Engrossing, downloadable RPG?
November 7, 2010 5:43 PM Subscribe
Please recommend me an engrossing, downloadable RPG to take my mind off being sick.
I'm miserably sick and bored. I've reached the end of the internets and I want to distract myself by playing a video game until I feel better.
I enjoyed Fallout 1 & 2, Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, and Neverwinter Nights. I used to play Warcraft but it didn't have enough of a plot to keep my interest.
I'm too sick to go out shopping (and I've imposed on my husband enough) so ideally I'm looking for something I can just download after I pay for it.
Recommendations? I need one of those RPGs that completely mesmerizes you so that you don't even notice you've been playing for 20 hours straight, much less that your throat is killing you and your sinuses feel like they're going to explode.
I'm miserably sick and bored. I've reached the end of the internets and I want to distract myself by playing a video game until I feel better.
I enjoyed Fallout 1 & 2, Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, and Neverwinter Nights. I used to play Warcraft but it didn't have enough of a plot to keep my interest.
I'm too sick to go out shopping (and I've imposed on my husband enough) so ideally I'm looking for something I can just download after I pay for it.
Recommendations? I need one of those RPGs that completely mesmerizes you so that you don't even notice you've been playing for 20 hours straight, much less that your throat is killing you and your sinuses feel like they're going to explode.
It looks like Morrowind is available via Steam. When my father was dying and I flew back to my home state to be with him during the day, it was pretty awesome to have that on my laptop to play at night and forget. So, yeah, it's pretty engrossing, although a bit old now.
posted by Monsieur Caution at 5:46 PM on November 7, 2010
posted by Monsieur Caution at 5:46 PM on November 7, 2010
Best answer: Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale 1 and 2 are both available on gog.com. Same studio and game system as Baldur's Gate. Cheap, too. Planescape, especially, is recommended as one of the best-written computer games ever made.
posted by ten pounds of inedita at 5:49 PM on November 7, 2010
posted by ten pounds of inedita at 5:49 PM on November 7, 2010
You should be able to find something to keep yourself entertained on Good Old Games, and it won't cost you much.
Me, I'm hooked on Master of Orion, but that's 4X, not RPG.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 5:51 PM on November 7, 2010
Me, I'm hooked on Master of Orion, but that's 4X, not RPG.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 5:51 PM on November 7, 2010
Perhaps Reccetear? If you feel like you can handle an action-rpg in your sickly state, it's just the thing.
posted by Gin and Comics at 5:56 PM on November 7, 2010
posted by Gin and Comics at 5:56 PM on November 7, 2010
This sounds like a job for the critically-acclaimed Torchlight.
posted by anifinder at 5:57 PM on November 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by anifinder at 5:57 PM on November 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Downloading Planescape: Torment, but would still appreciate additional recommendations for future gaming. Thanks! :)
posted by Jacqueline at 6:01 PM on November 7, 2010
posted by Jacqueline at 6:01 PM on November 7, 2010
Best answer: If you do go with Planescape Torment (and you should), follow the full mod guide for best results.
posted by Paragon at 6:03 PM on November 7, 2010
posted by Paragon at 6:03 PM on November 7, 2010
If you get Steam, you can download just about anything.
posted by kenliu at 6:03 PM on November 7, 2010
posted by kenliu at 6:03 PM on November 7, 2010
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yume_Nikki
posted by EtzHadaat at 6:07 PM on November 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by EtzHadaat at 6:07 PM on November 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
Dragon Age, via Steam. It's by the same people who made Neverwinter Nights (Bioware), and it has pausable combat so you can sneeze.
posted by axiom at 6:08 PM on November 7, 2010
posted by axiom at 6:08 PM on November 7, 2010
Temple of Elemental Evil is up on GOG as well. The main draw is that it's an almost pitch-perfect recreation of the 3.5 rules in the Greyhawk setting. It does however require the Circle of Eight modpack to be playable.
posted by griphus at 6:11 PM on November 7, 2010
posted by griphus at 6:11 PM on November 7, 2010
Oh, and if you want to get out of the D&D universe but stay with the general system, there is the Star Wars-based Knights of the Old Republic. It takes place a long time before the movies, so it feels a little fresher than most SW games. Plus Bioware, as mentioned above, know how to make an RPG; the game uses a modified Neverwinter Nights engine (I believe) and you play the game in 3rd person.
posted by griphus at 6:13 PM on November 7, 2010
posted by griphus at 6:13 PM on November 7, 2010
Fallout 3 and New Vegas!
posted by kbanas at 6:30 PM on November 7, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by kbanas at 6:30 PM on November 7, 2010 [2 favorites]
Freeware: Space Funeral. It's short but AMAZING. http://gamejolt.com/freeware/games/space-funeral/files/space-funeral-v1-1/download/3492/4619/
posted by LSK at 6:36 PM on November 7, 2010
posted by LSK at 6:36 PM on November 7, 2010
Do you like oldschool games? Especially since you've played Fallout, you might enjoy Wasteland, which is (as I understand it) the spiritual predecessor to the Fallout games.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 6:36 PM on November 7, 2010
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 6:36 PM on November 7, 2010
The Vintage Game Club is playing through Planescape: Torment right now, if you wanted to be able to discuss what you're playing with others.
I just started playing The Witcher and am so far pretty impressed. High gothic, very cinematic. It's available inexpensively via Steam.
posted by Nelson at 6:48 PM on November 7, 2010
I just started playing The Witcher and am so far pretty impressed. High gothic, very cinematic. It's available inexpensively via Steam.
posted by Nelson at 6:48 PM on November 7, 2010
Mass Effect! 1 & 2 are both available on Steam and both are awesome and engrossing.
posted by Xany at 6:57 PM on November 7, 2010
posted by Xany at 6:57 PM on November 7, 2010
Response by poster: Apparently I needed to add the criteria "compatible with Windows 7" to my wishlist. :(
posted by Jacqueline at 7:09 PM on November 7, 2010
posted by Jacqueline at 7:09 PM on November 7, 2010
minecraft doesn't fit your mold; but if you ever played with legos as a kid you'll love it.
posted by SirStan at 8:15 PM on November 7, 2010
posted by SirStan at 8:15 PM on November 7, 2010
Nthing Dragon Age and Mass Effect 1 &2. I *never* replay video games -- hell, I rarely finish them -- but I've played all three of these games multiple times. They are awesome.
posted by Janta at 8:24 PM on November 7, 2010
posted by Janta at 8:24 PM on November 7, 2010
Star Control 2, reborn as freeware The Ur-Quan Masters after the game was open-sourced. Fantastic.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 8:27 PM on November 7, 2010
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 8:27 PM on November 7, 2010
Tales of Monkey Island is a great RPG when you're feeling under the weather. It's challenging, without being frustrating, and has the added bonus of having a lot of humor which may help to take your mind off being sick. It you enjoyed any of the old school Sierra RPG's like Hero Quest, Space Quest etc. You'll enjoy Tales from Monkey Island
I'll also second Wasteland, which is one of my all time favorite games. It's a great sick game because there are so many different paths the game can take, and the way it's structured requires zero grinding and repetition. It's also the type of RPG that has tiny clues hidden everywhere, and the clues actually mean something, they aren't read herrings to fill space
posted by EvilPRGuy at 8:56 PM on November 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
I'll also second Wasteland, which is one of my all time favorite games. It's a great sick game because there are so many different paths the game can take, and the way it's structured requires zero grinding and repetition. It's also the type of RPG that has tiny clues hidden everywhere, and the clues actually mean something, they aren't read herrings to fill space
posted by EvilPRGuy at 8:56 PM on November 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
I will recommend to you one the greatest works of genius ever to grace the pixels of a PC - Charles Barkley Shut up and Jam: Gaiden.
Seriously the most hilarious game I have ever played.
posted by Earl the Polliwog at 11:14 PM on November 7, 2010
Seriously the most hilarious game I have ever played.
posted by Earl the Polliwog at 11:14 PM on November 7, 2010
Response by poster: OK, I seem to have gotten Planescape Torment working and modded. If you don't hear from me for a few days, it worked. :)
posted by Jacqueline at 1:05 AM on November 8, 2010
posted by Jacqueline at 1:05 AM on November 8, 2010
Dood you should download fallout new vegas. It is addictive.
posted by By The Grace of God at 1:52 AM on November 8, 2010
posted by By The Grace of God at 1:52 AM on November 8, 2010
Seconding Minecraft. It's not an RPG in terms of narrative but has a lot of similarities with the genre. Compared to a typical RPG, it's far more freeform and is "what you make of it." If you like reading online and watching videos of how to do cool things and then experimenting with buildings and stuff yourself, it's awesome. I've "wasted" a lot of time on it.
posted by wackybrit at 5:29 AM on November 8, 2010
posted by wackybrit at 5:29 AM on November 8, 2010
2nding ursus_comiter.
Nethack, or another huge roguelike (like ADOM or Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup) should fit the bill nicely.
posted by Jonathan Harford at 8:04 AM on November 8, 2010
Nethack, or another huge roguelike (like ADOM or Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup) should fit the bill nicely.
posted by Jonathan Harford at 8:04 AM on November 8, 2010
Arcanum is a steampunk adventure very much in the Baldur's Gate/Planescape model.
posted by JaredSeth at 9:49 AM on November 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by JaredSeth at 9:49 AM on November 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Seconding Nethack and/or Angband if you have the patience and geek-cred to handle them.
Ditto for Dwarf Fortress.
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:37 AM on November 8, 2010
Ditto for Dwarf Fortress.
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:37 AM on November 8, 2010
Apparently I needed to add the criteria "compatible with Windows 7" to my wishlist. :(
If you're still interested in some of the oldies, check out DOSBox. It's somewhat a virtual machine, but not as complex as vmware/virtualbox/virtualpc/etc to get going (unless you want to toss your own version of DOS inside it of course)
posted by samsara at 1:14 PM on November 8, 2010
If you're still interested in some of the oldies, check out DOSBox. It's somewhat a virtual machine, but not as complex as vmware/virtualbox/virtualpc/etc to get going (unless you want to toss your own version of DOS inside it of course)
posted by samsara at 1:14 PM on November 8, 2010
Dwarf Fortress is my favorite game of all time. And it's free. (Though I did donate because I love it dearly.) It's one of those games that you're talking about - will suck you into another world and completely make you forget your illnesses.
I had a dwarf couple (husband and wife) this one time. The wife was outside one day during a raid, and was killed. Her husband subsequently went mad. He stood by the river for days, staring into the water, refusing to eat. Eventually, one day, he took off all his clothes, and jumped into the river, killing himself.
What other game can you play where your wards go mad, take off their clothes and commit suicide? None, I tell you. None.
It has a steep learning curve; go through each of the tutorials on the wiki and you'll be building your own incredible and unique fortress in no time.
posted by Terheyden at 5:48 PM on November 8, 2010
I had a dwarf couple (husband and wife) this one time. The wife was outside one day during a raid, and was killed. Her husband subsequently went mad. He stood by the river for days, staring into the water, refusing to eat. Eventually, one day, he took off all his clothes, and jumped into the river, killing himself.
What other game can you play where your wards go mad, take off their clothes and commit suicide? None, I tell you. None.
It has a steep learning curve; go through each of the tutorials on the wiki and you'll be building your own incredible and unique fortress in no time.
posted by Terheyden at 5:48 PM on November 8, 2010
I recommend Spiderweb Software's games. Download demos and run through some adventures to see if you like the games.
posted by bleary at 7:11 PM on November 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by bleary at 7:11 PM on November 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
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posted by knowles at 5:45 PM on November 7, 2010