So, about the only game I got installed on my new comp that I enjoy on an on again-off again basis is Diablo. Sucks the Master of Orion 2 isn't compatible.
I need to buy some new games for my comp. The Sims 3 is on the block. I've read the reviews and despite the fact that God Mode/Neighborhoods is gone, I still want to get it.
Any good simulation/rpg games you can recommend for a 64 bit Windows 7 system? Please recommend only games that don't require monthly subscriptions.
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This is a bit oldschool and simple, but Spiderweb Software makes some good nostalgic CRPG. You can try them out for free for a couple of levels and if you like them then buy. I like them for when I feel like reliving the olde days...
Torchlight I've heard is good, if you're needing a Diablo fix.
I love Viva Pinata.
Waiting for the new Mechwarrior game, as soon as everyone gets out of court.
Also posting support for Dragon Age. Haven't played it myself but several of my friends and family have and it's awesome they all say.
If you want online multiplayer, I recommend Neverwinter Nights. The single player campaigns are kind of average, but there are some exceptionally good multiplayer communities out there. The sequel (NWN2, not the two expansions for NWN1) also has multiplayer capability, but I don't know how well along it is. For either there's no cost for the multiplayer, but they usually require you to have all the expansions installed (Base NWN, Shadows of Undrentide, and Hordes of the Underdark for the first; NWN2, Mask of the Betrayer, and Storm of Zehir for the second).
FALLOUT 3 is a solid RPG, if slightly more oriented at the combat side of things. THE WITCHER mixes good roleplaying and combat with a more mature and gritty attitude. Make sure you get the Enhanced Edition if you check it out, as it has a much stronger English translation and gets rid of a lot of annoying bugs.
The BioWare RPGs - running from the old-school BALDUR'S GATE, PLANESCAPE TORMENT and ICEWINDALE DALE series through KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC to JADE EMPIRE, MASS EFFECT and DRAGON AGE - are all pretty good.
Armada 2526 and Gratuitous Space Battles are both good.
Armada 2526 is what MoO3 should have been, fun and easy to use.
Gratuitous Space Battles is as the name suggests, plot free. Mostly what you do is equip you fleet and send it against another and have them fight it out, thats all.
Galactic Civilizations should take the sting out of MoO2 not being compatible.
Galactic Civilizations 3 should be out sometime this year, well at least the beta.
Oh, I know. MoO III was abominable. I spent more enjoyable time reading the in-game fiction than I did playing the game!
Oh, I know. MoO III was abominable. I spent more enjoyable time reading the in-game fiction than I did playing the game!
As I mentioned above Armada 2526 is a good MoO3 substitute.
Armada 2526 and Gratuitous Space Battles are both good.
Armada 2526 is what MoO3 should have been, fun and easy to use.
Gratuitous Space Battles is as the name suggests, plot free. Mostly what you do is equip you fleet and send it against another and have them fight it out, that is all.
Armada 2526 looks good.
Galactic Civilizations should take the sting out of MoO2 not being compatible.Galactic Civilizations 3 should be out sometime this year, well at least the beta.
GalCiv is the inheritor of the MOO series for sure, GalCiv2 is fantastic I've never really stopped playing it, I take it up again every few weeks for a new game, if you are a fan of the Master of Orion series you will LOVE the GalCiv series
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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This is a bit oldschool and simple, but Spiderweb Software makes some good nostalgic CRPG. You can try them out for free for a couple of levels and if you like them then buy. I like them for when I feel like reliving the olde days...
These look pretty neat - have you played Avernum? It looks like a dungeon crawly tactics-style game, is that right?
NWN2 is absolutely horrible as a multi-player game. No where near how good the original was.
Missed this, but I tried it out back in... I think it was around April. Morgen is absolutely correct. Headaches galore.
Another vote for Dragon Age- Origins and Mass Effect 2, hooked on both at the moment. Recently finished Assassins Creed 2, massively enjoyed it.
And yes. The Witcher is kick ass.
Try Civ IV (The complete version is on sale for cheap) with the Fall from Heaven 2 mod. Probably the best simulation fantasy game out there for now.
Civ V is out in Oct.
If you are into strategy games, may I recommend you the great games from Paradox Interactive, Europa Universalis 3, Crusader Kings and the likes? These games have so much depth, and such active communities that it is weirdly reminiscent of the Paizo community here.
wwwdotparadoxplazadotcom
For a good old-school PCRPG, I really recommend Drakensang, it is based on the rules of the Dark Eye RPG (German equivalent to D&D) and will give you a very nice BG-like team-based adventure. The story arc is quite classic, but the graphics are gorgeous and there is very nice depth added with personalizable character advancement, simple and fun alchemy , blacksmithing, bowyering, etc.... Playing it right now, and it's great! And the good news don't stop here as the sequel will be available by the end of the year, and episode 3 is already in the works.
wwwdotdrakensangdotcom
Can't say however I recommend Dragon Age, as it was very boring and very much pre-formatted if you know what I mean.
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If you are into strategy games, may I recommend you the great games from Paradox Interactive, Europa Universalis 3, Crusader Kings and the likes? These games have so much depth, and such active communities that it is weirdly reminiscent of the Paizo community here.
http://www.paradoxplaza.com/
For a good old-school PCRPG, I really recommend Drakensang, it is based on the rules of the Dark Eye RPG (German equivalent to D&D) and will give you a very nice BG-like team-based adventure. The story arc is quite classic, but the graphics are gorgeous and there is very nice depth added with personalizable character advancement, simple and fun alchemy , blacksmithing, bowyering, etc.... Playing it right now, and it's great! And the good news don't stop here as the sequel will be available by the end of the year, and episode 3 is already in the works.
http://www.drakensang.com/
Can't say however I recommend Dragon Age, as it was very boring and very much pre-formatted if you know what I mean.
Links please?
I gave the links didn't I? :)
OK let me try something else.
Steam release the MONKEY ISLAND 2 Special Edition in about a week's time, which is beyond awesome.
Civ V is out in Oct.
Yes, and it looks really good, but you'll have to wait a while for a fantasy mod for Civ V as complete as Fall from Heaven is for Civ IV.
Seriously, this mod alone is worth the (cheap) price for the complete edition, even if you never play it without the mod.
As for Europa Universalis and other Paradox's games, they are indeed really good games, but the learning curve is very steep - be warned you will be reading a lot before grasping the basics.
RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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These look pretty neat - have you played Avernum? It looks like a dungeon crawly tactics-style game, is that right?This is a bit oldschool and simple, but Spiderweb Software makes some good nostalgic CRPG. You can try them out for free for a couple of levels and if you like them then buy. I like them for when I feel like reliving the olde days...
I've played the first 3 Avernum games and that's exactly what they are - old school dungeon crawly (with lots of exploration as well). After playing 3 of them though, they got a bit repetitive to me and I haven't felt a strong urge to try the next 3 (or for that matter other Spiderweb games).
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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I just finsihed and enjoyed The Witcher.
I'll probably play Dragon Age next, but am very tempted to buy the indy game Knights of the Chalice. It basically uses the 3.5 rules for a gold box style game - turn based, fully controllable party. I played the demo and enjoyed it quite a bit.
Armada 2526 is what MoO3 should have been, fun and easy to use.
Wait, what? There's something that is what MoO3 should have been, and you haven't told me until now????
Try Civ IV (The complete version is on sale for cheap) with the Fall from Heaven 2 mod. Probably the best simulation fantasy game out there for now.
This thread keeps getting better and better.
I definitely have to try this (I recently got Civ IV Complete)
Between this, the Armada game, and StarCraft 2, my ennui should be cured for now.
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Dragon Age was the only video game RPG I've played where I feel that I did any Role-playing. There's no morality tracker and you are forced to make some difficult, lesser-of-two-evils choices during the plot. It's a nice change from Bioware's usual roleplaying options, which usually boil down to "Be a saint" "Meh" and "Be a baby-eating serial killer for no good reason". I played an evil character and actually got to make some subtle, and intelligently evil choices.
I *did* enjoy The Witcher as well, especially the branching plot and postmodern approach to the fantasy genre, but Dragon Age wins out in my book for having more tactical combat and character customization.
Dargon Age Origins. I'm completely sucked in right now.
The only thing I haven't seen mentioned (and I may just have skipped past it) that I would mention is Sins of a Solar Empire, by the same people who do GalCiv. I haven't actually played it myself but I've heard nothing but good things and plan to pick it up even though it's a couple years old.
For simulations, if the OP did get the Sims 3, both expansions are fantastic. Unfortunately my gaming PC died shortly after I got the second one (not related events; it was an old Dell gaming laptop 2 years past warranty, and given Dell makes their PCs to die with their warranties, that it survived that long is amazing) but what I played of it, it was great. World Adventures also has dungeon crawling, which just tickles me to no end.
RPGs... someone mentioned NWN2. I personally put a lot of time into this and enjoyed it; Mask of the Betrayer IMO is the best RPG story I've interacted with since Planescape: Torment (both were written by Chris Avellone). The problem with NWN2 is the engine is extremely inefficient--even on a good rig that well exceeds the 2006 specs, there will be lag just because the game engine is sucky. If you get it, make sure you install ALL updates (there are various engine and camera fixes, plus one of the later ones removes SecuROM). I know nothing of its value for multiplayer--I heard it sucked early on and they fixed it now, but I only ever played either NWN for the vast choices I had as a single player gamer anyway--between expansions and fan made modules for single players, there was plenty to do.
Well, hello 13-year-old necromancied thread.
While we're on the subject of the Sims 3, I have been keeping an eye on a game in development called "Life By You" (announcement trailer). It's very much a spiritual successor to the Sims 3 in particular, and one of its lead devs, Rod Humble, is lead dev on this. Open world, huge interactivity, high customization, all life stages, and vast creation kit materials for modders. And yes, toddlers and pools at base game. ;)
Indeed it looks like a ton of stuff is packaged into the base game, it is not going to be built to rely on massive revenue by parceling out what should be core content into expansion packs.
One interesting thing and difference from the Sims is the conversations seem to involve some complex trees and use real language rather than the "Simlish" gibberish the Sims spoke, and you can edit the dialogue trees if you want. Which suggests not only customization but perhaps lending itself to storytelling/machinima making.
Early access starts in September.
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Awesome. Speaking of advanced simulations, what is the latest spam AI bot's opinion on stealth advertising on RPG threads?
The hilarious thing about the now deleted posts is I was reading them while I was attending a lecture on AI.
Anyway, Life By You Early Access date is now March 2024. They're ironing more bugs out before allowing playtesters in. Still looks awesome and in fact I find that kind of news heartening.