A good starting point for PC?

[J T]

I have shyed away from PC gaming for years and only stuck to consoles because I hate how each new game seemed to exist only to prove that my hardware had become outdated overnight. So, when I bought a really nice laptop a few weeks ago, I didn't even think about high end gaming when I purchased it. However, it recently occurred to me that I can not only play my old emulators and lo-fi indie games on this thing, but I can actually play some of the cutting edge games I've been missing out on because I don't have a PS3 or XBox 360. I'm not sure where to start though. I have been envious of the following games and am excited that I can now potentially play them:

Mass Effect
Bioshock
The Orange Box
Grand Theft Auto IV
Fallout 3
Crysis

Do you guys know if any of these are poorly ported to the PC?

Or do they have god-awful DRM issues?
(I read amazon reviews of Mass Effect that complained you only get 3 installs and have to be connected to EA online's server to run your game, so any hope of having this game longterm is down the toilet. That's not cool with me.)

Any recommendations on where to start as I get into PC gaming again for the first time since the original Doom came out?


I've also recently discovered the joys of Steam and downloaded Audiosurf and Braid! My Steam ID is Jungle_Toad if you care about that sort of thing.

[Mozgus]

I've also recently discovered the joys of Steam and downloaded Audiosurf and Braid! My Steam ID is Jungle_Toad if you care about that sort of thing.

viewtopic.php?f=26&t=6935

[nickfil]

I've been out of the pc game.... for like... ever. The last one i installed came on 3.5 floppies.

so what games are good on the pc that i can't get on the xbox or wii? I can't find a good list of pc only games, and the only ones i know about are all older. Descent series and system shock. Just installed grim fandango.

any ideas on newer stuff?

[Mozgus]

Anyway, pirate Mass Effect if you cant tolerate the DRM. Bioshock is mediocre, pay no more than $10 for it. Orange Box is a must buy. GTA4 is supposedly one of the worst PC ports in recent history, so I completely avoided it. Fallout 3 is fine if you haven't already played Oblivion to death. Crysis is garbage, and no terrestrial PC can run the fucking thing properly.

[Tancred]

Bioshock is an incredibly dumbed down and simplified version of System Shock 2 for modern gamers with small brains who only care about style over substance.

Mass Effect = DRM. Above average game. Not even worth it. It's the typical BioWare game. Imagine Jade Empire in space or KOTOR without Star Wars and there you go.
The Orange Box = Steam = DRM
GTA 4 = Abysmal port
Fallout 3 = Godawful game. Play the original 2 Fallout titles. Late 90s masterpieces.
Crysis = Very fun. It is style over substance but the gameplay was fun enough and had me going on until the end. Besides, the graphics are absolutely jaw dropping amazing if you can run the thing which I doubt any laptop can on the highest settings.

My budget gaming rig is an AMD Phenom II 940 overclocked to 3.4 ghz and an Nvidia 9800 GTX+ graphics card and I average around 32 FPS at 1920 x 1080 resolution. The stand-alone expansion pack is a garbage filled DRM disaster and runs even worse. I didn't think it'd be possible. It's about 4-5 hours long and lacks everything that made the original fun.

Sadly, yes most PC games nowadays are filled with DRM whether it's limited installations or Steam. Long do I yearn for the days when SecuROM and SafeDisc were the norm. Piracy is the way to go unless you don't mind paying $50 for a rental.

PC gaming is pretty dead nowadays too. Most games are in fact console ports. I'd be okay with it however most console games are pretty shitty. There are a few diamonds in between the turds though. The Witcher is without doubt one of the greatest games and RPGs ever made. There is no obvious good/bad in this game. Everyone is corrupt. There is no morality, only decisions and their consequences. Mirror's Edge is also a very solid title. It's repetitive and short but features innovative gameplay features that are definitely worth checking out.

For modern DRM free gaming, I suggest checking out games published by Stardock. Sins of a Solar Empire came out last year and is one of the few good PC only titles. There is no single player campaign but there are plenty of scenarios, different maps, etc. Gameplay is incredibly deep, graphics are gorgeous, and it's a very addictive title. Just a few days ago Stardock published Demigod which is a very fun RTS/action RPG hybrid. Sadly it also lacks a single player campaign but unlike Sins of a Solar Empire, the AI isn't bright so single player isn't challenging. But if multiplayer is your thing then defintely get it. $35 brand new.

If the last PC game you truly played was DOOM, then I wholeheartedly recommend you check out late 90s/early to mid 2000s titles. Current generation of gaming is without doubt the worst.

Lastly, just out of curiosity what are the specs of your laptop?

[J T]

Here are the specs on the laptop:

HP Pavilion dv5 Notebook PC
AMD Turion X2 Ultra Dual-Core Mobile ZM-80 with 2.10 GHz processor
4.00GB RAM
Windows Vista Home Premium, 64 bit
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 with 512 MB dedicated video memory
IDT High Definition Audio

[fast]

A 3450 is an ok gpu for gaming. You will be able to play most new games at medium settings. Older games like Half-Life 2 will run swimmingly on high. Out of your list you will probably have issues with Fallout 3 and Crysis. If we knew what kind of games you like we could give you better suggestions.

And to nitpit, The Orange Box is a pc title first and foremost, Half-Life, sans Decay, was always made to be a PC game. But thats just the fanboy in me screaming.

[Flashman85]

The Orange Box is by far the most recent PC game I own, but here are a few older games that are among my favorites (dunno how much you'll like them, but here goes):

FPS
- Star Wars: Jedi Knight series (great lightsaber combat and fun Force powers)
- Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force and Elite Force 2 (possibly the best Star Trek games ever made, which I know isn't saying much)
- No One Lives Forever 1 and 2 (funny 60s spy game; kinda like Austin Powers: The FPS, but a little less ridiculous, and starring a woman)

Strategy/Simulation
- SimCity series: SC 2000 is my favorite--simple, yet elegant--but SC 3000 is a worthy upgrade, and SC 4 is interesting but too complex for my tastes.
- Master of Orion II (turn-based space strategy; colonize planets, research cool technology, build ships and conquer the galaxy--don't bother with MOO I or MOO III)
- Civilization series (turn-based strategy; similar to the above, but you take over the world)
- Heroes of Might and Magic series, specifically III and V (turn-based fantasy strategy; build a city, send heroes to explore the world, fight battles with lots of neat monsters)

Adventure
- Monkey Island series (hilarious; start with Secret of Monkey Island if you can find it)
- Space Quest/King's Quest/Police Quest series (Vivendi released compilations of all of these a few years ago, and they're a great bargain)


Alright, so that's way more than "a few," but hopefully you'll see at least one that you like.

[MrPopo]

Go into the Steam browser, and buy Deus Ex. One of the finest PC games ever made. It was ported to the consoles, but all that succeeded in doing was pissing off the fanbase when the sequence was an Xbox game ported to the PC.

I'd also recommend the Max Payne games; you can get both off Steam for $15, which is well worth the money. Third person shooters with the main gimmicks being bullet time (the first game to really popularize it) and the noir atmosphere.

[dlmvii]

don't forget Quake III