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BreathingMeat
2006-12-28, 11:23 PM
My wife has asked me if I know of any computer games that she might enjoy. Her favourite so far is Heroes of Might and Magic III, which she likes because of its high fantasy setting (including dragons and, most significantly, unicorns – yes she’s quite charmingly feminine), exploration and city-building. Not so much the combat.

So I’m looking for recommendations, please. Bear in mind that my computer is getting on a little in years, so I’m not going to be able to run anything too resource-hungry.

Dragor
2006-12-29, 06:52 AM
According to magazines, all girls like The Sims. It got voted Girls Game of 2006 for the Golden Joysticks. Maybe you should get her that.
If your computer doesn't like Sims 2, then Sims 1 is perfectly reasonable.

danielf
2006-12-29, 07:06 AM
the sims is a good game

The Prince of Cats
2006-12-29, 07:33 AM
My wife is the same, Heroes of Might and Magic was just about the only game she ever played when I met her, though she also played the main Might and Magic games. She also like the Black Isle D&D games, like Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale. I would say Planescape: Torment, but it is not easy to find.


Has she ever played the Bullfrog 'Theme' games? Less girly than Heroes 3, but Theme Hospital and Theme Park are very funny.

Saurous
2006-12-29, 10:19 AM
I suggest Okami (http://ww2.capcom.com/okami/). Not only is it an absolutely beautiful game, the story is very interesting, involving Amaterasu (who you play), Japanese goddess of the sun in the form of the wolf.

Wikipedia entry pwns j00 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okami)

pestilenceawaits
2006-12-29, 10:32 AM
my wife loves civilization.

Saithis Bladewing
2006-12-29, 12:16 PM
I'd offer advice, but I'm a bad person to get advice from on what girls like.

...

*Goes back to playing Counter-Strike: Source, Dawn of War, Red Steel, Max Payne, Total War, Battlefield, etc. etc. etc.*

Varen_Tai
2006-12-29, 12:30 PM
My wife HATES computer games, with a few notable exceptions, the prime one being Majesty, the Fantasy Kingdom Sim game. You can still purchase it online, and the graphics and sound hold up really well. It is a delightful game, and one that I still play.

It is very much a nurturing type game without needing the strategy required by Heroes of M&M. It is still one of my favorite games. Give it a shot!

DeathQuaker
2006-12-29, 02:26 PM
Well, I seem to like to play the games the boys play (with the notable exception of FPSs, which I loathe) and rather than try and consider "what a girl" would like I'll hone in on what her game preferences seem to be: exploration, city-building, and unicorns. More broadly, adventuring that is not necessarily violent (or where violence is only an aspect), strategy, with possible fantasy elements.

Let's see...

Civilization IV (and its predecessors) would definitely satisfy city-building and, to a lesser extent, exploration urges. It's a fantastic game, and my guess is she'd like the different ways you can win the game (technological win versus cultural win vs conquest, etc.). There isn't much cutesy or fantastical about it, but it's also not a "macho" game and she might enjoy getting to be Queen Elizabeth or Victoria or Katherine the Great for a day.

I second the suggestion of the Sims or the Sims 2. Not an exploratory game, but certainly lots of strategy and building, plus lots of fun character development. If she's truly "girly" she will enjoy designing Sims and their houses and setting up amusing and romantic social situations--the Sims is basically a virtual dollhouse, where the dolls play by themselves if you leave them alone. Some of the expansion packs add in additional challenges like graduating college (Sims2 University) and successfully managing your own business (Sims2 Open for Business). Although there are no unicorns, there are faeries :) (well, people with pointy ears, but still). If you can't run Sims 2, Sims 1 is still quite good, and if she likes fantastical things, the Makin' Magic expansion is awesome.

I've not played it myself, but a female friend of mine whose tastes seem to run similar to your wife's LOVES Black and White and its sequel. Strategy plus some very fun mythological elements.

If she might be interested in something more along the lines of RPGs, I'd go for something more character oriented than combat oriented. Maybe Baldur's Gate II, if she is okay with the slightly complex AD&D mechanics. The best game for character development is Torment, but that game is very dark and decidedly unicorn-free. Fable might be good--I've not played it myself but it looks nice.

RoboticSheeple
2006-12-29, 02:50 PM
My girlfriend's favorite games now are Diner Dash, Dragon Warrior 3, and well, that's pretty much it (except she also likes DoA, Bust-a-move, puyo pop and many others). In the past she was really into FFXI, Sims, Black and White, and beyond that I'm not really sure.

I an ex of mine was obsessive about MarioKart on any system she could find (bought a gamecube to play it, bought a DS to play it).
A different girl I dated was really into Spyro, Croc, Puyo Pop, and various Japanese or Korean MMORPGs. Her sister played mostly RPGs and 2-d platformers.
A good friend of mine that happens to be a girl plays almost exclusively FPS and sports games.

Lesson Lesson: there is no such thing as the Girl Gamer as a person, it only exists as a marketing idea (Company creates an amalgamation of their target users and the result is the Girl Gamer, this is unlikely to be any one person because it is created with the purpose of describing a large amount of people).
Your wife does not seem to fall into the female-targeted casual games (Diner Dash and other astropop games) that many women gamers enjoy. That means that the Girl Gamer stereotype is more than useless, it would yield negative results to apply it to this situation.

All that said, get her a copy of Black and White or the sequel Black and White II.

Ms_Elaneous
2006-12-29, 02:56 PM
I'd definitely try the Sims II or even the entire Sims I collection (only $40 for everything) They kept me entertained for hours, no combat required, and it is remarkably good for a typical female. My own mother (who sounds rather like your wife in taste in gaming) plays it from time to time. Build, decorate, and furnish your house, raise your family, make friends, climb the job ladder. If any of that sounds good for your wife, that would be a good safe bet.

Premier
2006-12-29, 06:15 PM
'Within a Deep Forest' and 'Knytt' are two relatively smaller (as in "can be finished in a few hours, maybe more if your hand-eye coordination is bad), nonviolent freeware games which have a great deal of exploration. Like 'Seiklus'.

BreathingMeat
2006-12-30, 07:01 PM
Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I have suggested "The Sims" to her, but sadly she seems not to see the appeal. "Majesty" might be a go-er though. On the subject of electronic doll-houses, I did try her on "Zoo Tycoon" last night, which has proved to be quite a hit: lots of building and management, and so much cuteness as to make unicorns obselete.

DeathQuaker and pestilanceawaits: now you come to mention it, she really did like Civilisation 1 all those years ago. I loved it too. I thought Civ2 suffered from a bit of feature creep and haven't been keeping up with the later sequels. Hmm, perhaps something to look in to.

I have a copy of "Planescape: Torment" around here somewhere. It's a fantastic game IMO but, as DeathQuaker points out, it's not very unicornish! I might save that one for later...

I will have a look for "Okami" and the games Premier has recommended; they sound great.

Cheers everyone.

Daedrous Avari
2006-12-30, 08:31 PM
If she's into that kind of stuff, what about the new FF3? If you don't have a DS or a sony console, than FF is out of the question.

Jerthanis
2006-12-30, 08:49 PM
If you have a DS, go for Animal Crossing... it's cute and fun and completely without combat, but a great deal of customization and so on. I'm not really big into computer games except in the realm of Bioware RPGs, so I really can't comment there.

Ms_Elaneous
2006-12-30, 08:55 PM
DS or Gamecube would be fine for Animal Crossing. And everything is ridiculously adorable. I think there is the possibility of having a unicorn as a neighbor... but not really likely, as there are many neighbors that are selected at random.

Mr. Moon
2006-12-31, 04:45 PM
Yeah, the Sims is good. Whenever I go over to my freind's place, I play it.

The Tycoon serries is good to. Zoo Tycoon, Rollercoaster Tycoon, I even think they have a mall Tycoon.

Edit: Actualy, I believe there is a cheat that lets you get a Unicorn for Zoo Tycoon, but my computer shuts down when I try it, so be carefull.

How you do it: Build an exibit, and name it "Xanadu".

waspsmakejam
2006-12-31, 04:52 PM
Hi Breathingmeat

Your missus has some similar ideas to me.

I also don't see the appeal of the Sims at all, but otherwise like building and management games. I particularly enjoyed Pharoah (quite old) and Nile - I love seeing my little Egyptians working away. Sometimes they were very silly and I had to shout at them. Don't ignore old games - if the game play is good and the little people are sweet looking that's enough, swishy superduper graphics are nice, but really don't increase fun that much.

I also like games like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest with lots of cute characters and combat is full of fun animation. Vandal Hearts (both games) are very pretty, the stories are full of angsty goodness, and combat is more like puzzle solving. Point and click puzzle adventures - like Broken Sword - also have great story lines and a lot of interesting characters to meet.

Finally, the D&D games - Baldurs Gates, Neverwinter Nights etc. They have fun character stuff to do, lots of character development and combat is never as tedious as Might & Magic. Minsk and Boo in Baldurs Gate are adorable. In Neverwinter Nights there's lots and lots of lovely animal friendly things to do if you play a ranger (possibly also if you play a druid). And in the Shadows of Unrentide expansion there's Deekin. Neverwinter Nights 2 is very angsty and I'm enjoying the storyline a great deal so far.

Saurous
2006-12-31, 04:54 PM
I have to agree with all those that mentioned Animal Crossing. That game is very fun and has absolutely no fighting involved. Very fun with much customization involving housing, town, etc. I recomend it

Mr. Moon
2006-12-31, 05:03 PM
Ah yes, I'm a big fan of Final Fantasy. My favourite, Final Fantasy IX, (which I beleive is only playable on PS1, and can only be bought online because retailers stopped selling it!:frown: If I am wrong on either aspect, someone, please correct me! I just got a new PS2 and want a copy of FFIX badly!) has a wonderful plot, and amazing graphics for when it was created. It's a four-disc game, so it takes a while to compleate. Theres a lot of character evoloution, but theres a lot of combat in it as well.

Saithis Bladewing
2006-12-31, 11:44 PM
It occured to me while playing my shiny Wii a little while ago.

Zelda!

I don't know of a single woman who likes any video games whatsoever who doesn't like Zelda. Sure, it requires a console to play...but if you have a nintendo, pick up one of the Zelda games. The action is very simplistic, its cartoony and cutesy in style (except for Twilight Princess, but even that is still so to a degree. It's the most serious since Legend of Zelda 2 for the NES, IMO. Link actually looks semi-adultish!) and it focuses around lots and lots of puzzles.

<_< >_>

My 2cp done.

Proven_Paradox
2007-01-01, 12:20 AM
If she's not into violent games, I'm going to have to say stay away from Zelda. It can be quite violent, has basically no world-building qualities, and no unicorns that I've seen (though it has a lot of normal horses).

Animal Crossing sounds like your best bet, really. If you've got a Wii, you might wanna check on getting Sim City for your Virtual Consol; I had hours of fun with that one.

Depending on how much you want to experiment with her tastes, you might want to try a PS2 game that almost gave me--one of the manliest people I know--the warm fuzzies. Phantom Brave gives you a game where you develop your island for better gear/units, and a incredibly sugary-sweet plot, with nigh sickeningly cute characters (even -I- can't help but admit that Marona is adorable). One thing you risk if you take this route, though, is that the gameplay is about fighting, and the ending gets rather dark and serious.

So, yeah, in short, if you want a sure thing, get Animal Crossing. If you want to try mixing things up a bit, you might want to try Phantom Brave. If you don't have gaming consols, talk to someone else, 'cause I'm not a PC gamer.



[...]which I beleive is only playable on PS1

I'm not CERTAIN, but I'm pretty sure you can still play that on your PS2. The thing is backwards compatable, after all.

Holy_Knight
2007-01-01, 03:04 AM
I would recommend the Harvest Moon series. It's got no combat at all, lots of cute animals and situations, and is strangely fun. (As a matter of personal preference, I also like it more than Animal Crossing, which I couldn't really get into.)

She may also enjoy Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (though probably not the subpar sequel or the presumably subpar third one which I haven't played). Another possibility might be Kingdom Hearts--even though there is a fair amount of fighting, it's cartoonish, and she may have a lot of fun seeing and playing with all her favroite Disney characters.

I'll also echo the others who have suggested the Zelda series (especially Windwaker) and Final Fantasy series (especially X.) She might enjoy X-2, but... for your sake, I hope not. Ugh, X-2.

Mr. Moon
2007-01-01, 08:09 PM
Prince of Persia? I dunno. It has a lot of puzzle solving, sure, but from what I've seen, a fair amount of combat to.

neriana
2007-01-02, 12:06 AM
My advice is to stop calling anything "girl games". :smallmad:

Charity
2007-01-02, 11:35 AM
Try Myst ( here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myst) ) and the 'who knows how many' sequels, there is no fighting at all and it can be quite nice to look at... try one of the later ones for enhanced graphics.

WampaX
2007-01-02, 12:01 PM
My advice is to stop calling anything "girl games". :smallmad:

But . . . what would you label Barbie Horse Adventures (http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/01/09)? :smallwink:

The Prince of Cats
2007-01-02, 02:43 PM
But . . . what would you label Barbie Horse Adventures (http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/01/09)? :smallwink:

After I stopped screaming? Abomination tops the list, followed by a whole string of four-letter words.

Bears With Lasers
2007-01-02, 02:49 PM
would say Planescape: Torment, but it is not easy to find.

But awesome.

"Graaa-aaaace, I need your sensory touch!"
"Women are the reason I became a monk. And, uh, the reason I changed back."
"The reasons for your incessant clicking are not *known* to me."
"Y'know, if I could click you, you'd never get a moment's peace."

Bears With Lasers
2007-01-02, 02:51 PM
My advice is to stop calling anything "girl games". :smallmad:

I concur.

Girls aren't some foreign, hive-mind species. Figuring out what *a particular girl* wants in a game is best done by talking to her about it, then maybe getting suggestions about games with similar thematics or gameplay. Figuring out what girls as a whole want is impossible, because, y'know, girls are individuals, and like different things.

Mr. Moon
2007-01-02, 08:14 PM
But . . . what would you label Barbie Horse Adventures (http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/01/09)? :smallwink:


Bleive it or not, my parental controls blocked that. :smalltongue:


I'm not CERTAIN, but I'm pretty sure you can still play that on your PS2. The thing is backwards compatable, after all.


:smalleek:

Really?

YEESSS!!!!!! :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:

neriana
2007-01-03, 12:22 PM
After I stopped screaming? Abomination tops the list, followed by a whole string of four-letter words.

What he said.

I'm incredibly sick of parents buying their poor little girls craptacular games just because they're in a pink box.

DeathQuaker
2007-01-03, 01:08 PM
I concur.

Girls aren't some foreign, hive-mind species. Figuring out what *a particular girl* wants in a game is best done by talking to her about it, then maybe getting suggestions about games with similar thematics or gameplay. Figuring out what girls as a whole want is impossible, because, y'know, girls are individuals, and like different things.

It's a valid general complaint, but in the OP's defense, he did describe his wife's specific interests, and most folks responded in kind to said description. I don't think any of the games suggested fall into the category of "pink-box-fluff" (with the exception of the facetious mention of "Barbie Horse Adventures" :smallsmile: ).

And who knows? Maybe "Barbie Horse Adventures" is fun to play. We could all be missing out on the ultimate game of a lifetime. :smallwink:

The Prince of Cats
2007-01-03, 01:49 PM
Maybe "Barbie Horse Adventures" is fun to play. We could all be missing out on the ultimate game of a lifetime. :smallwink:

No... I worked in a shop selling that game and it was awful. I asked people, they hated it.

Quincunx
2007-01-03, 03:07 PM
If Harvest Moon goes over well, and you have access to PlayStation or PS2, try Monster Rancher (I prefer 2 over all, but any should be good except 3). The monsters you raise get tested in combat, but you can automate those commands. This game's real attraction is hatching monsters from random 'stones'--whatever CD or DVD you put in the console. A body can waste weeks* cataloging their entire CD/DVD collection by what monster popped up when it was tested.

Also in the line of simulations, try out Roller Coaster Tycoon (no recommendation, only played 1). This one didn't have the universal appeal of Monster Rancher, but those who fell for it fell hard. Simulation newbies should be able to jump right into playing it, the roller-coaster design satisfies nerdy impulses, there's a broad palette for customizing the parks with themed land and colors and objects, and other people clean it up when roller-coaster riders spew.

*A lot of those weeks were various people's finals week. I estimate that game cost our group a collective .3 GPA.

Bears With Lasers
2007-01-03, 03:20 PM
It's a valid general complaint, but in the OP's defense, he did describe his wife's specific interests, and most folks responded in kind to said description. I don't think any of the games suggested fall into the category of "pink-box-fluff" (with the exception of the facetious mention of "Barbie Horse Adventures" :smallsmile: ).

And who knows? Maybe "Barbie Horse Adventures" is fun to play. We could all be missing out on the ultimate game of a lifetime. :smallwink:

True enough; I just tend to go off on that because you hear that so much. And, hell, you hear it from both genders. "Do guys like [X]?" "What should you get a girl for [X]?"

The opposite gender isn't an alien clone-species, people!

Tormsskull
2007-01-03, 03:43 PM
The opposite gender isn't an alien clone-species, people!


You never met some of the girls I know :smalltongue:.

But seriously, not worrying about gender, I second Majesty, that was a very cool game. Also, I throw out Jade Coccon (PS1). You can probably pick it up for $10 now a days. It was like a pokemon ripoff that involved trapping beasties in come kind of instrument, and then utilizing them against other beasties.

Been a long time since I played it, but it wasn't bad overall.

DeathQuaker
2007-01-03, 04:46 PM
Ooh, Monster Rancher, that is fun. I do remember though with the most recent one I played... 4 I think... the start-off tutorial/story gets very slow and annoying at times. But once you get into it, it's great.

Always wanted to try Majesty. Have to see if I can find a copy.

Timberwolf
2007-01-03, 04:59 PM
Stuff I like is not appealing to girls in the slightest, unless she likes the idea of walking around in a mech shooting other mechs or invading other peoples planets.

However, about 4 years ago, I got addicted to Tropico which was a great game, build up your own Caribean Island. Also, Sim City's good if you can ever get your budget to balance (I couldn't and got bored). How would she feel about something like Age of Empires or Empire Earth as well ? minimal violence and a little bit of warfare but not much unless you really want it (spot the imperialist warmongering dog.....)

Shadowdweller
2007-01-03, 09:08 PM
'Within a Deep Forest' and 'Knytt' are two relatively smaller (as in "can be finished in a few hours, maybe more if your hand-eye coordination is bad), nonviolent freeware games which have a great deal of exploration. Like 'Seiklus'.
I'd like to second that. Within a Deep Forest is a fantastic work of art.

neriana
2007-01-03, 10:16 PM
Stuff I like is not appealing to girls in the slightest, unless she likes the idea of walking around in a mech shooting other mechs or invading other peoples planets.


There are plenty of girls -- and middle-aged women, for that matter -- who LOVE that stuff. Sheesh, people, it's the 21st century.

Saithis Bladewing
2007-01-03, 10:28 PM
Stuff I like is not appealing to girls in the slightest, unless she likes the idea of walking around in a mech shooting other mechs or invading other peoples planets.

That's a very presumptuous comment. I happen to love mech games since I first played one about nine years ago. :P

DeathQuaker
2007-01-03, 10:39 PM
Stuff I like is not appealing to girls in the slightest, unless she likes the idea of walking around in a mech shooting other mechs or invading other peoples planets.


*raises hand with the other women* Ooh! Ooh! Me too! What do you play?

Hexa_Regina
2007-01-04, 01:26 AM
Well, my interests tend to run opposite of the girl gamer stereotype but here are some games that both I and some female friends of mine enjoy:

The Sims 2 (or Sims 1, both are good)
Civilization II, III, and IV
TES: Morrowind
Ceasar III

Civ and Ceasar III are all mainly civilization and city building games and pretty fun to get into. It requries a lot of attention to detail though and the graphics are pretty decent.

The Sims II is good on graphics, but if your computer is getting on you might not have enough memory to play it with Windows XP. I personally love the Sims II when I'm not in a mood to kill something.

TES: Morrowind is also a good one, but it may not have enough "high fantasy" for your wife. It's a mostly original world, a little like D&D and you don't necessarily have to do a lot of fighting to get through it. Plus you don't have to stick to a standard adventure path if you don't want to and there is a nifty little editor that comes with it, plus there are tons of free add-ons available to customize the game. If she likes the high fantasy setting though, you might have better results with TES: Oblivion.

Holy_Knight
2007-01-04, 02:39 AM
I concur.

Girls aren't some foreign, hive-mind species.
Figuring out what *a particular girl* wants in a game is best done by talking to her about it, then maybe getting suggestions about games with similar thematics or gameplay. Figuring out what girls as a whole want is impossible, because, y'know, girls are individuals, and like different things.

Two things though:

First, this isn't relevant to the OP's problem. His wife doesn't know what she wants--that's the whole reason for him starting the thread. So he is asking for advice from people who hopefully either are, or know people who are, of the same disposition toward games that his wife seems to be.

Second, although you're right that different girls like different things (and different guys will too, for that matter) that doesn't mean that there are no useful generalities about male versus female preferences. Of course it's not a unique determinant, and it reflects some people more than others, but men and women do tend to look at the world differently in certain ways, including the types of games they enjoy. A look at commercial behavior of the sexes should be enough to establish this--sure, some guys may love Pottery Barn, and some women may frequent sports bars, but for the majority in both cases it's quite the opposite.) So it's not crazy to think that there are certain types of games that tend to appeal to women more than others.

purple gelatinous cube o' Doom
2007-01-04, 02:43 AM
I know a girl who really likes Spyro, so I'd try that out. I think someone already mentioned Zelda games, but I think those would be good too.

Bears With Lasers
2007-01-04, 02:45 AM
Two things though:

First, this isn't relevant to the OP's problem. His wife doesn't know what she wants--that's the whole reason for him starting the thread. So he is asking for advice from people who hopefully either are, or know people who are, of the same disposition toward games that his wife seems to be.
No, it was a tangent.


Second, although you're right that different girls like different things (and different guys will too, for that matter) that doesn't mean that there are no useful generalities about male versus female preferences. Of course it's not a unique determinant, and it reflects some people more than others, but men and women do tend to look at the world differently in certain ways, including the types of games they enjoy. A look at commercial behavior of the sexes should be enough to establish this--sure, some guys may love Pottery Barn, and some women may frequent sports bars, but for the majority in both cases it's quite the opposite.) So it's not crazy to think that there are certain types of games that tend to appeal to women more than others.
Generalities aren't useful when dealing with individuals. You don't go to a sports bar to find women, but any given woman may go to a sports bar.

Timberwolf
2007-01-04, 07:25 AM
That's a very presumptuous comment. I happen to love mech games since I first played one about nine years ago. :P

No worries then, fair enough, I stand corrected. It's just that the Mechwarrior community was my first online community and the male - female ratio was about 400 - 1 as far as I could tell. The girls were all very good - a lot better than me, but I can't honestly say that I ever saw that many of them. Maybe I'm wrong and there were more than I thought, but the amount of whininess on some of the servers could only have been done by fellas. Anyway, on a per team basis, the average number of ladies was about 2 with someteams having maybe 3 and some having none at all.

Deathquaker, at the moment I'm working far too hard but when I can, I'm mainly a Mechwarrior 4 man along with Mechcommander 2, Sword of the Stars, Star Wars Empire at War, Fallout 2 and Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2. You guys'll probably love them because they're great games and you wouldn't be posting in the games section unless you did like gaming but anyway, most feminine comments I've heard on my gaming choices have been negative (I live with 2 very arty girls.)

Actually, come to think of it, what about KOTOR 1 and 2 ? Great games, good story, fantasy type stuff but there is quite a bit of hack and slash to it.

WampaX
2007-01-04, 11:36 AM
One word
Spore . . .
wait, that's not out yet.

WHY isn't it out yet?

Midnight Son
2007-01-04, 11:45 AM
Try The Longest Journey and it's sequel; I think it's called Dreamscape. According to the reviews I read, they are both very female friendly games.

Varen_Tai
2007-01-04, 01:59 PM
For those of you going to try Majesty... Do it! Do it! I would love to have others on these boards who can discuss strategies and ideas and such from this fabulous game. :)

The Prince of Cats
2007-01-05, 05:11 AM
For those of you going to try Majesty... Do it! Do it! I would love to have others on these boards who can discuss strategies and ideas and such from this fabulous game. :)
Well, I have the demo from the official site. Strategy discussions coming soon...

Captain van der Decken
2007-01-05, 05:33 AM
I really hope my computer can run spore..

So your wife likes kinda high fantasy stuff, with low violence, right?

Penguinizer
2007-01-05, 06:03 AM
Maybe Viva Pinata.

Ethdred
2007-01-05, 07:17 AM
If she likes Civilisation, then try to find Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (that's it's full title, though I'm not sure how much involvement the Great Sid had in its development). It's basically Civ in Space, so doesn't have unicorns and such but does have that 'unreal' element. It's also got a really good storyline in it (as opposed to the Civ mechanic of just rampaging over the world) and you don't have to beat everyone up to win. Also, instead of races you have 7 factions, each of which has a leader, and three of those leaders are three very different women.

This Majesty game sounds interesting - can someone post a link please?

The Prince of Cats
2007-01-05, 12:44 PM
This Majesty game sounds interesting - can someone post a link please?

GIYF - http://www.majestyquest.com/

Proven_Paradox
2007-01-05, 01:25 PM
I cannot BELIEVE I didn't think of Harvest Moon in my earlier post. Add my voice in for that one as well.

The Orange Zergling
2007-01-05, 01:42 PM
One word
Spore . . .
wait, that's not out yet.

WHY isn't it out yet?

I wish it was, I wish it was...

...but when it DOES come out (I think I heard something like the second half of 07), I'd recommend that game. Basically you keep going around eating things smaller than you until you evolve enough to leave the ocean, then you go out and find a mate, make a little tribe of your critter (Which is of your design, I might add), which eventually turns into a city, and then you get to go into the space exploration-phase, and... it keeps expanding.

Dragor
2007-01-05, 01:48 PM
Alright, phrasing this differently, a game which 'Would have the ideal appeal for a woman who has disdain for violence and typical 'manly' games. I'm leeching off the ideas above to create a list. Bear in mind, though, I own all these games :)

Animal Crossing
Civilisation 4
Sims 1/Sims 2 (depending on whether you want a bargain or not)
Sim Meiers' Pirates! (Although you cannot play a female pirate, it's still an enjoyable game and you don't even need to be a pirate.)
Sim City 4. Cheap and enjoyable city building fun.

People can add on this to make the definitive list, if they like :smallsmile: Let the definitive list making.....BEGIN!

neriana
2007-01-06, 01:08 AM
Okami is thoroughly awesome in every way, with an unmatched art style. Now, the wolf/goddess does beat up enemies. But there is no blood. It also can serve as a good introduction to games that are more combat-heavy, since the combat itself is pretty easy and intuitive. It helps that so many of the battles are puzzles.

Like all really great games, Okami should appeal to everyone. I'm recommending it here not as a game for women in any particular way, but as a game that has nothing in it to repulse most women. Unless they are highly disturbed by the positive portrayal (or pseudo-portrayal) of religions besides Christianity, and I've spoken with plenty of those women at my job. But they're dumb, so I don't care about them.

My name is Wanda
2007-01-06, 07:44 AM
I'll also recommend Majesty. I spent at least a few hours playing it when I got it, which is a fair bit, given how rarely I actually turn my Playstation off. Games like Civilisation are also good. There's also an old game called Seven Kingdoms, which I've only played a demo of, but which I found quite fun.

If you have access to a Playstation, try We love Katamari. The plot of the game is "well, you liked the first game, so here's some more". Basically all you do is roll stuff up. It's strangely addictive. Shadow of the Colossus is also good. While you do have to defeat the colossi, the world is beautiful, and defeating the colossi is more about finding out how to defeat them than the actual implementation of it. The colossi are also pretty awesome to behold, and the whole game is really just well done.

If she likes fantasy elements, then she'll probably like the old King's Quest games (just remind her of the sierra mantra: save early, save often, and never, EVER overwrite your save file). The puzzles in King's Quest are often based on fairy tales or fantasy novels, so she should be able to appreciate them.

The Prince of Cats
2007-01-06, 07:49 AM
There is the chance she might like the old Lucasarts games, like Sam and Max or Full Throttle. Beneath a Steel Sky always makes me happy and I think it is abandonware now...

Myst, Riven, the Broken Sword series...

warbacon
2007-01-06, 05:54 PM
To be quite honest, I don't think I've ever really met a real "gamer girl", despite being a life long gamer and computer scientist myself. Actually, now that I think of it, the appalling ratio of males to females in computer science (esp. in grad school ... yikes!) may be the issue here ...

That being said:

Katamari Damacy! We Love Katamari! Tropico! Okami!

From what others have said and from my experience, these games are very good and not particularly violent in any significant way. They're also entirely engrossing. My friend and I actually tried to get those million roses in We Love Katamari, but gave up after like 12 hours of rolling. Good times, though.

Ethdred
2007-01-07, 08:03 PM
GIYF - http://www.majestyquest.com/


OOOH! Thanks - looks great, I am downloading the demo right now

zeratul
2007-01-08, 04:08 PM
a lot of girls like the ssx tricky snowboarding games my sis loved 'em

Angela
2007-01-08, 10:06 PM
If your computer will handle the graphics, I second the vote for Oblivion... It's one of the only console games that can keep me sitting there for hours :-)

The Valiant Turtle
2007-01-09, 03:13 PM
If you want to get Really old school go to the home of the underdogs and download Master of Magic. It's from the DOS era, so you'll need a way to run DOS games and it can be really tricky to get the sound working, but I think it's worth it. I consider it among the best games of all time. I still don't know why nobody has made a sequel to it.