Recommend: Dead Space, Mass Effect, or Stalker

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wrbt

Weaksauce
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I'm looking for a single player action game to keep me busy for awhile and would appreciate a recommendation from among Dead Space, Mass Effect, or Stalker... I haven't played any of them and they are all available on Steam. For the past year I've been mostly playing multiplayer games like UT and TF2.

I really enjoyed Bioshock so it's fair to say I like immersive environments even at the expense of some repetitiveness or real skill-based combat. I tend to play single player games in short bursts of an hour or so in the evenings so something that is satisfying with a segmented format would be great.

I'm still running a 8800 GTS 320 (which has aged well as a videocard) at 1440x900 so obviously I'm not cutting edge by any means, I'm sure I can run Stalker well but haven't researched how the others run.

Thanks in advance my friends.
 
Stalker would work pretty well. You can get in, do a mission or two, romp about killing stuff, and call it a day. Which would you be playing? I felt like shadow of Chernobyl had a more immersive environment, but both are pretty good.
 
Stalker would definitively keep you busy for a while ;)
 
Mass Effect on the PC is sublime. I agree with the genre of "Space Opera" that so many reviewers put it in.
 
You should get all three of those game as they are really great games. Which one you want really depends on what you are looking. Let me break it down for you.

Mass Effect. This in the action RPG in the group. If want a great story and engaging characters this is the game to get. It plays like a FPS/RPG hybrid but you can stop the action direct your actions like other Bioware RPGs. Of these games this is the only one that surpasses or matches Bioshocks story and feel. The PC version was better version.

Dead Space. Think Resident Evil in space but you can shoot and run. Great atmosphere, best use of audio in horror game period. There is very little story and most it is told through audio tapes like Doom 3. The combat is simply but brutal and fun as you have to figure the right way dismembered different monsters. Despite some of the none sense posted on this site, the PC controls are fine and the PC is the better version.

Stalker. Pure FPS with missions like an RPG. This is the one to get if you want a challenging SP shooter. Make sure to play it on the hardest setting. This game gets a lot of love in these forums and its a good game but not nearly as great as the hype. So don't expect the world from it. It has several endings so make sure to save before the last level so you can try different ones. Probably the best thing about Stalker is that doesn't feel like another shooter. The game world is pretty unique.

So if you want one of the best action RPGs with FPS elements get Mass Effect. If you want a survival horror game that is better than RE5 (as RE5 is no longer a horror game in my book) then get Dead Space. If you want a pure SP FPS with RPG style missions then get Stalker.

Based on your love of Bioshock, I would beat Mass Effect is your best bet.:D
 
STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl with the Oblivion Lost mod will keep you immersed for a good while.
 
Mass Effect.

I haven't played Dead Space.

STALKER, in my opinion, blows.
 
I've played STALKER and Dead Space, currently playing Mass Effect.

Dead Space: Magnificent! Think scifi/horror/survival 3rdPS.
STALKER: Meh... I wasn't nearly as impressed with it as so many here on [H]. Mark Warner described it perfectly in his post above mine.
Mass Effect: A sure fire winner! I love everything about it and am looking forward to its sequel, next year.
 
Stalker is fabulous AND......it is a true PC game. Not a kid game though. Some people get it.......some don't. I loved it. Everything else I play is just something I'm doing till the next time I play Stalker.

Mass Effect is a great game but totally different. It does have combat but I wouldn't call it an action game. Great choice if you go that way.

Either of these will keep you busy for a while. Can't go wrong.

Dead Space is a good game although shorter. But it does have action.

I don't know that any of those three really lend themselves to short 1 hour gaming sessions but I guess if you managed it with Bioshock then you will figure it out on these as well.

Have you considered Fallout 3?
 
Stalker is a really cool game , its based on real life events. Mass Effect is a awesome game too. Forget Dead Space.
 
Thanks for helpful replies, I knew you guys would give some great insight.
 
I haven't really played Dead Space or Mass Effect, but STALKER is fantastic. The beginning is slow and VERY difficult, but once you get past it the game is really enjoyable.
 
Zero82z said:
I haven't really played Dead Space or Mass Effect, but STALKER is fantastic. The beginning is slow and VERY difficult, but once you get past it the game is really enjoyable.
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when exactly is that hump point?
 
haitu said:
when exactly is that hump point?
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After you get out of the Cordon and get some decent armour/rifles, the game stops being so ridiculously hard. A little shortcut is also to lure some soldiers out of the military camp at the beginning toward the STALKER camp, which will cause them to kill each other, and then you can grab the soldiers' gear once they're dead. That will get you some much better gear pretty quickly.

Also, load up on bandages, and keep a few health packs on you at all times.
 
Mass Effect is fantastic and kept me interested when playing through again with a different class or playing on the hardest difficulty (insanity I believe). Dead Space kicked ass too, but didn't get nearly as much of my time as Mass Effect did.
 
+1 for Mass Effect.

I was hesitant to get it at first but now I can safely say it's really good. I loved it! 30h for the first play through and I still missed some things.
I never played Dead Space though. Is it short?

STALKER is meh.
 
Mass Effect for a good story, characters, more of an RPG approach to shooters.
Dead Space for RE style space action.
I didn't get into Stalker myself, but many praise it as one of the more atmospheric FPS around.
 
Okay ordered Mass Effect for $19.99, 2% downloaded yay!

Thanks again for the help and opinions,they are valued and I'm sure I'll have a great time with it.
 
I haven't played the other two but I would probably still give my vote for Mass Effect. I'm currently playing through it for the fourth time and I still enjoy the game and the story.

I will warn you that some of the side missions can be dull and don't seem to have much to do with the main story but they are still worth doing. I'm sure I could name a lot of improvements it would have been nice to have for the game but I'm not going to complain. I took a chance with the game and found I really liked it. The story didn't drag and pull me in like KOTOR or Jade Empire did, but I still couldn't get enough of it.

Again, I definitely suggest Mass Effect.

 
If you liked any one of Bioshock, Mass Effect or Dead Space, you'll like the other two, because under very thick layers of artwork, lore and themes, they're the same game. It can be hard to notice - they've done a good job of hiding it. And that's not a complaint - I really liked all three of them.
 
wrbt said:
Okay ordered Mass Effect for $19.99, 2% downloaded yay!

Thanks again for the help and opinions,they are valued and I'm sure I'll have a great time with it.
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Best decision considering Mass Effect got universal approval in this thread compared to the other two. :cool:

Good luck playing for an hour at a time. :D
 
I'll put it this way...

S.T.A.L.K.E.R is the best fps I have played since the first Half-Life and I have played most of the high-profile shooters from the last decade. I only used the Float32 mod (improves performance) and S.H.A.R.P.E.R texture mod that does what the title says. I've heard the Oblivion Lost mod makes it even better but what can I say.

I didn't play another game until I beat S.T.A.L.K.E.R and I took my sweet ass time and soaked it all in. Still haven't opened Clear Sky...I'm almost afraid it won't live up to the name it bears.
 
{EB}NuTSymPToM{EB} said:
I'll put it this way...

S.T.A.L.K.E.R is the best fps I have played since the first Half-Life and I have played most of the high-profile shooters from the last decade. I only used the Float32 mod (improves performance) and S.H.A.R.P.E.R texture mod that does what the title says. I've heard the Oblivion Lost mod makes it even better but what can I say.

I didn't play another game until I beat S.T.A.L.K.E.R and I took my sweet ass time and soaked it all in. Still haven't opened Clear Sky...I'm almost afraid it won't live up to the name it bears.
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Clear Sky is more like an expansion

its SOC + Oblivion Lost with new stuff

It has old levels but when you end up the new areas you will get your mind blown (the new red forest is organismic)
 
Stalker was wtfpwn once you get used to having to quicksave constantly, and reload the game constantly due to get your ass handed to you
.
Dead Space was one of the few games I believe is worth the 60 dollar price tag.

Mass Effect was bloody epic at the end, although I think KotOR had better game play overall.
 
Stalker CS with some useful mods and patched properly....is an excellent game.

BTW. 1.5.0.9 Patch should be out any day now.
 
I'd recommend stalker over the rest, but it would be a bit of a leap from UT/TF2, and is a bit of a love/hate thing. Mass Effect is pretty good too, might be safer to go with that.
 
1. S.T.A.L.K.E.R SoC. SoC is probably my joint favourite game of the last few years along with The Witcher (no coincidence that both were developed solely for the PC)
2. Dead Space. Brilliant, tense 3rd person shooter. Enjoyed the hell out of it.
3. Mass Effect. Overrated. I was glad when I finished it so I could uninstall it. You know when a game becomes a chore that it has serious flaws. I'm baffled by those that think it is a good game. Gimme KotOR any day

I would also recommend Mirror's Edge, a unique, thrilling adreneline pumping ride from start to finish.
 
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I enjoyed Dead Space of thoose games, had best atmosphere intense action and somewhat interesting story until the end with a big suprise.
 
Something nobody has warned about is that Dead Space has really shitty controls. If you remap your forward button like I do, and have never used the W key like I do, then this is the worst game on the PC. EA felt that the console experience was needed on a PC. This is why EA will never get any of my cash again.
 
STALKER lacks polish. Should come with a can of Raid - it's that buggy. Roaming is fun. Freelancing is fun, I guess. Okay voice acting. The plot and storyline don't stick. Zero character development. The user interface itself leaves something to be desired. The opening music starts off with a Major 7th - if you're a music nerd, you'll know what I mean.

Dead Space? Try System Shock 2.

Mass Effect is essentially Knights of the Old Republic with guns. High marks for character development. Good voice acting. Slightly less interesting storyline (compared to KOTOR), but its depth and replayability are very appealing.
 
Stalker, in my opinion is meh....BUT i can see how some people may have enjoyed it. I tried my hardest to get into it but it just never drew me in. I got about 6 hours into it and still didn't find myself enjoying it.

I've yet to try Dead Space but would like to.
 
wrbt said:
I'm looking for a single player action game to keep me busy for awhile and would appreciate a recommendation from among Dead Space, Mass Effect, or Stalker... I haven't played any of them and they are all available on Steam. For the past year I've been mostly playing multiplayer games like UT and TF2.

I really enjoyed Bioshock so it's fair to say I like immersive environments even at the expense of some repetitiveness or real skill-based combat. I tend to play single player games in short bursts of an hour or so in the evenings so something that is satisfying with a segmented format would be great.

I'm still running a 8800 GTS 320 (which has aged well as a videocard) at 1440x900 so obviously I'm not cutting edge by any means, I'm sure I can run Stalker well but haven't researched how the others run.

Thanks in advance my friends.
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My vote is for Mass Effect. It is just simply a very awesome game. I would take Dead Space over S.T.A.L.K.E.R. just for some of the bugs, and it is a more polished game overal, but S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is still a good game.
 
slickmitch said:
Something nobody has warned about is that Dead Space has really shitty controls. If you remap your forward button like I do, and have never used the W key like I do, then this is the worst game on the PC. EA felt that the console experience was needed on a PC. This is why EA will never get any of my cash again.
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You can remap all your keys with a 3rd party app like Glovepie. Just a little work involved and the game controls are set-up as you want them. But, I agree EA should have allowed customisable controls from the off
 
slickmitch said:
Something nobody has warned about is that Dead Space has really shitty controls. If you remap your forward button like I do, and have never used the W key like I do, then this is the worst game on the PC. EA felt that the console experience was needed on a PC. This is why EA will never get any of my cash again.
Click to expand...

Worst controls on the PC go to Resident Evil 4. It didn't even have any native mouse support, there had to be a damn mod made for it. I agree Dead Space doesn't have great controls, it was pretty stiff, but it is far from the worst IMO.
 
I was considering STALKER CS, after Yahtzees review I thought I wouldn't bother. I like the original quite a bit but got bored of the constant problems and got a crap ending so was left underwhelmed
 
Simmonz said:
Worst controls on the PC go to Resident Evil 4. It didn't even have any native mouse support, there had to be a damn mod made for it. I agree Dead Space doesn't have great controls, it was pretty stiff, but it is far from the worst IMO.
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damn glad I didnt spend money on that then. I couldnt get GlovePie to work on vista 64 and just DLed Mass Effect because every Best Game thread on these forums mentions it.
 
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