Why Mass Effect: Andromeda is the Best Mass Effect Game

I liked it most.

That's it.

Seriously though, I don't really understand why Mass Effect is hailed as a paragon of video games. There were times--especially in the first game--that I thought the dialogue was bland, or stale. Liara in particular seemed very flat to me: like someone tried to project their idea of a woman onto a character, rather than basing her on an actual woman. She clearly existed for fanboy appeal, and I love that some people love her--I don't stand for character hate, as a general rule, and even hesitated to call the dialogue bland--but I think her fans are very brave to look past the obsequious pandering and love her anyway.

...sorry, writers.

Every criticism of Andromeda is something that could apply to the original trilogy, especially the first game.

Bugs? In the first game, I fell through the floor. I couldn't get back and had to reload. I never had any issues of that sort in Andromeda--it lags a bit sometimes, but that's really only in the multiplayer. The closest game breaking glitch I've encountered was when the big boss became undefeatable and we all had to let our characters die just so that the game would end.

Flat writing? There were plenty of moments in the OT that fell flat for me. I was inwardly begging Mordin's voice actor to actually speak quickly, because the meter of his voice did not match the clipped dialogue. Most of the jokes didn't make me laugh at all. I know that fans seem to think that the Reapers are some of the best bad guys ever, but I didn't think about them very much. They were just... there. Another cartoon villain to defeat. The biggest impression they left on me was "Please don't make me listen to this anymore."

I'm just not a fan of being told that I will be assimilated over and over. I don't care if they're adding to the ambiance, it's not fun for me.

The kett seemed interesting, even though I've seen the "mad scientist forces someone to go through a horrific transformation" schtick before. It felt fresh, somehow. Maybe it's the scale--we don't often see entire civilations transmogrified into something new. The weight of it was clearly felt because they established an emotional connection early on, what with Jaal joining your crew as an angaran liason. It is possible to mostly ignore him if you avoid talking to him, but for me, the connection to the character was very deep and very personal. I found the kett hierarchy to be intriguing, and I wanted to know more.

The Reapers never left me wondering. I knew how things would play out.

Characters? Exquisite. I stuck with the original trilogy because I loved the characters even though the atmosphere wasn't my thing, but I think I would adore the Andromeda characters even if I didn't love the atmosphere. You can really see how the writers have grown over the years. Instead of toxic relationship tropes (I'm looking at you, Jack romance), you have respectful relationships with people who won't get ticked off at you if you tell them that they've misread you and you're not actually interested in romance. Consent is key. I thought it was a beautiful touch to ask Cora if she wanted a hug.

I especially loved how they improved upon the character mechanics. They move around the ship as though they're actually living their lives. It doesn't feel rote, it feels like you're actually visiting people. You can pass by your teammates in the halls and overhear their conversations. There's a message board in the crew area for everyone to chat. You can even read about what they get up to offscreen--apparently the main engineer decided to test the alarms while everyone was sleeping, for instance.

This is why I think the writing is fantastic. In spite of the industry-imposed limitations, the characters were so fleshed out. The worlds felt like ones I could actually live in. I know the creators went through a lot, and what they gave us is truly impressive.

Overall? I think this game is the culmination of everything that has led up to it. I think it deserved the hype, and deserves a better reputation. And I don't know a lot about the smear campaign that dominated the internet when it first came out, but it was unjustified. ards are atrocious. This isn't the only game to be released with bugs; fans were preordering games in spite of that for years. What the creators had to go through for this game was inhumane, and it shouldn't be tolerated. It's a shame the outrage was directed towards Andromeda, and not those responsible for the conditions it was made in.