Need new PC games

[nosenose]

I've been thinking of buying some new PC games. I want something which immerses the player continously with ease and brings forth strong feelings (a game which does that constantly is just perfect). The feelings can, but doesn't have to be in the form of a rush, it could also be something like a constantly present, scary, dreadful feeling. I prefer grinding, downtime and other boring stuff to be minimized as much as possible; it should often be exciting and surprising. And the quality experience should come from the graphics, sound and gameplay working together, not from story cutscenes and such. It's also good if the game has some complexity, if it's excessively simplistic it quickly gets boring. I'm not interested in games like Minecraft and Spore as they provide no emotional excitement. Only games which came out after the beginning of 2009 are interesting. Except for freeroamers which can go as far back as early 2007, fighters back to SSFII and RTS which can go as far back as the latter half of 2006. Not under 80% on GR or Metacritic (by critiques) for any game, not under 84% for FPS (excluding FPS freeroamers), not under 85% for RTS. If online is a big part of what makes the game worth it, it better still have quite an active online community which will remain active for at the very least another 3 years. If it's single player then I prefer it to have a total of 15 hours of gameplay or more.

 

So I've been looking at different genres. I would like to know which genres fit what I described in the first paragraph best, in general. RTS try to offer deep, complex gameplay but seem very spammy and boring overall. And you jump back and forth, its just not the same as the singularly focused experience of first/third person. There's quite a lot to chose from, but I think I would take something fast paced, tactical, really good like Company of Heroes 1, DotA, or SCII. So I'm wondering what some other good RTS are and if RTS sounds like a good genre, going by the first paragraph. Maybe I should just try chess instead, but then again that takes long to learn.

 

Then there's freeroamers. I'm looking mainly at Skyrim, New Vegas, Mass Effect and the 3 S.T.A.L.K.E.R games. I have not played the first two, but it seems to me (wrong?) Bethesda/Obsidian and Bioware appeals mostly to casuals, instead of thrill and challenge? There's mods, but the core game remains the same... Also, many battles seem very "messy" and at times very onesided. Haven't played any of the STALKER games either, but they're said to have challenge and an unique, engrossing and at times scary feel. If anyone knows what I'm talking about, does one actually feel very emotionally lively while playing them? Also, does Clear Sky really suck so bad in comparison to to SoC and CoP? I haven't so much checked Saints Row, GTA and the like but they don't seem to go well with the first paragraph?

 

I have the impression that SSF4AE beats out BlazBlue and KoF13 (should it come to PC that is) in terms of popularity, repetitiveness, online and overall quality, but what say you? I might as well ask the same regarding SF x Tekken and MvC3. MvC3 has many 'different' characters, but is it just me or does it often devolve into much overly drawn out spam, extreme animation and extreme combos, which would reduce depth?

 

Racing games, racing sims, flight sims. I know there are several of all of those and I haven't tried any of them, but am I mistaken to think they're actually not very exciting? Actually I would like to ask the same regarding "superhero" games like Prototype. Also there's singe player adventure/shooter/stuff like Assassin Creed, Bioshock, FEAR, dunno what to make of them though.

 

And finally FPS w/ multiplayer, which there is an humongous amount of, Rainbow 6 Vegas 2, L4D2, TF2, BF3, MW3. Should I just get MW3 as it's "hot" and very quick way to get in at action, or check out something else? I mean, MW3 seems cool and tactical, you die real quick and often though, and something like that really puts a damper on things (or doesn't it?). Also the special abilities seem kind of generic, e.g. take up laptop and then have a missile land somewhere on the map killing someone. That doesn't matter if the game still manages to stay exciting and varied, but I can't help but ask if it makes things a bit less exciting. Actually I already tried MW1 quite a bit, never bothered to get good so I don't know how it feels to really be playing at your best while you're actually good, or which MW game is best. But I can easily aquire MW1 very, very cheaply.

 

I named quite a few different games as examples but if I missed some good games or genres then please do mention them!

 

For gaming in the next few years, especially with Windows 8, will 4GBs of RAM be a probable requirement? More and more seem to have 2GB as minimum, and 3GB computers seem unusual.

 

Is having a 64bit OS becoming standardized in the near future? Will it be a requirement for gaming and such?

[Valkirth]

as for immersive games try looking at X3 terrain conflict,its a space game where you can mine,explore,fight,take on missons etc just look it up as there better at explaining it then i am,if you like rpgs that are hard try witcher 2.( is power hungry tho) as for new vegas i think fallout 3 was much better. as for scores if theres one thing ive learned in my nearly 25 years of gaming take reviews and scores with a pinch of salt (ie dont always believe them as there view on a game is not your view what they hate you might love)

 

i give you a list of games i enjoy as you seem to like what i do

witcher 2,mass effect 1&2,skyrim(quite buggy at the mo but best elder scrolls yet),resident evil 4,dragon age 1&2,all 3 stalkers (haven't played cop or cs yet thought),bioshock 2,X3,anno 1404,sin of a solar empire(best rts yet and brutally hard ai to beat nothing like other rts's - spammy like you mentioned which i agree with you on that),dawn of war 2 & chaos rising,c&c 4 tibirium wars & kanes wraith (only resent c&c i like).test drive unlimited,cod 4,prototype,alpha protocol,fifa 11.

 

as for your quote: There's mods, but the core game remains the same: thats not true overhauls like fcom,ooo for oblivion totally change the game and made it brutally hard to survive(you couldn't just rush in any more you had to plan your attack) i have no doubt we will see thing like this for skyrim.

Edited December 1, 2011 by Phoenix_1982

[hoofhearted4]

StarCraft 2 was a very good RTS. the campaign was very well done, there is a huge huge huge online format, either PvP or fun things that ppl make. its never ending because people can continue to make maps (hell Brood War is still going strong) Blizzard constantly supports it, and there are two more SC expansions to come out soon.

 

Dragon Age Origins i have like 250 hours into. beat the game vanilla twice (with a bunch of additional partial play throughs) and again with mods and want to go back for more soon. the DLC isnt amazing, but adds a few hours extra each. I have DA2, but havent played it. its quite a bit different then DAO and i didnt care for it, but its still DA so its still worth looking into

 

Fall Out 3 (and though im not a fan, New Vegas as well) tons of hours on the vanilla, and even more with mods. my opinion is on FO3 cause i didnt like FONV, but FO3 has quite an interesting story (not the campaign story but the story behind the universe)

 

im about to start Star Wars KOTOR, heard great things, expecting great things...on that note SWTOR MMO is coming out soon. its an MMO but is based around story. i was in the beta, and i enjoyed it a lot. but u said no grinding, and as much as it is story based, its still an MMO.

 

speaking of Bioware, Mass Effect 1&2...i never played 1, and i played 2 on Ps3, but i played through ME2 four times, so regardless of the console, its an amazing game. ME3 is out at the beginning of next year.

 

Diablo 2. old. grindy. but so much fun. and the online is still going strong, and D3 is just around the corner......Torchlight , very similar to Diablo (had some of the same devs) but newer, and less serious. very fun game. waaay more monsters, and different lvl design, so you dont feel like your grinding as your constantly in battle....and technically has never ending play since it has a never ending dungeon lol. Torchlight 2 is also coming out soon

 

The Witcher 1&2. i have the first one but only logged a few hours into it. its pretty fun, but i cant say much. but you cant argue with reviews and popularity. many many ppl liked them so ya.

[hudsalva98]

skyrim or saint row the third :biggrin:

[Vagrant0]

I'd give a pass on both MW3 and BF3...

 

MW3, from most I've talked to reportedly "sucks balls" and is the worst one of the whole series. I can't personally elaborate since I'm not a fan of COD to begin with, but I'm sure there are enough independent reviews out there to give you an idea.

 

BF3 first has the problem of Origins... A required system that lets EA scan everything on your computer for marketing purposes and which requires people to forfeit their right to sue EA for any reason. But, from the gameplay perspective, given it's the same as PS3, the violence is heavily toned down, and there were several changes made to class roles which essentially ruin any sort of balance. Engineers get a mid-range assault rifle so cam both shoot and blow up stuff so maps with vehicles are filled with almost 100% engineers. Medic (now support) still has a heavy machine gun, but drops ammo kits, except they carry enough ammo themselves so aren't likely to drop ammo for others. Assault has the medkit, but runs out of ammo quickly because nobody ever plays as support, or drops ammo packs. Then there's the return of the prone position which allows people to just sit on a camp more easily COD style. So playing without a dedicated clan is pretty much an effort of futility unless you like shouting at people over the mic and being kicked from the game.

 

 

The FPS genre in general has been at a bit of a standstill ever since everyone decided to use iron sights for everything, coat the screen in more gore than a dozen human bodies could produce, and start copying eachother to the point where they should almost just make one game together, call it Call of Honor Battlefield Zone and just be done with it.

[ploppytheman]

I too want games like this. It seems like there are so few good games that are deep and immersive and challenging at the same time.

 

I can recommend Penumbra series and Amnesia. Both are horror games and although the graphics on Penumbra arent the best the immersion and story and gameplay is very very good. I also recommend Batman Arkham Asylum as that game was really fun. Im sure Arkham City is good as well but Ill wait til its cheaper. If you never played Deus Ex 1 or Theif 3 those are excellent games for immersion and fun. I also recommend Halo, maybe anniversary edition as that game is the game I played most. I have beaten Halo 1 on legendary probably at least 25x if not more and certain levels 50x. Thats how much I loved that game. Halo 2 and 3 i beat once or twice with a few levels more.

 

Dragon Age 2, the witcher 1 and 2, DE3, and even skyrim sucked imo. Mass Effect 2 was ok but I dont like having dialogue wheels and reading infinite text. I mean they do voiceovers but to listen to it would be retarded and take forever. I think having dialogue with everyone is a mistake in RPGs as it doenst add much and it takes away a lot. Short concise information is needed. Its hard to think of good games nowadays. Most people just buy all the garbage so devs just keep pumping it out for the masses.

[RitualBlack]

I am about to provide you with an extensive list of games to for you which you may not have played (and I can say are fun from experience).

 

PC:

Blade of Darkness-A cult classic action game with small RPG elements.

Soldier of Fortune 2- Intense shooter with a long story mode.

Serious Sam HD (or classic, you get both on steam when in a bundle).

Postal 2 (Though not a "good" game, its about the funniest game you could ever play if you have a sick sense of humor :devil: , and after mods is even more fun).

Gothic 2- Pretty good RPG.

Garry's Mod (If you own CSS and Half Life 2)- Very random sandbox game :laugh: .

Binding of Issac- Good dungeon crawler.

Diablo 2- Fun action RPG.

Overgrowth (currently in Alpha)- Not a lot to do yet, but still a lot of fun :happy: .

Team Fortress 2- A great and easy to get into online alternative to the standard "Call of Honor Battlefield Zone" (as Vagrant0 put it :laugh: ).

Brothers in Arms- I am just getting into it, and Hell's Highway is a pretty great fps game.

 

Modern Consoles:

Dark Alliance 1 and 2- are great if you have somebody readily available to play with.

Bayonetta- Just about the greatest console game of the new systems :laugh: .

The Darkness-Pretty smooth shooter with a unique graphics style.

Armored Core Series- I would recommend 3 or nexus to get into, DO NOT buy nine breaker! (Biggest $72 waste of all time, its a practice mode for AC nexus :yucky: ).

Gladius- A great turn based strategy game with fun coop.

Castle Crashers (every one knows about it).

Legend of Zelda Wind Waker- Nice big open map and cell shaded graphics.

We ♥ Katamari- One amazing game!

Uncharted- I only played the first one because my PS3 broke :down: , but its a fun game.

Mad World- Neat beat em' up with a cool noir cell shading.

Super Smash Bros (any of them)- Good multiplayer game.

Okami- Like mad world only more "Japanese" looking. Also amazing!

 

Older Consoles:

 

N64

Legend of Zelda OOT or MM-You probably beat them both I hope ;) .

007 Goldeneye- The one and only.

Jet Force Gemini- An overlooked shooter, but a good one.

 

SNES

Kirby Super Star- Fun with a friend :).

 

NES

Just buy one with a box of random games and go to town :D (I liked all the Mario games (1,2 and 3), Monster in my pocket, galaga, Dragon Warrior, some game where you were a ship which was a robot body, than you picked up a head and legs 8) ).

 

Mobile:

Castlevania for the DS- Any of them are good, but I would recommend Portrait of Ruin.

Harvest Moon FOMT for the GBA- A fun harvest moon game.

Dungeon Seige for the PSP- Good coop action RPG game.

Final Fantasy Tactics for the GBA, FFTA2 for the DS, and FFT:WOTL are all really fun- Snowball fight anyone? :dance:

 

This concludes my massive list, you deserve an award if you made it this far. I like all the games on the list, and you shouldn't be disappointed with any of them :)

[JimboUK]

skyrim or saint row the third :biggrin:

 

Or their vastly superior predecessors, Morrowind and Saints Row 2. :thumbsup:

[hoofhearted4]

I'd give a pass on both MW3 and BF3...

 

MW3, from most I've talked to reportedly "sucks balls" and is the worst one of the whole series. I can't personally elaborate since I'm not a fan of COD to begin with, but I'm sure there are enough independent reviews out there to give you an idea.

 

BF3 first has the problem of Origins... A required system that lets EA scan everything on your computer for marketing purposes and which requires people to forfeit their right to sue EA for any reason. But, from the gameplay perspective, given it's the same as PS3, the violence is heavily toned down, and there were several changes made to class roles which essentially ruin any sort of balance. Engineers get a mid-range assault rifle so cam both shoot and blow up stuff so maps with vehicles are filled with almost 100% engineers. Medic (now support) still has a heavy machine gun, but drops ammo kits, except they carry enough ammo themselves so aren't likely to drop ammo for others. Assault has the medkit, but runs out of ammo quickly because nobody ever plays as support, or drops ammo packs. Then there's the return of the prone position which allows people to just sit on a camp more easily COD style. So playing without a dedicated clan is pretty much an effort of futility unless you like shouting at people over the mic and being kicked from the game.

 

 

The FPS genre in general has been at a bit of a standstill ever since everyone decided to use iron sights for everything, coat the screen in more gore than a dozen human bodies could produce, and start copying eachother to the point where they should almost just make one game together, call it Call of Honor Battlefield Zone and just be done with it.

 

i agree with the, the friends ive talked to about CoD (since i cant stand the game personally) all just said meh (except the couple who are diehard fanboys) and the one si talked to about BF3 (since i didnt buy the game after the Beta for all the reasons you states esp prone) said it was better then CoD but not as good as BFBC2, unless you really wanted prone (this is on Ps3 btw)....i heard the new frostbite engine didnt really improve anything either in terms of physics and destruction. but thats just what friends have told me.

[Omeletter]

I'd give a pass on both MW3 and BF3...

 

MW3, from most I've talked to reportedly "sucks balls" and is the worst one of the whole series. I can't personally elaborate since I'm not a fan of COD to begin with, but I'm sure there are enough independent reviews out there to give you an idea.

"sucks balls"

"sucks balls"

 

They are right. I have looked at a 25 minute walkthrough of 1 level. Here are the bad things.

 

Piss poor graphics, no motion blur, no high res textures, textures do not wrap around the model properly, bad effects, no bullet holes after you shoot a wall, explosions consisting of flat pictures, bad level design, poor character and gun models, bad world physics, no destructable environment, little amount of objects that differ from each other, linear gameplay, looks like it was made in 2005, almost no use of good DX10 or even DX9 features, bad AI, bad font, god mode - you can absorb 20 bullets with a "you are hurt, take cover" message on the screen, excessive amount of ammo, run-n-gun gameplay, no variation of enemy types, etc, etc.

 

I could just go on, and that was just a 25 minute video.

 

As for "what to get" I suggest get Crysis 1 and Crysis Warhead if you want an FPS. They are cheap because they are made in 2007, but the gameplay along with the graphics is outstanding.

Edited December 4, 2011 by Omeletter