Older games i might not have played, suggestions?

[Panorama]

Time to pull out my .doc of generic older game suggestions. Here you go:

First of all, I consider this series pretty much mandatory for any rpg fan: Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2. In my mind Biowares finest work to date and the pinaccle of what an rpg should strive to be. Solid narrative, great characters, surprisingly vibrant 2D artwork even today, entertaining tactical combat, absolutely massive open world... I seriously can't think of any real major flaws in the series. It's absolutely brilliant. And then when you consider there are mods out there which combine BG1 and 2 into one cohesive game as well as improve and tweak the experience towards perfection, then really you just can't get any better. Though other rpg try such as...

Spoiler: Classic trailer for BG2 and a comparison between the BG games & Dragon Age

Planescape: Torment. You might've heard of this game, hell, there's probably another active topic about it in these forums right now. Bluntly put this game has by far the best fantasy story and one of the most unique styles and setting in any game, regardless of genre, ever. It's not disputable, it's fact. In terms of story, setting and character Planescape: Torment is one of the most in-depth and provocative games ever made. If only the combat and the basic gameplay mechanics were more solid it'd probably be my number 1 pick for rpg ever. But as it is it comes a close second, which considering how many rpg I've played, is still damned impressive methinks.

Spoiler: Games intro

Stepping a bit away from pure rpg we've got the absolutely spectacular Heroes of Might and Magic 3. It's a hard game to describe to someone that might not be familiar with this sort of game, so I'll just say it's brilliant and that everything this game does, it does exceptionally well. This is another of those 'I can't think of any real flaws' sort of games, so much so that despite being well over ten years old, I've introduced this game to kids who hadn't even been born when it came out and seen them enjoy it! Now that's the sign of a solid, long lasting experience!

Spoiler: Kinda hard to find any exciting trailer for this game, so here's some pretty music and a view of one of the games cities.

If you wanna give the old Point & Click classic PC adventure games a try, my personal favourite is The Longest Journey. Despite all the gushy mushy love I just gave to Planescape above, this is the game which in terms of story and character really stole my heart. Planescape is deeper, more in-depth and covers a number of more touchy subject but The Longest Journey... well, it's got soul. The main protagonist is my favourite of any game and her journey throughout the games length is enthralling. It's like a really, really nice book for me that I like to re-read every once and awhile for that fuzzy warm feeling of nostalgic happiness. Even nostalgia wont blind me to the shit puzzles and gameplay, but screw that, use a walkthrough if you have to. The story is worth it in my mind!

Spoiler: Trailer for the game!

And as a final suggestion for something more actiony if that's you're thing: Freespace 2. The space sim that was so good it killed the genre... or at least I like to think so. Simply put the story is solid but the gameplay so awesomely intense that you'll be suffering from shellshock and probably need to have your fingers pried from the joystick (I bought a force-feedback joystick exclusively for this game. So worth it!) with a pair of pliers when it's done. Not only that, but of all the games I just listed, this is probably the easiest to get into since a couple of years ago the developers released the games source code online, and as a result the community has been improving the engine ever since to such an extent that it still looks fantastic today. This game is so good at what it does it's become an entire genre unto itself, with so many mods and even total conversion that buying this game is like buying the last ten years worth of amazing space sims all in one. I kid you not!

Spoiler: Youtube videos showing gameplay and what the latest release of its visual upgrade mod looks like

And there you go! Between those five games (Technically 6 since there's 2 BG games!) that's enough PC gaming goodness to keep a normal human occupied for... hell, well over a year especially if they take the time to play the games fully and explore the communities which have sprung up around each game.

If i had half the time to play these i would love too, and i don't know how i never thought of baldurs gate i clearly don't pay attention to the pod cast enough but thank you. Really wish i had the time

 

[Panorama]

Madman had some good suggestions (especially PST), but to add to that..

Jagged Alliance 2 (and the 1.13 mod)
X-Com Enemy Unknown and Terror From the Deep
Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura
Fallout 1 and 2
Temple of Elemental Evil and the Circle of 8 Modpack
Mask of the Betrayer for NWN 2
Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis and the expansion Resistance
Rainbow 6: Raven Shield
Ghost Recon 1
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth
Icewind Dale
System Shock 2
Wizardry 8

As far as semi recent games goes. I can give alot more suggestions but they would be from the 80's and 90's.

I am mainly asking, for the 2000's mostly for the ease of getting hold of them if we go to far back it gets to hard to get hold of them.

 

[Panorama]

Does it matter how old the games are?

Because i'm going to suggest Echo the Dolphin, Snowboard kids, Streets of rage, Battletoads and banjo kazooie

Mame 32, allowed my to play streets of rage, but it is mainly the ease of being able to play them, and i played banjo kazooie.

 

[Panorama]

Shadow of the Colossus - really just boss fights, but REALLY big boss fights.
Ico - A puzzly puzzle game, of some sorts.
Jak and Daxter series - three games, really good story, fairly good action, that sort of thing

Jak and dexter i have played but the other 2 i have only recently been learning about it. and i don't have my ps2 anymore so maybe summer i might rebuy one and then pick them up.

 

[Panorama]

Metal Arms: Glitch in the system.

If you have a PS2, Xbox, and/or a Gamecube/Wii, at least...

Also, the Jak series just got an HD re-release on the PS3. BUY THAT!

As for PC games, well The Madman up there has a damn fine list. I'll just add to that.

Fallout 1 and 2
MDK 2
Serious Sam 1 and 2
Deus Ex
Theif 1 abd 2
Syndicate
XIII
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Descent 1 and 2
The Witcher
Painkiller: Black Edition
Unreal Tournament GOTY
Unreal Tournament 2004
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
Second Sight

All of these you can get on Good Old Games [http://www.gog.com/] and I recommend them all. I also suggest just browsing and pick out anything that looks interesting to you.

I currently own no consoles at all, errm and i have played a few of these painkiller, unreal tournament (all of them), syndicate and deus ex and serious sam 1, but thank you for these suggestions, if i had time and money i would be all over them.

 

[5-0]

Have you tried any of the Splinter Cells? Those are much pretty much some of my favourite games of the previous generation. (yeah I know they've continued into this generation, but they're not so good). How about Far Cry? The original 2007 version is nothing like the console versions, but it's damn good from what I've played so far. Oh and having played Deus Ex, have you tried any of the mods for it? There's some great ones out there, namely The Nameless Mod and 2027. Also there's an odd little FPS called XIII, it's got a unique cell-shaded style.

 

[As Seen On 360]

I'm 22 as well, here's some things I've bought and plan to revisit, or never got to play but will end up playing on Steam (extracted from my library in fact).

Dungeon Siege 1-3 (if you buy a certain edition of 3 it includes 1-2)
F.E.A.R. 1-2 (We were around during the height of this but I never got far in it)
Freedom Force / Freedom Force vs. the 3rd Reich
Gothic 1-3 (Gothic in particular is a wild throwback, excellent experience)
GTA 1-3 (Some people have no idea that this series originally wasn't 3D, a shame really)
Mafia
Red Faction 1-2
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (It's not old, but it might as well be in the gaming world, not something to be missed though)
Star Wars KOTOR
Thief: Deadly Shadows
The Witcher
X-COM Series

I'd recommend going to GOG if you can't find another game you want to check out. I don't have an account currently but the fact that they've got Thief: Gold and the Alone in the Dark trilogy is convincing me to get an account at some point.

Those three are on quite a few peoples lists of games not to be missed, and they're not currently on Steam.

 

[gregitaly]

Definitely give Planescape Torment a try. I think it's only 5-10$ on GOG.com Great story, writing and characters. Combat and leveling are a little iffy, but thankfully you spend most of your time talking to all strange and wonderful NPC's inhabiting the Planes.

 

[Panorama]

Have you tried any of the Splinter Cells? Those are much pretty much some of my favourite games of the previous generation. (yeah I know they've continued into this generation, but they're not so good). How about Far Cry? The original 2007 version is nothing like the console versions, but it's damn good from what I've played so far. Oh and having played Deus Ex, have you tried any of the mods for it? There's some great ones out there, namely The Nameless Mod and 2027. Also there's an odd little FPS called XIII, it's got a unique cell-shaded style.

Splinter cell, i have played one of them im not sure which, but it was ok. i played far cry and loved it, and not played any of the mods for deus ex i might have to give it a go. XIII i remember seeing on shop selves but never picked it up so might have to do so.

 

[Panorama]

Black and White 1&2.

i played the first black and white i ust never really got into it, maybe i was just to young to enjoy it maybe not sure, but thank you.

 

[Signa]

Well it's not on Steam but the first 2 Thief games are on GOG.com and they are (In my opinion) some of the best stealth games ever made.

As far as Steam games go: The Original Deus Ex and Starwars: Republic Commando(Andn't already played it),

KOTOR i have played the second one, Deus Ex i played and Invisible war, and republic commando i still own.
Thief were a set of games i never did try, and i never thought of GOG thank you.

I was going to suggest a PS2 game, but damnit, Thief and Thief 2 might be better options. I still have not played better stealth games today. They usually fuck it up by putting in guns or something. Thief is in a medieval fantasy steampunk setting, so you only have to dodge arrows and spells, not bullets if you get caught. Everyone else chases you with swords, so there is some really tense moments of trying to escape or hide.

But if you want to go beyond PC games, I've been playing Okami and I can't find a single flaw in it. I think it might be the best game I've ever played. I'm playing the Wii version but there is also a PS2 version, so if you like Zelda games, give it a try. For reference, BG&E, PoP:SoT and Morrowind are some of my favorite games. Morrowind has held my top spot since I played it 9 years ago.

 

[VoidWanderer]

Anything by Sid Meiers

 

[Crazzy349]

At first I was like "Wait, PoP? Bloodlies? Old games?" and only then I realised just how old they really were. *sigh*

Anyway, my suggestions:
Fable: the Lost Chapters - pretty fun and good. Your mileage can very, though. I replay it roughly once a year when I don't have anything else to do. I don't have a consol for the second installment and Fable 3 doesn't sound good enough (apparently the "magic" fight is just that - raw magic attacks, as opposed to casting spells).

The Legacy of Kain series have some of the most amazing stories I've ever experienced. Gameplay-wise they might be leaning towards "OK", rather than "great" (another YMMV here) but the story is seriously worth it. The games in order: Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2, Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2, Legacy of Kain: Defiance. You might have a bit of trouble finding BO1, but I'm not sure, it's just old. BO2 is considered the weakest game in the series (to put it mildly) and in fact you will be perfectly fine if you don't play it. You can just read the plot somewhere - your choice.

Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption has nothing in common with Bloodlines, aside from being set in the same universe. If you liked Bloodline's setting, then I suggest getting Redemption.

The Thief series might be the best stealth games around.

And finally, Dungeon Keeper and/or Dungeon Keeper 2. Really you can pick any of them and have fun. The premise of the game: you are the dungeon keeper and you have to keep those pesky good heroes away from your business. Preferably dead, although you can torture them and keep them around for entertainment, if you wish.

Yeah sorry to put it in context im 22 now, so in 2000 i was 10, eerm yeah
i have played fable lost chapters, found it really good again not played 2 or 3, the same reasons.

The legacy of Kain, i know nothing of this series at all, so will be playing some attention to that, im always a big fan of a decent story in games.

Thief i am currently correcting as i am getting my self a GOG account and correcting that missed oppotunity.

Redemption is that older or newer then bloodline, but i enjoyed bloodline so i will try it out, if i can find it.

And i finally i am a fan of the dungeon keeper series myself, well i had the second one and played the hell out it. HAHA see the terrible joke i made.

If you are a fan of truly amazing stories, do get Legacy of Kain. You could write 30 best selling books with the great story it has. like the last poster said, the combat is weak, but the story is worth it. If you have a PS3 you can find BO and SR on the PS store, if you don't then I have no Idea.