Game Recommendations?

[lazypenguin]

Hi everyone. I've just finished High School and have discovered that I have quite a bit of time on my hands between work and going out. I'm taking this year off as I want a break from study before I head into Uni and was thinking of getting into a new game to pass some time, but I've got absolutely no idea what I should go for.

I guess I should give some info on what I like in a game so you can help me.

-A story I can follow
-Fun, challenging and creative gameplay

Yeah, that's it, I'm not exactly fussy =/

It'd be great if I could get some suggestions from you guys and even your opinion(s) on the game(s) you're talking about to give me an idea on how it would hold up.



EDIT: I have all generation 3 consoles and my PC can run most things.

I haven't got much gaming experience, I tried playing World of Warcraft but that was time consuming multiplied by over 9000. Also I did find Half Life 2 pretty enjoyable.

Lastly it doesn't matter if they're old or new, any games you enjoyed that you might think I would too I urge you to share!

Thanks.

 

[Xaryn Mar]

Do you have any idea as to what genre you would like to play?

 

[J-Man]

Old stuff:

Deus Ex
Psychonauts
Beyond Good and Evil

New Stuff:

Bioshock
The Orange Box

Uhm.. those are the games that come to mind when the word "story" is said.

 

[dcheppy]

-Bioshock
-Portal
-Half 2
-Grim Fandango
-Psychonauts
-Shadow of the Colossus

 

[darrinwright]

Wow, I got in before everyone started saying Fallout 3...

Personally, I'd say Bioshock, HL2, Metal Gear Series, and, yes, Fallout 3.

 

[Iron Mal]

My personal reccomendations (take them or leave them as you please) are as follows:

Red Faction (imagine if the origional Half Life had a 'super-hyper-mega-uber-ultra' version and a plot that made sense)

Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 (the best RTS I have played besides Dawn of War)

Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War (the best RTS I have ever played)

Resident Evil Outbreak/file 2 (not the best Resi game out there but since I'm imagining that you don't want to be sat there for hours on end, Outbreak is a more 'condensed', pick up and play version, and it's not too bad)

Should be enough to keep you occupied for a while, enjoy.

 

[ranger19]

Wait, a few questions.

What games have you played before? And are you trying to play through all the classics (a task I'm currently working on myself that seems like it may never end), or are you just looking for one game?

 

[Erana]

Ocarina of Time is good, if you're lookin' for something real old.

But really, what platforms?

 

[Cheesebob]

Killer 7!

That game has a very easy plot to follow

 

[coldfrog]

Screw BioShock, play System Shock 2.

Well, OK, still play BioShock, it's quite excellent, but I maintain that System Shock 2 fulfills both of those requirements and is even better of a game.

Also I'd say: Beyond Good and Evil (a popular go-to game)
Sam & Max Season 1 and 2 (if you've never played an old-school adventure game it will be a different type of game, and if you're just out of high school the odds are against you having played one). http://www.telltalegames.com
Disgaea (any of them) which is a tactics-style RPG with some unique elements.
Okami

Also, what systems do you have? that could be useful.

 

[Goldeneye103X2]

Persona 4, fallout 3, far cry 2, Valkyria chronicles 1.........

(Looks at list) Wait a second........

 

[the captain]

Depends on how much time you want to spend playing. Twilight Princess is good and short and games like FFX (Final Fantasy 10)or FFXII are fun to play and they'll keep you occuppied for at least a few weeks.

 

[lazypenguin]

I do want a moderately lengthy game, but I was hearing that Final Fantasy games are VERY long which put me off trying one.

 

[Vlane]

Persona 4, fallout 3, far cry 2, Valkyria chronicles 1.........

(Looks at list) Wait a second........

The numbers try to tell us something...

I recommend: Condemned 1 or 2, Shadow of the Colossus, Ico and the Metal Gear games.

Maybe some Shin Megami Tensei games if you want good RPG's.

 

[Liverandbacon]

FPS: Half Life (1,2,ep1,ep2), Unreal Tournament '99, Team Fortress (1,2)

RTS: Red Alert 2, Sins of a Solar Empire, Warhammer 40k Dawn Of War

TBS: Civilization (any of them), Galactic Civilizations 2

RPG: The Witcher, KOTOR (1&2), Fallout (1&2, I haven't played 3 so I can't judge it yet), Planescape Torment (if you can find it), Baldur's Gate (1,2,expansions), Mass Effect.

Adventure: The Secret of Monkey Island (1,2, I haven't played the others), Sam and Max (Hit the Road, new episodes), Grim Fandango, and if you're not scared of text based games, Zork, and the Hitchiker's guide game (both of which are now free, zork by download, hitchikers on the bbc website).

Mixtures & Miscellaneous: Psychonauts, Portal, Deus Ex, System Shock 2 (with SHTUP mod, the new textures really make the game more playable).

I've enjoyed all of these. And most of them are playable on almost all computers.

 

[countrysteaksauce]

Just don't get into the habit of doing nothing or college will be a slap in the face once you get there.

Now that the niceties are out of the way...

Definitely try to play some Morrowind, Painkiller, Worms Armageddon, Team Fortress 2 (do not get it for console), Medieval Total War 2, World in Conflict, Civilization 4, Heroes of Might and Magic 3 (or even 5 if you want shiny new graphics),

 

[mattttherman3]

Tales of Vesperia, Fallout 3

 

[Aardvark Soup]

What about World of Goo? It's very cheap but still one of the most creative and fun games I've played last year. Most reviewers also seem to agree with me.

And if you want a story, I'd recommend Metal Gear Solid: the Essentials Collection and, if they turned you in a Metal Gear fanboy like me, Metal Gear Solid 4. Also you probably won't regret buying Sam & Max season one and two (or simply start playing one episode, number 104 is freeware), these games are incredibly funny and well written.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Screw BioShock, play System Shock 2.

Well, OK, still play BioShock, it's quite excellent, but I maintain that System Shock 2 fulfills both of those requirements and is even better of a game.

The two are different enough that it's worth playing both of them. I'd probably recommend renting Bioshock though, since the odds are good you can beat it during the rental period. Some people played the game a second time but I didn't feel the need to do that.

My current recomendations include:

Left 4 Dead (if you enjoy playing games online)
The Orange Box (loads of content, from the fantastic puzzle game Portal to Team Fortress 2's online mayhem, with a whole lot of half life thrown in)
Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
Okami (PS2, Wii)
The Baldur's Gate series (hundreds of hours of gameplay, available for cheap on the PC)
Oblivion
Fallout 3
Fable
Call of Duty 4 (my favorite of the series)
Dawn of War + expansions
Rome/Medieval Total War
Company of Heroes + expansions