Things to Know Before Starting Mass Effect Andromeda
Mass Effect Andromeda takes place 600 years after the event of the Reapers and Shepard in the original trilogy, and it takes upon a completely new threat. It’s a fresh start for the series and it isn’t necessarily a start of the brand new trilogy, either. And while it’s expected to be released in March 2017, you’ll be able able to play the first 10 hours of this game before anyone else, starting 1 week earlier than anyone else.
The rough story right now is as follows. The Reapers destroyed all life in the galaxies and destroyed all habitable planets intelligent life lived on, it’s safe to conclude that the human race is in bad shape. Where Mass Effect was driven by an established race with its own intergalactic colonies and weight across vast expanses of the universe, Andromeda sees a more desperate, yet gentle approach to space exploration. 600 years after the events occurring in the first three games, Pathfinders are sent to find new planets to colonize, and humans are the alien life forms.
The main characters are Scott and Sara Ryder, Pathfinder siblings. You’ll be playing one of them, but they both exist within the story, so if you decide to play as Scott, Sara will be joining you later in the game. Furthermore, if you watch the cinematic, you’ll take a glimpse of some familiar looking faces.
The game leans significantly more towards cover-based shooting and using hot-key abilities, opposed to a radial wheel selection. The action get more thrilling with the inclusion of jetpacks for obtaining higher vantage points or quick evasion. The Renegade/Paragon alignments are replaced with more emotive reactions pertaining to the head, heart, professionalism, etc.
Exploration plays a bigger role in the game, with entire planets and entire biomes awaiting for you to find. Every planet has its own hostile enemy species, and you might stumble across mini-bosses that you can come back to kill once you feel ready.
There are still 3 classes (Tech, Combat and Biotic), but they now come with a skill tree, allowing you to mix-and-match abilities. When you bank enough points in a certain skill, enhanced profile bonuses will unlock.
The Tempest is the vehicle of choice, built for stealth and speed, but lacking heavy weapons or armor. It boasts a lavish interior set with galleys and med bays and all the accouterment you’d expect to find in a long term space vessel. Moreover, it’ll be able to scan planets.
And last but not least, it will feature a multiplayer mode, to which you can switch almost seamlessly when playing the game. The multiplayer mode will use a card based system to earn XP and credits, and there can also be modifiers to decrease or increase the challenge in relation to the reward.
