Game Purchase Advice Thread

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Kong Wen
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Re: Game Purchase Advice Thread

Unread post by Kong Wen »

WeiWenDi wrote:I'll check out Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate II, though. Thanks much!
Ah, good, if you haven't played BG2 yet, then that's the one I'd recommend. Most people seem to prefer it, although I have a soft spot for the original. Venture into Icewind Dale if BG2 isn't working for you. :)
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Separation Anxiety
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Re: Game Purchase Advice Thread

Unread post by Separation Anxiety »

WeiWenDi wrote:Had a question about getting another WRPG.

I really enjoy playing D&D system games, so I was wondering what the best ones are in that category. Generally, I know about BioWare and Obsidian games - the KotOR series, Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment. Are there any others which have similarly stellar storytelling and similar mechanics?

Alternatively, are there any good White Wolf system WRPGs besides Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines?
Baldurs Gate has the new enhanced editions that have basically just upgraded graphics. If you havent checked the originals out its probably better to start there.

Neverwinter Nights is a game you might be interested in as well. I liked both the games in the series.

Also Pool Of Radiance is a similar game within the same D and D rulebook. Never played it, but its a similar game from what i remember.

Temple of Elemental Evil might also fit the bill. Same deal as Pool of Radiance.

As for White Wolf games, you are pretty much limited to three. Vampire The Masquerade - Bloodlines is my personal favorite. There is also Vampire the Masquerade Redemption, which is fun, but im not as big a fan. Lastly there is Hunter The Reckoning. Hunter actually has 3 games, but they are are previous generation console games that are largely forgettable beat em ups.
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Nazne
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Re: Game Purchase Advice Thread

Unread post by Nazne »

This is more of a question about a specific genre(s) than anything else.

I'm a huge fan of wilderness survival-type games which include the typical hunger/thirst/etc. meters, require a lot of exploration and are not strictly linear, and need very little combat. I'd rather focus on gathering resources and keeping my character alive against natural/environmental challenges, than doing anything that involves guns blazing or large amounts of melee combat.

I've played almost all of the survival games I can find with this as the main mechanic, and some which don't really count. Lost in Blue 2, Stranded II, Wayward, Minecraft (too much emphasis on killing mobs in the later versions), Under the Ocean (I can unfortunately never figure out what I'm supposed to do in that game)... I know zombie survival horror is a thing now, but most of the time it devolves into shooting zombies in the face repeatedly while running frantically to and from places.

Can anyone recommend other survival games which are mostly about exploration and low-key surviving against nature/apocalyptic events? I'm even considering playing Fallout NV on hard mode for the survival aspect, even if the game itself feels combat-oriented a lot of the time.
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Re: Game Purchase Advice Thread

Unread post by Zorkaz »

@Nazne:
I never found the hardcore mode in Fallout NV good, but there are really nice survival mods for Fallout 3.

Also there's a game that might interest you, but it's not ready yet: The Long Dark
http://hinterlandgames.com/projects
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Re: Game Purchase Advice Thread

Unread post by Ranbir »

Have a browse WWD: http://www.gog.com/games/rpg

Divine Divinity is one like also.
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Re: Game Purchase Advice Thread

Unread post by Separation Anxiety »

Nazne wrote:This is more of a question about a specific genre(s) than anything else.

I'm a huge fan of wilderness survival-type games which include the typical hunger/thirst/etc. meters, require a lot of exploration and are not strictly linear, and need very little combat. I'd rather focus on gathering resources and keeping my character alive against natural/environmental challenges, than doing anything that involves guns blazing or large amounts of melee combat.

I've played almost all of the survival games I can find with this as the main mechanic, and some which don't really count. Lost in Blue 2, Stranded II, Wayward, Minecraft (too much emphasis on killing mobs in the later versions), Under the Ocean (I can unfortunately never figure out what I'm supposed to do in that game)... I know zombie survival horror is a thing now, but most of the time it devolves into shooting zombies in the face repeatedly while running frantically to and from places.

Can anyone recommend other survival games which are mostly about exploration and low-key surviving against nature/apocalyptic events? I'm even considering playing Fallout NV on hard mode for the survival aspect, even if the game itself feels combat-oriented a lot of the time.
First recommendation. Skyrim on the PC with mods. It might be too focused on killing mobs for you, but there are some absolutely fantastic survival mods for the game that really crank up the survival aspect. Need to collect food, warm clothing, build camp areas. If you are interested i can give you more information.

Secondly. Both Rust and Day Z might also scratch your survival needs, but these are pretty hardcore, and still relatively early in their lives. Both are zombie survival games, but the zombies are wolves in rust now. But there isnt really an emphasis on zombie killing in either. They are more about surviving the other people playing the game. Some call it a zombie survival simulator, i call it an asshole enabler. But if you are looking for survial type games, the three i mentioned are top tier. Id recommend Skyrim with survival mods first, then rust, then DayZ. Dayz is likely to be more popular, but its also filled with more people and people are evil sadists in that game. I've seen videos of people robbing others and killing them if they didnt sing their national anthems. Survive that.
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Nazne
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Re: Game Purchase Advice Thread

Unread post by Nazne »

Zorkaz wrote:@Nazne:
I never found the hardcore mode in Fallout NV good, but there are really nice survival mods for Fallout 3.

Also there's a game that might interest you, but it's not ready yet: The Long Dark
http://hinterlandgames.com/projects
Survival mods in FO3 would be really cool, actually; I'll give it a shot. I was also really excited about The Long Dark's announcement, but yeah, it looks like it'll take a while to be finished.
Separation Anxiety wrote: First recommendation. Skyrim on the PC with mods. It might be too focused on killing mobs for you, but there are some absolutely fantastic survival mods for the game that really crank up the survival aspect. Need to collect food, warm clothing, build camp areas. If you are interested i can give you more information.

Secondly. Both Rust and Day Z might also scratch your survival needs, but these are pretty hardcore, and still relatively early in their lives. Both are zombie survival games, but the zombies are wolves in rust now. But there isnt really an emphasis on zombie killing in either. They are more about surviving the other people playing the game. Some call it a zombie survival simulator, i call it an asshole enabler. But if you are looking for survial type games, the three i mentioned are top tier. Id recommend Skyrim with survival mods first, then rust, then DayZ. Dayz is likely to be more popular, but its also filled with more people and people are evil sadists in that game. I've seen videos of people robbing others and killing them if they didnt sing their national anthems. Survive that.
Funnily enough I actually have been running Skyrim with Frostfall, although after a while it got slightly tedious and I haven't tried to add any hunger mechanics yet. Part of the problem might also be I started running it with my uber-leveled enchanter/sneak archer character, so... the challenge wasn't really there. But if I can find some other food mods which work well with Frostfall, and start a new game (or just crank the difficulty up and start Dragonborn) that might be really interesting.

I've been looking at both Rust and DayZ, but in both cases the asshole enabler part got to me and prevented me from buying them D: I generally don't want the internet to wander into my single-player survival experiences, so.
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Re: Game Purchase Advice Thread

Unread post by Separation Anxiety »

Frostfall is best with a new character. I cant remember the mods name, but there is one that lets you not be the dragonborn, but anyone you want. It works well with Frostfall because you can get a little more immersed in the other aspects. There are a whole slew of frostfall related survival mods. And they make me hate the game. Not because its not fun, but because it turns it into Dark Souls lite. And i have enough problems putting that down.

I did manage to play a little Rust at a friends house. Its pretty fun, but a little bare bones. Its pretty easy to avoid jerks in the game. If you want to go out and do your own thing its not so bad. Also i believe there is an offline option for the game coming soon or something, that basically allows you to play without interference from all the naked men with guns.
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Re: Game Purchase Advice Thread

Unread post by WeiWenDi »

Separation Anxiety wrote:Baldurs Gate has the new enhanced editions that have basically just upgraded graphics. If you havent checked the originals out its probably better to start there.

Neverwinter Nights
is a game you might be interested in as well. I liked both the games in the series.

Also Pool Of Radiance is a similar game within the same D and D rulebook. Never played it, but its a similar game from what i remember.

Temple of Elemental Evil might also fit the bill. Same deal as Pool of Radiance.
Cool! Thanks for the recommendations, Separation Anxiety and Kong Wen!

I just started replaying BG1 and downloaded BG2:EE on Steam; I wanted to start a new Paladin character and import the guy into BG2. So far he's only level 3 and hunting down bandits around Beregost. But, he's already got AC0 and a flail +1 to beat the crap out of enemies with!
Separation Anxiety wrote:As for White Wolf games, you are pretty much limited to three. Vampire The Masquerade - Bloodlines is my personal favorite. There is also Vampire the Masquerade Redemption, which is fun, but im not as big a fan. Lastly there is Hunter The Reckoning. Hunter actually has 3 games, but they are are previous generation console games that are largely forgettable beat em ups.
Thanks, Separation Anxiety! I'll check them out.

It's unfortunate that there are so few White Wolf computer games. I love V:tM-B to death - er, so to speak. But it looks like I'll have to check out V:tM-R; even if it isn't as good as V:tM-B, I'm sure it will still be an awesome game.
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Re: Game Purchase Advice Thread

Unread post by Dong Zhou »

Only played NWN's 1+2 (plus expansion packs) so take that into account but I would recommend them though I do hear BG's gate is superior. Nice sense of humour, good stories, intresting companions, battle system works. I would particularly recommend the original and Mask of the Betrayer (you probably need to play 2nd main game to get the best out of that though) which both have a sense of darkness about it.
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