On the one hand, some people in this thread have some seriously rose-colored glasses on when it comes to ME 1-3. If you don't think the trilogy was chock-full of jankier animation than this, one-note characters, and "I've got a Krogan"-tier dialogue, you
really weren't paying attention.
But even so, Andromeda still hasn't put out a good trailer, has it? None of their advertising material (including the Andromeda Initiative videos people seem to like) actually manages to give us a glimpse into what they're promising, and if this "Cinematic trailer" hasn't done that, then maybe this stuff just isn't really in the game.
- Where's the awe-inspiring sense of exploration and discovery and a vast frontier full of mysteries? The only videos that invoke that feelings are the ones using real footage from real-life space programs with voice-overs. Nothing in their CGI trailer material, and certainly nothing in the actual gameplay they've shown, manages to tap into that feeling.
- Where's the difficult wrangling and tough decision-making over colonialism we've been promised? Not even vaguely present in their marketing material so far.
- Where's my glimpse at a villain who isn't just a Starcraft 2-tier "super powerful evil space guy, that we all have to unite to stop!"? Good lord I hope that isn't the A-plot of the game. Andromeda seems ripe for a story that doesn't follow that template, with many small and personal clashes between different peoples, troubling conflicts in which neither side is clearly right or wrong, etc. This trailer seems to promise the opposite?
I'm kinda right on the edge of cancelling by $37 CDKeys.com preorder. But I like
playing the Mass Effect games. As in, I enjoy the gameplay a lot (though even there, the 3-active-skill-limit hovers like a dark shadow). So I'll probably keep it.
Some other thoughts:
- I think Jaal bothers me because he looks kinda like a hybrid between a Turian and the Cowardly Lion?
- They really didn't put any effort into better facial animation, did they?
- I like Sara Ryder's design (if not her facial animation) specifically because she doesn't look like a model. She looks like a woman with a somewhat round face, a weird-shaped bulbous nose, and a kinda greasy complexion. Someone who isn't ugly, but who isn't perfectly conventionally attractive either. She looks like a human being with flaws and quirks, rather than a perfect square-jawed football team captain (BroShep) or a handsome 20-something douchebag (BroRyder).