Poll: Bioware's best franchise
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What can burn? The romance with Viconia or BG2 in general, because I know of a mod that allows female characters to romance Viconia if that's really what you're into. Also know of a couple mods that expand her dialogue, I'm even pretty fond of the friendship line of mods which is a series of mods for each main companion character in BG2 that obviously enough gives added dialogue and interaction. The Banter Pack is also really good and even adds additional possible epilogues for Throne of Bhall based on your actions.norashepard said:
Be warned though: BG2 goes back to the olden era of rpg where characters had personality and romances could, gasp, fail and end in tragedy. It's not like Dragon Age where even if you disagree with them in every dialogue, you can buy their 'love' with enough gifts... which in my mind at least was a really stupid feature.
BG2 in general can burn. I've played it four times (guess why!) thrice as male and once as female, and the story just meshes a lot better for me personally as a female PC. Not a bad game though. I would just enjoy it more I think if freaking Anomen wasn't around being a turd and the only option. I'll have to check out those mods (If you could, PM links?). And I'm well aware of the relationship failures, and I actually really like that aspect. I was really happy when it half-returned in ME3 when your love interest would reprimand you for being unfaithful, it added some much needed petty bickering to a game otherwise full of Earth Shattering problems. Still was easy to work past, but it was there!The Madman said:
Ok... I'm someone who Greatly enjoyed the Mass Effect series, ignoring a certain conclusion that's been debated to death, then reanimated and rebuked.
I also greatly enjoyed the Kotor series, even if they didn't make the sequel (as somebody already pointed out) and said sequel was buggier then an ill kept back yard, warranting a massive fan fueled restoration patch.
And even if I never played it, I was a back seat driver during an entire Baldur's Gate playthrough, which was also an enjoyable experience.
But man, oh man. My highlight of Bethesda gaming experience was the courtroom scene in NeverWinter nights 2, where you get to prepare and perform your own defense (and then they gave you a keep to play with), so that gets my vote.
I also greatly enjoyed the Kotor series, even if they didn't make the sequel (as somebody already pointed out) and said sequel was buggier then an ill kept back yard, warranting a massive fan fueled restoration patch.
And even if I never played it, I was a back seat driver during an entire Baldur's Gate playthrough, which was also an enjoyable experience.
But man, oh man. My highlight of Bethesda gaming experience was the courtroom scene in NeverWinter nights 2, where you get to prepare and perform your own defense (and then they gave you a keep to play with), so that gets my vote.
I wish Jade Empire was a franchise. I just love the Chinese kung-fu inspired world!! Can't find many games like it aside from chinese RPGs, selected titles like Bunjingai or Heavenly sword.
I voted for Star Wars thanks to KotOR before I remembered that Obsidian did KotOR2, which I love. Mass Effect is also pretty good, but there's just a special place in my heart for the two KotOR games.
And I totally forgot about the MMO sequel. Crap, I think I may have to say Mass Effect now. Despite the ending, having a PC mod that removes the starkid is nice...
And I totally forgot about the MMO sequel. Crap, I think I may have to say Mass Effect now. Despite the ending, having a PC mod that removes the starkid is nice...
I generally don't like romance in rpg. They tend to be shallow and their focus on sex as an end goal only detracts from making interesting all-round characters. I'd much rather developers focused on making good 'relationships', be those relationships friendship, rivalry, hatred, apathy, or indeed romance. What makes it even worse in most modern games is how damned easy they are. Say nice things to a character and BAM, sex. If it were that easy in real life I'd be a wasted shell of a man from all the sweet love-making I'd be getting, but perhaps fortunately that's not the case. I'm not sure my endurance could handle it and as for the games that do that, it just makes them seem shallow and juvenile in my mind.norashepard said:
Anyway, mods, yeah.
Viconia Friendship, check the side bar for other characters it's available for.
Banter Pack
BG2 Tweaks, which contains an option among other things to allow females to romance Viconia. It doesn't alter dialogue so she'll still have the odd reference to the male gender, but other than that it should work just fine.
There's also Ascension created by one of BG2's writers, David Gaider, which alters Throne of Bhall's ending and also adds yet more epilogue and dialogue.
Then there's well over two dozen different new companions mods add in the game, often with a focus on female-oriented romance options. Some are better than others but here's a rough list if you're curious. Kelsey is one I see mentioned often and which seems popular, but I've never tried it myself.
One of the reasons BG2 is so damned good is the quality of the modding scene it had and even still boasts today. Enjoy!
Neverwinter Nights 2 is neither Bethesda or Bioware, it's an Obsidian game. And if you liked that scene you should definitely check out Mask of the Betrayer, which is full of moments like that.Product Placement said:
Well, I went NWN, though its not really Biowares franchise, so much as they made one, Obsidian made another very questionable one (overall, whether one campaign was god or not, everything else kind of slid), and now they have that MMO made by some other dev thats got nothing to do with anything but the name.
Given that nwn remains active to this day, clearly they did something right (from a game standpoint, business wise, it clearly isn't great to have your audience jamming on in a game 11 years later when you haven't seen the moneys for eight or so).
And yeah, I'm not sure you could call Star Wars a Bioware franchise. They made KotOR 1 and the non-continous TOR. Its a very thin premise to try and lump them together.
Mass Effect never did snag my interest, and Dragon Age caught some major hype backlash.
BG has some serious issues with its setting vs its story in #2, and TOB just jumped off the cliff and turned into a boring stop fest that couldn't be bothered with being good in gameplay or story basis.
Given that nwn remains active to this day, clearly they did something right (from a game standpoint, business wise, it clearly isn't great to have your audience jamming on in a game 11 years later when you haven't seen the moneys for eight or so).
And yeah, I'm not sure you could call Star Wars a Bioware franchise. They made KotOR 1 and the non-continous TOR. Its a very thin premise to try and lump them together.
Mass Effect never did snag my interest, and Dragon Age caught some major hype backlash.
BG has some serious issues with its setting vs its story in #2, and TOB just jumped off the cliff and turned into a boring stop fest that couldn't be bothered with being good in gameplay or story basis.
Wow, I seriously shocked at the number of folks voting 'Mass Effect'. While I realize it had some pretty stellar production value in a lot of areas, it really 'played it safe' IMO after the first game, and it's probably has the weakest storyline of any of the series listed, and never really struck me as terribly inspired (bar the first Neverwinter Nights). Also, I'm rather perplexed by the inclusion of the Likes of the KOTOR and NWN games, consdiering neither one was solely Bioware's game, (in fact, I'd consdier their sequels to be better in many regards). I voted for Baldur's Gate. Whiel the first oen wasn't stellar, IMO, the sequel just had an amazing scope and a very compelling and personal story.
I'm glad someone enjoyed what I did there.Sarge034 said:synobal said:
Sorry, I just HAD to do that.
Anyway, on topic... I would have to give it to Mass Effect. I love Baldurs' Gate 2 but Mass Effect was so much more of a complete story... except for that which must not be named at the end of Mass Effect 3... Dragon Age Origins was a close contender, but what can I say? SyFy is more interesting to me than Fantasy, and dat Tali...
I went with Baldur's Gate, which I still see as the quintessential RPG. From Candlekeep to the Throne of Bhaal, you get a ton of places to explore, a nice story, great characters and a fun and tactical combat experience. Not to mention that you can play as many different races and classes, which BioWare's recent offerings noticeably lack. KotOR deserves a mention for being a Star Wars fan's wet dream when it came out and NWN for providing the community with a toolset thanks to which I'm still entertained by the game today.
I think Mass Effect is their best original IP though. They really created an awesome setting and all of the games are very memorable. This is in opposition with Dragon Age, which ended up having a very stale setting and story in my opinion.
I think Mass Effect is their best original IP though. They really created an awesome setting and all of the games are very memorable. This is in opposition with Dragon Age, which ended up having a very stale setting and story in my opinion.
Neverwinter Nights... Mass Effect well..
I like it as a game, but if I wanted to show someone why Bioware was great I'd take out an RPG.. Not a Third Person Shooter.
Neverwinter came out early 2000, yet tens of thousands still played it a decade after. DESPITE!!!!!!! (And I say this with several exlamation marks) Gamespy doing its very best to kill it off.
Come say the same about Mass Effect 3 in a ten years time and I will reconsider. The other Bioware games will last through the ages, Mass Effect really wont. It relied too much on current trends (see ME2/3 going further away from RPG elements towards shooter elements) and too little on story (ME3 ending/ME3 Multiplayer)
The pure freedom of NWN not only inspired people to create their own story within the confines of the game itself, but to go past that and create their own worlds to go with their stories, and to gather players who perhaps never even had an interest in the one Bioware created. Something Bioware went as far as to go out of their way to block in Mass Effect.
To this day, Neverwinter remains the most popular online game Bioware has created, with the exception of The Old Republic, which is an MMO.
Sure it appealed to, and today still appeals to a niche. But that doesn't neccesarily make a game bad, it just makes it bad in the eyes of the likes of Electronic Arts.
I like it as a game, but if I wanted to show someone why Bioware was great I'd take out an RPG.. Not a Third Person Shooter.
Neverwinter came out early 2000, yet tens of thousands still played it a decade after. DESPITE!!!!!!! (And I say this with several exlamation marks) Gamespy doing its very best to kill it off.
Come say the same about Mass Effect 3 in a ten years time and I will reconsider. The other Bioware games will last through the ages, Mass Effect really wont. It relied too much on current trends (see ME2/3 going further away from RPG elements towards shooter elements) and too little on story (ME3 ending/ME3 Multiplayer)
The pure freedom of NWN not only inspired people to create their own story within the confines of the game itself, but to go past that and create their own worlds to go with their stories, and to gather players who perhaps never even had an interest in the one Bioware created. Something Bioware went as far as to go out of their way to block in Mass Effect.
To this day, Neverwinter remains the most popular online game Bioware has created, with the exception of The Old Republic, which is an MMO.
Sure it appealed to, and today still appeals to a niche. But that doesn't neccesarily make a game bad, it just makes it bad in the eyes of the likes of Electronic Arts.
You people and your Mass Effect, have you forgotten the joy the Star Wars games have brought to you over the years! The fun of force chocking an npc then throwing them off ledges // Ah so many precious memories
-M
-M
I've only play Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect (1) and I hated both. Made it all the way through DA:O though.
I played Mass Effect(the first one) 11 times, I enjoyed my decisions so much that most of those times I didn't even change classes/characters/paths. Pretty obvious which game I chose huh?
For what it's worth, Neverwinter Nights was also fantastic, but like Baldur's Gate it's too hardcore in its mechanic, requiring a lot of time from the player in order to be really enjoyable.
For what it's worth, Neverwinter Nights was also fantastic, but like Baldur's Gate it's too hardcore in its mechanic, requiring a lot of time from the player in order to be really enjoyable.
If we were looking at standalone titles, I think Dragon Age Origins would be one of the strongest. As for series as a whole, I'd probably go with Mass Effect. Watching it develop as an overarching trilogy was a lot of the appeal.
How could you rationally play all the way through a game as long as Dragon Age if you hated it?Assassin Xaero said: