re: Mass Effect Andromeda thread - 3/21/17 Release Date

I beat the game last night. Overall, I'd say I had a good time with it. It's not as polished, but I thought it was more fun than Dragon Age Inquisition. They are actually very similar games outside of the combat. The exploration element just makes more sense in a game like Andromeda.

Your crew members are fun to get to know. I actually like Ryder more than Sheppard. Drack is probably the best Krogan party member. Jaal was my favorite overall. I liked Cora and Peebee, but they made poor love interests.

I didn't think there was enough diversity in the new galaxy. It was basically Khett, Remnant, and Angara outside of the Initiative. I hope future games introduce new species, but it just seems odd that other races were never seen anywhere. I get the feeling that the Angara aren't as advanced technologically as the species that populate the Milky Way Galaxy.

I wasn't a fan of how the game ends. The ending was pretty abrupt and didn't feel much more satisfying than completing a random side quest. I get the idea though. It feels like an Elder Scrolls game where the main quest is just one of many that you can do in the game. The end of the main story is a set up to continue traveling the galaxy completing side quests and leaves the door open for future story-based DLC.

The gameplay is the best part of the game. I've been playing a bit of Mass Effect 1 as well, and Andromeda plays like a better realized version of that game. The third person shooter elements mixed with RPG-like character progression and loot is a fun mix. Exploring the planets in the Nomad was much better the original game. There are fewer planets to explore obviously but they're much more fully realized, and there's more to see/do on each of them.

I'll play the next game in the franchise if/when it is released; however, BioWare would be wise to realize that bigger is not always better. The huge number of missions and activities outside of the main story didn't always mesh well. You could sometimes do certain side missions that talked about things that hadn't yet happened in the main story, and a lot of the missions that you do are just busy work. I much prefer a smaller, more focused world. We don't have to have 500 side quests if only 10-15 of them are worth doing. Focus on telling a good main story and make the side missions that are there are fun, interesting, and tie into the overarching story.