One of EAs big reveals at this year’s E3 was the hotly anticipated Mass Effect Andromeda, and it was welcomed onto the stage by Aaron Flynn, the Bioware Vice President. The reveal was flashy, dramatic and actually brought with it a great deal of information regarding the latest iteration in Bioware’s titular space opera.
The video played to the world was stylised as a “behind the scenes” of Mass Effect Andromeda, but it brought with it a great deal of information we didn’t have previously. The video started off with a distinct Star Trek vibe, with a spiel regarding exploration being at the heart of man.
From here the video took us on a greatest hits of motion capture, design work, and story exploration. The first thing to notice, was a clearly new ship, named “Tempest” the ship bares subtle similarities to the Normandy from the original trilogy, but with some bold new takes on design, a new flagship for the alliance maybe?
The second major reveal showed native alien fauna, a variety of creatures were shown or teased, from lumbering, rocky hided behemoths to distant flying creatures. Having wildlife in the game is nothing new for the Mass Effect universe, they were certainly present in the first game, but giving them a presence is, having them influence the areas you find yourselves in and operative distinctly from the action occurring is a departure from normality for the franchise.
Alongside these creatures was shown a variety of environments, something Mass Effect fans will no doubt already be used to, it looks like Bioware have doubled down on the panache and flair of the environments, from frigid wastes and lightning streaked peaks, to desert waves, and urban metropolises.
The graphics have taken a significant overhaul if the gameplay shown is to be believed, with the shine and glamour of the previous games ramped up to eleven. There were significant story and gameplay teases provided.
The series will definitely take us to the Andromeda galaxy, whether this is as an attempt to flee our own or whether this is an attempt at further colonisation remains to be seen, the video gave us a brief glimpse of what appeared to be a colossal mass relay, something far bigger than seen previously, Potentially a converted citadel, only time will tell.
A major factor of the new game, is all new characters, a big point has been made in regards to the game featuring all new characters, and we’ve already been shown a feisty looking Asari with a very Adam Ant style face stripe, and very briefly a Krogan, so it looks like we’ll be looking at traditional party make-up.
A new main character has been shown in the captain’s chair of the Normandy, shown in these trailers to be a woman with a very Ashley Williams style. The brief moments we saw seemed to involve story moments wherein the character was either waking from a nightmare of extended sleep, we’ll have to wait for more storey information to know which.
There were a few choice quotes from Aaron Flynn regarding the game, a number of very big statements regarding how the player will have “more freedom than ever before in a Bioware game.” This is an exciting statement considering the scope of previous Bioware efforts