My oh my, this game was under a lot of controversy when it initially launched. For good reason as well. Allow me to share my thoughts on the game post-patch, so I don't have to comment too much on the technical issues of the game.
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I first want to start off with the story. Understand that the Reapers are not here anymore, so the stakes are not high. Not saying it's a bad thing, but if you're a fan of the situation of Mass Effect 3 then be prepared to be disappointed because there is no "Galaxy at War". You're honestly not going to feel very compelled that there is nothing that big of a threat going on.
The short way to describe this game is that you're just looking for a new home. That's it. You just happen to run into a new species that happens to know English despite the fact they've never run into any humans before. This is more of a criticism towards the logic being used in the story, but let me digress back to the quality of the story.
The best way I can summarize the story is that you're the human Pathfinder in charge of finding a new home for everyone on board. You end up finding a thing called the Meridian that is needed to find a habitable planet and of course some hostile enemy race wants to use it for their own gain. I'm not going to spoil the events of the game, but if you couldn't already tell this isn't nearly on the same scale that the original trilogy was on.
It's not a bad story. However, it's pretty underwhelming for a Mass Effect game. Okay, if the story isn't too hot then surely the dialogue and the characters will save it. Right?
This is purely my opinion, but I didn't find myself getting attached to any of the characters. I played as female Ryder and even my romance choice(Suvi) didn't really stick with me emotionally. I only romanced her because of the accent. Hell, I think Drack was the most memorable character in the game because I like the grumpy old man stereotype. Well, he also had a pretty good sense of humor in my opinion.
Regardless, the only reason why you're going to deepen your loyalty with these people is just to unlock all their combat perks. Believe me, you're going to need to unlock their perks if you're playing on the higher difficulties.
Now that I acknowledged the fact the characters aren't exactly memorable. What about the dialogue?
Ladies and Gentlemen, we find ourselves in another Fallout 4 situation in terms of the dialogue. It's been botched. I have no idea why they decided to get rid of the renegade/paragon system of the past games. I found that to be one of the best parts of the dialogue system in Mass Effect as it could lead to some pretty awesome moments.
Additionally, the choices you make in Mass Effect Andromeda don't really make you feel like you make an impact. There are no multiple endings, just different variations of it depending on your romance option and who you make an alliance with. Even then, it doesn't make a significant difference to how the game ends. Believe me, the ending is just insulting. It's the epitome of sequel bait. I damn near threw my controller at the screen because this easily could have been omitted from the game.
I know that I've been talking about the negative aspects of the game, but there is an aspect of the game that save it from being a bad game. The gameplay.
Every review about the game is right about mentioning the gameplay being the best part of the game. The addition of the jetpack can lead to some pretty adrenaline fueled combat as you can use it to dodge, execute cool maneuvers or perform some pretty nice trickshots. It all controls nicely as well. It doesn't feel like an ice rink, but it just feels smooth.
Furthermore, you can equip three different power-ups from different classes at the same time to suit your playing style. Although it can make the game seem like a breeze, I do appreciate the fact that you can get creative with the way you defeat your enemies.
The planets you visit are completely available to explore. There really isn't much to do in them, but the quests you complete, the more checkpoints you discover, the Architects you destroy, and the vaults you activate will make them more habitable. They don't really effect the story, but they are activities you can do to level up.
You can argue that they are repetitive and not necessary to complete the story, but they do help with powering yourself up. Just don't expect the side quests to be like The Witcher 3.
At the end of the day, I expected more from BioWare. However, I ended up feeling disappointed because this was no where near the quality of the previous games. I said it once and will say it again. This is NOT a bad game. It's just a bad Mass Effect game.
The game is dirt cheap on Amazon, so I wouldn't exactly say that this is not worth playing. The gameplay is what saves the game. I would say play the game to have your own opinion, but please don't say that this is a bad game.
Till Next Time!!
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