Help me choose my Trilogy

[Wolf Kanno]

Okay, so I'm getting towards the end of my FFIII Famicom playthrough and it looks like my PS3 finally got some love over the holidays, so it may be time to hook the bad boy up again for some serious game time. I have recently come into possession of three different trilogy packs and I am debating which one I should start first.

Contestants:

Uncharted Series: I played the demo for the first game and was not terribly impressed but I also feel it was largely just me being finnicky at the time cause I wasn't really in the mood for an action game and I need to get over my distaste for third person shooters. I like Indiana Jones, and this game looks like a great series in the spirit of the movies.

Mass Effect Trilogy: I've avoided Mass Effect for awhile, largely because as PS3 owner, I didn't have access to the first game and even with the silly synopses of the first game with choices built in, I didn't feel like I would get the true ME experience like that, so I avoided it until I could play the series proper. Now I can and it will be interesting to see why people keep falling over themselves over Bioware. Also its a Space RPG and I haven't had a decent one of those since Star Ocean decided to be unplayable.

ThatGameCompany value pack: flOW, Flower, and Journey all together. I've played the demo versions of Flower at least but maybe I need something simple and relaxing to get into. Of all the Indie Game developers, this one has some of the best pedigree and its also the one I have mixed feelings about but perhaps that will change once I play the full version of their games and experience more of their catalog.

So which should I choose?

[Shoeberto]

It's hard to pick because all three trilogies are totally different in terms of length and engagement level. TGC's games are relatively bite-sized affairs of brief but beautiful artistic moments, Uncharted are mid-length action games that are fairly pulse-pounding but can individually be beaten in a weekend, and Mass Effect are big, sprawling RPGs. Why not interleave? Do a TGC game, then Uncharted, then Mass Effect; by the time you've gotten through Mass Effect, the next TGC and Uncharted will be nice interludes.

[Aulayna]

Mass Effect. One of the best triologies that regardless of what people say of the ending - the ride inbetween is magnificent.

[Laddy]

Mass Effect is massively overrated. Go Uncharted.

[Ouch!]

Mass Effect's ending is a damper on the series, but at this point you'll be playing the extended cut ending without having to experience what was there first (and you're better off for it). The DLC for the first game is pretty useless, but the DLC for the second and third (I have yet to play the Omega DLC) games is pretty great and actually contributes to the plot in many instances.

I've never played Uncharted, unfortunately, but Mass Effect is a great experience overall.

[Bolivar]

I would say That Game Company. People debate over Mass Effect and Uncharted; everyone seems to like TGC's games. By the time you beat all of them, your backlog lineup and wishes might change.

Next pick is Mass Effect. I think it's worth playing them to see the hype and evaluate it for yourself. Saying "I was there." You'll have a more informed opinion no matter what.

Last would be Uncharted. Your demo impressions aren't off-base. The first is an okay action game with a vibrant setting, fluid gameplay, and decent pacing. The second and third are rainy-day games. Games you play when you're going to be inside all day no matter what. You're wondering what to do, and you pop in Uncharted 2. Because it's not a game you plow through to clear your backlog. It's a game you savor.

[DK]

Uncharted is massively overrated. Go Mass Effect.

[Formalhaut]

I would go Uncharted, because the second was one of the highest rated games ever and won so many accolades.

Also, try not to be like me and be trout scared over the monsters in the later chapters. Damn it those things petrified me.

[Slothy]

Haven't played ThatGameCompany's stuff so I can't really give an opinion one way or the other. At the very least you're probably in for a pretty unique and/or original experience if you go with them though.

Of the other two, I have to recommend Uncharted though. It's a fun series pure and simple if you like that Indiana Jones pulp style. The gameplay is also solid. A bit less refined in the first one, but pretty much perfected by the second. And the writing, while obviously not serious all of the time, is solid the whole way through, and gets surprisingly mature in the best possible way by the third as far as the characters are concerned. Actually, the third finally sold me on Drake as a legitimately interesting character, and his relationship with Elena is probably the most believable video game romance I can think of at the moment.

As for Mass Effect, I've been pretty up front about my general dislike for Bioware even during their supposed heyday. I don't care for their writing, and I found the original Mass Effect to be both annoyingly predictable with it's main plot, and hopelessly boring with just about all of the side mission stuff. And if you try to look beyond that stuff with the first game, all you're really left with is a mediocre third person shooter. Now, from what I've played of the later two games, it seems it became a better third person shooter, but I still wasn't impressed with the writing. And the whole ME3 ending fiasco didn't do much to bolster my faith in their ability to write considering even a lot of fans were pissed off by that one. I basically dropped the series after ME1 and have no real regrets. If you want a well written RPG, I think there are better series out there, and if you want a good third person shooter you should be playing Uncharted anyway. A lot of people will disagree with me I'm sure, but I don't think you're missing much if you skip Mass Effect except a lot of mediocre writing and some wasted time.