Poll: Poll: BioWare or Bethesda?

[MrJKapowey]

Eh...both are great, but Bethesda loses points for having their name attached to the abomination known as Fallout New Vegas. I know they didn't develop it, but they still published it.

Bioware's games are great, but I think I still enjoyed getting lost in the worlds of Oblivion and Fallout 3 enough to even the scales.

Sorry, but what was so bad about F:NV?
I liked the story and the chars and the faction interaction. It was even made by the guys who made 1+2 so no studio fanboyisms.

I personally like Bethesda best. I know, I know; ME is amazing. But I love Oblivion, vanilla, console. Everyone hates it, I love it. The voice acting doesn't bother me, neither does the crap combat animation. This is my faviroute game. Ever.

 

[sheogoraththemad]

I am not gonna answer this poll,
Bethesda made the elder scrolls and that is my favourite gaming series, but bioware made dragon age and Mass effect and those are also excellent games,
it is a tie, Bethesda makes better (free-roaming) worlds but Bioware writes better stories.

 

[LittleChone]

Bethesda. They can actually make a game that has good writing AND is fun to play!
HEY-OH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Na, in all seriousness, both companies are respectable (if not formidable) figures in the gaming world.

 

[Pirate1019]

I'm sad there is no 'neither' option. I'm in the extreme minority, but I think both developers are pretty terrible.

Every Bioware game I've played (possible exception for ME2) was full of bad-to-mediocre gameplay with various degrees of technical failings all wrapped up in WAY TOO MUCH FUCKING TALKING.

Bethesda is probably better only in the sense that their games are also entirely boring and full of glitches, but you can opt spend all of your time being an incredible kleptomaniac.

 

[Blatherscythe]

I like them equally because they let me choose who I help, my attitude, appearance and morality. But Bioware handles story exceptionally well, or at least narrative and characterization, but falls short of open world exploration (it's very lineir even though you're in the great expanse of unknown, space). Bethesda handles characterization well (Fallout New Vega's companions were great in my opinion) and the open world sandbox is huge and fun to explore when you reach a high enough level, but the narrative sucks and the story is a few hairs shy of the stuff Bioware churns out with little effort. But I can go by amount of time I've clocked in each of their games in total so I guess Bethesda gets my vote, because I am absolutly immersed in Fallout New Vegas.

 

[ninja51]

Im gunna go with Bethesda. I love Bioware, they have the story department locked, they are gods in that field. But Bethesda creates better gameplay and still manages to put out some really good stuff story wise at the same time. Mass Effect is the best game ever made in my opinion, its eveerything the medium should aspire to be story wise. But Oblivion is my favorite game of all time, the gameplay is incredibly addictive, and amazing plots can shine through here and there for quests. Oblivion and to a lesser extent, Morrowind are games made for me. Bioware puts out incredible games, but they dont always hit that perfect nerve on me, Dragon Age came close but the gameplay dragged it down. And Mass Effect 1 and 2 are beautiful once the conversations start, but the gameplay itself can get really repedative.

 

[ExaltedK9]

2 of my favorite developers. Bioware wins though.

 

[Skoldpadda]

I don't understand Bethesda's popularity at all. Their games are utterly bland and soulless.

Morrowind was nice, but that's been a while. Oblivion was just completely devoid of substance, it had the worst combat ever seen and a levelling system that didn't make any sense at all.

And then It Happened. They got their grubby paws on my beloved Fallout and of course completely mucked it up. The characters try so butt-clenchingly hard to be quirky and colourful it hurts. That Moira just makes me want to snap the cd in half. As does that sheriff in Megaton.
Sheriff: Hi, I'm the sheriff. See what a nice laidback guy I am, provided you don't cause trouble in my town.
Player: *innocent comment about hat*
Sheriff: I detect an *evil* response. I'm watching you, buddy. The last thing we want in this jagged desert where death stalks the lands and people gut each other over a bottle of irradiated water, is strangers making comments about hats.

Bioware may be slipping a bit lately. They're acting a bit dickish since they've been hanging out with that EA-buddy of theirs. But their games still have some feeling in them.

But who knows, right?
Skyrim may fix everything that was wrong with Oblivion and Fallout 3, and Bioware may come forward with a cheap shooter that contains 5% of the story of Mass Effect 1 (and I'm kinda suspicious that may be the case indeed).

 

[duktapeman90]

Tough one. I loved KOTOR 1 and 2, Dragon Age, and what I've played of Mass Effect. But honestly I've logged more hours playing Oblivion alone then the four of those combined. Not to mention Fallout 3 and New Vegas. So I'd probably have to go with Bethesda, but it's a close one.

On a side note, I just realized they BOTH have a game developed by Obsidian. Both of which I think are underrated.

 

[_Cake_]

Or? No no no put them together and you would have the best rpg ever. Wandering around the wasteland with your attractive yet virginal companion who totally has the hots for you XD

 

[DistinctlyBenign]

Bethesda wins on combat and gameplay.

Bioware wins on Story, characters, and stability.

If I'm playing an RPG, I care about Story and Characters.

Ergo: BioWare wins.

 

[DistinctlyBenign]

EDIT: Sorry, double post.

 

[revolutionaification]

I'm a fan of both but I still chose Bioware without a second thought. Bethesda work brilliantly on a large scale, getting a good size for their sandboxes with some interesting little secrets scattered (though they could do with a few more really) but Bioware's writing and characterisation wins me over very quickly.

Also, two words Bethesda-wise. Uncanny Valley.

 

[Polaris19]

Bioware.

They have been extremely good for a longtime, and I dare say they haven't yet released a game that was "bad".

Baulders Gate 2 is still one of the deepest RPG experiences available, Knights of the Old Republic is considered one of the greatest RPG's of all time by many (not all), and Mass Effect's got an incredible universe and a great story.

And maybe thats just it. When it all comes down to it, Bioware's stories just...work, for lack of a better term. Oblivion was a great game, but the story was really underdeveloped. Morrowind had a better story, but it just doesn't compare to games like Mass Effect and Baulders Gate. Fallout 3 was an incredible game as well, but yet again, the story just kind of fell flat.

Bioware also has a larger resume of games than Bethesda, but it's not just the quantity, it's the quality. Bioware just has this down. They have handled multiple franchises and have found success with just about every last one. I mean when you look at the games they've produced lately, some of the best RPG's of the past ten to fifteen years came from Bioware.

And chances are good they'll keep it going for quite some time.

 

[blankedboy]

I really need to play some BioWare games at some point.
I voted Bethesda because I fuckin' loved Morrowind.

 

[Alexandria Pajak]

My boyfriend and I are ALWAYS saying this. I'm a RABID Bethesda fangirl, and he's BioWare all the way, but we're thinking they should combine for the same reasons, and then hook up with Steam

 

[Slaanax]

I might be biased, because my experience with Bioware is limited to the Mass Effect's and Dragon Age whereas I've been playing Morrowind for about 8 years now but I don't like Bioware games. They are too restricted and I find the huge overbearing plot really saps the fun factor from the games.

That's the exact reason why I like Bioware over Bethesda's products because of the story and structure. I can't focus on long not structured like Morrowind.

 

[mindlesspuppet]

Bioware because they can polish a game.

Mako.

 

[JMeganSnow]

I like them both for different reasons, but I prefer Bioware--Bethesda just craps out on plot too much for them to be my favorite.

 

[duktapeman90]

they should combine for the same reasons, and then hook up with Steam

That could ether be the single greatest or single worst idea ever. On that note, I think they should go for it.