Frozenprince
Banned
That's a bummer, she's freaking adorable.
Hopefully they throw some stuff back in since they've already established they're willing to change aspects of the game or add them after the release with ME3.
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Mass Effect: Andromeda |OT| Ryders on the Storm
- Thread starter Blue Ninja
- Start date
That's a bummer, she's freaking adorable.
Hopefully they throw some stuff back in since they've already established they're willing to change aspects of the game or add them after the release with ME3.
General Lee
Member
Personally I've disliked pretty much all of them, but Havarl was certainly the worst so far. It was just so monochromatic and dark I could barely make out what was happening and spotting enemies was really difficult without any real contrast to spot them outside hud elements. Eos and Voeld were better, but those were mostly just sand/ice dunes with little else to them. So far the maps have been quite disappointing, and I hope Bioware will abandon this Inquisition/Andromeda style of open world hub design, it's just awful.
Poodlestrike
Banned
I would say yes, on average, mostly due to a massive amount of the release day negativity coming from people who never actually ended up playing the game; of course once you screen out the people most predisposed to dislike the product, the resulting impressions are more positive on average.
edit; And Destiny's still pretty divisive, it's just that everybody but the diehards who were hooked from the word go have moved on at this point.
Not sure. It doesn't have the same co-op + loot-fest + feedback loop + theme part variety as Destiny/WoW.
Errant Signal explains it best: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7VYd93oEbA
Coop loot grinders (Ubi games) get rated very differently from epic RPGs because the latter get compared to Witcher and Nier. Hence why Nirolak suggested that Bioware could fallback to that genre.
No. Destiny is a very different game. MMO grind and weapon upgrading etc. Also vanilla Destiny was just devoid of a lot of content. So naturally as dlc increased, raids, they were able to offset things like few raids, strikes. This game is technically subpar, there are quite a few issues. And the nature of the game is such that any future content is likely to be far smaller in nature. Things like Taken King are as large as vanilla Destiny. They cannot really do anything for Andromeda that takes away from its biggest issues. At best a Lair of the Shadow Broker style DLC with new assets, better writing, can help. But there isn't really any coming back to the game if you are at 100% viability, all loyalty missions done etc.
Only Mass Effect: Andromeda 2 can really salvage this game overall. MP is such a mess too. No one joins with friends, p2p has rubberbanding like crazy, disconnects etc.
If they manage to fix the game it's word of mouth will improve. Otherwise I don't think so.
Having beat both this and The Division the line between both genre is dangerously close. The Division made you grind MMO fetchquests so you could get resources to upgrade the HQ while here you do the same to get viability points. Strangely enough they share the same flaws to me and they both look so good environment wise.
matrixman92
Member
repetitiveness is definitely starting to set in on me. Im on the
. Everything feels the exact same so far just with different settings. And the quests are pretty boring.
snow planet
MeisterLeder
Banned
I thought i had the same issue but it wasnt. There is a way in the resistance base that leads to a shuttle where the person you have talk to is waiting.
The questmarker is broken for that mission.
Cant describe it better sry :/
I liked the exile planet but the navigation choices in this game at times is bonkers. Why does that port even have a fast travel system when you can't use it to get to the surface?
I will agree with this. I can't stand Liam. I liked him at first, but now he's just needy and irritating. I just roll Peebee, Drack and Jaal. I'll still do all the loyalty stuff when I get to it, though.
Loving the game otherwise. It does have some DA:I moments but it's still a ton of ME goodness for me. Not as memorable as previous titles but enough fun that I know I'll spend a good 80 hours in it. I just won't replay it.
edit: To be fair I replay almost nothing. ME 1-2-3, DA:O, Skyrim and remastered/PC release old school JRPG's are about it.
Become well regarded, maybe not, but the game isn't as outright awful as many would imply imo.
It needs patching and fixing but the core combat and exploration gameplay is the best in the series imo, there's just a lot of people who don't play Mass Effect for combat or exploration which can give a pretty divisive impression.
SolicitorPirate
Member
I really like how 'young' the game feels. I joked earlier in the thread that your crew are basically a bunch of space millennials and their Krogan grandpa, but that's really what the game feels like.
I hope that tone carries onto the next Mass Effect rather than a return to the more professional / militaristic tone of the original trilogy.
I hope that tone carries onto the next Mass Effect rather than a return to the more professional / militaristic tone of the original trilogy.
BizzyBum
Member
No chance.
EA can fix the animations, bugs, add DLC and have a much better GOTY edition a year from now but it won't fix the skeleton of the game which is the characters and the narrative. Of course YMMV in regards to this but to me they are abysmal.
It's an average game at best, and average just doesn't cut it when it's the Mass Effect IP that was developed by two major BioWare studios for 5+ years. As a big ME fan, I'd go so far to say it's one of the most disappointing games I've ever played.
I feel like the biggest ball drop narratively was not following through with any of the real Andromeda Initiative storyline for longer. Instead we are in the minutia of the Angaran/Kett conflict while the Missing Arks, Exiles/Krogan all get pushed to the side. Miss out on the bureaucracy of the Nexus. The Nexus is perhaps my biggest disappointment. How they could look at the ME1 Citadel, ME2 citadel, Ilium, Omega and then ME3 Citadel, and then they give us this. It feels so devoid of anything, so sub-par. Such a missed opportunity. What I imagined and what we got is just crazy. Even when you go to Voeld and they promise you things like a massive Angaran Resistance and home base and it is 4 outpost style houses and like 8 NPC's etc. Aya was a saving grace in this regard. But I wanted more to do with the Nexus, the Initiative itself.
Yeah same. That whole
"You're the aliens and we don't like/trust you"
Instead i feel like some kind of intergalactic exterminator. Show up, declare that you're the pathfinder, offer to rid people of their Khett problem in an attempt to have everyone coexist in harmony and then go out and shoot some people in the face.
I do wish we had a lot more there. After the introduction the whole split between leaders isn't really hammered in as much as it could be, and they have surprisingly little to say through the game.
I really think this game just tried to do way, way too much and a lot of this stuff is the result. There's actually a kind of baffling amount of hubs areas that all have a bunch of NPCs and a ton of dialog but they all kinda suffer somewhat as they don't individually get fleshed out as much.
I also feel like the entire premise as Pathfinder is weird in retrospect of what I've seen of almost the whole game. Like Eos is more 'structured' in how you fix it, but the rest seem...kinda there? They made the actual settling way more of a side plot, if you stick to the critical path then you barely need to do anything on Elaaden or Kadara or even really bother 'fixing' anything else. And that science/military choice is a one and done when I thought for sure that would be a per planet thing.
DeadlyParasite
Member
I'm not sure anyone should be suggesting that the Mass Effect 2 Citadel be a positive point of reference for anything. It was terrible. Pathetically small with nothing to do outside of buying up all the items, completing two loyalty missions, and visiting the council once.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
The Citadel is the most overrated location in the entire series and was one and done with Mass Effect 1.
The Nexus is boring because it has no presence or mood. It's a weirdly sterile hub that has no real allure or draw to return until the narrative demands you do so.
The Nexus is boring because it has no presence or mood. It's a weirdly sterile hub that has no real allure or draw to return until the narrative demands you do so.
My biggest issue with the Nexus is the lack of background music, which is a issue in other areas as well. When you have no background music it really makes the place feel soulless, sterile and boring. DA:I had the same issues imo.
They should look at Witcher 3. The background music in that game was freaking amazing.
They should look at Witcher 3. The background music in that game was freaking amazing.
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
This, not sure if I recorded it but I once threw lance at a single enemy through the sniper scope and suddenly 5 or so people fell out.
The Citadel was only good in the first game, in 2 and 3 it was a bunch of hallways with nothing interesting in them.
While the Nexus isn't as good as the Citadel in ME1, it's not because of the design, it's because it lacks the weird/humorous sidequests that were present in ME1.
While the Nexus isn't as good as the Citadel in ME1, it's not because of the design, it's because it lacks the weird/humorous sidequests that were present in ME1.
I am saying you look at all those previous hubs and give better. The ME2 citadel was trash but we did get Omega, Ilium and Tuchanka to slightly make up for it. You would think this game on far more powerful hardware and almost 7 years after the fact would see the strengths/weaknesses of all and give us something better.
This is my point. It is just 'there'. Return to it because sidequest P and sidequest z demanded it. This little empty 4 door apartment area used for a split second. Even the docking approach.
I was honestly excited when we first get there, it is dark, and there is no one and then Hyperion docks and things power up. I thought we would see multiple phases of Nexus development. You come back after the first outpost start to see the tech lab, hydroponics, cultural center and you're thinking alright, now we're talking. But that's it. I thought the more outposts, the more we would see it grow. Make it feel liveable. Our galactic center for the milky way inhabitants. When the other Arks dock, you see a massive influx of new NPC's, new districts, etc. Just another casualty of time/development I guess. They promised us larger scope, more quality than the previous trilogy, leaning on Witcher 3 for inspiration.
Oh well, this is one thing I hope they could tackle with a comprehensive DLC.
According to Shinobi, this was a conscious decision by BioWare. But I agree.
On Elaaden, that's what the
looks like? Are they fucking serious? The release date blindsided the devs hard, I've never seen such blatant last second prop work.
I feel this way of the entire star cluster. The worlds keep you entertained but most feel shallow. Kadara's been the best due to its factions and gritty future colony.
remnant drive core
I feel this way of the entire star cluster. The worlds keep you entertained but most feel shallow. Kadara's been the best due to its factions and gritty future colony.
Blue Ninja
Member
Elaaden was my favorite planet so far. The desert and the huge crashed ship gave me some serious The Force Awakens-vibes. Also helped that it wasn't as filled with random clutter as Voeld or Eos, though it still suffered from that issue. BioWare gives you these wide open worlds to traverse, but never stopped to bother making them feel real. Instead you get Random Remnant Artifact #244 and Random Outlaw Base #751, filled with Robot Mooks or Generic Armored Bad Guy. Then they proceed to shoot exploration in the foot by adding everything on the fucking map from the get-go.
My exploring is also starting to bite me in the ass. I've had multiple occassions where the game directs me to a location I've alreaey cleared out, only now a magical Quest Person or Object has appeared so I can add another check in the journal. Stuff like that, and stuff like the quest where you travel through half the Galaxy Map only to end up at fucking Kadara again just feel really disrespectful of the player's time.
BioWare went for a quantity over quality approach with Andromeda, and it shows. The amount of content in this game is staggering, even moreso than DA:I. But what's there is often so low in quality that I'd rather not have had it there at all.
I enjoy this game, despite all its flaws. When it hits a high note, it can go prettt fucking high. There's just so many brown notes in there that the whole thing can occasionally start smelling like shit.
If BioWare can't give us actual exploration, I'd rather they go back to a more polished ME2-experience. I'll take an exciting 30/40-hour experience over 80 hours of driving across a planet I've visited seventeen fucking times already, just because one of my teammates wants fucking popcorn for a movie night.
My exploring is also starting to bite me in the ass. I've had multiple occassions where the game directs me to a location I've alreaey cleared out, only now a magical Quest Person or Object has appeared so I can add another check in the journal. Stuff like that, and stuff like the quest where you travel through half the Galaxy Map only to end up at fucking Kadara again just feel really disrespectful of the player's time.
BioWare went for a quantity over quality approach with Andromeda, and it shows. The amount of content in this game is staggering, even moreso than DA:I. But what's there is often so low in quality that I'd rather not have had it there at all.
I enjoy this game, despite all its flaws. When it hits a high note, it can go prettt fucking high. There's just so many brown notes in there that the whole thing can occasionally start smelling like shit.
If BioWare can't give us actual exploration, I'd rather they go back to a more polished ME2-experience. I'll take an exciting 30/40-hour experience over 80 hours of driving across a planet I've visited seventeen fucking times already, just because one of my teammates wants fucking popcorn for a movie night.
30 hours in I decided I couldn't stand anymore "side quests" after only converting two planets to settlement level.
I started the Meridian quest and the game tells me I can play on after the quest..does this mean its the final story quest...my save game only says I'm 48% complete
I started the Meridian quest and the game tells me I can play on after the quest..does this mean its the final story quest...my save game only says I'm 48% complete
Seeing these monster closets is a real let down, especially when enemies literally spawn in right on fucking top of you some times. I want to say that ME2 felt more specific about enemy placement, but that stuff may have just always been there and I don't remember.
Combat is really fun, but they just throw wave after wave at you in some sections. Playing on Hardcore with the not so great check-pointing can be really grueling. It brings some good tension, but its also exhausting. Not sure if I want to keep the difficulty up since I feel like I could be having a different kind of fun running around being a biotic god without the downside of repeating whole sections cuz dude with super charged automatic weapon spawned behind me.
Also your teammates are awful. 100% accuracy against floors and walls.
Combat is really fun, but they just throw wave after wave at you in some sections. Playing on Hardcore with the not so great check-pointing can be really grueling. It brings some good tension, but its also exhausting. Not sure if I want to keep the difficulty up since I feel like I could be having a different kind of fun running around being a biotic god without the downside of repeating whole sections cuz dude with super charged automatic weapon spawned behind me.
Also your teammates are awful. 100% accuracy against floors and walls.
I can't help but see Tann sitting at a dining room table crunching code.
bati
Member
It helps if you go out of range and then return. Had that problem in a few spots.
100% agree. Best parts of Andromeda are the ones that are locked into the classic mission structure (loyalty missions etc) and I really wish most of the game was like this because I find planet exploration a real chore. It's like 80% of the game are those UNC quests from ME1.
I'm doing the side-qust called
and i really hate this quest. Not because of the quest itself, it's got a neat premise, but because of the planet jumping. So far it's lead me from starting at Tempest -> Havarl -> Voelt -> Nexus -> Elaaden -> and now finally going to Kadara. It's god damn ridiculous.
Truth and Trespass
Blue Ninja
Member
Yeah, a game that focuses on planet-jumping so much should probably do a better job at making the transitions less annoying.
His Majesty
Banned
I just wanted to make a post about this very quest. It's indeed ridiculous. I wouldn't mind if the transitions were shorter but that's sadly not the case. Too bad because the quest offers an interesting premise but it is watered down by all the planet jumping. Going to Kadara is doubly annoying.
Though I know what you mean, I don't think ME2 was very focused. At the end it was not much more than a bunch of independent short episodes tied together by a shallow main plot.
Disagree, I didn't get that from ME2, but you can reduce any RPG to that structure.
ME2 quests moved the main plot forward, answered a bunch of questions and opened up deeper perspective on what you were trying to achieve. The Illusive man was mysterious and facinated me until the very end.
Um, in terms of design ME2 was the most laser focussed and tight game they've ever made. Every bit of main content in the game tied to the overall mission (gather the elite squad, unlock the Omega relay, defeat the collectors). In terms of combat situations every single one was hand crafted, with enemies placed by a designer as part of a combat scenario. Unlike Me:A which often just throws random groups at you.
I think the first game had the best structure, it just gets a lot of shit because the gameplay was so bad even by 2007 RPG standards.
I think they can do it like ME1, they just haven't attempted a game in that structure because the series only exploded in popularity by the second game.
prag16
Banned
From what I can tell the worst of the "bad word of mouth" was around launch largely from people who either didn't play the game at all, or just played the trial briefly then hopped into the dogpile.
Word of mouth outside of that, while not exactly great, doesn't seem nearly so bad, and outside of a handful of masochists, most people who sank dozens of hours into the game seem to like it, both here and elsewhere.
When they fix some quality of life issues and bugs, and drop the price, a lot more people will likely take the plunge, and enjoy themselves. Comparing it with Destiny is apples and oranges, but I think yes, it'll be remembered far more fondly than the launch window gif circlejerk would imply.
texhnolyze
Banned
Alright, 100% on all planets and I've run out of side quests lol.
I guess I'll have to continue with the main quest. I have Persona waiting as well.
I guess I'll have to continue with the main quest. I have Persona waiting as well.
Tony Redgrave
Member
Seriously, I think they should have made a game that had the same structure as ME1 with all the enhancements the series has brought forward.
Make a meaty, well-written main story with the trademark six to eight main linear missions and some smaller scale (relative to Andromeda) planets to roam around in the Mako, less than ME1 but more detailed and without asset reuse. Then add loyalty missions ME2 style (no need for chain of missions, just one or at most two well written ones per character) add to that the improved combat and the MP and you've got a killer game in your hands IMO.
Then there are things like animations, hubs, special mission structures (like the suicide mission) that can add a lot to the game. Much has been said about getting inspired by TW3 but all that will be minutia until I see devs pulling stuff akin to Novigrad in their games, having been able to roam around a massive Nexus doing smaller-detectivesque stuff on the sidelines would have been golden.
Make a meaty, well-written main story with the trademark six to eight main linear missions and some smaller scale (relative to Andromeda) planets to roam around in the Mako, less than ME1 but more detailed and without asset reuse. Then add loyalty missions ME2 style (no need for chain of missions, just one or at most two well written ones per character) add to that the improved combat and the MP and you've got a killer game in your hands IMO.
Then there are things like animations, hubs, special mission structures (like the suicide mission) that can add a lot to the game. Much has been said about getting inspired by TW3 but all that will be minutia until I see devs pulling stuff akin to Novigrad in their games, having been able to roam around a massive Nexus doing smaller-detectivesque stuff on the sidelines would have been golden.
?
That's an interesting perspective, given the large number of people who own the game on this forum and who have complained a lot about it.
Let's also remember, no-one is saying this game is appalling. It's lowest scores are around the 2/5 mark, but the majority are coming in at around 6 or 7 out of 10. That's not unplayably bad - it's not great, and a huge step down for the series, but it's not an asset flipped digital homicide game either.
Also user reviews don't exactly tell a great story about this game either.
Peroroncino
Member
best. krogan. ever.
When you get that small scene with him getting a medical check up with Lexi, you really feel for him. Best character!
prag16
Banned
Plenty of people have said that here. You've seen the threads. It was redeemable trash to many (albeit many of which didn't actually play it). Lowest scored reviews I've seen on metacritic were 6/10, but I haven't been following since the first few dozen so maybe there are some there now.
Are we having revisionist history on this already? When the embargo broke (and prior) the general narrative around here was that the game was awful garage; an absolute pile of shit. Exhibit A Shinobi's treatment and subsequent exit. It's setting the bar pretty low, but the sentiments have already improved somewhat as the launch hoopla has died down.
I think it'll be remembered as a good, but flawed and somewhat disppointing game that a lot of people still loved.