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Witcher or Mass Effect Series?

Ultimadrago said:
I don't like trying to sell people on things, so I don't care what you choose honestly. However, The Witcher is the better overall series, since you asked for thoughts on the matter. Unless you just have to shoot a plasma gun. Then I suppose Mass Effect has that battle.
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Right. I could go into a long winded discussion, point for point, but this is a highly subjective topic. I think Mass Effect, and Bioware in general, are paper thin games with bland level design, silly dialog, weak RPG mechanics, etc. That's about the long and short of it.

I think the more interesting topic is that Bioware has degraded as a development company, falling into the same "simplify everything" ideal that Bethesda has. IMO, they haven't made a great game since Mass Effect 1 and Dragon Age 1.
 
brandonh83 said:
I'd argue that Witcher at least has much better writing and actually ends in a satisfying way. They're very different and hard to compare in other ways though. You could bring environments into the conversation, but Witcher is open-world whereas Mass Effect isn't. Combat? Sure, Mass Effect is a pretty competent shooter, but Witcher has an entirely different combat system that's gonna appeal to certain tastes; I enjoy them in different ways. Mass Effect has good characters and lore, but Witcher also has fantastic characters and for me arguably better lore.

I love both, but saying one is "superior in every way" doesn't quite check out as being wholly reasonable. To me. You can have that opinion, though. I will say the first Mass Effect was one of the most pleasantly surprising games I've ever played; it had this retro sci-fi feel that I personally felt the sequels damn near completely lacked. I get that they wanted to streamline it a bit, but in the process that atmosphere was lost, at least for me.
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Witcher 3's final act was pretty dire though. Wild Hunt was a terrible villain set up because they cut so much out of the game. Eredin the big bad guy only says a few words, I couldn't make myself care.
 
jres80 said:
Right. I could go into a long winded discussion, point for point, but this is a highly subjective topic. I think Mass Effect, and Bioware in general, are paper thin games with bland level design, silly dialog, weak RPG mechanics, etc. That's about the long and short of it.

I think the more interesting topic is that Bioware has degraded as a development company, falling into the same "simplify everything" ideal that Bethesda has. IMO, they haven't made a great game since Mass Effect 1 and Dragon Age 1.
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Agree 100%, Bioware has not made a good RPG in a very long time, paper thin indeed.
 
KinofChaos said:
I have never been a big fan of bioware for years or ME in general so witcher for me easily. I didn't think ME was a very good RPG. The choices in ME are largely laid out black and white and it treats the game as a simpleton imo.



Agree to disagree.
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Gamezone said:
The Witcher has much better choices. In Mass Effect you basically have to go full asshole or good guy.
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Agreed on these as well. Mass Effect's choice system doesn't respect the player. It lays out the options clearly(blue good, red bad). The Witcher is better at surprising the player by offering choices that often turn out differently than you expect.
 
They're very different styles so it's difficult to compare, it would be easier if both were sci-fi or vice versa. I love them both.

In any case, The Witcher series advanced with each installment in massive ways in every single area where as in Mass Effect (the first game being my favourite) it regressed with each game. I feel like The Witcher grew as a better RPG with each game where as Mass Effect lost its RPG elements with each game and its story became a mess with 2 and 3. Also The Witcher brought in a much better choice and morale system by far as others pointed out, way superior to Mass Effect's which people kind of held Mass Effect as being the best example of choice/morality where in fact it was very binary compared to the Witcher games, not how choices/morality should be.

Again it's a weird comparison because the first Mass Effect I enjoyed much more than the first Witcher, but I cannot ignore how much as a series and as developers they improved their games where as the total opposite happened for me with Mass Effect. I'd play the first Mass Effect over both the first two Witcher games and I'd rather play The Witcher 3 instead of the last two Mass Effect games if given such a choice after playing all of them.

They're kind of even for me but what makes The Witcher 3 *better* is its massive improvements with each game which I can't feel can be ignored because that's what is expected for any sort of media, games, films, books, etc.
 
Royal_Phalanx said:
Witcher 3's final act was pretty dire though. Wild Hunt was a terrible villain set up because they cut so much out of the game.
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I find that the actual climax of most things like this are pretty dire. Videogames in general, actually, tend to have a very hard time of actually nailing fantastic climaxes/villain confrontations. I have no idea why. It's even a recurring weak aspect of the Uncharted series; you look forward to the climax and villain showdown and it's always the worst fuckin' part of the game. I think a part of the problem is how long these games are as it allows for hours upon hours of buildup, and it's difficult to actually deliver on that much buildup.

I won't say The Witcher III's climax was perfect, but it was a hell of a lot better for me than Mass Effect 3's, by comparison, if we're comparing.
 
I really love both for their worlds, story, and characters. Not much else. If your looking for stellar gameplay, neither of these series should satisfy you imo.
 
RespectThySole said:
Agreed on these as well. Mass Effect's choice system doesn't respect the player. It lays out the options clearly(blue good, red bad). The Witcher is better at surprising the player by offering choices that often turn out differently than you expect.
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I think this is at the heart of my problem w/ ME. They're so focused on letting you role play your character however you want that they have to paint in very broad strokes, and most of the choices end up being cartoonish "I'm good!" or "I'm evil!"

Witcher 3 has the luxury of a pre-defined character, so your choices always come down to "how do I want Geralt to handle this tricky/nuanced situation," and whatever you do will end up highlighting different parts of his character without negating the other elements. He's not a cypher, and that constraint allowed for more grounded story telling I think.

We'll see what CDPR does with a build-your-own character with Cyberpunk though. They may fall afoul of the same problems.
 
I don't really care much for the first two Witcher games, but 3 is better than any of the Mass Effect games. The gameplay in the Witcher 3 never really grabbed me, but the world and storytelling were top notch.

For me Mass Effect 1 is the best of that series. It's kind of clunky gameplay wise, but it's the best realization of that world, and the best story overall in the series. ME2 has better gameplay but the story was pretty weak and felt like they had no idea what to do with the middle part of their trilogy. 3 has the best gameplay and could have been a decent conclusion until the conclusion.
 
YankeeDonB said:
We'll see what CDPR does with a build-your-own character with Cyberpunk though. They may fall afoul of the same problems.
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Aye, I'm almost afraid of how it'll affect the storytelling. They very well could bite off more than they can chew with those options and the reported scale of the game.
 
It's simple really.

Mass Effect: This is a more personalized story, you get to choose how you want to play and create your own version of Shepard. I mean your choices won't mean jack shit at the end, but at least you can pretend they did.

Witcher: Stronger narrative and characters, but you're playing as an established character in the universe with a background and personality. Witcher 2 and 3 are considered among the best in RPGs.
 
Fantasy (Witcher) or Sci-Fi (Mass Effect)?
Best game first, worst last (Mass Effect) or worst game first, best last (Witcher)?
Long ass open games to drown in for a long time (Witcher, esp 3) or a relatively straight forward story (Mass Effect)?
Acting (Mass Effect) or writing (Witcher)?
RPG with action elements (Witcher) or action with RPG elements (Mass Effect)?
Series that grow progressively more linear (Mass Effect) or progressively more open (Witcher)?
 
You can't really call Mass Effect an RPG.
At least not like the Witcher

Its more like a 3rd person shooter with more story than average.
Also the ending was a crock of shit.
 
Goldenroad said:
I agree with your premise and disagree with your conclusion. Mass Effect 1 > The Witcher 1, Mass Effect 2 > The Witcher 2, The Witcher 3 > Mass Effect 3. I think the W goes to Mass Effect.
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this is also true, but for me, me1 is 2 thumbs up and w1 is thumbs up, me2 is 2 thumbs up and w2 is thumbs up, but me3 is 2 thumbs down and w2 is 2 thumbs up, so, mass effect nets 2 thumbs up overall, but witcher nets 4 thumbs up

count da thumbs
 
I would say ME simply because you interact a lot more with a large variety of NPCs and develop some really great relationships in ways that you just don't in The Witcher because you have much greater control over who your Shepard is, unlike Geralt.

I love the Witcher, but your relationship outside of really two or three characters is rather superficial and unimportant, this narrows to just one NPC when you look at the whole series. The characters are all rather well done, but you rarely ever find the depth that Bioware goes to with nearly all of their major NPCs. ME combat is also super fun. ME1 is a bit janky, but ME2/3 are really really fun to play. Witcher is just kind of OK throughout, it gets better with each game, but it's never really great.

Witcher is more consistent in quality overall I would say, but I'd still pick ME because despite having lower lows, it also has a lot higher highs due to the connection you can develop with the world and characters through tons and tons of interactions.
 
Ultimadrago said:
Aye, I'm almost afraid of how it'll affect the storytelling. They very well could bite off more than they can chew with those options and the reported scale of the game.
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Same, and I feel they've really hit their stride w/ story-telling in W3, so I'm a bit disappointed they're switching to such a drastically different structure.
 
The Artisan said:
so how is it sensible to say it's better in "every way"?
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I mean, Mass Effect isn't wrong for not being open world. It's just different. It's fine to think ME is superior by having "zones" but it's a weird comparison as they have totally different environmental directions.
 
brandonh83 said:
I mean, Mass Effect isn't wrong for not being open world. It's just different. It's fine to think ME is superior by having "zones" but it's a weird comparison as they have totally different environmental directions.
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witcher and ME are completely different games. they do have some things in common of course, in that they're both 3rd person, story driven and arpgs, but as far as I know for certain the major similarities end there. so if someone says ME is better "in every way", they should elaborate, because otherwise it doesn't really mean much.
 
Kinda apples and oranges, but The Witcher gives me more out of what I want out of an action RPG. The original Mass Effect is a real favourite but it was clear they were changing direction when the sequel came out.
 
Royal_Phalanx said:
Witcher 3's final act was pretty dire though. Wild Hunt was a terrible villain set up because they cut so much out of the game. Eredin the big bad guy only says a few words, I couldn't make myself care.
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Still better than how Mass Effect handled its final hours. Plus the actual endings are satisfying and feel conclusive.
 
I've only played Witcher 3 and Mass Effect 1 but I'd say Witcher. Mass Effect was a garbage third person shooter with some light RPG elements and the typical Bioware baggage.

On paper Mass Effect should be better (I love scifi), but it's just a shame that it had to be done by developers who have no idea how to make a fun game.
 
ViewtifulJC said:
are you looking for a game with fun combat or a game thats actually a RPG
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Ha normal me would say combat but I'll be suprised if enjoy either series combat? But which series has fun combat?


I'm narrowing it in I think. I'm not compromising in playing whole series because I want the whole experience. Basically all of you say Mass Effect first game is much better than Witcher 1 although Witcher gets better and ME either stays equal or even decreases. Which may make Witcher a slog but with a good payoff and ME easier to playthrough

Two questions. 1. How dated is ME combat compared to ME2 which was kind of frustrating?

2. My favorite part of W3 in 10 hours I played was fighting griffin at White Orchard. But I haven't really fought that many monsters in 10 hours. Is there a variety of cool monster fights like this in the rest of the game?
 
As a series Mass Effect is more consistent in gameplay, game style, and tone. But at its best, the Witcher handily beats it.

Personally I think the Witcher III is better as a start-to-finish experience than the entirety of the Mass Effect series. However if you're explicitly looking for a trilogy, Mass Effect is better at that due to the consistency and cohesiveness. The Witcher games were made over a longer period of time, and each with a different goal than the next one.
 
Mass effect actually wasn't able to catch my attention, I tried playing it and couldn't get into it. Witcher on the other hand since the first one with the crappy combat and wonky A.I I still felt more captivated and more drawn in than I ever did with mass effect.
 
I loved RPGs in general and, if time weren't an issue, I'd recommend both. However, one thing you need to keep in mind is your own patience for complexity. BioWare streamlined a lot of the RPG mechanics as the Mass Effect series evolved, so it's a decent shooter with some RPG systems thrown into the mix.

Witcher can get very complicated if you let it, between finding and upgrading gear, mixing decoctions and other potions, all the crafting, and the skill selection... It gets much more detail oriented comparatively speaking. It's also a much longer game, with a million, buzillion sidequests. I love it for all that content, but I can see how asking that much time of a player to "get the most out of a game" may be off putting for some if they just want to sit down and have a good time.

The Mass Effect trilogy, with each subsequent game, demands less of the player The Witcher series is in some ways the opposite. So take your pick.
 
Kevin Shields said:
Ha normal me would say combat but I'll be suprised if enjoy either series combat? But which series has fun combat?


I'm narrowing it in I think. I'm not compromising in playing whole series because I want the whole experience. Basically all of you say Mass Effect first game is much better than Witcher 1 although Witcher gets better and ME either stays equal or even decreases. Which may make Witcher a slog but with a good payoff and ME easier to playthrough

Two questions. 1. How dated is ME combat compared to ME2 which was kind of frustrating?

2. My favorite part of W3 in 10 hours I played was fighting griffin at White Orchard. But I haven't really fought that many monsters in 10 hours. Is there a variety of cool monster fights like this in the rest of the game?
Click to expand...
ME1's gameplay is borderline unplayable and that's being generous.
 
Kevin Shields said:
Ha normal me would say combat but I'll be suprised if enjoy either series combat? But which series has fun combat?


I'm narrowing it in I think. I'm not compromising in playing whole series because I want the whole experience. Basically all of you say Mass Effect first game is much better than Witcher 1 although Witcher gets better and ME either stays equal or even decreases. Which may make Witcher a slog but with a good payoff and ME easier to playthrough

Two questions. 1. How dated is ME combat compared to ME2 which was kind of frustrating?

2. My favorite part of W3 in 10 hours I played was fighting griffin at White Orchard. But I haven't really fought that many monsters in 10 hours. Is there a variety of cool monster fights like this in the rest of the game?
Click to expand...

White Orchard is basically the tutorial zone. You really haven't seen anything yet. Mass Effect 1's combat is total garbage. If you enjoy that game, it definitely won't be for it's combat. I can tell you that much.

CHC said:
As a series Mass Effect is more consistent in gameplay, game style, and tone. But at its best, the Witcher handily beats it.

Personally I think the Witcher III is better as a start-to-finish experience than the entirety of the Mass Effect series. However if you're explicitly looking for a trilogy, Mass Effect is better at that due to the consistency and cohesiveness. The Witcher games were made over a longer period of time, and each with a different goal than the next one.
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Yup.
 
diaspora said:
ME1's gameplay is borderline unplayable and that's being generous.
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Never really had this problem haha

Only thing that sucks for me was inventory management. Not saying it was perfect but I found it perfectly playable. There were some technical issues, but I did like how it fused shooting with RPG mechanics. You still aim and shoot and it worked but it didn't feel like a third person shooter per se.

Anyway yeah, the combat never bothered me in ME1 and the atmosphere/art/music was so much better than in the following ones. Really hoping Andromeda goes back to that but with more refined gameplay.
 
Watch a video or read the story of previous games then continue Witcher 3 and the 2 expansions until the release of Persona 5.
 
YankeeDonB said:
I think this is at the heart of my problem w/ ME. They're so focused on letting you role play your character however you want that they have to paint in very broad strokes, and most of the choices end up being cartoonish "I'm good!" or "I'm evil!"

Witcher 3 has the luxury of a pre-defined character, so your choices always come down to "how do I want Geralt to handle this tricky/nuanced situation," and whatever you do will end up highlighting different parts of his character without negating the other elements. He's not a cypher, and that constraint allowed for more grounded story telling I think.

We'll see what CDPR does with a build-your-own character with Cyberpunk though. They may fall afoul of the same problems.
Click to expand...

I have the same fears for Cyberpunk. Time will tell.
 
I've played and enjoyed both, but I do have a greater attachment to the Mass Effect games because they got me through a lot of boredom and crappy highschool days.
 
I'd say ME. I only played Witcher 3. Beat all ME.

I haven't been able to beat Witcher a second time and have no real interest in the DLC.

I beat every ME more than 3 times.

Then again I can appreciate that, qaulity wise, Witcher more than holds its own against ME.

So...it comes down to setting.

Planet jumping Sci fi space opera or
Town jumping old timey village opera.

Setting is king.
 
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