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  • 9 months later...
On 2/7/2017 at 4:43 PM, Socio said:

I've just finished Watch Dogs 2 and now I'm playing Call of Duty Infinite Warfare. And Of course I'm waiting for new Mass Effect.

 

I'm eagerly anticipating that one as well. 

 

I received an XBOX One for Christmas after quite a few years of not gaming, so I've been getting back into it.  The most recently played titles have been Resident Evil VII  and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

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  • 1 month later...

I'm so bummed out about "Mass Effect: Andromeda" so far. I've been a big fan of this series ever since the first game of the original trilogy.

I had high hopes for this installment. But the poor facial animations that have been mocked on social media ever since its release are the least of its issues.

The main problem is a failure in the writing. It's a very poor story and they even manage to get the characterization of the races (or at least some of them) wrong.

It's like the people who made this game were only vaguely familiar with the original trilogy.

Which is a shame, because I do think the combat can be fun.

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1 hour ago, SympathysSilhouette said:

I'm so bummed out about "Mass Effect: Andromeda" so far. I've been a big fan of this series ever since the first game of the original trilogy.

I had high hopes for this installment. But the poor facial animations that have been mocked on social media ever since its release are the least of its issues.

The main problem is a failure in the writing. It's a very poor story and they even manage to get the characterization of the races (or at least some of them) wrong.

It's like the people who made this game were only vaguely familiar with the original trilogy.

Which is a shame, because I do think the combat can be fun.

 

I do agree with you that the writing in the game has been, for the most part, subar.  I knew that something was off right off the bat when they didn't take advantage of the best reason that could have been given for launching the Andromeda Initiative in the first place.  Given that the game takes place sometime around the events of Mass Effect 2, it would have made sense for them to launch the Andromeda Initiative as a means to grant the Milky Way species a continuation into the future in the event that Shepherd and the Alliance did not defeat the Reapers.  Instead, they just talk about wanting a new beginning or just wanting to go for the adventure.  At that point, I knew something was going to be off about the game.  There are moments when the dialogue is just painfully bad.  It does seem to get a bit better as the game goes, but it's still not up to the standard set by the original trilogy.  It also would have helped had they gotten the voice actors either into the same room or provided them with performance video to work off of, as the flow of the conversations really isn't there.  These people often don't sound like they're in the same room together, even if they're standing just a couple of feet from one another.

 

With that said, though I have enjoyed the game thus far, even though I've had to go back and start over after my save file was corrupted after I landed on the ice planet.  I'm OK with this, though, as it seems some of the bugs have since been smoothed over and I think the voice actor for Sarah Ryder is much better than the one for Scott Ryder, as I decided to just go ahead with their default female Ryder for my new trip through the game. 

 

I think they've come up with a solid launching point for a new series of Mass Effect games, but there would need to be a much great attention to polishing the next game than there was on this one.  The action in the game, however, they got down pretty well, I must say.  I actually wish they could go back and add some of those elements (namely the awesome jet pack) to the original games. 

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I've been playing Andromeda too, albeit fairly sporadically. As much as I wanted to love it, the thrill of rejoining the ME universe is tempered by disappointment that the experience feels so underdeveloped in so many departments. Any game that requires such a significant investment of time (depending on how much of a completist you are) to play through needs to come out swinging. This kind of strings you along with promises of getting good soon, but never quite takes you there.

 

I'd also echo the sentiments about the dialogue being really substandard in parts. It's a minority viewpoint I'd imagine, but I always liked the fact that not all of Bioware's writing landed. There were plenty of moments in the original trilogy that wouldn't quite impact in the way they were perhaps meant to, but that rings true in many ways because it gives you a sense of the real world, where people can be awkward and not every line is a zinger. This one doesn't make me feel that way, though. There isn't that sense of taking the rough with the smooth because all the interactions seem similarly stodgy and flat.

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11 hours ago, Michael* said:

I've been playing Andromeda too, albeit fairly sporadically. As much as I wanted to love it, the thrill of rejoining the ME universe is tempered by disappointment that the experience feels so underdeveloped in so many departments. Any game that requires such a significant investment of time (depending on how much of a completist you are) to play through needs to come out swinging. This kind of strings you along with promises of getting good soon, but never quite takes you there.

 

I'd also echo the sentiments about the dialogue being really substandard in parts. It's a minority viewpoint I'd imagine, but I always liked the fact that not all of Bioware's writing landed. There were plenty of moments in the original trilogy that wouldn't quite impact in the way they were perhaps meant to, but that rings true in many ways because it gives you a sense of the real world, where people can be awkward and not every line is a zinger. This one doesn't make me feel that way, though. There isn't that sense of taking the rough with the smooth because all the interactions seem similarly stodgy and flat.

 

Agreed. 

 

In some ways, I think Andromeda is going to be a good thing for the Mass Effect series as a whole.  In the grand scheme of things, it's a good game, and will continue to get better as they release patches to smooth over some of the rougher edges.  Fans of the original trilogy will be able to find, for the most part, a good deal in it to enjoy.  But it's also going to accomplish two things moving forward.  First, it's going to lower expectations for the franchise, at least heading into the next installment.  Expectations were so high for Andromeda coming in that it was going to be nearly impossible for Bioware to meet them, especially a Bioware that is missing quite a few of the members of the creative team that brought us the original trilogy.  Second, it should light the fire under both Bioware and EA to deliver a great game the next time around.  EA will have to be more in Bioware's corner to give them the resources and, more importantly, time they need to make the next one great because, if they don't, it could set back the franchise in a huge way, and EA can't let that happen to a cash cow like Mass Effect.

 

 

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14 hours ago, VS19 said:

In some ways, I think Andromeda is going to be a good thing for the Mass Effect series as a whole.  In the grand scheme of things, it's a good game, and will continue to get better as they release patches to smooth over some of the rougher edges.  Fans of the original trilogy will be able to find, for the most part, a good deal in it to enjoy.  But it's also going to accomplish two things moving forward.  First, it's going to lower expectations for the franchise, at least heading into the next installment.  Expectations were so high for Andromeda coming in that it was going to be nearly impossible for Bioware to meet them, especially a Bioware that is missing quite a few of the members of the creative team that brought us the original trilogy.  Second, it should light the fire under both Bioware and EA to deliver a great game the next time around.  EA will have to be more in Bioware's corner to give them the resources and, more importantly, time they need to make the next one great because, if they don't, it could set back the franchise in a huge way, and EA can't let that happen to a cash cow like Mass Effect.

 

Yeah, it seems to me that a lot of people online hold Bioware to a much higher standard, sometimes even actively seeking out reasons to dislike their stuff. Some of the complaints are understandable, but at the same time, I really don’t think it was worse than the now-notorious PC port of Arkham Knight, like many have claimed.

 

In general though, it does seem like the earlier you buy a game, the higher the price will be and the lower the quality will be, at least until patches start appearing. One could level similar accusations at things like Destiny and Watch Dogs, which were both missing quite a lot of the features that were promised initially. Then again, I suppose if everyone bought games six months after release, developers probably wouldn't make them anymore. I personally don’t make it a habit to buy games at launch because prices tend to drop at such an alarming rate, I only make the odd exception for real favourites like this one. If I'm honest, if and when an Andromeda sequel appears, I’ll probably end up buying that too. :laugh:

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10 minutes ago, Michael* said:

 

Yeah, it seems to me that a lot of people online hold Bioware to a much higher standard, sometimes even actively seeking out reasons to dislike their stuff. Some of the complaints are understandable, but at the same time, I really don’t think it was worse than the now-notorious PC port of Arkham Knight, like many have claimed.

 

In general though, it does seem like the earlier you buy a game, the higher the price will be and the lower the quality will be, at least until patches start appearing. One could level similar accusations at things like Destiny and Watch Dogs, which were both missing quite a lot of the features that were promised initially. Then again, I suppose if everyone bought games six months after release, developers probably wouldn't make them anymore. I personally don’t make it a habit to buy games at launch because prices tend to drop at such an alarming rate, I only make the odd exception for real favourites like this one. If I'm honest, if and when an Andromeda sequel appears, I’ll probably end up buying that too. :laugh:

 

I would even take the Xbox One version of Mass Effect Andromeda, without the recent patches, over the Batman: Arkham Knight game.  What a disappointment that was, to say the very least.  I was gifted an Xbox One for my birthday back in December and was thrilled to see Arkham Knight on sale for $19.99.  That was one of the games that I was kind of bummed out about missing out on when it came out however long ago because I'd been a fan of Asylum, City, and even Origins, and was looking forward to completing the series.  I doubt that I'm even halfway through the game and I haven't touched it in a couple of months.  

 

Mass Effect Andromeda, on the other hand, has very much held my interest, even with the bugs and occasionally subpar writing and storytelling.  I will, though, have to keep your advice about buying a game later in mind.  I've just kind of jumped back into gaming here recently, as Grand Theft Auto V was the only game of the back half of the last generation I recall devoting any time to, so this concept of patches and whatnot for console games is a bit foreign to me, as is the idea of having to install a portion of the game on the hard drive and then download some of it from the internet before actually playing it.  More people need to hold the developers to account in that way so that maybe the finished product will be there at launch rather than having to be waited on via a downloadable patch or update.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/13/2017 at 4:14 PM, VS19 said:

I would even take the Xbox One version of Mass Effect Andromeda, without the recent patches, over the Batman: Arkham Knight game.  What a disappointment that was, to say the very least.  I was gifted an Xbox One for my birthday back in December and was thrilled to see Arkham Knight on sale for $19.99.  That was one of the games that I was kind of bummed out about missing out on when it came out however long ago because I'd been a fan of Asylum, City, and even Origins, and was looking forward to completing the series.  I doubt that I'm even halfway through the game and I haven't touched it in a couple of months.  

 

Mass Effect Andromeda, on the other hand, has very much held my interest, even with the bugs and occasionally subpar writing and storytelling.  I will, though, have to keep your advice about buying a game later in mind.  I've just kind of jumped back into gaming here recently, as Grand Theft Auto V was the only game of the back half of the last generation I recall devoting any time to, so this concept of patches and whatnot for console games is a bit foreign to me, as is the idea of having to install a portion of the game on the hard drive and then download some of it from the internet before actually playing it.  More people need to hold the developers to account in that way so that maybe the finished product will be there at launch rather than having to be waited on via a downloadable patch or update.

 

I must say, as a fellow longstanding fan of the series, I had a blast with PS4 version of Arkham Knight. I can't imagine the Batmobile stuff being everyone's cup of tea, though. Driving it around the city is pretty streamlined, but as a tank used for combat between vehicles, the missions are forced upon you too often and in repetitive ways. That I would say was the only real downside to an overall fun gaming experience. Any interest in the Batman Telltale series at all? :smile:

 

It does seem like lot of games are released in half-life (no pun intended :laugh:) states these days. Thinking back, No Man's Sky was probably the worst offender for that, it was the subject of an investigation by an advertising standards agency on the grounds that the marketing campaign was purposely erroneous from the start, and continues to be even beyond the point of release. I suppose though, as long as people keep buying these things, and the DLC content, then the business model isn't going to go away anytime soon. It's a bit like when people complain about how expensive the cinema is, and how much the popcorn adds to the price. Which is true of course, but then you look at the queues for the latest blockbusters and realise that we’ll only see major attitude changes when consumers start voting with their wallets. :mellow:

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The Batmobile stuff was what really detracted from it for me.  It was just way too much and is the central focus of the game whereas the story and the characters had been the central focus leading up to Arkham Knight.  Also, way too much Joker.  It was time to move on after Arkham City.  But it's really the Batmobile that detracts from the game.  Even when you get on foot and are doing things much like in the previous games, it just hovers over you like a dark cloud, where you wonder where it's going to jump out of the shadows at you again and make you battle more unmanned tanks. 

 

Not sure about the TellTale series.  Price would probably be a big factor in any kind of interest in it, as from what I've seen it's essentially just an interactive movie. 

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  • 2 months later...

Finished up a second playthrough of Mass Effect: Andromeda.  First time through I went far too fast and didn't do much outside of the main story, which I found out from others online really robs you of the full experience.  Gave it a much more thorough attempt the second time through and found it to be a pretty enjoyable game, far better than all the negativity at launch would lead you to believe.  Hopefully EA changes their minds and decides to attempt a sequel.  There are plenty of fixes that could be made, absolutely, but the characters and story, while flawed, warrant a sequel to discover more about both.  Shame that probably won't happen now, though.

 

Still quite a few games left unfinished on the pile.  Probably moving on to Resident Evil VII: biohazard next.  The little bit that I have played of it has been quite good.

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3 minutes ago, Michael* said:

Anyone investing in a SNES Classic then? :hehe:

 

Given the demand for the original NES Classic and how much they're going for online, I'm considering it. :D 

 

Not sure the demand will be quite as high for that as for the original one, but it'll still be there and it's not that big a hit to the wallet to keep from taking the risk. 

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16 minutes ago, VS19 said:

Given the demand for the original NES Classic and how much they're going for online, I'm considering it. :D 

 

Not sure the demand will be quite as high for that as for the original one, but it'll still be there and it's not that big a hit to the wallet to keep from taking the risk. 

 

I myself am still quite bitter about not being able to get hold of an NES classic, although I must say, I'm more impressed with the lineup of games for this one, especially with the near-mythical Star Fox 2 being included. :laugh:

 

Can't help wondering what Nintendo will make of the dominant reaction from most fans being sadness over the impending unavailability, because the "we didn’t expect the demand" defence isn't going to wash this time. :ninja:

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I doubt they care.  I think if you look at what any of the big gaming companies do, they don't really care about the consumer.  They'll get their money at the end of the day, and that's all they really care about.  If they really cared about the consumer, the NES Classic wouldn't have been discontinued in the manner that it was.  

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