[recommend on] Looking for a few good PC games

Greg USN

So, after about 10 years of having a pretty lame series of pc/laptops I took the plunge and got an alienware m15X with 4GB RAM, i5 core, and a 260M GPU. It can run the Crisis Demo on high settings really well. I have been out of the PC market so long that I am not sure what I should get to play on it. Thus far I bought the humble bundle (does not stress my rig in the slightest obviously), The Witcher (after reading the lets play here) and a retro Lucas Arts pack on steam. I like most most games (getting a little sick of FPS though) and I am looking for something that I would not be able to find on a console.

Any suggestions G&T could offer would be answered with my eternal gratitude! I am a fan of steam and any games that offer a demo prior to my commitment would be sweet too. I plan on getting FF14 in the future (in hopes that it is a lot different then ff11).

Sigtyr

Hitman: Blood Money It's Stealth Third Person.

There's a demo on steam along with a package of three hitman games for 19.99.

AdditionalPylons

Deus Ex. And if you like valve's games,Team Fortress 2 is pretty great

ultimakay

What genres do you like? that will help alot in narrowing down recommendations. If you like Hack n slash rpgs in the vain of diablo then try the torchlight demo. If your a fan of RTS's then give the Supreme Commander 2 or Dawn of war 2 demos a try.

Oh and if you've played any PC games that alot of people tend to recommend( half life 2, dues ex etc.) its a good idea to list them.

E: yeah like Pylons said you could wait for Starcraft 2, which comes out july 27.
E2: If your into tower defense games, the defense grid the awakening is very good. Dirt 2 is a very good racer as well, and has a demo.

AdditionalPylons

ultimakay wrote: »

What genres do you like? that will help alot in narrowing down recommendations. If you like Hack n slash rpgs in the vain of diablo then try the torchlight demo. If your a fan of RTS's then give the Supreme Commander 2 or Dawn of war 2 demos a try.

Or wait for Starcraft 2 :P

vsove

Though you're getting sick of FPS games, I highly recommend giving STALKER: Call of Pripyat a shot.

It is completely unique in its feel and general atmosphere. Also, unlike the other two STALKER games, you don't need to mod it to make it a good game. It is stable and fun right out of the box.

Dr_Keenbean

If you don't have a console, the PC versions of Street fighter 4, Resident Evil 5, Dragon Age, Mass Effect 2, and Batman: Arkham Asylum, and Call of Duty 4 are all really, really great.

Torchlight is a must if you like Diablo. (no multiplayer though) It also goes on sale for $5 a lot.

subedii

Greg USN wrote: »

So, after about 10 years of having a pretty lame series of pc/laptops I took the plunge and got an alienware m15X with 4GB RAM, i5 core, and a 260M GPU. It can run the Crisis Demo on high settings really well. I have been out of the PC market so long that I am not sure what I should get to play on it. Thus far I bought the humble bundle (does not stress my rig in the slightest obviously), The Witcher (after reading the lets play here) and a retro Lucas Arts pack on steam. I like most most games (getting a little sick of FPS though) and I am looking for something that I would not be able to find on a console.

Any suggestions G&T could offer would be answered with my eternal gratitude! I am a fan of steam and any games that offer a demo prior to my commitment would be sweet too. I plan on getting FF14 in the future (in hopes that it is a lot different then ff11).

Have you got the Orange Box yet? Because that's probably first on the list, even if it is FPS. Personally I'd also vouch for Crysis and Crysis Warhead. I'd list more FPS's but that'll probably do for now.

For RTS's, Company of Heroes and Dawn of War 2 are awesome RTS's (especially if you play online), and Starcraft 2 is en-route.

With RPG's, Mass Effect 1 and 2 are stellar, as is Dragon Age. Fallout 3 is also great and has a huge modding community. The STALKER series is also really good, technically FPS's, but they play out more like RPG's in their own way, even if they don't have things like levelling.

Personally I've been raving about Alpha Protocol recently and think it's an awesome game, but a lot of people seem to dislike it so it's really more of a "love it or hate it" kind of game I guess, and I couldn't really recommend it since I don't know whether you'd be able to like it.

Might post more later when I think about it. For everything else, well, Tycho's likely to come in here with a big freaking list soon.

Greg USN

Like I said before I am open to most games. I'll check out Dawn of War, Hitman, and STALKER. I'm not to far into witcher yet but so far its great. I am totally in love with steam so far though. I never understood the hype before I used it but damn it it's great!

Greg USN

subedii wrote: »

Greg USN wrote: »

So, after about 10 years of having a pretty lame series of pc/laptops I took the plunge and got an alienware m15X with 4GB RAM, i5 core, and a 260M GPU. It can run the Crisis Demo on high settings really well. I have been out of the PC market so long that I am not sure what I should get to play on it. Thus far I bought the humble bundle (does not stress my rig in the slightest obviously), The Witcher (after reading the lets play here) and a retro Lucas Arts pack on steam. I like most most games (getting a little sick of FPS though) and I am looking for something that I would not be able to find on a console.

Any suggestions G&T could offer would be answered with my eternal gratitude! I am a fan of steam and any games that offer a demo prior to my commitment would be sweet too. I plan on getting FF14 in the future (in hopes that it is a lot different then ff11).

Have you got the Orange Box yet? Because that's probably first on the list, even if it is FPS. Personally I'd also vouch for Crysis and Crysis Warhead. I'd list more FPS's but that'll probably do for now.

For RTS's, Company of Heroes and Dawn of War 2 are awesome RTS's (especially if you play online), and Starcraft 2 is en-route.

With RPG's, Mass Effect 1 and 2 are stellar, as is Dragon Age. Fallout 3 is also great and has a huge modding community. The STALKER series is also really good, technically FPS's, but they play out more like RPG's in their own way, even if they don't have things like levelling.

Personally I've been raving about Alpha Protocol recently and think it's an awesome game, but a lot of people seem to dislike it so it's really more of a "love it or hate it" kind of game I guess, and I couldn't really recommend it since I don't know whether you'd be able to like it.

Might post more later when I think about it. For everything else, well, Tycho's likely to come in here with a big freaking list soon.

I have ME/DA/and Fallout 3 on XBOX. Do the mods add a lot to Fallout? because if they do then I don't mind looking into getting it again.

vsove

I will second subedii's Fallout 3 recommendation. It is a game that I cannot install for it will consume me for weeks on end. Seriously a lot of fun, though, and fixes most of my gripes with Oblivion.

Also second the Company of Heroes recommendation. It is my favourite RTS and does enough unique stuff that it feels pretty different from the rest of the crowd. World in Conflict is another one, and has a pretty fantastic single-player.

EDIT: I bought FO3 for the 360 when it came out. Got it for the PC as well for work-related purposes, and it really is a better game on the PC (in my opinion, at least).

Greg USN

vsove wrote: »

I will second subedii's Fallout 3 recommendation. It is a game that I cannot install for it will consume me for weeks on end. Seriously a lot of fun, though, and fixes most of my gripes with Oblivion.

Also second the Company of Heroes recommendation. It is my favourite RTS and does enough unique stuff that it feels pretty different from the rest of the crowd. World in Conflict is another one, and has a pretty fantastic single-player.

EDIT: I bought FO3 for the 360 when it came out. Got it for the PC as well for work-related purposes, and it really is a better game on the PC (in my opinion, at least).

Right on. I wouldn't mind playing through it again, if the MODs add a lot then im totally for it. This may be a dumb question but mods are typically free right?

vsove

Greg USN wrote: »

vsove wrote: »

I will second subedii's Fallout 3 recommendation. It is a game that I cannot install for it will consume me for weeks on end. Seriously a lot of fun, though, and fixes most of my gripes with Oblivion.

Also second the Company of Heroes recommendation. It is my favourite RTS and does enough unique stuff that it feels pretty different from the rest of the crowd. World in Conflict is another one, and has a pretty fantastic single-player.

EDIT: I bought FO3 for the 360 when it came out. Got it for the PC as well for work-related purposes, and it really is a better game on the PC (in my opinion, at least).

Right on. I wouldn't mind playing through it again, if the MODs add a lot then im totally for it. This may be a dumb question but mods are typically free right?

Yep, they're all player-made and thus free. There are some good ones, some great ones, and some terrible ones. The various threads on the PA forums will help you distinguish between the three.

Greg USN

Awesome. I've been gaming for years but have been away from the PC for so long that its like a whole new world to me. I've been missing a lot it seems.

Bullio

Oblivion and Fallout 3 are worth getting on PC even if you've played them on consoles simply because of the modding community.

Ditto Deus Ex. It's still quite the unique game to this day and should be experienced by everyone.

Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries was recently released on mektek.net for free. If you like blowing shit up as a giant robot then I suggest giving it a look.

Civ IV is worth a look if you're interested in that type of game. The complete pack is going for cheap on D2D and Steam these days. Civ 5 is coming out later this year.

Stay the hell away from World of Warcraft.

EDIT: I'll ditto Company of Heroes as well. I'm not an RTS fan at all, but I love playing this with friends. It's not of the base building variety like Starcraft, but instead focuses on capturing and controlling resource points on the map.

vsove

If you don't mind going back a few years in terms of graphics, SWAT 4 (and the expansion) are a lot of fun. I maintain it is the best puzzle game ever made :P

Plants vs. Zombies is a nice, enjoyable casual game if you like Tower Defense.

subedii

vsove wrote: »

If you don't mind going back a few years in terms of graphics, SWAT 4 (and the expansion) are a lot of fun. I maintain it is the best puzzle game ever made :P

Plants vs. Zombies is a nice, enjoyable casual game if you like Tower Defense.

I could rave about SWAT 4 for ages, although I wouldn't call it a puzzle game. It's a tactical shooter, from that bygone era when that meant you didn't have health regen and didn't go into every room guns blazing. :P

vsove

subedii wrote: »

vsove wrote: »

If you don't mind going back a few years in terms of graphics, SWAT 4 (and the expansion) are a lot of fun. I maintain it is the best puzzle game ever made :P

Plants vs. Zombies is a nice, enjoyable casual game if you like Tower Defense.

I could rave about SWAT 4 for ages, although I wouldn't call it a puzzle game. It's a tactical shooter, from that bygone era when that meant you didn't have health regen and didn't go into every room guns blazing. :P

Oh, I know. I just like calling it a puzzle game because that's how it always felt to me when I tried to clear a room - like I was solving a puzzle on how to do non-lethal takedowns on everyone there.

Greg USN

Is SWAT the evolution of police quest? because when I was a kid I loved me some * Quest games.

Synthesis

Sigtyr wrote: »

Hitman: Blood Money It's Stealth Third Person.

There's a demo on steam along with a package of three hitman games for 19.99.

Don't get the steam three-game package (if you just want to buy one game, go ahead).

The steam version includes Codename 47, Silent Assassin and Blood Money.

The retail version, the Hitman Trilogy, which you can get even cheaper online, and often with free shipping includes Silent Assassin, Contracts, and Blood Money.

One of these is considerably superior to the other (hint: not the Steam version). Apparently, there are some licensing issues with Valve or Steam, but who cares, you can get it with free shipping for less than $17 (or about $6 if you buy it from another seller, like I did).

Make the right decision, these are excellent games.

Also recommending Napoleon: Total War and Company of Heroes for RTS, both are excellent. World in Conflict is good too--much, much more of a twitch game (than the methodical pacing of hte other two) but it is a beauty.

Dr Snofeld

Greg USN wrote: »

Is SWAT the evolution of police quest? because when I was a kid I loved me some * Quest games.

Well technically they are Police Quest games but they're entirely FPS, no investigation or office work or the like. A really good FPS though, focused on small-scale squad tactics, calculated risk, taking perps alive, and all that jazz. All of which is playable in co-op. And it doesn't have the incomprehensible interface or clunkiness of other tactical FPSes like Ghost Recon or ArmA. It's really fantastic.

Elvenshae

The games I'm having the most fun playing right now / over the past couple years:

1. Pirates!: An update of Sid Meier's long-time classic of swashbuckling on the high seas. Start as a one-ship privateer, become a colonial governor, get married, etc. There's a framing story - find your missing family - but you can ignore it if you want.
2. Mount and Blade / Mount and Blade: Warband: A hybrid FPS / RTS / kingdom-building sim with lots of mod possibilities. I've heard it described as Pirates! without the ships, plus horses. There's practically no story, but the combat is much more visceral. If you're getting into this, get the Warband stand-alone expansion. It's recently released and will be supported by the devs with additional patches, and most of the major M&B Vanilla mod groups are transitioning.
3. Medieval 2: Total War (+ Kings Expansion): A hybrid kingdom-building / RTS game wherein you conquer the medieval world, all while trying to avoid pissing off the Pope / capture the Pope / ignore the Pope. With the Kings expansion, you can get access to, seriously, the best LotR game ever made.
4. Civilization IV: CIV is the bestest Civilization game ever made, dethroning 2 as my favorite. With the Beyond the Sword expansion (which is awesome in its own right) you also get access to the hilariously unbalanced-and-yet-completely-addictive Fall From Heaven, the greatest fantasy Civ-ish game since Master of Magic. Speaking of which ...
5. Master of Magic: If you haven't played it before, it's a fun early-Civ-type game meets Magic: the Gathering, and it's available now from Good Old Games (gog.com).
6. X3:Terran Conflict: It wins the award for "Shittiest Voice Acting in the Prettiest Game" - it's a sandbox space sim / empire building game where you've got a bunch of variable starting conditions (e.g., "Member of the Terran Military" vs. "Beginning Space Trader" vs. ...), but your eventual goal is, well, whatever you want it to be. I recommend going for a bunch of space stations turning out materiel to support your war efforts against a race of your choice.
7. Baldur's Gate Series / Icewind Dale Series: Seriously hard core D&D roleplaying games; the bar they set has yet to be equaled.
8. Neverwinter Nights: The official campaign for the first game, sans expanions, is ... okay, at best. The official campaigns for the expansions are much, much better. And that's way before you get into the mod scene, where there are numerous really, really good adventures and campaigns (Penultima is still one of my favorite RPGs to date).
9. Morrowind / Oblivion: Much more open-world-focused roleplaying games. MW has a cooler aesthetic to it, but Oblivion is more modern and prettier. Both are almost completely broken out of the box, but various user-created mods turn them into works of art. Available for cheap(-ish) on Steam.
10. Freespace / Freespace 2: The best spacefighter sim games ever created. Also, for most purposes, the last. Now with high-res mods!

AlanF5

Sword of the Stars: 4x Space-empire game, with turn-based empire management and real-time tactical combat. Sort of a 3d Masters of Orion meets Total War.

Recently released as a "Complete Collection" with the latest updates and all the expansions, available at Gamer's Gate and probly other places too.

Check the PA thread here.

Klash

I've done the exact same thing this year, so I've plowed through my fair share of shit games and really fun ones. Elvenshae has a pretty good looking list with 7, 8 and 9. Mind you, I haven't actually played BG, but I just got it today and look forward to it alot. I've also had my share of problems getting into NWN, but the underlying product is a great RPG that I wanna try to get into at some point, with the same applying to Oblivion. In that same vein is Fallout 1, 2, and Tactics, which can all be gotten on the cheap in the Fallout Trilogy.

I'd also second subedii's suggestion of Mass Effect 1. Haven't played 2, but 1 was good fun. Fairly linear, but the differing types of classes, good sized party and paragon/renegade system makes replaying worth it. Fallout 3 is my definitive suggestion, though. I got 200 hours out of it in 2 play throughs, neither 100% complete, and I'm gonna start my third soon enough. I haven't even touched the mods, yet. Also, be sure to get the Game of the Year Edition on PC. I'd recommend Oblivion too, but be aware if you want all the official content you'll have to buy the GOTY + Knight of the Nine pack (but you won't get the Fighter's Stronghold DLC) or buy the Steam deluxe edition which does have everything. I've just started over in it, after having a sour experience in my first go, and its much more enjoyable after getting used to the controls via Fallout 3.

I also second the Hitman Trilogy pack. I liked all the iterations of Hitman, some more than others, but the Trilogy is cheap and ensures you get the meat of it.

Personally I'd add Risen to the list of RPGs. I had a great time with it over the last week. Its a fairly linear story in an open world setting, with an island map, so you don't risk being overwhelmed like in larger open worlds. For action RPGs, I'd definitely go with Torchlight and Titan Quest (get the Gold edition, as its cheap and also has the expansion).

With RTS titls, I found World in Conflict and the Dawn of War series (the original 3 or 4 titles) were really, really, really fun and offered great non-traditional RTS gameplay. Supreme Commander on the other hand, offer a very traditional experience, except multiplied by a bajillion and a gazillion times cooler. Empire At War/Forces of Corruption come in a Gold pack that's not badly priced these days, and offers a fun Star Wars experience. Nothing like targeting the hard points on a Star Destroyer using pirate ships and laughing as their space station crumbles.

Saints Row 2 and Just Cause 2 are the best two sandbox games of the last decade. SR2 offers up an absurd amount of things to do in a lawless city and Just Cause 2 offers up an absurd amount of stuff to ignite in on a totalitarian island bigger than any prior sandbox map.

Edit: Oh, and some stealth/action/third person/badass games:

Batman: Arkham Asylum is great. Absolutely top tier material, and you'll never feel so much like a superhero again. Until maybe AA 2. Explore Arkham Asylum, beat up thugs and drop them over ledges because thats totally non-lethal! Yeah!

Assassin's Creed, while a bit iffy in combat sometimes, and the hiding mechanics can be a bit odd sometimes, its a great time running around ancient Jerusalem slicing crusader throats and beating up preachers for information.

Tanolen

Vampire:Bloodlines is always my go to PC recommendation.

corky842

The Orange Box is always a good choice. It's also the gateway drug to installing Steam with its awesome sales.

Tanolen wrote: »

Vampire:Bloodlines is always my go to PC recommendation.

RainbowDespair

Most of the games I'd recommend have already been mentioned (Civ IV, Titan Quest, Plants vs. Zombies, Defense Grid), but no one's mentioned the King's Bounty games. They're absolutely fabulous turn-based Strategy/RPGs.

Marundo

Everyone has said a bunch of great games; I just got into pc gaming last year. All I have to add is if you like Steam now wait until christmas.

I would say stick with the games you have now and just keep an eye on steam sales, you'll have a catalog of games in no time.

Greg USN

Sorry for not responding for a bit (i started this thread yesterday when I was on Delta's in flight wifi at 35000ft hehe) I am back to a stable connection now. Thanks for all the great suggestions. If I get Fallout, is it worth getting all the expansions again (had them for 360) or do the mods work without them? I'd rather et the $20 version.

Elvenshae

Get all the expansions. (Or, at least, most of them. Check the FO3 thread for more specific details.)

Plus, the GOTY Edition isn't much more than the basic one.

Klash

Greg USN wrote: »

Sorry for not responding for a bit (i started this thread yesterday when I was on Delta's in flight wifi at 35000ft hehe) I am back to a stable connection now. Thanks for all the great suggestions. If I get Fallout, is it worth getting all the expansions again (had them for 360) or do the mods work without them? I'd rather et the $20 version.

Yes. A thousand times, yes.

You've already played F3, it sounds like, so you should know just how much the DLC adds, when totaled up. Alone, yeah, they're kinda iffy, but in a single pack? Yes, a thousand more times.

I couldn't imagine not at least having Broken Steel active at all times.

Hitsuraptor

All these games are great, but one thing I'd recommend, buy only one game at a time (not including steam sales) and save up all your pennies for when christmas comes around and Steam rapes your wallet with awesome savings to fill out your backlog

vsove

Hitsuraptor wrote: »

All these games are great, but one thing I'd recommend, buy only one game at a time (not including steam sales) and save up all your pennies for when christmas comes around and Steam rapes your wallet with awesome savings to fill out your backlog

Yeah, the last Steam christmas sale filled up my backlog like whoa. I think it is temporally impossible for me to finish all those games in the time before the next christmas sale.

corky842

I'd hold off on getting Fallout 3:
1) You've already played it, so it won't be a completely new experience.
2) New Vegas is coming out soonish.
3) It will probably be like Morrowind: sold forever (since 2003!) as GOTY for $20 new.

Other games, check out their dedicated threads here if you want good info:

STALKER series: Very atmospheric, very excellent, much less buggy than at launch. The latest one is $10 cheaper if you have (either?) of the previous ones.

Shattered Horizon: free weekend and half-price this weekend. I haven't played it, but I've heard good things about it.

Mount & Blade Warband: Mideval Multiplayer Melee Mayhem

Telltale adventure games: pretty much the only consistently good adventure games right now.

Greg USN

Sounds like ill hold off on fallout 3 till a price drop then. I have beaten it on 360 (+all expansions). If I could nab the expansion for $20 then I'll do it.

Drake

If you only pick one FPS series to pursue, make it the STALKER games. The first two are easy to mod and very worthwhile. The latest is much more stable and friendly out of the box, as has been mentioned.

The Zone is easily the most impressive environment I've seen in a FPS, even if it isn't the most graphically intense (although I just started Clear Sky with Clear Sky Complete and it looks just plain fuckin' awesome).

I just finished playing through the first one, Shadow of Chernobyl, and it was an amazing experience. Lots of open world exploration in a truly authentic feeling radioactive, anomaly ridden, mutant infested wasteland filled with bandits, traders, and other Stalkers and their factions. It's a fairly challenging game too, no rapid health regen, you need to carry food, your weapons and armor wear and tear. And if an enemy gets lucky, he'll drop your ass like yesterday's business. I like the shooting a lot, but it gets mixed reactions around here. The game is more about exploration and survival than laying waste to all you survey. Many is the time I've let hostiles slip by while I hunker down and lie low for a spell.

Easily my favorite open world shooter. The background and story are fairly interesting too, but a lot of it is buried in the PDA. If you don't take the time to look over your files you can miss a lot of fun details. Don't let the initial reviews and impressions run you off, the community has really transformed these games, realizing a lot of hidden potential.

Vi Monks

Drake wrote: »

If you only pick one FPS series to pursue, make it the STALKER games. The first two are easy to mod and very worthwhile. The latest is much more stable and friendly out of the box, as has been mentioned.

The Zone is easily the most impressive environment I've seen in a FPS, even if it isn't the most graphically intense (although I just started Clear Sky with Clear Sky Complete and it looks just plain fuckin' awesome).

I just finished playing through the first one, Shadow of Chernobyl, and it was an amazing experience. Lots of open world exploration in a truly authentic feeling radioactive, anomaly ridden, mutant infested wasteland filled with bandits, traders, and other Stalkers and their factions. It's a fairly challenging game too, no rapid health regen, you need to carry food, your weapons and armor wear and tear. And if an enemy gets lucky, he'll drop your ass like yesterday's business. I like the shooting a lot, but it gets mixed reactions around here. The game is more about exploration and survival than laying waste to all you survey. Many is the time I've let hostiles slip by while I hunker down and lie low for a spell.

Easily my favorite open world shooter. The background and story are fairly interesting too, but a lot of it is buried in the PDA. If you don't take the time to look over your files you can miss a lot of fun details. Don't let the initial reviews and impressions run you off, the community has really transformed these games, realizing a lot of hidden potential.

This man speaks the truth. STALKER is great fun, and (in my opinion) one of the most immersive gaming experiences out there. Out of the box, the first two were quirky, buggy messes (but still had a lot of character). With the work the modding community has put in, however, you can't pass these up.

Greg USN

I think you all have sold me on stalker. I should be off a sprint aircard here soon and I think Ill give it a DL.