Should Mass Alex continue through Andromeda?

If Alex feels like he wants to yep.

If not then nope.

One thing I do find interesting is that now we are far removed from that infamous ME:A hate train, and it released on steam, it has recieved positive reviews.

Sure, I wouldn't want them to do it if they're not interested. That would be a drag to watch.

Having finished it well after all the bugs were fixed, I think it's an OK game. Though a bit repetitive with the puzzles.

It’s kind of a boring game that has no connection to the previous series since it’s a prequel - but sure why not. Most quest are dull fetch affairs, there are precious few characters worth caring about and the crux of the gameplay revolves around repeating the same terraforming operations over and over again. I’d love to see Vinnys soul die as they’re playing but otherwise I doubt they would really get much out of it. At the same time the best part of Andromeda was the more involved combat system and Alex barely makes use of anything now so I think the improvements would be lost on him.

For me it was an alright distraction that I got on a steep discount during a lull in new releases. I had a decent enough time combing through the planets and mopping up side activities while my bars and percentage meters slowly filled up. As an open world diversion it worked well enough but as a Mass Effect game it really was a huge departure in tone and quality from what you’d expect. I know a lot of people had very similar feelings towards Dragon Age Inquisition but for whatever reason that game didn’t seem nearly as dull to me even though it had its fair share of extremely trite quests that weren’t even voice acted.

@sarcasticmudcrab: Once you get away from everyone hootin and hollerin about how IT KILLED MASS EFFECT the secret is that Andromeda is.. Fine. Like yeah I want more out of Mass Effect than to just be saying "Yeah it's okay I guess" but with some distance I think its easier to see that it's a serviceable game.

As to whether they should continue the show with it... well I dunno. "It's okay" is still not a ringing endorsement to build a show around.

I agree with @sarcasticmudcrab, as long as Alex can find some enjoyment playing it I think it'll be enjoyable to watch too.

However I think the negative response to Andromeda was never a 'hate train'. If it stands alone with no comparison to previous ME games, it's okay. But compared to even ME3 it's pretty bad (aside from the combat). I played about 20 hours of it and I saw maybe 2 hours of content that's as interesting as the previous ME games (story/writing/character wise).

Of course Alex should play Andromeda. The name writes itself: Mass Alexomeda!

Seriously though. I got about 5 hours into the game and dropped it because of the horrendous dialogue and story. I sure as hell ain't playing more of that nonsense, but I would watch Alex and Vinny play it!

I think they should start it but make a disclaimer from the get-go that they're not going to commit to a full playthrough.

Andromeda has a hell of a lot more "meat" to it (for better or worse), which is to say the combat and exploration and resource-gathering, and it feels like Alex has been trying to expedite (or skip, in the case of the last two, since he does almost zero system scanning) as much of that as possible in ME3 to move the story along. I'm not sure he'll enjoy Andromeda much as a result, but at least you have a semi-solid first few hours of set-up before hitting that radioactive wasteland planet and the whole open-world business kicks in.

If he decides he's done with the Mass Effect universe after the Citadel DLC though, I'd certainly respect that choice. Good place to end things, I've heard.

I think they should do a couple exploratory episodes for fun and curiosity with no obligation to finish the game unless they want to

I've tied Mass Alex so much to Shep Shep that it would be weird to bring a new Shep into this mess.

I think its at least worth starting. The thing is, as bad as the game was on launch, its still a triple A open world sci-fi RPG which is itself a rarity. Yeah the game has issues, but its not like the market is flooded with all these open world sci-fi fantasy RPGs.

I like the game, it's really fun to play even if it doesn't live up to the Mass Effect name. If Alex is up for it, do it! I think it's also good to show it to a lot of people that never played it

I'm voting for it, I'd be curious to see it in direct constrast to the other games in the series. However, Alex doesn't sound super stoked to play it, and ultimately it's his decision! I've enjoyed the feature and I'm very much looking forward to seeing them wrap-up ME3.

It's a painstakingly boring game with okay combat and a dense if not thoroughly tutorialized weapon upgrade system. If he's interested, I guess that's great, but I feel it's pretty unanimous at this point that the series begins and ends with the original trilogy.

I've gotten burned out on the space opera shooting, and Adnromeda doesn't seem to really add anything. Maybe at some point down the line, but for now I'd be more interested in seeing them do something else. . Vinnyvania specifically. A nightmare mode play-through of curse of the moon would be awesome, but definitely a play-through of curse of the moon 2.

You all voting “yes” really want to see Vinny sad, huh? Monsters.

Voting yes because it'd be funny because of how awkward the game is and it'd be interesting to see Alex's impressions as a recent mass effect convert, full steam ahead through the ups and downs of the whole series.

Experiencing Andromeda should still be consensual though.

Andromeda is a game I always kinda wanted to give another shot but never did. I think I was waiting to hear that they fixed or improved it through updates but I don't know if that ever happened. Maybe on the PC with mods wouldn't be so bad.

Andromeda is alright so I would watch them play it if they had a desire to. If they don't I won't be disappointed though. If it came down to it I'd rather see them branch into another franchise instead.

has alex ever talked about playing dragon age...I would love to see him play inquisition

I voted Yes, but it's obviously contingent on if Alex and Vinny are both down to do it. I think in the years since the game has been patched decently, but it's still as people have mentioned in this thread quite the grind. I'd be interested in Alex and Vinny's overall take on it though so if they feel they can power through it, let's do it!

My concern is that Andromeda, having gone all in on the “map game” elements introduced in DA:I, will be a boring watch. However, I think it would be nice to at least give it a whirl and hit the eject button whenever it isn’t fun anymore. I don’t know if I’d make it through an entire series on the game tbh.

@frytup: if vinny and Alex get into it that would be awesome. I like to listen to them chat and crack jokes.

Hey audience, would you like more or less content? Wow this is all very surprising!

For what it's worth Alex has already said that he doesn't feel like going through Andromeda.

Unfortunately, most of the bugs have been ironed out now, so Andromeda isn't in "so bad it's entertaining" territory, now it's just boring. Andromeda's story, its characters, and its set pieces are all just painfully dull. I really don't think it'd be enjoyable to watch. It also is even more of an action game / shooter than ME3, so I'm not sure if it's really in Alex's wheelhouse.

If they want to stick with Bioware, I think I'd prefer to see them tackle Dragon Age. Origins is practically a CRPG and Alex has proven to be quite good at strategy when he can pause and take his time (XCOM, Civ), so I think he'd get a lot more out of the gameplay in that assuming he uses a mouse and keyboard. It also helps that Origins is a well written game.

@jamesz: Dragon Age would definitely be preferable over Andromeda, and is the next franchise up in their releases so there would at least be something new to visit in the future.

If he doesn't want to play it, then he's going to go into it already unhappy and never actually give it a chance, and that does no one any good. But I really liked it (even playing it a launch with all the bugs), I liked (most of) the characters more than the base 3 and the exploration gets fun once you aren't on a planet made of radiation anymore. Its a fun game with great combat that has a reputation for being terrible because people who never played it for a hot second never miss a chance to come out and shit on it.

Yes, but only if Alex and Vinny are up for it. Andromeda is definitely worth playing for morbid curiosity's sake, but it's a big ol' bummer of a thing. Definitely has some pretty good riffing material though, especially with some of the NPC companions and how hard the writers try to make them "likeable"

i mean there's nothing stopping them. but i can almost guarantee i won't make it past 1 or 2 episodes- the game just isn't interesting. i don't really need to hear them dunk on it for an extended period, and i'm just not sure it's worth anyone's time.

it feels like they'd be playing out of a sense of obligation more than genuine interest.

I only want to see it for morbid curiosity, i've watched Crowbcat's hilarious video on it quite a few times so i've got a connection with the game through that, but i'm guessing it's a pretty long thing to commit to so i wouldn't begrudge them if they didn't want to.

Fuck no, that game doesn't deserve any recognition.

They killed Mass Effect!!

@mento: Exactly my thinking, just a fun "let's see what the hell this is," experiment with no promises would be interesting and entertaining.

I'd be in it for the long haul just to see them laugh at it, but I think the post-patched game isn't bad enough to be funny and not good enough to be interesting.

This isn't weird. Lots of bad games on Steam have great reviews. For example, hentai games. Hentai games don't need any effort or ingenuity to get good reviews on steam. Its more a matter of, there are some games where people will already know if they will like it or not just by looking at what's shown on the store page or word of mouth. Then the only people who buy the game are the ones who already know they will like it.

By now, people who are still interested in ME:A know what they're getting into when they buy it. It looks like a few of these steam reviews are people buying it a second time even.

Also, did ME:A always have online co-op? I had no idea it had any multiplayer. How does it work? Can a friend just take over one of your squadmembers?

I'm sorry but, Alex has to suffer.

Them's the rules as a Mass Effect (or just Bioware) fan.

@mobiusfun: And the roughest edges at launch have now been patched away. And it's still the kind of game that can give you a good time as long as you don't have to pay full price for it.

Same goes for that Battlefront game that people were extremely upset about. At the end of the day, it's still a multiplayer star wars game with amazing graphics. Sooner or later the heat dies down and people want to give it a shot.

@mobiusfun: the mutiplayer is just the horde mode, like in 3, with specific characters to unlock and play in that mode. It's been there since launch.

As someone who put about 70 hours into Andromeda, no....the game was not "fixed" in any sense whatsoever. The initial patches corrected a few minor issues, but the major stuff (including crippling performance issues and straight up game-breaking bugs) were never actually properly fixed, at least not on consoles.
The game is comprised of so much open world fluffing about that if they did decide to play it, it would probably be insanely boring. The story moves at a much slower pace and requires a certain amount of progress to really go properly. There are huge, gaping holes in the story as well which were clearly intended to be solved with DLC that never came to be.
I don't know exactly what kept me going in that game, I guess I was just bored or something, but looking back at my time with it, the game is mediocre AT BEST as a sci-fi adventure game, and utter garbage as a Mass Effect game. If Alex wants to play it as a feature, go for it, but personally my recommendation would be no. The game is so, so bad.

@sarcasticmudcrab @frytup: I agree, if they want to, than yah it could be fun.

I'm playing through on PC right now, and it's actually a fine game, some stuff here and there they could have tried to make it more than just the same, but I do like the additions. The cast is great, and I feel like they have you assemble a nice crew. They also pretty much give you a tricorder to run around with, so It's hitting for me on another level as well.

A thought: Instead of having Anthem been it's own game, they should have had parts on planets where the only way you can traverse is with the javelin suits. The jetpack is there, it feels like the natural progression, and being in a new galaxy would be the perfect way to "stumble upon" a new type of tech. I'm not trying to fix either game, as I enjoyed them for what they were, but can't help but feel something was missing.

That seems like such a distant future to me at the moment that I don't really have an opinion.

I would much more prefer Alex play through any other Bioware game. Jade Empire is very similar story structure to ME, KOTOR is a classic and Dragon Age is one of Vinny's favourites.

If Alex wants to play Andromeda, that is up to him. I am not going to be upset if he doesn't. It has some pretty visuals, decent combat and has its moments. There are technical problems. The animation were kinda fixed but some side quest are broken. The main problem is that the previous trilogy set such a high bar in terms of world building and story telling. Mass Effect: Andromeda represents current Bioware. A shell of their former self. I wouldn't mind if Alex played the first Dragon Age or KOTOR.

Honestly I would like to see a fresh perspective on Andromeda,
one not tainted by the garbage we got served a few years ago
and I think Alex would be capable of delivering that.
I mean Peebee can't be all bad, right? I don't remember..

@inevpatoria: Am I the only who found the combat to be a downgrade? Only having 3 abilities works for MP, but in a campaign environment it leads to the combat feeling very limited. Switching classes on the fly is a neat idea, but I never ended up using it much. I almost wonder if it's why the developers felt completely clueless on how to make companions feel useful. The verticality is also clunky asf. From my memory, combat encounters felt like a lot of jumping up, and backwards while shooting. Enemies in Mass Effect like to rush you, and since your companions are useless for strategizing in this game, it's really your best option, even as the tankiest of Vanguards.

The entire game as part of a series? No.
Something to stream for a few hours to kind of re-cap the entire series? Yes. Absolutely.

I like Andromeda a lot actually. I'm near the end of my third playthrough right now. Sara Ryder is a fun character who is deliberately completely different to Shepard and that helps things a lot. All of Mass Effect 1-3 you're playing as a super soldier badass and it creates a different feel to the story and character interactions. In Andromeda you're playing as an inexperienced goof who gets authority dropped in their lap and has to learn as they go, with a lot of people depending on them.

The party members are similarly written to be less serious than their OG Trilogy counterparts. This isn't a big important military operation, it's a civilian enterprise and these characters act more like a family than Shepard's team who are primarily just there for her. The big game-spanning main party mission is to gather a bunch of ingredients so the team can get together and watch a movie. They should have created a story for these characters to exist in that wasn't a generic save the galaxy cluster from a generic evil bad guy by finding ancient alien technology, but for what they are I like these people a lot.

The combat is a lot of fun, but what made me realize this was in my second playthrough when I decided to use the Vanguard abilities as my core loadout. Vanguard is a lot of fun in 2 and 3, but then Andromeda adds a jetpack and it just elevates it to be a complete blast. The open nature of the game's design makes it kind of pretty boring if you're just doing the hide behind cover and shoot thing, but add the biotic charge to the mix and every encounter becomes a hectic mess of explosions.

It makes me sad that there isn't ever going to be a continuation to see these characters again. There's still a lot of promise in the setting, they could tell a good story here if they wanted to. But they won't. If there's another Mass Effect it is not going to be a sequel to Andromeda, their offices would get burned down.

Alex should absolutely not play it for a Giant Bomb feature.

Yeah, for sure! years removed, not to mentioned patched, it plays great, and the story is fine. Not great, the characters are ok at best, but it's definitely not awful. I liked the new alien species and planets as well. There's definitely something there.

I wanna answer 1 and 2, they're both great answers.

It's actually not a bad discount title when you're looking to kill 40 hours watching numbers go up and down, but that being said it'd be a terrible game to watch somebody else play. The story is nothing, the characters are all bland, the mission design is very intentional in its efforts to waste your time and...the combat is kind of a lot of fun.

Most of the trainwreck-y aspects of the game seem to have been ironed out of it with time, and all that's left is something that's not remarkable in, well, just about any way. And yet I wrote like 1,000 words about it on these forums last winter because it shows a lot of promise around the edges and then spends so much time squandering that over and over.

Alex doesn't seem to enjoy the combat of Mass Effect very much, and most of the playtime of Andromeda is just irrelevant excuses to send you into prepared combat encounters. The rate at which they dole out plot is massively cut down from ME3, and plot is probably the only thing they would actually want out of the game. A full playthough is probably a bad idea.

I'd like to see Alex's take on the scenario and intro to the game from the first few missions, and I think the COVID limbo is a great time to do some weird and possibly bad content, but I'd understand if they don't want to start a feature that doesn't really finish.

With Andromeda, you can get fun super cuts out of it. Hearing from Brad and Austin back when it came out though, the core of it was such a swing and a miss though. In passing, I remember Austin more or less saying it was a waste of time. And at the very least a lot of the bugs were patched out, so it probably wouldn’t be funny from that perspective. Also, isn’t that game like 60 hours long?

On paper it would be nice to have, but who knows if it would be a good series or fun to laugh at. Surely there has to be something more interesting to play through besides Mass Effect Andromeda.