My thoughts on ME:A after beating the game

Some general and random thoughts I have on my experience with ME:A after I finished the game for the first time about a month ago. (I got lazy and finally got to typing my thoughts over the last few days) If you skip to the summary I wouldn't blame you for doing so. 

Planets, animals, aliens and side quests
I liked how all of the planets had a unique look and feel to them. However, does someone at Bioware love deserts? This game had two desert planets (Eos and Elaaden), while DA:I had three desert areas (Western Approach, Hissing Wastes, Forbidden Oasis). Really liked H-O47c, the effect of driving around in zero-gravity was cool.

The planets do seem barren at times, which makes sense since they are mostly uninhabited and you are colonizing them. At times it can be peaceful but other times it can feel a tad empty. It does seem odd that the same animal species are found on different planets, would have been interesting to see more variety in terms of hostile/non-hostile since the areas are pretty big and it would have added more uniqueness to each planet. 

I was fine with there being only two new intelligent alien species, as they had to do with the old species that they brought over as well. The Kett start of interesting but it feels like they take a back seat in order to be expanded on in a sequel. I liked the Angara and it kind of reminded me of how they did ME:1 with the species in a way. You do learn about them through interacting with members of their species and from certain side quests. However, I like how they made Jaal the main conduit through how Ryder saw the Angara and basically from his reactions to things you get an insight into them as a whole. 

The side quests in the game were better than DA:I, as they had more life to them and did not feel as bare bones. I was not a fan of the randomly generated filler quests, like where you find a datapad on Voeld and then have to find other ones that randomly appear at enemy camps around the planet. The side quests (Heleus Assignments + Additional Tasks) were better than DA:I but apart a few, like “A People Divided”, most are not memorable to me now.  

Allies and Relationships (Characters, loyalty missions, and others) 
I liked all of the squad members and on-ship companions in the game. It is hard to compare them to the trilogy since most of the characters there got 2/3 games of development. I really liked Gil's sense of humor and how he beats everyone so easily at poker. Kallo was interesting as a contrast to Gil and is a real chit-chat, while Suvi is very curious and introspective. Lexi seems cool and very nice but it does feel like you get the least from her, maybe because her small sidequest is much earlier in the game than everyone else's? 

I also liked how most of the characters will be in different parts of the ship each time you board, instead of being in a static location, while also talking to each other at times. Much like with DA:I for me the best parts of the game were the companion quests and the main story (which will be touched on later).

I liked Cora but she is passive aggresive towards you at the start of the game over not being Pathfinder, although I thought flirting with her (I romanced her) helped to counteract her hostility. Her being a former Asari commando as a human was cool but it felt like she was a little too into talking/focused on the Asari in general. With Peebee's lack of interest in Asari things, they had kind of a Solas and Sera vibe towards each other. Also did not really like how her loyalty quest was tied into finding the Asari and though it was the worst one. I did enjoy the garden scene on Eos and her romance scene. 

Vetra's loyalty mission was better than Cora's and it really drove home the point of how much she cares about her sister. which I thought the game did a good job with throughout. However, it did feel like she was the most closed off of the companions and they never really show what kind of work she actually does apart from talking about it. By the end of the game, I felt Peebee was closer to me then Vetra, although maybe she opens up more if romanced? 

I ended up liking Peebee much quicker than I thought I would, as it took until my third playthrough of DA:I to really like Sera and they struck me as similar-ish characters. I liked her quirky, eccentric style and how you learned about her as the game went on both directly and indirectly as opposed to her telling her life story right away like Liam does early on. Her loyalty mission was straightforward but I enjoyed it and will likely romance her when I get around to playthrough two, as I would be interested to see how that goes. 

Drack is a Krogan in every sense of the word and his vast life and combat experience stands out in stark contrast to everyone else on the ship. Despite his demeanor, you really see that he cares about his granddaughter, his people and eventually the others on the Tempest. Also, that bar fight scene was great and his loyalty mission had a great combination of action and humor. 

Liam is naive at times but he does do his best in terms of his intentions. I do like how he seems really interested in learning and get along with the Angara. Despite being a tad dull and too open at times, I do like how he seems to represent what the Initiative was initially about in terms of optimism, exploration, and discovery as opposed struggle it became in reality. I also really enjoyed his loyalty mission, it was creative and funny. 

Jaal is the most interesting companion in the game, as the only member of the new non-hostile alien species should be. It was always interesting to see him interact with the crew or hear his banter to see what his view on things was. Was also interesting to see his reactions during main missions, especially in regards to the Kett or Remnant. His loyalty mission was also one of the best in the game, as it gave me a really vintage Mass Effect feel when I was playing it. Also really enjoyed the scene where you meet his family. 

The actual Turian Ark mission was very short and a tad dissipating that it was a short walk and some dialogue as I was expecting a tad more. The other few missions in this category like “The Little Things That Matter”, “Truth and Trespass” and “Dissension in the Ranks” were some of the best non-loyalty side missions in the game. I also enjoyed the entire Kadara narrative between Sloane Kelly and The Charlatan, although they never resolved that conflict after “High Noon.”

I also really liked replaying your father's memories and learning how his backstory that way, as well as the surprise of what his biggest secret was. It was also interesting to try to solve the mystery behind what happened to Jien Garson but it was hard to tell if they left that at a dead end on purpose or would possibly address it in DLC or a sequel. The scattered references to the trilogy like Liara's audiotapes or Zaeed's son were also cool as well. 

Priority Ops (Main Story) 
The very start of the game starts off interesting but then gets a little slow once you get to the Nexus, as you talk to everyone and learn what is/has happened (much like on the Citadel in ME1). Exploring Eos was interesting but a tad slow at times but things really picked up for me once you got into and explored the vault. Truly meeting the Archon for the first time was interesting but the 'first contact' with the Angara did feel too quick and an oddly paced scene as a whole. This does get partially explained later as they had already known of the Milky Way species through the outcasts, just not having seen them directly on Aya.

It gets a little slow again as you help the resistance but then the next two main quests where the peak of the story for me, as rescuing the Moshae, learning about the Kett's purpose and boarding the Archon's ship were very interesting in terms of learning more about the Kett as a whole. Prior to “Hunting the Archon” I had already gone to Elaaden to see what the Krogan were up to and recovering the Turian Ark. I did like how the Salarian Ark rescue was tied into the main quest more than the other two Arks seemed to be. 

Going to Meridian was cool as it made it even more jarring how advanced the Remnant were and learning about the Angara's past was quite the twist that I was not expecting. It was also one of the few times in the game that the other Pathfinders actually did anything and I liked the ME1 Council throwback with the leaders of the Initiative denying you from going in the first place, yet you end up proving them wrong. I was disappointed that finding the actual Meridian thereafter was reduced to placing satellites on the map.

The twist the Archon truly hijacked your mind was interesting and it was unique to play as your twin (who seemed underused on purpose with the coma). However, it all felt a little rushed to me from this point on, although they did a good job in showing how despite the Archon had become at this point to gain control of Meridian, especially if you did “Dissension in the Ranks.” 

Everyone coming together at the end to take down the bad guy was expected and cliched. Actual Meridian was interesting and driving to the final fight area for a bit felt like a calm before the storm moment as the battle is going on above. I was disappointed with the boss fight, as it is an Architect (which one could have fought several times already) and you do not even fight it, just hold done points to deactivate the Archon's control. Also, your sibling being kidnapped does not make their being held hostage make you care as much since you spent so little time with them. The end scene after the fight but before the epilogue feels like it ends abruptly, but I enjoyed the epilogue bit. 

Summary
After playing both DA:I and ME:A, with both games being made by different parts of Bioware, I think their next game in one of these series (likely DA:4) needs to cut back on the open world aspect. The aspects of the game I enjoyed the most, like in DA:I, was the main story, the characters, and their respective quests. I feel like having a big open world with some many things to do hurts the pacing and focus on the main story and getting to know your companions, while also leading to a more quantity over quality approach to side quests. I think that going back to a linear approach (ME2 and 3) or having smaller hub areas (DA:O or Jade Empire) that you go to throughout the story would work better with how Bioware's games are structured. 

I picked up the game when it was on sale for $20 and played it in for only around a week before the last patch (1.10) came out on July 31st, so I was able to avoid the game's biggest problems. The combat was fun and fluid, with the ability to use any ability and a variety of weapons keeping the combat fresh. The facial animations impressed me a few times and other times were not very good at all but generally they seemed okay. 

In a way, the game reminds me of a game like Assassin's Creed or Alpha Protocol where I feel like a sequel would have been able to improve on a lot of the problems and also positive aspects of the game. Assassin's Creed got that sequel, while Alpha Protocol did not and it does not seem like ME:A will get a second chance. It is a shame since they left so much hanging for a possible sequel, resolving the conflict between Sloane and The Charlatan, the mystery behind the Remnant and the still looming threat of the larger Kett Empire and the Primus. They also very directly mention the Quarian Ark in the epilogue, which made it seem it would be DLC or in the sequel. 

A combination of the major flaws during ME:A's launch and the lofty comparisons to the OG trilogy seemed to doom the game from the start. However, after the patches, it is still a very fun game that I enjoyed. Is it perfect, no? Is it as good as the OG trilogy to me, no? However, I would give it an 8/10 and say that it would deserve a second chance with a sequel that it will likely never get.