Topic: What PC games are there that a Console gamer might enjoy?

[animecyberrat]

Ok sorry for derailing the Quake 4 thread I figured I would start a new thread to kinda maintain some resemblance of order. So here is a run down of the games I have played in the past, and kinda an idea what I am thinking about trying out.
Keep in mind I have always been a console gamer so PC gaming is like an after thought, but since for the first time ever I have a video card that might run I don't know a video game or two, I wanted to see what was out there. Also keep in mind my PC is getting old and the card I bought was outdated when it was new. (and I got it used so don't expect it to perform much)


Anyways here is a list of every PC game I have ever played, with a little about what I liked what I didn't like.



Duke Nukem- Played all the old side scrollers and the 3D, so far liked only the first game.

Jazz Jackrabbit- This game does not exist online virus free so I gave up on looking for it but when I got it back in the day it was fun


Mech Warrior 2- I loved this game but never could run it on my old set up, my new computer theoretically should do fine  but for some reason gives me some stupid error and won't play the game so I gave up.

Heretic- I think it was made my the people who made Doom or Duke Nukem I can't remember , I hated it though too much of a Doom rip off not very fun.

Wolfenstein (3D?)- I don't remember much but it was fun, but really really old.

Sim City- JUST the first one, I love it to death but since I have it on VC and that version is better I finally let it go.

Eye of the Beholder 2 Legend of Darkmoon- This was one of my favorite games ever. Of course I will likely get into anything that is D&D so my first thing to do is find out whats out there.

Decent- Played this once, it was boring.

Warcraft- that was fun for like an hour then it got extremely boring.

Star Wars Force Commander- loved this game but it always crashed on me.

Star Wars X-Wing- still have these but no stick makes then no fun.

Star Wars Dark Forces- Not bad but not great either

Guild Wars- Had the demo, brother gave me the full game but I haven't installed it yet. Demo was sorta fun.

That is not everything but that is all I can think of for right now. Problem is when I go looking for games, I always find games I think I might want, but then think I'd rather have a game pad.

[KDR_11k]

Play Spring.

[NWR_insanolord]

If you liked the original SimCity you should play SimCity 2000. I've played all 4 of them and I think 2K hits the perfect balance between complexity and accessibility.

[GoldenPhoenix]

If you liked the original SimCity you should play SimCity 2000. I've played all 4 of them and I think 2K hits the perfect balance between complexity and accessibility.

That and SimCity 4 which is my favorite!

[NWR_insanolord]

If you want complexity 4 is great, and it really feels great to get your city to a point where it's growing and working and nothing is actively on fire. I love 4, but I also love 2000 because it's great to just pick up and play.

[animecyberrat]

I have played all the others, so far the first is the only one I like.

[Smoke39]

Mech Warrior 2- I loved this game but never could run it on my old set up, my new computer theoretically should do fine  but for some reason gives me some stupid error and won't play the game so I gave up.

2 is really really old.  I don't remember if they even ever made a Windows version.  3 is much more likely to run on a moden computer (it works on my computer running XP) and has a similar overall feel to 2.  4 is a little more arcadey, though.

[animecyberrat]

See I forget that Dos games are not the same as Windows games.

[Dirk Temporo]

This is a horribly vague question because saying you're a "console gamer" doesn't tell us what kind of games you like.

[user0x7D]

This is a horribly vague question because saying you're a "console gamer" doesn't tell us what kind of games you like.

Actually, it makes sense to me. I'm a console gamer by nature and I *think* know where he's coming from. I think he's looking for pick-up-and-play style games. Titles that aren't obsessively complicated,convoluted or customizable. At least that's what I would be looking for. I like games that I can just play. Something that's a hobby, and not a way of life as most PC games have become. It seems to me like most PC gamers find one game and that's it, nothing else really exists to them. And then they tear that game apart, tweak the settings over and over again, play/study/practice it for hours upon hours, spend months building mods, hack the source code, blah, blah, blah. There don't seem to be any just "fun" games on the PC. It's either all or nothing.

As I said before, console games feel like a hobby to me. PC games remind me of a cult.

To be honest, it's rather creepy.


EDIT: Umm... double... quote??? How did I do that???

[Smoke39]

While PC gamers seem to have a habbit of condescending to console gamers, your perceptions of PC gaming seem pretty off to me.

I really wish PC gamers and console gamers would get over their differences already. :/

[animecyberrat]

No it is worded wrong I know, it was a offshoot of my questions in the Quake 4 thread, basically I am looking for anything new. I don't know mostly something I can pick up and play that won't consume my life, like WoW, but I don't know.


Smoke, there is a big difference between console and PC gaming, not just in the customization but honestly it is a whole different type of experience.


My original question should have read, what would a person who does not like Wow, FPSes (except Doom and Quake don't ask ok) and obviously sports and The Sims are out.



I don't know what I am looking for, something like Morrowind or a similar experience maybe? Or Let's see, just something that I can play while at my computer but I don't have to devote my life to it.

Also keep in mind that I just now learned that DOS games are not meant to run in Windows, cuz I always assumed DOS was a part of Windows and therefore their games were compatible.


I still think aside from the wording of my question, mister smartalec, if you had read my first post would have an idea what I was asking. Also most people already know what kinds of games I like, I think I have made that pretty clear in so many other posts. I don't know maybe I am just looking for something that is different?

The better question then would be, what games are out there that *will* run on my system and I will take it from there. yeah that should do it go with that.

[Smoke39]

I never said PC games were exactly the same as console games, but PC gamers aren't all obsessive nor do all PC games require a great deal of commitment to get into.

[animecyberrat]

ok well see I missed the post you were replying to, I wasn't the one making those comments and somehow I misread your post.

[UltimatePartyBear]

Since you like D&D, you can get the entire Baldur's Gate series for ten bucks (it's 2nd ed, I think), and the entire Neverwinter Nights 1 collection (3rd ed) for twenty.

For old DOS games, try using DOSBox.  It emulates a DOS environment with variable processor speed, so you can play pretty much any old game with it.  It's free, too.

[NWR_insanolord]

I don't know if you like turn-based strategy games, but if you do you can't do any better than Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. It's basically Civilization but better, and it's almost 10 years old so it will definitely run on your hardware. The trick is finding a copy, like I said it's almost 10 years old.

[Dirk Temporo]

Something that's a hobby, and not a way of life as most PC games have become. It seems to me like most PC gamers find one game and that's it, nothing else really exists to them. And then they tear that game apart, tweak the settings over and over again, play/study/practice it for hours upon hours, spend months building mods, hack the source code, blah, blah, blah. There don't seem to be any just "fun" games on the PC. It's either all or nothing.

As I said before, console games feel like a hobby to me. PC games remind me of a cult.

That's...

I...

...

No. Just, no.

My original question should have read, what would a person who does not like Wow, FPSes (except Doom and Quake don't ask ok) and obviously sports and The Sims are out.

Painkiller, because it's very much HERE HAVE SOME DEMONS like Doom and Quake. And it's only $10. Portal, because I don't consider that an FPS. Diablo I and II, Neverwinter Nights, Starcraft...

Too lazy to think of more.

[Smoke39]

I'm tired of Painkiller being compared to Doom.  Painkiller's level design is much more mindless than Doom's.  Doom actually has an element of exploration within each level, whereas Painkiller is just arena fight after arena fight strung together completely linearly.

On the subject of Doom, Doom 64 succeeds where Doom 3 failed, imo (much more scary while also being more faithful to the original games).  Some fans made a PC version of it, but I haven't tried it so I don't know how well it recreates the console version.

[KDR_11k]

I liked Painkiller's weapons more than Serious Sam's but overall I think Alien Shooter and Earth Defense Force (console game...) are better series for mindless mass killing.

[bosshogx]

Seriously, the best genre ever made for the PC is Real-Time Strategy.  RTS titles simply cannot be done well on a console because of the very nature of the input devices.  Mouse and keyboard are essential for making the RTS genre work.

That being said, go out and buy the Starcraft: Battlechest right away.  In order to run the game you need the following:

Windows 95 or better
90 MHz Pentium
16 MB RAM
DirectX-compatible
2x CD-ROM drive
640x480 8-bit display

Trust me, best $15 you'll ever spend even if you never play the multiplayer.  The single player alone is worth the price of admission.  Of course, I'm totally biased...

[KDR_11k]

Well, if you want to play a large number of different RTS games you should avoid Spring because after you play it you'll invariably find loads of faults with the interfaces of other games.

[vudu]

Zero Punctuation:  Painkiller

Watch it and see if it's up your alley.

[Dirk Temporo]

I'm tired of Painkiller being compared to Doom.  Painkiller's level design is much more mindless than Doom's.  Doom actually has an element of exploration within each level, whereas Painkiller is just arena fight after arena fight strung together completely linearly.

Doom is DEEP.

[animecyberrat]

My head is spinning guys slow down.


OK RTS- um is that what Star Wars Force Commander/Empire At War is because I loved those games, but mostly cuz I will eat up anything Star Wars.


Painkiller, I have heard good things about that so might check it out.



Vudu, I did mention how much I hate that guy right? Just throwing that out there.



Oh Star Craft, , never got into that.  But my brother in law just gave me all of his old games, Diablo 1 and 2, Guild wars, Warcraft 1-3, and a few others If rogot which ones, I think those should tide me over till I find what I am looking for. Oh he also gave me Oblivion but I haven't tested if it will work or not, but I am thinking Marrowind should if it Oblivion doesn't, hopefully. Oh he also gave me Fable, the directors cut or something like that.

[UltimatePartyBear]

Star Wars: Best of PC is a phenomenal deal if you really like Star Wars, but only if you don't already own most of the games in the package like I do.  I thought about recommending it before, but I'm not sure if you'd like the games in it because they're mostly FPS.  It can also be hard to find now because it had a limited release.  It has five games:

Empire at War: which you just mentioned so I assume you already own it.  It's the newest game in the pack, so if you can run it, you should be able to run all of them.

Republic Commando: an FPS, but one I enjoyed tremendously.  It features a squad that you can order to do stuff based on the environment (there are icons on certain objects that tell what they'll do, like take cover and throw grenades or snipe, plant explosives, hack computers, etc.)  The only complaint I have with the game is that it's short.  It would have been perfect if it had one more campaign.

Knights of the Old Republic: an RPG based on D&D rules.

Battlefront: an FPS and a clone of Battlefield 1942.  This is the weakest entry in the compilation because it has a much improved sequel.  Basically, you pick a character type and participate in a big battle for control of strategic points in the level.  There are plenty of Star Wars vehicles, too.

Jedi Knight 2: also an FPS, but you'll probably prefer to play in third-person mode after you get the lightsaber.  There's little reason to use any other weapon unless you need to take down an AT-ST.  This is one of my all time favorite games, and it's made by Raven Software, the people who later made Quake 4.