Mass Effect: Andromeda | Official Thread

[Scruffington]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/07/Mass_Effect_Andromeda_cover.jpeg

Release Date
----------------

NA: March 21, 2017
EU: March 23, 2017






Less than two months until the official release of Mass Effect: Andromeda. Post all discussion about the upcoming game in the Mass Effect series.

Anyone else playing through the Mass Effect series before this game releases?

[Bubba]

Anyone else playing through the Mass Effect series before this game releases?

http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/166735-Bubba-s-Mass-Effect-Adventures/page34

:monster:

[Psychotic]

I was considering doing a playthrough but I doubt I'll have time now!

This may sound like a petty complaint but some of the names of characters who have been released are dumb. Peebee? What even :colbert:

[Shauna]

Peebee? What even :colbert:

This is the first I've heard of this and it is amazing.

[Psychotic]

Peebee? What even :colbert:

This is the first I've heard of this and it is amazing.Monsters like you are ruining the games industry.

[Freya]

I HAVE A LOT TO DISCUSS ABOUT ANDROMEDA.



If you join the "Andromeda Initiative (https://www.masseffect.com/andromeda-initiative)" and sign in with your EA account, then watch the videos, you'll eventually unlock a unique item for the game when it releases.

The have 4/6 of the videos released and they are all informative. the most recent one has been on the characters. There has also been one about the ship, the new "mako", and basically it's hyping me up soooo much.

I have it pre-ordered on Origin as I plan on playing on my PC.

I really like how they are doing the main characters. You pick one of the Ryder Twins. If you pick the female, your male twin is still in the game and vice versa. Kinda similar to the DA 2 twins but not quite.

Your father is in it too though, Alec Ryder! He was an N7 operative and was one of the first one who went through the first Mass Relay found on Charon. So he's an old soldier. What's neat is whichever twin you pick, you get to fully customize and then your dad and sibling change based on your changes. You can customize them but not as heavily. Just tweaking.

The new "Mako" looks super fun, and you can give it paint jobs!! That's fun. I loved the Mako, I don't care what anyone says.

THEORY TIME:

One of your Teammates is Cora Harper. You know The Illusive Man is actually named Jack Harper. CONNECTION?! Who paid for this trip and how was it legal for them to send an AI? ME: A, the Arks left between ME2 and 3 apparently! AI was still outlawed.


http://68.media.tumblr.com/8e7c6f22e1c99956d2be83faa6e3a946/tumblr_okemslbBlo1ubh1kvo1_1280.png

Other interesting theory but I'll have to do some throw back explaining for fans who didn't know.

Drew Karpyshyn was the writer for ME1 and 2. He also wrote the novels. Between 2 and 3 he had a falling out with producer Casey Hudson. Casey Hudson scrapped Drew's Dark Matter plot idea and went with what we got. They had been setting it up since 1 (Source: Check out the tali missions of the collapsing star in 2) Drew left Bioware. Fans hated the Hudson ending. Hudson left bioware, Drew is back! Yay!

New trailer shows some strange dark things around a planet and the bad guys saying something about the "scourge/scorch" (not sure which). SO I'm wondering if that whole Dark Matter theory is back but for Andromeda.

[Psychotic]

Yeah, her, she's another one of my silly trivial gripes. It's space, right. The far future. Cool. Lots of different cultures, species, ideas. So why does she have "Let me speak to the manager" hair?

[Freya]

Maybe that's how her character is? WE DON'T KNOW.

"STOP YOU KETT, I demand to talk to your Manager in charge of this alien ship!"

[Del Murder]

This is perhaps the only game I know for sure I will be buying this year. The reboot is a good idea and a lot of the changes sound cool. I need to know which of the voice actors are better so I can choose my twin! I'm leaning towards the girl since I was always male Shep.

[Freya]

Rumors are that the cinematic trailer is going to feature Sara Ryder instead :excited:


ImJnbNFbKX0

[Del Murder]

Ok, yeah, going with Sara.

[Freya]

Clancy Brown is the voice actor for the dad :D AKA MR KRABS!

[Night Fury]

I'm sad/slightly amused at how butthurt "fans" are over Cora and the Asari are 'ugly'. (Seriously - look at the YT comments...)

but yeah I'm replaying 3 atm and I actually had forgotten how epic and emotional it is. ME is probably my favourite gaming series.

[Freya]

I'm sad/slightly amused at how butthurt "fans" are over Cora and the Asari are 'ugly'. (Seriously - look at the YT comments...)

but yeah I'm replaying 3 atm and I actually had forgotten how epic and emotional it is. ME is probably my favourite gaming series.
I hadn't even looked into any comments. People are really saying that? I think Pauls momager joke was just a joke. I think they look fine :(

Although comparing that picture I linked, You can tell the difference in style. TIM looks like they tried to go more ridged detailed while Cora is smoother. That may just be those two characters though, i'll have to look into it.

And yeah, ME3 is such a roller coaster.

[Psychotic]

I'm sad/slightly amused at how butthurt "fans" are over Cora and the Asari are 'ugly'. (Seriously - look at the YT comments...)

but yeah I'm replaying 3 atm and I actually had forgotten how epic and emotional it is. ME is probably my favourite gaming series.
I hadn't even looked into any comments. People are really saying that? I think Pauls momager joke was just a joke. I think they look fine :(I never make jokes and I am actually boycotting this game as a result.

[Pike]

If you can't bang the female turian (as a female Ryder) then what is the point of the game :colbert:

[Madame Adequate]

If you can't bang the female turian (as a female Ryder) then what is the point of the game :colbert:

fucking THIS

[Freya]

I don't think they've said who can romance who! OR if what we've seen is even the whole crew!

Would you guys feel the same about a female Krogan, or are you speciest :colbert:

[Formalhaut]

I need to do the Initiatives, because I've not really been following trailers and who's appearing or what. Those videos seem informative! :D

Not sure if I'll play as a Male or Female Ryder, yet. If I can gay it up with my crew, I might go male. The voice acting is a factor, though!

[DMKA]

I really hope some of the yet to be revealed characters are awesome looking because...well...

http://blogs-images.forbes.com/erikkain/files/2017/01/Screenshot-765.png

I'm not feeling this new cast at all. Everyone looks boring to hideous. The Krogan looks like, well, a generic Krogan. The Asari looks kind of repulsive, but I can't quite put my finger on what it is (and why are her boobs so low down?). All the human characters look exceptionally homely, with the exception of the male Ryder sibling, who just looks bland, generic, and uninspired.

I mean, the game still looks awesome and I'm in no way deterred from buying it, but man this cast just can't compare to Shepard and the Normandy crew.

http://pre09.deviantart.net/b2d1/th/pre/f/2013/135/2/0/mass_effect__the_fall_cast__updated__by_titanb92-d65a4mv.jpg

Well, hopefully even if they don't look that great their actual performance and plotlines as characters are good.

[Pike]

LET'S FACE IT Male Ryder is Cullen from Dragon Age Inquisition with a new hair color

[Freya]

So this reflects my feelings toward DMKA's comments haha

71641

[Psychotic]

I don't think they've said who can romance who! OR if what we've seen is even the whole crew!

Would you guys feel the same about a female Krogan, or are you speciest :colbert:Mate, male Krogan, female Krogan, take me down to a Krogan orgy and pass me around like currency for all I care, I am down.

[Night Fury]

I really hope some of the yet to be revealed characters are awesome looking because...well...

http://blogs-images.forbes.com/erikkain/files/2017/01/Screenshot-765.png

I'm not feeling this new cast at all. Everyone looks boring to hideous. The Krogan looks like, well, a generic Krogan. The Asari looks kind of repulsive, but I can't quite put my finger on what it is (and why are her boobs so low down?). All the human characters look exceptionally homely, with the exception of the male Ryder sibling, who just looks bland, generic, and uninspired.

I mean, the game still looks awesome and I'm in no way deterred from buying it, but man this cast just can't compare to Shepard and the Normandy crew.

http://pre09.deviantart.net/b2d1/th/pre/f/2013/135/2/0/mass_effect__the_fall_cast__updated__by_titanb92-d65a4mv.jpg

Well, hopefully even if they don't look that great their actual performance and plotlines as characters are good.

It could well be because she's an alien and so human rules don't apply. Even so, a lot of women have boobs that are low down. Boobs are as unique as fingerprints. I'm so sorry that she is too repulsive for you.

I think she's cute and that she looks like Robyn.


EDIT: She has a very young face, it could also be that she is a Maiden Asari - most likely a lot younger that Liara T'Soni too.

[Scruffington]

I was going to replay the entire Mass Effect trilogy before Andromeda comes out, but I honestly couldn't stand to replay Mass Effect 1 again. The gameplay is just so poor in 2017. I know a lot of people really enjoy the game for its music, story and dialogue, and I completely agree with all of those. However, I think the gameplay just drags the game down so much. It really doesn't hold up.

That said, I'm definitely hyped for Andromeda. I really hope they can retain those positive aspects of ME1 while improving upon the already good gameplay from ME2 and ME3.

[Formalhaut]

I'm hopeful for the return of sidequests. As good as ME: 3 was, due to the state of the galaxy and everything there weren't many sidequests. I kinda enjoyed solving all manner of problems in ME: 1, but then you had more time back then.

[theundeadhero]

I've been excited about it since I first heard it. I have it pre-ordered as well and have been doing all the initiatives when they come out.

The Cora/Illusive man connection is interesting. I wouldn't be surprised if he placed her there for a human interests plot twist that comes out at some time during the story. I don't think the Illusive Man's name is common knowledge so a lot of people may not expect it. I don't expect the AI to be any sort of Cerberus plot, though. AI is illegal, but the Citadel can and has authorized specific instances of AI development technologies.
In 2165, the Alliance facility at Sidon was found to have been conducting illegal AI research; the Alliance faced heavy fines and censure as a result. By 2183, only four corporations have been licensed by the Citadel to develop artificial intelligence for research purposes, one of which is Synthetic Insights, Ltd..

I'm a little worried over voice actor choices, especially femshep. I've heard the actors work from other games, and I don't see the voice matching a renegade path, if that sort of thing is available in this game. I hope she does a good job!

[Freya]

FemRyder* You're a Ryder now, Harry!

[theundeadhero]

Not yet!

[Freya]

New video about the combat today!

HrWgLMH8yRU

[Squall Leonhart Loire]

Meh. Just another boring Western RPG with big boobs and horrible combat.

Also, that Indian dude who is developing this game is annoying. Have you read some of the crap he says? He hates white folk and yet deep down he wants to be white himself. At least that's the stance I'm getting this from.

[Pheesh]

^ Someone drank their hateorade this morning.

I'm super pumped about the various weapon and build options. A biotic-melee build looks like it would be hella fun.

[Freya]

Yeah me too! I like this whole, you can level anything! Also we have the system from the different games with the overheating and then also ammo from the other games! I am thrilled!

[Pheesh]

I've always been a sucker for sshoot n' loot, or Diablo-esque loot systems with seemingly endless upgradeable weapons and it seems like this is a little closer to something like that than previous mass effect entries. I even noticed there was rarity tags on a few of the weapons which gets me excited.

[Mirage]

Meh. Just another boring Western RPG with big boobs and horrible combat.

Also, that Indian dude who is developing this game is annoying. Have you read some of the crap he says? He hates white folk and yet deep down he wants to be white himself. At least that's the stance I'm getting this from.

It's got a more engaging combat system than anything SE has shat out the last decade.

[Night Fury]

A far more engaging story, also.


in other news, this has now been preordered!!!

[Mirage]

agreed in the story department too except ME3. Actually. even ME3 is about on par with the stories SE has churned out lately even if I hate it.

[Squall Leonhart Loire]

@Mirage, nah. Star Ocean 5 has the best combat ever IMO.

[Psychotic]

KROGAN HAMMER? STICKY GRENADES?

Pre-ordered.

[Mirage]

@Mirage, nah. Star Ocean 5 has the best combat ever IMO.

That's not developed by SE, just published.

[Scruffington]

The gameplay looks amazing so far. Combat seems like it will be very enjoyable.

Here's hoping that the story and characters are equally as good. If they are, this could easily be the best game this year.

[Del Murder]

That combat footage was great. Seems like you can be good in a variety of ways and they have made it as flexible as possible.

[Psychotic]

Decided to try to beat all three before Andromeda, started 1 at the weekend and just beat it. Took me half the time as it did on my original playthrough according to my save files! I've never played as either a Paragon or a Femshep before so I wanted to give it a whirl. I still prefer Renegade by smurfing far and kept regressing into my old bad habits of either clocking people in the face or being pragmatic whenever I got the opportunity. I'm disappointed that Paragon choices aren't nearly as penalised as they should be. Doing the right thing should be hard. The only choice I can really think of was in the Bring Down the Sky DLC. I did not want to let that Batarian prick go but it was the right thing to do to spare those lives. More like that for Andromeda, please!

Maleshep and Femshep are basically the exact same with their dull lifeless voices so I can give or take them. I guess it comes down to romance options. I let Kaidan live this time to give me the option but I went with Liara in the end. Garrus or Thane in the future though? Choices, choices!

After learning my smurfing love of Vanguard charging in ME3 multiplayer I'm excited to give it a whirl in 2. Vanguard in 1 is of course awful so I stuck with my tried and tested Adept. Singularity is still as broken as I remember.

[Formalhaut]

BioWare has always edged towards idealism when it comes to Paragon or 'good' choices. I don't mind it so much, because I always play good guys. I'm playing Dragon Age: Inquisition now with an 'honest' character, who's made some rough choices and it is smurfing tough for me.

Bring Down The Sky does have a good dilemma though, that's for sure.

As for the voices, FemShep is definitely better than MaleShep, but they both improve as they set into their voices more over the course of the series.

[Scruffington]

d3q_Nd5arZM

[Freya]

Another character thing!

erJhJEewCgM


And an interview!

Gip_9AdbtHA

I can't watch either of these at work so watch them for me, people xD


OH Also, Cards Against Humanity has a Mass Effect game pack for a dollar until supplies last on totallysmurfablealiens.com but of course not our filter.

[Scruffington]

Another character thing!

I can't watch either of these at work so watch them for me, people xD

It seems like Doctor T'Perro is going to be similar to Doctor Chakwas. Hopefully they can do a little bit more with her character.

[Aulayna]

I am having full on Avid Merrion sex wees in my pants over this.

[Pike]

Honestly I just want more info on Vetra because I have a massive girlcrush.

71720

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

I am not too sure if I'm on the hype train yet. I am kinda waiting for PC specs to come out though I did some catching up on it...

[Freya]

SO THEY'VE GOT SOME GEAR OUT (http://www.biowarestore.com/brands/mass-effect/ladies-andromeda-logo-cowl-hoody)! I'm thinking about getting the ladies one.

http://www.biowarestore.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/thumbnail/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/l/a/ladies-hoody-me-andromedacowl-s-hood.jpg

The guys one (http://www.biowarestore.com/brands/mass-effect?gender=25&product_status=39) is either a zipper one or a hoodie but same look basically.

http://www.biowarestore.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/h/o/hoody-me-andromedazip-dk.jpg

I heard these are the actual looks for the casual wear that you get from preordering for you Ryder

[Psychotic]

Whooped Mass Effect 2 now, so I'm at a pace of less than a week for each game. And to think I was worried I wouldn't beat them before the games came out! It's incredible how much of an improvement ME2 is over the clunky ME1. It's weird what you do and don't remember. I'd totally forgotten about the existence of Ilium but I remembered the Shadow Broker was a yahg for example. I also remembered exactly who should do what and when on the Suicide Mission so once again Everybody Lives, Rose.

Vanguard was indeed fun although sometimes it would go horribly wrong. Getting the upgrade in the Collector ship and being able to use the Mattock was a game changer though. I'll stick with it for ME3. I romanced Garrus and I kind of regret it and wish I'd chosen Thane but hey ho. Don't know who I'll bang in 3 - is Garrus in 3 a good romance? I love the dude as a bro and it kind of came across as that. I remember romancing Tali was a Big Deal, and I guess I'm hot off Inquisition where I had some good romances with Blackwall and then Cullen so maybe I'm spoiled. I definitely don't want Kaidan - I chose him as I saved Ashley on my first playthrough - as he's a gigantic bellend. I don't think you can romance James or Javik (because I totally would bang Javik) I can guess that leaves Liara again (which was pretty bland but better in 2) and Specialist whatever her name is.

One thing I hated was how they handle Cerberus, especially early game. "Oh man Shepard you're with CERBERUS!?!?!?!? But they're, like, evil and stuff!" Uh, are they? Show, don't tell. All I've seen so far is them bringing me back from the dead - and let's not understate that - and giving me a dope ass spaceship. Yes, fine, later in the game you see things like Jack's facility but really early on it's incredibly jarring. It's also annoying that your best option is to basically say "nah man, they work for ME :smug:" like ugh. And most of your dialogue options with the Illusive man are "I DONT TRUST U!!!!!" Ffff. I'm cool with him. I want the option to have a cigar and brandy with him. Hell, I want the option to romance him.

Finally, I agree with Formy that the voice acting of Shepard is improved but it's still kind of bland. I'm still not convinced femshep is that superior to maleshep like you said, they're still about equal. Although I have to say Maleshep's favourite store on the Citadel aka the most important line in the game delivery is way better!

[Freya]

You probably prefer Maleshep over FemShep because that is what you're most familiar with.

Jennifer Hale, though, has been in sooooooooo many things (has the Guinness world record even). She really is just the better VA based on experience. Mark Meer, it's his first big VA adventure with the ME games.

Also, I could never get over the Garrus, bro feeling. He's a bro not a lover. The Kaidan romance is cute though. And yeah no other male romances available.

[Psychotic]

I may have not communicated it properly but I don't prefer Maleshep to FemShep. I meant to say I prefer his "I'm Commander Shepard and this is my favourite store on the Citadel" line (maybe because it is what I am used to indeed!) but for an overall performance? I think they're equals but I just don't really love either voice.

[Freya]

Oh in news, ME:A will have both male an female krogans in multiplayer! (https://gamerant.com/mass-effect-andromeda-multiplayer-krogan-female/)

[Fox]

Ts9WLMSAYVE

Okie dokie. I'm game. Time to update Origin.

[Del Murder]

Daaaaaamn that's impressive stuff. I want to do it all!

[Pike]

I can't take Kaidan seriously because he's literally Carth from Knights of the Old Republic. He has the same voice actor too. I can't do it you guys. I just get flashbacks of ~Carth wants to talk about his feelings~ "hey Carth what's u-" "I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT"

Also Psy what are you doing romancing Cullen when you could be riding the Bull :colbert:

[Madame Adequate]

I'm hot off Inquisition where I had some good romances with Blackwall and then Cullen so maybe I'm spoiled.

what the fuck

are you okay? is this a carefully coded cry for help because you are being held hostage in your own home, and this kind of thing is the only way to get a message out? did you hit your head very hard? have you been possessed by the spirit of steve kwanzaa-smif?

what the fuck

[Formalhaut]

I'm hot off Inquisition where I had some good romances with Blackwall and then Cullen so maybe I'm spoiled.

what the smurf

are you okay? is this a carefully coded cry for help because you are being held hostage in your own home, and this kind of thing is the only way to get a message out? did you hit your head very hard? have you been possessed by the spirit of steve kwanzaa-smif?

what the smurf

I have no idea what is going on with this.

[Madame Adequate]

"Cullen was a mistake" - Bioware.

[Freya]

Cullen was not a mistake, shut your mouths.

Why do you guys always have such cruddy opinions about the best bioware romance options? Ughh

[Psychotic]

Dude I dunno wtf Iron Bull's problem was but I couldn't even get his loyalty mission, let alone romance him. Honestly from the minimal interaction he gave me I wondered if he was a DLC character like Zaeed or Kasumi.

After I broke up with Blackwall for spoiler reasons I was gunning hard for Sera as I had hit on her all game. But no apparently there's a point of no return for her and other romances - which is a smurfing awful concept by the way - even though I was single and ready to flamingle. Josephine wouldn't bang me either and I had been a prick to Solas all game. I'm not dying alone, so that left Cullen. And you know what? It was kinda sweet. I got a dog out of it!

For the record I wish Dorian was bi though. By far and away the best character. If I ever do a male inquisitor run I'm gonna be all over that.
Cullen was not a mistake, shut your mouths.

Why do you guys always have such cruddy opinions about the best bioware romance options? UghhWhy do you always romance the same generic white dude with the same exact haircut? :p Mix it up a little! Cullen is cool and I'll even allow Alistair, but Kaidan is objectively the worst Bioware party member of all time with the possible exception of Vivienne Disapproves. My god he can suck the fun out of any room. He's like that weird uncle at a funeral who gets bizarrely angry about the route you drove back from the crematorium. As soon as I met him in ME3 again I thought "Okay, new game, new beginning, let's be bros" but nope he's right back to being an utter cockgremlin. smurf Kaidan, I hope I can leave him in the hospital. It should've been him, not Ashley.

[Freya]

To be fair. I wanted Dorian. Like so badly. But he wasn't bi. I cried to TSOL about it if I remember.

I also had a hard time just finding iron bull too. He would just not be around so I couldn't actually progress with him. Blackwell and Cullen were my picks. Sera annoyed me :/

Why you gotta be so mean about the things I like :(

[Mr. Carnelian]

Cullen was not a mistake, shut your mouths.

Agreed. Hope the romances are good in Andromeda.

[Formalhaut]

I'm still not entirely sure what Mister Adequate is driving at, to be honest. I enjoyed my Cullen romance!

And you do know that Ashley is just as cold towards you at the start of ME: 3 as well, right? They both pretty much have the same lines in ME:2 and the first part of ME: 3.

Honestly though, I'm probably a little biased because of the fact that I can gay it up with him. I spent two whole games waiting for a gay romance option, then ME: 3 comes along and gives you three or four all at once.

[Psychotic]

I know but I still like Ashley as a character more! Kaidan is just unlikeable.

No gay options 'til ME3? And what's Liara in ME1 when she's at home?! :p

[Mr. Carnelian]

No gay options 'til ME3? And what's Liara in ME1 when she's at home?! :p

True, but points off for trying to talk around it by having Liara insist "nah, I'm not really female because alien" every few minutes.

[Formalhaut]

Hmm, I suppose Liara counts, but it isn't quite as straightforward. The Asari are monogender with no concept of gender differences. According to the wiki, according to Liara "male and female have no real meaning for us" and if asked says she is "not precisely a woman."

Now obviously, for all express purposes, they sound and look feminine and even use feminine pronouns, so I'm happy enough to say it counts as a same-sex romance, but it is pretty clear they tried to 'send crap past the radar' (the radar being conservative types, I imagine) by trying to say "well they're not really women, kinda maybe".

And there's no Asari companions in ME: 2 so all you can do in that game is continue a Liara romance.

[Psychotic]

Yeah it's a shame you can't romance Kelly in ME2.

And the Ilusive Man as either Shep. :3:

[Formalhaut]

Yeah, you've really got to get past this Illusive Man crush you have, Psy. It isn't healthy.

[Mr. Carnelian]

And the Ilusive Man as either Shep. :3:

Was it the dulcet tones of Martin Sheen, the glowing cybernetic eyes or the immense personal wealth that first attracted you to the Illusive Man?

[Psychotic]

Yeah, you've really got to get past this Illusive Man crush you have, Psy. It isn't healthy.Oh yeah sure Freya has a crush on a dull whinebag full of dangerous biotic modifications and all the charm and charisma of a bucket of sick and I'm the unhealthy one :colbert:

And the Ilusive Man as either Shep. :3:

Was it the dulcet tones of Martin Sheen, the glowing cybernetic eyes or the immense personal wealth that first attracted you to the Illusive Man?All three, but most of all mama likes a bad boy. I can change him, I know I can!

[Formalhaut]

Oh yeah sure Freya has a crush on a dull whinebag full of dangerous biotic modifications and all the charm and charisma of a bucket of sick and I'm the unhealthy one :colbert:

That's a good point. We should round up all the dangerous biotics and house them in circle towers. They'll be safe there.

[Mr. Carnelian]

All three, but most of all mama likes a bad boy. I can change him, I know I can!

I know right? That Saren, tho.

[Madame Adequate]

tbh the problem with Cullen is that everything in the first two games is COMPLETELY ignored by Bioware and every remotely questionable aspect of him is retconned away. He COULD have been a fascinating character that had real depth as you helped him navigate and come to terms with his past, but instead he's the most generic cookie-cutter white boy with ramen noodle hair in the world.

[Formalhaut]

tbh the problem with Cullen is that everything in the first two games is COMPLETELY ignored by Bioware and every remotely questionable aspect of him is retconned away. He COULD have been a fascinating character that had real depth as you helped him navigate and come to terms with his past, but instead he's the most generic cookie-cutter white boy with ramen noodle hair in the world.

Now that you've actually said it, I understand now. :p

I can see your point. What happened to him is mentioned sometimes in dialogue, but yeah, I agree they could've done more. I feel they replaced the issues he had in those two games with a brand new issue - his lyrium. Maybe they could've had the lyrium issue handled by another templar, leaving him room in his story to handle the other two he had as baggage?

[Madame Adequate]

Lyrium should have been an issue if you sided with the Templars and had to help supply them or wean them off or whatever, yeah. Could have Ser Barris be the one who wrestles with it on a personal level.

[Mr. Carnelian]

Could have Ser Barris be the one who wrestles with it on a personal level.

I support that idea. Ser Barris was one of the side characters I most wished had a bit more screen time.

[Pike]

My problem with Cullen is that when I played Dragon Age I played through all three games in quick succession, one after the other, and he did not impress me remotely in the first two games so by the time I got to the third there was no way in hell - or the Void, rather - that he was a viable option for me. I know a lot of people who played DAI first who like him, or who didn't remember him from the other two games who liked him.

But for me it was like:

First game: Cullen bitches about mages, tells off my Warden for trying to fix the Circle Tower and cries at me for not killing all the innocent mages.

Second game: Cullen is the Bad Guy's lackey until literally like the last ten minutes of the game, tells my Mage Hawke to her face that "Mages aren't people" and other fun things like that

Third game: "Hey guess what I reformed at some point (which you didn't see at all) wanna go out?"

yeah, nah

like I'm not saying this to be negative or anything, I'm saying this to explain why he does nothing for me. xD


That's a good point. We should round up all the dangerous biotics and house them in circle towers. They'll be safe there.

You do this I'm blowing up the goddamn Citadel :colbert:

[Psychotic]

Welp, having never played DA2 I can see why Cullen is a tit now.

[Madame Adequate]

Not as much of a tit as Carver, granted, but still a tit.

[Mr. Carnelian]

Disagreed.

First game: in the mage origin story, he starts off being a total softie who's really nice to mages. He even fancies you if you're a female character. It's only after suffering HORRIFYING TORTURE AT THE HANDS OF EVIL MAGES HOPPED UP ON BLOOD POWER that he gets pissed off at mages.

Second game: his angers cooled, but he still greatly distrusts mages, distrust which is a natural consequence of suffering HORRIFYING TORTURE AT THE HANDS OF EVIL MAGES HOPPED UP ON BLOOD POWER. He thought he was doing the right thing supporting Meredith, and when he realised that she'd become a greater evil than the ones she was trying to prevent, he quite rightly joined Hawke and co against her.

Third game: Cullen's realised the error of his ways, and rediscovered his soft, fluffy centre. He still, understandably, feels some distrust towards mages, but now he realises that the horrors he experienced years ago aren't reflective of how all mages are. He's even accepted the role of the templars in how things got as bad as they were, and wants change. He advocates a rather wonderful idea of mages and templars working together to run healing clinics.

I really enjoy the way that Cullen's character changes and grows throughout the series, and I think he was a great romance option in Inquisition.

Speaking of romance options, geting back on the topic of Andromeda: any romance options any of youse are looking forward to?

[Psychotic]

Yes, I want to romance a Krogan. :)

[Mr. Carnelian]

Yes, I want to romance a Krogan. :)

That would be a cross-generational romance, and no mistake. Isn't he a thousand years old?

[Freya]

The cat squid guy is interesting but I will have to actually see how they all are.

Oh this game has a Full Nudity rating btw.

[Mr. Carnelian]

Oh this game has a Full Nudity rating btw.

Bow chaka wow wow.

[Fox]

The cat squid guy is interesting but I will have to actually see how they all are.

Oh this game has a Full Nudity rating btw.

I can't wait to see all the not-creepy sex scenes Bioware are notorious for :lol:

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

Yes, I want to romance a Krogan. :)

They have four testicles, if I remember correctly.

Can I biotic throw Kaiden in the trash shoot and be done with him?

[Formalhaut]

So much Kaiden hate in here.

Formy disapproves.

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

He was bland and boring in ME1 and then a bitch in 2, and had no love left in 3. I DO NOT CARE THAT HE IS CANADIAN!

[Formalhaut]

But he likes poutine!

Seriously though, I keep saying this, but Ashley has the same development than Kaiden in ME: 2 and ME: 3. And in ME: 1 she's sceptical of other species which is eh.

Ashley is the more interesting character in ME: 1 but she's also the least likeable of the two. Kaiden is nice but - I'll admit, is a tad bland in ME: 1. Either's a decent pick to carry over, but I prefer nice but bland over interesting but xenophobic.

[Mirage]

I kinda wish I had a third option to keep alive that wasn't either boring, or racist (speciesist?).

I forgot whether it's possible to make her change her stance in the later games. I never paid much attention to either of them.

And why should I, when there's a Liara and Tali around?

[Psychotic]

She gets kinda hot on ME3 though.

Also in my ME3 play through at the moment Kaidan asked if he could rejoin the Normandy crew. I told him absolutely not. Didn't even know that was an option but I'm so glad.

[Fox]

I hate both Ashley and Kaiden equally. I disliked them both in ME1, didn't care which one died, and then became absolutely furious with them for their attitude towards me in ME2. I get you don't trust Cerberus you jerkfaces but give ME, COMMANDER GOD-DAMN SHEPARD a chance, will ya?

I felt that Liara was pretty cold for a while in ME2, and considering we were lovers that kinda stung... but then you get further in and learn more about the situation and find that she actually cares about you the most out of everyone. It's really sweet. Kaiden and Ashley are both jerks though. Every time I play ME1 I try to find some exploit that allows me to have both of them stay with the nuke but I can't make it happen.

[Formalhaut]

You guys are so unforgiving!

[Madame Adequate]

I liked them both in 1. Then yeah they were dumb as hell in 2. "B-but you're working for Cerberus :qq:" Okay first of all Ashley you're a fucking space racist so you should APPROVE of that, and secondly give me a chance to explain the situation at least.

With 3 I don't remember much of the game except playing shitloads of multi with Psy and DK. :shobon:

[Fox]

The thing I never understood with ME3 is why Shepard didn't just use a charge/nova combo versus the entire Reaper fleet.

...honestly that trout is so overpowered it's ridiculous.

[Formalhaut]

Vanguard is like the opposite of how I play (Sentinel). :p

[Psychotic]

In my ME3 replay I'm playing a sniper Vanguard and I'm a god. Why a sniper and not the traditional shotgun? You can't charge up to enemies who are standing on inaccessible ground so I whip out the ol' rifle and that does the job. I tried using a shotgun like I had with ME2 but melee in 3 is a lot better so the shotty isn't necessary.

[Fox]

In my ME3 replay I'm playing a sniper Vanguard and I'm a god. Why a sniper and not the traditional shotgun? You can't charge up to enemies who are standing on inaccessible ground so I whip out the ol' rifle and that does the job. I tried using a shotgun like I had with ME2 but melee in 3 is a lot better so the shotty isn't necessary.

A cunning scheme! It's true that I only ever used by shotgun during the occasions I was retreating between charges. Although also I used it 'cause it felt so damn good. It was probably the most satisfying weapon in the game, although to be fair most of the guns felt pretty good in ME2/3

[Psychotic]

Fully agreed on the satisfaction of the shotgun. I just couldn't afford the weight and as Vanguard comes with a skill that boosts your melee damage by a ridiculous 75% for 30 seconds after a heavy melee kill I go around punching everything that somehow survives Nova to death. Usually Banshees. Sensible? No. Fun? Very.

[Formalhaut]

But Banshees have a one-hit kill move! And brutes. And those massive atlas mechs. And those Cerberus enemies with the ninja swords.

Actually, combat in ME: 3 terrified me sometimes because there were so many enemies it seemed that had instakill moves if you drew too close.

Another reason why I didn't choose Vanguard in ME: 2 and ME: 3. I'm scared I'd charge right into an early grave.

[Psychotic]

The benefit of having many hours of Multiplayer under your belt is that you don't fear any of the OHKO moves anymore. The other benefit is that apparently I have a Drell called Trumpet and a Batarian called Crumpet. And bizarrely a Turian called Telford Wrekin. Oh, and a Krogan Vanguard who I apparently named Murder Train.

[Madame Adequate]

I'm on Noveria and I had completely forgot Bioware's bungling. (I know Pike's not there yet so I'm gonna spoiler.)

They make a HUGE deal about the monstrous creatures you encounter and your characters freak out, while attempts to get to the truth are obstructed by bureaucracy and stuff, e.g. Mira refusing to say anything. They're trying to build up a big reveal to the fact that it's the Rachni. Problem is the first time you aim at one of them - which happens immediately after a very brief cutscene introducing it - it tells you exactly what they are. 'Rachni Soldier.'"

So... great job Bioware :monster:

[Psychotic]

Heads up on that, there is a door you can bypass in the labs there at Noveria. Don't. Was not warned about this, bypassed it and turned the entire colony hostile. So I had to murder them all. No NPC quests for me!

[Madame Adequate]

Holy shit I never even knew that and I've played through 1 about four times.

[Freya]

http://i.imgur.com/GnhQSmI.png


Also the final Andromeda Initiative briefing is available! So go watch all the videos (https://www.masseffect.com/andromeda-initiative/training-hub)and you'll get a cool in game helmet.

[Psychotic]

Beat ME3 tonight. Shepard's voice acting is waaaay better in this one, yeah. I accidentally romanced Traynor oops oops oops I JUST WANTED A GIRLY SHOWER OKAY but it was a cute romance. The story/missions are kind of contrived, subscribing to this principle
You Always Travel In The Right Circles
Whenever you meet a villager or other such incidental character who promises to give you some great piece of needed knowledge or a required object in exchange for a seemingly simple item, such as a bar of soap or a nice straw mat, be prepared to spend at least an hour chasing around the world exchanging useless innocuous item after item with bizarre strangers until you can get that elusive first item you were asked for. but some of the dilemmas - Tuchanka and Rannock, obviously - hit real high notes.

Of the three games, 3 definitely had the most emotional moments too. A lot of feels were felt. I also got the Citadel DLC and it was smurfing worth every penny. Absolutely loved every second of that, a wonderful send off.

Also, as previously mentioned, Vanguard + Sniper rifle = incredibly smurfing broken in ME3.

[Squall Leonhart Loire]

Is this game open world? I heard this somewhere.

[Freya]

Beat ME3 tonight. Shepard's voice acting is waaaay better in this one, yeah. I accidentally romanced Traynor oops oops oops I JUST WANTED A GIRLY SHOWER OKAY but it was a cute romance. The story/missions are kind of contrived, subscribing to this principle
You Always Travel In The Right Circles
Whenever you meet a villager or other such incidental character who promises to give you some great piece of needed knowledge or a required object in exchange for a seemingly simple item, such as a bar of soap or a nice straw mat, be prepared to spend at least an hour chasing around the world exchanging useless innocuous item after item with bizarre strangers until you can get that elusive first item you were asked for. but some of the dilemmas - Tuchanka and Rannock, obviously - hit real high notes.

Of the three games, 3 definitely had the most emotional moments too. A lot of feels were felt. I also got the Citadel DLC and it was smurfing worth every penny. Absolutely loved every second of that, a wonderful send off.

Also, as previously mentioned, Vanguard + Sniper rifle = incredibly smurfing broken in ME3.
Citadel​ is the best DLC. I don't care what anyone says, it's the best for series. THE BEST.

[Fox]

You know I keep meaning to look up what happens if you deliberately miss the last shot when hanging out with Garrus... but at the same time I can't bring myself to do so. It would be wrong - looking into an alternate history that could never and must never exist.

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

I can't afford the game, after checking finances, so I keep trying to avoid things but read them. I want ittttt. *Sells body* Though repaying 2 at the moment. Going as Biotic though in my main game saves I was Infiltrator.

[Formalhaut]

Infiltrator is fun. I did it once in ME: 2. Slow motion sniper shot! BAM!

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

Headshots for days!

[Bubba]

Is this here yet or wot?

[Aulayna]

X6PJEmEHIaY

*hype intensifies*

[Bubba]

God damn Americans with your two day head start. Y'all be finished before mine has even installed :argh:

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

Yesssss!!!!

Anyone else doing the Origin Access thing?

[Fox]

I haven't even done the Origin Install​ thing xD

[Scruffington]

Yeah, I only play on consoles. No Origin Access for me. :p

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

EA is doing a similar thing with the Xbone!

I can't wait for Thursday! :D

[Scruffington]

Trophy list for the game is out. (https://psnprofiles.com/trophies/5918-mass-effect-andromeda)

Gotta say I really appreciate Bioware giving players a choice between singleplayer or multiplayer for certain trophies. I generally dislike multiplayer trophies, but them providing an option to earn them through singleplayer is a really great move.

[Bubba]

Hmmm... I may even go for the platinum on this. I suppose it will depend on what the multiplayer is like. I generally suck at PVP.

[Formalhaut]

Me and Mr. Carny has pre-ordered this, making it the first game I have ever pre-ordered. We're even getting the Limited Edition as opposed to the standard one, so yeah. I'm pretty pumped.

I also bought the ME Cards against Humanity set because references, and Mr. Carny's replaying ME: 2 and ME: 3. I kinda wanted him to make a fresh character and do a full ME: 1 to ME: 3 sweep, but he couldn't face himself to play ME: 1.

I'm not good a PvP either, but if I remember correctly the Mass Effect 3 style of multiplayer was PvE (Player versus Environment), and it was the same in Inquisition. Not saying they might switch it up and make it PvP for this one but it seems unlikely. So don't worry Bubba, you'll only have to worry about the scary monsters instead.

[Bubba]

Ahh excellent! The only PVP I ever excelled at was the first incarnation of Destiny. I knew every nook and cranny of those first few environments. Then they released the expansion and I got my arse handed to me on every new level.

I doubt I'll be touching Andromeda's multi-player until I've finished the main story though.

[Psychotic]

You can hang out with your old pal Paul on Multiplayer, Bubba. I say Paul, I actually play as a bright pink Geth called Julie. Yes, really.

[Scruffington]

Ahh excellent! The only PVP I ever excelled at was the first incarnation of Destiny. I knew every nook and cranny of those first few environments. Then they released the expansion and I got my arse handed to me on every new level.

I doubt I'll be touching Andromeda's multi-player until I've finished the main story though.

Do you still play Destiny? The new update is coming out at the end of the month. :P

Also...I have no idea how the multiplayer in this game works. I actually completely forgot how it worked in Mass Effect 3 outside of giving you War Assets.

[Freya]

What is everyone getting this on? I'd be up for some multiplayer with whomever! I am getting it on PC! Anyone else getting it on PC?

Back in the day Psy, Dk, Steve and I had a great time with the ME3 Multiplayer. It was soooo much more fun when you had people to play with you knew. So let's try to play together on the different systems cause why not!

[Fox]

What is everyone getting this on? I'd be up for some multiplayer with whomever! I am getting it on PC! Anyone else getting it on PC?

Back in the day Psy, Dk, Steve and I had a great time with the ME3 Multiplayer. It was soooo much more fun when you had people to play with you knew. So let's try to play together on the different systems cause why not!

Yup, I'll be on PC!

[Formalhaut]

PS4. I think my laptop would shatter into pieces if it attempted to run a game from this decade.

Do they use different servers? I've never played multiplayer but if you guys are going to play I'd rather play with friends!

[Scruffington]

PS4. I think my laptop would shatter into pieces if it attempted to run a game from this decade.

Do they use different servers? I've never played multiplayer but if you guys are going to play I'd rather play with friends!

I'm getting it on PS4 as well.

And they use separate servers, unfortunately.

[Bubba]

Yup, I'll be on PS4 :)

Anyone who doesn't have me on PSN I'm...

PSN: Dannyeg5dby

[Formalhaut]

Yup, I'll be on PS4 :)

Anyone who doesn't have me on PSN I'm...

PSN: Dannyeg5dby

God you remind me I need to add TSoL to my PSN.

[Psychotic]

Yup, I'll be on PS4 :)

Anyone who doesn't have me on PSN I'm...

PSN: Dannyeg5dby

God you remind me I need to add TSoL to my PSN.TSoL? TSoL?! You said you'd add me and I sat for two hours watching my incoming friend requests for a request that never came.

[Formalhaut]

I uh... didn't know how to add people.

Seriously, I had to ask TSoL how to add people. I haven't gotten around to it yet because I've not used my PS4 in a week, but I'll be sure to add everyone when I boot it up next.

[Scruffington]

@Bubba: I'll add you.

I'll add anyone else who wants to later today. My PSN is Scruffington94. :P

[Bubba]

Added you, Scruff.

Formy, what's your PSN ID? I'll add you :D

[Formalhaut]

Added you, Scruff.

Formy, what's your PSN ID? I'll add you :D

This is the thing. I disregard it so much I don't even know it off-hand. I'll get back to you all and post in this thread once I find out.

[Aulayna]

PC master race checking in.

[Pike]

I'm not getting this for a while but when I eventually do it will be on PC.

Every time I look at default male Ryder I am just "wtf is Cullen doing in space."

ANYWAYS, rumor is that all the alien companions are bi, so my girl Ryder + Vetra 4ever is looking more and more like a THING

[Formalhaut]

Could I gay it up with the Krogan? Oooo.

I am very curious what the romances are. Hopefully there's more than just the companions.

[Aulayna]

ANYWAYS, rumor is that all the alien companions are bi, so my girl Ryder + Vetra 4ever is looking more and more like a THING

100% happening on my playthrough.

[Psychotic]

I'm not getting this for a while but when I eventually do it will be on PC.

Every time I look at default male Ryder I am just "wtf is Cullen doing in space."

ANYWAYS, rumor is that all the alien companions are bi, so my girl Ryder + Vetra 4ever is looking more and more like a THINGCAN YOU BANG THE KROGAN CONFIRM OR DENY THIS IMMEDIATELY PIKE

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

But Psy I annoyed him to add me. Eoson is my PSN fyi.

Add me to Origin, PC peeps: oriale

[Aulayna]

Fairly sure I'm Aulayna on Origin.

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

Gonna add ya! :D

[Freya]

OddlyOtter on Origin! I'll add you aluyana, already got tsol. Fox, what's yours?

[Fox]

Oh gawd I can't even remember what my handle is on Origin... CAN YOU TELL HOW OFTEN I LOG INTO ORIGIN??

Hang on lemme check. ...ffs it's not even installed on this machine. BRB

[Madame Adequate]

Bahahahahahaha BIOwARE BUNGLES AGAIN

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/03/14/mass-effect-andromeda-review-opening-hours/

[Fox]

Bahahahahahaha BIOwARE BUNGLES AGAIN

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/03/14/mass-effect-andromeda-review-opening-hours/

Or alternatively (from Eurogamer):


Even after a few hours, the game shows heaps of promise - strong foundations and characters you'll want to spend time with. Here's hoping the rest of the game builds upon that.

I'm staying fairly neutral in my expectations. I used to read RPS all the time but I've found myself at odds with John Walker more and more as time goes on, which is weird given his articles very much helped get me into PC gaming and start paying more attention to the social issues in games. But over time it seemed that he just started to dislike more and more stuff for stranger and stranger reasons and now I don't hold his opinion in all that high an esteem.

I hope they get Alice to review the full game.

[Scruffington]

That author seemed overly nitpicky and far too negative. Going to wait for a lot more reviews and opinions first.

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

Yeah, I watched the first 45 minutes and have no clue what the reviewer is on.

[Freya]

Yeah. Agreed. Most reviews and coverage I have seen regarding the first several hours even have been pretty positive. Not sure what's with that guy but the world isn't ending for this game because of one bad review, hux.

[Slothy]

I don't put much stock in any reviewer aside from Jim Sterling anymore so I'll wait and see what he has to say.

[Scruffington]

Here's another "first impressions" article from Kotaku.

Five Hours In, Mass Effect: Andromeda is Overwhelming (http://kotaku.com/five-hours-in-mass-effect-andromeda-is-overwhelming-1793268493)

[Freya]

I looked into RPS a little. Turns out the dude is just a contrarian. He supported the ME3 ending when everyone was upset. He also said Witcher 3 was a bad game.

Seems like you should take that reviewer with aa grain of salt. He's just putting out controversial things for clicks.

[Scruffington]

I looked into RPS a little. Turns out the dude is just a contrarian. He supported the ME3 ending when everyone was upset. He also said Witcher 3 was a bad game.

Seems like you should take that reviewer with aa grain of salt. He's just putting out controversial things for clicks.

Tbh I actually didn't mind the ME3 ending as much as everyone else did, but I definitely agree with the complaints.

You're 100% right from what I've read. He does seem to be negative for the sake of clicks. I guess it worked for him this time :P

[Psychotic]

I'm a big Mass Effect fan but I don't know if I can get on board with this "This reviewer is just being controversial for clicks!" train of thought you're all on. There is no such thing as a game that is universally loved, and there is no such thing as a game that isn't lacking in flaws. It's not the end of the world if some guy didn't enjoy it, we don't need to go all defence force and start investigating every work he's ever put out.

Personally I'm staying away from reviews as I want to be completely surprised. I've put down a pre-order which is something I rarely if ever do and I'm not going to cancel it. It's a gamble on my part and I acknowledge that, because it genuinely might suck, you guys. But they built up enough credit with me with the past three titles and got me sufficiently invested in the universe so that it's a risk I'm willing to take.

[Scruffington]

I'm a big Mass Effect fan but I don't know if I can get on board with this "This reviewer is just being controversial for clicks!" train of thought you're all on. There is no such thing as a game that is universally loved, and there is no such thing as a game that isn't lacking in flaws. It's not the end of the world if some guy didn't enjoy it, we don't need to go all defence force and start investigating every work he's ever put out.

Personally I'm staying away from reviews as I want to be completely surprised. I've put down a pre-order which is something I rarely if ever do and I'm not going to cancel it. It's a gamble on my part and I acknowledge that, because it genuinely might suck, you guys. But they built up enough credit with me with the past three titles and got me sufficiently invested in the universe so that it's a risk I'm willing to take.

I haven't personally done my research on his reviews/articles (I had never even heard of them before this), but a lot of people are suggesting that his articles are highly negative in tone. There's a fine line between being critical and being nitpicky, and many seem to think he's guilty of the latter.

I actually think I'm going to hold off on purchasing the game until the reviews come in. Although I have complete confidence in Bioware's ability to make good games, I'm admittedly skeptical of this one.

[Slothy]

I try to avoid the whole they're just being controversial to be controversial argument as well. Just find a reviewer(s) you like whose opinions and critique you trust and see what they say.

Interestingly, even though Jim Sterling is the only reviewer I pay any attention to really, I don't always agree with him on a lot of games. Hell, he gave Vanquish, one of my favourite games of the last console generation by far, a 5/10. But I know where our tastes tend to diverge, and can also trust him to be upfront and honest in his critique about a games flaws and strong points. I mean the guy did give the new Zelda a 7/10 because of some things he felt were flaws and explained why very well in his review. Naturally people on the internet reacted by DDoSing his site and trying to hack his shit for not liking a game as much as they thought he should. But part of the reason he gets idiots so riled up is because he will speak his mind and not hold back so no matter how the final score goes, I can trust his write up to give valuable insight.

[Psychotic]

I'm glad you mentioned the Zelda thing as this thread did make me think of it a little bit as I read some of the views about him on the Nintendo Switch reddit. People were incensed by his review, claiming he was doing it as clickbait. This, despite the fact that his site has no ads whatsoever. Jim is an excellent reviewer, and as he repeatedly said, 7/10 is not a bad score and he liked Zelda.

[Scruffington]

I'm glad you mentioned the Zelda thing as this thread did make me think of it a little bit as I read some of the views about him on the Nintendo Switch reddit. People were incensed by his review, claiming he was doing it as clickbait. This, despite the fact that his site has no ads whatsoever. Jim is an excellent reviewer, and as he repeatedly said, 7/10 is not a bad score and he liked Zelda.

I actually like Jim as a reviewer but in regards to Zelda...I definitely feel that his review may have been influenced by his bad relationship with Nintendo. It's no secret that he really dislikes them.

That said, I haven't read the review or even played the game. But I do know about his disdain for them.

[Squall Leonhart Loire]

I don't know. I only like OoT, LttP, and Windwaker. Zelda never stuck out to me as a franchise. I feel like the high ratings are just due to it being a Nintendo game and Zelda. Many reviewers give Nintendo a pass.

[Formalhaut]

The only thing I'm concerned about is the even faster combat. I already found ME: 2 and especially ME: 3 to be fast enough for my tastes (which aren't usually aimed towards shooters). Now they've gotten rid of the power wheel, and the combat is said to be faster paced than before. Tactical pausing is essential for me!

I just hope I can keep up. I am glad though because I hear reports that the weapons wheel is still in place for pausers like me. So that's something!

[Freya]

Well, here's a quote from the one we're talking about that hux linked, it's not a spoiler for a heads up,



I can’t even imagine how anyone can feel okay with writing that into a script without experiencing enough shame to just get up, walk away, and keep walking until they fall off of or into something.

I don't know, if you're intentionally saying "If you're okay with this go walk off a cliff". I don't really put faith in you being really professional or unbias in your review. I'm all for people mentioning faults but the way this reviewer writes his stuff it seems he's going out of his way to be inflammatory. Hence the statement of him just being a contrarian.

I personally can't put faith in a reviewer who writes like this. Now if he went more in detail about the flaws besides just "it sucked, you all suck if you like it." and more like "the UI was a bit clunky when you're on a PC because of this this and this." He compares it to a web browser... that he's used to a web browser... So that's why it sucks.

Basically, what I'm saying here is that if you want to put your faith in someone else's review, try to look at how they're speaking to see if it's worth merit. Trust a reviewer who says something is bad and then actually shows you what they mean without resulting to insulting and name calling.

If you like insults and name-calling, well whatever then this is for you.

[Psychotic]

I'm glad you mentioned the Zelda thing as this thread did make me think of it a little bit as I read some of the views about him on the Nintendo Switch reddit. People were incensed by his review, claiming he was doing it as clickbait. This, despite the fact that his site has no ads whatsoever. Jim is an excellent reviewer, and as he repeatedly said, 7/10 is not a bad score and he liked Zelda.

I actually like Jim as a reviewer but in regards to Zelda...I definitely feel that his review may have been influenced by his bad relationship with Nintendo. It's no secret that he really dislikes them.

That said, I haven't read the review or even played the game. But I do know about his disdain for them.True, he doesn't like them as a company but I think he can separate that from his love for their games. I mean he hates Konami more than he hates Nintendo and he gave MGSV a 9, and iirc he gave Smash Bros a 9.5.

[Formalhaut]

I never look at just one reviewer. I tend to look at several to get a good baseline, then I'll read some user reviews on top of that just to get the 'non-corporate' side of things.

[Freya]

I never look at just one reviewer. I tend to look at several to get a good baseline, then I'll read some user reviews on top of that just to get the 'non-corporate' side of things.
This is exactly what people should do! And not just about games, everything in general. News, Movie reviews, restaurant reviews, etc. If you're already looking toward reviews to make an opinion, make sure to not just stop at one. If you don't look at reviews, don't worry about it! But if you do, try to be well-rounded with it :D

[Slothy]

I'm glad you mentioned the Zelda thing as this thread did make me think of it a little bit as I read some of the views about him on the Nintendo Switch reddit. People were incensed by his review, claiming he was doing it as clickbait. This, despite the fact that his site has no ads whatsoever. Jim is an excellent reviewer, and as he repeatedly said, 7/10 is not a bad score and he liked Zelda.

Not only does he not even have ads (and goes out of his way to screw with the content id system on YouTube to keep his videos ad free), apparently he said in an announcement through his patreon that he doesn't even track the traffic to his articles and reviews. Which makes sense since it's utterly meaningless to him.

That Zelda review was great though I thought. Not only did he overall enjoy the game quite a bit, you could tell in his write up that he really wanted to like it even more and was genuinely saddened by the fact that those problems got in the way.

And yeah, he hates Nintendo's business practices, and rightly so, but he's not the type to let that colour his opinion of a game. Like I said, his Zelda review was that of someone who was genuinely sad that it wasn't better. Hell, he hates Ubisoft as well but had quite a bit of praise for watchdogs 2.

[Del Murder]

Not everyone likes everything, stop the presses! We're all entitled to our opinions. That review brought up some interesting issues that would probably irk me too but also took offense to some things that I wouldn't see as that big a deal. I usually go by metacritic scores rather than individual reviewers as that gives me a consensus about the game from a critical perspective. I'll read full reviews from the big sites like IGN, Gamespot, and Game Informer because although I don't always agree with them, at least they are thorough in describing why they did or did not like something which allows me to mentally adjust the score for things that would not bother me.

[Pumpkin]

I tend to look less at the scores and opinions in games and focus on the content. Like sometimes a reviewer is like "Too much animu and outfit changes, terrible, 2/10" and I'm like SIGN ME UP! I mostly use reviews to see what kind of features the game has, what kind of story and characters, etc

I do plan to get this eventually but it's not a rush for me. I still haven't played much of ME3 although I did just get me a handy dandy strategy guide so there's that!

[Madame Adequate]

I've found RPS to be a very reliable indicator of things I will like and dislike, i.e. the staff's tastes and my own largely align, and the things Walker says about MEA are absolutely things that are continuations of problems in DAI and which have been a trend in Bioware games since DA2/ME2 (Much as I love both those games).

I sure as hell hope the Kotaku piece is more in line with the game than the RPS piece is, but I've long since stopped giving Bioware the benefit of the doubt. :p

[Pike]

TBH I'm already kind of prepared to not like this game, like not to be a Negative Nancy but Inquisition was really difficult for me to get into, it was just so large and sprawling and complex and I preferred the more intimate settings of DAO/DA2, and Andromeda really looks like it's following the Inquisition mindset.

So I guess my expectations for this game are already low, lmao.

EDIT: this isn't me trying to say that Inquisition was bad, it's clearly not, but it was not my style of game, at all, and I feel like Andromeda is similar.

[Psychotic]

The most concerning thing is this.
Generic Grumpy Space Captain Lady is there, right up front. With a deft hand she begins by correcting your grammar from “who” to “whom”, and then in the same conversation says “less” when she means “fewer”. Whatever, but don’t play Grammar Corrector if you don’t know any.I remember when you jerks cheered in the Game of Thrones thread when Stannis aka the One True King of Westeros died. And so here we are, in the hour when we need his grammatical skills the most, and huh, ain't that funny? Not a single one of you is cheering now.

[Freya]

TBH I'm already kind of prepared to not like this game, like not to be a Negative Nancy but Inquisition was really difficult for me to get into, it was just so large and sprawling and complex and I preferred the more intimate settings of DAO/DA2, and Andromeda really looks like it's following the Inquisition mindset.

So I guess my expectations for this game are already low, lmao.

EDIT: this isn't me trying to say that Inquisition was bad, it's clearly not, but it was not my style of game, at all, and I feel like Andromeda is similar.
I find this interesting with your love of the Elder Scrolls games. They are very open. Why do you enjoy those and not DA:I for being very open? Care to share?

[Pike]

TBH I'm already kind of prepared to not like this game, like not to be a Negative Nancy but Inquisition was really difficult for me to get into, it was just so large and sprawling and complex and I preferred the more intimate settings of DAO/DA2, and Andromeda really looks like it's following the Inquisition mindset.

So I guess my expectations for this game are already low, lmao.

EDIT: this isn't me trying to say that Inquisition was bad, it's clearly not, but it was not my style of game, at all, and I feel like Andromeda is similar.
I find this interesting with your love of the Elder Scrolls games. They are very open. Why do you enjoy those and not DA:I for being very open? Care to share?

I play the two series for different reasons. For me, the strength of the Elder Scrolls games is in the actual world itself far more than the characters or story. This world lends itself very well for sort of sandbox style play.

When I play Dragon Age, I want compelling characters and a strong, dare-I-say linear storyline that takes me from Interesting Story Point A to Interesting Story Point B. It's a spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate 1&2; I want my squad based tactical combat and fun companions and tightly plotted story. When I first played Inquisition, I was confused. Why can my character jump? Where is the all important pause button? Why doesn't tab search for things like it has since Baldur's Gate? Where are all the things that make Dragon Age, well, Dragon Age?

I managed to sort of bash my way through the game so I could say I did it, but the entire time it just felt off, to me. This wasn't the Dragon Age I was used to. It felt like it was trying to be The Elder Scrolls despite the fact that it lacked the strength the Elder Scrolls has (the very, very lore-heavy world - I love me some Thedas lore, but it doesn't lend itself for sandbox style play the way Tamriel lore does), and as such was downplaying the very strengths I was playing the game for - story and characters.

I don't know if I'm wording this well but I guess what I'm trying to say is... well, if I want to play Elder Scrolls, I'll load up Elder Scrolls. If I want to play Dragon Age... looks like I'm loading up one of the first two games in the series because Inquisition doesn't feel to me like Dragon Age. It feels like something else, something which a lot of people like, don't get me wrong, but which I can ultimately get in a better form with, say, Morrowind.

EDIT: thought of a TLDR way to say it. I feel like the Elder Scrolls setting and lore lends itself better to open world, whereas DA setting and lore lends itself better to, well, not-open-world.

[Madame Adequate]

In Morrowind you can dive into a random dungeon and emerge with the Ring of Phynaster. In Inquisition you can dive into a random cave and emerge with some plaidweave. The primary differences is that Bethesda knows how to make a world worth exploring; even though I malign Fallout 3 even that game is fun as hell to just wander around aimlessly in. Bioware knows how to write great lore and incredible characters, but they have no idea how to make an engaging open world. Walker's line that the side-quests in Andromeda feel like something from a Korean MMO circa 2004 is exactly how I feel about most of Inquisitions side-quests. They're just "Go to [area] and collect ten fade bear asses." Skyrim's quests are often of the same standard, but they still tend to send you to an interesting dungeon that can be approached in various ways. The best Bioware manage is when you find something like "A letter from a templar challenging his apostate brother to a fight" (Carver, is that you?).

Still, to me the greatest sin of Inquisition is that for the most part the combat is boring as hell. You don't get enough skills and few of them are actually fun to use. Given that Andromeda looks to have a better spread of skills and the combat looks decently solid, I'm not going to write the game off yet; if the moment-to-moment gameplay is fun, I'll forgive a lot of other sins. As I did with ME3.

[Pike]

Still, to me the greatest sin of Inquisition is that for the most part the combat is boring as hell. You don't get enough skills and few of them are actually fun to use. Given that Andromeda looks to have a better spread of skills and the combat looks decently solid, I'm not going to write the game off yet; if the moment-to-moment gameplay is fun, I'll forgive a lot of other sins. As I did with ME3.

RIGHT that's the other thing I forgot, I really disliked Inquisition's combat especially compared to DAO and DA2.

If Andromeda has good combat I'll forgive it for a lot, though, you are right. xD

[Freya]

To be fair though, Inquisition was their first attempt at a more open world. From all the backlash they received from the limited re-used maps of DA2 it is no wonder they went that direction. I don't know if you guys recall how much hate DA2 got about that. It seems they went in the extreme opposite direction with DA:I because of that.

That being said though, this is their new attempt at a more open world so it may be different. Have you read any other reviews outside of that guy who is overly negative to be edgy? I've seen a few saying the side quests weren't that bad.

[Pumpkin]

I play Dragon Age for the Leliana

[Psychotic]

I totally agree on Inquisition's open world. There were some visually nice areas but it had no depth. The quests were all boring MMO type fare and in fact, while we're on the subject of Skyrim, they remind me of the radiant quests in that. Y'know, the ones you never do :p I didn't quite realise the game's set up and spent a lot more time in the initial open world than I needed to, and it wasn't really all that fun and I struggled to get into the game. As soon as I sacked that off and focussed as much as I could on the characters and the main story I found it more to my liking.

As far as combat goes, I agree again. I was a mage, and it got a lot better when I specced to Knight Enchanter as then I could melee and use ranged magic. But to be honest with you, it became such a grind I committed that most awful of sins and cranked the game down to the easiest difficulty setting and played it like a Dynasty Warriors style hack and slash. smurf the git gud haters, because that was actually really fun and a reason why I enjoyed the game.

[Pumpkin]

What's wrong with the easy setting :(

[Formalhaut]

Funnily enough I found DA: II's combat to be the least inspiring. Probably didn't help I played as a two-hand warrior which was just 'MASH MASH MASH MASH' (Inquisition, in my opinion, made warriors far more interesting to fight as).

I actually enjoyed Inquisition's combat, though I only truly enjoyed it after they implemented the trials to give enemies more abilities (and thus made it more challenging). It could be improved though. I thing that comes to mind is how difficulty is basically how much more health they give enemies, which can make it somewhat boring. Playing on PC has made me appreciate Origins combat more, but I think I just prefer Inquisition's. Mages are terribly overpowered in Origins.

I'm definitely with Mister Adequate though about the sidequests. Compared to DA: O and DA: II, it felt really hollow. The environments were really beautiful, but often felt empty, and the sidequests that were there were just 'pick up note, go to location, kill [x], complete'. Even the main quests, good as they were, boiled down your choices to what you could do at the end. In Redcliffe, you could affect so many people's lives for better or worse, on top of the main resolution, but in Inquisition, not so much. It tells you something that Inquisition's section in Dragon Age Keep is much shorter compared to the other two.

I mean, I stil enjoyed DA: I, so even if Andromeda is more in that vein I won't be so disappointed, though I would appreciate sidequest where you actually talked to people. If they retain the note-format of Inquisition, I won't be happy.

[Freya]

Oh for the record, I agree. The side quest were very hollow in DA:I and it is and was a big complaint many had. Bioware seems to take on those complaints though so I feel they may have made an effort more in their newer game. At least i'm taking the optimistic approach to it that way.

[Pike]

That being said though, this is their new attempt at a more open world so it may be different. Have you read any other reviews outside of that guy who is overly negative to be edgy? I've seen a few saying the side quests weren't that bad.

Oh I've been iffy on Andromeda since long, long before any reviews show up. My trepidation has nothing to do with reviews and everything to do with the fact that Inquisition, more than any other game, has got me thinking "well, shit, I've finally reached that age where I think games are moving on without me to bigger fancier, more complicated worlds and I can't keep up."

There was some sort of news article a while ago where Bioware said "Andromeda's smallest zone is bigger than all of Inquisition combined" and that's about when I went "oh boy, no, I'm too old for this shit." lmao.

[Pumpkin]

Well Andromeda is a big galaxy!

[Freya]

Yeah but we get the super cool new mako (the nomad) that has a customizable paint job! So you can zoom across the land!

Like the pre order bonus gold nomad!
71851

[Formalhaut]

I can sympathise with Pike, though. Games have progressed so far in two decades, you honestly can't compare. Comparing Origins and Inquisition mechanics and gameplay reveals quite a chasm.

I'm open-minded. I hope I stay that way.

No way I'm touching horror games though. Smurfing terrifying.

[Madame Adequate]

I want to be able to customize my SEGA Nomad!

[Pike]

I'm open-minded. I hope I stay that way.

For me it's not about open-mindedness, it's about how I can physically feel my reaction times slowing and my ability to multitask and keep multiple questlines in my mind diminishing. It is literally about the side effects of aging. DAO and DA2 were great because there was a lot of pausing, a lot of methodicalness, a lot of setting up tactics. DAI was more actiony and more about sidequests, and the tactics thing was pretty much gone.

I.E., ten years ago I probably would have liked Inquisition a lot more than I like it now. But as it is, I'd much prefer something slower. Something more straightforward. Something more like older Bioware games.

[Formalhaut]

Oh, I'm with you on reaction times. It is why I'm not great at fighting games or shooters without any way of pausing. I'm just not that good a shot. I abuse tactical pausing in both Dragon Age and Mass Effect.

[Freya]

I could swear DA:I had that though? Cause I remember using it

[Aulayna]

71852

I can decide for myself whether I'm going to pre-order or not, in a few hours.

[Freya]

Ooo that's what TSoL will be doing too! I've debated on just paying for the origin access to try it too xD Give us your thoughts when you get further! First 10 hrs I think, right?

[Del Murder]

DAI had a tactical mode where you literally control the flow of combat and could move time at your own speed. On PS4 you would get it by pushing that big giant button in the middle of the controller.

[Scruffington]

Been watching some streams of it. My impressions are from only a few hours of footage, and only select scenes, but I have to say some of the criticisms seem fairly valid.

One cutscene in particular has pretty awkward dialogue that seems to lack cohesion. Each line feels kind of independent from the next. The animations are also janky, with a fair amount of pop-in. Gameplay looks fun and actually pretty engaging, similar to Mass Effect 3.

I think the official reviews will shed some more light on how the dialogue and story actually hold up for the rest of the game. If it's just that one scene in particular, I don't think there's a reason to worry. But if reviewers are critical of the game because these are issues throughout the entire playthrough, then I'm going to be a lot more worried about it.

EDIT: Seen a few more animations from other scenes. It seems like the animation issues are going to be a constant problem throughout the game. Character don't react properly to what other people are saying. Eye animations seem fairly limited (or nonexistent?), lip animations seem fairly bad too. It seems really disappointing that these are such glaring issues considering they've had 5 years to make this game. Giant Bomb stated something along the lines of that they would 'take all the bad animations in the world if they were more interested in what the character's were actually saying.'

EDIT 2: Check this out to see some of what I mean: https://twitter.com/truongasm/status/842138336764416000

[Slothy]

With regard to animation, if I'm being honest, Bioware has always been pretty shit at that. Hell, most triple A devs are terrible at it. Not excusing it of course so hopefully the really bad stuff is the exception rather than the rule.

[Bubba]

I watched that video in the guy's review of the bad AI and yeah it was bad but... it was freakin' hilarious! If I'm playing Mass Effect, investigating some derelict spacecraft and I turn round to see my two squad mates jumping up and down on a nearby bed... I'd just laugh! As long as they shoot stuff properly when we're in a fight then I'm good :-)

Reports of bad dialogue and delivery is slightly worrying because I thought it was at a high standard over all three of the original games. If not they can just bring in the cast of The Last of Us to re-record everyone's lines. Hell, just bring in Nolan North and Troy Baker to do everyone.

I'm assuming Bioware are looking at this as another potential trilogy? If that's the case then I'm not even slightly worried. Look how clunky ME1 was? Glitches everywhere, poor mechanics, recycled environments, repetitive gameplay... and I absolutely loved it.

I'm with Psy. It's been on pre-order for a while. Bioware have justified that with their first three games in the series.

[Formalhaut]

Isn't there a (sigh) Day One patch as well? Maybe they'll fix those animation issues?

[Fox]

Isn't there a (sigh) Day One patch as well? Maybe they'll fix those animation issues?

Patches are very unlikely to fix underlying animations. If there's a bug with it like a characters jaw flapping about so hard it falls off, then sure. But just low quality animations will most likely stick around. The data for things like that is fairly large and it's difficult to get tech to generate what you need automatically to a good standard. I think when you're actually in the game it won't be too much of a concern; this is something that the original ME trilogy, Deus Ex and other games (especially RPGS) have had and for the most part players are able to quickly adjust and tune it out.

[Aulayna]

So, ermmm...

I played for a couple of hours and I can't really say I'm feeling it at the moment.

Aside from the uncanny valley dialogue animations (which don't actually bother me that much) and the teenage level dialogue itself as RPS pointed out... the game just handles weirdly.

The cover system feels janky as smurf, sometimes you'll be in a place where you should go into cover but Ryder just stands there like a plank. There's no easy way to switch direction when aiming from cover, and you just sort of glide along the terrain. If you run and gun and jet pack in the air like all the combat footage so far has suggested doing, you just get destroyed in a few seconds. Maybe it's just a symptom of only being level 2, but the combat just honestly hasn't felt all the great at the moment. It seems to lack any sort of feedback, you can unload an entire assault rifle clip into the head of one of the alien dudes and they don't even flinch, just feels like shooting into a bullet sponge.

I'll try it a bit more after work tomorrow, but right now my current experiences haven't converted me from "let's pay €4 for a month of Origin Access to try it" into "okay I'm buying this." If anything I feel like I've saved myself €50 of disappointment at the moment.

(Oh and yeah, the PC menu UI is just the console UI - so even though you have a mouse and keyboard at your disposal, the menus etc aren't optimised to take advantage of it at all... I feel like this is becoming a cardinal sin in PC gaming these days.)

EDIT: I also had to uninstall the software for my mechanical keyboard and mouse just to be able to launch the game as well. :/ It'd just get stuck on a black screen with the software running.

[Slothy]

Console UI in a PC game? Fuck off BioWare. It'd take all of a day for one guy to make a PC optimized menu system and UI.

[Madame Adequate]

DAI had a tactical mode where you literally control the flow of combat and could move time at your own speed. On PS4 you would get it by pushing that big giant button in the middle of the controller.

Yes, but the nature of the combat is extremely important to whether/how well such a system works. In Origins it works great because you have a vast array of possible skills, there are often environmental factors in play, and thanks to a good combination of enemy types who have different abilities themselves, you're encouraged to switch up what you're doing. A fight against an Ogre is very different to a fight against half a dozen bandits, which is very different again from a fight against a couple of mages and whatever demons they've called forth.

DA2 doesn't succeed to the same extent but it still has enough variety in skills and enemies, combined with abilities that are just plain fun to use, that it more-or-less pulls off the same thing. It's a bit weaker, but not devastatingly so, though personally I only very rarely pause combat in that game outside of aiming my spells.

Inquisition's problem is that you have fewer skills, but more importantly, you have vastly fewer combat situations to actually use them in. Fights hinge entirely on the fact enemies have a lot of HP; beyond that there are very few which are actually different from each other. Fighting a mage isn't different from an archer, fighting bandits isn't different from fighting darkspawn, fighting demons isn't different from fighting wildlife. Everything is fought in essentially the same exact way; keep shields/barriers up, wear down health until the thing finally dies. Level 4 in the Hinterlands or level 25 in Descent, it's the same shit throughout. It gets a little better with the modifiers but not by much, not nearly enough. The absence of pausing in combat isn't because the game lacks it, it's that the game doesn't give you a reason to actually need or want to do it. You don't need to give a shit about which spells to use because fights last so long, and spell cooldowns are so long, that you're better off throwing everything at enemies rather than worrying about weaknesses and strengths. You can't worry about positioning because most of the fights take place in areas so large that positioning is not a realistic factor; you either close the gap or hit from range, that's all there is to it. There's no real element of cover, no ability to split large enemy groups up, no spell like Grease that will put a third of your enemies on their ass while you deal with the rest, etc. etc..

I obviously can't speak for Pike but for me, the only thing slowing/pausing combat in Inquisition does is make a long-ass fight take even longer. In the other two you could take on things well above your pay grade if you know what you're doing and use skills and spells and items well. In DAI, you can either beat something or you can't; you'll outdamage them or they'll outdamage you. I can't remember any fights at all which hinged on preparation, planning, or using abilities in clever ways, only a DPS race. (Maybe throwing bee jars to weaken armor.) The only thing you learn is how to judge from the first few seconds of a fight which will prove true. There is no element whatsoever of mastery in the game, no sense of growing power (barring a couple of OP specs like Knight-Enchanter that do mix things up a bit), no sense of mastery either as a character or a player, no fundamental difference in what you're doing or the tools you're doing it with between the first hour you spend with the game and reaching the end of a 100% playthrough.

[Fox]

Console UI in a PC game? smurf off BioWare. It'd take all of a day for one guy to make a PC optimized menu system and UI.

While I don't disagree that PC requires a platform appropriate UI, it would be a fairly substantial time investment (which they should totally do). I assume Bioware's UI tech is better than ours but ours takes weeks​ to implement simple stuff! Hence why we don't even have mouse driven menus. Grrrrr

[Psychotic]

It seems to lack any sort of feedback, you can unload an entire assault rifle clip into the head of one of the alien dudes and they don't even flinch, just feels like shooting into a bullet sponge.Oh dear, I loathe the lazy bullet sponge artificial difficulty trick that many games pull. If I pull off a sick headshot I want that head to explode, not take off a quarter of the enemy's life. Welp, looks like I'm playing this on Easy or even Narrative 'cause I ain't got the time or motivation for that trout.

[Pike]

DAI had a tactical mode where you literally control the flow of combat and could move time at your own speed. On PS4 you would get it by pushing that big giant button in the middle of the controller.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it felt like there was no real need for it though. When I first started playing DAI I used pause a lot because I figured, that's what you do in the first two DAs and in BG and similar games. You pause a lot. Then I realized you don't have to, you can pretty much just hold your button down and coast to victory (with a few exceptions, i.e. the Descent which is why that was a GREAT DLC). It felt really weird to me and took away a lot of what I liked about prior games in the series/genre.

Also a lot of what Mister Adequate says is very true. I LOVED playing mage in the first two games because you would get all these ridiculous spells and every time I leveled up I was super excited to get a new spell. Even at the end of the game I was learning neat new spells that would change my battle tactics.

With DAI, playing a mage throughout the entire game was just keep barrier up, press a button to win. None of the spells you got as the game progressed really felt any different to me. Oh maybe the spell you cast is a different color this time?

I know hardly anyone here agrees with me so I should really just stop talking. And again, it's not like I'm trying to say it was a bad game. But for me personally, it removed so much of what I liked about prior games in the series, as well as the genre of squad-based RPG combat as a whole, that I really, really had a difficult time enjoying it.

(the whole thing might have been salvaged for me if the characters had been engrossing, but I found them to be the weakest in the series overall, so... that didn't help either :tongue: )

[Aulayna]

Completely unrelated to the ongoing discussion, but this is my Ryder I made.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C6_wU6PWsAA5-2g.jpg

[Bubba]

She looks a bit like Emily Blunt

[Freya]

Not surprised about the animation clunks. The bioware games tend to get that bad a lot. Very clunky. Really with their female counterparts, they don't even bother making more female animations and give them the male animations. It gets awkward.

I noticed the facial animation is different than the past games. I think they're going for a style this time idk.

Curious about the combat though. I'll be interested to hear more about it.

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

While I hear the Day One patch will give you more customization options for your character, I was kinda disappointed for my Ryder (if you ship Destiel in Supernatural, then he looked like their kid :p). He looked too gruff so I ended up going with default thought he's pasty af in some lighting.

Going from ME2 Spacebar for cover to Andromeda Spacebar for jump made the first few fights ummmm...Awkward? Run to cover! *Jumps in the air like he doesn't care* I do agree that the enemies in the prologue are bullet sponges but my biotics did well to damage them like basic Pull took half their health. Cool trick: when you unlock Throw, hold the Pull key and the enemy's body is dragged to you then you can use Throw to throw it at another enemy.

[Formalhaut]

Honestly I found DA:O gave you too many spells. Like gah which spells do I use? A lot of them seem really situational as well.

I can see what you're saying Pike. Inquisition is the easier game. Heck I can even play it on Nightmare with trials, while I can at best play the other two on normal. I think the crafting system in Inquisition is OP though, that helps. I found Inquisition combat to be engaging, but it does eventually become rote, particularly post-build where you have everything. Enemies could have more oomph to hem, which the trials partly addressed.

Honestly, I think the main thing missing is tactics. You can't really customise the A.I very well, which is a shame.

[Madame Adequate]

http://www.pcgamer.com/we-have-mixed-feelings-about-the-first-few-hours-of-mass-effect-andromeda/ More people not entirely taken with the game.

[Scruffington]

Yeah I'm majorly turned off by a lot of the impressions so far. Seems like this game just isn't living up to the hype, unfortunately.

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

Honestly, anyone who has XBone or PC should do the Trial if on the fence. Best way to see and it is like 5$ for a month, cancel anytime, and get you get 10% off all purchases (Origin at least).

[Psychotic]

http://i.imgur.com/Rq9zqLP.gifv

GotY

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

Lmao

[Slothy]

http://i.imgur.com/Rq9zqLP.gifv

GotY

Might be worth the price of admission just to watch that shit all day to be honest.

[Psychotic]

Indeed, I'm going to be pissed off if my copy isn't broken.

[Madame Adequate]

i'm in tears

http://i.imgur.com/EnBzCrz.gif

NOOT NOOT

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2017/03/16/this-is-why-its-a-bad-idea-for-games-like-mass-effect-andromeda-to-have-piecemeal-embargoes/#4044aa0e690e

[Freya]

ahh i like what he says there at the end in that article



My advice?

- Take first impressions pieces with a grain of salt, my own included.

- Remember how slow the first few hours of many huge RPGs are.

- If you play the Early Access preview, do not judge the entire game based on Eos.

- Wait for full reviews to get the best sense of the game. Mine may be late as it is mandatory for me to do all sidequests and talk to all the people.


Everyone just…calm down. Not to say there aren’t good and bad things to say about the game in these early previews, but this is turning into a viral fire-tornado rather quickly, which I think could have been avoided.

[Madame Adequate]

I'll be in my cold dead space grave before I stop slathering myself in online video game drama

[Formalhaut]

I'll be in my cold dead space grave before I stop slathering myself in online video game drama

Sounds sticky.

[Freya]

I for one like to be more optimistic about things. Everything. Movies. Books. Everything. Positivity is much more enjoyable than negativity for me.

Personality differences I guess :)

[Formalhaut]

That Forbes article sounds fair.

To be clear, those animation issues do seem pretty funny. Hopefully they can at least be tweaked, if not outright fixed. Here's hoping!

Experts: how tough is it to animate faces? I'm guessing it is difficult. Because faces.

[Freya]

Oh yeah the animations seem silly but that's been a reoccurring problem with bioware. It's bothersome they haven't fixed it yet.

I'm still hopeful for the gameplay and story though :D

[Formalhaut]

Looping animations were the most obvious thing to me in Dragon Age: Origins. Animations are not BioWare's strong point.

[Psychotic]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2017/03/16/this-is-why-its-a-bad-idea-for-games-like-mass-effect-andromeda-to-have-piecemeal-embargoes/#4044aa0e690eThat dude is just being reasonable because it's controversial not be controversial right now and he wants the clicks.

[Pike]

listen if this game doesn't have the Bioware Finger Guns in it I'm getting a refund

[Fox]

I'm fairly chill about the weird animations. Yeah they're a big studio and it's 2017 and so on and so forth. But I still happily load up the original Deus Ex from time to time and get completely absorbed in it. That game has aged badly but the terrible animations and unchanging low-resolution expressions are the least of my concerns there. I expect better from Mass Effect but it not being better isn't really a problem for me.

I'm less chill about the writing I've heard so far which is certainly not great. And some of the acting - Natalie Dormer is a wonderful actor but maybe not a voice artist. I was glad to see the conversation system isn't as terrible as I thought it was going to be though - they give you the same options you always had plus an idea of the kind of tone that line is going to take. I thought they were JUST going to give you a list like "'Professional,' 'Flirty,' 'Casual,' with no idea what the actual line would be. Fortunately that isn't the case.

[Squall Leonhart Loire]

I've never played a Mass Effect game before. How is the combat like?

[Mr. Carnelian]

While I hear the Day One patch will give you more customization options for your character, I was kinda disappointed for my Ryder (if you ship Destiel in Supernatural, then he looked like their kid :p). He looked too gruff so I ended up going with default thought he's pasty af in some lighting.

Love the Destiel reference, hate that you effectively killed their Mass Effect lovechild. :stare:

Me and Formy have already pre-ordered, so we're stuck with the game now even if it is pure trout. :gator:

I'm not really worried though, to be honest. Haven't bought a game yet which I didn't enjoy on at least the first playthrough, even if they weren't necessarily worth repeat-playing. Basically, my taste in game-buying is flawless and I have absolute confidence in it. :smug:

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

71854

[Pike]

Latest RPS article gives the early access game a mixed review and says it's very similar to Inquisition, and that one's enjoyment of Andromeda will probably be similar to how much they liked Inquisition. Which I was afraid of, so ultimately for me as someone who didn't get much out of Inquisition this is probably going to come down to how enjoyable the combat is. (Or alternatively, if any of the characters can successfully REALLY suck me in.)

Link for the curious: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/03/16/mass-effect-andromeda-problems/

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

I really liked DA:I sooo... :x

Especially after the fixed the Dorian bug I encountered. Lol.

[Formalhaut]

As long as I'm not finding a random datapad in the wilderness, I'm game.

[Pheesh]

http://i.imgur.com/Rq9zqLP.gifv

GotY

That is how I run to the toilet after I've had KFC the previous night. Most relateable ME game yet.

[Aulayna]

Latest RPS article gives the early access game a mixed review and says it's very similar to Inquisition, and that one's enjoyment of Andromeda will probably be similar to how much they liked Inquisition. Which I was afraid of, so ultimately for me as someone who didn't get much out of Inquisition this is probably going to come down to how enjoyable the combat is. (Or alternatively, if any of the characters can successfully REALLY suck me in.)

Link for the curious: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/03/16/mass-effect-andromeda-problems/

Wow that article pretty much echoes how I feel now I've sunk nearly the maximum allotted time into the trial. I'll probably still pick it up just for the story, and on that note pretty much point 14 of that article is how I feel right now.

Like really, nothing has been THAT bad (well aside from a few immersion breaking "wtf" moments with Ryder's facial expressions), but nothing has been notably great either. If I think of it as not a Mass Effect game to remove my pre-conceptions, and just think of it as a sci-fi game, it's okay. It's not revolutionary, but it's not terrible, it's just very... muddled.

[DMKA]

It kind of blows my mind how many people are saying "It's like Dragon Age Inquisition!" as a negative. I freaking loved that game. But it does sound like the game isn't going to come anywhere near living up to the hype surrounding it, and that is a shame. I had planned on pre-ordering it but now...I don't know. What concerns me most is people talking about how unlikable your companions are. The cast of companions in the other ME games were great and I had a blast talking to them and I found myself genuinely interested in learning as much about them as possible.

Monday is when the reviews come out. Should be interesting.

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

It kind of blows my mind how many people are saying "It's like Dragon Age Inquisition!" as a negative. I freaking loved that game. But it does sound like the game isn't going to come anywhere near living up to the hype surrounding it, and that is a shame. I had planned on pre-ordering it but now...I don't know. What concerns me most is people talking about how unlikable your companions are. The cast of companions in the other ME games were great and I had a blast talking to them and I found myself genuinely interested in learning as much about them as possible.

Monday is when the reviews come out. Should be interesting.
I don't get why people are complaint about companions since in the trial you only get 3 and have minimal interaction (typical basic background info and some banter) with and are introduced to two others who don't join you yet. It leaves one not even introduced and basically the SP block prevents fro the relationship you do have from evolving.

[Formalhaut]

They could have done the embargo thing better. Because before the embargo is lifted all we have are vague first impressions and rumors that can spin and spin. It's a rather odd thing they've done.

[Slothy]

Review embargos are stupid in general. Either the game is good or it isn't and all embargos do is hurt the people who pre-ordered when it turns out the latter is the case.

[Fox]

Review embargos are stupid in general. Either the game is good or it isn't and all embargos do is hurt the people who pre-ordered when it turns out the latter is the case.

Review embargoes that go up to the release date are stupid. The ones that open up a few days in advance are fine in my view, as it gives all reviewers the same period of time to play the game and write the review without having to worry about rushing out something half-baked in order to get the clicks for being 'first'.

[Aulayna]

I actually really enjoyed Dragon Age Inquisition, for all it's flaws.

My 10 hour trial has finished now and I'll pick up the full game. The story is enough to make me want to continue and combat gets a little better once you have some more abilities unlocked. It still irks me that where you shoot something doesn't really cause much reaction, there's no staggering or anything. Yet if you zap something in the face with overload it'll cause it to stagger. I guess it's this way to make biotic powers feel worthwhile, but sometimes you really do just feel like you're sinking bullets into a sponge that waltzes relentlessly toward you until it hits a fixed health percentage and then hides in cover.

One thing I do really like is that you can interact and have meaningful conversations with all of the Tempest crew, there's no generic engineers walking around or anything of the sort. Tying into this, the removal of Paragon/Renegade makes dialogue feel a bit more natural rather than just defaulting to one of 2 options because that's what you're doing that playthrough.

[Fox]

How would you say the quality of the writing/acting is overall? I've only seen about 20 minutes of gameplay, and that's probably the area I'm most concerned about.

[Aulayna]

It's variable. Some of the writing and voice acting is atrocious, then there are moments of brilliance, but for the most part it walks the line of "acceptable." On average I wouldn't really say it's any better or worse than previous ME games from an acting point of view.

The writing is up for debate, I do feel that the writing itself isn't of the quality of the previous games. A fair few times I have questioned the way some characters react to things and right now it feels a lot more "popcorn flick" than space opera. I'd honestly wait for reviews of the full game if it's a concern, the content of the trial isn't really enough to get a firm picture of any nuances etc.

[Formalhaut]

ME: 3 was probably the worst game for restricted 'obvious' conversations. I'm playing it now as a matter of fact and I frequently only have two choices - the clearly paragon and the clearly renegade choice.

[DMKA]

I hated those moments during cutscenes when you were supposed to hit a paragon or renegade option but I didn't notice it until it was too late because I was way too engrossed in what was going on. Yet at the same time, that's a testament to how interesting and well written everything was in the first three games. I genuinely cared about conversations and how my characters were treated, so much that I completely lost sight of the more nuanced gameplay instances when conversation and story progression was taking place.

I really hope that's the case with Andromeda.

[Squall Leonhart Loire]

What's going on the behind the scenes with this game? Some more SJW nonsense?