Gameplay video #2 has just been released of Mass Effect: Andromeda. This one covers Profiles, and Squad abilities. More videos are coming, which will cover one of my favorite topics in a video game; exploration.
Click here to watch the second video.
I’ll be honest with you, though. The more I watch these videos of combat, the more I feel.. this game is going to get mixed reviews once it’s released on March 21st. It feels like “there’s no limits– do what the fuck you want.” That’s awesome, but it also gives a “fuck you” to veteran players of the series. Of course, this is to be expected….because EA is publishing it. :/
The ONLY thing that seems to have any sort of limit, well.. I’ll explain a bit later in this post.
First off, the guy recaps of what video 1 explained and shown. Now to go over the video;
Players will have access to “hundreds of skills”, and “over 300 skill upgrades”. Players are free to pick any skill without being limited to a class..hence what I said in the beginning of this post. Why even have classes if you’re going to be able to have any ability available to you? That will ruin replayability.
Next, Profiles are mentioned. Players will gain ‘profiles’ as they level up their Pathfinder. There are seven types of profiles.
To me, you should see these being similar to the way Mass Effect 2 did it. Each one of them can empower the three skill trees differently (which does give feeling of trying different things). The more the player becomes proficient in their skills, the higher tier upgrades they’ll unlock of that specific profile. Yet the player is allowed to switch profiles on the fly.
And here’s the only ‘good’ part I’ve heard. ‘Favorites’. Players can map three specific sets of skills to one favorite. There are four, which gives players access to 12 skills in a single fight. When a player switches to another favorite, they cannot switch to another as there’s a cooldown (thank goodness). Though not mentioned, it’s to be assumed this cooldown’s time can be reduced with upgrades (as he says “by default”).
Last, is squad abilities. The player can have a maximum of six squadmates (but like the previous games, only two can assist you). Each squadmate has three ‘active’ and two ‘passive’ skills.
Squadmates do what you expect them to do; defend a position, attack a target, or follow the player, but they have a new ability called a ‘Power Combo’. Either one of the player’s squadmates (or the player itself) can ‘prime’ an enemy and set them up for this devastating ability (by one of the player’s squadmates jumps in to finish the job). I’m really a fan of this.
However, the sudden warp to kill, I’m not really a fan.
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And so, there you go. Video 2 of 2. What were you favorite things? Do you feel like this game is going to be awesome? Has this convinced you to want to buy the game, or say no? Let me know!