Help me get game(s).

September 13, 2007 4:17 AM

I've got a month off and I need a new game to play. I bought Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind in a bargain bin on a whim, played it and really liked it. What other games would I like?

I don't mind if it's old or new but it has to be absorbing and reasonably intelligent rather than just plain hack and slash. The things I liked about Morrowind was travelling around the world with its landscapes and weather, the variety of side-quests that you could stumble over, the thought that was put into the various races and background stories and the fact that you could concentrate on being a magic-user, but still add in other skill sets (sneak, steal, armour) etc as you went.

Oh, and my system is a Pentium 4 laptop, 2.8Ghz, with 704MB of RAM and plenty of spare HD space. I'd prefer something that does not require an internet connection.

What games have you plaid that kept you amused and entertained for hours?

posted by ninazer0 to computers & internet (17 comments total)

Oblivion is the sequel to this game, but it may not run well on your laptop, depending on its graphics card.

Gothic 2 is similar (but I liked it more). Gothic 3 is supposed to be very good.

There is a new game, Two Worlds, which is set up in this format as well.
posted by Comrade_robot at 4:23 AM on September 13, 2007

Did you play the Morrowind expansions? There are two, Bloodmoon and Tribunal.

If you liked Morrowind you would probably like the next game in the series, Oblivion. However, it requires a decent video card, at least 128MB or more.

Another RPG that came out around the same time as Morrowind was Neverwinter Nights. I enjoyed that as well, although it is more straightforward than Morrowind and you don't get quite the same flexibility in your character. Still, their are expansions out for it so if you enjoy it, you'd be able to play it for awhile.

I never played Diablo 2 but people seemed to really love it and you can find it cheap.
posted by cabingirl at 4:30 AM on September 13, 2007

Check out the underdogs for ideas on classic, abandonware and overlooked games. You don't mention what kind of video chipset you have, but I'd stick with games that are at least two years old.
posted by BrotherCaine at 4:31 AM on September 13, 2007

Nethack.
posted by transona5 at 4:43 AM on September 13, 2007

Oblivion. Oblivion. Oblivion. Barring that...

Fallout, Fallout 2 if you can't find 1

Baldurs Gate 2, Baldurs Gate 1

Planescape Torment if you like talky bits.

Less amazing, but good nonetheless -

Knights of the Old Republic
Neverwinter Nights/Neverwinter nights 2
posted by Lord_Pall at 4:49 AM on September 13, 2007

Wizardry 8 is decent (and probably cheap if you can find it), but the combat is in the final fantasy tradition of a new lengthy battle every 2 minutes. Some people hate that.

Other ones that are worth a crack that others haven't mentioned: Arx Fatalis and Arcanum.

Unfortunately there aren't many good RPGs around - particularly at the moment, there is a massive drought of good new stuff. :(

Daggerfall is the prequel to Morrowind btw. It's kind of low-tech, but even more open / non-linear than Morrowind. Worth a try if you can find a copy.
posted by bifter at 5:11 AM on September 13, 2007

I 2nd Planescape: Torment. Its probably the best of its kind in terms of story and frankly flat out enjoyability. I come back to this game frequently.
Also, if you have a SNES (or *cough* SNES Emulator *cough*) laying around and are open to a slightly off the wall RPG (not in the style of most of the above) most assuredly check out Earthbound. This is my favorite game ever.
posted by zennoshinjou at 5:28 AM on September 13, 2007

Arcanum! It's not first person like Morrowind, but it does have a big world to explore, stuff to craft/build, and magic+technology.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:04 AM on September 13, 2007

I liked LionHeart; I don't remember the specs needed for it but it came out in 2003.
posted by jacalata at 6:53 AM on September 13, 2007

The Elder Scrolls: Arena is the prequel to Daggerfall (which is in turn the prequel to Morrowind,) and is available for free from Bethesda Softworks. There's a link on the page to DOSBox, which you'll probably need to get it working.

Googling for "Morrowind Plugins" will lead to free expansions and mods that people have released on their own.
posted by EmptyK at 7:29 AM on September 13, 2007

I have to second planet morrowind or wherever plugins are hosted now. The user-created content was at least as good or (in very many cases) better than Bethesda's stuff. Finding the good ones is a little tricky...
posted by a robot made out of meat at 9:05 AM on September 13, 2007

seconding arcanum.
posted by Espoo2 at 12:30 PM on September 13, 2007

Seconding & Thirding Knights of the Old Republic!
posted by BobFrapples at 1:49 PM on September 13, 2007

BIOSHOCK!!!
posted by tdreyer1 at 2:21 PM on September 13, 2007

I'm guessing that what made Morrowind so compelling for you was that it's a non-linear fantasy RPG. So Arcanum would probably be right up your alley. I mean, how can you resist stuff like this?

If you don'd mind sci-fi rather than fantasy, both System Shock 2 (which we might as well call "BioShock 0") and Deus Ex are a lot of fun. They're first person and have some shooting, but they're also pretty RPGy. They're fairly open, too, though not nearly as much as anything from The Elder Scrolls. STALKER is like Morrowind with guns (and an insanely detailed ballistics model), but you may not be able to run it on your hardware. BioShock also might not work on your hardware, and while it's one of the best games I've played in years it is neither open-ended nor a role playing game. Character development is extremely minimal and the game is really very linear.

Knights of the Old Republic is the best thing to happen to Star Wars since Empire, but it's also very linear. If that's not make or break for you, it's a good title.
posted by amery at 3:09 PM on September 13, 2007

If internet isn't an absolute deal breaker, There is no better way to spend a (video gaming) month off than World of Warcraft.

More quests than you could possibly finish, many races/classes, professions, huge world.

The hard part is going back to work when the month is over.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 2:43 AM on September 14, 2007

Diablo II was mentioned above, it's a great game and I love it, but it is the defintion of pure hack and slash, so it may not be what you are looking for.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 2:45 AM on September 14, 2007