PC Games - The Missing Years - A Continuing Thread

[tom2000]

So, after about 5 years, I'm finally getting a new computer (building it myself for the first time). I'm replacing a laptop, which replaced a Pentium II. What that really means is that I've missed out on about a decade of gaming. The games I did manage to play have all mostly been played at low resolutions and minimum settings. But now its time to catch up

So I thought I'd start a thread where users can post comment on games and help people out there discover games they may have missed. Whether its because we never had money, or because we never had a great computer, we missed some great games, and now is the time to play them.

Its also nice have the benefit of hindsight. You guys probably know what games turned out to be duds and what ones turned out to be incredible, (Final Fantasy Series?) and with your help I can get myself some kick-ass gaming action.

But to help out others who may be reading the thread besides me, there are some rules:

1. Try not to use too many acronyms. L4D? NWN2? GTAIV? Use the full title if you can.

2. Be sure to note if the game is played alone, online or both, and if you need to pay to play. Some of us only play the single player missions because setting up stuff online when we only have a minute is too much hassle. Some of us aren't interested in monthly fees like in World of Warcraft. If the single player missions are great and the online experience is also killer, feel free to mention it. If the game costs money but is played online for free, mention that too.

3. If possible, let us know how much is costs today. There are a lot of old games, we can't afford them all. But there are some gems out there available for $9.99 or $19.99 (or less).

4. Games that were sold in a box. This thread isn't about casual games played online or those that went straight to the bargain rack at Wal-Mart. If it was once sold in stores but now available online, thats ok.

5. Feel free to go back in time, but make sure the game is still pretty fun now. Half-Life was released in 1998 and I've never played it, but apparently its still a good time. I'd personally love to know about previous versions of games still being released today. Far Cry, Half-life, Halo, Call of Duty, Fear, Final Fantasy, Diablo, Fallout, Red Alert (was there a 1 & 2?). Which of these games could I lose myself in for a quick buck?

6. PC only.

Let the (old) games begin!

 

[tom2000]

I'm going to put my own recommendations in:

Call of Duty 1 & 2

First person shooters set in World War II. Both games can be played on a budget system today. There are expansion packs available as well. Call of Duty 1, Call of Duty 1 - United Offensive Expansion Pack and Call of Duty 2 can be bought together all for $24.99 on Newegg. You can probably find the games cheaper on eBay or Craigslist.

Both games and the expansion pack have single player missions. Call of Duty 2 was better in my opinion. There might be online play, but I haven't done it, I've only played the single player missions. They play pretty good and it was a great first person shooter game that's still fun today. I don't think they made a Call of Duty III for the PC.

 

[s44]

You mentioned Fallout. Fallout 1 and 2 are classics, and you can download legit DRM-free versions of each at Good Old Games for $6. But note that these games were turn-based isometric RPGs with no handholding, not the Bethesda stuff. (Bethesda bought the rights from Interplay -- whose subsidiary Black Isle Studios made these games -- when Interplay went under.) Single-player only.

But if you ever had any interest in RPGs, you need to play Baldur's Gate 2 (another isometric RPG, but real-time with pause). The original was pretty good (and was about a decade ago, so you may have played it!), but the scope and quality of this sequel ($10 now) have never been approached. It's a story-based game that's as big and seemingly open as an openended sandbox game. Basically single-player, but you can also play co-op. (Not many do.) There's a big modding community for this as well, and it's still active.

 

[tom2000]

Do you need to have played Baldur's Gate 1 to play 2? And what's Bethesda? Turn-based isometric? I'm like a kid in a candy store discovering all these games for cheap, but I have this funny feeling other people know way much more about games than I do.

I just discovered Good Old Games today, but I wasn't sure what to get, so I decided to start this thread.

 

[tom2000]

Halo - Combat Evolved (Halo 1)

This is the first game in the Halo series. Originally released for XBox but ported to the PC. Also a first person shooter. It was a great game, ran ok on my old laptop, so a budget rig with a video card should run it alright. Awesome storyline and a great game to play. Haven't played Halo 2 yet.

Availavle for $19.99 on Newegg, but pretty sure you can get it cheaper elsewhere, especially if you have a used gaming shop near you.

 

[9mak9]

Originally posted by: tom2000
Do you need to have played Baldur's Gate 1 to play 2? And what's Bethesda? Turn-based isometric? I'm like a kid in a candy store discovering all these games for cheap, but I have this funny feeling other people know way much more about games than I do.

I just discovered Good Old Games today, but I wasn't sure what to get, so I decided to start this thread.

I do not think you need Baldur's Gate 1 to play the 2nd, but they story is a continuation of the 1st so you really should play both. (great game either way)

Bethesda is the company that purchased the rights to Fallout, and created Fallout 3 (they also created Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion)

 

[s44]

Bethesda is the studio that made Oblivion and Fallout 3. Oblivion is actually the latest of their "Elder Scrolls" games, basically openended fantasy world simulator type things with more attention to environment and detail than story and character. If you liked Oblivion, you should definitely try the previous one: Morrowind.

The opposite approach to single-player RPGs is represented by Bioware (who made Baldur's Gate, Knights of the Old Republic, etc) and Black Isle Studios (whose principals later founded Troika -- now also defunct -- and Obsidian). These are more focused on story than what folks call the "sandbox" elements of Bethesda games.

Isometric is the sort-of-3D view that games from a decade ago used, representing action from overhead and at an angle, often using sprites on a hand-drawn 2D background. Turn-based is the style of combat used in Fallout and many JRPGs, where each combatant goes in sequence -- the opposite of real-time where everything fires together (or, in a RPG, where everything happens based on each *individual* character's timer). Bioware's famous "Infinity Engine" (used in the Baldur's Gate games as well as a number of Black Isle titles) combined isometric rendering with real-time combat that could be paused at any time.

You don't need to play BG1 to play BG2. The game will start you at the appropriate level, and there's an item strip at the beginning anyway. The original Baldur's Gate is also great, but there are some UI issues that may seem inconvenient to a modern gamer. Of course, if you haven't played games for a decade, you won't notice... There are also mods that let you play BG1 in the more refined version of the engine implemented in the sequel.

While I've gone off on the long explanation of Bioware-Black Isle RPGs, I might as well list them by studio...

Bioware
Baldur's Gate (and expansion), Baldur's Gate 2 (and expansion)
Neverwinter Nights (and expansions) -- official campaigns aren't so good, except for the second expansion, but the game was all about its modding tools and there are some truly amazing campaigns available for free download here; there are also multiplayer "persistent worlds"
Knights of the Old Republic -- another classic
Jade Empire -- RPG with twitchy martial arts combat; short, but with memorable characters
Mass Effect -- RPG with third-person shooter combat; short, but tons of fun

Black Isle Studios
Fallout, Fallout 2
Planescape: Torment -- the other RPG (besides BG2 and Fallout) often cited as the "best ever"
Icewind Dale (and expansion), Icewind Dale 2 (and expansion) -- more Infinity Engine games; more hack&slash than the others

Troika Games -- these games have fans, but are all famously buggy as hell
Arcanum
Temple of Elemental Evil -- the only turn-based D&D 3E game
Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines

Obsidian Entertainment
Knights of the Old Republic 2 -- famously chopped short after Lucasarts forced an early release; a modding team is at work reconstructing the ending
Neverwinter Nights 2 (and expansions) -- better official campaigns than the original Neverwinter Nights (I haven't tried the second expansion, though), but fewer mods because the toolset's more difficult; there are some impressive ones, which you can download at the same place as for NWN1; also multiplayer

 

[Maximilian]

See point 5 in your rules, buy every game mentioned there except for FEAR. Heres why:

Far cry is an amazing game, back in 2004 it was groundbreaking with the freedom allowed in an FPS and today remains a really fun game to play, single player mainly. Far cry 2 is absolutely nothing like the original, some like it some hate it, its a mixed bag, i dont know if ill buy it.

Call of duty is awesome, buy that for sure, CoD 2 was ok, 3 sucked and was console exclusive anyways, 4 is also cool. So all the call of dutys except 3.

FEAR is boring. If you enjoy drab environments and repetitivity then FEAR might be for you otherwise skip it.

Diablo rocked in the day, dont buy it now though buy diablo II. Most fun is to be had online really but i guess if youve never played it before single player might be fun too. On that note buy starcraft (best game ever made ever) and warcraft III. Starcraft might not be that fun today in single player but UMS maps on multiplayer are a blast. Tens of thousands still play it (no theyre not all korean either). Warcraft III has an excellent single player campaign.

Fallout 3 is apparently good... i dont know im buying it soon anyways

Red alert 1 was amazing, 2 absolutely buggered the storyline but it was still fun and tbh i liked the storyline even though it didnt really connect with the first one. RA3 sucked. RA2 and every command and conquer game before it was good, everything after RA2 was lousy.

Games you should also buy or look into
Depends on what you are into really, Real time strategy? First persons shooter? whatever heres a bunch of good games:

1. Crysis (FPS)- Bit better than farcry, takes a beefy graphics card to run though. It pretty much is farcry with a different setting, prettier graphics and a power suit.
2. Supreme commander (RTS) - Maybe if you liked TA this is worth looking into, its just like TA kinda
3. Doom 3 (FPS)
4. Grand Theft Auto - Hell any GTA game is fun, GTA3/Vice city/San andreas are what i have on the pc, all amazing games, all single player all with a good story and a tank! GTA 4 is out now too, i got it for the 360 its a blast too, no tank unfortunately.
5. Bioshock (FPS) - Pretty decent, better than FEAR was anyways.
6. Halo 1 (FPS) - Halo 2 was boring and halo 3 was too short, theyre probably worth looking at but the first was the best i think.
7. Company of heros (RTS) - Different from the c&c series, you command less units and its set in WWII. Decent campaign but the real fun is in the multiplayer.
8. Chronicles of riddick escape from butcher bay (FPS) - Good singleplayer fun
9. Soldiers: Heros of WWII (RTT) - Real time tactics, its like the old commandos games minus the frustration, that threads me trying to sell people on it lol, it really is a lot of fun.
10. Star trek elite force I & II (FPS) - Good games despite the star trek name. Most trek games are lousy, these are an exception.
11. Max Payne (FPS) - Excellent storyline, excellent gameplay and interesting settings, a winning combination. Theres Max payne 2 but i dont think its as good as the first, probably worth a play though.
12. Black & White - I dunno google it, its an odd game but a lot of fun.
13. Medal of honor allied assault (FPS) - Like call of duty
14. Homeworld 1 & 2 (RTSish) - Space based real time strategy game, never played the first one but it got a lot of good press and i found the 2nd one to be fun.
15. C&C renegade (FPS) - Fun command and conquer themed shooter, didnt sell well but if you like c&c its worth a playthrough.

Thats just from me looking at the pile of games on my desk in no particular order. Most of the games listed have a multiplayer component, they all feature singleplayer campaigns. None are pay to play, as for the price of the game, just google it, some of these are really old some are still pretty newish so the price will differ.

 

[s44]

Originally posted by: Maximilian
5. Bioshock (FPS) - Pretty decent, better than FEAR was anyways.

Can we admit that this game was hugely overrated? It's also a ripoff of the same studio's System Shock 2 (1999), which is better and better fits the OP's inquiry.

 

[dguy6789]

Serious Sam 2. Arcade style shooter that focuses on humor and fun more than anything else. Single player is fun, co op is also fun. The game is free to play online, probably really cheap to buy in stores.

 

[tom2000]

I'm open to all sorts of games. I have played a few older ones that I managed to run on my laptop (its got a discreet card) like Halo, Medal of Honor, and Call of Duty 1 & 2. I also play Civ4 a lot. I once played Warcraft (don't know what version) and the first Starcraft (long ago). I also got into Age of Empires. Some of these I can definitely get into again if I knew what version was the best or latest or just good. I will admit to be completely clueless about role-playing games though, but I'm excited to learn about some good ones. Most of the time I played these games (Warcraft and Starcraft) was at friends houses or on holidays when my siblings brought them home, so while I've played a few of them, I've never owned them enough to complete them.

I'm also starting to appreciate games with a definite beginning and ending. I usually play Civ4, so that's my game of choice when I want something to lose myself into. So when I need a break, I love stuff that I can complete step by step and have a great time, but I can still complete it. I really got into FPS because of this. I've always got the impression that the Elder Scrolls stuff was sort of neverending, which is why I stayed away. Does it have an end? I liked Age of Empires and Warcraft because you could play a scenario and when you won it was over, even though the game had high replayability, it "ended" when you won.

 

[tom2000]

I've never played a Star Wars game. Are those fun? You mentioned Knights of the Old Republic 2, I might check that out. Same with Diablo 2. Which Warcraft should I try? I'm definitely going to pick up Grand Theft Auto when I find it used on the cheap, along with the original Far Cry. I'm also pretty stoked to try my first Final Fantasy game, any suggestions? Man, I'm so excited about my new computer! I love the fact that there are great games out there for really cheap that I've never tried.

 

[s44]

Definitely play the original KOTOR ($20 on ebay) before the sequel. You really, really don't want to be spoilerized about the first one.

 

[tom2000]

Ok, I can't stop asking questions. Thanks to everyone who has posted, its been a great help. I can't wait to try some of the suggestions.

For another question, I'm going back to my childhood (by that I mean games on floppy disks and even floppier disks). Back then I played an awesome World War I dogfighting game. Are there any awesome ones you would suggest today? Doesn't have to be World War I, other eras will do, but needs a combat component, no pure flight sims.

Another game from my childhood was Deathmatch. Does anyone remember that? You raced cars around a track and destroyed the other racers with weapons like mines and missiles. Anything like that out now for the PC? I know there are racing games, but anything with a combat twist?

 

[tom2000]

Thanks s44, I'll definitely try it first. But see Rule #1. (I'm trying to help out other gamers who read the thread who are missing in action for the last 8 years like myself)

 

[Molondo]

I would also recommend The fear series. The new fear is coming, unfortunately it has been delayed a bit. It is both for single player and multiplayer. I havent tried the multiplayer but i was told that it is difficult to play(people are really good). The single player is really great! I'm pretty sure you could get all of them in a box.

The max payne series (Max payne 1 & 2). Another good FPS with bullet time mechanics! Does not have any multiplayer but the single player makes up for it! You can download these on steam.

 

[Hornet85]

Far Cry was amazing, if you haven't been playing these generation of games, don't miss Far Cry, its completely different from any first person shooter game that came before it.

Half Life 2 is good too, and there's a mod Black Mesa, which is a remake of Half Life on the source engine, will be release next year. If I were you, I'd rather get Half Life 2 and play Black Mesa mod later on.

 

[LtPage1]

Both of the Max Paynes. Single player only, relatively short, but fantastic storytelling and great fun.

 

[tom2000]

From the Free PC Games thread, those interested in playing the first two Grand Theft Auto games can download them for free from the publisher: Rockstar

 

[9mak9]

If you like RPGs and are going to play Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Knights of the old Republic, etc. then you have to play Planescape: Torment. One of the best games I have ever played. Characters, story and the element of the game is just perfect. Also use this mod for the games to make the resolution better.

Baldurs' Gate, Icewind Dale, Torment Mod

Also try Beyond Good and Evil for a fun Action/Adventure game
Indigo Prophecy is a great Adventure game with a very cool story/concept

 

[9mak9]

this might help with some of the older games

http://pc.ign.com/articles/935/935428p1.html

 

[Kyanzes]

Anachronox

 

[mrblotto]

Dont forget to mention any of the 3 titles in the 'Thief' series (1 = The Dark Project, 2 = The Metal Age, and 3 = Deadly Shadows). A combination of stealth, FPS, and stealing topped with good voice acting and narration made these 3 episodes different from anything else, still to this day.

Deadly Shadows is available from STEAM (I'm sure other places as well) http://store.steampowered.com/app/6980/

I found The Dark Project at EBGames http://www.ebgames.com/Catalog....aspx?product_id=62459

Located The Metal Age on Amazon for the cheap http://www.amazon.com/Thief-2-...l-Age-Pc/dp/B00004NS0Z

 

[Martimus]

I bought Oblivion when I bought my video card just before Christmas last year, just to test out the new card and not buy one of the games I asked for for Christmas. I ended up playing Oblivion more than all the games I got for Christmas combined, so I have to suggest that game.

The Witcher: Enhanced Edition was an awesome game too. I was actually very impressed with it, and I suggest that as well. It was much better than I expected, and I was pleasantly surprized when I played it.

I just started playing Titan Quest too, and I feel it is pretty fun.

Crysis was a very good game, if you like open ended gameplay. It is one of the few FPS's that is good enough that you will go back and play through certain levels over and over again, because they are just plain fun, and there are hundreds of ways to do them.

EDIT: I forgot Max Payne. Both games were just plain Awesome! I got them in a Steam deal that I bought for some completely different games, and I ended up playing Max Payne more than any other game in the package. Very cool game, and very fun to play through!

 

[minmaster]

how da heck you gonna find time to play all these games even semi-thoroughly?