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So, I have a brand new gaming PC arriving next week, one of these. I mostly got it for the huge screen for graphic design and video editing and some 3D sculpting, but I also splurged and got one of those new Nvidia 1070 cards in it, so it oughta be a more than ample game system.. Can anyone recommend any uberly awesome PC games? And preferably not something that’s also available for Xbone too? I like shooters as long as it’s not just multiplayer, since I suck too bad, and I like war games like starcraft. I steer clear of MMOs these days as I just don’t have the free time they require. I was thinking about getting The Division but since that’s out for Xbox I would probably rather play that on my sofa. I also don’t want to get a game where it was clearly made for a console, so PC controls are sucky. Any ideas?

DOOM.

 BrookM wrote:
DOOM.

qft - potentially infinite craic due to snoopmoop

XCOM 2 is a good option if you like turn based strategy; it's a massive improvement over the remake

As BrookM said, DOOM 2016 has a fantastic single player campaign

A heavily modded Fallout 4 can also be a lot of fun, but ironing out all its mistakes with mods can take forever and take a toll on your PC

I'd recommend Overwatch, but that is a multiplayer only shooter, so probably not your cup of tea

That's mostly it for releases this year, apart from some small indie releases such as Stories: The Path of Destinies, and Enter the Gungeon


I'm having a brain freeze right now when it comes to great games for some reason, but I'll add some more when I think of them

G.A

EDIT: I found my brain! BFG Armada, Undertale, Vermintide, Homeworld Remastered and Deserts of Kharak, Superhot, Darkest Dungeon, Space Marine, Bulletstorm, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger, Tales From the Borderlands, Hitman Blood Money. Some of these are quite old, but they're the ones I've had the most fun with in recent memory. Hope you find something you like!

Well, Metacritic is a good start to see what is good now.
http://www.metacritic.com/browse/games/score/metascore/year/pc?sort=desc&year_selected=2016
Or look on Steam for the high rated:
http://store.steampowered.com/search/?sort_by=Reviews_DESC&os=win&supportedlang=english

So, it really depends on what style of game you like.
I will list a few games I found fun for a number of reasons and that had a fair bit of game time.
Hard to say how many of these were a "port" in the last few years they develop the various interface simultaneously if they know what they are doing.

First person solo games:
Borderlands2 (funny)
BioShock Infinite
Skyrim
Dishonored
Doom (the new one).
Fallout 4

3rd person:
Witcher 3
Grand Theft Auto 5
Batman: Arkham Origins
Grim Dawn
Diablo 3 (it is NOW good).
Bastion
No Man's Sky

Strategy:
X-com enemy unknown and Xcom 2.
Civilization 4 maybe 5.
FTL
Rimworld (if you liked anything like Dwarven Fortress).

I got Fallout 4 for Xbox, so I don't wanna replay that all over again even though it's awesome. I was planning to get Doom for Xbox also maybe when I see it on sale. I mostly prefer consoles cuz I'm old and I'd rather sit on my comfy sofa, but I like PC game quality and keyboards better that game controllers. Maybe I'll look into Xcom 2.. I really liked the last one.

I don't know if I'd characterize XCOM 2 as being a massive improvement on all things from XCOM: Enemy Unknown/Within - but it's hard to overstate how great the quality of life and environmental destruction changes are, and since I can't stop playing it or bring myself to go back for another round of Long War, I'm going to throw my hat in for that one too. The modding community especially is brilliant; it can be like playing a whole new game. You play a couple of campaigns to learn how to deal with enemies efficiently, find a preferred tech and upgrade path, maybe try out some wacky new combos...and then you download a mod that adds new enemies and AI, and suddenly that stun lancer suddenly has a shotgun too and he remembers how to use it. Or it adds in a couple of new mission types and you're rescuing someone from prison in the middle of a rioting city, with bonus rookie redshirts showing up halfway through to help distract the constant waves of enemy reinforcements. Or it adds a fatigue system so you're not using the same team over and over - or or or...

Or maybe it just adds some new helmets and balaclavas.

 Spinner wrote:
I don't know if I'd characterize XCOM 2 as being a massive improvement on all things from XCOM: Enemy Unknown/Within - but it's hard to overstate how great the quality of life and environmental destruction changes are, and since I can't stop playing it or bring myself to go back for another round of Long War, I'm going to throw my hat in for that one too. The modding community especially is brilliant; it can be like playing a whole new game. You play a couple of campaigns to learn how to deal with enemies efficiently, find a preferred tech and upgrade path, maybe try out some wacky new combos...and then you download a mod that adds new enemies and AI, and suddenly that stun lancer suddenly has a shotgun too and he remembers how to use it. Or it adds in a couple of new mission types and you're rescuing someone from prison in the middle of a rioting city, with bonus rookie redshirts showing up halfway through to help distract the constant waves of enemy reinforcements. Or it adds a fatigue system so you're not using the same team over and over - or or or...

Or maybe it just adds some new helmets and balaclavas.

Not on all things, but mechanically most certainly - EU and EW had a bucketload of broken and frustrating mechanics that have mostly been addressed in XCOM 2, and as you said XCOM 2 is more accessible to modders, so you can customise the game a lot more. The story may not do it for you, and I wouldn't blame you considering XCOM has always been about defending the world from invaders, not taking it back, but personally I like it a lot.

I've added a whole load of games to my first post if you want to take a glance OP

I'd second xcom2 (though the psychic operatives you get are easily game-breakingly good).

I'm enjoying overwatch quite a bit.

Doom was a surprisingly good time as well.

Total War: Warhammer was extremely fun, though as an outsider to the franchise it had a steep learning curve.

I got mordheim: city of the damned during the summer sale, and I haven't gotten far into it, but it seems pretty good, very similar to x com.

Witcher 3 is a lot of fun, if you haven't played that.

I have Overwatch for Xbox too.. love it, but taking a break. Would be nice if I could be allowed to play it on PC since I own it for Xbox and it's connected to battlenet and all. I might try Total War Warhammer eventually. Is Eternal Crusade any good?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh, and wasn't there a Warmachine PC game? or is it not out yet?

 General Annoyance wrote:

 Spinner wrote:
I don't know if I'd characterize XCOM 2 as being a massive improvement on all things from XCOM: Enemy Unknown/Within - but it's hard to overstate how great the quality of life and environmental destruction changes are, and since I can't stop playing it or bring myself to go back for another round of Long War, I'm going to throw my hat in for that one too. The modding community especially is brilliant; it can be like playing a whole new game. You play a couple of campaigns to learn how to deal with enemies efficiently, find a preferred tech and upgrade path, maybe try out some wacky new combos...and then you download a mod that adds new enemies and AI, and suddenly that stun lancer suddenly has a shotgun too and he remembers how to use it. Or it adds in a couple of new mission types and you're rescuing someone from prison in the middle of a rioting city, with bonus rookie redshirts showing up halfway through to help distract the constant waves of enemy reinforcements. Or it adds a fatigue system so you're not using the same team over and over - or or or...

Or maybe it just adds some new helmets and balaclavas.

Not on all things, but mechanically most certainly - EU and EW had a bucketload of broken and frustrating mechanics that have mostly been addressed in XCOM 2, and as you said XCOM 2 is more accessible to modders, so you can customise the game a lot more. The story may not do it for you, and I wouldn't blame you considering XCOM has always been about defending the world from invaders, not taking it back, but personally I like it a lot.

I've added a whole load of games to my first post if you want to take a glance OP

Like I said, I can't make myself go back and do another Long War run - I'd miss reloading not ending my turn, blowing up all cover all the time and dropping people through roofs, actual melee attacks, and having a little more agency on mission selection too much. My two biggest complaints about XCOM 2 are Tygan being a bland, disappointing replacement for Vahlen and the art direction of most of the DLC.

When you get right down to it, those aren't very big complaints.

I'll second FTL, too, and add that I'd probably be playing Stellaris if XCOM wasn't eating my game time. It's a fun grand strategy sandboxy game that, at least for me, is a lot more accessible than the other game from that company I tried to play (Crusader Kings 2). Total Warhammer is fun but one that I'd probably wait on so you can get some DLC races on sale - it's not been the all-consuming Cave of Wonders that I was kinda hoping for, but it is quite good, especially with a couple of mods turned on so you can play as non-Legendary Lord factions (I had a no-name bunch of forest goblins slowly start to take over the Grey Mountains in one playthrough, and in another I led the Border Princes to annex Averheim and burn down Karaz-a-Karak after Grimgor took it).

 Necros wrote:
Is Eternal Crusade any good?

It's split the crowd for the most part - a lot of people say it's a great MMO that does a lot of justice to the license, and a lot of people say the exact opposite. Best to try it for yourself, but keep in mind it's still not a finished product.

Have a few more older games you can try - Ground Control 2, Evil Genius, Insurgency, Warhammer 40k: Final Liberation, Warhammer 40K: Armageddon, and Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, Generals and it's expansion Zero Hour, and Red Alert 3

Speaking of C&C, a small studio called Totem Arts remade the Renegade FPS (set in the Tiberium universe) that came out in the early 2000's as a free to play with permission from EA. And by Free to Play, I mean straight up free; no micro transactions or subscriptions. A very unique FPS if you've never played it before, and I highly recommend it. Too bad the community is very small

 Spinner wrote:
My two biggest complaints about XCOM 2 are Tygan being a bland, disappointing replacement for Vahlen and the art direction of most of the DLC

Stick around to buy the Alien Hunters DLC; you may be pleasantly surprised...

If you don't know about it already, that is

G.A

Oh, I've got all of them. Not a huge fan of the aesthetics of the new weapons or armor, or the way half the weapons are straight upgrades - I want to use my cool Grimy's Loot stuff, not this somehow irreplaceable axe! The mechanics of the rulers themselves are pretty cool, but I think I would have preferred them as a 'miniboss' sort of thing, honestly. Something that'll only last a couple missions, not as horrifically devastating if it gets off a special move (I'm looking at you, Archon King), and shows up more frequently.

Maybe even two at once if the game REALLY hates you?

Or did you mean the plot twist that kicks the whole thing off?



Anarchy's Children is pretty dire overall, too...but Shen's Last Gift is good! If you only get one XCOM 2 DLC, get that one.

Darkest Dungeon if you're a masochist. Pretty fun 2D dungeon crawler, but with real effects like stress and people snapping and freaking out.

Solid tactical dungeon crawler.

 Necros wrote:

Oh, and wasn't there a Warmachine PC game? or is it not out yet?

Its out and it pretty much bombed.

I'll be really boring and say WoW.

Yeah, I know, but a new expansion drops in 27 days and it may be worth a look.

I went back to WOW a few months ago, the last time I played before was when the lich king was released. Overall I felt like it wasn't worth the monthly fee anymore and got bored and requit after a month or so. I tried making a panda character from scratch, and it was fun seeing all of the changes they made to the old world, but what bugged me the most was when I got Outland it was like the same exact 10 year old game and graphics, all the new items I was getting had old timey low res looking textures and overall it just felt cheap. I'm sure newer content is better, but they really should have updated that too.

Maybe I'll check it out again in a while after the new expansion has been around a while and it's cheaper, or if they make it free to play. I prefer Wildstar actually as far as MMO's go, since it's free

Witcher 3 would probably be absolutely gorgeous on a big screen with a 1070 powering it.

Already played through that on Xbone too but yeah it would. I think I would prefer a relaxy console version when it comes to really long adventure games. Maybe I will check out doom, playing with a keyboard is better for shooters anyhow

Total War franchise is pretty awesome. I'd again recommend modded Fallout 4 along with modded Fallout 3 and New Vegas.
Torchlight is a nice RPG series.
Pillars of Eternity is also fantastic.
Borderlands 1 and 2 are both very good.
Edit: Forgot to mention. Mechwarrior Online is fantastic. Can't believe I forgot it...

While it's not out yet, so it might end up being bad, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided hits store shelves in a couple of weeks.

Witcher 3 is absolutely mandatory for any PC gamer.

Total War Warhammer

XCOM 2

Hopefully Deus Ex Mankind Divided

Doom

Pillars Of Eternity
The new DOOM
Xcom 2
The Witcher 3 and its exspansions
Armoured Warfare

I like shooters as long as it’s not just multiplayer, since I suck too bad, and I like war games like starcraft.

Doom
Total War: WH
Maybe Bloodbowl?
Civ 5 stills great
Deus ex 1 & 3
DoW 2/retri
HL1/2
Space Hulk
Xcom 1/2
Bioshock 1/2
Dead Island
Alien Isolation
Fallout 3/4/Vegas
Dragon Age 1/2/3


PS some of these are "old". Not sure if you want thumping gfx or gameplay. But all of the above are truely great PC games imo.

Tw warhammer
War thunder
Star trek online
Endless space

Avoid bfg at all costs, it's buggy, horribly balanced, seems to have been all but abandoned by Devs in terms of coms and actual balance issues, don't waste your money.

Got my new PC yesterday.. wow.. this thing is massive and hella awesome. And heavy too. Only complaint is the internal speakers sound sucky, but I was expecting that.

I downloaded the Doom demo and it played great, full screen 3440x1440 maxed settings and it played super smooth. Dunno what my FPS #’s were like. But having played the demo.. I think it’s the kind of game I would enjoy more for Xbox, on my sofa. I think I’ll prefer something more like Xcom 2 on my PC, I liked Xcom 1 a lot. I looked that up and I think it was $60 on steam… should I just get it now, or wait for a sale? Do they do sales for newer games often, or mostly just for old stuff? I haven’t used Steam much since I mostly play on consoles.

Wait for a sale. I rarely buy games from steam otherwise. Should be a sale (mostly for horror games) in October, afterwards in winter. Midweek/publisher sales can be interesting from time to time.

I'd recommend looking at Starcraft 2. Campaigns are decent - great (story is a bit underwhelming) and if you don't want to play ranked you can always try co-op mission against the AI. The price is rather high to get all three campaigns and DLC at once, but there should be a third party site that sells them under more acceptable price.

I've had a blast with Grim Dawn, it's an ARPG tho.

Mordheim looks great. My GPU is dated so I haven't bought it yet.

Hard West is another turn based tactical game, set in the Wild West. If you can get it for 50% off, it's well worth it.

Bioshock and Deus Ex to satisfy your FPS need?

They have been doing "weekend" deals and "publisher" deals during the summer (usually the slow season for games) so it may be worth the wait.

I think we were past their huge "summer sale".

Not sure what to recommend now... Xbox1 has the new Doom for it and that would have been great to see on a computer of that horsepower.

"No man's sky" is going to be out in about a day.
That one is a highly anticipated game.

Wasteland 2 maybe?

Elite Dangerous has a good look to it and feels more like a "PC game".

Dishonored I still say is worthy for the PC... not sure if you have for console.

You had mentioned StarCraft 2 and add-ons: still a very good game.

TotalWar: Warhammer may be the best shot for using the uber computer powers available.

Funny, I had not noticed that so many games are on console that the "rarity" is to find those that are PC only.

"Path of Exile" is a worthy "Diablo 2" flavor game that is free (!!) the only money you would spend is for pretty effects or to expand an already large storage.

Dragon Age: Inquisition is pretty and has some depth to it.

Now that the paid mods have been abolished, Skyrim with the various fan-base updates could be amazing looking on that new computer.

I would say in the same vein, if you like science fiction, then Fallout 4 is like Skyrim: lots of mods to make the game look and work better and can show off the PC engine.

Best I can think of.

I'm a little bummed, I redownloaded Diablo 3 on my new PC and Blizzard won't allow you to play it in Ultrawide resolutions :( Same with SC2 so I'm not gonna download that just yet. Something about Blizzard saying it's an unfair advantage to see more stuff on the left and right of your screen. I dunno about WoW or Overwatch, but I play OW on my xbox.. not sure I wanna pay a monthly fee for wow though, I'd probably just play for a month or so then quit again... wouldn't mind if it was free to play. Monthly fee seems too high to me when I only log on a couple times a week.

I'd reccomend the remastered Metro 2033. It's absolutely gorgeus on high graphics.