Good games not obssessed with fighting and violence

[dunnywoods]

Hi,
First of all let me point out I have no problem with violence in games and I really enjoy TF2 online and such it's just I want a game with something different besides shooting/fighting. I recently bought The Orange Box on Steam and I'm playing through the games on it (I've already completed Portal before though). I'm also playing Shogun 2: Total War. I'm getting a bit bored of all the constant shooting and bombardment of enemies in these games though and I feel like they're getting too repetitive. What I'm looking for is a game with a world which I can explore but don't necessarily have to go around killing everyone. Basically I want a game with a really well driven story (Like ME) but without all the constant action. So I was thinking something like Fallout 3 or Oblivion but is there still a huge amount of fighting/shooting in these games? because I want something new which I won't be bored of immediately. Please note I'm not looking for a puzzle game or something like that I want the game to have a story but focus more on exploration and other things besides fighting.
Thanks in advance.

 

[kingsmehul]

Hello,I would suggest you to try assassins creed 2,but what you are saying here is yet to come.So you can settle just by playing any of the rockstar games,its got a lot of exploring,killing,story,everything.I still play gta sanandreas as first of all its got a awesome story line and secondly you can almost do anything.Have you played batman arkham asylum?

 

[dunnywoods]

Yeah I completed Arkham Asylum and look forward to Arkham City. The combat in that was really innovative I thought and decent story line. I've played Assassins Creed 2 as well but could never get into Brotherhood so I sold it. I might get it and have another go though. I'm not a huge fan of GTA but I really liked Red Dead on PS3. There is a game called Bully on Steam by Rockstar, have you ever played this and if so is it any good.
Thanks.

 

[crewton]

While I haven't played it, I think you'd enjoy L.A Noire. It's a very story driven game but I'm not sure if it has the same exploration element you are looking for like Oblivion. However, you do a lot of killing in Oblivion and it is mostly hack and slash.

 

[dunnywoods]

Yeah that's is what I was afraid of with Oblivion. I never liked the look of the combat. But if there was a break between the fighting were I could just explore and interact with characters and stuff that would be cool. I played L.A Noire and didn't really like it I thought it was repetitive and I really didn't like Cole Phelps, the player character. I could just never get into the story of it and I don't actually think it's that well written or cohesive.

 

[HEXiT]

this has to be 1 of the saddest topics ever. not because the op wants violence free games, but because there isnt many withing the criteria he has laid down...

who am i kidding. ARE YOU NUTS!!!...

seriously pal if you want violence free games play pokemon tiles or something then again the implied violence would probably be to much for you...

games are based on fantasy and most of the time it will include some level of violence. if you take out the hack and slash from a hack and slash game, what have you got. some pretty pointless gfx...

what your after just doesnt exist in the real world of games because they just dont sell.

 

[dunnywoods]

As I have already said I don't have an aversion to violence or anything. I just think games are very repetitive when all you are doing is running around blowing heads off. But don't get me wrong I often enjoy blowing heads off in Team Fortress 2 or slaughtering thousands of fleeing enemies in Shogun 2. My point is I'm looking for something different and actually there are games created by modders which do fit the criteria I'm looking for. So maybe you should insult me for no good reason without knowing what you're actually talking about?

 

[kajabla]

I would have said Portal 2, but you got there first - unless you've only played #1? Get #2 ASAP if that's the case.
If it's not the violence but the gameplay that's the problem, what about whole other genres, like RTS? Starcraft FTW.

Yes, Hexit, if you take the hack and slash out of hack and slash you're left with nothing. That's just why he doesn't want hack and slash.

I'm sure there are excellent sandbox games out there, but I don't have a large game vocabulary.

 

[ghostmagic]

Minecraft has a no-enemies mode, just build away. Also the now dated MYST series. Also you could try some racing games / flight sims.
Portal 2 is awesome...
or you could stop playing games and just read a book.

 

[julius 85]

You could try Civilization if you like strategy

 

[dunnywoods]

Yeah I have only played Portal but I am going to get Portal 2. I'm not really looking for a strategy game more of a first/third person story. Some combat doesn't bother me at all except I would just like there to be a break where I can walk around and do stuff or interact with the characters or even lengthy cut scenes. A stealth game would suit these requirements and I think I might give Thief a go? Let me explain more: A game like the MGS series on console, which is by far my favourite game series, I enjoyed taking time and thinking about how I could get around the enemies or silently killing one enemy and then hiding him and such. Also I'm pretty sure there aren't any other games like Heavy Rain which I really enjoyed, that had a great story but didn't get boring because you had different things to do rather then shooting everyone. I don't see why people seem to think that the only possible thing to do is shoot people in games and if I don't like to constantly kill people I shouldn't be playing games. There is so much scope for other genres of gameplay which devs just don't seem to want to touch.

 

[HEXiT]

your rite in that there are so many different games, but 90 percent or more have 1 thing in common. violence.

i reccon you would like splinter cell. you can play most of them none lethal.

 

[GNCD]

This is more like a riddle. Try The Path or Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

 

[whiteshadow_22]

Oblivion - Great game with a beautiful world to explore. I'd still recommend it despite your reservations about the fighting. It's great fun to play.

Fallout 3 - Great exploration too, the fighting is more tactical than most games and the way you can make you own weapons, buy your own house etc really helps create an immersive experience.

X3 Reunion - Space trading\fighting\mining game. You can set yourself up as a trader\miner and steer clear of dangerous systems etc. The graphics are beautiful and you can play the game in whatever way you want.

 

[Keytask]

The Sly Cooper series sounds like it's for little kids, but it's actually really fun. There's not total chaos and it has a good storyline. You can find all three games in "The Sly Collection" game. The game is rather old, but it was made by SuckerPunch, the same people who made Infamous, so you know it's good.

 

[jaguarskx]

I recommend the Hitman series.

It is a first person game and yes it does have violence, but you decide on how much violence you want to apply in the game. You can kill all the "bad guys" and be labelled a Mass Murderer (or something like that), or you can focus on just killing your primary target and earn the title Silent Assassin.

There is a lot of strategy and stealth involved while trying to evade patrols or looking for a disguise (if one exist in the level). That is if you are going for the stealth approach.

If you are good, then you can figure out a way to kill your target without firing your weapon which is possible in some levels. The number of shots fired will be used in figuring out if you can obtain the Silent Assassin rank. Hint... you need to fire your weapon as few time through out the entire game as possible.

 

[dunnywoods]

OK, Thanks to everyone for their recommendations and I'll try these games out. I completed Hitman Blood Money and loved it I also played Sly on PS2 back in the day. X3 Reunion sounds pretty cool and I'll have a look at that as well eventually trying out Oblivion and Fallout.

 

[jaguarskx]

X3 Reunion and the X3 Terran Conflict are good games where you can ignore the story and play it in sandbox mode where you don't even need to fight. I concentrated on both combat (which includes fleet building) and expanding my industrial empire.

The only bad thing is the game is single threaded, meaning it will only run on one CPU core regardless if you have 2,3,4 or 6 cores in your CPU. But it is beautiful to fly through.

 

[discreet]

I'd recommend TOMB raider Legend & underworld...

 

[Nihilis]

Haha, I actually loved Bully back in the day of my old PS2, or Canis Canem Edit as I believe it was renamed to.

It's got a great setting (school and nearby town) and has lots of nice little features in it and quite a long story. It's also quite sandbox, and there are a lot of unlockables and fun things to do that don't necessarily revolve around fighting. I'd go so far as to say I preferred it to GTA IV, but that's just me. However there is fighting in this game (I remember one stage that required you to win a fist fight to end the term.) Also, a lot of the more "fun" pranks to play are things such as pushing people into lockers, stuffing them in bins, firing at them with your slingshot, etc. However, you do go to classes (minigames), you can go around exploring, you can cycle, you can buy clothes/tattoos, you can sneak into the girls common room, you can interact with school members, you can steal things, etc etc etc.

-Nih

 

[neo350]

Try Rig N Roll, and the old one hard truck 2. good games to play if you have a steering wheel. also consider the strategy games such as anno 1701, sims 1 & 3 and stronghold 2

 

[Hawkeye22]

This is more like a riddle. Try The Path or Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

I agree... try Amnesia: Dark Descent. There are no weapons in the game at all. If you are seen, you need to run and hide, lol!

 

[Nihilis]

You could try Stronghold - that has a civic development campaign which focuses on building and maintaining your castle, and has no combat. It also has a free build mode which is quite fun.

I'd suggest the original Stronghold over Stronghold 2, as I found Stronghold 2 was a bit rubbishy, but you can try whichever you want.

-Nih

 

[Dem0n5]

Some Tycoon game (Mall, Zoo, Rollercoaster, etc) or Sims game.

 

[jaguarskx]

I completed Hitman Blood Money and loved it...

I'll give an early recommendation for Hitman: Absolution. It is expected to arrive sometime in 2012.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5-m06HYUvg

http://www.ign.com/videos/2011/06/09/e3-2011-ign-live-hitman-absolution?objectid=14348845