Recommend me RPG computer games

[mr friendly guy]

So I will be getting a new computer tomorrow. It seems I might some free time on my hand, so I am hoping to get some good recommendations on what RPG games I should play. I haven't played for a while since the days of the Might and Magic series (I got up to MM 8 ) and the Wizardry series. I am looking for a game which hopefully won't require ginormous hours of game play, but at least has some plots, preferably non linear ones. Here are my specs

CPU - Intel core i7 2600 3.4Ghz 8 Mb Cache Sandy Bridge
CPU cooler - Corsair H70 water cooler
Motherboard Asrock z68 extreme
memory - 8GB dual DDR3 1600 Mhz
SDD - 120 GB corsair force 3
HDD - 500 GB Seagate SATA 16 Mb cache
video card - Geforce GTX550ti 1Gb

Monitor - Acer 22" V223HQbd LED
DVD writer - Samsung 22x SATA DVD writer
Case - coolermaster silencio 550 soundproofed super silent case
Power - Antec true power 3.0 550W

I will be running windows 7.

Any suggestions?

[Purple]

Star Wars KOTOR. Seriously. It's not as huge or engaging as stuff like Oblivion and its still well executed, fun and has an interesting plot. And while it is sort of linear the endings are diffrent enough that it's not a bad thing. Just stay away from KOTOR2.

[Edi]

The Witcher and Witcher 2. You can get both from gog.com for a fair price.

[TheFeniX]

Star Wars KOTOR. Seriously. It's not as huge or engaging as stuff like Oblivion and its still well executed, fun and has an interesting plot. And while it is sort of linear the endings are diffrent enough that it's not a bad thing. Just stay away from KOTOR2.

Maybe time has softened my outlook (because I never thought I'd say this), but KOTOR2 was a pretty good game. Besides the bullshit rehashing of old planets and entire areas from KOTOR1, I enjoyed it almost as much as the original. The problem was the game just fucking fell apart 90% of the way through. Content was either missing or patchy as Hell (as in, dialog didn't make sense because they cut something important that preceded it). Also "LOADING.... .... ... ... .." If you could snag KOTOR2 for 5 bucks, it would be worth the money.

The turned based RPG has kind of died on computer from what I can tell. I played Wizardry 7 a lot and there's just not a lot like it out there anymore (if anyone knows otherwise, please inform me). Most of what you get is more action/RPG and are the big names you probably already know.

Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Fallout 3 and New Vegas, Elder Scrolls, Fable. Steam is having a sale on Skyrim right now.... they always have sales.

On the MMO front: Star Wars Old Republic's endgame is almost worthless, but the storylines are pretty good. The Jedi Knight storyline is KOTOR3. Just roll on a PvE server. If paying monthly isn't your Deal, Star Trek Online went Free to Play, looks good, and can be soloed. It's slow to start, but the quality picks up once you get your first real ship. Then tanks once you near max level.

[weemadando]

Alpha Protocol.

Ingore what everyone else has said.

Well, except Witcher 1/2. Give those a try.

But play Alpha Protocol first.

[xthetenth]

Alpha Protocol, Witcher. Consider them seconded. Both also have some good replay value in seeing what you missed the first time.

I'm going to be the dissenting opinion on the KOTOR games. KOTOR 1 was boring and pedestrian in a lot of areas. 2 was fascinating. It was a really interesting take on Star Wars and had some really interesting characters. I could use a sentence to describe each character in 1, if not a clause. I'd make English teachers everywhere shit masonry if I tried the same for 2. KOTOR 1 is worth playing but I swear you could outline its plot using no elements not found in the plot of Star Wars or the Bioware RPG Formula™.

Plus, HK-47 in 2 >>> HK-47 in 1.

[Stark]

That's funny, because HK-47 is a strong competitor for 'most tiresome Bioware character', and there's some stiff competition. If you play Mass Effect you already played KOTOR, only the game was finished and combat didn't suck.

What a roffle; 'recommend me RPGs' = 'here are some SW and ST themed RPGs on this SW vs ST board'.

MFG, do you want a 'make your own' story or an 'uncover the' story? If you haven't played an RPG since Wizardry you might need an update on how the genre has changed, how almost every genre now has 'RPG elements' (ie leveling and inventory management) and how all of the very popular RPGs suck donkey cocks if you want a compelling story or any flexibility. Frankly, I think Metro sold its story better than Mass Effect, and its just a shooter.

[Mr Bean]

In order for your requirements, 1 Good, 2, Non-linar, 3, Not Xenosaga

Alpha Protocol
Mass Effect
Witcher
Witcher 2
Kotor 1/Kotor 2
MMO: The Old Republic
Fallout III/New Vegas
Dragon age series
Morrowind
Oblivion
Skyirm
Fable
Xenosaga

This list is weighed by A, Being good, B, Not taking forever, the Elderscrolls games are near the bottom of the list as with mods your talking about a 2 months per game easy so being huge they go further down the list. Fable is down there for being bad. Dragon age for being less good

I recommend playing Alpha Protocol through then starting Mass Effect from the beginning so you can be ready just as ME3 hits the shelves. Needless to say any you've already played just go to the next one on the list. And yes Kotor 3 = Play the Old Republic Jedi Knight Storyline + The world quests. It takes about as long as Kotor 2 took me.

[Stark]

Mass Effect 1 sucks; even ME fans admit this. Its certainly not non-linear and has a super-retarded story. Witcher is a much better bet... and frankly its so long that he'll never have to harm himself by playing the rest of that shit.

It isn't about how many 'notable' 'nerd recommended' games he plays, after all; its how he spends his time. And finishing Witcher once is certainly better for his soul than playing a whole series of terrible KOTOR clones.

[Civil War Man]

Alpha Protocol.

Ingore what everyone else has said.

Well, except Witcher 1/2. Give those a try.

But play Alpha Protocol first.

While I'd also recommend Alpha Protocol, I'd put in the caveat that you should play it with a console controller. Because the UI was obviously designed with consoles in mind, so the keyboard and mouse controls are pretty shit. I ended up investing a lot in radios and EMP grenades because trying to hack with a keyboard and pick locks with a mouse was an exercise in futility.

Other than that, it's awesome. There are actually consequences for things you say and do. And there are benefits to not choosing the same type of response every single time in a conversation. And there can be benefits to having NPCs not like you.

[Stark]

Even on console many people used the EMP skipping for that stuff. The game doesn't punish you, and just lets you carry more of them. Amazing, really.

[Civil War Man]

That's funny, because HK-47 is a strong competitor for 'most tiresome Bioware character', and there's some stiff competition. If you play Mass Effect you already played KOTOR, only the game was finished and combat didn't suck.

I'd say Shale from DA:O actually wins that prize, being effectively a carbon copy of HK-47 with a high fantasy reskin, a completely pointless personal plot twist, and everything that made HK-47 less insufferable removed.

[xthetenth]

Meanwhile HK is interesting in KOTOR 2. He's something other than an endless font of 'comedic' sociopathy. He's still sociopathic but he's a link to the Exile's past and a link to characters you can't meet but who need representation, and some of the stuff he says is genuinely interesting. The reason I picked him is not because he's good in 1. It's because he's representative of KOTOR 2 adding much more nuance to its characters than 1's one-note ones.

[Edi]

That's funny, because HK-47 is a strong competitor for 'most tiresome Bioware character', and there's some stiff competition. If you play Mass Effect you already played KOTOR, only the game was finished and combat didn't suck.

I'd say Shale from DA:O actually wins that prize, being effectively a carbon copy of HK-47 with a high fantasy reskin, a completely pointless personal plot twist, and everything that made HK-47 less insufferable removed.

That may actually depend on your point of view. I found Shale pretty hilarious, actually.

[Stark]

Did you find HK-47 'hilarious' as well?

And seriously why play the old KOTOR games, including the broken one, when you can just play the new ones they call 'Mass Effect' now? It doesn't sound like he has a great deal of time to waste 'catching up' on his 'shitty Bioware writing' backlog, so just a few actually good (vs popular) games would probably to him for months.

Its interesting to think that going from the days of yore wherein Wizardry exists, a game like Metro actually has a stronger story with more interaction than he's used to. He might not have to limit himself to quote-unquote ARR PEE GEES at all, if he isn't turned off by combat.

[Civil War Man]

That's funny, because HK-47 is a strong competitor for 'most tiresome Bioware character', and there's some stiff competition. If you play Mass Effect you already played KOTOR, only the game was finished and combat didn't suck.

I'd say Shale from DA:O actually wins that prize, being effectively a carbon copy of HK-47 with a high fantasy reskin, a completely pointless personal plot twist, and everything that made HK-47 less insufferable removed.

That may actually depend on your point of view. I found Shale pretty hilarious, actually.

It's a pretty subjective award, granted, but Shale is a pretty obvious copy of HK-47. Both sentient automatons. Both enjoy killing things. Both have verbal "quirks" (HK:47 with meatbags and starting every sentence with a descriptor, Shale with calling the PC "it"). Both have amnesia. Both tell you stories of previous owners.

But for all the similarities, Shale was even more one-note. Honestly, I found the dog to be a less one-dimensional character.

[Edi]

That may actually depend on your point of view. I found Shale pretty hilarious, actually.

It's a pretty subjective award, granted, but Shale is a pretty obvious copy of HK-47. Both sentient automatons. Both enjoy killing things. Both have verbal "quirks" (HK:47 with meatbags and starting every sentence with a descriptor, Shale with calling the PC "it"). Both have amnesia. Both tell you stories of previous owners.

But for all the similarities, Shale was even more one-note. Honestly, I found the dog to be a less one-dimensional character.

Yes, well, I haven't played the other games, so I have no reference point in that regard. Probably why it didn't bother me at all.

[Panzersharkcat]

The first Avernum trilogy. It's a remake of the Exile trilogy and still graphically crude but it's a fun game. I personally prefer the originals but they don't run on Windows 7. They work on XP but I think that's the most recent one it runs on.

[Stofsk]

Play Witcher. Play Alpha Protocol. Then play Mass Effect. Then marvel at how a bunch of nobodies in Poland and Chris Avellone can make a game about consequences better than the so-called masters of the genre.

Avoid Dragon Age: Horriblis. Avoid Bethesda games like the fucking plague unless you like terrible stories with no characters but OH SO PRETTY GRASS. KotOR 1 is shit, primitive, old, stupid (not that old games are bad, but if you want to play an old RPG that badly fucking play Baldur's Gate) but KotOR 2 is good if only because of Chris Avellone and the aforementioned added nuance to existing characters (HK47 for example was one of my least favourite characters from KotOR 1, but in 2 you could see what potential was there realised).

[mr friendly guy]

MFG, do you want a 'make your own' story or an 'uncover the' story? If you haven't played an RPG since Wizardry you might need an update on how the genre has changed, how almost every genre now has 'RPG elements' (ie leveling and inventory management) and how all of the very popular RPGs suck donkey cocks if you want a compelling story or any flexibility. Frankly, I think Metro sold its story better than Mass Effect, and its just a shooter.

A mixture of both. Generally the Might and magic and Wizardry series had an overarching story, where you must complete a final quest, however along the way you can postpone it, do whatever you wanted etc. Also your choices do affect the world, ie you can choose to be "good", "evil" etc.

I was thinking of mainly fantasy or sci fi based RPG.

Play Witcher. Play Alpha Protocol. Then play Mass Effect. Then marvel at how a bunch of nobodies in Poland and Chris Avellone can make a game about consequences better than the so-called masters of the genre.

Avoid Dragon Age: Horriblis. Avoid Bethesda games like the fucking plague unless you like terrible stories with no characters but OH SO PRETTY GRASS. KotOR 1 is shit, primitive, old, stupid (not that old games are bad, but if you want to play an old RPG that badly fucking play Baldur's Gate) but KotOR 2 is good if only because of Chris Avellone and the aforementioned added nuance to existing characters (HK47 for example was one of my least favourite characters from KotOR 1, but in 2 you could see what potential was there realised).

I never even heard of Bethesda until I read Bean's recommendations. Whats wrong with the stories, characters etc. According to wiki they seem to have good reception among gamers.

[Panzersharkcat]

I don't know? Their games can be buggy and they may screw up canon on things (see all the bitching about Fallout 3 power armor and bomb shapes and laser rifles and whatever) but they're still incredible fun to play. I'm still messing around with Fallout 3, though it's mostly because I'm tinkering with my own mod project and because I'm waiting for Mothership Zeta Crew to finally update. Also, New Vegas was developed by Obsidian with Chris Avellone as one senior designer.

[Stark]

They're soulless empty sandboxes where nothing ever happens. Their woods are less active and alive than Crusaders of the Dark Savant for fucks' sake, and the stories all suck.

If you're OCD or like really easy games they might be for you, however.

[Dread Not]

I was thinking of mainly fantasy or sci fi based RPG.

Is there any other kind?

I'll echo the most of what has already been said. I'd avoid the lifeless husks of Bethesda. Avoid pretty much everything from Bioware except for Mass Effect 2 if you want a good shooter with some light character building and limited dialogue options. I wouldn't recommend Fable either.

Do try Alpha Protocol. It's quite cheap and a much more interesting role-playing experience then most of what's out there these days. Events can truly play out in different ways depending on your actions. Some of the character builds are quite unbalanced, and the SMG's bite, but it's worth a look all the same.

I'll add Fallout 1 and Planescape: Torment if you don't mind something a little older. I would also recommend System Shock 2 except there's no way to obtain it short of ebay or piracy.

I've only just started playing the Witcher and haven't been terribly impressed, though I've heard it gets off to a weak start, so hopefully after a couple more hours I'll be able to jump on the Witcher bandwagon.

[Stark]

The first part of the Witcher, at the inn, is really a tutorial more than anything else. The story/game really starts once you get into Vizima, and then becomes a labyrinthine web of lies and craziness.

[Civil War Man]

They're soulless empty sandboxes where nothing ever happens. Their woods are less active and alive than Crusaders of the Dark Savant for fucks' sake, and the stories all suck.

The only Bethesda game I ever tried was Morrowind. I got off the ship and built my character. Then I walked out into the swamp, took a look around, and thought "Okay, now what?" I wandered around for a few minutes, eventually found the town, then turned it off and never played again.

Nobody I knew really played the game, either. There were several that played in the technical sense, but mostly they just used it to dick around with broken spell combinations when they were bored, and didn't actually bother with the quests.