Shopping for Windows games -- where to start?

November 29, 2006 5:14 PM

Windows game recommendations for myself? I know there are lots of game review sites out there, but tons of games go into their meat grinder and they go on the assumption that you already know what you want. Is there a poll or "favorites" list that I can use as a springboard for finding popular games? I tried Googling this and keep finding nothing but 1994-era lists.

Basically my favorite games include Tropico, Sims, Simcity, Railroad Tycoon, etc. I don't care much for shooters, though I really enjoyed Command & Conquer: Red Alert back in "tha day". I see different titles on the shelves every time I go to the local electronics store, but I never end up buying them as I have no idea which ones are worth spending $30-50 on.

Where's a good starting point for identifying a set of good games so that I can go into the store with a game title in mind?

posted by chef_boyardee to Computers & Internet (14 answers total)

I'm partial to MetaCritic as a first-cut when looking at video games. It aggregates the review scores form a few dozen review sites and gives a composite score. Looking at their rankings gives a pretty good idea of what games are generally well-reviewed. I don't tend to put much trust in the individual difference between scores, but good games float to the top of the list, and the crap sinks to the bottom.
posted by Eldritch at 5:36 PM on November 29, 2006

Metacritic is a tremendous resource. It, in fact, guided me to a game that became one of my favorites. Rome: Total War, and indeed the entire Total War series, has rewritten the rules for Windows strategy games. Battles are not about foraging and building a little village to turtle in, but truly outmaneuvering the enemy and breaking their army's will.

Base-building takes a SimCity-lite approach, where you must weigh your city's productivity against the happiness of the citizens. You manage a family of governors and generals who develop the oddest little personality quirks, depending upon how you deploy them. For instance, I've been too soft on my people when it comes to taxation, preferring to keep them happy with riots and rebellion well off their mind. As a consequence, poor taxman traits have begun running in my family.

Aside from the battles and city management, you also deploy diplomats to negotiate trade and alliances, send out spies and assassins to watch and punish your foes and conquer the world by whatever means you deem best. This shit will keep you up at night playing "just one more turn" for quite awhile.

If you enjoyed Railroad Tycoon, you've probably seen by now that the series has grown. I'm currently trying to get my head around Rollercoaster Tycoon, and enjoying the bits I understand.

Hope this helps!
posted by EatTheWeek at 5:48 PM on November 29, 2006

For you, I recommend Sid Meier's Pirates.
posted by Hildago at 5:49 PM on November 29, 2006

Yea, MetaCritic is basically my first stop too, for pretty much all the things they review. It gives you a good first look at what's generally considered good, and can definitely get you started. Gamerankings.com, do a decent job with user rankings too.

Once you have identified a few games that sound good, that's the time to start looking at some of the game forums, which will get you a good sense of what others say about those games.

My general stops include Gamers with Jobs, the PC Gamer forum, the 1UP boards and reviews, and the IGN reader reviews and boards.

Have you tried any of the Civilization series? You might like them, or try Company of Heroes, which is my newest favorite.
posted by gemmy at 6:19 PM on November 29, 2006

Yeah, try Company of Heroes or Dawn of War, a similar real-time strategy game from the same company. Both have an innovative supply chain that keeps the game moving and frees you from the "harvesting" activity of earlier RTS games. Company of Heroes is new, so it is relatively pricey, but Dawn of War can be had for $20. You can get it along with both expansion packs for about $60.
posted by vorfeed at 6:41 PM on November 29, 2006

If you liked Tropico I can definetly recomend Startopia. Similar sort of game (sanboxish, managing a settlement, rather humourous etc...) but on a space station.

There is also Dwarf Fortress. The learning curve is a bit steep (more vertical, covered with WD40 and on fire) but once you get into it it's amazing. And free.

Definetly not a fan of the civilization series (though I really like Alpha Centauri) despite it's good world generation. I find the combat to be so shallow and random as to ruin the game and you really can't avoid it unless you deliberatly nerf the AI.
posted by Riemann at 7:46 PM on November 29, 2006

I second the Dawn of War series. I'd recommend the original game, due to it's organized campaign. Then, pick up the newest expansion which allows you to form your own campaign to take over a world. Tons of fun, and one of the best RTS games I have played since Total Annihilation (a slightly older game circa Command and Conquer and Starcraft).
posted by cschneid at 9:28 PM on November 29, 2006

Riemann, have you played Civ iV? I'd say it's a considerable improvement on the previous Civ games and that the combat is pretty predictable.

Metacritic and gamerankings are the places to check out.

You say you like Real Time Strategy with Command and Conquer, you might want to check out the top games in that genre now. If you've got a PC with the grunt, Medieval Total War is meant to be pretty amazing. I have a few friends who loved the first one so it should be a good bet.
posted by sien at 10:06 PM on November 29, 2006

Try asking at The Home of the Underdogs Forum, the forumites are friendly and really knowledgeable and might have some excellent recommendations based on your favorites so far.
posted by Glow Bucket at 11:28 PM on November 29, 2006

If you go for Rollercoaster Tycoon, as someone already mentioned, I highly recommend you go with 2 and its expansions, not 3. IMO they really messed up the game - the 3D navigation is a mess, for one thing. But I've spent many hours enjoying 2.

Since you like simulations, there are all kinds of "tycoon" games, but they vary widely in quality since they're not by the same company. Here's a search for "tycoon" at Gamespot.
posted by IndigoRain at 6:00 AM on November 30, 2006

Second Sid Meier's Pirates. Also, if you're not attached to very new games, you might enjoy any of the City Building series if you can find them in your local bargain bin, or even the older Warcraft games. Oh, and the Roller Coaster Tycoon games. Black and White was also very good. All this is by way of saying, don't overlook the bargain-priced shelves/bins, as those games may be 5-10 years old in some cases but still capable of providing as much entertainment as a new game.

I find that the best way to find new games I'll like is to read a couple of video game magazines (or their websites) a month and see what's coming out, then take the titles that look interesting to me and research title by title. It also doesn't hurt, if you have time to shop a bit, to go into the store with a notebook and write down the titles that look most interesting to you from the boxes, then research them (I use gamefaqs, gamespot, and ign the most, but rottentomatoes or even googling "review" plus the game title are also helpful, and checking a few in-depth reviews of any game will generally tell you where the bugs are and what the good sides are.
posted by Cricket at 7:39 AM on November 30, 2006

I'm a big fan of IGN. They're usually spot on with their reviews. Gamespot in my experience can give skewed fanboy-esque reviews, snubbing games that deserve more sometimes and doing the opposite other.

I second Sid Meir's Pirates. And Civilization IV is amazing. Streamlined the game into being much quicker, more fun and easier to assess all the info on screen at once.

If you liked SimCity I'd give Black and White or Black and White 2 a try. You get to build your own cities and cultures of people. You basically act as "their god." This is a spiritual successor to the old Populous games.

Other than that I'm a huge Rogue/Nethack/Dwarf Fortress fan too. It's good fun.

And if you haven't learned about The Kingdom Of Loathing, the free online game, check into that. Total fun, and a limited amount of turns a day makes it easy playing.
posted by PetiePal at 8:01 AM on November 30, 2006

Most of the other 'tycoon' games suck. Ski Resort Tycoon, Monopoly Tycoon, Fast Food Tycoon, Cruise, Prison, High School Tycoon, WTF?

Tropico has a pirates expansion which is pretty fun. I LOVE the music in Tropico, by the way...

Darwinia was really great - but too short. (Anyone know of a good place to download GOOD user made scenarios for this??)

Locomotion was fun, but not as fun as I had hoped, and illogical the way the tracks get built up so much. Sid Meyer has his new Railroad game that I am anxios to try.

The Sims and Sim City were fun, and Spore should be coming out sometime this decade (I think)...
posted by Monkey0nCrack at 8:37 AM on November 30, 2006

One great thing about PC gaming is that it's easy to download demos of most games. A good demo will include enough content for you to figure out whether or not the game's worth purchasing. Playing a lot of demos can also familiarize you with games and game types that you don't like, which'll help you determine what to avoid when you read reviews.
posted by concrete at 10:44 AM on November 30, 2006