BioWare was out in full force for PAX East this year, with Mass Effect: Andromeda multiplayer demos and a large panel at the convention’s Main Stage. During the panel, a team of BioWare developers, fronted by creative director Mac Walters, showed off the start of a mission in Mass Effect: Andromeda’s campaign, while also talking about the series and answering fan questions.
The mission on display for the PAX East panel was companion Liam’s loyalty mission. Liam is a human character, who seems like he’s very driven and focused on his work. To counter and play off that, Ryder is very light-hearted, feeling very similar to Han Solo in the original Star Wars. Despite coming across as a little cocky, Ryder is no Commander Shepard. When we met Shepard, he or she was already a hero. While Ryder is skilled, he or she hasn’t been tested quite like Shepard was.
READ: ' Mass Effect: Andromeda' Multiplayer Hands-On Impressions
One of the key gameplay additions for Andromeda is a greater sense of verticality, aided by the new jetpack. Ryder and his squad were hopping from platform to platform, with an even more challenging platforming segment coming once the ship tipped on its side.
There was one moment that featured an interrupt option, but it wasn’t paragon or renegade-based anymore. Instead, it seemed to be a generic “action” moment.
Gameplay looked smooth, and the character used in the demo had a nice blend of biotic powers. Despite the BioWare lead designer dying once or twice, action seemed like a fair challenge, with many different enemy types encouraging you to always be on the move to stay alive. Once each enemy is killed, players now have the opportunity to loot enemy bodies in search of weapon parts and other goodies.
When not in combat, the camera gets pulled much further back to encourage players to explore the environments. Using the game’s scanner will be crucial, as it typically highlights important objects in a given scene, and allows Ryder to research new findings. The research is divided up into three categories, Milky Way tech, Helios tech and an Unknown tech, with knowledge in each category required for some of the game’s crafting.
When not in the mission, BioWare gave a quick tour of the Tempest, the new ship that will act as Mass Effect: Andromeda’s main hub. The ship had an open design to provide views out into space no matter where you are inside. BioWare mentioned this open design matches the team’s philosophy for all of Andromeda: to be as open and ready to explore as possible.
One of the coolest features shown was how the Tempest actually travels from Point A to B. Instead of a simple cutscene like the previous games, Andromeda will actually show the Tempest flying through space, giving players a glimpse at some of the objects whizzing by the ship. The reason for this, according to BioWare, was to give a sense of density to space and make it feel less like a map.
As far as other bits of information about Andromeda, BioWare mentioned that there are double the number of characters compared to Mass Effect 3. As far as line counts, Andromeda is roughly the size of Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 put together.
We also know that there will be multiplayer, and even had the opportunity to try it out for ourselves. If Multiplayer isn’t your thing, that’s going to work out better in Andromeda compared to Mass Effect 3. To effectively get the “best” ending, players had to complete certain missions in Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer. BioWare has confirmed that there is no narrative link impacted by the multiplayer this time around. Players will be able to send characters off to complete “strike team” missions, which will effectively reward players with the multiplayer benefits.
BioWare closed the panel by showing off the latest trailer, which can be watched above.
So what do you think? Are you excited for Mass Effect: Andromeda when it releases on March 21? Will you be playing as a male or female Ryder? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
