Zelda glasses and Sony goggles obviously
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Mass Effect: Andromeda | Review Thread (READ MOD POST)
- Thread starter kubus
- Start date
Oh right lol. Green Asari are hot.
Only problem being that the Andromeda initiative launched before ME3.
Trippy
Member
Is it true that there is only a handful of new races in Andromeda?
I was looking forward to learning about completely new races, how they evolved, all the political stuff which effects their motives and behaviours? (e,g Krogan's hating Salarians for the Genophage)....I thought we'd have a plethora of new backstories to learn about. I haven't paid any attention to the build up before reading reviews today, so I was wondering if we'd see any of the old races make a cameo in the new game, but it sounds like they've lazily rehashed the same species from the other games as an excuse not to create new ones?
How could they fuck this up? It was a chance to start over, unshackled from the plot elements of the previous game. All they had to do was make Mass Effect 1 (mkII)...the formula was already there for them.
I was looking forward to learning about completely new races, how they evolved, all the political stuff which effects their motives and behaviours? (e,g Krogan's hating Salarians for the Genophage)....I thought we'd have a plethora of new backstories to learn about. I haven't paid any attention to the build up before reading reviews today, so I was wondering if we'd see any of the old races make a cameo in the new game, but it sounds like they've lazily rehashed the same species from the other games as an excuse not to create new ones?
How could they fuck this up? It was a chance to start over, unshackled from the plot elements of the previous game. All they had to do was make Mass Effect 1 (mkII)...the formula was already there for them.
Well, it looks like the return to open world + tighter combat means that there's a lot more freedom in approaching enemy encounters.
This is almost worth a thread in itself and needs to be shared more.
WTF ?
Where did the animations and the shaders go ?!
blankempathy
Member
Zelda tax came back to collect in points taken away from Mass effect Andromeda.
BakedTanooki
Member
The gameplay looks completely badass:
I know that I am definitely going to have some fun there, at the very least.
Ok, damn. These gifs completely changed my mind. I might be able to ignore all the flaws, if the gameplay is like this.
MisterR
Member
Not to mention GTA, RDR, the list goes on.
I think about the sheer amount of sidequests just on Taris compared to now. Even a barebones sidequest in Kotor such as deciding to kill, bribe, or help an NPC is already ahead of what their recent games are offering. I could take all the janky animations and bad combat in the world if the quest design and roleplaying options weren't garbage.
Even ignoring things like the textures and shading, the color direction is noticeably worse. There's garish yellow now on the Krogan.
CrichtonKicks
Member
No, I'm saying that mechanic is not something unique DA:I and its presence is relatively meaningless in comparing the two games. Particularly since it's a significant part of DA:I's gameplay and influence system while, so far, it seems like something that can be totally ignored in ME:A.
semiconscious
Member
the contrast is extraordinary. like, well beyond tuning it down a notch or two. yeah, i'd say there certainly appears to've been something other than being rushed going on, but hell if i can think of what. maybe making some portions of the game match other portions? & eventually hitting some kinda lowest common denominator, so that nothing stood out, or was jarring? not that that ended up working too well
...Watching a live stream and also staying open minded enough to listen to positive impressions completely brought me back in after laughing at all of the hilarious glitches and such. What I watched did nothing but make me want to play and I can't ignore that.
See, this is a fantastic attitude. I was getting less and less hyped over the last week, but you're right--it is still an epic sci-fi space opera despite its obvious shortcomings. I NEED to put myself in this mindset and I will likely enjoy, as you say, the "shit out of it".
EmCeeGramr
Member
That other thread made me read Glixel's review:
It notes that the game starts to improve and that Mass Effect 1 had flaws and formulaic stuff in it too, but admits that this could just be bargaining and the game is a disappointment:
It notes that the game starts to improve and that Mass Effect 1 had flaws and formulaic stuff in it too, but admits that this could just be bargaining and the game is a disappointment:
Diablohead
Member
yeah this is what I was talking about, they changed up the weather but it seems they changed a ton more for better or worse.
SchrodingerC
Member
Some of the reviews mention the exploration is decent, so that's one aspect I'm looking forward to.
I'm one of those weirdos who liked exploring the uncharted worlds from ME1, even though I hated having to fight the damn Mako every time.
I liked the little side stories you could across, like the Geth incursions that ended with a transmission that sent songs to other Geth in the galaxy, or seeing that eerie message EDI sent during the Luna VI mission, or coming across a prothean object that told of the Protheans involvement with ancient humans.
It'll be great to see Bioware's uncharted worlds concept fully realized.
Tenacious-D
Member
the contrast is extraordinary. like, well beyond tuning it down a notch or two. yeah, i'd say there certainly appears to've been something other than being rushed going on, but hell if i can think of what. maybe making some portions of the game match other portions? & eventually hitting some kinda lowest common denominator, so that nothing stood out, or was jarring? not that that ended up working too well
A guy on reddit theorises that it's due to the way the faces were animated.
Nameless
Member
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.
EventHorizon
Member
Another way to look at is that the 10 point scale is an absolute scale. It's not a quality scale. That's why we assign a quality letter grade to an absolute numerical score in school. The percent right someone got is not as important as our evaluation of what that means.
A = 90-100
B = 80-89
C = 70-79
D = 60-69
F = <60
For most things we don't care how bad things get past a certain point since they are all unacceptable. We are only interesting in differentiating between the top end of the scale where the differences matter. Thus we are grading things that already meet our bare minimal acceptability standard.
Sounds uncannily similar to my experience with Dragon Age: Inquisition. Which I would probably have enjoyed a lot more if it was a sci-fi third person shooter instead of having MMO combat.
The reviews are disappointing, especially given the how well the previous entries reviewed, but reading through them it sounds like I will still enjoy the game, heavily flawed though it may be. That being said, I certainly cannot fault anyone from steering clear of the game, especially with how much else there is to play, either now or just around the corner.
I still need to finish Breath of the Wild, and I'm going to be without my desktop in the coming month, so I'm going to hold off on the playing through the single player, but I'm definitely going to playing some multiplayer matches in the meantime.
Hopefully BioWare will patch what they can, though I highly doubt that the animation weirdness will ever be truly resolved.
I still need to finish Breath of the Wild, and I'm going to be without my desktop in the coming month, so I'm going to hold off on the playing through the single player, but I'm definitely going to playing some multiplayer matches in the meantime.
Hopefully BioWare will patch what they can, though I highly doubt that the animation weirdness will ever be truly resolved.
Nope, you can't skip those transitions. I hope Bioware or modders introduce a patch that lets you skip them (no, they're not loading screens)
Some of the reviews mention the exploration is decent, so that's one aspect I'm looking forward to.
I'm one of those weirdos who liked exploring the uncharted worlds from ME1, even though I hated having to fight the damn Mako every time.
I liked the little side stories you could across, like the Geth incursions that ended with a transmission that sent songs to other Geth in the galaxy, or seeing that eerie message EDI sent during the Luna VI mission, or coming across a prothean object that told of the Protheans involvement with ancient humans.
It'll be great to see Bioware's uncharted worlds concept fully realized.
I sure did a lot of scanning and collecting plants in Horizon and still loved the shit out of it. I know it is also far more polished, but I'm just saying. It had a lot of tedium in it as well.
lastplayed
Member
They should have gone to the Sombrero Galaxy. I doubt I would've been disappointed with Mass Effect: Sombrero.
Lunafreya Nox Fleuret
Member
No exploration in a Mass effect title? Oh dear god
Fucking hell.
Melchiah
Member
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.
If that GlassDoor testimony thing is true :/
Unsure what this conflict between Edmonton and Montreal is. And I'm absolutely heartbroken that Mass Effect was the game that had to suffer because of office politics and internal mismanagement (if the above is true).
Other posters here on GAF have also mentioned rumors about development troubles (unconfirmed).
Unsure what this conflict between Edmonton and Montreal is. And I'm absolutely heartbroken that Mass Effect was the game that had to suffer because of office politics and internal mismanagement (if the above is true).
Other posters here on GAF have also mentioned rumors about development troubles (unconfirmed).
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.
lastplayed
Member
Not to mention the theme of "humans are no where near the top of the tech tree" in the galaxy.
Star Trek's whale probe?
Now that, everybody does. Well unless it takes the proto-human route in which our space ancestors were gods blah blah nonsense.
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.
No something older I think. Of course considering how incestuous scifi as a genre is, everything bleeds into each other at a certain point.Star Trek's whale probe?
Holy shit. If this is true, then that's absolutely horrible, and explains quite a bit.
Rats Off To Ya
Banned
I'm not surprised by these scores, especially after seeing the early impressions. This game has never really seemed like it was making a great case for itself. The RPS quote in the OP is a perfect summation of how I've always felt about it.
And personally, I've never liked the idea of a new galaxy and a focus on uncharted worlds. The lived-in universe with a rich history was one of my favorite aspects of the original games, and the shift away from ME1's planet exploration was a decision that I applauded.
I'll definitely play it at some point and I'm sure I'll find plenty of things to like about it. The combat seems neat. But it's real low on my priority list right now.
And personally, I've never liked the idea of a new galaxy and a focus on uncharted worlds. The lived-in universe with a rich history was one of my favorite aspects of the original games, and the shift away from ME1's planet exploration was a decision that I applauded.
I'll definitely play it at some point and I'm sure I'll find plenty of things to like about it. The combat seems neat. But it's real low on my priority list right now.
michaelius
Banned
The gameplay looks completely badass:
I know that I am definitely going to have some fun there, at the very least.
Yeah I'm sure gifs are great way to judge how good Bioware combat is going to be.
I still remember when I fell in love with Luigi's Mansion for the Gamecube, playing the demo at a kiosk in a supermarket all those years ago. That was one of 2 reasons that led me to buy that console. Absolutely adored the game and had a blast playing it!
It was only much later that I found out it was a mere 78 on Metacritic, which all the way back then meant it was not very good at all.
All of this to say: still not cancelling my pre-order. Will try to enjoy it for what it is and hopefully like it despite all the commotion.
It was only much later that I found out it was a mere 78 on Metacritic, which all the way back then meant it was not very good at all.
All of this to say: still not cancelling my pre-order. Will try to enjoy it for what it is and hopefully like it despite all the commotion.
EventHorizon
Member
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.
Crossing Eden
Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
Lol what? This is a shooter not a hack and slash, horrible comparison and a really transparent attempt to downplay the most praised aspect of the game.
Yeah I'm sure gifs are great way to judge how good Bioware combat is going to be.
AHA-Lambda
Member
I'm actually wondering how negative the impact of the DAI style quests is.
Could you just ignore all the fetch quest/scanning stuff etc and focus on the main quest? Or will you find yourself on the back foot by not doing it/unable to progress?
Could you just ignore all the fetch quest/scanning stuff etc and focus on the main quest? Or will you find yourself on the back foot by not doing it/unable to progress?
Yeah I'm sure gifs are great way to judge how good Bioware combat is going to be.
That is not even actual gameplay in the Dragon Age II gif. The ones for Andromeda are and we have plenty of people talking about how improved it is, if you bother to even look.
formasymphonic
Member
I'm gonna give my "unpopular gaming opinion" and say that a few more games could benefit from linearity polish and flashy presentation.
I'm probably in the minority of GAF to think this, but I feel like linearity isn't the gaming sin its made out to be — and a lot of games would actually be better experiences if they had more scripted/choreographed direction than the weaker open worlds we have in a lot of games now.