Recommend me a game to get invested in?

[Salus]

Okay, when World of Warcraft released Mists of Pandaria, I decided never to go back to it. Me and WoW are like this: I chase after a bandwagon, and when I'm almost on it the bandwagon decides to drive a mile ahead. Pity, I've never been max level, though if I were into WoW back when (in my eyes) it was in its heyday, I probably would have had a blast. I'm done with WoW, I used to like it but it's very diluted now IMHO.

So, here are some high-investment games I've tried:

EVE Online: I love it, but perhaps some other day.
Diablo 3: Was SO excited for this, but I was let down by the quality of the game.
Magic the Gathering: Playing this at the moment, but it's too damn expensive, online or not.
Civilization 5: Played the CRAP out of this, looking for something new.
StarCraft 2: Also played this a LOT, but I just don't have the desire to get into Masters.
Paradox Games: Hearts of Iron and Europa Universalis are both amazing, but REALLY dry.
Arma 3: My computer is not going to run this the way I'd like.
Rome 2: Same as above. ^^
Minecraft: I refuse to play this, I have it, but my soul dies at how empty the triumphs are.
Skyrim: Played it four times, but never beat it. Skyrim is... "butter scraped over too much bread," as Bilbo would say?
CoD or Battlefield: After Arma 2, there's no way I can like these games again.
Guild Wars 2: Haven't tried this, but doesn't look TOO ground-breaking or exciting to me.
Warhammer 40k I love painting tabletop models but it's VERY expensive and there's no-one to play against in my area.

I don't consider games like Assassin's Creed to be high-investment, with me it's one-and-done. Halo 3, on the other hand, has that inexhaustible multiplayer component, so it counts. I would like games with multiplayer, and preferable recent games, that people are playing today. (Not too expen$ive, please?)

 

[Weaver]

If you have a PS3 I recommend the Disgaea series for your "stupidly complex games that can suck up hundreds of hours" itch.

 

[aozgolo]

Mount & Blade Warband has a nice feel to it, it's a little bit lacking in the story department unless you really get into reading walls of text regarding backstory, but what it lacks in story it makes up for in complete and utter freedom. It's not a highly interactive game, it is a mix of RTS and Action RPG without being too heavy in either category but what it does it does well. The battles feel really fun and engaging though it's easy to take advantage of the mechanics. It's either a love it/loathe it kind of game, but definitely one worth sinking some hours into, and it's cheap.

On the other side of the coin if you want something a bit more RTS than RPG, there's Divinity: Dragon Commander, a fairly new game, which combines genres in interesting ways but I don't know if I could say it has a lot of "replay value".

Warlock: Masters of the Arcane is a very addictive TBS almost identical in playstyle to Civilization but set in the fantasy themed world of the Majesty games, it lacks some of the micromanagement aspects and the technology progression of Civilization but adds in cool mechanics like magic that can reshape the world and alternate dimensions. I prefer it to Civilization V because it's less stressful to have to manage every little thing, and it does have multiplayer.


A game not out yet but will be soon worth keeping your eye on is Star Citizen, a multiplayer space simulation game designed by the same guy who designed Wing Commander and Freelancer.

Lastly, try Gnomoria. It's a little indie game, no multiplayer but gives you a high degree of control over how you manage a small kingdom of gnomes, build an entire city, defend it from enemies, dig through 100 layers for precious resources, maintain your gnomes survival by providing food, drink, rest, and protection, and interact with everything. It's loads of fun and worth checking out for only 8$, it's on Steam but you can also get it DRM Free from it's website. I would highly recommend it, I've already put 161 hours into it.

 

[Tallim]

AI War Fleet Command would be my suggestion. Or if you have tons of free time to spare get into Blood Bowl.

 

[Legion]

Minecraft: I refuse to play this, I have it, but my soul dies at how empty the triumphs are.

Try Terraria.

It is in essence a similar idea to Minecraft, except there is a lot more focus on exploring and fighting than there is building. There are tons of enemy types, all of the biomes have their own unique designs, enemies and loot and there is an absolute ton of different weapons, items, armours and tools, many which are extremely difficult or rare to get.

It's like a 2D Minecraft combined with an RPG. Items have stats, and can have boosts to them.

It is also a lot more customisable. You can dye almost all armours different colours and can have "social" clothing on top of the one you are wearing (so you get the stats of whatever armour you like, but can wear a weaker one if you prefer how it looks).

It also has bosses, NPC's (mainly for buying things) and multiplayer. Admittedly finding a decent server can be a pain, but having finally found a good one it can be very enjoyable.

I wouldn't personally say it is "better" than Minecraft, but considering the reason you gave for disliking it, Terraria sounds a lot more like your kind of thing. Especially considering how hard the bosses can be to defeat and some things are to find. You will feel a lot more triumphant when you find materials and defeat enemies than in Minecraft.

 

[Drummodino]

XCOM: Enemy Unknown - If your into turn based tactical squad battles. Beat the game on Normal, then try a Classic Ironman run.

Fallout: New Vegas - Hours of fun exploring the Mojave, tons of factions to interact with, cool questlines, great companions with intriguing personal stories, and some of the best DLC expansions I've ever played. Fallout 3 as well (personally I prefer NV).

 

[Synthetica]

Minecraft: I refuse to play this, I have it, but my soul dies at how empty the triumphs are.

Try Terraria.

It is in essence a similar idea to Minecraft, except there is a lot more focus on exploring and fighting than there is building. There are tons of enemy types, all of the biomes have their own unique designs, enemies and loot and there is an absolute ton of different weapons, items, armours and tools, many which are extremely difficult or rare to get.

It's like a 2D Minecraft combined with an RPG. Items have stats, and can have boosts to them.

It is also a lot more customisable. You can dye almost all armours different colours and can have "social" clothing on top of the one you are wearing (so you get the stats of whatever armour you like, but can wear a weaker one if you prefer how it looks).

It also has bosses, NPC's (mainly for buying things) and multiplayer. Admittedly finding a decent server can be a pain, but having finally found a good one it can be very enjoyable.

I wouldn't personally say it is "better" than Minecraft, but considering the reason you gave for disliking it, Terraria sounds a lot more like your kind of thing. Especially considering how hard the bosses can be to defeat and some things are to find. You will feel a lot more triumphant when you find materials and defeat enemies than in Minecraft.

Or you could try Minecraft with Technic Pack/FTB (both mod pack). They're basically the same, and they both have TONS and TONS of stuff in them.

 

[lord Claincy Ffnord]

I'll second Terraria, though I highly recommend playing it with a friend or two. It makes it much more enjoyable.

I'll also second XCOM-EU, if you were looking for detailed overarching strategy rather than just the combat, XCOM-EU is fairly lackluster in that regard, but otherwise it's a great game.

Finally as your examples show an interest in MMO's I would recommend firefall. It's free to play, open world mmo with real shooter mechanics, very rare in a PvE mmo. It isn't perfect, but it is a lot of fun and has one of the best crafting systems I have seen.

 

[icemasteryeti]

I doubt you're going to find games that fit all your criteria that you haven't already heard of and are worth playing. I can think of a couple of games but neither are multiplayer.

X3 Terran Conflict/Albion Prelude
Sandbox space flight sim. You start out small but eventually you could be shaping galactic trade and leading entire fleets of ships into battle. Unfortunately it has a steep learning curve and is slow to start out. Albion Prelude is an expansion but has a different storyline and is less forgiving to beginners so I suggest starting with Terran Conflict.

Dwarf Fortress
Extremely detailed and in-depth civilisation management game. You start with a small caravan of 7 dwarves and have to provide for them, keep them happy, protect them from invaders and ultimately... do whatever you want, there is no real end goal except dying spectacularly. This game has possibly the steepest learning curve of any game and an entirely obtuse interface but if you can get past that it's one of the most rewarding games to play and you come away from it with the best stories.
It's completely free but still in development and despite a huge amount of content the developer says it's only in its alpha stage. If you want to try it I suggest looking up captnduck's tutorial series on Youtube, this is not a game to go into blind.

 

[gigastar]

X3 Terran Conflict/Albion Prelude
Sandbox space flight sim. You start out small but eventually you could be shaping galactic trade and leading entire fleets of ships into battle. Unfortunately it has a steep learning curve and is slow to start out. Albion Prelude is an expansion but has a different storyline and is less forgiving to beginners so I suggest starting with Terran Conflict.

Dwarf Fortress
Extremely detailed and in-depth civilisation management game. You start with a small caravan of 7 dwarves and have to provide for them, keep them happy, protect them from invaders and ultimately... do whatever you want, there is no real end goal except dying spectacularly. This game has possibly the steepest learning curve of any game and an entirely obtuse interface but if you can get past that it's one of the most rewarding games to play and you come away from it with the best stories.
It's completely free but still in development and despite a huge amount of content the developer says it's only in its alpha stage. If you want to try it I suggest looking up captnduck's tutorial series on Youtube, this is not a game to go into blind.

Pretty much what i was going to say.

 

[The Lugz]

Okay, when World of Warcraft released Mists of Pandaria, I decided never to go back to it. Me and WoW are like this: I chase after a bandwagon, and when I'm almost on it the bandwagon decides to drive a mile ahead. Pity, I've never been max level, though if I were into WoW back when (in my eyes) it was in its heyday, I probably would have had a blast. I'm done with WoW, I used to like it but it's very diluted now IMHO.

I 'completed' wow in every expansion before panda ( by completed I mean beat end-bosses ) and you hit the nail on the head, if you complete it or not the experience is hollowed out by the next milestone's grind.. it eventually becomes shallow and pointless.

an unfortunate number of games are like that.

the only good grind-y time investment games I can think off off the top of my head are

torchlight 2

mechwarrior online

borderlands 2

also, Terraria is a nice game as-long as you don't mind visiting the wiki when total insanity breaks loose.

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

FTL drained a fair few hours out of me, but then I tend to only play short 3-hour titles when possible so I've not got the best reference.

 

[Blaster395]

Or you could try Minecraft with Technic Pack/FTB (both mod pack). They're basically the same, and they both have TONS and TONS of stuff in them.

I would recommend TerraFirmaCraft over Technic/FTB because while those packs mostly extend the endgame so far out that it makes the game even easier, TerraFirmaCraft provides a greater challenge all the way through the game and makes even a single metal tool an accomplishment.

 

[Red Mammoth]

Just because it's not on your list, and mainly due to almost no one ever thinking about it, I'd recommend trying The Secret World.

Basically it's an MMO set in the modern day, but with all the myths, legends and crazy conspiracy theories known to man thrown in for good fun. While the main story-line is oddly convoluted with a kind of shitty payoff, the missions in-between more than make up for it, especially with the puzzle missions, (which most people just search the net for the solutions, but it honestly doesn't detract from how fun they can be). The environments are incredibly detailed, from the first zone in New England, (full of ghost stories, demons and native american folklore), to Egypt, (most people find it to be kinda boring, but eh, if you like Egyptian mythology you're fine), and Translyvania (literally everything you can think of, like werewolves, vampires, ghouls and even weird evil tree things), and all the voice acting and characters are top-notch.

However the main thing that set TSW apart from most other MMOs is the classless system, which leads to an wide amount of customisation. You can have every active and passive ability in the game, and you can have them set up however you like. Tanking, Healing and DPS abilities can all be mixed and combined into your own personal builds. While there's generally an accepted use of Tank/Healer/3DPS in the 5-man dungeons, as long as what you do works, you can do whatever you like. Hell, a DPS could slot a few healing support abilities if a Healer is struggling or they could swap roles with someone in between bosses. There are gear levels in the game, but most gear, (especially the highest quality level), are customisable by changing the stats or special properties they have. But gear isn't everything in TSW; your personal skill and build are more important. Also there's a large amount of personal customisation for your character, which leads to a lot of individuality among players.

Sadly it doesn't have a free trial as far as I know, but it's only like $15-$30 (no idea where you live) to buy the base game and be able to play it forever, as there aren't any required subscription fees. There are however DLC packs that have to be bought off the game's cash shop and add content like extra mission chains, Auxiliary weapons and new gear. Issues 5 to 8 all cost 1200 points each (again, no idea how much that'd be for you. Think it's around $30 all up, but don't quote me), and they each add a fair bit of repeatable stuff. There's a whole bunch of other stuff in the cash shop, but that's all entirely optional and people who do actually subscribe get extra stuff and early access to the issues, but I never really saw the worth in it.

Still, it's not a bad game, and while it's not an MMO for everyone, I recommend you at least give it a look.

 

[Synthetica]

Or you could try Minecraft with Technic Pack/FTB (both mod pack). They're basically the same, and they both have TONS and TONS of stuff in them.

I would recommend TerraFirmaCraft over Technic/FTB because while those packs mostly extend the endgame so far out that it makes the game even easier, TerraFirmaCraft provides a greater challenge all the way through the game and makes even a single metal tool an accomplishment.

Yeah, even though I liked FTB more than TFCraft, that'd also be an excelent choice.

Catcha: trust me
Huh.

 

[sanquin]

Maybe you should try dark souls? It can take up tens, or even hundreds of hours. I've never really pvp'd in that game and have played it for around 100 hours so far, spread over 3 characters. With pvp you can go on for much longer. Though pvp has no real reward to it, imo.

Also, maybe you can go old-school? Warcraft 3 plus the frozen throne expansion. Then get Garena plus (lan emulator to play over the internet and chat program.) and play custom games. There are tons of rpg maps, base building maps against hordes of monsters, etc. I've probably played custom maps for a good 60+. And I've only scratched the surface.

Guild wars 2 is still a recommendation for me. Yes it's not that ground breaking. But the dungeons are far more challenging than in WoW, and the pvp is a lot more interesting. The main part of the game seems to be pvp though, so if that's not your thing it might not be for you.

Lastly, maybe try LoL or Smite? They're not rpg's or rts', and it's basically pure pvp. I thought I wouldn't like it at first but I got quite a few hours of enjoyment out of it so far. And even though it's easy to pick up, to get really good at it is pretty hard.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

I doubt you're going to find games that fit all your criteria that you haven't already heard of and are worth playing. I can think of a couple of games but neither are multiplayer.

X3 Terran Conflict/Albion Prelude
Sandbox space flight sim. You start out small but eventually you could be shaping galactic trade and leading entire fleets of ships into battle. Unfortunately it has a steep learning curve and is slow to start out. Albion Prelude is an expansion but has a different storyline and is less forgiving to beginners so I suggest starting with Terran Conflict.

Dwarf Fortress
Extremely detailed and in-depth civilisation management game. You start with a small caravan of 7 dwarves and have to provide for them, keep them happy, protect them from invaders and ultimately... do whatever you want, there is no real end goal except dying spectacularly. This game has possibly the steepest learning curve of any game and an entirely obtuse interface but if you can get past that it's one of the most rewarding games to play and you come away from it with the best stories.
It's completely free but still in development and despite a huge amount of content the developer says it's only in its alpha stage. If you want to try it I suggest looking up captnduck's tutorial series on Youtube, this is not a game to go into blind.

Awesome avatar, I love that scene so much, it's so B-movie and I love it.

I guess I gotta post something lol. I'm playing Dragon's Dogma now (free with PS+) and the game is so awesome. The fights are so epic, climbing on a cyclops to slash at its eye, being tossed up by a party member to grab hold of a griffin, and oh my god the fucking dragons (I fought my first one and I got 1 of the 9 health bars down, then died as I fell from it while it was flying).

 

[Joffas16]

I think I might know a decent game for you, Timber & Stone. It's a sort of new, RTS/Building thing, it plays like a cross between Minecraft and a simplified Dwarf Fortress. It gets a fairly big update about once a month and if you get into it you can get a lot of hours out of it. I suggest that anybody who's interested should look it up because this game could use a bit more exposure.

 

[NathLines]

Mount & Blade Warband has a nice feel to it, it's a little bit lacking in the story department unless you really get into reading walls of text regarding backstory, but what it lacks in story it makes up for in complete and utter freedom. It's not a highly interactive game, it is a mix of RTS and Action RPG without being too heavy in either category but what it does it does well. The battles feel really fun and engaging though it's easy to take advantage of the mechanics. It's either a love it/loathe it kind of game, but definitely one worth sinking some hours into, and it's cheap.

I'd like to add to what Shaun said since he only mentioned singleplayer.

Mods are what keeps Mount & Blade alive and popular, and there's plenty of them for both single- and multiplayer. There's a lot of servers that supports up to 200-player skirmishes. I haven't really played in a while, but checking just now, there's a lot of half-full servers with around 100-players on them. I recently played Napoleonic Wars with 160 people so the multiplayer scene pretty much looks as lively as ever. To me, at least.

You should hopefully have no problem running this game as it looks like arse, which is suprisingly appropriate considering. And it's cheap and published by Paradox, so that's 2 boxes ticked. Also, Mount & Blade: Warband is currently on sale on Green Man Gaming. Warband is the one that most mods are for. I would pick up the Napoleonic Wars DLC as well, but that isn't for sale on there for some reason.

http://www.greenmangaming.com/s/se/en/pc/games/action/mount-blade-warband/

There's not really any point in buying the original Mount & Blade, since Warband is just a straight-up upgrade. I like it though, because it has simpler combat that I kind of got used to. There's also some mods that are just available to the first game, so bear that in mind. And just as a tip to maybe get you started, I spent most of my time online playing cRPG mod. You basically play with a persistent online character that levels up, and you have to balance your gear with repair costs. Also, bear in mind that some mods only works with older versions of the game.