KOTOR or Mass Effect?

[Sixcess]

I have both of these games installed and can't decide which to play first. I'm leaning toward KOTOR, but the first planet is, frankly, a bit dull.

The main reason I'm asking is my first impression is that they appear to have very similar gameplay. So, if I play ME first will I get too much of a feeling of deja vu when I play KOTOR? Which do you recommend?

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

KOTOR first, age before beauty, after all.

And besides, Mass Effect doesn't have HK-47.

Meatbag.

Personally, I'd put Jade Empire in front of all of them.

 

[Polaris19]

KOTOR first, then ME.

Or you could flip a coin. Both games are incredible.

But honestly start with KoToR.

 

[Adzma]

KotOR gets much better once you leave Taris believe me. I say go for it first, then play Mass Effect afterwards.

 

[Nunny]

Kotor Probley, best to go from old to new then the other way around.

 

[RatRace123]

Oh god, yeah that was the thing about KotOR that pissed me off.
Taris sucks... a lot. It really really sucks.

Though, they're not all that similar, KotOR is a straight RPG with the D20 combat system, while Mass Effect is a shooter RPG.

I say Mass Effect first, I love both of them, but I prefer Mass Effect.
And Taris suck.

They're both amazing, so it may come down to a coin flip.

 

[Jim Grim]

I'd say KOTOR, simply because light sabers are fun. Also I didn't enjoy Mass Effect 1 all that much.

 

[Mandal0re]

KOTOR,its the older of the two and in general an absolutely fantastic game.

 

[Megalodon]

KOTOR first, having recently played it, it remains seven shades of awesome, but is now showing its age somewhat. So it might come of worse than it derserves if directly following ME.

Gemeplay is completely different, in both games, but equally easy to break.

 

[EllEzDee]

besides, Mass Effect doesn't have HK-47.

And there's your reason to play ME first.

 

[TheSEPH88]

Save the best for last, play KOTOR first.

 

[Ferricyanide]

KotOR reminded me more of Dragon Age than anything: a lot of pausing, tactical positioning of your squadmates, careful use of powers, and so on. Mass Effect has those elements but at its heart is a shooter where you control one guy, and give your teammates orders, while the other two basically let you control everyone in the party at once.

Which first? I've managed to play almost all of Bioware's games in the reverse order they were released, and it's interesting to see their designs over the years, and be able to trace running themes and characters back to their sources. But I think you're better off doing things the "right" way and playing KotOR first.

 

[Penguinous]

If I had to play one or the other right now, I'd go with KOTOR, but they're both amazing games, you can't go far wrong with either. The most noticeable difference to me was that ME has more optional quests but suffers in terms of focus for the same reason: After the first areas in both games, ME is the better to play for an hour or so, but KOTOR always ate the entirety of any evening I spent on it.

 

[Wadders]

Never played KOTOR, not a big star wars fan, so I'll buck the trend and say Mass Effect (1 and 2)

It's just... amazing.

 

[Smooth Operator]

ME is good, KOTOR is alot better as an RPG, if you prefer shooters then ME, ME2 especially has very minimal RPG elements.
I think I'll bust them out during the holidays again.

 

[Squiddo]

KOTOR and ME 1&2 are fantastic games, I thought KOTOR to be much more of a traditional rpg where as ME is going for more action specially true for ME2.

As has been said before if you like action games more start with the Mass Effect series, its a better introduction to RPGs than diving into the deep end with KOTOR. If you like RPG's better start with KOTOR.

They all seem to start of a bit restrictive, but stick with it, totally worth it.
Their all fantastic games, there are a fair few similarities between KOTOR and ME, but I found that to be a very good thing

 

[Dr Snakeman]

Never played KOTOR, not a big star wars fan, so I'll buck the trend and say Mass Effect (1 and 2)

It's just... amazing.

Pretty much this. I guess I'm biased, since I never played KOTOR, but Mass Effect is the way to go, especially if you haven't had the plot ruined for you like I did.

 

[Kwatsu]

If you're playing both, play KOTOR first; you'll be able to see the progression from that to Mass Effect rather than feeling like you're stepping backwards. But both are awesome games. And good grief, don't judge KOTOR on Taris, whatever you do. It may feel like it goes on for a while, but the game gets much better fast once you're off Taris.