Doug Heffernan
Member
My guess is that they probably rebooted the project 2 or 3 times internally and had to start from scratch each time. In no way is this game representative of a full 5 years of development. If it is, I'd be shocked.
Mass Effect: Andromeda | Review Thread (READ MOD POST)
- Thread starter kubus
- Start date
My guess is that they probably rebooted the project 2 or 3 times internally and had to start from scratch each time. In no way is this game representative of a full 5 years of development. If it is, I'd be shocked.
I was hoping this would be good, but given what I've seen, I just can't justify $60. I actually thought DA:I and ME3 were both great, despite ME3's ending. Purchased both at full price, and have no regrets. I've never shared GAF's wariness towards BioWare. But this really doesn't look like it's up to the standards of BioWare's other titles.
I'll likely grab it on sale sometime down the road. And I'll continue to be excited about anything developed by BioWare Edmonton; Andromeda really just looks like a case of BioWare Montreal not being ready to handle a game like this.
I'll likely grab it on sale sometime down the road. And I'll continue to be excited about anything developed by BioWare Edmonton; Andromeda really just looks like a case of BioWare Montreal not being ready to handle a game like this.
Dude, seriously?
I'm not all too excited for this game (probably won't get it) because of the way it turned out, but come on man. Grow up and show some respect. It's obvious this game went through development hell.
I didn't know that three studios worked on it, i thought only montreal is doing the major work
Montreal
Edmonton
Austin
Wait a min.... you know guys they really are ME:A
Well then, I guess Bioware loves to indulge in painful BDSM together then.
Ascenion
Member
Screw this mentality. People poured 5 years of their lives into this game, the should be proud. Maybe it isn't the game a lot of us wanted, and heck yeah it has flaws. But I'm going to respect anyone who puts 5 years into work and produces something to show for their efforts. Some things can be fixed, some likely can't, but don't diminish their accomplishment. At the end of the day that is still what this is. There are and will be worse games than ME: A.
31GhostsIV
Banned
That's a real shame, ME2 is one of my all time favourites.
Sounds like a bit more time in the oven would have helped?
Sounds like a bit more time in the oven would have helped?
Hari Seldon
Member
I think expectations in 2017 are much greater than when DA2 launched. Bioware stagnating when the rest of the industry has moved a generation ahead of them is a big problem.
Technosteve
Banned
So they focused on the gun play and forgot about the story telling. Did they forget the triangle that made ME good
Exploration Story Telling Role Play
Exploration Story Telling Role Play
However you feel, I assure you they feel worse.
MontyBrown
Banned
At least now I can safely consider the series truly dead and move on.
And then replay ME1 another dozen times and pretend it's the only game in the franchise.
And then replay ME1 another dozen times and pretend it's the only game in the franchise.
Audioboxer
Member
I didn't know that three studios worked on it, i thought only montreal is doing the major work
Montreal
Edmonton
Austin
Wait a min.... you know guys they really are ME:A
I mean, basic PR and a "nice" message to send out.... but, damn, that highlights some serious project mismanagement and this is the best 3 teams could cook up?
Never forget.
Is there a high quality video of this somewhere?
Sounds like there was dysfunctional gridlock in development.
More time might have just extended that same gridlock, it already had 5 years.
Reptars Revenge
Member
2017 great game streak combooooo breaker
joecanada
Member
I would say that bugs and bad animations , dialogue are every bit of a compromise as story length or size.
I didn't know that three studios worked on it, i thought only montreal is doing the major work
Montreal
Edmonton
Austin
Wait a min.... you know guys they really are ME:A
That actually worries me. A well renowned ip with a fantastic basis to continue on, a big budget, three big studios, 5 years, and then this is the result.
I will probably enjoy it, but I think this game had much, much more potential. And that is putting is mildly.
Thank you. Also This whole thing screams internal struggles.
And so my prediction of MEA being mediocre comes true. shame really, I genuinely wanted to be wrong but over the years I've steadily started to learn the harsh truth of video games which is "What you see is what you get."Fans might argue that it gets better later or that wait for more reviews however given the information we already had about the game, the second half of the game was never going to redeem its faults.
A lot of people will say that Bioware did a good job with the combat and that Im overly being harsh by saying this, but I dont think that this Bioware team should allowed to make the next single player potion of the next Mass effect game. Its not just the poor writing, animating, story telling or the poor quest designing which is making me say this, its the fact that they saw fit to strip out the companion AI ability system, a system which became a staple of the series similar to how you could directly control companions in DA.
Effectively they stripped away all the tactical considerations as well as the story considerations that might have been added by having companions with unique and special alien abilities in favour of turning the single player sandbox into Fallout 4. A vapid player driven sandbox where instant gratification is elevated over strategic level design and player+Comapnion AI bonding and development.
A lot of people will say that Bioware did a good job with the combat and that Im overly being harsh by saying this, but I dont think that this Bioware team should allowed to make the next single player potion of the next Mass effect game. Its not just the poor writing, animating, story telling or the poor quest designing which is making me say this, its the fact that they saw fit to strip out the companion AI ability system, a system which became a staple of the series similar to how you could directly control companions in DA.
Effectively they stripped away all the tactical considerations as well as the story considerations that might have been added by having companions with unique and special alien abilities in favour of turning the single player sandbox into Fallout 4. A vapid player driven sandbox where instant gratification is elevated over strategic level design and player+Comapnion AI bonding and development.
EventHorizon
Member
My theory is that was part of the problem. The game was designed by committee and had to be made in assembly line fashion. The game needed independent parts that could be split up and doled out. They probably also wanted very loosely connected parts so that it'd be possible to cut pieces that were problematic. All this is an anathema to a cohesive story. The result is that the story became more of a framework than a narrative. It was something that could hold up to getting massive resources thrown at it.
Unaha-Closp
Member
I still have some Trophies in ME1 I could get 
Fuck I love ME1
Fuck I love ME1The tweet literally says 5 years. And why should pre-production not count? A lot of stuff happens during that time too, i.e. the whole design of the game and tool development and what not... I don't think anyone was implying it was all hands on deck for 5 years as I don't imagine it is for any game.
It'll have short legs
Doug Heffernan
Member
I still have some Trophies in ME1 I could get
I'm playing the game for the first time right now thanks to EA Access. (I played 2 and 3 but skipped 1). It's really great. The production value still blows Andromeda out of the water.
Ascenion
Member
Dragon Age 2 was also more polished given what it was. Andromeda doesn't have any obvious excuses. DA2 is the better game all things considered. The fact they put out a game that good in 8 months is pretty astounding especially considering it had aspects that most people loved (Varric).
Lanrutcon
Member
"Mass Effect Saga: We Can Only Get Better (tm)"?
Tinfoilhatsron
Banned
Oh shit, now I want an endurance run with Jeff and Brad.
Was this really 5 years of dev time? 2 years must have been with two people in a broom closet labeled ME:A.
I think Its getting worse over time :l
Huh...
Too many cooks in the kitchen?
CarbonFire
Member
EA still gettin' theirs. Makes their 4th quarter look strong, they can worry about FY 2018 later.
EventHorizon
Member
Is this like giving out participation trophies instead of keeping score?
It will be interesting to see if sales are affected by the average review scores. I'm guessing it will still sell really well just because it's ME. If it stays around 75 it would earn the disappointing distinction of being the worst critically received game that Bioware has made. Hopefully they can learn from this.
Saucycarpdog
Member
Can we stop quoting sales in review threads? It's such an obvious attempt to counter criticism.
But if you want to go that route, let's remember Evolve was in the top 10 best selling list of Amazon for some time and reviewed favorably. That didn't translate into good legs.
Let's wait for actual sales before saying something is a success or bomba.
joecanada
Member
I'm not saying we should shame people for saying how they feel , but neither do I accept that it's "just PR" implying that PR is expected to be fluff and bullshit.
"We worked very hard on this game and we realize that not everyone will share our vision for the completed project. We endeavour to keep improving your experience with timely updates and appreciate your support. MEA is a culmination of our hard work these past 5 years and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did making it".
or something along those lines would suffice.... if that is they expected or are seeing the mixed reception. I mean if they truly feel they made a "10" then hey good for them.
5 years of waiting and maybe gridlock where the project never really progressed no matter how much extra time they gave it
Yep that is my take as well, considering they barely showed anything after the first reveal (mostly devs videos).
I don't think that would be a major reason, most notable productions uses multiple studios work,Like Ubisoft and there games just come out fine.
Gamer @ Heart
Member
Why? 5 years doesn't have to mean full production/development. I can imagine a game like this using over a year of preproduction as the manpower slowly became more available as other products shipped or got canned.
Sonic:TDB (DS) scored [slightly] lower and was definitely a worse game (from what I played of it). I'd take ME:A over DA2 as well, even if the latter scored higher.
G-Bus
Banned
Kind of glad I dont prenorder games as this was the next title I was going to jump into
The few reviews mentioning a bit of a slog to get throuugh the tutorial and all the mentions of terrible writing... ehh. Not sure I'll make it to the main part of the game.
I'll wait for a price drop I think.
The few reviews mentioning a bit of a slog to get throuugh the tutorial and all the mentions of terrible writing... ehh. Not sure I'll make it to the main part of the game.
I'll wait for a price drop I think.
Does it matter? Do they need to publicly hang their heads in shame at this precise moment? They can read just as well as everybody else.
The Dark Shape
Neo Member
If you think bugs and wonky animations are just as bad as repeating the same four or five maps for the entire game... I don't know what to tell you.
I like Dragon Age II. I'm 24 hours into Mass Effect: Andromeda. Andromeda is a better game than DA2 is.
Presumably EA decided that it would be better to ship a half-baked game and lose a few sales than spend millions more dollars on polish. It's obvious from the incredibly low-key marketing that they had minimal confidence in this game. Every time they showed it off they tried to hide the gameplay as much as they could.