New to the dark side. Help needed.
Looking for a third person RPG with a good story but not to much hack and slash. Not too old and with good graphics. There are so may out there I'm a bit lost.

Hi anne and welcome to the darkside! A big favorite here is The Witcher (Enhanced, which is the second release of the game). Third person, nice graphics, good story line which changes according to choices you make so it's replayable, and there's more finesse to the fighting than most hack and slash RPGs. Point and click or keyboard, your choice.

Yep, I'd second that! I loaded it just to see if it would run, and have been playing playing playing since then.

Nickie introduced me to Divine Divinity a few years back, which is also a really fun game. But it is a bit older now

Thanks Nickie & Looney4labs for the recommendations.

Have read up on The Witcher & it sounds very good.

Hi anne2

I'm a good example of a Darkside convert. Before getting into RPG's and FPS's I was a total purest about gaming. I only went for certain adventure games that exhibited the same style as the Myst series. There were two games that pulled me into other gaming genres; the original Neverwinter Nights and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

Never Winter Nights has the older style graphics with an isometric view, but its storyline and dialogue are great.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic has more updated graphics, although not as amazing as the "next-gen" games of today it can still hold it's own IMHO. It also has a storyline and dialogue that is truly engaging and keeps you wanting more.

Battle of some sort is pretty much par for the course with many RPG's. To be candid, the trick is losing your fear of death What I mean is that it's OK to die a number of times until you figure out the right strategy to get through a scene. In some cases that might mean going back to an earlier save to better develop your character. That's what is fun about some RPG's, you learn as you go and sometimes you may even find yourself starting the game over because you just had an "aha!" moment and decide, "This time I'm going to do it right!"

If you’re not used to RPG's and such, just remember to save often. You'll develop your own style, but this may help in the beginning. Generally, I'll rotate through 3-5 save games keeping one as a "Reserve" from the very beginning of a particular quest just in case I get through a particularly long one and find out I messed up royal right at the very beginning. Then I just rotate through the others saving whenever entering a dangerous or unknown situation. Sometimes the course of a dialogue will change the outcome as well, so many times I'll save before engaging a key character in conversation.

Hope that helps out too

Hi Trail Mystic
Thank you so much for the feedback and advice, really sweet of you.

Think I have a lot to look forward to as RPG's seem to have more depth than the rather short adventure games that have been coming out lately.

Oh yes Anne2, you'll spend much longer in the RPG's, and you'll have so much fun

Some of them are really excellent value for the money. For example, I'm playing The Witcher for the fourth time, because you can make different decisions in it and have different things occur in the game because of those decisions. Even this fourth time through I am finding different things in the game, and no doubt I'm still missing some things.

Anne2

What Nickie didn't tell you is that she is hooked on Geralt, as we all are we are playing this game
And the darkside is much more fun.

maggie

But of course!

Anne, you might like Gothic 2. It has a large varied landscape to explore and a great story. The combat is pretty simple. It is a favorite with a lot of us.

And there's LOOT....adventure games have such practicule inventory (ladders and such) but RPG's have LOOT...good for the shops and stuffing in storage or throwing about your room. AND AND you get to steal it, sneakedity sneak.

I should actually qualify my statement about being a past purest about adventure games, that's not altogether true. Back in my Commodore 64 days I also played the RPG's based on the D&D adventures, but those are a different animal from what is available today.

Another RPG to look into is Morrowind. I believe the Game of the Year (referred to as the GotY version) version is still available for sale and I think they may have even brought the strategy guide back into print again for a short time. Again the graphics are not as impressive as the next-gen games of today, but the story and wide ranging nature of the game make it a true classic. The GotY version contains the two expansions and will allow for literally months worth of game play as you wander the lands of Vvardenfell.

I haven't played Morrowwind, but I know my son spent many many months playing it

Looting is so much fun. The first time I played an RPG my son told me to break every barrel etc and I was like, "I can't do that. It's rude." Oh how I've changed

Ahhhhh. A new convert to the Dark Side. Join usss, join ussss nowwww...

Welcome. I, too, was once an adventure game purist, and a few years back I was bemoaning the fate of the adventure game, which seemed to be dying out in favour of (*sniff*) sword and sorcery games with (*sniff*) fighting, and, and other silly stuff.

Then I discovered Baldur's Gate. Hah. The first time a mage in my Baldur's Gate party cast a spell I was hooked. And then there's all the shiny stuff, and dragons, and later I discovered you could be a thief...or a mage...or even be evil, if you wanted.

There are many great RPG's to be played, and lots of good people here to give you help when you need it.

Enjoy.

Thanks so much everyone, gameboomers are really the best.
Gothic 2 sounds about right for me at the moment.
Will check out the others as well.

Gothic 2 is great -- one of my favourites. Do you have Gothic 1? Gothic 2 would make more sense from a story viewpoint if you've played the first one. It isn't insurmountable, though.

If you need help, just yell.

You should look into Gothic Universe, which has all the Gothic games (1,2 and 3) plus the Night of the Raven expansion to Gothic 2. A lot of good gaming there. I liked Gothic 2 the best, but the others were very good too.

Have managed to get Gothic Universe. Just started but am having a lot of fun.

Have a great time anne!

anne-

Hope that you try Witcher Enhanced, great game all around, I cannot think of one fault it has. And you will fall for Geralt. But the game is the best RPG I have ever played.

Good luck and have a great time anne

maggie

Hi Maggie & Nickie

Will certainly try Witcher Enhanced, sounds intriguing.

There really is a whole new world out there with RPG's, now I know why there is just not enough time for playing.

I will throw my suggestion in for Morrowind (Elder Scrolls 3) as well. The gameplay is non linear and offers wide open exploration. You can travel along roads or head out cross-country. For faster travel in some locations, you can catch a boat, a slit strider, or be transported by a mage in one of the Mage's Guilds. There are things to discover EVERYWHERE, and MANY different factions you can join - all of which have their own quests. And yes, you will be playing for months. You can even keep playing after you have completed the main quest (which is kind of weird).

It's one of the best games I have come across. The Gothic series is good also. Lots of side quests, it's non linear, and offers wide open exploration. Two Worlds and Oblivion (Elder Scrolls 4) are also worth playing, and are very similar to Morrowind (although not as good in my opinion). These are not "quick" games though, so you will have to be willing to devote the time to it if you want to beat it.

Cat

Thanks for the suggestions Cat.

Hi Anne2 we haven't chatted since Nikopol. Good to hear from you again. Well, my curiousity peaked from all the chat about Witcher enhanced and Sacred 2 so after many years of not playing rpg games I have returned once again. I find the idea, in Sacred 2 of playing a seraphin angel riding a tiger quite fun.

As for Geralt the leading character you play in Witcher, it is not his looks that appeal to me, it is that deep sexy voice of his. I have never heard such a voice and it is a voice you never forget. Can anyone can show me a picture of the man that voice belongs to I am quite curious? WOW!

Oh and we get to choose Anne2 whether he gets married or remains single. As for my choice, I keep his eyes off of any serious romance of a woman, and he will remain single. He is a player in more sense of the word!

Witcher enhanced plays like a movie and the graphics are eye candy all the way. These are my favorite rpg games thus far. Please let us know what you choose. BTW you can play a free demo of both games that is what hooked me and quickly purchased both games.

Sherryah