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Computer RPG recommendations?

johndoepaperjohndoepaper Member Posts: 1
edited February 2014 in Off-Topic
I'm looking for RPG recommendations. I really enjoyed BG, BG2, Icewind Dale, and Icewind Dale 2. I just finished BGEE on iPad. I like the top-down, story-based style of these games. I do not like the first-person hack-n-slash games that are so common now. I prefer to have control over a party rather than only one player. And I like building characters both through items/equipment and through gaining levels/experience. Is anyone aware of games on the iPad or PC that fit this description?
Post edited by Dee on

Comments

  • KurumiKurumi Member Posts: 520
    edited November 2013
    http://www.gog.com/game/planescape_torment
    http://www.gog.com/game/the_temple_of_elemental_evil

    For the latter one, you should use the mods made by Circle of Eight, which correct bugs and add some content.
    http://www.co8.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=f546a02c787157f1be35bfdb5e76a586&f=49

    If you also like some crazy fantasy/sci-fi mix, then I can also recommend..
    http://harebrained-schemes.com/shadowrun/

    And for next year (not released yet)..
    http://eternity.obsidian.net/

    Don't ever make a bet with a tiefling. - Planar proverb.
    Post edited by Kurumi on
  • CrevsDaakCrevsDaak Member Posts: 7,155
    Just Planescape Torment. Play it and your life will be complete (come! Join me in our death Trasce... NO SPOILERS RAGH!).
  • DelvarianDelvarian Member Posts: 1,232
    Arcanum is rather fun as well, a sort of steampunk D&D hybrid.
  • civian1991civian1991 Member Posts: 57
    Kurumi said:



    And for next year (not released yet)..
    http://eternity.obsidian.net/

    This looks sick!!

    @johndoepaper you could try Dragon Age:Origins. I played it after I got over my lengthy obsession with BG and really enjoyed it. You can take control over your NPCs and the story is great. And yeah, first person sucks!
  • KalesraKalesra Member Posts: 234
    I can second Dragon Age: Origins. Just finished playing through it and it was awesome. There are NPC interactions (all fully voiced!) and the story is excellent. Also your choices really impact the outcome of the game. There's about an hour of play time at the beginning that varies by background (e.g. whether you chose to be a human noble or a dwarf, etc.) and there are multiple endings.

    Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is also a great game. I resisted playing it for a long time because it's sci-fi and hence didn't fit my narrow idea of an RPG, but despite the fact that you're running around with lightsabers and blasters I loved it. You can even use Jedi Force powers which make you feel like a mage. You have a party which you can customize in terms of both abilities/attributes and equipment, and there are NPC interactions and quests.

    Also, I know you said you prefer controlling a party but maybe you should still give The Witcher a shot. True, there's only one character and you can't really customize him that much, but it's one of the best RPGs I've ever played. The story is very responsive to your choices and there are a lot of moral gray areas when you make decisions and pick sides.

    The games I listed above are 3rd person rather than top-down. Like you I always preferred the isometric view, but the 3rd person view didn't bother me at all. Also, you can switch to a top-down view in Dragon Age at any time.

    Finally, Torment: Tides of Numenera is coming out sometime this year and looks sick. The kickstarter is over but you can still back it: https://torment.inxile-entertainment.com/store
  • KalesraKalesra Member Posts: 234
    Ugh....sorry, misinformation. The new Torment game isn't coming until 2015. Bummer. :(
  • MusignyMusigny Member Posts: 1,027
    Fallout 2 + killap's restoration project (top quality official and unofficial patches + a lot of "unfinished business" + engine enhancements : sfall and high resolution patch).
    It does not fully match your requirements (you cannot fully control your party members (if any)) but this is one of the greatest game ever.
  • ArchaosArchaos Member Posts: 1,421
    edited February 2014
    Dragon Age Origins (Don't bother with 2 but I'm curious about Dragon Age Inquisition)
    Temple of Elemental Evil
    Arcanum of Steamworks and Magick Obscura.
    Planescape Torment
    Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2 The Sith Lords.
    Neverwinter Nights 2 and expansions. Don't bother with 1 since it's more or less DnD Diablo in the OCs.
    Jade Empire. That's a rare recommendation but it's like an oriental martial arts KOTOR more or less. Enjoyed it.
    Something that people forget: Drakensang and River of Time. Similar to NwN2 but with the Dark Eye rules.
    Haven't played it though but from what I've seen, I really liked it.
    Shadowrun Returns
    Torment: Tides of Numenera (TBA)
    Pillars of Eternity (TBA)
    Mass Effect series, maybe. Third-person Shooter/RPG with tactical battles, party members and romances and plenty of choices.
    Witcher 1 and 2. More action based but lots of choices, challenging and you can build Geralt the way you want.

    I wouldn't even bother with games like Gothic, Skyrim etc. WAY too action based, probably zero tactics, almost zero choices in dialogues and companions are controlled by AI.
  • DeeDee Member Posts: 10,447
    Moving thread to Off-Topic. Carry on.
  • GodGod Member Posts: 1,150
    SpellForce: The Order of Dawn. Also, Evil Islands.
  • booinyoureyesbooinyoureyes Member Posts: 6,164
    Highly recommend Temple of Elemental Evil, but it is absolutely necessary to install a mod called "Circle of 8 with New Content" before you play.

    It is in my opinion the best computer interpretation of tabletop D&D. Its a fun turn-based combat game. The best part is the extensive use of skills outside of combat. Dialogue options include bluffing, persuading, diplomacy, etc. You can actually make use of lore. It has a lot of things that BG would benefit from.

    It is no where near as good as the Baldur's Gate Trilogy, but is quite fun and your experience playing BG should make the learning curve very easy to overcome.
  • CorvinoCorvino Member Posts: 2,269
    I know you don't like first-person RPGs, but I'd still recommend System Shock 2 and Deus Ex. Both are very good cyberpunk FPS-RPG hybrids with great storytelling.

    System Shock 2 does need a few mods to make it palatable to a modern gamer though. There are several graphical updates for it. Deus Ex still holds up very well.
  • fighter_mage_thieffighter_mage_thief Member Posts: 262
    Planescape Torment.
  • jackjackjackjack Member Posts: 3,251
    For your iPad, I recommend the Lone Wolf game based on the book series of the same name by Joe Dever. There's a learning curve, and in the tradition of the series, a LOT of reading, but it is very well written, and there is plenty of combat, inventory management, and character development, from what I've seen so far. I highly recommend.
  • The_Potty_1The_Potty_1 Member Posts: 436
    The original Deus ex is brilliant. It is tactically the second most open-ended game I have ever played, apart of course from BG. You can of course blow everyone away with heavy guns, or you can skill up on sniping and take everyone out from a distance, you can focus on melee, or you can AVOID ALL COMBAT entirely. I chose to use only non-lethal weapons, ranged and melee, and focused on using stealth. Later in the game this became less feasible, because some of the enemies activate a suicide-bomb when you knock them out, but it was pretty cool to complete the entire game without causing any unnecessary deaths at all.

    I loved Deus Ex so much, I even played Deus Ex 2: invisible war. To be clear, everyone hated this game, and to be even clearer, I hated it too when I first saw it, but after a couple of false starts, I completed it, also with the no-killing rule. I've just finished Deus Ex 0: human revolution as well, and here the nonviolent path is actively coded into the game, although there are four bosses you have to kill.

    The new deus ex is OK (bosses, meh), but really, do yourself a favour, and hunt down the original. It's on gog.
  • CorvinoCorvino Member Posts: 2,269
    Here are a couple of wildcard suggestions:

    XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a squad-based, turn-based tactical RPG. It's not fantasy but an alien invasion story. The storyline and character development is very different to Baldur's Gate. Most things are randomised, so each of your soldiers only has the personality and story of the missions you've played with them. The combat is slick and tense and it's a well made game.

    The Banner Saga is an indie game I played on the basis of a thread on this forum. It's very story driven to the extent of being a bit linear but the story is very good. It's a viking-inspired game and has interesting hand-drawn art and a great soundtrack. It is very much an indie game though and so isn't fully voiced and there are aspects that would probably benefit from expansion. The turn-based combat is a bit simplistic but the game does a great job of evoking the atmosphere of a newly wartorn world and the desperation and hope that goes with it.

    If you love story though Planescape: Torment is hard to beat. It looks fugly and the combat is pretty badly handled but the characterisation, setting, quests, dialogue and overall story are great. It's one of the few games that really makes stats like Wisdom, Intelligence and Charisma matter in a D&D setting as they open up a lot of dialogue options. The difference between a high-strength and a high-wisdom character is very noticable from the start. If you can avoid spoilers on your first playthrough that's good too.
  • JiveOneJiveOne Member Posts: 43
    edited February 2014
    To the OP or anyone else interested, maybe try out some of the older titles that inspired Baldur's Gate? At the beginning of the BG(2?) manual Bioware lists some games that they used to help them design the game. They mention the Ultimas, Wizardry, Might and Magic, the D&D Gold Box games, System Shock, and maybe a few others. Most are available on GoG if you don't mind the older graphics and interfaces.

    I'd also recommend the Quest for Glory series which is a mix of RPG and point-and-click adventure.
  • jackjackjackjack Member Posts: 3,251
    I heartily recommend Ultimas 4-7.
    Put simply, 1-3 have aged rather poorly, and the trilogy of 4-6 is somewhat separate anyway. Ultima 7 remains the quintessential sandbox RPG. I still enjoy playing them today.
    Now for the bad news. Ultima 8 is an adventure game with RPG elements and incorporates platforming, of all things! It's not a bad game in it's own right, but it isn't really an Ultima type game.
    Ultima 9 does not exist. If you try to find it, you will be sucked into the abyss.
  • LadyRhianLadyRhian Member Posts: 14,694
    You can also try some indie games like: Abadon: The Black Fortress, The Exile/Avernum games, Nethergate, All of those are available through Spiderweb Software.

    http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com

    For single character, old school (REALLY HARD) goodness, you have to go with NetHack and its variants. The best of these (in my opinion) is Angband. These games are Nintendo Hard: http://rephial.org
  • CrevsDaakCrevsDaak Member Posts: 7,155
    edited February 2014
    LadyRhian said:

    For single character, old school (REALLY HARD) goodness, you have to go with NetHack and its variants. The best of these (in my opinion) is Angband. These games are Nintendo Hard: http://rephial.org

    Oh, that game is so vicious! I've lost an hour or more today ;( by playing it :P
  • LadyRhianLadyRhian Member Posts: 14,694
    I once survived to level 30. It took very little time to die.
  • booinyoureyesbooinyoureyes Member Posts: 6,164
    Step 1: Download Super Nintendo emulator
    Step 2: Get Chrono Trigger
    Step 3: Enjoy Organic Chemistry lecture for rest of semester
  • CorvinoCorvino Member Posts: 2,269
    Chrono trigger is by far my favorite JRPG. It's got a great sprite-based art style, memorable music and decent party combat mechanics that don't make you wait through endless animations.

    I've got it on my 3DS for train journeys, it reminds me of playing on emulators back when I was a teenager.
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