PC Gaming

[King 277]

I think Megz and Jammy are fans of PC Gaming, anymore of ye fans?

 

Also post here some free sites or trial sites that we can have a go off and what PC games or sites ye would recommend.

[Guest Jamster26]

Yeah, I am a big fan. I mainly play MMO games such as Guild Wars, Rift and WoW, so not sure if that genre is what you are personally interested in. Seeing as you are footy fan though, Football Manager 2014 is a must!

[King 277]

Yeah I love me so footie manager!!

 

If you know of or come across any good sites post them here bro and we might get some multiplayer action going on.

[Omega 354]

Sweet, great thread King. Going to think of some good f2p games and post some links.

[King 277]

Cheers Megz, I know you and Jammy mostly post about PC games so hopefully we might get a few more interested.

[Chris2K 176]

I occasionally play games I download off Steam, Papers Please was a really good one and I'm currently playing one called Cook, Serve, Delicious which is great.

[Omega 354]

Going to do these one by one as I think of them...

 

Planetside 2 (F2p MMOFPS)

 

Now I've never played CoD or Battlefield or any of what might be considered the modern FPS games but I enjoyed Unreal Tournament when it was still a thing and I play a bit of Team Fortress 2 now and again when I'm in the mood for a deathmatch type game but Planetside 2 is still my favourite game of all of them. Firstly it's massive, I'm talking GTA massive and all your opponents are people and again we're not talking about 4 v 4 or even 8 v 8 on some of the bigger structures it can easily get up to 30 v 30. The really excellent thing is that the game is pretty hardcore in terms of the learning curve, it makes no pandering to the newbs and what that means is that as long as you stick with it and learn how the guns work and all the physics there not really an OP class or weapon.

 

http://videogames.techfresh.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/PlanetSide-2.jpg

 

So yeah, when you start off you'll be shot to death a lot.... a lot. I mean.... a loooooooot. It's frustrating but don't let it put you off. As you get used to how twitchy you have to be on the trigger and get used to the fact that as a single player you don't really matter you then get used to finding a group of people and tagging along. There's a "join a squad" option or you can free wheel about the 3 planets joining in whatever fight you like. with 5 different classes to choose from the gameplay is varied. The Infiltrator is the sniper classes with short term stealth but very squishy armor, the Medic is the underrated class but vital when attacking a heavily defended bases where spawn time can make or break a push, the assault is the middle class but has JETPACKS, the Heavy is the machine gun totting missile launching mobile anti-tank/aircraft guy and occasionally you get to spawn a MAX and you become a mobile tank is a sort of mech suit.

 

There is also 3 races to choose from each with an interesting backstory and specific weapons tech meaning the same class plays 3 different ways most times. Every class and vehicle (yes there are quad bikes, tanks and aircraft, it's that big!) has a certification tree alowing you to unlock ablities, extra weapons and such. These can e bought with micropayments as well should you wish.

 

http://www.sci-fi-london.com/sites/default/files/img/news/2013/1881/plantwo_air.png

 

All in all Planetside 2 is exactly what I've always hoped a massive online game would be and that's just action filled and unpredictable. Yes the learning curve is steep but the reward when you get the hang of it and start running around mowing 4 or 5 troops down each re-spawn justifies it because you know you've got real good not that you are running around with a noob-cannon.

[Omega 354]

Guild Wars 2 (MMORPG Non-sub)

 

Guild Wars 2 was the game that was supposed to herald a shift in MMO design and I think it has done a lot to shake up what was considered the norms of MMORPG. The first thing to say is that unlike almost every big MMO out there it's a single purchase of the game that gives you access to everything in the game and this has a two fold benefit. The first is that "the grind" is nearly removed from the game both in terms of questing (no more kill 20 wolves for their fur) and it also means that the content of the game is less staggered and gated. This is great because it means there is not set way to level up. In theory you can level your character up in PvE or PVP or the amazing World V World game modes or even by crafting things.

 

I played WoW for 7 years but I probably seriously enjoyed only 4 of those. Paying every month to not enjoy a game sucks, paying to repeat the same 5 quests every day sucks and end game raiding with the elites suks even harder. None of those things happen in GW2. I haven't repeated anything as yet, there are no daily quests to repeat when the content finishes and whilst there are dungeons to explore they don't form any kind of "end game" that you are forced to work up to and even have a "story mode" to let you see the inside and what they are about without the difficulty.

 

The community is awesome, very very few "learn to play" types and most our happy to help a new guy. Also WoW was very specific in it's guilds where as gw2 it's so easy to find a guild to join and you can find ones that are fun or serious or anything in between. There's a reasonable roleplaying community as well if that takes your fancy.

 

Another aspect I like is the removal of the holy trinity of Damage/Healer/Tank, no longer is there tank classes or healing classes but every class can fulfil most roles and every class can self heal as well as heal others. Again this means the classes can play how you feel comfortable. On top of that the "skills" or attacks/heals/defenses that your character has depends on what weapon or weapons you equip. For instnce the sneaky thief class can play with double daggers for a close up burst damage play or could use a short sword and pistol for a controlling melee class or go pistol/pistol for a medium range CC type build.

 

And that to me is what separates GW2 from other MMO, exploration. The characters, the story and even the world which is massive and stunningly beautiful (and also optimised superbly so it can run off a fairly low end laptop if required!!!) and just begs you to run around to find everything (which rewards you as well!).

 

Speaking of beautiful things the characters armours allow you to specifically dye them different colours and I'll tell you know that is like crack cocaine in an MMO. Playing dress up is what I've spent most of my micro transactions because it's so fun to make your character feel just so. There's a "personal story" that you play through that helps explain Tyria and lets you make some choices about your character which also helps you bond to them.

 

However the thing that makes GW2 special is that the devs have set themselves the big task of releasing new content ever 2 weeks! That's an amazing schedule and you may think that means the content is rubish but the latest "living story" transformed a whole map into a nightmarish tower of poison vines and venomous enemies where you jumped in with random parties and took it on on the fly. It's content Blizzard are making you pay £50 every year for the boxed update and you get it free every 2 weeks! No software team is being that generous.

 

Also the non-subscription payment system means if you do get a bit bored then dropping off the game for a few weeks isn't a killer, yes you may miss some living stories or world events but the game doesn't move on without you. You can really jump straight in with whatever is new as you log in again and you are at the same level as pretty much everyone else.

 

In short GW2 is the game for you if you've always wanted to give it a go but don't feel like subscribing to a game you may not like is a waste of time.

[etz 78]

X 2 and X3, as well as Sins of a Solar Empire. Also Galactic Civilizations I&II and Master of Orion, if you're kicking it old school.

 

Also, if you haven't got an XBox, State of Decay on the PC.

 

If you haven't got Steam, frigging get Steam, seriously. Right now on Steam :

 

Skyrim £3.74

Batman : AO £19.99

Borderlands 2 : £4.99

Tomb Raider : £5.99

 

Plus, you can get loads of the old games you used to play, like Another World, Anachranox, Deus Ex, the Hitman games, all the GTA games, FF 7 and 8, CounterStrike (both versions) etc, etc, etc. These are just from my steam library, there are loads more.

 

And if you're into sci-fi and lan games, then Artimis is the best game you will play to date, bar none. It's a starship bridge simulator with people assuming different roles and has clients for almost everything (Ipad, iphone, android etc) though some positions are more playable on PC or laptop. Spent 5 hours playing this at our last lan.

Edited January 2, 2014 by etz

[dsrchris 190]

I'm very interested in getting a Steam box if they ever decide to release them, I just can't really play games on my laptop too well and I'm too lazy to do the whole controller mapping thing with one of my pads to play when I could just play on a console instead. :P

[Guest Jayfunk]

I don't play new games on PC why bother? as consoles are easier to use and don't have compat issues, however i do play older games such as conquest, Zeus master of olympus and C&C

[Omega 354]

I don't play new games on PC why bother? as consoles are easier to use and don't have compat issues, however i do play older games such as conquest, Zeus master of olympus and C&C

 

Why? Because a PC lasts years and doesn't cost £300 every 2 years as a new "next generation" console is released and suddenly no one plays the hardware anymore?A console is just a PC that you can't upgrade, can't do as many things on and restricts you to only the games you can play on that system. I totally get that if you game a lot you want a console where the games come out sooner and are conroller based etc etc, I honestly do but to say "why play on a PC" is a really stupid question.

 

Any decent console game generally gets a PC port anyway so you miss out on so few things whilst there's a massive library of games that never make it to console that are amazing as much because controllers are restrictive. It's no accident that any game that mixes PC and console players almost universally has to handicap PC players.

 

Also, why come into a thread that's for people to talk about PC gaming just to be totally negative about it? Bit douchey, don't you think?

[Evil Gringo 279]

Plus some PC games that get ported across to consoles also suck once they hit the console. Half Life 2, Quake, Command & Conquer, Call of Duty 1 & 2, Football and Championship Manager, Doom 1-3, Solider of Fortune.

 

All of these were in their element on the PC, once they were moved to the more restrictive world of console gaming they fell apart somewhat. In fact RTS games in general just blow on consoles for me, even Halo Wars which was developed with consoles in mind paled in comparison to what you can do on a PC with this genre.

[Omega 354]

fps, rts and generally rpg excluding the japanese rpg are all miles better on PC. Anything where speed of input is a factor is 90% better on a PC. I struggle to think of many games that are just better on console bar things like streetfighter or side scrolling platform games and even then you plug a pad into a pc and it's exactly the same. Maybe GTA type games to some extent but again that's down to the fact the games are console ports and the controls don't really add up easily to being ported to keyboard and mouse but I haven't played a GTA game on the PC since I bought the original GTA 2 port and I tried to use my ps2 controller and you'd couldn;t assign a button to more than one thing.

 

Anyway, pc v console doesn't interest me. I'm probably too old to want to invest in a console and don't have the spare time to want to spend £40 on games regularly but I've done it in the past so I know how fun consoles are. Each to their own.

[dsrchris 190]

Plus some PC games that get ported across to consoles also suck once they hit the console. Half Life 2, Quake, Command & Conquer, Call of Duty 1 & 2, Football and Championship Manager, Doom 1-3, Solider of Fortune.

 

All of these were in their element on the PC, once they were moved to the more restrictive world of console gaming they fell apart somewhat. In fact RTS games in general just blow on consoles for me, even Halo Wars which was developed with consoles in mind paled in comparison to what you can do on a PC with this genre.

 

Saying Half-Life 2 sucked on consoles is a bit harsh, don't you think? Sure it wasn't as good as a top spec PC running the game, but I thought it was as good a port as they could do. Aside from the sometimes horrific loading times. Jeez, those loading times...

[Evil Gringo 279]

It wasn't as good as on the PC. If you can't port an existing property and make it as good then it is pointless and ergo sucks. It's just a waste of money and if the port is really bad like some of the Unreal and Quake ports then it can tarnish a brand and make it less of a viable choice to continue a franchise.

 

I don't PC game as much as I used to and I adore console gaming but I like to keep the two separate for this exact reason, as soon as PC games move to consoles the quality suffers and sometimes, depending on the genre it is likewise when they port to PC - although the continued development of controllers for the PC is helping with this as graphics, so long as you have the right machine, is not an issue.

[Guest Jayfunk]

Why? Because a PC lasts years and doesn't cost £300 every 2 years as a new "next generation" console is released and suddenly no one plays the hardware anymore?A console is just a PC that you can't upgrade, can't do as many things on and restricts you to only the games you can play on that system. I totally get that if you game a lot you want a console where the games come out sooner and are conroller based etc etc, I honestly do but to say "why play on a PC" is a really stupid question.

 

Any decent console game generally gets a PC port anyway so you miss out on so few things whilst there's a massive library of games that never make it to console that are amazing as much because controllers are restrictive. It's no accident that any game that mixes PC and console players almost universally has to handicap PC players.

 

Also, why come into a thread that's for people to talk about PC gaming just to be totally negative about it? Bit douchey, don't you think?

 

I wouldn't say my comments were totally negative as i said i do enjoy PC gaming, So to the second point, no

[King 277]

I don't want this thread to be a Console Vs PC debate Jay, it's strictly for PC games/gamers only, there are plenty of other threads to talk about consoles etc...

 

I'm not having a go, just saying is all :)

[Guest Jayfunk]

Totally understand King :), I always mean to play more PC games but Windows 8 have basically stopped as its doesn't play the older games I enjoy.

[King 277]

Thanks Jay :)

 

Man I miss the good ol days of point n click games, also used to love Age of Empires.The days of Money Island etc ruled, Lucas Arts were a bunch of freaking geniuses.