Looking for RPGs

[Nepukadnezzar]

what about Alpha Protocol?
It's an RPG, but more like the latest Mass Effects but with SPIES.
Had a lot of fun with it.

 

[BabuNu]

Pretty sure I'll get told off by the moderators for this but:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?Sxwxvjfx1rjmrt46
Still very much in progress, but how's that for something a bit different?

 

[thespyisdead]

even though it's hackey slashey rpg, and even though it's sortof fantasy, i still suggest Path of Exile! i mean it's free! what do you as a gamer have to lose?

 

[Toxic Sniper]

Fallout (The original): Tons of choice and tons of traditional isometric gameplay. The level of detail is pretty insane; there's always something if you look around. It's a bit easy to get stuck if you don't know what you're doing.

Demon's Souls: The setting is fantasy, but much darker, grimier fantasy with no elves, goblins, or dwarves (There are depraved ones, but I'm not sure what the heck they are). Very polished hack-and-slash combat and great level design. The difficulty curve is high, but it gets easier once you learn the controls and conventions.

System Shock 2: I'm cheating, this is actually an rpg fps. It's also one of the best damn games I have ever played. It's an industrial space setting with lots of horror.

 

[keiji_Maeda]

I know you are getting sick of fantasy RPGs, but have you tried Planescape Torment?

I second this, it can be argued that this is more of a philosophical RPG grounded in fantasy roots that transcends it's humble beginnings and wander's straight through it's frameworks to create a wholly unique experience.

Just...just do us a favour and get the mods that makes it more durable and restores content.

 

[keiji_Maeda]

Fallout 2, all the way, slightly less linear than the first one, more exploration, more memorable conversations and experiences. Wonderfull NPCS all six of 'em .

Buy it and get Killaps restoration mod. It makes it even better

 

[Toxic Sniper]

Fallout 2, all the way, slightly less linear than the first one, more exploration, more memorable conversations and experiences. Wonderfull NPCS all six of 'em .

I haven't played Fallout 2. From what it sounds like, I really should.

I just love the setting. I remember just walking and walking until I stumbled upon a ghoul city and then I went commando on the virtual army of ghouls using stealth and explosives. It's so nice to have a video game that doesn't just tell you everything right off the bat, but instead lets you explore its world like that.

 

[Scarim Coral]

If you own a Wii then you must get Xenoblade Chronicle.

The fact that the game take place right on top of two deceased giant (imagine an ant on you palm and now imagine that ant was the size of a tank to get the scale of it all) is already interesting!

 

[Karoshi]

Mars: War Logs sounds perfect for you-

It has a pretty strong Gothic/Risen vibe and is set in on a dystopian Mars world. It is not as open-world as I wished it to be, but it's quite fun nevertheless.

But ignore the opening. I think the opening scenes were written by gorillas who only recently discovered their talent for grunt-filled scripts. The plot and the writing gets a lot better soon.

Second recommendation: Alpha Protocol.

It's a spy RPG with choices that actually make in impact (Mass Effect doesn't come even close) and I friggin loved it. The combat is clunky, some skills are overpowered, but it was the greatest fun I had in a long time.

 

[exobook]

How about the recently re-released System Shock 2. Providing you can accept old graphics its a very fun horror-themed survial game with a heavy RPG element.

 

[RaNDM G]

From the classic era:

- Any Pokémon
- Earthbound
- Final Fantasy VI
- Phantasy Star
- Pirates! Gold. That one's my personal favorite.
- Shadowrun
- Super Mario RPG

From the late 90's:

- Any Pokémon
- Diablo 1 and 2
- Fallout 1 and 2
- System Shock 2
- Thief

More modern stuff:

- Any Pokémon
- Demon's Souls and Dark Souls
- Fable 1 and 2, but for God's sake, don't play 3.
- Jade Empire
- Morrowind. If your 1080p tainted eyes can't stand the jagged edges, there's the Morrowind Overhaul.
- Paper Mario
- Persona
- Thief: Deadly Shadows

The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Castlevania series have RPG elements in their games, but this list would be twice as long if I typed every single title.

 

[Fractral]

You haven't mentioned any JRPG's in that list, but then you haven't said that you won't play them either, so here's some of my favorites:
Almost any of the modern Shin Megami Tensei series is good. You'd probably want to start with Persona 3 or 4 as they introduce the basics of the overarching gameplay style, and are a fair bit easier than the rest of the series. Bear in mind that if you play Persona 4 first it'll be very hard to go back and play Persona 3, which lacks a whole load of the features Persona 4 has. Then go play Devil Survivor 2.
Final Fantasy 9 is a persona favorite of mine. It's more fantasy than 7 or 8, with magic and stuff like that, but the awesome story and characters make up for it. The graphics are awesome too, considering it's a PS1 game. Play Final Fantasy 6 and 7 while you're at it.
Pokemon's another good series, far deeper than most people give it credit for. That is, deeper in gameplay, not story or characters. Those are pretty poor. Start with Black or White; IMO they're a little better than the sequels in terms of main story, but the sequels have more stuff in them

 

[IronMit]

Human Revolution was fun but after beating it once I had no drive to play it again. I have only gotten a few levels into the first deus ex but that small amount of playing it has removed Human Revolution from the all-knowing favorite RPG list. I am sorry to keep shooting down your ideas as they are good ideas.

This makes me sad, is it so hard to make/find RPGs that are not orcs and elves in a Tolkien world?

Am I doomed to be a picky gamer forever?

I tried the original deus ex a few times before finally getting into it last year and it blew me away.
If you still aren't enjoying yourself when you are in Hell's kitchen then you never will. That's where the game truly opens up

Dark souls is pretty awesome and unique. An rpg where you can actually dodge without relying on a dice roll or strafing. It's a hard game but experts can beat it without leveling up. if that's any indicator of the depth of the combat and playstyles. Also the environments and level design are amazing.

Alpha Protocol is brilliant but it's combat makes you want to slit your wrists...but if you liked Witcher 1 with that combat you shouldn't mind Alpha protocol's.

 

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

Persona 4. You can thank me later. Though, if you prefer a challenge, I would recommend Persona 3.

You won't find a more interesting and thoughtful RPG outside of the Persona series. And I've played my fair share over my 32 years of existence.

Spoiler: If you DO wind up playing it, be mindful of this one

This character will steal your heart. Possibly your soul, as well.

 

[chozo_hybrid]

There's a new Shadowrun game coming out in a month or two, I'm looking forward to it. It's called Shadowrun Returns, I suggest you look it up.

 

[Revolutionary]

I recently got kingdoms of Amalur in a steam sale, and it's surprisingly good.
I came to this thread to recommend Mount and Blade, but you already listed that so This is the best i can think of.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Mars: War Logs sounds perfect for you-

It's diabollicallly bad. It's awful in every way. I installed it, couldn't remap the keys, couldn't change the sickeningly narrow FoV, the VA is atrocious, the dialogue terrible, the cutscenes endless. I uninstalled it straight after.

I wanted to like it, I really did. The idea is great. But it's so badly realised with almost no production values, there's no enjoyment to be had from Mars: War Logs. It's atrocious and so badly made it's not worth a fraction of the asking price. Better to reinstall one of the games on the original list and replay it (perhaps with a different character).

I recently got kingdoms of Amalur in a steam sale, and it's surprisingly good.
I came to this thread to recommend Mount and Blade, but you already listed that so This is the best i can think of.

KoA is awful. It's so tedious, bland and boring that even on sale I wouldn't recommend it. It couldn't be any more "typical" of the fantasy setting the OP wants to avoid. An offline "WoW" is a reasonable comparison. It takes the most boring fetch/kill type quests without other players, PvP, chat or the like. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

To answer the OPs question, he could do worse than giving Alpha Protocol a shot. It's a proper RPG, not an action game with RPG elements. Also quite replayable. Has some annoyances though...my advice, carry buttloads of EMP grenades to bypass hacking minigames wherever possible.

Also, if you don't mind something older, the old D&D games are great. Unlike most modern games, you can make really interesting characters, particularly in 3.5ed games like IWD2 & NWN2. But a full run through BG -> TotSC -> BGII -> ToB will be well over 100 hours of incredible adventure and fun. It's mentally and physically exhausting but well worth it. Unlike ME3, ToB even has a good ending! Fantasy setting yes, but it's very story and character focussed.

Add BioWare games from KotOR -> DA:O also. Pre-EA, they made amazing RPGs. KotOR2 from Obsidian is also magnificent, even in the terrible state it shipped in, let alone with the fan made restoration patches [http://www.moddb.com/mods/the-sith-lords-restored-content-mod-tslrcm/downloads/tslrcm-18].

 

[Karoshi]

Mars: War Logs sounds perfect for you-

It's diabollicallly bad. It's awful in every way. I installed it, couldn't remap the keys, couldn't change the sickeningly narrow FoV, the VA is atrocious, the dialogue terrible, the cutscenes endless. I uninstalled it straight after.

I wanted to like it, I really did. The idea is great. But it's so badly realised with almost no production values, there's no enjoyment to be had from Mars: War Logs. It's atrocious and so badly made it's not worth a fraction of the asking price. Better to reinstall one of the games on the original list and replay it (perhaps with a different character).

As I said, it's very similar to Gothic which had the same level of writing, same level of voice-acting and in many ways similar gruff characters. For all its flaws, both games got funny one-liners, the over-arching plot isn't too bad and the prison/ghetto feeling in a fantasy or sci-fi setting is rather refreshing.

I know that Mars: War Logs is limping behind every single AAA game in every aspect, but it nevertheless sucked me in. So to say, handle with care, but the OP should still give it a chance.

 

[anthony87]

So many people mentioning Persona, where's the love for Lucifer's Call or Digital Devil Saga?

 

[Edith The Hutt]

It you can hold on for a month or two then Shadowrun Returns is due to come out and looks pretty promising.