Mass Effect Andromeda: Shitstorm Edition - RIP Biowear

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I wouldn't go so far as to condemn the game that hard. It's not the hilarious bugfest that the bandwagon would have you believe, although it is definitely lacking in polish. Most of the issues that I've described have also been present in other AAA games in recent years, too: skyrim was festooned with npcs falling from the sky, as well as some truly hideous voice acting and npc animation. Fallout 4 has some spectacularly exceptional npc ai implementations, as well as a fucking awful storyline. Andromeda is definitely not in the same hallowed ranks as the trilogy, but it's not worthy of condemning to the same degree as, say, no man's sky was at release.
I don't think anyone's calling it a "No Meme's Sky" tier game.
It is garbage though and I can say that as someone with around 97% completion. It's saving grace is that it is the best damn garbage you'll ever play in your life. A lot of the writing is just really so bad its good. I mentioned Liam's Loyalty mission before and I would HIGHLY recommend watching that shit if you want to experience a small bit of how bad the dialogue and writing can get.

The game is also very very lazy. I compared it to Mass Effect 1 awhile back and really that comparison holds true. It feels a lot like ME1 did in terms of some story points. That being said, it sure doesn't do anything as well as ME1.
ME1 was rough, but it had a lot of quality. The Milky Way felt more alien in the first game than Andromeda ever does. You have this giant, beautiful space station. Mysterious AI robots that impale people on spikes to turn them into zombies. Floating hippie squids with tentacles. An entire race of cute aliens that talk like fucking Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. Tiny space Jews with really bad asthma. Monogendered cute girls with tentacles on their heads. Bird men with legit metal for their skin. Space gypsies who invented the AI robots and are generally shat on by the rest of the galaxy. Giant fucking lizards who are the most tough motherfuckers in lore and in game and will fuck your shit up because they exist for one purpose and that purpose IS to fuck your shit up. Fish men that talk real fast and live for only 40 years. Bug people that communicate via song. A mysterious ship that turns out to be a sentient synth-organic hybrid that wipes out all life every 50,000 years. A giant fucking plant that shits out clones of people and turns an entire colony into mindless zombies.
That shit is cool and has a unique feel. There are always constant mysteries and you're the one in the middle of it all. Interacting with your companions brings new light to their species. Interacting with people in general brings new light to fucking everything. Detail is everywhere and its clear a lot of care was put into the lore.

Now there's Andromeda. You've got the main antagonists which are a bunch of literal monkey looking fuckers that kind of assimilate people into their race like the Reapers do. And then you have the Angara who are the horrible product of a child slapping together a Togruta from Star Wars and some Jamaicans. They're easily the most interesting part of Andromeda. Also there's the not-Protheans who left being not-Prothean advanced technology. The not-Protheans really love hexagons and use it all the time in their architecture.
Legit the blandest fucking sci-fi in the series. Bioware is creatively bankrupt at this point so they compensated with teen rom-com writing and pretty visuals. A new galaxy and all they could come up with is not-Protheans, incompetent (but somehow genetically superior) space monkeys, and the Angara.
 
I suppose that this is probably the point at which that I should come clean and admit that I happen to enjoy trashy sci-fi almost as much as I enjoy decent sci-fi.

Either way, I'd be blind to not acknowledge its flaws, but the fact of the matter is that I don't actually mind them all that much.
 
I suppose that this is probably the point at which that I should come clean and admit that I happen to enjoy trashy sci-fi almost as much as I enjoy decent sci-fi.

Either way, I'd be blind to not acknowledge its flaws, but the fact of the matter is that I don't actually mind them all that much.

So you are saying it is so bad it is good? If only I could mod in Ryder to be Sonichu!
 
many words

Yea, that always bothered me about sci-fi when they go to some distant location and....all the aliens have 2 legs, 2 arms, 2 eyes, and can communicate with you through vocalization. ME1 had that too but also had truly alien life like you mentioned. I think that was made it interesting, to see alternative evolution paths and how we would react to them.

Then you go to Andromeda, literally another freaking galaxy and....the only two forms of sentient life are two-armed, two-legged, 2 eyed, etc etc, basically the exact same forms of life that evolved in the milky way. You could make the argument (and I'm sure hardcore biodrones do) that "that's the most effective life form!" but you should still see some, perhaps less successful attempts at life. The original trilogy did a great job of showcasing this, whereas Andromeda is completely unimpressive.
 
Actually there is a tranny scientists there too.

Also, yeah, I like non humanoid aliens too. But I understand why they make them humanoid. It is easier to animate and people can relate to them more. This matters mostly where you do more than just shoot at them.
 
Actually there is a tranny scientists there too.

Also, yeah, I like non humanoid aliens too. But I understand why they make them humanoid. It is easier to animate and people can relate to them more. This matters mostly where you do more than just shoot at them.
Yeah, but that's effectively one line of dialogue, as opposed to a full Tolstoy's worth of 'the qun embraces my gender ambiguity'.

How's the armor variety? I hated how 85% of the armors in DAI were just variants of the same brown duster.
Eh, it's mass effect-style armour. There's a hit of variance, but nothing groundbreaking. There's normal armour, weird soft-looking angara amour, pointy-looking remnant armour and the patxhwork-esque armour of the exiles.
 
I hate that 99% of the characters I've seen from Andromeda are races from the previous games. I understand having humans as your protagonists, maybe even bringing in some of the council races, but they came up with two new sapient races for a whole damn GALAXY.
 
Yeah, but that's effectively one line of dialogue, as opposed to a full Tolstoy's worth of 'the qun embraces my gender ambiguity'.


Eh, it's mass effect-style armour. There's a hit of variance, but nothing groundbreaking. There's normal armour, weird soft-looking angara amour, pointy-looking remnant armour and the patxhwork-esque armour of the exiles.
Did they get rid of the boob plates for the females or are they still there?
 
I hate that 99% of the characters I've seen from Andromeda are races from the previous games. I understand having humans as your protagonists, maybe even bringing in some of the council races, but they came up with two new sapient races for a whole damn GALAXY.
"uhhhh the reapers ate everyone else" - Mac Walters
 
Did they get rid of the boob plates for the females or are they still there?
On some armour its still there, on others it's a bit more neutral. Tbh, on armour that's not dealing with sword blows on a regular basis, it's not really a sensible thing to get worked up about.

:( why no space elephants with back mounted rocket lauchers performing Shakespeare Bioware
They were too busy being employed as devs.

Obligatory double post apology.
 
I hate that 99% of the characters I've seen from Andromeda are races from the previous games. I understand having humans as your protagonists, maybe even bringing in some of the council races, but they came up with two new sapient races for a whole damn GALAXY.

But it isn't the whole galaxy, right? The Heleus cluster is just a region of Andromeda. It's not unlike how in the original trilogy, all the races were from different clusters and were not always aware of each other. I looked it up, in Mass Effect the first aliens humans came in contact with were Turians in 2157. Add to that that there are no mass relays in Andromeda. A potential sequel, if hopefully this franchise isn't dead, would explore the Andromeda galaxy further and introduce new alien races.
 
I hate that 99% of the characters I've seen from Andromeda are races from the previous games. I understand having humans as your protagonists, maybe even bringing in some of the council races, but they came up with two new sapient races for a whole damn GALAXY.

What I thought was really funny was that they intentionally only brought the humanoid "cool" races, Humans, Turians, Asari. And Salarians because you need space spergs.

All the weird races were on board the Quarian ark which broke down and didn't get to Andromeda. That's literally the excuse for why they didn't put in any Elcor, Hannar, or Volus. The space gypsy's caravan mysteriously went to shit.
 
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What I thought was really funny was that they intentionally only brought the humanoid "cool" races, Humans, Turians, Asari. And Salarians because you need space spergs.

All the weird races were on board the Quarian ark which broke down and didn't get to Andromeda. That's literally the excuse for why they didn't put in any Elcor, Hannar, or Volus. The space gypsy's caravan mysteriously went to shit.

So they didn't put the only two races that have to subsist on dextro-based stuff in the same ark?
 
My dream game would take place during/after ME 3 where you were a C-Sec officer decorated for the Reaper incursion (maybe playing through a segment depending on your background). You could choose your race (Asari, Turian, Human, Krogan). They'd just need voice modulation, and you'd still have the male/female voice actors. It'd be a bit smaller scale and require some creative effort, but it would introduce new players to the universe as well as correcting the biggest deficit of the third.

Problem is, Bioware doesn't have that creativity anymore. They just chose to basically do another Mass Effect 1 but shittier.
 
My dream game would take place during/after ME 3 where you were a C-Sec officer decorated for the Reaper incursion (maybe playing through a segment depending on your background). You could choose your race (Asari, Turian, Human, Krogan). They'd just need voice modulation, and you'd still have the male/female voice actors. It'd be a bit smaller scale and require some creative effort, but it would introduce new players to the universe as well as correcting the biggest deficit of the third.

Problem is, Bioware doesn't have that creativity anymore. They just chose to basically do another Mass Effect 1 but shittier.

Imagine the hype that would come with being able to play their own Talis, Wrexes, Garruses. Especially if it had lot of girl on girl interspecies action, all the neckbeards and progressives would have jizzed their pants and handed out their money at a rate that would have had EA's board of directors having a drug infused party.

But if this department did it? The most emotive race would be the Volus, because you would not have to see their glitchy faces!:lol:

Some video blogger trying to tell people you need more characteristics than "I'm gay!"

 
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