Thumbs Up to ME:A

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Alphazero

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#1  Edited By Alphazero

I liked it a lot. Combat was fun, looks like they fixed some of the weirder facial animations, and I liked the story. I didn't play it pre-patch, and the few times I tried to play the multiplayer I was matched with people a dozen or so levels higher than me and died instantly, but overall I think it was my second favorite after ME2.

Pros

  • It was long.
  • Lots of very different planets.
  • Driving the Nomad was awesome.
  • Combat (biotic, tech, weapons, and especially all three together) was fun.
  • I liked the crew and Ryders.
  • Pretty good with the fast travel points.
  • Drack
  • Vaults looked awesome.
  • Some code I worked on (in a very tiny way) was mentioned in the huge Open Source part of the credits.

Cons

  • It was long.
  • Stuck on a loading screen forever bug, had to unplug the console to fix it.
  • All characters on the Tempest have the same butt-first animation when you start talking with them.
  • Talking with PeeBee in a crazy T-pose where her elbows flopped around.
  • LTTP multiplayer seems really hard to get into, which bummed me out because I really liked it in ME3.
  • Looks like the Quarian Ark will never be arriving.

Some of the game's shortcomings felt corporate. They're all the sort of bugs that the team making the game had to have been aware of, but EA had to hit a release date for their shareholders and the result is glitched. There's definitely an upside to companies like Valve and Nintendo that either are able or allowed to polish these things seemingly forever. Mass Effect: Andromeda does in many ways feel a bit rushed, but well worth it for me.

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Shadow

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I really loved the combat in the game and being able to customize my stuff in a way that got closer to Earth Defense Force than any other game I've ever played.

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GundamGuru

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Casepb

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I really enjoyed it as well. Didn't experience any crazy animation bugs like you though (played on PC). My biggest complaint was the last boss fight was super short and simple. Wasn't anything you hadn't done in the game before.

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Alphazero

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@casepb:

Good idea on a user review. Will do.

I just read Brad's review. I did get the T-Pose thing he mentions once, and it was really funny, but a lot of the other problems seem to have been addressed. Quests can still take you all over the place, but you can skip some of the travel animations. I liked the characters more than he did. Nomad remains awesome.

@freedom4556:

Yeah, last boss was short and simple but I was okay with it. I was ready to be done. I actually thought the boss dialog was hysterical. He's like the worst dad ever throughout that whole thing. "You have already lost. I'm the result of a thousand species. Why aren't you more like your sister? You're going to wear that? Clean your room Ryder."

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Sahalarious

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MEA was, relatively, one of the worst games I've ever played. To forgive the writing is to embrace the writing of things like Epic Movie and Rush Hour 3. The characters were cardboard cutouts of turds, the animations were abysmal, the open worlds were devoid of any purpose or interest, and the story itself was a complete waste. MEA apologists set the bar so low that they may try to sell us a turd of the same nature for twice its worth again.

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GundamGuru

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#7  Edited By GundamGuru

@alphazero: I didn't hate the game, but I was really miffed at all the plot threads they left hanging (now permanently). Like the identity of the benefactor, what happened to Ryder's mom, what's the deal with the Jardaan and the Scourge, why were the Angara genetically engineered, and what happened with the Quarian ark.

I was also disappointed with the apparent apathy towards the original trilogy's lore (like with the Krogan on Elaaden or Cora's backstory) and many of the companions and crewmates got on my nerves. I didn't care for Ryder's quip-focused and millennial-inspired dialogue either, and some of the voice actors were pretty rough.

That said, the game had a lot of promise at it's core, and it wasn't so bad that I feel like I totally wasted my time. It just wasn't a good Mass Effect game, and not something I'd feel like I'd want to replay ever again.

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MezZa

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I enjoyed it enough while I played it, but that was mainly with the idea of sequels coming out to right what they got wrong. Now with it just being what it is...I'll pass on ever playing it again.

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ArtisanBreads

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The combat is definitely very good and better than ME has been by far.

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OurSin_360

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#10  Edited By OurSin_360

I have been thinking about jumping back in, what actually killed single player for me was the long ship animations which was eventually patched out but i lost interest by then. Multiplayer supposedly got better too but i doubt it will ever get new maps and characters now though.

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Bane

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The combat is definitely very good and better than ME has been by far.

Agreed, and that's the main reason I would play it again. I want to get into the tech skills, which is something I've never done in a ME game.

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Zevvion

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I am one of the few on this website that really liked Andromeda. I am not entirely convinced where I would rate it overall, but there are some things that game does better than any other game and quite a few things it does better than any of the previous Mass Effect games. Unfortunately, it also does some things worse and then a couple of things way worse. I feel like the 'mixed bag' tag couldn't be used on any game better than Andromeda.

The things it does well though are things I really cherish. As such it is still my game of the year so far. Will likely get overtaken by Destiny 2 soon though.

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ArtisanBreads

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#13  Edited By ArtisanBreads

@bane said:
@artisanbreads said:

The combat is definitely very good and better than ME has been by far.

Agreed, and that's the main reason I would play it again. I want to get into the tech skills, which is something I've never done in a ME game.

They're all fun to use which is impressive (and why I enjoy jumping around from character to character in the multiplayer) and I also really enjoy the class system in the game that you can switch on the fly, which is cool in Dragon's Dogma kind of flexible way. Those parts of the game are good.

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ArtisanBreads

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#14  Edited By ArtisanBreads

I have been thinking about jumping back in, what actually killed single player for me was the long ship animations which was eventually patched out but i lost interest by then. Multiplayer supposedly got better too but i doubt it will ever get new maps and characters now though.

It actually is going to get continued support but I didn't see a timetable. I wish they had been updating that part of the game quickly because I would have kept playing it. May get back in with new content. From the last press release:

In the coming weeks, our multiplayer team will provide details of their ongoing support and upcoming content, including new multiplayer missions, character kits, and what’s in store for N7 Day.

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FacelessVixen

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#15  Edited By FacelessVixen

Almost 80 hours and I'm enjoying it well enough; about as much as Fallout 4, though I doubt I'll reach the 650 hour mark in Andromeda. Still, kinda wish there was one more patch on the horizon since I keep getting stuck under rocks on Kadara.

Use the Explorer profile, they said. Teleporting is awesome, they said! You'll never have a bad blink and get stuck under rocks, they said!

Thank god this game autosaves more often than Mass Effect 1 and also works with ReShade.

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BRich

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#16  Edited By BRich

Really enjoying it, fully cleared two planets so far and plan to finish. Really not sure what all the nonsense was about, except that stupid ship animation which got patched out.

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BrainScratch

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@gtb08 said:

MEA was, relatively, one of the worst games I've ever played. [...] The characters were cardboard cutouts of turds, the animations were abysmal, the open worlds were devoid of any purpose or interest, and the story itself was a complete waste. MEA apologists set the bar so low that they may try to sell us a turd of the same nature for twice its worth again.

This is mostly how I felt while playing the 10-hour trial. Didn't even bother finishing the 10 hours because I was starting to get frustrated with how bad the game was on multiple aspects (and also because it crashed three separate times on different loading screens). Combat is pretty much the only somewhat good thing ME:A has.

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EthanielRain

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#18  Edited By EthanielRain

ME:A is better than Fallout 4, at least. For me there was enough good stuff in there to stick with it - some of the missions were downright great, the combat was fun & smooth, with so much variety. But I never really liked any of the characters, which is what I most want from a Bioware game. The story, VA & writing weren't great in general.

So...I liked it, but was pretty disappointed too.

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Teddie

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#19  Edited By Teddie

I think it's just impossible for me to enjoy it because it's Mass Effect game. It's not even just baggage and expectations for what should have been good about Andromeda. Sure the gameplay might be better than it's ever been, but there's still a huge amount of time spent on character interaction, story, and dialogue trees, only none of it is good, and it's actually super depressing because it doesn't come close to the bar set by the other Mass Effect games.

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pweidman

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I had a lot of fun with my ME:A playthrough. Loved all the planets and exploration, and the combat was varied and well executed. The writing was middling overall, but not nearly as bad as some love to proclaim. That said the character development and story telling wasn't as good as the trilogy, but I still really enjoyed the campaign. Also, I had almost zero technical problems, unlike Brad's experience playing on PS4. I know EA shelved the franchise for now, but I really hope they get to work on another game/sequel, and hopefully do a better job learning from the tumult of the first game's development.

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GrayFox666

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My biggest problem with the game is that the male main character is so awful and the writing for him was ESPECIALLY bad (rest wasn't great either).

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Zevvion

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@brich said:

Really enjoying it, fully cleared two planets so far and plan to finish. Really not sure what all the nonsense was about, except that stupid ship animation which got patched out.

This is an unpopular opinion, but I loved those transitions. It's one of the things that made me invested in the exploration. I don't need my Mass Effect game to tick off boxes, I want it to take me on a journey. Yes, skipping those is faster thus more efficient, but that isn't what I am looking for. I never skipped one of those animations even after they patched in the option to skip them. I love how it looks and makes me feel.

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Lazyimperial

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@gtb08 said:

MEA was, relatively, one of the worst games I've ever played. To forgive the writing is to embrace the writing of things like Epic Movie and Rush Hour 3. The characters were cardboard cutouts of turds, the animations were abysmal, the open worlds were devoid of any purpose or interest, and the story itself was a complete waste. MEA apologists set the bar so low that they may try to sell us a turd of the same nature for twice its worth again.

Pretty much this. *shrug* Personally, I'd rank ME:A my most disappointing game of 2017 and my pick for hottest mess of 2017, especially considering all the crazy turmoil and tell-all news articles that came out about how borked development was for the title. Oh, and Bioware Montreal was dissolved as a result of this title and its remaining workers shifted to support teams throughout EA.

I don't begrudge ME:A apologists their enjoyment of this game (I still like Doom 3 and I'm enjoying Agents of Mayhem, so I know what it's like to be in their boat), but I'd never give a thumbs up to this game... save maybe for the combat, and that'd I'd give with some hesitation because: A. the camera was stuck so close to my character's shoulder when a gun was drawn that I had to holster my weapon every time I wanted to maneuver effectively around a combat arena, B. the automatic cover mechanic glitched out for me just enough that I grew to distrust and dislike it (I wish it was a manual system like Gears of War), and C. a decent combat system doesn't excuse all the other problems this game had.

Oh well. I'm glad the thread creator had fun. :-)

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Rejizzle

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I'm about 10 hours into the game, and despite finding the combat fun I'm having a tough time pushing through. The dialogue walks the fine line of both over-explaining everything and not giving me any context. Characters will literally tell you their unique quirks the first time you talk to them, but they don't express them in any way. They don't talk like people. They talk like a writer telling you about a character they thought of.

I still want to push through cause I like the combat, but the other half of the game I find severely lacking.

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GundamGuru

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@rejizzle said:

Characters will literally tell you their unique quirks the first time you talk to them, but they don't express them in any way. They don't talk like people. They talk like a writer telling you about a character they thought of.

I love the joke from the Quicklook about Vetra's intro monologue sounding just like a Twitter bio... because it's so true.

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Jedted

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As a long time Mass Effect fan i thought Andromeda was a pretty good experience. The main story was 'meh' but i loved all of the Tempest crew and disappointed we won't get more missions with them. Loved listening to Peebee go on about studying the Remnant, Vetra talking about her family, and even Gil and Kallo bickering about how to maintain the ship.

I know i'm in the minority but ME1 is still my favorite because of the sense of discovery. Andromeda had a little bit of that in learning about the angara and their history.

Hopefully the next Dragon Age game is good and it renews people's faith in Bioware.

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younggryan

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@ethanielrain: fallout 4 is leagues better. It was playable hours and hours and never once crashed or had a stuck animation. MEA was broken day one and was an unplayable mess. It just can't rank higher than fallout 4 which admittedly had some concept and story flaws but was a well made game overall.

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EthanielRain

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#28  Edited By EthanielRain

@younggryan said:

@ethanielrain: fallout 4 is leagues better. It was playable hours and hours and never once crashed or had a stuck animation. MEA was broken day one and was an unplayable mess. It just can't rank higher than fallout 4 which admittedly had some concept and story flaws but was a well made game overall.

Such different expereiences! Fallout froze/crashed/bugged out on me more times than I can remember, MEA only once (same thing that happened to Vinny in the QL). Sooooo much jank in Fallout 4, can't agree with it being "well made". I don't think either game was great, but MEA at least had fun & polished combat.

Anyway, opinons & all that :) I couldn't get past the jank & combat in Skyrim, either, so Bethesda games in general just aren't for me I suppose.

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Lazyimperial

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#29  Edited By Lazyimperial

@ethanielrain: As much as I disliked Mass Effect: Andromeda, I did play it about 80 something hours and got 95% completion or something. I pushed through its miserable everything because the combat was decent enough to keep me going (kudos to the team that built that system. In my opinion, they should be snatched from EA Motive and offered places in Bioware Austin or Bioware Edmonton. Theirs was the only redeeming part of that entire game). Meanwhile, I played Fallout 4 for three hours before I just bounced right off that janky, dull, plodding, poorly written dud (which has never happened to me before with a Bethesda Softworks game). I didn't like the combat, I hated the characters, the world felt sterile and uninteresting, the factions were all stupid, the dialogue was atrociously written & often poorly delivered, and god was that game janky. Nothing in Fallout 4 was the least bit fun for me, and it was so uninspiring for me that it made me afraid for Elder Scrolls VI... so I guess I'm right there with you on this.

Heck, if you made me choose one to play again... I'd choose Mass Effect: Andromeda. That's not high praise, though. It's pretty bleak, if you think about it. :-P Opinions are weird.

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stinger061

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That's good to hear. I delayed my decision to purchase when all the initial reports of issues were flying around. It seemed clear to me that a lot of those things would be ironed out in patches so rather than play and be disappointed I was happy to wait and now it seems like a good time to jump in.

Of course games should come out in a more polished state but more and more now I find myself having a completely different experience with a game than most people as I'm happy to wait for a few patches before diving in (plus generally being able to pick them up at a cheaper price)

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NeverGameOver

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#31  Edited By NeverGameOver

After having played through the entire trilogy earlier this year, I bought ME:A on sale from amazon for 16 bucks a few days ago. I'm only about 5 hours in, but I expected it to be a hot mess, and it's actually pretty cool so far.

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Inresurrection

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@lazyimperial: Could not agree more about Fallout 4. Like you, I've never bounced off of a Bethesda Softworks game like I did with F4. Played for maybe three hours and I just couldn't do it anymore - nothing about it was pulling me in.

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Relenus

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It's perfectly good once you set your expectations accordingly. As many mistakes as it made, I would sooner take an Andromeda 2 that tries to learn from the mistakes of this one than a Mass Effect 4.

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Neurogia

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Is ME:A the kind of game where if you took a drink every time someone says, "We got this!" you'll end up in the hospital with blood poisoning?

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somehow this got bumped, need to reiterate, this game is pure trash. don't waste your time.