This is one of the reasons I really like those types of RPGs (and probably never liked the infinity engine). I always find "imagination fueled narration" to be the best.

In that vein I want to recommend the RoA series, which are based on a very comprehensive and rather realistic (low fantasy) setting. They use the same setting as the Drakensang games.
What fantasy setting has all races unified in a UN like institution, eg? While ME certainly isn't unique (it has plenty if shout outs to many great science fiction shows, but that is part of its charm), it certainly isn't LoTR in space. Or D&D in space.

Many fantasy settings have forms of unions of various nations, I wouldn't really see that as a somewhat interesting aspect :D And I've never said the universe is not well-thought out, I'm just saying that inspirations are pretty clear and that when someone finally has viable resources to create interesting species, they basically stick to established limitations of the genre. And add magic to it.

I don't really care thou, I perceive similar settings as fantasy anyway: I think that technology used in science fiction should be at least plausible at the time of writing for it to be a sci-fi, everything else is just fantasy anyway.

LOL, yeah, I'm ok with old graphics, and I'm sure many are, but I'm also sure that many base their opinion on the setting of a game world on how it looks, and thus, seems fair to warn them.

And yeah, I agree it's the imagination that makes the game world in that one. That and I think the unique chapter system (unique at the time) really helped the story flow well, yet still gave the user the entire world to explore if s/he wanted. It was my favorite all time game for many, many, many years. I've had a couple of experiences since that matched it, but none I can say have eclipsed it.

But I started playing it a couple of weeks ago (GOG version) on my newer computer with a 28" 1080P set up (1920X1080) and it was quite literally unplayable. You couldn't make out much of anything except large blurs. I learned how to size the DOXBOX down and that helped tremenously, but after the newer games those graphics can be quite a shock.

But yeah, it's definitely a classic, and I too love those where imagination creates the world. Because your imagination has no hardware limits!!

Where Mass Effect wins out over the vasy majority of other gameworlds, fantasy or sci-fi, is the level of detail involved in its creation. A comprehensive, well-realised history detailing mankind's tentative steps into space, the way spaceflight works in the game, how 'knife-fight' ship-to-ship combat is handled, what the naming conventions are for Alliance ships.... all these things are a tiny fraction of what you can learn about the universe just by strolling along the deck of your ship. There's a lot of thought gone into the Mass Effect universe and it shows.

Yeah, that's quite right, the world of the game is quite detailed. I was just disappointed that it didn't really try anything new for a sci-fi fan.

Mind you, #3 is also an absolute masterpiece.
Just make sure you install the Community Patch!

Oh and Risen is almost equally good, might be a good time to play it since the sequel is being released later this month! (28th I believe)

I'm so excited I could release a spore cloud all over myself!

ARCANUM.

Use the fan patch.

I always assume that the creatures communicate in whatever way comes naturally to them, but it's translated into English for the sake of convenience in the same way that Germans speak English in war films. I think it was The 13th Warrior where the actors first speak some Scandinavian language, then gradually introduce English into it and in the end wind up speaking plain English; the sequence is there to covertly explain that the viewer is supposed to think the characters are speaking Norse or whatever the language was.

Yeah, that is the reasonable assumption, but I don't think it was explained anywhere in the game. I hate dubbed movies, Winnetou speaking German was horrible.

I prefer subtitles, like they did in KOTOR.

It would be better if they introduced some translating devide, like it was in Advent Rising. It makes it more believable for me.

Also, I think that Shepard shouldn't be able to speak Krogan or understand that. Human and Krogan mouths and ears are so different they would be not understandable.

Translating devices would be better.

And for the 13th warrior, it was horrible. He learned how to speak Norse without any person who would translate to him what they're talking about , and he did it in one night...

Gothic I, and to a lesser extent Gothic II, are atmosphear masterpieces. Maybe one hundred of men trapped on a penal colony. They hate each other, but since they are so few they cannot just kill each other, so it is all "power" relationships that don't go until the murder. In most case.

Morrowind. Enough said. A whole culture, with its own subcultures, everything deeply intertwened. The deepest universe I know of, by far. Long, very long game.

Less famous - Albion. Meet "new" civilizations with their socials orders and their weird technologies.

Arcanum, of course.

Not very RPGish, but you might want to try Original War, one of the most original and deepest RTS around. USA, Soviet Union and *** spoiler *** sent an handful of men back in time to "solve" things their way. Each. Unfortunately, it is only an handful of men, so lose one man, and you won't see him ever again in the campaign - kill one "bad" guy and he is good bye forever.

Actually, in Mass Effect they have those "translation devices". And they are rather well thought out. Better than in other SciFi settings *cough*startrek*cough*. But you have to read the codex thoroughly to find it. They even lampshade it occasionally.

Oh they do? My apologies then.

But that is just the general problem with just about any setting/series. When was something really originial the last time? Well, apart from Babylon 5, of course ;-).

Funny that you mention Babylon 5 in relation with Mass Effect... Anyway, I didn't really want original, it's more about me not really believing in the world because of a lot details. As for showing you something original, look at Perimeter, hehe.