'Mass Effect: Andromeda' story and plot: Initiative video reveals an awesome backstory

The plot synopsis for Mass Effect: Andromeda sounds cool as hell. But then again, Mass Effect has always been cool as hell, which is why we love it, right?

The Andromeda Initiative website is more or less a distribution hub for Mass Effect: Andromeda updates, themed as a training program for candidates who want to join humanity's voyage to the Andromeda galaxy depicted in the game.

The new Andromeda Initiative video briefing can be accessed here, even if you're not signed up on the site, and it features some awesome background info on the newest game in the Mass Effect universe.

Mass Effect: Andromeda plot and story: The Nexus is the heart of your adventure 

Based solely on the trailers and advertisements to date, you would be forgiven for thinking that Mass Effect: Andromeda was about a single ship of passengers sent to the Andromeda galaxy to find a new home for humanity.

Mass Effect: Andromeda plot and story: Fans sure would love a new Citadel

The Citadel is a space station in the Mass Effect universe that serves as a diplomatic port of call for all the major species in the galaxy. In the original Mass Effect trilogy, the Citadel is a place to meet new characters, purchase supplies and have adventures. Mass Effect: Andromeda takes place in an entirely different galaxy, though, so fans will not get to enjoy the Citadel this time around.

The Nexus, however, is described in the new Andromeda Initiative briefing as being very much akin to the Citadel. It's a place where aliens can meet and learn about humanity and the other species from the Milky Way that traveled to the Andromeda galaxy. The video clearly shows ships docked among lush green landscapes, hydroponic gardens and what look like public parks.

It's entirely possible that the Nexus will become the hub for this new generation of Mass Effect characters and events, a stable element that ties all the new games together. Or it might blow up at the very beginning of the game just to ramp up the drama with a whole Lost in Space sort of thing.

Mass Effect: Andromeda gameplay also looks amazing

Electronic Arts recently premiered a new gameplay trailer for Mass Effect: Andromeda and it looks fantastic. Huge, open-world exploration in the Nomad six-wheeler, investigating mysteries, Turians and Krogans, good old-fashioned BioWare dialogue wheels and classic third-person Mass Effect combat are all on glorious display in the new footage.

Mass Effect: Andromeda will be released in early 2017.