Compare Fallout 3 to Mass Effect for me

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Kahnvex

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Here's my deal. Right now I'm playing Fallout 3 on my 360. I'm enjoying almost everything about it. I'd give it a 90% if you want an idea numerically.

I generally like RPG's but this is the first one that's really hooked me in quite some time, the kind of hooked where you want to explore every nook and cranny and absorb all that you can find in the game.

I have a friend who is playing Mass Effect currently and he's telling me that it's absolutely fantastic, the kicker is that he normally hates RPG's. I was a little surprised that he liked Mass Effect, and based on the fact that it managed to suck him in, I'm planning on giving it a shot when I'm done with FO3.

I was not a person who fell in love with the KOTOR series, and thats why I didn't jump for Mass Effect when it debuted. KOTOR seemed to reach a point (for me) where there was too much "go talk to a guy" which led to "go talk to another guy" without enough kick-ass inbetween. I really like the setting and the theme, but for some reason the gameplay just couldn't quite hold me. I didn't hate it though.

So I'm just wondering if any of you who've played both would compare them favorably, or if they're just totally different slants on the RPG formula.

Oh, and is the PC version improved enough to warrant paying more for it over a $15 copy on the 360 when you throw graphics out of the equation?
 
I didn't like Fall Out 3. And I didn't like KoTOR either. Though I wanna try it again.... but maybe later. Anyway... I liked Mass Effect, but you probably wouldn't like it, since there is quite a bit of talk to one guy talk to another type things going on. Unless you go for primary missions, then it's not so bad, lots of ass kicking.
 
I didn't like KOTOR at all, and I loved Mass Effect.

Just don't bother with the side missions.
 
If you enjoyed FO3 I think you'll like ME. There is definately character developement, but it isn't like KOTOR. There are people you have to talk to, but they don't turn them into endless streams. The main missions will suck you right in. The side missions are pretty cool to, but they can become monotenous after a while. The constant planet exploration for example, got boring for me. They are however, completely optional. You'll make more money and find more goodies if you explore, but it isn't required to progress the story (check some guides though, there are a couple places that provide special items or unlocks).
 
Mass Effect plays very much like a kotor game, so if you hated it for the gameplay style, You probably wouldn't like Mass Effect so much either. Maybe see if your friend will let you play it for a couple of hours...
 
chameleoneel said:
Mass Effect plays very much like a kotor game, so if you hated it for the gameplay style, You probably wouldn't like Mass Effect so much either. Maybe see if your friend will let you play it for a couple of hours...
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The thing I didn't like about Kotor was what another poster referred to as "endless dialogue streams". I enjoyed the locales and the way the game played, combat was fine. I can't remember exactly what part I got fed up on but I think it was Taris that wore me the F out.

Up to that point in the game I like quite a bit of what I was up to in the game. Exploration of things and non-linear questing is something I enjoy a lot, one of the reasons I'm enjoying Fallout I think.

He's going to be playing it for a while, I'm pretty sure. Maybe I'll be done with fallout by then. The games' pretty cheap used, and I heard they are re-releasing a version with the dlc already included, so I might just keep an eye out for that.

I think I'm tired of action games, so I've sort of reverted back into RPG mode. I'm of the mindset that Cod:WaW is responsible for my regression
 
Mass Effect is very overrated, I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. Main quest is short (about 10 hours), but by that stage I was glad it ended so I could uninstall it. I hated the monotonous side quests, all planets seemed the same, empty and insipid. Combat is meant to be tactical but as far as I could tell it required zero skill. Graphics are shoddy, poor quality textures throughout. Mass Effect was developed on the consoles first and foremost and it shows in every aspect of the game design. I could go on and on.... but I won't
 
Fallout 3 is an open world style (sandbox is probably too strong a word, but you get the idea) game with tons to do and alot of choice about how you push your way through the world.

Mass effect has a tightly driven single player storyline with not a huge amount to do if your not following it. That said, the story is well written, you feel your choices have a tangible effect on the world around you and its alot of fun. Kind of like an fps with rpg bits bolted on really. I had a ton of fun with it.
 
stueyG said:
Fallout 3 is an open world style (sandbox is probably too strong a word, but you get the idea) game with tons to do and alot of choice about how you push your way through the world.

Mass effect has a tightly driven single player storyline with not a huge amount to do if your not following it. That said, the story is well written, you feel your choices have a tangible effect on the world around you and its alot of fun. Kind of like an fps with rpg bits bolted on really. I had a ton of fun with it.
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fo3 = gta type world

mass effect = shenmue type of world(can roam around a close confined area)
 
I loved all 3, ME KoTOR and F03, first 2 were great Fallout 3 could be but it is a buggy piece of crap codewise. Some people have no issues, some people can't play it. I'm one of the ones that can't.

Mass Effect has a kick ass storyline and some truly great moments. When I finished the game the end sequence made me stand up and cheer !!! That's never happened in a game before for me. There is a ton of reading to do in ME but I love reading so for me that was a plus, it really sucked me into the story.I have to agree the side quests pretty much sucked and driving the damn vehicle planetside was a major pain mostly because of how the damn terrain was designed.

I loved Star Wars Knights of The Old Republic, 1 and 2, though 2 was fairly buggy in spots. For me though it felt like I was living inside of a Star Wars movie. And when I became a super powerful full blown Jedi Knight,or full blown Sith Lord, whoa !!!! Force push a whole room of bad guys back accross the room, and LOVED the lightsaber battles. Played both Light and Dark sides all the way through, force choking and killing someone with lightning from your fingers never gets old.

Fallout 3 could be great if Bethesda ever gets off of their lazy asses and fixes the fucking game.

And for the nimrod above that said Mass Effect did not look good graphics wise, he must be smoking crack, because on my 24" Sammy with all the settings cranked the game is damn gorgeous.
 
I have not yet played FO3 but I LOVED Mass Effect and played both KOTOR games. MEs main quest is great, the side missions are all basically the same, go to planet, drive the crappy MAKO, kill dudes in some underground thing, rinse, repeat. The side missions really help to level you up but can be skipped. The main quest by itself is a little short but its a damn good story. Really sucks you in.

All the being said go to gamestop or any other store for that matter. Its now 20 bucks new or 15 used. At that price point it is a no brainer!
 
Fallout 3 = Endless mods make the game fun forever
Mass Effect = one play through, and it's over
 
I loved KOTOR and Mass Effect. As stated before they main quest is very strong, but not terribly long. It does have enough dialogue for character progression. However to me what really made it different was that the choices you made can determine who lives and dies.

Besides the conversation, Mass Effect and KOTOR play a lot differently. Mass Effect is more third person shooter with RPG elements. Rather than a Third Person RPG with dice rolls.

Mass Effect is also pretty. And it runs very well on lower hardware.


Kahnvex said:
The thing I didn't like about Kotor was what another poster referred to as "endless dialogue streams". I enjoyed the locales and the way the game played, combat was fine. I can't remember exactly what part I got fed up on but I think it was Taris that wore me the F out.
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Taris was the first world? Easily the most boring part of the game.
 
People say it's like kotor, and it is, except for the combat. The combat is totally different. You now shoot, with crosshairs, like with FO3. If you didn't like kotor, this may have been a big reason, and if so that has completely changed. I reccomend ME very highly.

BladeVenom said:
Fallout 3 = Endless mods make the game fun forever
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You might be able to extend the life a bit, but fun forever is just not true at all.
 
The feel of the game is very different, in my opinion. Mass Effect was much more upbeat than Fallout 3. If you go out into the outside areas of Fallout, it seemed very sad to me, just depressing as hell. In ME you get to save the Citadel and everyone on it. The controls for the vehicle are much better on the PC version, using the thumbsticks on the 360 about drove me crazy!
 
mass effect has a story that really drives the game. its my favorite 360 game. fallout i'm enjoying right now, after not having played it for a few months. for me, it's obnoxious because i keep getting distracted by other sidequests and new places to explore and shit.

not that the mass effect sidequests weren't monotonous, but at least i know they'll end.

my biggest gripe with fallout is that i hit level 20 really early, and now everything is too easy, and fights are almost pointless.
 
I loved Fallout 3, but I couldn't stand Mass Effect and never finished it. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
 
Q-BZ said:
Fallout 3 = buggy as hell

Mass Effect = not buggy as hell
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heh, I wasn't able to get Mass Effect to install on Vista 64. To finish the game I ended up having to run a temp partition with Vista 32. Whereas Fallout 3 has behaved really well. Every computer is different, it happens. I like both games quite a bit.
 
If nothing else you've all at least convinced me to try out ME regardless of whether I think I'll like it or not. I'm also tempted to break out KOTOR and give another run at it.

I know I didn't quit on the first level... I'd been to the water planet, Dantooine, had done the tusken raider quest, had gotten the ship filled with "tribbles" etc.

I can't recall where or why I stopped clearly now, but I could swear Taris fits the bill when I wikipedia it.
 
I started Fallout 3 this week, so far loving it. I just wish it wasn't so buggy. Very disappointing to see so many problems but they pushed $10 DLC out the door.

Anyways, I'm with you on trying out Mass Effect, but I did like KOTOR. I figured $20 with only Steam DRM, it seemed a good deal to me.
 
eurin said:
I started Fallout 3 this week, so far loving it. I just wish it wasn't so buggy. Very disappointing to see so many problems but they pushed $10 DLC out the door.

Anyways, I'm with you on trying out Mass Effect, but I did like KOTOR. I figured $20 with only Steam DRM, it seemed a good deal to me.
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I've gotten stuck on geometry in quite a few places, and had to reload my saved games a few times due to that. Reading through the wiki, between the three separate versions, almost every quest has a set of footnotes covering all the things that could or do go wrong at any point in time. It's pretty amazing that that much variation in the game, y'know, just sorta working is out there
 
It was not until the first time I did the hacking minigame in Mass Effect that I realized that ME is a massively modified Bioshock. Once you start paying attention, you can see the Bioshock engine underlying Mass Effect, though they really are completely different games with different feels.

Quite far into Dead Space, I realized that some of the rooms seemed oddly familiar, and it finally hit me that Dead Space is also a very heavily modified Bioshock. Again, very different game and feel.

Fallout 3 is, as I think almost everyone knows, a modified Oblivion.

I think comparing Mass Effect to Fallout 3 is comparing apples to oranges. It's quite possible to like only one of them, both of them, or neither of them.
 
Mass Effect worked great for me on Vista X64. Anyway, the game is a lot of fun. There is quite a bit of dialog, but there is a lot of combat and exploration to be done. Cleaning out pirate outposts is kinda fun, the main plot missions have tons of action in varied locations, and the story is great. It seems like people who like KotOR don't like it much, because it's a "LITE"er experience. That may be the ticket for you actually. I was sucked in quite quickly. The beginning is a little slow, but once you get moving there is a ton to do, and it can be done in pretty much any order you like. I'm actually a third of the way into my second play-through with a different class, and have made some different decisions during play. They don't change a ton, but they do affect how the game plays somewhat. I'd give it a try, and make sure you play long enough to where you can start exploring a bit, and working on the main missions.

As a comparison, I've started Fallout 3 (a couple of months ago,) and haven't progressed that much because of other games that captivated or re-captivated me a bit more. (I've been playing Dead Space, replaying System Shock 2 (again :D ) and I've been on a huge Zelda kick lately, where I've just finished Twilight princess and Ocarina, and am mid-way through Link to the Past and Windwaker.) I'll get around to playing Fallout 3, and I know I'll get sucked into, it just didn't happen before I got distracted.
 
Mass Effect is a classy game with strong RPG but appalling FPS.
FO3 is monumentally overated, so if you like that, then you might like ME, but be warned, if you like FPS, ME will let you down bigtime.
 
Mass Effect was a great game but felt very consoleized to me. Would have been much better if it had been made for the PC. Fallout 3 felt made for the PC with just a few console compromises thrown in.

Mass effect was much more story driven in a mediocre enviornment. Fallout is all about the feel of the game. The story is mediocre but the world it takes place in is great.
 
Kahnvex said:
Here's my deal. Right now I'm playing Fallout 3 on my 360. I'm enjoying almost everything about it. I'd give it a 90% if you want an idea numerically.

I generally like RPG's but this is the first one that's really hooked me in quite some time, the kind of hooked where you want to explore every nook and cranny and absorb all that you can find in the game.

I have a friend who is playing Mass Effect currently and he's telling me that it's absolutely fantastic, the kicker is that he normally hates RPG's. I was a little surprised that he liked Mass Effect, and based on the fact that it managed to suck him in, I'm planning on giving it a shot when I'm done with FO3.

I was not a person who fell in love with the KOTOR series, and thats why I didn't jump for Mass Effect when it debuted. KOTOR seemed to reach a point (for me) where there was too much "go talk to a guy" which led to "go talk to another guy" without enough kick-ass inbetween. I really like the setting and the theme, but for some reason the gameplay just couldn't quite hold me. I didn't hate it though.

So I'm just wondering if any of you who've played both would compare them favorably, or if they're just totally different slants on the RPG formula.

Oh, and is the PC version improved enough to warrant paying more for it over a $15 copy on the 360 when you throw graphics out of the equation?
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It's a bit hard to compare them since they're such different games, but I'll try. Fallout 3 is very much a game that's about immersing you in a game world. Everything else, the gameplay, the story, etc... is secondary to that. It's a game that really leaves it up to the player to make their way through it and get as much as they can out of it.

Mass Effect is a much more linear game. There are plenty of side quests, but their purpose is mostly to make the game world seem bigger than it really is. That's not necessarily a knock against the game. Because it's more linear than fallout, the characters and story are much better done, and much more significant to the experience.

Mass Effect is much more heavy on the action than KOTOR was, and it's more real time. So if that was your main complaint with KOTOR I would say give it a shot. There's still quite a bit of conversing in Mass Effect, but it's handled much smoother than in KOTOR (or Fallout for that matter). I'd say that balance of conversing vs. action is pretty similar between Mass Effect and Fallout 3. Personally, I love them both. If you're in to RPG's I'd definitely say give Mass Effect a shot.
 
I played both of these on the 360. Mass Effect quickly became achievement points driven. The only reason I was doing the exploring, etc was to get the achievement. Fallout 3 on the other hand, I played because I really enjoyed the game. I found that by the time I started looking to see what extra achievements I can pick up, I had gotten them already.

Lets put it this way, Fallout 3 is the only 360 game I have beat than immediately wanted to play over again. There haven't been any other games for the system that ever saw gameplay again after I beat them.
 
Kahnvex said:
If nothing else you've all at least convinced me to try out ME regardless of whether I think I'll like it or not. I'm also tempted to break out KOTOR and give another run at it.

I know I didn't quit on the first level... I'd been to the water planet, Dantooine, had done the tusken raider quest, had gotten the ship filled with "tribbles" etc.

I can't recall where or why I stopped clearly now, but I could swear Taris fits the bill when I wikipedia it.
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Taris is the very 1st level of that game, so I doubt that's where you stopped. Without giving too much away, if you haven't been to Koriban (ancient Sith homeworld) or confronted Malak yet, I would very much recommend revisiting that game as you're missing the very best parts.
 
evilsofa said:
It was not until the first time I did the hacking minigame in Mass Effect that I realized that ME is a massively modified Bioshock. Once you start paying attention, you can see the Bioshock engine underlying Mass Effect, though they really are completely different games with different feels.
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Mass Effect and Bioshock both use the Unreal 3 Engine. I'm not sure how you can compare the Mass Effect hacking minigame to Bioshock's at ALL since ME's is just a few button presses while Bioshock's involves much more user interaction and thinking. They're not similar at ALL.
 
beanman101283 said:
Mass Effect and Bioshock both use the Unreal 3 Engine. I'm not sure how you can compare the Mass Effect hacking minigame to Bioshock's at ALL since ME's is just a few button presses while Bioshock's involves much more user interaction and thinking. They're not similar at ALL.
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Mass Effect's hacking minigame is a circular version of Frogger. Bioshock's hacking minigame is a version of Pipe Mania. Both are games from the 80s and the manner in which both were entered in game was exactly the same. Once I noticed that, I noticed Plasmids in Bioshock was the same thing as Mass Effect's Biotics.

I'm not saying that Mass Effect ripped off Bioshock, because it didn't. I am amazed at the extent to which it did not.
 
I enjoyed Mass Effect more than Fallout 3. If you prefer PC controls then yes I guess it is worth it, but there is now a ME Platinum hits that contains itself and the DLC for $20 for Xbox
Also, I would say they are defiantly different experiences
And while it might not mean much, I would consider ME the best RPG I have played
It has much more content than Fallout 3 and kept me playing to near 100%, as opposed to FO3 where I did barely any side quests
A lot of it really depends on your preferred setting
Mass Effect is a futuristic shooter with high tech equipment and aliens, Fallout 3 is a post apocolyptic shooter with very primitive equipment(save some guns IE laser pistol) with mutants
And after you get passed enviorment it also depends on which type of shooter you like better, 1st or 3rd person
I actually like 1st person more but ME did 3rd really well
While FO3 was a bit "eh" when it came to its use of 1st person
Also, ME isn't too much talk to that guy talk to this guy
There is a fair bit, but there is also a good amount of kick ass in between
Also, I like ME's choice system better
Rather than choosing between being good or evil you choose to either be Renegade or a good soldier
Basically, you can either be a good samaritan or a total douchebag
Both lead to some new, interesting dialouge choices and sometimes tasks can only be accomplished when you are either nice or mean enough
One example would be:*spoilers*
If you obtain a certain amount of speech in good you can stop a character from dieing at one point in the game
Oh, and if you like the idea of trying to get as much ammo as you can then in a fight to survive then don't get ME because there is unlimited ammo
Instead your guns can over heat rather quickly in their first state but with a little upgrading can become extremely powerful
Which brings me to my next point: Customization
FO3 has almost none while ME has a fair amount
You can upgrade guns, add skill points on more detailed things than FO3, etc
Thats really all I have to say about the games, I suggest you buy ME asap because I enjoyed it and consider it one of the best of all times
And it is made by Bioware
Do you need any other reason than that?
 
damn dude, coherent post much?

i loved ME way more than fallout, but you're dead wrong on some of those points.

content-wise, fallout 3 wins hands down. the sidequests are fully fleshed out, there are plenty of bonus areas with significant things to do than ME.

everyone uses the same guns in mass effect, giving them no flavor or personality. Fallout does a great job of giving you a whole array of weapons to appeal to everyone.
as for customization, fallout 3 does a good job letting you choose how you play the game, even to the point of letting you change whenever you want.

they're both excellent games, but mass effect suits me better
 
I'm playing through ME currently and love it, maybe the best RPG since Baldur's Gate II IMHO. It doesn't hurt that it's absolutely gorgeous too:-











 
evilsofa said:
Mass Effect's hacking minigame is a circular version of Frogger. Bioshock's hacking minigame is a version of Pipe Mania. Both are games from the 80s and the manner in which both were entered in game was exactly the same. Once I noticed that, I noticed Plasmids in Bioshock was the same thing as Mass Effect's Biotics.

I'm not saying that Mass Effect ripped off Bioshock, because it didn't. I am amazed at the extent to which it did not.
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Does the PC version of Mass Effect have a different hacking minigame from the Xbox 360 version? Because the 360 one is literally just pushing the button that lights up, not anything close to Frogger.
 
Yeah, the PC version has its own PC-Only hacking game.

Fallout 3 and Mass Effect are about as far apart as you can get given their similar presentation. I didn't enjoy Fallout 3 at all, but I did enjoy Mass Effect.

Fallout 3 is a game you'll enjoy primarily if you prefer to make/play your own games and scenarios. It's the kind of game you'll like if you hated playing the storyline of the GTA series but liked everything else about the games.

Mass Effect is essentially the opposite. Mass Effect is the game for you if you hate the idea of "Here's a huge world, GO!" being the premise for a game. Mass Effect has a driving plot, events that affect your characters motivation and freedom in-game etc.

Basically it comes down to WHY you play RPG's; Do you play them for the storylines, the characters and the writing? Or do you play them for the scenery, the discovery and the possibility? Mass Effect is very much the former, Fallout 3 the latter.
 
Mass Effect imho is totaly superior to Fallout 3.

And I think you would enjoy ME if you don't like Kotor as it's lot more action packed and plot requires lot less walking and talking.
 
Mass Effect.... most perfect action rpg made to date. I loved exploring every single thing and every subplot. The dynamic of galaxy politics was very intriguing to me. I thought this was one of the coolest stories i have seen for an rpg in a long time. I usually do not enjoy old-timey fantasy worlds aka magic and swords
 
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