Mass Effect vs Star Wars Discussion

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUyPA075430&feature=pyv

I want to say that I love Star Wars and I love Mass Effect. Lets face it though, if it werent for Star Wars, we probably wouldnt have gotten something like Mass Effect.

I really don't want to do a poll on which one is better because it would be to hard to choose which one is better or at least for me it is.

Both are great, but I prefer Mass Effect.

TBH sometimes the timeline, etc with all the side stories gets too confusing with Star Wars. And ME is much more.... captivating than SW IMO

I think star wars is too much of a romantic epic. Granted that's the reason it has such a classic feel to it, but I can't find that I can easily insert myself into the story. Star Wars is very much about the story of the Skywalkers, what they do, who they effect, etc.

This makes any character other than the main cast simply wallpaper to serve as simple plot point afterthoughts.

In mass effect I feel that every individual has a certain degree of sovereignty :P that gives them a place in the universe. There are actual ppl in the galaxy that instead of character archetypes. So mass effect is much more personable and realistic (well as realistic a scifi can be).

The science is also actually explained with some degree of authenticity. Oftentimes in the scifi genre, the "science" is simply used as "magic" giving the author license to go ape without any system in place. How do lasers work in star wars...MAGIC! How do freakin cities float in the middle of a red cloud...MAGIC!! How do lightsabers work...CRYSTAL MAGIC!!

Not to say Star Wars isn't a scifi classic, its just run its course for me.

But in Star Wars, its not just about the Skywalkers, there is the Solos, all characters in Star Wars affect the story in some shape or form. look at the events of Knight of the Old Republic. that was set about 4,000 years before the events of the movies. true enough, Anakin, Luke, etc. all play a huge part in the movies, but there is more to Star Wars than just them. IndianaJones414

But the Solos are heavily tied with the Skywalkers (Han and Leia even have 3 kids). Basically any major character in star wars has some direct or indirect connection to this overarching story. Star Wars is very clear in making the statement that a select few (the main characters) affect the progress of the story. Everybody else is truely a side note to the main display. As a result many sidekick characters (like lando) just feel half-backed to me. Interesting, but still underdeveloped.

While true I find the extended universe much more satisfying from the main film, they still feel like setups or elaborations of the main story and the future/past exploits of Team Skywalker (ex. Jedi Academy and Legacy series). KOTOR however is a bit different being so much farther than the main story so I'll give you that. Still this area could use much more content.

I wouldn't really consider Lando a "side-kick" type character, he actually did quite a lot in the Star Wars Universe, by being the main person to help destroy the 2nd Death Star, he was also the person that help infiltrate Jabba's Palace to help save Han. There is a lot of characters have been very well-known, Kyle Katarn, who been the main character for all of the Jedi Knight games, including the Dark Forces game, where Luke Skywalker was more of side character in that series. Another character to think about is Obi Wan Kenobi, if it werent for him, Luke and Leia would never have been born or they would have been killed by the Emperor. There is a lot of characters who have done quite a bit in the Star Wars Universe that we really don't think about. Look at Starkiller, he alone help set up the Rebellion, which the set up the plot for the Original Trilogy. IndianaJones414

Good arguments Indy with lots of excellent examples. You obviously know and love the Star Wars Universe and gave me some things to think about. Well done.

BioWare Co-Founder Gets Himself A Star Wars: The Old Republic Tattoo

Well it's kind'a relevant :P

Thats interesting, I dont know if I am going to be able to play Star Wars: The Old Republic, as much as I want to, I dont have a good enough computer for it. IndianaJones414

They'll probably make a console port in the distant future.

I hope so, I know Bioware has done stuff like that in the past where they would make it for one console and decide to make it port over to the next console, cough* Mass Effect 2 cough*