A Patient Man's Review of Mass Effect: Andromeda

Introduction

Firstly, we must address the fact that this particular review is considered a "Patient Man's" review. This is simply due to the fact that I have always believed that Mass Effect: Andromeda deserved a more subtle and patient community response, yet I can also appreciate the sudden outpouring of distaste from the gaming community, especially at it's early release. 

On that note, I will make it clear now that I will not be talking about the initial release issues, including the now infamous facial animations... I will make a point of them later, as I believe the overwhelming criticism of that one thing in particular was instrumental to the overwhelming number of poor reviews, both in score and content, as well as the premature demise of Mass Effect: Andromeda. None of us are here, reading this now, to flog a dead horse or beat a dead dog, so let's put our SAM implants on mute and quell our Krogan bloodrage for a minute or two while we breathe in a patient review of Mass Effect: Andromeda.

Pathfinder

Mass Effect Andromeda follows your role as either Scott or Sara Ryder, lead Human Pathfinder for the Andromeda Initiative, a role that has been thrust upon you, rather than undertaken by choice. In short, your role as pathfinder is to find a new life for humanity, as well as fellow residents of The Milky Way, in a completely new galaxy, Andromeda. The Pathfinder initiative was put in place to seek out potential "golden worlds" in neighbouring galaxies to The Milky Way, with the sole intention of settlement, development, research and understanding of a self-sufficiant and sustained life in a completely alien part of the universe.

Scott & Sara. Siblings in a new galaxy!

Put in these grand terms, it may be hard to understand why Andromeda, for an apparent many, is considered a lacklustre and shallow experience? After all, how could exploring a completely new universe be trivial and boring? How could meeting new alien life and facing adversity on a new galactic scale be stagnant? These were all questions that floated through my head during my initial startup of the game.

The Admission

Put simply, my admission is that after playing Mass Effect: Andromeda for a total of 15 hours I found myself completely agreeing with every poor review I had read, heard and watched previously. I found the characters largely lacking, the setting beautiful, yet lifeless and, ultimately, my grand mission of uniting my fellow residents of the Milky Way within a new world, a better world in a new and apparently hostile galaxy sadly fruitless.

Is there truly nothing out there?

How could this have come to pass? It seemed to me from the start that I was set for another grand adventure in the Mass Effect universe, a franchise which I have dearly cherished since the initial release of Mass Effect in 2007. Mass Effect relied on it's powerful storytelling, with the backbone of it's storytelling being on the aspect of insurmountable odds against humanity itself. The Reapers in the original trilogy had been quelling life in the galaxy for untold millennia and saw the most powerful sentient life in the universe as a human would see the most powerful of insects under his bootheel. 

I considered the prospect of exploring a new galaxy, finding new alien life, settling new planets and creating a new home for humanity an equally daunting task for very different reasons, yet, at it's backbone remained that great Mass Effect staple in it's story telling. The insurmountable odds. So what was holding me back? Here strikes my redemption of Mass Effect: Andromeda and what kept me playing, way past 15 hours!

The Redemption

I found myself uninspired to continue and yet I felt I was being unfair in "tapping out" after a mere 15 hours. Given the fact this game holds a literal galaxies' worth of content, I began feeling my initial thoughts and feelings were made prematurely. After all, in the past I had given Final Fantasy XIII the benefit of the doubt for 30 hours and found myself enjoying the game immensely.

After pushing past my own doubts and insecurities about Mass Effect: Andromeda I began to find that old familiar feeling of purpose and belonging in the world of Mass Effect again. This was in no small part to the fleshing out of the characters as time went by, in particular Drack, the battle-scarred ancient Krogan and Jaal Ama Darav, the new addition to our ranks, both in character and race as the representative of the Angaran people within our ragtag crew. 

Jaal Ama Darav - "Stay strong and clear"

Between Jaal and Drack you have the ancient Krogan who will actively give you battlefield advice on any enemy in the known universe, as well as general lessons of survival and the grumbling of a Krogan who considers those of under 2 centuries of a age a "whippersnapper"!

Jaal, in complete contrast, is a cool and cerebral rebel Angaran warrior with a huge depth of sensitivity, understanding and curious kindness. As your travels deepen, so does your understanding of these fantastic characters and in turn your devotion to your squadmates, their cause, your cause. It felt like Mass Effect again.

Nakmor Drack - Get this guy on your squad if you enjoy shotguns and headbutts!

On top of this depth of character I discovered within Andromeda's universe, the further I delved into the new galaxy presented before me the more often I found myself stunned with what I was faced with. Incredible landscapes, bursting with life and soul, ancient vaults of untold power, Remnant Architects the size of buildings, combat was smooth, hard hitting and engaging, conversations held weight and importance. It all started coming together. But all of this isn't to say the game is without it's flaws...

The Bad...

Yes, there are clear faults with Mass Effect: Andromeda and it seems best to bullet point the key ones, in no particular order, rather than saturate the page with negativity.

• Still to this day some animations are clunky, confused or poorly scripted. 
• Many key Milky Way races seem to be strangely absent (where are the Quarians?) 
• There are a gratuitous amount of "fetch quests".
• Every Asari looks identical (lazy coding again? Or studio lacking time?)
• Horribly easy and forgiving at lower difficulties.
• For some reason the default Ryder's are terribly boring...
• Occasional bugs that affect gameplay and game interface.
• Some shallow or predictable character development.
• Many repetitive scenes and actions (travelling between systems and planets.)

Beauty Is Only Skin-Deep

As the old proverb says best, a pleasing appearance is not the guide to character. This proverb, in my opinion, holds weight on the initial crucifying Mass Effect: Andromeda received. Regardless of the state of the game at launch, which largely relied on cosmetic faults with facial animation, the game was greatly slandered, berated and poorly reviewed. Although these cosmetic faults are clearly issues, my real problem comes from the fact that the content remained strong and engaging... We took our aspect of beauty from simply looking at Mass Effect: Andromeda, without real care of addressing the inner content, the heart and soul of the game. 

Speaking of beauty! Natalie Dormer as Dr. Lexi T'Perro.

It was later to be that after a patch or two, the facial animations were largely fixed resulting in a situation not unlike some boner comedy movies, where the geeky girl removes her glasses and was gorgeous the whole time... Who'da funk...

Tips To Getting The Best ME:A Experience

Here are some quick tips that I feel will give you best possible experience with Mass Effect: Andromeda.

• Customize your main character (Ryder) and be sure to take your time!
• Play on insanity difficulty, or at the very least hard.
• Take your time and be patient with the early game.
• Speak to your companions and get to know them.
• Experiment with loadouts, weapons and tactics (Melee Biotic and Tech Hover Sniper are great fun!)

Pros, Cons & Final Thoughts

Pros

• Depth of character and soulful interactions with your companions.
• Powerful, punchy and purposeful combat.
• A grand mission of finding a new home in a hostile galaxy.
• Stunning, huge and lively environments. They feel truly alien and ancient.
• Exploration and succession of viability.
• Simple, yet strong story. Nothing groundbreaking but very good.
• Incredible sound design.

Cons

• Clunky animations at times, giving some scenes a distinct lack of impact.
• Residents of the Milky Way being noticeably missing... (Quarians, Elcor, Batarians etc...)
• Identical Asari.
• Some gameplay affecting bugs.
• A vast amount of fetch quests and identical sub-quests.
• Transitions between travelling to different star systems and planets. Unnecessary transitions.

Final Thoughts

In truth, Mass Effect: Andromeda may never mean as much to me as the original trilogy, yet I can't help but ask the question of whether it would mean more than Mass Effect 1, if the following games were never developed and the story left unfinished? After all, Andromeda wasn't given the chance to expand it's universe with potential extra content and DLC due to the harsh backlash at launch. I wonder what could have been more than anything else with this game, as in it's heart and soul beats a very strong game with vast potential. 

It's the equivalent of playing Dragon Age: Inquisition without it's complete DLC, especially Trespasser, which wraps the story into something truly powerful. 

Mass Effect: Andromeda stands as my unfinished symphony of this generation and also, perhaps, this generation's scapegoat! I would urge you to invest in this game, give it time and dive in. It's hugely rewarding, deep and incredibly fun, especially on those higher difficulties! 

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