PC RPG Games (Part Two)

When I started the first of these hubpages with PC RPG Games I thought it would be quick thing.  A few lines of text and done.  The thing is that I really enjoy these games and doing them justice in a few lines is very difficult. 

I wanted, where possible, to show real in game play so people know what it is they are buying.  Just finding a decent video of some of the games on youtube can take a while.  I now really wish I had kept more of my personal in game recordings, but alas they are no more.

Anyway, in making these hubpages I have learned much and hopefully they will help others looking for a really good pc rpg game to play.

The next 5 rpg pc games I have decided to deal with are Fallout, Baldurs Gate, Planescape: Torment, Mass Effect and Final Fantasy.  Please don't draw any conclusions from there being five games in this list, it is just makes for a realistic page size is all.  Overall, this will make ten PC RPG games but this isn't designed to be a "top ten list" or anything, rather it is a selection of top quality RPG games I can recommend.

Lets get on with the review...

Fallout is another series of RPG PC games that has been around a while. Originally published in 1997 by Interplay and now in its third incarnation from Bethesda the game is still going strong.

The Fallout series are set in the 22nd and 23rd century in America after a nuclear holocaust. The game is full of references to 1950's America and if retro-chic is your thing you will love this aspect of the game.

The general idea is that you play a survivor of this war, emerging from a nuclear bunker (called "Vaults" in game). The only problem is that not all of these vaults worked properly, or even at all and so many people that should have survived didn't, or have gone mad through psycho-active drugs, or suffered any one of a number of nasty experiments being performed on them.

While this might sound depressing, it actually isn't. The Fallout series have numerous bits and pieces that show great humour. Some of which actually made me laugh out loud - kind of embarassing when you have to explain to the girlfriend that the thing that is making you laugh is a...well, never mind.

If I have a criticism of the game it is just that it is at times a bit of a blood, splatter and gorefest. Some gamers love this aspect of the game, some hate it. I am in the middle. Fallout 2 is less graphic, but Fallout 3 is obviously more modern and you will get better use out of your video card. It is a personal choice I guess.

Upcoming Fallout Games, Expansions and Spinoffs

There is also talk of a Fallout MMO being in development as Interplay have a licence from Bethesda to produce one, but as there isn't even a provisional release date for this yet, don't hold your breath.

Fallout: New Vegas is due out later this year (2010), but game release dates are notoriously unreliable.

Bethesda are also planning for a Fallout 4, release date TBA.

All things considered Fallout is a great series of games and Fallout 3 deserves to be included in any "best PC RPG games" type review.

As mentioned earlier, Interplay were the original developers of Fallout and later won a licence to develop the MMO version of the game. Well, Interplay were also behind another great PC RPG game series - Baldurs Gate.

Baldurs Gate is a traditional fantasy based rpg game and is set in the Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) world - Forgotten Realms. It was hailed at its time of release for breathing new life into role playing games on the PC and this accolade is well deserved. The game offers a rich storyline and true character development that many RPG veterans crave. It is also worth mentioning that it is a good adaption of the D&D rules that allows for constant movement, rather than turn based action. this makes the game far more fluid, although the game can still be paused if this is needed.

This is one of a few games where the sequel truly surpassed the original. True, most sequels offer better graphics and other improvements, but they seldom offer anything new.  Baldurs Gate 2 is the exception to this as the sequel is probably better than the original.  What I like about this game is that it isn't just a case of run in, kill everything, loot and leave.  Almost every encounter can be made easier, sometimes a LOT easier, if you use your brain.

Downsides? Graphics look a bit dated these days, but the gameplay makes up for this once you get used to it.  Also, poorly supported online play, but if you like solo play then this is a fantastic buy.

Incidentally the Amazon link in this section is to a 4 DVD pack that includes both games and expansions. It offers endless hours of play in what really is a great rpg game.

Here I go again, another review of a game from Interplay.  I don't work for them I swear!  The problem is that they just make some awesome games in the RPG genre.

Planescape: Torment is another game using the D&D ruleset and the Infinity Engine from Bioware. 

This game is somewhat harder to review without spoiling it.  The problem is that when you start the game you find yourself awakening on a stoneslab in a graveyard.  The idea of the game is to find out who you are, but the way in which you do it is totally open ended, giving rise to a type of game similar to Morrowind which was mentioned in the previous hubpage.

So what can I tell you about the game that doesn't spoil the discoveries to be made?   Well, this is a game where the type of game you get really does depend on how you play your character.  If you are a violent threatening kind of player then guess what type of game you get?  Similarly if you submit to every threat or whine your response you will get another game altogether.  The same applies to intelligence, strength and so on.

There aren't many RPG games where the toon you play really does have any affect on the game whatsoever, but this is one of them.

Downsides to the game?  Frankly, whoever did the box art wants shooting.  This is a good game that probably lost 1,000s of sales because of that art. 

Oh, you want me to tell you the bad parts of the game?  Not much really, but perhaps it might have been a bit more user friendly if you didn't start the game in a dark graveyard as it makes seeing what is going on early in the game harder than it needs to be.

A good point about this game that perhaps no one has mentioned in any of the reviews is that it really does have replayability.  The reason is that the game changes according to who your character develops to be. Try it and see!

A nice open ended role playing game.

By now some people must be thinking that every good PC RPG game was released ten years ago or more!  Thankfully that isn't the case.  Although the original Mass Effect dates from 2007/8 (depending on the platform), the sequel - Mass Effect 2 is from *GASP* 2010.

Mass Effect is a sci-fi style RPG game in which you can customise many aspects of the character you choose to play.  The game offers six classes: Soldier, Engineer, Adept, Infiltrator, Sentinel, and Vanguard.  Each of the classes has particular advantages in a certain area.  For instance a Soldier is better with weapons and an Adept is better with biotic powers.  For players that like more versatility in their characters you can play one of the dual specialisation classes and have reduced skills, but in two areas.

Combat in the game is real time, but can be paused at any time to allow for weapon changes or similar.  One thing I liked was that the game employs a limitless ammo idea.  This is science fiction after all.  Instead of ammo being used up, the weapons develop heat and become unusable beyond a certain point until they cool down again.  I personally dislike the idea in some RPG games of carrying 2k arrows or similar and this system gets rid of that problem.

Mass Effect 2 is a graphically brilliant, modern game that really shows what an up to date game can do. While I am not a huge fan of FPS shooters this game had to be included as the game itself is so rich.

A really great idea that this game employs is that a save game from the first Mass Effect release can form the basis of your play in Mass Effect 2.  This means that diehard RPG fans can really get that feeling of "life continuing".  Sweet.

Bad Points? The gameplay is more scripted than I would like, but there is still a lot of choice available. For instance most of the planets you can visit have side missions available on them, so even if you ignore the main missions there is still lots to do.

For my final entry in this section about PC RPG games I felt that the Final Fantasy series had to be included.  Make no mistake, these are all huge, graphically rich games that offer much in the role playing genre.  The original Final Fantasy release dates from 1987, but as there have been releases almost every year since that time it is hard to say that this game is dated.  Final Fantasy is currently up version XIII (13) with Final Fantasy XIV (14) due later this year.

The game has been a single player game, a multi-player game, an MMO, a strategy game, you name it and this game has most likely been adapted to take advantage of that particular genre.

The only problem?  

Final Fantasy now exists only on the XBox 360 and the PlayStation 2 and 3.  Earlier versions have been ported over to the PC however, it is just not possible (yet) to buy the latest versions of the game.  It is rumoured that Final Fantasy 14 will be available on the Microsoft windows Platform and for this reason I have included it.

With 13 versions of the game available it is impossible to do justice to it here, but perhaps I will make another hub dealing with all the various versions at some future date (once there is a current PC version anyway!)  What is worthy of mention is that the game has sold in excess of 98 million copies since its creation.  To put this in perspective Warcraft has a mere 12 million or so subscribers. 

Final Fantasy really is the last word in RPG PC games...even if the latest version for the PC is still unreleased! :)

And so we arrive at the end of another marathon hub. I hope that you enjoyed what I have had to say here and maybe gained some ideas for your next PC RPG games purchase.

Making these pages has been a lot of fun for me personally as it has brought back a few memories and might even encourage me to break out a few titles, if only to update the screenshots on this page!

If you still find yourself wanting more gaming information then come and visit my gaming site at: http://rpgpcgames.co.uk. See you there.