How easy is it to become a PC gamer?
- Thread starter NinjaDeathSlap
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There are plenty of games you can run on anything, heck, back at my old work, I had a couple of games installed on my comp (yeah, not much work, those were the days) and also my 2004 laptop can run Counter-Strike Source with no problems at all. Just search a bit and you will find something that will suit your tastes, just search a bit on the Steam store or in GOG. As for my personal PC favorites, I could give you a couple of games that you may or may not like.
1. Wolfentein: Enemy Territory - Think of Team Fortress, but in WW2 and without silly hats. This game uses the Quake 3 engine, so yes, while it's a bit dated (and it can run on pretty much anything), it's still a lot of fun to play and the game is still very much alive, especially because it's absolutely, 100% free, no, it's not like those crappy corean games, this is the entire, full game you're getting, plus the immense ammount of user created content that's surprisingly great and even improves the core game itself, like new maps, weapons, modes, sounds... almost anything. Honestly, this is one of my all time favorite games, so I may be a bit biased towards it, but still, check it out, it's like a ~256 mb download and it's free, so, you've got nothing to lose.
2. Quake Live - Speaking of Quake 3, this is Quake 3, but for free and you can play it on any web browser on any computer. Quake 3 is also one of my favorite games and Quake Live is pretty much identical to Quake 3, but easier to get into, without having to download hundreds of mods.
3. Pretty much any Valve game, I can't decide wich one is my favorite, but Counter-Strike definitively isn't one of them. Check out Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat Source and if you haven't already, Left 4 Dead 2. As for single player games, well, since you already said you have the Orange Box, there's not many games I can recommend you, unless you want to play Half-Life 2 with better graphics in HD resolution (HL2 of console version of the Orange Box is a port of the graphically inferior Xbox 1 version, but it's pretty much identical).
As for the games I had installed back at my old job, I had Unreal, Unreal Tournament and Plants vs Zombies.
You can't go wrong with those and if that peice of junk could run those, they will run in anything.
1. Wolfentein: Enemy Territory - Think of Team Fortress, but in WW2 and without silly hats. This game uses the Quake 3 engine, so yes, while it's a bit dated (and it can run on pretty much anything), it's still a lot of fun to play and the game is still very much alive, especially because it's absolutely, 100% free, no, it's not like those crappy corean games, this is the entire, full game you're getting, plus the immense ammount of user created content that's surprisingly great and even improves the core game itself, like new maps, weapons, modes, sounds... almost anything. Honestly, this is one of my all time favorite games, so I may be a bit biased towards it, but still, check it out, it's like a ~256 mb download and it's free, so, you've got nothing to lose.
2. Quake Live - Speaking of Quake 3, this is Quake 3, but for free and you can play it on any web browser on any computer. Quake 3 is also one of my favorite games and Quake Live is pretty much identical to Quake 3, but easier to get into, without having to download hundreds of mods.
3. Pretty much any Valve game, I can't decide wich one is my favorite, but Counter-Strike definitively isn't one of them. Check out Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat Source and if you haven't already, Left 4 Dead 2. As for single player games, well, since you already said you have the Orange Box, there's not many games I can recommend you, unless you want to play Half-Life 2 with better graphics in HD resolution (HL2 of console version of the Orange Box is a port of the graphically inferior Xbox 1 version, but it's pretty much identical).
As for the games I had installed back at my old job, I had Unreal, Unreal Tournament and Plants vs Zombies.
You can't go wrong with those and if that peice of junk could run those, they will run in anything.
If you (or your brother) can find it on the Dell website post a link, you'll get much better answers when there are proper specs.NinjaDeathSlap said:
If your computer was made in the last 2 years and you get a relatively good graphics card (maybe 2 generations ago, the prices fall fast), get the proper directX and such I don't think there is any reason you couldn't have a decent gaming computer.
Also check the way it is built. Some laptops have removable plates that let you just undo some screws, pop the panel and look inside. If not you'll probably have to take it apart to make changes so I'd say read up on it before attempting anything.
Im quite sure it can run both TF2 and Counterstrike.. They are both "old" games that dont take alot of hardware to run..
Also note that TF2 is the best game ever made, i was not into pc gaming before i tried that.. Singlehandedly bougth a gaming rig just because of TF2
Also note that TF2 is the best game ever made, i was not into pc gaming before i tried that.. Singlehandedly bougth a gaming rig just because of TF2
Well, unfortunately, I have to agree with your brother in that the only console-comparative experience you'd get on a PC is with a desktop. Graphics card or not, even the "true gaming laptops" have a lot of problems with overheating. Plus, desktops tend to be cheaper when comparing two hardware-equivalent computers.
All is not lost, though, since some realms of PC gaming are not obsessed with graphics. I would recommend TF2, but that game has gotten more and more resource-intensive over time as they add their millionth hat to the game.
As some random ideas, I would try emulators of old systems, plus smaller games made by indie studios. Many completely new games on Steam are entirely 2D. Some ideas:
Iji (free)
SpaceChem
Cave Story (free)
Older adventure games like Monkey Island
The "Chzo Mythos" series, starring Trilby (made by our very own Yahtzee Croshaw)
Uplink
3D:
Half-Life 1 and its many many mods
Half-Life 2 (the original MIGHT be okay on a laptop, source has slowly gotten more demanding)
All is not lost, though, since some realms of PC gaming are not obsessed with graphics. I would recommend TF2, but that game has gotten more and more resource-intensive over time as they add their millionth hat to the game.
As some random ideas, I would try emulators of old systems, plus smaller games made by indie studios. Many completely new games on Steam are entirely 2D. Some ideas:
Iji (free)
SpaceChem
Cave Story (free)
Older adventure games like Monkey Island
The "Chzo Mythos" series, starring Trilby (made by our very own Yahtzee Croshaw)
Uplink
3D:
Half-Life 1 and its many many mods
Half-Life 2 (the original MIGHT be okay on a laptop, source has slowly gotten more demanding)
If you're not sure, you could test it by installing Steam and downloading a few free demos. There must be a Source game with a demo somewhere on Steam which will let you test its capabilities.
If the demo works, the game should work although things don't always operate the way you think they ought to; I use my netbook for gaming a fair bit - it will run Steam happily and it will run World of Warcraft happily but it struggles with Minecraft and it won't play Machinarium at all even though, from the outside, it looks like it should go the opposite way.
If the demo works, the game should work although things don't always operate the way you think they ought to; I use my netbook for gaming a fair bit - it will run Steam happily and it will run World of Warcraft happily but it struggles with Minecraft and it won't play Machinarium at all even though, from the outside, it looks like it should go the opposite way.
Get a PC. Install a game on it. Play said game. Done.
That's how it worked for me at least, since I had played nothing but PlayStation games prior to owning a PC. I didn't know there was a huge learning curve involved.
As far as system requirements go, the website canyourunit.com can pretty much tell you whether a game will be playable on your system without you having to look up a bunch of stuff.
That's how it worked for me at least, since I had played nothing but PlayStation games prior to owning a PC. I didn't know there was a huge learning curve involved.
As far as system requirements go, the website canyourunit.com can pretty much tell you whether a game will be playable on your system without you having to look up a bunch of stuff.
Really? The first PC games I ever played were C&C Red Alert 2, Half-Life, and SimCity 3000. I picked up on them just as quickly as I picked up on the PlayStation. Apart from having to up upgrade hardware on occasion and deal with the occasional 'x feature doesn't work right' Google search, I haven't seen any huge difference. Besides a lot of dickishness within the communities.AnythingOutstanding said:
Actually, now that I think about it, get steam, and pick up Alien Swarm (for free!). If you can run that well enough, I think it's safe to say that you can run most source-based games.
I'm well aware that these games are all best played on PC, but I'm going to be a buzzkill and point some stuff out.NinjaDeathSlap said:
Half Life is on PS2. Counter Strike came out on the original Xbox and Team Fortress 2 has plenty of players on both Xbox Live and PSN (well, not right NOW it doesn't, but you get the idea [a friend lent me his copy of orange box ps3 and i found full game of TF2 withing 10 senonds]). Crysis is still exclusive, though, and miles better than that consolified Crysis 2.
But regardless, they're all better on PC.
First things first, get steam! it is the god of PC gaming, with sales(I picked up Bad company 2 for less than $7) also, it offers a wide variety of all games for styles, and is just kinda cool, I don't have a gaming rig, unlike some of my more "hardcore" friends, but i can still run crysis on medium settings, so as long as your PC is fairly modern, you should be fine
Your brother is kinda wrong. My girlfriend uses her laptop for gaming, and even though it wasn't designed for it she never has any trouble with it. She uses steam and regularly kicks my ass on L4D2 and Counter strike.NinjaDeathSlap said:
So i suggest downloading steam, buying a couple of games and having a go with them before you consider buying a new laptop.
If it lags you could always look at things like defragging your memory or using a C drive cleaner. They usually clear up performance a bit. Also, if you don't already, get a mouse. A cheap usb one will be fine but i find that the laptop touch pads are impossible for gaming.
If you have to get a new laptop look for one with a fair bit of memory and a decent graphics card and processor, and have fun!