The catch with GameTap is that you have to install their loader thingy (which is big- 'bout 800 meg) and that to play most of their good games you have to pay the $9.96 monthly fee.
IMHO, it’s well worth it. I’ve sung the praises of GameTap here before, and I’ll continue to do so.
Probably half of the PC games they offer are available as freeware (GTA1 & 2, for example) but most are the sort you find for $10 in unboxed CDs at Wal-Mart. They just got Fallout and I think Fallout 2 and FO: Tactics are coming soon.
[QUOTE=Malacandra] 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.)
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Sounds interesting. Is it mostly a dungeon crawler or is there significant (good) gameplay outside of combat?
I’ve heard so much about this game and System Shock II, I should probably give them a try.
I tried installing KOTOR off my friend’s copy, and it would install, but I couldn’t get it to run (error message that I forget).
Totally forgot about the Ultima games. I’ve heard that they’re pretty free-form in what you can do, so I should probably give it a go. Thanks.
Thanks for the suggestions, folks, keep’em coming!
[QUOTE=Windwalker]
{Might & Magic VI} Sounds interesting. Is it mostly a dungeon crawler or is there significant (good) gameplay outside of combat?
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There’s a lot of travelling around and talking to people and finding stuff out - for instance, at one key point in the plot one of the NPCs is supposed to vote for you in council, under orders from his Lord, and when he refuses to do so you need to speak to his Lord who gives you a quest to go and investigate somewhere to find out what the matter is. If you say the wrong thing to the wrong Prince at the wrong time then you will have to run him to earth possibly several months later before the plot can progress - and at one point you have to choke down your natural reluctance and set a notorious villain free, as it’s the only way to keep from blowing up the world.
There’s a lot of dungeon crawling, admittedly, but there is a major story arc behind all of it.
[QUOTE=glee]
I’ve run it successfully under Windows 98, Windows NT and Vista.
Yes, it needed a patch - but so do other games (e.g. Civ 4).
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Yeah, but Civ4 doesn’t delete your entire hardrive when you uninstall it if you don’t download the patch. :eek:
And I heard the gameplay was pretty bad, especially compared to the really good D&D games like Baldur’s Gate I and II, and Neverwinter Nights. But it’s worth giving a shot, since it can be had for pretty cheap, but for the LOVE of God don’t think the patch is optional, cause it ain’t.
[QUOTE=Kinthalis]
NWN also just got it’s last patch and the compilation version (I think it’s called NWN diamond) offers you some 200+ hours of gaming. The 200+ top rated (there are thousands actually but just sticking to the top few hundred) community created adventure mods should extend than pretty much indefinitely, or at least until you get sick and tired of the game. All this for under $20: Amazon.com: Neverwinter Nights Diamond : Video Games
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I would recommend NWN as well if you can run it. The main campaign sucks, but there are a ton of good mods.
Spider Software’s games are known for being well written and designed but having poor graphics and interfaces. I’ve never played one myself.
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright]
I don’t think you’ll be able to run System Shock 2 if you can’t run KOTOR.
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I’m not so sure about that. It’s worth trying the demo and seeing anyway. Here’s one link, others are easy to find via google.
I’ve enjoyed the games the OP listed quite a bit, but I also have a soft spot for the older RPGs; my favorites from days gone by…
The Bard’s Tale 1, 2, and 3
Wizardry series (especially 7, Crusaders of the Dark Savant)
Realms of Arkania series (you can buy the trilogy together in one package if you’re lucky enough to find one available; got mine through ebay.)
Dragon Wars (another that uses the “read paragraph 35” method to advance the story)
[QUOTE=Miller]
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.
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Eschalon was great. About 30 hours in length, so a decent gaming experience. Also, I absolute *love *the Geneforge series by Spiderweb Software.
Ah yes, don’t forget the Exile games. Actually, pretty much anything by Spiderweb Software is going to be a good suggestion. All their games have free demos.
[QUOTE=Malacandra]
There’s a lot of travelling around and talking to people and finding stuff out - for instance, at one key point in the plot one of the NPCs is supposed to vote for you in council, under orders from his Lord, and when he refuses to do so you need to speak to his Lord who gives you a quest to go and investigate somewhere to find out what the matter is. If you say the wrong thing to the wrong Prince at the wrong time then you will have to run him to earth possibly several months later before the plot can progress - and at one point you have to choke down your natural reluctance and set a notorious villain free, as it’s the only way to keep from blowing up the world.
There’s a lot of dungeon crawling, admittedly, but there is a major story arc behind all of it.
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Interesting story arc and wonderful idea with the classes. (I recommend three druids and a mage for your party, personally. Especially if you work on the class advancement quests in the beginning of the game. Granted, to pull this off you either need a FAQ or intimate knowledge of the game, but it greatly reduces a lot of the grind you’d normally have to go through.)
Speaking of grind, that’s what annoyed me about this game. There are typically 3 levels of the same monster, distinguished by the color of their name. And each board is crawling with them. And all monsters have the same AI, which is to take the shortest path to get to the party as quickly as possible unless you are very hurt in which case run away from them as quckly as possible. The monsters are unaware of each other’s existence, except when it would come to two pieces of matter occupying the same point in space. The only thing that exists is your party. And they keep coming. You will find yourself litterally taking one step, then slaughtering a handful of monsters. Then taking another step, and slaughering another handful of monsters. Repeat seemingly ad infinitum. After you’ve killed the 200th religious cultist and realize there are still another 500 to go on that map before you get to where you need to go, it gets kind of old.
[QUOTE=Miller]
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.
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I just downloaded this and I’ll give it try tonight - thanks.
I bought the Might and Magic collection on ebay, has the last 4-5 games in the series. However my comp is too new to run it (it doesn’t like XP). The box says Win 95, so I’m not sure if it’ll work with 98 or ME. I have my old comp with ME on it, but I’ve been playing Roller Coaster Tycoon and UFO Extraterrestrials and haven’t had time to dig the machine out and hook it up.
Try Betrayal at Krondor, that was a decent game similar to Baldurs Gate, and it came out around the same time so you should be able to run it.
[Edit prev post - board is lagging and 5 mins are up] It’s actually called Might & Magic Millenium Edition. There’s also a Wizardry Collection that has all of the games except Wiz 8, and it’ll run on newer or older versions of Windows (although I couldn’t get the last 2 games to work at all on XP :mad: ).
I have to say thank you for the suggestion of Eschalon. It reminds me of an Ultima game without all the glurge that Richard Garrott seemed intent on cramming into the games. I’m going to have to buy this when I get the funding, I’ve already played through the demo twice.
[QUOTE=Captain_C]
Ah yes, don’t forget the Exile games. Actually, pretty much anything by Spiderweb Software is going to be a good suggestion. All their games have free demos.
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Well, in the last few days, I tried re-installing and picking up Diablo II from where I left off (I only got to Act III before I got bored before), and then I downloaded the Avernum 1 demo. Guess which one I’m having much more fun in?
It’s amazing, really. Avernum’s download is only 7.5 MB, and it’s kicking the crap out of Diablo’s massive 4 CD, 1.5-2GB ass! I think I’m gonna end up uninstalling Diablo II before I even finish Act III, yet again.
I know Avernum is a bit lacking in polish; I’d really love to be able to write my OWN notes in-game, since there’s 1000 different characters who are impossible to keep track of and reach when I want to report back on a quest or something. And the combat is a bit clunky. And I’m not sure if there are actually multiple paths through completing things. But, it really feels like a huge, consistent, and explorable game world with a ton of character customizability, so I’m willing to forgive the other things. And it hits hard (I’ve died 3 times already)!
The later games allow notes and multiple paths I believe. I played the Exile games (Avernum is a remake of Exile, angled view instead of top-down) and I know at least Exile 3 allowed these.
