Mass effect, mostly because their focus on story has lead to Biowear really fleshing the place out and putting some interesting stuff in it. Most of the other games on the list have a somewhat more stark or unexplained universe.
Poll: Which is videogames best sci-fi universe?
- Thread starter tlozoot
- Start date
Mass Effect for being so goddamn fleshed out, and honorable mentions to Halo for being so goddam bleak
During the war with the covenant we go from having colonies across the galaxy, to them all being destroyed, and only HALF of earth now inhabitable. Yea, we win the war in the long run (only because the Elites rebelled against the Prophets), but there isn't really much of a future for us afterwards.
and starcraft for just being awesome.
During the war with the covenant we go from having colonies across the galaxy, to them all being destroyed, and only HALF of earth now inhabitable. Yea, we win the war in the long run (only because the Elites rebelled against the Prophets), but there isn't really much of a future for us afterwards.
and starcraft for just being awesome.
There is zero science involved at all in Star Wars, it's fantasy set in space.kelsyk said:
Anarchy Online, an evil capitalist corporation (USA) has terraformed a new planet but enforces totalitarian law. The freedom loving Clans (EU) seek to escape Omni-Tek oppression and return the planet to the people that help shape the planet. There is also a neutral faction which had a tendency to ally with the outnumbered Omni-Tek forces but weren't bound by such alliances (making it dangerous to travel anywhere as either side could take them out).
You deserve some ort of medal or trophy for that!tellmeimaninja said:
Like most people here I'd have to go with Mass Effect, I just love the universe.
Edit: Also, Turians. Birdlizards with with catlike features and metal skin. Nuff Said!
Mass Effect is certainly one of the best sci-fi settings that I have seen and a great deal of lore around it along with interesting races whos goals arn't search and destroy like many other races in other works of fiction.
Warhammer 40k however is good at being a rather grimdark and dystopian place to live (Some say to the point of satire) and has alot of lore from the codexs and novels. However this ones opinion is that the Dawn of War games repesents this rather badly and bad voice acting does not make for a view into the fictional setting for new comers. There is the additional problem that with so many authors working for the Black Library there are disagreements regarding lore and a few other details and that some authors abuse this.
Halo is pretty good if you read the books and lore if you can ignore the mutiplayer and occasional inconstancys.
Warhammer 40k however is good at being a rather grimdark and dystopian place to live (Some say to the point of satire) and has alot of lore from the codexs and novels. However this ones opinion is that the Dawn of War games repesents this rather badly and bad voice acting does not make for a view into the fictional setting for new comers. There is the additional problem that with so many authors working for the Black Library there are disagreements regarding lore and a few other details and that some authors abuse this.
Halo is pretty good if you read the books and lore if you can ignore the mutiplayer and occasional inconstancys.
Isn't Half Life a dystopian game? I am probably wrong, but anyways...tlozoot said:
OT: System Shock's 2 sci-fi is one of my favorites.
Now hold up, buddy, you'll find my definition was easily more accurate. If a fiction relates to a plausible scientific future or event, that makes it science fiction, in the same way Coronation Street is a drama. Things that could happen, but haven't actually happened. Science fantasy has less plausible things happening. Big space battles with aliens. Sure, it's possible. It's likely. But it's not certain. Instant space travel makes things fantasy.HuCast said:Thyunda said:
Sorry, but I think you are wrong with your definition of science fiction/science fantasy.
Aliens and laser weapons belong to the science fiction genre since the war of the worlds frightened millions of americans.
Orwells 1984 is way more of a drama or dystopian fantasy then just simple science fiction
And when you check out how many scientists and millions of $ are involved in the SETI program you might agree that the search and believe in aliens is by no way comparable to the myth of silly things like ghosts.
The term "science fantasy" usually means that typical fantasy elements like swords, kings and wizards are thrown into and mixed with the science fiction genre and "space opera" means that you get plenty of booom for your bucks.
Your definition of science fiction is what real nerds call "science faction"
Silly things like ghosts? I believe in ghosts. I've seen and felt them, I have no reason to deny their existence.
So, clearly, believing in aliens is comparable to believing in silly things like ghosts.
Mass Effect.
Because its all my favoriate sci-fi films from the '70s,'80s & '90s but a game. What other game lets me play the Aliens, drop into a future war scene from Terminator and then have a go at being Flash Gordon on an asteroid (Commander Shepard, we only have 14 hours to save the ear... colony! or something like that) then do the base defence scene from Starship Troopers?
Thats why I love it - a universe full of rip-offs of the films I grew up watching. Seriously, its like they stole every idea from the era and smooged them all into a single, brilliant universe that makes it look like they didn't just think "these are some really cool ideas other people had, lets steal them and figure out how they fit together later!"
Perfectly honestly, this is not a criticism of Bioware, this is praise. I really love the game and the universe because it is the greatest knock-off from dodgy films of the past.
Because its all my favoriate sci-fi films from the '70s,'80s & '90s but a game. What other game lets me play the Aliens, drop into a future war scene from Terminator and then have a go at being Flash Gordon on an asteroid (Commander Shepard, we only have 14 hours to save the ear... colony! or something like that) then do the base defence scene from Starship Troopers?
Thats why I love it - a universe full of rip-offs of the films I grew up watching. Seriously, its like they stole every idea from the era and smooged them all into a single, brilliant universe that makes it look like they didn't just think "these are some really cool ideas other people had, lets steal them and figure out how they fit together later!"
Perfectly honestly, this is not a criticism of Bioware, this is praise. I really love the game and the universe because it is the greatest knock-off from dodgy films of the past.
So much wrong in this thread...There is no such thing called Science Fiction. You can define pretty easy a fantasy story, but you can't define a science fiction one. That's why there's a lot of subgenres to it. Those subgenres all share certain SF elements(Like aliens, time travel, space travel, different planets, silly science, plausible science etc) to each other, but each is unique, while occasionally blending together.
SCIENCE FICTION SUBGENRES:
SPACE OPERA(Mass Effect, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica)
CYBER PUNK(Deus Ex, Blade Runner, The Neuromancer)
ALTERNATE HISTORY(Man in the High Castle)
HARD SF(The Mars trilogy)
SOCIAL SF(1984, The Man in the High Castle)
APOCALYPTIC(Fallout, The Road, Mad Max)
TIME TRAVEL(Doctor Who, The Time Machine, Day of the Tentacle)
MILITARY SCIENCE FICTION(The Forever War, Ender's Game)
There's still, superhuman, western science fiction, soft SF, biopunk, Spy-fi, science opera fiction and a lot of other SF subgenres.
Star Was IS Science Fiction, cause it belongs to a subgenre OF Science Fiction named SPACE OPERA! In science fiction you don't always need to explain the science part. That's a tip for you.
Anyway, I'm going with Mass Effect.
SCIENCE FICTION SUBGENRES:
SPACE OPERA(Mass Effect, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica)
CYBER PUNK(Deus Ex, Blade Runner, The Neuromancer)
ALTERNATE HISTORY(Man in the High Castle)
HARD SF(The Mars trilogy)
SOCIAL SF(1984, The Man in the High Castle)
APOCALYPTIC(Fallout, The Road, Mad Max)
TIME TRAVEL(Doctor Who, The Time Machine, Day of the Tentacle)
MILITARY SCIENCE FICTION(The Forever War, Ender's Game)
There's still, superhuman, western science fiction, soft SF, biopunk, Spy-fi, science opera fiction and a lot of other SF subgenres.
Star Was IS Science Fiction, cause it belongs to a subgenre OF Science Fiction named SPACE OPERA! In science fiction you don't always need to explain the science part. That's a tip for you.
Anyway, I'm going with Mass Effect.
Mass Effect, easily.
It's a massive, extraordinarily well-fleshed-out universe that just so happens to be damn interesting.
It's a massive, extraordinarily well-fleshed-out universe that just so happens to be damn interesting.