Give me your Anthem feedback!

Montoya

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Oct 31, 2013
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Most you had an opportunity to play last night, or those of you that work are playing today.

Give me you initial thoughts on the gameplay.

Keep in mind that the important part, the narrative and story line are not in. All we have are essentially the combat mechanics and a little mission to get some Shaper tech called the manifold. The little bit of story telling was fun, I expect a lot more of it in true Bioware fashion.

I would like to hear your thoughts on :

- Combat
- Flight mechanics
- Controls
- Environment design
- Sound design
- frame rates
- coop play
- Immersion/engagement
- Replayability
- Loot system
- Progression system
- Customization
- How much you hate EA because EA bad man!
- If you do not own the game, will you be buying it on launch?

Here is my take:

The game is beautiful, they did a great job on the environment, it is lush, colorful and gives you sense of awe when you first arrive.

It has taken me a full day to get used to the movement and flight. Im not sure if mouse acceleration or squishy is the term, but its not as sharp and accurate as Warframe feels.

If this was just pure combat with no story line to it, I do not see myself playing more than 50-100hrs max. But if there is a good compelling story line to keep me engaged, I can see myself doing more hours in it.

Progression in the game is what I expected, I am hunting the overpowered sniper rifles and shotguns for my build. That hooked me already.

I also can't want to customize my Ranger for longer flight times and some hovering bonuses so I can snipe from the air.

On that same note, I hate bullet sponge enemies, so I am hoping that near the end game you are powerful enough to not have to spend 5min shooting a minor boss.

Overall I am seeing some people already hooked and excited to spend 1000hrs in there. For me, as I said above, its more about the story telling and narrative that will dictate how engaged I will be.
 
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Gauna

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Nov 1, 2015
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Controls:
One of two things I am very happy about: It used to be frustrating and clumsy like ME: Andromeda during Anthem Closed Alpha, for example: You want to turn to face someone or enjoy the view, your Javelin took one-two steps forwards that will make you fall into pit. So I've already sent EA/Bioware my private feedback and they finally fixed it in demo.

Customization:
Without a doubt, HUD Color Wheel and Materials/Patterns are the most precious things ever to make your Javelin look so fabulous. (Warframe need them instead of locked color-swatches-bullshits! You read me, DigitalExtremes!)
My Javelin.png


Environment design:
Still stunning with all max settings. (currently use GTX 970 non-SLI)

How much you hate EA because EA bad man!:
Hate-O-Meter Status: [CRITICAL!]

If you do not own the game, will you be buying it on launch?
Not at launch day, I made my own rule "No Pre-orders. Wait for reviews."
I truly want to love Anthem but EA promised us about there will no microtransactions in Anthem, so I still don't trust them. Just wait and see.

Great work, Bioware. (Not you, EA. You better call janitors 'cause all your servers are having diarrheas.)
 

stockish

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So far knowing that a lot of the stuff isn't what we'll see in game stats/value wise it is very solid. Barring the server issues and infinite loading screen it runs smooth at 1440p fully maxed out on graphics settings. But here comes the juice!

- Combat

Feels very similar to a Mass Effect style combat system, albeit not as good as I though it would be, the flow feels off at times and enemies seem to now where you are at all times, which when trying to find cover is a pain in the ass.

- Flight mechanics

PULL UP!!! PULL UP!!!! I can't recall how many times I hit a wall or landscape piece because the flight HUD really gives no good information. I am sure I will get better over time, but it feels very non-intuitive and could use a more fluid system to help control basic flight movements.

- Controls

Very solid from what I would expect out of a 3rd person shooter, again very Mass Effect feeling comparing it too the MP aspect of ME3.

- Environment design
- Sound design

Environment and sound will go together because both are quite fleshed out and look/sound amazing!

- frame rates

So smooth that Chris Hansen would ask me to take a seat after describing how it feels.

- coop play

Not much experience there yet, but if it is anything like Borderlands, I will be happy.

- Immersion/engagement

Not as great as I thought, but could come with time if I play more.

- Replayability

It is a demo, so not all systems are in place to give a solid experience.

- Loot system

Feels very.....basic.

- Progression system

No idea as the demo limits a lot of what can be seen, but there is enough there that it will work.

- Customization

Wish there was more in the demo, and the vanity store may leave a lot to be desired. But so far I like what I see in game after using the forge.

- How much you hate EA because EA bad man!

[redacted] [expletive] people!

- If you do not own the game, will you be buying it on launch?
No, but like most games from EA that I have bought recently, I feel it will go on sale within 3 months.
 

Vavrik

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I honestly haven't played a BioWare game since Mass Effect, which was what.. 2007. No desire to start, and it has nothing to do with BioWare really. It was just the year we started using gaming engines for developing simulation software at work. It was so much fun, many of us forgot you could actually play games with the software.
 

sum1

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Jun 26, 2015
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sum1
- Combat
- Flight mechanics
- Controls
- Environment design
- Sound design
- frame rates
- coop play
- Immersion/engagement
- Replayability
- Loot system
- Progression system
- Customization
- How much you hate EA because EA bad man!
- If you do not own the game, will you be buying it on launch?
-Combat feels... well, bad. maybe destiny has spoiled me. but the enemies are just one hit kills or total bullet sponges, ammo is very limited, and the gun's don't feel good to use.
-Flight Feels rough and unrefined.
-The environment looks and feels awesome
-I have sound drop out for long periods of time.... when I did have sound it was cool.
-Frame rates were fine.
-coop was ok, I need to get in their with testies, randos are clueless....
-The issue with me for engaged was every mission something went wrong with the game. It would crash, the sound would bug out, or even get connection problems. I could lose myself for 10 mins max before getting yanked back into the real world.
-I am going to keep testing, but right now, with the number of issues I have had just trying to play, playability is a bigger issue then replayability.
-The Loot is fine. just like every other loot shooter, you get look, sometimes its what you want, sometimes you get some parts. I will have to see the final loot state (as they have said they bumped it up for the demo)
-Not much of a progression system outside of the loot system so far. but I always only want to play the ranger right now so maybe not the best to judge.
-They hit customization out of the park, I spend a lot of time making my Ranger look cool as I could.
- EA MAN BAD! but really.... FUCK EA so many issues...
-I do not own the game. and I will need to see A LOT more between now and launch before making up my mind. I really just want to see all the bugs fixed. and take it from there.
 

Phil

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- Combat - I had as much fun with the combat in anthem as I did in warframe and destiny I felt it was on par with both games, what will make or break it for me is the customization and how it translates to co-op play and end game encounters.

- Flight mechanics - At first I felt flying was very touchy and clunky but after awhile I got used to it, some small tweaks to the controls and I think flying will be fine, underwater however I hated it, it was far to awkward and annoying to try and swim/fly under water controls and lighting needs work.

- Controls - Combat wise I felt the controls were good, it was smooth and fluid maybe not as much as Warframe but definitely on par with Destiny, I am interested to find out how much control we will have when we are able to customize our suits more.

- Environment design - The game looks great, I hope there is more than just the jungle/cave environments though but all in all the game looks pretty good.

- Sound design - I did not pay a whole lot of attention to the sounds they seem pretty decent but nothing that struck me as overwhelming, I remember the first time I played Battlefield 3 and the sounds of the weapons were so damn realistic it blew me away, I didn't get that here but I didn't think it was bad either for me its a on par with most games rating.

- frame rates - I run a 1070 ti for me the frame rates were pretty good I had no complaints again the game looked great and the play being a demo was pretty solid once you got into it.

- coop play - To me this is a big part of the appeal for players, the co-op, many people who are interested in the division, destiny, ghost recon etc.... the appeal for most of us was the realism combined with co-op and customization of your character/suit/spec etc... if they can deliver on these 3 things the game will do well.

- Immersion/engagement - This to me was pretty much a non factor in the demo, the quest line was short so its hard to give feedback on the whole immersion feel, as far as the javelins go it was awesome, being able to customize your suits look and game play for me is a large part of the appeal so far suit aspect was good the story line and immersion to me is unknown at this time.

- Replayability - Not sure, if this turns out to be a destiny style repetitive type of game then I won't be around for very long 2-3 months is about all I lasted in destiny.

- Loot system - Hmm this one is tough, I will be honest I did not like the weapon selections it felt a bit redone like I have seen it somewhere before it felt unoriginal and outside of your special abilities and cooldown's it just felt like most other shooters, pistol, rifle, sniper, machine gun, shotgun etc... nothing original to me could have been better. The specials were fun I am interested to see if these progress and get bigger and better as you get higher.

- Progression system - Again unknown outside of a few levels I can't really comment it, it feels a bit bland so far but I only got to level 12 myself.

- Customization - This to me is a huge seller to the base, being unique, being able to customize your suits look and play style is where the fun will come in, seeing how different setups work together and how it interacts with boss fights and encounters will be key, so far this is the high point for me and it looks solid.

- How much you hate EA because EA bad man! - I don't hate EA they just disappoint me to often lately, so many times they have f'd shit up and continue to do so but lets be honest many of us over the last few decades can say EA has produced some of the best games I have ever played, they are both ends of the spectrum for me good and bad.

- If you do not own the game, will you be buying it on launch? - I own it, if I did not own it and played the demo I would have purchased it because I don't mind shelling out 60$ for a few months of quality fun it would not be the first or be the last time I shell out money and not play it past 30-60 days.

All in all its a solid game, again as it currently stands with my limited time I don't see myself putting much more than 100-120 hrs into it but that could change, if the division 2 was not right around the corner I could say it might take up more of my time but if the division is as good as it sounds I will be most likely shelving Anthem for D2.
 
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SpudNyk

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Jun 19, 2016
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In brief for me:

The negatives:
Crashes and loading bugs.
Bullet sponges are annoying but tolerable (I feel as though if they had better AI they could lower the sponginess). The menu system is awful when using a mouse. Too many loading screens (there’s one for just customizing your loadout ). Mouse controls for flight and swimming need some work (tweaking settings helps some).

All that said though when the game worked I had a blast playing with my friend and look forward to playing some more over the weekend and towards the full release.
 

DirectorGunner

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- Combat
FUN
- Flight mechanics
FUN
- Controls
Somewhat intuitive
- Environment design
Pretty
- Sound design
Okay
- frame rates
A bit lowsy in 4K, I have two 1080ti EVGA hybrid FTW3
- coop play
Average
- Immersion/engagement
Seriously lacking
- Replayability
I don't see much to bring me back regularly, based on the demo
- Loot system
Boring.... like... really boring.
- Progression system
Progression? What progression?!
- Customization
Eh... we'll see
- How much you hate EA because EA bad man!
EA is stupid, greedy, fucktards
- If you do not own the game, will you be buying it on launch?
I already pre-ordered Legion of Dawn edition like an idiot... I now regret it.
Should have just done Origin premier for a few months.
 
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Doggen

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Dec 9, 2015
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Doggen
- Combat
Felt ok, i dig the combo system. Most of the time I would stand in cover to wait for my cooldowns to wear off to do a combo on bosses. Sounds boring but was kinda fun.
In a good group its a lot more fun.

- Flight mechanics
After I cranked it to max sensitivity it felt pretty good! (m/k). A look around modifier would be nice and a 'move 180 degrees' key would be appreciated.

- Controls
Had to rebind some keys but fine I guess.

- Environment design
Looks great, not a lot of diversity but that might change in full game (i dunno)
Not sure I like the enemy design but thats personal taste I guess

- Sound design
When I had sound it was enjoyable.

- frame rates
1080GTX, great framerates.

- coop play
Did a few strongholds with randoms. One was awesome with everyone knowing what to do, setting up combos and tanking and stuff.
The other was annoying as shit with one guy who didnt have a clue so most of the time was spent standing in front of a closed door until he figured out he had to swim.

- Immersion/engagement
No running in fort Tarsis is annoying. Dont like the big dot on screen in Tarsis either (not sure if you can turn it off).
Faces and sound seem a microsecond descynchronized and sometimes there is an echo. Might be this build.
All the loading screens in open world didnt help with immersion.
Neither did the 'Turn back in 5 secs' and if you dont turn back in time, loading screen.
I am curious about the story. I have no idea wtf is going on with echos and makers so kinda want to find out.

- Replayability
Time will tell I guess.

- Loot system
I absolutely hate the fact you cant see what you looted instantly but have to return to fort Tarsis . Wtf is that all about.
This makes the game a lot less enjoyable for me.

- Progression system
In the first demo you could upgrade your pilot but I think they turned it off for this demo?

- Customization
They are going to add a backpack kid dance emote arent they?
I like how you can customize your javelin.
Dont care about stupid emotes.

- How much you hate EA because EA bad man!
Apparantly dont hate em enough to stop playing their games.

- If you do not own the game, will you be buying it on launch?
Got Origin acces

In summary:
Apart from all the loading troubles I had fun.
I will treat this game like a single player game with coop elements I guess. Hope they can grab me storywise. Giving the bartender girl advice is silly.

edit: spelling and its not Taurus apparantly :p
 
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supitza

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After playing for about 5-6 hours, I'm torn.
I like the gameplay, but I don't see myself playing this for months. The Javelin customization is awesome, the progression of acquiring parts reminds me of For Honor: find a build you like, then upgrade the parts that make up that build with progressively better ones.
What I dislike:
- the single player hub: Fort Tarsis. Why can't I sprint in there? It takes forever to go from one place to the next, and the awe of seeing the place (that's beautifully crafted, I'll give it that) fades after the first few minutes. Why do I have to walk around half a city after logging in just to start a mission? This is stupid. It's basically the most cumbersome GAME MENU ever created.
- a
fter 1 hour of playing my eyes started bleeding because of seizures and epilepsy. There's too much going on on the screen and my brain got tired really quickly. I usually spend hours in front of a monitor playing games, but I can't remember the last time my eyes got so tired so quickly.
- the game needs a chat system. Not everybody uses VOIP, and I need to be able to tell someone they need to get their ass on the goddamned platform or the mission won't progress. Also not to screw around with the colored seals, because Red Purple Green.
- why can I only demo 2 javelins? You gave me the Ranger, I liked it. Then I chose the Colossus, which I'm really bad at. Okay, can I DEMO the other 2 Jave...?
NO.
- to me, the game feels like Destiny and Warframe had a child.
- fuck EA and their servers. Who would have thought people would log in all at the same time, at the time EA announced and in numbers less or equal to the number of keys EA gave out? 2019 and publishers still can't properly launch games. I spent a lot of time staring at the bugged loading screen and trying to log back in - just to have to walk through that damned city again (walk, not sprint), try to load another mission and have it freeze again.

Do I like the game? Yes, it's fun, I guess..
Will I buy it and play for a while? I'm not sure yet.
Will I play it for months or years to come? Surely not.
 

supitza

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Aug 5, 2015
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AstroSupitza
- Loot system
I absolutely hate the fact you cant see what you looted instantly but have to return to fort Taurus. Wtf is that all about.
This makes the game a lot less enjoyable for me.
I'm glad they did this, to be honest. It's to prevent players from stopping in the middle of a mission to min/max their gear while the rest of the party waits around for them to be ready to go.
Every other point you made, I agree with.


I 💖 @supitza 's review. It's direct, clear, and beautifully written.
And I love you, @DirectorGunner <3
 

Hybus

Space Marshal
Nov 27, 2015
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Bit of a repeat, but:

Tried it last night, had a reasonably good time, play effect kinda reminds me of mass effect Andromeda, maybe it's because I was messing with that recently, all the jumping and shooting. Ran reasonably stable last night, only got booted out of one mission. This morning different story, was rubber banding like crazy. But that's why they demo(see beta). I'll admit, I seem to be preferring the colossus, but then again in most mmo's I end up being the tank

- Combat
Enjoyable, once I figured what I was doing

- Flight mechanics
Good times, especially once i learned to not over correct and stopped smashing into walls. Also realizing, hey that thing in the middle is the heat bar

- Controls
Work fine. typically play this kind of game with my logitech G13, so i setup my own layout

- Environment design
Pretty and colourful, I'm down with it

- Sound design
I'm a bit low tone deaf so I'm not one to comment

- frame rates
Works great on my PC

- coop play
I still think it needs a bit of work.

- Immersion/engagement
I think the demo is lacking, but it's a demo

- Replayability
This, i'm not sure on, let me sink a few more hours into it,

- Loot system
It's fine, but we'll see when it goes live.

- Progression system
Hard to say, they said it's faster because of demo

- Customization
I like the customization options, just wish the store they keep saying everything costs 25 coin in the loading screen was open

- How much you hate EA because EA bad man!
EA are jerks, no doubt, they absorb and shutter more studios than anyone else and no longer have long term vision

- If you do not own the game, will you be buying it on launch?
I'm a premiere sub, so i'll have it on launch.
 

SullyQuindarius

Admiral
Dec 24, 2017
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SullyQuindarius
- Combat
Not bad at all. I like the enemies, spongy ones are annoying but it could be worse.
- Flight mechanics
WOOOOOO! It feels a little...squishy? Something feels weird, but I don't care. I'M FLYIIIIING!
- Environment design
One of my favorite parts. Haven't gotten to see too much yet, but I played a few hours today and it looks gorgeous.
- frame rates
Very pleasantly surprised. I have a 1060 in my rig temporarily, and it managed to push playable FPS at 1440p.
- coop play
Solid. About what I expected.
- Immersion/engagement, Replayability, Loot system
All those loading screens are killing me. Replayability is gonna depend on the story. Loot system sucks, but I can live with it.
- Customization
Seems pretty solid. Hope gold coins can be earned ingame.
- How much you hate EA because EA bad man!
BOOOOOOOOO!
- If you do not own the game, will you be buying it on launch?
Origin Premiere!
 

GamerZer0h

Grand Admiral
Oct 21, 2018
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SynnrSavior
- Combat
Pretty enjoyable, I haven't played many of this sorta game. I am usually a realistic shooter kinda guy and picky about those. I felt the desire to git guud... usually I just go... well I guess I am playing medic.

- Flight mechanics
:( Not that good for me, the suit feels pretty sluggish for some reason, and it doesn't seem to react the way I'd expect sometimes. (Mouse and keyboard BTW) It could also be Shadow lag messing with me. That said it was usable, and fun. The overheat mechanic makes it less OP which I am a fan of.,

- Controls
The combat controls feel pretty good to me, I weapon switching is like I would expect. Having the cool downs off to the right side is a little bit of a stretch to look at on my monitor (32") since the action seems to stay pretty centered other wise. I'd like maybe some small icons on the cross-hairs to tell you when your gear is available for use.

- Environment design
Beautiful, I flew around a bunch in free play just looking at things.

- Sound design
Not remarkable, because I don't remember much about it.

- frame rates
Didn't see any issues.

- coop play
So rubber-banding near the start made it a bit eh, but it got good, people seemed to know what to do and did it.

- Immersion/engagement
I have no complaints here, it was pretty fun. I felt entertained.

- Replayability
Hmmm, not sure... I am thinking about playing some more but that might be due to the limited nature of the demo.

- Loot system
On my first mission victory, I thought you could only pick a few things so I ended up salvaging a bunch of stuff. That might just be my lack of familiarity with the genre. The items I got made me excited to play the missions with them equipped.

- Progression system
Will have to see in the full game, I like the system but the rates will probably be different.

- Customization
Took me a sec to figure out what was going on, but then I made my Javelin more TEST-like :D I don't mind it we will see how much the flair costs in the finished game.

- How much you hate EA because EA bad man!
Eh, I know how the game industry goes a bit and I think EA is trying to do what corporations do, make money and stuff for their stakeholders. I don't have hatred for EA.

- If you do not own the game, will you be buying it on launch?
I am considering it, I could see myself spending more time in it. The limited campaign was interesting. I might wait for the first discount.
 

DirectorGunner

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