Mass Effect: Andromeda

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Beck
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Mass Effect: Andromeda

Post by Beck »

I couldn't find a thread so started a new one.

First of, I'm a massive Mass Effect fan. 1 is my favourite, 2 is really good and 3 was a massive disappointment. I was going to get this game day 1, regardless of reviews. I'm now 2 hours in and I think I'm passed where the EA trial stopped. So far I really like the look of the game, graphically it is brilliant. The combat feels good although a little limited but I've not unlocked different skills yet.

I like the limited story that I have encountered, there were complaints from people who had played the trial that it was too little and that huge events happen before characters were built. So much so that it was difficult to relate with the protagonist, I don't think that is the case. There is a scene early on where something devastating happens to your character and I felt that, I didn't need hours of character building for that. However, that was completely ruined by the scenes following, there is something seriously wrong with the facial animations. I didn't realise that facial animation made such a huge impact on games until playing this, it's dreadful.

Image

This is the face of my character, she has just found out that someone close to her has passed. I think this facial expression is supposed to display mourning, shock, upset.

Image

This is another screenshot of the character from several minutes later. Not only has she had some bad news but she has also been thrust into a position of massive responsibility that she doesn't feel she is ready for.

This completely broke my immersion with the character and her current standings. I wanted to look away from the TV and just listen rather than watch. There is also something weird with the character chat / cut scenes. Everyone looks like they are smiling, regardless of the emotion they should portray. Characters will move to random parts in the scene and take a weird position until it's their turn to speak.

So far I'm mixed, I want to be involved in the story but it's difficult. Has anyone else played it?
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Alex79
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Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Post by Alex79 »

Haven't played it yet, but I really want to. I loved the original trilogy, ending and all. I hold the games in higher regard than Star Wars, or any other 'space based' sci-fi media, well, ever. The only reason really I didn't pick it up straight away is I've got a lot of stuff I need to finish before I can get round to this one, but I'll get there eventually and fully expect to love every minute of it. Although, I did get rather attached to my Shepherd after however many years together - this new character does have a lot to live up to.
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Flabyo
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Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Post by Flabyo »

Going to do with this what I did with Assasins Creed Unity and see how it goes after they drop a few title updates.
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Beck
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Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Post by Beck »

Just a little update. I'm at the 4 hour mark and I'm loving this game, it feels like Mass Effect 1. Yes there is flaws. Yes I might have turned on subtitles and read them rather than looking at the faces. My wife is away all of Saturday... yas!
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Sean
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Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Post by Sean »

I'd agree that the best comparison is ME1. Definitely feels like it's laying the ground work for a full series, as it probably should. I think it's biggest crime is just that it isn't doing anything new. The story feels a bit of a retread. Haven't finished it though, so, it certainly has time to change things up. Otherwise I'm having a good time.
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Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Post by Joshihatsumitsu »

I'm also a big Mass Effect fan who hasn't bought this game yet, and is super hesitant to even bother with it. And to be honest, the modern trend of "release-buggy-game-and-patch-it-later" is not a habit I want to support.

Granted, it's a big and ambitious game, and it requires talented people, and resources that are not infinite, to bring it all together. I assume some of you have already read this roundtable of animators talking about Andromeda (http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/2944 ... pileon.php), and if you haven't then definitely check it out. The logistics and effort involved are not lost on me.

But when I think of this game, and the fuster-cluck that was the PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight... there's a sloppiness and a profound disregard for the customer, as well as the quality of their products, that make it hard to invest in this generation of gaming. If you live in an area where you have a good internet connection, and you can afford it, then I can understand why the "patch-it-in-later" isn't a deal breaker, but not everyone does. Hell, I live in a country that is struggling keeping the electricity and gas going! Infrastructure and planning ahead is not Australia's strong point. :roll:

Anyway... this is just me having a bit of a whinge, and there are certainly bigger problems in this world. I'm sure there are people who will get joy out of Andromeda, even with the bugs, and more power to you! I've already had my three-game Mass Effect adventure, and while those games also had issues, I was able to overlook them and get a lot out of the series. But I think I'm done with that universe. :?
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Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Post by DomsBeard »

http://blog.bioware.com/2017/04/04/mass ... -05-notes/

Patch rolling out tomorrow that should fix some problems.

100% agree with Beck it does remind me of Mass Effect 1 so much. I also like Ryder (well mine anyway), I'm playing him like a guy thrown in at the deep end who is going to sort everything out. He isn't a seasoned campaigner like Shephard was.
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Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Post by PapaJupe13 »

I got the Mass Effect blues. There is an amazing game in there, somewhere. It just seems to be buried under a ton or so of absolute garbage. My love/hate relationship with the game is tipping towards hate right now.
I have been gaming since my parents bought me an Atari 2600 for Christmas in 1981 and I can say with all honesty that Mass Effect Andromeda is the glitchiest game I have ever played. And I play all the Bethesda open world games.
ME:A has more bugs than Earth Defense Force. It is 50% awesome and 50% crap and I am sick of digging through crap to get to the good stuff.

Right now my big decision is whether to move on to Yakuza 0, Nier:Automata, or Persona 5 to help shake the ME blues.
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Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Post by KSubzero1000 »

I don't think you can go wrong with any of these choices, to be honest.

Tangentially related, but I don't think I'll ever understand why people are so willing to buy unfinished games at launch. A massive, five-year production cycle project can't just be rushed within two years by overworking your developers. Shouldn't we hold our hobby and the people involved in its production to a higher standard? It didn't use to be this way...
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Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Post by PapaJupe13 »

I agree. As long as we keep buying these games at launch, companies will find no reason to try harder.
But honestly, when it comes to new games, I am like Dr. Huxtable in 2017...no patience.
I have no will power. It can be a problem when it comes to time, on a personal level. And I know I am contributing to the problem.
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Post by KSubzero1000 »

Look, I really didn't mean to attack you personally. It's just... I can't think of any other industry who could get away with this kind of nonsense. Movies only going through half of post-production, cars not being in a driveable state, processed food missing half the ingredients written on the list, comic books only being partially color-printed... any one of these sounds utterly ridiculous, right? Consumers would straight up not buy any of that, and I imagine there would be severe long-term financial repercussions for the decision-makers involved. As shady as so many industries are in many regards, there is still a near-universal understanding that consumers should at least be sold a functional product. But video games? No, that's fine. No quality control whatsoever. "They're just virtual toys, anyway." People just spend two weeks complaining on social media and that's it. It's getting more and more difficult to pin the blame solely on UbiSoft, Bethesda & Co. At the end of the day, and as ugly as it sounds, they're just companies trying to make money by any means necessary.

I just care about this medium, that's all.
PapaJupe13

Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Post by PapaJupe13 »

No worries. I did not take it as a personal attack at all.

But to be fair, most games I buy are not this buggy or glitchy.
It is a rare occasion that I deal with something like this. And this game has been the worse.
Joshihatsumitsu

Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Post by Joshihatsumitsu »

The upside of this buggy, glitchy generation of gaming: it's given me the opportunity to play catch up with previous generations!

When the bigger budget games get their shit together, I'll make more of an effort. All I can do is vote with my money: its the biggest power we have as consumers.
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Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Post by DomsBeard »

I'll get the negative out of the way now. I've had to ''close the application'' on PS4 twice now when it has stuck on the loading screen. Both times it was when boarding the Tempest.

I've not noticed any issues apart from that but then I'm not one of these people who looks for or notices anything. I have to say I am absolutely loving this game. The settings and story work so well. I completed a mission last night
Spoiler: show
rescue Moshae
and from start to finish it was a cracker with some interesting battles and choices (some of which you get a small window to make). It isn't as good as 2 but it has borrowed a lot from it.

The most ringing endorsement I can give it is that it made me not pick up my phone for over two hours :P
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James
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Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Post by James »

I honestly don't know when/if I'll play Andromeda.

After ME3, I certainly wasn't enamoured with the ending (and less so after the indoctrination theory was quashed) and the game diminished a little in my memory in the months after. That meant I wasn't chomping at the bit for another Mass Effect, even if I do still have a lot of love for the series (and the first game in particular).

The reports of technical difficulties haven't strengthened my desire to play Andromeda, but I do still harbour curiosity over what a refined Mass Effect would look like now.

It's a bizarre time for big-budget games.
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Sean
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Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Post by Sean »

So, almost 70 hrs later, and, it's not the best Mass Effect game, by a long shot, but, I do think it's getting a pretty bad rap. Not that the previous games were top of the class third-person-shooters or anything, but, the moment-to-moment gameplay is improved by a fair margin, and it still had some surprisingly difficult choices to make.

Think it's worth at least giving a chance.
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JaySevenZero
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Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Post by JaySevenZero »

At 70 hours in, can't be all bad then?

Mind you, I'm someone who put around 800 hours in on Destiny and still says it's a bag o' shite so what do I know?!
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Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Post by Sean »

Yeah, I definitely enjoyed my time with it, and am very curious to see where it goes from here. I keep hearing different accounts of whether it's a new trilogy, or a one-off. Would like a new trilogy, but, can understand if they put it on ice for a while, if not forever, considering it's overall reception. I doubt this is the way they expected to return to the series.
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Golar
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Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Post by Golar »

I've not finished Andromeda yet, in fact I've barely scratched the surface. The way I expect (hope) this one goes is that it becomes the foundation for a new trilogy set in Andromeda. Perhaps the next one could be set 30 years or so later when the colonies Ryder foounds have fully developed into cities. With 600+ years having passed in the Milky Way, it might be a good idea to return there. That way, this game would be a sort of bridge between two trilogies.

I'm a diehard Mass Effect fan so naturally I'm hooked on this one, but it's hard not to see the game's shortcomings. I think the disappointing character models and animations (even post-patch) are the most glaringly obvious ones. It feels shallow to fixate on something like that, but in a series that has always been a cinematic experience it is important.

I don't think Star Wars would have been quite as fondly remembered if all the actors were crafted out of blancmange.
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Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Post by Elijah Lawhorn »

Well, the animation is not the worst part. The beginning generally copies 1 ME. In general, I realized the real goal of the "initiative" is to collect the most fierce freaks and give em guns. Quests are full of DA: Inquisition! This is sad. People are dying, there is nothing to eat and the first thing they ask you to do is to take flowers to the friend's grave, scanning 50 stones on the way... I'm not a hater though.
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