After finishing Mass Effect Andromeda I'm going to go against the grain and say I loved it, and recommend it to any fan of the prior games.
The problems were blown massively out of proportion, as is the way in this day and age, where people get more satisfaction out of hating things rather than enjoying them. Some of the facial animations were poor, some laughable, but when did facial animations become integral to a good gaming experience? If they were that important LA Noire would be a masterpiece that people still talk about to this day. Remember LA Noire?
Probably not, because the writing wasn't great and the gameplay was non-existent. Andromeda has some great writing. On par with prior Mass Effect games but at times even better. The cast of characters are excellent, but like any good characters it takes time to get to know them and see their points of view. Any character you love instantly is nought but a caricature. The ludicrous amount of dialogue between every combination of character, the little emails they leave to each other, the volumes of engaging lore. If you like that kind of thing, something that was a big part of the original trilogy, then you won't be disappointed.
The graphics funnily enough are gorgeous. Yes some facial animations are poor. There are some visual glitches also (often quite hilarious, and this kind of thing never stopped me enjoying games before, see: Fallout New Vegas). But the concept design, the landscapes, the lighting, it's all superb.
Lastly the gameplay, specifically the combat, is so improved it makes the past games hard to pick up again. Combat was always a weakness for Mass Effect but now it's a strength thanks to the mobility of it all. Throw in a ludicrous amount of content (yes there are some padded fetch quests, which are labelled under 'tasks' and completely avoidable!), layers of extra depth via crafting and strike teams (entirely avoidable if it doesn't float your boat) and a surprisingly decent multiplayer mode and I cannot fathom why this game has the reception it does.
Ultimately if you like Mass Effect you will like Andromeda. If you've never liked Mass Effect then that probably won't change. It's lacking the same level of polish in places but on the flipside it's at least twice the size of the other games. Took me 75 hours to finish all the main and side stuff and I had a blast all the way through. People love to hate things and in the age of gifs, a clip of a game at its worse can come to represent it wholly to those who are looking to indulge in some ridicule. But anyone who actually plays this can't deny the amount of effort and genuine passion for the lore and universe that has gone into it.
Trying to decide whether to edit the DB again so he joins me, or just go without him.
