Recommended games

[Actana]

Hi everyone.

I've played nearly every game I have until its boring, so I decided to ask you guys for advice. And every game I'm waiting for is coming out in about 3-4 months, so tough luck.

So, any recommended PC games? Anything but sports and Sim-games are out. So are monthly fee MMOs.

Games that I've finished/played too much:
ADOM
Baldur's Gate 1&2 + expansions
Every C&C game + expansions
Company of Heroes
Civilization 3&4 + expansion
Dark Messiah M&M
Deus Ex 1&2
Diablo 1&2
Doom 1, 2 and 3
Half Life 1&2
Halo
Heroes of Might & Magic 3, 4 and 5
Homeworld 2
Fable - The Lost Chapters
FEAR + expansion
Freelancer
Jade Empire
Kotor 1&2
Medieval Total War 2
Nethack (and variants)
NWN 1&2 + expansion for 1st
Planescape: Torment
Prince of Persia trilogy
Rome - Total War + expansion
Shogun - Total War + expansion
Silent Storm + expansion
S.T.A.L.K.E.R
Starcraft
Supreme Commander
System Shock 2
TES: Morrowind + expansion
TES: Oblivion
Thief 3
Titan Quest + expansion
Tomb Raider: Anniversary
Total Annihilation + expansions
Warcraft 2&3 + expansion
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War + expansions

That was about all I have installed on my PC plus some others I've played.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: List updated, yet again.

[Istari]

Try tomb raider legends

[Hephaestus]

Super Mario 3....

[Arang]

NWN 1 and expansions should be cheap by now, and it's got some pretty good mods*.

*"pretty good mods" might be used instead of "of the best mods in videogame history, especially if you liked NWN 2".

[Actana]

Try tomb raider legends

I might try it out if I find it cheap enough somewhere. Thanks.


Super Mario 3....

Even if this is a joke, been there, done that. :smalltongue:


NWN 1 and expansions should be cheap by now, and it's got some pretty good mods*.

*"pretty good mods" might be used instead of "of the best mods in videogame history, especially if you liked NWN 2".

Heh, forgot to put that in the list. Played it even more than NWN 2. I even own 3 copies of the game.

Oh yeah, if someone dares to mention roguelikes, then... then... I'll say I've won them, nearly all of them... :smallwink:

[Arang]

Heh, forgot to put that in the list. Played it even more than NWN 2. I even own 3 copies of the game.

Unless you forgot* to mention those too, the Baldur's Gate games are great, and even cheaper. I've heard good things about Icewind Dale and IWD 2, too, but I haven't actually played them, so I can't directly recommend them.

*the word "forgot" might or might not imply that I suspect this is a Mason conspiracy created to destroy the world as we know it.

[Actana]

Stupid me! Played BG1&2 plus expansions. I haven't even seen Icewind Dales anywhere, unfortunately. Though I would test them if I had the chance.

[Gaelbert]

Age of the Empires 2 with its expansion is good, and Age of the Empires 3 is good as well.

[Actana]

Age of the Empires 2 with its expansion is good, and Age of the Empires 3 is good as well.

AoE 2 I have on my PC, though I haven't played it much lately, I could give it a try.

AoE 3, ugh, its a good game, but I just hate the "6 riflemen shoot 1 pirate for 10 seconds, and 3 of them died in the process."
I might give also a try.

Thanks for the suggestions. :smallsmile:

[SITB]

Star Control II (http://sc2.sourceforge.net/downloads.php) is a very good game albeit different from the games you listed.

It's an evolved space shooter (the first one was mainly shooter, the second one puts more focus on plotlines and conversations) with an epic storyline. I heartily suggest to at least give it a try.

I also recall someone putting a "Villain Gallery" that featured the game antagonists, a good read if you don't mind the spoilers.

EDIT:Here it is. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47030)

[Istari]

Another good game is galactic civilizations 2

[onasuma]

I note no Age of ... games. I love nearly all of them, and they never get dull. For me at least

[JellyPooga]

System Shock 2...it's the most **** scary game I've ever played...ever. Based on the same engine as (and by the same people who did) the Thief series. I've not played the 1st one, but it is also supposed to be really good. Then, if you like SS and SS2, Deus Ex and DE2 are also really quite good and by the same people again, I believe (though I've not played them myself, I've seen them in action).

If you do play SS2, don't play it on easy (it's far too easy)...for that matter, don't play it on the top difficulty either (you will die as soon as you encounter your 1st baddie...because there's about 6 of them and all you have is a wrench)

[SithLackey]

Stupid me! Played BG1&2 plus expansions. I haven't even seen Icewind Dales anywhere, unfortunately. Though I would test them if I had the chance.

Icewind Dale 1 is good, and actually has a realatively decent plotline, but ID2... Unfortunately it took me halfway through the game to realize that, due to a complete lack of an interesting plot, I really should NEVER TOUCH IT AGAIN.
IMHO.

I might also reccomend Dawn of War. The original for a decent story, Dark Crusade for more options. Or both.

[SithLackey]

Stupid me! Played BG1&2 plus expansions. I haven't even seen Icewind Dales anywhere, unfortunately. Though I would test them if I had the chance.

Icewind Dale 1 is good, and actually has a realatively decent plotline, but ID2... Unfortunately it took me halfway through the game to realize that, due to a complete lack of an interesting plot, I really should NEVER TOUCH IT AGAIN.
IMHO.

I might also reccomend Dawn of War. The original for a decent story, Dark Crusade for more options. Or both.

[Shikton]

Icewind Dale 1 is good, and actually has a realatively decent plotline, but ID2... Unfortunately it took me halfway through the game to realize that, due to a complete lack of an interesting plot, I really should NEVER TOUCH IT AGAIN.
IMHO.

I might also reccomend Dawn of War. The original for a decent story, Dark Crusade for more options. Or both.

I liked IWD2 :smalleek: a lot

[Moral Wiz]

Overlord might be good. It's diferent to most of this stuff.

[Morty]

I notice the lack of Planescape:Torment. Since it's best cRPG ever and one of the best games I've ever played, I strongly recommend it.

[Actana]

Nice to see so many responses. :smallsmile:

SS2, completed about 5 times, but meh, I should do it again.
Planescape: Torment, completed it about a month ago, it is a hell of a good game, I forgot that too. *slaps himself on the forehead*

Galactic Civilizations 2 sounds interesting, and so does overlord.

Thanks again, and pardon me for my forget-a-lot.

[Morty]

Since noone mentioned it: if you played Heroes of Might & Magic V and enjoyed it, you could try oter parts of the series.

[lumberofdabeast]

Another good game is galactic civilizations 2

Calling GalCiv2 good is like calling the ocean moist.

Anyway... Tried Company of Heroes yet? Not my cup of tea, but it may be yours.

[Actana]

Compnay of Heroes was a great game, its on the shelf right there.
HoMM games, 4 was bad, 3 was great, can't find 1&2 anywhere.

Some of you may be thinking: "Is there any game that this guy hasn't played?"
Answer: Yes, but only a few. :smalltongue:

I'm not much into space games, but I'll try anything right now.

Updating list of games I've played.

[CrazedGoblin]

if your looking for space shooters X-Wing Alliance is awsome, it has mods to make the ships look awsome aswell, and you can take on a super star destroyer :smallbiggrin:

[lumberofdabeast]

Wait, I've got it.

Have you tried... going outside?

I've been doing it daily for the last month. Never felt better. Either you'll have similar benefits or I'm the gaming Messiah, chosen to lead all gamers to the Promised Land.

[Actana]

if your looking for space shooters X-Wing Alliance is awsome, it has mods to make the ships look awsome aswell, and you can take on a super star destroyer :smallbiggrin:

Oh my god! I have completely forgotten that game! It was awesome...
Naturally, finished it. :smallamused: It was damn hard though

@lumberofdabeast: I did actually consider this game, its an MMO:
http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/1900/outsidemmorpgxc4.jpg

[lumberofdabeast]

Well, are you gonna jump in? The next patch is in beta now, and I hear that it gives expanded nuclear capabilities to a number of nations; you gotta hurry if you want time to save up for your epic (and radiation-proof) vehicle.

[Emperor Ing]

While the game 'Outside' is definitely more than epic, and the graphics are indeed the best in the world, it got very bad reviews. Sad, considering there are more than 6 billion users :smallfrown:

[Lord Herman]

Another good game is galactic civilizations 2

Seconded. GalCiv2 is le awesome.


edit: Outside? I've tried it. It sucks. The setting is boring, NPC AI is very bad most of the time, and there are hardly any explosions.

[lumberofdabeast]

Seconded. GalCiv2 is le awesome.


edit: Outside? I've tried it. It sucks. The setting is boring, NPC AI is very bad most of the time, and there are hardly any explosions.
Well, geez, maybe if you n00bs tried actually exploring new zones instead of just doing the same old grind quests, over and over again...

[Actana]

Well, geez, maybe if you n00bs tried actually exploring new zones instead of just doing the same old grind quests, over and over again...

QTF! I've been in like, 10 zones. Done hundreds of quests, I'm going lvl 16 in 5 months, if I try really hard. And explosions, just go to the zone called Iraq, there are explosions for you. Geez...

PS. I could have done that in leet-speak, but that would have just been wrong.

[lumberofdabeast]

QTF! I've been in like, 10 zones. Done hundreds of quests, I'm going lvl 16 in 5 months, if I try really hard. And explosions, just go to the zone called Iraq, there are explosions for you. Geez...

PS. I could have done that in leet-speak, but that would have just been wrong.

"QTF"?

Anyway, take my advice. Stay out of the RP zones. There seems to be a glitch in the NPC AI; they RP every thing except what should actually be happening in the game at the time. I saw a medieval RP once...

The really confusing part is that PCs seem to go with it.

And remember that you get autoflagged for PvP in a lot of Middle Eastern zones, so pick your factions very carefully if PvP's your thing. Personally, I stay away from that entire region. I'm fine just gaining exploration XP; I'm gonna hit level 19 soon!

[Hermit]

Here's a few olds gems missing from your impressive list of games:

Arx Fatalis is a great game in the vein of Ultima Underworld. Available on Steam for pittence if you like dungeon delving.
Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-sTHtNah80)

Anachronox is another title worth tracking down. A Sci-fi RPG with a brilliant storyline.
Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK73K5Bgo1o)

Deus Ex is missing from your list. This is a cardinal sin. The sequal isn't near as good, but again the Deus Ex: GOTY edition is on Steam cheap as anything, and its brilliant.
Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpEoLH0cUSw)

Mafia was a very good third person game a few years ago. Think GTA, but with the sandbox features scaled back and the story angle ramped way up. Set in the 1930's, the story follows your character through four years of life in the Mafia.
Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyI7CoUXtPo)

Psychonauts is the best platform game in recent years. You'll wanta gamepad, as the keyboard and mouse combo doesn't really suit it, but it's worth it for another brilliant game from the madman that is Tim Schafer. Again, cheap on Steam. Go nuts.
Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xciQs55AlnQ)

As a side note, if you're into adventure games, or haven't played any, I highly recommend tracking down some of the previous games he worked on, namely:
Grim Fandango (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV1NBHL9Fa4)
Day of the Tentacle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV0-j89xBJw)
And, another LucasArts gem worth playing is Sam and Max Hit the Road (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXK5E30FCMc)

Course tracking down some of the older LucasArts titles is difficult, and if you're not a fan of point and click games they're probably not for you. If you do track them down, ScummVM (http://www.scummvm.org/) can run them perfectly on XP and Vista.

Ok, I'm done :p

[Actana]

QTF=Quoted for truth

Haha, that was quite funny. Even though I would like to do some "medieval RP". :smalltongue:

c0n9r4+2 4 ur d1n9 wh3n u d1n9

Yes I know, that was uncalled for.

EDIT: @Hermit:

Arx Fatalis: I'll try it out if I find it anywhere.
Deux Ex: Forgot it. And the sequel isn't nearly as good. :smallbiggrin:
As well as Grim Fandango, thanks for reminding me about that. Played Mafia, didn't like it so much, but it was good non the less.
I pretty much suck at any puzzle type game... But I'll try. :smallsmile:

[Ronsian]

How did you get to level 16 in 5 months?!?! Took me 12 YEARS to get to level 12. My dad's a 50 though, he's almost epic. Tried Europa Universalis (3)? Really heavy strategy game, if you like Medieval Total War the not battle section you might like it. Also, play Adom more. I don't care if you play it till your eyes bleed, play it some more. You can try some Battlefield games (I have 1942, and 2042, very good). Played Half-life/2 yet? Good games, so is Starcraft. Also, try more roguelikes. Crawl, Angband, and some others are good as well as the big ones.

[Actana]

How did you get to level 16 in 5 months?!?!

N000! U N==B!!!11!!!!oneoneone!!111eleven½!!!1
I'm getting to lvl 16 in 5 months :smalltongue:

As for the games: I'll try them out. Though I'm not touching any roguelikes (well, I'll try not to) but 1 game of ADOM can't hurt anywhere.

I'm more of a single player guy, I don't like the über gosu players that dominate the internet.

Thanks for all the answers, its really heart warming to see so many people care about my boredom. :smallsmile:

[Archonic Energy]

Heh, forgot to put that in the list. Played it even more than NWN 2. I even own 3 copies of the game.

Oh yeah, if someone dares to mention roguelikes, then... then... I'll say I've won them, nearly all of them... :smallwink:

only 3?

i've got 4!

Copy 1: Bought on day of release
Copy 2: Bought to replace Disk 3 as i ran over it in my chair ... oops :smallannoyed:
Copy 3: Bought to get kingmaker
Copy 4: Came free with NWN2 CE Collectors edition

[Actana]

only 3?

i've got 4!

Copy 1: Bought on day of release
Copy 2: Bought to replace Disk 3 as i ran over it in my chair ... oops :smallannoyed:
Copy 3: Bought to get kingmaker
Copy 4: Came free with NWN2 CE Collectors edition

But you didn't probably buy 2 at the same time. I did. :smallbiggrin:

[Ethdred]

I can't believe you have managed to play the Total War series until you're bored of it. Have you played every faction on the hardest setting? Twice? Ditto Civilisation! I recommend you try to track down a copy of Shogun Total War - the original and some say the best (they're wrong, but they say it - still very good, and different but similar to the others). Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is Civ in space, and is fab, but probably not available these days.

Have you tried Europa Universalis? I've played 2 and there's a 3 out now. I'm not such a fan of it, but it's a very different type of Civ-style game, as you can't conquer the world or build every tech. You actually have to make choices, do diplomacy and limit your ambitions. Like I say not really my cup of tea, but I am strangely drawn to it. To the extent that I bought another of their games, Hearts of Iron 2, which is a WW2 wargame ('cos I really wanted a WW2 wargame) last week and have spent too much time playing it. But it's odd, as there are long periods of time where you can just leave the game running and go do something less boring instead.

The Cossacks series got some good reviews, but I could never really get into it.

[Actana]

I can't believe you have managed to play the Total War series until you're bored of it.

Oh I haven't. I would play them if my PC would allow it.
My PC is quite of a problem, it won't allow me to play some games, including Medieval TW, Civ 4, Warcraft 3, Supreme Commander, Thief 3 and all the games I would like to play. :smallfrown: It keeps rebooting the computer for some unknown reason after I play the game a while.
Some games I can play longer, some about 10 seconds. Its really frustrating.

[Lord Herman]

Your graphics card might be overheating. I've had a similar problem (computer kept hanging), and it turned out the fan on my graphics card was broken.

[Actana]

I'm thinking the same thing.

Ok, lets test. Turning fan power down...

Same hum... Turning it on... Same hum...

It wasn't like that when I tested it last time....

Yep, the fan is probably broken... Gotta get a new one...

In the meantime, keep the ideas coming. :smallwink:
Oh, I think I have enough strategy games on the list, how 'bout some FPSs?

[Erom]

I was in a similar situation to you maybe 6 months ago, I started working through Guild Wars and Dawn of War, both excellent series. As for guild wars, if MMORPG's aren't your thing, play it like a single player game. I do. You can do every mission in every campaign with the henchman, you don't ever have to play with other people. But if you want, the PvP is excellent, and you can outfit a new character with hardly any time investment, instead of grinding for weeks to get competitive. When it first came out, the interface was garbage, the game interactions were clunky, and the world wasn't that big. Nowadays, I like it better than WoW, expecially since it's no monthly fee, buy one campaign at a time, so it costs you only as much as you put into it. If you are looking for storyline, though, go with Nightfall or Prophecies over Factions, Factions is mostly about the PvP.

Dawn of War is a pretty good RTS, fun to play, with a ton of flavor. The 40k universe is very fun, and very colorful. In terms of actual strategy, it's a little silly, more tactical (like warcraft 3) than strategy (like supreme commander). The first expansion, Winter Assault, was a lot worse than the original, I thought, but the ending is awesome, as is Dark Crusade.

While we're on strategy games, did you ever play Total Annihilation back in the day? If you did and you liked it, or if you want to play Supreme Commander but can't, there is an open source game engine built along the same design ideals. It has a bunch of diff. games that run on it, but they can be all swapped in and out at will, with a pretty big online community. There isn't much for campaign, but there is full skirmish support with a ton of different AI's. It's called the Spring engine (most people still call it TA:Spring, since it was originally written to be a full 3D TA engine) and you can get it here (http://spring.clan-sy.com/).

[Actana]

How come anybody can't see I have listed DoW in the list, its under Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War.

Sorry, I've played everyone of those games, except TA: Spring

And no, the Warhammer 40K universe is not colorful. It is dark. And gothic. Yep, dark and gothic is the word(s). :smalltongue:

[Simius]

If you can get your hands on it, Thief 2: the Metal Age. It's so much better than Thief 3 IMO.

[Istari]

If you like hich tech games try the mach warrior series.

[Pyro]

How about Black & White 2 and the Splinter Cell Series.

[TruenuffTrey]

Ah, life, the original MMORPG.

It's a shame there is only one character slot. I would really like to try something new, yet i'm afraid of deleting my current character... :smallfrown:

[Raven T.]

Some believe the Admins will be really upset if you delete your current character, but this cannot be substantiated.:smallconfused:

[Desidus]

Starcraft. What you do after that, I cannot help you with.

[Winterwind]

Yeah, I'll second that. StarCraft is so very missing on that list.

Also, the other parts of the Thief-series. They may be a tad old by now, but nevertheless - awesome.

[Thrawn183]

Homeworld
Homeworld: Cataclysm
Homeworld II

The only truly 3D RTS I've ever played. There is just something elegant about doing a "vertical pincer movement." I once spent a huge amount of time setting up 6 groups to attack from all directions on the x,y and z axes.

Total Annihilation is amazing for sheer numbers of units. My friend downloaded the demo of Supreme Commander and yeah, it eats processors for breakfast.

For FPS have you tried quake and its successors?

Halo never hurts. (It eviscerates :smallcool: )

Counterstrike. Counterstrike source (though the hitbox for the head is a little too big for my taste now) and the always great Team Fortress Classic is still running on steam (I don't know if they've come out with TFC II yet)

Someone nominated Black and White II, I've only played the original and it was pretty good. Though I never had the patience to train my pet, which hurt in the end.

Every Duke Nukem game ever made.

Pong. There are some new 3D versions out there. Some really amazingly cool stuff.

Tycoons: whether it be rollercoaster or anything else. I never got into them, but you might like that sort of thing.

Medal of Honor: I've never liked them much, but I know a lot of people who do... so I have to at least throw it out there for consideration.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein: kick booty game. Love the crypt levels. Flaming zombies scare the p*** out of me.

I second the X-wing games, but you might need a joystick. Its tough to control flight sims with a gamepad or keyboard. All or nothing steering is rough. There's something fun about intentionally ramming star destroyers.

I also agree that there is a distinct lack of starcraft upon your list.

Hearts, Solitaire. :smallbiggrin:

Could always try some of the newer versions of street fighter and such. With a little effort its possible to play them on computer while using a controller.

That's all I can think of on the fly that aren't already on the list.

Would you mind editing the OP with the ones you forgot to mention as having already played? It would probably save everyone some time and effort.

[Actana]

Homeworld II

Halo never hurts. (It eviscerates :smallcool: )

I also agree that there is a distinct lack of starcraft upon your list.

Hearts, Solitaire. :smallbiggrin:

Would you mind editing the OP with the ones you forgot to mention as having already played? It would probably save everyone some time and effort.

I'll add those games there now.

And you don't probably know how much solitaires I've played. Aces Up, Hearts, Marshal, Klondike, Klondike 4 decks, Gaps, Nestor, Golf, Scorpion, Poker Solitaire etc. I've even got a game which has over 400 solitaires.

I'll do my best to edit the list. Sometimes my memory just fails me.

Edit: Oh yeah, I forgot to mention: I'm more of a tactical shooter type, like Rainbow Six, not the "brainless zombie massacre", like Serious Sams. :smalltongue:

2nd Edit: And if there are RPG elements, like inventory or stats and stuff, all the better.

[SirSigfried]

Here are a couple of oldies that has not been mentioned here yet, Descent:Freespace and Freespace 2.

These are the best space shooters ever made.

Both are pretty old but still hold their own in terms of graphics, especially with the mods available.

Both are pretty rare these days, but you may find an old copy on Amazon or eBay.

You could also Google the Freespace Source Code Project for more info.

[Hermit]

I'm more of a tactical shooter type, like Rainbow Six, not the "brainless zombie massacre", like Serious Sams. :smalltongue:

2nd Edit: And if there are RPG elements, like inventory or stats and stuff, all the better.

You tried STALKER at all yet then? Needs a pretty beefy PC to run, but it's a very good game. There's also a decent amount of mods around which can tweak various things (I personally use SagerSTALK, nice little collection which includes some more realistic ballistics which makes headshots really count, reduces the overly fast respawn timer, and lengthens the quest timer somewhat so you aren't running continuously back and forth over half the Zone, among other things).

[Actana]

You tried STALKER at all yet then? Needs a pretty beefy PC to run.

See S.T.A.L.K.E.R. on the list. It was there since the beginning.

As for a beefy PC, mine is probably the best you can find at the time. So no worries there. :smallbiggrin:

[Hermit]

See S.T.A.L.K.E.R. on the list. It was there since the beginning.

As for a beefy PC, mine is probably the best you can find at the time. So no worries there. :smallbiggrin:

In which case, Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines is good too. Based on the pen and paper game, make sure you patch it and get the latest unoffical patch as well, which transforms it from a buggy mess to a very decent game. Think Deus Ex with more stats and vampires and you're on the right lines.

[TheBoneSplitter]

Why in the nine flying hells has the classic Dooms not been mentioned? :(

[Maldraugedhen]

Freespace, to clarify, was a dogfighting game, like X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, not one of those arcade-y sidescroller shooters, like Ikaruga (another great title, although not on PC). And yes, Freespace was thoroughly awesome.

[jazz1m]

Space Rangers: Rise of the Dominators
Darwinia
Sid Meiers Pirates
Defcon

[Psychonaut]

So, any recommended PC games? Anything but sports and Sim-games are out. So are monthly fee MMOs.

If you like RPGs with more roleplaying and less of a focus on combat (e.g. choices and far-reaching in-game consequences to those choices, the ability to roleplay good or evil and/or make morally ambiguous choices, etc.), I'd highly recommend Fallout 1 and 2. Actually, I was surprised these weren't on your list, given the number of good RPGs like BG I & II, PS:T, Deus Ex, etc. Both are non-linear skill-based RPGs with turn-based combat that take place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. They're very atmospheric - dark and gritty, with prostitution, drugs, and slave trade rampant in a world rewritten after the existing powers and their laws have been wiped from earth. Nonetheless, they're quite humorous as well, with tons of easter eggs, geek pop culture references, and just plain funny dialogues. I got myself in trouble many times for selecting a funny line that was just too good to pass up and making the wrong person mad. :smallredface:

The beginnings are rather slow, but they get better after you progress past the first few areas, and you have complete freedom of exploration and generally a lot of choice about how to deal with any given situation. In many other good RPGs that encourage roleplaying, you're still pretty much limited to dialogue or combat in most situations and you occasionally often have no choice between the two (e.g. BGII's many - and PS:T's almost-negligible three - mandatory combats); in the Fallouts, your skills matter more than your level, and you can complete the games and many (but not all) quests using solely thief-y skills, diplomacy, combat, or a combination depending on the skills in which you've invested points. You can finish the main plotline for both Fallouts without ever killing a single creature, if you so choose. There's also more consequences to your choices, so that if you, for instance, join slavers early on you might find yourself limiting quest choices much later in the game, when you encounter groups adamantly opposed to the slave trade. (That all said, I still prefer PS:T and the BGs to the Fallout games, just was emphasizing one of the things I like better about the latter, the greater ability to play your character just as you like.)

Of the two, I definitely prefer Fallout 2, which picks up quicker, incorporates more humor, and has more content in general than the first one with many more cities and quests. The games use the exact same system, however, so preference tends to vary from person to person based on highly subjective storyline/atmosphere traits.

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magicka Obscura has a similar system but a lot more unavoidable combat; it takes place in a pretty unique steampunk setting in which magic and technology coexist but are "opposed" to one another (so that, as an example, as you build a magic-based character, you'll eventually be banned from riding trains for fear that the magic you possess will cause the technology of the trains to break down). I found it kind of "meh" myself, but that could be because I've only played through it once and with a pretty weak character, combat-wise, making it much harder. My advice: if you get it, devote your character entirely to either magic or technology and avoid investing in skills using the other, and keep in mind that some thief skills are technology-based.

I second the recommendations of Vampire: Bloodlines, which is an atmospheric and very fun action-RPG using a similar system to that of Deus Ex that also makes heavy use of your character's skills and encourages roleplaying - at least throughout the first half, as combat is much more emphasized throughout the second half - and the previously suggested LucasArts adventure games (especially Grim Fandango and, if you're familiar with American [pop?] culture, Sam and Max Hit the Road). I would also add Curse of Monkey Island among them. Very humorous game, and IMO the best Monkey Island game. The first two are also humorous, but not nearly as frequently since your character almost always has something different to say upon examining/trying to pick up/trying to use objects in some way in CMI but has very little to say in the first two (also, Dominic Armato's excellent voicing adds quite a bit to the main character's personality and isn't present in the first two). The fourth one depends far too much upon references to the rest of the series for its humor and suffers from the "previously-somewhat-inept-character-becomes-complete-idiot-for-the-sake-of-humor" syndrome many sequels/long-running shows have.

Finally, Gothic and Gothic II are both pretty fun action-RPGs that you might want to check out. The first one has a great, unique atmosphere, taking place in a prison colony controlled by three "camps" of prisoners who rebelled against their guards and took over after an inescapable barrier was built over the colony; the second is much more generic in its storyline, but is much larger and incorporates faction decisions that have more of an effect on how the game plays out (there's a faction choice in the first one, but it hardly had any effect on the rest of the game). I wouldn't recommend Gothic III, though, which is still quite buggy and not well-supported, a resource hog, and highly repetitive in its quests and combat.

[Edit: Since their modding community is relatively unknown, compared to NWN or TES... speaking of the Baldur's Gates, if you've only played through them unmodded I highly recommend that you try them with some mods if you get the chance. There are some great ones out there which greatly change the experience of the games. For instance, BGTutu lets you play BG in the same format as BGII, with kits and a faster walking speed and whatnot; BG1NPC adds BGII-style banters to the party NPCs in BG; NPC mods add a lot of interesting new party NPCs to the games; quest mods like Unfinished Business add new quests/quests removed before the game's final release; mods like Ascension (made by David Gaider, one of BGII's developers), Tactics, Sword Coast Stratagems, and a component of Oversight (made by Kish, who also frequents these forums if I'm not mistaken) add to the challenge of the combat in the game; the G3Fixpack/Baldurdash help remove game bugs that were missed by the patches; and so on.]

[WhatIsGravity]

Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
Delta Force
Rainbow Six

I'm gonna be level 16 in 5 months too. :smallbiggrin:

:smallbiggrin: Small big grin? :smallconfused: