FPS/RPG question

[biggestmuff]

A colleague lent me Fallout 3. I really like the game. It reminded me of Deus Ex on the PC. I played through Deus Ex a few times and was really drawn into the style of game; part FPS (my fav) and part RPG. I liked being able to choose the dialog during the game and how it helped to mold your character or change the outcome of meetings with the NPCs. Fallout 3 was the same way.

I got about 80% complete with Fallout 3 and returned it to my colleague knowing that I'd eventually buy the game. Over the weekend I was reminiscing about Deus Ex and found out about a PS2 game that Ion Storm developed; Deus Ex: The Conspiracy. So, today, I went to Gamestop and picked up Deus Ex: The Conspiracy as well as Fallout 3.

Now, on to the question.

Is Mass Effect anything like these two games? I understand that it's part FPS and part RPG.

EDIT: I primarily game on Xbox 360, but own a PS3, hence the Deus Ex: The Conspiracy game (BC FTW). Any other FPS/RPG game recommendations are encouraged!

 

[DaveSimmons]

It's fairly similar, except you're always leading an away team like in Star Trek, with 2 NPCs. Combat is always real-time (no VATS) but is less difficult than in pure shooters.

The story is more interesting than Fallout's though not much more to me since I've read it before in Niven, Aldiss, Brin, and others. At least they're lifting the plot points from good science fiction

 

[Furyline]

Mass Effect is third person not first person; I'd say it leans more to the RPG side, certainly has the dialog options you talk about and getting good/evil points or whatever they called it. The combat is servicable but nothing special.
Bioshock is another FPS/RPG, though it is more FPS focused, no dialog choices at all I don't think. If you liked the different options in combat in deus ex you'd probably enjoy Bioshock. The rpg part of it is mostly just getting new / upgrading your abilities and weapons.

 

[erwos]

Bioshock isn't an RPG at all. It's an FPS, albeit a creative one. But if you liked Deus Ex, yes, you might enjoy Bioshock.

 

[biggestmuff]

Thanks, guys. Yeah, I've played Bioshock. It was alright, but more of an FPS.

 

[R Nilla]

I highly recommend Mass Effect to anyone that is remotely interested in third person shooters, RPGs, and/or science fiction. It's currently only $19.99, so unless you hate any of those aspects, you should find some enjoyment from this game.

The dialogue tree system and character animations during conversations is second to none. The voice acting is solid.

 

[warcrow]

Mass Effect and Fallout 3 actually share a lot of the same gameplay mechanics. Both can be played in 3rd person, support a Good/bad kara-type system, utilizes skill point distribution, involves a lot of travel and exploration, contains great voice acting and is epic in scope. Fallout 3 has more of an open ended environment than ME (but ME isnt linear either). But even with all those characteristics they're totally different experinces.

Fallout 3 has such an oppresive atmosphere that at times I felt it can be a little hard to return to. ME has this sci-fi, sterile asthetic to it (not to mention the narratives are like night and day) that just seems to seep out into all aspects of the game.

But at the end of the day--even though I loved F3--ME is my favorite of the two. I've beaten ME on the 360 and the PC and I can say that the PC version is definitely the definitive experience so if you have a decent PC I would say go that route. The dialog and conversation system in ME alone is something I just love participating in. Though F3 has a similar system, its not as appealing to us and after playing ME many many times it comes across as a bit antiquated.

But really, both games are a ton of fun.

 

[Queasy]

Also, the Mass Effect two-disc special edition is coming for $19.99 next week. I would jump all over that like a bacon-covered playboy model.

 

[biggestmuff]

Thanks for that, Queasy. I may have bought the game this upcoming weekend. Now, I'll wait a few extra days for sure.

How does the fighting work in Mass Effect? Is it turn based or real time (like an FPS)?

 

[Dumac]

Originally posted by: biggestmuff
Thanks for that, Queasy. I may have bought the game this upcoming weekend. Now, I'll wait a few extra days for sure.

How does the fighting work in Mass Effect? Is it turn based or real time (like an FPS)?

Real time.

BUT iirc you can pause the battle in order to queue up your skills and give you teammates orders.

 

[biggestmuff]

Originally posted by: Dumac

Originally posted by: biggestmuff
Thanks for that, Queasy. I may have bought the game this upcoming weekend. Now, I'll wait a few extra days for sure.

How does the fighting work in Mass Effect? Is it turn based or real time (like an FPS)?

Real time.

BUT iirc you can pause the battle in order to queue up your skills and give you teammates orders.

How is it similar or different than Fallout 3's VATS?

 

[biggestmuff]

Well, I finally bought the newly released, 2-disc, Platinum Hits version of Mass Effect. It took going to two different Gamestops, two Wal-marts and finally a Best Buy before I found it. I busy trying to finish my 2nd play through of Fallout 3, so it'll be a few more days before I try ME, but I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Piuc2020]

Mass Effect is a pretty great game, I was a little disappointed because the game wasn't as epic as I first thought after playing for the first hour but it was still good.

Combat works pretty much like any other 3rd-person shooter, you can pause to change your weapons, give your teammate orders and use skills, it's not like VATS in the sense that it allows you to do something that you wouldn't be able to do normally in real-time. Pausing in Mass Effect just removes a little bit of the twitch element from the shooting sections for people that are less inclined toward the action part of the game and just want to focus on the RPG aspects but it doesn't give you a big advantage like VATS.

 

[RaiderJ]

I really enjoyed Mass Effect on the PC.