Rate Bioware games

Inspired by the ME3 thread in the news section, I thought it would be interesting to rate Bioware games according to our preferences.

Personally:

1. NWN
2. KotOR
3. Baldur's Gate
4. Dragon Age
5. Baldur's Gate 2
6. Mass Effect
7. Mass Effect 2
8. Dragon Age 2
9. Jade Empire
10. MDK2
11. Shattered Steel

Hmmm.

1: KotOR
2: Dragon Age: Origins
3: Mass Effect
3: Baldurs Gate (+TotSC)
5: Neverwinter nights (OC)

Hmm, is that really all I played by them?

OMG I forgot NWN - how could I

Corrected my mistake….

1. Baldur's Gate 2
2. Baldur's Gate & TotSC
3. Dragon Age: Origins
4. Mass Effect
5. KotOR
5. (tie) Jade Empire
6. NWN OC
7. Dragon Age 2

I haven't played Mass Effect 2 yet. Also never played the NWN expansions.

I played some of MDK2 back when it was released, but I don't remember it well enough to rate it.

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
1. NWN

Interesting.. I wouldn't have guessed that.

1. NWN (OC, expansions, all the user made mods etc)
2. KotOR
3. DAO
4. ME
5. DA2
6. JE
7. ME2

Interesting.. I wouldn't have guessed that.

It's more about the package than the OC

I think it was a fantastic achievement - and I've played and enjoyed many, many mods that would never have happened without NWN. Also, I really enjoyed HotU as a campaign from Bioware.

Essentially, it's because I'm a huge fan of cooperative multiplayer, and I consider NWN one of the best examples of how it can be done.

1. Jade Empire

hmm, it is the only bioware game I managed to get through without getting bored.

I also played through KOTOR, that was a real pain a horrible game in my opninion.

Note that I never tried dragon age, I heard it is good, maybe I will try it one day.

Fairly tough one. I'll give it a go, though certain ranks are so close they change based on what type of game I feel like playing.

1. BG2
2. BG
3. KotOR
4. Dragon Age
5. Mass Effect
6. NWN + both expansions
7. Jade Empire
8. Mass Effect 2
9. Dragon Age 2

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
It's more about the package than the OC

Essentially, it's because I'm a huge fan of cooperative multiplayer, and I consider NWN one of the best examples of how it can be done.

That makes sense.. I'm just surprised I haven't seen you talk about it more.

I never got into NWN multiplayer. In hindsight, it's something I regret, and now I can only wonder how much fun it could have been.

Well:

1) BG2
2) BG1
3) DAO
4) KOTOR
5) NWN
6) Jade Empire

Guess that's all I have played from them.

A strange fact I now realize is that, while I usually replay my old games for years, I haven't done so with any of the above!

I intend to fix that for BG2 sometime in the future though…

Originally Posted by JDR13
That makes sense.. I'm just surprised I haven't heard you talk about it more.

I never got into NWN multiplayer. In hindsight, it's something I regret, and now I can only wonder how much fun it could have been.

Well, I know that a lot of people aren't really into cooperative multiplayer - which I've never quite understood.

I suppose the practical implications are one reason, as it's only really "worthwhile" if you're in the same room with people. Getting multiple people together for a multi-day LAN session is not an easy thing to do for most.

But the game is old now, and it doesn't look very good. But it's the only game I'm aware of that hits the right balance between a game that flows well, and yet retains enough of the PnP aspect Bioware was going for.

Most similar games are either all about hack/slash combat - or they're just too slow for a multiplayer experience.

MMOs can work, but they lack the finality of a complete experience - and they can't provide the proper kind of attention needed for the players to feel "special" and have their actions be important to the world.

Nostalgia plays a big role in this, but here goes:

1. BG II
2. BG I
3. NWN
4. KOTOR
5. DAO
6. ME
7. Jade
8. ME2

Never played any of the others and all the games include any/all expansions.

1: Baldur's Gate 2
2: Mass Effect 2
3: KotOR
4: Mass Effect
5: Dragon Age
6: MDK2
7: Shattered Steel
8: Jade Empire
9: Baldur's Gate
10: Dragon Age 2
11: NWN (expansions included)

Not played:
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood

Looking at this list, I don't feel incredibly impressed by Bioware. None of the games here feels truly outstanding. Many were good (break point being between 9 & 10), but most did not leave much of an impression on me. Mass effect gets the high spots because of its setting.

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
Well, I know that a lot of people aren't really into cooperative multiplayer - which I've never quite understood.

I suppose the practical implications are one reason, as it's only really "worthwhile" if you're in the same room with people. Getting multiple people together for a multi-day LAN session is not an easy thing to do for most.

You hit the nail on the head right there. Having friends online makes all the difference. Without that then you are playing with strangers. That's a crap shoot on whether they are ok or complete assholes.

1. BG2
2. BG
3. KotoR
4. Jade Empire
5. Dragon Age
6. Mass Effect
7. Mass Effect 2
8. NWN

Baldur's Gate.

And that's the only really good game I think they've done. After that I'd have to say NWN, but more for the toolkit and the possibilities it held than the game itself. Then KotOR in a "Ooh, Star Wars, but not really, and, my, what awful gameplay" way, then much lower down JE and BG2. I haven't played any of the more recent ones, since the consensus seems to be that they only get more Biowarey over time, and that's a style that I'm not remotely interested in.

I can only put the games in tiers, all games are with expansions:

5 stars: BG2/BG

4 stars: Dragon Age/Kotor/Mass Effect 2/Neverwinter Nights

3.5 stars: Mass Effect/Jade Empire

3 stars: Dragon Age 2

I've replayed all the games except Kotor (somehow I prefer Kotor 2 by a mile), ME1 (too much copy and paste of maps) and DA2 (too much copy and paste of maps) at least once, and that says something. Even the weakest title is decent.

1. BG2
2. BG
3. NWN
4. DAO
5. KoTR
6. JE
7. ME
8. ME2

DA2 was a joke. I really hope DA3 is more like the first, and totally unlike the second.


-Carn

Originally Posted by GhanBuriGhan
Hmmm.

1: KotOR
2: Dragon Age: Origins
3: Mass Effect
3: Baldurs Gate (+TotSC)
5: Neverwinter nights (OC)

Hmm, is that really all I played by them?

You've never played BG II?

You must go buy it now or have your RPG credentials ripped away

Seriously, it's a great game. Taking out a lich has never been so much fun.

The Throne of Bhaal expansion added Watcher's Keep that was great. Now-a-days they could probably get away with just releasing that dungeon as a whole game.

BG2, DA:O
BG1
ME1, ME2
KotOR
NWN OC
DA2