Hey guys.

I'm in a bit of a dilemma and I hope you can help me out a bit. Due to the usual lack of cash my budget really only allows me to buy one game in the next months (also there is the good old exams to consider). Trouble is, there's quite a few interesting titles coming up.
As it is I'm split between Bioshock, Fallout 3 and Mirror's Edge.

As I've never played Bioshock due to lack of decent pc I'll have to play it on PS3. I really want to play that game. So it would be a serious contender to my government funded cash. But still, is it The One?
Then there's Fallout 3. I started playing Fallout at the release of the first one back in the day, and even if I'm worried and not sure Bethesda has done it right, I want the game, if only to have my fears confirmed. It would be awesome to rip through the Wasteland again though in a good game.
Mirror's Edge on the other hand seems very promising, and kinda innovative. I would really enjoy playing a game unlike any I've played before.

I would appreciate any thoughts on this as I'm not able to decide for myself. Also, am I missing anything? Are there any titles I've overlooked that promises to be interesting? Anything is welcome.

edit:
Should have added a poll. :)

Fallout 3 all the way.

Bioshock is awesome, but it's fairly linear. Fallout will at least offer a wider range of gameplay choices.

But Bioshock is a close second, because it is indeed...awesome.

Fallout 3 is gonna be this generation's Invisible War.

I'd go with Mirror's Edge.

harhol:
Fallout 3 is gonna be this generation's Invisible War.

That's what I fear. I mean, the game should have limitless potential, but I'm not sure they can use it well enough. But if they do it would be the best thing since... I don't know what really.

I have a bit more faith in Bethesda than most people seem to have, but I would definately have a hard time between Bioshock and FO3. The "shock" games are all time favorites of mine.

In the end, I would go with Fallout because like Baby Tea said it should offer lot more gameplay. I would definately scrounge together some extra cash over the next few months for Bioshock or look for it used in a few months if possible.

If the cash situation is as such (and I can safely say that my cash situation is never good), I would suggest that you wait and see how the scores are for each game as they are released. It atleast allows you to make an educated decision on which will we the better game.

I am a total noob when it comes to the fallout series, but as it is made by Bethesda and is an RPG, I would assume that it has a shit-ton of replayability and initial lifespan.

If it were me, I would go with Mirrors edge (but only if the reviews look atleast semi promising). It has a spark of innovation which is rare these days. My worries about it are that it may end up being shallow, not have a good lifespan and be repetitive. That said I don't really see myself as an optimist when deciding on games.

I by all means don't take all scores and reviews 100% as they are written, but they usually provide a decent enough insight. Good luck

Would I be crucified for suggesting buying two or three older or cheaper games? Obviously not just picking some at random but if you do your homework you're likely to get the most 'bang for your buck' than buying just one game for the next few months.

Unless it's just about having what other people are having.

Why not rent them?
If you fork out full price for a game and complete it inside 24 hours. You'll be pissed.

LordCraigus:
Would I be crucified for suggesting buying two or three older or cheaper games? Obviously not just picking some at random but if you do your homework you're likely to get the most 'bang for your buck' than buying just one game for the next few months.

Unless it's just about having what other people are having.

Normally I buy older games since the price is actually reasonable. I'm just thinking that I want to buy a new game for once and not just rummage around bins and used titles shelves. It's not really based on anything clever. Just the need to buy something new :) Kinda lame.
And I would say that it's not really about having what other people have. My friends tend to buy horrible games. I would rather keep the money than buy some crap. Though I feel Assassin's Creed kinda screwed me in that respect. Good thing it was cheap.

As for renting it's a good idea I hadn't thought about. It not a big thing in Denmark so I didn't consider it. But I could head down to Blockbuster when the time comes. I guess it would work for Bioshock and prolly Mirror's Edge, but I hope that Fallout has enough meat on it not to finish in a couple of hours (figuratively speaking).

The_Deleted:
Why not rent them?
If you fork out full price for a game and complete it inside 24 hours. You'll be pissed.

Precisely how I felt about Mass Effect.

Anyway. I've heard that Bioshock is way easy, and that you can finish it in 15-20 hours if you powerhouse through it. Fallout 3, I'm hoping, will have more staying power than that. And Mirrors Edge is coming out before the end of the year? Serious? That sneaked up on me. I gotta get an internet connection for my rock.

I'm going to go with the "rental" tide here.

Bioshock is awesome and must be played. Once. Which is really the problem, there's not much replay value and there's no multiplayer. Still totally worth at least a rental.

Fallout 3... I'd expect to be disappointed. Remember these truths: Bethesda has never been good at making people look good, making dialogue interesting, making combat fun, or creating genuine humor. We'll assume that Oblivion was more of a rounding error than their true "new direction", but given that they've described Fallout 3 as Oblivion with guns more than once, I'd approach with caution.

Mirror's Edge, I'm going to call now as being a rental. Bet you anything that the game is fun but that total gametime is under 12 hours.

- J

Considering there's something like 200 alternative ending cinematics, 100 perks (with a level cap of 20) and a 500 page strategy guide, my guess is FO3 will give you the most bang for your buck.

The only reason not to buy FO3 is the lack of child slaying.

If you liked Oblivion then you will like Fallout 3.

Mirrors Edge looks good, but fairly short. I would recomend renting this one.

Bioshock is a good game but I'm not sure if it is good enough to be the one you buy.

Fallout 3 offers more gameplay so I would go with that one. Does the PS3 version cost the same as the 360/PC at launch? Because I was thinking you could hand in a used copy of Fallout 3 to pay for Bioshock if it is only going to be around the $30 US mark.

If you're talking months then Fallout 3 is really the only option. BioShock is too good for words, but it's 90-minute blockbuster to Fallout's 10-season epic. But then, equally, Fallout's an unknown entity because it's not been released in any form yet.

Mirror's Edge... err, yeah. Ooh, is that the time? Must dash.

Uszi:
Considering there's something like 200 alternative ending cinematics, 100 perks (with a level cap of 20) and a 500 page strategy guide, my guess is FO3 will give you the most bang for your buck.

The only reason not to buy FO3 is the lack of child slaying.

Oblivion had at LEAST 100 spells, and it still sucked.

Oh well. Here's hoping Bloody Mess makes a glorious return.

It seems Fallout is the way to go. Even if it is a bit of a gamble. :)
I should add, I think, that I was not impressed by Oblivion, which is why I'm quite wary of forking over money for Fallout. But I'll likely end up doing it anyways and renting the others.

I would also add, that for all its promise, I don't expect Mirror's Edge to give me an enormous amount of play.

And as I mentioned, I had forgot about renting. It kinda gives me more options, even makes it possible to do all of them.

Edit:
And I for one hope to see child slaying in Fallout. Not that I expect to do a lot of it, but I want to be able to.

It's great, though, to get some input on this. Thanks all.

Last time I asked this of a friend they said 'learn to torrent.' Did they say 'learn to torrent'? let me think some more. Yes they definatly said 'learn to torrent.' funny scentece that, 'learn to torrent' i mean it took me a while to even make heads or tails of it

...at which point i said "budge off i aint no theif!" and vowed never to follow his advice.

anyways. You want something that can keep you absorbed etc? WoW maybe :P Actually, get the Morrowind GOTY edition. longer than oblivion, better story line than oblivion, mildly acceptable graphics.

If I were you, I'd read some reviews on Mirror's Edge and Fallout 3 first or get a demo.
If you haven't played Bioshock yet, you need to.

I would agree with folks that say if you enjoy Oblivion then you will like Fallout.
I beat Bioshock within 20 hours, and there is little replayability, despite the supposed different combos you can make with plasmids.
I offer a caveat when it comes to Mirror's Edge, in that it is a radically new concept, so you might spend your hard earned money, only to find that you don't like it or don't want to replay it.
If you have the chance, I recommend Mass Effect in terms of storyline and replayability, but you said you don't have a great computer and I assume you dont have a 360, so that one may be out of the question.
Overlord was a fun game, albeit not high on my replayability list, but I believe it came out on PC, and it definetly gave me a laugh or two.

urprobablyright:
Last time I asked this of a friend they said 'learn to torrent.' Did they say 'learn to torrent'? let me think some more. Yes they definatly said 'learn to torrent.' funny scentece that, 'learn to torrent' i mean it took me a while to even make heads or tails of it

...at which point i said "budge off i aint no theif!" and vowed never to follow his advice.

anyways. You want something that can keep you absorbed etc? WoW maybe :P Actually, get the Morrowind GOTY edition. longer than oblivion, better story line than oblivion, mildly acceptable graphics.

Well, I don't do a lot of torrents, save some tv-shows that don't air in Denmark, really. If a game isn't worth buying it's not worth playing, seems to be my thinking on that. There's a lot of games on TPB, but honestly, not a lot that holds any interest for me. And besides Steam makes it easy to be legit. Now if only Ubisoft would make their games available to me. Curse them :)

I'm not really into WoW. Or mmo's as a genre for that matter. I refuse to keep paying for a game. I have a Guild Wars game that does the job of satisfying my mmo need alright without a fee.

And I got Morrowind GOTY a couple of years back and have spend a huge amount of time on it.
My problem atm is that my pc really sucks. So right now I'm forced to go for the PS3. :)

And as I think I said, I wasn't that fond of Oblivion, but I blame that on the setting I think. It didn't really bring anything new to the table. At least Morrowind was different in setting than most rpgs.

And in general I'd go for a demo before paying for a game these days. So the store thingy on the PS3 and Steam really helps a lot in that respect.

Even if all this talk about Fallout makes me want to find the discs and start playing the first two again. Or possibly dig out System Shock 2. Never did get around to finish the damn thing. Lame...

<rant>
On a side note, I must admit I feel old these days seeing new installments of my old favorites come out. (Bioshock not counted there) It seems the Golden Age is over and we're stuck with rehashes of classics. Actually that's why I'm interested in Mirror's Edge. At least it's something new. It just seems a bit depressing looking at all the numbers these days. GTA IV, Fallout 3, Civilization IV, Duke Nukem Forever (maybe), Splinter Cell (whatever number that is), MGS 4, God of War 3, Diablo 3, CoD 5, all the Star Wars crap (and TFU didn't change that), The Sims etc. ad infinitum. It seems uninspired, really.
</rant>