I need some Catharsis

[Eldan]

So, from time to time, I get this feeling that I want to inflict violence on something. Being a pacifist, a coward and a physical wimp, I want to do it through video games.

Therefore, I would be very grateful if someone could recommend me a game fulfilling, as many as possible of the following conditions.

-Decent-ish melee combat. I am not a fan of shooter games. What I mean by decent is a game with a bit of variety in attacks. I am also not a fan of point-and-click combat as in Diablo or many MMOs. Different buttons for different attacks would be well appreciated. Violence level can be cartoonish or gory, I don't even really care. I just want to hit something.

-Relatively light. I love games with good stories. I love dark stories, I love deep stories. Not what I want right now. Bring on the stupidity or general lack of story.

-THis is the difficult one: nothing too new. My computer is years old and on it's last legs. I will have to take it behind the shed soon. If the game is a few years old and cheap by now, all the better.

[Todasmile]

Well, Kingdom Hearts can be cartoonishly brutal sometimes, with the level of power you can achieve. I suppose it could be rather cathartic just mowing down enemy after enemy. I dunno what kind of systems you have or if your computer could handle it though...

*cough*

They're relatively light stories for the most part, they can get rather deep though at times. 90% of the games are based on disney worlds, after all. The other 10% is usually where they cram as much story into as little space as possible.

[Cespenar]

Jedi Academy.
Mount & Blade.
And if I may suggest something less known: Little Fighter 2 (http://lf2.net/dn_0.html).

[Tengu_temp]

And if I may suggest something less known: Little Fighter 2 (http://lf2.net/dn_0.html).

Man, I remember playing this in high school. Good times. Fits pretty well if you want to just beat the crap out of dozens of bad guys at once, too.

[Maxios]

Any of the GTAs
Saint's Row
Postal 2 (:smallyuk:)

[Eldan]

OH man. Little Fighter 2. I paid that forever with my little brother a few years ago. Good idea.

[Weezer]

Mount and blade would be excellent, a very visceral combat system and if you turn the difficulty down you'll just mow through bandits even from the start.

[Drascin]

Space Marine does involve a lot of chopping, stomping, and generally murderizing your way through Orks. Could be a good idea.

Orcs Must Die too, though it requires more thought and isn't as visceral.

[James the Dark]

Dead Rising, especially 2 since it doesn't have a difficulty cliff to start with. You can beat zombies to death with bowling balls, electric guitars, and if you duct-tape a fire-axe to a sledgehammer, you get something which clears rooms, five dismembered zombies at a time.

[The Orange Zergling]

Prototype is probably the most cathartic game I own; its story is pretty dull, and some parts of it work better than others but it fulfills every criteria you list perfectly and it's pretty darn fun; one of the few sandboxes I actually enjoy just screwing around in with no particular agenda.

Red Faction: Guerrilla is probably the second-most cathartic game I own; its story is also pretty dull, and instead of inflicting violence upon people (although there is plenty of that) it's all about tearing down structures, which it does very, very well. It's actually pretty neat from a physics standpoint, too.

I heartily recommend them both, especially since their prices have both come down a bit. However, I don't know how well they'll work on an older computer, but they're both from 2009, so they should *probably* work.

Also, both games have a sequel, but I haven't played either of them, so I can't say anything about their quality.

[Maxios]

Dead Rising, especially 2 since it doesn't have a difficulty cliff to start with. You can beat zombies to death with bowling balls, electric guitars, and if you duct-tape a fire-axe to a sledgehammer, you get something which clears rooms, five dismembered zombies at a time.

Seconded. This game, this game is pure unbridled awesome. It's hilariously insane

[Eldan]

Dead Rising, especially 2 since it doesn't have a difficulty cliff to start with. You can beat zombies to death with bowling balls, electric guitars, and if you duct-tape a fire-axe to a sledgehammer, you get something which clears rooms, five dismembered zombies at a time.

That does sound fun. I'll give it a go.

I remember playing Jedi Academy a long time ago and finding it thoroughly unsatisfying.

[Rockphed]

Mechwarrior 4:Mercenaries is free, though I don't know if the download site is still up. Also, despite punching your opponent being a reasonable last effort in battletech, mechwarrior has no melee attacks.:smallfrown:

[Crow]

For a video game I recommend Mount and Blade.

What I *really* recommend though is that you get yourself a heavy bag and a set of wraps. No video game can replace the feel of pummeling an object with your fists.

[NEO|Phyte]

I wouldn't call it full of variety, but a melee build in Borderlands can be surprisingly enjoyable at times. Shotgun your way towards a group of guys, hit berserk, punch everything until it dies messily.

[Zevox]

Sounds like fighting games would do the trick for you. If you have a console, there's plenty to choose from, old and new. If you just have a computer, well, I think Street Fighter 4 has a port for the PC, though I don't know how new your computer needs to be to play it.

Zevox

[MLai]

I actually don't consider fighting games to be good for catharsis. Because in order to maintain a sense of challenge, each individual enemy is very capable of standing up against you. The end result is I get the highest level of in-game frustration and anger when playing fighting games. SNK Boss Syndrome is the surest thing in gaming to make me feel more frustrated than before I turned the console on.

+1 to Crow. If you live in the USA, a punching bag setup is very affordable. Get a medium-weight punching bag (not the large black hard ones often seen in movies and gyms, those are for well-trained individuals) and either hang it from a tree if available, or from a strong stand if you want to exercise indoors. Then buy a pair of MMA gloves. Then punch away. Mind your form. Start off slow and easy so you don't injure your hands.

Besides relieving stress, they'll build up your arms, and make you a credible threat in a fight. Most people do not train in how to throw a punch, or train in actually hitting something. If you do this for a few years you'll be surprised how easily you can suddenly beat the snot out of ppl you don't like (if it ever comes to that). :smallwink:

[Ashen Lilies]

Prototype is probably the most cathartic game I own; its story is pretty dull, and some parts of it work better than others but it fulfills every criteria you list perfectly and it's pretty darn fun; one of the few sandboxes I actually enjoy just screwing around in with no particular agenda.


I second this. Prototype is an excellent game for farting around in and beating people up. Early on it's relatively tame as you only have your bare hands to work with (though there's a cheat/extra that lets you slide across the pavement using someone's face as a surfboard after jump kicking them), but after you start expanding your power set with claws and blades and stuff, you can basically just turn the game's Disneyland-sized version of New York into your own personal slaughterhouse, and probably will whether you want to or not. This game's self-imposed challenge mode is trying to play through it without causing more property damage and loss of life than a small nuclear explosion.

[Tergon]

Third vote for Prototype as a good choice in this case. Very good feeling to just smash up a city when you want some violence. I'd also put in the suggestion of Star Wars: Battlefront II. Snipe some mooks in the head, or blast them to hell in a tank, until you're rewarded with the opportunity to slap on your Jedi pants and carve a path through twenty of them with a lightsaber.

Failing that, any driving game that also allows for powerups, shooting and/or demolition derbies is immensely satisfying and mindless fun. Flat Out 2 comes to mind.

[Badgerish]

Mount and Blade
Bulletstorm
Left4dead2
Oni - I mainly want to recommend Oni, it's a classic 3rd person brawler. Great controls, good characters, simple but well-done story, enough enemies to challenge you without drowning you in mooks. It's from 2001 and well optimised, so should run on anything.

[ObadiahtheSlim]

You said you had an older computer. I give a recommendation for half-life 1. Get the scientist hunt mod for it. There are several modes of play and running around with a massive hammer and getting revenge on those pricks is hilarious.

[VanBuren]

You said you had an older computer. I give a recommendation for half-life 1. Get the scientist hunt mod for it. There are several modes of play and running around with a massive hammer and getting revenge on those pricks is hilarious.


I am not a fan of shooter games.

Unless you're willing to make an exception for a mod of what may be one of the greatest games of all time.

[Emmerask]

Hm if I feel the need to go nuts I play left4dead2 with m60 and unlimited ammo mutation, you run through the levels screaming for blood :smallbiggrin:

[Eldan]

Actually, I got a cheap copy of Prototype now. So far, it is quite, quite good. It runs pretty fluently, until the cutscenes start. Then it grinds to a sudden halt and framerates of less than 1/second.

[Cikomyr]

I heartily recomment Mount and Blades as well. It's just so satisfying mowing through dozens of ennemies, each of them who have a fighting chance to bring you down with a well-placed hit (ergo: it ain't like Diablo or Final Fantasy where you mow down hordes of mooks without breaking a sweat).

Plus, there's the added bonus that, if you do ennough melee in a battle, you actually end up covered in the blood of your ennemy at the end of the battle. My sieges are more often than not a very, very bloody affair.. as it should be!!