[quote name='Fell Open Ian']I've been having a similar experience with their RPGs for the last few years as they feel like they are simply making KotOR over and over again with slight tweaks and improvements made to the systems and technical aspects.
The Mass Effect series in particular baffles me in regards to its popularity as so much of it is generic Sci-Fi tropes and, so far, the games have been technically unimpressive to say the least. (framerate, controls, shadows, textures, and just general buggy jank)
To be fair, the same criticisms could be said of the Dragon Age series in that it's very technically mediocre and so generically
fantasy that you can actually see the Tolkien-derived...well everything all over the place.
I dunno; they still make good games and their dialog and character work is still very engaging and intriguing but BioWare has definitely lost a lot of their appeal for me. (which is odd to say as I still enjoy Bethesda's RPGs and they have also been making the same basic game since, at least, Elder Scrolls III)
Perhaps all of that would mean more were I not buying every damn RPG that they release.

Hell I downright detest the state in which Obsidian releases their games and yet I still buy them. (although only when I can snag them for ~$30)[/QUOTE]
I would argue that Bioware succeeds in providing a deep and dynamic narrative - the world and your party grows and changes as you proceed through the game. Sure, Mass Effect may not be a new kind of story. But you feel the "world" it's immersed into more than most other games.
Alternately, getting achievements for banging other characters in your party may be a part of it as well.