Mass Effect: Andromeda

Generic Dreadhead

Don't get me wrong, I don't want anyone to stop enjoying the game. I just don't like devs getting a "free pass" on stuff cause "thats how it is, they tried their best" type logic.

The entirety of the graphic/facial/movement issues are unforgivable. It's 2017, a developer this size, backed by a publisher that size, should do be doing better.

I enjoyed ME:2 and ME:3, I tempered my hype and expectations. I'm not saying I won't play the game. Just let it sit on the back burner for a while until it presents better value for money

Zero-Cool wrote: »

Mass Effect falls into the same category as the day one purchase and I might be burned again but something I just have to do.

You don't have to though :P

It's not a lesson-learned if you don't change your behaviour the next time you encounter a similar scenario.

Anyhow, you'll no doubt enjoy the game for what it is, and that's swell.

Personally I have enough games available to me that this can fall right back down the pecking order based on what I've seen and heard here and elsewhere.

No-one is losing their s**t about how good it is, its Lukewarm at best

johnny_ultimate

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

people expecting something groundbreaking, new

Are these such unreasonable expectations?

I mean, ME:A is releasing in the same month that brought us Zelda: BotW which completely shatters expectations of both the series itself and the genre it exists in - it sets a new high bar for open world games as far as I'm concerned. ME:A arrives mere days before Persona 5 - while we're still waiting for final verdicts on that, the early consensus overwhelmingly states that it completely redefines and rebuilds the series while staying true to its roots (a good example, incidentally, of how pre-reviews can actually benefit an upcoming game). Even Resident Evil 7 recently boasted a major franchise shake-up. If - without question - video game community hype remains ludicrously overblown, many developers are managing to actually do something fresh and interesting within the confines of highly anticipated franchise sequels. In that context, and in a year where the interesting games are already coming thick and fast, 'more of the same' doesn't sound like a particularly thrilling prospect.

I have to confess Mass Effect 3 completely turned me off the series: I didn't like the first, but ME2 IMO was a highpoint of narrative/gameplay interaction in the AAA sphere, at least at the time. ME3 in contrast was a studio that already seemed out of ideas, and not just because of that ending. Things have moved on a lot in the last 7 years in terms of design and interactive storytelling, so I must admit just another Mass Effect is definitely not something I'd be interested in - especially since the changing Bioware seems to show a studio that has lost many key creatives.

I hasten to add that I hope the rest of the game marks a significant improvement on the seemingly less-than-stellar opening hours for those who are looking forward to it

Zero-Cool

Yupp, afraid i do I'm sure I'll find it enjoyable. Witcher 3 had a ton of bugs on release and not one of them annoyed me (to the best of my memory anyway). I'm lowering my expectations of an epic support like the trilogy and maybe that's for the best anyway but still looking forward to cracking into it day one.

degrassinoel

Generic Dreadhead wrote: »

No-one is losing their s**t about how good it is, its Lukewarm at best

This. Exactly.

It's not a bad game,
It's also not as bad as some reviewers have made it out to be -
but it's not on the same high calibre AAA game level as the ME trilogy was because of it's abundant minor flaws.

When a company who produced reasonably good facial animations in their last game (DA:I) and really dropped the ball in their newest game - it's bad, and it's not just that it looks or sounds bad for the person playing the game, it looks bad for the company, for the sales of the game and for the future of the franchise.

I seen this coming a while back, all the signs were there - and i'm still disappointed that the game has gone the way it did. The worst part is, that's probably the end of the ME franchise and if not, i doubt we'll see much of it for a long time
feckin' depressin so it is.

degrassinoel

4k pc tech trailer for anyone that's still interested

Venom

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Things have moved on a lot in the last 7 years in terms of design and interactive storytelling, so I must admit just another Mass Effect is definitely not something I'd be interested in - especially since the changing Bioware seems to show a studio that has lost many key creatives.

Considering how many of the original key Bioware people that have left the company, is it fair to those people who made such amazing games like KOTOR, ME 1+2 and Dragon Age Origins to classify the likes of ME:A a Bioware game?

Personally I feel alot of the good will this game is getting is undeserved seeing as its from a group of people who had nothing to do with the games that earned the company name such good will from gamers to begin with.

Zillah

How does the game actually play, I want to know? Like, did they randomly generate thousands of planets and quests assign spots as necessary? Or is it open world in an Inquisition sense of the word? Are there main plot planets and side quest planets or what?

humanji

Zillah wrote: »

How does the game actually play, I want to know? Like, did they randomly generate thousands of planets and quests assign spots as necessary? Or is it open world in an Inquisition sense of the word? Are there main plot planets and side quest planets or what?

It's kind of Inquisition in space. Everything is in it's set point on each set map, like the previous games. Most planets you can't land on. You only seem to land on set locations on certain planets, and main and side quests locations are on that map.

Blazer

Only played the first 10 mins of it but the animation is shocking to say the least. Then I clicked why..its using the frostfright engine so this would have been bioware's first or so I thought..they've used this engine since 2014 so its shocking. Even the character customisation faces are woeful. Still I have the trial to try it out to give it a chance anyway.

noodler

Generic Dreadhead wrote: »

This looks like another Fallout 4 or Bioshock Infinite instance where runaway hype and fans of the series who drank the cool-aid are stopping it being treated objectively the way they should

Game play aside, strangely enough, Bioshock Infinite is one of the best games I've ever played.

I think we all felt a little disappointed with Fallout 4, obviously still loads of epic moments if you went looking but you really couldn't be a bastard.

No Shepard and Reaper premise was always going to be an issue in this game for me.

J. Marston

Fallout 4 was utter garbage. Really can't understand all the awards and 9's and 10's it got.

Blazer

Well finished the first part of it and mm..I'll probably get it when it comes down in price. Must restart though..hate playing as fem when I've been playing male shepherd since the start.

Gbear

J. Marston wrote: »

Fallout 4 was utter garbage. Really can't understand all the awards and 9's and 10's it got.

There's a veneer of quality on games like that and Skyrim that only start peeling off when you spend a bit of time with them and discover how vapid most of the mechanics are.

They're almost like a con to me.

I've spent the bones of 100 hours in both games and the last 70 of both was just pointless busy work and bull****.

I'm playing through Witcher 3 again at the moment and I never feel like that.
The greatest respect you can pay to that game is that it's become a cliché for describing quality RPGs and open world games.
Every thread on the ME subreddit usually has a comparison to the Witcher 3 in the first 2 or 3 comments.

It'll be interesting to see where ME:A falls on the spectrum.
Graphically it appears to be an utter failure, but that was to be expected from Bioware. They've usually got a good art department but technically their games all look like arse.

Looking back on the trilogy - games I love - I can't quite explain why they're good.
Characters aren't great, the writing is poor enough, the gameplay, of course, is solid to excellent, which is important, but I'm not sure why it feels so immersive.
Even ambiance feels so much weaker than what's come after or in games, even like the Witcher 2, never mind 3.

I think the big thing is the depth of the world building. Whatever about how it was presented, the universe is so coherent and wide-ranging that it's hard to find the boundaries that remind you it's fantasy.

The overarching story is such a solid piece of sci-fi meat as well. The Reapers are so alien and terrifying and apocalypses are always compelling. While the minute to minute ambiance of the worlds was a mixed bag, especially in the first where environments felt so barren, the ambiance of the existential threat of the reapers and the sheer horror of what they do was great at drawing you in.

So that's my checklist for any ME game:
1. Gameplay
2. Coherent gameplay world where you think like you're part of the team, you believe in the space magic and all that.
3. A proper enemy that makes you want to fight for your ship/planet/loose organisation of planets.

It's not great that they've apparently failed to make steps as an RPG - graphics, ambiance, character interaction, writing, depth of the world (sidequests and the like) but at the very least it appears to be a proper ME game.

FutureGuy

Right.

I'm a self-proclaimed mass effect super fan. Easily my favourite games of last generation. It was, for me an 8/10 game in a 10/10 universe. I loved the universe, the characters and the story.

Quite frankly, the videos and posts sh!tting all over Andromeda had me incredibly worried about the continuation of the series. I lapped everyone up and had made my mind up that I was not going to buy.

One of the only decent things about having an Xbox One over a PS4 is the EA Access so I said I'd give the 10-hour preview a go. Spent about 5 hours with it today and played more than enough to make my mind up. Actually made up my mind up sooner than that.

Buying it on launch. Instantly.

I'm actually so embarrased that I fell for the bile and the vitriol hook, line and sinker to the point of making a purchasing choice.

Is it perfect, no. Is any game?

So basically I had maybe one or two glitches in the 5 hours. One enemy floated across the screen. One character walked funny for about 2 seconds.

Yes, there are a few instances where the writing was poor but the rest of it (98% of it) was perfectly fine.

Awful animations? Once or twice, but enough so people can make a scathing vid. Awful dialogue? One or twice, but enough so people can overact online. Had I not known the sh!tstorm surrounding the game, I wouldn't have even had much of an issue.

The gameplay is great, best so far in a mass effect series. The extra manoeuvrability adds a completely different different dimension. Also, having had reservations on the profiles system, I'm actually really excited about combing powers like never before.

Based on what I have seen, this is far better than the internets is saying. It's a solid 7.5 out of 10 based on the first 5 hours and I have a good feeling that as the game continues, it'll get better. The story looks to be there, the gameplay is definitely there.

Looking forward to 23rd. The only thing that will stop me is if I'm still not finished Breath of the Wild.

Zero-Cool

FutureGuy wrote: »

Right....

CatInABox

That's pretty much how I feel about it FutureGuy, I really enjoyed the trial, and will definitely get it. It's still tempting me to get it at launch, which I can't really say about any other game in the last year or so.

Zero-Cool

Really hope they have this playable at Gamer-Con tomorrow, the multiplayer vids I've seen so far look like a good laugh.

Drexel

What's the lore in this one like? One of the best things about the original trilogy was all the detail about planets and races in the codex. Really helped build the world I thought.

Zero-Cool

Interesting....

https://twitter.com/CohhCarnage/status/842838844282208258

degrassinoel

Zero-Cool wrote: »

Interesting....

https://twitter.com/CohhCarnage/status/842838844282208258

that's gonna be seen as damage control whatever way they go with it

YouSavedMyLife

FutureGuy wrote: »

Right...

That was beautiful man. You may have inspired me to pick it up on the 23rd now.

CatInABox

degrassinoel wrote: »

that's gonna be seen as damage control whatever way they go with it

It's six hours earlier. It's not a massive change, but yeah, the sooner the better from their perspective, they've got to change the narrative on this before release.

From the hints I've picked up on the Internets, there are some very positive reviews out there.

EDIT: Just saw that the embargo change is only for streaming purposes. The review embargo hasn't changed apparently.

The_Valeyard

overall, I'm seeing some very mixed reviews.

CatInABox

The_Valeyard wrote: »

overall, I'm seeing some very mixed reviews.

Eh, the reviews aren't out yet. I'm just going off what some reviewers are hinting at online.

Of course, I'm not saying that there won't be mixed reviews, there are also hints out there at middling reviews, just saying that some are loving it.

degrassinoel

CatInABox wrote: »

It's six hours earlier. It's not a massive change, but yeah, the sooner the better from their perspective, they've got to change the narrative on this before release.

From the hints I've picked up on the Internets, there are some very positive reviews out there.

EDIT: Just saw that the embargo change is only for streaming purposes. The review embargo hasn't changed apparently.

i really cba watching any more streams of it at this point anyway, tbh i cba even finishing the 4 hours i have left on the trial either. I'll check the published reviews on monday and see what they say, it's better quality drama than the game has shown in the trial at least.

Maximus Alexander

Finished the single player portion of the trial and I must say I'm really into it. The plot at this stage has asked so many questions and given so few answers that I'm intrigued to continue and find out what the hell is going on.

Conversations are better than previous Mass Effect games as the Paragon / Renegade system is gone and you have more options as to how you interact with people.

Combat and exploration are more fun because you have way more options now, both in terms of how you move around and how you set up your character up for a fight.

The environments and setting are pretty cool and once you get on planet it feels like somewhere that you actually want to explore.

Gonna spend the last couple of hours of the trial dabbling in the multiplayer.

Falthyron

GameSpot's documentary on the Mass Effect franchise started today.

Some interesting comments on the original trilogy, particularly the ending.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTY-BOYesmM

The_Valeyard

I will actually miss the Paragon/Renegade options.

degrassinoel

Falthyron wrote: »

GameSpot's documentary on the Mass Effect franchise started today.

Some interesting comments on the original trilogy, particularly the ending.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTY-BOYesmM

15 minute Andromeda promotional video. Fluff.

One of the devs (Chris Corfe) didn't know about the Tali/Legion geth upgrade mission had a third option and.. the first two options don't just kill a character, they kill a species.

Knowing things like this should be the responsibility of any developer of a Mass Effect game.

then there is this bile , ffs my faith humanity lessens by the day

https://twitter.com/bioware/status/843190432033005568

read the responses until your tolerance says no.