Mass Effect Andromeda Multiplayer Preview

Mass Effect was one of the strongest franchises to appear during the last generation and one that captured the attention of many. After the somewhat disappointing ending to the trilogy, we now set forth as a Pathfinder to find new horizons. Aside from the campaign aspect is the return of cooperative multiplayer which is basically the same as it was from Mass Effect 3.

While this isn't the worst scenario, I still would have liked to see some more innovation with Andromeda instead of giving a tacked on feeling. I don't want to sound too negative right away as it's fun to play, it just feels too similar to what has already been provided yet in a smaller form. In a squad of four players you all work together in order to clear out enemies and survive waves.

There are a range of difficulties present for a better challenge and multiple objectives that show up while playing giving an occasional focus to certain rounds. Rounds typically take a few minutes and have you mulching down troves of oncoming enemies. This worked fine, though I did notice times where I saw enemies appear on the map in front of me and that somewhat killed the immersion.
Mass Effect Andromeda multiplayer
The maps were interesting offering a wide range of environments to play on, but they felt extremely similar to the ones present in Mass Effect 3 and there weren't many of them here. Maps contain special spots to collect ammo and there are also special extras that are unlocked by using crates. I haven't had too much time to dig into the packs, but going off of other titles I assume they're microtransaction based and haven't an opinion of them yet.

The outskirts of the maps also had an odd mixture of ugly textures mixed with lovely vistas. Regular gameplay felt smooth with hectic exciting combat, yet with the improved mobility I had some issues getting stuck on things within the tight maps. That aside, there was some great verticality on the levels with multiple tiers for combat. This helped make things unique and completely different than what we've come to expect from the multiplayer. The coop elements were solid here aiming to actually make everyone work together and it's essential to do so in order to be successful.

Outside of the gameplay is a full skill tree and customization for your multiplayer character. The skills let you improve key elements of your class abilities and that greatly alters your combat efficiency. There's a large roster present with color options, but it once again felt odd not to have more in-depth customization considering how much is available for campaign. I enjoyed playing the multiplayer aspect of Mass Effect Andromeda and while I wasn't blown away by it, there's some potential for extra gameplay aside from purely going through the campaign. It would have been nice to see better depth in this mode or a better selection of maps though I suppose it provides enough entertainment for extra value.

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Gamerheadquarters Reviewer Jason Stettner