Mass Effect: Andromeda

 PlayStation 4
User Score
5.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 4128 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,607 out of 4128
  2. Mixed: 660 out of 4128
  3. Negative: 1,861 out of 4128
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  1. ActionCactus
    Apr 9, 2017
    8
    This game came out on March 21st. I've currently put 80 hours in to it according to Origin, a friend of mine is over 100, and my brother is around 70. I think it's ridiculous that the user reviews rated 'most helpful' were submitted within a day or two of the game being released.

    BAD: - Facial animations are generally bad by today's standards. They're overall pretty varied, with    This game came out on March 21st. I've currently put 80 hours in to it according to Origin, a friend of mine is over 100, and my brother is around 70. I think it's ridiculous that the user reviews rated 'most helpful' were submitted within a day or two of the game being released.

    BAD:

    - Facial animations are generally bad by today's standards. They're overall pretty varied, with main story quests having more detail and emotion, but in general they're OK or bad. That said, I don't know when the gaming community started caring so much about these things over gameplay.

    - Inconsistent writing. Some of it is cringe-inducing, for sure, and this comes up more often than I'd like. I wish the dialogue was more mature. Some of the plot feels amateur. I will go in to more detail in the GOOD section below.

    - Incredibly poor multiplayer netcode. Without question this is the worst netcode I've ever seen in a AAA title, and the level to which it's broken makes even the most poorly-made indie games look like the products of masters. The P2P system gives no indication of your connection to the host, players are frequently dropped, the cover system becomes clunky, and enemy feedback is heavily delayed (even while playing with someone a couple miles from my house).

    - Poor weapon balance. I suppose it's a matter of opinion that ultra-rare and common weapons should both be viable in a shooter game, but many of the guns in Andromeda are weak from the start, and this continues to the high-level gear.

    - Very slow start. It takes about 10 hours to really get in to what the game has to offer when you're playing for the first time. BW/EA shot themselves in the foot here.

    - Massive lack of polish. Hitching every time you close a menu or end a conversation, poor Tempest framerates, occasional unresponsive enemies that just stand and take hits, poorly designed menu interface, sometimes illogical dialogue placement (SAM's comments while driving), and sometimes I've had conversations with people that refuse to voice their lines or even render. I sincerely hope more patches will fix this.

    GOOD:

    - Put aside facial animations this game is gorgeous. The incredibly detailed and unique environments are always a breath to behold, texture work is mostly excellent (you can zoom in with a sniper rifle while looking at your Nomad's wheels and see individual grains of sand clinging to the rubber surface), lighting is generally great, and particle effects are wonderful.

    - Voice acting within the squad is generally very good. It's not perfect (this segment itself is a 7 or 8 out of 10) but there are some particularly excellent lines that make the generally-good VO work memorable. Male Ryder is great to listen to.

    - Nomad is very fun to drive and the worlds are brilliantly detailed and fun to explore.

    - There are 4-tiers of quests: story, personal/relationship-based, planet-specific, and minor. The first three tiers are consistently very good with well-written questlines and interesting banter from the squadmates you bring with you. There are MANY quests in these categories and the often take 10-30 minutes to complete while usually being narrative-driven. The minor quests are where you get the more generic fetch quests you see people complaining about, but these are optional, quick, and all fit in to the narrative of building and supporting a new world. I like it all, honestly.

    - Shooting is the best in the series. I would have preferred a crouch button coupled with the dynamic cover system to allow more player control, but the existing system works very well in most situations. Despite bullet-spongey and generally mediocre AI, the game gives you a sandbox in which to wreak havoc upon enemies that will surely make quick work of you should you make a mistake (in Insanity, at least). Excellent mobility, fantastic power feedback and variety, punishing damage from enemies, and cool weapons.

    - Excellent RPG elements. You literally change the worlds around you as you progress, your relationships evolve in satisfying ways, your leveling system is the best in the series, and there is A TON to explore. In my 80 hours I've made approx 1000 dialogue choices, too, so there are plenty of points where you select what you want to say.

    - Squad is mostly excellent, with Drack, Jaal, and Vetra being my favorites. The human squadies are better than their OT counterparts were in the beginning, for sure.

    - Writing for the more intimate moments with your squad is consistently very good. I won't spoil anything, but I was definitely impressed by a converstaion with each and every one of my squadmates at least once so far. The plot, while predictable, brings you to some places that really have some mature and enjoyable backstory,

    To summarize: there is certainly more good than bad, the bad is overblown, patches have already started improving things, and I've definitely got my money's worth.    … Expand
  2. BuddyCash
    Apr 9, 2017
    9
    I Personally enjoyed the game a lot of amazing times and aggravating times, it had hard decisions ( i do believe it should have more harder decisions other then the few it had) It had a fairly long campaign, enjoyable character some annoying, couple of bugs here and there but understandably for a game that as recently came out but its is still something wort buying and and you will enjoyI Personally enjoyed the game a lot of amazing times and aggravating times, it had hard decisions ( i do believe it should have more harder decisions other then the few it had) It had a fairly long campaign, enjoyable character some annoying, couple of bugs here and there but understandably for a game that as recently came out but its is still something wort buying and and you will enjoy hopefully as much as i have and will!… Expand
  3. Swanny1775
    Apr 9, 2017
    1
    Disappointed doesn't even begin to describe my feelings about this game. Mass Effect 1-3 were among the best games ive ever played, so i had high hopes for Andromeda. Sadly, I was completely and utterly let down.

    First and foremost are the bugs. They are numerous, recurring and in some cases bring a screeching halt to gameplay. As with most games touched by EA, this installment is a    Disappointed doesn't even begin to describe my feelings about this game. Mass Effect 1-3 were among the best games ive ever played, so i had high hopes for Andromeda. Sadly, I was completely and utterly let down.

    First and foremost are the bugs. They are numerous, recurring and in some cases bring a screeching halt to gameplay. As with most games touched by EA, this installment is a stain on a a great franchise and an embaressment to a company like Bioware, who has up till now been held in high regard by gamers.

    I am so utterly dissapointed in every aspect of this game that i can safely say i wont even bother with the next title Bioware makes me wait 5 years for. Getting in bed with EA was the worst decision they ever made and this sad, unplayable failure of a game only serves to show just how far they have fallen.

    Dont waste your money, the awful graphics and flat story aside, the outragous amount of bugs will most likely leave the game unplayable enough that you wont have to suffer through all the other shortcomings that make this game one of the hugest disappointments ever.    … Expand
  4. closedsocket
    Apr 9, 2017
    8
    Do not let the lack of polish ruin the game for you.

    This is a worthy successor to the original Mass Effect trilogy and does a great job at introducing the new setting and problems that will be faced throughout the Andromeda games. There are a few things that are different from the original trilogy that some players may like or dislike. First is the absence of the paragon system,    Do not let the lack of polish ruin the game for you.

    This is a worthy successor to the original Mass Effect trilogy and does a great job at introducing the new setting and problems that will be faced throughout the Andromeda games.

    There are a few things that are different from the original trilogy that some players may like or dislike. First is the absence of the paragon system, which I found liberating. The choices I made actually felt like I made them. I did what I thought was best for my team without the guidance of trying to stay into preset parameters of good and evil. The second is the ability to change classes on the fly. No longer are you required to pick a class and stick with it throughout the whole game. I believe the way they implemented this in the game, and made it part of the lore, was really well done. Third is that you can no longer can really command your companions, you have no choice over their equipment, you can tell them to attack and that's really about it.

    Now that some of the bigger changes are out of the way, I will just hit on what I liked and disliked about the game.

    The game play is the best in the series. I mean the running, jumping, shooting all feels very satisfying. It plays like a full blown cover shooter now, and less like a KOTOR game. It works very well and everything fills natural, but if you were into more of the RPG element of the game, then that's all just about gone. Combat is fast and fluid with abilities having to be mapped to active buttons, there's no pausing and wheeling a specific ability or weapon, it's all done in real time. The game is VERY open. You have main story missions but the game spends no time opening up the galaxy and saying go explore, create your own path. Unfortunately, I believe this hinders one of Mass Effects previous best points - the story telling. If you choose to just follow the main story, which is possible, you miss a lot. I mean a lot. Andromeda's best missions, and most fleshed out story telling, are side quests (particularly the crew relationship quest lines) and it's a shame that in Biowares haste to make an open world game, they allow the user to bypass the best parts of the game.

    Now for the facial animations. The facial animations aren't bad, especially if you are playing the male Ryder, but they aren't great either. I do think Andromeda's lack of polish is what holds it back from being the GREAT game it could have been, but the animation is average. It's somehow worse than Dragon Age Inquisition which is three years older and much worse than the great animation of Witcher 3, but it's not so bad that it's distracting (or at least you shouldn't be distracted by it).

    In conclusion Andromeda is a solid game, that misses being great because of a lack of polish. It's still fun, and should make you excited for the next game, if you truly like the franchise. It's worth playing.

    gameplay stats: Game beat with an 88% completion in 55 hours on standard difficulty.    … Expand
  5. RowanBlack
    Apr 9, 2017
    6
    The few shining moments in this game are not enough to save the experience. I was so excited to start this game I brought my wife in to experience the opening with me, I expected more, rarely have I experienced a AAA game with so little in the way of story development in the beginning.

    Once you get into the game you will occasionally find a questline that provides an enjoyable    The few shining moments in this game are not enough to save the experience. I was so excited to start this game I brought my wife in to experience the opening with me, I expected more, rarely have I experienced a AAA game with so little in the way of story development in the beginning.

    Once you get into the game you will occasionally find a questline that provides an enjoyable experience, but those are few and to often entirely missable. Few low quality quests would have greatly improved this game.

    The combat system is fine and combat can be an enjoyable activity.

    Sadly only a major content update will save this game. Hopefully lessons will be learned and the next installment will bring the magic back.    … Expand
  6. Nemo888
    Apr 9, 2017
    4
    Not a Bioware game. It's a cheap outsourced knock off. It looks like a Rolex in the store, but once you play you realize it says Rolodex and the gold peels off.
  7. Mikeb86
    Apr 9, 2017
    10
    This game does not deserve the hate it has received, this is VERY much a mass effect game, loyalty missions, romance, meaningful decisions, great combat, great premise, all round very good game that in my opinion still has the charm and very hard to put down feel that the trilogy had! Give it a genuine try, you won't be disappointed especially when it all opens up and it really feels likeThis game does not deserve the hate it has received, this is VERY much a mass effect game, loyalty missions, romance, meaningful decisions, great combat, great premise, all round very good game that in my opinion still has the charm and very hard to put down feel that the trilogy had! Give it a genuine try, you won't be disappointed especially when it all opens up and it really feels like mass effect! I'm 42 hours in and 50% of the way through, there is so much to do, story has kept me interested, loyalty missions are great, combat is vastly improved, as a huge fan of the trilogy and shepherd, garrus etc, I was worried that bioware couldn't pull it off again, all I can say is now I can't wait for the next one to see what lies next for the pathfinder! If it helps I have enjoyed this much more than horizon, ff15 etc, both good games but just didn't give me that can't put the controller down feeling that andromeda gives me, thank you yet again bioware!… Expand
  8. spaghetti-cop
    Apr 8, 2017
    6
    A slightly above average space opera wearing the skin of a mass effect title. Perhaps the games largest flaw is it's inability to show the player its best parts. Compelling quests are hidden behind wall or poor UI, fetch quests, bugs, and stilted dialogue. Unfortunately, Andromeda cowers in the shadow of its contemporaries, and is hard to recommend to anyone who isn't heavily invested inA slightly above average space opera wearing the skin of a mass effect title. Perhaps the games largest flaw is it's inability to show the player its best parts. Compelling quests are hidden behind wall or poor UI, fetch quests, bugs, and stilted dialogue. Unfortunately, Andromeda cowers in the shadow of its contemporaries, and is hard to recommend to anyone who isn't heavily invested in the series.… Expand
  9. Ambiguous64
    Apr 8, 2017
    9
    87 hours in. Nuff said?
    Love the single player. After 3 games in this series it would be very hard to come up with a new story line but they managed to pull it off. It has more of an exploration feel than confronting the end of the world which is a nice break. I loved ME 3 but it was very bleak at times.
    The Multiplayer is great too. Less waves than before but new weapons to unlock and    87 hours in. Nuff said?
    Love the single player. After 3 games in this series it would be very hard to come up with a new story line but they managed to pull it off. It has more of an exploration feel than confronting the end of the world which is a nice break. I loved ME 3 but it was very bleak at times.
    The Multiplayer is great too. Less waves than before but new weapons to unlock and new classes to explore, while the old favourites are still there. There both is and isn't a lot of new weapons in game. After a certain point you can only do variations of existing weapons in any game, though they do expand the weapons where they can. I really like how it integrates into the singleplayer too. Makes it feel way more involved. Also it's kinda fun sending out the Apex teams on missions too.
    They use the frostbite engine which works great though they did drop the ball back in beta when it comes to the animations. Stick with the default character until that's fixed and you'll be fine though. I did restart after about 4 hours, and it took me about 20 minutes to catch back up, by skipping all the cutscenes.
    Anyway, back to the game. See you all in the MP!    … Expand
  10. mromalv
    Apr 8, 2017
    8
    Update: just finished it, awesome game, **** sick ending.

    This user score is a joke. I'm sorry but I can't help but assume that anybody who is scoring this less than a 7, is either trolling or did not play the game, I'm 15 hours in and it's an 8 without a doubt. How do the graphics hold? well, animations are bad, there's just not denying that, but actual in-game graphics are quite    Update: just finished it, awesome game, **** sick ending.

    This user score is a joke. I'm sorry but I can't help but assume that anybody who is scoring this less than a 7, is either trolling or did not play the game, I'm 15 hours in and it's an 8 without a doubt.

    How do the graphics hold? well, animations are bad, there's just not denying that, but actual in-game graphics are quite good.

    Now, the elements that should matter the most in a Mass Effect game are, quite frankly, great. Combat is insanely fun, the story is interesting, characters are likable and dialog is kind of silly, but the good kind of silly.

    Do yourself a favor, don`t let toxic people ruin something great for you, I can sincerely from the bottom of my heart and soul recommend this game.    … Expand
  11. countofhell4321
    Apr 8, 2017
    8
    MASS EFFECT ANDROMEDA My short review based on the PS4 version v1.04 ( latest missions i was played on v1.05 ) :
    femRyder insanity difficulty, 100+ hours, 100% Evaluation on all planets, 4 completed romances ( from reserved save file )
    Attraction: mediocre Playability: good Content: excellent Music / Sound: mediocre Tone : good On the positive side : - awesome gameplay and    MASS EFFECT ANDROMEDA My short review based on the PS4 version v1.04 ( latest missions i was played on v1.05 ) :
    femRyder insanity difficulty, 100+ hours, 100% Evaluation on all planets, 4 completed romances ( from reserved save file )

    Attraction: mediocre
    Playability: good
    Content: excellent
    Music / Sound: mediocre
    Tone : good

    On the positive side :
    - awesome gameplay and skill/power system
    - balanced weapons and powers
    - Nomad
    - various and good looking planets
    - jetpack
    - The Remnant units and Vaults, puzzles
    - Boss fights
    - Loyalty missions, romance scenes and conversations

    Negative:
    - graphical glitches and bugs, quest breaking bugs, sound bugs and glitches, weird sounds or no sound, frame rate dips etc.
    - too many boring side quests
    - shallow main story compared to ME1, ME2

    76/100    … Expand
  12. glauciobg
    Apr 8, 2017
    8
    A verdade é que o mercado de games e a imprensa que influencia esse mercado vive de "ondas". E a onda agora é o retorno aos jogos japoneses, em especial ode à Nintendo. Se Fallout 4 fosse lançado hoje, por exemplo, seria odiado pela mesma imprensa que o elogiou. A onda agora é gostar de uma pegada mais "cartoon", com enredos espalhafatosos e, na minha opinião pessoal, adolescentes demais -A verdade é que o mercado de games e a imprensa que influencia esse mercado vive de "ondas". E a onda agora é o retorno aos jogos japoneses, em especial ode à Nintendo. Se Fallout 4 fosse lançado hoje, por exemplo, seria odiado pela mesma imprensa que o elogiou. A onda agora é gostar de uma pegada mais "cartoon", com enredos espalhafatosos e, na minha opinião pessoal, adolescentes demais - ate infantis. The Witcher 3 seria considerado apenas aceitável se fosse lançado hoje. Eu lamento.
    Mass Effect Andromeda tem uma série de pequenas falhas, não inova onde precisaria para se destacar, mas é um bom RPG ocidental scifi (o único em algum tempo e o melhor, considerando seus concorrentes nessa geração). Depois do mais recente patch (1.05), o jogo se tornou bastante funcional - embora ainda tenha problemas com framerate. Não merece uma nota maxima, mas também não merece ser defenestrado do modo como a tal imprensa especializada está fazendo. A Gamespot dar um 6,0 pra esse jogo é algo além do ridículo.
    Isso certamente tem a ver com a comparação feita com seus sucessores. Mass Effect 3 não foi uma obra de arte também, diga-se de passagem. No fim do dia, eu acho que um jogo precisa ser comparado com o que existe por aí hoje, no mercado dele e no momento dele. E Mass Effect Andromeda não merece ser tão criticado, enquanto jogos que parecem desenhos animados para criança são considerados obras prima como estão sendo.    … Expand
  13. CostasEco
    Apr 8, 2017
    3
    Bioware had created a masterpiece game, in a trilogy full of action, emotions and ideals, through a progressive well structured story and script, which were guiding interesting characters in a great adventure, based greatly on our own decisions. Then they did the unthinkable, by ending Shepard, a perfect team and their myth, few years ago... Now at last, Bioware came back to the loyal funsBioware had created a masterpiece game, in a trilogy full of action, emotions and ideals, through a progressive well structured story and script, which were guiding interesting characters in a great adventure, based greatly on our own decisions. Then they did the unthinkable, by ending Shepard, a perfect team and their myth, few years ago... Now at last, Bioware came back to the loyal funs with Andromeda and the outcome is far from fulfilling our long anticipation... Andromeda is a childish game with lots of action, interesting new elements, great graphics, but, lots of bugs, crappy animations, no story and especially no soul. With ugly and immature characters, lousy dialogs and boring storyline... I just finished playing the original trilogy once more and pretty sure I'll stick back there... Andromeda has nothing to offer to Mass Effect funs like me... It's only an insult to the original games... I wish Shepard could return from the deads and the Ryders to be send back to school for a few years, before trying to save humanity and the rest of the Milky Way species, from a dark (how ? why ?) future...… Expand
  14. darkelf
    Apr 8, 2017
    0
    I have played the game using both gender characters for many hours. And that phrasing is the crux of the issue that this game suffers under. For BioWare, virtue signaling and politics is more important than creating a good game. While the specific reasons why this game is terrible remains to be fully verified, the game suffers, unarguably.

    Graphics = absolutely terrible, buggy models,    I have played the game using both gender characters for many hours. And that phrasing is the crux of the issue that this game suffers under. For BioWare, virtue signaling and politics is more important than creating a good game. While the specific reasons why this game is terrible remains to be fully verified, the game suffers, unarguably.

    Graphics = absolutely terrible, buggy models, characters look worse than games 10 years old
    content = narrative is boring, story is unmoving, plot holes
    Bugs = frequent and game breaking
    UI = terrible, unhelpful, game does not give important information some times
    political bias = Huge, and one look at the type of people staffing BioWare these days reveals their bias that makes its way into the game.

    After the triumphant success of previous Mass Effect games, I think many people wanted this game to be another excellent addition to the series. The fact is that it falls way, way short. This game deserves a low rating, and we can hope that low ratings sends a signal to BioWare that quality is what gamers want, not content that satisfies certain fringe political extremists.

    Anyone who reviews this game above a 5 is either ignorant of what constitutes a good game or is biased in favor of BioWare's politics.    … Expand
  15. krazy85
    Apr 8, 2017
    4
    A Mass-ive disappointment. This is not just the worst game in the series, but the worst Bioware game I've every played. Forget the animations and high expectations, the only place this game delivers are the backgrounds and environments, which are breathtaking, so good job artists. Everywhere else is lackluster at best and unforgivable in some aspects. The writing and plot directionA Mass-ive disappointment. This is not just the worst game in the series, but the worst Bioware game I've every played. Forget the animations and high expectations, the only place this game delivers are the backgrounds and environments, which are breathtaking, so good job artists. Everywhere else is lackluster at best and unforgivable in some aspects. The writing and plot direction follows common tropes and feels like a scattershot attempt at bringing in new players, despite the "naughty" scenes. I realize there are tremendous risks in producing a game of this size and scope but once again I find myself playing a game which I imagine was designed for the stockholder. I wish triple A developers would stop and realize they can turn a profit without compromising a game's heart soul. Double down on creativity instead of pushing earlier releases and generating hype. EA, I know you're tired of being crapped on but when do you stop with the excuses and start letting your developers do what they do best? Quit giving us reason to loathe your company. F(*&!!!!!!!!!… Expand
  16. sikfuk
    Apr 8, 2017
    0
    BW needs to hire competent people to make their games in the future. this is not good. i miss the good old games like Kotor, Jade Empire, Dragon Age: Origins. back then the company had a passion for making great games with a fantastic story. now the company has been infested with sick people who focus more on pushing their twisted political and social agenda rather than making good games.
  17. peck324
    Apr 8, 2017
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Here is my review of Mass Effect Andromeda (Spoilers):
    Story - The story is flat out amazing, having the concept mechanics and plots of all the previous Mass Effect series and have the new generation take place 634 years into the Mass Effect 3 future gives a fresh start on an old series. Seeing a new galaxy, planets, along with their environment and aliens give a nice relationships to all Mass Effect veterans. Archon is the most memorable Boss to remember and he exactly reminds the veteran players of Sovereign back in ME1 and for the Kett along with their culture does remind the veterans of the Collectors and Reapers knowing the Kett take any/all alien species and splice their DNA into their own to achieve "perfection" in all the galaxies. But it got me disappointed that Andromeda did not remind the veterans of the reapers, the ME3 war, Shepherd, the Normandy, the crew, Quarians and mentioning an Asari leader in the Nexus for both veterans and new players to know about.
    Gameplay - Love the gameplay, changing the activity from free run or combat run anytime gives whole new perspective in the Mass Effect franchise especially the open world. Driving the Nomad is fun as well as the player can never get stuck no matter what environment the player is located. Character customization is amazing as Alec Ryder's face gets copied off from the males custom face that the player created. Only problem from the male customization is the lazy left eye either before and during gameplay, as for the female customization is perfectly fine. The level up system brings back the ME3 style of choosing whats best for both the character and the player when exploring planets, fighting tough enemies and completing missions. The only problem I believe it's an issue is the player cannot input allies powers on the power wheel to select them for helping out in situations and to perform combos. Even though having combat, biotics and tech powers in one chart to have the player perform unique combos with them is amazing as well.
    Characters - Ryder and the title pathfinder have given out a name for themselves in the franchise, the pathfinder finds a planet, finds a way to make the planet safe and to be colonize by activating secrets Vaults who were created by ancient beings that were similar to the Protheans and gives the player the option of having the place be filled with either scientist or military to keep the planet safe. The crew is great as well and give so much reminder of the original Mass Effect crew. I'll talk about that in another video when I have the time but in conclusion for the crew they are interesting to talk to and deserves to be part of the Mass Effect series. What's disappointing is there is no Paragon or Renegade anymore along with the QTE's of either Paragon or Renegade but the player can change their Ryder's personality in which their allies perspective changes and which dialogue to choose from during conversations. The player can choose either the Heart Warming comedy Ryder who cares for their allies or be the Smart serious Ryder who gets the job done, in which all depends on how the gameplay goes.
    Multiplayer - The Multiplayer is exactly like Mass Effect 3 but only has one mode called Horde Mode with only the Kett and the Remnant to fight on each wave the player progresses on. There's not much lag when playing online with other players nor does the server crash when constantly playing online for a while. The multiplayer's accessories is a little disappointing, but the combat gameplay of constantly fighting Hordes of enemies will never cease to be boring.
    Conclusion - Story does not give proper references for veterans, gameplay is fantastic, characters are well remembered and the Multiplayer is fun but boring at the same time. Mass Effect Andromeda is a welcoming Sci-Fi open world game for both Veterans and New Comers of the Mass Effect series and hopefully the next one's story references will be better.
    Final Verdict: 8/10 - The game is supremely fun to play and could play the game again just to know what happens when the player chooses the other choices and exploring the Andromeda galaxy.
    Buy, Not Buy or Rent: Buy - There aren't many other Sci-Fi games that have an open world like Mass Effect.
    P.S. I romanced Vetra and romance Suvi in the female version.    … Expand
  18. Soluafin
    Apr 7, 2017
    4
    Honest review incoming - no BS, emotions, or political whatever.

    If this was a standalone game made by whoever and was an original work, it'd probably score a 5 or 6. However since this is a continuation of a series from the same studio, there are expectations to meet and a precedent already set. Because of that, the game scores lower with 4. I'll explain in a bit more detail further    Honest review incoming - no BS, emotions, or political whatever.

    If this was a standalone game made by whoever and was an original work, it'd probably score a 5 or 6. However since this is a continuation of a series from the same studio, there are expectations to meet and a precedent already set. Because of that, the game scores lower with 4. I'll explain in a bit more detail further on.

    First off, the good:
    - A lot of this game looks great. The art and design of worlds and environments is pretty sharp and it makes exploring the open environment a bit more appealing.
    - The combat system is a bit more fun to play with than it was before. Although you have less abilities at the ready, you have more flexibility on what those abilities will be, and the combat is pretty fast paced and fluid so that it keeps you busy and engaged, depending on playstyle/abilities chosen.

    Okay, that's it for the good. Now for the bad:
    - We'll start easy: the music is boring. The soundtrack is tedious, uninspired, and simply falls flat most of the time. Compared to the previous ME games (sequels get compared to their predecessors), where the music set the mood and 'feel' for the game, Andromeda feels hollow by comparison.
    - Inventory management is stupid. Only your main character can equip and use gear/weapons, apparently no one else is allowed to use anything but what they bring with them. This is ridiculous because there is a LOT of weapons and items in the game, but they really all just go to a single character. And there is a limit to how much you can carry. It's an irritating mix to give a player loads of items, restrict them to using them on only one character, and set a limit to how much you can carry. Alone, most of those are fine, but all put together it makes loot annoying.
    - The UI is awful. A lot of the menus aren't intuitive at all, some are a bit misleading, and some information just isn't readily explained. It's annoying and there's no reason it couldn't have been simpler or follow typical game norms.
    - Bugs. Lots of bugs. I'm sure this will be fixed with time, so take that into consideration if you're reading all this and thinking of buying. But as of now/launch, there's tons of bugs in this game. Things appear and/or disappear, you can get locked in dialog while something attacks and kills you, characters float through objects, characters stand in a T pose during dialog, etc etc etc. Like I said: lots.
    - Animations are terrible. Not just facial animations, though those are terrible also, but just animations in general are bad. Running looks robotic. Most of the idling animations for characters are either really bad or don't exist. Various interacting animations fail to match up or even just load correctly. Facial and body animations during dialog are laughably bad, with most characters in conversations just standing still with arms at their sides the entire time like some kind of mannequin. Eyes seem to move at random moments and in random directions during dialog, so that sometimes characters look like a lizard on the lookout for a fly to eat. They sometimes even fail to face whatever they're talking to/about, which looks pretty silly and really takes you out of the game.
    - The dialog is truly awful. Not only does much of it seem like it was written by a twelve year old girl writing fan fiction, but much of the voice acting is completely flat, either lacking the emotion you'd expect in the situation, or having more emotion than seems fitting. Also, dialog options themselves are a disappointment, with very VERY few dialog options feeling like it had any significant impact on anything at all, AND with many dialog options being present different from the voice lines. For example: You select a convo option titled 'to hell with that', and your character not only never says those words, his response was actually in an agreeable tone and not a 'to hell' tone at all.
    - The writing and characters are just bad. The original ME games had amazing characters, a full fleshed out universe, and a compelling plot to chase after. Andromeda has none of those things at all and here's why it loses more points than it would have it didn't have Mass Effect in the name: they completely ignore a lot of the Mass Effect canon. I won't bother with examples, but suffice to say if you're fan of ME and it's lore, you'll notice these things and be disappointed. It's one thing to have a horrible story, but it's another to not even try to maintain the universe built in the previous games. The antagonist is transparent and uninspired, the new alien race additions are boring and generic. And overall, the story really does feel like fan fiction written by a twelve year old girl (two guys getting naked with each other for no rational reason at all, for example). Also some obvious politicking with subjects like bigotry and gender ID. Which would be okay if it fit, but it doesn't.

    Just wait until it's on sale - it won't be long.    … Expand
  19. Big_Bear
    Apr 7, 2017
    7
    Whilst there are always senseless, moronic reviews attached to any new release these days, some of the choice ones on here really do reach new levels of stupidity. Mass Effect Andromeda is a massively ambitious game that doesn’t hit every mark it tries to and there are some truly baffling and terrible design decisions but it is in no way even half as bad as some have claimed.Whilst there are always senseless, moronic reviews attached to any new release these days, some of the choice ones on here really do reach new levels of stupidity. Mass Effect Andromeda is a massively ambitious game that doesn’t hit every mark it tries to and there are some truly baffling and terrible design decisions but it is in no way even half as bad as some have claimed.

    Unfortunately the very first step of the game is also one of the most disappointing. There really is no excuse here. 5 or 6 years development time and we have been given a truly awful character creator. It is massively limited by not allowing the player to actually create a face like Fallout 4 does for example, but simply provides around 10 increasingly terrible looking presets for the player to choose which they can then only change some dimensions and positions on. For a game considered to have strong RPG elements this is of course very damaging. What is a welcome idea is that the player is able to edit their characters sibling as well to dictate their in game appearance which in turn, generates what their father, the original Ryder looks like. But of course, this good idea is also stifled by the hugely simplistic creator.

    Not long after this crushing disappointment and confusion as to how any dev could actually sign off on this creator and believe it is ok, the game opens very well in my opinion. In a throwback to the original ME, the player has a brief intro to their situation in deep space and are then quickly thrust onto a planet which turns out to be very hostile. This introduces the player to the much improved and enjoyable combat system, one of the squad mates and a taste of the, pretty stunning environments the player can expect from the rest of the game.

    After that the game properly opens up and really does get better and better as you go through it. As I have mentioned the planets and environments are beautiful but unfortunately are not matched by the character models with human characters in particular being very disappointing and lacking in detail. Out of the many negative claims about the game prior to release, the dead eyes of human characters is one that was very true, a real shame given that some of the alien characters look great.

    This, regrettably, brings me onto one of the worst, most bizarre design decisions/omissions I have ever seen. So whilst the crafting system is decent, essentially you are only ever crafting gear for yourself as Bioware has taken the very strange decision not to allow players to gear squad mates AT ALL. Quite unbelievable that a game in any series can regress this far considering it was something that you could do in the original ME. Yes they also strangely limited choices in the follow up OT games but now there is nothing at all. Not allowing the equipping of squad mates is just baffling, and it is hard to see any reasoning behind a decision to limit the player in this way. Personally I had hoped not only to be able to equip them, but to be actually able to edit them in game as well, so my disappointment was confounded by having no options whatsoever here.

    In a lot of ways it’s like the devs seem to have assumed that any sort of micromanagement, whether regarding squad mates or planets, is a bad thing. I would wholeheartedly disagree with that and would take some micromanagement over what we have been given. For a game such as MEA it adds control and diverse experiences for each player.

    However unlikely, I hope that some of the most glaring issues are somehow fixed or enhanced with future patches. For now all the issues in the game do unfortunately pull it down from being great but happily not quite to the point of completely ruining it.

    It’s much closer than I would have liked but I think the good points just about outweighing the bad. I understand why many have been left disappointed as expectations were very high. I am in the same boat and have been left disappointed and frustrated at many aspects of the game. However focusing on the strong points of MEA has allowed me to enjoy my time with it a lot, and with aforementioned future fixes/enhancements I hope for, along with some sizeable DLC, MEA could still be great. For now, it is a solid 7/10.    … Expand
  20. DanielVE
    Apr 7, 2017
    6
    Graphics and combat are great, that´s why i´m giving it a 6. Game is buggy as hell. Animations are really bad, story and writing are childish. Most decisions don´t make an impact and Ryder is dumber/more immature than a high school boy. On mass effect 2´s ending, i would load save games so i could finish without any one dying. That´s how much i loved the companions. On Andromeda, i wish iGraphics and combat are great, that´s why i´m giving it a 6. Game is buggy as hell. Animations are really bad, story and writing are childish. Most decisions don´t make an impact and Ryder is dumber/more immature than a high school boy. On mass effect 2´s ending, i would load save games so i could finish without any one dying. That´s how much i loved the companions. On Andromeda, i wish i could kill Liam an peebee. The others are forgettable, except Drack. It´s a shame they killed such a nice franchise.… Expand
  21. Aarianne
    Apr 6, 2017
    6
    Now that I've had some time to dig into this game, I figured I'd weigh in about what is good/bad about it. While this game ends up not being the incredible game to me I hope it would have been, I don't think it is a complete disaster by any means. Just for reference I play on a PS4 Pro.

    So what don't I like? The random glitches that pop up during playback. For example, on one    Now that I've had some time to dig into this game, I figured I'd weigh in about what is good/bad about it. While this game ends up not being the incredible game to me I hope it would have been, I don't think it is a complete disaster by any means. Just for reference I play on a PS4 Pro.

    So what don't I like?

    The random glitches that pop up during playback. For example, on one quest it didn't play the audio for the npc I had to confront and bam, I get the decision wheel. Talk about immersion killing. There were also a lot of times with random distorted visuals in areas of the screen (only during single-player). These usually required me to close the application before it would go away. And I'm not sure what is with Ryder's crew, but I just don't care for most of them. Even half the time their loyalty missions felt pretty underwhelming as far as stories go. In multiplayer, I can't say how many times it would randomly crash the game completely. Over a week has passed and not one patch? The earlier ME games had me excited to play when I got home, not so much with this one. No reason to mention facial animations as that has been beaten to death already.

    So what is good?

    The visuals are awesome, when you actually explore the planets you can get some amazing views. I like the flexibility of building your custom ability sets. It really allows you to cater to your specific play style. Combat was fast and really fun once you find the build that works for you. Multiplayer was a fun distraction as well. If it didn't crash as much, I'd would play it a lot more. Space travel was what I expected. I hated scanning entire planets in the prior ME games so a quick scan with some great visuals was fine with me.

    I'm still not sure about those forward stations...

    TLDR; While still a fun game to play, it could have been much better if they delayed the release a few more months. After they finally patch some existing bugs, I think it will be the game I expected. Still worth playing if you liked the ME series, but if you're on the fence give it few months to work out the bugs.    … Expand
  22. reelsight
    Apr 6, 2017
    4
    Big disappointment . Characters are flat and lifeless. This is more like a collection of side missions than a big engaging world story. I played it through because I kept hoping it would get better. It doesn't. I loved ME, ME2, and ME3 so it really hurts that ME4 is such a lifeless dog. The graphics haven't improved, the voice acting is worse, there are glitches here and there, andBig disappointment . Characters are flat and lifeless. This is more like a collection of side missions than a big engaging world story. I played it through because I kept hoping it would get better. It doesn't. I loved ME, ME2, and ME3 so it really hurts that ME4 is such a lifeless dog. The graphics haven't improved, the voice acting is worse, there are glitches here and there, and the writing is just below standard. It's like the universe has been sedated to the point that adventure and exploration is boring.… Expand
  23. Jobbo
    Apr 6, 2017
    6
    Lets get one thing straight, this is not a bad game. Don't let some of the idiots on here giving this a zero influence you. if you liked mass effect 1-3 then you will like this. This is just more Mass effect with wonky animation problems, a 5 outta 10 story and the Ubi-soft open world formula tacked on.

    I will be honest, i wasn't a fan of the side quests. I gave up on the game when i    Lets get one thing straight, this is not a bad game. Don't let some of the idiots on here giving this a zero influence you. if you liked mass effect 1-3 then you will like this. This is just more Mass effect with wonky animation problems, a 5 outta 10 story and the Ubi-soft open world formula tacked on.

    I will be honest, i wasn't a fan of the side quests. I gave up on the game when i reached the second planet and had to fetch lost cargo from a crashed ship. I expected to run over grab it and return it but upon opening the mini map a was presented with around 10 parts that i needed to find. This is the worst kind of padding in video games. Its just mind numbing filler content that feels odd when you are in a race against time to find a new home for the human race. But that's a problem that features in 90% of games now days.

    Gripes aside though, everything else is very mass effect. Talk to Party members in between missions to find out more of there past. Maybe romance one of them if it takes your fancy. hand quests in at the new version of the citadel. Its a fine game, its just a bit ...... Samey.

    I got a fair bit of enjoyment out of the multiplayer though. Weirdly, i think this is the strongest part of the game ( being the part i enjoyed most )

    If you are in the mood for a space opera, pick it up. its a perfectly serviceable game. However, if you want a game in which to develop meaningful relationships with your party and explore broad themes in the main plot then i suggest you pick up the infinitely superior Persona 5.    … Expand
  24. Slion
    Apr 6, 2017
    2
    I wanted to like this game, Mass Effect was my favorite game series of all time even the ending of ME:3 wasn’t able discourage me from the franchise. But this game frustrates me more than the ending of ME:3 ever did, I am disappointed that this is the future of the series.
    After beating ME:A I can’t think of anything that sticks out as unique, interesting or unpredictable in this game.    I wanted to like this game, Mass Effect was my favorite game series of all time even the ending of ME:3 wasn’t able discourage me from the franchise. But this game frustrates me more than the ending of ME:3 ever did, I am disappointed that this is the future of the series.
    After beating ME:A I can’t think of anything that sticks out as unique, interesting or unpredictable in this game. The story is unremarkable, the new race is just an uninteresting over-designed mess, ham-fisted dialogue and lazy animations distract from what little story is interesting, and then there’s the faces, my god the faces...what have you done Bioware, what happened to everyone’s chins and why do so many women have 5’oclok shadows is that a side effect of whatever chemical they put in their hair to make it glow in the dark?
    Overall the game feels like several steps back from ME:3, and comes across as unfinished or lazily done in many places. The story is just rehashing of previous Mass Effect plots haphazardly thrown together to make a story that has no other point other than to lead into a sequel or future DLC. If you’re thinking you might want this game wait, play ME:3 if you haven’t and get ME:A when it’s on sale for 9.99 and hopefully this mess will be a bit more sorted out by then.    … Expand
  25. CoryB23
    Apr 6, 2017
    4
    ME 1&2 = Wow! ME 3 = WTF is up with that ending, yo? ME Andromeda = Why Bioware, why? This game really tries to do the franchise justice but, in a lot of areas, it comes up short. Graphically, if you've played the game and seen any reviews, ME:A does have some good graphics but, the character animation is hit or miss: that is, when it's good it really does pull you in but, when it'sME 1&2 = Wow! ME 3 = WTF is up with that ending, yo? ME Andromeda = Why Bioware, why? This game really tries to do the franchise justice but, in a lot of areas, it comes up short. Graphically, if you've played the game and seen any reviews, ME:A does have some good graphics but, the character animation is hit or miss: that is, when it's good it really does pull you in but, when it's bad, you can't help but feel massively disconnected from your character. To be quite frank, I do have buyer's remorse for picking this title up. Ultimately, Bioware tried to do a good job but, some how messed it up to such a degree that it doesn't stack up to the original trilogy. Best to wait for the the ME Trilogy to come out for PS4 and pick that up. After 50+ hours and about 23% of the game completed, it doesn't feel like I'll be finishing it any time soon but, at this point, it is starting to feel like an exercise in repetition and, there just haven't been that many "Holy crap, that was awesome!" moments, in other words, the story does slow down and gets boring. If you enjoyed, the first 3 ME's then you should be able to get into this one but, don't invest too much of yourself into this game because you're gonna be left feeling a little disappointed. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend this game to most of the people I know and, I would probably wait until Christmas to pick it up - it should be about 30 bucks by then and at that point, buying a used copy of ME: Andromeda would be worth it (maybe...let's see if Bioware's patches help the game out any).… Expand
  26. silent_sentinel
    Apr 6, 2017
    7
    Andromeda is a beautiful-looking sci-fi RPG which is let down by shoddy, sanctimonious writing, poor animation, and more bugs than you could count on a pair of glitched-out, backward-facing hands. Though it's a solid game with some really exquisite setpieces and a host of different planets to explore, it'll be difficult for die-hard fans of the franchise to look beyond the yawn-inducingAndromeda is a beautiful-looking sci-fi RPG which is let down by shoddy, sanctimonious writing, poor animation, and more bugs than you could count on a pair of glitched-out, backward-facing hands. Though it's a solid game with some really exquisite setpieces and a host of different planets to explore, it'll be difficult for die-hard fans of the franchise to look beyond the yawn-inducing story, lacklustre characters (none of whom have even close to the same level of appeal as, say, Garrus, Liara, or Wrex), and glitches which go beyond being funny and into the realms of being downright sad.

    With Andromeda, the options were as close to limitless as it's possible to be; what aliens will we encounter? What sorts of planets can we explore? Will there be chilling moments, or will it be a more lighthearted affair? What will the element of threat feel like, and who are the baddies? - Unfortunately, what we got was more of the same; a generic story in which a boilerplate humanoid race of aliens seek intergalactic supremacy through genetic superiority (Collectors, anyone?), a slightly-more-compelling but no-less-unpolished benevolent underdog race who just want peace and prosperity for everyone, and ancient technologies left behind by a mysterious extinct society who are revealed to us through a series of sudoku-like puzzles and vague speculation on the part of a party member.

    Space exploration is a little dodgy, and forcing us to watch through lengthy planetary-approach animations before finding that the world we've decided to look at can't even be landed upon isn't cool, but despite this, planetside exploration feels nice, and driving around the deserts of Elaaden, or strolling through the lush jungles of Havarl while the rain splishy-splashes off your armour can feel really satisfying. The main missions are also enjoyable, and character-specific 'loyalty' missions give the developers a chance to show off their writing skills, but unfortunately it often falls a little flat, and is let down by the overwhelming quantity of throwaway fetch quests and inconsequential dialog choices. The game's main protagonist, Ryder, never really seems to fit into - or earn, for that matter - any of the roles they're given, instead just stumbling into scenarios and being revered by default. This simply adds to the feeling of displacement between the player and their character, and removes almost all feelings of progression and achievement.

    Where the previous installments had me rushing combat encounters in a bid to reach the next conversation or romance scene, this one does the opposite; conversations provide no real depth, your actions garner barely any genuine consequence, and romance choices feel stilted and forced. Combat, on the other hand, and gameplay in general, is probably the best it's ever been, with fluid movement which encourages speed and tactical thinking, while the host of equipment options and a well thought-out system of interchangeable abilities and classes which allows you to mix things up to suit different styles of play and battle scenarios really makes you feel like the hardened space-marine you were always meant to be.

    It's hard to give this game anything higher than a mediocre score as a result of its prevalent faults, but it's also hard not to recommend it, and though fans of the series will likely see a few bits and pieces throughout the story which hark back to Shepard's adventures, and fans of fast-paced shooters will relish the game's combat, Andromeda - though very nice to look at - will never truly feel like home.    … Expand
  27. jadam914
    Apr 6, 2017
    7
    After a full play through here is my take. Not sure why all the hate, it's a good game but it could have been great. One of the glaring problems is frostbite the game engine. The mechanics are clunky at times and under whelming ad to that it hammers on ps4 hardware and fans even though other titles with better graphics run easier on it. The writing was not terrible and some of the normalAfter a full play through here is my take. Not sure why all the hate, it's a good game but it could have been great. One of the glaring problems is frostbite the game engine. The mechanics are clunky at times and under whelming ad to that it hammers on ps4 hardware and fans even though other titles with better graphics run easier on it. The writing was not terrible and some of the normal Bioware humor and attention to continuity was there but not as much as expected. One quest areas dialog was completely miss scripted and it showed. Facial and body mechanics were poorly done and lacking. The general story was good and enjoyable. More decision impact on the story would have been nice. I tire of Bioware pushing the lgbt stuff so hard every game, it doesn't need to be so "In your face" they need to chill a little. A little more content would have been nice though I don't feel robbed with what I got, with all the star systems available there was room. It's hardly a POS like Dragon Age II was but was still below standard as triple A title. Even with all the negatives i still enjoyed it and look forward to improvement on the next Mass Effect title.… Expand
  28. fffffff
    Apr 5, 2017
    3
    Game is frankly boring, it's just not interesting like previous Mass Effect games. I can only bring myself to play the game every few days or so, the game has been out for almost a month, and I haven't been interested enough to play past the second planet.

    I've also ragequit a number of times because of enemies spawning on top of me or directly behind me and instantly vaporizing me on    Game is frankly boring, it's just not interesting like previous Mass Effect games. I can only bring myself to play the game every few days or so, the game has been out for almost a month, and I haven't been interested enough to play past the second planet.

    I've also ragequit a number of times because of enemies spawning on top of me or directly behind me and instantly vaporizing me on the base assault missions. No enemies on radar, then move forward towards a new room and suddenly there's guys in front of you, to both sides, and behind you, and out of cover in this game = dead in 2 seconds.    … Expand
  29. Love_Cannon
    Apr 5, 2017
    10
    It was exactly what I was expecting, and better implemented than I thought it would be. Telling a good story in an open world is extremely difficult and this game actually pulled it off. I think a lot of people have issues with the story because they were expecting to save the galaxy again in this story instead of exploring a new one. Approach the game play as an explorer rather than aIt was exactly what I was expecting, and better implemented than I thought it would be. Telling a good story in an open world is extremely difficult and this game actually pulled it off. I think a lot of people have issues with the story because they were expecting to save the galaxy again in this story instead of exploring a new one. Approach the game play as an explorer rather than a hero, and you'll have a lot of fun.… Expand
  30. madscientist4
    Apr 5, 2017
    9
    8.5 out of 10

    This is a pre-patch review. I’ll be doing a replay with the patch. In general I enjoyed this game. Loved cruising in space and being the Pathfinder. Main positives: beautiful worlds and space exploration, game play is fun, driving nomad off cliffs is fun, story is good(but remember it’s a start…and you’ll appreciate it more), NPCs are interesting and have some fun and    8.5 out of 10

    This is a pre-patch review. I’ll be doing a replay with the patch. In general I enjoyed this game. Loved cruising in space and being the Pathfinder.

    Main positives: beautiful worlds and space exploration, game play is fun, driving nomad off cliffs is fun, story is good(but remember it’s a start…and you’ll appreciate it more), NPCs are interesting and have some fun and humorous loyalty missions, endless things to do for those of us that don’t like things to end.

    Main negatives: female Ryder character creation(a good character can be made but takes time), weird eyes(but you do get over that), romances could be more in-depth.

    Who should play Mass Effect Andromeda? If you love RPGs, immersing yourself in a whole new world, reading codex entries, and realize that not everything in a game has to be a means to an end then this game is for you. Remember, you are role-playing as a Pathfinder. It’s your job to explore and bring viability to this new galaxy. You happen to run into enemies but killing the bad guys is not the main point of this game and you should not play it like that.

    I bought this game with reservation due to some bad reviews by critics I trust. However, there were some shining reviews by critics I trust. I became so infatuated with the debate over this game that I had to buy it. So to the local game store I went(so if I didn’t like it then I had trade in credit to offset the cost) and purchased this game.

    What is unfortunate and didn’t affect the majority of the game, was the player creation that you see right when you start. I firmly believe that if anything should be polished in a game…it should certainly be what players first see. That’s my biggest take away on rating points and my biggest complaint with the game. Give the game some time(5 hours or so) and this bad effect will wear off and you won’t notice it much. Anyway, after spending a good amount of time in character creation I was able to make a female Ryder that didn’t look horrible. Sure she had blue corn rows and looked like she was about to go into a cage match but I felt comfortable role playing as her(former women’s MMA fighter here).

    This game is definitely a set up for further installs. It’s a start and it’s supposed to be a start. It gets us set up in the Andromeda universe, it gets connections and storyline going that will probably be continued in later games, much like Mass Effect 1. I enjoyed the storyline in this game and it’s easy to see if you get into it that there will be more in the future which is exciting.

    The game play itself is fun. I loved dropping grenades on enemies while shooting above them in my jet pack. The different weapons and abilities allow you to play to your style. Note I did also play on the easiest difficulty as I’m not a shooter game fan…unless I can run into enemies guns blazing and kill them all then I probably wouldn’t do good. The hiding and picking your target isn’t my style. But even on the easiest where there was little challenge it was still fun. I recommend this setting to people more interested in the story and immersing themselves in the Andromeda universe than combat.

    The squad mates on the tempest do get interesting over time. Some never caught my interest but they aren’t designed to capture everyone’s. That’s the great thing about Bioware RPGs is they have options but you get to choose to delve more in to what is interesting to you. Again, not everything is meant to be a means to an end. It’s mean to be a role playing game. I wish there was more depth to some relationships, especially with the romances…like maybe if you are romancing one character and flirt with another there will be some jealousy or comment on it, that would make it more immersive. I do recommend doing loyalty missions. They can be fun and they open up new dialog options with characters. I also recommend reading the emails as some of them are pretty funny.

    This brings me to my biggest point of the game. There is a ton of humor in it. If you take the time to get to know characters…read the codex…do loyalty missions you will see a lot of this humor. Read the emails…they are funny.

    A little advice: There is soooooo much to do in this universe so pace your side missions. Don’t ignore them but pace them. Sit down for a gaming session and do some side missions. Then your next session maybe do a main mission. Divide it up so you don’t get lost and so you can advance the stories of your crew mates(tend to advance only from main and loyalty missions although completing some main missions may be required to further loyalty missions).    … Expand
  31. jordangold527
    Apr 5, 2017
    10
    Haters gonna hate. There are occasionally awkward facial expressions and very rare glitches that can easily remedied by a quick reload. Every game has it's issues, but many people hate this game because it has issues that 95% of games have. People hail Skyrim as one of the best games of the decade, yet there are no facial expressions, the voice acting is pretty bad (all things considered),Haters gonna hate. There are occasionally awkward facial expressions and very rare glitches that can easily remedied by a quick reload. Every game has it's issues, but many people hate this game because it has issues that 95% of games have. People hail Skyrim as one of the best games of the decade, yet there are no facial expressions, the voice acting is pretty bad (all things considered), and there are a great deal of bugs even to this day. The game tells a fun (if not predictable) story with great characters, interesting and complex themes, and amazing gameplay diversity. If you liked the original Mass Effect games you will adore this.… Expand
  32. EnderDragon
    Apr 5, 2017
    7
    I was expecting very little after the snore fest that was the entirety of Mass Effect 3 (expect the ending, I genuinely liked the original ending and hate that they caved in to the whiny, self-entitled crybabies that ruined it by making them change it.) and after the utter disappointment that was Dragon Age: Inquisition, and I think that is why I enjoy Mass Effect: Andromeda. Yes, I haveI was expecting very little after the snore fest that was the entirety of Mass Effect 3 (expect the ending, I genuinely liked the original ending and hate that they caved in to the whiny, self-entitled crybabies that ruined it by making them change it.) and after the utter disappointment that was Dragon Age: Inquisition, and I think that is why I enjoy Mass Effect: Andromeda. Yes, I have hit some of the character model animation glitches, arms flailing, eyes rolling sideways until it is all white, a dead character glitched in to the ground that I can not revive, etc. But, aside from that, I enjoy the story they were trying to impart, even though it seems the writers lacked the proper ability to convey it. Is this a perfect game? No, not by any stretch of the imagination. But they are working to make it better, and I commend them for it. Publishers make the developers send the game to print by a deadline, and sometimes they are not finished. But it is what the developer does after the game is sent to print that matters at that point. We get day zero and day one patches, or early patches like what ME:A is getting soon to fix things they did not have time to address because of a deadline. I am willing to give this game a chance because of that.… Expand
  33. Jesp1
    Apr 5, 2017
    6
    Going to be as honest as possible. Despite the controversy it is an ok game.... Unfortunately despite the controversy it is an "OK" game.
    -I have to at least drop it one point due to the animations people have seen, because yes.... They are that bad.
    -The writing is also comically bad, if people were hating on GITS movie (for a comparison) this is many steps below it. Poor plot    Going to be as honest as possible. Despite the controversy it is an ok game.... Unfortunately despite the controversy it is an "OK" game.
    -I have to at least drop it one point due to the animations people have seen, because yes.... They are that bad.
    -The writing is also comically bad, if people were hating on GITS movie (for a comparison) this is many steps below it. Poor plot points, cheesy interactions, many WTF moments.
    -Gameplay is solid, though I miss many aspects of other games.... Unfortunately this is made worse by boring settings and quests.
    -Overall the game is a 6-7. I would be tempted to drop it lower because of the racist PoS Manveer Heir (King curry Thunder) but really its not fair to anyone else who has worked on this project. That being said it is a high 6 (or low 7). Not bad enough to not buy, but probably wait for a significant discount.    … Expand
  34. Toophat82
    Apr 5, 2017
    4
    Bottomline it's not mass effect we love or wanted instead it's DAI but in space. So think about it they simply recycled and reused the same formula from last RPG they worked on and developed before Andromeda which was Dragon Age inquisition. The Story, characters, dialogue, ui, and etc all sub par to bad. Only improvements was the huge worlds and combat itself which unfortunately isBottomline it's not mass effect we love or wanted instead it's DAI but in space. So think about it they simply recycled and reused the same formula from last RPG they worked on and developed before Andromeda which was Dragon Age inquisition. The Story, characters, dialogue, ui, and etc all sub par to bad. Only improvements was the huge worlds and combat itself which unfortunately is hindered by the bad UI that is limited and tailored for multiplayer period as only allows three abilities are allowed during combat no matter campaign or multiplayer mode. Alot is missing from originals too like races, weapons, having meaningful choices and consequences, squadmate loadouts, and renegade/paragon system and there isn't enough new to make up for it either. They even ruined special anmo along with biotic and armor piercing not even in game too. Game is also very buggy and lacks polish along with alot of what made mass effect and bioware rpgs special in first place.

    In Mass effect Andromeda Good luck finding white males and males period in any powerful or meaningful role in game you quickly find that all mission givers and characters that are in power and meaningful in game are overwhelming female with the lesser being minorities or aliens if male at all. While White males are nowhere to be found in game except as cannon fodder or for mockery. This game not only is too extremely politically correct but ractist against white males and white people in general to the point that its too obvious and sickening to loyal fans who love the franchise and have been loyal since it started.

    There is diversity done right like mass effect 1 through 3 and then there is ME andromeda not the way you want to do diversity in games as people play games to get away from their personal lives and have fun. The designer of game clearly wanted to get political and personal on a level that is bad for business given fact that majority of gamers will be of male gender to begin with and most likely a good amount white too when it comes to the RPG genre too not smart at all for a business.    … Expand
  35. matrixasiseefit
    Apr 5, 2017
    5
    [Disclosure: Yes, I am a Mass Effect Franchise fan and have played over a thousand hours in Mass Effect 1-3 combined. Yes, I do own the game. I bought and reviewed the game with Best Buy, which anyone reading this can confirm for themselves as I posted the same review as i posted here. No, I didn't create this account just to crap on your favorite game]

    The Good: Planet exploration and    [Disclosure: Yes, I am a Mass Effect Franchise fan and have played over a thousand hours in Mass Effect 1-3 combined. Yes, I do own the game. I bought and reviewed the game with Best Buy, which anyone reading this can confirm for themselves as I posted the same review as i posted here. No, I didn't create this account just to crap on your favorite game]

    The Good: Planet exploration and the single-player combat action has taken a considerable jump forward from the previous Mass Effects. I find myself wanting to go from planet to planet, seeing what treasures and dangers await me in these gorgeous new worlds.

    The Bad: The writing in my opinion is fairly poor, but I do understand how some will find it enjoyable. It's not that I don't like campy dialog here and there, but Mass Effect seems to be very tone-deaf at times where the character dialog and responses do not match the situation. The absence of Renegade or Paragon responses made the character dialog feel very limited most times. What made the previous games special to me is that I could add many aspects of my own personality to Shepard through the vast dialog options. In Andromeda I feel like I'm locked into being either nice or snarky and it's very predictable and sometimes straight-out boring.

    The Really Ugly: The character animations and in-game bugs are the worst of any AAA game I have purchased in last 5 years. I don't even have room to write the large list of bugs I have encountered in Andromeda that has cost me hours of gameplay. Some players are willing to give Bioware and EA a "pass" on these issues - I absolutely will not.

    ** If you are on the fence about purchasing this game and reading my review, I highly suggest you wait and see what Bioware does to address these issues. If you love Bioware and don't care about bugs or terrible character animations you probably already own this game. LOL.    … Expand
  36. RKrogh
    Apr 5, 2017
    9
    After playing a feasible amount of time I feel ready to leave a review.
    Conclusion number one: It does not deserve all the negative feedback and low grades it is getting.
    Sure, there are some graphical flat faces and I have even seen an NPC in T-pose but these are so minor that giving it a bad name for it doesn't make sense. There are instead other issues that should be handled first but    After playing a feasible amount of time I feel ready to leave a review.
    Conclusion number one: It does not deserve all the negative feedback and low grades it is getting.
    Sure, there are some graphical flat faces and I have even seen an NPC in T-pose but these are so minor that giving it a bad name for it doesn't make sense. There are instead other issues that should be handled first but let's talk about these later.

    The story starts out interesting enough. A bit weird and unprofessional I would say, but what it lacks there it certainly makes up for in its continuation. I will not spoil anything but let us just say the more I play the more I want to continue. Voice acting is okay. Some characters better than others. The amount of content is huuuge. I normally plays very thoroughly but I have the sensation that my life is not long enough to get stuck exploring in this game.

    The improvements that should be focused on instead of facial animations is the lag some players experience in multiplayer and the connection issues that has popped up. It seems to be a rather demanding game on that front. The UI could be improved as there are no scroll indicators in the menu (which made me confused where they had put the subtitle toggle) and some other minor things making the menus and UI systems somewhat non-intuitive and confusing.

    Apart from these I have yet to find what the fuss is about. It is a great game in a neat package with loads of content for the Mass Effect-fan who wants to explore a vast universe. Read the codex to get the true depth of it all (maybe not ALL of it because it feels longer than the Song of Fire and Ice series). They really made an effort on placing this in the timeline and a good story.    … Expand
  37. Wereturtle
    Apr 5, 2017
    5
    I am a huge fan of the previous Mass Effect installments, so much so that giving this game such a low rating hurts, but I can not love this game with so many obvious flaws. I have completed the game twice and reached level 80, and so I feel as though I can give a thorough review.

    Firstly, lets delve into the problems with the writing. The story feels rinsed and repeated, following along    I am a huge fan of the previous Mass Effect installments, so much so that giving this game such a low rating hurts, but I can not love this game with so many obvious flaws. I have completed the game twice and reached level 80, and so I feel as though I can give a thorough review.

    Firstly, lets delve into the problems with the writing. The story feels rinsed and repeated, following along with the generic layout of "big galactic bad guys want to destroy us, so lets get all the aliens under our banner and defeat them together." And it feels like I should care that the whole initiative is at stake but I just simply do not. Right from the get go the story is thrown onto your lap and you go from there, but there is no mystery or build up like there was in the original Mass Effect.
    Not only this, but there is also the problem of all the bad guys in Bioware games as of late being unfeeling, generic 'super villains', which is the same mistake they made with Corypheus in DA:I. A long with this they missed several opportunities, they could have perhaps made the story more interesting by having the player be able to choose the race of their Pathfinder similar to their Dragon Age series, it would certainly have been interesting to play as the Turian or Asari Pathfinder and I'm sure many fans would have loved the opportunity to do so. My main problem with the main story is there is no compelling force driving the story forward until the mission before the last, and only then is a 'mystery' given to us that seems worthy of investigation, but by then I am sure many players had already put their controllers down and called it a day.

    Story aside, there is also the problem with dialogue and interactions between Ryder and their crew feeling forced and unnatural. Talking to the crew feels like a chore, the characters given to us this time around just aren't as interesting as those in the previous games, and it's a real shame because with this being a whole new galaxy and a clean slate Bioware has missed several opportunities. It's the same "Turian, Krogan, Asari, Human male, Human female and Other" layout, and they all fall into more-or-less the same role as the crew of the Normandy. This, paired with the strange dialogue and writing choices makes for a boring crew. I often find myself pausing within a cut scene and thinking "wait, what did they just say?" more times than I would have liked. I have found a lot of the writing is juvenile and written so poorly it could have been easily mistaken for a fanfiction.

    Take for example Liam's line "I think that one is mad at me. Probably because I shot it in the face." this quite literally sounds like something I would have said in middle school. Or perhaps Ryder's words in Jaal's romance line "I'm glad you can be so open and vulnerable with me." and his reply "You make me feel safe." if this cringe inducing dialogue does not sound like high-school girl level fanfiction to you, I'm not sure what else to say. And let us not forget Addison's ironic, yet infamous line "I'm sorry, my face is tired." These are but a few snippets of poor writing, which mixed with a generic and boring cast create a cocktail of 'meh.' The only redeeming quality of the crew is their loyalty missions, which is where you feel like you see a glimmer of something resembling an interesting character before they dissolve back into 'meh' once the quest is over.

    But, aside from the disappointing cast and main story, the plus side is that the combat in ME:A is largely improved compared to the previous ME installments and is quite literally the most fun thing to do in the game besides space exploration. With SAM being so closely linked to the main character, the player is free to choose any skills and abilities they wish and is not limited to one class per play through, which creates a truly unique play style that you can customize to suit your preference.

    Another good thing about the game is planetary exploration, and while getting to those planets may be boring and tedious due to un-skippable cut scenes, the worlds are unique and quite often breathtaking to look at and explore. The quests on each planet may often be watered down to fetch quests, but the planets themselves, along with the nomad to explore them in are quite fun to play around with, and you may end up finding yourself lost in some random quest on some far flung corner of the map and completely forget there was a main story at all.

    Although I must also point out character customization is very limited, and I found myself wondering why I couldn't make my skin lighter than a tan, or why I couldn't adjust the shape of my eyes at all. It was very frustrating.

    And finally, a flaw that I am sure many, many people have already commented upon is the facial animations and all the bugs that were present upon release, but I don't really feel like beating a dead horse.

    I am now out of space, but overall I am disappointed. Very disappointed.    … Expand
  38. Derf_Xephon
    Apr 4, 2017
    0
    Buggy piece of crap that needed a better budget or to be in development longer. Writing is terrible and the story is predictable and boring. EA has turned yet another great franchise into garbage.
  39. richeynash
    Apr 4, 2017
    9
    I cancelled my pre-order after reading all of the criticism, but decided to take the plunge after finding a cheaper copy on Ebay -- and I'm glad I did. I loved the original trilogy, and this one feels like a welcome addition to the series. The combat's fun, the exploration is enjoyable, and I like the fact that Ryder is a different character to Shepard. I might also be alone in liking allI cancelled my pre-order after reading all of the criticism, but decided to take the plunge after finding a cheaper copy on Ebay -- and I'm glad I did. I loved the original trilogy, and this one feels like a welcome addition to the series. The combat's fun, the exploration is enjoyable, and I like the fact that Ryder is a different character to Shepard. I might also be alone in liking all of the squadmates too.

    It isn't perfect. Some of the dialogue is a bit cheesy and clunky, but ME has always been cheesy and it doesn't ruin the game for me. Likewise, the character customisation is a little limited but, overall, I am really enjoying myself.    … Expand
  40. dtl
    Apr 4, 2017
    9
    This game is severely underrated. (This is not my most organized review). It keeps alive the feeling of the earlier Mass Effect games, while also being a completely fresh take on it. It does have a problem with some bugs, and some significant design problems, but has excellent combat, crafting, and characters, while being set in an interesting world. I suspect a large part of theThis game is severely underrated. (This is not my most organized review). It keeps alive the feeling of the earlier Mass Effect games, while also being a completely fresh take on it. It does have a problem with some bugs, and some significant design problems, but has excellent combat, crafting, and characters, while being set in an interesting world. I suspect a large part of the negativity comes simply because of anger left over from the very end of Mass Effect 3 (which I also hated). It is fair enough for a follow up game to do less well when a previous game did something wrong, but this reaction was far overboard.

    When I finished the game a few days ago, I almost immediately started replaying it. This is a fun game, where the problems are less important than the good parts. I debated between an 8 and a 9, but this game gave me a lot more enjoyment even than games I've rated higher. It is definitely better than other open world games I've played. This is not as good for its time as the previous titles were in theirs, but it still has numerous improvements over the trilogy, and only a moderate amount of worse parts. I'm a huge fan of the trilogy, and this isn't that, but I really hope they make a Mass Effect Andromeda 2.

    Note: This is a significantly more difficult game than earlier Mass Effect titles, and some people may not like the design of the encounters.    … Expand
  41. stephencr
    Apr 4, 2017
    8
    I like the game n the universe mass effect about power n guns, game play its awesome, I have just one problem, some cut scenes its real dude, but the rest its ok n good
  42. griffey546
    Apr 4, 2017
    1
    very no like it, make me think vodka good for u. сука блять! please valve, fix ur game, very bad getting put in global with bad silver!!! no much russian, only cyka americana and euro! yes
  43. Explofion
    Apr 4, 2017
    6
    I loved the first trilogy and this Mass Effect is a complete different kind of game and this is good. The only problem for me is every things they made differently is bad or boring.

    -Animation: First when you start the game you are welcomed with broken animation everywhere, but this is just a minor problem, it can be fixed and this is Mass Effect it should be good even with that.    I loved the first trilogy and this Mass Effect is a complete different kind of game and this is good. The only problem for me is every things they made differently is bad or boring.

    -Animation:
    First when you start the game you are welcomed with broken animation everywhere, but this is just a minor problem, it can be fixed and this is Mass Effect it should be good even with that.

    -Game play
    Next step, Gunfight. I really don't understand why we cannot stop the fight to control our partners actions. All is very very action, I don't like the new system where you can't equip more than 2 powers but have to switch to different profile. The fight are always dashing everywhere trying to cover.
    Some gunfight are difficult, boss fights where nicely organized.
    So for the gameplay I don't liked it but it's not bad it is just my personal feeling about it.

    Exploration:
    The exploration is good, a mixed between Mass Effect 1 for the Mako and Dragon Age inquisiton (I loved it) for the out post system and the tower to activate to find a final cave or whatever secret thing. The system with the five (I think) planet to colonized is rewarding because you can feel the evolution of it talking to people in the main Hub and by destroying the threat it will became (almost) peaceful place to live on.

    Story and characters:
    This point was the most important and I'm very very very very disappointed about it. No spoiler ahead but the story is boring af, the end was terribly... Average. I almost feel like every characters on the Tempest were cliché (Good point for the Sera from Dragon Age disguised in Asari).
    I tried to do a maximum side quest possible before the main quest but I was blocked waiting to receive mail from my team mates to continue their side quests. Like seriously? And then I did one mission and everybody sent me mail so I was submerged with side quest all of a sudden..
    I'm going to start a New Game + but I'm not as excited has I'm still am when I start again the first trilogy or even a Dragon Age game.

    Conclusion: Returning into the Mass Effect universe feels good. The Andromeda initiative is a good concept for a game, the main story of exploring planet and the exploration itself is nicely done. The gunfights are what they are you like it or not but you can't say it's bad. But thanks to a lot of bug and a poor story telling I cannot say I'm happy with this game and I'm very sad of it.
    But your opinion will be the best so try the game if you never played any Mass Effect you can start here and you will discover one of the biggest and best universe of the video game history.

    Final Point: I personally don't think that the open world fit well here and really don't know why because I liked it with Dragon age inquisition. But a good linear game is better than an average open world one.

    Sorry for bad English.    … Expand
  44. grete
    Apr 4, 2017
    5
    If this game was the first Mass Effect game and it came out in 2003 people might have been more understanding. However this isn't the first, it's the fourth game in the series and it came out in 2017.

    Andromeda had a lot to live up to so I'll go ahead and list some the things that made Mass Effect so good in the first place. 1. Character customization This is what starts off the    If this game was the first Mass Effect game and it came out in 2003 people might have been more understanding. However this isn't the first, it's the fourth game in the series and it came out in 2017.

    Andromeda had a lot to live up to so I'll go ahead and list some the things that made Mass Effect so good in the first place.

    1. Character customization
    This is what starts off the game, this is where you create the most important thing in the entire game; you. Not to sound overly narcissistic, but in every Bioware game the only thing that keeps the world from ending or turning to **** is you. The game mainly focuses on you, what you say and the choices you make. It's no surprise that, for many people, how you look and who you choose to be is important. In the previous games there was hardly any shortage of options when it came to choosing what you looked like, what kind of person you were and where you came from. In Andromeda everything is extremely limited. I felt like I was playing the beta version of a game. My backstory is chosen for me, my face is chosen for me and my personality and choices hardly matter. It sort of breaks the immersion when the camera focuses on your character and you look like a crazy person. The male characters are barely passable, the female ones are just downright horrendous. The eyes look dead. It looks like you're staring very intensely all the time. No matter how pale I created my character i couldn't make a white female character, they were always tan. I couldn't choose eye shape, nose shape, mouth shape or brows. You can tweak the awful presets a little, but that's it. Hair options were okay, but you can't be blonde without either looking like a clown or have brown roots. The makeup was average and kinda reminded me of Saw. The tattoos were boring and the scars were weird. I don't think i've enjoyed a character customization less than Andromeda's.. and I've played Oblivion.

    2. Dialogue and acting
    The dialogue, acting and just the characters themselves were absolutely superb in the Mass Effect trilogy. Even though the person you were talking to was a metal bird man he felt like a real person. The dialogue you chose felt like they mattered and the options were diverse. The lines were also brilliantly delivered. From combat to romance, pretty much everything felt organic and lifelike, it was so easy to get immersed in the game. In Andromeda it felt like the dialogue was sometimes written by a 14 year old in creative writing class. Sure, there were some good lines and I've had a chuckle over some of the Nomad banter, but it felt lifeless. The acting isn't always bad, but I find myself cringing at serious moments because it's just so poorly done. Screaming of pain should actually sound like pain not like you're stuck in traffic. Seeing someone you love die should be a tragic event not a minor inconvenience. Call me old fashioned but getting involved in a romantic relationship should be more than just '"we'll bang, ok?" People in Andromeda feel more like cartoons than people and most of the time i just didn't care about what happened to them. Nobody seems to care who you are or how you act. You get a nice little personality report from the Tempest doctor, but that's pretty much it. Don't expect any deep and complex, Oscar worthy perfomances or characters.

    3. The story
    This is the big one. The story of Mass Effect, not only the main story, but the side quests, the characters the random encounters - it's just good. It makes you feel involved and interested, it makes you care. And for a sci-fi tale it feels very real. I cared about Shepard, I cared about my squadmates, I cared about my crew, I cared about the people, I cared about the universe. The story makes you laugh and cry and the choices you make matter, sometimes more than any Telltale game ever did, and it was just an amazing journey. Andromeda starts off with a pretty good concept. However it turns into something generic, something I feel like I've seen before. I didn't really care all that much about anything that happened, because the game didn't give me any reason to. There were so many opportunities they missed, so many directions they could have gone, and it feels like they went with the most generic one. It feels like it isn't quite finished. It feels empty. The side quests were disappointing and the story was average. As the credits rolled I thought to myself "that's it?"

    Other things:
    -The romances are nowhere near as deep or meaningful as they've been in the previous games or in Dragon Age.
    -All the memes you've seen about the animations - they're all true. It really is that bad.
    -Glitches. Glitches everywhere.

    Summed up: it's not the worst game in the world, I had some fun, but it doesn't even compare to the Mass Effect trilogy.    … Expand
  45. Leoxdie
    Apr 4, 2017
    10
    Once again the internet is exaggerating with a game that most have not even played. The problem that turned out to be meme and everyone came to hate the game for nothing. Look, I only read people talking badly about the animations but the other merits are ignored. The game is not perfect, as a Mass Effect fan I feel a little disappointed by the universe they created, but hey, it's theOnce again the internet is exaggerating with a game that most have not even played. The problem that turned out to be meme and everyone came to hate the game for nothing. Look, I only read people talking badly about the animations but the other merits are ignored. The game is not perfect, as a Mass Effect fan I feel a little disappointed by the universe they created, but hey, it's the beginning of a new series, Mass Effect 1 was also a another beginning. I see so much potential in the Andromeda series. And for sure, taking out the animations, technical problems and plot, the gameplay is very fun and enjoyable to play. 7.0 as my personal note. 10.0 as my anti hater note.… Expand
  46. TheFreeman148
    Apr 4, 2017
    8
    so many haters on this game its ridiculous. Scanning through some reviews have showed me that people have been flat out lying about some of the game's features. This game is no where near a 0 or 1 or 2 or anything below a 5 for that matter. While it isn't perfect and has some flaws such as poor UI, bad animations, and long load times this is still a good game. Having put multiple daysso many haters on this game its ridiculous. Scanning through some reviews have showed me that people have been flat out lying about some of the game's features. This game is no where near a 0 or 1 or 2 or anything below a 5 for that matter. While it isn't perfect and has some flaws such as poor UI, bad animations, and long load times this is still a good game. Having put multiple days into the original trilogy I can say that this is a solid follow up to the trilogy. There is so much content here, so many quests, so many planets to mine and explore, so many weapons and solutions for combat. It sickens me to see these flat out fake scores on here. I can understand why some people might be disappointed because some of the things here do feel like they were rushed out but that isn't even close to making this a terrible game. If you are a fan of the original like me, give it a chance. I did and was pleasantly surprised.… Expand
  47. Ray67890
    Apr 4, 2017
    6
    i am not a bioware fan, when i first try this game i feel the view is fantastic,but the main problem is the open world setting don't make me feel something interesting or some mission is memeroble .All i always keep doing things is that talking to AI or pick up some boring things like relic.So i think the bioware need to consider how to make a good story telling and make the open worldi am not a bioware fan, when i first try this game i feel the view is fantastic,but the main problem is the open world setting don't make me feel something interesting or some mission is memeroble .All i always keep doing things is that talking to AI or pick up some boring things like relic.So i think the bioware need to consider how to make a good story telling and make the open world more appealing .… Expand
  48. Spudgie
    Apr 3, 2017
    1
    I gave bioware the benefit of the doubt and pre-ordered the delux edition. Man, was I disappointed. If I knew what it was going to be like, I never would have wasted my money. Huge let-down. I spend half the game skipping through the conversations because they are so bad, and the other half making sure I dont hit the wrong conversation choice while getting hit on by one of the many gayI gave bioware the benefit of the doubt and pre-ordered the delux edition. Man, was I disappointed. If I knew what it was going to be like, I never would have wasted my money. Huge let-down. I spend half the game skipping through the conversations because they are so bad, and the other half making sure I dont hit the wrong conversation choice while getting hit on by one of the many gay male characters. What a load of crap. After playing about a third of the way through the game, I completely gave up and quite playing it. I doubt I will ever finish it, even if they do fix the animations. Bioware will never see another dime of my money (and believe me, I have given them a lot of money over the years).… Expand
  49. deadlysilentbob
    Apr 3, 2017
    0
    Completely and utterly the worst possible game that could have come after such a cultural phenomenon that was the original mass effect trilogy. I could have slammed the keyboard a few dozen times and still come out with a better story, better programing and better art.

    this is what you get when you combine hiring low talent staff with check box style marketable game content
  50. Shaneuk
    Apr 3, 2017
    0
    I love this franchisr and have bought every mass effect game on release but this , well embarrassing and and insult to gamers.
    The game itself shows so much promise but it shouldnt have been released in its current state, its incomplete and bugged to hell. Missions past Kadaya ive spent more time stuck in rocks that the ui throws you into for no reason, (you actually get stuck past the    I love this franchisr and have bought every mass effect game on release but this , well embarrassing and and insult to gamers.
    The game itself shows so much promise but it shouldnt have been released in its current state, its incomplete and bugged to hell. Missions past Kadaya ive spent more time stuck in rocks that the ui throws you into for no reason, (you actually get stuck past the scenery ) makes it unplayable, not to mention mako exploding when hitting imaginary walls, the lists quite long.
    This should of been picked up by quality control its a shoddy effort and makes a game unplayable.
    Very very disapointed youve hurried release and it shows.    … Expand
  51. linkenski
    Apr 3, 2017
    5
    Mass Effect: Andromeda - the game that didn't need to be but was made anyway. After the disaster that was ME3's ending controversy which was just as poorly handled as the ending in question BioWare decided to listen to fans and make another entry in the series as a form of new beginnings since the canonical end-point of 3 made it impossible to continue the story of the original setting inMass Effect: Andromeda - the game that didn't need to be but was made anyway. After the disaster that was ME3's ending controversy which was just as poorly handled as the ending in question BioWare decided to listen to fans and make another entry in the series as a form of new beginnings since the canonical end-point of 3 made it impossible to continue the story of the original setting in any organic way. The idea became to go to the neighbour galaxy with a select few species from the original trilogy, a new protagonist and a new set of circumstances. A lot of it has actually been potentially promising but whenever the game shows shimmers of hope about its more original themes it discards them in favor of telling a tired and safe, watered down version of Mass Effect 1's plot. It's Mass Effect: The Force Awakens, all with a Mary Sue protagonist whose unsure and sometimes immature characterization (as a result of being 7 years younger than Shepard) is completely at odds with the incredible power-level the story grants him (or her). The coolest thing regarding the outset of the plot is that you have a sister and a dad who are both customizable to some extent and a few surprises down the road, but ultimately it doesn't mean much because it's still just a retelling of ME1; you have a the Neo-Geth, Neo-Reapers, Neo-Council, Neo-Saren all hidden under different names and art-directions such as the bony aliens called "The Kett" and the ominous, almost otherworldly force that threatens all existence called "The Scourge". The game actually has a cool central theme about colonization that diverges from its ME1-ness, but it never doubles down on this. Instead it feels like 3 different game visions in one package that don't go well together.

    One other huge part of this game, arguably the largest, is that this game is Mass Effect Inquisition. Good luck spending 40 hours exclusively on just doing one unrewarding quest after another. BioWare attempted to make these types of quests more satisfying by increasing the amount of times the result in properly executed cutscenes with character-focus and choices but ultimately even the best of those questlines come up short when they abruptly end as the Journal ticks the objective as completed after an inconclusive dialogue led by a vague "good job" comment from either Ryder or his friends.

    Speaking of friends, as always you've got a new cast alongside the protagonist and a ship they fly on. This is arguably the point where the record breaks and where the game dips below the point of merely "good enough". Granted, some companions are more fleshed out than others, almost every single one of them are introduced in the most nonchalant and indifferent way possible. You're given no reason to care about any of them because they have no story-related relevance that draws you in to wanting to know them better. Rather, you're going to have to take the initiative yourself to learn more about them through very stilted conversations (moreso than ever before) that eventually reveal a Loyalty mission and some forced endgame scenes to make their stories feel complete. While the loyalty missions are fine but nothing special, their endgame conversations feel forced because, much like the intro, it shows how aimless the game's direction is that these character never quite seem to have a reason to even be around you in the first place, and it doesn't help that from the RPG-standpoint your only interaction with these characters is how you level them up. No customization, very barebones tactical commands and barely any recognition about how well you know certain characters.

    It all comes together (or rather, it doesn't) in a finale that feels completely seperate in flavor to the rest of the experience, like an almost Platinum-games styled final level where everything is super linear, action-y, your squadmates join you and they try to bring in every factor that has been prominent in the game... but this happens on a side of a main story that is laser focused on a "villain vs hero" story that just doesn't connect in a cohesive fashion with the themes of colonization, Ryder being inexperienced or him spending time with his friends.

    That's the game in a nutshell. Andromeda simply does not seem to have a mission-statement. Its problems can all be traced back to its premise: It asks us "can we find new meaning away from the original Mass Effect by going to another setting?" and the answer is "we can, but it's not going to prove anything beyond that." I enjoyed my time with Andromeda but was often forcing myself just because I liked the previous games, and a day or two later I think Mass Effect as a franchise may have run its course when BioWare blew it back in 2012 with the third game's brand-damaging ending.    … Expand
  52. O-reno
    Apr 3, 2017
    0
    This is what happens when devs are more concerned about diversity, inclusivity and other sjw stuff when developing the game, that making a good game itself
    Sadly the old bioware is gone
  53. Mystaclease
    Apr 3, 2017
    8
    Has some bugs but i'm sure they will be addressed. I have played all the mass effect games and this starts of rough but with an open mind it should considering the situation you are brought into with how the game starts. Good characters, good combat and the lvling up system works better than an other mass effect game. You can actually tailor in all slots for perk points and then forHas some bugs but i'm sure they will be addressed. I have played all the mass effect games and this starts of rough but with an open mind it should considering the situation you are brought into with how the game starts. Good characters, good combat and the lvling up system works better than an other mass effect game. You can actually tailor in all slots for perk points and then for example clicking on vanguard or soldier depending on how you tailored your character will give you bonuses on how they play. I roughly have 15 hours vested and I can say at first i was a little meh but it grows as a story and the characters. Multiplier is also a good round about but none of the review focused on that.… Expand
  54. pa2jynxx
    Apr 3, 2017
    7
    At first, I found Andromeda more than a little lacking and felt that the narrative was very easily derailed if you strayed even slightly from the expected script. Whole sections of the story made little sense based on my previous actions and I regularly found myself confused by a new series of events only to wade through the necessary exposition conversations after I had completed theAt first, I found Andromeda more than a little lacking and felt that the narrative was very easily derailed if you strayed even slightly from the expected script. Whole sections of the story made little sense based on my previous actions and I regularly found myself confused by a new series of events only to wade through the necessary exposition conversations after I had completed the events they should have preceded. Needless to say, I was quite frustrated as I played through the first dozen hours of the game.

    Once I reached about 33% completion, however, the tone of the game changed and it became a true successor to the original trilogy. The latter half of the game is much stronger than the first half and it eventually culminates in an exciting and satisfying finale that leaves plenty of room for sequels.

    I began a second play-through to see how it felt once I knew what I was doing and it was a LOT more streamlined and intuitive than my first fumbling steps in the Andromeda galaxy had been. Consensus: don't get discouraged. Andromeda has a rocky start for some but it gets much better as it progresses and is worth the effort. Pay attention to what the game is asking you to do and don't head off on your own too early or you may find yourself wondering what's going on. Fans of the original trilogy should come away with a positive experience overall and a desire to see what awaits Ryder and the crew of the Tempest.    … Expand
  55. gaymer11
    Apr 3, 2017
    9
    Ok I get the criticism that this game didn't raise the bar or meet everyones expectations, but it met mine. I wanted another Mass Effect experience and that is what I got with this game. The combat was great and had enough classic RPG choices/level advancement that I enjoyed leveling up. The romance options were solid (though more sexual fluidity, or a solid gay interest like Dorian fromOk I get the criticism that this game didn't raise the bar or meet everyones expectations, but it met mine. I wanted another Mass Effect experience and that is what I got with this game. The combat was great and had enough classic RPG choices/level advancement that I enjoyed leveling up. The romance options were solid (though more sexual fluidity, or a solid gay interest like Dorian from DAI would have been nice). All in all I really enjoyed this game and while it could have been better, it certainly does not deserve the horrible user scores it is getting IMO.… Expand
  56. InsaneSpectre
    Apr 3, 2017
    0
    I am only human after all. God I hate this one. I am a huge Mass Effect fan and playing Andromeda was hell of experience. Don't even bother waiting for pirated copy, get familiar with the original trilogy and let ME franchise leave positive emotions. Andromeda is a complete disgrace period. Spectre out.
  57. GCeles
    Apr 3, 2017
    10
    Simply amazing, i love totally this game, and multiplayer look so cool, some bugs, but still funny and excellent game, graphics, gameplay, etc., with frosbite now look better.
  58. Maximumbob54
    Apr 3, 2017
    5
    There's a reason they didn't call it Mass Effect 4. And it's got nothing to do with you don't play as Shepard. There is no way the same crew that made the first three games worked on this dumpster fire. I don't need to list what made the first three games amazing, but I will say none of that is present here. If you can get passed the bad facial animations, the poor character models,There's a reason they didn't call it Mass Effect 4. And it's got nothing to do with you don't play as Shepard. There is no way the same crew that made the first three games worked on this dumpster fire. I don't need to list what made the first three games amazing, but I will say none of that is present here. If you can get passed the bad facial animations, the poor character models, the no clue what your response is going to be from your dialogue choice, the half the time poor voice acting and everything else that makes this game the hot garbage that it is then you might somehow be able to have some fun. I feel like I'm being too kind giving this game a five out of ten. It's playable but it's NOTHING like the first three but it really is playable. I am still struggling with looking over its flaws to be able to enjoy the game but the gameplay needs to pick up or I don't know if I will even bother to finish this one.
    EDIT TO ADD: I've now beat this game. Honestly I didn't even know I was heading to the final boss. I went out of my way to complete every side quest I saw and while I'm sure there were some I missed I feel like I completed the bulk of them. I was only level 55, only had mid level gear, and even getting to the end boss didn't feel like an end of game boss. And there was sssosoooo much time waster content. Go here. Scan these rocks. Deliver this stuff. Build this thing. And I tried to do all of it with very few exceptions. I assume the goal is to make you replay through with the same character a few times to really unlock the best gear but who wants to do all the time waster go scan rocks stuff all over again??? I admit I was a sucker for all the previous ME games with every bit of downloadable content to the point I was upset a little with the WiiU release not being complete. But ME:A will not get another dollar from me. It's already on the shelf as a memorial to remind me not to buy games day one and wait for some good reviews first.    … Expand
  59. Wiseguy625
    Apr 3, 2017
    8
    There's definitely alot wrong presentation wise with dull graphics aswell as some clunky dialogue at times and aweful glitches but overall I personally enjoyed the game. Most of these 0-5 arej ust troll reviews so don't trust them. For me its a 7.5 (8 if they fix the graphics and glitches, hell I'd go further if the dlc is good) but I understand if people go down to a 6 though.
  60. RussianSpy
    Apr 3, 2017
    10
    Critics are wrong!!The game is awesome,especially story and characters,don't live up to the negative hype of the game, just play it yourself.Andromeda holds every canonic rules of the original trilogy ,interesting epic story,romance relationship with your teammates ,and choices you must face that will affect in the game and of course the next mass effect game.The game holds a ton ofCritics are wrong!!The game is awesome,especially story and characters,don't live up to the negative hype of the game, just play it yourself.Andromeda holds every canonic rules of the original trilogy ,interesting epic story,romance relationship with your teammates ,and choices you must face that will affect in the game and of course the next mass effect game.The game holds a ton of references to previous games.I just cant't believe to what's wrong with the people and critics these days,bioware gives you a canonic epic adventure and the are dislikes it!!Stop thinkinkg about an old characters the're gone ,it's time for new ones,and new characters are super like almost everything in the game,of course game has bugs ,but which game doesn't has them today ?Waiting for Andromeda 2 ,thank you Bioware for another epic story !… Expand
  61. CriticalMoose
    Apr 2, 2017
    0
    With all of the people acting morally superior and saying "oh my gosh the do not join the hate-bandwagon", I just had to create an account purely to say this. This game is by no means a bad game. However, it is a prime example of what happens when developers fail to polish their game, and fail to uphold the quality that modern triple-A titles should be known for. Though this game is highlyWith all of the people acting morally superior and saying "oh my gosh the do not join the hate-bandwagon", I just had to create an account purely to say this. This game is by no means a bad game. However, it is a prime example of what happens when developers fail to polish their game, and fail to uphold the quality that modern triple-A titles should be known for. Though this game is highly enjoyable to some, there are simply too many faults and defects that it clearly should not be treated with the same respect as other, more polished games out there, which show outstanding professionalism and where the developer's care for the game really shows. This game just lacks all the makings of a modern, block-buster gaming experience, unlike its predecessors, the original Mass Effect Trilogy. The original trilogy were all critically acclaimed titles and for good reason; it shows what developers can really accomplish, and provide a gaming experience that could be unforgettable. This game, lacks that. It does not deliver. Lackluster writing, mediocre animations, no quality control. There is no hate-bandwagon; games are not hated for no reason. This game is an insult to all good, polished, and masterful games out there. It is an insult to the original trilogy. This game is an insult to its own fans.… Expand
  62. Wran
    Apr 2, 2017
    6
    This game has real issues. Ignore the triggered anti-"SJW" crusaders. It's bad because of bad writing and animations. They've neglected the story to put more into MP and creating more action-based system. This was a bad decision.
  63. valorien
    Apr 2, 2017
    0
    An absolute disgrace to the Mass Effect franchise. This game is a huge disappointment and suffers from both technical issues and an exceptionally boring narrative.
    In short - Absolutely terrible. Save your money.
  64. Matttwidale
    Apr 2, 2017
    9
    If you liked mass effect 2 & 3 then youre sure to like Andromeda. Ok its character models are a bit last gen and the facial animations are as bad as youve heard for some of the characters but its still a Mass Effect story and a good one with updated battle mechanics and a fun multiplayer. Youre given moral choices to make and are involved in the lives of your companions and the worldsIf you liked mass effect 2 & 3 then youre sure to like Andromeda. Ok its character models are a bit last gen and the facial animations are as bad as youve heard for some of the characters but its still a Mass Effect story and a good one with updated battle mechanics and a fun multiplayer. Youre given moral choices to make and are involved in the lives of your companions and the worlds youre trying to create.… Expand
  65. Furiousmike
    Apr 2, 2017
    2
    Boredom, disbelieve, pain and agony. These were the feelings I went trough during my 47hrs playing ME Andromeda.

    During the opening I got very exited. I was like Hell yeah!! here we go!! Game of the year! Then the reality hit. Boring quests, facial animations that made me facepalm myself so hard my brains shot out from my ears. Boring characters, boring dialogue. See the theme here?    Boredom, disbelieve, pain and agony. These were the feelings I went trough during my 47hrs playing ME Andromeda.

    During the opening I got very exited. I was like Hell yeah!! here we go!! Game of the year! Then the reality hit. Boring quests, facial animations that made me facepalm myself so hard my brains shot out from my ears. Boring characters, boring dialogue. See the theme here? Boring, boring, boring. When I had played 10hrs I didn't want to play anymore. But I kept going, hoping that things would pick up but they didn't. I just couldn't believe what bioware had done to my all time favorite game series. Whoever decided that their "flagship" title should be handled by a support studio and some of it should be outsourced completely, is a f***ing idiot! When EA came along everything started to go downhill. Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire and ME1. Every game bioware made before EA meddling was a masterpiece, if not it came deam close.

    I don't mind few bugs here and there. There's going to be bugs in a huge game like this. It can't be avoided, but this stuttering mess is not a triple A game. We should get a refund, this game is obviously not finished. If I bought a car and it had this much problems I could get a new one from the dealership because of the warranty.

    So the gameplay.. sigh.. no tactical pausing, can't give orders to squadmates to use powers to set up combos, only 3 skills to use?!? Cover system sucks.

    I was actually going to write a lot longer and in depth review but I can't keep going. There is just too much wrong with this game, I give up. I do solemnly swear I will not buy another bioware game until they break free from the grip of the horrible abomination that is EA.

    As a reviewer I try to provide enough information to fellow gamers to stay away from horrible titles and to try out games that are actually good. This time I can't provide more than my own die hard ME1 fan opinion. I would not touch this with a 10 foot pole.

    Summary:

    Graphics: 9.5
    Everything else: Sucks ass    … Expand
  66. Dolosais
    Apr 2, 2017
    5
    The combat actually pretty good, and the storyline is pretty much decent,but when it comes to the animation the cutscene feels a bit off dead expression maybe doesn't really matters but actually it doess, it's unfinished
  67. cossayos
    Apr 2, 2017
    5
    I'm about ten hours in, so this is not a final verdict.

    What this game lacks is immersion. I wanted to lose myself in it and instead it feels like a grind. With the first three titles I was immediately hooked on the story and the characters and spent hours exploring the Normandy and if my companions had anything new to say. Not here. You see, I can live with the often criticized    I'm about ten hours in, so this is not a final verdict.

    What this game lacks is immersion. I wanted to lose myself in it and instead it feels like a grind. With the first three titles I was immediately hooked on the story and the characters and spent hours exploring the Normandy and if my companions had anything new to say. Not here. You see, I can live with the often criticized dialogue. It's not as bad as some make it out to be. I also had no runins with outright cringeworthy animations. To be fair, previous games of the series weren't big on that either.

    The game just feels bland compared to the previous titles. 10 hours and I didn't have a single memorable moment or conversation with my crew. It's also the little details, such as only three outfits being available to choose from. Long sleeves, short sleeves and jacket. Admitted, and as I said, a small detail, but it points to the lack of customisation of your character that's rather obvious right from the start and the creation menu.

    Combat, well, I feel mostly reminded of ME1. The AI seems to be dead on arrival and you go through the usual dropped in hordes you have to shoot up. Jetpack is a nice addition but it doesn't save the day.

    Some here have compared the game to DA:I. I can only say, I'd wish. With DA:I exploring was fun and there was always something new to discover. With this one, the environment is huge but largely empty.

    It's not outright bad. And I can only advise the ones who hook their reviews on terms like SJW or anti white racism to get a life. But it's bland, mediocre. I will finish it in time. Not as fast as the previous titles, but I think I will. If that changes my impressions of the first ten hours, I will write a new review and add a new score.    … Expand
  68. Protodeus
    Apr 1, 2017
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Wide as an ocean, but as deep as a puddle. That's how I would describe ME: Andromeda. There is a dizzying amount of content in this game, but very little of it is rewarding, fun or challenging. I absolutely adore the original trilogy, and it is probably one of my favorite game series of all time, and I really wanted to like Andromeda. But after 60+ hrs of gameplay, I just felt bored, uninterested and ultimately angry, because this didn't feel like a Mass Effect game at all. It felt like some bro-ey, fan fiction that tried and failed to replicate what made the original trilogy so amazing.

    And this is ultimately where Andromeda falls flat on its face. The writing. The writing is, for lack of a better word, lackluster. The story is bland and uninspired, with boring two dimensional villains, a backstory that receives little to no further explanation, and characters who are completely forgettable. Near the end of the game I was actually skipping over cut-scenes because I was so thoroughly uninterested in the characters and their motivations. Your "choices" have little to no impact on the direction of the story, and there is no emotional weight behind anything that happens in Andromeda simply because it's hard to find any of it all that interesting. The loyalty missions are forgettable as well. The game also tries way too hard to be funny, and was way too generous with levity. Yes, there was humor in the original trilogy, but this was complemented by some very serious and emotional moments. It feels like nothing is taken seriously in Andromeda, so why do we care when anything important happens? The script is riddled with sarcasm that doesn't work. For instance, there is a pretty important moment near the beginning where Ryder loses a family member, and 2 minutes later he's making jokes and pretending like nothing bad happened. That is bad writing.

    That is to say nothing of the horrendous character animations, the fact that all the alien races looking exactly the same (all of the asari and salarians have exactly the same faces, with different facial markings), and the subpar voice acting. I will give the game credit for its planet environments, which are stunningly gorgeous. Elaaden and Havarl in particular are incredibly beautiful. i also love the Tempest and how you can now look out the windows to see where you are in the galaxy. But exploration soon becomes tedious and repetitive, since you basically do exactly the same thing with every planet. The UI is also terrible. The gunplay is fun and fluid, and I definitely thought it was a step up from the original trilogy.

    Unfortunately everything about this game reeks of laziness and lack of polish. It's like Bioware had no idea what made the original games so beloved, and tried to make a cheap imitation that has neither the soul or the depth. There are no amazing moments like Virmire, Tuchanka, Rannoch or the Suicide Mission. There are no moments where you have to reflect on your decisions. And because of this, the player has no emotional investment in the story or its characters. I got so bored near the end that I began skipping cut-scenes just to finish, because I didn't care anymore.

    It's really unfortunate that Andromeda is so mediocre. EA was given an IP with so much potential, and they squandered it. Is Andromeda a bad game? Not necessarily. There is still some fun to be had, and I enjoyed exploring the galaxy in a way. But if you're a fan of the original games, you will probably be disappointed because this game fails to match up to them in almost every way. An RPG with a bad story and uninteresting characters is going to fall apart, and that's exactly what has happened here. Just going back and playing the original Mass Effect, listening to Vigil speak on Ilos... there just is nothing in Andromeda that matches it. It's hollow, cheaply made, uninspired, bland and revels in its own mediocrity.

    What an absolute shame.    … Expand
  69. dr0nzer
    Apr 1, 2017
    6
    I gave this game a real chance, spending in excess of over 40 hours in this world and I have to say... it wasn't what I expected. Having played all previous mass effect titles I can safely say that this one does not live up to the name and I feel the developers are riding on the success of the mass effect franchise here.
    There is a lot of depth in the game but it's unpolished and it feels    I gave this game a real chance, spending in excess of over 40 hours in this world and I have to say... it wasn't what I expected. Having played all previous mass effect titles I can safely say that this one does not live up to the name and I feel the developers are riding on the success of the mass effect franchise here.
    There is a lot of depth in the game but it's unpolished and it feels like this game is more quantity than quality. There are a lot of bugs which can be overlooked but the problem for me is that you don't feel like you really accomplish much in the game, after spending an hour or so in there, you leave thinking "I didn't really do much" which is true as you'll spend almost 60% of that time waiting for load screens, watching pointlessly long transfer animations whether it's landing on a planet or travelling to another system, it feels padded out and a waste of time.
    The side quest system is junk, it's comparable with Final Fantasy 15 which is just horrendous, they don't add a lot of depth and the majority are just fetch quests and stupid things, a crap ton of back tracking just to pad out the game time, I don't feel a lot of thought went into it, if there was it doesn't really show.
    Combat system is probably the only thing worth praising, it's great but it's clouded by systems that are too over complicated and not stream lined, again going for quantity vs quality.
    There are good things with the game but it gets clouded by all the junk and crap.
    This title needed another year or two in development and almost 75% of the things in this game can be toned down or outright removed as it serves no real purpose to the world or story.    … Expand
  70. simulacra
    Apr 1, 2017
    7
    A good game as far as games go, but it doesn't measure up to the rest of the Mass Effect trilogy, or other contemporary RPGs. The game's mediocrity comes from its half-baked story, bad pacing, and uninteresting characters. There are some good moments but they're few and far between. Much of the game feels empty and unfulfilled. There's an abundance of boring fetch-quests and uninspiredA good game as far as games go, but it doesn't measure up to the rest of the Mass Effect trilogy, or other contemporary RPGs. The game's mediocrity comes from its half-baked story, bad pacing, and uninteresting characters. There are some good moments but they're few and far between. Much of the game feels empty and unfulfilled. There's an abundance of boring fetch-quests and uninspired locations. I feel like too much time was spent creating massive, sprawling planets rather than coming up with cool and interesting locales. As for the characters, Lexi, Drack, and Vetra were the only ones who caught my interest, and even they left me wanting for more. Liam and Cora are awful: Liam's always talking about how he's crying about this or that; Cora likes to drone on about her asari training. Jaal is alright but I feel like he and Liam were written because of this absurd cultural movement to feminize men. Liam's always crying and saying its okay to cry and Jaal's always talking about his feelings, because he's so liberated. Peebee is annoying. She's always saying weird and awkward things that just feel out of place. She lacks depth and never really comes together. The Mass Effect series is about story and characters. That's what makes it great. This game focuses far, far too much on exploration and discovery. It's stretched so thin that none of it feels compelling. I'm disappointed.… Expand
  71. ZeroGemini
    Apr 1, 2017
    4
    This is my first Mass Effect game. Going against my better judgment and giving into my friends constant overhyping of this game I decided to buy it. I've played both the story and multiplayer, and both have left me with a feeling of disgust. I'm not going to go in the same direction as everybody else and knock the animations, which were bad and obviously lacking polish, but instead, I'mThis is my first Mass Effect game. Going against my better judgment and giving into my friends constant overhyping of this game I decided to buy it. I've played both the story and multiplayer, and both have left me with a feeling of disgust. I'm not going to go in the same direction as everybody else and knock the animations, which were bad and obviously lacking polish, but instead, I'm going to focus on the conversations in the game and the multiplayer.

    The single-player portion of the game has potential, It's clearly obvious the game is expansive and has room to grow, but I can't get passed the pointless conversations. I understand the game's central focus is your character's interaction between other characters within the game, but every conversation doesn't seem to flow well with your dialogue choice. In the first missions I was given the task to restore power to an outpost, in doing that I met with an NPC behind a door. To convince him and gain his trust all I had to do was "sound like a pathfinder". He didn't require me to prove ID, kill some giant monster that has been attacking his camp recently, hell he didn't even want me to collect some obscure herb found only in some remote section of the galaxy, just sound like a pathfinder. These conversations are so stale, unenjoyable, and lack a clear direction that it completely breaks any form of immersion you may be able to muster up if you got passed the animations.

    Now for the multiplayer, I actually did enjoy this. Which is why I gave the game a 4. The multiplayer was fun for about 20 hours, then the grind became too repetitive. After opening nearly 200 boxes I realized I wasn't even halfway to obtaining all of the upgrades to my gear, this would require me to open up another 400 boxes and some 1000 gold difficulty runs. Opening boxes were fun, but many of the classes, weapons, and mods were pointless. Assault rifles are completely useless due to the rapid spread of the reticle after holding the trigger for a mere 1 second. Shotguns have absolutely zero range and there is no pay off for risking your life to get within range, the damage is barely visible. Snipers are well snipers, they are either hit or miss, in this case, the vanquisher is probably the only one you should use. The only weapons that felt worthwhile were the pistols, namely the Charger and Talon. Character classes too felt underpowered in comparison to the Asari Duelist. The other offensive classes are incapable of doing any real damage and the defensive units can barely maintain the same bulk as the Duelist. My last major issue the server quality. I can't get into a single game without there being some kind of lag. This here is a prime example of why dedicated servers are necessary for any game with online capability. *I guess one last issue, actually more of a pet peeve, but in the prestige tab, if you look at the weapons you will that they have a majority of the weapons mislabel. Snipers such as the Black Widow are labeled as a pistol, the Revenant as a pistol, and so on.

    Honestly, this game needs a lot of work and TLC. They should have pushed the game back another year or two to work out all of the kinks and give this game the polish worthy of the hype surrounding it.    … Expand
  72. MysticDingo
    Apr 1, 2017
    0
    BUYER BEWARE! Mass Effect Andromeda is absolutely and completely broken. I have had exactly THREE GAME BREAKING BUGS that have completely stopped my progress in this game and forced me to restart. EA help has been non-existent. When you mix that in with being killed repeatedly by invisible enemies, and no I don't mean cloaked enemies, I mean glitched out and invisible enemies that don'tBUYER BEWARE! Mass Effect Andromeda is absolutely and completely broken. I have had exactly THREE GAME BREAKING BUGS that have completely stopped my progress in this game and forced me to restart. EA help has been non-existent. When you mix that in with being killed repeatedly by invisible enemies, and no I don't mean cloaked enemies, I mean glitched out and invisible enemies that don't show up on your radar or screen, but can be shot and killed and can kill you, then you know just how broken this game is. Or how about when clearing out a multi tiered structure for a mission, and upon completion of said mission, you walk out the front door victorious only to see all of the turrets and a full company of bad guys that you had just previously destroyed have suddenly respawned and kill you, causing you to replay the last part of the mission again, and forcing you to try and run past the respawned enemies because after the final mission battle you are left beaten and battered and in no condition do deal with these glitches!!! This game is the Mass Effect equivalent of Dragon Age 2 in that it is three steps backwards in every way from it's predecessor. The combat is non responsive and frustrating. Your teammates are absolutely useless because you cannot command them beyond go there and come here. Unlike in ME3 where you could slow down time and switch characters. In this way, developing and skilling up your squad mates was useful because you could switch to them and precisely use their specific abilities to fill in for your own. You could also specifically place you squad mates to be most effective, which added a deeper level of strategy to the combat not found in action rpgs. This system that was so good in ME3 is just gone from ME Androgynous. Oh, and this isn't even mentioning the fugly character models, the ugly romance options and the fact that this was intentionally done because the entire game was made by SJW retards who were more concerned with shoving their ideology down my throat then making a good game, a fact that I didn't know until after purchase.

    All in all, the graphics suck, the combat is horrible, the AI is retarded, your squad mates are useless, the character models are ugly, the acting is terrible, the story is horrendous, and the entire game is buggy as all hell.
    My Recommendation? AVOID THIS GAME AT ALL COSTS!!! IF YOU HAVE MASS EFFECT ANDROGYNOUS, SELL IT BEFORE IT DROPS ANY MORE IN VALUE!!!    … Expand
  73. paddystudmuffin
    Apr 1, 2017
    10
    This game is very very good. It's certainly not perfect but as a game it's a solid 8/8.5. Yeah the cutscene graphics are a bit ropey but during gameplay it looks excellent. Im about 30 hours in and really enjoying it. Think the cast of squad mates etc is as strong as previous mass effects but they had 3 games to develop so give this crew a chance. Replacing shepherd was always goingThis game is very very good. It's certainly not perfect but as a game it's a solid 8/8.5. Yeah the cutscene graphics are a bit ropey but during gameplay it looks excellent. Im about 30 hours in and really enjoying it. Think the cast of squad mates etc is as strong as previous mass effects but they had 3 games to develop so give this crew a chance. Replacing shepherd was always going to be tough! Don't listen to the haters give this a chance and a descent bit of time. Then decide. To cancel all these stupid 0 I'm giving it a big fat 10 )… Expand
  74. Joryn282
    Apr 1, 2017
    10
    This game doesn't even come close to deserving the level of hate that's been brought. Yeah, it's got a few bugs, could've used some more polishing, which will come with time. Skyrim had a ton of bugs too, but was still a great game, as is this game.

    It has a compelling story about adventure, discovering a part of a new galaxy, finding never before seen (by Milky Way inhabitants, at    This game doesn't even come close to deserving the level of hate that's been brought. Yeah, it's got a few bugs, could've used some more polishing, which will come with time. Skyrim had a ton of bugs too, but was still a great game, as is this game.

    It has a compelling story about adventure, discovering a part of a new galaxy, finding never before seen (by Milky Way inhabitants, at least) technology and meeting new species of people. This is everything that I hoped ME:A would be.

    The music's pretty good too. The moment I turned the game on and heard the music for the title screen, I loved it.

    Based on the reviews I've seen, most of the negative reviews come from people who probably didn't even play the game and just hate EA because it's the popular thing to do. A few even criticized Bioware's inclusive policy more than the game itself, which is a useless critique.

    To anyone taking the time to read this, try the game out for your self. If the bugs worry you, give it some time, because Bioware will patch those out and make the game even better.

    Based on the bugs that the game shipped with, I would normally rate this game a 7 or 8 out of 10, and then increased my score once patches came out that fixed the problems. Thanks to the toxicity of the "fanbase," however, I'm giving it a 10 to help offset some of the BS reviews I've read on here.    … Expand
  75. Littlemadbat
    Apr 1, 2017
    10
    It took me over 75 hours to finish the game (had to do every quest :>) but I hardly noticed the time passing.
    Did you like Citadel DLC in ME3? Because if you did, you will enjoy this game. The characters are likeable and there is a lot of effort put in their development and interactions with them - the loyalty missions are extremely fun. The story is engaging and while at the beginning it    It took me over 75 hours to finish the game (had to do every quest :>) but I hardly noticed the time passing.
    Did you like Citadel DLC in ME3? Because if you did, you will enjoy this game. The characters are likeable and there is a lot of effort put in their development and interactions with them - the loyalty missions are extremely fun. The story is engaging and while at the beginning it lacks the "weight of the world" feeling of the trilogy, the pressure rises with time and oh does it get personal.
    I loved the combat system since I've greatly enjoyed using melee weapons and vanguard strategy combined with tech. I did not encounter many awkward animations though I have seen some minor bugs with npc's stuck in weird spaces - nothing game-breaking.
    The music is a bit underwhelming, especially at the last fight of the game but I found myself addicted to a few dj compositions you can find in your Pathfinders quarters or bars/clubs on certain planets.
    Overall, I would give this game a solid 8,5/10 but since everyone is trashing it waay more than it deserves things hot personal and I raised the note. Fight me!    … Expand
  76. lastghost68
    Apr 1, 2017
    1
    Mass Effect Andromeda is a complete Mess! How does a game that has this many problems make it to the public? From Plastic looking characters, terrible animations, low quality voice actors...to weak story, this is a huge drop in quality from the originals. Buy a used copy if you must play it! Don't support Bioware for producing Crap.
  77. Captiosus
    Apr 1, 2017
    6
    Mass Effect Andromeda was simply "OK". Doesn't live up to the high bar set by the original trilogy but is decent on its own. The story is groan-worthy and cliche and the characters and settings are pale imitations of the originals (Liam/Jacob; Vetra/Garrus; Cora/Ashley; Drack/Wrex; Peebee/Liara; Jaal/Javik; Remnant/Promethians; Kett/Reapers; Kadara/Omega; etc.). Though, honestly - and thisMass Effect Andromeda was simply "OK". Doesn't live up to the high bar set by the original trilogy but is decent on its own. The story is groan-worthy and cliche and the characters and settings are pale imitations of the originals (Liam/Jacob; Vetra/Garrus; Cora/Ashley; Drack/Wrex; Peebee/Liara; Jaal/Javik; Remnant/Promethians; Kett/Reapers; Kadara/Omega; etc.). Though, honestly - and this will be sacrilegious to some Mass Effect fans - I found I liked Peebee more than I liked Liara from the original trilogy, but that's just me.

    The BIGGEST issue with this game is that the Frostbite engine repeatedly chokes. It's as if they handed the engine to a team that had little to no experience developing for it. Constant frame rate drops, horrendous texture pop in, AI and model spawn-in broken repeatedly, textures not appearing, laughably bad character animations, constant sound effect and voice file bugs (constantly clipping or cutting out entirely), and so on. Some of these issues can be game-breaking, forcing a console restart or the need to reload a prior save. The issues are really glaring when you go over to a different game that manages a solid 30 or 60 FPS then come back to Andromeda. Oh and there is a level of laziness I feel should be noted: Almost every non-ringed gas giant throughout Andromeda is a copy/paste of a stock photograph of our very own Jupiter, only with various gray, sepia, and brown filters over them. They didn't even try to change the gas bands or even the location of the red spot storm.

    After having played newer space shooters like Destiny (which, despite its problems, is a fluid and very graphically pretty game) and recent open world games like Horizon Zero Dawn, I can't help but feel that Mass Effect Andromeda is a relic from a different time. To be brutally honest the planets in ME:A were as graphically janky as the planets in No Man's Sky and often only slightly less barren. Which is sad because we've seen what the Frostbite engine is capable of. If you're a Mass Effect fan like I am, it's probably worth a rental. But I'm struggling to justify my purchase because, unlike the original Trilogy which I played more times than I care to count across three different platforms, I doubt I'll be playing this through a second time. [For anyone wondering, 73:56:02 played, 96% completion; Adept/Vanguard Male Ryder]

    Edited extra: One of the complaints many had of the originals was that the romance scenes lacked punch because they didn't have nudity. ME:A embraces its Mature rating and goes with nudity this time around and it feels, well... meh. It's like watching a late night Cinemax softcore 30 minute show with just as much emotion (which is to say none). The romance scenes STILL lack punch as they now feel more like fan service rather than a meaningful plot device.    … Expand
  78. theocract
    Apr 1, 2017
    1
    A total steaming pile of rubbish - the entire studio who published this atrocity of a game should be fired. Between the crappy animations and faces that were better in ME1 (and that's TEN years ago) to the infantile writing, the even more dumbed down squad control, the vast quantity of mindless side quests. All in all a total mess.
  79. Eyeless_Pilot
    Apr 1, 2017
    5
    It has it's problems, people have probably covered them at length already, facial animations, some of the character models (I happen to really like the default female Ryder though, puts me in the minority I think)... I personally don't think these detract from the experience too much. I have found the combat to be great fun and the multiplayer to be pretty strong. The charactersIt has it's problems, people have probably covered them at length already, facial animations, some of the character models (I happen to really like the default female Ryder though, puts me in the minority I think)... I personally don't think these detract from the experience too much. I have found the combat to be great fun and the multiplayer to be pretty strong. The characters abilities have been much improved from the previous games, biotics actually seem powerful now! I'm 15 hours in so can't comment on the story too much, as I haven't seen much of it.

    My biggest problem with the game are awful design decisions. For example, if I want to change my loadout (including what armour I wear) I have to do it in a room just off the bridge of the Tempest (Ryder's ship), or as I deploy on a mission; if I want to change the colour of the armour , I have to go to her quarters on the Tempest... It's a minor annoyance that can become extremely aggravating, especially when you combine it with things like pressing one button to open a menu and another to close it.

    Not sure where all the zero scores are coming from, the game works and looks good for the most part which should earn at least a point or two! It's certainly not the disappointment that Dragon Age Inquisition was.

    Edit: I'm now about thirty hours in and I have reduced the score a bit more. The locations remind me a lot of dragon age inquisition, they don't feel like open worlds to explore (for example you are in space suits that can resist radiation and poisonous gases but not go in water?). You can die from falling from height (despite having a jet pack AND despite it happening in one of the opening cut scenes, during which Ryder uses said jet pack to prevent death), areas just feel like an arbitrary are that has been built for a few fetch quests. The pockets of kett or remnant held areas are fortifications that you can attack, however the areas around them are often completely open providing you with no cover and them all the cover they need. The land vehicle has no weapons, which makes it a load of arse and you can't run people over, so you are forced into full frontal assaults (unless you have the tactical cloak)... The more I play, the more these spurious design decisions show their faces and reduce my enjoyment. Almost every mission requires you to scan something, oh look a meteorite, let's scan it, now it makes aliens attack, lets hold Y to stop that happening. "Hello pathfinder..." How do you know I am a pathfinder? You are an alien race I have only just encountered for the first time an hour ago, on a different planet and you are a prisoner of the Kett?

    Combat is till generally fun though very easy, even on insanity, will it keep me playing long enough to finish? I doubt it but we shall see.

    second edit: Sudoku to unlock terminals!?! Radiation or cold to limit your exploration?!? An omni-tool on your wrist that can interface with alien technology, turn into a melee weapon and conjure automated turrets... But I have to go back to my cabin and desktop computer to get my emails or send out strike teams!!!! What the **** were the designers thinking, I can check my emails on my mobile phone!!! The design decisions in this game work against it in every way. Imagine that Friends episode, where Monica declares "the rules control the fun" except here they don't control, they limit. It's getting tiresome, I'm really struggling to give a flying **** about the story because of so many of the awful game mechanics. The more I play, the more I see of Dragon Age Inquisition and the more I dislike it

    Score reduced to 5, after 31 hours.    … Expand
  80. aaronreaction
    Apr 1, 2017
    4
    so I bought this game despite watching my fair share of video reviews since despite the concerns about character animation and repetitive missions, it actually looked like a really good space adventure, blockbuster type of game. I really wanted to like this, and kept telling myself it was too soon to judge, maybe the game has to get into full swing before you can really get into it.
    A few    so I bought this game despite watching my fair share of video reviews since despite the concerns about character animation and repetitive missions, it actually looked like a really good space adventure, blockbuster type of game. I really wanted to like this, and kept telling myself it was too soon to judge, maybe the game has to get into full swing before you can really get into it.
    A few hours in, after beginning the main mission of colonization, I was hoping for some kind of rewarding process where you build a base up but it was just more of the same - 'go here,press triangle.go there, press triangle again. now shoot these aliens. dialogue. repeat. ' After a day and a night of playing, I just found myself wanting to trade it in for a game that was getting consistent good reviews. I'm willing to look past shoddy animation and repetition, but I simpy wasn't having enough fun to continue. maybe if the story was grabbing me, maybe I would have carried on..    … Expand
  81. dyinginbeauty
    Apr 1, 2017
    6
    After 9 and a half hours in I can safely say that this is at its core a decent role playing game offering a considerable amount of content with an engaging story, but it simply falls short by being an unpolished mess. It is glitchy, and the controls, particularly in tight areas are pretty shoddy - to the point where it is in parts unplayable.

    As a fan of the ME trilogy i had to pick    After 9 and a half hours in I can safely say that this is at its core a decent role playing game offering a considerable amount of content with an engaging story, but it simply falls short by being an unpolished mess. It is glitchy, and the controls, particularly in tight areas are pretty shoddy - to the point where it is in parts unplayable.

    As a fan of the ME trilogy i had to pick this up on day one, and approached it with an open mind - it is not as bad as some say, but it should never have been released in this state. Future patches wont make up for this... EA should be ashamed.

    The combat system is deep, more than in the original trilogy, and the story is good too. Would have been a solid game if it were finished.    … Expand
  82. soopafuta
    Apr 1, 2017
    8
    I don't understand why people are complaining so much. the bugs are quite entertaining and often had me in tears from laughing so much. it's different from other mass effect games, but maybe that's a good thing. if it was more of the same, it would boring and stupid. essentially call of duty really. and nobody wants that. the characters were interesting and varied. the story was okay,I don't understand why people are complaining so much. the bugs are quite entertaining and often had me in tears from laughing so much. it's different from other mass effect games, but maybe that's a good thing. if it was more of the same, it would boring and stupid. essentially call of duty really. and nobody wants that. the characters were interesting and varied. the story was okay, kinda playing it safe but it was still interesting. overall this game was highly entertaining.… Expand
  83. rsid
    Apr 1, 2017
    3
    I don't care about political reasons or anything that could have affected other reviewers or players. My opinion is that the story, writing, character development and world development in Andromeda is extremely derivative, bland and one-dimensional, not nearly as good in those aspects to ME 1 (IMO, the weakest of the three MEs). I will not deny that I played ME 2 demo and instantly boughtI don't care about political reasons or anything that could have affected other reviewers or players. My opinion is that the story, writing, character development and world development in Andromeda is extremely derivative, bland and one-dimensional, not nearly as good in those aspects to ME 1 (IMO, the weakest of the three MEs). I will not deny that I played ME 2 demo and instantly bought the full game and fell in love with it. I played ME 1 and 3 and, while I preferred 2 over 3 and 3 over 1, Andromeda was extremely disappointing and it became boring after a while. What was a blank slate to create a new, expansive experience became a cheap, downgraded rehash from the original trilogy that didn't deliver in depth. While playing the original trilogy I devoured the whole Codex and every bit of information I could because those would add depth and understanding of this new, exciting world. In ME: Andromeda, I stopped reading after 20 hours of gameplay and basically just rushed to the mission points on the map because it all became a boring, repetitive hassle with no impact on the story or the world whatsoever. I even tried loading save points where dialog options were given to try different outcomes, but they were all the same.

    Praise for the new combat system are OK, but sometimes overrated. The tactical choices from the original trilogy where you would balance your squad to cover your power weaknesses (like picking squadmates with good powers vs armor because you were focusing on vs shields), or when to have your squad use their powers in the perfect moment, is gone. Individual combat is good in this game, but the removal of the mentioned features is a big let down for me.

    Reviews that have popped up such as in mmorpg.com saying that the game was not as bad as it's been said, blaming people fixation with bad animation or ugly women and other excuses, I believe they are grabbing at straws. Case in point: ME 1, 2 and 3 female Shepard options were fugly; ME 1 still has game breaking bugs; there were buggy animations, poses and moments all over the trilogy, and players still loved it. Players and reviewers remarking on those bugs in Andromeda are doing so because these faults are just nails in the coffin, not the cause of discontent or disappointment.    … Expand
  84. KittyWhisky
    Apr 1, 2017
    7
    Shepard, save us.

    Mass Effect: Andromeda was the victim of haters before the release. And not without reason. Impressions at E3 was terrible and told us that the game is ready or not, or the writers are afraid to show their product. The gameplay videos were beautiful, but strange. Also all appreciated the terrible animation of a female character. But hope was. I spent 50 hours to beat    Shepard, save us.

    Mass Effect: Andromeda was the victim of haters before the release. And not without reason. Impressions at E3 was terrible and told us that the game is ready or not, or the writers are afraid to show their product. The gameplay videos were beautiful, but strange. Also all appreciated the terrible animation of a female character. But hope was. I spent 50 hours to beat the game and play in multiplayer. This is not Mass Effect.

    A feeling. many. who participated in the development of didn't care about the game. Advertising company again littered thanks to EA, the facial animation is bad (not terrible, but worse than in the same Wicher 3), the story is frankly weak. The only people who were good at your work it's artists. The scenery in the game are forced to admire him, all the planets are incredibly beautiful. Even painted and modeled space! This is the most beautiful space in games! The game looks gorgeous, but we love Mass Effect not for the graphics. Overall, the animation is normal. A nomad, nice to handle, he even slips on the ice. When you walk character, as in real life, to go around the different pits, crossing from ledge to ledge. Facial animation is bad, but don't destroy the game just because of her! It's a massive RPG, not cartoon. You need to enjoy the process of history. not the facial animation.

    The main plot is very weak, and does not tolerate any criticism. The plot is like a fanfic. I don't believe that it was written by a screenwriter completed. A few hours, the plot is intriguing, but that intrigue quickly subsides, and we see a weak, predictable and cliched plot. The main enemy Arkhon is absolutely not interesting. And it looks .as if escaped from the movie Gremlins (are you kidding me?!). Kett - another humanoid, and not much interesting. Just the enemies. We were shown a new race - Angara. again, they are humanoids (the writers without imagination), though looks beautiful, especially the eyes. History and lore of the race Angara is very interesting. A new race is fully opened, which is good news. We also have a new extinct race - Remnants. The writers absolutely not revealed the lore of this race. Remember what interesting was the Protheans in the first Mass Effect? Remnants appear to be a robot, although Remnants - it's not the robots, just the writers not come up with that is this race.

    But! It turns out that in Mass Effect: Andromeda main plot is just nothing. The most interesting tasks we give our team, and you can still find interesting job on the planets (although it is mainly sad scan). The developers have done everything that we fell in love with their team. And if you passed the game completely, and not stupidly ran the story, then you love them. Each member of our team is not just a puppet, and interesting character. Someone more interesting, someone less, but you are sure to find their favorites. Job they give are interesting, and sometimes with new gameplay mechanics. Make sure to do the job mates! It's the best thing in the game. The sex scenes also have - they are no better and no worse than in Dragon Age: Inquisition.

    Multiplayer since Mass Effect 3 has not changed, which is probably good. The only thing that has changed is the combat system. And this makes a pleasant change to the gameplay. We run across the map, applied skills, and great strafe. Many people do not like the new combat system, but I thought it was very successful. We have three games sitting behind cover and shoot is boring. Now we can jump high, hover in the air, strafe. The dynamics of the battle has grown significantly. Also in a single company will allow us to combine classes. this is another nice gameplay innovation. Now you can be not only biotic, but also an engineer. Another gameplay mechanic scan. It's boring and not interesting. Don't do it. Many criticized the game due to scanning, so don't do it, it did not occur? In this game, a weak soundtrack, and most importantly - in the game it's almost unheard of, this is a huge minus. If you listen to him separately, like it is good, especially the song that plays in menu, but in game you music almost never awake to hear.

    Mass Effect: Andromeda is not a continuation of the legendary series. we wanted to see. Weak dialogue (though certainly not all, there are very great), terrible plot (Mass Effect) ,and animation cause irreparable damage to Mass Effect. And if the animation can be corrected with patches, the story will remain a third-rate fanfic. despite this Mass Effect does not deserve such low ratings, it has many good features: quests of the characters, some third-party tasks, your team, the gameplay, the beauty of the planets. Give this game a chance, don't rush, explore the world, find interesting tasks (do not do a dull scan), and you will not notice how will these 50 hours. Mass Effect: Andromeda's not trash, just weak game - and this is the worst for this legendary series of games.    … Expand
  85. Kezblez
    Apr 1, 2017
    0
    This felt nothing like the original mass effect(s) it was a poorly made travesty full of SJW propaganda. The story's were so lame and predictable, they didn't have any edge or substance at all. I felt like I was playing Jak and Daxter. They killed it, so disappointed.
  86. Noalan
    Apr 1, 2017
    0
    As it stands now this game should not have been released. It's buggy and ugly. Bioware has promised to update it, I'll revisit this score after that happens. For now, do not buy, wait for a big price drop and/or the patches.
  87. Sceptic
    Mar 31, 2017
    8
    Despite it's many technical issues,Andromeda can be very good game most of the time.The character customisation and animations during conversations and cutscenes are rubbish and are difficult to ignore.Some dialogue and voicework is also pretty poor.However,the exploration,combat,crafting,weapons,armour and vehicle are all very good,The main missions are good without being great,but someDespite it's many technical issues,Andromeda can be very good game most of the time.The character customisation and animations during conversations and cutscenes are rubbish and are difficult to ignore.Some dialogue and voicework is also pretty poor.However,the exploration,combat,crafting,weapons,armour and vehicle are all very good,The main missions are good without being great,but some of the side and incidental missions are dull beyond belief.Some of your crew are really great people,with a couple being uninteresting and whom you'll never bother with unless you have to.The worlds you visit and Andromeda's general atmosphere are excellent with a real feeling of belonging in your surroundings and is the games best part.With the time and money involved in this game,you'd expect the greatness that just eludes it.… Expand
  88. Cervant
    Mar 31, 2017
    5
    So much bugs, animation is horrible, story so-so...

    I don't know if it's a bug, but there's about no Music going on, when walking in the Nexus or anywhere it's mostly silent. There's no background sounds or only a little. The game play is very cool, though. But there isn't much of fight, probably 80% of searching for a quest that is unclear. Oh and the cut-scene before entering a    So much bugs, animation is horrible, story so-so...

    I don't know if it's a bug, but there's about no Music going on, when walking in the Nexus or anywhere it's mostly silent. There's no background sounds or only a little.

    The game play is very cool, though. But there isn't much of fight, probably 80% of searching for a quest that is unclear.

    Oh and the cut-scene before entering a planet or anything that required a cut-scene to get there, are awful, probably add a good 20 hours of that for completing the game.

    It's a real let down, really disappointed.

    Played 70 hours/66% completion. There's a lot of side quests.

    EDIT : Change my note from 4 to 6/10. Because it gives a lot play time, i must give that and a bunch of good laugh (animations).

    Finished the game now and I lowered to 5/10. 80 hours / 96% completion.

    Romance are not worked, there's no scene like in the past, even if it's a Rated M. I have the feeling they didn't bother to give more depth in the relationship of the characters.

    It's a good 3rd person shooter. Not a story telling game. Well, I did not feel involved, no hard choice in the end.    … Expand
  89. MrAptronym
    Mar 31, 2017
    5
    There is a fun gameplay core somewhere in Andromeda, but it is buried by a by-the-numbers plot, an awful user interface, terrible writing (really spectacularly bad at times), numerous glitches, and a structure that is mostly time-wasting filler.

    As the game opens up over time you end up facing the same enemies and doing the same tasks, just with even more transport and downtime in    There is a fun gameplay core somewhere in Andromeda, but it is buried by a by-the-numbers plot, an awful user interface, terrible writing (really spectacularly bad at times), numerous glitches, and a structure that is mostly time-wasting filler.

    As the game opens up over time you end up facing the same enemies and doing the same tasks, just with even more transport and downtime in between them. The entire game feels like meaningless padding around small moments of actual fun combat. Eventually even combat loses its thrill though, as you quickly figure out an optimum strategy for your build and will never be challenged to change it.

    I think worst of all, the game completely fails to capture the spirit of exploration that I had hoped for. Universal translators, computer interfaces and even currencies carry over just fine between galaxies apparently, making very little actually seem new. Just as bad, most of the worlds you survey receive a single bland sentence as a descriptor. There is no joy in exploring the Helios cluster, only tedium.    … Expand
  90. Wideload
    Mar 31, 2017
    3
    I love and have played all of the Mass Effect games. This one is a shocker. The animation just does not work and instead of drawing you in puts you off right from the start. The game play is boring and the main character does not catch the imagination, nor make me interested enough to find out what happens. I have put about 30 hours into this game and I think that will be about all.I love and have played all of the Mass Effect games. This one is a shocker. The animation just does not work and instead of drawing you in puts you off right from the start. The game play is boring and the main character does not catch the imagination, nor make me interested enough to find out what happens. I have put about 30 hours into this game and I think that will be about all.

    Very disappointed BioWare    … Expand
  91. Azeriel
    Mar 31, 2017
    0
    If you're an old-school Mass Effect fan (like I am), feel free to skip this one - or get it once it's heavily discounted with all DLCs included. There is nothing Mass Effect about this except in name and the "sci-fi" theme. You lost control over your squad, you lost squad customization, you lost paused strategy, and you lost having all your abilities instead of just 3 loadouts per combat.If you're an old-school Mass Effect fan (like I am), feel free to skip this one - or get it once it's heavily discounted with all DLCs included. There is nothing Mass Effect about this except in name and the "sci-fi" theme. You lost control over your squad, you lost squad customization, you lost paused strategy, and you lost having all your abilities instead of just 3 loadouts per combat. Furthermore, this is not a Mass Effect story you'd love and respect. Facial animation and all the other glitches are one thing, the simple fact that you simply couldn't care less to the two main protagonists (because they're as bland as a sack of potato) is another. Unlike Shephard, the game removes majority of you meaningful interaction and decision by removing the Paragon/Renegade option. All four options of your dialogue wheels pretty much saying the same thing with a different intonation or sentence structure. If the original Mass Effect trilogy is an epic full-length premium cinema, this is their direct-to-DVD spin off.

    If this is your first RPG however, and you never played Mass Effect before. Go for it. You have no greatness to base on, and the simplified RPG system of this game will serve you well as a training wheel of such genre going forward. Not to mention there will be more than enough flashy combats to keep your attention glued to the screen before you can repeatedly press skip on the next conversation.

    TL;DR, if you're a Mass Effect fan, let the taste of that great masterpiece fade with Shepard instead of being marred by this new release. If you're new to the genre, the franchise, or just looking for a mediocre cover-based shooter masqueraded as a Fischer-Price RPG. This is for you.

    In the era where we seen The Witcher 3, GTA V, and Horizon Zero Dawn, in what way this garbage release is deemed acceptable?    … Expand
  92. Melora
    Mar 31, 2017
    0
    This game is an obscenity. As someone who's played 40+ playthoughs across the original games, it hurts to say that. The character creator is repulsive, the voice acting is dreadful. The plot is dull, the squadmates are boring, and the 2004 Korean MMO tier fetch quests are simply unacceptable in a post-Witcher3, post New Vegas world. It's filled with innumerable bugs. The femaleThis game is an obscenity. As someone who's played 40+ playthoughs across the original games, it hurts to say that. The character creator is repulsive, the voice acting is dreadful. The plot is dull, the squadmates are boring, and the 2004 Korean MMO tier fetch quests are simply unacceptable in a post-Witcher3, post New Vegas world. It's filled with innumerable bugs. The female character doesn't get a female human squadmate romance, again, and the gay romances are just insulting.

    People say the combat is good but that's all MEA is, pew-pew-pew. It's CallofDuty in space now, and anyone wanting story, plot or character must look elsewhere. The people responsible for this atrocity should never work in the industry again.    … Expand
  93. MustafaAmro
    Mar 31, 2017
    1
    I loved Mass Effect franchise, and I can't believe I waited for this game for four years, ME2 was one of the best games I had ever played in my entire life, I had spent 1K+ hours on ME3 Multiplayer.
    But I don't know what to call Andromeda, I spent the entire day trying to clear the **** load of missions that I was given in the first 20 minutes, googling how to get the Deluxe edition items    I loved Mass Effect franchise, and I can't believe I waited for this game for four years, ME2 was one of the best games I had ever played in my entire life, I had spent 1K+ hours on ME3 Multiplayer.
    But I don't know what to call Andromeda, I spent the entire day trying to clear the **** load of missions that I was given in the first 20 minutes, googling how to get the Deluxe edition items i bought. the menus are horrible especially the quests menu you will easily get you lost, the environment is buggy, controlling your squad is a joke if compared to ME3 companions control, a poor navigating system that makes driving through a radiated wasteland that keeps on eating your vehicle shields a nightmare, and that's mostly what you do driving, collecting minerals and looking for dead bodies.
    A huge disappointment, wont be surprised if the price dunked in less than 2 months.    … Expand
  94. Goodneighbour
    Mar 31, 2017
    9
    This IS Mass Effect.
    So, I have just finished playing this game. I have done the main story and almost every side-quest (including additional scanning stuff ones). This game a gem. It felt like Mass Effect through the whole game. The setting is awesome and fresh. Overall the story seems interesting any good-written.
    Performance. Poor. Could have been better. Encountered some    This IS Mass Effect.
    So, I have just finished playing this game. I have done the main story and almost every side-quest (including additional scanning stuff ones). This game a gem. It felt like Mass Effect through the whole game. The setting is awesome and fresh. Overall the story seems interesting any good-written.

    Performance. Poor. Could have been better. Encountered some frustrating bugs, had some crashes to PS 4 "desktop". Also, sometimes there have been some severe FPS drops.

    Plot. Fresh, interesting, felt like ME 1. Lots of exploration and backstory. Just what I needed.

    Characters. Main Female character (Ryder) is great. Wolf is an amazing voice actress. All companions and main allies also are great. Except for Peebee, awful character, awful voiceover, awful everything.
    Face animation did lack something, overall it was fine, with some minor setbacks though. Body animation is astonishing.

    Visuals. Frostbite did it thing. Even on PS 4 the game looks really beautiful. All five main planets are masterfully done. I wish there was a planet with something close to pacific islands.

    Gameplay. Great! Shooter part is challenging and pretty balanced. I really enjoyed the idea of changing character profiles on the go. RPG part is also present and it is a classic Mass Effect. Choices are hard and rewarding, hope to see them matter in the future.
    Maybe to much scanning is involved, other that that nothing to complain about.

    I expected something much worse from Bioware after their leadership problems and poor Inquisition. They impressed me once again. Reminded me why I love Mass Effect so much. I hope to see more games like Andromeda in future. Bioware still alive and kicking!    … Expand
  95. GingerBarbarian
    Mar 31, 2017
    8
    The Mass Effect team took a big swing and hit a double. There is a lot to love and dislike about this game.

    There is a lot to love. Content per dollar is exceptional, you can play this game for 50+ hours easy, You can double or triple that if you are a competitionist.The combat is excellent and so is the voice acting. I give the dialogue a "B-", but considering this is a game that can    The Mass Effect team took a big swing and hit a double. There is a lot to love and dislike about this game.

    There is a lot to love. Content per dollar is exceptional, you can play this game for 50+ hours easy, You can double or triple that if you are a competitionist.The combat is excellent and so is the voice acting. I give the dialogue a "B-", but considering this is a game that can go on for 100+ hours this is not a surprise. I can only expect so much. I also like the new companion system. In previous games I usually stayed with the same companions depending on the mission (Tali if i face synthetics, Mordin if I faced Armored enemies, etc). With this game the companions you take on a mission don't seem to matter as muc strategically. While some can see this as a downside, I like it. I am free to experiment with how characters interact within the Nomad. I am not staying with the same 3 or 4 companions depending on which enemy I am facing.

    The down sides are obvious. Yes, the facial animations are a little last gen, but this does not affect me much. Personally I think critics are being overly harsh on this point. Great games got better reviews with more glitches (Skyrim comes to mind). My biggest issue is that I am not drawn in the same way I was in previous games. I am currently about 50 hours in and I am not feeling the "pull" that I did in the previous Mass Effect games. The sense of urgency is not there. I know Bioware meant for this, to encourage exploration. However it does not feel like the stakes may not be high enough to keep newcomers involved. There are fewer mysteries to uncover with squad-mates. They seem to just give you the information you ask for immediately. There isn't the same coaxing that previous games had. however, they are all likeable and well developed. I just to not find myself as eager to explore the ship and socialize as I was in previous games.

    There are only two major misses in my mind. One is minor. Kumail Nanjiani, who is a brilliant comedian, was miscast as a grumpy accountant. He could have easily become our new "Joker". The second is the lack of new races. We traveled 600+ years and there are only 3 new species. Seems like a little bit of a cop-out.

    Overall, Mass Effect has all the makings of a great first act. Great characters are introduced and the stage is set well, However it does not feel like it is a complete story on its own.    … Expand
  96. AnimeKing
    Mar 31, 2017
    5
    It's an amazing experience of a turd sandwich.

    Graphics, of course we all have heard the faces look really bad, which they are, but it looks great the Andromeda galaxy looks so good. Until you start playing it. I've had a couple of times someone on my team went into 'T' pose, the rocks and flowers would remain flat on the ground. These are just a few that I can remember. Sound, It    It's an amazing experience of a turd sandwich.

    Graphics, of course we all have heard the faces look really bad, which they are, but it looks great the Andromeda galaxy looks so good. Until you start playing it. I've had a couple of times someone on my team went into 'T' pose, the rocks and flowers would remain flat on the ground.
    These are just a few that I can remember.

    Sound, It can be good but nothing that pops out at me just background noise, Until you play it for a while. The music cuts out so all I here is the sound effects for about 30sec. to 1min at a time, Voices don't match up a lot of the time with the text, and sometimes all sound is lost for a period at a time.

    Gameplay, This is what kept me coming back wanting to finish it instead of quiting. some people say it plays like Mass Effect 1 I think it plays like Mass Effect 3 but whatever, It's a cover based 3rd person shoot. The ability to choose what you want to be then level abilities of your own choice instead of like the old ones where you chose a class then get stuck with whatever you chose. I played as an engineer using the turret and keeping the overload ability. I was an Assault Rifle user, who switched to the P.A.W. which is an AR but shoots a beam, and used Sniper Rifles.
    But just like the others there are problems, and a lot of them. I've fell through the floor, got stuck in the floor, fell through the floor survived with no health and got stuck down there, for some reason my game would stutter as if I was lagging even when I wasn't online, my jumps didn't want to work all the time I either wouldn't jump or I would jump slightly and fall to my death, sometimes when they threw grenades and I hit the dodge button twice I'd still get hit even when not in range, towards the end all of these became way more frequent.
    I put out my comments on the game and some people have never seen most or any of these issues, I feel like I just got 1 of the **** copies.

    Story, Isn't bad but nor was it good it's milky way galaxy jumping to a new galaxy to inhabit, really that's it. make outposts here and there, mutiny happened , make new friends, and do just about the same stuff you did in the other Mass Effect games.

    Multiplayer, I played 2 matches, it's like Mas Effect 3 it's just hoard mode, need to get points from matches to get new better gear to go back into the matches and kill easier. In each match their are objectives like, kill everything, hack the objective, etc. it's ok but the microtransactions are way more expensive then ME3. The highest loot crate is worth 100,000 points if you buy it with money it's worth $100 just for 5 random rare items and a chance to get an ultra-rare.

    Overall, Gameplay is worth it I'd definitely say play it if you can but atleast with my experience on it, it's not worth $60 more of a $40 game.
    It's a 5/10 because you can play and these issues can be fixed it's just not worth the $60, if you really want to play it borrow it from a friend or rent it.    … Expand
  97. hpdr
    Mar 31, 2017
    0
    The main story is boring the writing in the dialog is bad the characters show almost no emotion and the choices you have are meaninglessness and boring the combat is fun but becomes repetitive you can no longer control your squad that was a main and unique point oft the mass effect series among other bad design choices make this game in to a mediocre version of mass effect please have aThe main story is boring the writing in the dialog is bad the characters show almost no emotion and the choices you have are meaninglessness and boring the combat is fun but becomes repetitive you can no longer control your squad that was a main and unique point oft the mass effect series among other bad design choices make this game in to a mediocre version of mass effect please have a hard look at mass effect 2 and make a more open world and dynamic version of that game exploiting the thing that made that game unique and great(combat,characters, story etc..) good luck for the next mass effect… Expand
  98. Hirdannen
    Mar 31, 2017
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Note: This review is based on the first 9-hours, since I couldn't manage to play anymore than that.

    As a huge fan of the Mass Effect trilogy and someone who still plays the 3 games occasionnely, I couldn't help but compare Andromeda to its forebears. And Andromeda feels cheap. I don't know where the time and the money went, because they barely had any new models (except for Angaran & Kerth weapons). Krogans, Asaris, Turians.. All the characters seem imported straight from Mass Effect 1 with just higher textures. Mass Effect 2 and 3 had more variety in terms of alien species.

    Animation is minimum, at the same level than Mass Effect 1. But Mass Effect 1 was 10 years ago. I won't spend time talking about that since any meme on the internet shows the problem of the animation in Mass Effect Andromeda.

    Writing is barely at a minimum. Actually, I was hooked in the beginning. Sleeping for 600 years and falling in an unknown galaxy which is actually less hospitable than expected ? That looked awesome. I even liked the first encounter with the Kerth, where you hesitate between shooting or waiting for any gesture of diplomacy. I liked alien gigantic-structures which could transform an entire world, it was an enticing mystery. The Kerth looked good enough, even if not really original.

    The Nexus and the Angaran meeting obliterated any interest I had in the story. The Nexus felt robotic, like if no one cared about the situation. I mean if you compare to ME3's depicition of the Reaper War, you know that ambiance is very important for immersion.In MEA, no one seemed to really care about the fact they were all stranded in an unknown galaxy, cut off from their arks, without much food, fighting against each other (I mean, there was a mutiny !) and floating in space. The very few people you meet just don't care.

    And the Angarans... I was really anticipating meeting a new race (after the Kerth of course). How would they react ? How would we communicate ? It could have been a major plot event. It was the most ridiculous depiction of inter-species discovery I have ever seen in a movie/game. It was filled with completely unexplained and illogical elements such as "How can the Angarans all talk our language just minutes after our landing ?". Even their chief. Even any Quest-giving PNJ you meet afterward !

    Also they say that the Kerth were the first alien race they ever encountered before the Initiative. And yet, they didn't put protection in place, they let me walk straight to their leader (I was a damn biotic ! I didn't need weapons to crush him if I that was what I wanted). I asked them to see the vault and they answered without any kind of reservation about it, just a mere 3 minutes after I began to speak. I felt like I was just meeting a human sergent on a human planet and it was just a normal secondary quest giver. There was absolutely no sense of immersion whatsoever and it was a damn shame. I can also talk about all the Angarans who seem eager to give you quests on the way back, even if they shouldn't be able to speak my language and they had all the reasons in the world to be suspicious of aliens. I'm not even talking about the fact that the Initiative is not 1 alien race, but more than 5 together and no Angaran seemed to care or take note of this. Maybe they're blind and see humans, asaris and krogans as similar ?

    The worlds you visit feel fake and I was like playing ME1 again, even if the vehicle is far easier to handle and graphics are upgraded. It felt more like a remaster of ME1 in that aspect.

    Combat is... weaker than ever. Jetpacks felt like a unexplained addition to the combat system, like adding jump abilities to CoD. In ME123, ennemies have more or less the same abilities you have (at least most ofthem). You know what to expect from them, and you are at a similar level. But in MEA, strangely only you have jetpacks. And your mates. Which means ennemies are stuck to the ground while you fly and dodge like a madman around the battlefield. I found that extremely hard to believe. I do love the acceleration provided by the jetpack of course, like any gamer playing Titanfall would praise the "walk-on-wall" mobility, but I felt my immersion broken when thinking about why I wasthe only one using that. Beside, the ennemies are not designed to fight a jetpack-equipped player, for sure. It feels like playing classical CoD during WWII with a jetpack ! It feels like it was not part of the combat design.

    AI is still stupid, haven't changed since ME1. Allies are worse than ever because now the orders you give them are so few that their inability cannot be compensated by your intervention. Allies standing on rocks instead of taking cover behind them is the pinnacle of the flaws of this system for me. Enemy AI was weak in ME1 but at least they were dangerous.
    I reached the limit for my review, but I had a lot more things to say.    … Expand
  99. TempesMia
    Mar 31, 2017
    8
    TLDR; It's not quite what I wanted it to be, but I'm having fun so it gets this score for me.

    I'm enjoying it. Let's get it out of the way: yes the character animations are cringy at worse, very blah the rest of the time. Yes the character creation was super disappointing and I kinda hate how my sisRyder looks. But I've been enjoying the combat and hanging around this new galaxy. The    TLDR; It's not quite what I wanted it to be, but I'm having fun so it gets this score for me.

    I'm enjoying it. Let's get it out of the way: yes the character animations are cringy at worse, very blah the rest of the time. Yes the character creation was super disappointing and I kinda hate how my sisRyder looks. But I've been enjoying the combat and hanging around this new galaxy. The story doesn't have the complexity or intensity of, say, kotor, but it's still interesting enough to keep me engaged, and it really does have a bunch of *really good moments*. I don't *love* all the members of my crew, some are falling flat (looking at you Cora), but others are more interesting, and I've only gotten a few steps into my relationship with Suvi so it's too early to say how interesting the romancing gets. I'm a little overwhelmed by the million little sidequests which, if I were to do them all, would make it feel like an eternity between story points, but at least they're not mandatory. Just wish they'd spent their energy on fewer quests / no multiplayer and put it into other aspects of the game. Oh, and because the mako was terrible, gotta say I love the nomad! I love a vehicle I can drive crazy reckless in and not crash, that's pretty practical for someone who drives like a Montrealer.    … Expand
  100. cronoedge
    Mar 31, 2017
    10
    I Beat Mass Effect: Andromeda.
    ________________________
    Banged a chick who licks rocks.
    ________________________
    10 out of 10.
    ________________________
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Awards & Rankings

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#3 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2017
5
#5 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 61 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 61
  2. Mixed: 30 out of 61
  3. Negative: 1 out of 61
  1. Power Unlimited
    Oct 19, 2017
    78
    It might be the biggest, most complex and action packed game in the franchise, but Mass Effect: Andromeda is also the least convincing one. The dated facial animations, the inconsistent writing quality and the regularly occurring bugs take you out of the experience too often. On top of that, BioWare has not used the concept of a whole new universe to its full potential, which often makes it feel like Mass Effect: Andromeda has not left our Milky Way at all.
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  2. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Jul 7, 2017
    70
    While it’s underwhelming in places, there’s a lot to like as you venture into the weirder parts of Andromeda. Frequent technical issues hamper the experience a bit, as does an uninspiring main story. [June 2017, p66]
  3. Games Master UK
    Jun 6, 2017
    81
    A welcome, if slightly patch return for Mass Effect. The script has problems, but combat is bloody brilliant. [May 2017, p.62]
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