The PC Games thread

[pap]

You'd never know it, because there is never much of a marketing push, but the PC is a phenomenally good platform for games. Right now, at the end of the console cycle, PC Games are so far ahead, in terms of technical competence, quality of game and price that I've called a halt to all console game purchases save the Wii U.

 

I suppose my love for the platform has a lot to do with my age and generation. The PC seems to have a lot more games that are cerebral in nature, relying less on the twitch gaming skills which deserted me long ago.

 

Stuff like Steam makes the platform even more accessible, as anyone who remembers the bad old days of having to muck about with your memory just to get something to run will attest.

 

Who here games on PC? Any particular highlights?

[Deanovski]

I do alot! I am also a platform gamer too but the cheap prices and wider range on pc has really drawn me too it. Day Z is the game to play.

[Bearsy]

I've never been that fond of Solitaire and I think the Pinball is overated. Minesweeper is quite good tho. I'm also really good at Hearts! I actually competed Hearts cos what I done was get it so that I had all the cards (the hearts plus the Jack o spades) 4 times in a row so cos everyone else gets 26 points I completed game in 4 hands without incurring single heart!

 

It was a pretty sweet moment in my life!

[pap]

I've never been that fond of Solitaire and I think the Pinball is overated. Minesweeper is quite good tho. I'm also really good at Hearts! I actually competed Hearts cos what I done was get it so that I had all the cards (the hearts plus the Jack o spades) 4 times in a row so cos everyone else gets 26 points I completed game in 4 hands without incurring single heart!

 

It was a pretty sweet moment in my life!

 

I know someone who met his wife playing Hearts on the Internet.

[pap]

I do alot! I am also a platform gamer too but the cheap prices and wider range on pc has really drawn me too it. Day Z is the game to play.

 

I've got Arma 2 in prep for my new machine coming in. Haven't played Day Z yet. What is the simplest way to install the bugger?

[SuperMikey]

I've got Arma 2 in prep for my new machine coming in. Haven't played Day Z yet. What is the simplest way to install the bugger?

 

There isn't really a "simplest" way. You've got to persevere. There are a few walkthroughs and FAQs about installing the mod though. I've played Day Z and liked it, personally I will be waiting for the standalone game (currently in production).

[pap]

There isn't really a "simplest" way. You've got to persevere. There are a few walkthroughs and FAQs about installing the mod though. I've played Day Z and liked it, personally I will be waiting for the standalone game (currently in production).

 

I've tried both of the download tools. Ultimately, it is immaterial cos my lappy runs Arma 2 like a dog. Standalone can't come soon enough.

[Deanovski]

its so easy pap you download day z commander coz the other one sucks! and just download all the updates

[pap]

its so easy pap you download day z commander coz the other one sucks! and just download all the updates

 

Yeah, it looked like Day Z commander was the way to go, despite the numerous signposts to get you to sign up for the other service.

 

I wasn't really that motivated because the lappy utterly failed on the base game.

[Red Alert]

I got on dayz at the weekend, i literally have no idea what i am doing in it though.

[pap]

Just finished the Walking Dead game on PC. There are quite a few Walking Dead games shambling about at the moment; this would be the one developed by Telltale Games, a studio that has made its name doing point and click adventures. They did the Back To The Future games.

 

I'm not a massive fan of point and click adventures, which is probably why it took me so long to get into this. Having just completed it, I can confirm that the game is bloody excellent and that I am an emotional mess as a result.

 

The general form in these games is to find something to solve a puzzle. There's still an element of that in this game, but there is a massive shift in emphasis. Far more important are the choices you make; which inform your relationships with other survivors. The game is broken into 5 episodes, which each episode featuring 5 big choices, some literally life or death ( there are several points where you have to choose to save one of two people ). Although a couple of characters from the TV show/comics do show up as cameos, this is an entirely different group from Rick Grimes' crew. Consequently, you don't know what is going to happen or where the story is going.

 

The game scooped pretty much every award going in 2012. At first, I put this down to the videogame industry getting excited about having marginally better writing than it is used to. Having played it, I'd say the game deserves all its plaudits. Great game and crucially, a great Walking Dead experience - like playing your very own season; and going through the same wringer the show puts you through. Highly recommended.

[BlakeySFC]

I can only play the games on Steam that are available for Mac (don't own a PC).

 

Got FTL: Faster Than Light, Dear Esther, Thirty Flights of Loving, Machinarium, Team Fortress 2, Civ 5, Hotline Miami and Kentucky Route Zero on there.

 

If anyone wants to add me on steam my ID is: DisturbedSwan

[pap]

Walking Dead Season 2 is out on PC. Played and finished the first episode last night, and now have to wait for Telltale to get their Episode 2 stuff into gear before finding out what happens.

 

I've no desire to spoil the excellent first season; I'd advise you to play it, as I've done before. Season 2 remembers your choices from the first season, and weaves them into your season 2 save, much like Mass Effect did back in the day. However, from the first episode, it looks like Telltale have already made excellent progress in improving upon their work. The game looks nicer and the direction is top-notch. Suffice to say, the level of investment you have in the characters is a large one.

 

Puzzles aren't really very tough. These are games that want to be completed, and are more about choices than brain-teasers.

 

Excellent stuff.

[Huffton]

I enjoy flight simulators, particularly Flight Sim X and its various add ons. Things like that could never work on a console.

[pap]

Brr. Brr.

 

Is this thing still on?

 

Loads to report on PC gaming this year.

 

Still working my way through Walking Dead, Season 2. This is episodic, so completion is not for the want of trying - I just have to wait until the next episode is released before resuming play. In a very similar category, The Wolf Among Us is well worth a mention. By the same people, featuring the same style of gameplay ( choices through dialogue, branching paths, etc ) and set in Fabletown, an area of New York set aside for population by "Fables" like Snow White, Tweedledee and Tweedledum and Ichabod Crane. If I were Dubai Phil, I'd be asking what the writers were smoking at this point Both blur the lines between TV and gaming more readily than anything else I've played. Well recommended; both on other platforms too.

 

The other really big game of note has to be Hearthstone, a free-to-play card collecting game from Blizzard, previously responsible for Starcraft, Diablo and World of Warcraft. Content-wise, Hearthstone is informed by the latter. Every card in Hearthstone is from the Warcraft universe. Every game is a fantasy-themed bout to knock the other guy out. Few games offer the opportunity that Hearthstone does though; the chance to win by being gloriously smart, lucky or both.

 

I've played games of its ilk in their physically manifested form, such as Dominion. I've even played electronic versions of established card games, such as Ascension. Hearthstone doesn't really have a physical equivalent to tie it down, making it a much better game. I'm reminded of Devil Crush and Alien Crush, two relatively obscure pinball videogames that had no real life alternatives. The game designers were able to fill their completely invented pinball tables up with HR Giger inspired aliens and legions of hell.

 

Same thing goes for Hearthstone. It can only really be what it is because it is a videogame. Well worth your time, and on iPad too.

[stthrobber]

I'm waiting for Elite Dangerous, but overall I'm disappointed with the current output of games for the PC. I noted that Elder Scrolls Online was out for PC well before its release on a console.

 

I was extremely disappointed with X Rebirth, a real turkey of a game after Reunion and Terran thingy.

 

The only other title I would buy is Chris Roberts' Star Citizen which like Elite Dangerous has been financed by fans.

[pap]

I'm waiting for Elite Dangerous, but overall I'm disappointed with the current output of games for the PC. I noted that Elder Scrolls Online was out for PC well before its release on a console.

 

I was extremely disappointed with X Rebirth, a real turkey of a game after Reunion and Terran thingy.

 

The only other title I would buy is Chris Roberts' Star Citizen which like Elite Dangerous has been financed by fans.

 

Playing the beta of Elite: Dangerous, after buying in at the £50 beta stage. Looks gorgeous; docking is loads easier. You can also look around the interior of your ship. Really nice. Haven't got too far yet.