Mass Effect fans can stop holding their breath, Mass Effect: Andromeda is officially coming to the Milky Way Galaxy February 21st (North America) and Feb 23rd (Europe).

The four entry in the acclaimed series suffered a delay from Q1 ’17 to its current Spring release and EA had already claimed they would happily delay the game for as long as it took to achieve an acceptable level of quality. Gamers can now inform loved ones of their trip to the Andromeda system, and that they’ll see them on the other side.

The Mass Effect YouTube channel released a video yesterday detailing the weapon types players can expect to see. The usual Pistol, Shotgun, Assault and Sniper rifle options are there, but are also joined by melee weapons (Asari Biotic Swords, Krogan Hammers), and Biotic tools (defensive/offensive).

If you’re playing on PC and wondering if your stats are up to snuff, the system requirements are now available. The requirements are very similar to EA’s Battlefield 1.

If you’ve never played a Mass Effect game, I highly recommend ME2. I started with it and was quickly caught up by the excellent pre-game story. They even allow you to make the big decisions of the first game that affect your playthrough in the second. The story-telling is top-notch, loyalty missions are engaging, and the combat is much improved from the first.

I went back to ME1 and although the story was immediately compelling, the combat was so clunky I had to play it on the easiest level to get through the first few hours.

I tried ME3 next and it felt so far removed from the original spirit of the franchise that I started to doubt Andromeda. It appears Bioware was shaken by the negative response to ME3 – especially the ending – and have taken a hard look at what aspects to bring forward into this fourth (completely unnecessary) chapter.

Are you looking forward to Mass Effect: Andromeda? Have you played the series?