A new Mass Effect: Andromeda trailer takes a closer look at the game's seven "Golden Worlds," the hoped-for new homes for the Milky Way species making the 600-year trek to the Andromeda galaxy. The video also reveals a bit about how the colonization process will unfold, and what's expected of the Pathfinder team that's leading the way.
Minerals, much as they were in the previous games, will be a vital part of the effort. The Nexus station requires "vast quantities of helium-3, water, ice, and Element Zero to continue functioning," and the more resources that are gathered, the more it can be expanded—and the more colonists can be awakened. It's a bit odd to me that there's such a focus on finding both ice and water, I would have expected that an alliance of spacefaring races would also have the technology to covert one to the other and back again, but I guess it must have been overlooked by the Poindexters back home.
Far more interesting is the idea that some or all of these worlds might already be occupied. "Pathfinder teams will investigate these planets to determine their viability. This includes everything from pacifying unforeseen threats and allying with potential indigenous populations, to solving environmental problems in an attempt to secure physical placement for settlement outposts."
It's obviously not going to work out to a District 9-type situation, where the settlers are on the run, out of luck, and brutally taken advantage of by the locals, but it would be great (and timely) if the game at least flirted with the idea that we simply may not be welcome in the new neighborhood.
Mass Effect: Andromeda comes out on March 21 in North America, and March 23 in Europe. If you just can't wait, you can watch the first 13 minutes of gameplay here.
