Troll and I and ME: Andromeda

March 20 – March 26

Section: 

When I look at the list of games to be released this week, one in particular stands out. No one will be surprised to read that I'm an unabashed fan girl of the Mass Effect franchise. I've been hooked ever since the first installment, eagerly awaiting every game that followed, every piece of DLC. Mass Effect: Andromeda is no different.

Many have voiced concerns during development – and now some select few have the opportunity to get a glimpse thanks to Origin Access. The forum thread here at GWJ has grown significantly. I, however, pre-ordered Mass Effect: Andromeda months ago, with no qualms whatsoever. After all, it's a Mass Effect game: I was Shepard. The Normandy had become my home away from home, and I'm curious, to see what Andromeda will bring.

Ultimately, there's something very appealing, almost magical in the premise of Andromeda: We're leaving the Milky Way behind, getting to know our new protagonist, Ryder. This taps into an undefinable yearning for the stars, for exploration. To seek out new life in galaxies far, far away. Oh and tossing singularities at enemy aliens too. Not to mention exploring new worlds while making my squadmates uncontrollably car-sick in the Nomad. Besides, it's more Mass Effect, so I'm bound to be a happy camper.

Greg "Doubtingthomas396" Decker

I usually bristle when someone uses “I” in place of “me” because they almost always do it wrong. I’ve come to use it as a way of marking people who want to appear more erudite than they are. I’m indifferent to Troll and I’s use of the first-person pronoun, however, because out of context it might be correct or not. If it’s “Troll and I went on an adventure,” then everything’s copasetic. If it’s “This is a story about Troll and I,” then we need to have words.

Regardless, Troll and I gets my pick for this week because I like the idea of two outcasts searching for a home and I appreciate that they made the troll look like a bigger version of the trolls from Willow. The game looks gorgeous, too, which doesn’t hurt. I look forward to seeing if it’s got chops or if it’s just someone trying to cash in on the “giant, nonverbal monster who catches you when you fall” genre popularized most recently by The Last Guardian.

Chris "C" Cesarano

The obvious home-run hitter this week is Mass Effect: Andromeda. Even with all the mixed reception, from things as superficial as facial animations to complaints of the mechanics, ME:A is the title that's going to be dropped into most consumer's carts this week. Personally, I've never found Mass Effect as a series to cross into "great" territory, which begs the question of why I'm writing on the front page of a community that absolutely adores the series.

Troll and I also has my attention as it reminds me of Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom, a game about a man-child and his big mythological dog-stand-in teaming up and having adventures. Something about it is reminiscent of the early Xbox 360 and PS3 games that were clearly lower-budget efforts from developers who bit off way more than they could chew. I'll be waiting to see how this one turns out, even if Majin was a much more aesthetically pleasing Dog God Thing.

If I had to buy something for myself this week, it'd either be the Nonary Games collection – a compilation of the Zero Escape titles Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, Virtue's Last Reward and Zero Time Dilemma – or the Gravity Rush 2 DLC focusing on the character of Raven. Of course, in reality, my face will continue to be buried into my Switch, saving Hyrule by doing everything I can in the game except save Hyrule.

Felix “Take my Ryder by my side” Threepaper

This week, there can be only one recommendation: Mass Effect: Andromeda. Mass Effect has delivered some of my top 5 gaming entertainment experiences this century. It’s like a new series of Star Trek is coming.

Andromeda is set 600 years after the Shepard trilogy. While advances have been made in weapons technology – such as the invention of melee weapons – inexplicably, facial animation technology has regressed. I for one am also happy they’re bringing vehicular exploration back. No one does space opera like the Mass Effect devs and, like opera, I’m even excited for the soundtrack.

This week:

PC

  • 88 Heroes
  • 994 W 24th
  • Algotica: Iteration 1
  • Battle for Orion 2
  • Castle Explorer
  • Chika Militant Cockroach
  • Comit the Astrodian 2
  • Demonheart
  • Five Elements
  • Grass Cutter
  • Holobunnies: Pause Cafe
  • Hotel Anatolia
  • In Vitra
  • Mass Effect: Andromeda
  • Molemen Must Die!
  • Narborion Saga
  • News Tycoon
  • Osy Osmosis
  • Out of the Park Baseball 18
  • Paladin
  • Playerunknown's Battlegrounds
  • Red Death
  • Shadows 2: Perfidia
  • SKIPCHASER
  • Splody
  • Tiles
  • Toukiden 2
  • Train Mechanic Simulator 2017
  • Troll and I
  • Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2: Bush Rescue
  • Vecitas
  • Zero Escape: The Nonary Games

PS4

  • 88 Heroes
  • Anima: Gate of Memories (Beyond Fantasy Edition)
  • Berserk and the Band of the Hawk
  • Death Tales
  • Dreamfall Chapters
  • EVERYTHING
  • Freedom Planet
  • Gravity Rush 2 Another Story: The Ark of Time – Raven's Choice
  • Mass Effect: Andromeda
  • Rayon Riddles: Rise of the Goblin King
  • Royal Defense
  • This Is the Police
  • Touhou Double Focus
  • Touhou Genso Wanderer
  • Toukiden 2
  • Troll and I
  • Zero Escape: The Nonary Games

Xbox One

  • 88 Heroes
  • De-formers
  • Dreamfall Chapters
  • Mass Effect: Andromeda
  • This Is the Police
  • Troll and I

Switch

Wii U

3DS

  • Mario Sports Superstars

Vita

  • Berserk and the Band of the Hawk
  • Touhou Double Focus
  • Toukiden 2
  • Zero Escape: The Nonary Games

RIFT

  • Life VR
  • Rock Band VR
  • EmbodyMe
  • Radioactive

Vive

  • EmbodyMe
  • In Your Face TD
  • LyraVR
  • Radioactive

Comments

Guest post, guest post!

And hey, who can deny the appeal of a continuing mission to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where millions of other gamers are concurrently going?

wordsmythe wrote:

And hey, who can deny the appeal of a continuing mission to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where millions of other gamers are concurrently going?

Me.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:

And hey, who can deny the appeal of a continuing mission to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where millions of other gamers are concurrently going?

Me.

That's our girl!

Toukiden 2 is this week? I know they released a demo for it that I haven't played so I'd be interested in what they've done with this second game. Toukiden is a Monster Hunter-lite title that was not terribly good at launch but got an enhanced port on Vita that made it a pretty decent title. Hopefully they refined it into something better as I like the faster pace of the game.

Oh, and OOTP18 for me. I buy it even if I don't play it too much. I basically buy every text sim that comes out to support the devs.

I can't believe I forgot to mention Mario Sports Superstars.

Really hoping they can make a solid collection for Switch later down the line. With hockey.

ccesarano wrote:

I can't believe I forgot to mention Mario Sports Superstars.

3DS is dead.

Also, full price for what I can almost guarantee will be a lackluster Mario sports title isn't likely to get much love around here. Nintendo doesn't seem to be putting much budget behind their sports titles at this point.

Wasn't aware that OOTP18 was this week.

To echo garion333's sentiment, OOTP is not a franchise I dump dozens of hours into, but I somehow manage to have all latest releases in my Steam library.

Curious what's new in '18. I'll have to take a closer look.

Aaron D. wrote:

Wasn't aware that OOTP18 was this week.

To echo garion333's sentiment, OOTP is not a franchise I dump dozens of hours into, but I somehow manage to have all latest releases in my Steam library.

Curious what's new in '18. I'll have to take a closer look.

Here you go.

It's a pretty lackluster release as they seem out of ideas for improvement, but that's okay by me as they continue to refine the engine.

Edit: Negro leagues being added is really cool and I'm glad they finally did that. Satchel Paige here I come!

Huh.

Wonder if Challenge Mode will amount to anything or if it's just a gussied up Online Leaderboard mode.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:

And hey, who can deny the appeal of a continuing mission to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where millions of other gamers are concurrently going?

Me.

/O_O\ That's my name up there!

...
IMAGE(https://aintnogod.com/ipb/uploads/gallery/album_17/gallery_298_17_1836.gif)

Okay, all kidding aside, I'm now super intrigued by DoubtingT's pick Troll and I. That looks... different, for sure. Leave it to him to find some weird new shiny, I think it's a gift or something.
And no, I still haven't played ME: A, it only unlocks tonight - OMGWTFBBQ, IS THIS DAY OVER YET? I did install the Apex companion app, so I'm sending out strike teams even though I haven't even fired it up yet.

@CCesarano I read about The Nonary Games a month or so ago when looking at visual novels. Just a heads up if you're thinking about purchasing... Unless something has changed I'm pretty sure it only includes the first two games Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors and Virtue's Last Reward, not Zero Time Dilemma.

Bubblefuzz wrote:

@CCesarano I read about The Nonary Games a month or so ago when looking at visual novels. Just a heads up if you're thinking about purchasing... Unless something has changed I'm pretty sure it only includes the first two games Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors and Virtue's Last Reward, not Zero Time Dilemma.

It's ok, according to my wife the first two are the only ones that are any good anyway.

Considering I still haven't beaten Zero Time Dilemma... I'd concur, I think. I should really beat the game first, but my favorite is honestly still the first one.

doubtingthomas396 wrote:

It's ok, according to my wife the first two are the only ones that are any good anyway.

I hate to disagree with your wife, but the first one isn't very good, either.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
doubtingthomas396 wrote:

It's ok, according to my wife the first two are the only ones that are any good anyway.

I hate to disagree with your wife, but the first one isn't very good, either.

I don't mind.

I'm just thrilled to have run across a situation in which you hate to disagree.

I like to think that it's always a relief when you encounter evidence that an internet friend isn't secretly your spouse.