@Sidburn19: It definitely can be a snapshot of some of the worst impulses in people.

Depressing but unsurprising. Mass Effect 2 is my favorite game and the trilogy has been my favorite IP ... but since the ME3 ending/rough edges, SW:TOR MMO-ness, and DA:I fetch quests/dull characters/dull story, I'm not sure where I stand on Bioware.

I won't be buying Andromeda this month, and I'm hugely bummed about it. I'm not attracted to games for their crafting or combat. I would be enticed by the setting and the cool environments, but I dread the idea of wading through so much meh content like I did back in 2014 just to bet on a Krogan fight or whatever. /;

"... we did come away feeling that areas outside the bustling city hubs were quite sparse."

Areas in Mass Effect were quite sparse and the places of interest were usually anything but interesting. In Mass Effect 2 however, Bioware decided to design each planet around quests/interesting themes. While the maps were small and railroaded, I didn't care because I was immersed into what I was doing and what was going on in the story.

I spent so much time in Dragon Age: Inquisition just traversing terrain while hitting the scan button. While I recall the specifics of so many places in Dragon Age: Origins, I don't recall or care about any item I looted in Inquisition or any settlement I stumbled on or any MMO-style fetch/clear quest I completed. I do remember a sinking feeling of boredom settling in though and a desire to just get past the boring stuff to finish the game.

I anticipate the same for Mass Effect: Andromeda and it bums me out. I don't want my inventory to be full of customizable parts to a rifle that's the same quality as my old one, dyes to change its color, and whatnot. I don't want a quest log inundated with simple quests that were delivered to me by a forgettable NPC I ran across or sent to me via mail five hours ago when I checked in. While Mass Effect 3 had forgettable NPC's give shallow quests and Mass Effect 2 involved a lot of mailed quest requests, Inquisition did this stuff sooo much more. Urg.

"Nobody in development wants to say that they can't do a thing, right?"

But you can't say you'll do the thing in your advertising and not do it. No matter how it feels, you shouldn't mislead consumers.

I feel the same way about the Point as I do about Stranger Things or The Witcher 3: what a great time to be consuming content. Sad to see you and it go, but you've got serious skill at this stuff. I can't wait to see what's next.

Probably witchcraft.

@saturatedbutter: Yeah, where's Horizon: Zero Dawn?

Mass Effect: Andromeda, Dishonored 2, Mafia III, and Titanfall 2, are games I'm looking forward to playing. After Beyond Earth and Starships though, I don't think I'll run out and by CIV VI under any conceivable circumstance.

I love that Kevin is working on D:OS 2. His writing is the best.

I'm with Lucy. Mass Effect 2 is my favorite game of the last 20 years. Without a doubt.