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Witcher or Mass Effect Series?

Both are great series with a few major flaws, I really really enjoyed both. Both have fantastic game universes as a particular strength. You honestly can't go wrong with either one.

Mass Effect wins for me though. Better combat IMO, and I really enjoyed the squad-mate bonding that happened across multiple games.

Also ME3 MP was my pick for unexpected gem of last generation, came out of nowhere and it was fantastic. I really really wish they hadn't botched it in Dragon Age.
 
For me? Witcher series, im way more into fantasy than sci-fi. Especially with books and games.

Im biased by nostalgia and investment though, considering I played through the Witcher 2 in isolation for 3 days straight during the summer in school and it blew my mind. Now ive started reading the books as well, i just ordered the Tower of Swallows last night on amazon.

I think Witcher 3 and 2 are superior in every way, you can argue Witcher 1 as being lower on the list.
 
Mass Effect hooked me very quickly.

The Witcher, I had to restart 3 times because I never felt the urge to return to it. Even now, I have a save where I made it to Chapter 2 (this is the first game I'm talking about), only to get bored and leave to other games.

I have a feeling that most people here only played The Witcher 2 and 3. I could be wrong about that, but I think the common consensus is that the first one is by far the worst of the series.

In Mass Effect, the first one is certainly less polished, the shooting isn't as good, but the RPG elements are better and some people think the story in ME1 is better than the sequels.

Between these 2 franchises, Mass Effect is the one that captivated me and The Witcher has (so far) failed to do that. Mostly because I feel nothing for any of its characters.
 
EpicBox said:
Mass Effect hooked me very quickly.

The Witcher, I had to restart 3 times because I never felt the urge to return to it. Even now, I have a save where I made it to Chapter 2 (this is the first game I'm talking about), only to get bored and leave to other games.

I have a feeling that most people here only played The Witcher 2 and 3. I could be wrong about that, but I think the common consensus is that the first one is by far the worst of the series.

In Mass Effect, the first one is certainly less polished, the shooting isn't as good, but the RPG elements are better and some people think the story in ME1 is better than the sequels.

Between these 2 franchises, Mass Effect is the one that captivated me and The Witcher has (so far) failed to do that. Mostly because I feel nothing for any of its characters.
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Apropos of nothing, as it isn't all that pertinent, I'll remark that you're comparing a studio's nth game to another studio's first game. It is somewhat amazing that these series are even being compared.
 
Neither are particularly amazing in terms of gameplay (not to say they're bad or anything) but both have excellent world-building and characters. They each have their missteps but you can't really go wrong with either, they both rank among the most enjoyable gaming experiences I've ever had.

Honestly, if you like sci-fi and fantasy equally, then I would just say to flip a coin.
 
Definitely a "why not both" situation, but I'll take ME considering it's my favorite gaming series ever. I adore the characters, the lore, the music...everything.

That being said, Witcher 3 is the current "gold standard" of RPGs in my opinion right now.
 
Insofar as I think both series are worth playing for their respective narratives, the answer is far and away, The Witcher.

Now, ME2 is in my top 5 of all time, maybe my favorite of all time even, and if you do ME1 & 2 vs Witcher 1 & 2, I'd say you've got a no contest win for ME in terms of both narrative and gameplay. I think Witcher 2 is a fairly poor game all things considered, even if it's story is still pretty interesting.

But then you have ME3 and Witcher 3. ME3 puts a black mark on the entire series by not only being a mediocre-to-poor game in just about every way, but it has such a bad ending that it leaves the whole series on a unfortunate note. Witcher 3 on the other hand blows past its original iterations in just about every way and creates an incredibly satisfying ending for the characters and series. It raises the whole series as a result.

So were I to tell someone to jump into one of the two series, its gotta be The Witcher.
 
TheDangerMan said:
Both are great series with a few major flaws, I really really enjoyed both. Both have fantastic game universes as a particular strength. You honestly can't go wrong with either one.

Mass Effect wins for me though. Better combat IMO, and I really enjoyed the squad-mate bonding that happened across multiple games.

Also ME3 MP was my pick for unexpected gem of last generation, came out of nowhere and it was fantastic. I really really wish they hadn't botched it in Dragon Age.
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Does Mass Effect do a good job of making your choices matter trough three games? That would be pretty cool
 
Mass Effect series was good for what it was, but Witcher 3 just blew them all out of the water.

I like ME2 more than Witcher 2 and ME3 and ME1 more than Witcher 1.

So, I guess Mass Effect as a series, but Witcher 3 is better than all of them.
 
RespectThySole said:
None of your choices really matter in Mass Effect. There was a huge amount of outrage towards Mass Effect 3 due to this.
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Not exactly true. Sure, for the ultimate ending the choices didn't matter much, but party members for instance could live or die with certain decisions you made throughout the game.
 
tuxfool said:
Apropos of nothing, as it isn't all that pertinent, I'll remark that you're comparing a studio's nth game to another studio's first game. It is somewhat amazing that these series are even being compared.
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Not sure what that has to do with the games in an absolute comparison sense. I could care less if something is a studio's first or thirtieth project. I'm going to prefer the better game. ME1 is miles better than TW1. That doesn't diminish TW3 or what CDPR does now, it's ok really.
 
You'd be better off comparing Witcher 3 to Dragon Age Inquisition,which I choose the Witcher 100%.

I love the fantasy setting genre and Sci-Fi genre,so apples and oranges for me. Though I will say this,CD Projekt Red is eating Biowares lunch when it comes to story and character development.
 
Pheace said:
Not exactly true. Sure, for the ultimate ending the choices didn't matter much, but party members for instance could live or die with certain decisions you made throughout the game.
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That's true, but I was talking more in the grand scheme of things though. However one of the best moments was
Mordin's death
in ME3.

The thing with some of those deaths is that they just end up leading to template switches that change little, at least for me.
 
I really love Mass Effect 1 and like the series in general (ME3 not so much) but there were subplots in The Witcher 3 that were better than the entire ME franchise.
 
Witcher had it's worst game in the middle but nailed the ending.
Mass Effect just got worse and worse.

I don't have much love left for ME, never had though
 
They're both really fun. Pick one now, beat it.. Then jump to the other. Really doesn't matter what order.

Right now I'm HOOKED to W3. Like, I literally haven't played anything else, not even my sports games.

ME is cool because of the RPG choices and how they effect the storyline. Amazing graphics at the time too.
 
The Witcher 3 is easily better than any of the individual Mass Effect games, but the Mass Effect trilogy in total is a pretty unrivaled narrative experience.

At the end of the day, both series are a must play imo.
 
Play ME1, and play the Witcher games, maybe skipping 1.

ME1 was great sci-fi, ME2 was space nazi fantasy, and ME3 was stupid space fantasy.
TW1 is clunky, and only gets good after ~20hrs; TW2 has a fairly aimless plot, but is still good; I've heard that TW3 is as amazing as TW3.
 
Witcher 2 is one of my favorite RPG's of all time and Witcher 3 is incredible so I'm definitely more of a Witcher guy, but Mass Effect is definitely more up your alley OP. Sounds like story and exposition are things that you have little to no interest in, and in Mass Effect 2 and 3 the writing is reminiscent of a 14 year old's fan fiction that was written on the bus back from the Star Trek convention, so the story is easily ignored there and you can just play the games like shoot bangs and enjoy yourself with little of the experience lost.
 
I like one game in each series, each on the opposite end of their respective trilogy, so it's hard for me to say which I prefer.
While Mass Effect 1 means more to me than The Witcher 3 does, I'd rather see The Witcher series continue, if only because those games improved over time.
 
I prefer Mass Effect. Nothing will ever compare to that first game. I don't think I've ever been able to recapture the sense of wonder I had when playing that game.

The Witcher is great, but I couldn't care less about lore in fantasy games.
 
TheYanger said:
Not sure what that has to do with the games in an absolute comparison sense. I could care less if something is a studio's first or thirtieth project. I'm going to prefer the better game. ME1 is miles better than TW1. That doesn't diminish TW3 or what CDPR does now, it's ok really.
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No shit. I believe I covered that.
 
Mass effect had one great game (2), one good game (3), one decent game (1)
Witcher had 2 ok games (1 and 2) and one amazing masterpiece

overall mass effect, but witcher 3 is better than any mass effect

...........................

but it doesnt really matter, both are fun, cool to play with great story archs and lots of content.

Edit: still miss the mass effect combat, witcher combat is not near as good as it should
 
Wagram said:
If you're a gameplay first type of person then you might not be heavily invested in either series. They're not exactly known for amazing combat. Either way, both are awesome, but I like The Witcher better overall. It's a series that constantly improved.
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ME2 and 3 combat is superb.
 
Can someone explain to me how Mass Effect 1 is miles better than TW1? It isn't, in terms of writing and the gameplay isn't good so what metric are we using here? Is it just the atmosphere because TW1 certainly isn't lacking there either?
 
RespectThySole said:
Can someone explain to me how Mass Effect 1 is miles better than TW1? It isn't, in terms of writing and the gameplay isn't good so what metric are we using here? Is it just the atmosphere because TW1 certainly isn't lacking there either?
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Imo they're both equally poor games. ME2-3 and W2-3 are the definitive titles in each series.
 
RespectThySole said:
Can someone explain to me how Mass Effect 1 is miles better than TW1? It isn't, in terms of writing and the gameplay isn't good so what metric are we using here? Is it just the atmosphere because TW1 certainly isn't lacking there either?
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It does a good job setting up a super interesting universe. Witcher 1 does that too but the Witcher-verse is not that different from your typical fantasy game, and there weren't a lot of new Sci-Fi games around when ME came out.
I wouldn't say it's "miles" better (especially considering they pretty much destroyed everything interesting about the universe in 3) but I can see why people would prefer it.

I don't though, Witcher 1 is awesome.
 
RespectThySole said:
Can someone explain to me how Mass Effect 1 is miles better than TW1? It isn't, in terms of writing and the gameplay isn't good so what metric are we using here? Is it just the atmosphere because TW1 certainly isn't lacking there either?
Click to expand...

I like ME1 better, but find W1 to actually be a great RPG behind the jank and combat. I can't blame anyone for getting fed up in the swamps, but man am I glad I kept plugging away at W1. The climax to The Witcher 1 is one of the most memorable game endings I've seen, period. The final act was simply great.

"That sword is for monsters . . ."
 
Both series are worth a go if you have the time and money to do so. Witcher is probably the best series to jump into though because you can play 3 and while it's nice to know what happened in the first two (I never played the first one) it's not exactly essential, whereas jumping into Mass Effect 3 would be more of a wtf situation and you have to play all three games imo. Witcher's choices are also way more subtle in the most part if that's something you appreciate. The Witcher series wins out for me personally because while 3 isn't a perfect game it closes out well, Mass effect as a series is one that I can't help but think could have been so much more than what it ended up being.
 
Witcher is a better series. And this is someone who prefers Sci fi. Mass Effect 1 is a better game then Witcher 1, but Mass effect 3 is a terrible game, and what an awful send off for the trilogy. Also, Mass Effect stops being an RPG, and becomes a gallery shooter with "another wave" gameplay.
 
RespectThySole said:
Can someone explain to me how Mass Effect 1 is miles better than TW1? It isn't, in terms of writing and the gameplay isn't good so what metric are we using here? Is it just the atmosphere because TW1 certainly isn't lacking there either?
Click to expand...

Mass Effect, despite all its bad shooter jank, had a lot more polish than The Witcher 1. The Witcher 1 played slow, felt clunky, the VA and the sound track never drew me in, everything was muddy. Plus, maybe it was just me, but that game plodded. It took forever to get where it was going, and the scenery on the way, both visual and narrative, was just not that interesting.

Mass Effect had pretty decent visuals, voice acting, and soundtrack right from the get go. We all bitched about the big ass desolate planets with nothing of interest to find, but we all loved the sky boxes. Vigil makes me nostalgic as hell. And it cuts out the fat. If you aren't dicking around with side shit, there's like Eden Prime, the Citadel, and then like 3 main missions before you're in the closing chapter of the game.

Mass Effect changed dramatically from 1 to 2, and I don't mind the removal of most of the 'RPG stuff' that other fans bemoan, but they did chunk a lot of the stuff that worked really well. The narrative in particular was just not as strong. And you will never discover that fantastic universe for the first time ever again. But The Witcher series, from 1 to 2, improved dramatically, in just about every way imaginable. It struck all the notes that I believe the first game had intended to, while Mass Effect 1 had largely already hit its mark.
 
poodaddy said:
Witcher 2 is one of my favorite RPG's of all time and Witcher 3 is incredible so I'm definitely more of a Witcher guy, but Mass Effect is definitely more up your alley OP. Sounds like story and exposition are things that you have little to no interest in, and in Mass Effect 2 and 3 the writing is reminiscent of a 14 year old's fan fiction that was written on the bus back from the Star Trek convention, so the story is easily ignored there and you can just play the games like shoot bangs and enjoy yourself with little of the experience lost.
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I have interest in story and exposition, but if gameplay is atrocious, I'm not going to think its a good game. I'm leaning toward picking up Mass Effect trilogy tomorrow. Is that a remaster on PS3??
 
truestatic said:
Mass Effect, despite all its bad shooter jank, had a lot more polish than The Witcher 1. The Witcher 1 played slow, felt clunky, the VA and the sound track never drew me in, everything was muddy. Plus, maybe it was just me, but that game plodded. It took forever to get where it was going, and the scenery on the way, both visual and narrative, was just not that interesting.
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Fair enough. The Witcher 1 is one of my favourite games of all time because of that distinct Slavic feel. The soundtrack is amazingly atmospheric and the colourful yet bleak graphics evoke that same feeling. The story starts slow indeed but it is really one of the better stories around in gaming, more so because of the excellent chapter 4 and the really satisfying conclusion. It's just such a wonderful world to return to.

Anyway, if you want to play a real trilogy you should go for Mass Effect. The three Witcher games are a trilogy in name only as their stories are stand-alone, especially The Witcher 1. The Witcher 2 serves a bit as a prologue to The Witcher 3 but The Witcher 3 borrows more influence from the books than from previous games. So if you want to be fully prepared go read the books first and then play the games.

The Witcher series is without a doubt the better choice though if you care anything at all about storytelling, atmosphere, writing or characterization.
 
For me, the Witcher series is leaps and bounds beyond what ME has ever done. It's like the difference between a superficial plot and one of substance. Mass effect needs to do a better job of telling a meaningful story.
 
His Majesty said:
Fair enough. The Witcher 1 is one of my favourite games of all time because of that distinct Slavic feel. The soundtrack is amazingly atmospheric and the colourful yet bleak graphics evoke that same feeling. The story starts slow indeed but it is really one of the better stories around in gaming, more so because of the excellent chapter 4 and the really satisfying conclusion. It's just such a wonderful world to return to.
Click to expand...

I feel the same way. One of my favorite moments was when you first meet the v
odyanoi.
The game really hit it's stride in chapter 4.
 
If you can only choose one, then go with The Witcher 3. Great story and characters, interesting missions (even side missions), and the expansions are worth purchasing.

I only say no to Mass Effect because of that damn ME3 ending. Really ruined the trilogy for me.
 
Kevin Shields said:
I have interest in story and exposition, but if gameplay is atrocious, I'm not going to think its a good game. I'm leaning toward picking up Mass Effect trilogy tomorrow. Is that a remaster on PS3??
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Go for it I guess, but I don't think that's a good decision gameplay-wise. Mass Effect 1 has literally awful gameplay. You thought Mass Effect 2's was just okay and Mass Effect 3 has very little redeemable about it.(the combat is one of the few things)

However, although the combat is better in Mass Effect 3 in terms of mechanics, the encounter design isn't great. It's just waves of enemies in a shooting gallery. There are much better shooters to play if that's what you want. If you don't care about the story, world and so on then none of these games are great choices because they're an integral part of the experience.

It's also not a remaster on PS3.
 
His Majesty said:
Fair enough. The Witcher 1 is one of my favourite games of all time because of that distinct Slavic feel. The soundtrack is amazingly atmospheric and the colourful yet bleak graphics evoke that same feeling. The story starts slow indeed but it is really one of the better stories around in gaming, more so because of the excellent chapter 4 and the really satisfying conclusion. It's just such a wonderful world to return to.
Click to expand...

I agree with this, there are very few games that take a fantasy setting and employ Slavic mythos influences as much as Witcher does, most fantasy games are Germanic influenced. Not just the mythos but also just in general names of places and characters, fashion and even architecture is distinctly from Central and Eastern European (since they used real life historical references for inspiration). It's this that I feel makes the Witcher series, particularly the third feel so unique/refreshing because just in theme it's a lot different from any other fantasy RPG.
 
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