xkcd

by **existential_elevator** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 9:38 pm UTC

Okami. Seriously.

Though I would definitely second Ico.

by **Reserve** » Sat Feb 18, 2012 9:29 am UTC

I'm looking for a game that kind of has you feeling weak and exposed, like the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series. I love the first parts of those games, then kind of get bored when I finally manage to upgrade enough that I don't worry about stealthy tactics (at which point the games also decide to screw it and end up turning the last few levels into macho shooter arenas). And the difficult mods are just too difficult—and buggy. (Or in Russian, and I can't learn the language as fast as I'd like.) I like feeling like the underdog, but I like winning, too. XD And yes, I have Metro 2033!

Similar experiences are like... before you get Level 3 Magic in Final Fantasy 1. Huffing through the forests, praying you don't run into a GrWolf or three, because you've only got the one Heal potion and your Red Mage can only cast Fire 2 times and your Black Belt still sucks and your Fighter is dead and your Thief is going to die in one hit, but then you get to Provoka just in time, 'cos you ran into a viper just outside town and your last guy is now poisoned with 1 HP left, but you're safe at last, you made it, despite all odds!

But I don't like the absolutely horrible punishing difficulty of games like Nethack... it seems like luck plays too big a role in dungeon crawlers. You just have to hope that unidentified potion, the last item in your inventory that might be able to help you out of that tight spot, is going to somehow turn the tide in your favour and not poison you. But it's always poison. Or worse.

Something where I can win if I use my brain, and die if I make a mistake in my tactics, not because the game decides to trick me somehow... Something that, from the start to the end, feels like the first few levels of any other game, where you just aren't that powerful yet. Buuuut I'm not just looking for enemy scaling, either. I'd prefer if I didn't upgrade my attacks into big flashy spectacles, and simply move on from tiny goblins to huge armoured elephants. That doesn't feel puny enough! I want to feel like Samus without her power suit again... without having to re-play S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and simply never pick up a better weapon than a hunting rifle.

Consoles: PC and Xbox 360 games are preferable. PS2, Wii, Gamecube, DS, SNES doable too! No PS3 or Dreamcast. And I don't know if my 360 is backwards compatible...
Other Preferences: Mostly looking for action-y games. I only really dislike RTS and Tower Defence stuff... but I like Frozen Synapse, I don't know what genre that counts as. Front Mission and Fire Emblem are good. RPGs are good, the more turn-based the better. Not a fast thinker when it comes to reading numbers and over-flashy battles of recent games have turned me off playing JRPGs. Favourite part of FF1 is that if you mash A to fight, you're going to slash at empty space 75% of the time; loathe the auto-target thing in the rest of the series. Love westerns and space sims. Head-bobbing gives instant migraines.
Other Favourite Games: Super Metroid, Freespace 2, Red Dead Redemption, Kirby's Adventure, Chrono Trigger
More info: Haven't played any Fallout games ever.

by **Jorpho** » Sat Feb 18, 2012 1:52 pm UTC

Hmm. SaGa 2 was released on the DS on Japan, and there's a fanmade English translation patch available for it. I've actually only played the original Game Boy version, aka Final Fantasy Legend II, but it sounds much like you're describing: that feeling of being weak and exposed is pervasive in a way that is very atypical for a JRPG.

by **Gelsamel** » Sat Feb 18, 2012 2:01 pm UTC

Demon's Souls or Dark Souls would be my recommendation, in that respect. Either that or Monster Hunter.

by **Nath** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 10:13 am UTC

Reserve wrote:Something where I can win if I use my brain, and die if I make a mistake in my tactics, not because the game decides to trick me somehow... Something that, from the start to the end, feels like the first few levels of any other game, where you just aren't that powerful yet. Buuuut I'm not just looking for enemy scaling, either. I'd prefer if I didn't upgrade my attacks into big flashy spectacles, and simply move on from tiny goblins to huge armoured elephants. That doesn't feel puny enough! I want to feel like Samus without her power suit again... without having to re-play S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and simply never pick up a better weapon than a hunting rifle.

Have you ever played the early Rainbow Six games? I used to play Rogue Spear a lot, and occasionally played the original R6 and the later Raven Shield. These games had very little margin for error; if you got shot, you got wounded or killed, and there were no health packs or save points. This occasionally got frustrating, because if the mission failed you had to redo the whole damn thing, but this added to the tension, and forced you to rethink your plan if it happened too many times.

Republic Commando also had some bits you might like. Very minor spoilers:

Spoiler:

by **Kisama** » Wed Feb 22, 2012 8:21 am UTC

GoG is having this "buy one, get one free" sale and I need advice. I can get 2 of these:

~~Neverwinter Nights: Diamond Edition~~

RPGs I have enjoyed playing in the past include NWN 1 & 2, The Witcher, Arcanum, Fable: TLC, and definitely others I can't recall right now.
RPGs I have not enjoyed include Diablo 2 and Gothic 3 - I'm not particularly entertained by just mashing my left mouse button.

So can anyone recommend a choice?

by **Nath** » Wed Feb 22, 2012 8:32 am UTC

I picked up most of these games at a previous sale; so far, I've only played through about half of BG1, and like it. I hear BG2 is better. My impression is that the Icewind Dale games are more combat and less plot. I've heard great things about the writing in Planescape: Torment.

If I had to pick two of those games, I'd probably go with Baldur's Gate 1 and 2.

by **headprogrammingczar** » Wed Feb 22, 2012 1:22 pm UTC

You should also pick up PS:T, just because it's awesome.

by **Jorpho** » Wed Feb 22, 2012 1:28 pm UTC

Kisama wrote:GoG is having this "buy one, get one free" sale and I need advice. I can get 2 of these:

It might sound like a pretty good offer, but Impulse and Gamersgate have a bundle pack containing much the same thing for $20 regular price, and in fact it was down to $10 on Impulse not too long ago.

by **Kisama** » Wed Feb 22, 2012 2:25 pm UTC

nath wrote:I've heard great things about the writing in Planescape: Torment.

If I had to pick two of those games, I'd probably go with Baldur's Gate 1 and 2.

headprogrammingczar wrote:You should also pick up PS:T, just because it's awesome.

Ah thanks, after doing further research I think you are right - I want BG 1 & 2 and PS:T, and I'll grab one of the others for free

Jorpho wrote:It might sound like a pretty good offer, but Impulse and Gamersgate have a bundle pack containing much the same thing for $20 regular price, and in fact it was down to $10 on Impulse not too long ago.

Interesting! From my very insufficient research it seems like Impulse is more similar to Steam than to GoG, and I don't fancy needing to run yet another client in order to play my games.. I only really want 3 of the games, GoG will give me 5 and Impulse and Gamersgate will give me 6 for $0.01 more, but I already have an account with GoG and want to support their mission of providing old games with no DRM, so I think I'll go with that this time

Thanks for all the advices guys!

by **Jorpho** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 3:09 am UTC

Kisama wrote:Interesting! From my very insufficient research it seems like Impulse is more similar to Steam than to GoG, and I don't fancy needing to run yet another client in order to play my games.

FYI, Impulse is harmless. I'm pretty sure the client is only needed for downloading; it doesn't need to be run at the same time as the game. Gamersgate doesn't even have a client. (The game setup files do this extremely lame thing where setup.exe gets renamed if you don't install after downloading; it's harmless.)

by **Hedgehog** » Mon Mar 12, 2012 1:00 pm UTC

So years ago I used to steal all of my brothers games. Then I moved out and was too poor/busy to game. Well now I have a job and moneys,... but no idea really of what's out there since my brother now plays first-person shooters exclusively, which is really, really not my thing

Previously, my favourites included Morrowwind, Oblivion, various Age of Empires/Age of Mythology, Lord of the Rings, Portal, Star Wars: KotOR, Worms3 and Sims

I've gone and bought Skyrim and Portal 2, and think they are wonderful

I'm basically after recomendations for fun games on PC with plot, some puzzels, pretty graphics, and combat which doesn't require a huge amount of co-ordination

Thanks!

by **headprogrammingczar** » Mon Mar 12, 2012 9:28 pm UTC

VVVVVV is good, as is Stealth Bastard. If you have a reasonable music collection, Audiosurf will last you half of forever. You can also wait until the next Steam sale, or go through the rest of this thread.

by **Cubethulhu** » Tue Mar 13, 2012 6:35 pm UTC

I want to either play a game like Dokapon Kingdom/Swords and Sandals 4 or Talisman. A Mario party Esq rpg board game where you can compete against other players for l00t and gold. Preferably with multiple races and classes for a nice D&D feel. Or a Fallout style old school RPG with zombies kind of like those Last stand games. But you know not like two hours long and 2-D. Any suggestions would be nice.

by **Delvro** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 3:46 am UTC

Cubethulhu wrote:I want to either play a game like Dokapon Kingdom/Swords and Sandals 4 or Talisman. A Mario party Esq rpg board game where you can compete against other players for l00t and gold. Preferably with multiple races and classes for a nice D&D feel. Or a Fallout style old school RPG with zombies kind of like those Last stand games. But you know not like two hours long and 2-D. Any suggestions would be nice.

Ah, Dokapon Kingdom. What a cutthroat game. Might I recommend Fortune Street? It's a 4-player stocks/property game, and while lacking in the D&D department, it certainly has the competing among friends for gold + mario party aspects.

http://www.mariowiki.com/Fortune_Street

by **emceng** » Sun Apr 08, 2012 8:31 pm UTC

Ok, looking for a spiritual successor to Lords of the Realm 2. I've heard the Total War series mentioned in this light. Is this true? Anyone able to give some insight? Also, since TW is a long series, is there a particular one that is great?

Edit: Played the demo for Medieval TW2 and...Empire TW? Maybe what I want, but not sure. There was no grand strategy, the demo only was battles.

So basically I want a nice balance of tactical and strategic play, maybe a bit more towards strategic. On the spectrum you've got games like Civ, where there is no tactical combat. On the other side things like Panzer General, which has basically no strategic planning. I want something in the middle, where I make decisions as to how to build my empire, where to commit troops, then direct said troops in battle.

by **Laraden** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 1:50 am UTC

Well, not sure how succesful this will be, but these forums seem to be the most active that I lurk on.

So, first off, I apologize for the wall of text. Just going to try to cram all relevant information in here..

Now, I'm a very long-time MMO player, started on EverQuest when I was 9 or so, back in 01. I've hopped around, played a dozen different MMOs, between free to play and 'normal'. Honestly haven't played most of the big releases outside of EQ, EQ2 and WoW. Rest of them I just didn't have any interest in trying out / found out they were PVP based and dropped them like a rock.

So, to explain the post a bit, my gf and I are currently forced to live apart for a while (her college and all) so don't see each other in person often. Obviously being text on a screen 90% of the time can get boring /frustrating. So, was thinking about games one day, remembered her absolutely loving Oblivion. Suggested maybe this summer I get her into one of the MMOs, so we can play together. Well, other than her being shy, she's agreed to give it a shot, and thus, I've been hopping around, trying to find something she likes the idea of.

Was playing WoW at the time I suggested it, but the artistic styles don't really appeal to her. The armor is too "bulky", the character creation is limited, and the races are "ugly" to her for the most part. (elves are anorexic, everything else looks funny). Thought about it, suggested EQ and EQ2. EQ's graphics aren't for her, either, as they are generally older looking, and I doubt she'd want to get into EQ much, as it is. Yay running 6 accounts so you can do anything.

Linked her to EQ2, she installed, played with character creation a bit. Loves the Fae, more or less. The thought of a winged character seems to appeal to her, as is the thought you can fly (eventually) on said wings. However, she thinks the eyes are a bit creepy (they have bug eyes), and thinks the creation could be a bit more varied, but is overall happy with it. Now, I'm alright with playing EQ2, but been wondering if anything else would be better for her. After playing it again for a few days, I'm remembering how EQ2 loves lots and lots of buttons. having 3-4 rows of hotbuttons isn't hard there, so..don't want her to be too overwhelmed, it being her first MMO.

So I'm looking around. She pretty much has said if given the choice between EQ2, playing a Fae, and having wings, vs. other things that you don't, she'll take EQ2.
Thus, my question: PVE centric game (No forced PVP level crap. I don't do PVP.), that's easy enough to learn/pick up for a non-gamer, and must contain a character race with wings. Ability to fly is a huge plus. A very in-depth character creation is another huge plus.

She isn't entirely sure what type of character she'd like to play, but in looking through classes on WoW/EQ2, she seems to drift towards casters. Stealth sounds "wrong"' to her, and the idea of being a tank or healer seems boring. I'll generally play whatever, minus healers. Rarely get in to "pure" casters so much, but caster+pet is alright (necromancer /magician on EQ). So, on classes, if the game is race-class combination limited, winged class should hopefully have a caster DPS choice.

Think that's about all the information I can give, there.
As far as what I *know* of already

EQ2 - Fae / Arasai. She likes the design (if not the eyes), can be whatever class, so that's easy enough. Flight is enabled (but really far into game)

Aion - Dunno names of anything there, just remember it has wings. My intent is to disregard Aion if what I believe is true actually is - That you are forced PVP at some point. Everything I remember reading pretty much says you grind up to one point, enter a PVP zone and PVP becomes part of your life. If true, no. I don't like PVP, and I'm not putting someone who has never played a game / is worried about playing it already through the grief of ganking.

Perfect World International - Winged Elves. Bonus: Flight at level 1, really in depth character creation. Con: Forced into either a cleric or an archer position. I'm going to talk to her about it tomorrow. From what I recall, game got super grindy around the 20s, but was really nice overall.

Think there was one other big one I had in mind, but can't seem to recall it off hand now.

Any help anyone can give is greatly appreciated. Want to find something perfect for her/us. I'm generally open as far as what we play, I just want to have fun playing together. But do want something that she'll enjoy. If someone can confirm/deny that Aion PVP is "forced", would be nice, too. Though flight there is temporary, so would have to see.

Thanks

by **Jorpho** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:18 am UTC

How about City of Heroes, or Champions Online? Crazy detailed character creation there.

by **Laraden** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 5:44 am UTC

Actually had to look those up again to remember why I never looked into them before. Just not a fan of that graphical styling. Superhero game might be fun, though generally a "fantasy" game person, but just looking at pics, not sure I could stand to play one for very long.
Did some more research, talked to her about things. Aion is pretty much a guaranteed "no", now that I've learnt it really is PVP-centric past lvl 25. Sad, thought maybe I'd been wrong and it was worth a shot.
She doesn't appear to be a fan of being forced into either an archer or a cleric for PWI, if she wants wings, either.

I really do seem to recall some other game (possibly even one of the 'bigger' releases) having a race with wings. But been through so many MMOs at this point they've all blended together in my head, into some sort of multiplayer mush.

If nothing else, she doesn't seem to have a problem with EQ2, just worried for a beginner, having three billion buttons by level 4 is going to overwhelm her. Guess I'll take it slow if nothing else.

by **bigglesworth** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 7:49 pm UTC

Larden: How about getting in at the start with Guild Wars 2?

emceng: There is indeed a lot of strategic planning, some people play it hardly ever fighting a battle themselves.

Me:

What's a good game where I can be an industrialist building railways and mines and such?

Possibilities: Railroad Tycoon II - III - Railroads!

I think I heard about one called Industrial Giant, but apparently it's not very good.

What've I missed?

by **t1mm01994** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 12:05 am UTC

Above poster: if you're in for the classics (talking '01 here), RollerCoaster Tycoon 1 is awesome, and should somewhat satisfy your need to build. In more recent games.. I frankly do not know.

In my request, as concise as I can be:

- PC-exclusive gamer, decent PC, decent videocard (Portal 2 on all max as biggest feat atm, by lack of material)
- If possible, game not requiring internet connection; mine's shaky.
- Games loved, in reverse chronology: Portal games, LoL, FIFA 11, NfS, Pokémon.
- No FPS, no games you need to spend ages on to get into. Don't mind a little effort, but no reading textbooks to play.

Thanks in advance <3

by **Jorpho** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 4:54 am UTC

bigglesworth wrote:What's a good game where I can be an industrialist building railways and mines and such?

Possibilities: Railroad Tycoon II - III - Railroads!

I think I heard about one called Industrial Giant, but apparently it's not very good.

What've I missed?

There seem to be a great many fans of Transport Tycoon Deluxe out there. Or rather, you'll want to look at OpenTTD. The various A-Train sequels (I think AIV Networks was the last one released in English) are well-regarded as well.

by **bigglesworth** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 1:37 pm UTC

After a brief play, Open TTD does indeed seem to do most of what I want. I expect that once I work out how to make money, I might even have fun! :mrgreen:

by **existential_elevator** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 1:37 pm UTC

So, I really want to play a decent side-scrolling platform game.

I don't want it to be too complicated. Ideally, there should be at most two actions, which should include jump (possibly double jump) and maybe, if we're feeling fancy, hitting things. I am also not after an "oh god, this is so painfully difficult" game (a la meatboy). Would prefer a recommendation that is PC based, happy to accept browser game recommendations, or recommendations for PS3. I am possibly even happy to accept NES / Megadrive recommendations.

For reference, things I have enjoyed in the past of this kind: Blade Kitten, Eversion, Braid, Trine, Super Meatboy, VVVVV (though like I said, not out for something uberhard).

I do have Gish and Gumboy, but can't really get in to them. Apparently I do not like being a ball. I'm also not usually keen on those games where you have to do a lot of exploration and find ship parts*. I really am after something linear, jumpy, and easy to pick up and play.

*Unless it is Toe Jam and Earl

by **t1mm01994** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 3:15 pm UTC

Fancy Pants Adventure seems to be able to keep you busy for a while... run, jump, and slide. And be Fancy!
this is the original, but there are 2 new parts. Also available for iOS.

by **Jorpho** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 8:46 pm UTC

How about Knytt? Or Glace? Icy Tower, maybe? Spelunky? La Mulana, if you want to go slightly nuts? Eversion?

by **Felstaff** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 10:50 pm UTC

(I also think Vessel is a highly underrated physics-based fluid-manipulation side-scroller, but it only came out a month or so ago, so give it time. Also, The Fourth Wall is enjoyable, but gimmicky and very ugly.)

by **SirBryghtside** » Tue May 01, 2012 4:39 pm UTC

Rayman Origins. Only recently finished playing it, and it's just perfect - not too hard, not too easy, simple mechanics, and filled to the brim with personality. Bit more expensive than some of the other suggestions, though, so you may want to wait for a Steam sale.

by **bigglesworth** » Tue May 01, 2012 11:56 pm UTC

Jorpho wrote:There seem to be a great many fans of Transport Tycoon Deluxe out there. Or rather, you'll want to look at OpenTTD.

YOU! You did this to me! You're a bad influence. Now I think about trains all the time and open up that little OpenTTD icon every time I turn my laptop on.

by **headprogrammingczar** » Wed May 02, 2012 12:30 pm UTC

by **ArgonV** » Wed May 02, 2012 11:01 pm UTC

bigglesworth wrote:
Jorpho wrote:There seem to be a great many fans of Transport Tycoon Deluxe out there. Or rather, you'll want to look at OpenTTD.
YOU! You did this to me! You're a bad influence. Now I think about trains all the time and open up that little OpenTTD icon every time I turn my laptop on.

I liked playing that game, but I never liked playing with competitors. I just wanted to make as complicated networks as possible.

by **bigglesworth** » Wed May 02, 2012 11:11 pm UTC

The competitors add to the complexity, I don't compete with them, I just find ways to build around them.

by **SiimN** » Sat May 19, 2012 6:46 pm UTC

bigglesworth wrote:
Jorpho wrote:There seem to be a great many fans of Transport Tycoon Deluxe out there. Or rather, you'll want to look at OpenTTD.
YOU! You did this to me! You're a bad influence. Now I think about trains all the time and open up that little OpenTTD icon every time I turn my laptop on.

How is OTTD compared to Locomotion? I have played very little TTD mostly because I was 4 years old when it was released and i never have gotten around to trying it properly.

by **HungryHobo** » Mon May 28, 2012 6:40 pm UTC

I'm looking for some good games where you can take part in an economy.

I liked X3 and port royal as you could not just trade but also build factories and similar and drive down the prices of goods which actually had an impact on the game world and other traders.

anyone know some good games like that?

preferably ones which can run on a lower end computer and are cheap or free.

by **A duck** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 4:54 pm UTC

I'm looking for a good multiplayer fps on pc. I don't mind too much about graphics, but preferably a fps that is focused on teamwork. I would also be interested in any good stealth based games for pc.

by **Jorpho** » Wed Jun 06, 2012 4:36 am UTC

Would Team Fortress 2 be too obvious? How about Borderlands?

by **eculc** » Wed Jun 06, 2012 12:12 pm UTC

multiplayer teamwork: Borderlands (or borderlands 2 if you're willing to wait another few months), TF2, Battlefield (the entire series, of which BF3 is the most recent entry). Arma, if you're looking for something a bit more realistic (pretty much the opposite end of the spectrum from TF2)
Stealth gameplay: splinter cell, ghost recon, and assassin's creed (fun fact: all of these are made by the same developer)

by **A duck** » Wed Jun 06, 2012 1:01 pm UTC

Team fortress 2 is free, so I'll give that a shot. Borderlands looks interesting, but if I wait until 2 comes out it's bound to be on sale, or if it's not then I'll get borderlands 2. Arma I think I'll get because of that zombie mod which looks fun. And wasn't there a ghost recon game released a short while ago? I'll have a look at that. Thanks

by **GangsterFiction** » Tue Jun 12, 2012 5:02 pm UTC

HungryHobo wrote:I'm looking for some good games where you can take part in an economy.

I liked X3 and port royal as you could not just trade but also build factories and similar and drive down the prices of goods which actually had an impact on the game world and other traders.

anyone know some good games like that?

preferably ones which can run on a lower end computer and are cheap or free.

The "Patrician" series was similar to Port Royale, if more complex and involved, but set around the Baltic Sea instead.

by **PeteP** » Sat Jun 16, 2012 4:20 pm UTC

I regularly play civ4 with 3 others, but it would be nice to have an alternative. (For instance for the days when we aren't complete) we sometimes play C&C generals but that isn't much fun anymore.
What might be nice is something we could play as an team, so are there any good coop games? The play time can be limited (so it can be a storyline and doesn't have to be a match based game). No shooters. And not lol.(I have played lol, but after a thousand games or so I lost interest.)
It doesn't have to be coop, another game for 3-4 player would be fine to, but that ,as far as I know, only leaves shooter, mmos, dota like games and strategy games. And I would like to play a non strategy game for once.
And racing I guess, a racing game with power ups and stuff could work too.

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