Poll: Poll: BioWare or Bethesda?

[babinro]

Bioware

Both companies make great games that have their own RPG styles that are highly successful. I give the nod to Bioware because their games are far less likely to frustrate due to bugs/crashes.

Bioware games also have better overall stories in my opinion. But Bethesda have more interesting side quest characters and a great sense of humour built in to lighten the mood.

 

[Lerasai]

I love both and I agree with others who've said that the two could learn a lot from each other, but I have to say that I'm pretty partial to Bethesda. I just love exploring a world and learning about its people through experiencing it and finding items like recordings and books, rather than in Bioware where I am told things about the world by the characters.

I always get pretty lonely in Bethesda games, though. Even in Fallout 3 and NV where you have followers who journey with you it still feels as if you are by yourself and your interaction with them is very limited. In Bioware games you actually make friends with the NPCs you travel with, which feels good for a person like me who often goes long periods of time without much real meaningful social interaction.

 

[Zanaxal]

Bioware.

Copy pasted areas and hugesandbox map that takes ages to explore with nor real sense of direction does not equal rpg Bethesda. Also difficulty scaling with player levels and a difficulty bar directly affecting monsters is horrible from a rpg point of view. A sea of green supermutants and some raider bits don't create game other then popgun shooting. Silly dialouge trees with no reward speach checks are just a massive waste of time.

 

[Omnific One]

The Escapist is a very pro-Bioware, anti-Bethesda environment. I have learned to deal with that even though I still love Bioware.

Bethesda comes out on top in more "mainstream" US sites.

Edit: Everyone criticizes the "bugginess" of Bethesda's games. Honestly, I have no clue what you are talking about, as Bioware's games are much, much more buggy than Bethesda's on the 360. Just today, I had Tali's eyes disappear and when I first got to Azure, it glitched and none of the trucks would come.

Granted, my heavily modded (100+) Oblivion used to CTD before I got OBSE and added a clean quit mod.

 

[BenzSmoke]

A few years ago I would have said Bethesda. However, they've been producing games of rather low quality lately.

 

[Omnific One]

A few years ago I would have said Bethesda. However, they've been producing games of rather low quality lately.

Bethesda hasn't made a game since FO3...

 

[Omnific One]

I don't really need to vote to know the results on this one. Bioware. Why, because for every game breaking bug in a Bioware game, you will find like 20 in a Bethesda game, you know how many times Fallout 3 and NV froze or crashed on me? More than I can coun't. Mass Effect 1 and 2? Never.

I'll also give out a few shity games by both developpers

Bethesda: Rogue Warrior, Wet, etc

Bioware:

Hint: Bethesda has only done TES and FO3 since Morrowind. Wet and Rogue Warrior are published under "Bethesda" which is actually Zenimax, the publishing arm.

 

[BenzSmoke]

A few years ago I would have said Bethesda. However, they've been producing games of rather low quality lately.

Bethesda hasn't made a game since FO3...

Well by lately I mean after Oblivion. FO3 was just a buggy mess with a stupid story.
I liked exploring the wasteland and finding new things, but all the characters and storylines were just stupid.

 

[Zhukov]

Bioware.

Oh look, actual characters!

 

[icame]

I'm happy with the results

 

[SeriousSquirrel]

Bioware

Just more fun to play their games I think. They're also a lot more accesible.

 

[Mr Godfrey]

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.

Fallout New Vegas wasn't bad. A few glitch issues (which were pretty overplayed in my opinion), but still a good game. Still. Bioware takes the cake.
In the end, it's the narrative that makes a game great as opposed to good; Knights of the Old Republic (a narrative on good and evil and what both mean to individuals as well as the entire society) will still be fun to play ten years from now while I can't even remember the last time I played Oblivion (a game that doesn't really have anything to say on a large scale). Bethesda's getting better as far as making a statement goes though, there were a few optional missions in New Vegas that actually got me thinking; still nothing like the commentary on racism and prejudice in the Mass Effect series. A welcome change none the less.
I agree that there's something thoroughly enjoyable to the total freedom that Bethesda's games offer. I think there's a lot more they could do with it, though.

 

[jackpipsam]

Morrowind is just plan too epic to say no too

 

[katsumoto03]

BioWare has stayed consistently awesome since before I can remember. Bethesda shit the bed a long time ago.

 

[mentalkitty789]

Bethesda. BW was good, but ME2 was too much of a shooter than rpg, so I can just see them making games like bioshock good writing, but nothing interests me gameplay wise, and thats why I play games, gameplay, if I want an amazing story I would read a book. And tbh DAO hasd the ancient evil, and ME has an ancient evil, so if this trend continues I am deducting points for story, luckily characters are still good. Except the choices in ME2, so stupid, our either the thuggish, racist renegade or holier than thou paragon. Both are just bad.

No offense but a game that can carry on story is a more amazing role playing game than one that carries on game play. No matter how good the game play is a role playing game is supposed to put in a ROLE, take you out of reality for a bit.
Also again no offense but the argument that their stories are the same is BULL. Yes both have evils that want to end the world you know what you're forgetting though? EVERYTHING ELSE! In Mass Effect you have the choice of bringing a spices once thought extinct, off that list. In Dragon Age you have the choice of saving the werewolves from the curse, or using their hate of elves to have them murder the elves.
Still they could use a driving plot device that wasn't so world ending.

 

[AgDr_ODST]

i stand somewhat in the middle on this debate....I can see the +'s in both devs but to my knowledge I've only played one game by either company(Bethesdas Fallout 3) but Im very intrigued by the world that Bioware has created in Mass Effect and I've more than a passing interest in the starwars MMO by Bioware thats on the horizon

 

[Omnific One]

A few years ago I would have said Bethesda. However, they've been producing games of rather low quality lately.

Bethesda hasn't made a game since FO3...

Well by lately I mean after Oblivion. FO3 was just a buggy mess with a stupid story.
I liked exploring the wasteland and finding new things, but all the characters and storylines were just stupid.

I think they needed to put FO3 quickly (in Bethesda terms) to recoup the costs of purchasing the costs of buying the franchise and because they had no clue how popular it would be as it wasn't established in the mainstream.

 

[Woodsey]

BioWare (KotOR and the Mass Effect games are amongst my favourites of anything), but I do enjoy Bethesda games - I'd love to be able to experience Oblivion brand new again.

I'm going to say neither and go with Obsidian. They make better games in each's respective franchises than the companies can do themselves. They also could have probably fixed the massive disappointment that Mass Effect 2 was too :/

Yeah, KotOR 2 and Alpha Protocol really kicked the arses of KotOR and Mass Effect respectively.

*Raises eyebrow in wild disbelief*

I'll admit I prefer New Vegas to Fallout 3, but then I have just bought it for £15, after it's been patched and without having anywhere near as much content spoiled for me (actually, none, since I didn't pay it any attention).

OT: BioWare, although I adored Oblivion.

I'm really fucking excited for Skyrim though.