# What\`s the coolest game I can play on this computer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 31, 2004, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-coolest-game-i-can-play-on-this-computer/237617 "2004-03-31T21:47:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-coolest-game-i-can-play-on-this-computer/237617/21 "2004-04-05T05:31:23Z")
> [@Really Not All That Bright](#): > > No way in hell is this going to run reliably, if at all. Hell, _my_ system can barely handle it- Athlon 2600+, Nforce 2 chipset, 512megs RAM, onboard GeForce4… and if it runs on yours, it will a) be choppy as hell, and b) run out of memory every five minutes. I would look for the bottleneck in your system, as I’m running roughly the same system (Athalon 2500, 512mb ram, Radeon 9000) and mine runs so smoothy that baby bottoms get jealous. And I have the detail cranked and the draw distance set almost as high as it will go. It’s probably the integrated video letting you down… ---
**Author:** ![CaptBushido](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@CaptBushido](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptBushido)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-coolest-game-i-can-play-on-this-computer/237617/22 "2004-04-05T05:44:54Z")
> [@Lipid](#): > > hey man if you’ve got half life then you’ve got access to a ton of games. just look for half life mods! Very true. Got a good internet connection? **Day of Defeat**. Such a freaking awesome multiplayer FPS. Go to Valve’s website and download Steam, which will automatically download, install, and update several various online Half-life mods, including the famed CounterStrike. But CS has got nothing on Day of Defeat, it is so much fun. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-coolest-game-i-can-play-on-this-computer/237617/23 "2004-04-05T06:06:53Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > I would look for the bottleneck in your system, as I’m running roughly the same system (Athalon 2500, 512mb ram, Radeon 9000) and mine runs so smoothy that baby bottoms get jealous. And I have the detail cranked and the draw distance set almost as high as it will go. It’s probably the integrated video letting you down… Hell, I’m running a 2400 with a GF4 4200, which has never been top of the line, and it runs perfectly with everything, including draw distance, set to the maximum. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-coolest-game-i-can-play-on-this-computer/237617/24 "2004-04-05T06:30:07Z")
> [@](#): > > I HIGHLY recommend Grim Fandango as well. It’s minimum requirements are a Pentium 133 and 32MB RAM, but somehow, this game looks so much better than it should for such low requirements! It’s an “adventure” game" where you get items and get to solve puzzles with them. The characters are hilariously sarcastic, and the music is great too! Unfortunately, after playing it three times, I know the puzzles too well! Careful! I have a higher-end machine, and Grim Fandango chokes the hell out of it every time. I finally gave up in disgust because the sound would keep hanging up, or my system would crash, or the graphics would freeze. Damn shame, too, because it comes so HIGHLY recommended. Try _The Longest Journey_ if you like adventure games. Graphics are unbelievable, and the game’s a hell of a lot of fun too. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-coolest-game-i-can-play-on-this-computer/237617/25 "2004-04-05T07:24:53Z")
Actually, the Grim Fandango problem is most likely the same one I had, which is mostly to do with the CD drive spinning up and down too much, since the game’s based on using much slower drives. If you copy the game to the hd, and I found a site that told me how to last time I played it, then the spinup problem is solved and the game should run fine. I had the same problem and the same solution for Monkey Island 3. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-coolest-game-i-can-play-on-this-computer/237617/26 "2004-04-05T07:56:49Z")
Two things: Thanks, **Silentgoldfish**. I’ll definitely try that out. And sorry, **mnemosyne**. I realize that it looked I was being a wiseass and aping your use of capital letters up there. I promise, however, that it was a thoughtless coincidence. No wiseassery was intended or should be inferred. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-coolest-game-i-can-play-on-this-computer/237617/27 "2004-04-05T08:14:19Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > I would look for the bottleneck in your system, as I’m running roughly the same system (Athalon 2500, 512mb ram, Radeon 9000) and mine runs so smoothy that baby bottoms get jealous. And I have the detail cranked and the draw distance set almost as high as it will go. It’s probably the integrated video letting you down… But how do I _find_ this 'ere bottleneck? I can’t exactly go out and buy a new video card just to see if it works better… ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-coolest-game-i-can-play-on-this-computer/237617/28 "2004-04-05T10:33:30Z")
> [@CaptBushido](#): > > Very true. Got a good internet connection? > > **Day of Defeat**. Such a freaking awesome multiplayer FPS. Go to Valve’s website and download Steam, which will automatically download, install, and update several various online Half-life mods, including the famed CounterStrike. > > But CS has got nothing on Day of Defeat, it is so much fun. Cable Modem (Road Runner). I shall try that at earliest convenience, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-coolest-game-i-can-play-on-this-computer/237617/29 "2004-04-05T10:34:49Z")
Oooooooooh, looks like I`ll be playing Zork again too. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-coolest-game-i-can-play-on-this-computer/237617/30 "2004-04-05T16:15:48Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > Two things: > > Thanks, **Silentgoldfish**. I’ll definitely try that out. > > And sorry, **mnemosyne**. I realize that it looked I was being a wiseass and aping your use of capital letters up there. I promise, however, that it was a thoughtless coincidence. No wiseassery was intended or should be inferred. 🙂 No problem - I didn’t even notice a possible slight until you posted an apology! The issue of Grim Fandango not running well on faster computers is a known problem - there is actually a patch available for download [here](http://www.lucasarts.com/products/grim/grim_spotlight.htm) . It addresses a few different issues, so I’d download it and give it another shot if you still have the game! Around the same time of release, I played a game called _Sanitarium_. It was a similar style, though darker in art and theme, I think (for a story about the dead, Grim is very light hearted!) I don’t know that it was ever considered a _great_ game, but I enjoyed it. I should see if I can find it again. Going back even further was a Tex Murphy game: _Under a Killing Moon_. I could never get passed the timed portion, in the office with the flying guard thingy, but I loved that game! It’s 386/25 MS-DOS compatible. James Earl Jones played the voice of God. Link [here](http://www.microsoft.com/games/texmurphy/underakillingmoon/) And now I know Im drifting from the original intent of the OP, so I’ll stop 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-coolest-game-i-can-play-on-this-computer/237617.md?page=1)