy as ME1. Maybe worse. When you sprint you keep running for almost 2 whole seconds like Luigi in SMB2 or OctoDad. Aiming is awful.
And the map does not correlate to what you see in gameplay. It was not designed by someone who has ever seen a map.


Honestly... I could deal with the shitty facial animations, the so-so voice acting and writing so far. I'm getting used to sloppy controls and the ME1 level UI mess.

But the single thing that broke my heart was that there is no narrator for the Codex. It didn't need to be Neil Ross again... but when I saw that wall of text that 90% of people will ignore, I realized that nobody will get sucked into this universe the way that the first 3 games sucked us in.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I've put around 20 hours into it through the trial and since release. Time split between SP and MP.

Single Player...

1. Really fantastic terrain graphics and texture work. Some of the lighting/shading seems a bit dodgy.
2. Animations have been crucified and not without reason. Bioware has never handled emotional transitions well, and this is no exception, but the improved textures is hurling it into the uncanny valley. There also seems to have been a dearth of pre-launch polishing, so the shading is off in a lot of conversations and the eyes often look unfinished (like they were painted on a flat sphere).
3. The soggy MMO conventions of DA:I are back, although they've been slightly reigned in.
4. The writing is tepid. Characterization is a bit dull, and the dialogue often falls flat. It's not spectacularly bad or anything, it's just very...tepid. In this respect it's also very similar to DA:I, although without that game's weird tonal choices.
5. Music is pretty good, although not up to par with previous Mass Effects.
6. Combat is actually quite decent. It's not going to scare away any dedicated action combat games, but it's pretty smooth and fun. Miles better than DA:I's clodgy combat. The jump jet and dashing adds some verticality and momentum to the combat.
7. The new Mako >>> the old Mako. It's fun to drive. The expanses you get to drive through are open enough to allow for some fun wheeling about before having to stop and prod points of interest. So that balance was handled ok.
8. The Codex is poorly put together, buggy (often doesn't update correctly), and feels half-assed.
9. The UI in general is heavily consolized and awkward to use on PC.
10. Voice acting is largely decent to good with a few awfuls thrown in.
11. The Galaxy map is an inexplicable pain in the ass to use. Beautiful, but with worthless transitions that gobble time.
12. The crafting is opaque but deceptively simple, so really the worst of both worlds.

Multiplayer...

1. Was horribly broken in the preview but seems alright for launch, thank god.
2. Terrible front end UI and a complete lack of tools to measure ping, set regional preference, etc.
3. Oddly stiff, plastic looking characters (far worse than in SP).
4. Classic ME3 MP gameplay with improved mobility from jump jets and dash. It was fun then, it's fun now.
5. Needs more modes, and even more than that, more enemy types. The three factions provided feel less varied/interesting/fun than ME3's selection.
6. Microtransactions abound but you can earn credits reasonably quickly just by playing.

But the single thing that broke my heart was that there is no narrator for the Codex. It didn't need to be Neil Ross again... but when I saw that wall of text that 90% of people will ignore, I realized that nobody will get sucked into this universe the way that the first 3 games sucked us in.

I know right? It's such a little thing, but it betrays a lack of polish/love for the game. The fully voiced and richly appointed codex, while a "waste of resources", demonstrated that the game was a labor of love and they wanted everything to look and feel perfect. This feels rudely shoved out the door to make it onto the right set of quarterly financials.