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Looking for a PC game my dad might like

E

Ecrofirt

Member
I'm thinking about getting him a game for Christmas, and I've got no idea what's out there he might like.

He enjoys strategy games, and I remember some of the titles he's had in the past that he liked. Here's a quick rundown of what I can remember:

Board Games that I can remember:
Conquest of the Empire
Fortress America
Luftwaffe
quite a few more that escape me


Computer games:
Wasteland
Darklands
Outpost
Outpost 2
Lords of the Realm (don't remember which, but it definitely wasn't III.)
A Starfleet Academy game

I know these aren't all strategy games

The list isn't too much of a help, but it might be enough to build an idea of what he likes. I'm not a big fan of the genre or computer games, so I've got really no idea what to get him.

Another thing that will make a difference is his PC. It's a 1.7Ghz P4 with 512MB of RAM and a GeForce 2MX.

Can anyone offer me anything from the past few years that he might enjoy?
 
I know at least a few of those titles I mentioned were strategy games, and each of those board games was.

Is there a difference between strategy and RTS?

And I know he's also told me he likes games where you control armies and whatnot, so I'd imagine this all fits together.
 
Ecrofirt said:
I know at least a few of those titles I mentioned were strategy games, and each of those board games was.

Is there a difference between strategy and RTS?

And I know he's also told me he likes games where you control armies and whatnot, so I'd imagine this all fits together.
Click to expand...
Well I won't get into the nitty gritty but an RTS (meaning Real-Time Strategy) is similar to strategy except usually a little more streamlined and there is no pause for taking turns. The player and the computer (or another player) farm for minerals and build up their armies at the exact same time and can issue as many commands as he see fits without any need to wait for the other player. Usually they are far more action-esque then their classic strategy brethren and time becomes a major portion of the gameplay, ie: you can't take your time or the opposing team will simply destroy you. For more information check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real-time_strategy

With that out of the way I'd suggest he check out Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2. It's an eclectic mix of modern day inspired weaponry with classic WWII technology and also an utter blast. While there've been RTS' that have outclassed it in recent years RA2 will play on his PC perfectly. You can order a collection of C&C games which include RA2 for only $20: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...301675-6850243?v=glance&s=videogames&n=507846

Kohan is also another excellent choice and it seems to fit in line with the list of games he's played. I'll let someone else handle the Kohan pimping though, they'll probably tackle it better then I could.
 
Ecrofirt said:
I know at least a few of those titles I mentioned were strategy games, and each of those board games was.

Is there a difference between strategy and RTS?

And I know he's also told me he likes games where you control armies and whatnot, so I'd imagine this all fits together.
Click to expand...

Seriously, just get Civ 4. Don't overthink this.
 
It's not a matter of overthinknig anything. It's a matter of my complete ignorance to the genre and what's goodd, and has been good over the past few years.
 
DEO3 said:
Civ4?
Click to expand...
ToxicAdam said:
Seriously, just get Civ 4. Don't overthink this.
Click to expand...
Guys did you miss this?
Ecrofirt said:
Another thing that will make a difference is his PC. It's a 1.7Ghz P4 with 512MB of RAM and a GeForce 2MX.
Click to expand...

From the official website:
http://www.2kgames.com/civ4/support_msr.htm
Minimum System Requirements
Operating System: Windows? 2000/XP
Processor: 1.2 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon processor or equivalent
Memory: 256 MB RAM (Windows 2000) / 512 MB RAM (Windows XP)
Hard Disk Space: 1.7 GB Free
CD-ROM Drive : 4X Speed
Video: DirectX 9.0c-compatible 64 MB video card with Hardware T&L support ( GeForce 2/Radeon 7500 or better)
Sound: DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card
DirectX®: DirectX® version 9.0c (included) or higher

Recommended System Requirements
Operating System: Windows? 2000/XP
Processor: 1.8 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon processor or equivalent
Memory: 512 MB RAM
Hard Disk Space: 1.7 GB Free
CD-ROM Drive: 4X Speed
Video: 128 MB Video Card w/ DirectX 8 support (pixel & vertex shaders)
Sound: DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card
DirectX®: DirectX® version 9.0c (included) or higher

Supported Operating Systems
Windows 2000: Service Pack 1 or higher WITH Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher
Windows XP: Home or Professional w/ Service Pack 1 or higher
Click to expand...

His system specs seem to fall right at the minimum requirements, might be worth a shot but I don't know how well the game operates at those conditions. If you think his PC can handle it (ie: no spyware and its incredibly efficient), then take a shot since its a great game.
 
Yeah, definitely Civ 4 if his computer's good enough. My dad hardly plays games at all, but the Civ games have kept him up all night.

Edit: Oh, right... maybe Civ 3?
 
DEO3 said:
Civ4?
Click to expand...

I was going to suggest that until I saw the guys reqs. I doubt Civ 4 would run well, if at all, on his rig. I can't really tell what are his tastes since I was never into board games and all the videogames you have listed seem pretty old. But if he likes strat games I would probably say...

-Civilizations III: Complete. (Saw the complete set on Best Buy's website)
-Rise of Nations: Gold Edition.
-Warcraft 3:Battlechest. (If he's into the whole fantasy thing with elfs,trolls, etc. Or at least not turned off by it.)
-Command & Conquer: Generals/Red Alert 2.

These games should run fine on his rig...
 
Thanks for all the suggestions so far, everyone.

Zaptruder said:
Buy him more ram, a new vid card and Civ4.

Otherwise just get Civ3 and hope he doesn't know about 4.
Click to expand...

His PC is perfectly fine for what he uses it for. He's not a big gamer, so he doesn't need a better graphics card. His 512MB of RAM is fine for all the work he does on his PC.
 
We've established that his PC won't run Civ 4. I'll look into getting him Civ 3.

Anyone know if AOE II will run on an XP machine? It looks liek something he might enjoy.

suaveric: The Fallout games are RPGs, aren't they? I don't thibk he'd have the time to get involved with an RPG any longer.
 
Ecrofirt said:
Thanks for all the suggestions so far, everyone.



His PC is perfectly fine for what he uses it for. He's not a big gamer, so he doesn't need a better graphics card. His 512MB of RAM is fine for all the work he does on his PC.
Click to expand...

It's not perfectly fine for running Civ4!
 
Duh. that's why we disregarded it.

Was I supposed to tell everyone they were stupid asshats for recommending a game, rather than thank them for responding?
 
Ecrofirt said:
Duh. that's why we disregarded it.

Was I supposed to tell everyone they were stupid asshats for recommending a game, rather than thank them for responding?
Click to expand...

I'm just saying if you really wanna be thoughtful, upgrade his PC for him so he can play Civ 4. Duh :p
 
Civ is a game suitable for wise men of all ages.

It's turned based so he won't have to hurry along but there's definetly enough thinking to go around. And not to mention the highly appealing element of history and evolution of mankind.
Also, the music will probably appeal as well(and P.Nimoy's lines will highly impress).

Get him a better pc and Civ 4 and he will stay with gaming.
 
He can run Civ IV with those specs. I can run it on my laptop that has about the same specs and sure framerate isn't great with everything set to high, but notch it down and you're left with the same gameplay.
 
The Geforce 2MX is a DX8 card, isn't it?

And Zaptruder, there's no need for him to upgrade his whole PC for one game. It's silly. The man pulls in enough money each year to easily upgrade if he wanted to, and he old upgrades once every 4 years or so. He's an IT director, so I'm sure he knows when it's time for him to upgrade to do what he needs to do at home.
 
Get him either Civ III in the all-encompassing package with the Conquests expansion, Age of Mythology or Rise of Nations. I think all of those will be exciting for him. Blitzkrieg 1 or 2 is another good option.
 
All playable to specs

Wasteland -> Fallout.
Darklands -> Gothic, Arcanum, Morrowind?
Outpost -> Since about the only thing redeemable about this game is its space setting, and your dad was willing to suffer through no. 2 as well, he deserves SMAC otherwise M.A.X.
Lords of the Realm -> Medieval Total War.
A Starfleet Academy game -> Sorry, naval battle games are rare, maybe Homeworld.
 
Try to track down the combo pack of Heroes of Might & Magic 1-3. The combo pack versions will all run in Windows, and you don't need a monster PC for them either.

Nathan
 
Ecrofirt said:
We've established that his PC won't run Civ 4. I'll look into getting him Civ 3.

Anyone know if AOE II will run on an XP machine? It looks liek something he might enjoy.

suaveric: The Fallout games are RPGs, aren't they? I don't thibk he'd have the time to get involved with an RPG any longer.
Click to expand...

Yeah, they're RPGs. Really good RPGs!
 
If he liked Wasteland, even if he doesn't have the time, it's only natural for him to play Fallout. There's probably a few of the old interplay packs in your local Wal-mart, etc. Fallout 1+2 for 10 bucks.
 
I'm going to recommend against Civ4. While it's a good game, there are better, cheaper alternatives that will be certain to run perfectly on your dad's system. Here are my suggestions, in order from what I recommend should be your highest priority to buy, to your lowest priority:

* Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. Still the best strategy game out there, IMO. It's very well-balanced, insanely deep, incredibly well-written and well-researched (with an intellectual rigour that no other similar game has matched), and with tons of options to get newbies used to the game (for example, each higher difficulty level adds more complexity and elements to the game).

* Europa Universalis 2: Another deep strategy game. You basically pick any country in the world (as of the year 1419) and control it until the year 1819. That means militarily, economically, politically, diplomatically, etc. It's very historically accurate and very playable.

* Hearts of Iron 2: Even better than EU2 in most ways, but there is a significant learning curve. It's set in WW2--otherwise, it follows the same formula as EU2. You pick any country, and steer its course through the war (as well as a few years before and after WW2). Ever wanted to control France and beat back Germany? Or ally Japan with the US and take on the Soviet Union from the East while Germany attacks from the West? Or conquer South America with Brazil? You can do all of these in a historically plausible way with interesting gameplay in this game.

* Rise of Nations + Thrones and Patriots expansion: An excellent traditional RTS, where fast clicking as a requirement to do well is minimized, and careful thought is maximized. Lots of interesting options, and solid in every way.

* Rome: Total War: Check out some reviews for this game to get a better sense of what it is. It's great, overall. Also check out its less-graphically impressive predecessor, Medieval: Total War.
 
Teknopathetic said:
If he liked Wasteland, even if he doesn't have the time, it's only natural for him to play Fallout. There's probably a few of the old interplay packs in your local Wal-mart, etc. Fallout 1+2 for 10 bucks.
Click to expand...
Good idea. The 2D graphics aren't great, but they're not ugly or anything - still do the job. Oh, and they're the best RPGs ever.
 
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