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Mass Effect: Andromeda | Review Thread

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Silvard

Member
Remember when the RPS preview thread was posted and people called it clickbait and were trying to discredit John's criticism by referring to his opinion on an urelated game? Where are those people now that we know that he was 100% right?

100% right? The game still scoring higher than RPS' score being better received than RPS' review as a whole and opinions are pretty divided. There's no one 100% right about this game, and if there was it certainly wouldn't be JW.
 
I don't have a clue whether to get this or not now.

It would be my first Mass Effect, but I played DA:I and i didn't enjoy it.

It would be between this and Persona 5, with Persona 5 also being my first Persona game. I think I'll just wait for P5.


While I am buying Mass Effect Andromeda Persona 5 is the game I've been waiting for since... well, for a very long time. If I had to choose I would go Persona 5 over this or any other game.
 
Hard to believe that "fans" of the franchise will not play this game for the scores, real fans heh

There's a difference between being a fan, and blindly following a brand/logo around.

There's too much to play and too much to do with my life, if a game in a series I love, ends up sucking (this isn't saying Andromeda sucks, I'm just speaking generally at this point) then I can still be a fan of the series prior to that and have zero interest in playing a bad entry.

Halo 5 is a really bad Halo game in my opinion, but I'm still a huge Halo fan for everything prior to that. I don't think Skyward Sword is all that great, but I'm still a rabid Zelda fan.
 

Tecnniqe

Banned
Ah okay I get it now. I thought he was bashing people for having nostalgia (which can be criticisable sometimes), but it's more nostalgia might actually be inflating some scores. Yelp.
Pretty much. I don't see where most of the above 8s come from with the current build reading them but it's just an arbitrary number but it really doesn't add up to the article and justification themselves imo
 
Launching alongside Breath of the Wild, Horizon and Nier Automata, this is going to be a really hard sell to consumers with that reception.

If it had launched in isolation, in a quiet month of the year, then it might have stood a chance, but as is there's not much reason to spend money or time here when it could be better spent elsewhere, and only the very dedicated gamers will do so because they've already beaten those other games. Both Nier Automata and Horizon have better written sci-fi themed narratives. Horizon has better combat and a more immersive, exploratory open world setting.

If space travel is really a must, or you're just a big fan of the Mass Effect franchise then I can see the appeal, but that aside I can see this one failing to meet commercial expectations.

I was expecting more, personally, but something had to give, 2017 was looking too good to be true.
 
OK thats 39 pages and no talk about the multiplayer. How is the multiplayer??? after ME3 its all i care about and if it as good im down day 1.
 
Remember when the RPS preview thread was posted and people called it clickbait and were trying to discredit John's criticism by referring to his opinion on an urelated game? Where are those people now that we know that he was 100% right?

His trashing of Witcher 3 was pretty related, unless that's not the game you're talking about
 

jonjonaug

Member
ExB8BZZ.png

The Forbes review in particular really reads like "I want to like this game so I'm going to overlook every single flaw listed in this review".
 

redcrayon

Member
Is this the weakest critical reception of the games on GAF's 'most anticipated for 2017' top ten that has released so far?

Goes to show that there was a lot of anticipation for ME:A based on ME3 (and despite the ending), people still expected Bioware to knock it out of the park with this, but it sounds more like DA:I than the focused, almost claustrophobic missions of the ME trilogy that dripped with atmosphere and cool alien races. The idea that we can head to a new part of the galaxy and it's still full of fetch quests and bipeds with guns at a broadly comparable tech level (presumably to facilitate the TPS combat) is a bit pedestrian given the premise. I was expecting it to open with something really weird and awe-inspiring rather than a hub world, shopping centre and loot.

The Reapers were alien to the point of being incomprehensible in their tech, motives and power level (at least in the first two games), this just sounds like villain of the week on a mid-season episode of Star Trek.
 

Varth

Member
Since many value his opinion here over that of the corrupt mainstream fake news media, I propose to have some choice quotes and a "buy now!!!" rating from Shinobi in the OP.
 

Pie and Beans

Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
It looks like and review text is sounding like a 5/10 or 6/10 game but its definitely getting franchise nostalgia bumps as John Walker says. Same sorta dealio games like Fallout and whatnot enjoy.
 
Launching alongside Breath of the Wild, Horizon and Nier Automata, this is going to be a really hard sell to consumers with that reception.

If it had launched in isolation, in a quiet month of the year, then it might have stood a chance, but as is there's not much reason to spend money or time here when it could be better spent elsewhere, and only the very dedicated gamers will do so because they've already beaten those other games. Both Nier Automata and Horizon have better written sci-fi themed narratives. Horizon has better combat and a more immersive, exploratory open world setting.

If space travel is really a must, or you're just a big fan of the Mass Effect franchise then I can see the appeal, but that aside I can see this one failing to meet commercial expectations.

I was expecting more, personally, but something had to give, 2017 was looking too good to be true.

The only game on that list that has overlap is Horizon, and it's a PS4 exclusive. I sincerely doubt Zelda or Nier are targeting the same audience as mass effect.
 

Revas

Member
Read this a few times but I still can't quite get what he's getting at?

Of course, people will refer to/remember back on the first 3 games. This is still Mass Effect? Fans wanted more of the same and/or some improvements on the first 3. At the very least though, more of the same.


Yeah I don't understand what he's trying to say. I haven't come across any review that makes it seem like the author wishes the game deserved it's score.
 

Bedlam

Member
Reading some of the reviews, it looks like it's being scored where it is because it stayed the same and didn't get better.


Are you sure you're talking about the games and not the fandom that grew around them?

The writing has never been the strong point.
How you can equate the writing in ME1 and ME3 (and ME:A) is completely beyond me. Two completely different leagues.

So no, the series didn't stay the same at all. Gameplay arguably got better, plot/writing took a nosedive after Drew left.
 

Nielm

Member
Worse than I expected, I thought it'd get at least an 80-85.

I probably won't get it now, this has made my mind up for me. With all of the issues surrounding it, and the resource scanning, I would rather not invest my time in it.
 
Remember when the RPS preview thread was posted and people called it clickbait and were trying to discredit John's criticism by referring to his opinion on an urelated game? Where are those people now that we know that he was 100% right?

He's not 100% right. Other people have different opinions than his, as his evident by him whining about positive reviews on twitter.
 

Fbh

Member
As someone who got a discounted preorder, enjoyed Dragon age 2 and Mass Effecf 2 is probly my GOTD this is a dilemma. Do I:

A. Keep my preorder (uk) play on Friday. I'll probly enjoy it.
B. Keep my preorder but wait a while for patches and dlc
C. Cancel my preorder and play Infinite Warfare instead (cos I just got that cheap). Probly pick the game up later in the year especially if the price falls dramatically.

Well you enjoyed DA2 . Based on what I've seen there is no way this feels more rushed and low budget than DA2.
So you should still enjoy it a lot.
 

TrutaS

Member
I've got this on preorder, and despite the reviews I thinn I'll keep it, got it with 10pounds off from amazon, and I'll just put it on Easy and enjoy the ride without any padding and uninsteristing side-quests.
 

Royce McCutcheon

Junior Member
I'm very upset this isn't reviewing as well as the big 3. Some of yall seem happy this game is reviewing low(er). Dont we want games to be as good as possible. Damn, mass effect is like top 3 series for me, this blows.
 

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
Fuck scores and reviews the real news is 2017 when a Mass Effect game has more jank than a Yoko Taro game.
I'm very upset this isn't reviewing as well as the big 3. Some of yall seem happy this game is reviewing low(er). Dont we want games to be as good as possible. Damn, mass effect is like top 3 series for me, this blows.
I'm happy that people don't gloss over shit(because I've been misinformed by reviews in the past and wasted money). I'm sad that this doesn't live up to its legacy. As much as I didn't like ME3 ending lots of my favorite gaming moments have been part of the ME games. Mordin's entire story line and payoff is still one of my most favorite gaming experiences ever.
 

Aaron D.

Member
Remember when the RPS preview thread was posted and people called it clickbait and were trying to discredit John's criticism by referring to his opinion on an urelated game? Where are those people now that we know that he was 100% right?

Still standing by the sentiment that John Walker is an unreliable source of critical analysis. A writer who opts for sensationalist tone over nuanced critique.

Nothing wrong with that of course if you like that style. Just go in with eyes wide open and take his presentation with a grain of salt.
 

ironcreed

Banned
That's like saying railroad or train fans would jump onto an ongoing train wreck.

You can be a fan and acknowledge something went horribly bad and not want to take part in it.

Absolutely true. I am still going to play it, but I sure as hell do not blame people for not wanting to spend $60 for a game that looks to be pretty much unfinished even after five years of development. There is just no excuse for that, especially for a title like Mass Effect making it's first appearance on a new generation of hardware.
 

Kagutaba

Member
'Bring back exploration'
'More rpg focus'
'The MAKO is back'

One of the big consistent critics of this game in the interviews is that it's full of busy work - vast amounts of things to do, but backed up by poor writing and characterization.

The highest reviewed game in the series is the one which stripped out *all* the busy work and so called 'RPG mechanics' to focus purely on character writing and well crafted combat encounters. Where every single mission was unique, with a plot and detail that made it interesting, and a unique aspect. Even killing mercs in a swamp had a graphic effect and mechanic that didn't occur anywhere else in the game.

There's always been a vocal crowd of people who preferred ME1 to the others, and miss the 'exploration' that offered. Bioware tried to give us exploration in this game, and so far it doesn't seem to have worked that well as a complete package.

Great post.

Also when it comes to actually exploring different cultures, Mass Effect 2 did that better as well.

The first Mass Effect was just the set up, after you leave the citadel you are just running after Saren, the Protheans and the Reapers on one uninteresting world after another. Therum is a big nothing of a planet, it exists only for us the rescue Liara, who is awful in the first game. Feros, another human colony, this one housing a Saren/Prothean exposition machine in the form of the Thorian. Virmire, the D-Day planet, it's just a big war section really, with the Reapers finally revealing themselves at end. Illos, more Prothean and Reaper stuff, i.e. the two least interesting things in this series. Noveria is all right.

In Mass Effect 2 you actually went to the cultural hubs of the galaxy and learned from them, be it Tuchanka where you explore the history of the genophage with Mordin, or Krogan rights of passage with Grunt; Illium, a ruthless Asari commerce world where we meet Samara whose strict code of justice clashes well with the planet's glamorous but deeply corrupt Asari corporate culture; Omega, the Terminus Systems' (which we basically know nothing about at this point) seedy and lawless counterpart to the citadel where we meet Garrus again, who finally all but abandoned his sense of justice, and Mordin who serves instrumental later on in filling out the joint history of the Krogans and the Salarians, or the Migrant Fleet where the Quarian culture and by extension Tali finally comes alive and becomes interesting.

That's without mentioning Thane, who introduces us to the Drell, and Legion, who basically does the same thing for the Geth.
 
Wow. It has a lower Metacritic than Dragon Age Inquisition. Was not expecting that. I was never ever expecting a "return to form" from Bioware like a lot of people did, but I figured it'd be somewhere in the 80s.
 
Why am I not surprised to see so many people only focusing on the reviews that support their opinion and acting like the ones that don't are invalid or don't exist?

The reaction to this game from the get go has been just ridiculous. Based on what I played, a 75 seems very accurate. This is a game that doesn't live up to it's predecessors in a bunch of very important ways and it's perfectly normal for people to be disappointed with that, but the hyperbole that has been going on for over a week now is insane even for Gaf.

I swear, the lack of degrees seems to be getting worse. Everything doesn't have to be either the best or worst thing ever.
 

Maffis

Member
After the streak of good scores on AAA-games I did not expect Mass Effect to be the one that broke the chain. Disappointing, really. But I will still buy the game at a later time.
 
He's not 100% right. Other people have different opinions than his, as his evident by him whining about positive reviews on twitter.

Yes but the whole theme of the first quarter of that thread was a bunch of Mass Effect fans saying hes the only one with negative thoughts on it, hes wrong, hes clickbaity, he didn't like the witcher so doesn't know what hes on about etc.

Alot of his criticism's have come to pass in other reviews, and the scores that followed, where are these people saying he was wrong. to eat their crow.
 
But he's not doing that? Weirdly defensive post.

If someone else that's played it thinks the pros outweigh the cons and therefore, in their opinion, rated it higher than he would, its fine. Who cares? I don't know. My expectations were pretty low so maybe that's the difference. Just seems like a weird thing to get hung up on.

And if he's not naming names and linking to specific reviews/passages, he's just creating nonsense drama.
 

thumb

Banned
Still standing by the sentiment that John Walker is an unreliable source of critical analysis. A writer who opts for sensationalist tone over nuanced critique.

Nothing wrong with that of course if you like that style. Just go in with eyes wide open and take his presentation with a grain of salt.

Can you show that your criticism applies to this review? He provides examples to illustrate his points, it isn't just sound and fury.
 
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