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[Drillary Clinton]

SOME of their sidequests, they also have great sidequests. That's the key, they have a mixture of busywork and compelling stories being told.

Same for Zelda. Zelda felt more rewarding though.

Ehhh. Horizon has like 1 or 2 worthwhile side quests and the rest were copy paste "go here, follow a trail, kill something". Also, I've only put about 5 or so hours into Nier so maybe that could change.

 

[Chinner]

Really wish people would stop calling Nier: Automata an open world RPG.

They probably mean 'open world with alot of story'

 

[aspiegamer]

I can't help but think this might have been received better (even in its precise release state) were it January or May. This is on the heels of a past month that's had a full year worth of GOTY contenders, where even if Andromeda were an instant classic it would have a hard time distinguishing itself from 3 other amazing RPGs. The optics are simply awful to be put out on the current market.

You can talk endlessly about how this isn't all that unsurprising out of a new team, but that doesn't excuse Bioware throwing their signature IP in the trash. The question needs to be how it ever got into this position in the first place. There has to be some accountability.

 

[AlexFlame116]

Really wish people would stop calling Nier: Automata an open world RPG.

Wait why?

Wait never mind I figured it out!

 

[Mifune]

Welp, Amazon won't let me cancel. I can either return or just bite the bullet. I do want to play it down the line.

 

[Hoo-doo]

He makes fun of Andromeda's awful animations and faces.

So, like the rest of the internet?

 

[Mysterious Stranger]

I mean, it probably hasn't right? This game's development must have coincided with at least 1 other game's production, if not 2 at some point or another. Bioware is a very large studio, but still, talent is talent, and you can't have your best working on everything.

Yep just give to the team that did the multiplayer and few bad mass effect dlcs .

The B-Team!

 

[Durante]

I think the media reception as a whole always has a bit of "lag" with developers and longer series.
ME:A is probably a rather boring and predictable game (Bioware lost me a while ago), but so were other recent titles of theirs.
It's just that, by now, people have caught on, and no one wants to be the guy now who told us that DA2 had th best storytelling and combat in games or that DA:I was the best RPG released in 2014 (it's still ludicrous when I type it out, but publications actually did that).

 

[FlutterPuffs]

Really wish people would stop calling Nier: Automata an open world RPG.

What? It is. A smaller one compared to all others but still open world.

You can go through all the areas without a loading screen. How else is it not?

 

[Theorry]

Oh boy a 7.5 average score. Didnt expect it to be that low.

 

[Mezoly]

To be fair, Horizon and Nier's side quests are pretty shit "busywork chores" but those games also do a lot of other things well.

I liked most of Horizon side quests not the Errands mind you. Haven't done any of Nier side quests yet. If ME:A allows me to skip it's side quest than I would be fine.

 

[Ulong]

I feel like they did the BG2 approach with ME2's story telling. BG2's main story isn't that great either but it's all the side stories and character stories that make it amazing. I see it the same way for ME2.

Yeah that's fair, good side content can save bad main story. Like every bethesda game really.

 

[breakfuss]

I haven't even played Andromeda so I'm not blaming anyone for something I ultimately don't know about but I am pointing fingers at the 'fanbase' for driving out incredibly talented people for the absurd reaction that ending received.

Wtf? There was nothing 'absurd' about the reaction that ending received and honestly if one little chink in the armor was enough to drive them out (after years of adulation) then good riddance.

 

[oti]

I think the media reception as a whole always has a bit of "lag" with developers and longer series.
ME:A is probably a rather boring and predictable game (Bioware lost me a while ago), but so were other recent titles of theirs.
It's just that, by now, people have caught on, and no one wants to be the guy now who told us that DA2 had th best storytelling and combat in games or that DA:I was the best RPG released in 2014 (it's still ludicrous when I type it out, but publications actually did that).

I wish I could erase my memories of playing that game.

 

[ScaryShark]

I was speaking more towards writing. Drew Karpyshyn's impact on ME2 was definitely missing from the writing on ME3.

I'm not in the camp that thinks ME3's writing was poor. I actually think it's far and away the finest character work in the entire series so his loss wasn't felt as badly on my end.

 

[geordiemp]

After reading some of these reviews, the consensus seems to be:

A. Combat / gameplay is great
B. World design is beautiful
C. Packed with legit content / replay value

This is all I really care about in any video game. Good to see this checks all the right boxes.

The "bad" writing is whatever. This series has never had "good" overall writing to me. As long as the writing is tolerable between the shooting and looting, then it's all good.

The animations and dead doll eyes are weak as fuck, but I know it won't bother me too much.

The bugs though... yeah, that shit has me a little shook.

Yeah I agree, For me combat and 30 FPS solid is a MUST, I cant play shit hitting low 20's, hopefully PRO will shine.

Odd Visual bug is not as deal breaking as shit performance so await DF.

People criticise writing and dialogue and lets face it, most games are shit except TLOU and a absolute handful of others at most, so its more then norm, and most reviewers are just plain up crap. Will listen to JIM.

 

[A-V-B]

Wtf? There was nothing 'absurd' about the reaction that ending received and honestly if one little chink in the armor was enough to drive them out (after years of adulation) then good riddance.

yeah, that was more than a chink in the armor, dude.

To this day I've never seen a more (virtually) violent grassroots uprising of a fan base. It was an ugly affair.

 

[takriel]

It's Dark Souls 2 all over again.

 

[Tecnniqe]

Already higher than I'd expect with all the bugs alone

 

[Slaythe]

Honestly, the damage control and denial the last year or so were pretty damning in retrospect:

"employees are just leaving the project because their work is finished and they aren't needed any longer"

"they're only showing conceptual trailers with employee interviews because they're waiting for the big unveil!"

"ME:A is no longer restricted by last-gen consoles, it'll be even better than DA:I"

"they are just doing Fallout 4 marketing, you'll see"

"they'll do a final pass on animation bugs, don't worry"

"everything we didn't like about DA:I is not going to be in there despite the signs pointing to it."

"it gets much better after the first 10 hours, you'll see"

etc. You even had a bunch of posters attacking other posters for finding the indications of the trial access to be subpar and underwhelming last week.

 

[WrenchNinja]

I haven't even played Andromeda so I'm not blaming anyone for something I ultimately don't know about but I am pointing fingers at the 'fanbase' for driving out incredibly talented people for the absurd reaction that ending received.

This is ridiculous

 

[Lime]

I'm not sure how much it makes sense for EA to continue making 'traditional' games like this. If the game isn't selling crazy out of the gates it's just not going to work out. All the big publishers are either doing online service games or if there is a single player packaged type of deal, it's such a big seller that justifies doing it. I'm not sure the type of games Bioware used to make in general are worthwhile going forward for EA. They never got even close to selling Fallout/Skyrim numbers. 5 years in development, maybe selling 4-5m copies isn't good enough for EA to keep investing I think. Whatever Bioware is making right now for new IP, I expect is online and always connected type of deal. We'll see. I think EA is mostly done with sp games in general like almost everyone else. Battlefield, sports games and Star Wars. Maybe Star Wars sees some sp game but that's it...

New IP is rumored to be emulating Destiny. Hopefully it won't go the way of how TOR tried to capture the WoW market.

 

[Drillary Clinton]

It's Dark Souls 2 all over again.

I know you wouldn't think by reading gaf but Dark Souls 2 was well received by critics. Even more so than 1.

 

[A-V-B]

I'm not in the camp that thinks ME3's writing was poor. I actually think it's far and away the finest character work in the entire series so his loss wasn't felt as badly on my end.

How can you say that after what they did to the Illusive Man's character?

 

[matrix-cat]

Honestly, the damage control and denial the last year or so were pretty damning in retrospect:

"employees are just leaving the project because their work is finished and they aren't needed any longer"

"they're only showing conceptual trailers with employee interviews because they're waiting for the big unveil!"

"ME:A is no longer restricted by last-gen consoles, it'll be even better than DA:I"

"they are just doing Fallout 4 marketing, you'll see"

"they'll do a final pass on animation bugs, don't worry"

"everything we didn't like about DA:I is not going to be in there despite the signs pointing to it."

"it gets much better after the first 10 hours, you'll see"

etc. You even had a bunch of posters attacking other posters for finding the indications of the trial access to be subpar and underwhelming last week.

Next comes "Don't worry, once all the DLC's out it'll be amazing".

 

[Maintenance]

75 so far? I'm actually surprised, never thought the media would have the balls to do that. Finally found them I guess, a couple of games too late but still, it happened.

 

[Renekton]

New IP is rumored to be emulating Destiny.

With Destiny 2 coming in hot???

Is Bioware suicidal?

 

[Ulong]

Next comes "Don't worry, once all the DLC's out it'll be amazing".

I think next is us all praying for patches actually

 

[Maximo]

Honestly, the damage control and denial the last year or so were pretty damning in retrospect:

"employees are just leaving the project because their work is finished and they aren't needed any longer"

"they're only showing conceptual trailers with employee interviews because they're waiting for the big unveil!"

"ME:A is no longer restricted by last-gen consoles, it'll be even better than DA:I"

"they are just doing Fallout 4 marketing, you'll see"

"they'll do a final pass on animation bugs, don't worry"

"everything we didn't like about DA:I is not going to be in there despite the signs pointing to it."

"it gets much better after the first 10 hours, you'll see"

etc. You even had a bunch of posters attacking other posters for finding the indications of the trial access to be subpar and underwhelming last week.

Was getting major No Man's Sky vibes from this game the last few months.

 

[TI82]

Last animation gif I swear, this game would be funny if it isn't so soul crushing

etc. You even had a bunch of posters attacking other posters for finding the indications of the trial access to be subpar and underwhelming last week.

Is it childish of me to be kind of expecting that yang guy and a few others to say sorry? Like they got really nasty the past couple days.

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

ME2 suffers so much from only existing because they said it would be a trilogy though, you know what I mean? Like nothing really happens with the core story that was set up in ME1. We just kill time with some collectors and cerberus while waiting for the reapers to get closer. ME2 does a lot right with gameplay and characters, but man the overall main story of that game bums me out too much, I think I actually prefered 1 in the end.

Honestly it's ME3 that suffers from being a trilogy right at the outset more than ME2, because neither of the two previous games did enough set-up for the Reaper's return or the mechanism for their defeat. ME2 is just kind of its own thing, and succeeds or fails on its own merits. If they hadn't promised a trilogy, this would have been fine, but they did and as a result ME3 had to tie up every single loose end, solve the Reaper plot and give closure to the series and characters. If ME3 was just another entry in the series, but not the final one, it wouldn't have had so much weight to bear, and could have focussed on setting up the finale and closing some, but not all of the unresolved plot threads. Solving the Genophage and Quarian/Geth scenarios were the high point of ME3 in terms of writing quality, yet both felt like they were forced into an implausible scenario. The galaxy is under attack, time to get petty, dig our heels in and do stupid shit or demand concessions.

 

[Durante]

It's Dark Souls 2 all over again.

No, Dark Souls 2 was actually good and expanded on its predecessor with interesting features.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

What? It is. A smaller one compared to all others but still open world.

You can go through all the areas without a loading screen. How else is it not?

If it's anything like the first Nier, that sounds like it's hub-based more than anything (kind of like OoT). Haven't played Automata yet though (shame on me!), so can't say for sure.

 

[texhnolyze]

Xenoblade Chronicles X has an 84% metacritic.

It's super Sci-Fi. They acrylic explain quite a bit of the technology they use. The starting premise with ark ships exploring a new world is actually very close to Andromeda.

It's my GOTG so far.

You're right, it's pretty close.

Sadly I don't plan to get a WiiU anytime soon. I hope they'll port it to Switch.

 

[Hasney]

Haven't posted this in a while but man these scores are polarizing: http://imgur.com/a/zRBMT

Seems like your enjoyment will depend on...
- Fan-factor of Mass Effect
- Tolerance of busywork
- Ability to look past bugs

Think enjoyment of Mass Effect 2/3combat and how much weight you put on that helps as well. I always thought it was boring and while combat has improved, the encounters aren't exciting still.

 

[A-V-B]

Last animation gif I swear, this game would be funny if it isn't so soul crushing

Go b-boy go b-boy go!

 

[Mutombo]

It seems more polish would've saved this game a bit; 7's might've been 8's. If they keep updating it with patches I will buy, because I was really looking forward to this.

I think this is a case of; were it an unknown indie game in greenlight, word of mouth would make this a sleeper hit. But because the previous games were so beloved, you can't be helped but be disappointed.

Edit: and the characters don't look any better than last generation. Bioware should've at least seen this and not released the game until this got fixed, right?

 

[Tertullian]

The original leads are on the game EA teased that sounds like Destiny.

That one will have had a ~6 year development cycle by the time it's out, and is unveiling soon.

Urgh, I keep forgetting that Mass Effect got tossed off like a used condom, not just for a new IP, but apparently for another dreary Destiny-a-like. So disappointing.

 

[Nirolak]

With Destiny 2 coming in hot???

Is Bioware suicidal?

Well there's a reason they're timing it for March.

Going for the point where the game will have been out six months, but still a bit before the next expansion is announced.

 

[DMONKUMA]

With Destiny 2 coming in hot???

Is Bioware suicidal?

Well if EA wanted to release two shooters in the same period I wouldn't find this surprising at all.

 

[FlutterPuffs]

How can you say that after what they did to the Illusive Man's character?

oooh yeah. That's my 3rd biggest peeve from the game. From being hyped up as a good villain in Mass Effect 2 to just another side character.

 

[SolicitorPirate]

Wtf? There was nothing 'absurd' about the reaction that ending received and honestly if one little chink in the armor was enough to drive them out (after years of adulation) then good riddance.

Are you honestly trying to argue that the event that caused idiots to try launch a class action lawsuit against EA because their 'choices didn't matter' was anything other than absurd?

And this internet tough guy bullshit about a little chink in the armor is fucking ridiculous. I've worked high stress jobs my entire adult life, and I don't know if I could handle the fucking online vitriol game devs get.

 

[Drillary Clinton]

No, Dark Souls 2 was actually good and expanded on its predecessor with interesting features.

But was also a big step back in a lot of ways. Still a good game that gets way too much hate

 

[N7.Angel]

Honestly, the damage control and denial the last year or so were pretty damning in retrospect:

"employees are just leaving the project because their work is finished and they aren't needed any longer"

"they're only showing conceptual trailers with employee interviews because they're waiting for the big unveil!"

"ME:A is no longer restricted by last-gen consoles, it'll be even better than DA:I"

"they are just doing Fallout 4 marketing, you'll see"

"they'll do a final pass on animation bugs, don't worry"

"everything we didn't like about DA:I is not going to be in there despite the signs pointing to it."

"it gets much better after the first 10 hours, you'll see"

etc. You even had a bunch of posters attacking other posters for finding the indications of the trial access to be subpar and underwhelming last week.

Yeah definitely this, I'll buy this shit because it's Mass Effect but we know for a long time that this game would sucks... when you're canceling beta multiplayer that sell so many games to people this generation, you know something is shit.

 

[A-V-B]

oooh yeah. That's my 3rd biggest peeve from the game. From being hyped up as a good villain in Mass Effect 2 to just another side character.

A flanderized one, at that.

 

[spekkeh]

I think the media reception as a whole always has a bit of "lag" with developers and longer series.
ME:A is probably a rather boring and predictable game (Bioware lost me a while ago), but so were other recent titles of theirs.
It's just that, by now, people have caught on, and no one wants to be the guy now who told us that DA2 had th best storytelling and combat in games or that DA:I was the best RPG released in 2014 (it's still ludicrous when I type it out, but publications actually did that).

Agreed. In retrospect the doctors leaving was probably the turning point. I wonder when EA starts rebranding all their Bioware studios to DICE studios.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

You know, I don't have much residual emotional attachment to the series after ME3 and this really did look like a stinker from promotional materials alone. But still, damn it really does suck any credibility the Mass Effect IP still has will probably take a dive.

 

[JimmyRustler]

Well, fuck it. Gonna buy regardless because I love the universe and wanna explore planets and shit.
At least I know now with what kind of expectations to go in here.

 

[Renekton]

You're right, it's pretty close.

Sadly I don't plan to get a WiiU anytime soon. I hope they'll port it to Switch.

Even better

https://youtu.be/sJuiTw6nk7A

 

[AJ_Wings]

It's Dark Souls 2 all over again.

Not even close. It was widely praised by critics on release. This.... not so much.