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Mass Effect: Andromeda | Review Thread (READ MOD POST)

What bored me to death in DAI was the filler content and lack of decent squadmates, So i gave up about 40 hours in as didnt have a clue what was going on and the squadmates were easily forgettable.

The reviews seem to be the same for MEA, Great visuals but with boring content and squadmates that are just as forgettable, It really is Mass Effect Inquisition.

The ME3 dlc team made this, And it shows.
 

Lister

Banned
Other reviews have mentioned consequences to actions as a positive, though. It doesn't sound like there are many giant decisions like Rannoch/Tuchanka, either way, but there appears to be some reactivity at least.

This isn't borne out by most of the reviews I've read so far. But I'm hanging on to your words like a raft on the frozen seas of (insert Andromeda frozen planet), 'cause I want to believe.
 
So, which review or video review talks about the massive levels I worried about so much? Someone smack me with the info?? Not sure if I can watch a lot of video reviews but I assume there aren't a lot of them anyways.

If any of you have a review that talks about the large levels and how they are in traversing (especially compared to DAI) please do share with me. That is what I have been waiting for
 

Lime

Member
Reading some of the reviews in the 8-9 range, there's a gap between how I'd interpret some of their wording/conclusions compared to what seem like flattering numbers.

Yeah that's my impression as well. I wonder how the game would've fared without the Mass Effect brand (better or worse maybe?)
 
Actually, I'm glad because this will make Bioware rethink Dragon Age 4 and Andromeda 2. It is still my favorite devloper and Im sure they will improve their game. Come on, bring back those party shattering decisions.
 

ironcreed

Banned
Reposting because I came in hot before the lock:

Oddly enough, while watching Jeff and Brad play (and shit on) this game for a hour I can´t help it - I´m getting hyped.

I´ll be commanding this ship soon and I´ll be flying through the galaxy to shoot up some aliens.

The setting alone will be enough for me to role-play the shit out of this.

And I´ll probably enjoy it while being disappointed that it is not better.

This is basically what happened to me yesterday after watching a stream and actually taking the time to listen to some of the positive impressions with an open mind. I am well aware of the issues and even did my fair share of making gifs and having a go at all of the hilarious glitches, but the game looked like Mass Effect with better combat and did nothing but make me want to play it.
 
It's a bit disappointing in the context of how the other games reviewed. Story is the main reason why I play these games, and it's sad that, that seems to be an issue. I think I'll check it out, but just later then expected.
 
Well Mass Effect 3 got good scores and fans were still angry about that one :)

Your profile pic bring back some good memories, I really enjoyed Mass Effect 3 overall all and consider it as good as Mass Effect 2.

As for Andromeda, personally it's just not cannon for me. I hated the character design and the universe/art style in this game. I have yet to actually play it though so my opinions could change.
 
Oh I get it. Thanks! It makes more sense now.

Although I'm kind of upset at NieR Automata being a recommended instead of essential...

haha, in my world, nier is absolutely essential, but they are very selective in handing out the "essential" badge so i won't hate on them for only giving it recommended
 

JayEH

Junior Member
Not surprising seeing the scores. Luckily reviews seem to like the combat which is what I'm most concerned about. Though the quest designs seem to be a sticking issue. Hopefully I won't mind it too much, if the combat is fine I usually am able to over look bad quests. I've given up on Bioware writing for a while now so I was never expecting much on the story front.
 

Mr Git

Member
Glancing through a few of the reviews - looks like now is the time to finally start my very very LTTP Mass Effect trilogy.
 

Jeff-DSA

Member
I have always been a day one guy for Mass Effect, but I can't get myself rallied for this one quite yet. I'll check it out when they release their "game of the year" version for the holidays or maybe during that late summer lull in releases.
 

Gator86

Member
990.jpg

This fucking killed me. Ready for the gif party when this launches tomorrow.
 

Elfstruck

Member
This is so sad. Man. What a fall this franchise suffered. Mass Effect 1 and 2 gave us two of the best games ever made. They gave us the promise of unlimited potential for great stories to be told.

Look what it has become now. It is incredibly sad.

I feel like Bioware made a big mistake giving Montreal studio this game.
 

breakfuss

Member
This is so sad. Man. What a fall this franchise suffered. Mass Effect 1 and 2 gave us two of the best games ever made. They gave us the promise of unlimited potential for great stories to be told.

Look what it has become now. It is incredibly sad.

I would have never considered getting a 360 had it not been for ME1 & 2. For the longest time they were the only games I owned on the platform. It's a franchise that deserved better. Aside from all the technical flaws I think what's most offensive is just how unnecessary this sequel seems. There are just some things that don't need to be milked.
 

Copper

Member
Just remember

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still a great time for games. I have plenty of other things to play at the moment. Just kinda bummed was hoping for a good return to the series.
 

Bisnic

Really Really Exciting Member!
It's a shame really regarding the reviews, because I'm sure that after a few major patches, this game isn't going to be such a technical mess.

I will probably still enjoy it in the coming weeks/months while it's getting fixed, but really... who is to blame? Bioware or EA for forcing them on releasing a game that wasn't ready yet?
 

rashbeep

Banned
This is so sad. Man. What a fall this franchise suffered. Mass Effect 1 and 2 gave us two of the best games ever made. They gave us the promise of unlimited potential for great stories to be told.

Look what it has become now. It is incredibly sad.

I hope if nothing else, this serves as a wake up call that the standard has been raised since TW3. Also hoping this isn't the end of the ME franchise.
 

TheStruggler

Report me for trolling ND/TLoU2 threads
I am gonig to be very very wary of this game. Seeing footage form the 10 hour or so play through from twicth users I frequently watch this game looks roughy. The cover mechanics look janky as hell, the animations.....well we have seen many gifs of them already. The overall feel of the game seems off compared to past entries. Montreal you may have done fucked up.
 

TheMan

Member
No. But there's a 30 second first-person-ish travel animation that plays when you select a planet (even just to read the entries for the minor ones.

That sounds painful.

I feel like I'm getting more disappointed every time I open an ME thread. Bioware just pulled down their pants and took a dump on the ME legacy, it would seem.
 

Lime

Member
Lots of no doubt talented people put their time and effort into this.

I wonder how many are left and how many had to suffer through crunch. And then I wonder what will happen to the Montreal studio when/if the game bombs.
 

Ralemont

not me
This isn't borne out by most of the reviews I've read so far. But I'm hanging on to your words like a raft on the frozen seas of (insert Andromeda frozen planet), 'cause I want to believe.

Haha I wouldn't as I haven't read the reviews extensively, just some summaries. It's entirely possible the game disappoints there, I just wanted to remark that some reviews do differ there. Perhaps lower expectations.
 

lt519

Member
Reposting: Sadly this gets cancelled from me. If I am going to make a buying decision off of reviews on what to spend my next month of gaming time on, it isn't going to be this. I was putting off Horizon to make sure I had a palette cleanser after BotW, might just pull the trigger.
 
Thanks to mods.

Still looking forward to this, but I'll definitely wait until they shore up a lot of the issues. At the end of the day, it's space exploration and I love that shit.

I wish EA had allowed Bioware Edmonton to be more involved in this, just sounds like Montreal didn't have a strong enough hold on what they were doing.
 

emag

Member
Actually, I'm glad because this will make Bioware rethink Dragon Age 4 and Andromeda 2. It is still my favorite devloper and Im sure they will improve their game. Come on, bring back those party shattering decisions.

That's the silver lining, perhaps. But I'd much rather that Bioware had taken the feedback from DA:I (empty regions, bad UI, terrible filler quests, lack of meaningful decisions) into account and made Andromeda a great game to start with.
 

Audioboxer

Member
It's a shame really regarding the reviews, because I'm sure that after a few major patches, this game isn't going to be such a technical mess.

I will probably still enjoy it in the coming weeks/months while it's getting fixed, but really... who is to blame? Bioware or EA for forcing them on releasing a game that wasn't ready yet?

EA for allowing the technical jank to ship, both of them for arguably giving the reigns to project leads who didn't seem to understand what made 1~3 what they are. Or at the very least project leads that didn't do their homework well enough.

Seems to be like Konami giving the reigns of Silent Hill to about 20 different developers who all promised fans they "got it", and they didn't "get it".
 

marrec

Banned
Hilariously, Dragon Age: Inquisition in space actually sounds kinda good to me, so some of these impressions have me like "hmmm"
 

Real Hero

Member
It's a shame really regarding the reviews, because I'm sure that after a few major patches, this game isn't going to be such a technical mess.

I will probably still enjoy it in the coming weeks/months while it's getting fixed, but really... who is to blame? Bioware or EA for forcing them on releasing a game that wasn't ready yet?
More time wouldn't fix the bland story and characters that would mean making a new game
 

CGwizz

Member
Thanks for killing my favorite franchise bioware, i dont think this IP will survive after this to be honest.

Boring characters, cringe and verbal diarrhea dialogue, a shit ton of bugs, sub par animations and story is not that great. Only combat seems to be great here... 5 years in the making so i dont think this is even the typical "EA is destroying Bioware" and that is scary cause bioware was my favourite studio.

Something went wrong here and we had signs of it since they started dripping information at E3 and people started to get the fuck out of this studio before they damage their reputation even more after mass effect 3 backlash.

Franchise is probably dead, when other fail others rise. GG and CDProjekt will occupy bioware place i guess...
 

TI82

Banned
Damn seems the previous thread got nasty. And yeah, this game is just so mediocre that it's bad it seems. Can't believe a Mass effect game broke 2017s streak.
 

Lime

Member
It's a shame really regarding the reviews, because I'm sure that after a few major patches, this game isn't going to be such a technical mess.

I will probably still enjoy it in the coming weeks/months while it's getting fixed, but really... who is to blame? Bioware or EA for forcing them on releasing a game that wasn't ready yet?

Regarding your first point, Gamespot's reviewer made an interest point about the flaws of the game:

Mike Mahardy‏ @mmahardy
Andromeda needed more time, yes. But I don't think that would fix the poor dialogue, the lifeless worlds, and the cringe-worthy protagonists

I.e. it isn't just a question of technical flaws, but also narrative and world-building that hold it back.

Regarding your second point, I guess it's how you view it - if you're EA, do you grant Bioware Montreal yet another delay after 5 long years? When is the breaking point? Many other publishers would've killed this project long ago and EA and Bioware simply did what they could to salvage it and release it in some kind of workable state.
 
Holy crap, can't believe the other thread had to be locked.

As for the game, if I was super-invested in Mass Effect, the scores wouldn't scare me away (crazy that it's more than 15 points lower than any of the other three).

The problem, as others have pointed out, is that there are a lot of other games to play right now. I'm putting a LOT of time into Zelda, Persona 5 is coming out in a couple of weeks, and I haven't touched Nioh or RE7 or Horizon. I don't want to spare time for a game that is being compared to Dragon Age: Inquisition when there are so many other intriguing games I could be playing.
 
D

Deleted member 752119

Unconfirmed Member
More time wouldn't fix the bland story and characters that would mean making a new game

Yeah hopefully they just fix the tech issues and make the MP good and support it for a while. Put some better writing in some DLC expansions and try too get it back to series standards for a sequel is really the best path forward at this point. Assuming it sells enough to warrant that (I imagine it will).
 

Jumeira

Banned
Yeah, I'm going to use my ME money and get Horizon. It was supposed to be the other way round BioWare, my friend was about to buy an X1 (he was hyped), he's not an avid follower of gaming news but adored ME, we both used to speak about the amazing universe, our choices and how cool the lore was. This spanned over 7 years, ME releases were a big deal for us, I don't have the heart to say the game isn't up to scratch and to possibly cancel his X1 purchase.
 

Symbiotx

Member
I think it's funny how much GAFers act like 75 is bombing. Given the problems and animations, it seems like a fair score. To me it seems like it has those problems, but is a good game despite them. I'm looking forward to jumping into multiplayer.
 
^^^^^

Not so much of a bomb, but I thought the first game was a great 9/10, the second a great 8/10. What I played of this one is just... bland. Bland + bugs + jank = ???

Kinda expected it to not be good. Mass Effect has been focused grouped to death and apparently handed off to a B Tier team with little support.

Worst of all, the game seems like it was just a pointless cash grab.
 

Gator86

Member
This game also makes me wonder if Bioware will ever learn how to write a second plot. Did they really need to make your character the "Pathfinder?"
 
I think it's funny how much GAFers act like 75 is bombing. Given the problems and animations, it seems like a fair score. To me it seems like it has those problems, but is a good game despite them. I'm looking forward to jumping into multiplayer.
Absolutely not the impression I'm getting from these reviews and playing for 10 hours myself. Maybe try reading past numbers.
 
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