‘Mass Effect: Andromeda’ Gameplay Footage And Season Pass Questions And Answers

Mass Effect: Andromeda quickly is becoming one of the most anticipated AAA titles coming out early this year, and the recent gameplay footage trailer and season pass info BioWare released have spawned quite a few questions among gamers.

The new gameplay video showcases several of the new features Andromeda brings to the series. Everything from on-the-fly class changing so you can tweak your specs for each encounter to increased destructibility of environments thanks to the Frostbite engine’s capabilities add in new and more interesting ways to fight in the latest Mass Effect. The new trailer demonstrates an interesting ability that will undoubtedly improve a player’s survivability in the form of a dash/dodge maneuver reminiscent of the lateral dodge ability from the Halo series.

The video also showcases the return of classic Mass Effect staples. The special abilities are still labeled under the old classes of Tech, Biotic, and Combat, but what will be included with that has yet to be released. The leveling demoed in the video is extremely quick; more of a showing off than an in-depth demonstration.

One of the things sorely lacking from any of the videos is the extremely sought after information regarding romance and relationships. Other than a few vague confirmations that yes, the Mass Effect-style relationships are coming back, and there will be something/body/tentacle for most everyone, the trailer’s released so far have shown nothing about romance.

VideoGamer points out, “Information on your squad-mates and relationships in general (including those of the non-ugly-bumping variety) is being released slowly, though we do know that there’s at least one Turian, one Asari, and one Krogan on your team, and that there will be ‘alien kisses’ for all gender preferences.”

And while it is true the trailers have very little info on inter-character relationships, by all indications, BioWare is seeking to enhance the experience in Andromeda as compared to previous Mass Effect titles.

In an interview with Game Informer from November, creative director Mac Walters said “We had a strong foundation for how [romance] was working. For me, typically in the trilogy it was a bit formulaic. You’d talk to them and then get to that one point in the game where there was no going and back and romance was going to happen. That’s not real life. There should be some people who just want to hop in the sack immediately. There should people who are interested in a long-term relationship. There are people who aren’t interested in romance at all.”

Mass Effect: Andromeda Season Pass

In a surprising shift away from current industry standards, BioWare announced Mass Effect: Andromeda will not feature a season pass. Aaron Flynn, the BioWare general manager, was less than forthcoming about the details. With asked if Andromeda would release with a Season Pass, he replied with a simple “Nope.” A follow-up question inquired as to the nature of future DLC’s for the new Mass Effect game, but Flynn merely said, “We’ll talk about that later,” reportsIBT.

As for what comes next, that is anybody’s guess since BioWare is rather tight-lipped about features and release info. Interestingly enough, Andromeda is one of two EA titles to lack the expected Season Pass feature. Titanfall 2 released without a Season Pass as well. In a Tweet from the official Titanfall page, the developer stated, “Remember when buying a game got you everything? Another reason #Titanfall2 is different, no season pass needed…”

If EA can start the shift away from Season Passes being a virtual requirement to keep playing a game with a reasonable player base, a penny-pinched player base may find refuge with more EA games. Shelling out $120 or more for a game, especially when most of the updates are map packs (hello Call of Duty), more players may switch to games that require less money to maintain the level of fun they expect.

So, what do you think of the recent info from BioWare on Mass Effect:Andromeda? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below!

[Featured Image by Mass Effect]