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[Tertullian]

So glad I canceled my CDKeys preorder now. I just don't want to reward EA for this. They didn't care about this franchise or its fans. They gave it to the b-team who had only ever made multiplayer content and one mediocre DLC, and it showed. They signed their name to a mediocre product and devalued the brand, because they just don't give enough of a damn to insist on quality. So congratulations EA. You put the real development team on a totally untested new IP and casually tossed away Bioware's most valuable franchise with a shrug. I don't know if the market will reward you for it. I hope they don't.

 

[The Dark Shape]

The reaction to this game in a few months time will be fascinating. People were split on ME3, but there weren't many people arguing that it was a better game than ME2.

There are going to be people who hate Andromeda and people who think it's easily the best game in the series. There will be fights.

 

[Cyanity]

Ouch. Well, at least Breath of the Wild and Neir Automata exist.

 

[TI82]

Thanks for spicing up the thread.

Really hoping that crazy guy from the trial thread shows up and starts berating people again.

 

[Drillary Clinton]

Can it dethrone KOTOR2 as the worst Bioware RPG?

So we're about to act like KOTOR 2 (plot twist aside) doesn't have a way better story than 1?


I was planning on waiting for this anyway. I've got way too much on my plate but it is very disappointing to see a game I was so excited for from one of my favorite franchises release in this state. AAA gaming is back.

 

[theRizzle]

73 isn't a bad score. Nier and Drakengard are in the 60s and I love them, but the problem is Andromeda is a mass audience, high budget game from a very reputable series. That score is a failure by legacy standards.

I think this is pretty much the only sensible way to look at it. I'll throw Alpha Protocol in there as a 60-something rated game that I enjoy, but even a 73 is just not okay for Mass Effect. As mentioned before I will play this game eventually as a fan of the series, but my expectations are low. I guess that gives them the chance to surprise me?

 

[Aangster]

My greatest concern is the approach to post-launch support, especially given the noted lack of polish by critics and players alike. There's been no outline from Bioware as to whether they will be working on things ranging from new content to bug fixes or some reworking. Informing us via Twitter that they'll investigate issues isn't going to cut it, and I would prefer to see some direction from them on this front.

It's fine for us to expect a polished sequel, but it would be a travesty to see Bioware/EA management reduce efforts to improve both the single and multiplayer experiences in spite of review scores or sales.

 

[BaasRed]

The bugs look like they will kill any enjoyment I can have in the game. Maybe I'll get it down the line when it's well patched and priced lower. Honestly disappointed how far Bioware fell. I love Dragon Age Origins, I didn't expect them to fuck it up again.

 

[Staf]

Without a shadow of a doubt

Just curious. Which game is the second word RPG they've made in your opinion?

 

[ironcreed]

This from Hardcore gamer is very worrying:



Bugs and glitches abound, enough for the reviewer to call it a nightmare, oh mannn ((

Wow. You don't even see shit like that in a game by Reality Pump. I honestly just don't think it is finished, and since it took 5 years, I see EA probably axing this part of BioWare.

 

[Fredrik]

I am sorry to say this was easy to see coming. I am sure that a lot of passion and hard work went into this. Looks like it is still a competent game that hardcore Bioware fans should try out, but for the less devoted there are just too many other games to play to have to put up with the flaws that have been running for a decade.

This makes me really sad, I love Mass Effect but I would never be able to stick til the end if it's this buggy. I might pick it up when it's dirt cheap at some Steam summer sale but for now I'm just going to try to ignore this game.

 

[oti]

I don't think EA cars for ME that much anymore I mean they had the B-Team working on it.

So what does EA care about then? Mirror's Edge 2 started as a passion project and in the end it was dumped onto the market, Mass Effect is now generic and uninspired. What's left? Just FIFA and Star Wars?

 

[StrongBlackVine]

In that review predictions thread, I guessed the exact same number. Never played Mass Effect before, so I didn't have much context to base it off.

It was a filler pick in my most anticipated list simply because of past titles, but I feel kind of silly for putting it there. At the time, we didn't know what was really coming out this year. Nier: Automata is the only game I really overlooked, and that should have been in its place.

However, I don't pass on games just because they score below 80 on Metacritic. That's very silly, because you'll miss out on several entertaining experiences. Andromeda doesn't seem like a bad game at all, but it apparently doesn't live up to previous ME titles.

Not passing on it because of the score by itself. It's because there are so many other superior RPGs that have recently released or are releasing soon. If this had released in January I probably would have bought it day one.

 

[massoluk]

Let us be real 70% is good in the sense that your game must be utterly broken to get less than 50%, whatever your beef with how the review use the scale.

 

[Ragnar Blackmane]

Unfortunately, I don't think the AAA open world is going to decline especially from multiplatform dev's because the idea that an open world = more content = more value for your money.

Good point, I agree that the main reason why open world games are likely to be so popular (especially for AAA publishers) is that you can write down an amazing list of bullet points ('massive game world, so much content, so much to see!' quantity vs quality considerations aside), as well as a really long and easily inflatable game length.

In any case I think that smaller open worlds (like in Nier:A) are the way to go for open world development, Witcher 3 was an outlier in several aspects besides talent (e.g. lower salaries and massive amounts of crunch for the devs = pushes down production costs significantly).

One of my favorite games of all time, Gothic 2, is an open-world game as well (though those games weren't really called open-world at the time), but put together with insane attention to detail because the world was smaller and easier to properly hand-craft.

Smaller world = easier to pay attention to detail + lower production costs/easier to allocate funds for higher quality. One of the reasons I generally prefer more linear worlds in general.

EDIT: PC version finally got it's 4 reviews and it's a 72 Metascore as of now, yikes.

 

[Zemm]

Bioware are going backwards whilst devs making an RPG for the first time are blowing them out the water.

Time for some serious reflection at Bioware.

 

[Neolombax]

Without a shadow of a doubt

Wow...that bad huh? Looking forward to hearing your review, as soon as I finish work.

 

[xclaw]

At this point, not entirely surprised.... fairly upset but alas..... GG EA, at least you won't play me this time.

 

[A-V-B]

So what does EA care about then? Mirror's Edge 2 started as a passion project and in the end it was dumped onto the market, Mass Effect is now generic and uninspired. What's left? Just FIFA and Star Wars?

And Madden, right?

Just the easy super properties. EA becoming its own worst enemy... but maybe not. Maybe it's just been a looooooooong shifting of gears.

 

[TransTrender]

Hardcore Gamer - 3.5/5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-S56ek5rMI

I hope it continues to get patched as it's a solid game otherwise.

Amazing

 

[ScientificPizza]

i think, all things considered, these are good scores. i'm not disappointed at all

 

[brickarts295]

Eh, I got the game for $30 thanks to GCU and Visa deals. I can deal with this.

]
Just come back to the franchise in like a decade or something.

 

[AlexFlame116]

Can it dethrone KOTOR2 as the worst Bioware RPG?

You leave the GOAT Star Wars RPG (and possibly Star Wars game in general) which was NOT made by Bioware but rather by Obsidian out of this!!!

To the reviewers that mentioned performance issues....

Go read your last few reviews you hypocrites, usual reviewer bullshit, you just cant find an honest one except for JIM.

Hopefully Pro will sort out perf.

Even IGN mark down performance - have these guys no fucking shame as I thought 20 FPS and freezing was a pass from their last few articles ?

Eeeeehhhhh???? What?

3. DA2 is the worst Bioware game

Sonic Chronicles wants a word with you.

Spoiler

DA2 is a great game. Yeah I said it!

 

[Harlequin]

So what does EA care about then? Mirror's Edge 2 started as a passion project and in the end it was dumped onto the market, Mass Effect is now generic and uninspired. What's left? Just FIFA and Star Wars?

And Battlefield.

 

[Protome]

The reaction to this game in a few months time will be fascinating. People were split on ME3, but there weren't many people arguing that it was a better game than ME2.

There are going to be people who hate Andromeda and people who think it's easily the best game in the series. There will be fights.

Yeah, I think it'll fall into that same camp as Dragon Age 2. Where some people love it for what it did and other people

Spoiler

are wrong

dislike it.

 

[Peterc]

I wonder why some are giving the game 9.5. Is it because of the name?

 

[Lucreto]

This is what happens when you don't have Quarians as a squad mate or in Multiplayer. /jk

I come from an era when RPGs scoring 7 was considered a great score and the games are usually great.

From the excerpts it seems a lot like Inquisition which is a major plus at its my favourite game this generation. I am just glad I didn't order the CE.

As for the bugs they don't bother me and usually don't hinder my experience.

Also it's a Bioware RPG they didn't fix Inquisition until after the the Emporium was released.

 

[sehui]

70s for a AAA game is pretty much critical reception suicide, getting a C- on a 40 million dollar budget is pretty damn bad.

Looks like all the signs were true..honestly the proof was in the pudding: the animations, the char creations, the suspect story writing...

I get that Mass Effect fans didnt want to believe this one was bad, but none of the original core developers still exist in Bioware.

Many of the writers and lead devs for Andromeda are new; it's pretty much a new staff (Montreal) taking up source code that they weren't familiar with, and trying to make a Mass Effect game from that.


This will be a skip for me; with Zelda, Nier, Nioh, Horizon Zero Dawn, Skull Knight, and Persona 5 all around the same time..so..yeah.

 

[Drillary Clinton]

They cared enough to green light another entry in the series and gave it to a B-team because it probably will still a sizable amount due to the name alone for those who aren't enthusiasts and follow reviews.

Is it actually developed by the B team tho? What is the main team working on? New dragon age?

 

[jdstorm]

73 isn't a bad score. Nier and Drakengard are in the 60s and I love them, but the problem is Andromeda is a mass audience, high budget game from a very reputable series. That score is a failure by legacy standards.

The issue is that there are different kinds of 7/10s

There are highly ambitious niche games that miss as much as they hit (Nier ect)
Then there are mediocre AAA games lacking the polish to be an 8 or 9.

Unfortunately Mass Effect seems to lean closer to the later

 

[rrc1594]

So what does EA care about then? Mirror's Edge 2 started as a passion project and in the end it was dumped onto the market, Mass Effect is now generic and uninspired. What's left? Just FIFA and Star Wars?

I mean Bioware is working on a new IP so not all hope is lost......

 

[amiablepercy]

Just don't preorder before reviews are out. You gain nothing by doing that. My plan was to pre order today if reviews suggested the story and writing quality improved as the game went on, but it sounds very much like it doesn't. I'll buy it a couple of weeks from now at a bargain price instead.

7 reviewers on OpenCritic said it was Mighty
10 said it was strong.

I'm not fond of aggregates but don't understand how the current average is being characterized as some sort of debacle.

It is a matter of taste.

 

[Blue Ninja]

Dang, that's even more divisive than I expected. Will still play and enjoy, but hell if I'm not a bit disappointed in BioWare right now. I'd love to find out where things went wrong, since this game seemed like such an easy victory.

It'd be interesting to be a fly on the wall at BioWare right now. I hope this isn't the end of Mass Effect.

 

[Alter_Fridge]

Why didn't they just delay it and release in November?

No one likes a rushed game

 

[sam777]

70 metacritic is decent in my book however being the franchise it is I am disappointed in the scores.

 

[K.Sabot]

Drakengard is mediocre musou from a gameplay perspective, the story elevates it.

Tries crazy shit and fails, but still tried crazy shit.

As opposed to most games that succeed at making boring games.

ME:A? I don't know yet, but it leaning towards failing, and tried some interesting stuff, but not enough to find intriguing despite caveats.

 

[A-V-B]

I get that Mass Effect fans didnt want to believe this one was bad, but none of the original core developers still exist in Bioware.

Mac Walters does, but he wrote ME3's ending so maybe the jury is out on wanting to respect his overall effect on the series.

 

[down 2 orth]

Listing reviews from best to worst threw me off guard, then that 73 Metacritic score threw me off guard once again. I was expecting 80-82...

 

[AlexFlame116]

Really hoping that crazy guy from the trial thread shows up and starts berating people again.

Who was that again? I'm thinking of someone but don't want to say it just in case I'm wrong.

 

[Zojirushi]

Sounds like with a couple rounds of patches this could be a good videogame. Keeping it on my radar.

 

[jurgen]

Any reviews speak to the quality of the multiplayer? I know it seems backward in talking about a series like Mass Effect but that is the component of the game I was most looking forward to. ME3 is my favorite horde mode shooter.

If anything, I'll just wait until this fall when it's on sale for half off and more MP content is added.

 

[comshoplesce]

So glad I canceled my CDKeys preorder now. I just don't want to reward EA for this. They didn't care about this franchise or its fans. They gave it to the b-team who had only ever made multiplayer content and one mediocre DLC, and it showed. They signed their name to a mediocre product and devalued the brand, because they just don't give enough of a damn to insist on quality. So congratulations EA. You put the real development team on a totally untested new IP and casually tossed away Bioware's most valuable franchise with a shrug. I don't know if the market will reward you for it. I hope they don't.

You nailed this.

 

[PepperedHam]

I wonder why some are giving the game 9.5. Is it because of the name?

I think they like it

 

[DrD]

This looks like my first big disappointment of 2017.

 

[BigAl1992]

Right, I've seen enough from this game. I was willing to take a risk on it, but it's clear now that the game has serious flaws that'll require months worth of patches to bring it up to an acceptable level. I'm not rewarding BioWare for this with my money, and as soon as I get home today, I'm cancelling my previous order and buying Battlefield 1 instead, an actual GOOD game that EA have, to compliment my Day One edition of Nier: Automata, an RPG that I'm actually surprised by and genuinely enjoy playing it.

 

[N7.Angel]

Oh my fucking God, what the fuck are they doing ? I said that they needed to do everything right after ME3 terrible ending but it seems that everything got worse!!! Fuck them.

I'm so dissapointed right now, fuck them, I'm on a verge of canceling my preorder, they have the chance that the game is called Mass Effect.

 

[Interface_2037]

I was seriously considering buying a new 1080 or 1080Ti to play this game.

..that's a minimum $500 saved.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

Unfortunately, I don't think the AAA open world is going to decline especially from multiplatform dev's because the idea that an open world = more content = more value for your money.

I genuinely do enjoy open worlds, but its been a while since I've played something that genuinely felt special, being the witcher 3. ( I have not played Horizon or Zelda)

Then you need to play Horizon and Zelda.

 

[Viewtiful]

I kind of wonder how much effort Bioware is going to put into polishing this game post release. I really REALLY hope that this game doesn't end up being a franchise killer.

 

[Ulong]

I have a hard time imagining this being worse than DA2 because of the complete degradation of basic combat gameplay going from DAO to DA2. Of course "better than dragon age 2" isn't exactly high praise.