I really enjoyed MEA, it had severe problems, but all together enjoyable.
I liked that they didnt try to follow up with the same setting as the original trilogy, it never would have worked. moving galaxies was a wise decision, and I liked the premise of trying to start anew. pioneering.
combat mechanics and character build versatility were the best yet.
but there was nothing to really push what they could do. combat was the same as previous mass effects; encounters had few enemies, that came in waves.
equipment limited to research points was a nice idea, but trying out new builds with new armor and weapons had me running out later in the game. initiative points were plentiful and what they were used to research were generally the most useful, but the andromeda and remnant points were limited.
driving was great, a real big step up from ME1 and 2. a BIG step up.
downside is that there was way too much of it. it was forced on you, not even in the aspect that it was a faster means of travel, but you couldnt survive outside the vehicle for long on most planets.
I LOOOOOOOOOOVED the planet exploration, but on my second playthrough, it became fluff. the exploration was the vast majority of the content, but after experiencing it once, it lost the appeal. so, great on my first character, awful on subsequent playthroughs.
I liked the reveal of what the kett were, and the slow reveal of their lore. interesting spin on the typical antagonist. it was a shame they phoned it in with the archon.
angaran lore and interaction was alright. krogan and asari from the original trilogy was hard to top, and the angara didnt stack up.
now, on to the bad. and some of it is REAAAAAAAAL bad. awful bad, horrendous.
overall story. sorry to say, but the story of this game was a real let down. you had this amazing premise, a start to the game giving a sense of wonder, and the promise of exploration… fell short on actual application.
the same “choices matter” faux setup, where your choices have no real meaningful impact on the world. changes to background conversation, and potential to have people help you during the endgame were about what I could see. maybe the major decisions, like with the krogan leadership, might have had some esthetic changes in sequels, but that wont happen now.
the animations and character models… good lord how did bioware backslide so far in 10 years? compare side by side with mass effect 1, and mass effect 1 had VASTLY superior models and animation.
this is all made worse by having the hype machine ALPHA footage being so good looking.
but, I dont regret purchasing MEA, nor do I regret sinking 100 hours into playing it.
ME3MP was a lot more fun, I have over 500 hours put into it. MEAMP… barely 30 hours. maybe I got burned out with ME3MP, but it just didnt pull me in as much.
