Role-playing games

[Quirinus]

I'm looking to pick up on role-playing games-- I've heard that Fable is pretty good, but any other recommendations? I'm looking for a good introduction to RPG gaming. I have a mid-range computer, so I can't play anything too fancy. How much HD space does a typical RPG require, and how long does it take to complete?

[Xehh II]

Baldurs Gate series are, in my opinion, the best RPG games available.

[Quirinus]

I'll be sure to check these out... which one is the best/ provides the best introduction to the series?

I've just successfully installed KotOR, but it lags spectacularly even on low graphics. The reviews sound very promising, but one-frame-a-second lag is just too bad.

[PBI]

I'm partial to Morrowind and Oblivion myself, probably a good introduction to the genre as they are not too challenging for occasional RPGers like myself but with enough depth to still be fun. Oblivion is a beast to run on my 2-year old comp though, so the older but still very fine Morrowind would probably be the better choice (probably quite cheap now too).

[rajpoot]

1. Oblivion (Openess, freedom such as you'll not find in any other game)
2. Witcher (Great story, but tough reqs)
3. Mount and Blade (If you don't have it, BUY IT NOW!!! This one's worth every penny, you can live like a medieval baron.)

[naut]

Baldurs Gate is epic.

[CrossLOPER]

Download Mount and Blade, then try Morrowind. Oblivion is a simplified Morrowind.

[Justiciar]

Oblivion would be easier for someone unfamiliar with RPGs, methinks. Morrowind, though an older game, has more depth and freedom - key elements of the genre.

[Whacker]

Quinirus, something that should be mentioned here. Oblivion is not an RPG. It's a 'deep' fantasy FPS. (Flame away folks ) Morrowind is closer to the series' RPG roots.

I recently reinstalled KOTOR1 not long ago and experienced the same problems on my monster rig. Google around and you'll find a solution, it involves disabled some line in an .ini file. Hopefully that will fix the situation for you, KOTOR1 is an experience not to deny yourself.

[Veho Nex]

I cant believe you guys... No one mentioned Fall Out...

[Kekvit Irae]

Any of the Gold Box series. You oldschoolers know what I'm talking about. ESPECIALLY Eye of the Beholder and Eye of the Beholder II (forget III, that was a piece of crap), as well as Dungeon Hack and Stronghold (1990).

Daggerfall. If it wasn't for this game's legions of fans (including myself) on uesp.net and TES: The Essential Site, Morrowind would never have even existed.

Fallout 1 & 2. What else is there to say? If you haven't played the Fallout series, you cannot consider yourself a real role-player.

Baldur's Gate I & II (plus expansions). As above, if you haven't played the Baldur's Gate series, you cannot consider yourself a real role-player.

Castle of the Winds. A Rogue-like game for Windows 3.1 (but works perfectly fine in XP) that was once shareware, but released years later as freeware.

[Zenicetus]

I'd recommend the Baldur's Gate series, starting at the first one. It shouldn't give you any problems on an old computer, and it will be a great introduction. The graphics are dated, but I don't think the character development, character interaction, or storyline has been done better in any later RPG game. Many of us who grew up through games like this, consider the BG series something of a gold standard for RPG's.

After Baldur's Gate (if you finish all of them, and that could take a year or more, depending on your free time!), you might try the first NeverWinter Nights game. It's easier on PC hardware than the NWN2 sequel, and there are some great user-written story modules for it.

There is a more modern type of "RPG" that's sort of a combination of classic RPG concepts and the first person shooter game, like The Witcher, Bioshock, and Mass Effect. There is some character development, typically involving good or evil paths through the game, and a storyline to follow, but you'll spend a lot of your time fighting through action sequences. Of those three, The Witcher is probably closer to a classic RPG (you'll spend at least as much time following plot developments as fighting) and it's very good. There is also Oblivion, which I haven't tried and I'm not sure how closely it fits the RPG genre.

But all these combination 3D shooter/RPG's will require a fairly modern rig for a smooth frame rate. My computer is a couple years old now (Athlon 64 3800+, 2 Gigs Ram), but with a fairly recent graphics card (GeForce 8800 GTS). With that graphics card update, I can run at least the Witcher and Bioshock just fine, with smooth frame rates, if not the most hardware-crushing recent games like Crysis. So you might be able to try some of these newer games with just a graphics card update, if you're not close to a full system replacement.

And then there's Mount & Blade, a terrific simulation of mounted medieval combat. I'm having a blast with it, but I'm not sure I'd call it an RPG exactly. You can develop your character and his/her mini-army of followers in several different directions -- raider, rebel, or loyal underling to a King. So there's that role-playing aspect. But there isn't any set goal or storyline, so it feels a little more like a sandbox medieval simulator than an RPG to me, but your mileage may vary. You might want to try this, since it's not as demanding on hardware as most of the recent first or third person 3D games. Try the free demo, if you're interested. But get Baldur's Gate too!

[PBI]

Oblivion is not an RPG.

How's that exactly? I mean it has quests and leveling and stuff. (Not flaming, just genuinely confused.)

[CrossLOPER]

How's that exactly? I mean it has quests and leveling and stuff. (Not flaming, just genuinely confused.)

An RPG is not about quests and leveling and "stuff". It's about meaningful events that shape your character and add meaning to what he or she is setting out to do. Leveling is fluff added to keep you interested.... or busy. I posted a a few short paragraphs on the Bethesda forums about what RPGs should be about.

I cant believe you guys... No one mentioned Fall Out...

We don't want to scare him away now, do we?

[CrossLOPER]

double post

[Quirinus]

We don't want to scare him away now, do we?

o.O Why's that? Is it intimidating?


Currently my to-play-list goes like this:

1. Oblivion
2. Mass Effect
3. Neverwinter Nights II
4. The Witcher
.... and after that, well, it's still a long way off.


I checked out the Baldur's Gate series, but they use the top-down, Diablo-like perspective, which I really really dislike, so.. meh. So does the first Neverwinter Nights game, I think.

Btw, I'm curious as to how Mass Effect performs on a mid-range computer. It's a new game, and the graphics look pretty snazzy, so I'm not sure my computer can handle it.

[Warmaster Horus]

Even if you lower the graphics, it looks rather nice. And it's a rather nice game too, so try it.
It does take a whopping 10 gig or so to install. And of course there's the ****** copy protection.
And what are your specs? How well does Oblivion perform, for instance?

[Quirinus]

Haven't tried Oblivion either, but RTW runs okay on medium settings, if that helps any.

[Warmaster Horus]

Uh... I think you'll have to run MEPC on low graphics.
There's a neat site which has tips for how to improve performance. Give me a minute or so and I'll give it to you.

EDIT: and here you go! TweakGuides.com. It's also got guides for Oblivion and Neverwinter Nights 2.

[CrossLOPER]

o.O Why's that? Is it intimidating?

Well, for on it has the top-down perspective, which you dislike for some reason. Another reason would bethat it is a bit aged. That may not bother you, but remember that older RPGs tend to be much more difficult and in-depth, demanding some micro-managing. If you really want to try it, go right ahead. My friend loves the series.

[Red Spot]

I'm looking to pick up on role-playing games-- I've heard that Fable is pretty good

I've played Fable on the X-box, its surelly a nice game .. but almost could be called a FPS, any 'real' plot-following and decision-making isnt there.
most of the time you just need to accomplish set goals where here and there it influences your allignement towards good or evil .. surelly a nice game, but dont buy it as a true RPG as you'll end with a wrong impression of what a "good" RPG should play imo
(for the 6 or 7 € you can buy it for now it is very much worth the money though)

[Sarathos]

Most definitely recommend
1. Kotor I & II
2. The Withcer
3. Bauldar's Gate
4. Bioshock
5. RL

[Kekvit Irae]

5. RL

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[naut]

I checked out the Baldur's Gate series, but they use the top-down, Diablo-like perspective, which I really really dislike, so.. meh. So does the first Neverwinter Nights game, I think.

Haha, fine. You'll only be doing yourself the disservice of missing out on one of the best games in the genre.

Don't try Oblivion first, it plays too much like a FPS. Of the ones you've listed play NWN II first.

[Ironside]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I must complain about the pvp features in that game, while it is possible to do it, the consequences are too dire.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[LittleGrizzly]

Castle of the Winds. A Rogue-like game for Windows 3.1 (but works perfectly fine in XP) that was once shareware, but released years later as freeware

OMG!! what a game!!

I only ever got to play the first bit, once i got to the second town i would goto the castle where there was only one level and then the guy refused to leave the town, is that just because it was the demo..

Thanks for the link you are now my favourite person, i'd half forgotten about that game, its basic but pretty damn entertaining!

I thought the whole weight to movement speed was a funky addition...

[Quirinus]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Holy crap, it's Kuala Lumpur! Excuse me while I piss myself in excitement at seeing my city on the Org.

But the thing I dislike about this game is that there's no save/load function: once you've made a bad choice you can't go back and replay, which sucks.



EDIT: I just found out that Mass Effect comes with SecuRom, which pretty much killed my interest in the game. </3 Oh well.

[Papewaio]

I went there earlier this year. Awesome city, not to hard to get around even if you only speak English.

Has plenty of different types of food. Malay, Indian and Chinese plus food courts/ shopping malls that aren't out of place in Sydney.

Traffic during rush hour is umm 'interesting'.

[Quirinus]

I went there earlier this year. Awesome city, not to hard to get around even if you only speak English.

Has plenty of different types of food. Malay, Indian and Chinese plus food courts/ shopping malls that aren't out of place in Sydney.

Traffic during rush hour is umm 'interesting'.

I tried out Oblivion yesterday. I was gonna save it for the weekend, but I couldn't resist. And lawdy, based on first impressions (I had gotten out of the sewers and walked around for a bit), it's an awesome game. Some aspects are a handful to master at first, but hot damn. The only downer for me is the lag, even when I'm playing on low texture and the lowest resolution (640 x 480 I think). I think I can look forward to many sleepless nights. <3

Actually another minor quibble is the character creation process-- adjusting the appearance is just way too complicated. With a million sliders and no idea what to do, I spent quite some time trying to make a face that didn't look so much like a pig. Custom faces are nice, but they should also have included some pre-mades as well, as the randomiser sucks spectacularly at making faces. Of course, that's a pretty minor issue, since we don't really see the face in-game all that much.

[Kekvit Irae]

Actually another minor quibble is the character creation process-- adjusting the appearance is just way too complicated. With a million sliders and no idea what to do, I spent quite some time trying to make a face that didn't look so much like a pig. Custom faces are nice, but they should also have included some pre-mades as well, as the randomiser sucks spectacularly at making faces. Of course, that's a pretty minor issue, since we don't really see the face in-game all that much.

I usually stick with default settings for shape and turn age down to a minimum. Trust me, your character will look a LOT better than what it shows on the character creation screen. You're just looking at a very zoomed-in perspective. You really need to just look at the character from the inventory screen in-game for the best view.

If all else fails, mod the hell out of it.