Finally Getting a New PC. Help me make a list of what I have been missing

[YOY]

After a long period of unemplotment coupled with the pregnancy of my wife I finally found a new job and have been working 2 jobs! Now I am actually putting away money for the kid and to make sure we have some money for vacation or in case of emergency. I also made a personal account to get a new PC (hald out of neccessity and half out of wanting to get a decent PC to game...I have but one vice.

I have scrimpt and saved and can finally get a decent PC. All those games that I have been wanting to play I will soon be able to.

I have not gotten a new game since 2003 (other than a copy of Halflife 2 that worked sans cutscenes.)

Can you, my fellow DUers, help me make a list of what I've been missing? There has been so much that's come out that I've been wanting to play but haven't.

So far this is what I've got:

KOTOR I and II
Total War: Rome
Prey
Civ IV

Help me out folks! I'm not going to get it all at once, but I know how to save a bit here and there!

[Occulus]

1. Oblivion

OMG, get Oblivion.

(You'll also want the strategy guide. Trust me.)

Half-life 2

The Movies is sort of fun too, if you like 'god games' like those.

Guild Wars (online gaming ala Everquest, but you only pay for the game itself; there's no monthly fee)

Doom3

Black & White 2

Silent Hill 4: The Room (you'll need a gamepad for that one, I think; I may be wrong)

I'll keep thinking....

[YOY]

2. Thanks!

Oblivion: Oh yes! Thanks! I'm adding it to the list

The Movies: I've been wanting to get this and to revisit one that I played a while ago if I can find it...I think it was called Ghost Master or something.

Guild Wars: I'm not keen on online gaming because of alot of negative things I've heard and seen. It sort of sinks WoW too and City of Heroes/Villains. I'll think about it. I don't and won't have that much time and I've heard that some are payed on a month-by-month basis.

Doom3: I'd like that. I heard there was some kind of mod to get rid of the annoying flashlight or gun thing (someone made a taped flashlight on the gun mod or something.)

Black & White 2: Oh yeah! I was wondering if it got tedious after a while like the first, but some say it does not.

Silent Hill 4: PLayed it on the PS2...Creepy stuff, I had to return it before I finished. I'm not too keen on Platform games brought over to the PC (usually more than a few months after the platform release). It feels like secondhand treatment to me.

[Steven_S]

3. F.E.A.R.

A top-shelf FPS.

The type of game you may like to play at night, lights off, headphones on.

And you can join me anytime in multiplayer.

[YOY]

10. On the list!

Danke

[malmapus]

14. Indeed Oblivion...freaking amazing.

You won't regret that purchase at all :D

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

4. What are the specs of the system you aregetting, or have? Also, what

genres and type of games are you interested in?

Shooters? Strategy? Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games?

How many years since you were gaming?

Is it important to you that the games be the "latest and greatest" in terms of eye candy/graphics? If so then the system specs will be important in terms of what kind of game.

Shooters:
-Far Cry
-F.E.A.R.
-Half Life 2
-Battlefield 2
-WW2 Genre: Call of Duty series, etc.

MMORPG:
-World of Warcraft
-Guild Wars
-Oblivion

[YOY]

6. Here's some general Specs, MM

Well... to keep it simple (and thanks to Tigerdirect.com and their hands down better prices, I have tried to peice together something like this)

Processor: Intel Celeron-D 356 Processor 3.33GHz/533/512K (I want Spore...supposedly I would need at least a 3.2)
Ram: 2GB DDR2 PC4200 Non-ECC Memory (1GB x 2)
Video: Radeon X1600 Pro 256MB
HD: 80GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
I have an external modem and but everything else is fluff.

Am I missing something?

I have been gaming since I was in kindergarten (Atari 2600) and am 30 now, PC Gaming since the Original 'Bard's Tale'. If you name it, I've either played it or talked about it with other 'old skoolers' (I hate that title...)

And if it's good...I'll play it. That's my rule. Then again, I do like rarer strategy titles. Old faves include Jagged Alliace Series and least faves include most RTSs (they all remind me of clones of the original 'Dune' with more bells and whistles.)

And thanks for the very good suggestions!

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

7. Dialup may be a prob for a lot of the online games...

If you are gaming via dialup modem I'd think that would seriously handicap you for some of the online gaming (BF2, FEAR etc.)

For single player your system should be fine for most things I'd think.

I've been gaming since there were PCs also, so I know what you mean.

[YOY]

9. External Cable Modem

I'll be fine!

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

11. Ah you had me confused. I thought ALL cable/dsl modems were external.

[BulletproofLandshark]

5. Oblivion, and ...

Titan Quest
Call Of Duty 2
Empire Earth II
Lord Of The Rings: Battle For Middle Earth I & II
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
The Movies
Warhammer 40K: Dawn Of War
World Of Warcraft
Guild Wars
Battlefield 2
Shadow Grounds
NASCAR SimRacing
Dungeon Siege II
Rollercoaster Tycoon 3
X-Men Legends II: Rise Of Apocalypse
Vampire - The Masquerade: Bloodlines
Age Of Empires III
Gun
Silent Hunter III

[YOY]

8. Well...

Call Of Duty 2
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
X-Men Legends II: Rise Of Apocalypse
Gun

Got 'em on the PS 2: :7


NASCAR SimRacing...:puke:
and Dungeon Siege II...Dunno I thought the first one was goddawful.

Everything Else looks Damn good! :toast:

[jayctravis]

16. I second Titan Quest and Rollercoaster Tycoon 3

If you like adventure games...many people don't...you may or may not have played URU. It's my favorite in the Myst series; instead of being part of the story, you're investigating what is primarily an archaeological dig of the locations involved in that plot. Plus it's in real-time 3D and has some of the most stunning game architecture and design I've experienced. If you buy Uru:Complete Chronicles you'll get the expansion packs as well which include what is one of the most mind-twisting ages ever.

Oh, and Prey is awesome. It's a quick play but just dripping with eye-candy and does amazing tricks with the engine.

If you played HL2 (unfortunately sans cutscenes???) you might want to go through that again then get HL2:Episode One which is downloadable through Steam for $20 which continues the story. It's shorter than HL2, but is like a backwards "greatest hits" version of that game and very satisfying. You also get some extras if you download it, like the "Lost Coast" mission which I think was a technology test for the Source engine.

How could you not get cutscenes in HL2? They happen in the engine in real time!

[TroubleMan]

12. Oblivion and GTA San Andreas

Fable is a lot of fun, too. However, if you play Oblivion first, you might be disappointed with Fable.

[YOY]

13. I've heard that about Fable and Fable 2

On the list

Thanks

[Hatalles]

15. I actually played Fable before Oblivion...

... and liked Fable better. :)

[semillama]

17. Try out the Brothers in Arms series, if you're into WWII shooters

the most realistic, intense WWII game series, hands down. I just recently picked up the second game, and I actually need to take day-long breaks between levels, otherwise it's too much for me. it does an excellent job of recreating squad-based combat, and you really get attached to your squadmates.

[YOY]

18. WOOT! Check it out!

-Intel Xeon 3040 Conroe 1.86GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX805573040
-Thermaltake W0093RU ATX 12V 2.0 Version 500W Power Supply
-HIS Hightech H165PRQT512GDDN-R Radeon X1650PRO 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 IceQ Turbo CrossFire Ready Video Card
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-Thermaltake Bach Media Lab VB8000SNS Silver Aluminum/Steel ATX Desktop Computer Case
-Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
-ASUS P5B Deluxe/WiFi-AP Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard
-CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4
-LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with 12X DVD-RAM Write White IDE Model LH-20A1P-184 - OEM
-ViewSonic Q19WB-2 Black 19" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor

Already have mouse, key board, and speakers!

WOOOT!!!

At Newegg for $1300. Woulda cost me $2000+ from Dell.

[malmapus]

19. Baldur's Gate set!!

I know it's from 99 - 2002 but the story!!! Broke it out the other day on my monster machine and enjoying the ravings of Minsc and his space hamster Boo all over again!!

[YOY]

20. Holding it in my hand now

I never sold or threw it away. Replayability is phenomenal in that game!

[malmapus]

21. Have you tried a "No-Save" challenge?

Found a thread on the Bioware Baldur's Gate site of players participating in a "No Save" challenge. To play through the game and if your character dies, that's it. No re-loading. I'm trying it and it is sooo hard not to his Esc and then load a previous save this time through.

Just had a battle and lost Minsc and Khalid to STUPID mistakes. But yeah, sucked it up and managed to get them res's (luckily they didn't get chunked! lol).

[YOY]

22. Hellz no! Sounds damn near impossible!

Can't you raise the NPCs though?

BG without Misc is like Fallout without Dogmeat...

[malmapus]

23. Yeah, can still raise NPCs

Unless they get "chunked" where there is nothing left to raise lol. But if the main char dies, it's game over :)

[YOY]

24. We'll you know where the basilisks are to prevent statue chunkage

As far as I know you have to take massive damage to get chunked. If you know where the baddies are going to show up and what they can do it might just be doable.

[malmapus]

25. Basilisks are no problem

Actually had my main char (dwarf fighter with only like 18/54 str, 17 dex and 20 con after that book), run around and solo them. He has 4 stars in longswords, boots of haste, -4 AC I forget what else. But just had my cleric throw on a prot from petrification and had him run around and hack them all up.

But yeah at that first level, ran into a group of even ogrillions and got owned lol. They chunked poor Khalid (although bugger deserved it for taking off in the middle of a fight!).

[YOY]

26. Do you just leave it running?

I assume you do as you cannot save it. Also are you using the mod that updates it to use BGII rules?

I'd focus a hell of alot on missle and defensive spell casting.

[malmapus]

27. You can save when you quit out

Then just reload when you play it again. Just can't reload if a fight goes bad, your character dies, stuff like that :)

[StrictlyRockers]

28. Baldurs Gate is the best game ever!

But if you like that, you will LOVE D&D Online!

http://trial.ddo.com/

Make sure you don't have anyting planned for the next week before you sign up, though. ;)

[YOY]

29. BG is great for Liberally Kicking butts...but ddo...I've got 2 jobs, a wife and baby

Anything requiring a paid subscription is kinda off the list. Anything I can play for 2-3 hours on the weekend sporadically...consider it the shiznat!

MMORPGs as much as they sound to be awesome...will be avoided out of necesity. Perhaps Guildwars as you don't pay any subscriptions.

[StrictlyRockers]

30. MMO subscription games are only for when you are determined to be that which has no life.

How can you kill that which has no life?

[YOY]

31. Love that episode of South Park...

n/t