PC: The Witcher (Enchanced) vs. Mass Effect

[The Spartan (Returns)]

This is actually a pretty popular debate. Mass Effect or The Witcher? I'm planning to get Mass Effect because it's half the price over The Witcher.

I'm interested because if The Witcher ($40 ridiculous) was the same price as Mass Effect (PC $20) I would have to make a choice between these two.

[Zenicetus]

If you're planning to play both eventually, then it's a no-brainer: get Mass Effect and wait for a price drop on The Witcher. The Witcher will still be around to buy later on. If the price hasn't dropped, it's probably because sales are still reasonably strong.

I enjoyed both games, but The Witcher was the real stand-out for me, because it has such an original feel. It's a break from the typical dungeon crawl fantasy game. Mass Effect is a very slick production (except for the repetitive side missions), but it felt like a mashup of classic sci-fi TV shows and movies that didn't feel very original. It's still fun to play, but the Witcher was more impressive as an alternate universe I'd never seen before.

[Monk]

The Witcher was a game that was interesting, original, engaging but holy crap was it complex. The manual alone was a terrible abomination rising from the ground like a monolith of evil. However, it's definitely a game that rewards the initiative to dig in, especially since i heard the Enhanced edition resolved a lot of the technical problems that held the game back.

Mass Effect is a very slick production (except for the repetitive side missions), but it felt like a mashup of classic sci-fi TV shows and movies that didn't feel very original. It's still fun to play, but the Witcher was more impressive as an alternate universe I'd never seen before.

I disagree, but your point is fairly taken.

If you read my Gears 2 review in the "What are you playing" thread you'll know i actually took points off for the whole "Humanity vs inescapably alien threat that is bent on genocide" plot. The reason I think it works with Mass Effect is that, it's not just Humanity in the fight. Although you can certainly make it seem that way if you play Shepard as a bigot. I can see where some people can roll their eyes at Mass effect's main antagonists, but in my opinion the presentation is what saves the game and puts it high on my list. It just does what it does so well that it's hard to take off points.

Both are games you should check out, Mass Effect's learning curve is a lot less steep (though quite challenging on the higher difficulty levels) while The Witcher is insanely complex but overall a great game. I can't decide if the complexity helped or hindered the game honestly.

[Guru]

I paid 50-60€ for my Enhanced Edition and it was totally worth the price, and more if you ask me. I haven't played Mass Effect, but if it's in the same league as The Witcher.. Well, I guess I'll have to get it sometime.

[Zenicetus]

The Witcher was a game that was interesting, original, engaging but holy crap was it complex. The manual alone was a terrible abomination rising from the ground like a monolith of evil. However, it's definitely a game that rewards the initiative to dig in, especially since i heard the Enhanced edition resolved a lot of the technical problems that held the game back.

Agreed about the manual. I ended up using some online guides to understand things like potion crafting, which is part of the complexity. The Enhanced Edition has a new inventory system that separates quest items, ordinary stuff you're carrying around, and then the crafting items for potions and blade oils in different inventory areas. That makes that whole crafting side of the game much easier to deal with.

If you read my Gears 2 review in the "What are you playing" thread you'll know i actually took points off for the whole "Humanity vs inescapably alien threat that is bent on genocide" plot. The reason I think it works with Mass Effect is that, it's not just Humanity in the fight. Although you can certainly make it seem that way if you play Shepard as a bigot. I can see where some people can roll their eyes at Mass effect's main antagonists, but in my opinion the presentation is what saves the game and puts it high on my list. It just does what it does so well that it's hard to take off points.

From what I've seen so far of Mass Effect 2 teasers, it looks like they're going for a more localized plot line, with the "save the universe" theme more in the background. There's a lot of potential there for stories that don't overreach (IMO) like the first one.

Actually, the thing that bothered me the most about the first Mass Effect.... and I know this is a minor point...

(putting this in spoiler tags, it's not really a spoiler but someone new to the game might want to discover this on their own)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

...is the way Shepard's spaceship wasn't anything more than a glorified bus to get to different locations, and to serve as set dressing for the soap opera dialog with team members. The game devs did all that work to model different parts of the ship interior with full crew, but they didn't let you touch anything, or issue any commands other than "go here, and drop us off." I know the game wasn't designed as a space combat simulator. But there have been so few (any?) games that actually put you inside a big capital ship with a fully modeled interior, that I felt it was a wasted opportunity. That ship was the biggest "gun" Shepard was carrying, but you never got to fire it, in person. It could have been so much more than just passive scenery.

Maybe the ship (or some different ship) will be more than just set dressing in the sequel. A sci-fi game that gives you a huge powerful spaceship and then doesn't let you really do anything with it, just feels wrong.

[Monk]

That's a great point Zen, but it wasn't entirely unexpected for me. The same thing happened in KOTOR with the Ebon Hawk and it's something of a track record with Bioware and their main modes of transportation. The sequel promises a lot more with the planetary scanning mini-game, we'll have to see what they intend to do with that (not a lot has been revealed that is concrete imo).