Putting aside all the technical issues the game had at launch, along with all the controversy surrounding it, I liked it.
One thing I like about Andromeda is that we had a entire new race to call an ally. Throughout the Mass Effect series, we've heard stories about first contact. Humanity and turians hashing it out in the First Contact War, the yahg massacring Council teams… but we never had the chance to experience it for ourselves. All we were given was this series of races, and told that we'd lived with them for 36 years. All sense of discovery was gone for me, because of this.
With the addition of the angara, we finally had a first contact experience that we could see unfold. And I liked it. I was genuinely curious about them, their culture, their people, all of it. Because we knew nothing about them, itgave us a chance to learn.
Another thing I liked is the dialogue mechanics. Instead of Paragon and Renegade scores, we have an option of being logical, or emotional. Formal, or casual. This let us construct an entirely new persona for Ryder, rather than doing a mad lib for Shepard.
For instance, I first played my male Ryder as a soldier who followed his gut. He acted with his heart, and showed compassion wherever he could. Then, my second playthrough was with a female Ryder who was logical, rational, and analytical, eager to learn all she could about Andromeda. Both times, I felt like I was playing with a character whose personality I could define.
With that said, the game is far from perfect. There are bugs galore, the writing is subpar, compared to what we'd expect from Bioware, and some of the character's personalities are flat and clichéd. The gameplay essentially boils down to “Go to Points A, B, and C to unlock Point D,” which quickly grows tedious.
All in all, it stands as the worst Mass Effect game in the series. But that doesn't make it bad. If you want a sci-fi game with good writing, you're better off sticking to the original trilogy. But if you want to experience a good-looking game focused on forging a community for you, this is a game you need to try at least once.
The Worst In The Series…
… but that doesn't mean it's bad.
Putting aside all the technical issues the game had at launch, along with all the controversy surrounding it, I liked it.
One thing I like about Andromeda is that we had a entire new race to call an ally. Throughout the Mass Effect series, we've heard stories about first contact. Humanity and turians hashing it out in the First Contact War, the yahg massacring Council teams… but we never had the chance to experience it for ourselves. All we were given was this series of races, and told that we'd lived with them for 36 years. All sense of discovery was gone for me, because of this.
With the addition of the angara, we finally had a first contact experience that we could see unfold. And I liked it. I was genuinely curious about them, their culture, their people, all of it. Because we knew nothing about them, itgave us a chance to learn.
Another thing I liked is the dialogue mechanics. Instead of Paragon and Renegade scores, we have an option of being logical, or emotional. Formal, or casual. This let us construct an entirely new persona for Ryder, rather than doing a mad lib for Shepard.
For instance, I first played my male Ryder as a soldier who followed his gut. He acted with his heart, and showed compassion wherever he could. Then, my second playthrough was with a female Ryder who was logical, rational, and analytical, eager to learn all she could about Andromeda. Both times, I felt like I was playing with a character whose personality I could define.
With that said, the game is far from perfect. There are bugs galore, the writing is subpar, compared to what we'd expect from Bioware, and some of the character's personalities are flat and clichéd. The gameplay essentially boils down to “Go to Points A, B, and C to unlock Point D,” which quickly grows tedious.
All in all, it stands as the worst Mass Effect game in the series. But that doesn't make it bad. If you want a sci-fi game with good writing, you're better off sticking to the original trilogy. But if you want to experience a good-looking game focused on forging a community for you, this is a game you need to try at least once.