OK. I will keep it in mind. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself right now. But it’s worth keeping an eye on some prices in case I can find some for a real good price.
Thanks very much.
I tried playing with a friend’s copy of that a while ago and I found it just completely overwhelming. The map was so very big, I just felt lost. I guess that if I had gone along slowly starting with the first one, I would have been used to them and the map would not have felt so incredibly huge.
But just jumping in to the fifth game of the series was just too much for me. That worlds was just too big and I felt confused.
But I thank you for the info. I might try starting with the first one and proceed slowly.
I’m grateful for the suggestion however and for the reminder. The GTA series is a pretty amazing phenomenon and that’s for sure!
Thanks again.
GTA I is a top down game thats really nothing like the current ones and I don’t think is even available on PC, it was console only I believe. GTA V may seem overwhelming but it really doesn’t matter, part of the joy is just ignoring the plot and missions and driving around causing chaos. It also leads you into the game quite gently with a series of tutorial missions, if you saw your friends saved game part way through it might have seemed overwhelming yes.
Check out GOG.com (good old games) too.
Depends what genre you enjoy.
City building - like Simcity or Cities: Skylines,
4x games like the Civilization series or Galactic Civ 3
Survival games - Minecraft, ARK Survival Evolved
Role playing - Dragon age or Mass Effect, Bethesda games like Fallout or The Elder Scrolls
- Older games like Knights of the Old Republic 1/2
Action RPG - Many modern MMO’s, Final Fantasy
MMO (massive multiplayer) like World of Warcraft, Blade & Soul, Star Wars The Old Republic
And of course all those first person shooters tht I’ve never played myself 
You got it the other way around. Grand Theft Auto actually started on PC, and was later ported to consoles. I believe every GTA has made it on to PC, though after 3 there has usually been a delay between console and PC versions.
But I think you’re right in that I don’t think it’s easy to get your hand son a copy of it now a days - and of course in that it’s an entirely different kettle of fish.
As a bit of a heads up, you can actually buy Steam games from other internet sites as well. When you buy a game directly from the Steam storefront, it gets immediately added to your account. When you buy a Steam game from another site, they’ll give you a code which you can use to activate the game on your account. If you have a bit of patience, you can usually find things for significantly cheaper than Steam directly. If you’re thinking of buying something, I’d recommend taking a quick look at isthereanydeal.com and seeing if another site is selling it for less.
As for actual game recommendations, Portal is pretty much my all time favorite. It’s short and wonderful. The sequel is also great.
If you liked Grim Fandango, you might want to take a look at some other adventure games. I haven’t played them, but a lot of people really liked Telltale’s The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones series. I’ve also heard very good things about Life is Strange.
As others have mentioned, L.A. Noir is in a similar vein to Mafia and could be a good choice. If you want another game about cars and guns but bounced off of Grand Theft Auto V, you might want to take a look at Sleeping Dogs. It’s less sprawling and more low key than the GTA series.
I’d recommend Rocket League to just about anyone. It’s basically soccer with rocket powered cars. It’s easy to understand the basics and it’s still an enjoyable experience even if you’re terrible at it.
If you want a strategy game, Civilization V is the standard by which other strategy games are judged.
The recently released XCOM 2 is great. If you find the idea of squad based, tactical combat against alien invaders appealing it’s certainly worth a look.
There are a ridiculously large number of good games out there. If you find something you like, chances are there are some other good similar titles.
OP, you may also want to share your PC configuration (processor, graphics card and RAM) so people can figure out what level of games to recommend to you.
Mafia II is no longer for sale on Steam (music licensing rights) so you’d need to find a physical copy that hasn’t been activated yet. Great game though.
Mafia III looks as though it won’t be much like the previous games at all.
As others have mentioned, the first Grand Theft Auto game was basically a top-down arcade-style affair which would probably be considered a mobile phone game today.
All the GTA games from the third one on have large open worlds to explore - GTA V’s is particularly big and “stuff”-filled but I’m afraid if you’re lost and confused in there you’re not likely to have an easier time in (say) Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Do you mind if I ask if you’re an older person? Not a criticism, but gaming is such a large part of modern popular culture now it’s unusual to find someone who doesn’t have at least a basic familiarity with it.
Either way, it’s fantastic you’ve decided to get more involved in gaming - it’s extremely rewarding and will give you something to talk about with a huge number of people no matter where you are!
I sent you an answer by PM. I don’t feel right discussing my age in public.
But thank you for your post. I thought it was a very good post and I enjoyed reading it.
I have two PCs.
The newer one has 8GB memory and a fairly modern graphics card. I didn’t pay extra for any special gaming components. I have several external hard drives and plenty of free storage space.
But I played Mafia on a much older PC and never had any problems with the sound or video or anything else.
I have to assume both of my PCs should be capable of handling most any kind of game - unless it is some game designed to be run on “ultra high end” PCs.
But I thank you for your suggestion.
It should be noted, that Portal can be hard, especially for someone who isn’t a gamer.
The gameplay is simple, and the puzzles aren’t really hard to figure out. But actually physically applying some of the solutions can be…fiddly. (I still haven’t finished it, because I’m stuck on a late level where I can’t get my exit portal to move to the right place while dropping.)
I can recommend literally every game mentioned in this thread as good games. I enjoyed almost all of them or plan to enjoy them at some point. It all depends on what you are in the mood for or feel your ability is capable of.
A few others I would recommend on top of what others are mentioning is Stardew Valley, a very recent game that is a cute farming sim. It is what people call a “comfy” game, in that it is relaxing and has no tight time limits or story requirements that you need to hold to. I would also recommend The Banner Saga for tactics games.** Metal Gear Solid 3** is also a good choice for action. I feel this game stands alone in the series well. I enjoyed Enslaved: Odyssey to the West for action as well. I think it’s under-appreciated.
There are many games on the top of my list that are not released on PC. However, I feel that there’s so much choice available on PC that a person can have a lot of fun without having to delve into console or handheld games.
I need to nix MGS3. I was almost sure they’d released it on PC but I guess I was wrong. In it’s place I will recommend Dark Souls instead. A challenging game but one of the few that you can see yourself get better at and feel rewarded for doing so.