# Recommend me some PC games!



## Culhwch (Jan 25, 2009)

Well, I've just spent the past day and a half building my new computer, and now that she's running I thought I'd ask for some recommendations for PC games. I've been out of the scene for, oh, about four or five years now, so I'm looking to catch up on anything good I might have missed (and that are now cheap, coincidentally!). I'm a bit of a strategy and FPS guy, and I don't mind RPGs. A few of the more recent ones I've got my eye on are_:_ _Company of Heroes_, _Sins of a Solar Empire_, _Empire: Total War_ (picked up _Med II_ today), _CoD: Modern Warfare_ and _World at War_, _Dead Space_, _Oblivion_, _Assassin's Creed_, and _Mirror's Edge_. What should I add to the list?


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## sloweye (Jan 25, 2009)

I really like *Medieval total war. *(with the Viking invasion pack).


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## Boneman (Jan 25, 2009)

If you weren't there before, I recommend avoiding World of Warcraft, or we won't hear from you for five years or so.......more addictive than marmite, let me tell you. I'm still playing Rome Total war, but prefer Shogun. Is Fable on the PC? I'm playing that on my son's Xbox, but it's very easy....... Good humour in it, though: any character that can f**t loudly, and earn kudos from a watching crowd, is high in my book.


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## dustinzgirl (Jan 25, 2009)

Ugh I hate WOW. 

My son plays, Age of Empires, Civilization, Mideval, Axis and Allies, Galactic Civilizations, and my son also has Turok. These games run on his Emachine so they don't take up a lot of space on a computer if you just want some low graphic games to play.


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## Rahl Windsong (Jan 25, 2009)

If you have the PC to run it I highly recommend Bioware's Mass Effect. Its a very cinematic RPG which lets you play through as a make Captain Shepard or a Female Captain Shepard, in the game you are referred to only as "Shepard" however there is a complete voice set for both the male and female PC, I actually enjoyed the female PC the most because for some reason it seemed more appropriate for me to be completely ruthless in my choices during the game. Also....bit of a spoiler here....
















If you play the female Shepard there can be a sort of lesbian sex scene at one point in the game, if you played all your cards right, and you have to hand it to Bioware for that one as I have never seen anything quite like it in PC games before this. Anyway I will let you decide how you want to play the love interest parts of the game there are also a few other options besides the female/alien female one.

It may sound as if the entire game experience for me was the sex scene but there is far more to the game then that and I have played through the game at least 5 times now, I am not sure I can say that about any other game I own, and I own a lot of games.

PS: WoW is an ok game its just that you really need more time then anyone really has to give to it in order to accomplish anything in that game. Also the latest expansion I found WAY too easy to level my character from 70 to 80 and before I knew it I was 80, bored, and then cancelled the account. The entire expansion lasted about a month for me, just way way too easy and thus became boring really fast.


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## Culhwch (Jan 25, 2009)

I have no desire to play _WoW_ - I played it once at a friend's house, never really saw the point! I play games to be immersed, not to tlk to sum n00b in teh us in txt spk. _Mass Effect_ sounds... intereting, Rahl. I'll have a look into it. I was actually eyeing up _Fallout 3_ as well.


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## dustinzgirl (Jan 26, 2009)

Culhwch said:


> I have no desire to play _WoW_ - I played it once at a friend's house, never really saw the point! I play games to be immersed, not to tlk to sum n00b in teh us in txt spk. _Mass Effect_ sounds... intereting, Rahl. I'll have a look into it. I was actually eyeing up _Fallout 3_ as well.



Dude, you HAVE to play Mass Effect. Its friggin awesome. Oh, and playing as a girl you can have girl boy adult relations too.


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## Lillyanna (Jan 26, 2009)

I just started playing Final Fantasy 11 on my PC.  It's not _new_, I suppose, but it looks like they update the software pretty frequently and add new features all the time.  There's a free 30-day trial; I'm not sure that I like the monthly bill but I'm giving it a go.

The graphics are pretty nice (similar to FF12 but not as crisp) and I can see how folks would spend many hours playing the game.



As for Mirror's Edge, I played a demo version that is downloadable on the PS3.  It's a really beautiful game.  Not the type of thing I would play, but it's very neat.  I'd suggest playing a demo or trying it out before buying it.


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## Happy Joe (Jan 26, 2009)

Check the stores for Titan Quest Gold (contains both Titan Quest and the Immortal Throne expansion) its a variation on the classic Diablo 2 RPG.
Honestly I have been very disappointed in last years gaming releases, Definitely check out (download) the Crysis Demo though (it contains about half of the good parts of the game and is free).
If you haven't tried Sacred 1 (another Diablo 2 clone) it was very entertaining (Sacred 2 was worthless though, IMO).

For first person shooters (not sure how far back to go);
Doom 3 and its expansion - good
Pain Killer and its expansion - good
Quake 4 was only OK.
Farcry 1 was good
Orange box (halflife2 + other games) is a good value (though you will have to install Steam on your system (requires an internet connection), I don't play them because of Steam).

Avoid Warhead and Farcry 2, Crysis had good graphics and was fun in places (extremely boreing/frustrating/can generate motion sickness, in others) but was way too short, the same with Warhead (less than 10 hours of game play each).

Enjoy!


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## Fried Egg (Jan 26, 2009)

I would recommend "World In Conflit"; a great RTS strategy game with a focus on the tactics and combat rather than on resource management.


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## Antilles (Feb 1, 2009)

Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the Pacific


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## Antilles (Feb 1, 2009)

oh....

The Witcher


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## Overread (Feb 1, 2009)

I have heard good things of the Witcher - I think there is an enhanced edition out now with improved and added content as well. Its a mature RPG game with a well written story.

Sins of a Solar Empire is well worth getting and they are adding some expansion packs to the game and if the first of these is anything to go by theye are worthy additions. Though the expansions will only be released through online distribution (and you have ot pay to) and the game also had distribution problems as well - but their pay and download service is good and you can also order a physical copy of the game as well (which I did - order comes from the US). 

Aside from that see what takes your fancy - I can recomend more RTS games if you feel you need them


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## Karn Maeshalanadae (Feb 1, 2009)

Boneman said:


> If you weren't there before, I recommend avoiding World of Warcraft, or we won't hear from you for five years or so.......more addictive than marmite, let me tell you. I'm still playing Rome Total war, but prefer Shogun. Is Fable on the PC? I'm playing that on my son's Xbox, but it's very easy....... Good humour in it, though: any character that can f**t loudly, and earn kudos from a watching crowd, is high in my book.


 
Just today I got Fable: The Lost Chapters and my laptop runs it pretty well. Not really sure yet what to think of it, though....


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## dustinzgirl (Feb 1, 2009)

Lillyanna said:


> As for Mirror's Edge, I played a demo version that is downloadable on the PS3.  It's a really beautiful game.  Not the type of thing I would play, but it's very neat.  I'd suggest playing a demo or trying it out before buying it.



Mirorr's Edge is a beautiful game, I love the design. But, I really don't like playing the game because its just confusing to do all that running and jumping and you never know where you are. Plus, NO GUNS! I'm an American dang it! LOL. 



Manarion said:


> Just today I got Fable: The Lost Chapters and my laptop runs it pretty well. Not really sure yet what to think of it, though....



We have that one but I never played the lost chapters. I like fable 2.


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## the smiling weirwood (Feb 1, 2009)

Its not for PC, but Folklore is so amazingly awesome you should play it if you can.


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## GrantG (Feb 2, 2009)

Half-Life 2. And when you finish it, buy Garry's Mod. But if you haven't played Half-Life 1, you might as well get that first. I think you can probably get all three of these suggestions for less than fifty bucks.

The best part is you don't even have to leave the house. Just download Steam and enter your credit card number.


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## Rahl Windsong (Mar 7, 2009)

The Witcher was an ok game but there was way to many loading screens and me waiting for it to load. I did finish it because I quite liked the story but the autosave feature, which could not be turned off, and the loading screens between zones was way too much and actually made the game less immersive then it could have been.

The Witcher uses a highly modified version of Bioware's game engine for, I think Dragon Age Origins. So I hope and pray that Dragon Age does not have the loading screen problems I saw with The Witcher.

The best thing about The Witcher was the fact that the developer, CDProjectRed a Polish developer, came out with an enhanced version several months after they released the game. For any registered owner of the game the enhanced version was a free download, along with many other goodies like an editor for players to make their own adventures and other things.


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## Urlik (Mar 8, 2009)

GrantG said:


> Half-Life 2. And when you finish it, buy Garry's Mod. But if you haven't played Half-Life 1, you might as well get that first. I think you can probably get all three of these suggestions for less than fifty bucks.
> 
> The best part is you don't even have to leave the house. Just download Steam and enter your credit card number.


 
seconded
download steam and have a look through the demos and also the special deals (there are some great bundles that could save you a fortune like the complete ID collection or the complete Valve collection)


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## Rahl Windsong (Mar 9, 2009)

Yes if you are an avid gamer its almost a must to have Steam on your PC. You get bored with the games you have and you have Steam, in a few minutes you can find something new to play and be downloading it. Also if you have a fast connection to the internet they can deliver the goods fast to you so the wait is pretty minimal.

I just wish they had the PC version of Fable 1 on there I want to play that game and its hard to find on store shelves now for some reason, at least in Canada. I notice now that Bioware has some of their games on there as well, like Mass Effect and if I did not already own it that would be one I would get for sure. 

Another nice feature is you just right click the game in your games listing and there is an option to back up the game files so if you need to reinstall windows or something you don't loose the games you paid for.


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## Culhwch (Mar 9, 2009)

I registered with Steam over the weekend to download the _Empire: Total War_ demo. Very tempted to buy that... But I must be good and wait for it to come down in price. I also downloaded the _World of Goo_ demo, very addictive...


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## Boaz (Mar 13, 2009)

Cul, are you running Vista? You might have some compatibility issues with older games, if you are.

Strategy: 

_Total War_ is a great series to play solo. _Shogun_ and _Medieval_ are completely different from _Rome_, _Medieval II_, and _Empire_. In the grand campaigns for STW and MTW, you control army stacks and conquer provinces, ala _Risk_... either you control a province or your enemy does. In the campaigns for RTW, MTW2, and ETW, you may control the towns and castles, but your enemy could be moving in and out cutting your trade routes and devastating your countryside. The religious aspects of STW and MTW are very entertaining. As a daimyo of Japan, you can early access to guns... but you'll have to convert to Catholocism. As the King of France, you'll have to balance fighting the English, the Holy Roman Empire, the Spanish, sending out Crusades, and not angering the Pope... you'll learn to detest the Papacy. Also, you might want to check out the _Westeros_ mod for Med2.

_Kohan: Ahriman's Gift_ with the _Ahriman's Betrayal_ mod is still my favorite multiplayer game. I know it came out in 2001, but my friends and I still regularly play it. This falls in the fantasy genre, but the combat is very in depth. Unlike other RTS', _Kohan_ rewards smarts, creativity, and keeping your troops alive. You don't just crank out swordsmen or trolls, you must build units consisting of main troops, support troops, and leadership. Support elements can turn a unit from good to vicious and vice versa. Units and leaders gain experience, so retreating them out of a losing battle and then resupplying them at your cities is key to victory. Most RTS games go to the fastest resource pig... once the scales begin to tip, you'll never get them going the other way. In _Kohan_, I've seen countless games where players with courage and smarts can overcome losing multiple cities and the annihilation of their armies and come back to win. Six or eight guys on a LAN make this game the most fun, since Cowboys and Indians in the back yard. By the way, don't bother with Kohan II, it bites.

_Lords of the Realm II_ came out thirteen years ago, but it's still fun. The graphics are lame. The battles are completely unrealistic. And the lack of outside geo-political problems are bothersome. But, it's tons of fun. The economic game of balancing food production (cattle, wheat, or both), building production, resource production(wood, stone, and/or iron), and weapons production (bows, swords, pikes, etc.) while keeping your people happy and healthy (the plague can devastate your counties), while enforcing taxation, and while dealing with droughts, floods and invasions is quite nerve wracking. I love it! By the way, LOTR III was atrocious.

_Master of Olympus: Zeus_ was a hoot to play. It was a light hearted city building spinoff from the Ceasar series. It was not SimCity... it was more intuitive and more fun. Monsters such as the Cyclops, Medusa, or Cerberus will be inflicted upon your city by angry gods. The way to deal with these destructors are to build special hallowed halls to entice legendary heroes such as Hercules, Theseus, and Odysseus to come help you. Also, you could choose from a dozen Greek Gods to make your people worship. Each god bestows unique blessings upon completion of a temple to them. The combat was not good, but it was not supposed to be. You sent your troops off to invade another town... and you found out later how it went!

FPS:

_Max Payne_. (2001) I was the one person who played this game before seeing _The Matrix_... But of course, I'd seen John Woo's _The Killer_ and _Hard Boiled_. I loved _Max Payne_. The one commonality with _The Matrix_ was a mechanism called bullet time. Bullet time was slow motion where Max moved faster than everyone else. I remember Max flying through a doorway with his dual Desert Eagles blasting both bad guys on the left before he twisted in mid-air and shot both bad guys on the rights in their backs as he slid along the floor. If you like Chow Yun Fat in _The Killer_ or _Hard Boiled_, then I think you'll like Max Payne.

_Grand Theft Auto: Vice City_. This is probably the best game I've ever played... and it's probably the worst. Highlights include open ended play, insane vehicle chases, eight complete in-game radio stations, eighties' music and clothes, and a fondness for all things _Miami Vice_ and _Goodfellas_. Lowlights include murder, murder for hire, murder for vengeance, murder for cash, picking up prostitutes... Banging hookers actually increased your health!!! Of couse, you could always murder the whore afterwards and get your money back. Other lowlights include intimidation, racial profiling, racial violence, extortion, and becoming such a public nuisance that the cops call in the FBI... and when the FBI can't stop you, they call in the Army!!!... and I don't mean that these things are happening in the game, I mean that you are doing them!!!

RPG: 

_Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic_. I'm not big into sci-fi, but I found this one for $9.99. The game takes place three thousand years before the movies... and if you can get past the unbelievability that their tech is the same as Han's and Luke's, you'll have fun. I quickly got sucked into following the story to chase down Darth Malak and save the Republic. Along the way, I built a party of ten, including three Jedi, a Twi'lek, a Wookie, two droids, and two war vets. The game features the Force, lightsabers, romance, vengeance, discovery, loyalty, and betrayal. The best thing about KOTOR is the story. The story, not the lightsabers, drives this game. I was so immersed in the game, that the plot twist literally floored me... I never saw it coming! By the way, this game follows the _Dungeons and Dragons_ 3rd Edition rules for combat, finding things, and taking actions. 

_Dungeon Siege_. Not the greatest game... it's been called a _Diablo_ clone, but it was pure excitement. It's tagline was "It's not hard to defeat an army when you are one." KOTOR had nine NPC's plus your main character, but you could only play a total of three at any one time. In DS, you could build your party up to eight characters and play them all at once! It was glorious mayhem! Fighters, archers, healers, wizards, and a pack mule (that's right, you could include a pack mule in the party to maximize your treasure carrying capacity) all scrambling for position after an ambush by orcs, undead, or abominable snowmen. Another great thing was the absence of classes and levelling trees. No, if you picked up a stick and killed an orc, then you gained proficiency in melee weapons and increased your strenghth... if you cast fireball, then you got better at combat magic and increased your wisdom. Your characters gained the exact and appropriate experience that you wanted... Your characters were single classed or multi-classed according to your preferences. I'd love to see this concept in an mmorpg.

MMORPG:

When you are constantly subjected to kids and morons typing, "bush=epic fail" and "**** off noobz" and "chuk noris pwns", then mmorpgs stink.

But when you have a friend or two (maybe in the same room with you) working together to defeat the minions of the Orc King and recover the Sword of Justice from the fire-drake, Glammorth, then mmorpgs are great fun.

_City of Heroes_. Okay, who does not want to be a hero? Wearing a one-piece, tight, white mini-skirt (with a red cross emblazoned on her chest), white gloves, and white patent leather heels, RN was a hero to notice. Her blonde bob hair-do mini-skirt elicted thousands of "Hello Nurse" comments. Of course, her ditzy demeanor and complete lack of any offensive powers made every hero work extra hard just to keep her alive. And then I also played Tony Tate the Civic Cornerback (brother of the fictitious Terry Tate, office linebacker commercials). He'd run around slamming criminals to ground and yelling, "Don't do the crime, if you can't do the time! Wooooo!!!!" Heroes was great fun while I had a group to play with.

_World of Warcraft_. Sure it's huge, but that just means there are more people to play with. You can use voice chat so you don't have to read any of the moronic chatter. I've made friends around the USA through WoW. For me the biggest problem is that waaaay toooo many people think it's about leveling up and getting better gear. It's not. WoW, like all mmorpgs, is about the process... the overall story... the personal aspects of your character... your interaction with your friends. I'm always being asked, "Can you run me through Shadowfang Keep?" or somesuch. My response is, "Did Aragorn ask Gandalf to run him through Moria just for XP or for a magic sword?" Hell, no. The game is not about bigger, better gear. It's not about having your level 80 wizard pal commit genocide on the Furbolgs of Ashenvale so that you get free XP and gear. It's about being the hero even while fighting level four kobolds.

There's so much enjoyment and replayability of the memories... Like when we had fought our way through countless miles of sewer combating zombies and we finally found ourselves face to face with the monstrous, arch-villain Dr. Vahzilok... we gathered while we set our buffs and powered up... "Bill, stay close."  "Hey, Bill... I mean, Flying Phantom, come back."  "Phantom, Bill, we're not ready..."  "Oh, ****!!!"  We all died... and we all wanted to ground the Flying Phantom permanently.

Mmorpgs, in my opinion, are about as much fun as you make them... and don't let idiots steal your joy.


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## Rahl Windsong (Mar 14, 2009)

If you want a good diablo/diablo2 clone check out Titan Quest The Immortal Throne, its a very good game.


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## Menion (Apr 24, 2009)

Youve gotta go foe Fable The Lost Chapters its awsome (i got it and skived off Highschool for 3 days) i couldnt stop playing.
Oh and Fable 2 should be good.


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## thepaladin (Apr 25, 2009)

It's old school but if you haven't played Baldur's Gate II and i't expansion I'd recommend it highly. I play PC RPGs pretty much exclusively (in other words I play almost only RPGs and I have left other platforms) and Baldur's Gate is still probably the best plotted deepest game I've played. You'll fihd better graphics etc. of course in newer games, but these are good and the game is great. I've played it several times and I can still now and then find small things I haddn't hit on before...

I had played through at least 3 times before getting into the Lich quest...nasty side quest. There is just a lot of game there.


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