Gaming Mass Effect: Andromeda (PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Mass Effect was one of those franchises I completed a bit late, and I didn't really think the games lived up to the hype... Brilliant in some ways, woeful in others. Mass Effect 4 can be great, but it needs to be a big step up from ME 1 & 2.
 
It's all about the journey not the destination. I still think some of the reactions were stupidly lame. Sure, be disappointed but the outrage was ridiculous.

Can't wait to see more of this at E3.
I think if the game didn't have a big fat EA logo on it, people wouldn't have cared remotely as much.
 
It's all about the journey not the destination. I still think some of the reactions were stupidly lame. Sure, be disappointed but the outrage was ridiculous.

Can't wait to see more of this at E3.

The modern world eh? Sure people have always been tarts, but now they have a loud voice with which to vent it.

On the other hand though, it was clearly rushed to get it out the door and make ridiculous money, so all round should have been better.


Nothing beats the ending to Double Dragon 3 on the snes though, all that way, all that fighting (I think it had to be in one session too) only to get a single page of poorly translated text. Now that was bad! We didn't have the internet to complain on though :(
 
Mass Effect was one of those franchises I completed a bit late, and I didn't really think the games lived up to the hype... Brilliant in some ways, woeful in others. Mass Effect 4 can be great, but it needs to be a big step up from ME 1 & 2.

Yeah. Because the follow on with character builds and the very well done NPC characters, I think people get a little carried away.

Especially since as 'games' they are pretty mediocre in terms of mechanics (especially 2, which is only seen as better than it really is because some gamers couldn't get to grips with 1 fully).

But they are still good and as a trilogy so far I'd say bordering on great at times.
 
I think if the game didn't have a big fat EA logo on it, people wouldn't have cared remotely as much.
Yeah, a lot of people definitely used it as yet another reason to hate EA and all they stand for.
 
I think if the game didn't have a big fat EA logo on it, people wouldn't have cared remotely as much.

Nah, Bioware are massively respected, even with EA publishing.

It was rushed out the door, and people got really invested and expected at least a decent ending. Obviously what followed was hilarious and incredibly sad at the same time :lol:
 
Yeah. Because the follow on with character builds and the very well done NPC characters, I think people get a little carried away.

Especially since as 'games' they are pretty mediocre in terms of mechanics (especially 2, which is only seen as better than it really is because some gamers couldn't get to grips with 1 fully).

But they are still good and as a trilogy so far I'd say bordering on great at times.

Agreed. The world (well, universe) building in such a short period of time is staggering. After 100 hours you're engrossed in galactic politics and your rapidly advancing place in society...

But a shallow, binary morality system, poor dialog options, and so-so gameplay keep it from attaining the levels of greatness early Bioware titles did. However, they've done the ground work now. They've crafted an amazing universe full of diverse characters & races - It's time they put those amazing assets into an amazing game.
 
I really hope they don't fill it with MMO style quests like in Inquisition.
 
Nah, Bioware are massively respected, even with EA publishing.

It was rushed out the door, and people got really invested and expected at least a decent ending. Obviously what followed was hilarious and incredibly sad at the same time :lol:
Sure they are, but people were increasingly getting on their back, primarily due to SWTOR and DA2, and getting more and more concerned about the influence of EA on them. It definitely played a part.
 
Sure they are, but people were increasingly getting on their back, primarily due to SWTOR and DA2, and getting more and more concerned about the influence of EA on them. It definitely played a part.

Yeah, of course it did. And EA are definitely cnuts.

But people would still have cared regardless and there would still have been a load of geeks moaning.
 
The ending doesn't really change, extended cut just makes it easier to achieve the "best" ending (highest points needed) by lowering the requirements so you no longer have to play online to get it. Add DLCs on top of that and it's very easy to get enough points. Extended cut also adds a few extra cut-scenes, but nothing major. Leviathan is IMO a more important DLC, because it adds a some insight into Reavers.


And yeah, @Redlambs. Like I've said before, ME1 is a RPG with FPS elements, whereas 2 and 3 are more of a FPS with RPG elements. I love all three games though, but 1 will always be my favourite. I'm assuming 4 will follow the FPS trend though, because it's obviously very popular.
The new ending is conceptually the same (Deus Ex ending) but realized far better and looks slightly less shit. They didn't make more easy to get the best ending.

The new game will be even more shooter IMO. The writer is the guy who wrote the last Halo while Mac Walters is producent. From docs, Karpyshyn and Hudson to this team is an even bigger downgrade than from Fergie to Moyes.

Most certainly will still play it though. I loved too much the first (and second game) to not continue with the franchise.
 
Glad they're continuing the franchise and expanding on the universe. They probably learned some of their lessons after third game so this may be a way more balanced story with some real upgrades in a gameplay. Having direct impact on the space battles would be a huge improvement in a sort of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag way. Gaining ultimate control of the ship would add one badass dimension to the whole mix.

Of course they still may ruin it with 245 DLC packs and micro transactions if you want to shag a character from the crew... That's becoming an inevitable part of the 'fun' unfortunately.
 
The new ending is conceptually the same (Deus Ex ending) but realized far better and looks slightly less shit. They didn't make more easy to get the best ending.

The new game will be even more shooter IMO. The writer is the guy who wrote the last Halo while Mac Walters is producent. From docs, Karpyshyn and Hudson to this team is an even bigger downgrade than from Fergie to Moyes.

Most certainly will still play it though. I loved too much the first (and second game) to not continue with the franchise.

I'm not against it being a shooter/rpg at all, as long as they go against 2/3 and make it a good one.

I have my doubts it will be though, but I'll still play it. After all we are all suckers together :lol:
 
The new ending is conceptually the same (Deus Ex ending) but realized far better and looks slightly less shit. They didn't make more easy to get the best ending.

The new game will be even more shooter IMO. The writer is the guy who wrote the last Halo while Mac Walters is producent. From docs, Karpyshyn and Hudson to this team is an even bigger downgrade than from Fergie to Moyes.

Most certainly will still play it though. I loved too much the first (and second game) to not continue with the franchise.
Yes they did. They lowered the required EMS for all possible endings from 4000 to 3100.
 
I'm not against it being a shooter/rpg at all, as long as they go against 2/3 and make it a good one.

I have my doubts it will be though, but I'll still play it. After all we are all suckers together :lol:
Well yeah, as long as it is done well, I'lI be happy. A shooter can have good story too (Bioshock Infinite). I would prefer a full RPG - obviously - but it seems that this new version of BW is completely different to how BW was.

Just for the love of God no more pointless MMORPG side missions like in Inquisition.
 
The difference between Dragon Age Origins to Inquisition kind of makes me skepticle towards the new mass effect game. I hope they don't spend so much time designing the areas/zones and neglect the story like they did for Inquisition.

There was so much talk about Inquisition and how they had learned from Dragon Age 2 and will be going back to the basics which made the original great but I don't think they did. It seems like they are now chasing the open world crowd who played games like Skyrim and people who enjoy story driven RPGs are an afterthought for them.

Also the DLC for Inquisition seems to be crap from what I've read and a bit of a cash grab...

I've been playing KOTOR today (first playthrough) and it seems like Bioware kinda peaked with that and Dragon Age Origins in my opinion anyway. I wish EA had never bought them as it's been quite downhill since then.

Plus I think the new mass effect is going to have the filler crap like Inquisition like the war table shit.
 
The difference between Dragon Age Origins to Inquisition kind of makes me skepticle towards the new mass effect game. I hope they don't spend so much time designing the areas/zones and neglect the story like they did for Inquisition.

There was so much talk about Inquisition and how they had learned from Dragon Age 2 and will be going back to the basics which made the original great but I don't think they did. It seems like they are now chasing the open world crowd who played games like Skyrim and people who enjoy story driven RPGs are an afterthought for them.

Also the DLC for Inquisition seems to be crap from what I've read and a bit of a cash grab...

I've been playing KOTOR today (first playthrough) and it seems like Bioware kinda peaked with that and Dragon Age Origins in my opinion anyway. I wish EA had never bought them as it's been quite downhill since then.

Plus I think the new mass effect is going to have the filler crap like Inquisition like the war table shit.
Yeah, I liked Inquisition but Origins was so much better. Origins is the last game which was done by original Bioware's philosophy. Since then they have been trying to get new players, neglecting the old fans.

Check Pillars of Eternity. It is so much better than Inquisition.
 
Yeah, I liked Inquisition but Origins was so much better. Origins is the last game which was done by original Bioware's philosophy. Since then they have been trying to get new players, neglecting the old fans.

Check Pillars of Eternity. It is so much better than Inquisition.
My PC is like 9 years old so I doubt it will be able to play any new games. Right now I'm just happy it can play Kotor and Age of Empires.

Might try it on my Macbook but it's absolute crap for playing games and likes to overheat.
 
I hope they don't spend so much time designing the areas/zones and neglect the story like they did for Inquisition.

This is my biggest fear with regards to the new mass effect. I felt like the story of dragon age inquisition was lacking in a lot of ways. I don't know if it's just me but I really didn't care about most if not all of the characters in the game either. The squad mates in mass effect on the other hand were much more interesting and their stories were way better (well, to me at least).
 
This is my biggest fear with regards to the new mass effect. I felt like the story of dragon age inquisition was lacking in a lot of ways. I don't know if it's just me but I really didn't care about most if not all of the characters in the game either. The squad mates in mass effect on the other hand were much more interesting and their stories were way better (well, to me at least).
I liked Cassandra and Dorian the most. Iron Bull, Blackwall and Solas were pretty solid too I thought. Sera, Cole and Vivienne atrocious.

The story for inquisition felt like they forgot to make the last third of the game or something. Couldn't believe it when the final mission started. Even Dragon Age 2, for all the abuse it gets, had a final chapter which you knew was building up to something.
 
Odd, i never heard any criticism of ME2, from everywhere I've looked its hailed as one of the best games ever made.
 
Odd, i never heard any criticism of ME2, from everywhere I've looked its hailed as one of the best games ever made.
...because it is. It has it's flaws like couple of few longer moments that holds you down a bit but it was definitely a huge step forward in epic story telling.

If they could remaster first game by adding a fluid gameplay of the 2nd it would be hands down best game in the series and possibly in entire genre, imo.
 
...because it is. It has it's flaws like couple of few longer moments that holds you down a bit but it was definitely a huge step forward in epic story telling.

If they could remaster first game by adding a fluid gameplay of the 2nd it would be hands down best game in the series and possibly in entire genre, imo.
I tried to play Mass Effect 1 after completing 2 and it was very difficult to go back to as the game mechanics did not age very well at all. I stopped playing halfway through.

I wish I had played the Mass Effect series as it came out instead of starting in the middle as people seem to revere the first game and hold it in very high regard.
 
Thankfully most disagree with this

I am hoping for more of the same

You guys can't be for real.

ME1 was fantastic, ME2 was the producers riding their fame earned with ME1 brining very little innovations so there was hardly any progress in the game itself (which more often than not means regress) and I couldn't force myself to finish ME3 because it was bugged as feck, graphics wise it was comedy gold at times, story got horribly flat and the ending was just ugh.
 
Weird, i thought it was a masterpiece. it was the goldelocks zone of "just right".
The main criticism is that it isn't ME1, by the people who wanted more of an RPG. The story has also been criticised a bit. You're unable to convince people about Reavers, but everyone is like "oh yeah, the Collectors - I heard about them once. They're the real deal!". On my first play-through I hated it and had to drag myself through it, but on my recent one I quite enjoyed it.
 
Let's not whitewash history here. The reasons for outrage at the end of me3 were entirely valid. They spent an entire trilogy building up this idea that the universe would respond and adapt to your decisions. What we got was pick a color. The Rachni Queen is the perfect example. Made feck all difference. They ruined a large part of what set the series apart by destroying the idea that your actions had any significant effect on the outcome. Some of the decisions were well executed (Tuchanka and the Geth/Quarians for example), but overall the ending was a massive disappointment that generated a lot of justified discontent.

Weird, i thought it was a masterpiece. it was the goldelocks zone of "just right".

I agree
 
You guys can't be for real.

ME1 was fantastic, ME2 was the producers riding their fame earned with ME1 brining very little innovations so there was hardly any progress in the game itself (which more often than not means regress) and I couldn't force myself to finish ME3 because it was bugged as feck, graphics wise it was comedy gold at times, story got horribly flat and the ending was just ugh.
Rule Nr.1 when you discuss games in the Caf: ignore whatever Randall says.
 
2 is clearly dumbed and turned into a mediocre shooter, at best, to chase sales. 3 followed on.

That doesn't mean they are terrible though, and of course some will like that (the kind of gamer simple and shiney stuff is aimed at ;) ), it's still a great series of games.
Best gaming series ever though? Really? ;)
Agreed, now I don't have to write a post stating that...
 
Mass Effect 2 was clearly miles better than 1, I thought that was a pretty undisputed thing?? The RPG elements of Mass Effect 1 were really quite unpolished and the dumbed down version in the following games was better for the series. I also never understood why people went so bat shit over the ending of 3, it was no masterpiece of story telling but didn't take away from the experience or represent anything worth getting worked up over. Maybe it's because I was a bit late to the series and just played the complete editions of the trilogy after it was all done and dusted and was expecting a considerably worse ending all along.

Thoroughly marvellous trilogy. I wish they'd make a new, modern KOTOR game than start another Mass Effect tale though.
 
The Bioware forums are like a reverse RAWK with greater emphasis on gender issues.
 
Has anyone tried using ME1 console commands and giving yourself those hyper rail weapon mods? That and HE rounds on a Widow = insta-kill on Insanity most of the time :D, some of the most fun I've had on any of the ME series.