Gaming World Forums
General Category => Entertainment and Media => Topic started by: Warped655 on November 23, 2008, 09:07:22 am
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I just bought a new graphics card. And I have avoided buying a lot of games for PC because of not having a very good card. In fact I'd say in the past 2-3 years of PC gaming I have missed many PC games.
In fact I've been relying on my 360 for a lot of my games now, but now that I have a good card I have little reason to buy/play a game for it unless it doesn't/hasn't come to PC (Like Halo 3).
My favorite genre is the FPS, I suck at all RTS games so I'm not one to bother with them unless you know of a recent "newb" friendly (this doesn't mean shallow) RTS game I'm all for giving it a go.
I Like pretty much like all genres, except puzzle and sports, so don't avoid mentioning a game because it isn't a FPS.
Now, I haven't bought them yet but there are already a lot of REALLY recent games I plan on buying for PC. These games in fact: L4D, FC2, FO3, Mirror's Edge, CoD:WaW(and 4), Dead Space, and Saints Row 2. And I've already bought: UT3(for the editor, never been a huge fan of this series), "The Valve Complete Pack" and Spore (feel a bit ripped off by that one, but it is still a good game) A long list for sure, but the more the merrier, and I've missed much, What I'm really asking for:
-Lesser known Gems that came out in the past 3 years for PC.
-Games that were underrated in the past 3 years for PC.
-Games that were so good, released in the past 3 years for PC, that it be a bad idea to miss them.
-Games to avoid in the past 3 years for PC.
Try not to just list off a game though (though I admit, I'm guilty of doing this), what exactly is so good about the game your recommending or what is so bad about the game you are telling be to avoid.
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If you like your first person shooters hardcore then get STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl and the Clear Sky expansion. Play the singleplayer for an hour or two to get the feel for the controls, then download the Oblivion Lost mod which makes the game a bajillion times better by allowing you to do things like repair equipment, drive vehicles, introduce unkillable NPCs (STALKER is one of the few games with truly unlimited AI so monsters and enemies roam and important NPCs could be killed before you ever reached them), and random blowouts.
STALKER also wins my own personal award of "Creepiest and Most Atmospheric Game Ever" and it can't be experienced in its full glory without running the game on max. For example, there's an enemy in the game that only hunts at night or in dark areas like sewers and it's completely invisible when it's not attacking. Unlike most games which would have the creature attack you on sight, it actually stalks you through the level and waits until your back is turned or you got injured from a fight with another monster before fucking assaulting you and it only turns visible when it attacks. You can see the outline if you're about 2 feet away but by then it will start to attack and the only other cue you get are these squishy footsteps and a low groan. I nearly shat my pants when I first saw it.
It's not for everyone, especially people used to Run N Gun BLOW SHIT UP games, because STALKER actually uses physics and trajectory angles for the bullets meaning if you're moving at all while shooting you're probably going to miss even at close range. The AI is also some of the most advanced in gaming and to someone who isn't used to enemies using the surroundings and constantly flanking it will be hard as hell. Think of the game like Oblivion meets Half-Life and play it very slowly because if you charge through with guns blazing you'll get your ass handed to you on any but the easiest difficulty setting.
In the same vein as realistic shooters, I always recommend Armed Assault (also called ArmA) which is the spiritual successor to Operation Flashpoint. It's a military shooter, meaning 1-2 shots and you're fucking dead, but it's a game on a epic scale and you can switch between soldiers. Battles are HUGE as they take place in this 30 square mile map so you can begin a mission by scouting through a forest, doing light skirmishes with the enemy, call in tank reinforcements from a base several miles away, blitz through a large city, then call in an air evac at the beach. It also comes with an editor and while the game isn't super popular like Left 4 Dead it has a pretty sizable cult following of super dedicated hardcore gamers and online matches are a blast.
As far as underrated games go, King's Quest came out last month and I love that game. It's turn based strategy/RPG, so it might not be your cup of tea, but there's no building (you buy/find units and explore/kill monsters) and there's plenty of units to experiment with so it doesn't get boring too quick but you probably won't want to replay it any time soon.
Finally, if you're an FPS fan then you'd be pretty dumb to miss out on Crysis. It thought it was alright. Nothing spectacular or mind blowing but above average in that it was a shooter and it did what it set out to do well (provide pretty graphics while you shoot shit).
There aren't many PC exclusives anymore because faggy developers think that the market is dead thanks to piracy although they fail to realize that their anti-piracy measures piss off the honest people who actually buy the game since pirates just download a crack and never have to deal with it. I would normally recommend Sins of a Solar Empire but since you don't like RTS games that's probably waaay out of your league. I can't really offer anymore games that don't also exist on the 360.
EDIT: Oh yeah, I forgot about The Witcher which is also PC exclusive and pretty fun. The recent patch fixed all the dumbshit from the original release (load times are no longer a kick in the balls) and while it's a "different" RPG experience, I definitely enjoyed it. Drakensang, the latest Dark Eye (Realms of Arkania in America) is being released in the US in February which has me kind of excited because I rather enjoyed Neverwinter Nights 2 and it plays out similar to that except with better graphics and a more interesting world to explore. Speaking of Neverwinter Nights, another expansion pack came out recently but I haven't had a chance to play it.
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If you want a rts check out the dawn of war series...I love them to death, but it is not like command and conquer at all neither. It is pretty easy to pick up and hard to master too...so I think it is noob friendly.
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I'm not a big fan of RTS games either, but I still suggest checking out World in Conflict. It's pretty resource demanding game, but if you can run it, it's a lot of fun. I don't really know if you can call it an RTS (it's not like most RTS games, in matter of fact the developers of the game call it RTT [Real-Time ][/Real-Time] afaik). Anyway it's very easy to get into, but it still got enough depth to keep it fun, and it's not too difficult for a casual gamer to pick up (casual as in, not a RTS fan). Company of Heroes might also be worth checking out.
Aside from that I suggest checking out Crysis and Crysis: Warhead since you said you like FPS games. If you like racing games, GRID is a lot of fun (at least I like it a lot).
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Pick up the orange box as well if you haven't.... plenty of fun games there as well...
HL2, the episodes, TF2, CS:S.. etc
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Crysis Warhead is worth the price too, it's cheaper than a full game and has the same sort of length as the average FPS. It's stand-alone from Crysis and actually works on real computers too.
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ps. happy birthday
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*words*
oh yeah... I tried Stalker and really liked it. but I think I may have played most of it (don't know though) I reached the 'duty' Vs 'freedom' place, I think I'll pick up the Clear Sky prequel.
Armed Assault sounds like something I'd like, I'll have to give that one a try as well, but you only mention multiplayer, does it have a single player as well or is it completely focused on multiplayer?
You mean "King's Bounty: The Legend"? turn based RPG's are not something I'm used to, but the few I've tried I have enjoyed. I might give that a shot.
I beat Crysis on my brothers crazy beefed up computer when I visited my family last year for Christmas and it was pretty fun. Crysis Warhead seems fun looking I and I noticed that it is getting some good scores I'll probably pick that up eventually.
The Witcher doesn't really seem like the type of game for me, I never could get into that sort of gloomy fantasy world.
I'm not restricting what games to get by their PC exclusive-ness though, I'm getting dead space for PC and that is on consoles for instance. Really I'm looking for games that are a better experience on PC rather then the console, and most games are.
I'm not a big fan of RTS games either, but I still suggest checking out World in Conflict. It's pretty resource demanding game, but if you can run it, it's a lot of fun. I don't really know if you can call it an RTS (it's not like most RTS games, in matter of fact the developers of the game call it RTT [Real-Time Tactical] afaik). Anyway it's very easy to get into, but it still got enough depth to keep it fun, and it's not too difficult for a casual gamer to pick up (casual as in, not a RTS fan). Company of Heroes might also be worth checking out.
Aside from that I suggest checking out Crysis and Crysis: Warhead since you said you like FPS games. If you like racing games, GRID is a lot of fun (at least I like it a lot).
I thought World in Conflict was a WW2 RTS (I just looked it up and it is apparently is alternative history which is much more interesting) I might give that game a shot.
and yeah I like Racers, GRID looks good, it has been a while since I've bough a sim-ish racing game (the last one being the first PGR)
Pick up the orange box as well if you haven't.... plenty of fun games there as well...
HL2, the episodes, TF2, CS:S.. etc
The Valve complete Pack has everything that Valve has released on PC, which is basically everything except a PS2 exclusive expansion of Half Life.
ps. happy birthday
Thank you! :) I'm 20 woohoo! My parents sent me a delicious cake...
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The Valve complete Pack has everything that Valve has released on PC, which is basically everything except a PS2 exclusive expansion of Half Life.
Thank you! :) I'm 20 woohoo! My parents sent me a delicious cake...
Don't be fooled by Valve's 'You Save' calculations. It's GENERALLY cheaper to buy L4D + Orange Box + CS:S + HL1 (buying this retail and adding CD key to steam adds ALL expansions for free) seperately from online retailers than from steam. It MIGHT be about the same price in America (haven't worked this out yet) but pretty much everywhere else in the world it's like $50 more for the complete pack.
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ArmA has a pretty long singleplayer campaign so the answer to your question is yes; it's not all multiplayer. The game has a gradual ascension from lowly grunt to team leader (where you bark the orders) to tank commander to pilot and it's just a really big and epic game.
Don't be fooled by Valve's 'You Save' calculations. It's GENERALLY cheaper to buy L4D + Orange Box + CS:S + HL1 (buying this retail and adding CD key to steam adds ALL expansions for free) seperately from online retailers than from steam. It MIGHT be about the same price in America (haven't worked this out yet) but pretty much everywhere else in the world it's like $50 more for the complete pack.
You can easily buy those games on the secondhand market cheaper than what Valve is selling online but then you'll be supporting the 3rd party distributors and as a close friend of Mike Capps I cannot take the stealing of money from hard working developer's hands lightly.
Buying used games is the same as piracy, people.
lol
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I second the dawn of war series as a fairly simple way to get into RTSs. The lack of resource-collecting workers makes the game quicker and more combat based. You might want to stay away from the latest expansion, Soulstorm, though; it's not made by Relic (the people who made the original game and the 2 previous expansions) and it's significantly lower quality.
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I liked "Call of Juarez", and "Gun" though it is mostly third person. However, it plays like an FPS, and does bullet time in first person. Two of the best western games on any platform, ever.
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Shortly after upping my card I played through Half Life: Episode 2 for the first time and beat it and I seriously think I wont run into a game that will impress me as much as that game/expansion/episode did. That final battle was just fucking fantastic. MAN I CAN'T WAIT FOR EPISODE 3 or HALF LIFE 3 OR WHATEVER.
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I'm not usually an FPS fan, but I picked up the Painkiller series for $20.00 (Canadian) and it has been, by far, one of the best video game investments I've made in a long time. Granted, I couldn't care less about the story but I am thoroughly enjoying the gameplay. I haven't gotten to the second game yet but I'm looking forward to it.
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Painkiller is pretty amazing, but the expansions really aren't that good at all. It's DEFINATELY worth playing (if not buying) the original one at least.
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Painkiller is what Doom 3 and Serious Sam 2 should have been.
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Actually that reminds me to get Painkiller. I played it at a mates place once, I have to agree with the three people before me. It's a great game, not nescessarily story-wise but the gameplay is great.
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Wait, has no one mentioned "Prey" yet? Pretty cool game, it's worth a look.
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Prey would have been my 'Game of the year' if it wasn't for the fact that you are invincible (aka just respawn) when you die. That pretty much ruined the game and any sense of survival/horror/helplessness etc it tried to force onto me :(
Also Why does tommy spend the ENTIRE game trying to find his girlfriend, not caring at all about anything else...and then when he finds her he immediately leaves her on her own with no weapons (and consequently causes her to die almost immediately?) That kinda annoyed me too.