GAMING

Why Mass Effect: Andromeda is not my fav

The Mass Effect trilogy is some of the best gaming I've experienced to date. The story, the gameplay, the cinematics - all were impressive. I was thus understandably excited for the new title from the ME universe to be released earlier this year.

Despite some familiar and enjoyable bits, Mass Effect: Andromeda was overall a letdown for me. Many of the things that disappointed me were the same ones that didn't work for me in Dragon Age: Inquisition (the third title in that series, also created by BioWare). It used to be, in earlier installments, you would meet a character with a problem and he or she would explain what was going on and what you might consider doing about it; similarly, you might encounter a situation in progress and choose how to act in response. These would initiate a new quest.

Mass Effect 2 hosts a fun and colorful crew
(although Commander Shepherd was a
woman in my playthrough)

FemShep as "designed"
by another player

Morrigan from Dragon Age. You do NOT
want to cross this mage.

The Hawke family from Dragon Age II

In ME:A and DA:I, instead you just read a lot (and I mean a LOT) of letters/notices/journal entries/e-mail/data pads, usually found just lying around. There were so many of these to peruse that I eventually would just skip the reading altogether, knowing that once I selected the writing in whatever form, the quest would automatically pop up in my active missions. The new entry would tell me where to go and what to do, but I would have no idea WHY. Sure, reading each and every example of writing I found in the game would enlighten me, but there was just so darn many of them it became tedious. Thus, I was further removed and less engaged in the story.

Additionally, ME:A has an awful lot of combat. I stuck with it and played the game for a while, hoping I would become more invested the further I got, but with all the fighting (and fighting the same enemy types over and over) and the busy work, it was hard to keep hanging on to the hope I had pinned on the narrative pulling it all together. Which is really too bad, because it could still be a pretty epic story.

Le sigh. I guess I am just in the minority when it comes to what I like in my video games, especially since one of my favorite genres is still the point-and-click adventure. You know, the inventory-based ones where the story introduces quandries you have to puzzle your way through? Ah, the days when Sierra and LucasArts were at the height of their game!

Good ole King's Quest!

The Monkey Island series -
still one of the best!

And as good as the Gabriel Knight series was overall...

...let's just forget that whole attempt at FMV
(full motion video) in the 90s, shall we?

Those games have gone by the wayside over the past many years (they still get developed, but the quantity and quality have taken a hit since popularity and demand have plummeted), but not all is list since I do still enjoy other types. Such as the early installments of Mass Effect and Dragon Age. Quantic Dream also puts out popular titles that I tend to enjoy. I hope they don't take the same route as BioWare with future games (come on folks, don't let me down with Detroit: Become Human!)

Indigo Prophecy (or Fahrenheit, as it was known
everywhere besides the U.S.) by Quantic Dream

If I do decide to tackle ME:A again someday, perhaps I should preface it with a replay of Jade Empire as a palate cleanse. Plenty of combat there, but boy was I hooked! What happened since then?!

Jade Empire
Gosh, that was a good game!