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List of the must play games

Amn Nom

Learned
Joined
Apr 12, 2013
Messages
216
Location
Amn
Lets see here:
-Alpha Protocol is built from the ground up for C&C.
-Deus Ex is another one that is built with C&C in mind.
-Mask of the Betrayer: More Torment, can't argue with that.
-Witcher 2 is basically 2 different games depending on a major choice you make.
-Geneforge as a whole has some good C&C. Just do yourself a favor and pretend like thats the only series Spiderweb ever did.
-I hear Kotor 2 has some good C&C, but it refuses to work for me so I can't vouch for it. Just don't touch the first one, its garbage and not worth your time.
 

nordbird

Novice
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
26
By the way I visited the other website RPGWatch but didn't stick for more than 2 mins since most of the users seem to be there for MMORPGs, JRPGs (I like some like FF7 but not a huge fan overall), console exclusives, etc.

You know I'm not the biggest fan of RPGWatch but this isn't really true. In fact, RPGWatch doesn't even have a JRPG discussion forum - we do.

The usual criticism of the Watch is that they're passive-aggressive, a bit out of touch, and not nasty enough towards "The Decline". If there's anything they really like over there it's European CRPGs.

in other words, sup drog

Thanks for the welcome :D

Didn't mean anything by the JRPGs statement, some of my fav games are JRPGs but I'm mostly into western RPGs.

PS: What is C&C?
 

:Flash:

Arcane
Joined
Apr 9, 2013
Messages
6,472
Hello! I'm relatively new to classic RPGs (tried Planescape, Fallout 1-2, Arcanum, Vampire: Bloodlines over the past few months) and have plenty of experience with 'modern RPGs' (New Vegas, Fallout 3, Mass Effect 1-3, Dragon's Age 1-2, The Witcher 1, Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim). I've found modern RPGs too easy/casual/consolized compared to older games so I've been starting playing older games.

What games should I try? I've seen the sticky thread but I want a more personalized recommendation. Something more about choices and dialogue (like Planescape) and less action hack-n-slash (Diablo, Baldur's Gate). Action can be in the game as long as it isn't the entire game's focus.

By the way I visited the other website RPGWatch but didn't stick for more than 2 mins since most of the users seem to be there for MMORPGs, JRPGs (I like some like FF7 but not a huge fan overall), console exclusives, etc. This website is more about real RPGs.
Ultima, starting with IV.
Just read "The History of Britannia, as told by Kyle the Younger" (the manual that came with Ultima IV) and you will understand why you have to play that game.
 

nordbird

Novice
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
26
What games should I try?

Tell us your favorite cRPGs, and we'll tell you what you missed.

RPGs I like (higher means I like it more)
1. New Vegas
2. Fallout 1-2
3. Planescape: Torment
4. Arcanum
5. Vampire: Bloodlines
6. Dragon Age Origins
7. Deus Ex Human Revolution
8. Morrowind
9. Lands of Lore

RPGs I've played but didn't like them as much
1. Skyrim
2. Oblivion
3. Fallout 3
4. Witcher 1 (played it recently and I didn't like the gameplay felt more like an action game)
 

Gregz

Arcane
Joined
Jul 31, 2011
Messages
8,540
Location
The Desert Wasteland
What games should I try?

Tell us your favorite cRPGs, and we'll tell you what you missed.

RPGs I like (higher means I like it more)
1. New Vegas
2. Fallout 1-2
3. Planescape: Torment
4. Arcanum
5. Vampire: Bloodlines
6. Dragon Age Origins
7. Deus Ex Human Revolution
8. Morrowind
9. Lands of Lore

RPGs I've played but didn't like them as much
1. Skyrim
2. Oblivion
3. Fallout 3
4. Witcher 1 (played it recently and I didn't like the gameplay felt more like an action game)

I'd recommend any of these:

Jagged Alliance II 1.13 Mod (modern combat party and turn-based)
Baldur's Gate II (party dnd 2.x system)
Temple of Elemental Evil w/ Circle of Eight Mod (party dnd 3.x system)
System Shock II (space sci-fi/cyberpunk 1st person)
Deus Ex (dystopian/cyberpunk 1st person)
Wizardry 8 (fantasy blobber)
 

felipepepe

Codex's Heretic
Patron
Joined
Feb 2, 2007
Messages
17,278
Location
Terra da Garoa
Jagged Alliance II 1.13 Mod
WHY? I love it and know it is awesome, but it has nothing to do with the games that he liked.

I recommend System Shock 2, Baldur's Gate II, Gothic 2 or Deus Ex, in that order.
 

nordbird

Novice
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
26
Jagged Alliance II 1.13 Mod
WHY? I love it and know it is awesome, but it has nothing to do with the games that he liked.

I recommend System Shock 2, Baldur's Gate II, Gothic 2 or Deus Ex, in that order.

nordbird
Well, you can play the game pepe and I both love and think is awesome, or try another we both listed. Can't lose either way.

Mmhmm I'm gonna try System Shock 2 and Deus Ex but I'm not well informed about Baldur's Gate's interactivity, player choices-consequences and dialogues.
 

Gregz

Arcane
Joined
Jul 31, 2011
Messages
8,540
Location
The Desert Wasteland
Jagged Alliance II 1.13 Mod
WHY? I love it and know it is awesome, but it has nothing to do with the games that he liked.

I recommend System Shock 2, Baldur's Gate II, Gothic 2 or Deus Ex, in that order.

nordbird
Well, you can play the game pepe and I both love and think is awesome, or try another we both listed. Can't lose either way.

Mmhmm I'm gonna try System Shock 2 and Deus Ex but I'm not well informed about Baldur's Gate's interactivity, player choices-consequences and dialogues.

All of the IE games are pretty linear as far as C&C, very good story and set piece battles in BG2 however. I would love to be able to play SS2 or DE for the first time again, enjoy the experience.
 

Ravel myluv

Learned
Joined
Dec 17, 2013
Messages
117
Any suggestions for a storyfag/ settingfag like me besides Planescape: Torment, Fallout 1 and 2, Obsidian games and Torïka games (which aren't that good anyway :troll:) ?
 

nordbird

Novice
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
26
Jagged Alliance II 1.13 Mod
WHY? I love it and know it is awesome, but it has nothing to do with the games that he liked.

I recommend System Shock 2, Baldur's Gate II, Gothic 2 or Deus Ex, in that order.

nordbird
Well, you can play the game pepe and I both love and think is awesome, or try another we both listed. Can't lose either way.

Mmhmm I'm gonna try System Shock 2 and Deus Ex but I'm not well informed about Baldur's Gate's interactivity, player choices-consequences and dialogues.

All of the IE games are pretty linear as far as C&C, very good story and set piece battles in BG2 however. I would love to be able to play SS2 or DE for the first time again, enjoy the experience.

Mmhmm Planescape: Torment is based on that engine and it doesn't seem too linear, hopefully Baldur's Gate II is fun.

Also yeah, playing some RPGs is epic the first time. When I tried Vampire: Bloodlines it was fun reading all the family house backgrounds and their unique skills/stats/talents
 

Rake

Arcane
Joined
Oct 11, 2012
Messages
2,969
Any suggestions for a storyfag/ settingfag like me besides Planescape: Torment, Fallout 1 and 2, Obsidian games and Torïka games (which aren't that good anyway :troll:) ?
Betrayal at Krondor

Thanks I'll give it a try! Not sure it'll work though since I'm a decline newfag that never played older RPGs than Fallout 1 :(
You aren't the only one. Fallout 1 was the oldest game i had played as well. But you get used to it. And BaK is one of the old games that has aged quite well since a big time of your playthrough is spend on reading...
 

Gord

Arcane
Joined
Feb 16, 2011
Messages
7,049
Temple of Elemental Evil and Jagged Alliance 2 are all about combat, so they might not be what you are looking for, even though they are great (JA2) and good (ToE) games.

The Gothic series is something you should try (well, 1 and 2 at least), two of the best open world rpgs.
Albion is an old game with a very interesting setting, but requires grinding, so it might be too combat heavy. Not in my personal top ten, but fun to play once.
Ultima Underworld 1+2 - very old, but great games. Not much C&C, but good world-building and atmosphere.

Some indies:
Eschalon 1+2 - mixed reception on the codex, but I liked them. There are demos, so you can see for yourself. 2 is the better game, imho, and can be played without knowing 1.
The Jeff Vogel games, I never played them, but allegedly the older ones are quite good.
If you don't mind the obnoxious dev ( :smug: ) and "Choose your own Adventure" games, get the Age of Decadence demo - if you like it, there's an extended demo available through early access. Definitely a lot of C&C in that one. Combat can be evaded if you play it right. Interesting experiment.
 

Fangshi

Arcane
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
Alright, games I would recommend:

Based on how you liked DA:O you will probably like the Baldur's Gate series that inspired it. BG2 is generally considered to be the best of the series though BG1 has its charms and they are arguably the best games Bioware have ever managed to create (admittedly a rather low bar to exceed). These games don't have great branching story lines but there are choices to be made (along similar lines to DA:O), think of BG2 as a larger DA:O and you will not be too far of the mark.

If you are interested in story above mechanics (or don't mind real time with slowmo) then try out the Game of Thrones RPG by Cyanide, it is not a great game but the plot almost makes it worth it.

Another deeply flawed game that you may enjoy is Obsidian's Alpha Protocol, a game that manages to get almost everything wrong but provides one of the best webs of choice and consequence (C&C) I have ever had the pleasure to play through.

Since you liked Human Revolution you should probably play Deus Ex as it is better in most all ways.

If you don't mind blobbers (games in which you control a party that move and act as a single abstracted unit, a "blob") then check out both the Might and Magic and Wizardry series. World of Xeen (M&M 4 and 5) is a very good game(s) and the Dark Savant trilogy is definitely worth playing (Wiz 6/7/8). Whether or not you have fun will of course depend on whether you like this style of RPG however.

Since you liked Morrowind you could try its predecessor Daggerfall, a few nice choices and some really fun dungeons in this game.

Wasteland may be worth a try since you liked Fallout 1/2 and they are the spiritual successors to Wasteland, but its sensibilities are very much grounded in an earlier age and it will come across as a bit unforgiving for someone raised on Bioware and Bethesda titles.

The Gothic series (well maybe not Forsaken Gods) are examples of open world games done properly and given you liked Morrowind then you may like those as well.

You should try Betrayal at Krondor, one of the best written stories told through a video game with decent mechanics to back it up and a fairly open world. The codex's own Roxor did a review of it here:

http://rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=173

Ah, what else:

You could try Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2, I did not particularly care for them (don't much like SW) but they are very much representative of their respective studios. Biowares's game is reasonably polished and narratively sound but generally uninteresting while Obsidian's game has an interesting narrative while feeling unfinished (if you do decide to play KotOR2 then make sure you get the community restoration mod).

Since you liked Troika's other two games give Temple of Elemental Evil a try, it has one of the best turn based combat systems made in recent times (though the content of the game is the least interesting of Troika's works)

You should probably at least attempt to play an Ultima game, I would recommend Ultima VII parts 1 and 2 and perhaps Ultima IV given its historical significance.

Darklands is a great choice to play though I am not sure how well it lines up with your tastes. The same can be said of Knights of the Chalice (he single best implementation of D&D style mechanics I have had the pleasure of playing), it is a good game but all about the combat.

If you decide to play the Neverwinter Nights series then you can safely skip the main campaigns, for the Bioware game the main selling point is a number of very good community made modules for the game. For the Obsidian game (NWN2) the selling point is the brilliantly done Mask of the Betrayer (great story, weak mechanics like most of the series), you might also get some fun out of Storm of Zehir as they are often sold as a bundle.

For historical purposes I would suggest giving the Gold Box games as well as the Bard's Tale series a go to see if you like them, there are some real gems (and a few horrible games) amongst their ranks.

And that should keep you busy for a few years at least I should think.
 
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felipepepe

Codex's Heretic
Patron
Joined
Feb 2, 2007
Messages
17,278
Location
Terra da Garoa
The Jeff Vogel games, I never played them, but allegedly the older ones are quite good.
Geneforge 1 is great and should be played by everyone. It is dated as fuck, but still has a great power to make you care about the world and the choices it gives to you.
 

Revenant

Guest
Come on, guys, are you discussing games in depth with an alt who has DragoFireheart's avatar, whose name contains "bird" and who has created an account at the time voting for best CRPGs started just to push FNV further up? Really?
 

nordbird

Novice
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
26
Didn't even see his avatar/name before I picked mine. My desktop has been an NCR Elite Ranger for the past half year so when I picked avatars when I created the account I thought it'd be fitting. The forum only allows a pre-defined selection of avatars so I couldn't upload my own.

Seems like I am not welcome simply because I made the account at the wrong time and picked the wrong avatar.

I've used the name Nordbird in games since 2003-2004.

If necessary, tell an administrator to check my IP/cookies to make sure I am not an alt.

I found this forum about 2 weeks ago because it shared my interests, there are new people in forums all the time don't be paranoid and think that everyone that registers at certain times is automatically an alt.

I'll change avatar to avoid further confusion especially when browsing the forums and seeing his picture in some threads and thinking it's me.
 
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