I’m in the mood for a new RPG, but my computer can’t really handle any of the new-fangled programs coming out (even Morrowind can’t run on it).
PC RPGs that I’ve played and liked over the years, in rough order of preference:
Fallout I & II
Baldurs Gate I & II
Planescape: Torment
Arcanum
Icewind Dale I & II
Divine Divinity & Beyond Divinity
Diablo II
I’m looking for a game that’s not just a pure hack & slash like Diablo. Ideally, it would have a good combat system AND good non-combat gameplay.
Knights of the Old Republic wasn’t bad, and I seem to remember hearing reasonable things about the sequel. The combat system is a somewhat disguised turn-based system, which gives you a fair amount of tactical plotting.
You seem to have already played most of the Bioware and Black Isle library. What about the original Neverwinter Knights, does that fall within your system specs?
The only two words you’ll ever need to know. (Since you’ve already played the Fallouts.)
Oh, and Wasteland for real old-school (c. 1987), though, you’ll have to search around to find a copy of it either standalone (emulation?) or one of the anthologies it was later packaged in.
It doesn’t matter if you play a role, it’s not a role-playing game. By your definition any game short of Tetris is a role-playing game.
Hmm? Oh, sorry. That post is about twelve hours early. Copy and paste it when you need to.
As for a recommendation, you haven’t touched the Ultima series. 6 through 7 (which actually encompasses five games and two expansion packs) are the peak of the games while 8 and 9 are to be avoided.
Make sure you grab the manual since lengthier portions of in-game text are replaced with notes telling you to read specific paragraphs in the book.
Also, keep in mind that it hasn’t aged the best. It’s still an all-time classic, but someone who doesn’t have the nostalgia of playing it originally might not be as understanding. Even so, it’s worth checking out as it’s the game that helped spawn the Fallout series.
I’ll second the original Neverwinter Nights. It’s been optimized over the last 60 + patches so that it should run on a machine that can’t handle morrowind. I remember being able to playing NWN1 with most setting turned on, and running morrowind at like 10 FPS. It would help to know your system specs, however.
What are your system specs? I can run KOTORs I & II and my machine is relatively ancient- six years old- and wasn’t even top-of-the line when I built it (Athlon 2600+; I think they’d just hit some number in the mid-thirties).
Temple of Elemental Evil doesn’t run under any operating system. Buggiest piece of shit I’ve played since Daggerfall. Even with the patches. Even with the fan-made patches, after the developer dropped it like a hot potato. Stay the hell away from this one.
Instead, check out Eschalon: Book 1. It’s a new game, but done in a traditional isometric perspective, with graphics that are very processor friendly. It’s a very cool game, and cheap, to boot. The demo is pretty extensive, and gives you a good idea of what the full game is like.
The Quest for Glory Anthology, and Quest for Glory V, if you can still find them, is the best adventure/RPG combination ever.
I second the first Knights of the Old Republic, and the second one too, if the Sith Lord Restoration project ever comes out of beta.
Titan Quest is a good filler while you wait for Diablo 3. Getting it with Immortal Throne is a must - the Dream Mastery is worth it as it allows you to create enjoyable builds (FYI: You choose 2 ‘classes’ for a character build. Some build are useless, some are overpowered - but darned fun). You can get it off Steam. There are fan patch and mods for it too.
The demo of Sacred was fun for me. Somehow I never did get the game; think my PC was too slow for it back then.
There is no way you’d be able to run these unless you also install DOSBox and run them under that (it’s a DOS system emulator.) The graphics and sound get way too messed up and crash the game under even Windows 98, let alone XP/2000 or Vista.
Well…I guess QFG V will run under Windows, but I never played it. It was a huge departure from the rest of the series. I tried the demo that came with the QFG Anthology and it was not my cup of tea.
QFG IV is one of my favorite games of all time. It has a great dark atmosphere to it, and with three classes (four if you import someone from an earlier game and play as a Paladin,) you have good replay value since a lot of puzzles are different.
ETA: I should also add that these are adventure/RPGs, not straight RPGs. You have stats like strength, agility, etc… that go up as you adventure, but not “levels,” and you don’t really upgrade equipment or anything.
Might & Magic VI has an excellent character development system, a large world that you can explore without being in the least bit railroaded (many places are just too durn dangerous, but that’s your lookout) and a combat system that allows you to play either turn-based or real-time at your discretion. The plot is quite good and there is lots to do. I have a Vista machine that it runs perfectly well on, a little to my surprise as it’s about Windows 98 vintage. Graphics are what you’d expect for a late 1990s game, viewpoint is first-person and you control a party of four, each chosen from six character classes with lots of room for customisation. (You can also recruit a couple of henchman but they don’t do anything for the most part, just bias the dice-rolls a bit.)
You start out fighting goblins and similar things that resemble low-level D&D monsters, and you finish by taking on a pack of dragons with four-figure hit points and even nastier critters, and if all has been going to plan the last fights should be about as tough as the first ones were. Tolerably few games handle that sort of power spread.
Well, most of the games you’ve cited are on my “Don’t bother to ask what to play next if you haven’t played these” list. But there are some good items on my Also Ran list.
First of all, have you played The Ur-Quan Masters? It’s only not an RPG by the technicality that you’re building a space ship rather than a person. But the story, the interaction with NPCs, and the exploration and combat all feel like a damn good RPG. It has been released in freeware:
Have you played System Shock 2? It’s a 3D shooter-style RPG, and overall not like any of the ones on your list, but it is immersive, atmospheric and it’s a classic that should not be missed.
Hoopy Frood mentioned Deus Ex. It’s also fps-style, but built with a world that gives you a lot of options on how to achieve mission goals. It’s being given away for free on GameTap, apparently. I have no idea with the catch is:
