Mass Effect is no KOTOR

[CrysisMcGee]

I enjoyed both games thoroughly, although I played KOTOR after ME. ME's greatest strength was its combat and story, everything in between was annoying filler. When it played its aces, it really did well. If the developers had stuck consistently to its strong points and added more combat levels rather than all that Mako-driving and mineral-tapping the game could have been much better overall.

KOTOR had one of the most epic stories of all time that I think will be difficult to match, but its combat was not very good and those freakin' arcade shooter bits where you were a gunner on the Ebon Hawk annoyed the crap out of me. The main problem with KOTOR's combat was that the adopted D&D system was too jerky for what should have been a more fluid experience (maybe I was spoilt growing up on the Jedi Knight series). One other problem with KOTOR was that its level design led to a lot of running back and forth over ground you've already covered which led to much time-wasting. None of the characters really endeared themselves to me either, except for the main female sidekick.

Personally, I found the combat decent. The arcade shooter bits were slightly annoying to me, and in one of the patches they were disabled. I played Jedi knight 2: Jedi Outcast. Still need to play the first one.

I loved them both so very, very dearly. Frankly I love everything Bioware has ever done, especially Dragon Age: Origins which I started yesterday. I think my advice to you would be to do all the sidequests etc. they have a tendency to flesh out the characters much more than just speedrunning through the game.

Pretty much this.
Bioware can do no wrong.

But, to slide away from my rabid fanboyisms, let me say that I agree that Mass Effect isn't KOTOR. They are two distinct games. I really don't think that Bioware was trying to make a KOTOR experience with Mass Effect. They had their own world, with its own characters and story to tell. The fact that both are sci-fi and RPGs is where I'd stop the parallels. If you don't like the way they present the game, then it isn't for you.
I mean, what else can be said?

People don't like Half-Life, or Halo, or Baldur's Gate, or Demon Souls, or any other number of critically acclaimed games. No one game is going to appeal to all, and even if everyone loves the game, then it just might not be for you. I, personally, love Mass Effect. I've played through it multiple times, and love the story, love the characters, and cannot wait for number 2 later this month.
You, evidently, couldn't care less.
So? Live and let play.
(I totally just made that up, and I'm using it forever)

Well, here's the thing. I do like Mass Effect. But the thing is that it feels too tedious. Too dry. I will keep playing...eventually. So hopefully I will get more interested in it.

 

[razer17]

lol, Yes I realize I'm in the tiny minority which actually enjoyed exploring the uncharted worlds. Maybe it's because I do all of my combat outside the Mako.

Yeah, im with you on that one. I didn't mind the Mako bits, especially after a while, because I got used to the handling and knew how to do it. And it was sort of fun hitting Geth with a massive tank, to see them fly.

OT: I LOVE Mass Effect. Top 5 games ever, personally. I can't put my finger on why it's so good. but it just is. On the other hand, KOTOR, I really couldnt get into. The combat was really dull and unintuitive and... Well thats all i got, I quit before the story kicked in.
I like the ME story, I like the characters, apart from Ashley, and even then my dislike of Ashley still shows that i care about the characters, whether positively or negatively.

Normally I don't really care about story or characters, but this game made me care about both.

 

[TheMurray]

In short:

KOTOR FTW!!!!!

In Long:

I think that Mass Effect has its merits and isn't a bad game but KOTOR just has a better "feel" to it.

 

[Connor Lonske]

Got Mass Effect for christmas, among several other games.

After playing it for about 12 hours, and making it to the first planet, the one with all snow, I'm just not into it. It's no Knights of The Old Republic. I feel no connection whatsoever to any of the characters, not even my own. The only character I even care about is Joker, voiced by Seth Green. Probably because he's the only character to express emotion.

In the beginning, I was liking it. What with happens with Saren and all. But nothing grabs me. I haven't seen ANY characters that I actually like, aside from Joker.

Also Wrex is the only one that's made me laugh. So he can stay.

The whole game is just too dry. It feels like things of interest are spaced too far apart. KOTOR had a lot of things that made it great. I actually cared about my crew, and they actually expressed emotion. HK-47 is the greatest.

But my interest just isn't there. I like the ship Normandy a whole lot more than my party members.

So tell me, for those who have played both games, how do you feel?

I have the feeling this is because of the fact that KOTOR is set like something that you would expect from star wars, but Mass Effect is something you would expect from a science fiction TV show(Like Star Trek, just as an example).

Now they maybe both science fiction, they are both brought about differently. KOTOR make you a Jedi which gives you unexplainable powers(or they should be), and being one is necessary. In Mass Effect you can start with powers right of the bat, which is like being a specialist in the real army. Your powers are also explained in your codex.

KOTOR and other star wars media is like a fantasy fiction, it was just set in space. Mass Affect is a more realistic fiction, showing us what the creators think we can do in the future, which can lead to it being more boring. That is most likely why you don't like Mass Affect.

 

[CrysisMcGee]

Got Mass Effect for christmas, among several other games.

After playing it for about 12 hours, and making it to the first planet, the one with all snow, I'm just not into it. It's no Knights of The Old Republic. I feel no connection whatsoever to any of the characters, not even my own. The only character I even care about is Joker, voiced by Seth Green. Probably because he's the only character to express emotion.

In the beginning, I was liking it. What with happens with Saren and all. But nothing grabs me. I haven't seen ANY characters that I actually like, aside from Joker.

Also Wrex is the only one that's made me laugh. So he can stay.

The whole game is just too dry. It feels like things of interest are spaced too far apart. KOTOR had a lot of things that made it great. I actually cared about my crew, and they actually expressed emotion. HK-47 is the greatest.

But my interest just isn't there. I like the ship Normandy a whole lot more than my party members.

So tell me, for those who have played both games, how do you feel?

I have the feeling this is because of the fact that KOTOR is set like something that you would expect from star wars, but Mass Effect is something you would expect from a science fiction TV show(Like Star Trek, just as an example).

Now they maybe both science fiction, they are both brought about differently. KOTOR make you a Jedi which gives you unexplainable powers(or they should be), and being one is necessary. In Mass Effect you can start with powers right of the bat, which is like being a specialist in the real army. Your powers are also explained in your codex.

KOTOR and other star wars media is like a fantasy fiction, it was just set in space. Mass Affect is a more realistic fiction, showing us what the creators think we can do in the future, which can lead to it being more boring. That is most likely why you don't like Mass Affect.

I don't believe so. The background setting does effect the game, but mostly it comes down to how much I enjoy it. This is so true with the Terminator games.

As far as Star Wars, I don't own the original trilogy on DVD. I doubt I ever will. I did borrow it though just to see what was on it. But I'm fairly unbiased when I play games or see films, I base them on what they are.

Sure, I had some urge to play Star Wars: Galaxies when it came out. But since it was an MMO, and I didn't have DSL at the time, I just said "Whatever". Turns out I didn't miss out on much, especially when they made the game WORSE.

Like I briefly mentioned, the only universe I REALLY care about is The Terminator universe. good games made with the terminator name are too few.

 

[LordWalter]

lol, Yes I realize I'm in the tiny minority which actually enjoyed exploring the uncharted worlds. Maybe it's because I do all of my combat outside the Mako.

Yeah, im with you on that one. I didn't mind the Mako bits, especially after a while, because I got used to the handling and knew how to do it. And it was sort of fun hitting Geth with a massive tank, to see them fly.

OT: I LOVE Mass Effect. Top 5 games ever, personally. I can't put my finger on why it's so good. but it just is. On the other hand, KOTOR, I really couldnt get into. The combat was really dull and unintuitive and... Well thats all i got, I quit before the story kicked in.
I like the ME story, I like the characters, apart from Ashley, and even then my dislike of Ashley still shows that i care about the characters, whether positively or negatively.

Normally I don't really care about story or characters, but this game made me care about both.

lmao, GAHHH I DETEST ASHLEY. She is a theistic, boneheaded, anti-alien space bigot. =p My favorite Mass Effect character is the nuke that turned her into a pile of superheated atomic waste.

 

[Pimppeter2]

Why yes. KOTOR is for the awesome [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.163876]

never really go to play ME myself. Other stuff was on my plate.

 

[Jenova65]

So? Live and let play.
(I totally just made that up, and I'm using it forever)

You totally should and you should take it further and find ways to say it at least once per day!
Also I agree with you about Bioware, they give me a reason to love games every day.

 

[era81]

I don't get what was so great about kotor I thought it was fucking stupid, Mass Effect at least doesn't feel like a jrpg with a retarted fucking control scheme.

 

[Altorin]

I am so happy to find someone else who didn't like Mass Effect.

I HATED it.

I give it a 6/10.

Thats how much I hated it.

(On the brighter side of my life I recently re-visited Half Life and changed my rating from WTF?/10 to Oh, I get it now/10)

((Just felt like sharing.))

it's people like you, who HATE a game and give it a 6/10 that make the whole rating system fucked up

thanks a lot

 

[The Austin]

I am so happy to find someone else who didn't like Mass Effect.

I HATED it.

I give it a 6/10.

Thats how much I hated it.

(On the brighter side of my life I recently re-visited Half Life and changed my rating from WTF?/10 to Oh, I get it now/10)

((Just felt like sharing.))

it's people like you, who HATE a game and give it a 6/10 that make the whole rating system fucked up

thanks a lot

What, am I not entitled to my opinion? So I'm not aloud to not like a game just because you do like it? That's what Metacritic is for, it takes the average score of a game so you get more accurate results.

And HOW THE HELL DID I RUIN THE RATINGS SYSTEM? Am I a damn reviewer for IGN all of the sudden? I have nothing to do with the ratings of games,I just play them. Next time try to think it through before you go acting like a dick.

 

[Volafortis]

I loved KotOR, Mass Effect and DA:O.

I really like the crew in Mass Effect. The only one I wasn't really compelled to care about was Liara, mainly because she was so damn stupid sometimes, but the rest of the crew I really liked.

I liked KotOR just as much, and likewise, there were a few party members I didn't care much for, like Mission. I did not like Mission.
(KotOR 2 was Obsidian, no BioWare, just so you know)

Also, in Dragon Age, I dislike Wynne.

However, I enjoy all of BioWare's major RPG series. I personally think that Mass Effect was the biggest leap forward in gaming of this gen.