Help! Good (old) action/RPG needed

[Dhruin]

Hi,

Some of you may remember my partner, Kayla. We have 2x gaming PCs and 2x laptops in the house but the Aussie summer is simply too hot to use the main PCs -- so we rely on the laptops. Kayla uses the "old" one with integrated Intel graphics...it does the job and she happily plays stuff like Baldur's Gate, Icewind, PS:T, DivDiv, the Avernums, Dungeon Siege and FATE.

Yesterday she ran out of old games to replay and commandeered my "good" laptop to play NWN2.

Help!

I have a few days off over Christmas and really want to get stuck into NWN2 myself...I need to divert her back onto the old laptop! I need a decent, older generation RPG (something compatible with the basic 3D we have on that machine - 1Gb RAM and 2Ghz CPU otherwise) for her that she hasn't played. It must be fantasy (no sci-fi or post-apoc) and preferably let you play a female. Action or RPG-lite is preferred - she likes to just kick back. Bonus points for animal familiars and good loot. Most recently she has played the crap out of FATE.

Help!

[Acleacius]

Can her old machine run NWN 1?
You could even tell her, she would be a better idea of what's happening in NWN 2. ;)

[Cormac]

Maybe Sacred ? There's a female character in there.

[Corwin]

Why not install the beta version of Grimoire you have for her to try!! :biggrin:

[Acleacius]

Ahh good one, Sacred.

Hey does Sci fi, include KotOR, I think of Sci fi as more like Dues Ex.

[Corwin]

Space Rangers 2 might work!!

[Dhruin]

She's played out on NWN. Sacred too...although we never got the expansion. That's one.

More!

[Acleacius]

Since KotOR is probabaly considered Sci fi, what about anything from Spiderweb?

[KasperFauerby]

What about Arcanum or ToEE?

Or, if it's mostly fighting and looting - what about some dungeon crawls? The EoB games could be something. Or maybe LoL - at least the first one is good. Or maybe these are getting *too* old? :)

[Dhruin]

No to KotOR and Arcanum...it really has to be classic/high fantasy. She found ToEE a bit tedious...she doesn't mind a full-blown RPG but ToEE didn't offer enough outside the combat (she really likes kitting out her avatar, so interesting/varied loot goes a long way).

Played all the Avernums but didn't like Geneforge. EoB is too old (I'd say Avernum is the minimum standard but preferably a little more "modern".

Has anyone played Morning's Wrath?

[Acleacius]

Summoner?
I guess 2 guys and 2 girls, though the Main really is a guy, though. :(

Soulbringer?
Dang thats a guy, too. :(

Redemption, guy. :(

[txa1265]

How about Heretic Kingdoms? Girl, decent 2D, cool loot.

Also, Nox is nice, as is Darkstone.

[Acleacius]

Ahh true Darkstone even has females, nice one. :)

Hey, I could get pointy objects thrown my way for this, but what about Morrowind?

Another possiblity though not really an RPG but good entertaining story in a world where women hold all the magic power Wheel of Time with the lastest patch she would definatly have to play on Easy difficulty.

[VPeric]

Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader?

It's a very interesting (fantasy-ish) setting, and the first part of the game is simply awesome (around Barcelona or such). Unfortunately, later on, it starts to look just a teensy bit like Diablo, but the setting and the story make up for that, IMHO.

[fatBastard()]

Dang it! I was going to say Nox! Thanks for stealing my thunder dude ;)

There is no reason to mention the Migth & Magic games is there?

This might be a bit off the mark but has she tried Silver? Plenty of action though not so much RPG elements. Perhaps a bit consolish but the background graphics are beautiful and the music is brilliant ... What?!? If Corwin gets to pimp Grimoire I can pimp Silver aiight? :biggrin:

[Dhruin]

Somehow she missed Heretic Kingdoms...not sure how I missed it because I'm a fan and still keep in touch with the development team. That's a good one.

Summoner she loved...I'll see if we can find the disks. Lionheart...I don't want to destroy our relationship. ;) Nox rocked - good suggestion. Darkstone was...OK.

Silver I just don't know, so I'll look into it.

Thanks for all the input. :)

[VPeric]

Lionheart...I don't want to destroy our relationship. ;)

Pfft! It's not _that_ bad. :P

[txa1265]

Darkstone was...OK.
Darkstone is very ugly looking now - I didn't get it until about a year ago and it has one of the worst 'overcoming bad graphics' factors I can think of ...
Lionheart...I don't want to destroy our relationship. ;)
I still like the first ~20 hours quite a bit ...

[Fenris]

The Lazarus-Mod for Dungeon Siege is nice.

[txa1265]

The Lazarus-Mod for Dungeon Siege is nice.

Of COURSE! You should lose here for a while with *that* one ;)

[JemyM]

I kind of liked Lionheart. The only thing wrong with it is the diablostyle combat, but that's only an issue if you dislike diablo.

Here's a few that should not require a stellar computer to play, each one with female protagonists and fantasy setting.

Might & Magic VI-IX (the quality of theese is questionable, but they are so !%")/( addicting people love them anyway)
Exile ("spiritual prequel" to avernum)
Wizardry 8 (questionable since it have a mix scifi/fantasy world but is mostly fantasy)
Prelude to Darkness (free download)
Divine Divinity

[crpgnut]

I wonder if Oblivion would run on it if you grabbed the "Oldblivion" mod. It's a mod that changes the textures and settings to run on older systems. I thought of Heretic Kingdoms, but I see its been mentioned. U5: Lazarus is a good choice too. That will take her 200+ hours to solve. Plenty of time to finish NWN2 if you can get her hooked on Lazarus. Thank God my wife doesn't like to play computer games :)

[txa1265]

I wonder if Oblivion would run on it if you grabbed the "Oldblivion" mod.
Based on a quick search, it might ... depending on processor and version of integrated graphics ... oh, and RAM.

[curious]

summoner might work. probably my favourite multi-platiform rpg i've played. not sure how others felt about the game it is fairly linear. not too many 3d party based rpgs though out even today. . nwn2 might be the only 3d party game i like better, which i'll know when i finish it.

[dteowner]

You could always dig out Majesty with the expansion. The expansion's difficulty and random map generator should be good for a few days' gaming, even if she's worn the disks out. I know Kayla was always a true Majesty junkie.

[Cormac]

Why not Titan Quest ? Even the men wear squirts in that one.

Is the Summoner game mentionned here the old SSI single player dungeon crawl, or is it another one ? I know the PS2 has a Summoner game also.

[txa1265]

Why not Titan Quest ? Even the men wear squirts in that one.
Because he was looking for games that would run on an older laptop with integrated graphics - that is why people aren't pushing new / high tech stuff. 'Oldblivion' is a mod that tunes oblivion for very low-end systems (and makes it look like Revenant!) ... but at least it works.

[Acleacius]

I got Darkstone when it was released and it quickly put Diablo to shame with it's graphics and then when Diablo 2 came out and had the same graphics as Diablo I was stunned.
Darkstone had done everything better,
Spoiler

Hell they even had a Dragon.

Yet Diablo 2 comes out looking like crap compared to games a year or two older with much smaller budgets and Dev team (?).
The Devs excuse, they actually really said this "we didn't know anyone wanted better graphics", so I never wanted to play a Blizzard game again, maybe why I never have played WoW.

"Silver I just don't know, so I'll look into it."
If you don't mind Japanese style RPG it's fun except she might leave you over the last battle being such a pain it almost ruins the game.

As txa1265 and fatBastard() mentioned Nox, iir it's a guy too. :(

Thought about mentioning Lazarus also since you listed Dungeon Siege, though it's a guy also, iir.

What about getting her online with the orginal EQ or WoW (ifi it will run) those are certianly time consuming?

"Even the men wear squirts in that one."
Lol. :p

[Fenris]

@ Cormac:

The PS2-Game was portet to PC (wow, someone else remembers the SSI-Summoner^^)

@Acleacius:

The Lazarus Main-Char can be male or female (as in Dungeon Siege).

[Cormac]

Thanks, Fenris. I'll try to look it up.
That old Summoner PC game was pretty good. Played it a long time ago.

[Acleacius]

Fenris
"The Lazarus Main-Char can be male or female (as in Dungeon Siege)."
Ahh thats good news, I still haven't gotten around to playing it yet. :(

Cormac
"That old Summoner PC game was pretty good. Played it a long time ago."
I kept thinking KotOR was my first port to PC, till I remembered Summoner looking though my games for this thread and had a lot of fun with this.

Not sure how much everyone likes music from games, but Summoner had a couple damn nice tunes, anyone remmeber So Long, Wolong?
Holds up very well still a favortie song, a great fusion of Asian classic and techno.
http://www.summoner.com/downloads/wolong_mp3.zip

[curious]

nice find Acleacius. somehow i don't remember that tune although i do remember wolong. is it a remix? last time i played the game was before i converted to playing all games with only headphones about 3-4 years ago. i do enjoy it though and makes me want to go back and play through it all again. i had misplaced one of the discs for it for a couple years and just found it a few months back going through my collection.

summoner 2 by the way was only on ps2 and is the only ps2 game i ever bought, but since i have never owned a ps2 i got halfway through on my brothers but then he erased my game (and have never made an attempt to try and play it again). more visceral experience but didn't 'do it for me' like the first one did.

[Acleacius]

curious, I agree Wolong was very cool atomsphere and has always stood out to me too, I really think its the same song, though it could be a remix my player says Wally Shaw, year 2000.

You know just like Drakan Order of the Flame I just could never bring myself to buy the console sequels, though I reallly enjoyed both orginals and like you mentioned hearing reviews of people disappointed didn't modivate me.

I am headphone user too, don't think I could ever go back to speakers. ;)

[fatBastard()]

I remember thoroughly enjoying the soothing guitar music in the monastery location in Summoner and when I later came back after it had been ransacked and the music had changed I was at first sad that it had changed because it was so good but then I started listening to the new music and I was simply blown away.

The whole game is in fact packed with brilliant music of many different styles and genres and definitely one of the strong points of the game.

[magerette]

I got Darkstone when it was released and it quickly put Diablo to shame with it's graphics and then when Diablo 2 came out and had the same graphics as Diablo I was stunned.
Darkstone had done everything better,
Spoiler

Hell they even had a Dragon.

Yet Diablo 2 comes out looking like crap compared to games a year or two older with much smaller budgets and Dev team (?).
The Devs excuse, they actually really said this "we didn't know anyone wanted better graphics", so I never wanted to play a Blizzard game again, maybe why I never have played WoW.

Are you talking about the same Darkstone I played, with the cool music video by the band in the town square after you unlock the quest? The one where the characters had dangerously sharp pointy shoes and the maps and levels were virtually identical? I did love this game and had a blast playing it with my grandsons of 5 and 6--they caught on instantly, it was cool--but I can't believe you're raggin on Diablo 2 for having worse graphics. Darkstone graophics were almost embarassing and if it hadn't been so much fun they would have kept me from playing it.

[JemyM]

Well, after this thread I started to play Divine Divinity.

[HiddenX]

Soulbringer

Outcast

Spellforce

[dteowner]

Well, after this thread I started to play Divine Divinity.I've added it to my radar based on a few different conversations, but I haven't had any luck finding a copy.

[Cormac]

Soulbringer

I forget that I actually have this game, it came bundled with PST. Have yet to try it.


@dte, Amazon has DD (http://www.amazon.com/Divine-Divinity-Jewel-Case-Only/dp/B0009YEY3Q/sr=1-2/qid=1166823226/ref=sr_1_2/103-0633534-3284660?ie=UTF8&s=videogames)for 10$.

[Acleacius]

fatBastard()
"the new music and I was simply blown away."
That would be Iona2 and I felt the exact same really liking them both and the second was even better, silky guitar with jazzy techno. ;)
http://www.summoner.com/downloads/iona2_mp3.zip

magerette
Well actually I am just raging on D2 but yes I think in general Darkstone was much better.
I bet actually have camera view control, having on central town and the game was an actual 3D game not 2D had something to do with it. :)
Though the textures could be better in D2, I really can't remember any more, so I will default to your info. ;)

I wasn't overwhelmed at the idea of Blizzard spending all there money on cut scenes while the game looked like pile of refried beans. :p
I give more credit to smaller developers that actually tried to improve on the formula.
Even on Moby on hardcore FPS sites like Firing Squad knocked the game hard.
http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/darkstone

HiddenX
“Soulbringer”
Hey, copycat! :p

[JemyM]

I've added it to my radar based on a few different conversations, but I haven't had any luck finding a copy.

My friend had it on his bookshelf beneath a layer of dust. So far I am impressed. I had feared something close to Diablo 2 but frankly this reminds me of an equal mix of Baldurs Gate. It have the Diablo 2 combat mechanics but the Baldurs Gate storytelling techniques, sudden encounters, cutscenes, NPC filled cities, heaps of quests that include both puzzles and moral decisions.

[enodenroH]

I've added it to my radar based on a few different conversations, but I haven't had any luck finding a copy.

I bought it on Ebay from a seller in the UK. Got it for about 10$...
Good game. Worth the time. Good music also.

Forget about Beyond Divinity. It's Larian's second title in that series. I just can't play it. It's just not the same and the voice of one of the main characters is intolerable...

[Acleacius]

"Forget about Beyond Divinity. "
It uses starforce also, so be carefuul if you do have it.

[enodenroH]

"It uses starforce also, so be carefuul if you do have it."

I know but I never had the problems I've read about at the Dot when people were freaking out when the producers were talking about using it in Gothic 3.

I think I have another game that has this blasted program but I forget which one it is.

So far, my PC is fine...

[xSamhainx]

I know Kayla is a fellow Majesty addict, so I'll suggest a little budget Majesty-like game I'm having fun with called "Medieval Conquest" (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/medievalconquest/index.html?q=medieval%20conquest) tho it's 3D and runs a little crappy at times on my high-end system, so I dont know how strong a referral that is ='.'=

Have her check out Fastcrawl too, you never know, she might like it!

And tell her to poke her head in here sometime and say hi, I miss chatting with her now and then!

[Dhruin]

Ah, I remember hearing about some Majesty-alike but couldn't remember the title -- thanks.

The Majesty disk never gets put away, dte...it just needed a break.

As it turns out, I can't dislodge her from NWN2, so I decided to restart Gothic 3 on my gaming rig and just tough out the heat up here.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.

[Corwin]

Hmmm.....maybe she'll decide to get back into online NWN gaming with us next year!! :)