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back into PC gaming

interpolator
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danr interpolator
finally bit my lip/wallet, drew blood, and replaced my Pentium 2 450 : P4 3.5ghz, geforce 6600, lots of plastic things with wires coming off them.

Now for all my best intentions to use this moneysucker creatively (i got a huge HD for video editing and everything ), i just know i'm going to spend whacking great swathes of my weekends locked away playing some arse-kicking games. Only thing is, i haven't bought a PC game for about 4 years, or indeed read a magazine or even browsed the shelves ...

so lets have your recommendations. Obviously, the missus is having Sims 2 and i'm having Half-life 2 when i get the broadband connection sorted ... but other than that, i've not much clue. Rome : Total War looks like my kinda thing. Ideas?

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  • sal_manilla
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    sal_manilla polycounter lvl 18
    Old standby's....that Polycount now has a server for....Unreal Tournament 2004 and Battlefield 1942 w/ Desert Combat Mod. Doom 3 was kickass and a lot of peeps are enjoyin' Halflife 2. And of course we still frag away with Quake 3 but you prolly had the horsepower for that with your old machine. As you may have noticed I'm into shooters. I'm sure you'll hear from other guys on RPGs and stuff. smile.gif
  • MoP
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    MoP polycounter lvl 18
    Morrowind was a fun RPG, if you can get past the characters looking like ass.
    Deus Ex (the first, not really the 2nd) had a great storyline and was a fun stealth/FPS.
    Half Life 2 goes without saying.
    Rome is a pretty good game, I didn't play it that much but Medieval was good and Rome seems like more of the same, but better.
    Warcraft 3 and the Frozen Throne expansion pack is a pretty much must-buy, it's an awesome game, great cinematics, enjoyable and most of all, it's got good longevity.
    Call of Duty was actually pretty good... more fun multiplayer than singleplayer though, I reckon.

    Now that I think about it, I haven't really played anything since HL2, or much before then... and I'm a Quake fan... so probably not the best person to listen to smile.gif
  • thnom
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    thnom polycounter lvl 18
    Avoid doom3, you'll lose all faith in PC games from the bat if you play that..

    Both Max Paynes are nice, CoD was very good,mmhmm

    Generally any games that have sort of background to them, minus doom3 smile.gif
  • Seyiji
  • JKMakowka
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    JKMakowka polycounter lvl 18
    Some lesser known games that are great and can be picked up really cheap:

    Gothic2
    Vietcong
    (both with expansion packs)

    Oh and Armies of Exigo is quite nice if you are into Warcraft3 like games.

    Last but not least, if you get UT2004 you MUST download the RedOrchestra Mod for it.

    Edit: Don't listen to the guy above, Doom3 is a great game smile.gif
  • lkraan
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    lkraan polycounter lvl 18
    Even though I am not a big RTS fan I really enjoyed Lord of the Rings "Battle for Middle Earth".
  • danr
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    danr interpolator
    ikraan - i was just considering that one, i used to be a big fan of strategy games backin the days when my PC would run them. I've heard tell though that it's not very hot on the actual battlefield strategy, units not behaving as you'd expect and so forth. Is it more of a slightly arcadey pick-up-and-play particle-fest?
  • lkraan
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    lkraan polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    Is it more of a slightly arcadey pick-up-and-play particle-fest?

    [/ QUOTE ]

    That's probably why I enjoyed it smile.gif

    If you were really into RTS games then you will probably like Rome Total War and Earth 2150. The last one is a couple of years old already but still looks very good. Earth 2160 should come out in the 2nd quarter.
  • ndcv
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    ndcv polycounter lvl 18
    Rome Total War = oh yes

    if you like RTS games plus Civilization, this is a really fantastic game. You actually get to see each individual soldier on the battlefield and see them react appropriately (pikemen leveling their weapons against a cavalry charge, flaming catapult shots blowing your enemies into the air, rebelling peasants being trampled underfoot by your charging horses... ahh satisfying).

    I have been waiting a long time for a game like this to come out smile.gif There are still some funny parts, like sometimes your people take weird paths or turn around at the wrong time. The biggest disappointment is that you can't play out naval battles, and that the AI isn't terribly impressive. But it's still freakin' awesome. There is a demo around somewhere if you want to see how it plays.
  • KDR_11k
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    KDR_11k polycounter lvl 18
    Perimeter, Anachronox, Pontifex II, Spellforce, Unreal Tournament 2004, Total Annihilation, Diablo II, Quake 1, Freespace 2, Frogger, Descent 1&2, Half-Life (for mods only). If you said Gamecube I'd have picked more recent ones but on the PC... Forget it.

    Although I've got a nice big PC that could handle any game I've noticed myself becoming less and less interested in PC gaming, the PC lacks interesting games, most are just minor increments over the stuff you've already played for years. Almost all of my recent (well, okay, the last few years) PC games were from the bargain bin and those few that weren't made me wish they were (most notably Doom 3 and HL2, neither worth more than maybe 30 bucks, HL2 already went off my HD, Doom 3 is only on there for development). That's also why I can't recommend many games because I haven't found any standout games for the PC lately (except for Perimeter). I'd recommend no longer upgrading your PC and investing the money into consoles instead, those offer a lot more for the money and have a much broader range of gametypes. I think the games I've used my GeForce 6800 on are worth less than I paid for the card itself.
  • RageUnleashed
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    RageUnleashed polycounter lvl 18
    I haven't played a mindblowing single player FPS game in awhile, my favorite being Deus Ex, System Shock 2, and Operation Flashpoint for their really well done open-ended gameplay.

    Other than that there's been some really well done solid FPS games lately, but imho, when it comes to replayability, they all tend to not make me care to go back and play through them again. All the big name ones, you shouldn't pay more than say, $25-30 for.

    But that's SINGLE PLAYER, multiplayer-wise, UT 2004 was worth the $50 and then some.
  • JKMakowka
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    JKMakowka polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    I think the games I've used my GeForce 6800 on are worth less than I paid for the card itself.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Send it to me then wink.gif But you are kinda right... I just can't see any outstanding games on any consoles either.
  • sundance
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    sundance polycounter lvl 18
    UT2004 is pratically a legal requirement
    halo is good, unless you've got it on egg-box in which case, don't bother.
    CoD is really good, plus you can get the 'deluxe' edition with CoD GOTY edition and the United Offensive add-on pack for about 30-35 quid

    need for speed underground is pretty swish for a racing game, or you can go with the newer sequel...
  • danr
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    danr interpolator
    well, i just attempted to "install" and "play" the Half-Life 2 demo. Seeing the piss-ridiculous turn setting up a computer game (not even a full game, just a demo) seems to have taken, i set light to the room instead.
  • Ryno
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    Ryno polycounter lvl 18
    Call of Duty, definitely. Singleplayer is very dramatic, but a bit linear. Multiplayer is a blast.

    Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory is free on the internet, and is really fun. Online multiplayer only. And you can't beat FREE!
  • Steve
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    Steve polycounter lvl 18
    RPG / adventure-
    Vampire: Bloodlines
    Knights of the Old Republic
    Both fabulous fun, all the 20 sided dice stuff is "under the hood" as it were, so even non rpg fans might like them.

    Strategy-
    WH40k: Dawn of War ( only if you like multilayer, singleplayer = not much cop imo )

    Shooter/fps-
    Deus Ex1
    HalfLife2 (obviously)
    FarCry ( not in the same league as Dex and HL2, but it'll look so damn nice on your shiny new system..)

    Spacesim-
    Freespace2
  • rolfness
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    rolfness polycounter lvl 18
    get a broadband connection and play planetside and Lineage 2
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