TO borrow from Star Trek, it is the dream of many to boldly go where no man has gone before.

Just look at the plans for Virgin Galactic and SpaceX which will be sending two tourists around the Moon. But if you have not got millions of pounds to spare, forking out £50 for Mass Effect: Andromeda might scratch that itch.

The rebirth of Bioware’s well loved and acclaimed role-playing action game sees you travel on a 600-year journey to find a new home beyond the overpopulated Milky Way. But, of course, the one-way trip to secure humanity’s future does not quite go to plan with a major threat on the so-called ‘golden worlds’.

In the first few hours, Andromeda disappointingly plays it safe and feels far too much like a clone of the original Mass Effect trilogy, even down to the familiar alien species.

But the game soon comes into its own in terms of its scope and story – it is vast. There are countless planets and, beyond the core plot, the more you interact with the inhabitants you more missions you unlock. This is a deep role-playing game and so Andromeda is constantly asking you to reflect on your character’s values through your actions and choices.

Your leadership, personality and ethics also have an impact on how you are viewed by your team and alien species who have never encountered humans before. It is all pretty compelling, even if it is let down by clunky dialogue now and then. As for the gameplay, the combat sees a vast improvement over the original trilogy. The decision to beef up the third-person cover based gunplay and sideline the strategic stuff from the old games was wise, giving the action sequences more excitement.

You can also unlock and improve abilities based on your playing style. A combo that worked best for me was the ‘charge’ attack followed up with a melee strike. It is fun to explore too. You can jump and dash around the Andromeda galaxy’s diverse, exotic open-world environments with ease.

And if you had any worries about Mass Effect’s dreaded space rover making a return, fear not. It might have been a right pain to control back in the 2007 original but this time the ‘Nomad’ is thankfully much more serviceable.

The only other downside is the convoluted menu screens which are hard to navigate. And there a few ridiculous things like the alien encryption which simply requires basic Sudoku skills to crack. But with a galactic game with such scope and ambition to explore, and which is tailored to you, it is easy to overlook the flaws.

RATING: 8/10

DAVID MORGAN