New Game Reccomondations

[Istari]

I'm looking to get some new games for myself and I've turned to the playground since I have no idea where to start.
I have a DS, a computer (obviously) and a wii.
I love fantasy themes, RPGs, some shorter turn based strategy (not civilization) but am open to anything but RTSs I you know one that's really fun and easy that's fine but I stink at most of them. I you can try to avoid games that are too expensive. Other then that suggest whatever, I am almost totally open to anything. Thanks for any help you give me.

[chiasaur11]

Played "Fallout"?

Ace old RPG. Just six bucks.

[Oregano]

The DS version of Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time. It rocks... so hard. The Crystal Bearers is a more Zelda like experience(plus telekinesis) releasing on boxing day for the Wii.

Also there's a wicked looking Fighting Fantasy game being released for the DS this year. It's a WRPG.

They're the games that are just off the top of my head.

[Vorpal word]

How about the DS Fire Emblem? Or do you have that already?

[Rustic Dude]

PC: You could try to get Star Wars: Republic Commando. It's pretty much awesome.
Battle For Wesnoth is a free, neat, turn based fantasy strategy game with RPG elements.
Both Kotors, and NWN2 if you are going to play online. I think they eren't expensive nowadays.
Sacred is a Diablo-like game, dirty cheap and long. Good game, too.


DS: Sonic Advance, Sonic Rush, New Super Mario Brothers...

[deuxhero]

PC:
Deus Ex/The Nameless Mod
Fallout
Fallout 2
Arcanum
Knights of the Old Republic II (note how the first game is missing, very much intended).
Neverwinter Nights 2:Mask of The Betrayer (note the lack of
The Witcher

ds:
Ace Attorney
Devil Survivor
Disgaea
Fire Emblem 7 ("Fire Emblem") and 11 ("Shadow Dragon") (skip 8 ("Sacred Stones", skip 8!)

Wii:
Fire Emblem 9 ("Path of Radiance", GCN)/10 ("Radient Dawn")
Prime Trilogy
Punch Out.

You might also want to check on getting a PS2, they are pretty cheep right now as a legacy system and add the NIS games and MegaTen (if you can find them).

[warty goblin]

Rather than do my standard (boring)game recommendation spiel, I decided to announce my recommendations like contestants in a Beauty Scholarship competition!

First up we have the Witcher. The Witcher is from some company in Poland that nobody ever heard of before, and is based on a series of books that basically nobody ever heard of before. But don't let that stop you from getting to know the Witcher, and its sexy, sexy lead! Yes, Geralt, when not killing monsters with his two swords, Geralt never misses a chance to get with the ladies. (Insert third sword joke here). When slaying monsters, Geralt relies on acrobatic and lethal swordplay, as well as a variety of simple yet deadly spells that really boil magic down to the basics. There's the one that knocks dudes over so you can impale and kill them and the one that sets people on fire. Then there's a couple other ones most people forget about. Guess magical traps and temporarily forcing a dude to attack his buddies simply isn't as cool as stabbing or burning stuff. Plus, if your computer can handle it, the Witcher is certainly a looker, with sublimely atmospheric lighting and art direction.


In the shorter TBs department, we have the runner-up for Most Generically Named Fantasy Game Ever*: Elven Legacy. Elven Legacy is the sequel to the winner of afformentioned award: Fantasy Wars. It's actually more of a tactical game than a strategic one, but the tactics are really quite solid. Perhaps too solid in fact. Some people have found the game to be really quite challenging on "Easy," and would rather not contemplate the hardest difficulty setting**. Bottom line is, if the idea of executing surgical strikes on the lines of the orcs in order to route their vanguard and so save your units a devastating counterattack next turn, this is the game for you.

Also in the fantasy department, but in the action genre, we have Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, holder of the coveted "Most Goblins Cut in Half In Slow Motion" award, given for cutting goblins in half during bullet sword time. Yes, you brutally murder a wide variety of humanoids in your quest to find your Destiny- and a sword that kills those gorram ghouls before they take half your health. If the idea of sneaking up behind an orc, stabbing him between the collar bone and shoulder blade, then breaking his neck with your dagger, kicking his buddy into a wall, kicking his other buddy into some spikes, kicking his third buddy into a fire, then beheading the first buddy sounds like a good time, this is the game for you.

*This award is pretty much a direct analog of the Most Cliched Sounding Japanese Game Name, which should be something like Super Saga Final Gear Tales X. The only difference is that Fantasy Wars actually exists, whereas to the best of my knowledge SSFGTX does not. Although it probably has fanboys.

**I've found this to be the case with a lot of games from Eastern Europe actually. Apparently they produce some sort of ex communist PC ubergamer who sneers at our most challenging single player games. When in doubt, and buying a game from said region, just expect it to be brutally difficult, but seldom unfair feeling.

[Istari]

In order
I'll check out Fallout and FF
I do already have shadow dragon
Star Wars sounds neat, have the Kotors (awsome), I'll look at NWN, never heard about Sacred but I'll take a look
I'll look at the Witcher, Elven Legacy sounds awesome, and I actually have DM of M&M but for some reason it hates my computer and literally takes like 10+ minutes to load a level
Thanks for all the help so far

[warty goblin]

never heard about Sacred but I'll take a look

Sacred has a demo. Be aware there are some not completely insignificant changes between the demo and the release- let alone the patched- version. Also, if you get Sacred, get the patchs, it's a gawdaweful mess out of the box.

I'll look at the Witcher,

The Witcher also has a demo, so start there. I don't believe that they released a demo for the Enhanced Edition though, which is the version one would buy now. Be aware that there are truly significant improvements between the original and the EE, there's more character models, more dialog, better dialog, characters move around in conversation now, and loading screens are much, much reduced.

Elven Legacy sounds awesome,

It is. I'm fairly sure it has a demo. If not, I know Fantasy Wars does, and they are, to a high degree of accuracy, the same game, so playing the FW demo will give you a good feeling for the overall game. I wasn't kidding about the difficulty there either. I consider myself fairly tactically adept, and there's a couple missions that absolutely destroyed me the first few times I played them. Also, some of the reviews say you get access to the orc and human campaigns after completing the elf campaign. The manual also says this, but it turns out not to be the case. The elf campaign is plenty long though, and actually has a pretty good story.

and I actually have DM of M&M but for some reason it hates my computer and literally takes like 10+ minutes to load a level
Thanks for all the help so far

Try the patches, if you haven't already.

[Oregano]

Glad I could help. Hope you find some games you enjoy.

[Pie Guy]

Scribblenauts. There is another thread on the page now.

[Phase]

Orange Box Orange Box a million times Orange Box.

[Lord Seth]

Advance Wars: Dual Strike.

Advance Wars: Dual Strike.

Advance Wars: Dual Strike.

In case I wasn't clear, get Advance Wars: Dual Strike.

[Pie Guy]

Advance Wars: Dual Strike.

Advance Wars: Dual Strike.

Advance Wars: Dual Strike.

In case I wasn't clear, get Advance Wars: Dual Strike.

I thought the whole Dual Strike thing was a tad over powered, and enemies always got it before you, so even if you could obliterate their side in those turns, you wouldn't have the army to do it.

[Lord Seth]

I thought the whole Dual Strike thing was a tad over powered, and enemies always got it before you, so even if you could obliterate their side in those turns, you wouldn't have the army to do it.

If you're having trouble with the enemies using Dual Strike, use Sasha, whose normal CO Power essentially stops them from doing it for a turn.

The Dual Strike was a little overpowered, but Advance Wars: Dual Strike was still the best game in the series after the original Advance Wars.

[Zevox]

Well, since you mentioned fantasy themes and RPGs, I can name a number of remakes of old games on the DS that I've loved that fit that:

- Chrono Trigger DS. I didn't play this on the SNES, and was skeptical of if it was as good as people on the 'net kept saying. It is. It's the only game using the ATB ("Active Time Battle") combat system I've ever played that's so good that I actually forget how much I dislike that combat system while I'm playing it.
- Final Fantasy IV. Originally for the SNES, but remade in full 3D and with voice acting for the DS version. One of the best Final Fantasies I've played, although I've not played that many and am not nearly as big of a fan of the series as most JRPG fans you'll likely hear talking about it.
- Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen. Another SNES game, a pretty old-school JRPG, but with the interesting difference that you play through different stories with each party member before they join up for the main event. Not one of my favorite Dragon Quest games, but definitely good.
- Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride. Another SNES game, and again a fairly old-school JRPG. This time though you play through a whole lifetime with your character, from childhood, through adulthood, marriage, and finally finishing the quest with your children by your side. One of the best games of the series IMO, at least of those I've played (which is everything but 6 and 7).
- Disgaea DS. Originally a PS2 game, ported to the DS, losing some graphics and voice acting in the process, but still featuring fantastic gameplay. It's a tactical RPG where your main characters are a Demon Prince who looks like a child, his chief vassal, and an Angel cadet. It's very funny and very endearing at the same time, with gameplay that's both extremely fun and very weird when you think about it. In other words, it's just great overall.
- Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. But I see you already have that.

For non-remakes, also sticking to the DS:
- Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time. Been a long time since I played it, so I don't have much to say on it, but I do remember that I liked it, and it's a Mario RPG, so... yeah.
- Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. Sonic's only truly good game since Sonic Adventure 2. Not a great game, mind you - there are numerous things that can basically break the combat system, and the story is saved only because it doesn't take itself seriously, and even actively mocks itself at times - but still good. And there are references to old-school Sonic games, including Robotnik actually using his old name (though the other characters still call him Eggman), which are great if you're an old-school Sonic fan.
- The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. My third-favorite Zelda game, after only Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess. The controls take some getting used to initially (they're purely done with the touch screen, so you need to use a stylus constantly and barely, if at all, use the buttons), but once you have that down, it's great.
- Advance Wars: Dual Strike and Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. Great strategy games from a great series. Personally, I favor DS over Days of Ruin, but the latter does indisputably have the better story and does fix some imbalances in the combat system. I just have a several criticisms of other changes it made that make me prefer DS.
- Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor. A tactical RPG with a combat system that's a mix of the usual Tactical RPG map style, Ogre Battle 64's style of having individual units on the map represent teams, and traditional Shin Megami Tensei turn-based combat once those teams engage. Very fun combat system and a great story, if rather linear. Be careful, though - if you mess up at something, just about anyone can and will die. Also boasts multiple endings that you may actually have problems choosing between, as there is no clear "best," and only one clear "worst." And it ultimately allows you to make your own decisions about the morality of the situation, not foisting anything on you as clear-cut "good" or "evil," nor even attempting to force a gray morality on you. The morality is based purely on your own perceptions of the events, nothing else - in that sense, it's very realistic.

...and since I've written so much on DS games alone, I'll stop there, and just say that if you want my recommendations on Wii games, check my post in the "Good games for the Wii" thread.

Zevox

[Gamerlord]

Star wars battlefront II is a good game ,but the hackers in multiplayer, oh ye gods THE HACKERS IN MULTIPLAYER

[Rustic Dude]

Star wars battlefront II is a good game ,but the hackers in multiplayer, oh ye gods THE HACKERS IN MULTIPLAYER

Huh. So that's the reason they suddenly began to make me a fine red paste...*shivers*

[Ozreth]

Dungeons and Dragons Online just went free to play. Its a solid MMORPG, particularly if you like MMOs and/or Dungeons and Dragons.

Check it out @ ddo.com

Other than that I am currently replaying a bunch of ps1 rpgs while waiting for ff13 and 14 to come out next year! And im looking forward to Dragon Age.