Mass Effect™: Andromeda

[simbob4000]

I don't play Bioware games for the amazing game mechanics in much the same way I don't play Tetris for the gripping story. It's just not relevant.

Although going back to the first Mas Effect in terms of how the world works, how the story is fit together, that would be great. It was more SF and less awesome action movie.

I really hope it dawned on you how weird of a statement that is. Tetris is a video game, people play it because it's a fantastic game that plays extremely well. BioWare makes video games, what's really the point if the game isn't good? It's not like there's amazing stories and characters in their stuff either. If you're in it for the storytelling, just watch a movie, which is a vastly better narrative storytelling medium and you don't have to deal with crappy gameplay.

It's not even like BioWare does other aspects of gameplay well anymore either. It's not like there's fantastic, or even good, choice and consequence stuff. It's not like underlying systems combine with dialogue options to create new an interesting thing depending on your character build. It's not like the third person shooter cover based combat, which is the driving force behind Mass Effect, is the only bad gameplay to be found in a Mass Effect game.

[Xero Kaiser]

Bioware obviously favours the more modern aproach, which is not dumbed down.

Play Neverwinter Nights or Dragon Age: Origins and then play Dragon Age: Inquisition and say that with a straight face.

Everything from combat, to character building, to gear, to managing your party, to the choices you make have been stripped down or removed entirely. That's exactly what, "dumbing down" entails. Bioware's games have been made as idiot-proof as possible so they don't frighten today's gamer during their trip to the next cutscene.

And it's not even like Bioware's storytelling has gotten better. If anything, it's gotten worse. It's just more, "cinematic" now.

[simbob4000]

Play Neverwinter Nights or Dragon Age: Origins and then play Dragon Age: Inquisition and say that with a straight face.

Everything from combat, to character building, to gear, to managing your party, to the choices you make have been stripped down or removed entirely. That's exactly what, "dumbing down" entails. Bioware's games have been made as idiot-proof as possible so they don't frighten today's gamer during their trip to the next cutscene.

And it's not even like Bioware's storytelling has gotten better. If anything, it's gotten worse. It's just more, "cinematic" now.

They even dumbed down their dialogue wheel. I'm not even sure how exactly that happened, they dumbed down something that was already dumbed down. The dialogue wheel was already a dumbed down version of what it was meant to be, (to the point it works nothing at all like it was originally intended) and it was dumbed down in the sense that it gave you less options, but with Dragon Age 2 it seemed like someone thought: We can make this even dumber.

The funny thing about their stuff being more "cinematic", they're super bad at making things look cinematic. It's "cinematic" in the sense that there are camera angles, but they aren't ever good, and the novelty of simply doing that (while not doing it well) during the talking bits has long worn off. Funnier still, having the camera pointed straight forward while the character you're talking to is framed in the middle of the screen is cinematic looking. One only really needs to look at a Wes Anderson movie to notice how nice that can look.

[AndrewBatman82]

if i can at least play games like Mass Effect, Spider-man, and Days Gone on my original ps4 then im good without having a 4k display

[Xero Kaiser]

They even dumbed down their dialogue wheel. I'm not even sure how exactly that happened, they dumbed down something that was already dumbed down. The dialogue wheel was already a dumbed down version of what it was meant to be, (to the point it works nothing at all like it was originally intended) and it was dumbed down in the sense that it gave you less options, but with Dragon Age 2 it seemed like someone thought: We can make this even dumber.

The funny thing about their stuff being more "cinematic", they're super bad at making things look cinematic. It's "cinematic" in the sense that there are camera angles, but they aren't ever good, and the novelty of simply doing that (while not doing it well) during the talking bits has long worn off. Funnier still, having the camera pointed straight forward while the character you're talking to is framed in the middle of the screen is cinematic looking. One only really needs to look at a Wes Anderson movie to notice how nice that can look.

Yeah, almost every dialogue option in a Bioware game these days boils down to:

Response 1: I'm a good guy
Response 2: I'm a bad guy
Response 3: Let's have sex

Playing SWTOR and DAI really highlights this. SWTOR especially. It feels like your character is barely even aware of what's happening and just blurts out the same responses to every situation. Trapped in a facility that's flooding with lava? While also being chased by nigh-indestructible death machines killing your men? Perhaps you'd like to take this moment to make out with this guy you've only seen twice.

[simbob4000]

[AndrewBatman82]

the asari dance must be their culture

[Sardorim]

Play Neverwinter Nights or Dragon Age: Origins and then play Dragon Age: Inquisition and say that with a straight face.

Everything from combat, to character building, to gear, to managing your party, to the choices you make have been stripped down or removed entirely. That's exactly what, "dumbing down" entails. Bioware's games have been made as idiot-proof as possible so they don't frighten today's gamer during their trip to the next cutscene.

And it's not even like Bioware's storytelling has gotten better. If anything, it's gotten worse. It's just more, "cinematic" now.

Even DA2 was more complicated and had more depth than grind inquisition.

Hawke is also a far better and funnier protagonist.

[simbob4000]

Wow, and Hawke was terrible. And DA2 had no depth at all, so that speaks pretty badly to Inquisition.

[BeastieRunner]

Play Neverwinter Nights or Dragon Age: Origins and then play Dragon Age: Inquisition and say that with a straight face.

Everything from combat, to character building, to gear, to managing your party, to the choices you make have been stripped down or removed entirely. That's exactly what, "dumbing down" entails. Bioware's games have been made as idiot-proof as possible so they don't frighten today's gamer during their trip to the next cutscene.

And it's not even like Bioware's storytelling has gotten better. If anything, it's gotten worse. It's just more, "cinematic" now.

NWN + expansions and DA:O + all the expansions are my two favorite computer/video game RPGs of all time. Their immediate sequels were terrible to me.

DA:I is not that bad. I swear some people pound through RPGs anymore like it was a FPS. I put in 120+ hours on one character in DA:I. Didn't really feel the grind like I did in Borderland 2 or playing WoW or Guild Wars. Same for ME3 (my favorite of that series). I think they laid nice groundwork for their next sequel/spinoffs in terms mechanics and story. For a fun time in DA:I, wipe Sera, Iron Bull, and Dorian clean and re-focus them as dual-wielding rouge tempest, sword and board Reaver, and barrier/necro. Their party banter is amazing.

Bring on Andromeda!

[simbob4000]

NWN + expansions and DA:O + all the expansions are my two favorite computer/video game RPGs of all time. Their immediate sequels were terrible to me.

DA:I is not that bad. I swear some people pound through RPGs anymore like it was a FPS. I put in 120+ hours on one character in DA:I. Didn't really feel the grind like I did in Borderland 2 or playing WoW or Guild Wars. Same for ME3 (my favorite of that series). I think they laid nice groundwork for their next sequel/spinoffs in terms mechanics and story.

Bring on Andromeda!

There are so many better CRPG's than those two games.

Why put that much time into DA:I? It's a completely action driven game in which the gameplay is total garbage. What's the point? Why not just put that kind of time into a hack and slash with actual good gameplay? The Mass Effect game, while having better action oriented gameplay, also have bad gameplay. It's just a crappy third person shooter, there are so many better third person shooters out there.

[Carabas]

There are so many better CRPG's than those two games.

Why put that much time into DA:I? It's a completely action driven game in which the gameplay is total garbage. What's the point? Why not just put that kind of time into a hack and slash with actual good gameplay?

People have repeatedly tried to explain this to you but you can't seem to grasp the concept of people who don't believe that gameplay is the most important thing about games. Maybe you should just accept it and move on at this point because this is getting nobody nowhere.

[LoganAlpha30X33]

Last I checked you make your character and one of the other characters in the game is your main characters brother or sister, if you make a female character then the other character is your brother, if you make a guy then the other is your sister and the main character's dad figures in somehow as well, saw it over at ign on one of their articles and video's...

The asari that we've seen looks terrible, hopefully she's just a temporary character and not a main one as I'd hate to have her on the team, at least with Liara and Samara they looked at least somewhat attractive...

[simbob4000]

People have repeatedly tried to explain this to you but you can't seem to grasp the concept of people who don't believe that gameplay is the most important thing about games. Maybe you should just accept it and move on at this point because this is getting nobody nowhere.

But the stories in these games are **** too. It's bad gameplay with bad stories in which the thing you're doing most of the time is playing through shitty gameplay. That person also brings up mechanics, which they think were a nice groundwork for more games, well, the last Mass Effect really wasn't. Three games in and Mass Effect is still like a garbage version of Gears of War. They also bring up how people seemingly aren't playing these "RPGs" the right way, like people are playing them like they're action games, well news flash: They are action games.

[simbob4000]

Last I checked you make your character and one of the other characters in the game is your main characters brother or sister, if you make a female character then the other character is your brother, if you make a guy then the other is your sister and the main character's dad figures in somehow as well, saw it over at ign on one of their articles and video's...

The asari that we've seen looks terrible, hopefully she's just a temporary character and not a main one as I'd hate to have her on the team, at least with Liara and Samara they looked at least somewhat attractive...

Yeah, I heard this, it's very Dragon Age 2. Sounds like a missed opportunity to let you make two characters yourself.

I really doubt that Asari they've been showing off in stuff since 2014 is just go to disappear after a bit. She's clearly the "funny" party member you'll have.