Some fifteen years ago, I played D&D with a group of friends, and quite enjoyed it. But we have all long since moved on, and frankly I’m not interested in finding a group to play with anyway; the sure fire way to make me dislike something is to require me to show up weekly!
Because I am a pretty inexperienced player, and also because I doubt that I would play very regularly, I don’t want to play on-line. What I’d like is a game I could buy that had similar set-ups to D&D: rolling up a character of whatever race and profession and moral orientation you choose, hit points, etc. I’m not capable of playing games that require arcade type skill - I have very little hand-to-eye coordination and am not looking for that kind of strain and stress in a game. I don’t want to race the clock on ANYTHING. It would be nice if the game allowed for multiple PCs - I might run two or three myself in the same game.
It would be nice if it had good graphics and music, but not essential. I’m just getting (arriving early to mid May ) a brandy new Dell Dimension E510 with a couple of Gbytes, and 256MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon X600 SE HyperMemory - also Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy® ADVANCED HD Audio, so I’d think I’d be able to handle the graphics and sound on most games, although maybe not the most sophisticated. But I’m pretty ignorant about this stuff, so I could be all wet.
Can folks who know about this stuff recommend any games for me? I’d also possibly be interested in alternative history games. But remember: I don’t want to work really hard at these. If they are highly demanding games, requiring lots of thought, I can live without them - I get enough of problem solving at work to eliminate any desire to do it at home as well!
My friend, you just descirbed the Baldur’s Gate series, the Icewind Dale series, Planescape: Torment, and Neverwinter Nights.
All are great (though I have never played Torment, and ID is not as good as NW or BG), and are exactly as you describe. You make a character (all except NWuse AD&D 2.5, and NW uses 3rd edition) and make it whatever race, class, and alignment you want. You give yourself skills, feats, spells, etc… and off you go.
NW even supports network play, so you can put several PCs together and play multiple characters. The “auto attack/cast spell” AI is decent enough that you could even do it with minimal micro-managing of each PC.
There are a number of D&D-inspired video games out there. Baldur’s Gate 1 @ 2, Icewind Dale 1 & 2, Planescape : Torment, Neverwinter Nights.
I’d probably recommend Neverwinter Nights. It’s the most flexible about different sorts of characters, and you can download adventures that other people make to have endless fun, in addition to the main plot it comes with.
Now-defunct Troika Games’ Temple of Elemental Evil is pretty decent, I’ve been made aware. Turn-based and battle oriented. It’s a few years old, but it’s pretty enough, and certainly newer than Baldur’s Gate era games (or Neverwinter Nights).
Other than that, I can only recommend what’s already been recommended. The Western CRPG is in a bit of a decline, sadly.
If you don’t mind Star Wars, Knights of the Old Republic I & II are supposed to be very good, and pretty recent, entries into the genre. The minds behind the second one were also behind the very highly regarded Planescape: Torment.
If you haven’t played Fallout and Fallout 2, get them. You can play them on your old computer. They aren’t fantasy RPGs, but they will fulfill your RPG lust. Arcanum is also very good, but somewhat flawed. Arcanum has several playable races, and allows you to choose between playing a tech or magical character. All three games will let you choose your moral alignment.
Gamefaqs.com is your friend, no matter what game you want to play.
Another vote for Neverwinter Nights. There is a ton of fan-created content (modules, artwork, etc.) at the Neverwinter Vault and it is trivial to install and load. In fact, I have enjoyed the free, user-created modules much more than the ones that come with the game. You don’t need fast reflexes to play and if you need extra time to choose your next attack, you just hit spacebar to pause.
Baldurs Gate is probably my all time favourite but seriously out of date now, so can’t advise that one. However, another vote for NWN. Plenty of expansions (nice and cheap too) and has been mentioned, lots of online content.
I am playing Elder Scrolls IV - Oblivion, and absolutely love it. Pretty draining on your system in terms of resources, but utterly worth it in my opinion… Morrowind (TES III) is also pretty cheap now…
“Hmm,” sez I to myself, “someone’s interested in the original three volume D&D that started it all, maybe with the Greyhawk and Blackmoor supplements. Didn’t know they still sold it. Wonder if my old set is worth anything.”
So I click to open the thread.
Oh.
“Box” as in computingthingamajig, hooked up to Mr. Bell’s new-fangled telephone lines, apparently.
If you ever want to try a low keyed Dice and Paper game with people around 40. I run a game once or twice a month. We still run 1st edition rules.
We talk as much as we game at this point.
You can Email me, my email is public. Its not a short ride but you can shoot down 195 and get to my place in about an hour I would guess.
I will probably be restarting a Middle Earth Campaign next winter.
Heh. Actually, that’s what I thought, too, when I saw the title. I started playing in 2nd edition, and then found a GM who based his game on the original boxed set, but he’d added to it considerably. There’s nothing like playing for 14 hours straight…I wish I could still do that. Nowadays, I do some online gaming (a text-based game called Gemstone IV) and play various computer and console games.
I do miss the old pen-and-paper games, though. Those were fun. Especially when the pizza delivery came, and one person was paying while all the rest of us were discussing how we were going to storm the castle. Having a missionary group ring the doorbell was even more fun, as we’d always politely invite them in and then discuss what our (evil) party was gonna do next.
Not nearly as sophisticated as the other games that have been mentioned (but totally free) is a light, fluffy souflee of a game called Dink Smallwood. Fans have created a few add-on modules to the main game, so once you win the first game, you can continue playing the character if you like.
The first was my first computer RPG, and is hugely recommended, especially if you like Star Wars: yep, it’s D&D in a box, and manages to be more Star Wars than the last actual movies three-and-a-half movies. Nice graphics, a good 60 hours of play to complete it, and best of all it’s hugely replayable: going Light Side or Dark Side, male or female, opens up different gaming options, and you can select your abilities as you advance to allow different options. Jedi Mind Trick {OK, it’s called Force Persuade} rules!
The sequel is…flawed. A deeper, more complex storyline and characters, and in some ways - the combat, for instance - improved on the original, BUT the developers were forced to rush it out before it was finished, so the ending{s} are deeply frustrating: it just kind of sputters out, whereas the first gives you a nice slam bang finish.
Thank you all for your help. I’ve ordered several of the multiply-recommended above - the two Baldur’s Gates, the two Dungeon Sieges, and Neverwinter Nights. The computer arrives Wednesday. Then we’ll see if I actually play any of them! :eek:
Jim, thanks for the invite. I may take you up on it come winter. We’ll see if I have any patience for getting back into it at all.
) a brandy new Dell Dimension E510 with a couple of Gbytes, and 256MB PCI Express™ x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon X600 SE HyperMemory - also Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy® ADVANCED HD Audio, so I’d think I’d be able to handle the graphics and sound on most games, although maybe not the most sophisticated. But I’m pretty ignorant about this stuff, so I could be all wet.