GameSpot
Mass Effect: Andromeda: When Science-Fiction Fails – Reboot
Mike and Jake delve into the history of science-fiction storytelling, and highlight how the new Mass Effect squanders its potential.
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Mike Mahardy…
Hey everyone! Thanks for watching our third episode of Reboot. Respond here with questions or feedback, and we might feature your comment on next week's episode!
It's probably been said before; BUUUT Star Wars is more science fantasy then science fiction. It's basically technology as magic and is more about fantasy themes then science fiction themes.
And good review. I'd say that there is a good story there; but it's strapped down and cut apart in favor of "Open world game play". And thats the real cancer in this game, so much of what made ME good has been set aside for MEA while their open world stuff works better and got more attention. Instead of an indepth character builder, character arcs and diverse back grounds we are all pretty much stuck with the same 2 characters in a pretty game that has nice combat and mobility. And the BEST writing in the game (in the family secrets quest line, the ending (sort of) and the oyalty missions) is definitively Mass Effect at least; but that is so little of the actual game that as you say was such a missed opportunity (And i like the Khet and the Angara (and the Remnant); Im not upset that they were humanoid at all.)
Ryder never reacts to anything. Never has issues with Sam, never freaks out under pressure, never even has a conflict with the crew who cant seem to decide if they are following Ryder or not. It's like Ryder is supposed to be Shepard; but they decided against whatever convoluted story they had for making the protag Shepard. Because Shepard I'd give a pass, "Yeah Shepard has been through SOOO much worse; taking this all in stride is completely believable." and so the game is just a sight seeing tour; and it has a real issue with telling instead of showing (like you said) and thus never creates tension.
Its not a bad game, and if it weren't a Mass Effect it would probably develop a cult following like the Witcher did. Hopefully we dont have to wait for another "mehhh" game before we get back to Bioware being good again. And thats the issue, CDProjekt Red was pretty unknown and climbed its way to the top while Bioware has ALREADY made a lot of good games in fact it's made some incredible games. ME3 is still one of my favorite games of all time and I dont see that changing any time soon. And it had the opposite end of Andromeda's schtick. Instead of a lot of support from EA it had very little EA support, instead of having a super long development time they just rushed it out.
My faith is shaken, I wont be preordering MEA2 unless the DLC really REALLY shows me that they let go of the idiot ball and started writing good stories again. (I still wont be preordering because Im done preordering, but whether I show up on day 1, or wait 2 months for the game to actually leave beta.)
This feels like the weakest of the Reboot series thus far (just watched the one on war which was really good). I think you do a poor job applying the broader Sci-Fi critique to MEA specifically. The format works better when you are asking questions on behalf of the viewer and getting us involved in the strengths of the game. Still, really enjoy the show – keep it up.
Development of Mass Effect should've stayed with BioWare Edmonton. But then again, most of the original creative team was no longer there or employed by BioWare. #disappointed
gamespot: When Reviews are biased
Star Wars isn't really science fiction. It's closer to LOTR than 2001. Think even George Lucas described it as "Space Opera".
Best, most thoughtful review I have watched about Andromeda to date.
This is the first ME:A critique I have seen that doesn't just jump on the bandwagon, but provides a unique and critical perspective.
The only moment that really "GOT" me in Andromeda was when Jaal(and the player, for that matter) finds out that the Kett were once Angara.
That was a touching and well done scene in an otherwise bland and uninspiring game. We're millions of light years away from home, struggling for survival. Most of the arks never made it and resources are running out. Then Ryder establishes a single outpost on a single planet, and the entire atmosphere of the game changes. Like no one cares anymore and there's zero tension at all. That's what ruins the game for me. The situation should be dire but it never feels that way. Outside of the intro mission on Habitat 7, there's no tension or sense of dread at all. That's just lazy design in my opinion. Or a lack of creativity, who knows.
There should have been tension throughout the game. A sense of purpose. Of a goal. It just isn't there in Andromeda and the comparison to ME2 was a good one as far as that goes. The game just isn't FOCUSED(for lack of a better term) like the original trilogy was. With the original trilogy, in each game we had a mission. A purpose. Everything revolved around it. They were structured better. When you get to Andromeda it's like, "just go whereever you want and do stuff. We don't care."
The combat in Andromeda is fun. It's lacking in my opinion when it comes to different enemy types, but meh. The only reason I continue playing Andromeda is the combat and experimenting with different augments, and weapons.
well said
I'm just here to look at all the Andromeda fantards cry.
I said it in from the beginning. Andromeda is pure generic trash. Simple. This is fact.
Shepherd's greatest line 6:06
What's that music in reboot Intro? It's amazing
Less criticism of how the game fails to fit the genre
More discussion of what the genre is to show contrast
In ep. 1 and 2 you spent a deeper amount of time on the history of the genres of survival horror and open world
LOL, hilarious dorky lighting. Both Andromeda and Prey were the most soulless games of 2017. Both felt like they were created by b-teams struggling to meet a deadline despite not having anything insightful to say about science fiction or game design. They let everyone down.
you got this one wrong sorry, great game
andromeda = dogshit
I’ve never really played the game, but from what I’ve seen it looks like Andromeda was supposed to be a separate franchise but somewhere along the way EA said to slap Mass Effect stuff on it to make more money.
Aw c'mon!
Andromeda does have a crapton of shortcomings… but not having heart? I call bullshit!
Those guys at Bioware Montreal went through hell and beyond to get that game going… and I absolutely love the game. Can go for whole days. It feels home in a way hardly anything grabs me.
I only played the first three and missed Andromeda because of the bad reviews. But I'm really MISSING games like Mass effect. When will we get another epic sci-fi RPG??
Love this video.