Nice, relaxing PC games?

[slugg]

I really can't stand The Sims. Besides that, are there any casual, relaxing games that you'd recommend? TF2 is cool and all, but it's just not what I need at the moment.

Your thoughts?

Oh and it'll be running on an Intel GMA X4500HD, so it can't be super graphically intense. Half-Life 2 and WoW run just fine, so something along that caliber.

 

[brblx]

plants vs zombies, world of goo, trine, defense grid?

 

[jlchoi]

Have you tried Puzzle Quest?

 

[AbAbber2k]

Buy a PS3 + Flower.

 

[damocles]

I found Freedom Force quite relaxing. YMMV but it is hard to go wrong (the basic game and expansion are $7.49 or so on Steam).

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/freedomforce/index.html

 

[Qbah]

Braid is available on Steam I'd go for that (actually, I did, on my Xbox ) Awesome game. Trailer

 

[Zenoth]

I second Braid, definitely, also I like Peggle.

 

[Rakewell]

I used to play Trophy Bass. Now that's a relaxing game.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AYH8A6

 

[Sylvanas]

World of Goo.

 

[shortylickens]

STEAM has a buttload of casual games, and most of them have demos.
I love the Chinese Fireworks game.

 

[Martimus]

I find 4x games like Civilization and Galactic Civilization to be relaxing, albeit time consuming.

Nethack can be relaxing too, but frustrating when you start as it is very complicated.

 

[katank]

Prince of Persia? The new one where you literally cannot die.

 

[Edge1]

Sounds like you want an adventure game. I find playing Sherlock Holmes vs Arsene Lupin is a very relaxing experience and cool. Check out the adventure games section of GameSpot or Amazon or Metacritic.

Also the Hitman games are generally less frenetic and more thoughtful, as well as Splinter Cell games.

 

[ChaosDivine]

Plants VS Zombies!

There's a zombie on your lawn!

 

[zagood]

Duck Pond

 

[Alienwho]

I played Anno 1404 (Dawn of Discovery) On the Nintendo DS recently and that was great. I got it on the PC but haven't tried it out yet. I'm sure it's good on the PC as well. It's a fun city building game where you build up and advance new technologies while balancing all your resources.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: katank
Prince of Persia? The new one where you literally cannot die.

it's anything but relaxing when you can't see where you're supposed to jump to and have to re-do several sections of the area 50 times trying to figure it out because it takes you back to the last flat, large platform you were at. This one has pissed me off several times already and I haven't made it very far yet.

I don't see Braid being relaxing either as I got frsutrated trying to figure out wtf i was supposed to do several times in the demo.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Do you find RTS to be relaxing? Have you looked at Sins of a Solar Empire? What about something like Baldur's Gate II or the original Neverwinter Nights (which you could play online)?

 

[KeithP]

Well, I wouldn't call it casual, but I have always found Microsoft Flight Simulator very relaxing. Especially if you pick up some of the high res scenery disks. Hop in a J3 Club and just cruise around low and slow.

-KeithP

 

[mb]

Originally posted by: Zenoth
I second Braid, definitely, also I like Peggle.

I third Braid :thumbsup:

Also, if you haven't, check out Beyond Good & Evil. It was released 6 years ago but never really got the attention it deserved.

 

[Kromis]

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Although it may not keep a steady fps, the game is very much playable.

 

[MyThirdEye]

DOTA isn't very relaxing.

 

[brblx]

can anyone clue me into what's so great about braid? maybe i didn't play it long enough.

after having to jump onto platforms outside of the screen multiple times, i deleted it. it seemed like a very basic platformer that got all its difficulty in the worst ways, like one of those super-asshole mario levels.

does it get different?

 

[Jesusthewererabbit]

Originally posted by: brblx
can anyone clue me into what's so great about braid? maybe i didn't play it long enough.

after having to jump onto platforms outside of the screen multiple times, i deleted it. it seemed like a very basic platformer that got all its difficulty in the worst ways, like one of those super-asshole mario levels.

does it get different?

Braid is much more of a puzzle game than just a side scroller. The later levels all have different I guess you could say "themes" to them. One of them has a ring that slows time in a small area, one has a shadow that does what you did before rewinding, and one has enemies that only move when you do. It's quite interesting figuring out how to get the puzzle pieces, but frustrating as well. That game taught me more than any that I'm not a good puzzle solver. It's well worth the ten bucks though, as long as you're not the type of person who throws your clubs while golfing.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

Civilization 4 is very relaxing...

...wait, no it's not, especially when Genghis Khan/Shaka/Montezuma is your immediate neighbor, goes WHEOOHRN and then declares war on you, even though he is Pleased with you and Hates everyone else.

:|