fausto higgins

First PC in 9 years; what should I play?

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Hey Everyone,

I feel weird posting a new topic with so little history on here, but I'm doing it anyway.

I just got my first new computer in nine years. It's great; I'm super glad I bought it, and I plan to upgrade more frequently.

But I've also sort of missed out years of PC gaming. Since I got my old computer (a PowerMac G5 in 2003), I've basically played six PC games -- Civ III, Civ IV, Deus Ex, City of Heroes, WoW, and UT2K4 -- and a whole lot of Xbox. I have no desire to ever play an MMO again.

So I need help. I've looked through the forums and downloaded games I've seen on a few pages and downloaded games I was already interested in. Binding of Isaac, FTL, Walking Dead, Civ V, Kerbal Space Program, Minecraft, and Proteus give an idea of what I've got. I've really enjoyed them all.

What else am I missing out on? I've basically been a blank slate for a decade.

For the record, I'm on a high-end MacBook Pro with Retina Display (though I do plan to install Windows 8 once the drivers come out, so don't limit to Mac games).

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1000 Amps

AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome

Aquaria

Alpha Protocol

Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Analogue: A Hate Story

Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed 2, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, and Assassin's Creed 3

Atom Zombie Smasher

Audiosurf

Bastion

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Ben There, Dan That / Time Gentlemen, Please!

Beyond Good and Evil

BioShock, BioShock 2, and Minerva's Den

Borderlands 2

Braid

Brogue

Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, Earned in Blood, and Hell's Highway

Bulletstorm

Call of Duty, Call of Duty: United Offensive, Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 4

Cave Story

Costume Quest

Crimson Skies

Crysis, Crysis: Warhead, and Crysis 2

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic

Dawn of War II: Retribution

Dead Space and Dead Space 2

Dear Esther

DEFCON, Darwinia, Uplink

Defense Grid: The Awakening

Deus Ex 2, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution

DIRT 3

Dishonored

Dreamfall: The Longest Journey

Dungeons of Dredmor

Endless Space

English Country Tune

Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy)

Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout: New Vegas

Far Cry 2

Flotilla

Freedom Fighters

Freedom Force and Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich

Frozen Synapse

Galactic Civilizations II

Gemini Rue

Grand Theft Auto IV

GRID

Grim Fandango

Hitman: Something or other

Homeworld and Homeworld 2

Hotline Miami

IL2 Sturmovik: 1946

Jade Empire

Jamestown

Just Cause 2

Killing Floor

King's Bounty: The Legend

Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2

Left 4 Dead 2

Legend of Grimrock

Lego Star Wars and Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy

LIMBO

Lone Survivior

Mafia and Mafia II

Mark of the Ninja

Max Payne and Max Payne 2

Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries

Men of War: Assault Squad

Metro 2033

Mirror's Edge

Monkey Island

Mount and Blade Warband

Natural Selection 2

Nexus: The Jupiter Incident

No One Lives Forever and No One Lives Forever 2

Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD

Orcs Must Die! 2

Overlord and Overlord 2

Painkiller

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode 1, 2, and 3

Portal and Portal 2

Proun

Psychonauts

RAGE

Recettear

Renegade Ops

Resonance

Rock of Ages

S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Call of Pripyat

S.W.A.T 4

Sam and Max: Season 1 and 2

Sequence

Sid Meier's Pirates!

Sim City 4

Sins of a Solar Empire

Skyrim

Space Marine

SpaceChem

Space Pirates and Zombies

Spec Ops: The Line

Spelunky

Splinter Cell and all its sequels

Star Wars Dark Forces, Star Wars Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight, Star Wars Dark Forces 3: Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast, and Star Wars Dark Forces 4: Jedi Knight 3: Jedi Outcast 2: Jedi Academy

Super Meat Boy

Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP

Sword of the Stars

System Shock 2

The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay and Assault on Dark Athena

The Longest Journey

The Ur-Quan Masters / Star Control 2

The Witcher and The Witcher 2

The Void

Thief, Thief 2, Thief III

Thirty Flights of Loving

To The Moon

Tomb Raider: the newer ones

Total War: SHOGUN 2

Trackmania United Nations

Trine and Trine 2

Tropico 4

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

VVVVVV

Wargame: European Escalation

World in Conflict

World of Goo

Worms: Armageddon

X-COM: UFO Defense, Terror from the Deep, Apocalypse, and Enemy Unknown

X3: Terran Conflict

Zeno Clash

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Thirty Flights of Loving, and the rest of Brendan Chung's games are brilliant.

Also, I second Sam & Max Season 3 and VVVVVV. And Braid.

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All the Half-Lifes.

Fun fact: The Orange Box isn't on that list because I have always assumed that everyone owns it. Thanks for pointing out the omission! I've added it to my master list and all future recommendation posts will include it + Half-Life. Although somehow I had Portal on the list?

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-Every Telltale game ever made, well, maybe you can skip the Jurassic Park one

-Deponia and it's sequel.

-Stacking

-Deadlight

-Vessel

-Sleeping Dogs

-Retro City Rampage

-McPixel

-Warlock: Master of the Arcane

-LA-MULANA

-All Wadjet Eye games

-Grotesque Tactis 1 & 2

-MacGuffin's Curse

-Machinarium

-Risen & Risen 2 (What? I like them!)

-Yesterday

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There's a whole genre of games called LOMAs, the best of which have been on the PC. I'd recommend starting with League of Legends, although DotA 2 seems more popular around here.

While you're done with MMOs, you may want to give Blizzard's other latest games a try: Starcraft 2 and Diablo III.

Valve's Team Fortress 2 is also quite a different game on the PC compared to its console community because of more frequent updates.

To The Moon is an excellent story based indie game that puts you on an emotional roller coaster.

Machinarium and Botanicula from Amanita Design are two of the most inventive and beautiful adventure games around. (You can pick up Machinarium for pretty cheap now in http://www.humblebundle.com/ and also get some other good games, particularly Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP if you haven't played that on a touch device.)

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I love you all so much.

Out of all the old LucasArts adventure games, the one I loved most as a kid was Sam & Max. I have Steve Purcell's collected comics (fantastic), the original game still running in SCUMMvm, and I went crazy nuts when Telltale revived it.

I was a big Diablo II player way back when. And I played the original DotA ever so much.

Sword and Sworcery EP was fantastic -- I played it on my iPad. That, my PSP (literally only bought for Mother 3 and to play some retro games on the side), and my Xbox have been it since Year of the PS2.

Thank y'all very much, and if other people have suggestions, keep 'em coming. I'll definitely be playing my way through these. SWEET.

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No-one's put forward Torchlight yet? The Diablo II team half-reformed and made a new series. There's a Torchlight II floating around, haven't played it yet.

The standout Telltale games are Sam And Max (Save The World, Beyond Time and Space and The Devil's Playhouse), Tales of Monkey island and The Walking Dead. Back to the Future is okay but might be too plodding. Sam & Max Save The World has a couple of dud episodes (which is why it's the only of Telltale's seasons to be six episodes, these days it looks like they just cut the bad one in pre-production).

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Here's a few not on the list so far:

Minecraft.

Napoleon: Total war (install the free Darthmod overhaul for that though)

Team Fortress 2

Batman Arkham City

Dear Esther

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Napoleon is a terrible recommendation to start the Total War series with. Rome is the right answer.

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Giants: Citizen Kabuto. Not sure if it fits in the time frame during which you didn't have a PC but you can't risk not playing it.

I think about replaying that game almost once a month. I'm just too afraid that it will have lost the magic in the meantime.

Napoleon is a terrible recommendation to start the Total War series with. Rome is the right answer.

Broadly speaking, I agree entirely. In practice I wonder whether it's better to just wait for Rome 2 next year.

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9 years... so from 2003 right? Here's my list of must-play games (that only exist on PC):

- Legend of Grimrock

- Torchlight 2

- Titan Quest

- Evil Genius

that's all the PC exclusive games I can come up with. All other recommended games are also available on consoles.

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Broadly speaking, I agree entirely. In practice I wonder whether it's better to just wait for Rome 2 next year.

While I'd normally agree, dollars to donuts his Book can't run Rome 2. Also an entire six months!

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Also an entire six months!

an entire six months!

six months!

;(

I rarely fully get on the hype train of a game these days but I am longing for Rome 2.

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Even as much as I love the original Shogun, Rome is hands down the best game in the series and Rome 2 looks like it's going to be incredible. Like where did those last 18 hours go, incredible.

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Some of these are pre-2003, but really should not be missed. Bold are exclusives or may as well be.

Bioshock

Crusader Kings II

Dishonored

Morrowind OR Skyrim (playing either will make it hard to play the other, Oblivion falls between in all axes basically)

Civilization IV

Team Fortress 2

The Walking Dead

Bastion

The Binding of Isaac

Crysis

Deus Ex (original)

FTL

Half Life 2 & Episodes

Mount & Blade: Warband

Mass Effect

Portal & Portal 2

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands

Quake

Recettear

Zeno Clash

All available on Steam, as I pulled them by skimming my list. :)

You should also probably add in either Call of Duty 2, 4, or both, but then cut yourself off from military shooters lest they tarnish your memories of all.

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