Poll: Poll: BioWare or Bethesda?

[mentalkitty789]

That is DLC, and pretty much contained within itself so of course its story is more...focused? I'm not sure how else to put it. Also you don't see the results of saving or sacrificing the baby or even hear about it! Overall though that was a defense of Bioware's stories(not that they need it). You aren't really a chosen one though. Sure people chose you put it isn't because of some ancient scripture predicting the fact you would save the world. If that was any game it would be Oblivion. Although i still love that game. Also yes most people would need a team, because you aren't the chosen one who will save the world with one hand tied behind his back. Also they tend to add to the story giving you different points of view. I can agree that the choices where a bit too black and white sometimes though. It also depends how you go about justifying it though. Like murdering all the magi. You can be just a complete bastard who hates magi because magi have pretty dresses. Option B is that you don't want to risk letting any abominations out, while cold it isn't exactly as dark.

For the most part when I was playing Fallout 3 my thoughts were 'My dad left me, and I'm old enough to take care of myself. Why should I care why he left!?' Destroying the only reason that was driving the main plot. Then I wandered off and about 14 levels later I became a cannibal and joined that vampire cult.

I'm not saying those Bethesda's games are bad, I enjoy just going around and adventuring just cause. I say Bioware has the best stories, and Bethesda has the better... 'world', although the world can seem a bit empty at times. I understand it would be hard to put in a lot more npcs and such though.

Edit: You didn't need to add imo, of course this is all opinion. This whole debate is pretty much based on opinion.

 

[Spectrum_Prez]

Bethesda, by a narrow but clear margin.
First, nobody makes sandbox games like Bethesda, except for maybe Rock Star. They give you the freedom to make your own priorities which is something that is sadly lacking in most games and therefore kills immersion for me.
Second, they really believe in FPV which is something I love. When you see the sun rising in Fallout 3 on the horizon it just feels so much better in FPV. Not being able to see behind you artificially is great for exploration and that creeping feeling of dread you get in horror games.

Bioware is awesome, and getting better. But I wish they would try a FPV game. Or a sandbox game. Well, obviously, the holy grail of RPGs at this stage is a Bioware/Bethesda collaboration with Bioware doing story, animations, QA, writing, and voice-acting, and Bethesda doing everything else (gameplay, lore, graphics, engine).

My favorite games of all time kind of say it all:

1. Morrowind
2. FO3
3. KOTOR
4. ME2

 

[Joshimodo]

Bethesda give me games that I control, especially on the PC (mod community for their games is incredible). It's a real sandbox, but as with sandboxes in real life, they're shallow once you dig past the surface. Fun, hundreds of hours of it, but not exactly something to marvel at.

BioWare give you incredible stories, depth, characterisation and magnificent universes. There's usually an illusion of sandbox, but it really sticks to a solid narrative with personal choices involved. Content-wise, BioWare absolutely come up tops.


So, BioWare for me. Bethesda is one of my most loved studios, and their games have taken up more time than most games ever have, but BioWare's consistency to provide immersive universes with genuine characterisation trumps that.

 

[Sable Rhapsody]

BioWare. Though I have been thoroughly enjoying Fallout 3 and did like Morrowind, for me the mechanical aspects of an RPG matter less than the characters, story, and dialogue. BioWare tend to focus more on the latter, and that's what I like. I do spend more time in a single Bethesda game on average, but I prefer quality storytelling over sandbox game quantity.

Bethesda also are big on the whole "lone hero" thing, and that always makes me feel a bit lonely. No one talks to me in Bethesda games unless it's to get me to take care of their problems XD

 

[Lenny Magic]

Bioware, story, setting, lore, voice acting, all Perfect

I always find Bethesda's modding tools to be more interesting than their games.

 

[Mrsoupcup]

They're both awesome, unlike VS threads.

I wuv this post this post so much <3

 

[Sven und EIN HUND]

Bioware, of course. Bethesda are great too, though.

 

[Therumancer]

Tough, tough choice.

In the end I have to go with Bethesda. Bioware releases a tighter product, with better writing on average, but their games also tend to be a lot less playable. To more casual players (and a lot of people who are casual don't like to think of themselves that way) having a massive sandbox RPG can be intimidating, and Bioware RPGs are a lot more streamlined with a plot that pretty much ferries you along to your destination, with say a choice of which path/plotline to move down at any given time, with the metaplot concluding when all of the lesser paths are completed (ie find the Jedi hiding on three differant planets, you can do them in any order or move around, but still follow each linear progression. Once all three are done the overall plot moves on/concludes). A plot you can ignore as long as you want and the majority of the game material taking place outside of the central narrative means that there isn't a conveinent set of guide rails for people to follow to see all the "good stuff" and that's just too intimidating for a lot of people.

Understand I have fond memories of games like the original "Might And Magic" which were like adventuring rather than a continueing Drama. You started out with a team of adventurers wanting to do cool things, and the nebulous objective that discovering the secret of the Inner Sanctum would be the most impressive thing someone could do in that world. You'd run around, explore, defeat lesser enemies and minor plotlines like a Succubus Queen enslaving a town and so on, while finding pieces of codes and messages that when puzzled together would lead you down the path to figuring out where The Inner Sanctum was, and how to access it. Especially for the time, the secret was also a good one, even if hardly original even then (if you read a lot of fantasy/science fiction novels that is).

While I'm waxing nostolgic, I will also say that I think when people sit down and start prattling off lists of the greatest computer game villains of all time, I find it disturbing that "Sheltem" who was quite cleverly and subtly introduced in the beginning, and a rising threat through a number of Might and Magic games, is frequently overlooked. Especially seeing as Sheltem actually had a better backround than a lot of the villains out there, not to mention having an arch enemy (and the party's patron) who he had already killed and was literally operating as a soul in a box. While the graphics are dated the final duel between Corak and Sheltem was a big deal in it's day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zg4q8v6ku5o


At any rate, despite all the nostolgia the bottom line is that while it's ideal to have both an awesome story and a sandbox, I'll take freedom and depth over storyline almost any day if I have a choice. Especially seeing as by the third or so time I've heard dialogue I wind up fast forwarding through it, and one problem I have with restarting Bioware games is knowing I need to wade through 20 tons of talking to people to get around to actually playing the game. It's cool the first couple of times, but it becomes something of a chore to say walk around and speak to everyone on your ship (if you want to do things right) after every mission, or navigate all the NPCs at the beginning of the first "Knights Of The Old Republic". Even the most awesome dialogue and writing loses something with repetition.

 

[ShadowsofHope]

Bioware, all the way. I've never had a Bioware game I did not like, nor felt a lack of immersion within it's story. Although it's gameplay aspects can admittedly be in need of some good fleshing out. Bethesda does open worlds well, but it's games are far too buggy, the plots tend to be short and crap (Oblivion), and not a lot extra in terms of polishing goes into them after being published.

However, if they combined together with their best aspects.. holy fuck, that would be godly.

Edit:

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*

Don't forget Neverwinter Nights 2, now, Woodsey! Clearly, Neverwinter Nights 1 just couldn't handle the sheer.. awesomeness.. in which was.. it's.. predecess- Oh, fuck it. The sarcasm hurts. >.<

 

[Alpha Maeko]

ah place mah voht on dat der bio wehr

 

[leady129]

You've gotta give dibs for what Bethesda try to do in their games. I'm still working my way through Fallout 3. However, whereas Bio-ware games have me hunting for every snippet of story and hidden quests that I can find right till the end, I've reached a point in all 3 Bethesda Games I've played where I've just gone 'Sod it' and hurried to the next story related, monotone dialogue giver as fast as I can just so I can claim to have completed the game.

The difference for me is that as expansive and immersive as Bethesda's worlds are, there tends to be no variation and it ends up getting old and stale, whereas Bioware know how to keep things moving.

 

[Biscotti187]

your uh ... your profile pic is a vault tec pic ya know

 

[CleverCover]

I'm quite sure they are both awesome in their own ways.
Bioware likes making awesome stories and awesomer characters, and Bethesda likes making open sandbox worlds where you can really do whatever you want. Really.

But I love Bioware, cuz the stories and characters hold more for me than open sandboxes. The sand gets caught in awkward places anyway.

So....Bioware.

 

[luckshotpro]

Bioware creates hundreds of story options

Bethesda creates hundreds of gameplay options

It ultimately boils down to which is more fun for you to experience

hard choice, but while story is important when done well, in my book, it's not a deal breaker if the story isn't great, so i'll go with Bethesda

one more thing, I can count all the games i've played by both of them on one hand, Mass Effect 2, Fallout 3, and Fallout New Vegas, so hardcore fans either way shouldn't take my opinion too seriously.

 

[Spectrum_Prez]

This is how I understand the Bethesda/Bioware thing.

First of all, it should be stressed that both companies have taken long strides away from the Diabloesque grind + loot formula. Those RPGs morphed into MMORPGs and the single-player variety have largely died out, thank goodness. In reality, I don't think either Bethesda or Bioware really care about the leveling and looting part of their games as much as they care about what I've bolded below.

Bioware is a company that cares first and foremost about storytelling, and they are constantly working to perfect that ancient art. Bioware is not interested in making good RPGs, they are interested in making good interactive stories. They use the RPG format as a tool to achieve their goal, but loyalty to the RPG tag is always secondary. That's the only way I can interpret the Mass Effect series' development. Further evidence can be seen in the way they create their levels. Buildings and cities are abstractions with only parts relevant to the story warranting any detail. Almost all levels are linear with a start and an end, just like the chapter of a book.

Bethesda, on the other hand, is primarily concerned with exploration, discovery, and mastery of your environment. Story is always secondary, and is used as a tool to create opportunities for exploration or to flesh out the world. That's why they have had and will probably always have much better side-quests and factions than Bioware. It's also why their main quests usually don't get much love. Every house should have a door, every mountain should be scalable, every cave should have inhabitants or a story behind it. They are all about providing you with a world to fool around in, and the freedom to prioritize what you should do next. The natural downside, of course, is that they often overreach and have to cut costs in terms of NPCs.

As a side note, I don't think Obsidian really understood the Bethesda 'spirit' when they made FNV. Invisible walls are pretty much the polar opposite of what the latter's design philosophy is all about.

 

[IceStar100]

I'd have to say Beth for one real reason. Every Bioware game feel like the same thing. Same story, same parts, Only real change is the actors and the scene.

 

[jacx]

not a fan of RPGs but oblivion is in my top five favorite games and morrowind was entertaining...as for bioware...meh