Yeah, that's a great summary. I'll add that the family-background/interaction elements didn't touch me at all, as there was very little about it that I could relate to, but that's okay. A lot of people go into RPG's looking for a way to craft a 'my story' out of them, but I'm fine with just 'a story', especially if I can do it my own way. Andromeda did that okay, so I don't really have complaints on that score.
Taking out the Paragon/Renegade bilateral decision-making might have been a good play as well, but who knows? If that actually just results in them giving up on letting you choose distinctly different paths and endings based on your actions, then that's a real letdown for the newest ME title. I also find it hard to imagine that they'll go through the effort of making all the exponentially-increasing branches that'd come with your having extra options at each turn, especially given how halfassed a lot of the finer points of Andromeda were, so in all honesty I'm not very hopeful about the future of the series there. More likely, though, they'll just focus on a very few things to make a big deal out of, while ignoring how you conclude the other very many other decisions you've made. (So, basically, like they've been doing all along, but taking out the part where you unlocked better options for such major decisions by sticking to one path for the smaller ones.) I'm alright with that, too. I'm still interested in seeing what kind of effects those actually important decisions have.
Oh. Also, didn't like the crew so much. I sympathize with Cora, but she's kind of a tool. Gil's an obnoxious prick. Vetra makes a great first impression, but gets old after a little while. Liam sucks, and I felt great about chewing him out after his absolute fuckup of a loyalty mission. Jaal's like an adorable puppy that grows up into an incredibly needy little whiner of a dog, and Suvie's just boring. Peebe switches between earning my respect and earning my wrath with such alacrity, that I'd have absolutely shot her in the face if that were an option, during her loyalty mission. (It wasn't, though, so I just ended up fucking her instead.) Salarian pilot guy, he's alright. Old Krogan brawler guy, he's okay too, but he oughtta understand that I'd rather fight a whole bunch more exalted Krogans, than go up against whatever it is that an exalted Salarian Pathfinder turns into. Asari medic woman... well, I'd hit that. That's all.
Everyone on the Council sucks, so I mostly went along with Tann. Mostly.
tl;dr: I really miss Tali'Zorah.
