I’m probably going to be living someplace for the next few months with no access to the Internet. All the games I’ve bought in the past few years have required internet access to install, or patch, or run, even if they’re purely standalone games (Skyrim, I’m lookin’ at you…). I’ve had a lot of fun with Skyrim, WoW, the Diablo franchise, 1st-person shooters, RPGs like Baldur’s Gate and NWN.
So, can anybody recommend me a game I can pick up at Best Buy or another store that will absolutely NOT require internet connection at any time? I’m getting tired of Spider Solitaire and Starcraft II.
Just replayed the Last Remnant JRPG (if you’re into that) from Square Enix, which was also on the PC. It’s not perfect, but with the optional sidequests and all the thousand hidden mini-bosses and upgrades and so on, it’s certainly a longass game. And since it’s from 2009, it’ll run pretty well on pretty much any current hardware. Maybe ask the seller to throw in a Strategy Guide as a freebie, since I doubt it’s flying off the shelves. (The local Gamestop still stocks the game, but they have a huge selection.)
You could also check if one of your friends would lend you their console and some games, no internet considerations that way, especially if you take the time to boot them up before you go and make sure they’re all patched up.
Or maybe a Total War game of some sort - not story heavy, which increases the replay value, and I think most are on Steam and compatible with the Steam Offline Mode. The new XCOM is pretty great, but I don’t think it’ll stand you for months.
Can you get internet access before you go? I work a job where I’m without internet (on my gaming laptop anyways) for a month or so at a time and I have a massive slew of Steam games inluding steam-required games like skyrim and fallout NV. I have had zero problems with any of them, provided I remember to turn steam to offline mode before I head out into the field.
If you haven’t played it already, and have some tolerance for dated graphics (baldur’s gate level, pretty much), it’s very hard to top Planescape:Torment. It’s a bit difficult to find the CD version any more, but pretty sure they have it at Good Old Games, and GOG games have no DRM once installed so as long as you download it before moving, you’re good to go. You might also want to look into Arcanum, and both Fallout 1 & 2. There again, ugly as fuck but story- and gameplay-wise, hard to top. But speaking of Fallout, New Vegas is pretty cool as well (I wasn’t so fond of Fallout 3 itself, but NV is a whole 'nother thang).
For a more modern and pizazz-y fare, how about Dragon Age ? The first one, obviously. There never was a second one. No sir. No sequels. AFAIRemember, although there were patches the game was fully playable and not too buggy out of the box (magic was a little more utterly overpowered than it is as of now, that’s all).
If you were fond of Skyrim, you might also look into its predecessors - *Oblivion *is a bit of a naff game without some heavy modding ; but *Morrowind *plus both expansions is fully patched, awesome even without mods (if a bit ugly by today’s standards) and it’s absolutely the best game out there when it comes to feeling thrown into an utterly alien world and culture. Plus it’ll easily run you a couple of months of daily play, fetcher
Then you’ve got the old standbys of the one-more-turn syndrome - Civilization 4 & expansions, Galactic Civilizations, Alpha Centauri… Sword of the Stars too (although there, again, stay right the fuck away from number 2. It’s still an obvious beta over a year, and countless patches, after release.)
You can get the original Diablo and Diablo II Lord of Destruction patches in winzip format you know? They are still selling a boxed set for those. The Dungeon Siege games are stand alone. Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines? (I don’t remember if it needs patched or not, but if so you can go get the patches and apply them later.) What about the Neverwinter Nights games? Dungeon Keeper II is nice.
To clarify, I have already moved into a room in a house where I do not and shall not have internet access, so I’m looking for things I can find at Target or Best Buy. I actually have played most of the games listed above, and paid full price for them when they came out… I can probably pick up an older version of Civilization for five bucks at Target…
Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 are well reviewed RPG shooters available in shops. I’ve been waiting for a sale.
If you haven’t played Civ IV, I think it’s the best of the series, but you’ll want the Beyond the Sword expansion and, if possible, the BUG mod. It doesn’t work with Win 7 for me.
If you liked the Diablo franchise, there are several similar action RPGs. Torchlight II was in my local shop recently. Titan Quest, Divine Divinity, and Sacred (all a bit old and less likely to be available) are similar.
I saw Planescape: Torment recommended, and would just like to say that I bought that game based on a similar recommendation and found it intolerable.
I absolutely recommend any of the Big 4 Paradox Strategy titles - Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron, Crusader Kings, or Victoria. Crusader Kings is probably the best, and certainly the most polished. No internet connection required, though you might have trouble getting hold of them without an internet connection.
I thought about adding *Bloodlines *to my little screed, but it’s almost unplayable out-of-the-box. Troika game. It’s awesome with all the patches AND the additional player-written ones ; but on its own it’s a hot buggy mess. Since the OP had specified “no patching”…
@OP: how about the *Witcher *games ? Played those too ? I don’t remember off-hand if a disk version of the first one is available with the massive content patch the devs released later (to fix the graphics some, and the translation a whole lot) but regardless, n°2 is excellent, polished (ha!) and fully playable straight out of the box. You don’t need to have played 1 to understand 2, either - the events are barely referenced. Or how about the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games ? The first was a bit of a bear to get to run decently as I remember it, but Call of Pripyat should be right up your alley.
