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I loved both the second Mass Effect and Dark Souls game, however I'm currently at a crossroad.

I could buy Mass Effect 3 and all its DLC content, and I know I'll be committed the same way I was with the second previous game due to its awesome story telling narration.

On the other hand, I've spent more time on Dark Souls II and I love its multiplayer. However I do not know too much about the third installment in the series but from what I can tell the visuals look intriguing.

I only have $60 to spend for a new game, help me out here?

Dark souls 3. But then I don't even like mass effect.

Mass Effect 3. Hours of content and it's a really fun third person shooter.

<---Is a huge Mass Effect fan.

Mass effect. No question.

Yep. Dark Souls being a current gen game will perhaps look and run a bit better (and does look stunning) but ME3 is the pinnace of the series, looks fantastic even now and the gameplay elements from the previous ones on both the combat an RPG side of things are polished to perfection.

Shouldn't cost you $60 though, if you're willing/able to get a second hand copy, I got mine on Ebay for about £5 for the 360.

DS3

Dark Souls 3, Dark Souls (as well as Demon Souls and Bloodborne) has really well designed combat for RPG's and lots of variety in terms of play styles and builds, plus Mass Effect 3 is a let down in terms of it's ending.

Dark Souls 3. Combines the best of 1 and 2 leaving you with a highly enjoyable grimdark fantasy game that everyone should experience at least once.

Mass Effect 3 was... ok. But after the awesomeness of 2, it felt a bit weak, especially toward the end.

Dark Souls 3 for sure.

I'm happy to insult the storyline of the ME series, but I can't complain about the game play. Plus ME added great only coop which was ridiculous amounts of fun for me.

Depends. Do you want a challenge/fight giant monsters/melee combat? DS3. Storyline/shooter gameplay and a (imo, bad) horde coop? ME3.

Both are vastly different games, and I'd recommended reading up on them and thinking about what you want.

I played Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2 all the way through 3 times apiece.

I played ME3 for about 20 minutes.

I was really shocked at how bad the scripting dialogue had become. Gameplay also seemed sloppier. Haven't touched the PS3 version since. The framerate on PS3 was also really awful (like 20-30 range).

As far as DS3 vs ME3...

DS has better gameplay, better story (if you go looking for it) and doesn't end in a way that completely invalidates the two previous games.

As a fan of Mass Effect... Dark Souls 3. If you liked Mass Effect and don't know how gak Mass Effect 3 was, you'll be happier if you stay that way.

ME3. I like dark souls 3 don't get me wrong... but ... ti's honestly a little bit too much of a rehash of DS1.

And again, to be honest, DS2 was better than DS1, to me.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 AlexHolker wrote:
how gak Mass Effect 3 was

ME3 was by FAR the best game in the series.

 Melissia wrote:
ME3. I like dark souls 3 don't get me wrong... but ... ti's honestly a little bit too much of a rehash of DS1.

And again, to be honest, DS2 was better than DS1, to me.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 AlexHolker wrote:
how gak Mass Effect 3 was

ME3 was by FAR the best game in the series.

I'd agree with that if you ignored the sequence right about from the fight with the Asian guy (memorable not so much) and to the ending.

And I love Mass Effect, I even like 3, but at the same time, the ending of the series was...heartbreaking in all of the worst ways. And trust me, I squinted and tried my best to look past it, but it makes a series playthrough very hard knowing that is what the ending is.

The ending to ME3 was a great ending IMO.

Let's avoid turning this thread in to yet another argument about ME3's ending though, because that gak's been done to death and neither of us will find the other's reasoning convincing.

Since you have played Mass Effect 1/2, you might as well play the third and finish the series.

Dark Souls 3 if you want a game. If you want to make the world a better place buy a copy of ME3, burn it and flush the ashes.

 Chongara wrote:
Dark Souls 3 if you want a game. If you want to make the world a better place buy a copy of ME3, burn it and flush the ashes.

You know, I said I wasn't going to debate its ending... so I won't. But even still, honestly? People who say crap like this should be ignored when it comes to opinions on games, because their opinions are so extreme that they really won't apply to anyone but a very tiny number of people to begin with.

The finale of Mass Effect's Shepard tale was not a betrayal of the franchise. If you want a betrayal, an actual bad sequal to a good series? Look at the Ultima series, whose final game (Ultima 9) was not only commonly accepted as a betrayal of the franchise from a lore perspective, but also was an objectively bad game, broken and unplayable, a mess of a game that was literally incomplete. and narratively incoherent even without the links to the past Ultima games.

Mass Effect 3, though? All you can honestly claim it did wrong was have an ending you got pissy about. It has solid and smooth gameplay mechanics, plenty of roleplaying options, a well received and popular multiplayer mode that functions quite well (Though is a bit of a grind), fantastic and varied settings, beautiful graphics that stand out against the drab, grey and green and brown crap that gets spewed out on the market these days, and it continues the story to a logical conclusion-- it's merely a conclusion you disagree with. The idea that its ending is even bad at all is entirely debatable, you just happen to feel strongly about it in one particular way, and you're overreacting to such a degree that you shouldn't be taken seriously.

How is mass effect still $60? It's got to be 3+ years old at this point.

 Melissia wrote:

 Chongara wrote:
Dark Souls 3 if you want a game. If you want to make the world a better place buy a copy of ME3, burn it and flush the ashes.

You know, I said I wasn't going to debate its ending... so I won't. But even still, honestly? People who say crap like this should be ignored when it comes to opinions on games, because their opinions are so extreme that they really won't apply to anyone but a very tiny number of people to begin with.

The finale of Mass Effect's Shepard tale was not a betrayal of the franchise. If you want a betrayal, an actual bad sequal to a good series? Look at the Ultima series, whose final game (Ultima 9) was not only commonly accepted as a betrayal of the franchise from a lore perspective, but also was an objectively bad game, broken and unplayable, a mess of a game that was literally incomplete. and narratively incoherent even without the links to the past Ultima games.

Mass Effect 3, though? All you can honestly claim it did wrong was have an ending you got pissy about. It has solid and smooth gameplay mechanics, plenty of roleplaying options, a well received and popular multiplayer mode that functions quite well (Though is a bit of a grind), fantastic and varied settings, beautiful graphics that stand out against the drab, grey and green and brown crap that gets spewed out on the market these days, and it continues the story to a logical conclusion-- it's merely a conclusion you disagree with. The idea that its ending is even bad at all is entirely debatable, you just happen to feel strongly about it in one particular way, and you're overreacting to such a degree that you shouldn't be taken seriously.

I guess the vast majority of ME fans are extremists then.

 Melissia wrote:

 Chongara wrote:
Dark Souls 3 if you want a game. If you want to make the world a better place buy a copy of ME3, burn it and flush the ashes.

You know, I said I wasn't going to debate its ending... so I won't. But even still, honestly? People who say crap like this should be ignored when it comes to opinions on games, because their opinions are so extreme that they really won't apply to anyone but a very tiny number of people to begin with.

The finale of Mass Effect's Shepard tale was not a betrayal of the franchise. If you want a betrayal, an actual bad sequal to a good series? Look at the Ultima series, whose final game (Ultima 9) was not only commonly accepted as a betrayal of the franchise from a lore perspective, but also was an objectively bad game, broken and unplayable, a mess of a game that was literally incomplete. and narratively incoherent even without the links to the past Ultima games.

Mass Effect 3, though? All you can honestly claim it did wrong was have an ending you got pissy about. It has solid and smooth gameplay mechanics, plenty of roleplaying options, a well received and popular multiplayer mode that functions quite well (Though is a bit of a grind), fantastic and varied settings, beautiful graphics that stand out against the drab, grey and green and brown crap that gets spewed out on the market these days, and it continues the story to a logical conclusion-- it's merely a conclusion you disagree with. The idea that its ending is even bad at all is entirely debatable, you just happen to feel strongly about it in one particular way, and you're overreacting to such a degree that you shouldn't be taken seriously.

If somebody serves me the world's best clam chowder with sublime texture, perfect flavor, smoother tender chucks of meat and the perfect balance of salty & creamy I'm still not gonna appreciate it if there's a turd floating it in it. Just no thanks I'll find some run of the mill soup with no brown butt torpedo bobbing in the middle. ME3 had great individual elements to be sure, but the ending aspect alone is wretched enough to make the entire thing worthless to me when taken as a whole.

Also I didn't like the Ultima games at all. I found them awkward, stuffy, opaque and just totally unapproachable. Tastes vary. You like ME3 inclusive of the ending and you're not wrong in any objective sense for doing so. ME3 was by far the worst experience I've had with gaming. Nothing even comes close to the how negative that experience was for me in the gaming space. So you know what? I'm going to enjoy engaging in a little dramatic hyberbole when people ask me if they should buy it. I don't actually think anyone should be spend money just so they can flush the remnants of the thing down the toilet. I'm just having a little bit of lark while giving the OP my opinion about which of the two games is worth their hard-earned money.

 Soladrin wrote:
I guess the vast majority of ME fans are extremists then.

Unlike you, I don't have the arrogance to claim to speak for "the vast majority" of ME players.

But I do have the arrogance to say that this fact makes my stated advice in this thread better than yours.

 Chongara wrote:
but the ending aspect alone is wretched enough to make the entire thing worthless to me when taken as a whole.

And that's exactly what I'm saying. You're arguing that you felt the ending was terrible and it ruined the game for you. And yeah I get that. But it's still a single aspect of the game, and a very subjective conclusion to come from. I've known plenty of people who had no problem with the ending as it was, especially after the DLC that made it more in depth. In fact, outside of Dakka, I know far more people who loved ME3 than hated it. Anecdotal evidence, I know-- which is why I only spoke for myself here, rather than trying to claim, like Soladrin does above, that "the vast majority" of people agreed with me.

The game's ending has been polarizing to a portion of its playerbase. But that doesn't necessarily make the game objectively bad. Personally, I would say that ME3 has been the best shooter-rpg since Vampire: the Masquerade: Bloodlines, but I admit bias against Deus Ex because of Human Revolution removing customization options for the sake of what I saw as a bland, forgettable blank slate white guy that I didn't particularly care about. And so similarly to my response to you, I can't honestly say that I think Human Revolution and its sequel are objectively bad... just that they disappoint me in the (to me) poor direction they took.

I mean FFS, the guy in the OP is asking for advice, not over the top snark, and I think we should be a bit better-minded about how we give advice about games.

 Melissia wrote:

 Soladrin wrote:
I guess the vast majority of ME fans are extremists then.

Unlike you, I don't have the arrogance to claim to speak for "the vast majority" of ME players.

But I do have the arrogance to say that this fact makes my stated advice in this thread better than yours.

 Chongara wrote:
but the ending aspect alone is wretched enough to make the entire thing worthless to me when taken as a whole.

And that's exactly what I'm saying. You're arguing that you felt the ending was terrible and it ruined the game for you. And yeah I get that. But it's still a single aspect of the game, and a very subjective conclusion to come from. I've known plenty of people who had no problem with the ending as it was, especially after the DLC that made it more in depth. In fact, outside of Dakka, I know far more people who loved ME3 than hated it. Anecdotal evidence, I know-- which is why I only spoke for myself here, rather than trying to claim, like Soladrin does above, that "the vast majority" of people agreed with me.

The game's ending has been polarizing to a portion of its playerbase. But that doesn't necessarily make the game objectively bad. Personally, I would say that ME3 has been the best shooter-rpg since Vampire: the Masquerade: Bloodlines, but I admit bias against Deus Ex because of Human Revolution removing customization options for the sake of what I saw as a bland, forgettable blank slate white guy that I didn't particularly care about. And so similarly to my response to you, I can't honestly say that I think Human Revolution and its sequel are objectively bad... just that they disappoint me in the (to me) poor direction they took.

I mean FFS, the guy in the OP is asking for advice, not over the top snark, and I think we should be a bit better-minded about how we give advice about games.

I wouldn't say the "vast majority" is arrogance, a LOT of people were upset over it, so many that (iirc) they actually went back and tried to fix the ending.

I vote Mass Effect 3 and I am one of those that enjoyed both the original and the expanded endings. My only real problem with it at all is how long its taking Andromeda to come out.

It all depends on whether you want to play a game where all the gut wrenching, heart tearing decisions you've made get thrown out in the end for a multiple choice ending or a game that makes you want to punch your monitor/tv.

 mondo80 wrote:
It all depends on whether you want to play a game where all the gut wrenching, heart tearing decisions you've made get thrown out in the end for a multiple choice ending or a game that makes you want to punch your monitor/tv.

So Mass Effect 3 and... Mass Effect 3?

 Wolfblade wrote:
I wouldn't say the "vast majority" is arrogance, a LOT of people were upset over it, so many that (iirc) they actually went back and tried to fix the ending.

"A lot of people" in what context? The game sold over three and a half million copies from what I can tell-- more, probably, because that number is around three or four years old. What percentage of these millions of people hated it, and what evidence do you have to back up your assertions? Because a few thousand people shouting on the official forums? There were just as many people, if not more, talking about how much fun they were having and how awesome the game was. Because a dozen people on Dakka were and are ranting about it? Again, there were just as many talking about how good the game was and how much fun they were having-- along with several people I knew personally that were intimidated out of the conversation about the ending because of how vitriolic people like Soladrin were being. Because a few internet reviewers shouted at it on their youtube channels? There were far, far more people simply playing the game without breaking in to incoherent rants than that. And still are.

I stand by the word "arrogance". Because he claimed to be talking for the "vast majority" of the playerbase, putting words in their mouths when he had absolutely no evidence aside from his own biased viewpoint. So he appointed himself to speak for everyone else. I never claimed much to be humble about my opinion-- I'm outspoken as hell, as most people know-- but certainly I only ever deign to speak for myself.

 Melissia wrote:

 Soladrin wrote:
I guess the vast majority of ME fans are extremists then.

Unlike you, I don't have the arrogance to claim to speak for "the vast majority" of ME players.

But I do have the arrogance to say that this fact makes my stated advice in this thread better than yours.

 Chongara wrote:
but the ending aspect alone is wretched enough to make the entire thing worthless to me when taken as a whole.

And that's exactly what I'm saying. You're arguing that you felt the ending was terrible and it ruined the game for you. And yeah I get that. But it's still a single aspect of the game, and a very subjective conclusion to come from. I've known plenty of people who had no problem with the ending as it was, especially after the DLC that made it more in depth. In fact, outside of Dakka, I know far more people who loved ME3 than hated it. Anecdotal evidence, I know-- which is why I only spoke for myself here, rather than trying to claim, like Soladrin does above, that "the vast majority" of people agreed with me.

The game's ending has been polarizing to a portion of its playerbase. But that doesn't necessarily make the game objectively bad. Personally, I would say that ME3 has been the best shooter-rpg since Vampire: the Masquerade: Bloodlines, but I admit bias against Deus Ex because of Human Revolution removing customization options for the sake of what I saw as a bland, forgettable blank slate white guy that I didn't particularly care about. And so similarly to my response to you, I can't honestly say that I think Human Revolution and its sequel are objectively bad... just that they disappoint me in the (to me) poor direction they took.


I mean FFS, the guy in the OP is asking for advice, not over the top snark, and I think we should be a bit better-minded about how we give advice about games.

You can't talk about the enjoyment of art objectively, the consumption of it is entirely subjective. That's like the whole point of it. If we wanted to talk about games objectively we'd have to limit ourselves to "Well Shepard's model sure had X number of polygons and it had Y number of voice lines spoken by Z actors. This one guy played the muscle dude and this other person played the bird guy. The bird guy was in the previous the two games as well. They continue to make the same joke about what he does with his spare time as they did in the previous two."

There's some kid out who devotes his entire life to freakin' Bubsy 3D because as far as he's concerned that's best freaking ever, despite all the problems most of could point out about it. There is nothing of value that can be said objectively about game or music or theater or books. Unless you're really stuff 3D-artist, audio engineer or page setter respectively. Simple broad agreement on subjective experiences does not transform into them objective truths.

EDIT: Even if we went down the route of saying that art can objectively good or bad I don't think any sensible person would take my posts as some attempt at objective analysis. I do after all advocate for spending money on burning game to "Make the world a better place" and then later talk about soup served with feces in it. My posts have been quite clearly emotionally-rooted rants in which I'm railing something I have quite a bit of bias against. It's rather plainly naked that for whatever objective qualities there are to consume, I'm probably not speaking to those. OP is free to determine how valuable such things are to them in making their purchasing decisions.

We can say objectively that at least one person in this world walked from his ME3 experience feeling worse than he entered. He felt like he didn't get his money's worth and he wished had played not played that game. That person is me. I didn't like the game. Wish I hadn't played it. I could have spent that money on something else. I could have spent it on some pizzas, an awkward lunch date with a girl from OKCupid, or a different video game even.