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Just bought my first gaming-capable PC. What to play?

Shadowrun Dragonfall has gameplay fairly similar to X-Com which you seem to dig. That game (and the shortly upcoming Shadowrun Hong Kong) might be up your alley. They're somewhat more story focused than X-Com however.
 
His Majesty said:
Give EU IV a try.

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Signed.
But be prepared that the complexity could explode ur mind.
 
Hit up your local Gamestop/ Best Buy and see what physical PC games they have. Those bad boys get clearance out for cheap, and many are Steam activated.

My recent physical purchases...
Dishonored - $.97
Mafia 2 - $.97
Borderlands 2 - $1.97
Singularity - $2.97
Red Faction Armageddon - $.47
 
algert said:
You should begin by sharing with the Internet what kind of games you like. That way you won't get a torrent of replies from people projecting their own taste onto you.
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Well, I'm pretty eclectic, there's nothing I want to rule out completely. Will probably check out Civ V. I've also had a weird itch for, like, 3 years to play Jedi Knight II. Used to have that on the original Xbox, plus it'll be my first foray into playing an FPS with a mouse and keyboard!
 
Helznicht said:
On his Laptop? I have wanted to get this game but steam reviews still pop up with complaints about laggy framerates with low settings. Have they put out any optimization patches?
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Quite a number and still going as you'd expect from early access. In saying that it is far, far better than when I got it back in early June. Suffice to say this is probably the best early access game I have played, just so much damn content and constantly adding more each week.
 
I suggested some games in a similar thread, so here that.

SparkTR said:
Looking through my Steam library

  • Age of Wonders III
  • Mount & Blade Warband
  • ArmA 3
  • Dawn of War 2
  • Comapny of Heroes 2
  • Crusader Kings 2
  • Europa Universalis IV
  • Divinity Original Sin
  • Book of Unwritten Tales 1/2
  • Amnesia Series
  • Penumbra Series
  • Stalker Call Trilogy
  • The Witcher Trilogy
  • Shogun 2 Total War
  • Rome 2 Total War
  • Natural Selection 2
  • Elite Dangerous
  • Anno 2070
  • X Rebirth (fully patched)
  • AntiChamber
  • Assetto Corsa
  • Dirt Rally Beta
  • Pillars of Eternity
  • Wasteland 2
  • Cities Skylines
  • Cryostasis
  • Sins of a Solar Empire
  • Legend of Grimrock 1/2
  • Underrail
  • Lords of Xulima
  • Might & Magix X
  • Men of War Series
  • Red Orchestra 2
  • Space Rangers HD
  • Talos Principle
  • Endless Legend
  • Shadowrun Dragonfall

Some upcoming ones I can think of:

  • XCOM 2
  • Stellaris
  • Star Citizen
  • Unreal Tournament 4
  • Cossacks 3
  • Satelite Reign
  • Shadowrun Hong Kong
  • Battlefleet Gothic Armada
  • Anno 2205
  • Act of Aggression
  • Dawn of War 3 (rumored)
  • Warhammer Total War
  • Mount & Blade 2
  • Spellforce 3
  • Stasis
  • BattleTech
  • Endless Space 2

Keep in mind I don't really like MP or survival stuff. The best looking games would have to be Attilla Total War, ArmA 3, Ryse or Assassin's Creed Unity.
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I don't wanna be the buzzkiller here, and feel free to consume your gaming habits any way you see fit. However:

1) Do not expect any decent PC-gaming experience on a laptop, unless you're willing to spend a whole lot. Your experience on a $500 laptop will not be representative of PC-gaming at all. Spend the same on a desktop, and you can expect console levels of performance.

2) Acer pretty much always has the best components for an incredibly good price. This has a reason. Build quality, and especially support is horrendous.

Nonetheless, maybe your PC gaming demands are perfectly suited for the machine. I wish you a pleasant experience, I am just managing your expectations. Have fun!
 
Sins of a Solar Empire

Tribes: Ascend

Supreme Commander

Galciv 3

Whatever you feel like really! Pc and its historical library has such a rich tapestry of games that you can pretty much find something awesome for whatever mood you are in. Enjoy!
 
LincolnSixVacano said:
I don't wanna be the buzzkiller here, and feel free to consume your gaming habits any way you see fit. However:

1) Do not expect any decent PC-gaming experience on a laptop, unless you're willing to spend a whole lot. Your experience on a $500 laptop will not be representative of PC-gaming at all. Spend the same on a desktop, and you can expect console levels of performance.

2) Acer pretty much always has the best components for an incredibly good price. This has a reason. Build quality, and especially support is horrendous.

Nonetheless, maybe your PC gaming demands are perfectly suited for the machine. I wish you a pleasant experience, I am just managing your expectations. Have fun!
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Thanks, I appreciate the input! Like I said, I just happened to need a new laptop for school and figured I'd shoot for something that'll be able to run XCOM 2. Everything else is just icing on the cake.
 
I would say Minecraft (PC not the windows 10 version, maybe even with mods), and go through some indie games. Maybe banner saga, Kentucky Route Zero, amnesia the dark descent, FTL, stanley's parable, path of exile, sid meier's pirates (or windward).
 
mr teaspoon said:
Hey gang. I'm a lifelong console gamer and needed a new laptop for school (up until now I've only ever owned Macs). While my main focus was on the specs I need for class work, I also really, really wanted to be able to play XCOM 2 this fall. Picked this up. I know it's not a monster, but it seems like I should be able to play a fair bit on it.

Now the question: where to begin? I have next gen consoles, so I'm really hoping to check out what I've been missing from PC gaming.

Thanks in advance!
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I'd dive in with Blizzard's catalog. Starcraft 2 is fantastic, as is Heroes of the Storm and Diablo 3. IMO Diablo 3 is better on consoles, but if you haven't played it there I can't find a reason you shouldn't play it on PC. Blizzard games all scale well to lower-end PCs and laptops so you should be fine.

Almost every game that's on consoles has a PC port that is superior in any number of ways, so don't hold back on grabbing them on Steam if you see them on sale. The best thing about PC gaming is that when you upgrade to a full desktop somewhere down the line, your entire Steam library will be ready for you.

I'm particularly fond of Elite: Dangerous at the moment, which is in many ways a game that only works on PC (even though they've brought it to Xbox One).

Finally, I'd recommend some of the best competitive shooters like Counter-Strike: GO, for another experience you won't match on consoles.
 
Arma 3 (just read the op, I probably wouldn't try to play Arma on a laptop)
Chivalry (Medieval)
Red Orchestra 2
Mount and Blade Warband
Door Kickers
Medieval 2 Total War
Just Cause 2 Multiplayer
Killing Floor
 
If you're a fan of XCOM, check out Invisible Inc. NOW
Also:

City Skylines
Darkest Dungeon (still in early access, but very complete experience)
Endless Legend
 
The guy is going back to school and you guys suggest dota 2?

You need hundreds of hours to get basics down. If you don't have that much time to use up for dota 2, you can always try Pillars of Eternity, Divinity Original Sin (the enhanced edition is coming out soon), Wasteland 2, Rocket League, Hotline Miami 1 & 2, or any of the Ys games.

Those will last you quite a while, and are my top recommendations right now.
 
This place is so weird. A forum full of enthusiast gamers telling you to stay away from immensely popular and critically acclaimed PC games because.. reasons.
 
Qassim said:
This place is so weird. A forum full of enthusiast gamers telling you to stay away from immensely popular and critically acclaimed PC games because.. reasons.
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Because no matter how exquisite the steak, you want to advise people to get some variety. MOBAs never grabbed me and never will, but I've just gotten back into a daily game or 28 of TF2 and I really wish I hadn't.... Waiting on MGS V to break the curse.
 
Welcome to the platform with the largest library in existence.

Now, quit your job and your social life and maybe (maybe) you can catch up with everything you've missed in a decade :)

Oh, and stay away from F2P games when you start out. They're very time intensive and repetitive.
 
Baldur's Gate
Planescape Torment
Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines
KOTOR II with restoration mod
Arcanum
Gothic I and II
Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer
Fallout 1 and 2
 
If you want to try a bunch of different games I'd stay away from the major multiplayer games as they are liable to suck up all your time. They will always be there anyways.
 
I'm just installing Windows on my new computer and my two first games will be:

Ori and the Blind Forest
Super Mario Galaxy on Dolphin

Ori should look fantastic and playing Mario with HD graphics is something I'm surprisingly excited about.

Also can't wait to play MGS5 on PC.
 
Qassim said:
This place is so weird. A forum full of enthusiast gamers telling you to stay away from immensely popular and critically acclaimed PC games because.. reasons.
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It's telling people to stay away from dota because it will make the poster stay away from all the other immensely popular and critically acclaimed games. That means apparently you're ok with having the Op stay from other great games so yeah you're weird according to your own rules
oh yeah pwnt
 
UnaiGamer said:
Civilization V

CivilizationV-culture-victory-e1372090919246.jpg
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Civ 5 is a good idea if only because the last PC I built, I started playing Civ 5 with it and it helped me point out I had bad RAM (yes I forgot to test it, sue me) because it would start to BSOD when it was crunching later AI turns.
 
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