Video game suggestions

[toasty]

So, last semester I played League of Legends for about 3 hours average every day (that includes weekends, people)

I like LoL, but I want another game too. I have some money and I was looking at buying a game that might be fun and entertaining both in multiplayer and single player. Basically either an FPS or an RTS. Thing is, I don't really know what I want and there seem to be an appaling lack of demos out there for some of the games that sound interesting. I tried World in Conflict today and it didn't seem like my cup of tea, I think Battlefield: Bad Company II might be interesting, but there is no PC demo for it so I'm at a loss to know how good it is.

So, any suggestions for a good RTS or FPS game for the PC? And no, CoD Blac Ops doesn't count. Plus its about twice as expensive as I'd like to pay. I'd really like it if I could keep my costs to 30 dollars.

[Inhuman Bot]

So, last semester I played League of Legends for about 3 hours average every day (that includes weekends, people)

I like LoL, but I want another game too. I have some money and I was looking at buying a game that might be fun and entertaining both in multiplayer and single player. Basically either an FPS or an RTS. Thing is, I don't really know what I want and there seem to be an appaling lack of demos out there for some of the games that sound interesting. I tried World in Conflict today and it didn't seem like my cup of tea, I think Battlefield: Bad Company II might be interesting, but there is no PC demo for it so I'm at a loss to know how good it is.

So, any suggestions for a good RTS or FPS game for the PC? And no, CoD Blac Ops doesn't count. Plus its about twice as expensive as I'd like to pay. I'd really like it if I could keep my costs to 30 dollars.

I'll say the obvious, Team Fortress 2?

[Mtg_player_zach]

I'll say the obvious, Team Fortress 2?

Seconded, also, when in mumble, just ask me to play tf2 and I probably will. I used to (am?) be good at the game. It's only consumed about 1000 hours of my life.

[warty goblin]

I can't speak to the multiplayer, but Battlefield Company 2's singleplayer is a lot of fun - just so long as you keep your tongue lodged firmly in your cheek throughout. It's more goofy buddy action story than gripping military drama, and given the dreck that characterizes most 'serious' shooters I'd say it's definitely better off for that.

RTSwise, my clickfest of choice this year has been Supreme Commander 2. I find the scale a perfect compromise between size and immediacy. It generally requires very little of what I would consider tedious micromanagement, which is to say it's a lot of ordering this group to that location, and a lot less of ordering this individual tank to attack that individual robot. More interesting strategy, less boring unit babysitting.

[toasty]

Seconded, also, when in mumble, just ask me to play tf2 and I probably will. I used to (am?) be good at the game. It's only consumed about 1000 hours of my life.

TF 2... you know I think I should probably try this. I did realize this morning that I have HL Deathmatch and that might solve my need for a Source FPS. HL Deathmatch is fun. :D

I will consider Supreme Commander 2 Warty, thanks for the suggestion.

[fknm]

Supreme Commander 2 was a pale shadow of its predecessor (Supreme Commander + Forged Alliance). The influence of SquareEnix pretty much ruined the game and turned it into simplified crap.

For RTS games, the clear winner of 2010 is Starcraft 2. Probably not quite as good as Starcraft: Brood War, but a very good game in its own right.

[Top_Hat]

Phshaw. HL2 deathmatch is just leftover scraps from HL2 proper. At the least you could download some nice multiplayer mods for HL2 like Eternal Silence or The Hidden (best with friends).

If you want to put money down on a game, I would suggest team fortress 2 as well, though the game has become slightly less newb friendly due to new weapon unlocks and the like. The Playground has 2 servers and you will assuredly be welcomed by all of us :-)

before we backstab you.

[warty goblin]

Supreme Commander 2 was a pale shadow of its predecessor (Supreme Commander + Forged Alliance). The influence of SquareEnix pretty much ruined the game and turned it into simplified crap.

Either that, or it's a different game trying to do different things. Since I don't consider how well something lives up to its predecessors a valuable avenue of criticism capable of producing any meaningful information or thought, I only care about whether Supreme Commander 2 is an enjoyable game. Steam says I've spent 33 hours playing SupCom 2, which I take a fairly strong confirmation that it's plenty enjoyable.

For RTS games, the clear winner of 2010 is Starcraft 2. Probably not quite as good as Starcraft: Brood War, but a very good game in its own right.

Starcraft was one of the least enjoyable games I have ever tried to play. I slogged through the first nine missions of the Terran missions during a month when I could only play games on my laptop, before I realized I was having vastly more fun playing the same three levels of the Crimsonland demo over and over for the five minutes the evaluation version allowed me.

[Nosferocktu]

Dawn of war series. Can't go wrong with any of them. I personally enjoyed Soulstorm. The sisters are awesome.

[Triaxx]

Then they should have given it a new name and new IP.

But I agree, while Starcraft has it's moment's, there are far more interesting games out there. Especially for single player.

Don't forget that you can usually get the good games on Amazon. Personally I still enjoy playing large parts of the original Call of Duty. And Halo is fun, regardless of the XboX v PC argument. Plus it's got an insanely moddable version called Halo Custom Edition, which is much more fun.

[Anonymouswizard]

For RTS I suggest either Starcraft 2(for me the selection of more than 12 units is a great addition), or the original Dawn of War (for two reasons, it is more of an RTS than it's more 40k-like sequel, and you get chaos in the base game, and I like chaos).