PC Game suggestions?

[FadedOne]

ah ok, here is a thread where I admit how very non-gamer I have been up until more recently and beg for knowledge from my fellow forumers.

So, despite the fact that i'm going off to college this weekend and may never have time to play another computer game obsessively(and i do mean obsessively ), I'm looking to buy at least one more game in the next couple days. Currently I own:

Jedi Academy
SW: Knights of the Old Republic
Myst, Riven, and Exile
Spiderman: the movie

and that...is it.

Seriously, my parents felt gaming was a waste of money and I grew up on educational stuff. so yeah, bought the Star Wars game not too long ago and beat it and now i'm totally missing my time-waste. I NEED something else to mush my brain with. I need to KILL something!!

So yeah, here's the deal: Suggest to me one of your favourite PC games and I shall love you forever. and then some. lol. Thanks!

note: I guess I should add a few specifics. umm...i haven't really played enough game stuff to know what I like. I do know

1. I love plot and character development.
2. I dont mind pg-13 language.
3. I have a decently good graphics card and system right now, but it's a laptop and i thought I heard there were some issues with laptops. not sure...
4. fantasy/sci-fi plots are awesomeness. so is Star Wars ( i was debating getting the KOTOR2 but it's so freakin expensive...)
5. umm...yeah, i just wanted to end with five. lol

anyways..hope that helps. I appreciate all suggestions.

[desperado]

if you dont mind a fps (first person shooter) half life 2 has an extremely good plot and is very fun, if you even like first person shooters and have a good pc look into battlefeild 2 its probably the best looking game for the pc and its really fun to.

since you like star wars i would suggest star wars knights of the old republic 1 and 2. it is a somewhat action oriented rpg that has you having free choice of going dark or light through your actions and what responses you chose.

if you like rpgs and dont mind paying money a month i would suggest World of Warcraft or the free guild wars

most of these games are 50 bucks but it is definetly worth it for any of these games!

forgot to mention star wars k.o.t.o.r. 1 is 20 or 30 bucks (cant rember which) at walmart

[blkmage]

If you're into strategy, Starcraft is absolute gold. Excellent storyline and characters, addictive gameplay, balanced, awesome multiplayer. You may also want to try Warcraft III, although I believe that Starcraft is better. Starcraft was released in 1998, so the graphics, while good, do show their age.

For an RPG, you might want to try Diablo II. Again, excellent storyline and characters, addictive gameplay, etc etc. There's also Neverwinter Nights, which is like a computerized version of the entire D&D system. If you like NWN, you might want to get Baldur's Gate, which I've heard is the epitome of computer RPGs. NWN and Baldur's Gate are made by Bioware, the ones who brought us KotOR.

For an online FPS, I suggest Wolfenstein Enemy Territory, which is free. It doesn't really have a story, but it's pretty fun. It is WW2 era though.

If you want, you might be able to pick up the other Dark Forces games. There are three games that feature Kyle Katarn before Jedi Academy, and these are really good. In order, they are: Dark Forces, Jedi Knight, and Jedi Outcast. Dark Forces is really old, and you should really only play it if you're interested in the storyline. Jedi Knight is also old (1996), but probably still playable. I think this one has the best story, compared to the sequels. Jedi Outcast should be almost indistinguishable from Jedi Academy, just not as many special sabers.

If you want Star Wars space combat, I hear that TIE Fighter is the only game you really should be looking at. It is however, really old.

[Yojimbo]

Try out Deus Ex. The story is set in the near future and you are JC Denton an agent with nano technology infused in you for the United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition. Long winded name but anyway there's lots of terrorism, poverty, a new worldwide plague that threatens to kill of much of humanity. And *shockingly* everything is not as it seems with UNATCO and so forth. It's a real good story that's executed very well. It blends pretty much every good conspiracy theory you've ever heard of from Area 51, to the Illuminati, MJ12, population control, all that jazz and makes it all work together.

It is a FPS/RPG using the Unreal Engine. You can choose a number of different styles to play JC. You can be Rambo going in guns a blazing, or a hacker/assasin type character, or anything in between. Bust a door open, use a vent, lock pick it open, go find the computer and hack it open, there's always more than one way to get past a situation. It's one of my favorite games of all time you should deffinetly check it out.

I can see you liked KOTOR and rightly so. But you should check out Bioware's earlier games they are just as engaging. Especially when they were paired with the now defunct Black Isle Studios, who now compose much of the staff at Obsidian Entertainment makers of KOTOR 2. Games like Planescape Torment, Bladur's Gate 1 and 2, Neverwinter Nights, are extremely deep and worth every minute spent. Plus you can get them all for pennies now.

And a warning about KOTOR 2. It's a great game but Lucasarts shipped it way too soon and it's got some bugs still even now. As well as a completely disjointed ending that is no where near what is what intended to be. Wait till it goes down to $20.

Also check out Anachronox which is sort of in the same field as Deus Ex. And Arcanum which is somewhat similar to Bioware D&D games like KOTOR and Baldur's Gate. Oh and if good good adventure games are up your alley The Longest Journey and Syberia 1 and 2 are awesome as well.

Just take a look at those and I promise you won't be dissapointed and it'll be light on your wallet.

[FadedOne]

wow...some awesome help so far. thanks guys! and yeah i'm going to comment more specifically tomorrow i think. i'm half-dead/asleep now, lol but just had to say I really appreciate all the help. ^_^

[LorentzForce]

Deus Ex sounds about right. Perfect plot and character development, no language issues, runs well on old systems (laptops included), and it is sci-fi based. Oh, and you can find a copy in one of them sales bins. Get a copy for like, $5.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Age of Empires 2 is a great RTS. Very cheap also. Its like history based but really interesting. Lots of different cultures and pretty easy learning curve.

Thief: A Dark Project and Thief 2: The Metal Age are great stealth games set in a steampunk (sci-fi/fantasy combo) world. It has great lore and characters and feels more like a piece of art than a computer game. Its great fun if you like the idea of sneaking around in shadows avoiding guards and knicking stuff from corrupt barons etc. (there is a lot more to it than that). There is some violence (you can kill the guards etc, but more of the time its a good idea to just knock them out). There are like several swears in the 30 hour gameplay time and they aren't the really bad ones. It has supernatural references, no sex or nudity or sexual references -none of that stuff). You should be able to find it cheap also.

The Worms games are great fun with lots of wacky voices, wacky weapons and lots of multiplayer action. (Upto four people can play on one computer at a time). Awesome fun but you get the most out of it if you play it with other people -friends, family etc

Hope this helps you some!