PC Games you guys recommend?

[Johnny]

Hey guys, i finally had some free time to install Steam on my new PC, but the most recent game in there is Portal (the first one!). That's what happens when you forget PC gaming altogether in favour of consoles. Anyway, so far i only bothered to re-download Half-Life 2.

I really wanted to try some new games, but i'm completely lost. Don't really care for Battlefield, Call of Duty and those sorts of things. I tried to get the first Mass Effect to try the series for the first time, but couldn't find it anywhere. So, what do you guys recommend? Really wanted to see what Directx10 and Directx11 are capable of. My computer is a i5 2500k + 4GB Ram 1600Mhz + MSI Geforce GTX560 TwinFrozr OC.

[Barret7sc]

Ok, this is by no means a comprehensive list, but here are my recommendations, in no particular order.

Batman: Arkham Asylum. It's a third person action game. While it is a console port it's done rather well and the combat is fun. The story is engaging and it looks great.
Borderlands. It's a FPS Diablo. I have spent way too much time playing this game. The humor is great.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution. FPS stealth action. If you can ignore the boss fights you have a great story with slick gameplay. Feels sort of like the MGS games.
Portal 2: If you liked Portal 1, you will probably like the sequel.
Metro 2033. Nice DX11 supporting gritty Horror FPS. Looks great, will make your graphics card cry.
Mass Effect Series: I would highly recommend them. The story is engaging and the characters are interesting. Well worth the trip. Wait for the GOTY edition of ME3 so you don't get screwed with the DLC.
StarCraft 2: If you liked the original StarCraft, SC2 has a very similar feel. That's why I liked it.
Bioshock 1 & 2 are quite good, if a bit dated graphically.

And don't forget that Diablo 3 comes out on the 15th!

[Johnny]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll put Batman on wait because i'll prefer playing it with a controller. Deus EX i have on PS3. But i put all the others in my list.

By the way, it's still possible to get Mass Effect (the first one) on disc? Can't find it anywhere.

Not only Diablo 3, but also Max Payne 3 at the end of the month. =]

[7Force]

If you really wanna see what your computer can do, check out Crysis 1 or 2.

[LeGIt]

Portal 1 & 2 are both on sale separately and via a bundle at £6.11 for the pair http://store.steampowered.com/sub/7932/ (you can probably gift spare Portal 1 copy to a friend)

They are both a worthy purchase at that price and your PC can probably smoke them (and other source games) @ 1080p60 with FXAA (beta driver 301.24) & 16x CSAA

They also work with the controller and Portal 2 has cool maps which are co-op only too. They wont take much more than a full day to complete on each mode BUT they are worth every penny, sale or not.

Deus Ex Human Revolution is one of the better games of recent times. Even if you already have it, if you can find it for the right price it is certainly worth buying again, even if just to experience it with better graphics ;) The cloud save feature means you probably won't lose your game saves either.

Fable III is actually pretty good and it looks so much better than the xbox version and works with the 360 controller too but it isn't on sale at present. There is an annoying amount of DLC for those of us completionists but there is nothing with any significant impact on the game.

I'm not sure I could reccomend Metro 2033. It seemed hard to get into which is not helped by the fact it is a soul destroying game which even the fastest PC struggles to keep up with. You could go for reducing the visual quality but there is no fun in that! Im sure if I took the time to get into it it would be a good game in the end but I don't want to sacrifice image quality to do it. I'll replay it when my hardware is able to keep up I think - even with GTX 560 Ti in SLI it is a struggle @ 1080p

I've not seen Mass Effect on disc (TBH I no longer look for discs) but it was on steam sale some time ago for around £3.74 I think and the origin version occasionally crops up @ £4.99. The origin version supports cloud game saves whereas steam does not.

If you like the whole Mass Effect thing you will probably also want to check out Dragon Age II but with your card you'd likely struggle to get much over 30 FPS with everything on, but it is a playable 30 FPS though, especially on Nightmare difficulty as you have to pause time a lot to micromanage the fights anyway. Also bear in mind as with other bioware products there is a ridiculous amount of DLC for this game at a stupid price and some of it does affect and/or extend the gameplay.

Lastly you will find this website useful http://www.steamgamesales.com/ It is a price aggregate of different sites. A few pointers though - it doesn't seem to track Direct2Drive since it changed to GameFly nor does it track Origin. It also has a sign in option which I personally wouldn't use as it could be handing my account details to god knows who. Lastly if you buy a game from the other sites, I tend to check the DRM to see if it is a steamworks or origin title for ease of redownloading in case the webstore goes bust. There are games out there with SecuROM, other DRM or even DRM free but I tend to avoid them for the above reason(s)

[la-li-lu-le-lo]

As far as gaming, I use my PC to play Source games more than anything else, to be honest. I've played a few indie games that are really good: The Maw, Eufloria, Limbo, and Amnesia. I think the first three are all available for either 360 or PS3, but Amnesia is PC-exclusive, and is a really great game. Pretty much any modern game you play on a PC (if it's a fast PC) will look better than its console equivalent.

[Druid II]

The Neverhood.

[Cyantist]

For pushing your PC Metro 2033 is the absolute choice. Most benchmarks use it these days.

[Johnny]

Thanks for all the comments! I'll check for those as well. I'll also look for Mass Effect this weekend, but if i can't find it maybe i'll then try it on Steam. I'm really trying to avoid digital distribution services.

By the way, how good/bad is Origin? Heard a lot of criticism and, since it's from EA.

[7Force]

When it comes to PC games, if you're avoiding digital distribution, you're doing it wrong. If you really wanna save money, wait for the inevitable Steam summer sale in a month or two.

[Hedgeyourbets]

A lot of disc releases force you to use steam to play them anyway, like Civ 5

[CoinCollector]

When it comes to PC games, if you're avoiding digital distribution, you're doing it wrong. If you really wanna save money, wait for the inevitable Steam summer sale in a month or two.

It's true, the Steam sales are pretty spectacular. And Steam's got a bunch of real indie gems, like...

Swarm Arena
Super Laser Racer
Zeno Clash
Ben There Dan That + Time Gentlemen, Please
Gravitron 2
eversion
Gumboy: Crazy Adventures
Blueberry Garden
I-Fluid
Arcadia
And Yet It Moves
The Bit.Trip series

...and criminy, I could go on forever! And they could all be yours for a buck or two each come this July. It's a bit ridiculous.

EDIT: And I gotta mention Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP was just ported over from iOS recently. Man, CHECK that out if you haven't played it.

[7Force]

A lot of disc releases force you to use steam to play them anyway, like Civ 5

Or even worse...Games for Windows Live.

It's true, the Steam sales are pretty spectacular. And Steam's got a bunch of real indie gems, like...

Yeah, that's a good list, except And Yet It Moves is shit and so is Bit.Trip Runner. Bit.Trip Beat is okay.

[Cyantist]

The recent humble bundle was really crap. Struggled to sell more than 100k units. Mainly because it was filled with poor point and click games.

[7Force]

They also screwed GOG.com over by releasing it on the same day GOG released Botanicula, meaning that anyone could just pick it up in the bundle for pennies.

[XerdoPwerko]

If you're into indie gaming and want PC games (that even my computer can run), get VVVVVV and Jamestown. Both available on Steam, both fucking awesome.

[DefectX11]

VVVVVVVV is a fun game. Died so many goddam times.

I'd suggest that you take a look at Bastion. Indie game, really strange at times, but overall a very fun game. Almost a 3D platformer if you will, with a fixed camera angle. This I believe you can get on Steam for pretty cheap.

[Cyantist]

They also screwed GOG.com over by releasing it on the same day GOG released Botanicula, meaning that anyone could just pick it up in the bundle for pennies.

Botanicular was crap anyway.

[7Force]

Botanicular was crap anyway.

Maybe, but GOG is an awesome site and doesn't deserve to get screwed like that.

[GungriffonEX]

Check out:

Alan Wake

STALKER series - Good games in their own right, but the mod community makes them amazing.

Warhammer 40K/Company of Heroes series - Great RTS