The Warcraft Detox

[Skarvey]

I started playing World of Warcraft in December. It was fun for a time, but I let my offline gaming habits slip. Part of this was because of my immersion in Warcraft, part of it was because my 360 broke and I was just too lazy to send it to be fixed. I just recently cancelled my subscription (YAY ME!) due to various real life issues that I now have to deal with. Now I feel like I've lost my zest for gaming, my appreciation for truly good games, because lets face it, without the social aspect, Warcraft is just a large collection of fetch quests. I'm looking for some true escapism, good games that I can get into at the end of a day in the real world. I want immersion, inspiration, GOOD STORIES. Basically, what games can you guys and gals reccomend that'll get me back into the gaming world and thinking about games?

 

[Armored Prayer]

Try Mass Effect, great story and great gameplay.

That or The Orange Box.

 

[Extravaganza]

Bah,

Oh Wait!

No one has suggested Fallout 3!?
Okay. I will

 

[IxionIndustries]

Yeah, WoW does that to you. It's like fly-paper, always takes a piece of your soul.
Anyways, try Fallout 3, or Overlord.

 

[Skarvey]

Bump because those were both games I played before my 360 crashed and I got into warcraft, give me something recent or outstandingly good.


Although, good call Extravaganza and Armored Prayer, those were awesome games.

 

[TaborMallory]

Bioshock. Great voice acting, great story, great immersion (especially if you listen to the audio diaries).

 

[Skarvey]

I completely agree, unfortunately, I played through Bioshock multiple times. I love it, but I'm looking for something new now.

 

[Rensenhito]

Um, Left 4 Dead is an amazingly well-crafted experience, though I can't say anything about the story because there isn't one. It's just an awesome game.
Besides that, maybe try Saint's Row 2 for the 360.

 

[Hyper-space]

warcraft 3 and the Frozen Throne expansion pack.

grim fandango.

fallout 3 and oblivion.

edit: also saints row 2 for the best sandbox gaming experience

 

[TheFacelessOne]

Fallout 3, Oblivion, Crysis (If you can handle that beast), Bioshock, SR2...

 

[Skarvey]

where would I even get Grim Fandango these days, I've heard great things about it, but seriously? where does one even find these retro games these days?

 

[Morbid Anatomy]

Halo 3 multiplayer, Gears of War multiplayer, Modern Warefare multiplayer all very immersive and addicting. But if your looking for a game for the campaign alone then Modern Warfare, Assassin's Creed, Blood Shot, Silent Hill Homecoming, Resident Evil 4 or 5.

 

[RebelRising]

Try Mass Effect, great story and great gameplay.

That or The Orange Box.

Absolutely. Also, try Bioware's other games if you can.

 

[Skarvey]

Bioware and Bethesda are two of my favorite developers so I play their games whenever I can. I'll admit I haven't been keeping up with them though

 

[Therumancer]

Well I don't know if your 360 is back yet from reading that but I am guessing it is:

I'd recommend

#1: Jade Empire (if you haven't played it) it can be DLed from the X-box originals section of the marketplace. It can also be obtained for the PC. Oldie, but goodie.

#2: Sacred 2, which was just released for the 360 (and has been out for the PC for a while). The story is a mixed bag to be honest, the voice acting is well... pretty aweful. But it's a decent action RPG. It's like an open world version of Diablo 2 with a lot of minor WoW style quests. The character customization is decent.

#3: Lost Odyssey, this one is Xbox360 exclusive but when it comes to storyline this is probably the best game out there for current gen, your basic JRPG in the spirit of Final Fantasy involving an immortal protaganist, who of course like most RPG protaganists has amnesia. Some very good writing, especially the stories that represent him getting his memories back. HOWEVER brace yourself for emo-overload.

#4: Saint's Row 2 is pretty epic, I enjoyed it far more than GTA IV. However be warned, you definatly play as an over the top bad guy. No good or evil choices here, your pretty much bad, bad, bad.

#5: *IF* you like survival horror that tends towards monster bashing, I also recommend Dead Space and Silent Hill: Homecoming. Both are pretty decent for the type of games they are (but fairly linear). Both have pretty decent storylines. The one in Dead Space is a lot deeper than you might think, especially if you check out connected sites like "No Known Survivors".

#6: *IF* your into super heroes, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (very old by now) is also a pretty decent, if linear, RPG experience.

#7: If you like fairly old school RPGs, I whole heartedly recommend a PC game called Drakensang: The Dark Eye. That game has a deeply developed world and a very decent storyline. It's party based (recruit people to join you) though you get to create your own character to be the hero. The character development system is also a very deep one, including for the people you recruit. This is the best "true CRPG" in the last 5-6 years easily.


But basically, if your looking for a gaming fix and haven't done it yet I recommend Jade Empire. Cheap, availible for the PC (if that's what your using) and still stands up as an awesome game.


>>>----Therumancer--->

 

[ucciolord1]

My friend bought a hamster, and he stopped playing WoW to take care of it.
Then it died, cause the pet shop people were liars, saying it was a baby.
Now he's patching the game as I type.

 

[Skarvey]

WoW is a drug, but an innocent drug don't blame it because you got addicted to its effects.

Oh I don't blame it, I had fun with WoW, but from a scholarly gamer's point of view, the only thing it has going for it is it's social aspect. Otherswise, it's top heavy on content, the story fails to grab players and most don't even read into it, and it is repetitive to no end. I'd liken it to a dandelion, basically linear all the way up to the top, and then once you're there, its nice and yellow for a week or so, and you can enjoy being level 80, but then it turns into this big poofball and all your acheivements are for nought because unless you sacrifice your life to WoW, you're just another nameless level 80 character with Jenkins tacked onto the end, and the only thing you can do is commit the sacrifice or create alts till you're bored. I enjoyed my ride to the top well enough, but I'm done with it now and I'm moving on.

 

[beholdmycape]

Bioware and Bethesda are two of my favorite developers so I play their games whenever I can. I'll admit I haven't been keeping up with them ooops nvm...

edit: ok what the fuck?

 

[MrSnugglesworth]

Bioshock. Great voice acting, great story, great immersion (especially if you listen to the audio diaries).

The poor, poor puppies...



Gears of War 2 has a nice single player campaign.

 

[theSovietConnection]

I started playing World of Warcraft in December. It was fun for a time, but I let my offline gaming habits slip. Part of this was because of my immersion in Warcraft, part of it was because my 360 broke and I was just too lazy to send it to be fixed. I just recently cancelled my subscription (YAY ME!) due to various real life issues that I now have to deal with. Now I feel like I've lost my zest for gaming, my appreciation for truly good games, because lets face it, without the social aspect, Warcraft is just a large collection of fetch quests. I'm looking for some true escapism, good games that I can get into at the end of a day in the real world. I want immersion, inspiration, GOOD STORIES. Basically, what games can you guys and gals reccomend that'll get me back into the gaming world and thinking about games?

I'll second the calls for SR2, great fun that was. Possibly Dead Space if you're into that sort of thing. Perhaps the DLC for Fallout 3? Broken Steel just might be your ticket back into this thing of ours, seeing as it pretty much completely rewrites Fallout 3.