PC Gaming recommendations

I've long been a console-only gamer, but for the past few months I've been getting more and more into PC FPS and RPGs. I'm far more into immersive single-player type stuff, particularly scifi and horror oriented games, but don't really care for deathmatch or WWII games. Some of the games I've really liked are Half-Life, Neverwinter Nights, Shogo, Breakdown (I know it's not a PC game), Planescape: Torment and Morrowind. I also just played the demo of AvP 2 and loved it. So what should I check out?

Also, since I liked the Xbox port of Half-Life 2 so much, I'm ready to play it the way it was meant to be played. But what exactly do I need to know about Steam (why is it hated) before I take that plunge? And what graphics cards do you recommend?

By all means, buy HL2. Steam isn't a big deal, it won't eat your system or anything. HL2 runs fine on most systems.

AvP 2 is a good bet. Make sure to play Deus Ex and No One Lives Forever.

And make sure to buy Warcraft III, the greatest game of all time.

the fallout series and planescape:torment for RPGs
Deus Ex

and, get unreal tournament. it's the best multiplayer FPS ever.

Deus Ex has to be said again. Avoid the sequel.

Edit: Can't believe I forgot System Shock 2. One of the best games, ever.

Since you're into Sci-Fi/ Horror games, you HAVE TO get Clive Barker's Undying. It is a good mixture of Horror and FPS. Great great game. You can usually find it at Walmart for 10 bucks in a double pack with American McGee's Alice( which lots of people love, but not me) It is a freaky kinda game too. Think Alice in Wonderland with 4 tabs of bad acid and yer almost there. Great art. Not so great game.

I've never had a problem with Steam, either. You NEED Halflife 2 as well. If you're into comp FPS's , Counterstrike is included as well. I don't like it, personally.

F.E.A.R. is fun for single player as well. SUpposed to be horror-themed, but I didn't like the story at all. The enemy A.I. is great though. Very challenging. You need a good PC to run it the way it was meant to be seen, though. The effects are beautiful and can really tax your system. I would definitely reccommend getting a Nvidia GeForce 7800 card of some kind. They're not cheap, but they're worth it. If you're on more of a budget and want to get more bang for your buck, I reccommend getting the GeForce 6600 card with 256 megs of ram onboard or the 6800's. Any of these cards are a good choice. Its all in what you're willing to spend.

Oh, and if you want good multiplayer FPS's, definitely look into getting Unreal Tournament 2004(ignore what the others may say) and Battlefield 2. Battlefield 2 is more fun for me than anything else out there right now.

Props for the Shogo love too : )

HL2, Far Cry, Call of Duty 2, and Brothers in Arms are all recommended for single player FPS gaming.

But dont spend much on your PC... the future game lineup is a barren, dull wasteland.

Excellent choices so far. Some more -

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vasteel

I've long been a console-only gamer, but for the past few months I've been getting more and more into PC FPS and RPGs. I'm far more into immersive single-player type stuff, particularly scifi and horror oriented games

---

System Shock 2 fits all those criteria although you'll have to download an XP patch if you don't have Win98 I think.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is a great horror ARPG. The Thief series is excellent if you want stealth games. I just recently started playing Divine Divinity and it seems like a high quality mix of Diablo and Baldur's Gate style RPGs.

And even though it's not really in the genres asked for, you must play the 2d freeware game Cave Story. It's a platform/adventure reminiscent of Metroid and Monster World.

System Shock 2, and to a lesser extent, Deus Ex, are probably the best single-player FPSes out there.

There's also plenty more where Cave Story came from. Surprising amount of good freeware games, really.

My list has all been mentioned, but let me highlight the ones I think are critical:

Aliens vs Predator 2 (Monolith)
Deus Ex (Ion Storm)
Freedom Force (Irrational)
Half-Life 2 (Valve)
No One Lives Forever (Monolith)
System Shock 2 (Irrational)
StarCraft (Blizzard)
Thief (Ion Storm)

Frankly anything by the developers above plus BioWare is worth checking out.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who still likes AVP2.

Here's what I'll add.

Dungeon Siege
American McGee's Alice
Serious Sam (1-2)
MDK 1-2
Max Payne
Diablo 2


As for Vampire, I've got the black screen of death every time I try playing it. Does someone have an idea how to fix that?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by voltz

As for Vampire, I've got the black screen of death every time I try playing it. Does someone have an idea how to fix that?

---

This happened to me when I first got it. I emailed Activision and they told me to change the refresh rate in the directx diagnostic. It fixed it although I don't remember exactly what I changed.

I'm playing through a budget title (10 bucks) called Sacred. It's a Diablo 2 clone with some extras. Better graphics, huge overworld. Nice variety in enemies and plenty of sidequests.

Once you patch the game(make sure you patch), it is alot of fun. Nice art style.

http://eng.sacred-game.com/index.php?subsiteid=0