I don't know, while the expressions weren't all that good the faces themselves seemed more realistic and better proportioned, Andromeda seems to have a whole lot of vertically compressed heads. Disregarding the heads themselves even the Shepard smile is better than the smile you posted from Andromeda, I don't actually believe human lips can stretch like they do in the Andromeda screenshot.MrFalconfly said:I don't.
The facial animations in the entire ME trilogy was just as wooden as it is said to be in ME:A. Eyes vacant, and face as stiff as plastic.
like this one from ME:3
And I've yet to see any characters in ME:A (including the much commented about, Director Addison) whose voice acting was as wooden, and phoned in, as Alistair's from DA:O.
Zero Punctuation: Mass Effect Andromeda
- Thread starter Yahtzee Croshaw
- Start date
I can only say I disagree.shinyelf said:I don't know, while the expressions weren't all that good the faces themselves seemed more realistic and better proportioned, Andromeda seems to have a whole lot of vertically compressed heads. Disregarding the heads themselves even the Shepard smile is better than the smile you posted from Andromeda, I don't actually believe human lips can stretch like they do in the Andromeda screenshot.MrFalconfly said:I don't.
The facial animations in the entire ME trilogy was just as wooden as it is said to be in ME:A. Eyes vacant, and face as stiff as plastic.
like this one from ME:3
And I've yet to see any characters in ME:A (including the much commented about, Director Addison) whose voice acting was as wooden, and phoned in, as Alistair's from DA:O.
Also, the pic of Ryder wasn't mine. That was Johnny Novgorod
As for her lips stretching. I can do that. I look stupid as hell doing it, but I can do it.
Not at all.shinyelf said:
I just find it funny that so many seem to think ME:A looks so ugly, and then seem to be blind to the exact same things in the previous games.
That's a matter of perspective isn't it? If someone cares mostly about the shooting+powers gameplay then it probably doesn't make it unplayable or affect it much at all. But some people pay for a game like this with the expectation it will immerse them, and it's really, really hard to stay in that immersion bubble when the uncanny valley keeps rearing its head and/or the animations keep glitching out.shinyelf said:
I have this exact opinion, and will very much like the game when I get it. The last three games weren't exactly the pinnacle of buggy perfection and yet everyone is just shitting all over Bioware.MrFalconfly said:
To quote myself, yet again;
I've been watching a No Commentary playthrough of it, and I feel that a lot of the complaints people have are kind of petty. Awkward dialog? Who cares. Overlarge UI? I don't think so. Some characters don't blink sometimes? Holy shit.
Every point of complaint I've seen on early access reviewers seem like things I'll just get used to in time. Yes, human animation is a little wonky. I'll agree with that but it's hardly a major dealbreaker as far as I'm concerned. I also think the autoswitching of quest focus is a bit irritating but that's one of the easiest kinds of things they can just patch up.
Beyond that, it looks like they went back do its roots. A lot more running around that the first game in 2007 had, except these days it flows better.
I understand the cautious optimism people have but I think it's going to be fine. Gamers are just, as a whole, entitled little shits who are overstimulated so any flaws a triple A game has they're ready to pounce on and tear apart. It's just silly.
Thing is, if the uncanny valley in ME:A is so bad that "those people" find it unplayable, they WOULDN'T have played any other Bioware game either.MoltenSilver said:
It's the exact same dead-eyed, plastic-faced, goofy looking dipshits your looking at in ME:A as it was in ME 1, ME 2 ME 3, DA:O, DA2 and DA:I.
Granted, some of the detractors may actually be consistent and feel the same with the rest of Biowares games, but if you're coming from the previous ME trilogy, and now start complaining about the facial animations of all things, you aren't being internally consistent.
The issues with the game aren't the uncanny valley. Even if it's worse han previous ME because of "uninspired" artistic direction and rushed QA.MrFalconfly said:
ME: A is a downgrade in every strong points of ME: characters, activities, story, RPG, direction, immersion, sci-fi themes.
ME was never about realistic visuals. It was about a galaxy with diverse creatures who had to cooperate to face an incredible threat, and you happened to be at the center of it.
This ME is a scooby gang with no drive or legitimacy, lost in cardboard mockups. A very very bad fanfiction of what a sci-fi/space opera setting should be.
It's a watered down, 10 years older than 10 years old stuff. Only the jetpack, and the nomad, are salvageable.
Well, ok, female ryder is quite of endering. But only if you consider her as a hemiplegic sociopath trying to fit in while being terrible at it. I highly doubt she was written that way, despite bioware claims about "inclusion of diversity".
Well, I might as well chime in with my thoughts on the game, since I did sink 46 hours into it...
Now this is entirely subjective, so you may disagree if you wish. Also, I AM a Mass Effect-fan, so take that into account...
PROS:
Gunplay - When it comes to the gunplay, ME:A is better than any other Mass Effect-game. That might not say much, but there you go. The Soldier archetype actually has stuff to do besides applying different ammo types, you can combo different powers for more devastating effects (the exact effectiveness of which didn't become apparent to me until towards the end when I respecced a bit and actually started triggering them), and though some enemies can be chores to fight the combat overall flows very well and doesn't drag on for too long. And you can JUMP!
The Nomad - Once again you can traverse planets in a space buggy, this time called the Nomad. And while it lacks the satisfying cannon of the Mako, it more than makes up for it by feeling more like an actual car rather than an RC-toy filled with helium. There's one planet in particular where gravity is far lower that it becomes fun just to drive around for a while.
Sidequests - I like the sidequests. Most of them, anyway. Let it not be said that this is a game lacking content, for that is not particulary accurate. The main story is kind of short, but if you go out of your way to do some sidequests you'll extend the playtime with a couple of hours.
Characters - I like the characters. Well, most of them. Sure, Cora was boring, but Peebee, Vetra and Drack are all fun to have with you, and I even liked Liam simply because of his optimism and attempts to actually do stuff. And the party banter is still fun. I even had trouble deciding who to romance, which is a first for me.
No Paragon vs Renegade - Thank christ for that, I was so sick of going all one way because there is no reason not to...
The premise - The basic premise is exciting, at least for me. Exploring a new and undiscovered galaxy with new wonders around every corner, trying to establish a solid foothold so that your colonies can thrive, while being assailed by a hostile race of aliens? Heck yeah! Unfortunately...
CONS:
Fumbled premise - After establishing that you're in uncharted territory and you don't know what you'll find and the neccessity for establishing colonies, the game then just kind of forgets about it and just turns into Mass Effect++. You almost immediately run into some non-hostile aliens which kind of ruins the whole "stuck in hostile space"-thing. After that you just run around and find quests to solve, rather than trying to, you know, desperately survive in an environment that will give you a swift kick in the crack for deigning to not have evolved there.
Boring colonialism - After all the talk of how important colonies are they don't exactly contribute much, at least not that you can percieve. At the first colony you have to establish it for military or academic purposes, but the choice doesn't seem to matter. This could have been expanded on quite a bit, have your choices influence the actual shape of the small empire you're establishing.
No krogan romance - Seriously, the krogan's tend to be some of the best characters in the entire series, so why can we still not romance them? Bioware, please. Or at least let us play as something other than human...
The angaran - So, those non-hostile aliens I mentioned? They're called angarans. And this being a new galaxy, what do they look like? They're... humanoids. Like every other race in the Milky Way galaxy. Why not make them quadrupeds, or natural robots, or give them six arms, or SOMETHING?! Hell, the enemy aliens, the kett, are more interesting, if only because they've got this whole "you will be assimilated"-angle going on.
Planet zooming - Let... me... SKIP!
The story - And here's the biggest problem with the entire game. The story just isn't interesting. The villain is just trying to commit boring old murder and subjugation all over the place, with no kind of nuance or personality. Sure, The Reaper's whole deal was killing every sentient being in the Milky Way, but at least they were built up over the course of three games as this massive threat that would end all life as we know it, and they at least had a motive beyond "because we're dicks". There's maybe one small twist in the whole story, and beyond that there's really no big surprise. And of course it leaves off with plenty of unanswered questions just for the sequels that undoubtedly lie in the eventual future...
Overall, I enjoyed my time with Mass Effect: Andromeda... but I can definitely see why some people don't enjoy it or even outright hate it. It's a Mass Effect-game, warts and all, which means of course it's going to have wooden animations and blank expressions, so that doesn't bother me, and I did like having a new Bioware-game to play, but at the same time Mass Effect hasn't changed significantly enough in 5 years to make me feel like the wait was neccessarily worth it. I also can't say how well this works as a start for new players, seeing as I've played all the other games twice each, and if you don't like Mass Effect this game is not going to turn you over.
If you like Mass Effect, check it out. If not, skip. If you're on the fence, wait until the price drops a bit if you decide to give it a chance.
Now this is entirely subjective, so you may disagree if you wish. Also, I AM a Mass Effect-fan, so take that into account...
PROS:
Gunplay - When it comes to the gunplay, ME:A is better than any other Mass Effect-game. That might not say much, but there you go. The Soldier archetype actually has stuff to do besides applying different ammo types, you can combo different powers for more devastating effects (the exact effectiveness of which didn't become apparent to me until towards the end when I respecced a bit and actually started triggering them), and though some enemies can be chores to fight the combat overall flows very well and doesn't drag on for too long. And you can JUMP!
The Nomad - Once again you can traverse planets in a space buggy, this time called the Nomad. And while it lacks the satisfying cannon of the Mako, it more than makes up for it by feeling more like an actual car rather than an RC-toy filled with helium. There's one planet in particular where gravity is far lower that it becomes fun just to drive around for a while.
Sidequests - I like the sidequests. Most of them, anyway. Let it not be said that this is a game lacking content, for that is not particulary accurate. The main story is kind of short, but if you go out of your way to do some sidequests you'll extend the playtime with a couple of hours.
Characters - I like the characters. Well, most of them. Sure, Cora was boring, but Peebee, Vetra and Drack are all fun to have with you, and I even liked Liam simply because of his optimism and attempts to actually do stuff. And the party banter is still fun. I even had trouble deciding who to romance, which is a first for me.
No Paragon vs Renegade - Thank christ for that, I was so sick of going all one way because there is no reason not to...
The premise - The basic premise is exciting, at least for me. Exploring a new and undiscovered galaxy with new wonders around every corner, trying to establish a solid foothold so that your colonies can thrive, while being assailed by a hostile race of aliens? Heck yeah! Unfortunately...
CONS:
Fumbled premise - After establishing that you're in uncharted territory and you don't know what you'll find and the neccessity for establishing colonies, the game then just kind of forgets about it and just turns into Mass Effect++. You almost immediately run into some non-hostile aliens which kind of ruins the whole "stuck in hostile space"-thing. After that you just run around and find quests to solve, rather than trying to, you know, desperately survive in an environment that will give you a swift kick in the crack for deigning to not have evolved there.
Boring colonialism - After all the talk of how important colonies are they don't exactly contribute much, at least not that you can percieve. At the first colony you have to establish it for military or academic purposes, but the choice doesn't seem to matter. This could have been expanded on quite a bit, have your choices influence the actual shape of the small empire you're establishing.
No krogan romance - Seriously, the krogan's tend to be some of the best characters in the entire series, so why can we still not romance them? Bioware, please. Or at least let us play as something other than human...
The angaran - So, those non-hostile aliens I mentioned? They're called angarans. And this being a new galaxy, what do they look like? They're... humanoids. Like every other race in the Milky Way galaxy. Why not make them quadrupeds, or natural robots, or give them six arms, or SOMETHING?! Hell, the enemy aliens, the kett, are more interesting, if only because they've got this whole "you will be assimilated"-angle going on.
Planet zooming - Let... me... SKIP!
The story - And here's the biggest problem with the entire game. The story just isn't interesting. The villain is just trying to commit boring old murder and subjugation all over the place, with no kind of nuance or personality. Sure, The Reaper's whole deal was killing every sentient being in the Milky Way, but at least they were built up over the course of three games as this massive threat that would end all life as we know it, and they at least had a motive beyond "because we're dicks". There's maybe one small twist in the whole story, and beyond that there's really no big surprise. And of course it leaves off with plenty of unanswered questions just for the sequels that undoubtedly lie in the eventual future...
Overall, I enjoyed my time with Mass Effect: Andromeda... but I can definitely see why some people don't enjoy it or even outright hate it. It's a Mass Effect-game, warts and all, which means of course it's going to have wooden animations and blank expressions, so that doesn't bother me, and I did like having a new Bioware-game to play, but at the same time Mass Effect hasn't changed significantly enough in 5 years to make me feel like the wait was neccessarily worth it. I also can't say how well this works as a start for new players, seeing as I've played all the other games twice each, and if you don't like Mass Effect this game is not going to turn you over.
If you like Mass Effect, check it out. If not, skip. If you're on the fence, wait until the price drops a bit if you decide to give it a chance.
I've not played it yet as I'll only buy it after one or two major patches, but c'mon, every one of those is entirely subjective, with immersion being perhaps the winner of the Most Subjective award in that group. An identical game can have wholly different levels of immmrrrrsion for different people, be it some primary hued Nintendo game or S.T.A.L.K.E.R.mtarzaim02 said:
"Should be"? My subjectivity alarm's going off again...
Dragon Age II got a right kicking, and I adored that game, so the more I hear about ME:A's crimes-against-gaming, the more I think I might really enjoy it...
Either way, cracking vid by Yahtzee, even if I pretty much disagree with almost every point he made about BioWare, because I always seem to entirely disagree with him about BioWare games (DAII being a prime example).
Personally, I'm enjoying it. Not as much as the other Mass Effect games (and ME2 is still my favorite), but I'm having fun, which is really all I'm in this gig for anyway.
I see very little reason to play this game and plenty of reasons not to, and that's putting aside the fact that it has EA's name attached to it.
I didn't see the review yet, but looking at the title made me cringe. I will never forgive the developers for screwing this game up.
The events of ME:A do take place chronologically after ME3, thanks to the 600+ years it takes to get to Andromeda (it is a journey of two million-plus light years, after all), it's stated clearly that the expedition left in 2185, which is the year before the Reaper War started.shinyelf said:
Even if that is the case, it's been ten freaking years, and a new console generation! It's not exactly "entitled" to expect freaking improvements at this point!Zydrate said:
If that's the scene I think it is (shot's too cropped to tell, likely to evoke a derogatory response. Also didn't use the default face) that's not a smile, that's pain. Specifically an expression someone would make when doing that sharp, hissing intake of breath through your teeth.Johnny Novgorod said:That was a fun review, gets me all smiling.
I don't know if I'm going to buy it or not (probably eventually) but I'll always appreciate it for the very vocal minority of dweebs on Twitter that legit got angry at Bioware because they perceived them as making the character models uglier to satiate some invisible Ess-Jay-Dub boogymen. Like, actual human beings were upset they were no longer turned on by the characters.Bilious Green said:
Kind of lame they got rid of the Renegade/Paragon thing, even if binary choices in games are pretty played out by now.
Side by side comparisons show that as an objective wrong affirmation. Models, animations, voice acting, all 3 prior Mass Effect games do it better.MrFalconfly said:Regarding that.Johnny Novgorod said:That was a fun review, gets me all smiling.
I feel as if the Bioware fans are looking at the previous 3 games through rose-tinted goggles.
ME:A doesn't look any worse, nor any better than any of the other ME games, and the voice acting isn't a dip in quality either.
Also, the series' last game before this was in 2012 goddamit. I don't think "Rose tinted glasses" apply to a game series that was a fucking console generation ago.