Soon To be PC gamer, need games!

[chuckdm]

RTS Games. They suck on every console, always have, and always will, because without a mouse and control groups, RTS games are simply unplayable. They only work well on a PC.

To that end, I'd recommend:

- Command & Conquer. Every game EXCEPT C&C4 because it's not really an RTS game, it's actually a Real Time Tactics game. Nothing against those but if you play it first it will totally ruin your idea of what C&C is. Kane's Wrath and Uprising are both good.
- Supreme Commander. And actually, mainly the sequel, SupCom2. One of a very, very small handful of games where the sequel looks better AND requires less resources than the original. You should try Forged Alliance though so you can really see the changes (and love them) when you start the second.
- Starcraft. Even if you only play 1 match, you must do this once before you die or you are not allowed to call yourself a PC Gamer. I mean for fuck's sake, it's the NATIONAL SPORT OF SOUTH KOREA! Can't get much more prestigious than that as games go. SC2 is good as well.
- Civilization. I'd actually start with Civ5, then play Civ4 later. Counter-intuitive as it may sound, Civ4 is actually a vastly more complex game, with religions and multi-national corporations, more civilizations to choose from, and a few other changes. The engine seems to perform much better in Civ5 but Civ4 is still worth playing after Civ5.
- SimCity. SimCity 4 is good, but SC3k is also every bit as good. Obviously SC4 is a graphical update (and a rather major one) but the constant somewhat forced tie-ins with the "The Sims" have a bad habit of forcing you out of the Mayor's office when you really don't feel like it.
- Sins of a Solar Empire. If you find that you're not a big fan of base building but don't want to forgo it entirely, or you just prefer games set in gob-smackingly gorgeously rendered outer space, Sins is for you. Also, if you get this, get the Entranchment expansion ($10 is a small price to pay for the Star Bases alone) and even Diplomacy, though you could skip it if you want. Regardless, get the Distant Stars mod. As beautiful as Sins is, this triples it, plus adds new ships and even new planet types to the game.

Of course, if you want to stick with Shooters or whatever, that's fine, but if you're getting a gaming PC, you really should try a RTS or two. You can play shooters anywhere but PCs really are the exclusive domain of RTS games.

 

[Lugbzurg]

Seeing as how I've been PC-gaming for most of my life, I can give you a heck of a lot of suggestions.

First of all, look into Steam. http://store.steampowered.com/
I can guarantee that you'll find a lot of things you'll like there.

Then, there's also GoG. http://www.gog.com/
They hold mostly "Good old Games" made compatible with modern systems, but, they've recently gone for more recent stuff as well.

Now, then... onto some actual names, here...

Just about anything from Valve, such as Team Fortress 2, like the first guy mentioned, with much gusto. It's a multiplayer first-person shooter... with class. It came out in 2007, yet it still receives updates and plays like crazy to this day. And it's just so happy and pristine!

Half-Life is a more varied, slower-paced first-person shooter. And, boy is in ground-breaking! It tells a fantastic story of Dr. Gordon Freeman's escape from the Black Mesa laboratory after an experiment goes horribly wrong, and the complications that arise over time... all without the use of cutscenes. It actually works out really well.

Portal. This is a smaller game. But it is intelligently-designed and such a joy to play. I'd recommend you get it in "The Orange Box", which is a collection of Valve games. It also includes Team Fortress 2 (mentioned above) as well as Half-Life 2, along with it's "episodes". It's not actually a shooter. Well, not with bullets, anyway. It's a brain-bending, dimension-breaking 3-D puzzle game that took the world by storm. For some reason it's grouped with those other shooters in The Orange Box, and yet... it somehow doesn't seem out of place.

Zapper: One Wicked Cricket! It plays similarly to some older games. Namely, Chip's Challenge with a hint of Spyro the Dragon and a bit of Frogger off to the side. It's a good action-adventure-puzzle-platformer that should keep you busy for a while.

007. In my opinion, the best titles were the ones developed by Electronic Arts. And there are certainly more of them, such as NightFire, Everything or Nothing and Agent Under Fire, as well as some others based on the films.

Plants vs. Zombies. It's a violent, tile-based, real-time strategy tower-defense game. And it's quite original and gobs of fun. Hope you like slaying zombies!

Left 4 Dead. Speaking of zombies, there's another game from Valve that I neglected to mention. This one! It's an adrenaline-pumping teamwork-based zombie slaughterfest. There are two games so far. I'd recommend you buy the second one, though. Why? Because, there are add-ons for the second one that let you play every single aspect of the first, with melee weapons added and the three (or four, counting the mudders) new zombies from the second game.

[Prototype]. This is a sandbox game that is somewhat like Grand Theft Auto meets Assassins Creed... with super powers.
I'll leave you with that.

BioShock. This choice-filled, underwater guns-and-mutations shooter may keep you on your toes. Choose what you do with care.

Alan Wake. This is a rather mysterious game about a writer searching for his missing wife. Trust me, it's a lot better than that sounds.

Pretty much anything by Id Software! Seriously, these guys have made some of the most legendary first-person shooters in history. As a matter of fact, they invented first-person shooters! The very first one ever made was Wolfenstein 3-D (a new one came out the other year), but it was really Doom that everyone remembered the most. It was revolutionary! Though, personally, I think their best work was the Quake series. Although, I still have no idea why the first game takes place in a medieval castle, while the second one is up in space.

SERIOUS SAM. Because, this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTbwOukQlDY

 

[Squidbulb]

Poratl: A very fun and imaginative first-person puzzle platform game.
Painkiller is a pretty good first person shooter.
Beyond Good and Evil is a classic action adventure game.
Thief seemed good, though I was turned off by all the monsters in it that seemed way out of place. Consider it.
I've heard good things about half-life though I've only played the demo myself.

 

[Strain42]

It's an oldie, but a goodie, and I'm surprised that it seems no one else here has mentioned it.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines.

One of the best PC RPGs I've ever played.