Recomend a decent/good non-RPG

I also recommend the Haunted House type games Undying and - of course - its spiritual predecessor and best game EVAH, Realms of the Haunting.
As for SciFi Horror and outside of Ebay: there's the White Chamber which is a very entertaining and rather grisly horror point and click adventure… and it's free. You can download it here, for example:
http://www.brothersoft.com/games/the-white-chamber.html

I ignored adventuregames in my first list but here's some comments;

Darkseed 1-2
Ancient point & click adventure in which you play a guy who recently got a house in which he starts to experience horrible nightmares and headaches. Soon enough he understands that he have an alien embryo growing in his head. It had impressive graphics at it's time with artwork of Giger. It was a very buggy game. In the second game you play the same character, who now is on the edge of insanity.

Elvira 1-2
A blend between adventure and RPG, with brutally difficult puzzles that almost always kill you in gruesome ways. In the first game you explore a castle, in the second a movie studio. One fun detail with part two is that you use regular objects, like floppy disks and fire extinguishers, to assemble spells. Very difficult, even with a walkthrough.

I have no mouth and I must scream
A "hit-you-in-the-gut" story about some questionable characters summoned by a big computer for a game. Highly controversial, one of the characters you play is a nazi doctor, another is a rape victim. Each have to face their past. Quite an unique game, I do not know any game that allowed itself to become this dark.

Phantasmagoria 1-2
Gore adventuregames by Sierra, with lots of body fluids thrown around in FMV sequences using real actors. In the first game you play an author who move into a house with her boyfriend where things soon begins to go wrong. Highly controversial in it's time due to a rape scene which is quite tame by todays standard. In the second game you play a guy who at first seem to be a very normal person, but as the time goes on more and more is revealed about his true self. Quite a thrilling story that makes you wonder what the truth behind all weird things happening are.

Sanitarium
Another point-and-click adventure that starts weird and gets weirder. Maps consists of locations like an asylum, a circus, an ancient aztek pyramid etc, and how it all is connected isn't revealed until the very end. Another adventuregame playable for it's plot.

Scratches
Like I said above, MYST style adventure in a spooky house. Beautifully rendered and very realistic setting that makes you feel there. Managed to scare the crap out of me twice. Deeply atmospheric.

Waxworks
Spiritual sequel to Elvira. You inherit a waxworks where it quickly is revealed that the 5 stages in the waxworks are portals through time and space. Each place is a story of it's own, from a zombiefilled cemetary, to an ancient egyptian pyramid. Like Elvira it's a blend between adventure and rpg that can be quite difficult, even with a walkthrough.

I don't want to hijack the thread, but since no one's said anything for three days and I'm also looking for a non-RPG so it should be fine.

I'm not really looking for a survival/horror game though. I'm rather looking for a non-RPG in general. Or rather, something that isn't like my common set of games since I've lost interest in my common set of games. All of those games have become something I play just to pass the time rather than something that acually stimulates me. With the current set of games it feels like I spend 80 % of my brain capacity to lazilly direct my troops to success.

So I want a different kind of game. Some thing faster, something more intense. Something where I have to pay close attention to achieve success. I don't know what genre I might be interested in, or how braindead the game has to be, just that the gameplay should be quite intense (imaginative/varied might work too). A good story is always a bonus but it's nothing I care about at this stage. So, ideas? If the game's been mentioned earlier in the thread (I've only skimmed so far) just mention the name and that it's been mentioned, there's no need to comment a game twice.

Übereil

Originally Posted by Ubereil
So I want a different kind of game. Some thing faster, something more intense. Something where I have to pay close attention to achieve success. I don't know what genre I might be interested in, or how braindead the game has to be, just that the gameplay should be quite intense (imaginative/varied might work too).

Have you enjoyed first-person shooters in the past? I would highly recommend the Half-Life series, it's one of the best.


More…

Half-Life 2

Once upon a time I didn't dislike a game called Return to Castle of Wolfenstein. I disliked Stalker though.

Übereil

Sounds like RTS would fit the bill best. I don't play much in the way of RTS, but Majesty 1 was great (and rather atypical of the genre) and I'd assume the recent Majesty 2 would be nearly as good (haven't gotten around to buying it yet). Based on reputation, I suppose the Blizzard RTS games would be the best place to start: Warcraft 3 and Starcraft.

You might also want to check out Aliens VS Predator 2. If you liked the horror of FEAR 1, the marine campaign will suit your needs.

I've played FPS in the past: I've played Warcraf 3 and I've played Dawn of War (both 1 and 2). The DoW campaign was suffering from bad AI* but was fun for a while. DoWII was fun for a while as well. Keeping track of four guys at once was enough for me. The Skirmish mode was ruined by the AI being retarded (I mean, on the hardest difficulty I once had my hero walk up and start hitting the opponent hero, and he didn't even fight back, he just stood there until he died).

I tried playing it online once: about the same time as my entire army was dead he had Tier 3 units charging for my base. I don't have teh skillz to play RTSes online. If there's more that one unit to keep track of I go into pieces and end up controlling neither. For a long while (we're talking years) I really enjoyed DotA, a WC3 mod where you control one hero. I lost my interest in that over time though. Sad but true…

A new, good RTS would be fun, but they also tend to end up being routine after a while, since I tend to mostly have an overseer role in the fighting. I tell them where to go and then just overlook to see that they don't do too bad.

*You set up your towers where your opponents come and they'll walk straight into them, one by one until you've built a decent army and go whipe out the opponent's defenceless base.

Übereil

What about Black Mirror ?

It doesn't exactly sound like it'll get my andrenaline pumping, but thanks for the suggestion anyway. If I ever play it it will be after I've tried The Longest Journey though.

Übereil

The Longest Journey is one of those games that can be argued is the best adventure game ever made.

I personally started Black Mirror but didn't get very far.

If you want intense action with a cool and different way to tell a story then maybe you would enjoy the max payne games. They are fast paced shooters with a third-person perspective and a fun slowmotion-action feature.

Originally Posted by Thiraury
If you want intense action with a cool and different way to tell a story then maybe you would enjoy the max payne games. They are fast paced shooters with a third-person perspective and a fun slowmotion-action feature.

I agree. Max Payne 1 (in particular) was a great shooter. The sequel was entertaining as well, but WAY too short.

Ah, yeah, Max Payne. I acually played it when I was 13-15. I enjoyed the story. I tried replaying it a year or two ago but you start out on easy (no other option) and easy was just too easy.

Übereil

Originally Posted by Ubereil
I tried replaying it a year or two ago but you start out on easy (no other option) and easy was just too easy.

I thought I remember being able to choose between 2 or 3 difficulty levels at the start.

Fun games though… I'll definitely purchase the 3rd game if it ever gets released.

Played the first few levels of Metro 2033 this morning…. not quite sure what to think of it so far. My first impression is a cross between STALKER and Cryostasis.

You definitely need a high end system though…

Ubereil,

Since you are looking for something with intensity/action, how about something in the action genre? For instance, God of War III. On the PS3, you can also find Uncharted 2, which is a great action-adventure game.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Played the first few levels of Metro 2033 this morning…. not quite sure what to think of it so far. My first impression is a cross between STALKER and Cryostasis.

You definitely need a high end system though…

I like the backdrop and setting of the game; it's just too 'hyper.' I'm not very good at first person/action games and I tend to get annoyed when I have to fuss around with a bunch of keys in the heat of battle. Metro 2033 is definitely a nice looking game, but it's just too 'consolized' for my tastes. To confirm my status as somebody probably too old to even use a computer anymore, I just got my silver trophy in Plants vs. Zombies for the fourth time, lol. I'll have the gold trophy by daybreak.

Originally Posted by Ubereil
I don't want to hijack the thread, but since no one's said anything for three days and I'm also looking for a non-RPG so it should be fine.

I'm not really looking for a survival/horror game though. I'm rather looking for a non-RPG in general. Or rather, something that isn't like my common set of games since I've lost interest in my common set of games. All of those games have become something I play just to pass the time rather than something that acually stimulates me. With the current set of games it feels like I spend 80 % of my brain capacity to lazilly direct my troops to success.

So I want a different kind of game. Some thing faster, something more intense. Something where I have to pay close attention to achieve success. I don't know what genre I might be interested in, or how braindead the game has to be, just that the gameplay should be quite intense (imaginative/varied might work too). A good story is always a bonus but it's nothing I care about at this stage. So, ideas? If the game's been mentioned earlier in the thread (I've only skimmed so far) just mention the name and that it's been mentioned, there's no need to comment a game twice.

Übereil

I'm not sure exactly what you are looking for, but this is one of the best games I've ever played. Nothing fancy, but it had me tearing my hair out. It's like a 'decked out' Boulderdash. Very engaging, and highly recommended.

There's a demo at this link:

http://crystalcave.rakeingrass.com/index.php

D.R.O.D is another hopelessly addictive game. Non RPG and puzzle based. That other game made me tear my hair out; this one made me consider suicide. The downloads section offers the 'Architects Edition' which is a remake of the original and freeware.

http://forum.caravelgames.com/viewsitepage.php?id=90294

Originally Posted by Sir Markus
I like the backdrop and setting of the game; it's just too 'hyper.' I'm not very good at first person/action games and I tend to get annoyed when I have to fuss around with a bunch of keys in the heat of battle. Metro 2033 is definitely a nice looking game, but it's just too 'consolized' for my tastes.

I agree, it is a very 'hyper' game. I've been a fan of FPS games for a long time, and even I'm finding it to be a bit chaotic.

My biggest problem with Metro 2033 though, is how it's bringing my system to its knees. I think I'm going to put off playing it until after my next upgrade, which will be within the next few weeks. My nearly 4 years old Core 2 processor has pretty much reached the end of its tour of duty…