I need a retro open-world RPG

[Vern5]

I feel like my Laptop is finally starting to lose steam. There was a time when I could run Fallout 3 and New Vegas on this Dell 1520 but after several years and a few hard-drive wipes I think the old girl is starting to show her age.

At the same time, this is the only PC I have and it is my pride and joy so I would like to extend my playtime on it for as long as that lasts. I've done a lot of retro-game scouting trying to find the best of the overlooked oldies but I know that there are a few titles I have missed out on for various reasons. This is why I'm coming to all of you.

I need a compendium of older games that fit a general description: open-world RPG. I'm already eyeing my copy of GOTY Morrowind hungrily but I was hoping to get my hands on something new.

Now when I say RPG, I mean that in the loosest sense of the term. RPGs to me constitute games that have 1) stat-building and 2) quest logs. As for the term "Open World" I really only mean that in the sense that I don't want to be taken through a linear stage progression. I want to play an RPG where I can roleplay as myself in another setting and enact the decisions I would normally make as myself rather than as another character.

So, Escapists, please go back as far into your gaming memory as possible and think of a game that is both RPGish and Open. Cookies to he who finds something fantastic yet overlooked.

 

[Hyper-space]

Darklands, its abandonware and runs on DOSBOX, you can also find version of it that just requires downloading the game and running it. The game is one of the first ever open-ended RPGs and was the inspiration for the Elder Scrolls series (Arena and Daggerfall can be downloaded from Bethesda's website for free).

 

[GamerAddict7796]

Know I can tell you like proper RPGs (good taste my friend) so try Morrowind! Also made by Bethesda!

 

[thenamelessloser]

Arcanum! A huge 2d isometric RPG. Imagine if the traditional Tolkienesque fantasy setting was going through an industrial revolution. I would also recommend Fallout 2 as well which I think is a better game but less of a huge open world compared to Arcanum.

 

[Horkeldorf]

Try the first two Fallout games. They're great fun.

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

Well I'll list some general classics... Fallout 1 and 2, Baldurs Gate 1 and 2 and Planescape: Torment.

Not too sure past that...

 

[The Cake Is Annoying]

Nethack.

(Dear god what have I done)

 

[cgmetallica1981]

Try the first two Fallout games. They're great fun.

This.

 

[Lacsapix]

I know just the game!!!

X: beyond the frontier.

it is a space game with a HUGE map?, X makes you feel like being lost in space.
while the gameplay may be confusing at the beginning (how to save was pretty hard to find out) it is still one of my favorite spaceship games.

the world of X is really really enormous.

 

[harvey881]

I think I'm one of the only people who prefer Knights of the Old Republic 2 to Knights of the Old Republic but I highly recommend both. If I'd put the same hours into talking to girls as I did into those games I'd be married by now.

 

[thenamelessloser]

Oh i haven't played them but you may also want to look into the Gothic games.

 

[Vern5]

Well i downloaded NetHack and i'm looking getting my hands on Darklands. I've gone through the majority of Bioware and Bethesda. Bethesda games manage to entertain me for about a year before I start getting depressing amounts of deja vu and Bioware games commonly drown me in talking and a long transit times between the action.

Where am i going to get a copy of X:BTF?

 

[Wuffykins]

Where am i going to get a copy of X:BTF?

Steam has it pretty cheap I think, plus they've got X2 & 3. Think it's about 5 bucks or so, but so is X2. Figure take a gander at both just to check.

Edit: Disregard suggestion for X2, just remembered the state of your comp and your need for retro. X2 is pretty enough to kill it I think.

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

Go check GOG.com and get inspired...

personally i'd recommend Arcanum or Freelancer

 

[Continuity]

...

At the same time, this is the only PC I have and it is my pride and joy so I would like to extend my playtime on it for as long as that lasts. I've done a lot of retro-game scouting trying to find the best of the overlooked oldies but I know that there are a few titles I have missed out on for various reasons. This is why I'm coming to all of you....

Really depends how retro you want to go, you might want to clarify that a bit or you will get some rather aged suggestions, like this one: Exile III

http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com/exile3/winexile3.html

Wasn't X-Com originally an RPG?

I never heard it called an RPG at the time, in reality its pretty much its own genre but you could say its a strategic management game with tactical squad based combat. I cant really see how anyone could get away with pigeon-holing it under "RPG" as it doesn't fulfil any of the traditional requirements.

 

[Duck Sandwich]

Really depends how retro you want to go, you might want to clarify that a bit or you will get some rather aged suggestions, like this one: Exile III

http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com/exile3/winexile3.html

Haha, that was the first game that came to my mind when I saw this thread. Aside from the flaws that game has with combat (then again, this is coming from someone who dislikes almost any RPG that isn't Paper Mario), man is it awesome. It's the first RPG I ever played. The remake (Avernum) doesn't have quite such a big demo, and its graphics are ugly as hell, (and I think Exile 3 looks nice) but it is a bit simpler, and more balanced.

 

[Vern5]

...

At the same time, this is the only PC I have and it is my pride and joy so I would like to extend my playtime on it for as long as that lasts. I've done a lot of retro-game scouting trying to find the best of the overlooked oldies but I know that there are a few titles I have missed out on for various reasons. This is why I'm coming to all of you....

Really depends how retro you want to go, you might want to clarify that a bit or you will get some rather aged suggestions, like this one: Exile III

http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com/exile3/winexile3.html

Some games age like wine and some age like milk. But if you think you've found RPG wine then bring it out.