• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Early impressions from RPS for ME:A. It's... not good

Jarmel

Banned
It's been known that Bioware fucking sucks at modeling females. I remember the talks about how Miranda looked nothing like Yvonne in ME2. It's clear they need a revamp of the animations and modeling team so I don't think this was some deliberate action on the part of Bioware to depict 'plain' women so much as their team just again being fairly bad. They do much better with males as seen by Shepard and even male Ryder but for whatever reason can't exactly do the same with the female batch.
 
Well sure but then anyone positive about a game before its release is unwitting PR, heh.

Yeah...but his latest "I played 3 hours of Andromeda and..." thread felt a bit...gross. There's also the fact that I don't think he discloses how he got his hands on a copy. I'm not saying, "RAWR! Bioware is manipulating us!"

I'm just saying there's not a whole lot of transparency other than..."Oh that Shinobi! He's such a super-fan, that guy!"

That cat starts a good many threads about Andromeda.
 
I don't think Bioware needs to be given credit for not trying to hide their game. (Although I'm not sure what that actually means)

They're a company like any other. They are generally going to act in a manner that benefits them best/most.

Bethesda is no longer allowing even reviewers to get their games before release. A bunch of publishers still allow people to get a hands on experience or even review a game only if they fly out to their headquarters.

Origin access, for as much as people rag on EA, is one of the most consumer friendly options for people in general to check out the game without having to preorder. Especially with AAA tittles.

And let's not forget that a bunch of publishers are now on the "pre-order to have early access to the game train."
 
I don't think they need to be given credit either but at the very least it means that they're confident in Andromeda. We shall see whether that's worth a damn in the end.


Sure. It could mean they are confident but that's all that it means. I don't recall the ME 3 release window and how it unfolded but I'm not sure Bioware has ever been the type of dev studio to bury a game that has problems?
 
He thought Mass Effect 3 was great.

I think it was a rushed mess that was adversely affected by publisher expectations and poorly implemented game mechanics. In the end, a weak ending to a great series. (And I don't mean the ending of the game made the game bad. The ending of the game was just a symptom of what was wrong with that game)

Can I agree with both of these? :)
 
Yeah...but his latest "I played 3 hours of Andromeda and..." thread felt a bit...gross. There's also the fact that I don't think he discloses how he got his hands on a copy. I'm not saying, "RAWR! Bioware is manipulating us!"

I'm just saying there's not a whole lot of transparency other than..."Oh that Shinobi! He's such a super-fan, that guy!"
Gross? WOW. Ok. I got the copy from Bioware, and it was a complete surprise. There's nothing sinister here. I played a few hours, and since the game's not in the majority of people's hands, I liked to give my thoughts on what I played. Plenty of people have done this here with games they've gotten early.

That cat starts a good many threads about Andromeda.
Because I've been excited about the game. I've made threads for tons of games since I've joined GAF in 2010. Because I like to discuss things I'm excited about.
 

Ralemont

not me
Yeah...but his latest "I played 3 hours of Andromeda and..." thread felt a bit...gross. There's also the fact that I don't think he discloses how he got his hands on a copy. I'm not saying, "RAWR! Bioware is manipulating us!"

I'm just saying there's not a whole lot of transparency other than..."Oh that Shinobi! He's such a super-fan, that guy!"

That cat starts a good many threads about Andromeda.

He's friends with people in BW and got a copy that way and said as much in the community thread. Does this make him more predisposed towards liking the game? Probably. Does it mean anything he said was wrong? No.

Again, I think if you are a Mass Effect fan that tends to look for the good in the series instead of looking for things to crap on, Shinobi's impressions are useful. If you're looking for someone hypercritical then yes someone else's impressions may be better.
 
I'm not that hyped about ME:A, will probably buy it sometime in the future just to mess around.

But this line:

”I tend to live the way I work: kinda ”feel it, do it." Not a lot of close ties, no real sense of purpose."

is fucking depressing once you consider the fact that someone was paid to write that.

That's a line you'd find in a self aware parody.
Or a placeholder that nobody got around to replacing with something not stupid.
 

Kumquat

Member
Shinobis thread was more of a "i played 3 hours of the game, heres what i think.. and ama about what i've played so far"

This is more of a "hey look a negative review; lets make a NEW thread when theres already a hand's on impressions/preview thread... lets all feed off of it and ignore all the positive ones out there." Judging by OP's posts in this thread (the one with the gif), its easy to conclude this thread was simply based off his hate on the game

You must have missed the part where I still have the game preordered and I own all three of the previous Mass Effects not to mention all of the Dragon Age games and hell, let's go back in the library a bit to Baldurs Gate 1 and 2 where in 2 I was so into the game I got into modding it with my friend and created a brand new spell for my sorcerer that summoned 20 rabid chickens around a target.

The fact is I love this series and I am really worried it is going to turn out to be garbage. I hope I am wrong.
 
He's friends with people in BW and got a copy that way and said as much in the community thread. Does this make him more predisposed towards liking the game? Probably. Does it mean anything he said was wrong? No.

Again, I think if you are someone that tends to look for the good in games instead of looking for things to crap on, Shinobi's impressions are useful. If you're looking for someone hypercritical then yes someone else's impressions may be better.

I am definitely trying to be more of the..."games are great" and less of the... "Yeah but this could have been better" .


I think there's a place for moderation however.
 

inky

Member
There's a big difference between some dude on a forum posting his impressions and an OP citing an entire website's stance on the game. I already said it in the thread, I don't care about RPS's impressions - they have a right to an opinion and their criticism could very well be valid. But the way this thread was handled, making it seem like RPS's preview is the only impression released on this game - and let's face it, if you look through the posts, there are an embarrassing amount of people taking this as such - is pure garbage.

FYI, this preview was posted and discussed in that other thread yesterday, many hours before this thread was made. OP just literally hit the panic button over this one preview. Curious he didn't make one for any of the positive impressions, wouldn't you agree? Nobody made a thread saying, "hold the phone everyone, VentureBeat is loving the fuck out of Andromeda."

I don't see a difference. I see 2 threads for 2 different opinions from people who have received pre-release code. Is there a pre-approved list of impressions that warrant threads? Are those reserved to only positive articles by users and not gaming sites? Oh, And I certainly don't see how this thread is making it look this preview is the only impression about the game. The title of the thread is "Early impressions from RPS..." not "Literally all the impressions that exist on the internet", you only read it that way because you take an issue with the content. If people don't want to inform themselves further that's their problem, not the thread's. As you said, there are plenty of other impression threads already.

I don't find it curious that he made this thread and didn't make the other one. regardless of whatever timeline there is. It means he wants to discuss this article, not others. Did you find it curious when Shinobi didn't make this thread despite making 2 dozen threads on almost every piece of information regarding this game from him and several other sites? I didn't either. Nobody is stopping you or him or anyone else from making the VentureBeat thread if you so wish. It's kinda dumb to take issue with this. I certainly wouldn't go into your VentureBeat thread and tell you it shouldn't exist. That's not my job and not my decision. The particular reason a bunch of you are taking issue with this thread is because it's not positive. It's very simple, and really dumb.
 

Ralemont

not me
I am definitely trying to be more of the..."games are great" and less of the... "Yeah but this could have been better" .


I think there's a place for moderation however.

But that place doesn't have to be a Mass Effect fan's early impressions from someone who isn't even a critic or games journalist.

Not that Shinobi's thread is entirely glowing praise, either.
 
It's been known that Bioware fucking sucks at modeling females. I remember the talks about how Miranda looked nothing like Yvonne in ME2. It's clear they need a revamp of the animations and modeling team so I don't think this was some deliberate action on the part of Bioware to depict 'plain' women so much as their team just again being fairly bad. They do much better with males as seen by Shepard and even male Ryder but for whatever reason can't exactly do the same with the female batch.
Eh in DAI they did make the female characters less modelly intentionally. Vivienne with rather strong facial features, Sera with a broken nose and a non caring rough haircut and Cassandra having sharp tomboyish look.
 
So how does Bioware send a pre-release copy of a game to someone? I apologize because maybe you're part of the press and that's how you got it?
I'm not press, simply a friend of some of the guys there. I'm not obligated to talk about the game at all. In fact they didn't want me to, but with the previews lifting yesterday and having a few hours in the game, I asked if I could give my thoughts too since I was hoping some folks here would appreciate a little more detailed impression. Hopefully some appreciated it.
 

Altairre

Member
Sure. It could mean they are confident but that's all that it means. I don't recall the ME 3 release window and how it unfolded but I'm not sure Bioware has ever been the type of dev studio to bury a game that has problems?

Well I for one liked ME3 a great deal (minus the ending) so I'd be glad if this is on that level of quality. I know a lot of people, including you as it seems, disagree with me on that which is completely fine. For me it's more the comparison to Inquisition that causes me to worry but I'll be able to see for myself whether Andromeda is something I could see myself enjoying in a couple of hours. That impression will determine if I preorder this game or not.
 

vivekTO

Member
About who else got the Early Copies, I hope people now Stop the witch Hunt.

lol its not just them. A large number of non gamers got it. Some cooking channels have it and a couple folks not in the industry at all who just have large twitter numbers. Its completely random lol
 
I'm not press, simply a friend of some of the guys there. I'm not obligated to talk about the game at all. In fact they didn't want me to, but with the previews lifting yesterday and having a few hours in the game, I asked if I could give my thoughts too since I was hoping some folks here would appreciate a little more detailed impression. Hopefully some appreciated it.

Dude you have a whole thread of people that appreciate it and you know that. While we pretty much agree on the entirety of Horizon: ZD, we're just not going to see eye to eye on the Mass Effect thing.

I would have enjoyed being pulled back into the fold but from what I have seen to date; I believe I am just too much of a miserable bastard to forgive and forget.

Enjoy it...like many other people will enjoy it I would wager.
 
What's the problem with Shinobi liking Mass Effect Andromeda. He's clearly a big fan of the franchise, and his thread is giving optimism to the die hard fans such as him.

Did Bioware gave the game to him as sort of PR? Yeah, of course but I dont see it as any more of a problem like them giving it to the press.
 

Kagoshima_Luke

Gold Member
Yeah, and Breath of the Wild received a crazy amount of 10s. Smetimes you need to look past the hype.

tumblr_lu42vwKZEx1ql3o7so1_400.gif


10s were well deserved.
 
I fail to see how because the writer of this article doesn't like The Witcher 3 disvalues their opinion of THIS game? One person may agree with you on a certain game and you could never agree about a game that you love and they hate. Doesn't discount his opinion for me.

Anyway, I was hoping this game would turn out of better and be a nice surprise since so far only the combat seems good from what I've seen. I don't want another Mass Effect 3 (good combat, rubbish everything else).
 
Well I for one liked ME3 a great deal (minus the ending) so I'd be glad if this is on that level of quality. I know a lot of people, including you as it seems, disagree with me on that which is completely fine. For me it's more the comparison to Inquisition that causes me to worry but I'll be able to see for myself whether Andromeda is something I could see myself enjoying in a couple of hours. That impression will determine if I preorder this game or not.

Some day when the entirety of NeoGAF are sitting in a bar together I will explain (at length) (and over many pitchers) where and why Bioware lost the plot and possibly how it impacted Inquisition.

What didn't you like about DAI? I find it difficult now to separate Bioware from any of the games they make and I tend to broad brush.
 

Jarmel

Banned
Eh in DAI they did make the female characters less modelly intentionally. Vivienne with rather strong facial features, Sera with a broken nose and a non caring rough haircut and Cassandra having sharp tomboyish look.

Male Ryder looks almost exactly like the real life person he was modeled off of. So you think they intentionally made Female Ryder look 'uglier' than her real life model but left male Ryder alone?
 

a916

Member
One dude's opinion.

This is also the same guy that called playing Witcher 3 like, quote, "eating cardboard".

Really? lol...

I don't want to invalidate his opinions and he probably brings up good points, but if that's his taste, no thanks lol... I loved Witcher 3.
 
While we pretty much agree on the entirety of Horizon: ZD, we're just not going to see eye to eye on the Mass Effect thing.
Oh I'm perfectly fine with that :)

I've had people tell me they think the whole trilogy is shit and I have absolutely no qualms, it's their feelings on it and they're well entitled to it.

Did Bioware gave the game to him as sort of PR? Yeah, of course but I dont see it as any more of a problem like them giving it to the press.
Nah, not of course. As I said above, I was originally not supposed to talk about the game at all. With previews lifting, I wanted to see if I could share my thoughts too.
 

Error

Jealous of the Glory that is Johnny Depp
You dont need to give so many explanations on why you are enjoying the game.

You arent the only one that is enjoying the game based on the previews so far apart from this one.
 

Kumquat

Member
Gross? WOW. Ok. I got the copy from Bioware, and it was a complete surprise. There's nothing sinister here. I played a few hours, and since the game's not in the majority of people's hands, I liked to give my thoughts on what I played. Plenty of people have done this here with games they've gotten early.


Because I've been excited about the game. I've made threads for tons of games since I've joined GAF in 2010. Because I like to discuss things I'm excited about.

Edit: Questions was answered
 
Male Ryder looks almost exactly like the real life person he was modeled off of. So you think they intentionally made Female Ryder look 'uglier' than her real life model but left male Ryder alone?
It's hard to tell because male ryder has the same haircut as his counterpart while Sara doesn't. His model looks much more buff than scott does otoh.
 

Kumquat

Member
I'm not that hyped about ME:A, will probably buy it sometime in the future just to mess around.

But this line:



is fucking depressing once you consider the fact that someone was paid to write that.

That's a line you'd find in a self aware parody.
Or a placeholder that nobody got around to replacing with something not stupid.

I think that piece right there may be the most disturbing thing to me as a writer and someone who craves great story and dialogue.
 

Jamaro85

Member
The article comes off like an angry jaded assault, but that doesn't discredit what seems to be a valid concern. Fetchy quests plague almost all open world games (even if this is supposedly not open world in the typical sense, DA:I style linking of huge open maps qualifies for me) but DA:I was the worst offender this generation for me, and it's troubling to think about a lot of that bloat being in ME. If if ends up being a great game with 50+ hours of quality mainline and side content that's great, but if it doubles the game time with a bunch of MMO type nonsense that is unfortunate. Content that seems like padding to artificially make a game longer really brings these games down as they're already long enough to begin with, and it can make playing a game feel like a chore. With all the DA:I love I guess some don't mind it, but it is my biggest pet peeve in gaming.

Side quests that are done within the flow and scope of mainline game play are generally fine to me, but when they start following a formula of issuing trivial tasks that entail making time consuming trips from point A to B to C, it really just starts to feel like lazy game design.

The Shinobi write up gave me a lot of hope though. If this really feels like a Mass Effect game it's possible that the trivial tasks won't feel tedious at all and the immersion and atmosphere will be able to override them.
 
People wants to bash the game and Shinobi is just in the way...

This is more on point.

And for the record. It wasn't people. It was me. I'm not bashing the guy. I questioned his enthusiasm around a game he had a preview copy of and the abundance of his Andromeda threads.

He's a likeable guy that really likes what he really likes and he wants others to really like it too.

Someone posted his thread as a counter point to this preview. That's where I said that taking Shinobi's word for it might not be the way to go.

That was it.
 
My fears for the game are mentioned in the OP, Along with the god awful animations and visuals on the character models in the other thread, I do feel i will wait for this game now.

Nostalgia was only thing making me want to pre order it, Nothing i have seen so far makes me think instant buy, Along with me thinking i am done with these SP types of games nowadays anyway.

The scanning mechanic sounds tedious, And i remember ME3 having bugs with the journal tracking missions.

all in all it's gone from pre-order to wait and see.
 
I don't think that was the intention though considering they went to a super model in the first place. There's a difference between intentionally making your model look like an average person and you fucking up so bad that it comes out that way anyway.

Which super model is she based on?
 
Top Bottom