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[Labombadog]

Recently my friend let me borrow Guild Wars, and it got me thinking. I havent played much PC RPG's (single player). I was thinking of some big named PC RPG's like Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, Fallout 1 & 2, Planetscape: Torment, and Vampire: The Masquerade. I noticed the price for Planetscape is pretty hefty ($50 for such an old game at amazon dealers) so where should I get that game at besides Ebay?

Im getting Baldur's Gate at amazon for the 4 in 1 package for $26.99
Fallout Collection at Amazon for $16.88
And I am buying Vampire: The Masquerade at Steam for $19.99

Are these games playable at this day of age, or should I go for something else? Recommend me some PC RPGS!!

edit: Sorry..let me post my PC RPG collection. The Witcher, Deus Ex, S.T.A.L.K.E.R (not much...lol)

 

[lastendconductor]

Yeah those are great and definitely playable (mod BG1 and patch Vampire though).
I've been playing Arx Fatalis, which is fucking awesome. Deus Ex is great too.

 

[Desi]

Septerra Core...booyah!

 

[TheExodu5]

Why don't you get a GameTap subscription for Planescape, Baldur's Gate, and a few others?

 

[vertopci]

The Witcher is a pretty awesome game.

 

[Shaheed79]

The Witcher
Hellgate London
The Temple of Elemental Evil
Titan Quest
Wizardry 8
Oblivion GOTY

Older RPG's
Planescape Torment
Baulders Gate Collection
Icewind Dale
Deus Ex
Diablo Collection
Fallout Collection

Classic RPG's
Thunderscape
Darksun
Ultima Underworld 2
Elder Scrolls 2 Daggerfall

 

[Fragamemnon]

You can get Planescape via GameTap if you don't mind going that way. Same for the Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale games.

Anyway, the usual suggestions:

Gothic 2
Neverwinter Nights 2 and Mask of the Betrayer
The Witcher
Wizardry 8 (good luck finding this)
Divine Divinity
Titan Quest + expansion pack
Temple of Elemental Evil w/ latest Circle of Eight fan patches
Try out the demos for the latest Avernum and Geneforge games over at Spiderweb Software .
Sort of adventure gamey, but Anachronox must not be missed.

 

[Archaon]

Septerra Core...booyah!

Is that game any good? I have it sitting on my shelf from many years ago and I never played through it.

For the OP, Planescape: Torment is absolutely worth it and I hear you can get it easily enough off of Gametap.

 

[shintoki]

The Witcher, Really the only recommendation I'm going say...Because its that dam good ^_^

Also Diablo II

 

[Fragamemnon]

Is that game any good? I have it sitting on my shelf from many years ago and I never played through it..

play anachronox if you want a console-styled RPG on the PC.

 

[Labombadog]

Im looking at Gametap right now, but I have a question. Lets say I pay for the year subscription, and once it expires I cant play the games that I downloaded anymore? That would suck if so.

 

[Fragamemnon]

Im looking at Gametap right now, but I have a question. Lets say I pay for the year subscription, and once it expires I cant play the games that I downloaded anymore? That would suck if so.

That's correct-you can only play the gold games while you have the service. Which isn't that expensive, even for month to month if you just want it for a few specific games. Note also that you can't mod the gametap games, which isn't a huge deal if you haven't played it since most of the really interesting mod changes are tuned for people who have played the games before.

 

[Labombadog]

Well then Gametap is out of the question since I like owning games. Thanks for the recommendations guys! Keep'em coming

 

[lastendconductor]

Im looking at Gametap right now, but I have a question. Lets say I pay for the year subscription, and once it expires I cant play the games that I downloaded anymore? That would suck if so.

I'd say it's still a bargain.

 

[No6]

Do the TOEE fan patches fix the boredom?

Also mega-lols at Thunderscape. If that's a barometer of "classic" then you could probably include every PC RPG prior to Stonekeep. And a hefty lol at Ultima Underworld 2, which while being an excellent game at the time, would likely be a pain to run now and fairly incomprehensible due to the whole "hasn't played any Ultima games" bit.

And when you get the BG pack you may want to just skip BG1. BG2+exp is huge, outstanding, and eliminates a lot of the flaws in BG1. I'd actually tend to avoid any RPG released prior to BG1 (aside from Fallout), since there was a big dead-zone prior to it (BG1 was considered to be a massive revitalization of PC RPGs) and the good (for the time) RPGs prior to BG1 are going to be pretty archaic and difficult to run (DOS).

 

[A Black Falcon]

Recently my friend let me borrow Guild Wars, and it got me thinking. I havent played much PC RPG's (single player). I was thinking of some big named PC RPG's like Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, Fallout 1 & 2, Planetscape: Torment, and Vampire: The Masquerade. I noticed the price for Planetscape is pretty hefty ($50 for such an old game at amazon dealers) so where should I get that game at besides Ebay?

Im getting Baldur's Gate at amazon for the 4 in 1 package for $26.99
Fallout Collection at Amazon for $16.88
And I am buying Vampire: The Masquerade at Steam for $19.99

Are these games playable at this day of age, or should I go for something else? Recommend me some PC RPGS!!

edit: Sorry..let me post my PC RPG collection. The Witcher, Deus Ex, S.T.A.L.K.E.R (not much...lol)

BG Anthology and Fallout Collection? Very, very good start... that's all you'll need for a long time, really. Several hundred hours of the best RPGs ever... all that's absolutely needed on top of that is Torment.

Want some recommendations, though? Okay... I'm going to leave out action-rpgs like Diablo and its clones and strategy games that have some RPG elements; those are separate categories (though really, in the action-RPG field on the PC, Diablo II is the best there is... Dungeon Siege is really, really boring and I'd never recommend it to anyone. Some of the (many) other Diablo clones are decent fun, but none of them match the real thing.). I'm also leaving out MMORPGs.

I should start with the beginning, with Akalabeth, Ultima I, and Wizardry I, but I really didn't play '80s PC RPGs, so I don't have much of any personal experience with them, going from Akalabeth to the SSI Gold Box RPG series (the Pools of Radiance trilogy being the most important of those). The same goes for the entire Ultima series -- I know its importance, but have never played much of any Ultima games. The only ones I have are Ultima I and Ultima Underworld, and I got them in the late '90s (via PC Gamer's Classic Game Collection disc) and never played much of them. Even so, SSI's Pools of Radiance deserves mention for sure. I do have part II of that series, Curse of the Azure Bonds... The Ultima and Wizardry serieses were the first major PC RPGs and were hugely influential, with Pools of Radiance being probably the next big revolution in the genre. Those three serieses Wizardry (Sir-Tech), Ultima (Origin), and the SSI games -- clearly were the most influential early on. Interplay was around then as well, with major RPGs including Dragon Wars, Wasteland, and a few others, but their greatest days came in the 1997-2002 period. I only have Dragon Wars of Interplay's stuff from the period, thanks to Interplay's 15th Anniversary Collection (which also included Fallout 1). EA's The Bard's Tale trilogy should probably also be mentioned; it was pretty well known. Never played them (though I do have a book set in the Bard's Tale universe).

While important games, the main reason that I'm not listing them isn't just that I don't have many of these games. It's also that they are very archaic, usually requiring the player to map out the levels (download maps or get out your graph paper!), having very high difficulty levels, and generally just being very hard to play for anyone used to modern games. The first RPG I seriously played was Quest for Glory I (unless CaveQuest counts)... and then from there I mostly didn't play the genre until I got Baldur's Gate. Going from that and then trying to go back and play this old stuff? I just couldn't do it for long before I'd abandon games for just not being worth the effort... this applies to Wizardries VI and VII for sure, as well as Curse of the Azure Bonds, etc. Anyway, the list.


Online RPGs
Guild Wars -- my favorite game of the past four or five years.
Guild Wars: Factions
Guild Wars: Nightfall
Guild Wars: Eye of the North -- conclusion of the game... awesome for anyone who liked the original GW.

Interplay/Black Isle/Bioware/Obsidian/Troika RPGs ("Interplay-style")
Baldur's Gate -- as I've said in previous threads, I definitely recommend playing the first game first! It's still a great, great game and really is near perfect. Third best RPG ever, I would say.
Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast -- side-quests only, really.
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn -- second best RPG ever. Exceptional in every way.
Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal -- the third and last chapter of the series.
Fallout
Fallout 2
Planescape: Torment -- the best RPG ever.
Icewind Dale
Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter (Icewind Dale: Trials of the Loremaster too, but that was a free addon, not pay)
Icewind Dale II -- decent combat/dungeon focused game. Fun for Infinity Engine combat fans. Story is decent, but not amazing. It's the only third edition Infinity Engine title... whether that is good or bad depends on what you think of 2nd vs. 3rd edition. Good game really, but I like BG or Torment more.
Neverwinter Nights 2 -- Great RPG. Best D&D game since IWD2.
Neverwinter Nights 2: Mark of the Betrayer -- most consider it even better than the base game.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic -- very disappointing compared to BG. Much simpler, much less strategic, much more consolized. A good game anyway, but nothing compared to BG.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 -- perhaps better than KotOR 1, apart from the collapse of the plot at the end...
Arcanum
Greyhawk - The Temple of Elemental Evil -- The most accurate model of actual D&D rules ever in a computer game. The game has a slow pace as a result, though.

RPGs from others
Wizards & Warriors (the PC RPG) -- lesser known, and buggy, but there's a great game there. I'd rank it as one of the best dungeon-focused RPGs ever... the dungeon designs, puzzles, atmosphere, music... all impeccable.
Wizardry 8 -- great, great rpg, last of a classic series (and the only truly modern title in the series). Highly recommended.
Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge -- if you want old-school dungeon crawling suffering, play this!
Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant or Wizardry VII Gold -- not quite as cruel as Wizardry VI, but close!
Quest for Glory: So You Want To Be A Hero -- Adventure/RPG, a true classic and tied with QFGIV as my favorite Sierra game, and Sierra made a lot of great games. I prefer the VGA remake. Once you finish each game you can then import your character into the next game.
Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire (parser only, which makes it frustrating for me)
Quest for Glory III: Wages of War
Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness
Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire -- end of the series. One of the weakest QFG games, but worth playing anyway to finish your hero's journey.
Anachronox -- awesome and very funny! Console style, with some PC elements too.
Septerra Core -- also console style. Pretty good game really... it's worth playing. I liked it.

I'm leaving The Elder Scrolls out because I'm not a fan of the series.

Edit: Additions:
Betrayal at Krondor
Eye of the Beholder

 

[rabhw]

Add another one for The Witcher here. It starts a bit slowly, but give it a chance, it won't disappoint I promise

Edit: If you DO get the Witcher, make sure to get the latest patch, DO NOT play the game without the patch.

 

[Shard]

Why don't you get a GameTap subscription for Planescape, Baldur's Gate, and a few others?

Deus Ex and Grandia 2 are also on the Gametap.

 

[Hellsing321]

The Witcher is the best RPG to come out recently. Insanely fun.

 

[Minsc]

BG Anthology and Fallout Collection? Very, very good start... that's all you'll need for a long time, really. Several hundred hours of the best RPGs ever... all that's absolutely needed on top of that is Torment.

Want some recommendations, though? Okay... I'm going to leave out action-rpgs like Diablo and its clones and strategy games that have some RPG elements; those are separate categories (though really, in the action-RPG field on the PC, Diablo II is the best there is... Dungeon Siege is really, really boring and I'd never recommend it to anyone. Some of the (many) other Diablo clones are decent fun, but none of them match the real thing.).

Guild Wars -- my favorite game of the past four or five years.
Guild Wars: Factions
Guild Wars: Nightfall
Guild Wars: Eye of the North -- conclusion of the game... awesome for anyone who liked the original GW.

Interplay/Black Isle/Bioware/Obsidian/Troika RPGs
Baldur's Gate -- as I've said in previous threads, I definitely recommend playing the first game first! It's still a great, great game and really is near perfect. Third best RPG ever, I would say.
Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast -- side-quests only, really.
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn -- second best RPG ever. Exceptional in every way.
Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal -- the third and last chapter of the series.
Fallout
Fallout 2
Planescape: Torment -- the best RPG ever.
Icewind Dale
Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter (Icewind Dale: Trials of the Loremaster too, but that was a free addon, not pay)
Icewind Dale II -- decent combat/dungeon focused game. Fun for Infinity Engine combat fans. Story is decent, but not amazing. It's the only third edition Infinity Engine title... whether that is good or bad depends on what you think of 2nd vs. 3rd edition. Good game really, but I like BG or Torment more.
Neverwinter Nights 2 -- Great RPG. Best D&D game since IWD2.
Neverwinter Nights 2: Mark of the Betrayer -- most consider it even better than the base game.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic -- very disappointing compared to BG. Much simpler, much less strategic, much more consolized. A good game anyway, but nothing compared to BG.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 -- perhaps better than KotOR 1, apart from the collapse of the plot at the end...
Arcanum
Greyhawk - The Temple of Elemental Evil -- The most accurate model of actual D&D rules ever in a computer game. The game has a slow pace as a result, though.

RPGs from others
Wizards & Warriors (the PC RPG) -- lesser known, and buggy, but there's a great game there. I'd rank it as one of the best dungeon-focused RPGs ever... the dungeon designs, puzzles, atmosphere, music... all impeccable.
Wizardry 8 -- great, great rpg, last of a classic series (and the only truly modern title in the series). Highly recommended.
Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge -- if you want old-school dungeon crawling suffering, play this!
Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant or Wizardry VII Gold -- not quite as cruel as Wizardry VI, but close!
Quest for Glory: So You Want To Be A Hero -- Adventure/RPG, a true classic and tied with QFGIV as my favorite Sierra game, and Sierra made a lot of great games. I prefer the VGA remake. Once you finish each game you can then import your character into the next game.
Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire (parser only)
Quest for Glory III: Wages of War
Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness
Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire -- end of the series. One of the weakest QFG games, but worth playing anyway to finish your hero's journey.
Anachronox -- awesome and very funny! Console style, with some PC elements too.
Septerra Core -- also console style. Pretty good game really... it's worth playing. I liked it.

... I could go back to stuff like the Gold Box SSI games, but I didn't really play the '80s PC RPGs, so I don't have much personal experience with them. And I'm leaving The Elder Scrolls out because I'm not a fan of the series.

Don't tell me you've never played Betrayal at Krondor!

I was a little sad to see such a great list of games (it really is, good job), and that one definetly deserves to be there. One of the most unique cRPGs there is, and it still delivers a gaming experience unequaled today.

 

[A Black Falcon]

Don't tell me you've never played Betrayal at Krondor!

I was a little sad to see such a great list of games (it really is, good job), and that one definetly deserves to be there. One of the most unique cRPGs there is, and it still delivers a gaming experience unequaled today.

... yes, I have played Betrayal at Krondor. I got it as freeware from PC Gamer years ago... And you're right, it should be there. It's not as good as QFG (in comparing Sierra RPGs), but it was pretty good. I'll add it.

I haven't played Betrayal at Antara or Return to Krondor, so I can't say anything about them.

Hmm. I put Guild Wars there... does that mean that that list should be expanded to include MMOs? I mean, GW isn't an MMO, but it is online only... but I never played any MMOs at length, so I can't say much for sure beyond "WoW would be the obvious top title to list."

Of that old-school dungeon-crawling style, which often meant "the game hates you" dungeon crawling style... worth mentioning is the first 5 (or 7, really) Wizardry games, the three The Bard's Tale games, Dragon Wars, and, of course, the Gold Box games, with the Pools of Radiance trilogy topping the list. Akalabeth and the Ultima series obviously need to be mentioned here too, though they quickly go beyond just dungeon crawling. Some more modern dungeon crawlers would include Stonekeep (decent, but disappointing. It should have been better.) and the three (PC) Eye of the Beholder games (classics of the field, really) -- still dungeon crawlers, but '90s titles updated with nicer features like built in maps. Wizardry VII was, for instance, the first game in that series with an ingame map... and they made it require a character with the mapping skill, which you don't get at the beginning of the game, that's for sure. Then going beyond that you get Wizards & Warriors and Wizardry 8.

... Eye of the Beholder and Betrayal at Krondor should be on the list, if I keep it as "no pre-'90s RPGs' because of my general lack of familiarity with older RPGs, and the development of the genre that makes a lot of those games very hard to play from the modern perspective...

 

[Struct09]

Have the Fallout games aged well? I've been eyeing them for a while now, I never got to play them back in the day.

 

[Hellshadow]

 

[A Black Falcon]

Have the Fallout games aged well? I've been eyeing them for a while now, I never got to play them back in the day.

The tile-based graphics don't look great compared to something like Baldur's Gate, but the gameplay holds up as well as ever. I like BG more than Fallout, but Fallout is absolutely still a great RPG series.

 

[Fragamemnon]

Have the Fallout games aged well? I've been eyeing them for a while now, I never got to play them back in the day.

They have some glacially slow paced combat-not ToEE slow mind you, but not too much faster-some of the time, but other than that I think they hold up pretty well. Worth checking out IMO.

 

[Minsc]

... yes, I have played Betrayal at Krondor. I got it as freeware from PC Gamer years ago... And you're right, it should be there. It's not as good as QFG (in comparing Sierra RPGs), but it was pretty good. I'll add it.

I haven't played Betrayal at Antara or Return to Krondor, so I can't say anything about them.

The sequels were complete failures. Betrayal at Krondor was a lot better than the QFGs I thought, the world and combat were much more in depth and detailed. So much more strategy in Betrayal at Krondor. But it lacked the prettiness of the 2D QFG games for sure, and some of the charm. But the immersiveness and details made up for that and more.

Hmm. I put Guild Wars there... does that mean that that list should be expanded to include MMOs? I mean, GW isn't an MMO, but it is online only... but I never played any MMOs at length, so I can't say much for sure beyond "WoW would be the obvious top title to list."

Guild Wars is it's own style, it can be separated from MMORPGs. I actually enjoyed it more as a strategy multiplayer action game in the random battle arenas than a RPG.

the three (PC) Eye of the Beholder games (classics of the field, really) -- still dungeon crawlers, but '90s titles updated with nicer features like built in maps.

Don't forget Lands of Lore. Every bit as good as the Eye of the Beholder games and then some (a whole lot, to be precise). The engine is a bit more evolved, and the added animations and voice-overs add a bit of flair to the game. That and the graphic style was pleasing too.

 

[Struct09]

The tile-based graphics don't look great compared to something like Baldur's Gate, but the gameplay holds up as well as ever. I like BG more than Fallout, but Fallout is absolutely still a great RPG series.

They have some glacially slow paced combat-not ToEE slow mind you, but not too much faster-some of the time, but other than that I think they hold up pretty well. Worth checking out IMO.

Cool. Consider the collection ordered

 

[Minsc]

Cool. Consider the collection ordered

What other game gives you this much variety in weapons to kill your enemies with?

Sure is a nice break from swords and spells! Although you can never go wrong with a big enough sword...

 

[A Black Falcon]

I edited the beginning of my list post (in addition to adding those two games to the end), so I'll quote it. About early and older RPGs.

I should start with the beginning, with Akalabeth, Ultima I, and Wizardry I, but I really didn't play '80s PC RPGs, so I don't have much of any personal experience with them, going from Akalabeth to the SSI Gold Box RPG series (the Pools of Radiance trilogy being the most important of those). The same goes for the entire Ultima series -- I know its importance, but have never played much of any Ultima games. The only ones I have are Ultima I and Ultima Underworld, and I got them in the late '90s (via PC Gamer's Classic Game Collection disc) and never played much of them. Even so, SSI's Pools of Radiance deserves mention for sure. I do have part II of that series, Curse of the Azure Bonds... The Ultima and Wizardry serieses were the first major PC RPGs and were hugely influential, with Pools of Radiance being probably the next big revolution in the genre. Those three serieses Wizardry (Sir-Tech), Ultima (Origin), and the SSI games -- clearly were the most influential early on. Interplay was around then as well, with major RPGs including Dragon Wars, Wasteland, and a few others, but their greatest days came in the 1997-2002 period. I only have Dragon Wars of Interplay's stuff from the period, thanks to Interplay's 15th Anniversary Collection (which also included Fallout 1). EA's The Bard's Tale trilogy should probably also be mentioned; it was pretty well known. Never played them (though I do have a book set in the Bard's Tale universe).

While important games, the main reason that I'm not listing them isn't just that I don't have many of these games. It's also that they are very archaic, usually requiring the player to map out the levels (download maps or get out your graph paper!), having very high difficulty levels, and generally just being very hard to play for anyone used to modern games. The first RPG I seriously played was Quest for Glory I (unless CaveQuest counts)... and then from there I mostly didn't play the genre until I got Baldur's Gate. Going from that and then trying to go back and play this old stuff? I just couldn't do it for long before I'd abandon games for just not being worth the effort... this applies to Wizardries VI and VII for sure, as well as Curse of the Azure Bonds, etc. Anyway, the list.

Oh yeah, and looking at the Interplay-style list, there is one obvious major title left out. That is quite intentional: Neverwinter Nights 1 and its expansions just aren't any good at all. It's not even good enough to slip in with reservations, like KotOR does.

The sequels were complete failures. Betrayal at Krondor was a lot better than the QFGs I thought, the world and combat were much more in depth and detailed. So much more strategy in Betrayal at Krondor. But it lacked the prettiness of the 2D QFG games for sure, and some of the charm. But the immersiveness and details made up for that and more.

Well, as I said, QFG was the first major RPG I played, unless you count a couple of old freeware or shareware RPGish things I played a bit of (CaveQuest, Castle Adventure). Admittedly it does have action-style combat (all three of those do, actually; Castle Adventure isn't an RPG, it's really an adventure game with combat...), but I think QFG is RPG enough to list, even if the series really does go in its own genre of Adventure/RPG and not in the straight "RPG" genre. But QFGI: So You Want To Be A Hero... I loved that game so much... it places high in my all-time favorite RPGs list.

Betrayal at Krondor? By the time I got that many years later, it was quite outdated. I had fun anyway, but I'm sure I'd remember it a lot more highly if I'd played it at the time... it's a huge game with a lot to do, a great combat system, lots of high quality writing, etc. The 3d overworlds look very outdated, but that doesn't matter much. But it is a game that requires a substantial time commitment and focus to get into, because it's a deep game with a lot to do. I guess I just never quite gave it that time... I should, really.

As for QFG II-V, while I'd always wanted them, I didn't get those until a few years ago, when I found copies of QFG: Collection Series and QFGV cheap in a local game store (boxed, complete, etc, $5 each...)... if you check the EBay price of the Quest for Glory: Collection Series box, that was an amazing deal. But anyway, even with the nostalgia factor going for QFGI and not the rest of the games (I did play both of the QFGV demos at the time it came out, but as I said, it was quite different from the first four games, and clearly not as good...), Quest for Glory IV quickly ascended to equality with QFGI overall. II I gave up on because of how much I don't like the parser, and III was good but not as great as I, but IV... simply amazing game! Awesome voice acting work, great story and characters, huge script, classic QFG humor, maybe the series' best battle system (side-scrolling combat), awesome setting, some truly great quests (Toby... )... in a lot of ways it's the peak of the series.

Guild Wars is it's own style, it can be separated from MMORPGs. I actually enjoyed it more as a strategy multiplayer action game in the random battle arenas than a RPG.

I liked the single-player quests too, really. The stories have some flaws (especially the original game...), but even so, the game tells a good story. I spent a lot more time in the mission and questing stuff than in the PvP aspects. And I've never done a guild battle... never been in a guild together enough to do it. So while the PvP is good, for me I like the PvE content, that is following the main story and doing quests and exploration in the overworld, best.

Don't forget Lands of Lore. Every bit as good as the Eye of the Beholder games and then some (a whole lot, to be precise). The engine is a bit more evolved, and the added animations and voice-overs add a bit of flair to the game. That and the graphic style was pleasing too.

Never played those games, actually. But yeah, they were Westwood's other RPG series.

 

[playstencil]

Another vote for BG2 + TOB expansion. Heinous amount of replayability.

 

[Kodiak]

the witcher has been sufficiently patched and is worth your money. best RPG of 07

 

[Minsc]

Well, as I said, QFG was the first major RPG I played, unless you count a couple of old freeware or shareware RPGish things I played a bit of (CaveQuest, Castle Adventure). Admittedly it does have action-style combat (all three of those do, actually; Castle Adventure isn't an RPG, it's really an adventure game with combat...), but I think QFG is RPG enough to list, even if the series really does go in its own genre of Adventure/RPG and not in the straight "RPG" genre. But QFGI: So You Want To Be A Hero... I loved that game so much... it places high in my all-time favorite RPGs list.

I played the QFGs as well (Eye of the Beholder first I think), QFGI was so much fun, it hit just at the right time, and the VGA redo version looked great. QFGII was like 100x times harder, and I got through it (somehow), even though it was a huge step back in every way. I'm actually sort of impressed I stuck with it and managed it, but I did like that series a lot. III was good at the time, but I didn't quite like the whole tiger / lion thing as much. IV I think I liked second best, but it was pretty tricky too. Never played V.

Betrayal at Krondor? By the time I got that many years later, it was quite outdated. I had fun anyway, but I'm sure I'd remember it a lot more highly if I'd played it at the time... it's a huge game with a lot to do, a great combat system, lots of high quality writing, etc. The 3d overworlds look very outdated, but that doesn't matter much. But it is a game that requires a substantial time commitment and focus to get into, because it's a deep game with a lot to do. I guess I just never quite gave it that time... I should, really.

Fair enough, it's a great game. I think you might be a bit surprised if you re-visited it now, it has some great mechanics, and I find the graphics to be more unique than outdated.

As for QFG II-V, while I'd always wanted them, I didn't get those until a few years ago, when I found copies of QFG: Collection Series and QFGV cheap in a local game store (boxed, complete, etc, $5 each...)... if you check the EBay price of the Quest for Glory: Collection Series box, that was an amazing deal. But anyway, even with the nostalgia factor going for QFGI and not the rest of the games (I did play both of the QFGV demos at the time it came out, but as I said, it was quite different from the first four games, and clearly not as good...), Quest for Glory IV quickly ascended to equality with QFGI overall. II I gave up on because of how much I don't like the parser, and III was good but not as great as I, but IV... simply amazing game! Awesome voice acting work, great story and characters, huge script, classic QFG humor, maybe the series' best battle system (side-scrolling combat), awesome setting, some truly great quests (Toby... )... in a lot of ways it's the peak of the series.

Wow. I totally forgot about that. You're right, IV is better than I'm giving it credit for. I remember really enjoying that new combat system, and it had a couple of nice plot twists, and was a much larger game than the first I believe. If QFGI wasn't so great and complete (houses to rob, dart games, new IP), IV would definetly come out ahead.

Never played those games, actually. But yeah, they were Westwood's other RPG series.

If you ever take any advice from me, take this. Buy Lands of Lore. You're missing out on a real gem (hehe horrible pun there, wait for the intro). It's impossible to not love, if you can enjoy EotB style interfaces. Even if they bother you, this one feels much more fliud than EotB I or II because like EotB III the turning is animated, which helps a lot. I'm pretty sure you can get a used CD version (voice-overs are pretty decent & enjoyable) cheap still.

Lands of Lore is so easy to sucked in to. The gameplay is perfect. I promise within 30 minutes you'll be hooked, it's that good. Just challenging enough, and really good pacing. It has fun animations, and it's a great game for exploring around and auto-maps things for you, and there's tons of secrets to find by clicking on the screen, like in the EotB games when you click on bricks in the wall, etc.

I've played through it 3 or 4 times now, and I can still come across new things in that game. There's a lot more text and animations/interactions between NPCs than most games at that time (read some > none).

I really think you should consider this to be the next older RPG you play, at least put it on the top of your list. It will run perfectly in DOSBox, I've had no problems getting it to run the numerous times I've dug it up.

 

[Takeda Kenshi]

Excellent starting games, now make sure you add the Wizardry series (I-VIII), Might & Magic I-VII, and Ultima I-VIII (maybe IX with patches) and you're in for some serious time burning.

 

[Labombadog]

WOW

Thanks for the lists guys...TRULY appreciate it VERY much.

And I have THE WITCHER but I dont have the patch. Can I add the patch and continue on the game or will it erase my file?

Thanks again guys/gals.

 

[Kodiak]

WOW

Thanks for the lists guys...TRULY appreciate it VERY much.

And I have THE WITCHER but I dont have the patch. Can I add the patch and continue on the game or will it erase my file?

Thanks again guys/gals.

it shouldn't, but make a backup copy of the save(s) just in case.

 

[BakedPigeon]

If you want to play a great single player RPG and can accept the graphics for how they are, get The Elder Scrolls III Morrowind + expansions. The gameplay is great and very fun, you will really enjoy yourself. The combat can get tedious, but if you look at the overall product its one of the greatest RPG's ever made IMO.

Down with the TES haters!

 

[Takeda Kenshi]

Down with the TES haters!

You're right, I almost for Daggerfall.

Just make sure you patch it before you play it.

 

[A Black Falcon]

I played the QFGs as well (Eye of the Beholder first I think), QFGI was so much fun, it hit just at the right time, and the VGA redo version looked great. QFGII was like 100x times harder, and I got through it (somehow), even though it was a huge step back in every way. I'm actually sort of impressed I stuck with it and managed it, but I did like that series a lot. III was good at the time, but I didn't quite like the whole tiger / lion thing as much. IV I think I liked second best, but it was pretty tricky too. Never played V.

Wow. I totally forgot about that. You're right, IV is better than I'm giving it credit for. I remember really enjoying that new combat system, and it had a couple of nice plot twists, and was a much larger game than the first I believe. If QFGI wasn't so great and complete (houses to rob, dart games, new IP), IV would definetly come out ahead.

Yeah, QFG is amazing. Great, great series.

But yes, it is hard to decide between the first and fourth games. The first one was much more original and had a great new style of game design, pioneering most of the standards of the series. The fourth game is the one most like the first one in game design and theme -- for instance that in these two games you have a small forest to wander around and map, while in the others world design is somewhat different. So really, QFGIV has more, is more complex, has a deeper plot, etc... but the first game has a unique charm that outshines even the rest of the series, it also has a great cast of NPCs that you come to know and like, and while its plot is simple it works very well and is interesting. It's just too hard to choose which one I like more... the original, more simple game that brilliantly pioneers a new idea, or the later, more complex one that builds on that to create a larger, deeper, more serious epic...

So they're tied. I just can't choose which one is better. They are both too great for me to pick one...

On a related note, the way that QFGIV mixes humor and serious, sad elements together is pretty amazing. On the one hand the game is a Transylvanian-style vampire horror game, but on the other it is consistently funny and humorous, and yet the two styles do not contradict one another! Even in the most serious of the QFG games, the light tone still shines through, and unlike in some games, it doesn't feel at all out of place.

As for QFGV... well, it came out later. After Diablo. So its combat system... yeah, no separate battle screen anymore. Instead, you just repeatedly click on enemies, Diablo style. Any bits of strategy, depth, etc, that the old battle systems had... mostly gone. Instead, battles often are harder and involve a lot more enemies. You still can avoid many parts of the fighting if you are a thief or wizard (or Paladin, even) like in the first four games, but it's just not as good... it's definitely my least favorite combat system in the series. IV's, as I said, was great.

Fair enough, it's a great game. I think you might be a bit surprised if you re-visited it now, it has some great mechanics, and I find the graphics to be more unique than outdated.

I should also have mentioned the great music.

I remember it being pretty hard, though. Some of the battles, even pretty early on, are quite difficult...

If you ever take any advice from me, take this. Buy Lands of Lore. You're missing out on a real gem (hehe horrible pun there, wait for the intro). It's impossible to not love, if you can enjoy EotB style interfaces. Even if they bother you, this one feels much more fliud than EotB I or II because like EotB III the turning is animated, which helps a lot. I'm pretty sure you can get a used CD version (voice-overs are pretty decent & enjoyable) cheap still.

Lands of Lore is so easy to sucked in to. The gameplay is perfect. I promise within 30 minutes you'll be hooked, it's that good. Just challenging enough, and really good pacing. It has fun animations, and it's a great game for exploring around and auto-maps things for you, and there's tons of secrets to find by clicking on the screen, like in the EotB games when you click on bricks in the wall, etc.

I've played through it 3 or 4 times now, and I can still come across new things in that game. There's a lot more text and animations/interactions between NPCs than most games at that time (read some > none).

I really think you should consider this to be the next older RPG you play, at least put it on the top of your list. It will run perfectly in DOSBox, I've had no problems getting it to run the numerous times I've dug it up.

Huh, I'd never really thought of Lands of Lore aside from reading a bit about it in computer gaming magazines back when the third one came out or something. Finding old PC games is hard, but I'll look into it.

(Though really, I haven't played much of Eye of the Beholder either. I didn't play the series back when it came out... all I've actually played is the first few floors of the Sega CD version of the first game. That was enough to see how good it was, though... much better than something like Stonekeep.)

 

[einhard]

I really hope some developer goes back to making PC rpgs in the Infinity Engine style, theres just something classic about the fixed iso camera and 'rts'ish combat. The last thing I want to be doing in a RPG is control the camera or struggle with bad party ai. Heres hoping Stardock comes through in the end.

I wouldn't bother with NWN2 unless you get MotB too. The camera and combat system are terrible, the original campaign forgettable, MotB on the other hand had a fantastic story which more than made up for the core design flaws of NWN2 itself.

Kotor was alot of fun, especially playing as an evil character. Never did play the sequel though, something Ill have to get around to one day.

 

[disappeared]

Oblivion + mods = delight.

 

[Prime crotch]

Only one you mentioned Arx Fatalis, for shame!

 

[EviLore]

Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn (best rpg ever)
Baldur's Gate 2: Throne of Bhaal (best rpg expansion ever)
Planescape: Torment (unmatched writing)
Fallout
Fallout 2
Deus Ex
System Shock 2
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
The Witcher
Neverwinter Nights 2
Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer
Anachronox
Morrowind (w/ mods)
Oblivion (w/ uhh a lot of mods)
Icewind Dale 2

 

[{Mike}]

Only one you mentioned Arx Fatalis, for shame!

The next Elder Scrolls' dungeons needs to be more like Arx Fatalis.

 

[Buggy Loop]

Anachronox!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=za9T9XbOgrw

 

[A Black Falcon]

Wizards & Warriors -- My summary of the game: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=9194042&postcount=204

Video -- The Overworld (the music is so amazing...): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HZauGPtwms

Video -- First Dungeon (just the very beginning, just a tiny taste of how awesome the dungeons are): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9nXLSxyHPg

Video -- Boss (Xydusa): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp7lRZEEQ5I

It really is a great game. It should be better known.

 

[Sectus]

Some of my recommendations... (first of all, I can mention that my personal preference in RPGs is good gameplay. If the game has boring and really repetitive combat (oh dear, that means 90% of all RPGs) then I don't like it)

Betrayal at Krondor is still, in my opinion, the best RPG ever made. If you can look beyond the dated graphics and UI you'll notice that the gameplay and writing feels surprisingly modern. It has really great music as well.

Jagged Alliance 2, if QFG counts as an RPG I'd say it's worthwhile to mention this too. It's a mix of a turnbased tactical game with RPG elements. Imagine something like Tactics Ogre or Final Fantasy Tactics, just with less RPG elements but with more freedom and a really good indepth combat engine. It also has the best characters, best dialogue and best voice acting in any RPG ever... and there's even a ton of characters which are all great! (http://www.ja-galaxy-forum.com/board/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=180319&page=1&gonew=1#UNREAD - if you do get it, make sure to also get the latest unofficial patch for the game, it greatly enhances the experience)

Already mentioned, but I'd also recommend the Quest for Glory series. A really neat mix of the oldschool adventure genre with RPG elements.

 

[tahrikmili]

Here are the PC RPGs I have the fondest memories of, old to new:

Curse of the Azure Bonds
Secret of the Silver Blades
Pools of Darkness

Champions of Krynn
Death Knights of Krynn

Ultima V

Eye of the Beholder I
Eye of the Beholder II *

Ultima VII
Ultima VII Pt. 2 The Serpent Isle *

Ultima Underworld
Ultima Underworld 2 *

Darklands

Might & Magic IV: Clouds of Xeen *
Might & Magic V: Dark Side of Xeen *

Elder Scrolls: Arena
Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall

Baldur's Gate & Sword Coast
Baldur's Gate II & Throne of Bhaal *

Planescape: Torment *

Icewind Dale & Heart of Winter
Icewind Dale II

Fallout *
Fallout 2 *

System Shock 2 *

Arx Fatalis

The Chronology may be a bit off here and there, so sue me. Games marked with * are definitely worth a playthrough despite their age.

 

[Guileless]

Nostalgia overload in this thread.

Ten years ago, Might & Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven was the bomb. However, it ran on a primitive form of 3d even then that did not use my PC's Voodoo 1, so I can't imagine it being palatable to today's evolved tastes. Too bad.

 

[Minsc]

Huh, I'd never really thought of Lands of Lore aside from reading a bit about it in computer gaming magazines back when the third one came out or something. Finding old PC games is hard, but I'll look into it.

(Though really, I haven't played much of Eye of the Beholder either. I didn't play the series back when it came out... all I've actually played is the first few floors of the Sega CD version of the first game. That was enough to see how good it was, though... much better than something like Stonekeep.)

You can find it here for cheap, $18 new, or $5 used. CD version (might as well do it right if you're going to). If you're still not sure, pm me and I'll send you a used copy from there.

Here's a youtube of some of the gameplay at the beginning, jump around it a little, it's not the same as playing it yourself, but you can see it's got a very nice style. All the spells and items have custom animations, and there's a lot of dialog for a game from it's time. It's all voiced over too, and the king is done by Patrick Stewart, who I think actually has more lines in this than he did in Oblivion. What makes this game such a classic is the gameplay is so damned fun, and it does have a fun story that you play through. And it had a catchy tune or two to boot.

On a related note, the way that QFGIV mixes humor and serious, sad elements together is pretty amazing. On the one hand the game is a Transylvanian-style vampire horror game, but on the other it is consistently funny and humorous, and yet the two styles do not contradict one another! Even in the most serious of the QFG games, the light tone still shines through, and unlike in some games, it doesn't feel at all out of place.

I agree completely. I have to buy the QFG anthology and revisit them, I regret losing all the games from that series. I remember bits and pieces vaguely, but it did have quite a bit of sadness to it, which is unusual for RPGs from it's time.

Some of my recommendations... (first of all, I can mention that my personal preference in RPGs is good gameplay. If the game has boring and really repetitive combat (oh dear, that means 90% of all RPGs) then I don't like it)

Betrayal at Krondor is still, in my opinion, the best RPG ever made. If you can look beyond the dated graphics and UI you'll notice that the gameplay and writing feels surprisingly modern. It has really great music as well.

Jagged Alliance 2, if QFG counts as an RPG I'd say it's worthwhile to mention this too. It's a mix of a turnbased tactical game with RPG elements. Imagine something like Tactics Ogre or Final Fantasy Tactics, just with less RPG elements but with more freedom and a really good indepth combat engine. It also has the best characters, best dialogue and best voice acting in any RPG ever... and there's even a ton of characters which are all great! (http://www.ja-galaxy-forum.com/board/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=180319&page=1&gonew=1#UNREAD - if you do get it, make sure to also get the latest unofficial patch for the game, it greatly enhances the experience)

Already mentioned, but I'd also recommend the Quest for Glory series. A really neat mix of the oldschool adventure genre with RPG elements.

Hmm, I'll have to look in to Jagged Alliance 2, I agree with everything else in your post, and my love for FF:T is enough to get me intrigued in JA2.

So 3 games to get now. JA2, W&W, and QFG:A. Just when I was starting to catch up a little on things I wanted to purchase list a bit too...

 

[Prime crotch]

DO NOT BUY JAGGED ALLIANCE ON STEAM it's bugged and no fix incoming, get it from somewhere else.



Currently playing Krondor and it holds up pretty damn well and it's also freeware