E3 2015: It's the Return of the Mako in Mass Effect: Andromeda

Mass Effect - My favourite thing in the world.

This is the only good direction that was left for Mass Effect, I'm sooooo happy this isn't a prequel.

I want to date the mako

Just make a Mass Effect game like Mass Effect 2. Mass Effect 2 was the best game of the last generation. I don't care for a mako. No one should care for a mako, it was the worst part of Mass Effect 1. Just give me cool characters and good combat.

I don't know how I feel about this

Shepard?

Yeah, dog!

No stupid prequel garbage, and a new Mass Effect galaxy to explore. E3 is a success already.

@katygaga: Having gone back to ME1, I realize the Mako was pretty janky, but I loved the sense of exploration and being on the frontier that ME1 had. I agree that ME2, from a gameplay perspective, was the pinnacle of the trilogy, though. If they can deliver ME2 gameplay with the adventurous tone of ME1, I think it could be great.

This trailer doesn't really tell me much of anything. Still very much a wait-and-see thing right now.

The western/space trucker vibe isn't all that appealing to me either. Or are they trying to evoke Cowboy Bebop or something?

All new galaxy, and it looks like they're bringing back planetary exploration? It's like they read my mind.

REPRESENT!

I hope they go back to the more open feel of ME1, first time on the Citadel was amazing. I might not have liked the mako controls, but being able to land on almost any planet gave the universe a grand feel.

I hope this will be great and basically have nothing to do with the old trilogy (especially since I'm among the crowd that desperately hate the ending to ME3).

Also Johnny Cash is a weird choice for this trailer.

SPACE COWBOYS ARE BEST COWBOYS

I'm ready for more Mass Effect, but I wish we had a bit more info and that it was this year.

SPACE WESTERNS ARE THE BEST WESTERNS.

SPACE IS THE BEST!

@tennmuerti: Is Bioware still selling that as a T-Shirt?

This seems legit enough. Nothing confirmed, though.

Eurogamer

@tbkNo idea, but i highly doubt it.

Why wasn't this at the EA conference?!

Well, suppose it cant be worse then the other games.

Wahoo! Something to look forward too! :D

I don't know how good it will be after the great Bioware exodus but I'll give it a try.

Every other time on the Citadel was complete horseshit though. Mass Effect 1 was good at the time, but after Mass Effect 2 it was impossible to go back to.

Way too little on something that is coming out in a year and a half (probably two with the upcoming release pushback that is bound to happen). I know that a teaser is supposed to be just that but come on, might as well have waited until next E3.

The Cowboy Bebop/ Firefly space western vibe doesn't really mesh that well with ME. Just resulted in a very odd trailer...

And I love Mass Effect, Cowboy Bebop and Firefly.

So good to see something on this and what's here looks very intriguing. So yah!

YEAH!

Ya sure I will gladly play another SINGLEPLAYER mass effect game. I really hope that dude is just wearing N7 armor and its not shepard though.

This is the most exciting thing for me, this year's E3.

@dizzyhippos: According to the announcement that isn't the player character.

So is this DA:I with a horse that matters? (And guns, I guess)

The ME1 treatment at the end felt goood.

It sounds like exploration is a big thing in this new one, which is great. If it's everything the games were before plus that, count me in.

ah didnt see that, thanks for the link.

Yes! More planet scanning! Fewer weapon and power loadout options!

I think everyone forgets that lots of people were very upset when ME2 was released as a "dumbed down" "Gears-ified" version of an RPG that still didn't quite have the shooting where it should be.

Give me the openness and world building of ME1; the combat mechanics (please don't nerf Charge+Nova spam, ever), streamlined gameplay, and dialogue delivery of ME3; and the character and scenario writing of ME2/the first three quarters of ME3. And have it be consistent across what will almost certainly end up being the next trilogy. And give us the Mk II Mako hovertank from ME2 (although the Mk I Mako was fine with a mouse and keyboard; it only sucked on 360).

Also, stop being so fucking miserly with the content. If Bethesda can knock out open-world games every few years where 90% of the playerbase never sees 75% of the game by the credits, you fucks can afford to follow through on player choices in a meaningful way. I never want to see another relative of another deceased character cribbing their lines.

Edit: oh and outsource the PC port to someone who gives a shit as you did with ME1.

Edit edit: and knock off the DLC fuckery. When I buy the main game, I shouldn't have to shell out again just to get the rest of Liara, an established character's character arc or the one new character you bothered to write for ME3. I had zero guilt about pirating that DLC with my legit copies of the main game.

Fuck off. Johnny Cash is the best choice for every trailer!

@wiqidbritt: if you played through a soldier class in ME1, all the guns played the same, the only difference was the damage output. ME2 just streamlined this. ME2's combat was infinitely better than ME1 and, in my opinion, better than Gears. Planet scanning was a quicker method of resource gathering than just poorly driving around an open, dead world. If they just cut out the travel time, and got to better story/character moments and had resource gathering integrated better into the missions you were doing, it would solve both our issues. Mass Effect 2 reaches closer to this than ME1 did.

Mass Effect 1 is an amazing game, but its just weird that people are getting excited for the next Mass Effect by citing the mechanics that always held the first one back. Mass Effect, in general, has always been a character/story experience with great 3rd person combat (IMO, the best 3rd person combat because of an interplay with different powers and characters). It was never a great loot game, and if they make it too much into Dragon Age with a Mako, they'll be just diluting an amazing formula.

@theimmortalbum: Dude, I love Johnny Cash, but no he doesn't really fit with the Mass Effect universe. Fallout? Sure, but ME? Nope.

@katygaga: If you customized your weapons properly no they did not have to feel the same at all.

Also that's the beauty of ME1 you could play as other classes and have the gameplay feel very different. The kind of varied build shenanigans you could get up to in that game was great.

The is no defending the planning scanning in ME2, it was the most boring, bland and pointless time filler minigame, that existed only for the sake of itself, ie the worst kind.

At least in ME1 i got to drive around various world that looked different, and yes they were mostly barren but if you looked, there was definitely interesting stuff to find.

So yes please, give me more of ME when it felt like a grand galaxy spanning adventure, not a sci-fi sitcom turned linear corridor shooter, gears wannabe.

Yes ME2 had better shooting (unless you made your gun in ME1 say have no recoil with proper loot, and played with a mouse). And more good characters. But it lost everything else in my eyes (like plot progression for one), there was no sense of wonder left, that was there with the first game, it was very constrained.

There always were 2 camps on this, those that prefer ME2 and those that prefer ME1. Always will be.

Personally, as I played the original on the PC a lot of the issues that plagued the console versions simply didn't affect me, so there was no need to fix them. The game run at a great smooth frame rate, looked great, shooting was fine to me, menu navigation felt good and Mako was an amazing piece of hardware to drive around and do the impossible with once I got the hang of using it well. So ME2 didn't seem like a giant leap forward or anything.

So yea.

Mako 4 Life.

.

Edit: and anyway it's a different team, a different engine, that have their own concrete goals in mind: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-04-20-probing-the-new-mass-effect-4-leak just because they have a Mako and planet side traversal in it doesn't mean it will be anything like what was in ME1 both content wise (ie mostly barren planets) or mechanics/control wise. I'm willing to bet money on that, cause I know I'll win.

So we're going to end up being Andromeda's "Reapers"? Interesting role-reversal if true.

@tennmuerti: I do remember customizing my weapons and scouring differing areas to find different upgrades but that to me does not equal "playing differently". They all still felt the same with incredibly minor differences, but to each his/her own, I suppose. ARs will always feel like ARs.

While I prefer a Soldier class, each class felt different in both games, so I have no contention with that across the whole trilogy.

I've played multiple playthroughs of ME1 on PC. I love that game. I really do. But what I love about it is the story/characters and on-foot combat consisting of the interplay of squad mechanics - all of this was refined and better executed in ME2. Pure and simple.

I guess that's where Im coming from. I don't want just huge barren lands with maybe 1 or 2 interesting things to find because that just cuts into the experience when I could be talking to a new alien species or developing new relationships with squadmates. The planet scanning to me was better than the mako sections in ME1, so there's subjectivity for you.

If the next ME is just Dragon Age Inquisition with a Mako, they won't be taking advantage of what I think is the best gaming experience of the last generation.

To be so dismissive about ME2 by calling it a "sci-fi sitcom turned linear corridor shooter, gears wannabe." is just bizarre. All Mass Effect games have indelible qualities that they can draw upon for the next game.

ME2 is always thrilling to me and always a pleasure to go through, even after many, many, MANY playthroughs. I try to play it ever year. ME1 is excellent but, again, the mako sections just kind of get in the way of the experience I want... but if they refine the mako mechanics and make it better, who knows, I guess? it may be awesome for the next game. To me, if they had cut out the mako sections in ME and made getting new intel and side quests a more varied experience, then ME would be a better game in my mind, but thats just my opinion.

Story/Characters 4 Life

@katygaga: I am not arguing against story or characters, I want it as much as you do. And it's a good bet it will be a core of the new ME too. I'm using the Mako 4 Life phrase, because a lot of people were indeed against it like yourself after ME1, while I and some others embraced it instead, because it's something that was cool but went missing in the latter games.

ME1 might have not played differently for you but it did for me the several times I've played it. I've made pistol gear/build that have perfect stability and incredible power with near 100% up time that froze everything. Or a soldier with assault rifles modified that can be fired perpetually and never ever overheating. Sniper rifles that could be made so powerful they would send basic enemies flying but overheat after one shot, with which I would drive up to a ridge in my Mako get out and seamlessly snipe Geth armatures in the base far below with. Or a biotic that could lock down rooms full of enemies in various ways, and just let his teammates handle the dirty work, barely needing to fire a shot. Or I've made a character build with a specific armor and power combo where my shields were so strong and recharged so fast, that he literally never needed to take cover, just walked around the battlefield into crossfire without any worries. And that's just my playthroughts. There were many more builds people came up with and created. That's what was so great about ME1 rpg systems. Something entirely missing from 2.

Things are expected to be refined in sequels, it's an almost constant staple of the medium.

Creativity, wonder and ambition isn't. (at least not in big budget games)

That's what ME1 represented to a lot of people.

Better controls and refined combat I can get anywhere. I can't get what ME1 did anywhere.

So yes them bringing back planet exploration and the Mako. Those thing represent freedom and ambition to me, potential.

I am not asking for less story or characters. I am asking not to be stuck in super tight and constrained corridors the entire game. I want more story. (Yes story something ME2 imo did very poorly aside from a couple character missions, that game might as well not exist and it would change the overarching narrative in 3 very little.)

That's why some of us are hyped for these things.

It's a strange choice for sure. Really jarring.

@tennmuerti: I am a bit confused now because it seems like you're making the Mako out to be some sort of symbol of bold new forms of creativity and innovation in game design. Even at the time ME 1 came out, people thought the mako was janky and boring and some also said the same for the combat (which I only somewhat agree with). Im glad someone liked it because I'm sure it was difficult to implement but, in the end, it was just a boring and frustrating barrier to the content I really wanted.

As I said, i've played through ME multiple times and have had the experiences you are talking about with gun modification and biotic powers, and it was amazing. However, to me that wasn't the draw of the game but it was neat and while it was reduced for the sequel, it didn't bother me too much. The sequel had enough customization to its tighter combat that it ultimately satisfied me. To each his own, I suppose.

I am all for planet exploration and seeing new species but if you implement this through the mechanics of the mako like in ME 1 then it'll be disappointing for me. ME 2 had a lot of exploration and a lot of intrigue, and you didn't have to settle for driving through jank to see it. The combat was tight and had enough customization to it that the general effect of ME 1 was still intact (but I can see how some people can be somewhat let down by it).

ME 2 was more of a modern, divergent narrative than a strict story like in ME 1, so for me there was more ambition and potential realized in ME 2. ME 1 was more focused but ME 2 was more experimental and varied imo. As for creativity and ambition, for me, ME 1 felt like a perfected KOTOR and ME 2 felt like its own, unique thing. So for all the qualities you strictly ascribe to ME 1, I feel that way for ME 2. Subjectivity is weird, right?

All 3 MEs have qualities that they can draw upon whilst making something new. Im just confused why there's been this loud minority (and it is minority, unfortunately) that the mako was awesome. It had potential but was ultimately pretty boring and felt like an artificial way to pad out the length of the game.

Regardless, if they make the mako awesome for ME4 then I would obviously have no issue with it. I guess if the next ME had the gun customization and combat from the first and the diversity in the story of the second, both of us will be happy.

"Look, if I'm gonna explore these frontier planets, there's no way I'm doing it without my gun."