Be Excellent To Each Other

HERRO!

Another day, another recommend-me-do for the good burghers of Beex.

I've been getting a hankering for some Old Skool RPG Action to engage in on my trusty laptop (a casual gaming laptop that is, not a gaming laptop ). I'm carrying on with Baldur's Gate 2 (which I have never got more than half way through, for various reasons), and I've ordered the three Icewind Dale games and Arcanum whatsit. I've got Neverwinter Nights, but I'm not much a fan of it. I've played and completed Fallouts 1 and 2 (for the umpteenth time) not long ago. Also Planescape Torment.

This list of games should give you an idea of what the Casual Gaming Laptop can cope with.

So what else is there? I'd particularly like a sci-fi one, if there are any knocking around, but further sword 'n' sorcery goodness would be acceptable. I prefer 3rd person games to FPRPGs, but I'm willing to try new things.

Planescape Torment. I have a copy I'm happy to stick in the post for you, dunno if it works or not, though.

X-wing/ Tie fighter?

Rip the ISO for me first. I tried to get it off Goozex and couldn't, and I couldn't find a working torrent for it either.

RPG?

I have that too, sorry. Fixed first post.

As mr C has it already, want me to post it you?

You play in the role of an x-wing pilot or a tie fighter pilot... surely that's a role playing game?

I'm not feeling much RM being done.

I have a soft spot for the ancient Cryo's 'Dune', I still dig it out to play every once in a while. Love the sound. Not sure if you can find it anywhere anymore though. Other than that... hmm...

"Recommend me all the good turn of the century PC RPGs. Other than all the good ones which I already own and have played".

There must be more than that. Specifically, sci-fi ones. THERE MUST BE.

Fallout 1 and 2. Edit -- Foxtrot Foxtrot Sierra, you've added those in in a later edit.

Starcraft?

No, those went in in the original post.
And anyway - EVERYONE's played those. It's the law.

Can we ban nikachu from this thread, please?

Final Fantasy Seven.

EvE online.

Was that available on the PC?

Also - finger.

8 definately was. That ate a lot of my time

Very much so. Maybe you should play it.

Yes.

Is it much much better and much much less annoying than the PS2 version?

That's not an RPG, that's tits in ships.

Yes. Maybe you should play it.

I don't believe you.

Given that there was no PS2 version, it's quite the accurate answer. Maybe you should play it.

Obviously I meant PS, you awkward sod. I have played FFVII through to fairly near the end on the Playstation. In what ways are the PC version different to the PS version? Having played it before and not much liked it I'm not shelling out any money for another version of it that doesn't offer anything new or better.

Severance: Blade of Darkness

Not an RPG as such, but you level up, have 4 character classes to choose from and I remember it being pretty good.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_of_Darkness

PC games don't cost money, you idiot!

How about the Vampire series?

Yes they do.

Anyway, answer the sodding question.



Ooooh. *gamespots* ooooh. Good call.

Unlikely to work on the laptop, but would probably work on the desktop.

I really enjoyed the first Vampire game, but drifted away from it before reaching the present day.

You need reading lessons.

They'll play absolutely fine on the laptop.

I'll bill you if you're wrong.

That's fine. I'll bill you for the laptop.

I'll pay you what you paid for it, then.

8 years of labour, so far. Excellent - my front garden needs digging up.

It's the same as the PSX version. Making it the same as the best game in the world, ever.

You make such a cute couple x

I need not add it to my list then.

You'll note I've refrained from the *random battle* thing. So annoyed am I with having to have even considered that bloody game.

Diablo 2?
Edit: Morrowind?

Actually, come to think of it, Space Rangers is sort of an RPG. It has numerous (excellent text adventures contained within, you upgrade your ship, have standings with different factions. And it's sci-fi!

This is supposed to be good, allegedly - no idea though. It's Asteroids meets RPG: 'Ur-Quan Masters'. Free, too.

http://sc2.sourceforge.net/

Wasn't there an old sci-fi RPG based on the voxel engine of yore, called Outcast? That was supposed to be good.

Pete is right about everything, as always.

Cryo's Dune, while not really a proper stats n'shit RPG, is still a jolly atmospheric adventure. I have the Sega CD version (with the glorious rendered bits, video clips of Kyle MacLachlan and the astonishing soundtrack) and it's just amazing.

The Ur Quan Masters (aka Star Control 2) is again not a proper RPG but it IS a vast and truly excellent game and well worth playing. It completely captivated me and my friends for weeks when it first came out, there's just so much to see and do, the writing is absolutely brilliant. Just make sure you set it to use the original PC music and not the crappy 3DO remixes.

Yep both those are excellent. They both achieve exactly what I want out of a sci fi game in slightly different ways. Also, not everyones cup of tea, but I bet Rise Of The Argonauts would run on it. It is a short, linear but entertaining little game, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Isn't it a bit fiddly to get running properly? I can't remember what I had trouble with now - it was either running the PC version or running the PS1 version through an emulator or both. I don't think I had much luck getting FFVIII to run well on my PC either.

Mm, I have the PC CD one and that has the excellent video clips as well. Rather curiously Cryo only had the rights for Kyle MacLachlan and Sting's face, so all the actual game art other than Paul Atreides and Feyd Rautha has a different look to the Lynch film. This is no hindrence however, in fact the concept design and art of the computer game is very idiosyncratic and refreshing. It follows a Moebius, French style but yet looks practical. That Fremen with the Elvis hair always amused me though.

As MetalAngel says, the game also has some of the best sound ever. All the voice acting is sterling, Gurney Halleck, Jessica and the breathy-whispery Chani in particular. Paul's dad and Stilgar are commanding, Thurfir Hawat (looking rather freaky in the art design) cunning and fascinating, Duncan (a Londo Mollari lookalike) officious and bureaucratic, yet warm and friendly. The soundtrack is a work of art in itself, especially during the transit scenes, destinied to be skipped over but its surprising how long you'll keep sitting through them. It's funny, but I consider the voice acting to be far superior to the Sci-Fi Channel miniseries effort. (The actor who plays Halleck in that version should have been shot.) It's impossible to state how impressed I was by this. While other games (until Grim Fandango came along) had voiceovers that were pantomine ham and over-earnest, with cheesy dialogue, Dune kept a straight face and held a lot of honest charm.

"Here are our current stocks of spice. You can see that we produced more spice yesterday, than we did the day before. Don't forget the Emperor will call for a shipment tomorrow..."

The game is intriguing in being a hybrid of the book and the film, so you have both the weirding martial art, and the sound modules. It plays like an alternate, early draft of the novel, unfolding differently to the book but reaching the same destination. As such it's pretty fascinating, certain characters are dropped, others introduced or fleshed out - the feisty Harah (Paul's first girlfriend, and his mum's reaction is amusing!) being a welcome expansion.

"You'll notice that the Fremen have entirely blue eyes, no whites in them."

As a game, it is flawed admittedly. Too easy as a whole, and heading back to old locations when you're unclear what you have to do to move things along is a chore. All the same, the injection of a turn based strategy element spices (AHA!) things up a bit, and you get quite proud of the training of your divisions and the output of your harvesters. The game steadily builds, introducing new elements with perfect timing, until before you know it you're ready to claim back the planet. Thanks to an intelligent, witty script (take note, Sci-Fi channel) and a great sense of immersion, the game easily papers over any flaws, and a sense of love for the source material shines through. Because of this, it's one of my all time fave games.

And if you like, you can borrow it Mr. Chris. You might need DOS box to run it, and it is a bit picky about sound until you tinker with it, but I think it runs straight on Windows.

It's a bit more recent, but Neverwinter Nights was pretty good. Long, though, so I didn't finish it and best played with a small group of real people in co-op.