choices choices...

Hi GSers, this is my first post in awhile as I haven't logged into my account since I don't know when.

Anyways I'm in the process of deciding what games to get to celebrate the end of the semester in December. The thing is there's lots of games that look appealing and I need help narrowing the list down. Yes this is sort of a "what game should I get" thread though it will be more specific and hopefully I'm not violating any rules.

Games I am considering:

Crysis: Warhead
Far Cry 2
Dead Space(PC/360)
Bioshock(PC/360)
Fallout 3(PC/360)

I'm likely getting the orange box and Gears 2 though those aren't up for consideration. Basically I'll probably pick 2 from the list above. Yes I've listed 360 games as possible options, though I'm not concerned as much with platform right now, I'll explain a little more below. Also in this day and age the DRM on these games will factor into my decision to get them unfortunately.

With the exception of Bioshock I never really followed any of these games until recently.

Warhead: Main reason to get it is because it's the sequel (sort of) to Crysis. Though to be honest I didn't really like the original that much. Also this is confirmed to have limited installs.

Far Cry 2: Kind of what crysis was meant to be. This game seems cool though I've read that there isn't tons of mission variety and it gets repetitive. AI is also a bit wonky at times (supposedly). However I'm in the mood for shooters and this still looks decent, I'm also more focused on single player games.

Dead Space: New IP. While I'm not a fan of horror games/movies/etc... I am in the mood for something that is really atmospheric and draws you in while also being fairly story driven and intense. The main issue here is replay value and I've read complaints about the mouse control on the PC. Unfortunately I don't have a wired 360 controller right now (though I might get 1). If I get this I'd probably rent Bioshock or vice versa, though both seem good. The main deciding factor between this and Bioshock is longevity.

Bioshock: not much to say here, it's been out for awhile. I'd like to play it at least once so even if I don't get it I'll probably rent it for the 360. I've heard horror stories about the PC version's DRM. This game is appealing for the same reasons as dead space, both I hear are really good.

Fallout 3: I'm not a huge RPG fan though I don't have any genre that I really like more than others, a good game is a good game as far as I'm concerned. I have mass effect and while I generally liked it there were things I had issues with, most significantly the bland side quests and relatively short story. If I end up getting Fallout 3 there's a good chance I'd get it on 360 since I may bring it to my dorm next semester and would like a good single player game to play on it. By the way I don't have Oblivion so I don't know what Bethesda games are like for comparisons, I hear fallout is better though.

If this isn't the place to post this I apologize, please let me know and I'll move it there (unless it's my blog since no one will answer it).

I wouldn't get both Dead Space and Bioshock. I have played both, and, if you are going to get one, go for Dead Space.

I can't give a recommendation between Far Cry 2, Fallout 3, and Crysis: Warhead. If you're not a huge RPG fan, go for Warhead or Far Cry 2. My advice would be to just get Warhead-that way, by the time you get around to Far Cry 2, it will hopefully be cheaper :).

If I were you, though, I would get Call of Duty 4, if you don't already have it. If you do, preorder Call of Duty: World at War. I have tried the beta multiplayer, and it is extremely fun. It would definitely be worth your while.

Based on your comments I'll rule out Warhead since you didn't like Crysis much.

Fallout 3 has a short main quest, the side quests might not be interesting enough for you.

Dead Space and Bioshock is a hard one both are going to be about the same length. I'm enjoying Dead Space more than Bioshock I think, but I think bioshock would offer a tad more replay value.

Any of those would be a good choice but if you want two I'll select.

Dead Space

Far Cry 2

Far Cry 2 is pretty fun, but it can be repetitive and long drives etc. MP is included though (which the others apart from warhead don't have)

If you don't want to play MP, then Fallout 3 replaces Far Cry 2.

Thanks for the replies. Yes I have COD4, though I'm not planning on getting the next one. As I mentioned before, I probably wouldn't get both Bioshock AND Dead Space, if I happend to get either I would likely rent the other. The question is which of the two would last longer.

As for the other 3. I'm shying away from warhead since it's so similar to Crysis, and while Crysis is definitely a good game I just didn't enhoy it as much, particularly the later half once the aliens were introduced (though the level in the ship was good). It seems like FC2 is closer to what a sandbox shooter is supposed to be, though it has some issues of its own.

I wouldn't consider myself a big RPG fan though I've played and liked my share of them, most notably Baldur's Gate 2, WoW and Mass Effect plus some others. I'm more into sci fi stuff than fantasy, so fallout gets points there.

Nope, Warhead/Wars and Dead Space, have only 5 installs. EA is working on a revoke tool, for all their games, Spore, Mass Effect, RA 3, etc, but since it was just to please some fans and they don't care much about those that want their installs back, it could take a while before it's released.

Anyway, 5 installs is more reasonable than 3, so imo get Warhead, it's better than Crysis and more fun, the 2nd would be Fallout 3, definitely GOTY for me, and it's from Bethesda, the dev that brought us Oblivion, the worst game I played, I myself can't believe how good the game is. Bad things about Fallout 3: there is a city with R that has only one type of guard and it's cloned a few times (like Oblivion), the animations suck (would have been better if they didn't include 3rd person), and it has some stability issues, you get low frames in places that are less complex than huge, detailed places in which you get a lot of frames.

So, I would say, Warhead and Fallout 3.

Fallout 3 has a short main quest, the side quests might not be interesting enough for you.

nutcrackr

It's a lot of fun, and the whole story is good, I don't even know which quests are from the main story :P the only way I know some missions are not that important to the one that gave me the quest is when I see "optional" but even those optional quests feel just as important and well made.

It's definitely a lot better than Mass Effect (except for a few extremely emotional moments) for me and I don't even like the post-apocalyptic theme all the green, grey and brown, but somehow I love Fallout and it's art direction.