Mass Effect Andromeda was another gift from my friend and I haven’t finished playing it yet. That being said I haven’t updated this for a while and thought I would put up my thoughts so far. If the game manages to change my mind, then I will update this piece. Now onto the article itself.
So I remember this being released and there was a sense of this being either the redeeming game for the series or that it would kick down what was already a beaten series. My initial impression from the media was that this was a game to avoid, it was mediocre at best and diabolical at worst. A lot of this negativity was focussed on the graphics, specifically people’s faces. I appreciate good graphics but I don’t really let the look of the game decide whether it is any good. Coming from Sega Megadrive as my first console, I am just thankful things are 3D still.
So addressing the graphics first, the facial animations are hilariously bad. Mainly for the humans, but there is no glossing over it, they’re bad. When it comes to textures, like armours and landscapes, they are pretty good, certainly not the worst I’ve seen on the PS4. The effects are a sci-fi nerd’s fantasy, I thought that they were really good, and didn’t get a fair mention from most reviewers.
Gameplay wise, this game is solid. The variety of ways to play the game are extensive, as the game utilises profiles to give you class bonus’ and within that you have the skills to upgrade what kind of fighter you’re going to be. For anyone that is curious, I went solid combat build geared towards suppression, though I grabbed a tech skill to deal with enemy shields. The shooting in the game could be a little tighter but on the whole it feels solid. Traveling is not so bad on the planet, especially if you upgrade the vehicle used to explore the planets to make getting round faster. There are bugs in the game, pretty bad ones too, like randomly freezing when driving, or falling through the map. I’d have hoped by this point that they would have patched these issues but clearly not.
On travel, I think this game could have done with a) slightly smaller planets to drive around and b) less fetch quests. I think I’m not alone when I say quality not quantity. Addressing the size, some of the planets can take a while to get from A to B, rather than fill it with interesting things to do. A smaller map would have made more sense. In terms of quests, I’d rather fewer quests that are interesting like Witcher 3 contracts or classic Mass Efect ally quests.
For the story, it is a classic exploration tale. In this instance, rather than new countries, man blasts off to a new life in another galaxy, and you become the Chosen One, no the Pathfinder but same the same thing really. Anyway, you meet new aliens and kill them. Before this spins off to an Air Force 1 tribute, you meet friendly aliens too and strike an alliance too. You also discover technology that can stabilise inhospitable worlds and get them working, against the clock because, reasons. I am unable to tell you much more without spoilers but suffice to say I’m into the game now, I have my eclectic crew, am exploring planets and setting up outposts for humanity.
Your motley crew this time round is a asari commando trained human, Cora and Liam, the crisis solving bodyguard. Then you get a krogan, because Mass Effect 3 really missed having a Krogan, but Drack is an old warrior rather than the raging soldiers you’ve dealt with before. You get a supply officer, who is extremely over-qualified, turian named Vetra, an eccentric commitaphobe asari called Peebee, and Jaal, new alian species and is basically Garrus 2.0.
So overall I enjoyed the game but I can see improvements to be made in terms of gameplay and especially with the quest system. I would recommend that they pull an Assassin Creed Origins and take some extra time with the next game. Always worth making a game of outstanding quality.
Now for hints and tips for the explorers:
- Don’t bother exploring every planet, it takes a while just to move the camera to them and the resources you get are rarely worth it.
- If it is a fetch quest, ignore it unless you’re a 100% artist.
- Get research perks and mineral perks, you can make some pretty sweet equipment.
- Upgrade your vehicle too, makes your life better if it is faster and better protected.
- When choosing skills, pick ones that you can see yourself using, I have the concussive shot as it can stagger, unfortunately it is not cool but very effective.
- Peebee and Jall in the car have hilarious dialogue, so check that out.
- Dash everywhere, it’s quicker than sprinting and looks cooler.
- Avoid water in the vaults, it kills you dead.
- Turbocharge and Invasion are pretty OP skills.
- Overload skill shoots lightening to make you feel like a Sith.
That is all I got at the moment, will update when I finish the game.