Wait, now, don’t get ahead of ourselves. I don’t have a very fancy computer. I have a rather old HP laptop that can’t play fancy modern games. It’s still got Windows XP and according to Can You Run It, can’t even run Neverwinter Nights 2. Color me shocked, since that game came out in 2006 and I think my machine is from 2008. I guess those crappy on the chip Intel(express 945 thingy) graphics cards can’t do some of the lighting effects.
I have played:
Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2
Fallout 1 and 2
Planescape: Torment - this one was my favorite
Elder Scrolls 2 and 3
I have not played Neverwinter Nights 1 even, though I thought I’d heard rather poor reviews of it and was going to skip over it to 2. Is it worth it?
I’ve considered Diablo 2, which I own from years and years ago but never actually played(got it for $1). Not really looking for pure action RPG, though.
I also never played either Icewind Dale game, but I am rather clueless on those.
Anyone have any recommendations? Also, if you need my system specs, is there a good website that can quickly show me the relevant ones to copy and paste for you?
Neverwinter Nights 1 is totally worth it, even if just for the mods.
The main campaign is’t on the same league as BG, but it’s not bad either. It gets a lot of flack precisely because people were expecting BG in 3D basically, and instead they got a much more streamlined experience with a focus on multi-player and user created content.
And boy, that user created content! It’s extensive and a lot of it is amazing.
So yeah, definitely pick that up, then head over to nwvault.ign.com for the user created stuff.
The enhanced editions of BG and BG2 are looming, so keep your eyes peeled for those.
Definitely pick up the icewind dale series. They are less about story and more about action than BG, but it’s more infinity engine goodness.
Let’s see… Arcanum might be up your alley. Great RPG with Steam punk elements.
If NWN will run on your PC, the original witcher might. Action oriented RPG, but with an excellent story.
gog.com has the entire Might and Magic series of games bundled up. They play kind of like a combination fo the old elderscrolls and dungeonmaster.
Ooooh! Vampire the masquerade! That game somehow managed to get me involved in one of those vampire conventions/larping things where I got to bite hot girls with dark makeup on the neck for an entire night.
Check the direct distribution deals thread. I posted that GMG is giving away a game, Disciples II for free right now. It’s fantasy based but not an RPG but it does look as though it’ll run in your laptop and it’s free. Can’t beat that for giving something a try.
Sorry no link here… on my tablet and it’s a real pain to cut and paste.
Cool, guys, I am considering Neverwinter Nights Diamond edition, which GOG has for cheap.
I’ll check out Disciples 2 as well, especially free.
I assume they have zero anti-piracy stuff on these old games, so I can just buy the game, keep it, and install it as much as possible(and have no internet connection active the whole time)? That is there deal, right?
Dragon Age would be perfect, unfortunately I don’t know if your machine can run it. I remember it running really choppy on a laptop I was able to play TF2 on decently.
I know you can’t play NWN2 on your current PC, but I’ve seen a collection of everything NWN Diamond came with plus everything for NWN2 on sale very cheap at Target recently. You could always get that for NWN1 and maybe someday when you do have a better system you’d be able to play NWN2.
Get Arcanum, then Google for the Level 127 experience cap mod. The game caps your character at level 50, and if you do any sort of tech related stuff at all, you’re going to run out of points.
Arcanum was made by some of the people who did Fallout and FO2, and it’s even more replayable. Magick has been the most powerful force in the world for as long as anyone can remember, but now Technology is rising. There are some rumors about an ancient Technological nation/era, but nobody really believes in that stuff. Technology and Magick don’t play nicely together. If you try to use a magical healing potion, but you’re very technically inclined, it might not work, for instance. You can also be good or evil, depending on your choices, and this will determine how people react to you.
On the first couple of playthroughs, make sure you keep Virgil as an NPC, especially if you plan on going through different paths. He provides a lot of color as well as a lot of information.
If you were a fan of 16-bit traditional turn-based RPGs like the Final Fantasy series and Chrono Trigger, pick up Cthulhu Saves the World. It’s a funny parody of the genre. The plot revolves around how an evil wizard stole Cthulhu’s powers, and he must save the world to get them back, picking up groupies along the way.
I have been playing Neverwinter Nights for a little bit, based on your recommendations.
It’s good. Not amazing yet, but really good. I wish it had been like Baldur’s Gate or Planescape, which gave you a full party of pre-written characters. This game has forced me to take just one henchmen. I took the female Bard; she’s pretty useful.
It’s not a fantasy RPG, but since you mentioned liking Fallout, would S.T.A.L.K.E.R of Chernobyl run on your system? It’s a FPS, without even henchmen, but a teensy bit of an RPG too, like Fallout 3. The system specs seem like they might work? (Frame rate might be a bit of a dog, though.)
Oblivion is actually playable on newer low-end laptops, so you might see what Can You Run It says about that if you liked the other Elder Scroll games.
Every single game that fails on my computer gives the following analysis(including Oblivion).
I don’t have Hardware T&L or any version of Vertex Shading.
Every other requirement is usually met, for “older” games, anyway.
