Looking for a specific kind of game

[SidheKnight]

Hello, my fellow internauts!

I'm looking for a game, but not any game, a very specific type of game.

It has to be a game that I can play whenever I want, without having to worry about leaving the game to do something important/urgent, and without having to worry about losing my progress if I have to leave the game abruptly.

It has to be a game that has some kind of progression of some sort (like an MMO, but it can be other genre, as long as it fits these requisites). It also has to be fun/interesting to play, and have some depth (so, no casual/passtime games like bejeweled or farmville). If it has a storyline, or rpg elements, even better.

It has to have no "end" (like most MMOs, though it doesn't "have" to be an MMO, if it is though, no problem) or if it has an end, it has to be a game that can be played over and over again without getting bored., and that is always different.

If the game has a grinding element to it, that's good, because I want to play, at least some parts of the game, as a side-activity while I listen to podcasts/youtube videos/radio/tv/etc.

It has to be a game that I would want to play for a considerable long time.

Basically, that's it.

Now you may be wondering why I want such a specific kind of game. Well, the game that used to fill this niche for me was World of Warcraft. I could grind reputation/professions/quests while listening to podcasts or youtube videos and getting ready for the week's raids. Problem is, my current schedule doesn't allow me to reserve some nights a week for raiding uninterrupted, and outside of raiding, WoW hasn't got many interesting things to do, besides I was getting bored of the game, and the story and lore of the game got way off the track and stopped being interesting for years. (Also, I don't like PvP).

P.S: It can be more than one game, though with at least one I will be pleased.

Sorry if this post is long!

 

[persephone]

Have you played Skryim? If you don't have it already, it's got basically everything you're looking for; in fact, it's been called a single-player MMO. You can save and quit at any time, so no losing progress, there's a lot of progression as you build your character (leveling up, perks, armor, weapons, spells), and the radiant quest system ensures you can, in fact, play forever (though the content will eventually stop being original, but that'll take hundreds of hours). There are several stories you can pursue, all in the general backdrop of dragons returning to Skyrim, and a civil war going on. It's not a perfect game, but it's pretty darn good.

Oblivion and Morrowind are of course also good choices for this sort of thing, but in my opinion, Skyrim has the best mechanics and gameplay. If you're really into ambiance and a gripping setting, though, go for Morrowind, if you don't mind going retro a bit (the engine is awful, but the game is still amazing). If you want a generic medieval fantasy world, go for Oblivion (with the exception of the Shivering Isles DLC, it's all painfully samey, though, and it looks kinda cartoonish).

 

[shrekfan246]

Well, you could always check out isometric dungeon-crawling ARPGs. Torchlight II, Grim Dawn, Path of Exile, and Diablo III in particular, I suppose.

You do technically lose progress when you leave the games insofar as enemies will have respawned and you'll generally be at the start of an area or its warp point, but it's rarely more than one-to-five minutes to get back to wherever you were. And I suppose they aren't really always different, depending on how strictly you define that; You'll be going through the same areas pretty often.

Plenty of JRPGs would potentially offer you that as well, especially depending on how much of a completionist you can be, though they generally have specific predetermined save points within the games so if you have to shut down the console suddenly... (One reason I love the Suspend features of the 3DS and PS Vita so much, actually, since you can just put them in sleep mode or something and your game will be at the same exact spot whenever you pull it back open later.)

 

[SlaveNumber23]

I recommend Minecraft, Dungeons of Dredmor and Torchlight 2, all are great for playing while listening to podcasts or music or watching tv etc. You can competently play these games while 'switched off' and doing something else. I also found Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning to work well for this purpose too, the combat is very fluid and natural and you aren't missing out on anything if you skip all of the dialogue.

I wouldn't recommend something like Skyrim as others have recommended because Skyrim is more demanding in terms of attention, it would be pretty difficult to play Skyrim without fully focusing. Also the combat in Skyrim is pretty awful and if you're playing it while doing something else you probably aren't going to be focused on the good elements of Skyrim.

 

[SidheKnight]

Thanks for all the good advice, guys =)

I have Skyrim, just never played it. Minecraft sounds like a good idea too, I'll buy it when I can. I also thought the Pokemon games for the 3DS would serve my purpose (and I love Pokemon) but I don't have a 3DS yet.

 

[Elemorea]

Mount and Blade!.

 

[DanielBrown]

Since you haven't played Minecraft I'll second that tip. Huge game with endless content as long as your creativity works. If you ever get bored with gathering materials, or just want to build something huge, you can change the mode to creativity which enables you to fly and have access to all blocks in the game. Try to find some friend(s) to play with though. It makes it way more fun.

http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Minecraft_Wiki will be your best friend when you begin your journey. Apart from other modern games Minecraft doesn't hold your hand at all. You gotta figure out the patterns to build tools and such yourself.

Also recomend looking at some texture packs if you decide to get it. There are some great ones out there. The original textures looks incredibly awful to me now that I'm used to the mods.

Can't really think about a new game to bring to this thread, but I'll look around my games a bit and check if I can find anything that works!

 

[Lawnmooer]

I'm going to have to also recommend Skyrim (Also, Oblivion and Morrowind also fit here)

There's RPG elements, easy save/reload for interruptions (Especially quicksave), there's a story evolving and due to the modding community the game is literally endless, especially now there's been enough time for people to make massive amounts of new quests and areas (If I recall correctly, someone actually made an expansion in Skyrim as a mod)

I'd also suggest Fallout: 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, very similar to TES in that there's RPG elements, easy saving/reloading and a story along with endless content through mods (Not as many quests or areas being modded in like for TES if I recall correctly)

 

[hermes]

Turn-based, no urgency, with progression, grinding, deep, RPG elements, long and replayable...

How about X-COM?

 

[SidheKnight]

Turn-based, no urgency, with progression, grinding, deep, RPG elements, long and replayable...

How about X-COM?

I have it installed too, but haven't played it yet. (I bought it on a Steam sale, same as Skyrim).

Thanks.

 

[deathbydeath]

I'd give Fallen London a shot, although it's "gameplay" is a hybrid of Farmville/stereotypical Facebook social games and an old-school text adventure. It's very well-written though.

 

[Prime_Hunter_H01]

If you have a 3DS I would suggest Etrian Odyssey 4 or Etrian Odyssey Untold, It is easy to pick up and put down, and it is re-playable as you can experiment with party builds every time, I have not beat ether yet, in fact from long sessions I am barely at level 30 as an average party level and Untold the one I have been playing the most has about 50ish floors and at level 30sih with alot of time put into it I am at floor 11 and trying to finish up some older side quests before I move on, Of its two modes I am playing Story Mode which had an Extra Dungeon that opens one more floor every 10 main floors, I dont know if it is in classic mode as well. Also on the Replay front you can pick story mode which has a well made predetermined party, or play classic that lets you make your own.

Edit:

I also thought the Pokemon games for the 3DS would serve my purpose (and I love Pokemon) but I don't have a 3DS yet.

Oops, didn't see this, well consider the two Etrian Odyssey titles when you do get a 3DS.

 

[CaptainMidlands]

The .Hack series for Ps2, a set of 4 games:
1) All lead on from the other (each is a good 40+ hours)
2) All dungeon crawling RPG's with a good background story and accompanying Anime (if you want to expand out)
3) Simulated areas, you enter a set of words and it generates a random area/dungeon for you. Each one is unique and there are hundreds if not thousands in each game
4) Simulated MMO gameplay, the NPC's will send you mail and you can respond and check forums etc. Not exactly cutting edge but feels more alive for it
5) Depth of gameplay in that different mobs and bosses have to be approached in different ways, combine this with the ability to recruit others to your party means you have to plan in advance
6) Data Drain (a unique ability to you), offers you the chance for great reward but each use runs the risk of causing damage to yourself (Your side effect could heal your party fully or drop all your HP/MP to 0)

The downside
1) The Games are hard to get, they can run you back in the £10-£20 region going up to £40 for each game (This is based on the UK though)

 

[GonzoGamer]

Fallout 3 GOTY.
But if you got Skyrim and Xcom, it sounds like you have quite enough to play already.

I wouldn't recommend something like Skyrim as others have recommended because Skyrim is more demanding in terms of attention, it would be pretty difficult to play Skyrim without fully focusing. Also the combat in Skyrim is pretty awful and if you're playing it while doing something else you probably aren't going to be focused on the good elements of Skyrim.

The good thing about a Skyrim or Fallout 3 is that you can really save anywhere and pick up exactly where you left off. Sure, if you only have 15 mins, you may only get around to clearing up your inventory, but it really is everything OP is looking for.

 

[SlaveNumber23]

The good thing about a Skyrim or Fallout 3 is that you can really save anywhere and pick up exactly where you left off. Sure, if you only have 15 mins, you may only get around to clearing up your inventory, but it really is everything OP is looking for.

That wasn't my point though, I think it would be difficult to play and enjoy Skyrim while "switched off" and doing something else such as watching tv or listening to a podcast.

 

[Specter Von Baren]

Disgaea games on hand held systems. The level cap is set at 9999 and the difficulty can be progressively raised.