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I'm a Bit Worried about Mass Effect: Andromeda

I'm excited for it, but I'm keeping expectations low for the moment.

I feel the game-play of the original Trilogy improved with each new game, but the story slowly regressed. The characters were always good, and I enjoyed the multi-player. Dragon Age Inquisition does have me a little worried also, as its multiplayer was terrible and outside of the main story line the side quest/missions were terrible.
 
From the Nvidia stage demo, they said there were loyalty missions, which leads me to believe this will be structured like 2, which means they is probably no overall story again, like 2.
 
Renekton said:
Why do you guys care so much about marketing?

Just wait for reviews upon release.
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Man I just want to see all of my crew. Who's in it, what's their story, who can be romanced, and which one of two characters will I have to sacrifice bear the end of the game so I can save the other.
 
Otheradam said:
From the Nvidia stage demo, they said there were loyalty missions, which leads me to believe this will be structured like 2, which means they is probably no overall story again, like 2.
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That is exactly my concern. Plus they've said that they wanted to tone down the intensity of the story so players would not feel guilty for going off and exploring.

So basically it's just a sandbox. That's why the trailers so far have seemed so soulless. They don't have a central theme to tie the whole thing together other than some vague mystery about your family. Normally for me story in a game would only be a minor point to worry about. The problem for Mass Effect is that it's gameplay has never been good enough to carry all the weight by itself.
 
When people post threads where they're "worried" or "concerned" about a game, I imagine them sitting up a night either pacing or panicking in bed.

Just let it be? There's nothing you can do to improve the game. It's quality is inevitable, just forget about it and read the reviews when it comes out.
 
EA are trying to mimic the Fallout 4 marketing plan IMO, but not doing it quite as well.

Rest assured, there will be plenty of gameplay to come, Aaryn Flynn just confirmed a ~15 min or so gameplay demonstration soon, showing everything from shipboard conversations, plotting navigation, landing and doing a mission.

I think those who are doubting the game's quality may be in for a pleasant surprise come release time.

AlexFlame116 said:
Man I just want to see all of my crew. Who's in it, what's their story, who can be romanced, and which one of two characters will I have to sacrifice bear the end of the game so I can save the other.
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I don't think a lot of the Mass Effect fans want to know all of that before playing it....I don't, that's for sure.
 
I'm not, Gaf will hate it obviously but I think the trailers look fine.

I'm personally completely on board with Publishers reigning in the hype period for games and leaving the majority of the game under wraps so players can experience it themselves. There's very little mystery left in most games these days because games are announced a year or more ahead of release and by the time it comes out pretty much everything is known.

I'm hoping more publishers follow suit and more games aren't given marketing pushes until a few months from release.
 
Auctopus said:
When people post threads where they're "worried" or "concerned" about a game, I imagine them sitting up a night either pacing or panicking in bed.

Just let it be? There's nothing you can do to improve the game. It's quality is inevitable, just forget about it and read the reviews when it comes out.
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Exactly. How dare people want to discuss a highly anticipated game on a game discussion forum. What in the world were they thinking?
 
Does Bioware have different internal teams? It's insane to me how hot and cold they have been for me. The only games I have enjoyed in their library have been KOTOR, ME1, and DA:Origins. I swore them off after DA:I. That's a game that I have yet to beat and still try to after all this time but just can't.
 
I'm just hoping the game has an interesting narrative and side quests that feel like they add depth to characters. Bioware has shown some tendencies towards bowing to industry trends regarding open worlds and superfluous collectathon grinds, and I really hope that isn't the case here.
 
My prediction re: the marketing.....

The week of 23rd-30th January we get a new story trailer.

February will be an all out blitz on the senses to drive pre-order numbers, at least 8 trailers and the aforementioned ~15 minute gameplay loop showing most aspects of the game.

March 1st-Release will be 3 weeks of new trailers, a blitzkrieg of sorts. We will see more of the mysterious Alec Ryder in this period, his story arc looks more grimdark IMO.


....at least this is what I hope EA is planning, not just nothing lol.
 
Dragon Age II
Mass Effect 3
Dragon Age: Inquisition

Their past three games set the precedent for what to expect in Mass Effect: Andromeda.
 
ReaperXL7 said:
I'm not, Gaf will hate it obviously but I think the trailers look fine.

I'm personally completely on board with Publishers reigning in the hype period for games and leaving the majority of the game under wraps so players can experience it themselves. There's very little mystery left in most games these days because games are announced a year or more ahead of release and by the time it comes out pretty much everything is known.

I'm hoping more publishers follow suit and more games aren't given marketing pushes until a few months from release.
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I heard the same pushback from criticism about No Man's Sky and look how that turned out. Publishers don't just receive gamers support by default. They have to earn that support. After all, how can you tell the difference between a publishers hiding the flaws in a game like NMS did, and a game trying to preserve the mystery? The answer is that you can't.

Nobody is asking so the game's secrets to be revealed, but gameplay isn't a secret. Showing a compelling conflict that drives the story isn't a secret. These are things the player should know at the beginning of the game. The marketing for Andromeda has been horrible. Look at this thread for proof of that. The results of your marketing shouldn't be people questioning if your game is going to suck.
 
EventHorizon said:
Exactly. How dare people want to discuss a highly anticipated game on a game discussion forum. What in the world were they thinking?
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It's not like vocalizing our worries will somehow make the game better, let alone affect the game at all. Even if most of the feedback thus far had been constructive, it's not like BioWare could do anything with it. The game's essentially done. All that's left is bug squashing and optimization.

I think it'd be completely reasonable to have a thorough discussion of this game's terrible marketing, though, because that's an issue EA can actually remedy. However, there's not enough information about the game itself to have anything more than superficial dialog. Most responses I see are either invoking that gif, reiterating their greivances about Inquisition, pointing out how Andromeda doesn't look like their favorite Mass Effect, or just spiraling into which Mass Effect was the worst.
 
Nothing for the lead up to this game has been revolutionary, consistent or anything like the previous 3 games in the series.

It just looks like another team doing a remake but with the feedback from 3 + without the epic story...
 
Do we have any good pictures to get a sense of scale on the Tempest? My brain just can't seem to reconcile all of that stuff it's supposed to be packed with when it looks so small in all the footage I'm seeing.
 
Pinko Marx said:
Its a Bioware game. I'd say a heavy dose of caution is highly recommended, if not required, regardless of how awesome the game may or may not look.
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Isn't it a shame it has gotten to this point? Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins were so damned good. Two of the greatest games ever. And then just like that it went downhill.

Like what happened? I know a lot of people will just say "EA happened" but there has to be some story there.
 
RoboticWater said:
It's not like vocalizing our worries will somehow make the game better, let alone affect the game at all. Even if most of the feedback thus far had been constructive, it's not like BioWare could do anything with it. The game's essentially done. All that's left is bug squashing and optimization.

I think it'd be completely reasonable to have a thorough discussion of this game's terrible marketing, though, because that's an issue EA can actually remedy. However, there's not enough information about the game itself to have anything more than superficial dialog. Most responses I see are either invoking that gif, reiterating their greivances about Inquisition, pointing out how Andromeda doesn't look like their favorite Mass Effect, or just spiraling into which Mass Effect was the worst.
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I don't know about you but I don't comment on NeoGaf to help developers make their games. I've seen very little evidence that GAF has any such effect. I do it because games are a passion in my life and I like to talk about them. I don't need developers reacting to me to justify what topics I discuss.
 
BioWare are kind of in flux in terms of their form: I personally think they're on the up and up after DA2, with SWTOR, ME3 then Inquisition all being better than the game beforehand for me.

I feel Inquisition gets ragged on far more than it deserves, it was a really good game IMO (once you left the Hinterlands) and I think it was a return to form after DA2 and ME3. It probably didn't deserve the GOTY awards it got all over the show including the TGA one....but it was fun and polished albeit lacking a little in the villain department whilst also succumbing to some open world tropes a bit too often.

ME3's multiplayer really stood out as the highlight of that game I reckon, good to know the main team behind that is in charge of the gameplay this time around: you can really see the influence in the gameplay we have been shown so far.

It will be interesting if the upcoming (surely, it is must be) full-blitz of marketing leading up to release is really good: I guess we'll know in the next 60 days or so if EA truly have dropped the ball on advertising one of their biggest franchises...or if there was a master plan behind all of this vagueness all along (hoping for the latter).

Please be the latter, EA.
 
EventHorizon said:
That is exactly my concern. Plus they've said that they wanted to tone down the intensity of the story so players would not feel guilty for going off and exploring.

So basically it's just a sandbox. That's why the trailers so far have seemed so soulless. They don't have a central theme to tie the whole thing together other than some vague mystery about your family. Normally for me story in a game would only be a minor point to worry about. The problem for Mass Effect is that it's gameplay has never been good enough to carry all the weight by itself.
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That's not what they said. They said that they don't want the story to be the kind of grand epic, save the galaxy story again because many feel that it detracts from exploration. How can you be justify helping some old man find his daughter if the entire galaxy will burn if you don't complete the main story? ME1 had this problem to an extent, you're supposed to be tracking Saren and preventing him from possibly bringing back galaxy wiping killer machines. Yet, there you are lounging around on the Citadel sleeping with Asari consorts. They want a story that allows for exploration and just plain "screwing around" to make sense within its context. I thought ME2 already did this pretty well.
 
The marketing for this game is beyond woeful. They have given us very little reason to be excited. Wheres the hook? The twist? It seems like a prettier ME3?

Also looking at Bioware's recent track record, plus where the other big RPG series is going (Bethesda), I expect this game to be a fun, pretty, vast Space action game with a weak story and streamlined RPG mechanics
 
Dont worry, it will be brilliant. All 3 games were superb, you have no realistic reason to suspect this will be any different.
 
Back-In-Black said:
That's not what they said. They said that they don't want the story to be the kind of grand epic, save the galaxy story again because many feel that it detracts from exploration. How can you be justify helping some old man find his daughter if the entire galaxy will burn if you don't complete the main story? ME1 had this problem to an extent, you're supposed to be tracking Saren and preventing him from possibly bringing back galaxy wiping killer machines. Yet, there you are lounging around on the Citadel sleeping with Asari consorts. They want a story that allows for exploration and just plain "screwing around" to make sense within its context. I thought ME2 already did this pretty well.
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Umm...That sounds EXACTLY like what they said and you just repeated it. All you have done is tried to justify it by not having the player feel guilty about finding someone's daughter. How is that not like some sandbox game where the player just putzes around?

My whole point is that because the game doesn't have some impending big evil bad thing to fight, marketing has nothing to promote. A trailer hinting at preventing that big evil bad thing™ is a lot more compelling than a trailer hinting at finding someone's daughter. Behold!!! The great Mass Effect:Andromeda:Finding Daughter Simulator.
 
EventHorizon said:
Umm...That sounds EXACTLY like what they said and you just repeated it. All you have done is tried to justify it by not having the player feel guilty about finding someone's daughter. How is that not like some sandbox game where the player just putzes around?

My whole point is that because the game doesn't have some impending big evil bad thing to fight, marketing has nothing to promote. A trailer hinting at preventing that big evil bad thing™ is a lot more compelling than a trailer hinting at finding someone's daughter. Behold!!! The great Mass Effect:Andromeda:Finding Daughter Simulator.
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This is actually the inverse of The Witcher 3's narrative. It's actually, The Witcher 3:Save the Cheerleader, Save the World: Instead Let's Play The Witcher Simulator!

Didn't seem to bother too many people I guess.
 
Don't remember a AAA game with worse marketing than this. I'm getting it but expecting the worst hoping for the best.
 
EventHorizon said:
Umm...That sounds EXACTLY like what they said and you just repeated it. All you have done is tried to justify it by not having the player feel guilty about finding someone's daughter. How is that not like some sandbox game where the player just putzes around?

My whole point is that because the game doesn't have some impending big evil bad thing to fight, marketing has nothing to promote. A trailer hinting at preventing that big evil bad thing™ is a lot more compelling than a trailer hinting at finding someone's daughter. Behold!!! The great Mass Effect:Andromeda:Finding Daughter Simulator.
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The Witcher 2 & 3 seemed to manage, I think ME:A will be fine. I don't want or need another "save the galaxy" plot and/or stop the big bad evil. They've done that to death.
 
chaosaeon said:
The first time they showed the game was completely dull.
The big trailer with that jank animation looked awful, the dialogue in it sounded like it was from a free to play mmo.
The small 2 minute gameplay from the other day looked like a mess of just running around shooting at everything as though it were a match in a horde mode instead of the story.
PEEBEE.

And one of the people working on the story was apparently the guy who wrote Halo 4 and Destiny's story. And guess what ? Now Mass Effect has "the Pathfinder" "the chosen" and "the anointed." Just hearing that stuff made my expectations for the story fall to a $20 or less buy. I hate that "the speaker, the traveler, the awoken" garbage. It's all interchangeable and means nothing to me. Just write a story and stop using titles for everything in your convoluted high school level plots. Shepard wasn't called "The Spectre."
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Because Shepard has no semblance to shepherd at all.
Back-In-Black said:
The Witcher 2 & 3 seemed to manage, I think ME:A will be fine. I don't want or need another "save the galaxy" plot and/or stop the big bad evil. They've done that to death.
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Wischer 3 is exactly that though. Ciri is sought after because she's the one to be prophesied to give birth to the chosen one. And it's not just save the galaxy but save the multiverseid because both her and the wild hunt can traverse it.
 
Indelible said:
I'am not worried at all, it is kinda refreshing to not have everything shown about the game.
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Yeah, I agree. This game will almost certainly be of a good quality, it just might not blow people away like the first two games did.

tbh I'm perfectly okay with just a super solid, if not particularly innovative, Mass Effect
 
Familienoberhauptvogel said:
Wischer 3 is exactly that though. Ciri is sought after because she's the one to be prophesied to give birth to the chosen one. And it's not just save the galaxy but save the multiverseid because both her and the wild hunt can traverse it.
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TW3's main plot is finding Ciri. It's only way later that the Wild Hunt comes into play and even then Geralt is only interested in them stopping the Hunt from hunting Ciri. At no point does the player or Geralt seek to (or actually) "save the world," they only care about saving Ciri.
 
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Back-In-Black said:
TW3's main plot is finding Ciri. It's only way later that the Wild Hunt comes into play and even then Geralt is only interested in them stopping the Hunt from hunting Ciri. At no point does the player or Geralt seek to (or actually) "save the world," they only care about saving Ciri.
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That's one and the same in the Witcherverse and saving the world, in this case known world, is a major plot line that effects the ending considerably IIRC in assassinating Radovid.
 
Many of us are worried. There's a chance that the game is coming in hot and what we've seen so far isn't enough to determine if the game will be any better than Bioware's recent efforts.
 
The marketing is god awful for this game. I can't imagine how pissed off I would be if I was working on this game and was watching the publicity team completely blow all the trailers/reveals.

Actually I can imagine... I worked on Star trek beyond.
 
BarringGaffner said:
The marketing is god awful for this game. I can't imagine how pissed off I would be if I was working on this game and was watching the publicity team completely blow all the trailers/reveals.

Actually I can imagine... I worked on Star trek beyond.
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Please tell us, how did they botch the marketing for such a great film? They made it look like dude-bro action nonsense in the vein of "Into Darkness" and not that good Trek shit the movie actually was.
 
Back-In-Black said:
TW3's main plot is finding Ciri. It's only way later that the Wild Hunt comes into play and even then Geralt is only interested in them stopping the Hunt from hunting Ciri. At no point does the player or Geralt seek to (or actually) "save the world," they only care about saving Ciri.
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Sad thing about W3 is that controlling Ciri is 1000 times better than the crappy control / combat scheme of Gerald .

What a golden turd that game was
 
This game has been drowned out for me by hype for other games and a growing backlog.

Come March I'll be busy with Breath of the wild. After BoTW I'll be looking to pick up Resi7 and potentially Horizon (depending on reviews and impressions). REALLY didn't like DA:I. Dropped the game as soon as I touched the Witcher 3.
 
I don't really understand all the hate. I do agree that some of the animations looked a little wonky in that one trailer but I went back and watched that 4k video they did for the PSPro when it was called the Neo on my 4K set, I was super ass impressed and I'm really excited for the game to come out! I think they will deliver a very solid experience. I love the series but I am no where as picky as a lot of people seem to be on this series.
 
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