Wednesday, Jan. 4 was Mass Effect: Andromeda’s big gameplay reveal at Nvidia’s CES 2017 keynote. Mass Effect: Andromeda is the fourth installment to the Mass Effect series, and it comes equipped with a new story, a new squad and a new main character, Ryder.
During the keynote, Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang and Bioware General Manager Aaryn Flynn discussed the backstory of Mass Effect and what we can expect from the game.
Flynn described the two-minute snippet of gameplay would focus on a character named “Peebee” and her loyalty mission. The mission revealed a vast planet and its environment, along with new enemies.
For Mass Effect fans, the gameplay trailer reveals a lot of familiar concepts but also a many new enticing aspects. Here are some facts about the game you need to know and what to look to forward to.
New Ship and VI
No more Normandy or EDI. On March 21, we will embark on a new ship by the name of Tempest. Mained by what could be another VI similar to EDI in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 or we’re looking at a companion who’ll join us, similar to Destiny’s Ghost.
New Menu Interface And Skills
Access the menu to check out your inventory, profile, upgrade skills and your squad. Mass Effect: Andromeda has stuck to its roots of maintaining a team. With two additional squad members, Cora and Peebee.
Fans will find this section of the menu familiar; the Skills menu allows you to control leveling up, skill points and talents for your Ryder, plus two squad members. Everything from race to class, health, shield and loadout is in the hub.
New Main Character: The Ryder Twins Talents and Skills
Welcome back combat, biotics, and tech powers. No more “Shepard” guys, instead, we have someone new to attach to and it’s Ryder. Played as a male or female, Ryder Twins are the children of Alec Ryder. We get to choose which we’d prefer to play as just like ME 2 and ME 3 where we had the option to choose a male Shepard or a female Shepard.
In the gameplay trailer, players will have the opportunity to dump skill points into specific talents. Such as tech powers, during the quick demo, we can see Flamethrower is a new tech power and its talent tree layout. Talent tree hub is similar but modernized compared to ME 3.
New Enemies and Combat System
Swarms of alien-like enemies are back. Seemingly the player can move around freely without having to panic and rush to cover. With the right skills and powers equipped, Ryder seems to hold their own in an open space surrounded by enemies. Although, cover is recommended.
Mass Effect: Andromeda releases on March 21 in North America and on March 23 in Europe. Being a die-hard Mass Effect fan, Andromeda certainly feels and looks like a Mass Effect game. Check out more screenshots of Mass Effect: Andromeda.
