Mass Effect: Andromeda

[thaima1shu]

Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

I'm not bothered by the lip syncing or facial animations so far, they seem fine to me. Horizon Zero Dawn's got terrible lip syncing and animation during dialogue yet I never see anyone complaining about that.

Played a little under two hours so far and am really enjoying it. If you've played the other Mass Effect games, the movement is pretty similar but with some increased mobility. I like the voice actor for the male Ryder better than I liked the male Shepard.

Oh huge positive for me is that you can actually make asian characters. Most games are horrendous at this, so it's pretty awesome for me.

[Americas Team]

Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Played for a few hours and so far I am loving the game, I really dont have any complaints so far beside the fact you cant customize the default Ryder faces and hair! The game play is so fun and satisfying, the graphics are really good, and I really like the exploring. If you like Mass Effect I dont see why you wouldnt like this game.

Now I have a decision to make, continue playing ME2/ME3 or just say screw them and play MEA.

[Americas Team]

Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

I can live with all those complaints.
I think I'm one of the few who prefers auto-cover because I'm so bad at games I need all the help I can get.


EDIT:
Found this site which shows a lot of the complaints:

http://thisgengaming.com/2017/03/15/mass-effect-andromeda-is-full-of-awkward-and-reused-animations-performance-issues-and-glitches/

I don't really care about the dead eyes or small bugs, but the slowdowns concern me.

Every game has bugs now. Developers are now using the consumers as bug testers knowing they can simply fire off a patch a month after release.
I think if you love the game, or the genre, you'll overlook these bugs and enjoy the game.
To use a bad example, I love MLB2K13 warts and all. It has a bevy of animation issues and you need to tinker with sliders out of the box, but I love the gameplay and some of the exterior features as well.
The good outweighs the bad and I don't mind dealing with the quirks.

And I think that goes for every game. If you're on the fence, then this stuff will probably drive you nuts.
But I'm excited for the game so I don't think I'll mind these hiccups.

I like the auto cover too, less buttons to press plus it works very well in this game.

[rudyjuly2]

Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Some positive early impressions that compare the game to DAI (which I liked): https://pageturnersinc.wordpress.com...a-no-spoilers/

[jfsolo]

Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

I can live with all those complaints.
I think I'm one of the few who prefers auto-cover because I'm so bad at games I need all the help I can get.


EDIT:
Found this site which shows a lot of the complaints:

http://thisgengaming.com/2017/03/15/mass-effect-andromeda-is-full-of-awkward-and-reused-animations-performance-issues-and-glitches/

I don't really care about the dead eyes or small bugs, but the slowdowns concern me.

Every game has bugs now. Developers are now using the consumers as bug testers knowing they can simply fire off a patch a month after release.
I think if you love the game, or the genre, you'll overlook these bugs and enjoy the game.
To use a bad example, I love MLB2K13 warts and all. It has a bevy of animation issues and you need to tinker with sliders out of the box, but I love the gameplay and some of the exterior features as well.
The good outweighs the bad and I don't mind dealing with the quirks.

And I think that goes for every game. If you're on the fence, then this stuff will probably drive you nuts.
But I'm excited for the game so I don't think I'll mind these hiccups.

Yeah, I think that people who still have residual hard feelings toward Bioware/EA for any of their other games will probably be able to find something that ruins the game for them.

[rudyjuly2]

Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

PC roundtable discussion. Some like it, some don't but they can only talk abou the early part of the game which they all feel is a mistake since they think that's the weak part of the game.

http://www.pcgamer.com/we-have-mixed-feelings-about-the-first-few-hours-of-mass-effect-andromeda/?utm_content=buffer847b2

[The JareBear]

Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

I definitely am aware/maybe a little worried about the criticisms but from the very little I've seen I'm still very excited.

I love that dialogue is contextual based on optional stuff you've done

I love the environments that I've seen. Maybe doesn't look like Horizon but seems to look very sharp

Exploration looks fun as hell

Almost every multiplayer impression I've read has been awesome. The MP looks cool as hell

There definitely will be valid criticisms, for sure, but for me I am confident about getting my money's worth

I could be wrong tho, I guess?

I think the one criticism I am most affected by, if true, is if the menu and UI is as cumbersome as some have said

[Americas Team]

Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

I think I've made a decision, I'm going to continue playing through ME2 then on to ME3. Im going to wait for the XboxONE Elite to drop this fall to buy Andromeda, I must see this baby in all it's glory!
Between ME2/ME3 and my backlog I have plenty to keep my busy until then.

[SoxFan01605]

Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Seeing a lot of complaints about animations and voice sync stuff. For a dialogue heavy game some find the voice sync and dialogue issues so far. Big open world games usually need a couple patches. I may hold off on this game for a bit and dig into HZD.

Also, the game uses an auto cover system so some people will be annoyed.

I'm playing the access trial on PC. Honestly, and maybe this is because I've been replaying ME3 lately, the dialogue syncing and related facial animations don't stand out as badly to me as some are saying. A lot of that is just typical Bioware, IMO.

That said, I think the graphical style (the somewhat shiny/waxy skin) plus the greater detail overall makes the issues more noticeable. I also agree with complaints I've seen about the general lack of emotion or appropriate facial animations depending on circumstances. The ambient conversations are frustrating too, as your party will talk as though right next to you even though they've sprinted way ahead...a bit jarring. It's a mixed bag for sure.

Anyway, some general thoughts:

GRAPHICS:

Graphics as a whole are a mixed bag. The greater environments and aliens all range from good to awesome. Humans are all over the map (The player characters being most disappointing IMO) and certain textures seem disappointingly washed out when compared to other recent titles (and also considering the crazy high recommended specs for PC...more on that in a bit).

CHARACTER CUSTOMIZATION:

Related to visuals, character customization is, IMO, crap. Very disappointing. While it's certainly possible to get some decent enough looking faces, you are confined to simply tweaking the presets, which is even more limited than the original trilogy.

In other words, instead of picking a face and then selecting from different types of feature sets, you can only moderately sculpt the features already there. So, of you really like the outline of one face, but the nose is all wrong? Too bad. Perfect nose and chin on another face, but weird huge eyes? Again, too bad.

And don't even get me started on the beards. Beyond the small selection, they honestly look two generations behind visually. They're like paint...just turrible.

I had much more success customizing my twin...I thought the faces and hair options for the females, while still limited were, as a whole, much better.


That sounds like a lot of bitching...lol..and it is, I guess, but those gripes aside, the rest of the game is great so far. If you don't care too much about customizing your Ryder(s) or get hung up on occasionally wonky visuals and facial animations, there's little else to complain about.

NARRATIVE:

It's taking me a bit to warm up to the Ryders, but that's likely as much due to Shep bias as anything. I also have a good feeling about the early characters I've interacted with. Liam, for example, seems to take on the role of your typical early Bioware buddy, but, so far at least, isn't quite as generic or annoying.

It's early, but I love the sense of exploring a new galaxy and the discovery that goes with it. They also do a good job of weaving your role into the early narrative (even if it was a bit cliched and not at all unexpected).

It doesn't hold the same sense of excitement as ME1 did, but for me it does exactly what I was hoping for with the narrative and focus (that expansion of discovery and exploration from the original). The scanning tool and subsequent info gained from it adds to that as well.

GAME PLAY:

Combat and movement in general is SO MUCH better now and really fluid. Not a big fan of auto cover and I keep hitting A to go into it (which is now the jetpack), so I don't have a feel for it yet.

Weapon fire feels a bit weak...no real punch and enemies seem to be a bit spongy, but that may be an early game thing. Biotics are AWESOME though and feel more in your control than ever.

I'm in love with the simple Pull/Throw combo, where you hold an enemy with Pull and then toss him into objects or even other enemies at will. I seriously just jet pack around grabbing guys and flinging them into each other or into the singularity I just tossed...lots of fun!

PC SETTINGS:

Also, a quick note for PC players, I was a bit worried about the recommended specs being so high, but I've got most of my settings at Ultra and things have been buttery smooth at 1080P (I7 2600K and GTX 980). Reports are that it's running great on I5s on higher settings as well, so it doesn't appear to be as demanding as stated.

[The JareBear]

Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Thanks for your thoughts Sox, I appreciate your perspective.

This is one of the first games in awhile that the recommended specs are above what my PC can handle, which is why I went Pro on this one

[SoxFan01605]

Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Thanks for your thoughts Sox, I appreciate your perspective.

This is one of the first games in awhile that the recommended specs are above what my PC can handle, which is why I went Pro on this one

Same here. I was worried when they were announced, but if the game is this smooth before a dedicated driver update, then I think a lot more people will be able to play this on decent settings than originally thought.

[RIFRIG]

Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

I'm thinking if it may be possible to patch in a manual cover option as it does make life a little to easy with auto cover.
There are definitely a couple of unused buttons on the controller that could help with a manual cover system.

[The 24th Letter]

Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Definitely agree here

'This Is Why It's A Bad Idea For Games Like 'Mass Effect: Andromeda' To Have Piecemeal Embargoes'

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2017/03/16/this-is-why-its-a-bad-idea-for-games-like-mass-effect-andromeda-to-have-piecemeal-embargoes/amp/

[jfsolo]

Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

Definitely agree here



'This Is Why It's A Bad Idea For Games Like 'Mass Effect: Andromeda' To Have Piecemeal Embargoes'



https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.for...embargoes/amp/

This kind of measured, nuanced analysis is not something that many "reviewers" seem capable of these days.

[AshamanCarnage]

Re: Mass Effect: Andromeda

I've played around two hours so far and have run into just a couple complaints, pretty minor overall.

1. Lip syncing can be off from time to time
2. Facial expressions are pretty lacking
3. Character customization is hot garbage. Severely lacking in options and most of the choices to choose from look awful.
4. Slight slowdown every now and then.

Despite those, I'm pretty engrossed in the story, it definitely has an epic feel to it and I'm looking forward to progressing it. Combat is relatively solid (only two hours so I haven't unlocked a whole lot), and exploration has been fun and I find myself actually wanting to explore and not just forcing myself. Side missions have also been rewarding and decently interesting. Solid game so far that shows a lot of promise.