Fun PC gaming question/pseudo poll for this group

[Arles]

I always enjoy the feedback here and was thinking of doing some PC gaming over the holidays. So, I wanted a way to check out some new (or even old) games that maybe I haven't given the time or focus to.

With that in mind, I thought it might be fun do a quick poll/question: What three PC games would you recommend to someone who just joined this forum and had the similar genre outlook as most of us do? I only ask that the game be played on the PC and that you have played in the past 3-5 years? (ie, no Tony LaRussa Baseball answers ). It doesn't have to be a sports sim or even a well known title - just something you have enjoyed playing and think others would like it as well.

I'll start:

1. Football Manager 18: I had a lot of fun with this version (taking Wrexham from conference to winning the EPL). Still the standard for a sports sim.

2. Diablo 3 (with all expansions): Great game to play in small pockets of time. You can hop on for 30 min here, an hour there and the gameplay is great for a hack and slash. I also still enjoy that there is a big online community and no subscription/pay-transaction model.

3. Crusader Kings 2: I know it's a little older, but it still is my go-to for this genre. Some of the DLCs have also improved the experience.

[spleen1015]

Great thread idea Arlie.

1. Rimworld - This game is just crazy good, IMO. This is one of those games where the harder you make it on yourself the more fun it is to play. It has been in beta a long time, but I didn't start playing until after it released. My favorite game of 2018. There's a bunch of mods that are great as well.

2. Subnautica - This game is beautiful. The gameplay is excellent. The environment, sound effects and ambiance is amazing.

3. OOTP19 - I just found a quickstart that is big universe with MLB teams, MiLB teams with a college feeder league, some HS feeder leagues and an independent league. It is a huge universe and I love it.
***EDIT*** One thing I was going to mention about this quickstart and forgot is it starts in 1900 and uses fictional players.

[bhlloy]

Fun topic. I'll stay away from FM and CK2/EU4 as I think Arles already did those justice. I guess I'll keep it recent, pretty small chance that FOFC hasn't heard of these games, but word of mouth reviews can be important:

1) Pathfinder Kingmaker - they seem to have ironed out 99% of the early bugs and this is absolutely fast becoming my standard for isometric RPGs (or any RPG for that matter). Just a really solid game with a ton of detail and they managed to marry the traditional RPG with the Kingdom management piece and nail it. It still has some quirks and frustrations, but at this point I think it's passed BG2 for my favorite RPG of all time, and pretty soon I may have even put more time into it. That's a really high bar to clear.

2) NBA 2k19 - assuming you have no interest in myCareer or playing online, which are both a complete waste of time unless you are willing to sink hundreds of dollars into VC, this is still the absolute golden standard for a sports sim. Just starting a myLeague and playing a couple of games every now and then will probably keep this one installed and me fully engaged until the next one comes out. Want to play it as a long term sim and jump into the playoffs or sim a few years ahead and just handle draft/signings, it holds up pretty damn well playing that way as well. They just add features and make it better and better every year. YMMV, but I feel like most of the negative press is mostly down to the VC greed (which is a legit gripe) but if you don't rely on those modes for enjoyment, it's still a must own IMO.

3) Middle Earth: Shadow of War - probably the closest I've come to 100 percenting a game since one of the GTAs where I had way too much time on my hands. A ton of fun and another one you can pick up for a couple hours, kill a couple of warlords or do a couple of missions and then put down for a week without feeling like you are missing anything.

[Warhammer]

1) Grim Dawn - A great ARPG that is fun, tough, and fair. Most ARPGs, I gravitate towards one type of build, Grim Dawn was the first where I would find an item and I would stop playing that character to start a new one based upon a new theme. Not only that, but each class combination could be played several different ways.

2) Dominions V - I love the concept of a strategic game with tactical battles. While many complain about not having total control of the battles, I think Dominions has done a good job with it. You can certainly lose battles due to a poorly planned attack, or win battles you shouldn't due to a well planned battle. Add in the fact there are a slew of nations to choose from, it is a great game. It is even better if you play in a MP game, as real opponents up the challenge. This is one game that I do not recommend going all out on the number of players as small games have a definitely different feel from larger games.

3) Battle Brothers - The opposite end of the spectrum from CK II. You are the leader of a mercenary company trying to eek out a living. You hire men of varying backgrounds and have to keep them alive through battles and 3 different end game events (Orc Invasion, Noble War, and Undead Awakening). A great dynasty game with different ways to manage your company.

[Arles]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

3. OOTP19 - I just found a quickstart that is big universe with MLB teams, MiLB teams with a college feeder league, some HS feeder leagues and an independent league. It is a huge universe and I love it.

Spleen, that was one of the games I was going to look at it. Is there a way you could either PM me or post the quickstart location/thread for it? Sounds perfect.

I haven't heard of Battle Brothers or Middle Earth: Shadows of War - both sound interesting. For Middle Earth, is it better on the PC or a console? Do you need a joystick?

[Edward64]

My top 3 are X-Com 2, Stellaris or Civ 6, and Space Rangers HD.

X-Com 2 is a great game. Its getting a little old for me, I've beaten it 4-5 times now and there are not enough DLC's for such a great title, but its good for 200 hours at least.

Stellaris vs Civ 6 are both grand strategy games but pretty different. If he a Sci-Fi, detailed person go with Stellaris.

Space Ranger HD still brings me back now and then. It has space battles and land battles (which I skip because its not needed). Its a Russian game and from what I've read on the forums, its still supported but mostly in Russian so the English folks are out of luck with updates.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Arles

I haven't heard of Battle Brothers

Fwiw, I think somebody (Izulde maybe?) had a bit of a dynasty thread here at some point.

Might have been more than one but I definitely remember at least one.

I actually got the game (and eventually got a computer that could run it).
I thought it was good but a little on the punishing side in the early going (thought YMMV, I may just have sucked at it)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Despite it's age (2013 release I guess), I'll throw Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead into the hopper.

CDDA is highly modded/modable, with still literally multiple builds a day being rolled out.

I imagine that a number of FOFC'ers have played it already but for those who haven't: it's a free roguelike survival game, with almost infinite replayability & extreme customization possible, heavy on the crafting elements, persistent worlds stored locally, and permadeath. There's no end goal really, just ... survive. (though a popular Let's Play approach is to pick a goal/theme and play it until you're satisfied ... or dead.

I highly recommend use of the Launcher that's out there, as it handles the most common mods as well as the updates pretty much automatically (you have the option to not update of course, but it's easy peasy via the launcher)

[SirFozzie]

(Games others have mentioned: FM19, OOTP19, Pathfinder, X-Com 2, NBA 2K19)

Three that others haven't recommended.

Slay the Spire - Go get this card game on PC now, before it gets out of Early Access in January. It is addicting as hell, and fun stuff. I play a couple hours a day.

Marvel Puzzle Quest: A fun timewaster, they're finally adding new events, so it's finally moving forward.

Pac Man Championship Edition 2. Part reflex game, part follow the pattern, and part projecting where the ghosts will be for massive chains. The fact that you can play in 5 minute chunks means it's a good time-filler for when you don't want to sit down and spend an hour.

[SirFozzie]

Oh, and one that I forgot:

Battletech: Turn Based Strategy with giant shooty and punchy robots blowing each other up? Really Fun. Just released its first expansion with new mechs, a new sandbox style career mode (to go with the original story-based campaign), and a bunch of new stuff. HIGHLY recommended.

(and if any of you guys get it, I want a match )

[Groundhog]

Battle Brothers is brutal. I don't know if I'll ever forgive the devs for dropping it to move onto other things without a lot of the end-game stuff ever being developed, but it's perfectly playable as is and I've clocked over 100 hours on it.

Rimworld and Crusader Kings 2 are both good options too - I've been meaning to fire up both lately.

I'll throw an unconventional one out there - Madden. The most "fun" Madden experience I've had since the last one on PC (the Vick cover? Maybe). I'm in 2024 with the Browns, playing every game, where as I don't think I made it through more than 2 seasons with any recent Madden on my PS4.

[EagleFan]

No particular order:

OOTP 19

FM 18

The Witcher 3

[weegeebored]

Good thread.

1. Motorsports Manager with or without the Fire mod

2. OOTP Baseball -- I played an early version of this when it was released as Season Ticket Baseball sometime in the mid-2000s. I preferred PureSim but that is not longer being updated. Bought both '17 and '18 at the end of the season when they were less than 10 bucks. I love to play just the GM role and OOTP does not disappoint.

3. NASCAR 2003 with graphic updates and new carsets. This violates Arles' no LaRussa-type answers but this is still a good game and you don't need super modern hardware to run it.

Honorable mention would go to the NBA 2K series. I played the heck out of '11 and '16 which are the only two versions I purchased.

[jbergey22]

OOTP Baseball 19 - The series never seems to disappoint me. The hardest thing with it is actually deciding how to play with so many options.

TEW 16-Strangely addicted to this game despite not being a huge fan of wrestling and never really get too far into a career without wanting to switch gears.

DraftDay College Basketball-I am not sure why Gary's games dont get more love but they are well done and easy to play. I enjoy the college game a bit more than the NBA because I am more of a fan of NCAA basketball.

[Izulde]

1. Crusader Kings 2 - In an All-Time Games list, this one breaks the Top 5 easily, regardless of system. CK was amazing - CK2 even better with the DLCs. Also stellar mods like the Game of Thrones one I had a couple AARs for.

2. Draft Day Sports Pro Basketball and FBCB - I know FM gets a lot of love, but Gary's DDS:PB series is still the text-based sports sim I've clocked the most hours on. Second is FBCB. My dream basketball sim involves taking the best of Gary and Brian's respective games and melding them together. And yes, that's technically cheating to list 2 in 1, but they're so linked in my play time, I can't separate them.

3. Gold of the Americas: The Conquest of the New World - Reaching waaay back in my childhood for this one. Turn-based colonization game that was simple to play, but so.damn.addicting. IMO one of the most obscure and underrated titles of all time.

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Battle Brothers is brutal. I don't know if I'll ever forgive the devs for dropping it to move onto other things without a lot of the end-game stuff ever being developed, but it's perfectly playable as is and I've clocked over 100 hours on it.

They released an expansion the last week of November for it. I have not picked the expansion up yet due to the holidays and birthday.

[Arles]

Originally Posted by Izulde

3. Gold of the Americas: The Conquest of the New World - Reaching waaay back in my childhood for this one. Turn-based colonization game that was simple to play, but so.damn.addicting. IMO one of the most obscure and underrated titles of all time.

I loved this game. I think I used to play it back on my Apple IIe - that's a blast from the past alright. I remember playing that and the original Wizardy all the time.

[Marc Vaughan]

Ignoring my own games ...

1. Hearthstone - sorry but this is my current on-going addiction, I detest that it changes totally every new update as it means I never quite master it ... but its well built and a solid CCG.

2. Mutant Year Zero - this is a very professionally done turn based tactical game, its got a great story and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who likes X-Com and that ilk.

3. Templar Battleforce - fun little turn based tactical battle game, feels very 'Warhammer 40k' in styling and while limited is good fun and fairly challenging

[Eaglesfan27]

Great thread. Most of my choices have been already been stated but I will second a few of them:

NBA 2k19 - Still the best console franchise mode of any game. MyLeague is so much fun with insane customization options.

Rimworld - I just started playing but I'm blown away by how good it is.

Battletech: Great mech strategy game.


This thread has inspired my to check out Battle Brothers and Mutant Year Zero in the near future. I've heard good things about them both.

[spleen1015]

FYI OOTP19 is $4.99 right now.

[MizzouRah]

OOTP 19


Total War WH2


Frozen Synapse 2 (which I haven't played much but loved the first one)

[CrimsonFox]

1. Thief: THe Dark Project / Thief: Gold

2. Unreal / UNreal: Gold

3. Vermintide

[Bisbo]

A few others that haven't been mentioned yet:

1.The original Colonization. The graphics are ultra-basic, but it is a very challenging game requiring you to deal with the natives, other Euro colonists, and the homeland. Still play it on occasion.

2. Invisible Inc. A very cool stealth game with lots of challenging levels.

3. Balance of Power. A real oldie, but I loved playing the Cold War simulator.

[tarcone]

Cool.

I’m spending my time with:

Civ 5– I love this game. It does exactly what I want it to do. I have thousands of hours on this game.

Stellaris— another great exploration game. Really it’s 4x. But I really love the exploration.

Draft Day Sports: College Basketball— outstanding text sim. I really like playing this one.

[Bobble]

Originally Posted by Arles

I always enjoy the feedback here and was thinking of doing some PC gaming over the holidays. So, I wanted a way to check out some new (or even old) games that maybe I haven't given the time or focus to.

Lot's of my favorites already mentioned. OOTP, Dominions 5, Civ, etc.

One I haven't seen mentioned is Steel Panthers. It's old, but free. Platoon level WWII turn-based strategy. Hit up SP:WaW Depot (SP:WaW Depot - Steel Panthers: World at War Community Forum) and get set up with the latest fixes, upgrades, scenarios, and campaigns. Man, I wish someone would get ahold of this and just update the graphics.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

They released an expansion the last week of November for it. I have not picked the expansion up yet due to the holidays and birthday.

Oh my. Thank you - saw this the second my Christmas holidays began.

[GrantDawg]

As a part of my game-o-holicism, the many recommends on this thread made me buy Battle Brothers.

[Izulde]

Glad to hear about the Battle Brothers expansion, which I didn't know about. I indeed have a couple shorter dynasties about it. I'll have to pick it up when I get back into town, even though CK2 with recent Holy Fury expansion release is eating up my gaming time right now.