PC Game Recommendations

[MadAdmiral]

I just finished building a new computer, and haven't been paying attention to PC games for 6-7 years (the newest game I've got is probably GTA Vice City). I'm looking for recommendations for good PC games that will show me what my money bought. I'm not looking for benchmarking it, I want games that are actually fun to play. I also own a 360, and chances are that if it's been released on both, I've played it or ignored it, so PC exclusive games preferred (if there's such a thing anymore). I don't particularly care about multiplayer; I'd much rather play a good game by myself than listen to 11 year-olds whining about a game like it's their job. The computer's main purpose isn't gaming, so it might not handle a lot of games at the highest detail. If the game would run great at lower settings and still look great, feel free to mention it. Specs are below.

Everything's at stock right now, but I'm open to overclocking...
3.2 GHz Quad (AMD if that matters)
Radeon HD 5750
Windows 7 Home
More RAM than necessary for games
Use an HDTV for a monitor (1080p)

Let me know if I left anything important off. It's been a while since I had to check out system requirements...

 

[mi1ez]

What have you got?
What do you like?
I can recommend Orange Box, Audiosurf, and There's a free version of Trackmania which is fun. They should all run just fine on your system.

 

[MadAdmiral]

I haven't bought a PC game in the last 6 years, so pretty much anything that readily available I won't own.

I'm a fairly eclectic gamer. About the only genres I don't play are JRPGs and racing. I don't play a whole lot of sports games. Back in the day, I played a lot of RTS, RPGs and some shooters.

Orange Box was excellent on the Xbox.

 

[mi1ez]

Dammit! forgot they did Orange Box on XBox..

hmm...

How about World of Goo? indie gmae, pretty cheap and highly addictive!
Bioshock is always a popular one (not sure if it was on XB. Prob!)
If you buy something with the steam engine, there's a whole world of mods out there. I love the releases by Chinese Room, and Research and Developement is awesome!

 

[MadAdmiral]

Bioshock was an Xbox Original. World of Goo's on the Wii too (forgot to mention I had one...)

 

[TegGhola]

There is no PC exclusive any longer. "PC gaming is dead" is a common refrain now. I went into a Game store earlier, and they had four releases facing forward, and then one small shelf of other items in a line with only their spines visible. The same store used to have three whole shelving panels devoted to PC gaming, now they barely manage half of one.

Anyway, the games that are worth playing on a PC (regardless of whether they've been launched on other platforms) from recent years are:

F.E.A.R. (2005) Good visuals during gunfights, and a terrible (in the horror sense) atmosphere.

Civilization IV Complete (2005) Brilliant turn-based strategy gaming, with the option of peaceful, scientific and cultural development, or murderous military conquest, or a mix of the two.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2005) Okay, you've played Vice City, but San Andreas is huge. Even if the missions are a bit glitchy and frustrating, the world is so huge and varied that it's worth it. You may feel that Grand Theft Auto IV is a better choice, though, seeing as it's newer and will show off your new hardware better.

World In Conflict (2007) Very nice real-time strategy game, with full 3D graphics, and a host of WMDs to kick up enough flame and debris to show off those graphics.

Crysis (2007) Excellent wide-roaming jungle shenanigans, with the option of charging about Rambo style, or sneaking about Predator style.

Fallout 3 (2008) An RPG FPS with a huge map of beast-infested plains and city ruins to explore, and people to help or abuse as you see fit.

Personally, I think BioShock was wildly overhyped. It is a beautiful game, and the gameplay is okay, but it's not a patch on System Shock 2 in terms of atmosphere, complexity or horrific story development. But if you can get it cheap, it is a nice way to enjoy high-end hardware for a while.

 

[MadAdmiral]

Bioshock was still an excellent game. It was a good update of the System Shocks. I've got it on 360.

I've also got F.E.A.R., San Andreas and Fallout on 360.

I'm pretty sure Crysis would chew my build up and spit it out.

I'll check out World in Conflict.

 

[jgiron]

Get the next Battlefield 1943, true it came out for console but the PC version will be a whole lot better. Aliens Vs. Predator.
These are games that are coming out next year.

 

[welshmousepk]

crysis will run fine on your system.

its pribably about as powerful as mine (if not, more so) andi max it out and get 30ish FPS.
id recomend it, i love the game.

not many pc exlusives worth checking out anymore, but some i would recomend are:

Crysis (said above)
Sins of a solar empire (my absolute fav RTS of all time, and only on PC)
enemy territory quake wars. online, but the community is generally pretty adult.
Audiosurf. cheap, and you MUST play it.
dragon agerigins. trust me, the PC versio nis totaly different (better) than the xbox version.
company of heroes, another great RTS.
Prenumbra (an underated pointy/clicky. awesome)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R (fps/rpg hybrid. if you like deus ex/fallout 3, try it)


if i tihnk of more, ill add them. but those are some prety sweet games to get you started.

 

[tuesday0180]

Farcry 2 can be fun, but tiring. All that driving and walking around. It'll run good on your system though.

Theres this dungeon crawler type game called "Torchlight". It's mindless but fun. It's sort of like Diablo.

Dawn of Discovery 1404 is a real fun game. It's a real time strategy type of game, except the battles aren't really that real time. The main point of this "Civ" type of game is to build up cities in all parts of the world and configure a trade route so your cities and citizens are getting what they need. If you like Civilization type games this one can be fun.

Resident Evil 5 was sorta fun. It's not like the old ones where you actually have to solve puzzles. It's more like a guide fps. By guided I mean you're sort of pushed and prodded along a path. You can't really explore much in the game. Graphics are good.

Red Alert 3 is fun. It's less tank spam and more micromanagement now. Theres also an expansion that's NOT worth getting.

Command and conquer generals is fun too. Again, it's less spam and more micromanagement. It's harder to play though since its based more on reality than the previous games. Tanks are slower and so are foot soldiers. Thers an expansion called, "Zero Hour". It's worth getting.

Fallout 3 is a must. Probably one of the best games I've played.

 

[MadAdmiral]

I've already played the Orange Box on 360. Same with Fallout, RE 5, Left 4 Dead 2, and Dragon Age.

I heard from a friend that S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s engine was buggy, and really didn't make the game enjoyable. Did that get patched?

 

[JeanLuc]

Medieval 2: Total War, Empire: Total War, Supreme Commander & Forged Alliance expansion, Company of Heroes (and expansions), World in Conflict are all popular and really good RTS games. I pretty sure I've missed some here (Command & Conquer for example) the PC is awash with RTS titles at the moment.

You have played pretty much all of the best RPG's on XBOX but you missed of Mass Effect which is even better on the PC and perhaps the best RPG of recent times The Witcher (PC exclusive) is a great game that will keep you occupied for ages.

As for Shooter I can't say I liked Far Cry 2, Crysis is good and Warhead is meant to be very good and should play at medium settings on your video card. Since you have a PC you might as well buy shooters for it rather then the 360 so games like FEAR 2, Dead Space etc will IMO play better due to the use of a keyboard and mouse. Watch out of AvP 3 early next year.

Ignore the troll above who was saying PC gaming is dead, it's far from dead and if it were dead developers wouldn't bother porting titles to the platform it's just that over the 6 years while you have been away from PC gaming more and more gamers prefer to uses Direct 2 Drive or steam. Online distribution is the future.

 

[MadAdmiral]

I'm going to have to agree that most PC gaming is dead though. Most of the great games mentioned (besides the RTSs) have been on consoles too. In addition, consoles get more exclusives and many times the games are released earlier on consoles. There will always be a place for certain games on PC. Also, online distribution isn't PC exclusive. The xBox Live Marketplace existed long before Steam.

To be honest, I prefer the controller for FPSs. Yes, quick aiming is easier with a mouse, but there's just something about sitting on a couch with a gamepad in hand.

I've already palyed Mass Effect and Dead Space on 360. I'll look into the RTSs though. That's really what I've been missing on the consoles.

 

[JeanLuc]

Do you really get that many more exclusives on a console? Overall there are less exclusives on all platforms as most of the time it just doesn't make sense to produce titles for one platform as you end up axing 70% of the market.

PC has plenty of exclusives some of which I've mentioned above but there's also games like X3 Reunion, X3 Terrain Conflict, Sims and the dozens of expansion packs, Spore, World of Warcraft and most other MMO's are generally PC only to name a few. I think the issue is for a lot of older PC gamers that don't always appreciate the fact that PC games have moved on, a large portion of PC gaming revenue is made up of simulator/god games and MMO's these days.

 

[cappster]

I'm going to have to agree that most PC gaming is dead though. Most of the great games mentioned (besides the RTSs) have been on consoles too. In addition, consoles get more exclusives and many times the games are released earlier on consoles. There will always be a place for certain games on PC. Also, online distribution isn't PC exclusive. The xBox Live Marketplace existed long before Steam.

To be honest, I prefer the controller for FPSs. Yes, quick aiming is easier with a mouse, but there's just something about sitting on a couch with a gamepad in hand.

I've already palyed Mass Effect and Dead Space on 360. I'll look into the RTSs though. That's really what I've been missing on the consoles.

Sounds like you should stick with console gaming as it seems to me that is where your passion is. Have you played the latest batman game?

 

[MadAdmiral]

I actually haven't played the Batman game. Is that better on PC?

And the preference is really only for certain genres (really only FPSs and maybe sports games). I will NEVER play an RTS on a console.

As far as console exclusives, I have one rebuttal: Guitar Hero/Rock Band. There's a ridiculous amount of games there. Maybe it's just more in the genres I've been playing. I tend to ignore the genres I hate (MMOs, most simulators).

 

[jay_l_a]

Medieval Total War 2 (currently $5 on Steam) (RTS and TBS)
Supreme Commander + Forged Alliance (RTS)
STALKER (FPS with RPG elements)
The Witcher (clicker, much fun), make sure you get The Enhanced Edition
Crysis: Warhead (FPS

 

[gman24]

Use Steam and get the Valve complete package (includes all the valve games: CS, CSCZ, CSS, DoD, DoD source, the entire HL series (very good), TF + TF2, portal, Left 4 dead 1 and 2) which is only $100. Its a great deal, getting L4D2 alone is already like $50, you might as well get the whole package.

All of these are FPS and some more I recommend: Crysis series, BioShock, Farcry 2, Fallout 3, and Borderlands. RPG: imo the best are from bioware which are dragon age and mass effect. Dawn of War 2 is also a pretty nice rpg/rts. Assuming that you got a powerful new video card, you have the intention of getting back into pc gaming. If you decide to get steam and such message me and I'll add you on steam.

 

[welshmousepk]

every seems to be ignoting that the OP only wants PC exclusives...
GMAN, he has likely played all those games already.

 

[cappster]

The age of Empires series is something worth looking into. That is a pc exclusive.

 

[MadAdmiral]

@gman: I have played almost all of those, especially the Value games.

I'll check out the RTS games recommended (as well as some of the others).

Side note: I love people recommending Fallout 3 to me with my avatar...

 

[DJRWolf]

Farcry 2: I have this and it is a very good looking game. Some times when I have been playing during the in-game day I almost felt like I was in the burning hot sun and I don't even have the graphics turned that high up. Lots of getting from Point A to Point B but it will test your system.

Sins of a Solor Empire: Be sure to also pick up the 2 "micro expansions" on the Impulse loader. One of the best RTS's that has come out as of late. If you do single player skirmish with a full load of players it will show how fast your CPU is if you turn up the time rate after a while. There can be just so much going on as trade ships and refinery ships do their thing after a large network has been developed that it will be a good test of your CPU.

The Orange Box: Very good value. You get Half-Life 2 and it's 2 "expansions", Portal (one of the best games ever), and Team Fortress 2.

Left 4 Dead bundle: Includes Left 4 Dead Game of the Year Edition and Left 4 Dead 2. I think (please correct me if I'm wrong) you can only get it on Steam.

Ghostbusters: My main gaming rig is down for repairs right now (motherboard is RAM'ed for what I think is a faulty voltage regulator) and I had yet to get around to installing it. But it does look like it would be fun. The mouse/keyboard would make it much better to control then on a console and it has good graphics.