Western RPGs

[Mickeymac]

Alright, I've finally decided I'll try to get into Western RPGs. I've already played Eschaleon Book 1(wonderful game! Best CRPG I've played so far!), Mass Effect, Fable, Jade Empire, Diablo, Dues Ex, and most recently Fallout and Neverwinter Nights(worst one I've played so far. Yuck). Now, most of these game have been enjoyable so far, but asside from Eschaleon, none of them have been able to hold my interests. Being that, until recent years, I have tried my hardest to ignore WRPGs, I'm not exactly in the know on what games are out there, and which ones are generally held in high regard.

So, I thought I'd ask everyone here a quick Q: What are some good western RPGs that are primarily for the PC and aren't based on a licence?

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Dragon Age: Origins is a good recent one.

Baldur's Gate (the original) is a great one, but it's based on the AD&D 2nd Ed. / Forgotten Realms licence.

Planescape: Torment gets a lot of great press, but I can't vouch for it since I've never played it. I don't think it's based on any particular AD&D property, but it does use the system/rules.

[Mickeymac]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

Dragon Age: Origins is a good recent one.

Baldur's Gate (the original) is a great one, but it's based on the AD&D 2nd Ed. / Forgotten Realms licence.

Planescape: Torment gets a lot of great press, but I can't vouch for it since I've never played it. I don't think it's based on any particular AD&D property, but it does use the system/rules.

I actually just got Buldar's Gate 2 recently. I hear Eschaleon was a clone of it, so I certainly can't wait to boot it up.

And I've heard of that Planescape, although I don't know much about it. I'll have to look it up.

[Ouenben]

which fallout? Fallout 3 is quite slow to start out but gets better

[Mickeymac]

Originally Posted by Ouenben

which fallout? Fallout 3 is quite slow to start out but gets better

The first Fallout. It actually starts out pretty quick. I'm just not a huge fan of the gameplay(although it is much more involving and strategic than most games I've played so far, which is a huge plus).

[Ausden]

Well, you'll find a large amount of "strategy" games on the PC. In fact, more strategy than RPG unlike the consoles where it's the opposite. Check out my list of games (mostly strategy games) in the PC game section.

[Mickeymac]

Originally Posted by Ausden

Well, you'll find a large amount of "strategy" games on the PC. In fact, more strategy than RPG unlike the consoles where it's the opposite. Check out my list of games (mostly strategy games) in the PC game section.

Thanks, but I have enough RTSes at the moment. I'm just looking for an RPG that involves more than just "watch as two guys hit eachother until one of them dies".

[Ausden]

Originally Posted by Mickeymac

Thanks, but I have enough RTSes at the moment. I'm just looking for an RPG that involves more than just "watch as two guys hit eachother until one of them dies".

Ah, good to hear. Goodluck then!

[noobers]

I generally dislike RPGs, but I enjoyed Torchlight. There's a demo of it available on Steam. Some say it's a Diablo clone and I agree, but probably the best Diablo clone you'll come across.

[Mickeymac]

Originally Posted by noobers

I generally dislike RPGs, but I enjoyed Torchlight. There's a demo of it available on Steam. Some say it's a Diablo clone and I agree, but probably the best Diablo clone you'll come across.

There's a demo? I did not know that! Thanks man!

[kawaiipikachu]

Well one thing from what i heard many good westen RPGs are only released on the PC with With a certian chunk of them bassed on the Doungeons & Dragons 2 rule set .
If you got a decient enouth PC that can run games made in the past 15 years then these a wide verity of Westen RPGs to choose from .

as a side note the title " Western RPGs " gave me mental images of an RPG set in the wild west .

[Kiwi the Tortoise]

My recomendations:

Planescape Torment:
In my opinion it`s better than the Baldurs Gate series. The strange town of Sigil is far more interesting than everything those "Forgotten Realms" scenarios have to offer.

Ultima & Wizardry Series:
See the origins of computer-based RPG`s. Those games caused the existence of western & eastern RPG`s alike.

More specific:

Wizardry 7: Crusaders of the Dark Savant:
It`s the best part of the series. Great character & skill system. Lots of though puzzles to solve & a creative scenario.
And free, since it`s Abandonware by now & can be downloaded e.g. here: http://www.abandonia.com/ (You`ll need DosBox to play it though: http://www.dosbox.com/)

Ultima 4 - Quest of the Avatar:
This one might be a bit old-school, but it`s rather good. There is a free Fan-remake floating around which runs under Windows.

Ultima 6 - The False Prophet:
This one is very atmospheric & deep. The controls are rather unintuitive though. You can get it at Abandonia & runs with DosBox aswell.

Ultima 7 - Part I & II:
This game was split in two parts, The Black Gate (open world design) & The Serpents Isle (more story driven design).
They are both Abandonware & run fantastic on Exult (http://exult.sourceforge.net/) which even improves the games (less bugs, higher resolution, health bars, improved controls, optional round-based combat).
I highly recommend those two.

[SKTTR]

Originally Posted by Kiwi the Tortoise

My recomendations:

Planescape Torment:
In my opinion it`s better than the Baldurs Gate series. The strange town of Sigil is far more interesting than everything those "Forgotten Realms" scenarios have to offer.

Playing now Baldur's Gate (never played it before), but I played Planescape Torment before. I love this game! Hope to find it soon.
It's from the same developers BioWare.

[Kiwi the Tortoise]

I have another suggestion:

Albion:

It`s a SciFi-Fantasy RPG released in 1996.
A mining ship is on it`s way to a deserted planet. You are Tom Driscoll a pilot on the ship, your job is to take the govermental supervisor aboard to a scout flight over the planets surface.
This flight ends with a crash and the realization that the planet isn`t deserted at all. It`s swarming with life.
Your main target is to locate the ships landing spot, but obviously somebody on board tries to prevent that.

The game had a great atmosphere & the designers put lots of effort in the design of the alien species. The sound effects also need to be mentioned, since they are amazing (you`ll see what I mean once you passed your first fountain).

Highly recommended.

Since BlueByte is gone, the game is Abandonware too (http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/428/Albion.html) .
You should run it under DosBox.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by kawaiipikachu

Well one thing from what heard many good RPGs are only released on the PC with a chunk of them on the & Dragons 2 rule set If you got a PC that can run games made in the past 15 years then these a wide of RPGs to choose from as a side note the title Western RPGs gave me mental images of an RPG set in the wild west

... what?

[Mickeymac]

Originally Posted by Kiwi the Tortoise

I have another suggestion:

Albion:

It`s a SciFi-Fantasy RPG released in 1996.
A mining ship is on it`s way to a deserted planet. You are Tom Driscoll a pilot on the ship, your job is to take the govermental supervisor aboard to a scout flight over the planets surface.
This flight ends with a crash and the realization that the planet isn`t deserted at all. It`s swarming with life.
Your main target is to locate the ships landing spot, but obviously somebody on board tries to prevent that.

The game had a great atmosphere & the designers put lots of effort in the design of the alien species. The sound effects also need to be mentioned, since they are amazing (you`ll see what I mean once you passed your first fountain).

Highly recommended.

Since BlueByte is gone, the game is Abandonware too (http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/428/Albion.html) .
You should run it under DosBox.

Originally Posted by Kiwi the Tortoise

My recomendations:

Planescape Torment:
In my opinion it`s better than the Baldurs Gate series. The strange town of Sigil is far more interesting than everything those "Forgotten Realms" scenarios have to offer.

Ultima & Wizardry Series:
See the origins of computer-based RPG`s. Those games caused the existence of western & eastern RPG`s alike.

More specific:

Wizardry 7: Crusaders of the Dark Savant:
It`s the best part of the series. Great character & skill system. Lots of though puzzles to solve & a creative scenario.
And free, since it`s Abandonware by now & can be downloaded e.g. here: http://www.abandonia.com/ (You`ll need DosBox to play it though: http://www.dosbox.com/)

Ultima 4 - Quest of the Avatar:
This one might be a bit old-school, but it`s rather good. There is a free Fan-remake floating around which runs under Windows.

Ultima 6 - The False Prophet:
This one is very atmospheric & deep. The controls are rather unintuitive though. You can get it at Abandonia & runs with DosBox aswell.

Ultima 7 - Part I & II:
This game was split in two parts, The Black Gate (open world design) & The Serpents Isle (more story driven design).
They are both Abandonware & run fantastic on Exult (http://exult.sourceforge.net/) which even improves the games (less bugs, higher resolution, health bars, improved controls, optional round-based combat).
I highly recommend those two.

Thank ya kindly, Kiwi! Actually, I'm not sure if Abandonware is legal or not, but I got 'em anyways. Can't wait to play 'em, especially Albion!^_^

[noobers]

Originally Posted by Mickeymac

Thank ya kindly, Kiwi! Actually, I'm not sure if Abandonware is legal or not, but I got 'em anyways. Can't wait to play 'em, especially Albion!^_^

Abandonware isn't legal. I've reported your IP to the FBI; they're on their way...

The copyright ownership of abandonware is pretty unclear. The copyrights might not have been revoked, but the copyright left undefended.

[Kiwi the Tortoise]

Originally Posted by noobers

Abandonware isn't legal. I've reported your IP to the FBI; they're on their way...

The copyright ownership of abandonware is pretty unclear. The copyrights might not have been revoked, but the copyright left undefended.

I don't really care, since I got the original copys of those games

[MasterGH]

Originally Posted by Mickeymac

Neverwinter Nights(worst one I've played so far. Yuck).

Everyone else have given some good recommendations for what you're asking for, but I'm just curious, what didn't you like about NWN? I played that game for around 3-4 years offline and online...so I'm interested

The only thing I could think of initially to add would be Knights of the Old Republic, but that's licensed, so no go.

edit: Actually, I do have something to add. I was playing the demo of The Witcher just now. Pretty fun.

[Mickeymac]

Originally Posted by MasterGH

Everyone else have given some good recommendations for what you're asking for, but I'm just curious, what didn't you like about NWN? I played that game for around 3-4 years offline and online...so I'm interested

The only thing I could think of initially to add would be Knights of the Old Republic, but that's licensed, so no go.

edit: Actually, I do have something to add. I was playing the demo of The Witcher just now. Pretty fun.

To be fair, I didn't play much of Neverwinter Nights, and I guess it wasn't that bad, but it really wasn't my thing. It was far too confusing, the pacing was poor, the combat was alright, but it felt like something that others have done far better with. Plus, the blatant D&D references made it seem more like I was at a role-playing convention rather than playing a video game. Plus I picked the healer(by accident. I thought a cleric was a holy knight for some reason), so I didn't have much in the way of offensive abilities, and the fact that she wasn't dressed in a white cape with red trimmings just confounded me.


To be honest, I expected to get flooded with KOTOR recommendations if I hadn't put that "No Licenced games" restriction there. In fact, that's really the only reason why I put it there. Not that I'm not interested in it, I just wanted to hear people talk about different games.

I didn't know the Witcher had a demo. I'll be sure to check it out.

[MasterGH]

Originally Posted by Mickeymac

Plus, the blatant D&D references made it seem more like I was at a role-playing convention rather than playing a video game.

Hehe, well a game based as much on the DnD ruleset and world as NWN does tend to have those :P It does take a while to learn the system, but it helps if you have a little experience in the ruleset. NWN does not explain it very well in game at all (IMO)...games like KotOR do it much better.

To be honest, I found playing online with other people much more interesting than the official campaigns. They're at their worst between, say, level 1 and 6. The combat is pretty darn boring between those levels, which is why a lot of the more popular online servers make it very easy to get past those early ones.

Just a quick explanation, the cleric in unmodified play can be one of the most powerful classes. You need to use a whole lot of spells and abilities to 'buff' yourself first, but it works nicely in the end. The class you were probably looking for would be the Paladin, which is a lot easier to play in early levels than the Cleric.

[Mickeymac]

Originally Posted by MasterGH

Hehe, well a game based as much on the DnD ruleset and world as NWN does tend to have those :P It does take a while to learn the system, but it helps if you have a little experience in the ruleset. NWN does not explain it very well in game at all (IMO)...games like KotOR do it much better.

To be honest, I found playing online with other people much more interesting than the official campaigns. They're at their worst between, say, level 1 and 6. The combat is pretty darn boring between those levels, which is why a lot of the more popular online servers make it very easy to get past those early ones.

Just a quick explanation, the cleric in unmodified play can be one of the most powerful classes. You need to use a whole lot of spells and abilities to 'buff' yourself first, but it works nicely in the end. The class you were probably looking for would be the Paladin, which is a lot easier to play in early levels than the Cleric.

I didn't realize it was based on D&D until after I played it. It just seemed like a generic fantasy game to me.

I never really played it online, and I'd probably never get the chance at this point(it's been 8 years now, I doubt anyone still plays this game). However, the way the game is set up, it does seem more like a multiplayer-focused game.

Ack, I figured a paladin was some sort of wood elf. Well, too late, now. I'm not going back to that damn academy again. I'm sure I'll play it again someday, and when I do, I'll try to keep at it and see if I can get the White Ma- I mean cleric to become the kind of character I would enjoy using. The idea of being able to heal myself, give myself stat buffs(?), and summon the Undead sounds awesome.

[MasterGH]

Originally Posted by Mickeymac

I never really played it online, and I'd probably never get the chance at this point(it's been 8 years now, I doubt anyone still plays this game). However, the way the game is set up, it does seem more like a multiplayer-focused game.

Lots of people still play the game, actually. Partially because the sequel, developed by Obsidian (the guys who did KotOR 2) instead of BioWare, kinda let a lot of people down.

[Mickeymac]

Originally Posted by MasterGH

Lots of people still play the game, actually. Partially because the sequel, developed by Obsidian (the guys who did KotOR 2) instead of BioWare, kinda let a lot of people down.

Huh, never realized that. Maybe I'll try an online game someday. Thanks for the info, man.