There are still some thing that don't line up with what James Ohlen is saying. What we known, Andromeda didn't happen in a vacuum, everybody knew the state of the game and if Bioware was really in charge why wouldn't they have put Anthem on hold and delay Andromeda's release. Then get all hands on deck to correct it, or was Anthem the project EA was more interested in. Next, from what little information that has come out on Dragon Age what was mentioned is it would include some sort of live model. I thought James said Bioware could make what ever they wanted, even go back to just single player RPG, doesn't seem like. Finally, Anthem why is Bioware pushing so hard to convince people that its going to be this great single player story, like ME or DA. I have no problem if Bioware wants to just make a Destiny like shooter, could the reason be this is the type of model they have to follow moving forward.

I have no doubt that Casey Hudson wants to go back to Mass Effect, but would it make sense under the new EA model. EA has been very adamant in their stock holder meeting that they are only publishing games with some sort of live service or monetization over the life of the game, aka multiplayer only type games. This means the days of Bioware making a single player story driven RPG are over, and why Anthem was conceived, and Andromeda was thrown under the bus to begin with. The main reason Mass Effect is on hold, and probably dead, is because they don’t know how to move forward with a franchise that pretty much requires the type of game they are not allowed to make anymore. If Mass Effect was to come back it may have to sit in something like the Anthem model, which sacrifices story elements for shared world multiplayer. To me, that wouldn’t feel like a Mass Effect game and would sour the franchise. The real test is going to depend on what happens with Anthem’s story and how it gets integrated and is perceived. If somehow, they can pull it off but that’s a huge "if". In my opinion, Anthem’s story will be second fiddle to the “world” and serve as an intro maybe a few hours then be over. Bottom line if the Anthem’s story sucks or feels like a bolt on, don’t be surprised if Dragon Age and Mass Effect are never heard from again.

As for the story component, its going to fail in comparison to their past works on that front. Come on, only have the story component be in the Fort area is going to feel like a bolt on or after thought. What made games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age great was the rich story immersion that drove game-play, from your dialog and choices effecting how world and characters interacted with you. In Anthem, its the multiplayer or shared world that drives the game and not the story. Popping into your fort and getting a quest isn't going to cut it. In the IGN interview, one of the Bioware guys mentions( I'm paraphrasing), "the story is only going to introduce you to the game and the world but then be over, but the story isn't important it's the world we want you to live in". That I think is what sums it up. Anthem might be a good multiplayer game, but it's going to fall flat on story RPG front which is very sad. EA seems to be the place where great game developers go do die.

As for the story component, its going to fail in comparison to their past works on that front. Come on, only have the story component be in the Fort area is going to feel like a bolt on or after thought. What made games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age great was the rich story immersion that drove game-play and progression, from your dialog and choices effecting how world and characters interacted with you. In Anthem, its the multiplayer or shared world that drives the game and not the story. Popping into your fort and getting a quest and chatting with a few NPC isn't going to cut it. In the IGN interview, one of the Bioware guys mentions( I'm paraphrasing), "the story is only going to introduce you to the game and the world but then be over, but the story isn't important it's the world we want you to live in". That I think is what sums it up. Anthem might be a good multiplayer game but it's going to fall flat on story RPG front.

Interesting, and if they can do it maybe it would be great and something new and exciting, but to me this sounds like this game will turn into a jack of all trades but master of none. The issue for me is you are combining two different type of gaming elements that appeal to different gamers that have to be done well to appeal those groups. I just don't see how you can create a single player game with a rich story and characters, but then also give it a full multiplayer/shared world aspect as well. Also don't forget this game will have some pay to play or live service model as that's is mandatory from EA so how does that affect if I just want to play in single player mode.

@cyanak: It's true we don't know much about it. But from what we know it sounds alot like a Destiny clone. Therefore any story they put in to the game will be second fiddle at best. That's the reason I mentioned Titanfall, not because the game would alike, but because EA did the same thing their. Took a multiplayer game and tacked on a crappy single player story, so they could say its single player too. Which is also the trend right now, suck in gamers who tend toward more single player games.

@m4a5: Their won't be a story, I mean nothing on the scale of a ME or DA. When you look at the original Destiny and Titanfall those where just pure MMOs. However, lately the new trend is to suck gamer's who like single player stories/campaigns by tacking one on, so they can say we have a single player option. In Titanfall 2, they added a quick simple story onto the game. The same thing is slated for Destiny 2. I'm sure Anthem will have something similar but highly doubt it will be the main focus and more an afterthought. That's why I'm a little pissed, MEA was thrown under the bus to build a MMO.

It's called we are done making great story driven RPG, and lets create a Destiny MMO clone so we can cash in too. A dev like Bioware should be developing games that build off their core strengths and innovate that way. I think Anthem will be a flop when you compare it to Destiny 2.