The reason why people hate Obsidian Entertainment

[Proverbial Jon]

*Bethesda did the QA testing for Fallout: New Vegas.

*Obsidian were using Bethesda's engine to make the game (an engine that only one person on their team had ever used before).

*Bethesda gave Obsidian a smaller budget and time-frame to make New Vegas.

Now, putting those facts (yes, facts) into consideration, and considering how buggy Fallout 3 was, I think Obsidian did the best that they could do and should not receive all of the blame for New Vegas' bugginess.

Yes the make buggy games, but so do Bethesda, and in terms of Fallout: New Vegas, the bugginess is not 100% Obsidian's fault.

I did not know these things. Thanks for the info, now I can be about 1% less prejudiced and/or wrong, yay!

But seriously, on a personal experience level, I didn't actualy notice that many bugs in Fallout 3. I encountered ONE which crashed my game and forced me to restart from a previous save. But when I heard everyone on the internet complain about how buggy Fallout 3 was, I was honestly surprised. I guess it's all down to individual experiences but I had a lot more trouble with New Vegas.

But I hear you, Obsidian did a damn fine job and I am still more likely to play NV again over FO3, despite the bugginess.

 

[zileas7]

I only played KOTOR 1 and 2, and the only reason I liked the first better was because it was complete. KOTOR 2 was rushed out to catch the holiday sales surge and it shows. Not only is Malachor V pretty anti-climactic, but the you could see stuff throughout the whole game that had to be cut. But even with all the cut content and bugs, I still almost liked it better than the first. The story was shades of grey, the companion characters were better written, and the atmosphere was dark and haunting, really conveying the feeling that you were being hunted down by something incredibly powerful. If only they could have finished it, we'd be praising it now as being one of the sequels that improves the original in every conceivable way.

 

[ChupathingyX]

Fallout 3
Fallout New Vegas
Alpha Protocol

That's why I hate Obsidian.

1. Obsidian did not make Fallout 3.

2. You didn't say why you dislike Obsidian. From your post it seems you hate them because they made two games, which isn't exactly a thrilling arguement.

 

[orangeban]

Oh, you don't understand why someone dislikes something you like so you resort to basically calling them stupid (which is the same as saying they don't like uniqueness or moral grayness)

Here are my big issues with New Vegas, KOTOR 2 and... that spy thing I've forgotten the name of.

NV: BROKEN
KOTOR 2: UNFINISHED
SPY THING: BROKEN

 

[Stew Coard]

I haven't played KOTOR 2 but I don't think portraying the Jedi and Sith's morality as open to interpretation. If they merely showed that the Jedi weren't perfect that's fair enough, but if they made it so that the Sith could be seen as the good guy's if you chose then that would not be cool. The original star wars narrative was literally black and white and that's the way some stories are (like LOTR). Not everything needs grey morality (video games certainly do though, especially RPGs).

 

[IamLEAM1983]

As far as narrative structure goes, Obsidian comes up with much more complex settings than the parent developers of the franchises they end up working on. The problem is that their QA department isn't really up to par. Anyone remember Neverwinter Nights 2? It was a great game as far as the story alone was concerned, but there's no denying that it was a poorly optimized software overall, requiring patch after patch after patch.

I love New Vegas for the gray areas which the OP assumes people just don't like. What I don't like about New Vegas consists of the often game-breaking bugs and the incessant crashes to desktop. Beyond that, it's a great game.

As far as Alpha Protocol goes, it's another case of a project that should've gotten more TLC but that was rushed out the door. The way the story unfolds is interesting, but the gameplay is woefully lacking.

To poster above me: Obsidian didn't make Fallout 3. That's Bethesda Softworks.

 

[jthm]

Um... most people prefer Obsidian's stories to the originals - it's mostly just the, you know, gamebreaking bugs that people don't like...

And stop with the whole 'holier-than-thou' attitude. In my book, anyone who refers to 'people' as if he is not one of them too has a serious superiority complex.

This. When a group of people get together and spend years trying to fix your broken but released game, clearly they like your story telling enough to try and fix the bugs for you.

 

[Bluntman1138]

Most of you have probably noticed that most people generally doesn't like Obsidian's stories


Eample 1: Kotor 1 and Kotor 2

Kotor 1
Aside from that big plot twist near the end, this is a completely generic Star Wars story

1. The Sith appear from nowhere with a strong army and overwhelm the republic and the Jedi

2. Some unexpected twist that is completely out of the control of the good guys happen that slowly turn the tide( Malak betraying Revan )

3. The Republic wins and everything goes back to normal

Note: All the time the Jedi as perfect monks who are completely calm and certain of their victory because they are good and the Sith are bad and the light side is stronger etc

You could apply this to almost any Star Wars story

Main point here. What is YOUR definition of a "generic Star Wars story". Kotor 1 was hardly "generic" in any sense.

1. The Sith didnt appear from nowhere. Maybe if you paid attention during the game, you would have learned after the Mandlorian War, those that turned to the Dark Side left the Republic behind. (Not to mention the Sith that was already around) Mainly so they could get the Star Forge up an running.

2. SO the "twist" that the player is actually Revan was "out of the Jedi's hands". Considering it was the Jedi that did all this.

3.Hmm, i remember in the game i played the Republic DID NOT WIN! And according to Kotor 2, the Republic DID NOT go back to normal in any way, no matter what ending in 1 you choose.

note: The Jedi imo, were never portrayed as "Perfect Monks". Arrogant yes, but their actions prove they were not "perfect".

You see a "generic Star Wars story" would be one that has been told already before. No where in Star Wars books, comics, or films have any of this been portrayed.

And Kotor 2 had so many bugs in it, it didnt matter what the story was. Even though it failed in the end story wise, it would have been beter if the bugs wrrent there, and the game actually ran at a decent FPS.

 

[sms_117b]

I have to agree with the posts I've read here countering the OP, I dislike Obsidian games for their lack of completeness & bug testing.

Luckily I got New Vegas on the PS, modded it out the park and like Mr Burns carrying every disease know to man and them all cancelling out, New Vegas is now stable.

New Vegas, although it took some time to grow on me, I place above FO3, the story, well stories are amazing, the morality is different due to factions, it all works really well, it's just bitsof unmarked quests arn't finished and the vanilla game is so buggy it breaks a lot.

 

[Risingblade]

Its the freaking game breaking bugs! That and the fact that while they are great at stories they suck at adding those special little moments like random encounters

 

[DarkRyter]

No, here's the reason why people hate Obsidian Entertainment.

They don't.

 

[Robert Ewing]

There's nothing wrong with taking liberties with aspects of the story that have not been written yet. As long as it's approved by the original writers, and fits into the continuum nicely, then whats the harm in it?

 

[ProtoChimp]

I can really only hope that this is a troll thread.

*sigh* Nah mate, unfortunately this has been a regular occurence lately. I take back everything I said about this being "the best site on the internet". Willful ignorance is not bliss my friend.

 

[Strixvaliano]

When I saw the article title I was going to say but the bugs aren't that bad for me to hate on them. I loved New Vegas more than Fallout 3, I can't really say that for KoToR II since I tried playing it but I was burnt out on KoToR and II felt too much like been there, done that from the first.

I don't think anything is particularly wrong with their storytelling and most gamers get up in arms about them because of their bugs not the stories.

 

[WaysideMaze]

I'm gonna side with most here,and say it's not the stories people hate, but the game breaking bugs. Most companies wouldn't even release obsidian games as beta tests,never mind a final release.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

i could swear this is a troll post...but for some reason, i think your just that arrogant.


people do not hate obsidian because of their stories or mechanics, they "dislike" them because of their QA and bugs that litter their games (i don't mind so much as long as i can chug thru it with careful saving)


and it's getting very very old seeing people say new vegas was developed by bethesda or fallout 3 was developed by obsidian...

dammit people, they are two completely different games/companies! get it right -_-

 

[ArcossG]

I have been reading the comments, I understand now that I shouldn't have written this post that way and I apologize if I offended anyone.

 

[Amnesiac Pigeon]

I'm not a fan of New Vegas because the dialogue was some of the most dull I've heard in a game.

Which doesn't help me appreciate the morally ambiguous story they laid out.

The only character I found memorable was the Yes Man. Because he freaked me the hell out when I found him.

Don't think I've played any other Obsidian game. Maybe they have better characters in them?