Game suggestions

[Rodion Romanovich]

What games can you recommend from the last 3 years? I haven't played that many of the games released in the last 3 years so I'm interested in all titles released between 2003 and today. I'm looking for games with tactics and strategy aspects being more important than clicking fast, and where the story etc. isn't too linear (alternative ways of completing missions desired). Mostly historical and realistic games classified as tactical FPS (OFP for example), turn based strategy (MTW etc), simulation (naval battles, tanks etc) or RTS (if it's an RTS without too much clickfest style). Some fantasy and sci-fi setting games are however also acceptable if it's a credible and well-made immersive game world, however for non-realism games I tend to prefer more simplistic user interface and low learning curve, whereas for the realism games I have nothing against complex user interfaces.

[GiantMonkeyMan]

well for FPS i suggest Halo, Call of Duty (1 or 2) or Black... i've had many a fun hour playing these games, they are so intense and seemingly realistic although in all games it seems like you are a one man team which isn't very tactical
RTS: possibly Dawn of War... its great that you can customise each squad that you get and the campaign is quite fun... the expansion 'winter assault' has a more flexible campaign however
i don't play many simulation games, but a really fun one i did play around my friends house alot and then borrowed was Secret Weapons Over Normandy... it is basically a WW2 plane simulation game where you take part in various historical missions and the lark... multiplayer is also fun

but i suggest that you just check out the stores, find a cheap game that takes your fancy and go for it... if you end up not liking it then it was cheap so it didn't waste to much of your money or you could hold on until M2TW comes out

[doc_bean]

FPS: I think Far Cry is the best shooter I've played in years, it's tense, it's rather tactical at times, it's drop dead gorguous (still). Prey looks interesting, but the fights in the demo weren't that great, I might pick it up on budget. You should download the demos and see what you like.

RTS: I haven't really played any since Warcraft III, which was a very good game (especially due to the story), you mgiht want to check it out if you haven't playe dit yet (thoguh it's heavy on the fantasy of course).

4X: civ IV and Galactic Civilizations II

[econ21]

The only historical game from the last 3 years that stands out (CA stuff aside) is Vietcong (2004). It's made by the people who made Mafia (also superb) and is a shooter. What I like about it is that it has realistic feeling weapons, a very nice "right click to fire from cover" mechanic and very varied missions. There's a sufficient degree of freedom as to what you do to solve the mission - the maps are pretty wide open, so you can charge in, flank, call in artillery support if you like etc. Many missions have you working with a squad and I rather liked the whole story telling aspect. It's a little hackneyed perhaps, but feels like you are living through Platoon or Apocalypse Now at times. The combat is much less frenetic than say Call of Duty - less enemies - but less realistic than Ghost Recon. I think it gets the balance just right though - the one shot, one kill of GR just makes for a lot of reloading or turns the game into a sniping fest. The expansion and Vietcong 2 are not worth buying though, IMO.

Aside from the war historical stuff, Civ4 is an impressive game which M2TW could learn a lot from in some aspects (notably diplomacy and the strategic AI: man, it is a challenging game at higher difficulty levels, unless you are a warmonger). It has a lot of chrome and flavoursome details (religion, great people). And for the first time, Civ combat is actually rather fun (rock-paper-scissors + customisation of units through upgrades + eye-candy).

My favorite genre is RPGs and there the stand out has been Vampire Bloodlines. Talk about an immersive world! I initially hated the premise (no desire to be a vampire), at the end, I was lurking in the sewers, leaping on people to bite their necks etc with abandon. It has a pretty solid character creation/levelling system, Half-life 2 graphics and absolutely top-notch dialogue and side-quests. The best CRPG since Baldurs Gate 2, I reckon.

I also really like KOTOR2. A lot of people put it down for being a bit rushed at the end. But I really liked the Dark Empire Strikes Back feel and rate the game up there with KOTOR1. The main NPC, Kreia, is as memorable as Minsc and infinitely more complex.

[Crandaeolon]

The Brothers in Arms series is an interesting take on a tactical FPS (you command two small squads, but POV is first person), worth checking out. I'd recommend the second game, Earned in Blood - it has some features that the first doesn't.

Silent Storm came out in 2003 iirc, and is a good turn-based WW2-era squad-level game. The game has minor scifi elements and alternate history though. The newer Silent Storm: Sentinels is similar.

For RTS, Company of Heroes can't be beaten by anything recent, or maybe anything ever. (At the moment Metacritics ranks it the best RTS ever and the 4th best PC game of all time, directly below Half-Lifes and BG2.)

[C-F]

Well, I have(am) personally enjoying Emperor rise of middle kingdom a city builder, Crusader Kings, and Victoria, both from Paradox very much.
They are pretty complex and require patience, thought, and creativity to succeed and enjoy.

All three have their own weaknesses and strengths and are certainly 'open ended'...
Ps, not sure if they all fall within your date range...

/edit Oh, btw, right around the corner are Caesar IV, M2TW, EU III, to be released - of course, there is no 'opinion'-yet, just something to look forward to...

[Orb]

Backing up a couple of other suggestions:

KOTOR 2 was pretty good, as I remember, until the end where everything felt too rushed. If they'd spent a couple of months getting the final bit right, it would've been a great game.

Warcraft III is the only RTS which I've liked the campaign for - very involving, great fun, it's a pity that I'm absolutely awful at it. AOE 3 is also great, and I'm much better at that, even if the campaign is unbearably naff.

[Kekvit Irae]

Two games come to mind...

Vampire: Bloodlines for the FPS/RPG elements and Star Wars: Empire At War for the space battles and RTS elements.

EaW is fun because large space battles are much more than "select unit, right click target, wait until target is dead". All the big capital ships have hardpoints (turbo laser, ion cannon, shield generator, engine, etc) that must be destroyed before the ship itself is destroyed, so even a critically damaged ship can survive through the good grace of intercepting TIEs/Wings before the TIE Bombers/Y-Wings can destroy the ship. Sending your bombers to take out a proton torpedo launcher on a capital ship (missiles ignore shields) before they get in range of your own capital ships or transports is the key to survival. Building Ion Cannons (Rebellion) or Magnapulse Cannons (Empire) on the planet surface is vital to planetary space defence because they can fire on and disable/destroy heavy capital ships (ALA Battle of Hoth, Empire Strikes Back), giving your own ships a juicy target.
Where Star Wars: Rebellion failed in space battles, EaW is just marvelous. Land battles... look like your normal Resource Transit System (C&C/WC RTS) fair on the outside, but it's actually quite different. It's more along the lines of a cross between seek-and-destroy and king of the hill (reinforcement points).
When managing system resources on the Galatic view, EaW falters in comparison to Rebellion, but it does do a good job anyway.

[Beirut]

Fly!

Grab the Il2-series, a flightstick, and you've got hundreds of hours of great fun ahead of you.

[Geoffrey S]

I'll second the suggestions of Knights of the Old Republic and Vampire: Bloodlines for excellent rpgs. Both have great plots, dialogues and really drag you into the setting. Personally also really enjoyed Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy, certainly the first half.

If you happen to have a GameCube, I can effortlessly recommend Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. It might not look involving, but it has perfect gameplay mechanics, a highly involving tactical game with a slow pace, and a very solid plot with excellent characters. It also kept me entertained for a long time, it blends various elements (turnbased strategy, rpg, puzzles) into one of my favourite games of all time.

[The_Mark]

Get a couple of new mods for OFP.

[The Spartan (Returns)]

Brother In Arms: Road To Hill 30.
it has tactics and its a FPS.

[Crandaeolon]

Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood would be a better choice if you missed the first one. EiB has a better AI and some other features RtH30 doesn't.

[Csargo]

Brother In Arms: Road To Hill 30.
it has tactics and its a FPS.

Yeah that was a really fun game.

[Kongamato]

Another tactical FPS out there is SWAT 4 and its expansion. SWAT 3 purists have issues with it, but I found it to be a fun and atmospheric game where the right tactics made a huge difference in the outcome of each mission.

[Rodion Romanovich]

Nice, this should be enough for a few months

[DukeofSerbia]

Call of Duty + Unitted Offensive, Call of Duty 2, Far Cry, Need Fro Speed Most Wanted, ISS Pro Evolution...

[The Spartan (Returns)]

if you want a pure fps game, get Halo 2. very fun.

[econ21]

Nice, this should be enough for a few months

Well, that's all you need: a month or two. Right now there seems to be oncoming rush of very promising games about to be released.

M2TW

NWN2

EB 0.8

Mark of Chaos

Dawn of War: Dark Crusade

Gothic 3

It's curious because there seems to have been a fairly long dry patch in the last two years. Only Oblivion got me salivating in the way the first three on my coming soon list does.

[Kekvit Irae]

NWN2 is definately on my "to-buy" list

[SwordsMaster]

Well, that's all you need: a month or two. Right now there seems to be oncoming rush of very promising games about to be released.

M2TW

NWN2

EB 0.8

Mark of Chaos

Dawn of War: Dark Crusade

Gothic 3

It's curious because there seems to have been a fairly long dry patch in the last two years. Only Oblivion got me salivating in the way the first three on my coming soon list does.

Don't forget EUIII, Caesar IV...

[doc_bean]

Don't forget EUIII, Caesar IV...

and Supreme Commander !

Now there's a game I've been waiting for for ages.

[The_Mark]

Well, that's all you need: a month or two. Right now there seems to be oncoming rush of very promising games about to be released.

M2TW

NWN2

EB 0.8

Mark of Chaos

Dawn of War: Dark Crusade

Gothic 3

It's curious because there seems to have been a fairly long dry patch in the last two years. Only Oblivion got me salivating in the way the first three on my coming soon list does.

You forgot Armed Assault.

[Rodion Romanovich]

Phew! How will I get time for real-life now?

[The_Mark]

Real life is obviously overrated.

[Incongruous]

Hahaha, Great call!
After someone on this thread said BiA EiB was good I went out and bought (just after I'd had my interview with the EB manager hehee ) and it's awsome! Like I though COD was good, but this is ten times better, hey the gfx might not be as good, but their still nice to look at and man when you go up onto the higher levels of difficulty those germans sure do get tough. You aslo become emersed, like when I see a man getting blazed I instantly feel a surge of anguish for AI buddies.

[Kekvit Irae]

Anyone ever try the old game Anachronox? It's a third-person sci-fi adventure/RPG that is loaded with lots of humor. It starts out slow, especially if you dont know where you are going, but picks up soon afterwards with battles and interesting bosses.

[Fragony]

If you just want to blow up some stuff get Black. It's gets old pretty fast but shooting never looked this good. I think this game was a forced release, it should have been no less then the greatest shooter ever made.

Pity

[doc_bean]

Anyone ever try the old game Anachronox? It's a third-person sci-fi adventure/RPG that is loaded with lots of humor. It starts out slow, especially if you dont know where you are going, but picks up soon afterwards with battles and interesting bosses.

While I didn't think it was a bad game, I'm surprised to see it recommended. The battles aren't really interesting and most of the gameplay revolves around finding a certain item/person/place/whatever. It felt more like an old school adventure game than an RPG in that regard.