Support NeoGAF

ShooterMcGavin · Mar 20, 2017

Disappointing reviews of course, but I'll go in with an open mind.

I'd like to think I'd take a mediocre Mass Effect title over most other titles.

Melchiah · Mar 20, 2017

Jarmel said:
Even before Babylon 5 I think I've read the concept being used somewhere else. I can't remember the book offhand. Yea as I admit it's not exactly a new concept but it is unusual for a videogame, where the enemies generally come in some form of a shootable package.

I wouldn't be surprised if it's been used before. AI wreaking havoc on organics and controlling spaceships isn't that uncommon in sci-fi movies. Reapers being a "race" of sentient ships was a new angle to the theme though, as far as I know.

Here's what Wikipedia says about the Shadow ships.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_(Babylon_5)

Every Shadow ship has a sentient being enslaved as its central processing unit (CPU). This gives it incredible control and maneuverability, but leaves the ship vulnerable to telepathic attack, which the Shadows attempt to counter by installing telepaths into their ships' cores. Unlike conventional ships, Shadow vessels do not form "Jump Points" to enter Hyperspace. Instead they slide or phase into Hyperspace.

...

Agents of Gaming RPG books make mention that the Shadows a long time ago actually piloted their own craft but gave up the practice perhaps due to their limited numbers. Instead they used members of the younger races as cannon fodder, and made it possible for their warships to be bred more quickly.

Quixz · Mar 20, 2017

Cancelled my pre order a couple of hours ago, will probably buy it after a price drop.

Have yet to finish Horizon and also have a sealed copy of Deus EX.

Trickster · Mar 20, 2017

Are you stuck with only 3 usable abilities at a time, or does it increase at some point? Seems very limiting when they give us access to so many abilities

Foldedpencil · Mar 20, 2017

No new alien races? Did we know this? Seems very at odds with the premise of the game.

Velikost · Mar 20, 2017

Tenacious-D said:
Anyone else think that ME:A had bigger development problems than just being rushed out?

Take a look at that leaked vid from 2016 again. Better lighting and texture quality. That scene is also completely bugged out for a lot of people, resulting in T-Poses galore.

RIP Cora's ponytail.

https://my.mixtape.moe/yugchn.mp4

That side by side, holy shit

NegroNinja · Mar 20, 2017

GameFly shipped my copy today. Can't wait to play and see if it's really that bad.

ironcreed · Mar 20, 2017

Foldedpencil said:
No new alien races? Did we know this? Seems very at odds with the premise of the game.

Two, I believe.

Lime · Mar 20, 2017

Regarding the lack of a power wheel and squad abilities, this player commented how lonely it can feel to just be with your squad members without have any gameplay input:

I really feel like I'm playing this alone. Companions seem like they are there just for banter. I don't know why, but for some reason just being able to manually use your squads powers, set up combos with them and use their powers for burst in tight situations made me feel much more connected with them (combat wise that is). It felt great when I would incinerate an enemy and have Garrus blow him up with Concussive shot, or use Liara's Singularity myself and then charge into it to blow it up. Really felt like I'm playing with someone. As it is, I barely even notice when they use their power or even what they are doing in combat (unless Cora charges into 5 enemies and dies). The devs said they made these changes (+ squad weapon customization) so that the squad can do their thing and be more independent. Well it really makes me disconnected from them and makes it feel like a single player shooter with dialogue from your crew. REALLY missing this.

Really interesting in how gameplay adds to narrative and vice versa. Too bad it didn't end up in the final game.

Melchiah · Mar 20, 2017

Quixz said:
Cancelled my pre order a couple of hours ago, will probably buy it after a price drop.

Have yet to finish Horizon and also have a sealed copy of Deus EX.

I'll buy the game later for pretty much the same reason, Horizon and the last Dark Souls 3 DLC.

I didn't pre-order the game though, as I was thinking about getting the digital version instead for convenience, if the multiplayer turns out to be good.

JoeBoy101 · Mar 20, 2017

michaelius said:
Yeah I'm sure gifs are great way to judge how good Bioware combat is going to be.

The irony of this statement and the number of people writing off the game, and Bioware, from the animation gif thread is palpable.

ironcreed · Mar 20, 2017

JoeBoy101 said:
The irony of this statement and the number of people writing off the game, and Bioware, from the animation gif thread is palpable.

That is clearly because only the bad impressions count. Have you not realized that by now, lol?

SchrodingerC · Mar 20, 2017

rashbeep said:
I liked them too, and they would've been amazing if the budget was there. I wish we were shown those stories through gameplay/cutscenes instead of having to read about them in text boxes.

The prehistoric human story in particular would've been a cool cutscene to see, but alas, the game's budget had to be prioritized within the main story.

EventHorizon · Mar 20, 2017

gspec said:
The events in the trilogy, mainly ME3, was galactic wide. The aftermath affects everything in the galaxy not just the known area. The control ending was a shepard AI controlling the reapers to control and protect the galaxy. The synthesis ending all life in the galaxy was transformed into machine\organic hybrid. The Destroy ending, anything reaper related (tech) was destroyed (mass relays, citadel, etc). The do nothing ending, Reapers win and the reaper cycle continues. The destroy ending could have been used as canon ending with a 100 year or more time jump but that is not what they wanted to do.

Thanks for the write up. I actually forgot all the endings. However I don't see how that helps the motivation to go to the Andromeda galaxy since all that happens after the expedition leaves. At the point in time of the departure there are plenty of unexplored places right in our own galaxy. There is no reason to do a resources intensive one way trip to another galaxy. If you wanted the spirit of adventure someplace brand new just pick a star cluster way off the relay network and go for it.

Now obviously the events and the end of Mass Effect 3 would step all over your plans but you'd have no way to know that.

megalowho · Mar 20, 2017

The side by side comparison making the rounds in here is tough to reconcile. I can understand the texture, effect and lighting downgrades and general changes to development, but the facial animation dropping a generational leap between builds? Where did that work go and how much was scrapped/changed to arrive at the punchline we got in the final product?

Y2Kev · Mar 20, 2017

Totally agree the last stretch of me1 is amazing. It makes a lore dump work.

daftstar · Mar 20, 2017

Tenacious-D said:
Anyone else think that ME:A had bigger development problems than just being rushed out?

Take a look at that leaked vid from 2016 again. Better lighting and texture quality. That scene is also completely bugged out for a lot of people, resulting in T-Poses galore.

RIP Cora's ponytail.

https://my.mixtape.moe/yugchn.mp4

Fuck man. It looks like I'm only keeping my pre-order at this point in hopes of the multiplayer being good (and getting the game for cheaper).

Did people even have positive impressions of MP? Especially from those who enjoyed ME3's MP like I did?

CoolNumber9 · Mar 20, 2017

Oh well, wish it had reviewed better but doesn't sway me away from getting it and enjoying it tomorrow!!! I've loved a lot of games that critics have deemed a poor experience! Excited to dive into another Mass Effect game!!

EGM1966 · Mar 20, 2017

Melchiah said:
I wouldn't be surprised if it's been used before. AI wreaking havoc on organics and controlling spaceships isn't that uncommon in sci-fi movies. Reapers being a "race" of sentient ships was a new angle to the theme though, as far as I know.

Here's what Wikipedia says about the Shadow ships.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_(Babylon_5)

Sentient ships were a part of SF works from Arthur C Clarke among others. The ship in Star Trek TMP is sentient as a more recent(ish) example (and based on concept from TOS episode).

TBH in SF if you're talking this kind of an idea it'll almost certainly have been mentioned in some SF short story or novel previously.

TheFatMan · Mar 20, 2017

It makes me sad how many people I see on these threads that are writing off a game based on review scores alone. Saying it's a disaster because of a 75?

I mean if you played the free trial or got your hands on a demo somewhere and you hated the game then I am fine with that. Everyone likes different stuff, I hated The Last of Us.

But man, skipping an entire game because Joe Bob from IGN or GameInformer or some other gaming site says the game is mediocre seems rather odd. Maybe buy it later when it goes on sale if you are hard up for funds or something.

Don't let other people make decisions for you, see for yourself before you start throwing out ridiculous claims on any game, not just this one. You never know what kind of fun you might be missing out on because someone else told you a game is bad.

JeremyEtcetera · Mar 20, 2017

michaelius said:
Yeah I'm sure gifs are great way to judge how good Bioware combat is going to be.

As others have already pointed out, your comparison is messed up. ME: A has issues but the one thing I trust this team on is combat depth. Their work on ME 3's multiplayer and DLC was really good. Now, whether or not a team who worked on combat and DLC was ready to make an entire 30+ hour narrative is another story entirely.

Big_Al · Mar 20, 2017

Lime said:
Regarding the lack of a power wheel and squad abilities, this player commented how lonely it can feel to just be with your squad members without have any gameplay input:

Really interesting in how gameplay adds to narrative and vice versa. Too bad it didn't end up in the final game.

Funny reading this as I don't think in any playthrough of any Mass Effect game I've ever used my squads abilities, customised them or manually ordered them about. Mostly because of the kind of player I am more so than anything else (I even just set them to auto level up) but it's a real shame that option isn't in there for the players that do like it.

EGM1966 · Mar 20, 2017

TheFatMan said:
It makes me sad how many people I see on these threads that are writing off a game based on review scores alone. Saying it's a disaster because of a 75?

I mean if you played the free trial or got your hands on a demo somewhere and you hated the game then I am fine with that. Everyone likes different stuff, I hated The Last of Us.

But man, skipping an entire game because Joe Bob from IGN or GameInformer or some other gaming site says the game is mediocre seems rather odd. Maybe buy it later when it goes on sale if you are hard up for funds or something.

Don't let other people make decisions for you, see for yourself before you start throwing out ridiculous claims on any game, not just this one.

While I agree in principle this mostly isn't people complaining about scores comparing different games. This is people concerned that a game in a franchise is scoring way below it's predecessors which is a legitimate case for concern. They know they liked ME games that scored around 94/95% on average and as this is a game with same mechanics and approach they're worried it's a fair bit worse by comparison.

When you're talking about the same family of games (or books or films or music) a much lower score by comparison to peer works doesn't inspire confidence.

StrongBlackVine · Mar 20, 2017

Nameless said:
Expected mid 70s - low 80s given the 'backlash' and the overall dour lead up to the game. Still looking forward to making up my own mind, though, as Metacritic has proven to be unreliable far too many times. Besides it'll take an FFXV-tier disappointment for me not to get my $40 worth.

FFFXV has a much better score than this game though.

Gamezone · Mar 20, 2017

TheFatMan said:
It makes me sad how many people I see on these threads that are writing off a game based on review scores alone. Saying it's a disaster because of a 75?

I mean if you played the free trial or got your hands on a demo somewhere and you hated the game then I am fine with that. Everyone likes different stuff, I hated The Last of Us.

But man, skipping an entire game because Joe Bob from IGN or GameInformer or some other gaming site says the game is mediocre seems rather odd. Maybe buy it later when it goes on sale if you are hard up for funds or something.

Don't let other people make decisions for you, see for yourself before you start throwing out ridiculous claims on any game, not just this one. You never know what kind of fun you might be missing out on because someone else told you a game is bad.

They are not making any decisions for me, but I agree with pretty much every bad thing they mention about it.

Soul of the Beast · Mar 20, 2017

michaelius said:
Yeah I'm sure gifs are great way to judge how good Bioware combat is going to be.

This is the greatest gif of all time.

Big_Al · Mar 20, 2017

StrongBlackVine said:
FFFXV has a much better score than this game though.

Just goes to show that score doesn't necessarily reflect the enjoyment a person gets from a game then

i-Lo · Mar 20, 2017

So aside from character creation, ability to change combat specialty and dialogue options, what RPG elements have been stripped away or streamlined since the last ME aside from removing the ability to control combat specials of team members?

StrongBlackVine · Mar 20, 2017

Big_Al said:
Just goes to show that score doesn't necessarily reflect the enjoyment a person gets from a game then

Yeah I read that wrong. Didn't realize it was a critique after actually playing the game.

AlexFlame116 · Mar 20, 2017

Nameless said:
Expected mid 70s - low 80s given the 'backlash' and the overall dour lead up to the game. Still looking forward to making up my own mind, though, as Metacritic has proven to be unreliable far too many times. Besides it'll take an FFXV-tier disappointment for me not to get my $40 worth.

StrongBlackVine said:
FFFXV has a much better score than this game though.

Big_Al said:
Just goes to show that score doesn't necessarily reflect the enjoyment a person gets from a game then

Let's....not start the FFXV hate again. Please.

TheFatMan · Mar 20, 2017

Gamezone said:
They are not making any decisions for me, but I agree with pretty much every bad thing they mention about it.

Well then my comment doesn't apply to you....

I said if you played or tried the game yourself and you don't like it I'm fine with that.

LotusHD · Mar 20, 2017

TheFatMan said:
Well then my comment doesn't apply to you....

I said if you played or tried the game yourself and you don't like it I'm fine with that.

Aren't reviews so you know whether you should play it though

olag · Mar 20, 2017

TheFatMan said:
Well then my comment doesn't apply to you....

I said if you played or tried the game yourself and you don't like it I'm fine with that.

Cute. I admittedly haven't played the game and while I found several of the combat changes interesting, I still found that the overall package of what I have seen is lacking. Am I incapable of making my own decisions based on the information I have in front of me?

Timu · Mar 20, 2017

That metacritic score is disappointing considering the previous games.

xxracerxx · Mar 20, 2017

What I expected after seeing the impression videos.

I got off the Mass Effect train after 2, but it sucks that it has fallen so far.

Gator86 · Mar 20, 2017

EventHorizon said:
I'm guessing the timers are in there as a hook for the mobile app. If you can do something useful while on a phone when a timer goes off, that let's you have meaningful input to the game without playing it.

Oh man, I didn't even know there was a companion app. Hell, even that feels ridiculously dated. It brings me back to the beginning of the gen where every game had a trash second screen experience app.

Gothos · Mar 20, 2017

Y2Kev said:
Totally agree the last stretch of me1 is amazing. It makes a lore dump work.

I'll never forget how I talked the last boss to death

That was AMAZING.

Bessy67 · Mar 20, 2017

daftstar said:
Fuck man. It looks like I'm only keeping my pre-order at this point in hopes of the multiplayer being good (and getting the game for cheaper).

Did people even have positive impressions of MP? Especially from those who enjoyed ME3's MP like I did?

I definitely like the MP from what I've played. I probably played about 8 of my 10 hour trial in MP. It definitely feels very similar to ME3, just with less waves. It feels a bit harder too; bronze was a bit of a challenge to me and I'm used to gold and platinum from ME3. Granted I was playing with low level characters and terrible weapons, but it still felt a bit tougher.

RAIDEN1 · Mar 20, 2017

Can anyone explain why on metacritic the PS4 version was coming in at 75, yet the Xbox -One version is coming in at 77???

Also all this talk of Mass Effect one reminds me of exactly a near-game-breaking bug that game had, I remember it was going to an outpost to investigate some Rachni outbreak...went in one of the rooms to clear it of those enemies, and I was literally STUCK in that room I couldn't get out, was thinking wtf? going around seeking if there was a hidden switch I missed or what but no there was no way out...fortunately it wasn't something that prevented you from completing the main game, and re-booting the game I just avoided going in that room.. but yeah...that's probably been my worst experience from the trilogy...

Despite the avalanche of criticism (much that I agree with) I'll still be getting the game, because I am a big Mass Effect fan...just a shame that it'll be another 2-3 years before we get an instalment that could possibly rectify what went wrong with this part...

Will they go for Frostbite again? Or Unreal 5/6?

BossDarkseid · Mar 20, 2017

RAIDEN1 said:
Can anyone explain why on metacritic the PS4 version was coming in at 75, yet the Xbox -One version is coming in at 77???

Also all this talk of Mass Effect one reminds me of exactly a near-game-breaking bug that game had, I remember it was going to an outpost to investigate some Rachni outbreak...went in one of the rooms to clear it of those enemies, and I was literally STUCK in that room I couldn't get out, was thinking wtf? going around seeking if there was a hidden switch I missed or what but no there was no way out...fortunately it wasn't something that prevented you from completing the main game, and re-booting the game I just avoided going in that room.. but yeah...that's probably been my worst experience from the trilogy...

Despite the avalanche of criticism (much that I agree with) I'll still be getting the game, because I am a big Mass Effect fan...just a shame that it'll be another 2-3 years before we get an instalment that could possibly rectify what went wrong with this part...

Will they go for Frostbite again? Or Unreal 5/6?

They are sticking with FrostBite. Its the internal engine of choice for EAs studios going forward.

Schlorgan · Mar 20, 2017

Any bets on Edmonton taking over for Mass Effect again after their new IP ships?

Big_Al · Mar 20, 2017

AlexFlame116 said:
Let's....not start the FFXV hate again. Please.

I've not even played FFXV (waiting for a PC release eventually), I am talking about in general as I find the same to be true myself for games were scores aren't always reflective of how much I like something (or dislike).

Revas · Mar 20, 2017

About 6 hours in and this is a good game. I can't debate review scores, because they make great and factual points but I'm really enjoying this. If you loved ME1, this is worth a purchase even if its in a few months.

Carn82 · Mar 20, 2017

Melchiah said:
Well, they took a lot from Babylon 5, where Shadows were an ancient race with organic ships, that weed out the weak races every thousand years. Hell, the captain who lead all the races against them was called Sheridan, and the humans had a first contact war against Minbari, like they did in ME against Turians.

A lot that kinda stuff has been in various scifi stories and books for years, Babylon 5 didn't invent it, but did mix many things together. Great series.

daftstar · Mar 20, 2017

Bessy67 said:
I definitely like the MP from what I've played. I probably played about 8 of my 10 hour trial in MP. It definitely feels very similar to ME3, just with less waves. It feels a bit harder too; bronze was a bit of a challenge to me and I'm used to gold and platinum from ME3. Granted I was playing with low level characters and terrible weapons, but it still felt a bit tougher.

Cheers m8. I'll hold out hope the MP gets long-term support and attachment rate. I recall some people saying they had no trouble finding ME3 MP matches even today.

Renekton · Mar 20, 2017

Schlorgan said:
Any bets on Edmonton taking over for Mass Effect again after their new IP ships?

They may shelve the franchise indefinitely

TheFatMan · Mar 20, 2017

olag said:
Cute. I admittedly haven't played the game and while I found several of the combat changes interesting, I still found that the overall package of what I have seen is lacking. Am I incapable of making my own decisions based on the information I have in front of me?

I'm not sure if you read my original post, but I was simply stating basing your opinion of a game based solely on the review score of a website or person is silly.

Clearly you have put some thought and effort into forming your own opinion based on the information you have available. Which was the original point of my post. (Although I would hope you at least give the game a chance when it doesn't cost 60 dollars).

I was referring to the LARGE number of posts in this thread, and it's predecessor that basically went like this.

"Oh man 75 on Metacritic? What a disaster for Bioware, I'm glad I didn't buy this game".

That to me, is sad.

Lt-47 · Mar 20, 2017

Schlorgan said:
Any bets on Edmonton taking over for Mass Effect again after their new IP ships?

That's a pretty damn safe bet. I'd be surprised if Montreal ever get to work as lead ever again.

Spaghetti · Mar 20, 2017

Seems like the expected outcome. Mixed, but trending towards the negative because of technical hiccups and a bad first impression that the rest of the game may/may not be able to shake off.

Ah well.

MartyStu · Mar 20, 2017

It is very odd that in a ME game, combat is what I look forward to the most. This is not a comforting thought. At all.

The reviews are concerning though. Not because of some silly scores, but mostly because Bioware continues to make some very questionable decisions.

That said, I very much look forward to playing this at a reduced price. I ignored my gut with DA:I and was burned.

Support NeoGAF

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

Member

Member

Member

Member

Banned

Member

Member

Banned

Member

Member

Member

Banned

Member

Member

Member

TLG Fan Caretaker Est. 2009

Member

Member

Member

Member

JeremyEtcetera

Unconfirmed Member

Unconfirmed Member

Member

Banned

Gold Member

Member

Unconfirmed Member

Member

Banned

Member

Member

Banned

Member

Member

Don't worry, I'll vouch for them.

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Unconfirmed Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Similar threads