The Mass Effect trilogy was probably my favorite series from the last generation of consoles. So I was definitely excited to see the series brought back with the announcement of Andromeda. I tried playing it when it first came out but I found the opening stage quite difficult and I couldn't read the unnecessarily small text. I finally got myself a bigger television and stuck it through all the way to the end. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the story but other areas were quite lacking. The fact is Andromeda was full of promise but it won't be a smooth journey.
You are part of the Andromeda Initiative, a multi-species project sent to settle golden worlds scoped-out to sustain life. You play a Scott or Sara Ryder whose father leads the human Ark, a giant ship containing a 100,000 people. When you arrive at your golden world it is not as hospitable as you were lead to believe. On the planet you encounter a hostile species that it determined to use the planet's technology for their own purposes. In fact the whole galaxy has a lot of this Remnant remains scattered about. Little is known about the advanced civilization that left their mark on the galaxy but their is clearly tremendous power in their tech that could help sustain or end life throughout the galaxy.
The story and all the supporting characters aboard your ship are the clear highlight of this experience. You start with a couple human squad mates but eventual recruit members from several species. In addition to the new hostile species you also meet a new friendly species whom will help you if you can earn their trust. Andromeda thankfully does away with the strict paragon/renegade choice system. Your choices still can have an impact on the story but it isn't necessary to always stick to nice or mean. Sadly, its easy to get distracted from the main plot with an array of tedious side-quests. Many of the side quests are either fetch quests or go here and shoot/talk to these people.
The combat in Andromeda is similar to the third-person action the series is known for with a few tweaks and additions. In this game you have a jet-pack you can you to reach high places, hover in combat, and boost over short distances. The traditional class system is gone and instead offers a blank slate for total customization. If you invest more skill points in specific areas you'll level up your profiles. Profiles enhance and compliment different play styles such as biotics, tech, or weapon mastery. Since the planets are quite large you spend a fair amount of time traversing them in the Nomad, a very maneuverable all-terrain vehicle.
I'm glad I saw the story through to the end but I definitely feel like this game was lacking direction. No doubt their is a ton of content however if half of it was striped out and the other half was more polished it would have been a world of difference. For example the researching/developing weapons is overly complicated requiring you to find or buy random materials to get a level one item. From there you can work your way up to level five yet when you get a higher level weapon it doesn't replace your outdated lesser level weapons. You can only use "Augmentations" on weapons you craft but "Mods" can be used on any weapon. If you can see through the extra baggage and average side-quests Andromeda has an enjoyable combat system and an interesting cast that will accompany you on this intense journey.
(The cooperative, hoard-style, multi-player featured in Mass Effect 3 is featured in this title as well)