Mass Effect Andromeda VGC-ers impressions!

[starcraft]

My impressions - Xbox One S

So far I have probably put about 6 hours into the multiplayer, and have mostly had a great experience. It took me a while to get going, primarily as there are two main gameplay changes from ME3 - a new cover system and greatly enhanced mobility (more on that later).

I've been playing with a female human biotic. The options for developing your character are significant, certainly more prolific than in ME3's multiplayer. Team work is pretty integral. The AI is far more intelligent than in previous games - get caught on your own and you will get flanked and killed. The death cool down is not particularly long, so if you're miles away from your team they will not be able to save you.

Obtaining basic items/boosters seems to be very easy, but higher-end items, weapons and characters takes some working up to (I haven't spent any real money). I haven't yet figured out how to use equipment, I can't find it in the store. Perhaps its not live yet, or maybe my human biotic cannot wear any. I have obtained mods through card packs that have improved my weapons substantially.

Pleasingly the game is fairly challenging, even on the lowest difficulty (bronze) that I have been playing. My current character is level 12, so I am about to switch up to silver and see how I go. Whilst I haven't started the single player campaign, I have completed a couple of the link-in strike missions, so I am excited to start the single player campaign and see how my rewards play out.

When the cover system works, it works well. Changing shoulders regularly seems to be important to using cover effectively. The mobility of the characters is greatly increased. There are echos of Titanfall in the verticality of the levels, and your ability to use jetpacks to move around. My character hasn't received any jetpack upgrades, but I know its possible via upgrades to jump higher and further, and even to hover mid-air while you unload on some unfortunate alien.

Occasionally the cover system has misbehaved on me - I've yet to see a non-Gears/Uncharted game implement cover perfectly. It hasn't been a huge issue, but there was one time I died when IMO the character stuck to a wall adjacent to the one I directed her to. In 6 hours of play, I think I have seen framerate issues on 3 occasions, and never for more than a couple of seconds. In multiplayer at least, the game runs smoothly and with none of the animation issues reportedly in the single-player campaign.

All in all, I am having a tonne of fun. Its all co-operative multiplayer (essentially Horde mode), which won't appeal to everyone. But if its your thing, this game seems to do it very well, and I am just scratching the surface of the multiplayer's features and options!