M
ass Effect hasn’t aged well
(fight me), but the rose-
tinted specs are still firmly
welded to my face for the
second and third games.
They remain amazing experiences
today. I heard so many horror stories
about Andromeda, though – an army of
bugs, terrible design decisions – that
I kept my distance. Turns out it’s not
quite the disasterpiece I feared.
Having created a suitably freakish
Ryder, off I toddle to explore the
universe. The opening few hours are, to
be honest, pretty bad: dull and slightly
confusing. After that though, things
improve pretty quickly.
BioWare hasn’t lost its touch when it
comes to creating believable, engaging
alien worlds. Even the 3D space maps
are mesmerising. I find myself eager
to carry on exploring this universe,but less keen on the game’s obsession
with mining a planet for materials the
second I discover it. Is this some sort of
meta commentary on colonialism?
Almost two years after release, a
handful of bugs remain (some trophies
don’t even pop for me). Even worse,
I think, is the amount of miles the
game soon insists on making me drive.
Playing it, I sometimes feel less like an
intergalactic adventurer and more like a
long-haul lorry driver.
The script has its moments, and
there are some plot threads I’m keen to
pull. Nonetheless, I spend a lot of time
pining for the original trilogy. There’s
not a single character as interesting
or memorable as, say, Tali. Although
there are a few interesting choices to
make, removing the Paragon/Renegade
system has left a hole nothing else fills.
Despite all the moans, I’m glad I gave
Mass Effect: Andromeda a chance. Now
if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to discover
more Remnant secrets and awkwardly
flirt with my crew.WHO?
Luke Kemp loved
the original Mass
Effect games, and
not just because
they let him Shatner
aliens. Despite
this, Andromeda’s
reputation is bad
enough to have
scared him off.
Don’t like it. Never tried it. Every month we force
one of our team to play their most feared game
INFO
PUBEA
DEVBIOWARE
RELEASED2017, PS4
GET IT NOWPS STORE,
£17.99QThe lip synch’s a little off, but there’s no denying Andromeda is a good-looking game. Let’s face it,
if you’re going to spend your time exploring alien worlds, you want it all to be pretty.MASS EFFECT
ANDROMEDA
HAVING CREATED
A SUITABLY FREAKISH
RYDER, OFF I TODDLE
TO EXPLORE.WHAT?
Andromeda is a Mass
Effect game which
takes place hundreds
of years after the
events of the first
three entries, and
does not continue with
the same storyline or
characters.DON’T MAKE ME PLAY!
109retrostation