New to PC Games

[azrg]

Hi All, I'm an old guy that would like to use my new PC for FPS type games.
I bought one (Just Cause 2) but when I installed it I could not run it without going through Steam. I have no intention of online gaming and felt I should
be able to run something I bought and had in my possession w/o going online. I returned it.
I currently have Call of Duty 4.

So what games do not require going online for permission to use it at home??

TIA

 

[shortylickens]

Well, since you are new you didnt know to do a Search here in PC Gaming, cuz this question gets asked a lot.
Since you are specifically looking to avoid games with online checks that will limit your options, but its possible to still have some fun.

I would suggest Serious Sam on disc if you can find it. Doom 3 and expansion. FEAR and all the expansions (gold edition on DVD is the best choice). I think Bad Company 2 does not require online access but I could be wrong.

Also, in the future more and more single player games will require some sort of online verification, so either get used to it, or give up gaming.

 

[Jschmuck2]

Well, you should know that anything purchased through Steam is going to require you to go online at least once to activate it. Steam is a Digital Rights Management platform and that's how they verify that you have a legally purchased copy of the game. Some (including me) would argue that the pros outweigh the cons in the case of Steam but that's the way they roll.

Unfortunately for you, quite a few if not most newer games are leaning towards a form of online activation (that's not a blanket statement, internet nerds, keep your bile in your mouths) even in their boxed forms, so entirely escaping online activation is becoming less and less of an option.

But if it's a desktop and it's at home and you're posting here, it looks like you have internet access. What's the big deal?

 

[azrg]

Well, since you are new you didnt know to do a Search here in PC Gaming, cuz this question gets asked a lot.
Since you are specifically looking to avoid games with online checks that will limit your options, but its possible to still have some fun.

I would suggest Serious Sam on disc if you can find it. Doom 3 and expansion. FEAR and all the expansions (gold edition on DVD is the best choice). I think Bad Company 2 does not require online access but I could be wrong.

Also, in the future more and more single player games will require some sort of online verification, so either get used to it, or give up gaming.

Thanks for the reply and I'll look for those you mention. Appreciate it.

 

[azrg]

Well, you should know that anything purchased through Steam is going to require you to go online at least once to activate it. Steam is a Digital Rights Management platform and that's how they verify that you have a legally purchased copy of the game. Some (including me) would argue that the pros outweigh the cons in the case of Steam but that's the way they roll.

Unfortunately for you, quite a few if not most newer games are leaning towards a form of online activation (that's not a blanket statement, internet nerds, keep your bile in your mouths) even in their boxed forms, so entirely escaping online activation is becoming less and less of an option.

But if it's a desktop and it's at home and you're posting here, it looks like you have internet access. What's the big deal?

Thanks for the reply, I actually bought that through Amazon and had never heard of "Steam". I don't mind going online once to activate it, but to go online every time is just wrong IMHO.
But thanks to you and previous post I am getting a feel for how things are done now. Maybe I'll have to reconsider in the "future".
Thanks again.

 

[Lonyo]

You can set Steam to use Offline mode once your game is up to date and it shouldn't try to go online/require going online.

 

[azrg]

Thanks Lonyo, I must have missed that option, I just backed out of it to soon, I guess.

 

[KeithTalent]

Yeah, I have played my Steam games offline when I was without internet a couple of times.

What is your aversion to going online?

KT

 

[simonizor]

I really like Steam; I don't know why so many people hate on it. It provides a good friends community, provides access to all of your games, even the ones that aren't steamed, through one program, it keeps all of your steamed games up to date without you having to worry about finding patches for them, and it provides a nice UI in game that you can browse the web through (along with other things).

 

[sandorski]

Steam is awesome. Unless you don't have your Computer Online all the time for some reason(not that it requires it), there's really no reason not to use Steam.

 

[ZzZGuy]

Provided you have a good internet connection (100kb/s and up) steam isn't that bad, but I still don't pay more then $15 for any game on it due to not having total control over your games (eg, ban you for no reason, though I've never heard of this).

It's fickle about going in "offline mode" at times, so if you know in advance you will not have internet you can set it to offline mode so there will be no issues later. If you are updating/installing a game (no matter what, steam can force a game to update or even redownload completely) it will not allow you to go into offline mode. If a game needs online activation or a internet connection to play Steam will list it on their webpage for that game.

Steam also has many good sales. Check every Monday and Friday to see if there is anything new.

Another site is GOG.com (Good Old Games) which you buy and download your games from but unlike steam you download a .exe file that you can save (eg, flash drive/DVD) and you can always reinstall from that without needing the internet or any other program. They only deal in older games but ones like Far Cry are good.

As for what games don't have DRM, it'll be easier to make/ask for a list of games you want then ask/find out from that list what DRM they have. Youtube.com is the best way to find out if you will like it, simply put in the name and "gameplay" to see what it looks like to play.

 

[Martimus]

Stalker does not require an online connection, I don't believe. Bioshock did require on online connection to activate the copy, but after that I did not need one. Crysis was another game that did not require a constant online connection.

I am not a huge FPS player, so I am not sure what other relatively new releases don't require you to be online. I also don't like this need to be online for single player, and luckily most of the kinds of games I play don't require it. When they do, I generally don't buy them.

As mentioned above, anything from GoG does not require you to be online to play, as well as anything from Impulse.

 

[azrg]

I appreciate everyones replies and have printed the thread so I can pursue the suggestions given. I think the GOG site will probably satisfy my near term gaming needs. At least now I kind of know what the heck was going on with Steam.

When I don't know something......I ask the experts

thanks again

 

[xCxStylex]

Bioshock did when it first came out because it was limited to a few installs. They then increased the install limit.

Then, they removed the limit, so I'm pretty sure you no longer need online activation. Not 100% sure about this though, but I do know there are no more limitations in regards to the quantity of installs.

Then again.... if there are no more limitations, why would they still require online activation unless they're just keeping data on how many times one key was installed @_@ 0_o

Bioshock did require on online connection to activate the copy, but after that I did not need one.

 

[Gothgar]

what's the big deal with online activation?

You can obviously get online, hence you posting on here

 

[AdamLiuu]

ooooooh. Hi! I'm also a newbie to PC games, and i'm playing CoD, too.

 

[aclim]

it takes literally 10 seconds to log into Steam... Not only that, you being new to PC games would appreciate that Steam auto updates all your games that are on there

 

[tydas]

Thanks for the reply, I actually bought that through Amazon and had never heard of "Steam". I don't mind going online once to activate it, but to go online every time is just wrong IMHO.
But thanks to you and previous post I am getting a feel for how things are done now. Maybe I'll have to reconsider in the "future".
Thanks again.

Its also wrong that people pirate games which is why this on-line activation has become necessary. IMO Steam is great since it also auto-patches your game and has fantastic deals on older FPS games.
Your opinion is not alone but people really need to get over their ‘rights’ when purchasing a PC game and think about the bigger picture. Are the publishers 100% right, of course not but we also need to be a little flexible.

 

[nastymoon]

I hate those damn games that require you to be online to play especially assassins creed 2 darn you!!!!!!

 

[Edge1]

Hey azrg, old guy here as well (43) . Gaming is a blast and keeps you mentally sharp. Glad you're taking it up. I just wanted to make sure you were clear on something. When you get a game that require online "activation" it is typically a transparent process which happens automatically each time you start up the game. You aren't required to lift a finger other than double-clicking your game's start icon. All you need is an active internet connection (most people always have theirs active). you won't even know the game "phoned home". It doesn't mean you'll be playing online per se. I don't do that stuff either, although I hear its a blast apparently.

If you ever have questions or are looking for advice/suggestions I'd be happy to throw in my 2 cents, FWIW.

 

[Oyeve]

I personally love steam. I can play most of the games I purchased through steam on many systems, not just the initial one. And on my Macbook pro I can play a couple of games on that too. I am not adverse to having to be online to play a game as I used to be. Now I just am glad I can still get games on my comps at all, what with consoles dominating.

 

[0roo0roo]

what's the big deal with online activation?

You can obviously get online, hence you posting on here

he's afraid steams going to see his cp's and bring on the fbi van

seriously though, just don't bother gaming if your that picky.

 

[BD231]

what's the big deal with online activation?

You can obviously get online, hence you posting on here

Try being so logical when you're ISP is down and you have little else to do on your computer but game due to lack of internet. Or perhaps you've moved and don't yet have internet access at your new place? Or maybe your wireless card on your laptop tanked and you've no ethernet cables to sub?

Thankfully the login is hackable, I'd never mess with such games otherwise.

 

[0roo0roo]

or maybe the apocalypse comes and you want to play one last time before you die

reality is internet is everywhere now. logging on isp is almost a given, outage is rare, theres wifi, friends internet/mobile ..etc the whole cry over the potential to be without internet access is just not realilstic.

theres an offline mode anyways.

i mean what if you had no electricity!!! i would never buy a computer that required that would leave me in a lurch if there was a black out

 

[minmaster]

you anti steam people better start opening up your minds. you're gonna miss out on games like civ5 and probably more big titles in the future that will be steamworks.