Help me find a satisfying video game

Cafe Society
1

I’m trying to find something to fill the enormous void in my life that was created when World of Warcraft got pushed back again.

I don’t care what genre it is (but I prefer rpgs and open ended games.)

It can be for either computer or xbox but I’m restricted to slightly older computer games since I only have a 32mb video card (though if there is a compelling enough reason I might upgrade before WoW comes out. I’ve been thinking about City of Heroes.)

Here are some games that I’ve liked in the past or played recently:

Everquest
Halo
Knights of the Old Republic
Icewind Dale (didn’t care for it much. mouse movement turns me off for some reason.)
Warcraft III (see what I said about mouse movement.)

I’m currently playing Dragon Warrior for the NES so I obviously don’t mind older games if they’re really really good but I would prefer something at least as recent as 1996 or so.

What do you guys think?

2

I know absolutely diddly-squat about videogames, but a friend of mine has me playing Final Fantasy VIII at the moment, and since you mentioned RPG games that can be played on a computer, I took the OP as a sign from fate that I must reccommend it. FFVIII came out in 1999, AFAIK, so there’s your slightly older qualification.

Have fun. I am.

3

If you have a PS2, get Drakengard. This game is seriously cool.

4

A recent thread called “recommend an RPG to me” My personal favorites are Fallout 1 and 2, KOTOR, Neverwinter Nights, Final Fantasy III (VI in Japan), and Chrono Trigger.

5

I haven’t played it but System Shock is supposed to be good. You can get both the original and the sequel for around ten bucks each.

6

That’s crazy, I was JUST looking at an FFVIII website and coming here to ask about it.

How much freedom do you have in the game? Do you walk around freely trying to discover your path and running into to monsters along the way or is it pretty linear (I’m sending you here and you’ll run into this, this, and this monster along the way and there’s nothing you can do about it)?

I also wanted to mention, in case someone were to suggest it, I’ve played Morrowind and didn’t care for it. I don’t mind games that have dark levels but when an entire game is depressing, it’s not for me.

7

FF8 rules. The main character is kinda whiny, but it’s a lot of fun nonetheless…

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Note that FFVIII is very linear, however. Near the end of the game, you are given freedom to explore the whole world, so you can power up your party with the best magic and weapons, but for the most part, it is just follow the leader.

That said, I really enjoyed the game. Aside from one rather weird plot point, it has a great story and excellent music and visuals to go along with it. The battle system isn’t the best in a Final Fantasy game, but it is useable.

Also, it doesn’t feature the level grind that most RPGs do - the monsters stay at a relative level to you, so you can run through the game, more or less, and not spend time fighting random battles for experience. As a matter of fact, getting up to level 99 makes some portions of the game nearly impossible, as the bad guys get so powerful.

Definitely worth picking up at a reduced price, even for the intro alone.

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Note that the OP says PC or Xbox. I was going to recommend Suikoden III until I saw that bit (it’s PS2 only). The PS2 is still going to be your best console for RPG’s.

Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance is more like Diablo than Baldur’s Gate. It’s a lot of fun. Just stupid, balls-out, hack-and-slash action RPG. I haven’t played the sequel, but it got decent reviews.

Crimson Skies for Xbox is a very, very good game. It’s not really a flight sim at all; it’s more of a platformer in which you happen to be flying a plane. I haven’t gone back to it in a while because the Navajo level bugged the hell out of me, but I was loving it until then.

Prince of Persia is extremely well-presented, but you have to like jumping puzzles. Even though they give you an undo button (brilliant), it’s still jumping puzzles. Combat is easy and a lot of fun, though.

Grand Theft Auto III pretty much re-invented the open-ended game. The concept is abominable, of course, but it’s a very slick, funny, and well-designed game. I didn’t like Vice City so much, but you can get them both in a two-pack for the Xbox if you’re so inclined.

I’ve heard that Temple of Elemental Evil for the PC is good, IF you download the patch(es).

And I have to admit that I’ve never played Planescape: Torment, but you can usually find it in the bargain bins (especially at Best Buy) and I’ve never heard anyone say anything about it. Also, it’s old enough that it won’t be a threat to your PC’s specs.

And just so as not to overlook the obvious: you’ve got Diablo II and the expansion, right? Half Life? Civilization 3? The Sims? I’d recommend SimCity 4 but I’m not sure how it’d perform w/your video card.

(By the way, you are definitely going to want to upgrade your video card before WoW comes out. The visuals are half the appeal of that game.)

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If you like open ended RPGs, give Morrowind a whirl. I almost hesitate to call it a game, it’s more like a Fantasy World Simulator. Very open ended, and lots of fun if you can get into it (which some people have a hard time doing). It’s out on PC and XBox, but the two expansions are only available for the PC version.

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Great recommendation. I think there’s a “game of the year” edition for Xbox now that includes at least one of the PC expansions, right?

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Isn’t the PC version slightly buggy, though, or was that just VII?

I’ll also reccoment FFVIII (And VII) (and if you have an SNES, or emulator, II and III (AKA, IV and VI) (and V if you’re doing the emulator)) but I have to say ‘Squall is a wienie!’ Holds up a little ‘Go Seifer’ sign and runs off

13

Wow, it wasn’t long after I started searching for FFVIII that I realized it’s pretty much impossible to find. All the kids at gamestop and ebgames laughed at me when I called to ask about it.

Amazon.com did have a copy but I am NOT paying $60 for a 5 year old used game.

14

Halo? To hell with Halo. Unreal Tournament 2004 satisfies, and is well worth upgrading for.

If you want a refreshing blend of RPG and FPS, I suggest you track down a copy of the ORIGINAL Deus Ex.

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Well, I played on my friend’s PS2, so I can’t attest to any ‘bugginess’ in any other version. Sorry.

And I disagree with your “Squall is a wienie” comment, but will fashion a “Go Seifer” sign of my own.
I’m a funny sort of fangirl.

16

We had to look for months and got it off EBay for $50. It’s incredibly hard to find, for some reason.

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Oh, and, I’ll just quote Squall’s most famous line…Ready?

…

18

Actually, it was “(…)”

:stuck_out_tongue:

…I’ll slink off in shame, now…

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Planescape: Torment is the greatest RPG ever created. It’s just that simple.

Fallout, Fallout 2, Earthbound, Chrono Trigger, and Live A Live (available on www.theunderdogs.org) are close, but… Planescape: Torment stands above them all.

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That’s www.the-underdogs.org. They added the hypen some time back.