So.

I recently bought a beast gaming PC (not the highest end, but definitely beast by my own standards) and decided, after I'd seen how the graphics card could handle Civilization 5 and a high-end Minecraft texture pack pretty well, that I wanted to pick up a new game. My first thought was, of  course, an MMO.

The first PC game I ever really played was Runescape (I'd even consider going back to that, but I'm too used to the WoW-style controls and I don't want to have to start from scratch again), and as such I'm obviously more inclined to pick an MMO. The two options are Star Wars: The Old Republic and WoW.

I was invited to a beta weekend a few weeks ago and. even though my pre-awesome PC could barly handle it, I could still sense the innate awesomeness of the game (especially the Trooper. GOD I loved the Trooper). As such, I'm defnitely considering buying SW:TOR. On the other hand, WoW looks slightly more appealing with the whole transmogrification (since I'm a customization whore) than the last time I played, so that's an option as well.

There is, however, a third option- Skyrim. I've watched plenty of videos and listened to plenty of people talk about it, and it definitely looks like I could rip endless hours of gameplay out of it due to it's sandbox-ish traits.

Those are the three basic options.

Here, however, is where the problem comes in- I'm poor.

Now, I can, if necessary, wait till Christmas to save up for SWTOR or Skyrim, but WoW is on sale right now (I could get a new account all the way to WOTLK for $15 if I wanted) and as such that is something I must consider.

So! What should I do?

Try Age of Conan...Its free...has the best graphics of any mmorpg if you have a nice rig...and it will hold you over till xmas.

SWTOR will get cheaper after the new year but Skyrim will stay the same price for allot longer

Buy Skyrim. It's simply awesome and will get even better after January when they release the mod tools.

Even though I recognize Skyrim as the pinacle of "realistic", fantasy, single player sand box games and much better than Oblivion ... it didn't manage to keep me interested longer than a month or so and I think that goes for many players. Depending of your financial situation Skyrim might or might not be worth your money. To me it was but I am disappointed that it doesn't hold my interest for a longer time.

All I know is that a good mmorpg, which you'll play for months and months, is more value for your buck if you are on a budget.

WOW is the safe choice and has proven to be a game that can keep players playing for years and years but it is going in a direction which many older players don't like for the past few years.

SWTOR is the hot new chick on the block; an improvement from WOW in many regards but it has yet to prove its longevity. It MIGHT or MIGHT NOT be a long term succes for many people.

Good luck picking :)

Personally I would go with Skyrim without a doubt!

I just picked it up a few days ago myself and have already sunk the hours I was supposed to be sleeping into it on top of any time I havn't been at work.

Saying this though, I havn't looked at SWOTR too much if I'm honest. I probably should have been doing as I'll regret it when jealousy kicks in from the people around me playing it and telling me all about it; so i can't much vouch for that...

WoW is good, but well passed it's use by date... I came to it late, only last year, took me a couple of months of on and off playing to hit max level, and I was raiding (poorly) within about 5 - 6 months. That being the "end game" of WoW, puts it as one of the shortest MMO's I've played.

Originally posted by tom_gore

Buy Skyrim. It's simply awesome and will get even better after January when they release the mod tools.

Skyrim was today announced as fastest selling PC game on Steam , ever ...

It broke concurrent record of people playing and took it from online game MW2

It won game of the year, without anyone even thinking twice.

Skyrim is revolution in RPG gaming.

SWTOR is just another new MMO, wait few months when it becomes bargain bin or F2P

I'd have to vote in the "Skyrim" column. There hasn't been a game in the past four years that has sucked me in like this. It has everything that a good MMORPG should have, but without having to fuss with all that MMO. It's an anti-social RPG. An ASRPG.

It's brilliant. And I wish it was an MMORPG. However, in some instances it does feel like one, oddly.

Originally posted by Lobotomist

Originally posted by tom_gore

Buy Skyrim. It's simply awesome and will get even better after January when they release the mod tools.

Skyrim was today announced as fastest selling PC game on Steam , ever ...

It broke concurrent record of people playing and took it from online game MW2

 

It won game of the year, without anyone even thinking twice.

 

Skyrim is revolution in RPG gaming.

SWTOR is just another new MMO, wait few months when it becomes bargain bin or F2P

 

You can't be serious about F2P.

I have both games and I don't think one can substitute for the other.

Skyrim - Awesome game/ One up-front payment/ No monthly fee/ Steadly increasing awesomeness once the Creation Kit gets realeased in January.

Enough said.

Bren

Both games are good depending how you view them, but also they are entirely different genres. do you want an MMO or do you want to play a single player RPG?

Skyrim is the epitome of awesomeness. Get Skyrim.

Elder Scrolls by itself is a very successful and popular series. But all the previous titles, including Morrowind, pale compared to Skyrim. It is just - that - good. It features scripted events even in the most minor of sidequests, storytelling is interesting and fast-paced, still there are hundreds of major quests to do and enjoy. The world is beautiful beyond measure with dynamic weather (snow, clouds, etc) and even more massive than any previous TES title, which were considered huge by themselves.

Well, I could go on praising this title forever, I'm a 20 year RPG vet, played everything from Eye of the Beholder to Mass Effect. If you are in any form interested in RPGs, GET SKYRIM! It's the bestest RPG out there hands down.

M

Apple or pineapple?

I am a 20 year fruit vet so trust me and go with pineapple.

I would put my vote for Skyrim.  It is the most fun I have had in an RPG since the days of the SSI Gold box series.  I am also hoping this break from MMO's will allow me to erally enjoy playing GW2 when it comes out.

     I'd have to cast my vote for Skyrim, along with many of the previous posters, because I've played Wow to death and see SW:TOR as WoW in space. If you really want to play an mmo the decision should be simple for you. If you're at all burned out by the seemingly endless repetition seen in todays mmorpg titles then go with Skyrim. 

Skyrim with lots of mod will test your system better than swtor, even AoC is better than ToR. Real benchmark for monster rig is BF3 imo.

skyrim - the best singleplayer RPG to come along in a long time. with Skyrim I don't even miss the MMO genre, and if someone can actually get an online mod working .... then screw MMORPGs outright.

Originally posted by Supersoups

Apple or pineapple?

I am a 20 year fruit vet so trust me and go with pineapple.

As if games of a certain genre were all about taste *rolleyes*.

You know, there ARE some games that are better and some that are worse.

Just like nobody in his right mind would argue that a Kia is a nicer car than a Bentley. Yea, cars brands in general are a matter of taste, and ya, both go from A to B and sure there are some rabid fans that prefer the Kia, but still.

If someone's asking for a GENERAL advice Skyrim is by all common standards a kick-ass game. Period.

M

Reply to OP,

Unless you're an FTARD the obvious answer is get Skyrim.

Skyrim is not only a great game it's thee BEST!  game out on the market, period!

Skyrim sold more than 3.5 million copies in the first 48 hours of it's retail launch.

Proof of sales: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2011/11/16/bethesda-ships-7-million-copies-of-skyrim.aspx

Yes there are alot of true smart gamers out there unfortunately not on this website. Proof is from all the FTARDs that pre-ordered SWTOR and bragged about it on this site.

I can tell you that 3.5 million gamers will not be purchasing SWTOR. True gamers will pass a piece of garbage like SWTOR for the better title such as Skyrim. You will not be finishing Skyrim in like 1 to 3 days either regardless if you play it 24/7, not gonna happen. You better plan on spending about 1 to 2 months playing all day everyday. Then when you do finish it it's time to go back and make a new character and play through again for all the quest you missed the first time.

For those that say the game is bugged......you think SWTOR won't have a cr@p bucket load of bugs??? Not only will SWTOR have many bugs it will be pretty much a boring ride after you spent a month in it. That equates to having a lobotomy being more fun.

So when I come out here and write you sit down, STFU and read.

Skyrim or SW:ToR

hmmmmm....tough one....the MMO player in me says go SW:TOR, but then I realize the SW:ToR isn't worth the price right now...in a month it'll drop in price.  Skyrim on the other hand will remain pretty pricey for the foreseeable future.   Both will give you hundreds of hours of game play...but in the end...which type of gamer are you?

Do you like to play games with otehr people?

Do you like single player games?

Personally...I'd go Skyrim simply because it is a way better game than SW:ToR, if only for the immersivenous of the games world alone - it is gorgeous and really draws you into the worlds game setting.

If you are a devote MMO player and must chose between Skyrim and SW:ToR and not some other MMO - then go SW:ToR.  It's not as good as some of the other MMO's currently on the market, but hey give it a year and maybe it'll finally be more immersive and actually have worlds that don't feel so dead.

Lol, the majority seems to have chosen Skyrim.

I do have ONE question though- is the only race available humans? I mean, I remember seeing multiple races in the character creation, but so far only videos of humans.

As to SW:TOR. I kinda agree with a few posters- I LOVED it (and I do mean that), but it's current flair is probably just from launch and it will, obviously, die down, with only the most devoted fans sticking around.

As to WoW. Depending on the answer to my question, this option may still be on the table. I mean, I like playing humans and all but...playing an orc raider sounds pretty fun too :O