Those who have played the Mass Effect games know the series is renowned for its great sci-fi stories and characters. And clearly the game’s protagonist Commander Shepard is one of the best characters in gaming, and one players could make as evil and ruthless as they wanted (or as good willed, if they were so inclined) throughout the games.
This is because players had “Paragon” and “Renegade” choices in conversation throughout the original Mass Effect trilogy, with the former letting players be positive and kind to others, while the latter sometimes led to chaotic and violent outcomes (such as pushing a hapless enemy out of a window).
But no matter how much fun the Paragon and Renegade choices were in earlier games, developer Bioware is doing away with these in their upcoming Mass Effect Andromeda. The developer’s creative director Mac Walters explained this decision in an interview with the Official Xbox Magazine, stating that the reason for this was “they were very tied to the Shepard character, so they didn’t really make sense if we weren’t going to have Shepard as our protagonist”.
Walters said the new conversation system in Andromeda is based on “agreeing and disagreeing”, adding that “the reason I like that is because in the trilogy it’s like, ‘I’m gonna play Paragon,’ and then you know which way you’re moving the stick on every conversation”.
And the truth is that picking Paragon or Renegade became an automatic choice for many players in the earlier games, and Bioware’s new conversation system might be a good substitute and please Mass Effect fans, as it’s likely to allow for deeper role-playing in the game.
Even if Paragon and Renegade choices are gone in Mass Effect Andromeda, it will still be possible to act like a jerk in conversations though…
Bioware’s creative director also said that the game will allow players to express themselves in a variety of ways, stating that players will be able to express themselves “in one of four different ways, and sometimes one of two different ways”, as it will be possible to respond to the other party with different tones of voice in the game’s conversations.
So it’s clear that Mass Effect Andromeda’s certainly sounds interesting, while the game is certainly looking like it could end up becoming a hit this year. And no doubt players interest in Bioware’s game is sky-high at this time, so it would be a good thing if Andromeda lives up to the hype and ends up being another epic sci-fi video game when it is finally released next month.
Note: Mass Effect Andromeda will be released on March 21, 2017 in North America, and March 23 in the rest of the world. Available on PS4, Xbox One and PC.
Mass Effect Andromeda (Bioware)