Poll: Which Bioware RPG to start with?

[NerfedFalcon]

Knights of the Old Republic, it's morality system doesn't railroad you like Mass Effect or Dragon Age. In ME or DA you have to save the day, you can choose to be a jerk or a charming stud.

In Knights of the Old

Spoiler

you can save the galaxy or conquer it.

it is the shining example of what a true morality system should be.

Difference is, it's still completely black and white. Are you a shining paragon or a crazy conqueror? At least with Dragon Age you have to deal with each character separately, from what I hear. Still, no RPG will ever have a morality system as good as that of Deus Ex, partly because Deus Ex doesn't give you a karma meter to begin with.

And I'd play that a lot more if the first one didn't look like crap and wasn't hard as hell, and Human Revolution had better boss fights. *eugh*

 

[OpticalJunction]

Dragon age origins. It is quite lovely.

 

[plugav]

If you like the number crunching and you don't mind the dated graphics, you might try KotOR again.

If you want a game that's lllooonnnggg and hard, and has no black&white morality system, go for Dragon Age: Origins (I hear Awakening's pretty good as well). While I got a bit bored after a while (30 hours, 60% completion), I have to admit this is the one that best showcases BioWare's specialty - compelling companion NPCs.

If you want a setting that's fresh and a game that's representative of the direction BioWare is taking, totally go for Mass Effect (my vote on the poll). However, be warned that the controls are a bit clunky (fixed in ME2, but the math's been greatly simplified as well - some hate that).

Oh, and Jade Empire's cool too. Not the best game to get you into the genre, though, because it's a cross between an RPG and a fighting game.

 

[Ilikemilkshake]

If you're going for Dragon Age, buy the Ultimate edition it, includes Awakening and all the other DLCs, but its the same price as Awakening on its own (at least here).. Dragon age is one of my most played games on steam, 167 hours.. so there's alot of stuff to do, with alot of replay value.

Mass Effect is also one of my favourite games.. so you cant really go wrong there.. if i were you i'd play through ME1 and ME2 at some point soon so you can get ME3 when it comes around.

I havent played Jade Empire and Ive only played a little of KotoR so i cant really comment on them.

 

[The Lugz]

Recently, I've been seeing a lot of hype and a lot of threads for Skyrim. While that may not in itself be a bad thing, except possibly for the game (like Duke Nukem Forever, it has huge shoes to fill), it's slightly out of my price range for a publisher and a genre I'm not normally interested in.

Because of that, I've decided maybe Bioware would get me into WRPGs better. I already own Knights of the Old Republic on Steam (my most convenient way of getting games, although I might find more elsewhere), but I'm finding that a little hard to handle, for two reasons: it's a little tough for me (I got stuck on the first battle in the Lower City) and it's about as buggy as your average Bethesda masterpiece (sometimes my character just stands still for a minute, no matter how many keys I mash.)

So, because of that, maybe a different game might convince me not to just play JRPGs (and before you pour scorn, I only have one where the main character's haircut could be described as "spiky".) From what I've checked, there are five Bioware RPGs on Steam, I don't know if I'd be able to find them as cheap or as conveiently elsewhere...

So, yeah. Which one is the best for someone who's not really good with WRPGs? Oh, and I'm fine with number-crunching and all that, so don't just say "Mass Effect because it was clearly given guns and dumbed down to appeal to the Halo crowd and Bioware are assholes for trying to make money while still creating something an RPG fan like me might conceivably like if I put my biases aside and played it, and since you hate RPGs there's plenty of guns to distract you from the numbers, you lowest common denominator".

skyrim is better than any of the bioware rpg's unless you really have to have the bioware interface
true facts are true.
promise.
they nailed the radiant story now, those little fetch quests like blizzard's daily s end up revealing longer plots and different results each time
ie 'x npc ran out of x item go kill 20 x mob' then, in doing it you'll be mobbed by bandits with a letter that results in a whole long quest line, involving legendary weapons, captured priests and a dungeon of goblins.
then you go back to the npc and come out with some snap comment along the lines of 'yah, here's your items, but they aren't worth bothering with in the future'

i don't know how but it works.
play it.

 

[Anezay]

Mass Effect. If story is your thing, buy it yesterday. As for character building, the first one is more RPG-ey than the second. I disagree with the apparent consensus that ME2 is dumbed down, though. I am under the impression that Bioware tried to trim the fat, and cut a little too much. Still, the gameplay is fun, the story is epic, and the RPG elements are satisfying.

Captcha: 6.69 lativice
Numbers. Cool.

 

[Rapamaha]

KOTOR was actually the game that got me into RPG's in the first place so it allways has a special place in my heart, however the bugs you encountered are most likely due to your over powerfull hardware for the game, there are some things you could try like getting an optimizer, running in WINXP compatibility mode and check www.kotorfiles.com for some fixes,

Mass Effect is atm my favorute game series, its the star wars of modern games and what really draws me to it, is its story,characters and how cinematic it feels, when it comes to actual RPG gameplay its pretty poor in that regard compared to other Bioware titles

Dragon Age would be my recommendation if you cant find solution to your KOTOR problem, Its your typical "old school wrpg" turned into a modern game, it has very long lenght, lots of stuff to do, interesting characters, the world you live in looks and feels great, its not perfect world of sunshine & rainbow: violence is everywhere, there are poor people who live in the slums, political backstabbing and the title RPG fits in every sense of the word for the game, you have alot of character customization, playing with numbers and interesting gameplay, story is okay but like most of the WRPG games its not the ending that makes it great, its the journey,

some people praise old games like Baldurs Gate,Icewind dail, Fallout 1,2 but lets be honest, those type of games arent made anymore, they arent beginner friendly and the outdated graphics and walls of text only burn your eyes out of their eyesockets

 

[damocles23]

If Baldur's Gate was on the list i would have said that, but start with Kotor or Mass Effect and you're on a roll.

 

[Appleshampoo]

Mass effect by far. Although Jade empire is great in it's own right.

If you decide to go the Dragon age route then just stick to Origins and it's expansions. Dragon age 2 is just...awful.

 

[Littaly]

Baldur's Gate series.

It's still my favorite and is pretty much ageless.

I was gonna say this, the Baldur's Gate series is by far the best game they ever made. But it's not quite as accessible as their later games, it takes some effort getting into, and even then, it doesn't get really good until you beat the first game, so there's definitely a bit of a hump to get over.

I still recommend you play it, but for starters I'd recommend Dragon Age: Origins. It makes for a nice middle ground between their older more complex games and later, more streamlined games. The story is solid and the gameplay is easy to get into without being too shallow, if you're PC can handle it, I say start there. But like I said, do play Baldur's Gate, it lives up to all the hype.

 

[putowtin]

Mass Effect, as you said you already have KotOR

 

[Imbechile]

Knights of the Old Republic, it's morality system doesn't railroad you like Mass Effect or Dragon Age. In ME or DA you have to save the day, you can choose to be a jerk or a charming stud.

In Knights of the Old

Spoiler

you can save the galaxy or conquer it.

it is the shining example of what a true morality system should be.

Lol, that is a shining example of how NOT to do a morality system. Black-white morality is one of the worst things to ever grace games.
That is one of the reasons I don't like the first KOTOR, but absolutly love the second one.
Because it actually has shade of grey, rather than the usual shitty Star Wars good vs. bad morality.

OT: I would recomend Baldur's gate, but if KOTOR is too hard for you then probably Mass Effect is a more suitable choice, although it's a rather meh game, with a boring setting,a absolutly idiotic morality system, weak combat and gameplay, and the same god-damn story you see in every fucking Bioware game.

 

[Rems]

Another vote for the Baldur's Gate series. Though the first one is showing it's age so you might want to start with number 2 Shadows of Amn, which is better in just about every aspect and has aged very well. Also it's not crucial story wise to play the first.

Otherwise i would suggest as others have said whether you like sci fi or fantasy. Go with Dragon Age or Mass Effect as they are the most recent and accessible of the list for someone new to wrpg's (with the prettiest graphics if that's important to you).

Also while not a Bioware game it is one of the finest rpg's ever made you have to try Planescape Torment. It's a 'thinking man's' rpg to a certain extent and certainly far more cerebral than any action rpg you find nowadays but it is amazing.

The Witcher is also fantastic. Medieval based fantasy as it should be.

edit- both Baldur's Gate complete, Planescape and the Witcher Enhanced Edition are available from gog (good old games a digital distribution service specialising in older games) for 5 dollars each. A steal given their quality.

 

[Imbechile]

the outdated graphics and walls of text only burn your eyes out of their eyesockets

Ahhhhhh... I remeber a time when gamers weren't such morons that don't want to play truly great games because they don't have HDR, parralax mapping, tessalation, and other fancy graphics, and voice acting which is probably the main reason why we don't have good stories anymore.

 

[inFAMOUSCowZ]

First, buy Skyrim when you get the chance, worth the hype. Also I say Mass Effect. Now Mass Effect may be my favorite game from Bioware, and possibly this gen. But its great, and you really should try the other games Bioware made. So play them all, but any order you want.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Difference is, it's still completely black and white. Are you a shining paragon or a crazy conqueror? At least with Dragon Age you have to deal with each character separately, from what I hear. Still, no RPG will ever have a morality system as good as that of Deus Ex, partly because Deus Ex doesn't give you a karma meter to begin with.

And I'd play that a lot more if the first one didn't look like crap and wasn't hard as hell, and Human Revolution had better boss fights. *eugh*

In DA, with the right baubles, you could make everyone your best friend. You got bonuses from having higher friendships with them. DA didn't really have morality per se, it was a crapsack world and you got to save it.

The original Deus Ex, the boss fights were optional. With a little digging around and exploring they could be won without ever firing a shot.

 

[NickCaligo42]

None of these. Get Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2 on Good Old Games. Then forever be disappointed with how each subsequent game in their library is basically using a cheat sheet.

 

[Rapamaha]

the outdated graphics and walls of text only burn your eyes out of their eyesockets

Ahhhhhh... I remeber a time when gamers weren't such morons that don't want to play truly great games because they don't have HDR, parralax mapping, tessalation, and other fancy graphics, and voice acting which is probably the main reason why we don't have good stories anymore.

technology is suposed to go forward, not backwards, a script doesnt just make a good story, its how that story is presented, back in the 90's you didnt have that much voice acting becose the dev's didnt simply have enough money to hire actors and gaming industry wasnt that big bussines like it is now, you may think there arent good stories anymore in games, fine thats your opinion, In my opinion there are alot of great stories in modern games and I doubht those are gona end anytime soon

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

You can't go wrong with any of them. But I'm still going to suggest you play KOToR first.

 

[nyysjan]

Baldur's Gate series