Review
Played on: Xbox One
Released: 2017
Released: 2017
A new instalment to the incredible Mass Effect trilogy, on last gen, was inevitable. The developer, Bioware, switch it up brilliantly between Dragon Age and Mass Effect releases. Returning to such a critically acclaimed franchise, with quite a few years hiatus, can be challenging. To say my expectations, and I presume everyone else, were high, was understating it. While the ending of the previous ME trilogy had been criticised, the franchise as a whole, was an excellent sci-fi RPG and third person shooter combination.
Having redeemed a free EA Access voucher on the same month as release for ME:A, I not only got a small discount on the game, but I also had the chance of playing the first ten hours nearly a week ahead of release!
Having redeemed a free EA Access voucher on the same month as release for ME:A, I not only got a small discount on the game, but I also had the chance of playing the first ten hours nearly a week ahead of release!
My save continued over to the full release too, which gave me time to try the beginning of the game twice actually, as I couldn't decide what my fem-Ryder should look like. The default face looks kind of more detailed, while the custom one made my playthrough more unique. So, as a tribute to my favourite gaming heroine, Regina from Dino Crisis, I went for short, red hair.
As the role of either a female or male Ryder sibling, both are featured in the game regardless of your gender choice, are part of the Andromeda Initiative. A huge fleet of exploration spaceships, sent out in the hope to find liveable planets for in the Andromeda Galaxy. Setting out on it's journey, in the time frame Shepard from the first trilogy lived, you start the game by waking up from a 600 year journey, in a frozen sleep state.
This 600 year gap makes it clear that Andromeda sets itself far away from the story of the original trilogy. A sort of statement of a fresh start to a new instalment. However, it keeps the ME style and atmosphere very much intact.
The first area of the game learns you the basics of control, movement and combat. You quickly discover the neat jumping boost, new to the series, which makes it easier to traverse the open environments. Strangely though, the rolling mechanic isn't present from ME3. Most likely intentional considering the less square designed and limited space of the old trilogy.
The first area of the game learns you the basics of control, movement and combat. You quickly discover the neat jumping boost, new to the series, which makes it easier to traverse the open environments. Strangely though, the rolling mechanic isn't present from ME3. Most likely intentional considering the less square designed and limited space of the old trilogy.
Even on this first little, planet you visit, the game introduces, in a controlled fashion, a neat, little open structure to it. Allowing players to a feel for things to come and to understand that mission critical checkpoints can be taken in your own order. Gone are the more typical A to B maps.
The main planets, after the introduction area, is where you really understand how massive the worlds have become. Much in the same scale as the vehicle based planets in ME1 were. Only this time around, there are tons of actual interesting areas to explore and discover. I love this new direction, it perfectly balances open world gaming with a tighter structure, that takes you from planet to planet, rather than the whole game being one big world. It perfectly with the space exploration theme and allows great diversity for each planet. Spanning from from boiling, desert surfaces, overgrown alien woodlands to cold, icy surfaces.
Even om my first proper planet surface mission, I'm finding secrets, ancient ruins, underground complexes and ending up terra-forming a whole damn planet! Venturing forth to set up the first exploration centre of the Andromeda mission, thus starting colonisation of the planet for mankind. A truly epic feeling of a grand scale.
Even om my first proper planet surface mission, I'm finding secrets, ancient ruins, underground complexes and ending up terra-forming a whole damn planet! Venturing forth to set up the first exploration centre of the Andromeda mission, thus starting colonisation of the planet for mankind. A truly epic feeling of a grand scale.
Further more, I must secure the base from enemy attacks and progress on making the planet a liveable place again from it radioactive state. I mean, words can't really describe the huge, monumental tasks I doing and the fantastic sense of pioneering space exploration! And that's just the very first planet and the early hours of the game.
It's like Bioware took all the good parts from the older games, the big, open and vehicle planets from ME1, the tight and satisfying shooting combat from ME2 & ME3 and the amazing presentation from all of them and mixed it with a modern, open world approach and achieved something truly unique. It gives franchise not only a sense of, but also actually delivering, the freedom of a massive scaled sci-fi story.
It's like Bioware took all the good parts from the older games, the big, open and vehicle planets from ME1, the tight and satisfying shooting combat from ME2 & ME3 and the amazing presentation from all of them and mixed it with a modern, open world approach and achieved something truly unique. It gives franchise not only a sense of, but also actually delivering, the freedom of a massive scaled sci-fi story.
It's that grand feeling you would imagine space exploration would be. Sure, some of tasks on the planets are repetitive, but the maps are never overcrowded with with tasks and usually have a side story with cutscenes in them. Making venturing into the side missions a more tempting and interesting fare than usual in RPGs.
While there's been numerous posts online about how the facial animations look stupid at times, I personally didn't find them more distracting than the previous instalments. Comparing a game where you can make your own character, and change the tone of a conversation mid-way, to very carefully, scripted cutscenes in linear, cinematic games is unfair. Sure Andromeda, much like Fallout 4, can fare into the uncanny valley with it's characters expressions. However, the facial animations do their job fine, characters look detailed and are a big upgrade from the older ME titles. The running animation though, is still laughably ME 3 bad, it needs to be fixed!
The games physics give glitchy feeling at times, like it's missing some extra hours of polish. While the combat is very satisfying, giving room for a lots of tactics with it's wide range of attacks and defence, I found enemy ragdolls thrown weirdly around after being shot. There's also a crude cover system, as you try to hide behind objects, a step down from ME3s Gears of War styled cover system.
The games physics give glitchy feeling at times, like it's missing some extra hours of polish. While the combat is very satisfying, giving room for a lots of tactics with it's wide range of attacks and defence, I found enemy ragdolls thrown weirdly around after being shot. There's also a crude cover system, as you try to hide behind objects, a step down from ME3s Gears of War styled cover system.
These are hopefully issues that get fixed in an update. I must stress that Andromeda is far less a cover based shooter than the old Unreal Engine 3 based trilogy though. Usually you attack in open environments, relying on very cool vertical attacks from above, utilising the jump jet tactic, and jet boosting quickly from side to side around the battlefield. Adapting to this larger form of battle is refreshing and fun.
Perhaps the issues that bothered so many with Andromeda simply became an internet meme thing, taken out of proportions, because the game is one of the best Mass Effect games released in my opinion. Falling behind ME2's fantastic revision of gameplay and presentation. It may not be an opinion I share with the general public, but at least I made it on my own through many hours of play, versus just watching a YouTube compilation of un-patched bugs. My best tip is simply to give the game a few hours by yourself, past the opening area to when you're out on your first proper mission on the desert planet.
I found the freedom, the focus on exploration, the way you build up planets and colonising them, all gave me a fantastic sense of accomplishment. A fresh new beginning, to hopefully a new Mass Effect trilogy. I genuinely felt like I was changing the future for mankind together with the other alien species, pioneering space exploration.
Perhaps the issues that bothered so many with Andromeda simply became an internet meme thing, taken out of proportions, because the game is one of the best Mass Effect games released in my opinion. Falling behind ME2's fantastic revision of gameplay and presentation. It may not be an opinion I share with the general public, but at least I made it on my own through many hours of play, versus just watching a YouTube compilation of un-patched bugs. My best tip is simply to give the game a few hours by yourself, past the opening area to when you're out on your first proper mission on the desert planet.
I found the freedom, the focus on exploration, the way you build up planets and colonising them, all gave me a fantastic sense of accomplishment. A fresh new beginning, to hopefully a new Mass Effect trilogy. I genuinely felt like I was changing the future for mankind together with the other alien species, pioneering space exploration.
Perhaps it's just my personal taste that suited my experience with Andromeda, but it's definitely a game you would ignore the hate about and test out by yourself. My favourite game of the year so far with a fantastic mix of RPG, third person shooting and adventure exploring.
