I just ordered my first ever gaming-capable PC. What are the first things I should do with it?

[Yarkaz]

I've been a console gamer my whole life, more out of necessity due to price than anything else. However I've just saved enough to order a top specs Lenovo Thinkpad, and the gaming possibilities at this point are endless. I've always wanted to take part in Steam sales, mod Skyrim, play PC games made after 2008... Anyways, I don't have enough money to do it all at once, so assuming I have a $100 budget and don't want to pirate anything, what do you think my first experiences with PC gaming should be?

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Unfortunately for you, you JUST missed the steam sale.

As far as what you should do first? Play a couple of the games you already played on your console and marvel at how much better everything looks.

Then grab some games like Metro 2033 and Witcher 2 (both of which you can get on the cheap) and find out how powerful your computer really is.

Once you've done that, download TF2 and play it nonstop for the next 2 years while ignoring everything else, all in pursuit of the ever illusive hats you didn't even know you craved until now.

 

[tsb247]

To expand on the comment above, I would also pick up the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise on Steam. It is definitely worth playing. I would also suggest a PC exclusive like ArmA 3 (still in Beta). It's pretty incredible, and has some of the best multiplayer I have ever played.

I mainly just browse Steam from time to time and see what's on sale. I usually get my titles after the price comes down a bit. Look for their 'Midweek Madness' deals every Wednesday or so to get your PC game collection started.

 

[Windcaler]

I wouldnt say your possibilities are endless but they are pretty good. First off I wouldnt be a steam player, meaning I wouldnt be a person that only plays games on steam. There are a wealth of games out there not on steam that are amazing. That said, its hard to recomend anything since we dont know your gaming tastes or laptop specs but Ill give some recomendations

MMOs
Rift (Free to play)
Raiderz (free to play)
Neverwinter (free to play and in Open beta)
Star trek online (free to play)
Dragon's Prophet (free to play and in open beta)
The secret world
Guild wars 2

Roleplaying games
Dark souls
Vampire The masquerade: Bloodlines (older then 2008 I think but well worth it)
Anything Elder scrolls
Anything Fallout
Shadowrun returns
Dragon Age Origins
Knights of the old republic (definately pre 2008 but well worth it)

First person shooters
Killing floor (the best horde mode style game out there IMO)
Metro: Last light (also metro 2033 the first game but you can get by without it)
Blacklight: Retribution (Free to play)
Anything battlefield (you may just want to wait for battlefield 4 which comes out in october I think)
Natural selection 2
Gotham city imposters (free to play)
Tribes Ascend (free to play)
Antichamber (first person puzzle game that will mess with your head)

Stealth games
Mark of the ninja
Theif 2

Miscelaneous genres
Path of Exile (a free to lay diabloesque game)
Guns of Icaris (multiplayer airship battles)
Sang Froid: Tales of werewolves
Zenoclash 1 & 2 (First person brawlers in a really interesting/strange world)
Warframe (Free to play)
FTL
Minecraft
Dont Starve
Stardrive
Ghost recon online (Free to play)
Megabyte punch
Artemis (starship bridge simulator and best played on a LAN for an amazing night with friends)

Theres probably a ton more that Im not thinking about but that'll get you started. I also suggest you look up totalbiscuit on youtube, he does a lot of quality videos on PC games, PC gaming, news and more. Its a good place to learn about games you might not hear about otherwise

 

[Evil Smurf]

Buy Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri from Good old Games. It is $5.99 and the best civ game ever.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

Do the first thing most people do when buying a top-of-the-line gaming PC: remember most of the really fun games don't require much power and could have probably been played on a less powerful PC.

That being said, you just missed a sale which unfortunately makes most of your Triple-A possibilities unnecessarily expensive. If you're willing the fork over the dough, here are some recommendations:

Bioshock: Infinite
Dishonored
Far Cry 3
Skyrim
Tomb Raider


If you're less interested in powerful graphics, here are some older or relatively less intensive games that you probably couldn't play if you had as bad of a PC as you say:

Fallout: New Vegas
Saint's Row 2/3
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare
Left 4 Dead 2 Portal 2 Team Fortress 2 Every Source Game Ever

Of course you probably won't like all of these games since I sort of half-assedly threw out games I liked of almost completely random genres, but it's a start.

And remember: when all else fails: 5 dollar indie games always have your back.

 

[gigastar]

The very first thing i do with my fresh PC's is install Steam, followed by TF2, L4D2, Borderlands 2 and possibly Planetside 2 if im still playing it by the time i trade up again.

 

[Guy from the 80's]

If you plan on going crazy during STEAM sales, always read reviews before you buy
edit : Also BUY system shock 2 on steam!

 

[IronMit]

fallout 3 - Fallout wanderers mod, iron sight mod, weapon mod kit, weather mods, realistic lighting, darkened interiors

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SAeXsA6Nt8

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

The Steam Summer Sale just ended less than a month ago, so you'll have to wait for the next one.

I would recommend:

FTL: Faster Than Light
Skyrim
Fallout New Vegas
Torchlight 2
Team Fortress 2
Natural Selection 2

Most of those games I mentioned are either PC only or include mod support.

As for game reviewers I would recommend TotalBiscuit, his reviews are called 'first impressions' for a reason. The first 5 to 10 mins are all about how the game runs on PC and various possible issues, while the rest is nothing but game-play with comments and insights on the game.

Also checkout The Nexus sites http://www.nexusmods.com/ as while Steam Workshop support is okay, the Nexus has mods for many older titles and has its own Mod Manager.

 

[Piorn]

There are a lot of great, cheap games on Steam.
Braid, Metro 2033/LL, Mount&Blade:Warband, Portal 1/2, Psychonauts, Recettear, To The Moon, X3:TC, Ys Origin/tOiF are just a few that I played enough to put in my Favourites-tab.

 

[SonicWaffle]

I've been a console gamer my whole life, more out of necessity due to price than anything else. However I've just saved enough to order a top specs Lenovo Thinkpad, and the gaming possibilities at this point are endless. I've always wanted to take part in Steam sales, mod Skyrim, play PC games made after 2008... Anyways, I don't have enough money to do it all at once, so assuming I have a $100 budget and don't want to pirate anything, what do you think my first experiences with PC gaming should be?

I've just made the transition myself, and after going mental in the Steam sale, I've found myself settled into Company of Heroes. Not too expensive, but really fun, it's a WWII RTS with squad-based infantry units and chunky great tanks.

It was also made sometime in the early 2000s, so even if your rig isn't supercool it'll be playable.

 

[1Life0Continues]

"Also BUY system shock 2 on steam!"

I disagree with this.
Get it on GoG.com. If only to show support to GoG/CDPR for actually being the main drive behind the re-release of this gem. The only reason you're seeing it on Steam is because of GoG/CDPR. Which is a good reason, I say.

 

[BishopofAges]

To be more serious than I usually am, I say you should research/install good antivirus and firewall software and know how they work so as to not interrupt your gaming experience, but keep it safe instead.

After that, the sky is the limit. Even though the steam summer sale has ended, steam comes up with random "midweek/weekend/daily/who give an F" style deals on bunches of games. It really depends on your playstyle, but if you don't like steam, you could go to GOG.com looking for good deals on computer games both young and old.

If you have many ideas and nowhere to begin, just list off what really gets you going and find something worth your time and money.

 

[TheRaider]

Dawn of war series, starcraft and diablo

Take advantage of the games that play well on PCs

 

[Zacharious-khan]

get torchlight 2 and play with my friends and i

 

[Greg White]

First, harden the living hell out of that thing. Antivirus, root net detector(I suggest Ice Sword), and for the love of god keep the firewall on.

Now then, trial by fire with the Witcher 2.

If your computer isn't a pile of slag yet, World of Tanks and Warthunder are both very good free to play games for that WWII combat fix.

Someone mentioned Dark Souls already, but get a wired 360 controller or the game will be all but unplayable.

 

[Guy from the 80's]

"Also BUY system shock 2 on steam!"

I disagree with this.
Get it on GoG.com. If only to show support to GoG/CDPR for actually being the main drive behind the re-release of this gem. The only reason you're seeing it on Steam is because of GoG/CDPR. Which is a good reason, I say.

How dare you! Thats a good point.