Did ME:A aim at the younger crowd ruin the game? My thoughts. [ Edited ]

[Abex81]

Here's my two cents.

Since ME:A andromeda launch, the most common complaints i heard from Original Trilogy's fans are:

1 Lighter tone story, no feeling of urgency

2 Shallow- cringeworthy dialogues

3 Lack of leadership from the main Ryder characters

Some people tend to blame bad writing for all of that, but that is only one side of the coin in my opinion.

Two relevant differences between Andromeda and the Ot:

1 Shepard was in his/her early 30's during the trilogy.

2 Ryder brothers are in their early 20's.

Shepard quest was all about extreme sacrifice and fighting against impossible odds, while Ryder's quest is about discovery, exploration and... growing up.

So many of the game "troubles" are strictly connected to..... youth and immaturity.

If you look at movies - series aimed at the younger crowd you can find the same problems you spot in Andromeda (shallow-cringeworthy writing in particular).Divergent series anyone?

Don't get me wrong, i have nothing against 20-something, i've been one too! It's HOW they represent them.

It happend the same with Watch Dogs. Just look at the reviews of WD2 and you'll find that most reviewers pointed out the shift in tone to pander to a younger crowd.

And many didn't like it.

If i have to stand by the bad reviews and sales compared to  ME3.... it seems this ''shift'' didn't pay off in the end.

[Vellu78]

Highly subjective matters.

1) Lighter story...hmm, propably. There is no grand evil to defeat untill the very end. Up to that point it's about exploration and establishing a foot hold. Urgency and (semi)open-world don't really go well together. Even Witcher 3 fails in this (urgently looking for Ciri while simultaneously messing about the huge huge world for literal dozens of hours real-time)

2 & 3) Even more subjective. Personally have no problem with either point. Ryder's are young which makes the story about growth as a leader (to a degree, time doesn't really go by enough to warrant grand changes in story telling) Very different indeed from Shepard who already was a bad-a$$ N7 to begin with. Not sure what "youth troubles" you are referring to. Or dialogue. Nothing specific stood out to me (2 playthroughs). It's not emmy winning narrative for sure, but I did not find it "immature" at all.

[RoastPotato26]

Or they just wanted to start off with a complete newbie (even if he wasnt completely new on handling a gun but having such burden on his shoulders) who might become what Shepard was, or close to him in the future.
What i missed is the violence that Shepard brought many times. He's the most alpha i met in the video games i played so far and its because of his attitude,his looks (default) and his voice that made a perfect mix of the character he is.
Ryder is a much younger one, you dont feel that he's confident enough, whatever option i choose in conversations doesnt sound as confident or good as if Shepard would say it. But it doesnt mean he's a bad character, he just needs time. You killed by yourself what... 2-3 characters in the cutscenes by yourself overall? And even then it wasnt that satisfying or bada*s. Give him time. Alec was something like Shep, but could be thats what they tried to avoid, to control again a character that already have experience on the field and being a leader.

However i laughed when the crew just walked off twice without Ryder telling them the meeting is over...and nobody was giving a damn what he's barking afterwards. That felt like not even the crew members are respecting Ryder enough to let him finish what he's saying.

Just compare the 2 cutscenes below

From 1:45 till 3:55
and
First meeting on tempest

Again, this is because he's young and unexperienced and the crew members are at the same age like him or older. Would be a different case with Alec standing there. Ryder just ned to figure out himself and he's set.

[Abex81]

@RoastPotato26

@Vellu78

I'm not arguing that it is a subjective matter (that's why i wrote ''my thoughts'') and i am aware that having a newbie as a main character was the dev's intention.

BUT seeing how most fans still miss Shepard and the lukewarm reception this game received...  i'm not sure it was the right choice.

(Look at Gaming sites.. how many are still talking about the game? Very few. The Witcher 3 was talked about for months, and so is Horizon)

So my point remains, i'm not saying it is a bad game at all,  i enjoyed my playtrough.

Just this shift in tone seems to have put off many big time fans( and sales too ).

[RoastPotato26]

@Abex81 I get your point and i agree with that. But its understandable, they wanted a fresh, clear game where you need to build up your character. Shep was an acknowledged N7 and Spectre already that you controlled for 3 episodes, Alec was an N7 as well.

It may please some people or push them away. For me it doesnt matter, im still playing the game 2-4 hrs every day, its just a different experience than we used to in the trilogy. Hopefully in the next episode we get a more confident Ryder with more leadership experience which many people wanted in ME:A.

[Abex81]

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@Vellu78@Vellu78 wrote:

. Not sure what "youth troubles" you are referring to. Or dialogue. Nothing specific stood out to me (2 playthroughs). It's not emmy winning narrative for sure, but I did not find it "immature" at all.

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Just look at Liam, the cringe starts from the beginning when he shoots the aliens and then how he deliveries his lines and his behaviour throughout the game(with some kind of redemption at the end).

Totally unprofessional for a crisis specialist.

He is young and immature...  not fit for the role.

You can tell me he is goofy and funny and i can agree to some extent. But that only adds up to the shift in tone i'm talking about.

[CasperTheLich]

@Abex81

i figured the lack luster reception was do more to the apparent overall lower level of quality in MEA vs the previous trilogy, rather then a lack of more mature dialogue or story elements (i'm referring to actual depth, not nude scenes, or perhaps not just). 

[Abex81]

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@CasperTheLich wrote:

@Abex81

i figured the lack luster reception was do more to the apparent overall lower level of quality in MEA vs the previous trilogy, rather then a lack of more mature dialogue or story elements (i'm referring to actual depth, not nude scenes, or perhaps not just). 

Yes, mostly

But the shallower tone and shift from Veteran to Rookie seems to have put off many people, at least that is what i'm getting from comments on Reddit/ Gaming site's forums during this month.

I serously hope in the DLC's or in the next installement we will see a Badass thoughened Ryder.

[CasperTheLich]

@Abex81

i actually find that kind of funny (the sad kind of funny), that so many people are whining about ryder being a "rookie" leader, and not a bada** right off the bat. i was there, on the BSN forums, page after page of people saying that's exactly what they wanted, with few detractors... it's **** like this that makes me hate people, well in general. keep, in mind i was someone who said it was an interesting idea, and i still think so. but, of all the idiotic things to gripe over. *sigh*

[Abex81]

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@CasperTheLich wrote:

@Abex81

i actually find that kind of funny (the sad kind of funny), that so many people are whining about ryder being a "rookie" leader, and not a bada** right off the bat. i was there, on the BSN forums, page after page of people saying that's exactly what they wanted, with few detractors... it's **** like this that makes me hate people, well in general. keep, in mind i was someone who said it was an interesting idea, and i still think so. but, of all the idiotic things to gripe over. *sigh*

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I get your point. i was on BSN only during the trilogy then i left because it was a toxic environment for me, so honestly i didn't know that they were asking for a rookie.

i ... well i don't think it is a bad idea per se, it is how it has been delivered that feels wrong to me. Horizon have got a young female protagonist... but she is a goddamn badass even with her fraglity and all the s**t that happend to her. So you can definitely make a mature story with a young protagonist if you have good writers.

But again, it's only my opinion.