Post by re0503 on Apr 5, 2017 4:46:29 GMT
Hello, i have just gotten half way into my NG+ playthrough and had to stop because of the viability bug. I decided to express my joy's and frustrations with the game here, while i wait for the upcoming patch. English is not my first language, so pardon my spelling mistakes if you come across any.
As many of you, i have been a fan of Bioware since Baldurs Gate and Mass Effect has become my favorite franchise. Fun fact, i actually got my first job to buy a xbox for myself, when they first announced that Mass Effect 1 was going to be exclusive to Xbox 360.
Now to get to the point, i really want to love this game, but it almost breaks my heart when i realize that i have come to agree with a score of 6/10 for the title. Even more so, when i also realize that to me personally there is a really solid 8/10 hidden somewhere in this mess of a game.
I will begin with the good:
1. Tempest crew
I really came to care about the crew and like each and every one of them. They all seem like real people who could exist, their loyalty missions are some of the highlights of the game for me. And their voice acting is excellent.
As i said, i like all of the tempest crew, but i think ill mention three who i at first thought i would not like.
1) Cora - really liked her and her romance plot, my favorite so far. I was starting to get annoyed by her constant asari commando and Sarissa worship, but her loyalty mission put things into perspective. Her growth and realizations felt organic and she really grew on me. I also liked how she was always trying to be the voice of reason and dutiful second in command, but constantly expressed amazement about the different environments. Really added to the feeling that we were seeing sights not seen before.
2) Peebee - from the trailers, i made up my mind that she was going to be a really annoying companion. I was ready to dislike and avoid her the moment the game launched. Exposed midrif in space, expert in alien tech and so random, blegh. And yet, talking with her and getting to know her changed my opinion pretty fast. She was still annoying at times, but in a sort of endearing kind of way. Really well written character and excellent voice acting.
3) Liam - as with Peebee, i like him and i am annoyed by him in equal measure. I like his eagerness and yet his naivete irks me. He reminds me of a friend i have. I also like that i can call out his and Peebee's bullshit and not look like a douche. That in my opinion is good writing and not many rpg's let you do that.
I think that it is unfair, to compare these new characters to companions like Wrex, Garrus, Tali and others from the original games. Those characters really came to their own with character development during three whole games and i have no doubt, that given a chance, the Tempest crew can do so as well.
2. The Final Mission
I was very surprised how well it was done. The Nomad drive on Meridian had my adrenaline really pumping. I was also biting my nails because of Captain Dunn and then seeing all the allies and the other pathfinders in the mix - it was great. When i realized that Dunn survived because all the arks were found, i felt satisfied. In the long run, it probably isn't an earth shattering consequence like some choices and outcomes from the original trilogy, it still felt good. I don't think all the dilemmas and their effects have to be of the galactic scale all the time.
3. The planets
They were beautiful, i wanted to explore them, i wanted be there and explore. I don't think much else needs to be said. It felt to me, that real care had been put into them, that the people who designed them cared about what they were doing and were themselves excited about it.
4. SAM
He/she/it really became one of my favorite companion(?), from the nonchalant way SAM often describes how you could die, like your blood would boil in 75 second in a sinkhole on Eladeen or correcting your grammar he felt like an A.I. (if we can truly know what an A.I. would be like, but he felt to me like i would imagine an A.I),yet there were hints of a developing personality. I also got an interesting vibe when talking with the a.i. on Voeld. The way SAM says - "She. is. lying." and "Another lie" Maybe i am reading too much into it, but it seemed like SAM was almost glad to expose or "best" her. Anyway, SAM was a very interesting and enjoyable addition for me.
Also, while i like EDI, i always felt she was made into too much of a human in the end, especially with the body thing. I really hope they don't go the same route with SAM.
5. Combat
I really don't play Bioware games for the combat. I enjoy Battlefield for that. I come to Bioware for the characters. I must say however, the combat is very good. Best in the franchise for sure. I really liked that i could have some mid-range firefights for once, with some exceptions in ME1, all the combat in the original trilogy was almost always very close quarters, which can also be enjoyable, but in Andromeda i can really choose my engagement range.
6. Ryder
Really like the Ryder twins. The voice acting is excellent in my opinion. I enjoyed the untested/inexperienced angle. Also the struggles of leadership and establishing authority. I think it was well done, the fact that your crew likes you, but they also kind of walk over you in the beginning is a great touch in my opinion. It feels natural.
I would really like to see more of the Ryders and how they develop.
7. The Dialogue system
It's not perfect and i do miss some of the renegade stuff from previous games, but i really think this system can be great and offer a better and deeper roleplaying experience if the developers take it upon themselves to improve it. The developed personality and the auto dialogue should mesh together better. It was a bit jarring to see my logical and professional Ryder start to talk and joke with himself, in the crashed remnant ship i belive. There were more moments like that and they kind of took me out of it, but overall i enjoyed the lines and how they were delivered. Really wish to see this system developed with care and effort even further.
8. Codex
I always like reading the codex and this time around i really enjoyed how the entries evolved as you gained more information. The personal relationship and psych profile were also a nice touch.
9. Writing and storyline
This is what has me conflicted the most. To me it feels like its all over the place. Some great moments, some average and some pretty bad. Ill stick to what i liked in this section.
I am still not too thrilled about another ancient race, but i also have to admit - the Angara revelation is intriguing for me, I wish to know more. Also the fact that it all happened during the 600 year journey to Andromeda and not thousands of years ago. The scourge is an interesting phenomena and i also became interested about the Kett. To some they are bland and i can see why that might be the case. However, personally, i would like to see more about their empire, social structure, history, why they became the way they are, why is exaltation so important.
The overall theme and story of being in a new frontier and finding a new home was great as well, but there were some let downs.
For me the best parts of the game in terms of story, was the beginning up to the point when you establish an outpost on Eos, the companions and their loyalty mission and the final mission. These for me had that "wow" factor. There were great moments in between as well, but entwined with them were times when i found myself thinking: "What is this? Did i pay money for this?"
I would like to end the positive part as follows: Having finished the game once, i 100% think i got my moneys worth and would really like to see where the story goes from here and what is next for Ryder and crew.
The Bad
I am not going to talk about the animations, because everyone has done it already and they are not that important to me. Sure it's annoying, but Bioware games have always been funky animations. It's not an excuse, but it is not a make it or break it question for me.
1. The Bugs
This has also been talked about and Bioware games have also always had bugs, but in my experience never like this. This has really been the reason why i started to agree with 6/10 score.
Biggest problems for me are the broken quests. Everything from tasks to loyalty mission that don't update, will not progress or disappear.
I have finished the game and started NG+, but i havent been able to do Drack's quest. At first i thought that Drack the krogan was the worst and blandest crew member. I was really disappointed with him as a character. Then close to the end i realized, his quest had become bugged at "Confront Spender" stage. All of his best dialogue and character development starts coming as that quest progresses.
I realized this so late, because i did not want read up on the game and spoil something for myself and most of the companion quest were put on hold at some point so i did not think much of it.
I found out that it was indeed bugged and decided to do it in my NG+ game, however i can't finish it this time because before i got to Eladeen, the viability bug hit me and i did not know about it yet. Eladeen is bugged now, can't call down any forward stations and so on. My last unaffected save takes me back 5 hours of game time. I just don't have the time or energy to start going through all that again with the risk of some other major bug or glitch affecting my game. I have to wait for the patches.
Since Drack has recived alot of praise i wanted to see what the fuss was about and i watched his storyline from youtube. True enough, the character deserves all the praise i've seen. One of the best character arcs. Too bad i had to experience it through someone else's gameplay.
This was the worst, but i have run into a lot of glitches, like cutscenes not playing. I realized this was a thing, after finishing the second visit to the remnant city and heading for meridian. When i staggered towards the last door and hit exit, i was back on the tempest and every one was saying that i gave a great speech it felt really jarring. There had not been any speech. At that point i had become really unimpressed with the writing of the game and wrote it off as another weird transition from one scene to another. It kept bugging me and for some reason i decided to reload an earlier save and went through the sequence again. Surprise surprise, there was a whole other segment with your crew, before going back to the tempest. And you even give a little speech in that segment. And everything made a lot more sense now.
I wonder, how many of these little segments have not loaded for me and others. All those negative reviews, how many of them saw what was a disjointed story because some bug or glitch cause them to miss a little cutscene or a segment that was important to the story.
Add to this - the corrupted saves, infinite loading screens, weird crashes. Weird because for me, the game runs solid in intense fights or situations that could be considered resource heavy, but more than sometimes crashes when i end a conversation or enter a new room or area. Something to do with the autosave perhaps?
This is why i feel, there is a solid 8 hidden somewhere, but the technical state of the game just makes it impossible to dig it out.
2. Banter
The banter bug is already mentioned, but there is another problem with banter and conversations between npc's in general.
The constant interruptions between dialogue in the Nomad, by someone yelling: "Thats a Kett construct" is ridiculous.
The Nexus is even the worst. I wanted to hear the Angara talk in the cultural center, but goddamn Jien Garson has to repeat herself every 10 seconds and speak over them.
Turning on subtitles isn't a fix, because the subtitles show a conversation happening in the commons, a conversation between 3 humans that has played over and over from the beginning, something about someone being honest or just being an asshole. I have heard that same dialogue maybe 30 times now and it speaks over the new and interesting stuff.
Maybe these are all little things, but there is so many of them that together they squeeze a lot of the enjoyment out of the experience and replace it with annoyance.
I'll just add that the Vortex sucks. It's mostly silent, once or twice have i heard music there and i once saw an angara stare silently on the stage. I assume that it is meant to be a different experience, but at the moment, it's the worst bar in a video game.
3. Story
1) First Contact
I was really excited about this idea. And meeting the Kett was pretty good. The confusion and uncertainty was great. I had high hopes. As i mentioned before, the beginning up until the Eos outpost was awesome, at least for me. Disappointment set in really fast when the story took me to Aya. The sudden english speaking Archon. Not to mention why or how he even intercepted the Tempest. The english speaking Angara. It was so jarring that i quit the game for a moment and did a quick search on the internet, i really thought i had missed something or something was off. Because i remember on Eos, looking through the Kett terminals, there were Kett writing SAM could only partially translate and i thought it was really cool. I knew eventually we would all speak english and it was fine, but i really thought that getting to know the language was going to be more involved and a more drawn out progress. I was excited by that prospect alone.
Of course then soon there was the explanation of the exiles and that this really was not the Angaran first contact with humans. I get it, but i hate it.
I was really, really looking forward to first contact with the Angara and all it brings with it and i think this is the biggest missed opportunity in the game. For me that moment really sullied the rest of the game for me. I enjoyed the game, but i felt some of my earlier excitement gone, i really felt let down. I bought Andromeda for the promise of going where no human had gone before, seeing what no human had seen. A new frontier. That was the pitch right? That was the promise? Well tough shit, Sloan Kelly and her merry band of degenerates had already been there, done that. And instead of being the first human on an unexplored planet and making first contact with an alien species i get to fight with humans, asari, turians and salarians again.
2) The exiles
I get it, a smugglers port and a hive of scum and villainy is a must have for any space opera. I like that concept myself. Smugglers and space gangsters are cool, no sarcasm. Yet i really wish Kadara and the exiles were handled differently. Right now they feel like a tool that was used to explain and handwave all the interesting and really meaty stuff that could have happened with the Angara and the Kett. I get that they are a very convenient way to get past all of the troublesome getting to know the aliens and their language, the social and cultural misunderstanding that could happen and just get into the action.
In the end, i liked Sloan, Reyes and Kadara in general, but i could not fully enjoy anything about the exiles, because the thought that they had robbed me of an experience, stayed in the back of my mind.
Maybe it's just me, but i feel like there was supposed to be something more and it got changed. It just feels so sloppy and weak. Considering some of the really great quality writing in the game, i can't understand how the writers thought this was the best they could do. It could have been great. They could have delivered something very unique, but it's like they decided to go the average route because it was easier.
4. Gameplay/Planets
1. Outposts
I really hoped there would be more to them. I kind of get the feeling there was supposed to be more to them. Sure the architect fights are entertaining, but after those i never felt the need to visit the outposts on Voeld, Hvarl, Eladeen and Kadara. Only Eos had a bit more connection to the story.
It was disappointing. Especially after all the fuss that is made about getting more outposts.
2. The respawning mobs. I really hate this design choice. I get it for mmorpg's, i also get it that you want to give players something to do in your beautifully crafted worlds. Yet i have never seen someone praise or like this mechanic in a single player game. Sure, open worlds would become empty if they were there only once, but this is not Fallout or Skyrim.
It's fine that for some time the mobs keep respawning and the same kett dropships keep dropping off the same kett mooks, but after i have solved all the problems on Eos, and taken out the Kett base and fought every fight for the tenth time and gotten the viability up to 100% i would like to see it have some effect.
Even in Inquisition, after a while you started to see some refugees instead of the bandits or templars or mages. And it was satisfying to see them peacefully sit around the campfire and speak. I felt like i had made a little difference in the world.
I am going assume, i know you shouldn't assume anything, but i am still going to assume that most of the people who play Bioware games don't need non stop action and combat to enjoy the game. I know i don't.
Even FPS's like Far Cry got criticized by the constant resapwning of enemies. It makes our efforts feel hollow.
At the moment i don't really return to beautiful planets anymore, because i know what is waiting for me, the same bad guys, at the same locations. I have fought them all for a couple of times and it was fun, but now i am looking to move forward with the story or beginning another playthrough. What would make me go back to the planet and drive around, would be to see how the fighting has died down, outpost have grown and more scientists or colonists are wandering around and exploring, since i made it safe for them. If instead of enemy camps and kett dropships i could find camps with nexus geologists and militia patrols for example, that would make it worth while to explore the wonderful planets with the awesome Nomad one more time.
I suspect i am not the only one.
In closing
Thank you for the game, i don't regret buying it. I look forward to what you do next with Mass Effect. I really hope you continue the Andromeda storyline, there is a lot of potential. I also very much hope Ryder and the crew returns, i really love them, best part of the game. Very cool beginning and awesome final mission.
I think you guys still have it, when it comes to characters and getting me to care.
But this game was a sloppy mess, i hope you keep to your word and fix the bugs. I would really like to spend my money on some awesome story DLC's and a great sequel, but at the moment
i can't even enjoy the base game content to its fullest extent, due to the bugs and glitches.
Thank you for reading
Still a fan
As many of you, i have been a fan of Bioware since Baldurs Gate and Mass Effect has become my favorite franchise. Fun fact, i actually got my first job to buy a xbox for myself, when they first announced that Mass Effect 1 was going to be exclusive to Xbox 360.
Now to get to the point, i really want to love this game, but it almost breaks my heart when i realize that i have come to agree with a score of 6/10 for the title. Even more so, when i also realize that to me personally there is a really solid 8/10 hidden somewhere in this mess of a game.
I will begin with the good:
1. Tempest crew
I really came to care about the crew and like each and every one of them. They all seem like real people who could exist, their loyalty missions are some of the highlights of the game for me. And their voice acting is excellent.
As i said, i like all of the tempest crew, but i think ill mention three who i at first thought i would not like.
1) Cora - really liked her and her romance plot, my favorite so far. I was starting to get annoyed by her constant asari commando and Sarissa worship, but her loyalty mission put things into perspective. Her growth and realizations felt organic and she really grew on me. I also liked how she was always trying to be the voice of reason and dutiful second in command, but constantly expressed amazement about the different environments. Really added to the feeling that we were seeing sights not seen before.
2) Peebee - from the trailers, i made up my mind that she was going to be a really annoying companion. I was ready to dislike and avoid her the moment the game launched. Exposed midrif in space, expert in alien tech and so random, blegh. And yet, talking with her and getting to know her changed my opinion pretty fast. She was still annoying at times, but in a sort of endearing kind of way. Really well written character and excellent voice acting.
3) Liam - as with Peebee, i like him and i am annoyed by him in equal measure. I like his eagerness and yet his naivete irks me. He reminds me of a friend i have. I also like that i can call out his and Peebee's bullshit and not look like a douche. That in my opinion is good writing and not many rpg's let you do that.
I think that it is unfair, to compare these new characters to companions like Wrex, Garrus, Tali and others from the original games. Those characters really came to their own with character development during three whole games and i have no doubt, that given a chance, the Tempest crew can do so as well.
2. The Final Mission
I was very surprised how well it was done. The Nomad drive on Meridian had my adrenaline really pumping. I was also biting my nails because of Captain Dunn and then seeing all the allies and the other pathfinders in the mix - it was great. When i realized that Dunn survived because all the arks were found, i felt satisfied. In the long run, it probably isn't an earth shattering consequence like some choices and outcomes from the original trilogy, it still felt good. I don't think all the dilemmas and their effects have to be of the galactic scale all the time.
3. The planets
They were beautiful, i wanted to explore them, i wanted be there and explore. I don't think much else needs to be said. It felt to me, that real care had been put into them, that the people who designed them cared about what they were doing and were themselves excited about it.
4. SAM
He/she/it really became one of my favorite companion(?), from the nonchalant way SAM often describes how you could die, like your blood would boil in 75 second in a sinkhole on Eladeen or correcting your grammar he felt like an A.I. (if we can truly know what an A.I. would be like, but he felt to me like i would imagine an A.I),yet there were hints of a developing personality. I also got an interesting vibe when talking with the a.i. on Voeld. The way SAM says - "She. is. lying." and "Another lie" Maybe i am reading too much into it, but it seemed like SAM was almost glad to expose or "best" her. Anyway, SAM was a very interesting and enjoyable addition for me.
Also, while i like EDI, i always felt she was made into too much of a human in the end, especially with the body thing. I really hope they don't go the same route with SAM.
5. Combat
I really don't play Bioware games for the combat. I enjoy Battlefield for that. I come to Bioware for the characters. I must say however, the combat is very good. Best in the franchise for sure. I really liked that i could have some mid-range firefights for once, with some exceptions in ME1, all the combat in the original trilogy was almost always very close quarters, which can also be enjoyable, but in Andromeda i can really choose my engagement range.
6. Ryder
Really like the Ryder twins. The voice acting is excellent in my opinion. I enjoyed the untested/inexperienced angle. Also the struggles of leadership and establishing authority. I think it was well done, the fact that your crew likes you, but they also kind of walk over you in the beginning is a great touch in my opinion. It feels natural.
I would really like to see more of the Ryders and how they develop.
7. The Dialogue system
It's not perfect and i do miss some of the renegade stuff from previous games, but i really think this system can be great and offer a better and deeper roleplaying experience if the developers take it upon themselves to improve it. The developed personality and the auto dialogue should mesh together better. It was a bit jarring to see my logical and professional Ryder start to talk and joke with himself, in the crashed remnant ship i belive. There were more moments like that and they kind of took me out of it, but overall i enjoyed the lines and how they were delivered. Really wish to see this system developed with care and effort even further.
8. Codex
I always like reading the codex and this time around i really enjoyed how the entries evolved as you gained more information. The personal relationship and psych profile were also a nice touch.
9. Writing and storyline
This is what has me conflicted the most. To me it feels like its all over the place. Some great moments, some average and some pretty bad. Ill stick to what i liked in this section.
I am still not too thrilled about another ancient race, but i also have to admit - the Angara revelation is intriguing for me, I wish to know more. Also the fact that it all happened during the 600 year journey to Andromeda and not thousands of years ago. The scourge is an interesting phenomena and i also became interested about the Kett. To some they are bland and i can see why that might be the case. However, personally, i would like to see more about their empire, social structure, history, why they became the way they are, why is exaltation so important.
The overall theme and story of being in a new frontier and finding a new home was great as well, but there were some let downs.
For me the best parts of the game in terms of story, was the beginning up to the point when you establish an outpost on Eos, the companions and their loyalty mission and the final mission. These for me had that "wow" factor. There were great moments in between as well, but entwined with them were times when i found myself thinking: "What is this? Did i pay money for this?"
I would like to end the positive part as follows: Having finished the game once, i 100% think i got my moneys worth and would really like to see where the story goes from here and what is next for Ryder and crew.
The Bad
I am not going to talk about the animations, because everyone has done it already and they are not that important to me. Sure it's annoying, but Bioware games have always been funky animations. It's not an excuse, but it is not a make it or break it question for me.
1. The Bugs
This has also been talked about and Bioware games have also always had bugs, but in my experience never like this. This has really been the reason why i started to agree with 6/10 score.
Biggest problems for me are the broken quests. Everything from tasks to loyalty mission that don't update, will not progress or disappear.
I have finished the game and started NG+, but i havent been able to do Drack's quest. At first i thought that Drack the krogan was the worst and blandest crew member. I was really disappointed with him as a character. Then close to the end i realized, his quest had become bugged at "Confront Spender" stage. All of his best dialogue and character development starts coming as that quest progresses.
I realized this so late, because i did not want read up on the game and spoil something for myself and most of the companion quest were put on hold at some point so i did not think much of it.
I found out that it was indeed bugged and decided to do it in my NG+ game, however i can't finish it this time because before i got to Eladeen, the viability bug hit me and i did not know about it yet. Eladeen is bugged now, can't call down any forward stations and so on. My last unaffected save takes me back 5 hours of game time. I just don't have the time or energy to start going through all that again with the risk of some other major bug or glitch affecting my game. I have to wait for the patches.
Since Drack has recived alot of praise i wanted to see what the fuss was about and i watched his storyline from youtube. True enough, the character deserves all the praise i've seen. One of the best character arcs. Too bad i had to experience it through someone else's gameplay.
This was the worst, but i have run into a lot of glitches, like cutscenes not playing. I realized this was a thing, after finishing the second visit to the remnant city and heading for meridian. When i staggered towards the last door and hit exit, i was back on the tempest and every one was saying that i gave a great speech it felt really jarring. There had not been any speech. At that point i had become really unimpressed with the writing of the game and wrote it off as another weird transition from one scene to another. It kept bugging me and for some reason i decided to reload an earlier save and went through the sequence again. Surprise surprise, there was a whole other segment with your crew, before going back to the tempest. And you even give a little speech in that segment. And everything made a lot more sense now.
I wonder, how many of these little segments have not loaded for me and others. All those negative reviews, how many of them saw what was a disjointed story because some bug or glitch cause them to miss a little cutscene or a segment that was important to the story.
Add to this - the corrupted saves, infinite loading screens, weird crashes. Weird because for me, the game runs solid in intense fights or situations that could be considered resource heavy, but more than sometimes crashes when i end a conversation or enter a new room or area. Something to do with the autosave perhaps?
This is why i feel, there is a solid 8 hidden somewhere, but the technical state of the game just makes it impossible to dig it out.
2. Banter
The banter bug is already mentioned, but there is another problem with banter and conversations between npc's in general.
The constant interruptions between dialogue in the Nomad, by someone yelling: "Thats a Kett construct" is ridiculous.
The Nexus is even the worst. I wanted to hear the Angara talk in the cultural center, but goddamn Jien Garson has to repeat herself every 10 seconds and speak over them.
Turning on subtitles isn't a fix, because the subtitles show a conversation happening in the commons, a conversation between 3 humans that has played over and over from the beginning, something about someone being honest or just being an asshole. I have heard that same dialogue maybe 30 times now and it speaks over the new and interesting stuff.
Maybe these are all little things, but there is so many of them that together they squeeze a lot of the enjoyment out of the experience and replace it with annoyance.
I'll just add that the Vortex sucks. It's mostly silent, once or twice have i heard music there and i once saw an angara stare silently on the stage. I assume that it is meant to be a different experience, but at the moment, it's the worst bar in a video game.
3. Story
1) First Contact
I was really excited about this idea. And meeting the Kett was pretty good. The confusion and uncertainty was great. I had high hopes. As i mentioned before, the beginning up until the Eos outpost was awesome, at least for me. Disappointment set in really fast when the story took me to Aya. The sudden english speaking Archon. Not to mention why or how he even intercepted the Tempest. The english speaking Angara. It was so jarring that i quit the game for a moment and did a quick search on the internet, i really thought i had missed something or something was off. Because i remember on Eos, looking through the Kett terminals, there were Kett writing SAM could only partially translate and i thought it was really cool. I knew eventually we would all speak english and it was fine, but i really thought that getting to know the language was going to be more involved and a more drawn out progress. I was excited by that prospect alone.
Of course then soon there was the explanation of the exiles and that this really was not the Angaran first contact with humans. I get it, but i hate it.
I was really, really looking forward to first contact with the Angara and all it brings with it and i think this is the biggest missed opportunity in the game. For me that moment really sullied the rest of the game for me. I enjoyed the game, but i felt some of my earlier excitement gone, i really felt let down. I bought Andromeda for the promise of going where no human had gone before, seeing what no human had seen. A new frontier. That was the pitch right? That was the promise? Well tough shit, Sloan Kelly and her merry band of degenerates had already been there, done that. And instead of being the first human on an unexplored planet and making first contact with an alien species i get to fight with humans, asari, turians and salarians again.
2) The exiles
I get it, a smugglers port and a hive of scum and villainy is a must have for any space opera. I like that concept myself. Smugglers and space gangsters are cool, no sarcasm. Yet i really wish Kadara and the exiles were handled differently. Right now they feel like a tool that was used to explain and handwave all the interesting and really meaty stuff that could have happened with the Angara and the Kett. I get that they are a very convenient way to get past all of the troublesome getting to know the aliens and their language, the social and cultural misunderstanding that could happen and just get into the action.
In the end, i liked Sloan, Reyes and Kadara in general, but i could not fully enjoy anything about the exiles, because the thought that they had robbed me of an experience, stayed in the back of my mind.
Maybe it's just me, but i feel like there was supposed to be something more and it got changed. It just feels so sloppy and weak. Considering some of the really great quality writing in the game, i can't understand how the writers thought this was the best they could do. It could have been great. They could have delivered something very unique, but it's like they decided to go the average route because it was easier.
4. Gameplay/Planets
1. Outposts
I really hoped there would be more to them. I kind of get the feeling there was supposed to be more to them. Sure the architect fights are entertaining, but after those i never felt the need to visit the outposts on Voeld, Hvarl, Eladeen and Kadara. Only Eos had a bit more connection to the story.
It was disappointing. Especially after all the fuss that is made about getting more outposts.
2. The respawning mobs. I really hate this design choice. I get it for mmorpg's, i also get it that you want to give players something to do in your beautifully crafted worlds. Yet i have never seen someone praise or like this mechanic in a single player game. Sure, open worlds would become empty if they were there only once, but this is not Fallout or Skyrim.
It's fine that for some time the mobs keep respawning and the same kett dropships keep dropping off the same kett mooks, but after i have solved all the problems on Eos, and taken out the Kett base and fought every fight for the tenth time and gotten the viability up to 100% i would like to see it have some effect.
Even in Inquisition, after a while you started to see some refugees instead of the bandits or templars or mages. And it was satisfying to see them peacefully sit around the campfire and speak. I felt like i had made a little difference in the world.
I am going assume, i know you shouldn't assume anything, but i am still going to assume that most of the people who play Bioware games don't need non stop action and combat to enjoy the game. I know i don't.
Even FPS's like Far Cry got criticized by the constant resapwning of enemies. It makes our efforts feel hollow.
At the moment i don't really return to beautiful planets anymore, because i know what is waiting for me, the same bad guys, at the same locations. I have fought them all for a couple of times and it was fun, but now i am looking to move forward with the story or beginning another playthrough. What would make me go back to the planet and drive around, would be to see how the fighting has died down, outpost have grown and more scientists or colonists are wandering around and exploring, since i made it safe for them. If instead of enemy camps and kett dropships i could find camps with nexus geologists and militia patrols for example, that would make it worth while to explore the wonderful planets with the awesome Nomad one more time.
I suspect i am not the only one.
In closing
Thank you for the game, i don't regret buying it. I look forward to what you do next with Mass Effect. I really hope you continue the Andromeda storyline, there is a lot of potential. I also very much hope Ryder and the crew returns, i really love them, best part of the game. Very cool beginning and awesome final mission.
I think you guys still have it, when it comes to characters and getting me to care.
But this game was a sloppy mess, i hope you keep to your word and fix the bugs. I would really like to spend my money on some awesome story DLC's and a great sequel, but at the moment
i can't even enjoy the base game content to its fullest extent, due to the bugs and glitches.
Thank you for reading
Still a fan
