As there was some serious discussion in the spam thread of the same title, here's a new one for you to use. :)
Mount & Blade
D&D Online
For everything else it's xbox 360 or nDS.
To paraphrase Palin, "I reinstall all my games!"
Half-Life 2. The first time I played that game the presentation totally wowed me. I love the atmosphere and it's, IMO, one of the better looking FPS franchises out there, in terms of art-direction.
Freedom Force and Freedom Force Vs the Third Reich. Last time I had to re-purchase them because the disks gave me an error. But I got em from Steam for the cheap.
They're dated now, but the mods are awesome and the fun is mad, it got superheroes better than COH (I like COH don't get me wrong) but smashing buildings, throwing cars--that's part of superhero fights.
I'd like to see an MMO get that much right. (Heck the Xbox game Crackdown lets me pick up and throw bodies, cars, etc...)
Soldier of Fortune 2. Diablo 2. Rollercoaster Tycoon 2. Railroad Tycoon 3.
Not sure why sequels seems to make the reinstall cut, tho.
I thought the FF games were better than CoH. Though it's not really a fair comparison. :D
I liked the CoH setting, found I could tolerate the stupid named characters, but the gameplay was really thin. After a few levels the powers just become copies of themselves, and largely unsuperheroic. The blaster had variations on damage vs cooldown for example. Combat at times was too chaotic for the format (especially if you're trying to heal people). I tried a variety of characters and the supervillain stuff wa much more interesting (though much the same ultimately). Some people on rpg.net thought it really deep, but i couldn't see the strategic depth even though the setting and the stories were well done. Consequently I just got bored, which is a shame (as I had the specs, and may still have, to run it!).
Oddly i've just started playing Star Wars Galaxies again on their fortnight free trial. I haven't played it in years, since before they changed it all. I braced myself for disappointment (even though the original model was a ridiculous grindfest, for all it's depth), it's actually not that bad at all. There are some issues - the targeting system is bizarre. But overall it's actually very playable even though they appear to have ditched their old model in favour of a warcraft levelling-get-abilites-get talent points (ie 'expertise') model. Not very original, but it works so why not. Seems like the best of both worlds! :D
I created a Sullustan Smuggler who has some funky abilities - he can search for special loot called contraband, summon a fellow smuggler npc who fights with him for a while and has some cool pistol abilities. I'm wondering, 7 years on and they are still supporting the game, quite why it still gets all the ire it did. Obviously it won't overtake Warcraft, but then nothing will. Perhaps there's a whole load of broken stuff that's just not readily apparent. I guess with all games YMMV. I used to play ccg's with people who were world champions, but they spent all their time breaking games in ways people who weren't so perceptive and clued up would never have; ignorance is bliss!
I do a yearly re-install of Starcraft. Also Angband and Escape Velocity.
Civ 4 and the expansions always get reinstalled for me. Warlords 2 and 3 also.
I need to dig up my copy of Mechwarrior III. Mechwarrior IV was teh suck!!11! when Micro(soft/prose) picked it up.
Also, I found out there is a thriving community for SW Battlefront II modders, so I need to pick that one up. Not a re-install, but an older game that I never installed in the first place.
Quote from: StormBringer;357250I need to dig up my copy of Mechwarrior III. Mechwarrior IV was teh suck!!11! when Micro(soft/prose) picked it up.
Mech3 was definitely better than 4 in terms of sp campaign, but it was kind of underwhelming after the awesomeness of the Mech2 series (especially since it went from having one of the best soundtracks in gaming history to...two meh tracks on the disk).
Quote from: Peregrin;357251Mech3 was definitely better than 4 in terms of sp campaign, but it was kind of underwhelming after the awesomeness of the Mech2 series (especially since it went from having one of the best soundtracks in gaming history to...two meh tracks on the disk).
Even with the blocky-ish graphics, I wouldn't mind firing up MWII again, either.
MW4 just botched the whole thing, though. I mean, limiting where I can put weapons? WTF? Tricking out your 'mech was 70% of the fun. Almost as much as stripping down a 50 ton chassis and loading up with a med or small laser and the biggest engine available. Nothing like zipping past your enemies at 200kph+ on a strafing run. :)
Mechwarrior 5 is rumoured to be out soon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJU4iA4TWIs .. (unless they get sued out of existence by Harmony Gold)
Quote from: tellius;357255Mechwarrior 5 is rumoured to be out soon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJU4iA4TWIs .. (unless they get sued out of existence by Harmony Gold)
Holy balls, I forgot about that. The first time I saw that trailer, I had to take a break before I shit myself and passed out from the massive boner. :)
Quote from: StormBringer;357250Also, I found out there is a thriving community for SW Battlefront II modders, so I need to pick that one up. Not a re-install, but an older game that I never installed in the first place.
Last time I was mucking about with SWBF2 mods, the coolest one I found was called, "Order 66," or something. You could either play the clones offing Jedi or vice versa. Brutal, quick action but Jedi AI could never quite cope with the concept of rocket launchers or explosives used as land mines.
Stupid, linear-thinking Jedi.
Quote from: Danger;357270Last time I was mucking about with SWBF2 mods, the coolest one I found was called, "Order 66," or something. You could either play the clones offing Jedi or vice versa. Brutal, quick action but Jedi AI could never quite cope with the concept of rocket launchers or explosives used as land mines.
Stupid, linear-thinking Jedi.
I grabbed the mod kit for SWBF2 so I could play around. I didn't realize that the pathing and much of the AI is wrapped up in the level design. I would have assumed the bot AI handled the movement and had built in rules for priorities and environmental interaction. The way it looks, the bot AI has rudimentary goal seeking, and is largely guided by the hints designed into the individual level.
Steel Panthers: World at War
Championship Manager 2001/2002 with updates
Crusader Kings
Civ III
Angband, ToME, Zangband
Duke Nukem 3D
Heroes of Might and Magic IV
Playing through the original Maw Payne again right now, and one game I've kept reinstalling over the years is Grim Fandango, which I still consider my favorite.
Quote from: StormBringer;357253MW4 just botched the whole thing, though. I mean, limiting where I can put weapons? WTF? Tricking out your 'mech was 70% of the fun. Almost as much as stripping down a 50 ton chassis and loading up with a med or small laser and the biggest engine available. Nothing like zipping past your enemies at 200kph+ on a strafing run. :)
The problem with Mech3 is that they tried too hard to translate canon tabletop values which were designed for turn-based play into a real-time game. Mech4, while it didn't really have as much flexibility or a "sim" feel, ended up having a more satisfying multiplayer component because you couldn't strip all the armor off a Daishi, load it up on guass rifles, and then alpha-strike even the most heavily armored mech for an insta-kill. That sort of stuff didn't really make for exciting or dynamic multiplayer games, and you had to place a lot of restrictions on variants for leagues and whatnot.
off the top of my head:
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri - transhuman Civilization on another planet, regular Civilization just doesn't do it for me after this game
Crimson Skies (I'm due for this one soon, winter's great for it)
King of a Dragon Pass (only thing lacking here is multi-player but the design is so sublime that's ok)
Steel Panthers & its free remakes
Wargame Construction Set III: Age of Rifles (have to break out DOSBox for this one)
Quote from: Peregrin;357399The problem with Mech3 is that they tried too hard to translate canon tabletop values which were designed for turn-based play into a real-time game. Mech4, while it didn't really have as much flexibility or a "sim" feel, ended up having a more satisfying multiplayer component because you couldn't strip all the armor off a Daishi, load it up on guass rifles, and then alpha-strike even the most heavily armored mech for an insta-kill. That sort of stuff didn't really make for exciting or dynamic multiplayer games, and you had to place a lot of restrictions on variants for leagues and whatnot.
I can see that. I didn't get into multi-player too much, so I just pimped the shit out of a 'mech and went against 2-4 larger tonnages for kicks. Sometimes I just wanted to see how long I could last against two Atlas 'mechs, or something else in the 100 tonne range. :)
Quote from: Casey777;357525Crimson Skies (I'm due for this one soon, winter's great for it)
Wargame Construction Set III: Age of Rifles (have to break out DOSBox for this one)
Yes and yes on these; loved the Zulu based scenario(s) in Age of Rifles as they reminded me of a Space Hulk game or two I've had.
Rome: Total War and Barbarian Invasion
Medieval 2 Total War
Awesome games, that series.
Alpha Centauri
Civilization 4
Deus Ex
Also this Battlezone game I got for a dollar... I really like it but there's a ridiculous mission in it that I have never been able to beat... and I end up playing till I get that far, quit out of frustration after a hundred attempts... and uninstall for a year or so.
Quote from: brettmb;357392Duke Nukem 3D
Heroes of Might and Magic IV
I've played HoMM 3 a lot; what's different about 4? I saw recently that I could pick them both up in a 2-pack pretty cheap.
Right now on my machine:
Halo: Combat Evolved
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Diablo II
Quote from: Halloween Jack;365493I've played HoMM 3 a lot; what's different about 4? I saw recently that I could pick them both up in a 2-pack pretty cheap.
I actually have HoMM 3, but never played it, because I found 4 for less money on ebay the next day. Just my luck. Now I did play the hell out of v2.
I think 4 adds more flexibility with character classes in that they can be mixed. I think there's also more creatures and better graphics.
Now that I found my X Wing / Tie Fighter collection again, you goddam straight that they're hard-drive bound.
I just need to (probably) get another joystick.
Diablo 2, Evil Genius, Rome Total War, NOLF 1&2
As a slight twist to the opening question: I have a game I would love to install in the first place but my laptop won't run it. Overlord. Driving me crazy. :mad:
Quote from: winkingbishop;368670As a slight twist to the opening question: I have a game I would love to install in the first place but my laptop won't run it. Overlord. Driving me crazy. :mad:
Hah! In a similar vein, thanks to the miracles of time and technology, all the games I bought years ago (when I had a low-powered PC which couldn't cut the mustard for the then new releases) run great now! I'm still finding games that I bought for just such an eventuality.
Quote from: winkingbishop;368670As a slight twist to the opening question: I have a game I would love to install in the first place but my laptop won't run it. Overlord. Driving me crazy. :mad:
I wouldn't bother.
The games that have me locked in a lifelong cycle of love-hate:
Age of Empires 2
Commandos 2
Sid Meier's Pirates
Hitman games
I also have a soft spot for the early Tomb Raiders. I doubt I could get them to run on win7, but if I could I would reinstall.
Dark Corners of the Earth and Nocturne.