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Mass Effect: Andromeda
Mass Effect: Andromeda
2017 | Role-Playing
Gameplay, cast, updates (0 more)
Original animation (0 more)
A flawed launch...
When I started playing this fourth installment in the Mass Effect franchise, I was struck by some of the daring departures from the original trilogy's gameplay. The ability to choose your hero(ine)'s role based on situation. The hub system for worlds that was more reminiscent of Dragon Age: Inquisition than ME. The departure from the truly galactic scale of Commander Shepard's battle against the Reapers to focus on a seemingly weaker adversary.

I was fortunate to avoid most of the initial bugs in the animation, but was disappointed in the limited exploration available. While I liked the Angara, they couldn't get me to care about them as much as the original games caused me to care about the Quarians and Krogan.

I was tickled by the interactions between the members of the cast, which were dynamic and as detailed as the crew of the Normandy's had been. In the end, it was the team supporting the Pathfinder that sold me on the game, and kept me going to the madcap pell-mell race to the ending.

Yes, it was rushed. Yes, it felt incomplete. But a mediocre installment in the Mass Effect universe still is better than the majority of RPGs out there.
  
Star Wars: Gadgets and Gear
Star Wars: Gadgets and Gear
2019 | Fantasy, Roleplaying
There was a time when pretty much the only place where new information about the Star Wars galaxy was appearing was in sourcebooks for the original WEG d6 role-playing game. Things have obviously changed since then and this is a much more focused, game-oriented product; basically a collection of statlines for weapons, armour, and other personal equipment for the FFG RPG lines.

The downside of this is that the book is probably of rather less interest to the non-gaming Star Wars fan, but it is a boon for those of us who don't want to risk a hernia carrying around the 20 or so books where this information originally appeared. Some interesting new stuff, too, especially the 'iconic equipment' entries, although these are oddly phrased - many references to 'the wearer of Darth Vader's armour' rather than just 'Darth Vader', as if anyone's going to steal that suit. Most bonkers new addition is 'Lando Calrissian's Cape Armoire', a post-Solo invention which allows you to randomly generate what cape he's wearing and its special properties. Disappointingly, this isn't completely comprehensive, and the lack of summary tables for easy comparison and reference is also a shame. But still pretty much an essential purchase for anyone who actually plays this game.