In the past few weeks, a couple of things happened. First, I got a new PC to replace my 6-year-old rig. Second, my XBox went all RROD on me. As a result, I am now looking for some good PC games.

I'm a big fan of RPGs: the Baldur's Gate series, KOTOR, Fallout, Planescape, the Wizardry games, all that cool stuff. But not MMORPGs -- I don't have time for those. I also like RTS games -- Starcraft and Rise of Nations are my two favorites.

I picked up The Witcher and Sim City Societies the other day and I'm enjoying both of those. And I'll almost certainly pick up Crysis and World in Conflict. Anything else from the past couple of years I should be checking out?

I like the Age of Empires series (not Age of Mythology). You can usually get a game in within 2 hours or so, and each (I, II, III) have some expansions.

I like the same kind of RPGs as you do. Even though it's gotten trashed in some quarters, and has a low rating at amazon, I think Neverwinter Nights 2 is worth a look (I talked about it in detail here: http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=509055 ). Especially if you can get the "Mask of the Betrayer" expansion to go with it (I've seen both marked down in stores).

It's a few years old now, but I thought "Vampire: Bloodlines" was a fantastic CRPG. Technical programs hurt the initial response, but patches have cleared those up. Sucks that the game was a financial disaster and destroyed the publishing company. It can be had for about $20 new in most stores.

The Warhammer Dawn of War RTS series (3 of them now I believe [1]) were a lot of fun. I believe the same basic game mechanics were also used for Company of Heroes but I haven't played that one yet.


[1] I just checked and there is a 4th one coming out in March 08

I haven't played it yet (just haven't got around to it yet), but the PC crowd seem to universally praise the Company of Heroes games. If you want an RTS, I don't think you can go wrong there.

Also, I say it whenever a PC thread pops up, but if you haven't played it yet the Freedom Force games are FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC! The first is in my top five and is just a joy to play. If you have any reverence for old school comics, or just know who Jack Kirby is, you'll enjoy the game that much more.

Freedom Force and its sequel are two of my favorite games, boredsilly. Any word of a third game in the franchise?

nemein & boredsilly, I'm definitely intrigued by Company of Heroes and will pick it up.

I love Company of Heroes and the expansion Opposing Forces. I also really like Supreme Commander and its sequel Forged Alliances. I'm going through World in Conflict now, but it's not as engaging as the aforementioned. And I don't see Oblivion in your list, that's a must play.

I played Oblivion to death on my 360. I actually have a PC copy as well (I bought it when it first came out but my graphics card wasn't up to snuff and I never got around to upgrading it) -- definitely a great game.

I recently picked up S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl on sale at Circuit City for $10 and it's pretty good so far.

Go for a classic and pick up one of the Monkey Island games. They are some of the best games ive ever played.

Company of Heroes is supposed to be excellent. How about the Orange Box? Are you into shooters at all?

Orange Box is worth it, even if just for Portal!

I just got Guitar Hero 3 for the PC. Hefty requirement (I think they're just emulating a 360 and running the 360 code), but it's a lot of fun if you're into that.

For FPS, I'm still playing Battlefield 2. One of these days, I'll get the expansions.

I'm also a Civ junkie.

I have Orange Box for my 360, so no need to double-dip there.

Civ is great -- I have Civ 4 and both expansions. Definitely a favorite.

I played the first Freedom Fighters and thought it was incredible. I didn't even know there was a second.

I must hunt this out.

Definitely worth hunting out. Better than the first in some ways.

*cough*

Anyone know if i can play it on a Vista machine?

I may be hitting ebay soon and looking for a used copy.

I also may break out Planescape Torment again, which is one of my favorite RPGs.

Stuff I found on the net seems to indicate it's mostly stable on Vista. If I can find my copy, I'll reinstall it and report back.