Mass Effect or Wildlands?

[Firey_Dragon]

I love Mass Effect so was always going to play this regardless of what any critic wants to say. That doesn't change the fact that a 75 isn't a bad score. So what if it's not some critically acclaimed masterpiece that fanboys are going to joke themselves off too until something else comes around and tops it? Doesn't mean it won't be an enjoyable experience.

The video game industry usually scores games on a scale of 8-10. Anything below that is usually not very good. 75 is a bad score on the usual scale. 80 is around 'average'. Anything above 85-90 metacritic is usually a good to great game.

I'm a huge fan of the originals, I've played andromeda for 10 hours. It wasn't an enjoyable experience. None of the characters are compelling which made the typical mass effect storyline cheese enjoyable. Combat is arguably better, but the auto-cover is janky as hell. The loadout and skill system is garbage though. It plays more like Dragon Age than Mass Effect which I was never a fan of. Conversations also appear to carry no weight like they used to in ME.

There are so many good RPG's that have come out recently, I can't see why, even with it's heritage why someone would invest any real time into Mass Effect over the others. Zelda, Horizon, Nioh and Nier Automata have all released in the last month or so. All of which are 10 points or more better on metacritic.

 

[Pete Cash]

Man thats a real bummer because there just isnt rpgs with that setting on the market. I really like space operas as silly as they are.

 

[Firey_Dragon]

Man thats a real bummer because there just isnt rpgs with that setting on the market. I really like space operas as silly as they are.

Can't disagree with that.

There is hope I suppose, combat can be tweaked and technical issues can be fixed. The story premise actually isn't bad, last hope for humanity sent out with 20,000 people on a ship from the Mass Effect 2 timeline to colonize another planet. It takes 600 years to get to where you are traveling, and the planet you arrive at isn't quite what you thought it would be. Unfortunately in my limited exposure, the dialogue is terrible. The premise is potentially interesting though. It needs a LOT of work.

Honestly though, EA knew they were pushing hot garbage with the way they marketed it. I hope they can find a way to salvage it, but I wouldn't be buying until we get through quite a few patch cycles. It just feels like a title that has been left in the dust by its competitors combined with low production quality recycling a dated design.

 

[Parra Pride]

From what I played in the ten hour trial, which was all multiplayer admittedly, the combat doesn't need tweaking. It's a lot of fun to play. I'll pass judgement on the single player when I've played past what most people have tended to complain about.

 

[perverse]

There are so many good RPG's that have come out recently, I can't see why, even with it's heritage why someone would invest any real time into Mass Effect over the others. Zelda, Horizon, Nioh and Nier Automata have all released in the last month or so. All of which are 10 points or more better on metacritic.

Honestly though, EA knew they were pushing hot garbage with the way they marketed it. I hope they can find a way to salvage it, but I wouldn't be buying until we get through quite a few patch cycles. It just feels like a title that has been left in the dust by its competitors combined with low production quality recycling a dated design.

Yep, sums it up for me by the looks. This title would have been much better received 5 or 6 years ago. Everyone else is just doing cooler, more polished shit right now. I agree with the general sentiment that it's a shame, because the story and premise seem cool.

 

[Eelectrica]

I've been playing it for a bit. Unlocked it using a VPN last night.
The game has issues, no doubt, I created a Fem-Ryder who looks like a monkey, but still so far I'm enjoying the game overall. It'll be a game worth picking up when the do they 'GOTY' version with all expansions etc included
.
I think the worst idea is the planet scanning mini game. I tried it out quickly before leaving for work this morning, not good. It's like someone took the survey ship idea from Stellaris and decided you be that survey ship. The system graphics a specactular, but the mechanics so tedious.

Kind of looking forward to the seeing what weapons and gear I can create though. I should get a dice and roll for parts etc, be like Borderlands in space. LOL

Still I'm looking forward to visiting the different planets and other locations and see how the story goes, the combat has been fun so far which is probably no surprise given they're looking to cash in on the MP side of things. No way in hell I'm getting on that treadmill again. done it once and that was once too often.

Game runs smoothly on my rig, settings on Ultra, no crashes, at least not yet. Haven't seen any of the more extreme animation bugs either.

Just had a chance to try out the nomad - the controls are terrible. I can't steer with mouse, the keyboard controls the direction. Horrible, horrible design.

 

[Pommy]

The video game industry usually scores games on a scale of 8-10. Anything below that is usually not very good. 75 is a bad score on the usual scale. 80 is around 'average'. Anything above 85-90 metacritic is usually a good to great game.

I'm a huge fan of the originals, I've played andromeda for 10 hours. It wasn't an enjoyable experience. None of the characters are compelling which made the typical mass effect storyline cheese enjoyable. Combat is arguably better, but the auto-cover is janky as hell. The loadout and skill system is garbage though. It plays more like Dragon Age than Mass Effect which I was never a fan of. Conversations also appear to carry no weight like they used to in ME.

There are so many good RPG's that have come out recently, I can't see why, even with it's heritage why someone would invest any real time into Mass Effect over the others. Zelda, Horizon, Nioh and Nier Automata have all released in the last month or so. All of which are 10 points or more better on metacritic.

I hate the way the industry rates games. If I'm on the fence about a game I tend to try and see if any of my PS4 friends have it and ask for an opinion.
Wildlands is the perfect example 7.9 on IGN so being sub 8 it's viewed as a bad game. Yet I'm really enjoying it.
I know it's not a masterpiece but it's by no means a bad game.
Assassins creed black flag was reviewed at 8.5 whilst assassins creed unity was 7.8.
0.7 does no justice in how far apart those games are from each other. The former probably being the best in the series with the latter the worst.

 

[Parra Pride]

Having sunk a good twenty hours into the Andromeda campaign now, I honestly believe all the complaints about it have been greatly blown out of proportion. Are the some bad animations and dodgy writing? Sure, but what the game does easily overshadows the bad once you get hooked into it.

 

[Munky]

ME A has the worst first hour in a game for a long time and doesn't improve much at the Nexus.

The character creator is awful. I made a Matt Wade lookalike. Sara in my game is the default as the presets are ghastly.

Once you get the Tempest the game really does shine and I'm really enjoying it.

It's almost as if they slapped on the beginning of the game in a rush at the end of the development cycle. Something similar happened with ME3 if the YouTube video I watched last week is correct.

 

[Firey_Dragon]

I hate the way the industry rates games. If I'm on the fence about a game I tend to try and see if any of my PS4 friends have it and ask for an opinion.
Wildlands is the perfect example 7.9 on IGN so being sub 8 it's viewed as a bad game. Yet I'm really enjoying it.
I know it's not a masterpiece but it's by no means a bad game.
Assassins creed black flag was reviewed at 8.5 whilst assassins creed unity was 7.8.
0.7 does no justice in how far apart those games are from each other. The former probably being the best in the series with the latter the worst.

The way the industry rates games is terrible. Thankfully many sites are moving away from review scores in general or putting less onus on them. It's a complete joke that 0.1 of a point can be the difference between an amazing or a terrible game. It's basically a 20 point scale on 8-10 and anything less is garbage, no doubt it's because how much ass kissing and sponsorship is involved from the publishers.

At the end of the day it's all subjective. I couldn't stand Wildlands and Mass Effect needs a lot of work before I jump in. I'm still not even remotely close to finishing Horizon yet, by the time that is done ME should be in the bargain bin and I'll pick it up.

 

[Pete Cash]

The start of mass effect 3 is pretty bad. Id say its not great until you get off mars. Mass effect 2 is one of the best paced games of all time from a story perspective (although in the context of the series it doesnt make a lot of sense) so the series can do pacing right.

 

[Zoidberg]

Target sale on games from 30 March. Wildlands for $52. Think I'm gonna have to get it.

 

[Dragon]

I've put about 15 hours into the new Mass Effect. Despite the terrible animations and (at times) childish dialogue there's a pretty good game underneath. The combat is loads of fun, the planets are huge. Its a decent RPG in space and those are too rare, just disappointing it didnt get more polish before release

 

[Eelectrica]

I've finished the game not long ago. The game has its moments, but they follow the Bethesda model for open world which is to throw a whole heap of materials to collect and call it exploration. Problem is, no unique weapons or gear to be found. Just level up gear with your character.

I didn't mind the way that the character was open ended and not class restricted. An interesting idea for an RPG, meaning almost infinite combinations. Tyranny is kind of similar, but in MEA they give a lot more XP so a lot of skills can be maxed out. The one I ended up going with was a CQC character who had cloak, annihilation field and throw. Was able to detonate enemies, the cloak to get out of trouble, or alternate between the two for extra damage on big targets.

Story was ok, once you get passed the fact that they've given the games version of Wesley Crusher the keys to the ship and the job isn't just saving the Enterprise but the whole sector of the Galaxy. I will play it again at some point, probably when they announce the first story DLC I guess and see how making different decisions affects the outcome.

Boss fights were very uninspired. Same combat mechanics repeated over and over. Could have done with less jumping puzzles too, they are the worst.

I think the agregate score on Metacritic was around 75%, I'd say that was about right. Certainly not perfect, but a solid game is there if you can stick with it long enough.

 

[Zoidberg]

Been playing Wildlands and I really like it. I can see it getting a little samey but I'm sure I'll get my money's worth.
I also just bought Rogue One and have been watching the extras, makes me want a game like this set in the Star Wars universe. I had the same wanting when I played Destiny, the gameplay of either of these games with a Star Wars setting would make me so happy.

 

[Munky]

Finished Mass Effect today at 68 hours. I'd probably give it an 8/10. It had issues but the loyalty and ark missions were top notch.

The final mission was great and a massive pay-off for doing all the quests mentioned above.

 

[Pete Cash]

So i bought mass effect because i watched guardians of the galaxy 2 and felt like playing a space opera and i actually like it.

Now im absolutely the easiest sell on this genre so i will tolerate some laughable dialogue for a schlocky space adventure. The characters are all a bit standoffish with ryder too which i liked. I hit on a character and they were like im not interested in you which made a change from every person in the galaxy wanting a piece of Sheppard (liara is the most ridiculous example of this)

Im about 3 hours in and im having a good time. Its not high art. Its extremely flawed but it hits a very specific genre itch i have

 

[roostersrule2]

I love the original Mass Effect trilogy but I haven't heard anything to entice me to buy this one.

Is it worth it?

 

[simmo1]

If you loved the originals then you'll enjoy this. It doesn't really do anything different to the originals - aside from jump jets and dash abilities - and I think that is what has disappointed a lot of people. The characters are pretty similar to the original trilogy (abrasive Krogan, nerdy Turian etc), and there are only two new alien races. The criticism on the animations is way overstated.

I finished it the other week after putting somewhere around 40 hours into it, so I definitely feel I got my moneys worth. But they'll need to offer something different if I am to buy the next instalment (if there is one).

 

[Firey_Dragon]

If you loved the originals then you'll enjoy this. It doesn't really do anything different to the originals - aside from jump jets and dash abilities - and I think that is what has disappointed a lot of people. The characters are pretty similar to the original trilogy (abrasive Krogan, nerdy Turian etc), and there are only two new alien races. The criticism on the animations is way overstated.

I finished it the other week after putting somewhere around 40 hours into it, so I definitely feel I got my moneys worth. But they'll need to offer something different if I am to buy the next instalment (if there is one).

Loved the originals, hated this one.

It literally does not one single thing better than the trilogy. The scanning is grindy as hell, support characters are nowhere near as strong in the originals and the animations are bad, although they've improved with the latest patches. It feels like they called this one in, ME3 and ME2 felt like a much tighter experience. I couldn't finish it in the end, and I say that as someone who has completed ME2 probably 10 times.

The series has been put on hiatus now, the studio that developed it now is working on Battlefront 2 as a support studio. They won't be working as a main development studio anymore.

It's a shame to see one of the best IP's in gaming history get trashed by lazy development, it wouldn't surprise me if Bioware shuts down in the next 3-5 years, such is their fall from grace.