I know a lot of people don't find character customization important, but it's one of my favorite aspects of most RPG-style games. I know it's basically just like playing dress-up with a dolly, but God help me I love it so very much. I love creating my own personalized being to my exact specifications and then watching that creation interact with the gameworld and setting.
Unfortunately I don't think many games have really succeeded in manufacturing a robust character customization system. Many games have a great 'character creation' system, but then you get saddled with a very limited selection of armor, clothing, or weapons. Oblivion and Fallout 3 are great examples of this. Yeah, I could spend an hour crafting an exact image of myself - but very soon into the game I'd be wearing full power armor or whatever the 'nut' item for my chosen specialization is.
A lot of MMOs have very good character customization, but even then you are more or less aiming for the exact same gear that everyone else in your class is aiming for. Warhammer Online has done pretty well avoiding this with their dye/accessory/trophy system, but even then characters of the same class tend to look very same-y.
So my question to you, Escapists, is what is a game that you have played that you feel has the best character customization system in all of gaming? I mean from creation through leveling and into a final 'ideal' character.
Unfortunately I don't think many games have really succeeded in manufacturing a robust character customization system. Many games have a great 'character creation' system, but then you get saddled with a very limited selection of armor, clothing, or weapons. Oblivion and Fallout 3 are great examples of this. Yeah, I could spend an hour crafting an exact image of myself - but very soon into the game I'd be wearing full power armor or whatever the 'nut' item for my chosen specialization is.
A lot of MMOs have very good character customization, but even then you are more or less aiming for the exact same gear that everyone else in your class is aiming for. Warhammer Online has done pretty well avoiding this with their dye/accessory/trophy system, but even then characters of the same class tend to look very same-y.
So my question to you, Escapists, is what is a game that you have played that you feel has the best character customization system in all of gaming? I mean from creation through leveling and into a final 'ideal' character.