The original Mass Effect trilogy was a beautiful masterpiece and a key argument for why video games can be considered art. The two downsides were the vehicles and the ending of ME3 for some. Mass Effect: Andromeda aims to recapture that magic with a new galaxy to explore filled with new encounters and adventures. Aiming to take the series in a new direction, away from fighting for the survival of a galaxy to creating a home in a new galaxy.
I'll admit the start of Andromeda seemed a little strange. Character creation seemed to be dulled down a little and the combat changes were already obvious when viewing the multiple combat profiles you can fit into, more on this later. The story didn't really start off extra great either, spending time running around the ship scanning items and fixing random generators was not an interesting start to the game. Needless to say, as much as I love Mass Effect I wasn't feeling the first half hour of the game.
But, then I remembered why I loved the series. You crash land on what's supposed to be the perfect planet for humanity in this new system but it's been overrun with a hostile alien species and vicious wild life. The scenery draws you in from the start but when the cinematic scenes start to kick in and with the epic music and intense visuals you're hooked back in before you're let loose on the galaxy as the new Pathfinder in search of new planets to settle.
Let me tell you something, it picks up from there. The other pathfinders are missing, people are protesting because their families aren't out of cryo, the political leaders are feuding, there's been an insurrection and so much more. We're meeting new species of aliens, some friendly, some not. But here's the thing, they don't trust us because this time, we're the aliens and they've been under attack from the Kett for decades. It's wild out here.
The planets you're going to be exploring are crazy beautiful and unique. Eos for example is a desert wasteland filled with toxic pollution that will literally murder you within minutes if you leave the safe zones. But, then you kick start the atmosphere cleansers and go away for a while and everything changes. You come back and suddenly the air is no longer toxic, your colony has grown in size and there are more settlers around the planet, trees are growing and the Kett have become more aggressive as they're being pushed out. It's incredible and other planets go through similar changes, it's not just one planet for the sake of looking cool. Every single planet looks incredible and unique, then they continuously change as you move the story. This is what No Man's Sky should have been.
So the new combat system took some getting used to, but now it's amazing. Previously you would be stuck in one category. Soldier, Vanguard or Biotic and you may be able to learn one or two abilities from the other categories. Now, the world is your playground and can be used as you wish. There's also the option to save multiple profiles. So I have a pure biotic profile, a pure soldier profile, one that mixes the two and a third with a power from each category. The cover system can take some getting used to but it provides some new fun. Vaulting over cover, destroying barricades that enemies are using for cover. This works both ways and adds a new use for powers and abilities that create stationary barriers.
Some people have complained about how four of the alien races most common in the game (Krogan, Salarian, Turian and Asari) were in the original trilogy. To that I say, pay attention people, that was explained. Along with humans those were the four races that embarked on a trip to the Andromeda galaxy with 20,000 members of their race in cryogenic sleep. In addition to those on The Nexus hub, a version of The Citadel. Then there was a a mutiny and many members from the Nexus spread out across the universe. On top of that majority of the Krogan left the Nexus because they believed they didn't have a fair say in affairs. Additionally several members from the Arcs carrying people to Andromeda escaped via pods and crash landed on various planets. Then, the reason we only see two new races is because we're in one solitary galaxy. The Andromeda Galaxy isn't connected to other galaxies via Mass Effect Relay. This is how we visited multiple galaxies in the original. All of these species are from different galaxies, Andromeda is one galaxy and we got two new species that's more than any other galaxy in the past. If you want to complain about lack of alien diversity, complain about how all the Asari have like 4 total face models now.
I didn't touch on the sound but it has an incredible soundtrack with unique music to fit each situation. Even the combat on different planets has different themes. The Nomad vehicle sounds different on Ice than sand or snow. It's a small detail but it's great.
Now, can we talk about the negatives? A lot have been blown out of proportion like glitchy faces and weird animations. Mass Effect has always had weird animations and glitchy faces, let's not act like this is new. What large RPG doesn't have those two issues? There are three problems. First, there is no storage locker. The player is forced to constantly mange their inventory of 50 items, 80 with upgrades. So you're forced to constantly scrap and sell augmentations, weapons and armor you may have used later. Where is my damn storage locker? Who drops an RPG on this scale and doesn't include storage? Bioware, that's who. The second problem, the one that really pisses me off to no end, is the galaxy map. I hate that there's an animation between every planet, solar system, nebula, asteroid belt and everything else. It's pointless besides looking cool the first five times. Lastly, Sam needs to shut up sometimes, can I turn him off, I know what the temperature is Sam, I know it's toxic Sam, I know I can mine for minerals Sam, damn. Those are pretty much the only negatives I have. Actually, I hate Tann, to quote Ryder "Fuck Tann."
It's a great game, Bioware makes great games. Besides those really annoying negatives there's really nothing you can say negatively that you shouldn't have expected. Seriously, what large scale RPG have you played with no facial or graphical glitches? I want to know. It's a great game and you should pick it up ASAP. I didn't cover the multiplayer, because who buys Mass Effect for multiplayer? Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go figure out why Liam and Jaal are walking around my ship ass naked.
You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He also plays classic arcade games on The Cabinet. You can also check out his playthrough of Sleeping Dogs or Skyrim
