Andrama-duh. The Thrills and Chills of Mass Effect: Andromeda.

As a quick forewarning, there could be some light spoilers ahead.  If you're only a few hours into Andromeda you might want to hold off and play some more.

Now that I've had some free time, I have played considerably more Mass Effect:  Andromeda.  The current status of the Heleus Cluster is that I've fully colonized two planets (Eos and Voeld) and they are now sprouting some happy little settlements.  I've also managed to make Havarl livable, but I don't quite know how that one is going to pan out since it's technically the Angaren homeworld.  My progress on the main storyline has been sidelined as I've decided to focus on the settlement aspect.  Honestly, I just have poor impulse control and if you give me a map full of missions and exploration I will usually opt for that until everything has been checked off the list.

Speaking of lists and my love of them...I present my list of stuff I'm liking as well as stuff I'm questioning in regards to my progress in Andromeda.  I always like to start with the good, so let's start there.

This is my Ryder.  It's also an actual screenshot I took with my phone.
Origin needs to get on the ball with the screenshot tools.

Likes👍
1.) I am vastly enjoying the Nomad and using it as a tool for exploration.  Like it's predecessor, the crazy Mako from the original Mass Effect, the Nomad can go almost anywhere.  Unlike the Mako it can go anywhere without feeling like you were steering a very unmaneuverable boat.  It's fun to drive, goes fast, and offers versatile cover for any kett killing situations that arise.

2.) The crew is finally starting to grow on me.  At first I was a little reluctant about some of them--particularly PeeBee.  From the pre-release material I understood that she was supposed to be an Asari who was very un-Asari-like.  PeeBee is very independent and I haven't quite cracked her shell yet to figure out exactly why she refuses to make connections with anyone.  Her spirit and quirkiness are fun and I enjoy taking her and Jaal along while I do exploring because their banter is hilarious.

Vetra has also quickly become one of my favorites.  Like PeeBee she's a contradiction to the traditional roles within her species--in talking with her you realize that her family was largely negligent and she was left to fend for herself and her younger sister.  That fending included activities like smuggling and mercenary work.  I mostly enjoy the fact that Vetra is sarcastic and will throw out a real zinger once in awhile.

As for the rest of the crew...
--Liam is funny and has a lot of bad ideas that he thinks are good ideas.
--Gil's poker logs are a good read (there's a datapad by the central vidcom where he keeps his logs)
--Cora has started talking about her time as an Asari commando....but it's not really that interesting
--Drack fills the old-man role well and seems like the perfect Krogan grandpa.
--Jaal is awkward and his attempts at fitting in with the crew are cute.
--Kallo is no Joker and I've learned basically nothing about him.  He likes to fight with Gil about the ship.
--Suvi is absent-minded and leaves things all over the Tempest.  She's a spiritual person.
--Lexi--I mostly just enjoy listening to Natalie Dormer's voice.  It is magical...but really, Lexi is worried that she's too cold and doesn't really care about the crew.

It's worth mentioning that I've only completed one loyalty mission--Liam's.  So far it has been one of my favorite missions in the game.

3.) The wide variety of planets and environments harkens back to the original Mass Effect.  I can bounce from deserts on Eos to snowy plains on Voeld to dense jungles on Havarl and then to the caustic lakes and jagged peaks of Kadara.  Each planet is beautiful in its own way.

Dislikes👎
Even though this is the next chapter in the Mass Effect universe, it just doesn't feel the same way that the previous games did.  I've always struggled with games that try to be open-world and to also have a strong storyline that you want to follow.  In the past I've felt like Mass Effect was way more about that storyline and its strong cast of well-written characters.  How many other games do you remember playing that gave you an option to basically turn off combat so you could focus on the story?  It takes an extremely engrossing story and characters to make you want to do that.  I'm just not getting that sense from Andromeda.  It seems to have switched the focus onto the gameplay (exploration, combat, crafting....the myriad of other stuff to do) aspect and away from the story or character aspects.  This makes me a little sad.

I keep getting this overwhelming sense that this game isn't all that original and that it was cobbled together from pieces of the previous games.  Imagine a big Mass Effect jigsaw puzzle with each piece being an essential aspect of the game that people enjoy.  So many of the story elements don't feel original...the remains of an ultra-technologically advanced race (Protheans, anyone?), an alien race that is capturing people to turn them into an army of genetically modified soldiers (Collectors?), a band of space pirates led by a saucy female leader (Aria T'Loak?), a massive central hub that is the center of galactic politics (Citadel?)....and I could keep going on.  I completely understand keeping core aspects of the game but it would be nice to get some new story elements.

I am crossing my fingers that as I progress things will get better and the story will start to unfold in a less familiar manner.

Another of my major dislikes has to do with the inability to command and outfit your followers.  You could argue that the constant pausing of combat was too interruptive, but at least you could get them to use their abilities when you wanted them too!  Now, the most you can do is order them to attack a target.  And it's worth mentioning that you really should be constantly ordering them to attack a specific target--I'm finding the NPC AI to be questionable at best and often my companions are standing around getting shot.  I've also noticed that when you do order your squad to attack a target that they like to go into melee range.  It's frustrating.  It's also frustrating that I can't upgrade the weapons of my companions.  I've picked up a veritable mountain of loot....and sold it all.  What a waste.

I've also had some minor irritation with one lore-based aspect--why is Ryder wearing N7 armor?  As you learn about his/her background you learn that she wasn't in the N7 program but was a peacekeeper for the Alliance.  I've been justifying this taboo by telling myself that it was a blueprint left from her father and she's just using it as a sort of inheritance.  That still doesn't seem right though.

There have been some missed opportunities when it comes to Ryder's interactions with her crewmates.  I feel like in previous games there were many more opportunities to chat and get to know them--there seem to be fewer.  I also noticed some opportunities during times when there is banter going on--as Ryder approaches the kett base on Voeld she makes a very cheesy joke about "staying frosty."  This would have been the perfect chance to have someone groan and comment on the horrible quality of that joke.  But alas, there was just silence.

Maybe this all seems too negative...in general I am having fun but it's just not the same Mass Effect.  I'm still trying to avoid reading reviews until I'm finished and maybe they feel the same way I do.