Mass Effect or Oblivion?

[sheemone00]

I just got an XBox 360 Elite and I was looking to buy an RPG game sometime soon.

From the research I've done, Mass Effect and Oblivion are the two best choices.

Help me choooose!

(I like both Sci-Fi and Medieval themes equally)

 

[imported_Imp]

Mass Effect: It's newer and flashier.

Oblivion is already bargain bin after 2 expansions and almost two years since release. Pick it up also in post-Christmas deals?

 

[gorcorps]

Originally posted by: Imp
Mass Effect: It's newer and flashier.

Oblivion is already bargain bin after 2 expansions and almost two years since release. Pick it up also in post-Christmas deals?

Well oblivion+2 expansions is NOT bargain bin (at least not where I've seen it). Oblivion on it's own maybe...

I haven't played ME yet, but I believe Oblivion would give you a lot more game w/ the expansions. But the ME story is quite a bit better.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: gorcorps

Well oblivion+2 expansions is NOT bargain bin

Oblivion GOTY edition (kotn & si) is still holding steady at ~$60, at least for the PS3 (do not know about the 360).

 

[imported_Imp]

Woops, I meant "bargain bin" metaphorically as in lowER quality and old. I played all of Oblivion + expansions on PC and it's still spectacular for the first 100 hours.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Story driven, party-based PRG: Mass Effect

Sandbox, solo, wander-around RPG that's fun but without a strong story: Oblivion

Oblivion wins on hours-of-play-per-dollar if you don't mind wandering around by yourself.

 

[ponyo]

I bought a new copy of Oblivion for PS3 for $20. This game is worth the full price.

 

[CKDragon]

If this thread was Oblivion on the PC vs. Mass Effect on the 360, I would go with Oblivion on the PC. However, without the possibility to install btmod and other customizations, Oblivion on the 360 is not as good as the Mass Effect experience.

 

[AVP]

Oblivion is terrible in my opinion.

 

[dighn]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Story driven, party-based PRG: Mass Effect

Sandbox, solo, wander-around RPG that's fun but without a strong story: Oblivion

Oblivion wins on hours-of-play-per-dollar if you don't mind wandering around by yourself.

Looks like pretty accurate and objective descriptions to me. Obviously both types have their followers so really it comes down to your own preference.

 

[Dumac]

Oblivion, on the console, is TERRIBLE. I hated it on the PC, and had to heavily mod almost everything in the game.

Mass Effect is a decent game. Perhaps not the greatest RPG, but still decent.

 

[Kromis]

There needs to be an option for "Both"

 

[sheemone00]

Originally posted by: Kromis
There needs to be an option for "Both"

I'll probably get both eventually, but I'm trying to decide which to buy first.

 

[swaytech]

Before my 360 RROD'd I got to play Mass Effect a little and it was amazing, much better then oblivion

 

[WraithETC]

I wouldn't say Mass Effect is better than Oblivion.

While Mass Effect has a great story it suffers most every where else. Its like oblivion opposite sort of.

Combat:
- clunky most of the time since most fights take place in close proximity and the enemy usually does a retarded zerg rush.
- The car rover thing you have to drive... well its just werid. Granted its not super frustrating but I wouldn't describe it as fun either.
+Biotic Powers are fun and Gunplay is alright on normal. On hard your basically shooting at damage sponges with your super immunity on.

Side Quest:
- Not interesting, most of them are chores. You end up visiting bland planets or text screens only to fight the same enemies over and over again. You also have to drive around the planets in the stupid rover while your at it and sometimes its a longer than necessary trip.

Conclusion:
Mass Effect will draw you in with its story and unique dialogue system so much that you will end up focusing on that aspect of the game entirely. The rest of the game is filler and is only interesting if you get hooked into the "treasure hunter" mind set since you need to do other sidequests to get money for better armor etc.

Oblivion on the other hand has a weak main story. So it relies much more heavily on the fun of exploring ("treasure hunter") and it does it well. You can gain all types of weapons, become head of a powerful guild, own your own castle and buy horses etc.

The quests compared to the Mass Effect side quests are most of the time more interesting especially for certain guilds in the game like the "Assassin" club.

The combat is on par or slightly worse than Mass Effect since its just kind of generic first person slashing fest.

The worse thing about oblivion is that all monsters level with you. This is bad since it negates the feeling of becoming all powerful as you level. Sometimes you even get relatively weaker. This for me at least was only apparent far into the game when I was already like 40 hours in.

So all in all I find them equally good games. The people that tell one is better than the other obviously prize aspects of each game differently.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

should i get oblivion for the ps3? its 23 bucks at CC.

 

[bl4ckfl4g]

I prefer Mass Effect. I specifically prefer the setting, story, combat, and dialog in ME.

 

[thraashman]

Originally posted by: WraithETC
I wouldn't say Mass Effect is better than Oblivion.

While Mass Effect has a great story it suffers most every where else. Its like oblivion opposite sort of.

Combat:
- clunky most of the time since most fights take place in close proximity and the enemy usually does a retarded zerg rush.
- The car rover thing you have to drive... well its just werid. Granted its not super frustrating but I wouldn't describe it as fun either.
+Biotic Powers are fun and Gunplay is alright on normal. On hard your basically shooting at damage sponges with your super immunity on.

Side Quest:
- Not interesting, most of them are chores. You end up visiting bland planets or text screens only to fight the same enemies over and over again. You also have to drive around the planets in the stupid rover while your at it and sometimes its a longer than necessary trip.

Conclusion:
Mass Effect will draw you in with its story and unique dialogue system so much that you will end up focusing on that aspect of the game entirely. The rest of the game is filler and is only interesting if you get hooked into the "treasure hunter" mind set since you need to do other sidequests to get money for better armor etc.

Oblivion on the other hand has a weak main story. So it relies much more heavily on the fun of exploring ("treasure hunter") and it does it well. You can gain all types of weapons, become head of a powerful guild, own your own castle and buy horses etc.

The quests compared to the Mass Effect side quests are most of the time more interesting especially for certain guilds in the game like the "Assassin" club.

The combat is on par or slightly worse than Mass Effect since its just kind of generic first person slashing fest.

The worse thing about oblivion is that all monsters level with you. This is bad since it negates the feeling of becoming all powerful as you level. Sometimes you even get relatively weaker. This for me at least was only apparent far into the game when I was already like 40 hours in.

So all in all I find them equally good games. The people that tell one is better than the other obviously prize aspects of each game differently.

I think the main story to Oblivion is actually pretty good, but if you play straight through the main story it would end up being relatively short. In fact, I've never tried it. I start the main story then spend hours and hours doing side quests and random exploring. The leveling thing is a pain in Oblivion, but at the same time items you get level as well. You'll find better weapons and armor as you reach higher levels, and the magic items you find almost always level with you.

Hell, my Oblivion character is level 40 or so, and I'm almost invincible. The key to making an invincible character in Oblivion is your equipment. Enchanting armor using the sigil stones, I have a character that is immune to magic, has an armor rating 100 pts higher than the max rating you can get with all Daedric armor, reflects 60% of damage taken and 35% of magic damage. In addition if I feel like being sneaky I can do a quick switch of my rings and necklace and have over 100% chameleon, making me effectively permanently invisible. Basically what I'm saying is that Oblivion opens up alot to you to be customizable, making your gameplay at high levels still interesting despite enemies leveling with you.

I should also mention that I've only played Oblivion on PC since I've yet to get me a 360. I fully plan on picking up Mass Effect on 360 when I get one, at which point I hope it's dropped in price.

 

[batmang]

basically... mass effect is awesome.. oblivion is stupid.

 

[warcrow]

Originally posted by: Imp
Mass Effect: It's newer and flashier.

Oblivion is already bargain bin after 2 expansions and almost two years since release. Pick it up also in post-Christmas deals?

What a horrible reason to base a suggestion. Just because a game has been out for a few years does not mean that it quality has been automatically degraded. Infact, I would argue the opposite to a certain extent and that perhaps it's chances of being more polished are increased. Also, like you clearly stated--Oblivion is cheaper.

Oblivion proper has (arguably) much more content than Mass Effect. I put 130 hours in to Oblivion and that was without doing all (but did most) side quests. Now add in the expansion (shivering Isles) and the DLC, which is completely optional, and that number goes up even higher. I would probably tack on atleast another 30-40 hours of game time with those (this was all done with one character). I have two more saves with two competely different classes and have no idea how much time I put in to those, but it was minor.

Mass Effect, on the other hand, I've compelted twice now (yes, already). The first run through (Paragon), I dabbled in the side quests and completed the game in 19 hours. My second play through (Renegade), was completed in 42 hours since I comepleted most of the side quests (but not all). Adding both of those up play throughs basically equates to about 1/2 the game time of a single Oblivion game.

I want to add that I think the side quests in Oblivion are significantly more enjoable and varied than Mass Effects. I couldt believe that almost all (maybe it is 100%?) the sides quests in ME use cookie-cutter builds and planets (it's really the same looking stuff over and over and over) but with texture and pallet swaps.

I think that both games are really fantastic (obviously) and do bring both pros and cons to the table--but telling someone to buy a game because it's newer and flashier kills me.

 

[Jahee]

Just got Mass Effect for christmas.. What an amazing game! Really impressed with it. In a way it reminds me a little of Deus Ex in that theres so many twists and turns to the game, the story is so in depth and its so interactive.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: sheemone00

Originally posted by: Kromis
There needs to be an option for "Both"

I'll probably get both eventually, but I'm trying to decide which to buy first.

Oblivion is cheaper. Buy it first, its a fantastic game. By the time you're ready for another RPG, hopefully the price will have dropped on mass effect.

 

[sheemone00]

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: sheemone00

Originally posted by: Kromis
There needs to be an option for "Both"

I'll probably get both eventually, but I'm trying to decide which to buy first.

Oblivion is cheaper. Buy it first, its a fantastic game. By the time you're ready for another RPG, hopefully the price will have dropped on mass effect.

Well the price isn't much of a factor because I was thinking of buying the GOTY version so I can get the expansion with it at the same time.

 

[KentState]

Mass Effect was a little too short for my tastes. It only took 16 hours to beat ME while doing some of the side quests. I would have done more, but it was really boring and I just couldn't get into them. I did however like the constant change of atmosphere when doing the main quest. There are different classes of weapons, but nothing to varied and I felt the armor graphics are a little ordinary. The story didn't really have many suprises for me so I'm not sure why people say it has twists and turns.

With Oblivion, I spent around 45 hours playing the majority of the base game, but did not complete the theives guild quest line. I even used the strategy guide which usually saves time. Something about the game made me just want to complete each quest. The armor is varied and there is a decent amount of spells, weapons, and potions. The story was also straight forward, but there is a lot of reading material and back story to pick up. You could spend hours just reading the various books in the game.

Overall, I would buy Oblivion first and wait for ME to drop in price. Just get the base Oblivion for $20 and buy the expansions later if you decide to keep playing. Hopefully, ME will drop in price and include future DLC.

 

[imported_Imp]

Originally posted by: warcrow

Originally posted by: Imp
Mass Effect: It's newer and flashier.

Oblivion is already bargain bin after 2 expansions and almost two years since release. Pick it up also in post-Christmas deals?

What a horrible reason to base a suggestion. Just because a game has been out for a few years does not mean that it quality has been automatically degraded. Infact, I would argue the opposite to a certain extent and that perhaps it's chances of being more polished are increased. Also, like you clearly stated--Oblivion is cheaper.

Oblivion proper has (arguably) much more content than Mass Effect. I put 130 hours in to Oblivion and that was without doing all (but did most) side quests. Now add in the expansion (shivering Isles) and the DLC, which is completely optional, and that number goes up even higher. I would probably tack on atleast another 30-40 hours of game time with those (this was all done with one character). I have two more saves with two competely different classes and have no idea how much time I put in to those, but it was minor.

Mass Effect, on the other hand, I've compelted twice now (yes, already). The first run through (Paragon), I dabbled in the side quests and completed the game in 19 hours. My second play through (Renegade), was completed in 42 hours since I comepleted most of the side quests (but not all). Adding both of those up play throughs basically equates to about 1/2 the game time of a single Oblivion game.

I want to add that I think the side quests in Oblivion are significantly more enjoable and varied than Mass Effects. I couldt believe that almost all (maybe it is 100%?) the sides quests in ME use cookie-cutter builds and planets (it's really the same looking stuff over and over and over) but with texture and pallet swaps.

I think that both games are really fantastic (obviously) and do bring both pros and cons to the table--but telling someone to buy a game because it's newer and flashier kills me.

It's probably just me, but I find it difficult to play "old" stuff. When I can force myself to do it, I enjoy it, but the idea that I have to endure "older" tech bothers me. Like Fallout and Morrowind, each of which I adored for years, I can't bring myself to re-touch.