It Feels Like Mass Effect: Andromeda Never Even Existed

It's a time to remember great games, and Mass Effect has been completely forgotten.

[Parasyte]

It is amazing how quickly this game faded into the ether. Probably my biggest disappointment of 2017.

[The 10th Rider]

This time last year it would have been on many people's"Most anticipated games of 2017" lists.

[RacerX]

See what being politically correct in video games does? It kills them. They are fake, imaginations to live in an alternate universe.

That alternate universe is no fun when every day political issues are thrust in your face, and everytime you have a conversation with a male character in the game you have to be very careful to not accidentally start a homosexual relationship.

[Ittoittosai]

Racerx

Not sure what the hell you're talking about. ME:A tanked and was garbage because it was poorly made and written.

[RacerX]

@itto.... Poorly made and written falls right in line with the overall theme of my comment. Not sure how that went so far over your head.

[Parasyte]

@RacerX
Nice to know you are a transphobic/homophobe.

[RacerX]

@parasite, I made no such comment. I don't care that those options and storyline were available, my point was that they made the game impossible to play without having homosexual relationships thrust at you.

[_-EDMIX-_]

@Race-except how do you know that these will not be subjects in the future?

I mean these are political issues today and I would argue social issues today that is not to say that in the future such ideologies will not linger.

I mean I want you to consider that in Star Trek there are multiple characters that do not like other specific species in the series, actually trying to say that people's opinions and prejudices is not going to suddenly vanish deep into the future as humans and even other aliens are going to have their own bias and racist ideologies about people or genders.

I'm sorry but that doesn't have crap to do with why Mass Effect Andromeda failed. In fact I'd argue it would be even strange if you had an entire universe where no gay people existed or no people of different demographics at all existed which wouldn't really make much sense lol

[BrettAwesome]

Americans are so funny! Always looking for an excuse to be offended. Always so moody and entitled. You guys and your ridiculous sjw bullshit. How can anybody be so sore and sensitive all the time? Is it to prove to everybody else that you're better and more correct? "Please love me, Jesus" 🤣

[Eamon]

I haven't played Andromeda. The last Bioware game I played was Dragon Age Inquisition. And I must say, that it felt far too obvious at times that Bioware was thrusting their views on identity politics onto the player.

That doesn't mean that the issue of identity, gender, sexual orientation should be taboo in videogames. Far from it, these issues can make a plot more interesting or mature or complex.

The problem is that it became very clear that Bioware writers had a very thinly veiled agenda. From the first Dragon Age, the story was set in a European medieval dark fantasy full of misogyny, social injustices, racial prejudices and oppression. Yet by DA:I, half the characters were LGBT and most of powerful figures were female. That's pretty unbelievable for a dark medieval fantasy setting. This isn't to say that Dragon Age should not have a powerful female character, or an interesting gay characters. On the contrary, write characters that prove to us they are strong and make us believe it through character development. Morrigan is a great example of a well-written powerful female character. Dorian is also a great example of a well-written gay character. In DA1 and DA:I I had them both as permanent members of my party because of how likable/interesting they were.

Now, Bioware seems to have a bit of obsession with putting their identity politics into games. Now, of course, in a futuristic setting like Mass Effect, it does make sense to have more open/obvious LGBT characters, as well as more openly powerful female characters. You would think by that period in time, humanity would have progressed to an era of much more equality and social justice. But like in Dragon Age, the issues lie with how the writers indiscreetly insert their views. Now, personally, it's not something I go into a fit about, but I do recognize that it is an issue.

Some people may take issue with more than just the insertion of identity politics, but the glorification of anything non-white straight male. Now that's a whole different argument, one I am keen to stay out of.

[TheEroica]

I was so excited for andromeda... Never, did I think EA would treat its crown jewel of western rpg's like this... I can't imagine the monkeys in suits who tossed bananas at eachother during this games development. One of the worst open worlds I've played in a long time.

[Artemidorus]

Well you all missed out, still fine to play.

[Bleucrunch]

hmm, I have played it through and am currently at the end. If I didn't play it I would not be missing much as the game does not have the same appeal as its predecessor. It has faded away as a majority of gamers have no spoken highly of Andromeda.

[Ittoittosai]

I didnt miss anything I played the dumpster fire that was ME:A launch and it had a glitch were I couldnt actually complete the game because of the Vault glitch. The game was so bad it got its dlc cancelled.

[Artemidorus]

If you enjoyed ME then you will enjoy this. It's not the best but certainly worth a play.

It's faded away because of EA telling people it's getting no more support.

[BrettAwesome]

@Artemidorus
I didn't miss out on anything. I bought it, played it for 12 hours and...well...and it just straight up sucks! It's boring. The cast is boring. The whole game is just so incredibly mediocre in every possible way.
What I missed out on was 60$

[R6ex]

Just finished ME:A this month. Waited for the bugs to be worked out before playing, even though I pre-ordered it. Surprisingly, I had the most fun from this game compared to all other games I played this year, including HZD, Rottr, Quantum Break, Hellblade, Tales of Berseria etc.

[quent]

Maybe even in the last 5 years, but the longer development went on the more I expected problems at launch, although not at such a PC/sjw level, could have even lived with the stupid character animations, but the way the characters are written/voiced and the story...,fk this so called Bioware game

[zenocreator]

RIP Mass Effect

[PressXtoBacon]

I still hold out hope for more.

Wolfenstein made a comeback so maybe Mass Effect can too.....

in ten years

[Parasyte]

Honestly, that is probably how long they need to rest the IP before they come back to it. If Anthem is a success, which I am hoping like crazy it is, then it will probably be AT LEAST 10 years before we see a new ME game.

[Goldby]

For Anthem to succeed, they need to look at Destiny and do the complete opposite of what they are doing with they IP.

[TheEroica]

You will never get a mass effect in the same capacity that you enjoyed the original trilogy. Too many mitigating factors... EA won't allow it to be a single player story driven game without micro transactions and loot crates and Bioware no longer has the balls to give the fans of the series a mature expansive narrative the way they did on me1-3.

A good future mass effect is an impossibility unless the franchise is given to a company that understands its fans like CD projekt red or the micro transaction debacle causes the industry to crash and change the approach.

[Profchaos]

I'd give it another chance if it was handled properly

[SCW1982]

Easily one of the biggest disappointments in the history of the medium. So average, so bland, so uninspired.

[UCForce]

The game is good, but I agree with others. Because this game have suffered major lost because of the rush and poor marketing and lost faith. Bioware isn’t going to support MEA Single Player which I disappointed.

[NordicRainy]

It's crazy how true that sentence is. I still sometimes randomly start thinking about the original trilogy, and then look up some clips on youtube, remember the good times. None of that with Andromeda.

[raWfodog]

I'm actually going to get started on Andromeda this weekend. Friends who have already played it said that they enjoyed it but they acknowledged it wasn't as iconic to them as the original series.

[TheEroica]

I think you'll realize fairly quickly that while playing andromeda you could be doing so many better things... From playing an actual good video game to brushing your teeth.

Its a turd of a game...

[raWfodog]

Actually, I've found enjoyment in every game that I have played due to the fair amount of research I do beforehand. There's too many resources out there these days that should prevent gamers from going into a game unaware of all the issues and problems that others have had with it. From the start, I tend to keep my expectations tempered and play each game on its own merits without comparing them to other games. After playing games for 40 years, my maturity's finally paying off :)

[TheEroica]

@rawfodog I've been gaming about that long as well! Atari 2600 straight on through. I do so much research too... And honestly reading too many opinions can make you jaded because people's opinions sway.

My comment however is bases on what I played, which was a generic random boring open world with meaningless side quests... Decent gameplay mechanics, but the soulless decision was made to remove control, and thus connection with your squad mates... It went from playing like your comrades are fighting for every inch, to feeling like they don't even matter...

Theres also a part of me that compares, maybe unfairly, to what I loved about mass effect... From its characters to its mature tones... There was a space opera type grandness to the milky way. Andromeda ejects itself, literally away from everything we spent some time getting to know to dessert and ice nowhere land.

Mass effect is deservedly on many people's most disappkinted list in 2017, because they didn't make a great mass effect game.

[BrettAwesome]

@raWfodog
What's your point? Did you play ME:A?

[OB1Biker]

I hope you have fun
You see with the internet it's difficult to go into a game with an open mind and enjoy a game for what it is. You always look for flaws and stuff you expect to be odd. Depends on what you want from the game. Just forget the series and enjoy a cool game.

[raWfodog]

Yeah, I usually keep my expectations in check and judge a game based on its own merits without comparing it to past successes. I'm already aware of the major problems that others have had but I don't believe that will be an issue for me. If I stayed away from games based on other people's complaints, I would have missed out on some good games. Case in point, I just finished my second playthrough of Arkham Knight and enjoyed it very much. Others complained about the heavy reliance on the Batmobile but I didn't have any problems with that at all.

[Chaosdreams]

Andromeda was an okay game. It wasn't great. It wasn't fantastic. It was okay, and by being okay I did enjoy my time with it. But it was an okay game that was released with horrendous animations, questionable dialogue quality and a somewhat vacant urgency (The enemy didn't feel all that much of a threat) creating a game where the gameplay was good but the story was meh.

I personally love how the game starts though, with the father bit, but then that magic quickly fades and is only seen again in odd moments. I grew to enjoy the crew, but knowing Andromeda put the entire series on ice, I know that crew will never be seen again, which in a way, is sad.

EA has destroyed or is destroying everything they have their hands on. Bioware will soon be a forgotten name. If Mass Effect was put on ice. MASS EFFECT. Then Anthem doesn't stand a chance.

[AnubisG]

The result of incompetent developers, SJWs, and rampant microtransations. EA, ruining games as usual.

[jonivtec]

it wasn't that bad...but nothing was special about it .Was feeling rushed in a lot of department

[opinionated]

It feels like it does exist but shouldn’t have.

[Software_Lover]

Bring back the atmosphere, gameplay mechanics, and RPG elements of the original.

Everything does not have to be an action packed shooter. Stop trying to make every game so complicated.

[TheColbertinator]

Never heard of it

[Nodoze]

Thanks EA!! Another successful destruction.

[SouljAx360]

Well, I've played the game 700 hours so it's pretty hard for me to forget it. Not sure what was so awful about it. 2nd favorite ME game for me behind 2. Easily the best gameplay of the series.

[Razzer]

Yeah, I don’t get what was so awful either. Outside of its horrible launch, it turned out to be a damn good game.

[The 10th Rider]

I think whenever a game is hyped towards the heavens the reaction when it's just a decent game is to turn around and bash it. Same thing happened with No Man's Sky, Quantum Break, The Order, Destiny, and many other games this generation. All of those, along with ME: A, are all decent games, just horribly underwealming compared to hype.

As for Andromeda, it didn't live up to expectations because the characters and story were bland and uninteresting compared to the first trilogy. Add in the bugs, glitches, and horrible animations and it's easy to see why people overlooked the good gameplay.

[_-EDMIX-_]

I agree I'm playing it and I actually really like the game.

Overall I think people on the internet just like to exaggerate things to death, and many bad entries to games that were just terrible and otherwise great series but to be honest with you Mass Effect Andromeda is really not that bad in terms of a terrible entry.

Look at Star Fox 64 to Dinosaur Planet for god sakes you're not even in a damn ship anymore.

[DrJones]

You're into gameplay more than story

[leahcim]

I really feel bad for the devs. The original trilogy left a bar unreachable.
It is amazing how a company so big can take so bad decisions.

[EdMcGlone]

My biggest issue was the characters in the game. Bioware tried too hard to fast forward those relationships to ME3 level. It took two+ games to properly build up to that scene with garrus in ME3. ME:A tried to rush all those relationships in one game.

[DimensionalSound]

Mass Effect failed to reach its potential with the first sequel, so this one's missteps don't matter nearly as much to me as they probably do to other folk.

[DrJones]

How?

[DimensionalSound]

I felt that the pull to reboot Shepard and the crew, focus so much of that plot on Cerberus just put the game on the slanted course that robbed the potential of a more open narrative experience. Right out of the gate in Mass Effect 2 the experience just feels so linear and removed from the initial promise of a space opera where you're the actor. This was compounded in ME3 which just completed this by funneling all of that open narrative potential into a contrived conclusion. I wasn't upset when I got to the end of ME3 because I already felt like agency was robbed of my experience as the sequels went on. This, of course, is just my experience. So having said that, Andromeda didn't offend me nearly as much as it did some people.

[DrJones]

The first one was just as focused on the individuals

[BIGBOSS08]

I still haven't played it after all the negativity around it. Remember how hyped we all was to get our first glimpse of a current gen mass effect? Its a shame what EA have done to it.

[ibrake4naps]

Besides facial animations, I loved this game. Best combat and environments in the series!

[SirBradders]

EA have screwed a lot up recently.

[Takwin]

It was my biggest disappointment in gaming not just this year, but in many years. Dragon's Age Inquisition left a bad taste in my mouth and EA has destroyed many game devs, and this was the culmination of the complete destruction of the Mass Effect franchise and the Bioware devs.

[DrJones]

Yeah DAI was very bland as well

[Profchaos]

I'm curious if this game spelled the end for EAs third person star wars uncharted style game.

Since it's a single player expansive title that tanked so hard while at the same time bf1 sold like hot cakes

[CertifiedGamer]

EA let SJW and political correctness ruin Andromeda. I HOPE THEY LEARN THEIR LESSON. Don't bring that shit into our games.

[michellelynn0976]

Um what?

[CertifiedGamer]

They tried bringing there political correctness bullshit and started making female characters look less sexual in nature. The Witcher 3 didn't listen to any of that bullshit and they managed to make strong female roles in their games while EA has made models look unattractive. Look at my link to see what I mean. http://thegg.net/wp-content...

[TheOttomatic91]

Honestly I think its for the best

[michellelynn0976]

Same thing will happen to Anthem. It will come and go and Bioware will officially be dead. Screw you EA.

[Tross]

I wouldn't say it's the worst thing ever. There's clearly some effort made on parts of the game while others could use more polish. It's biggest crime though is it just isn't what years of waiting and hype for a new Mass Effect game should have been. As a huge fan of the original trilogy I think it's alright, but that's a colossal problem because I shouldn't think a Mass Effect game is just alright. It also has the problems I've had with the Mako in ME1, but amplified exponentially.

I never did understand the "SJW" criticism as the original trilogy is SJW too if you consider having a relatively equal cast of both male and female characters SJW. I mean, sure, the very beginning of ME1 and the very end of ME3 could have used more females, but the meat of the trilogy isn't hurting for strong female characters. I'd rather be productive and focus on the actual issues, such as that Andomeda isn't mind-blowing, and it should be as anything less than stellar isn't good enough for ME.