must have PC games?
 

So I just got a new computer for the first time in years a few days ago. It's not like an ultimate gaming machine or anything, but I think it's got most of the bells and whistles and I kinda want to get back into gaming a little bit. My old computer was crappy and I've just never been able to get into gaming on the Xbox or PS3. I like 1st person shooters but I'm simply incapable of aiming with those controllers. Over the years I've tried to play Grand Theft Auto and Gears of War and stuff like that, but give up right away because I can't aim and end up dying right away. I do like games like Fable though because I can just walk up to enemies and whack them with my sword.

Anyway, now that I have a good computer again, I'm hoping to be able to use my mouse to aim and actually be able to play those types of games again. Just wondering what some of the obvious games are right now that I should try out. I'm really up for anything expect those massive multiplayer games. I just have no interest in those. Any suggestions?

Re: must have PC games?
 

Team Fortress 2, which is free :) Portal and Portal 2 are great, and since I share the same disdain for console controllers with first person games, those were wonderful.

Deus Ex I played on PC as well, which I enjoyed quite a bit.

I'm playing Modern Warfare 3 on PC right now as well.

Re: must have PC games?
 

how long has it been?

I would go with Half-Life 2 and all the episodes....

Re: must have PC games?
 

Crysis is still one of the best looking games.

Metro 2033 is also really good.

F.E.A.R. series is good, although the first one gets a little repetitive even for an FPS.

Dragon Age: Origins is a much better game on PC than consoles because it is more tactical like the old school Baldur's Gate games, and there are also a ton of mods to make it even better.

Elder Scrolls games are also always better on PC since there are tons and tons of mods made for them.

Arkham Asylum has better graphics if you have a PhsyX capable video card.

The Witcher and Witcher 2 are amazing RPGs.

The Total War series is amazing if you like strategy games. The battles are like a scene out of Braveheart with literally thousands of units fighting.

Civilization IV is another great strategy game. (Don't get V though, it is pretty crappy.)

Also keep an eye on Steam. Their annual holiday sales are just around the corner and they always have massive discounts.

Re: must have PC games?
 

I remember playing Half Life 2 back in the day. Kinda looking for the best current games.

Re: must have PC games?
 

Games that with mods take them to another level. Mostly Fallout 3/NV and Skyrim/Oblivion games :D

Re: must have PC games?
 

Thanks. I tried playing Dragon Age on Xbox, but that was another one I gave up on really quickly. I've finally come to the conclusion that I'm just not a console gamer.

I'll probably check out Crysis. Is it actually a good game or does it just look pretty?

What's a PhsyX capable video card? I have a GeForce gt440 I think it is. I know that's not like the Cadillac or anything but it should be good enough to run everything right?

Re: must have PC games?
 

maybe

http://tpucdn.com/reviews/ASUS/GeFor...s_1024_768.gif

Re: must have PC games?
 

I've been looking to pull the trigger on Civ V. What's wrong with it?

Re: must have PC games?
 

Crysis is a very good game. You are basically thrown into an open-ended jungle environment and have a lot of freedom to go about your objectives how you want. It isn't strictly open-ended like an Elder Scrolls game per se, but it gives you a lot more freedom than the typical FPS. Have you ever played the original PC version of Far Cry back in 2004? Crysis is pretty much identical to it in gameplay.

A PhysX is a relatively new physics engine that a lot of newer games are using. It really does make a big difference in the graphics, you can find some comparison videos on youtube that show Arkham Asylum with and without PhysX running. High-end Nvidia cards can all handle PhysX well, but unfortunately your card is low-end. Like covenant showed in that chart, you probably won't be able to run Crysis (or most modern games in fact) very well on anything but the lowest settings. An easy way to judge the power of a card is to look at the second number. 5-6 is considered mid-range. Below 5 is considered low-range, and above 6 is considered high-range. For instance, I have an old Geforce 8800 GTX, which is several generations behind your card, but yet it is still more powerful than yours because mine is a high-end card. I can run Crysis at 1440x900 res with 2x AA and still maintain around 30 fps. Newer isn't always better when it comes to video cards, which is a misconception a lot of people have when it comes to PC gaming thinking they need to upgrade every six months. My video card is five years old and still able to play modern games fairly well.

Re: must have PC games?
 

I would wait for the Steam holiday sale. There will be several days' worth of great deals on games. I don't know what day it starts, but info will be in the deals thread.

However, Steam has a deal every day, so it doesn't hurt to check often.

Re: must have PC games?
 

Just Cause 2 (download) is $2.49 on Amazon today

http://www.amazon.com/Square-Enix-40.../dp/B004UHSGUA

Re: must have PC games?
 

The game is just broken.

The most touted new aspect of the game was the one-unit-per-tile gameplay. It was supposed to be a more strategic way to play the combat, like a game of chess, but yet in the end it was just completely broken because of the horrible AI. The AI didn't know how to play strategically, like for instance it wouldn't protect archers with infantry in front of them or it wouldn't try to flank you properly or avoid chokeholds. So you could literally have a very small army and easily fend off an army that was ten times larger just because the AI was so bad.

Diplomacy has always been one of the best parts of any Civ game, that is up until Civ V. It doesn't matter how peaceful you try to remain with other countries in V. They all end up hating you and try to kill you. So playing a diplomatic game and having allies and building the UN to have your allies vote for you as diplomatic winner is just pointless and no fun. Diplomacy is even more broken than the combat.

Also, the giant death robot units... no I am not making that up. There is actually an end-game unit called the giant death robot, which is basically a Metal Gear. This thing is so overpowered it steam rolls everything with extreme ease. Just for shits and giggles, I played through the game once without being militarily focused at all. Then I started building GDRs in 2025 AD. I had six GDRs completed by 2028. I then proceeded to annihilate every other country in the world, and had a domination victory by taking over every capital city by 2035 AD with just six GDR units. The GDR just symbolizes everything that is wrong with this game.

So with both combat and diplomacy so vastly broken, the game simply is not fun to play. I have spent literally thousands of hours playing and re-playing Civ IV, but I was bored with Civ V in less than a month.

Re: must have PC games?
 

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it. I was afraid my card might not be good enough. I knew it wasn't a super good card, but I guess I just assumed it would be good enough, but just not good enough to run games on the highest settings. I don't really want to have to go down to the lowest settings just to get it to run though, so I'll probably have to look into upgrading cards.

Just so I know, would I be able to run a game like Crysis on this setup if I upgraded my card?

Lenovo Idea Center i5-2500 Processor 3.3 ghz with I believe 4 gb of memory. What card do you think I should I get?

Re: must have PC games?
 

Left 4 Dead / Left 4 Dead II

Re: must have PC games?
 

For PC gaming you really need to get Steam. It's a game marketplace similar to Xbox live. They have deals all the time with the up coming holiday sale to have some of the best deals of the year. For recent FPS games, Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas are really good. Borderlands can be had on the cheap as well and it's awesome. For RPG games get Skyrim, it's the best out right now. If you like RTS games then Starcraft 2 is really good.

Re: must have PC games?
 

The Witcher 2 >>>>>>>>>>>> Skyrim


The problem with store-bought computers is that very very few of them actually have good video cards. They may have good processors and everything else, but the video cards are usually junk. That's why most PC gamers build their own computers, that and it is also significantly cheaper to build your own.

I looked up your processor and it seems to be a quad-core. Yeah, that is a good processor to handle anything out today. I am still using a dual-core, and nothing actually requires more than that (yet). 4 GB of RAM is also plenty, and actually unless you are using a 64-bit OS, the computer won't recognize more than 4 GB anyway.

Newegg has a Geforce 260 for $100. That will handle Crysis very well, and any other modern game as well. Newegg is a good place to buy. Most PC gamers buy their hardware from there. However, keep in mind that along with low-end video cards, store-bought computers also usually come with low-end power supplies. Most of them won't be more than 250-300 W. A good video card is most likely going to require 400 W at a minimum. So you will probably have to upgrade the power supply as well if you choose to upgrade the video card...

Re: must have PC games?
 

I recommend Fallout 3, but it was a bitch to get it to run in windows 7.

Re: must have PC games?
 

Thanks a lot dude. I'll definitely look into your suggestions.

Thanks to everybody that has recommended games too. I'll probably have to just pick a couple to start with. Probably don't have enough time to commit to too many.

Re: must have PC games?
 

I had trouble getting it to work also but I finally found a patch and/or config setting that fixed the issue. (something to do with rendering indoor areas)

Re: must have PC games?
 

Bioshock is a must-have.

Re: must have PC games?
 

The Steam holiday sale starts today, and a great start to your PC gaming would be the Valve complete pack for $49.99. You'd get everything in the Half-Life, Counter-Strike, and Team Fortress series, both Left 4 Dead games, and both Portal games.

Re: must have PC games?
 

Wolfenstein 3D

Re: must have PC games?
 

I'm guessing that pack will go cheaper before the sale is done.

Re: must have PC games?
 

Mine is working good now at w7. Assassin creed anyone?