[SPOILERS] MASS EFFECT ANDROMEDA - "LATE TO THE PARTY"

So, I'm late to the party. After a year from the release of Mass Effect Andromeda, I've finally secured a copy. The reason I didn't get it initially was because I was taken over by the negative feedback it got on release like the various bugs and bad facial expressions of the NPCs.

I played the original trilogy countless times to experience the different combination of squad mates, powers and love interests. It's just sad to learn that people crucified this game right out of the gate.



I believe the back lash was earned because the Shepard's Mass Effect is now part of gaming history; people had high expectations from a game made by the same developer of the original made on a the Frosbyte engine (e.g. the Battlefield games).

I say it's just a partial review because I've ONLY played about 15 hours and I'm still on the 3rd (I think) major story line but I wanted to put this out because I think the stuff that has happened so far, is what the player expects to learn moving forward.

First off, the people's complaints about bugs like, character models rubber banding, or really bad facial expressions when your first is tired has been fixed with the patches released by Bioware. Honestly, so far, I have yet to see bugs in terms of animations.

The camera though is wonky especially when it comes with dialogue wherein for some reason, my camera is facing a different direction in perspective of the NPC I'm talking to.

Also, it feels optimized for PC since I don't really experience FPS drops when moving zones or when I leave the Mako Nomad. My computer is kinda mid ranged (i5; can't remember the chipset on it, 16GB RAM and GeForce GTX 960). The rain dropping on the model's face and armor looks great and (so far) the lips of the models move with the dialog.

Next complaint were the characters. They are interesting in their own right but so far, none of them is memorable like Garrus or Liara (kinda biased here). I even miss Joker's sarcasm because Kallo isn't as interactive as him. This isn't really the voice actor's fault but I guess the writers were different from the ones who wrote the trilogy.

I miss one-liners like Shepard's, "This is Commander Shepard and this is my favorite store in the Citadel" or Mordin's dry humor when he says, "Perhaps later. Trying to determine how scale-itch got onto Normandy. Sexually-transmitted disease. Only carried by varren. [Inhales] Implications unpleasant." Even Legion was interesting.


In Mass Effect Andromeda, everyone is the same: they're all too human. At 15 hours into the game, I'm not even interested to pick a love interest because the female options are the same. I'm playing a male Ryder and my options are Vetra, Cora, and Peebee. All of them have the same profile: tough girls that are actually softies. Liara was the nerdy science girl that was curious about Shepard, Miranda Lawson was the all business type woman even during your love scene, Tali was the young, naive girl. All the previous female love interests were so unique and interesting which is why it's weird that Bioware couldn't replicate it on this installment. It's also odd that your squad mates don't talk to you aside through emails. In the previous game, your squad mates would banter with Shepard. In Andromeda they talk to each other with no reaction from Ryder. Try having Cora and Jaal in your squad. They flirt non-stop inside the Nomad that, if only there was a way for Ryder to say, "Get a room you two!" I would have done so.

About the story, I can't really comment much because I haven't gone deep in the story yet. The story is kind of unique in my opinion because it's not the typical, "There is a universal threat and we are every living thing's final hope." It's a story of a Pathfinder trying to find a home for his people. My only comment on it is that there is urgency to the mission. Out of the original trilogy, my favorite is Mass Effect 2 because it had the most characters and it brought you to unique worlds plus the missions were hype (e.g. Suicide Mission). Even your squad mates would scream and react to a situation like, they'll scream, "Watch out!" when Shepard was about to get hit or something. Or if we go way back to Mass Effect 1, there's the choice of whether to help Ashley or Kaiden. So far, nothing of urgency has happened, but I hope that changes moving forward.

So there you go. It's just a partial review. I'd probably edit this one once I finish the game to give my final thoughts on it.

EDIT:

7/18/2018

So I finished the game yesterday. Over-all it was okay. There were lots of unanswered questions like what happened to the Quarian Ark, who was the benefactor and a lot more.

To not bore you with a paragraph of thoughts, I'll place in bullets my review of the game:

• Plot wise, it's the same as the original trilogy (OT). They just changed the name of Protheans to Remnants, Kett to Reapers, Indoctrination to Exaltation and a lot more. Basically, the hero, Commander Shepard Pathfinder Ryder discovered Remnant tech on Habitat 7 just like how Shepard discovered the Conduit on Ilos. This is the jump off point of the whole plot. 

• I personally love Mass Effect 2 from the OT. It has the most variety of squad mates and this is where the cover system was implemented. Squad mates in Mass Effect: Andromeda (ME:A) were copies of the characters from the OT. Peebee is Liara with a sprinkle of Jack, the nerdy scientist fascinated by alien technology that has a bit of an attitude, Drack is Wrex, the old grizzled Veteran, Cora is Miranda Lawson the all-business second-in-command, Liam is Kaidan Alenko, the whiny yet enthusiastic buddy, Jaal is Tali, the naive and curious alien, and Vetra is ME2 Garrus lite. No one was unique, like Joker having the brittle bone disease which doesn't deter him from being a good pilot. Not even the Asari look different. They have the same facial structure, just different face tattoos.

• It's a new galaxy and for some reason, the Angaran were the only people created by the Jardaan??? Where were the other races? The Milky Way had way more for some reason.

• I even wonder if Bioware can write quests like The Witcher series. The Witcher is my favorite RPG because the stuff you do makes sense. In Mass Effect, I'm the gaddam Pathfinder. Why am I the one suppose to make a beer run or look for bootleg movies??? Why can't my squad do it for me? In a world that is advanced in technology, why online shopping hasn't been invented yet??? In The Witcher, you may be asked to kill X monsters but basically because, it's your job as a Witcher; you ARE a monster hunter so it makes sense and doesn't feel like a fetch quest. Even the dialogue says that you are getting hired to do something which is related to Witchers getting contracts.

• The combat is great though. You have the option to fight from cover and command your squad, use bots or slug it out melee style. Jump jets also add mobility to the game. But, I don't really play RPGs for combat, it's more of the story I'm after.

• Bugs and animation glitches were everywhere, but I'm used to it since I play Bethesda RPGs too.

• The choices doesn't matter in this game. Again, in The Witcher 3, there is a quest where in you will be asked by a couple of witches to help kill a forest spirit. Once you defeat the forest spirit, you have the choice to let it go or kill it. If you let it go, it will hunt the nearby villages and forever torment their dreams; not to mention the continuous offering of human ears as payment for protection. If you kill it, the witches eat the children under their "orphanage." In ME:A, there is a quest wherein you can save the Krogans but the Salarian Pathfinder dies or save the Salarian Pathfinder and the Krogans get pissed at you. It doesn't matter what you choose. If you let the Salarian Pathfinder die, you will be asked to choose a new one anyway. If you let the Krogans die, all you have to do is say sorry to the Krogans and they're cool with you again. WTF??? Mass Effect 1 was better when you had to choose who would you leave at Virmire. The one you left behind is dead for the rest of the series. 

• Final thought, I do like the Epilogue though. It wraps up the story and gives closure to the player. I also like the quest that can be accessed at the end of the game wherein you watch a movie. It shows a lighter side of the characters and it gives the player the idea that it's time to relax now since the main threat is gone.

Basically, over-all, it wasn't bad but it wasn't good either. They also killed replayability because you can change your setup on the fly, like if you can be an Engineer, Biotic, Soldier, etc. There's no reason to go through another play through except if you wanted to go for a different love interest.

I'm sad though that Bioware decided to place updates from ME:A on hold. Instead of saying, "Yeah, we kinda messed up. Give us another shot at this," they basically said, "Screw it," and left the game as it is. There are so many questions to be answered. I just hope they answer those questions first BEFORE calling it quits.