A Pathfinder searches the galaxy Andromeda for a new home for Humanity since Earth has been threatened. This new prodigy can explore planets, customize their crew and vehicles while ridding the Andromeda galaxy of enemies for one purpose: To find a suitable planet to call 'Home'. In the distant future, a team of interstellar colonists enter the galaxy "Andromeda" with the hope of adventure, but as they encounter perilous conditions, as an unknown threat lurks in the darkness, things do not go according to plan for these colonists. Like any sane person I didnt buy this game at launch, I bought it now when its cheap because after all, I loved the original trilogy and you'd think all shortcomings would be patched by now.<br/><br/>Unfortunately there is no patch for terrible writing and SJW anti-white anti-male agenda. You can explore and explore till the cows come home but all the human characters are females of all races and ridiculous haircurs (so far - cool) – but you shall not stumble upon men, especially white – in Andromeda, except for one who dies immidiately.<br/><br/> Never has a franchise this great been ruined this fast by EA, nor has a game been this uninviting to its target audience. Even for 10 bucks its not worth buying. Even if you can overlook the glaring sexism and racism among other screaming SJW agendas - the game plain sucks.<br/><br/>Previous ME games were carried by great and interesting characters, themselves driven by fantastic actors and writers. None of that here. And unlike Female Shepard, whom I loved, Female Ryder here is a wimpy, cringy, mumbling mess of a post-stroke person. Alright, where to start… Hmmm… <br/><br/>Mass Effect: Andromeda or ME:A as some have preferred to shorthand is, I feel, a wonderful addition into Mass Effect Lore. These are my feelings after finally finishing my first play-through completing everything that was not a "Task" and about 2-3(spread across these last 16 days) days of game time recorded.<br/><br/>First off, let's talk about what the game does good: Combat, Exploration, and Graphics.<br/><br/>Combat: When I watched the first game play reveal I was skeptical. I didn't see any promise to addition what I felt was essentially a glorified jump button. However it shows just how much it has improved the combat sequences from the moment you enter into a gunfight. You're hesitant to use it at first; sticking to the traditional cover-to- cover based combat that we've grown accustomed to over the last three games. But then as an enemy AI flanks around or even douses your area with grenades you have two options: Jump or Dash out of the danger zone. Either option is viable if utilized correctly, not to mention that as you level up you become able to augment the jump/dash movements through the use of the new "Profile" System. The ability to now switch between profiles on a whim and enjoy the bonuses that each class has to offer allow for a more freeing combat play ability.<br/><br/>Exploration: "Ask and you shall receive." This is an old saying that comes to mind when I speak of the exploration aspects of ME:A. Every location you visit that is meant to be a settlement offers much in the time you'll spend exploring. And it does NOT at all feel detracting from what you came to said planets to do as much of the exploration can be done while doing either main or side quests.<br/><br/>Graphics: While many have criticized the game's facial animations and body glitches during movement, I want to take the time and praise BioWare's artistic department. Phenomenal Design job, BioWare. No two planets look the same. Two of the more vibrant worlds, Havarl and Kadara, shine the greatest light on the lush environments(Havarl more so than the latter.) Eos and Elaaden are akin to Jakku and Tattooine from Star Wars in that they're both desert planets but I do feel that Elaaden is officially the worst of the four with the fact that it DOES NOT have a night cycle. But hey if you're looking for a new place to tan, she might be for you!<br/><br/>And now for what it does badly: Character Development and Facial and Body Animations.<br/><br/>Character Development: The development of some characters outshine the others. Many romantic interests for either Ryder twin to indulge in make me want to explore a few of them. But the downside is the game feels like it didn't give NPCs enough "Umph!" in their backstories and in return some of it falls flat and fails to connect with the player. I did enjoy a number of the loyalty missions, but I feel that the writing staff did miss the mark on this take. I hope they can learn from this and push forward with the next installment.<br/><br/>Facial/Body Animations: Ah, the main pull of all of the negativity. I'll be the first to admit that while the game was great, the stock-faced lead character designs weren't the greatest. In the base game the animations had moments when they to put it simply: Sucked. I made a custom character myself but even that didn't save all of the game's massive animation problems. This review is being written after Patch 1.05 so, they eyes are fixed along with numerous other animation glitches. For me, mainly it was just the facial expressions that sometimes bugged me. Like Sara Ryder smiling rather than grimacing as was intended when she wakes to find out her father's dead and that she is the new pathfinder. Scott's grimace wasn't much better but you could at least tell it wasn't a damned smile. We know there is another patch in the works so I hope more of these issues are fixed. However, all the negativity surrounding this game is NOT enough to can it.<br/><br/>Now, you might have noticed I did not mention story on either the good or bad part of the spectrum. Well, that's because while it isn't as bad as some might have you think, it's not as compelling as it could have been with more development. Many have complained that Ryder "is no Shepard". Well, of course not. Many have complained that Ryder doesn't feel as connecting as Shepard. I disagree. Many don't feel that Ryder should've been the main character because he/she is young and inexperienced. That's the point of the story! The comparison of Ryder to Shepard is 100% unfair. Think back to ME1. We were literally told Shepard was "the only kind of person who can protect the Galaxy". In the first cutscene and within the first few hours of game play, we felt it. In Andromeda we learn that Ryder is the son of the Pathfinder desperately trying to win his/her Father's approval. Then they get saddled with the responsibility of finding a home for EVERY Milky Way species that has been brought to Andromeda. Completely unprepared and with some of the biggest expectations of him/her, he/she sets out to prove that he can do just that. <br/><br/>To close: Mass Effect: Andromeda is, I feel, a wonderful first step into a new Galaxy. While it does have it's shortcomings, all games do. It is by no means a "bad game" or "failure" as many people would have you believe. I will gladly give this game a solid 8/10 simply because I have enjoyed it thus far. I've never not enjoyed a Mass Effect game and I'm glad that trend didn't start here.
Beavehon replied
365 weeks ago