Arroe

So I'm your clueless average guy when it comes to games these days. I'm going off to college next month though and just got a new laptop with a 1.86ghz processor, 1.25 GB ram, 128mb graphics card, and whatever the best screen was for the pc. I know laptops aren't the best for gaming but it's practical for college and, even though the processor speed isn't incredible compared to a desktop, the extra stick of ram I threw in helped a lot and this computer is fast as hell.

Now that you know what I'm working with, I could use your help in finding a game right for me. I used to be big into games when I was in junior high and high school, I played Everquest for a few years and was addicted to that (honestly, it was scary), and liked playing all the GTA games for a little bit. I took a break and now find myself busy most of the time with my job, guitars, school, and social life, but I'm looking for something fun that someone with just a little time to burn can mess around with. I have been out of the gaming loop for a bit, but I know I don't want another MMORPG because I know those take way too much time and aren't much for the casual player, ruling out WoW and EQ2. What I want is something I can hack away at a little bit at a time but that can still keep me interested. I might have 30 minutes in between classes to play around, or an hour at night. Sorry if this has been covered before, I tried looking at other posts but like I said I am so out of the loop that I have no idea what anyone is talking about. So to all you gaming gurus out there, please lend me your suggestions!

CityOfAngels

Might I recommend Sid Meier's Pirates! This is one of those games that you can just pick up and start playing at any time. You get to plunder and/or sink ships; shoot cannons from one ship to another; sword-duel with ship captains, fort guards, bar drunks, and jealous fiancees; find buried treasure; romance governors' daughters; partake in ground battles (tactical style); sack cities and change their nationalities; go on escort missions that affect the political environment of the game; deliver treaties and/or war-instigating letters; fight anyone from the Spanish, English, Dutch, French, Pirates, and/or Native Americans; save kidnapped family members...the things you can do in this game are endless. And the beauty of it is you can save the game and leave at any time, and come right back to where you were whenever you want.

Shoot...just thinking about this game makes me want to play it right now (I have the XBOX version).

bookerV

I would highly recommend KOTOR (Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic). Great RPG in the Star Wars setting. Good replay value too. Should give you about 100 hours of gaming (playing through once as good and once as evil) and you don't have to be on it for 10 hours straight to get something acomplished.

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hulk

Baldur's Gate. All of them, preferably, but if you have to stick with one play Baldur's Gate II. Greatest RPG ever, with a great one-button quicksave.

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"'There's a tendency among the press to attribute the creation of a game to a single person,' says Warren Spector, creator of Thief and Deus Ex."
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Jinn

Since you were an original EQ addict, I feel your plight. I'd recommend Morrowind or Neverwinter Nights, both great RPGs with amazing singleplayer action. Both can be stopped at any time.. NWN is third person (think Diablo II) while Morrowind is first/third like EQ.. amazing game that I used to play in between classes myself...

For us busy college kids, first person shooters are always great.. you can play 5 rounds and enjoy it.. with your setup you should be able to handle Counter-Strike:Source (on medium settings), or Unreal Tournament 2004.

Need for Speed Underground 2 is a great "street racing" game that your computer could surely handle, and anything from a Tom Clancy series would run well too: Splinter Cell: Pandora Tommorow or Chaos Theory...

mmm... gamess....

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Catdaddy33

I agree with the Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, and NWN for single-player fantasy RPGs, although if you want to go online NWN has that too.

Half-Life 1 and 2 are a lot of bang for the buck in the FPS market, you get the single player games and all the mods like Counterstrike and CS:Source, TFC, Day of Defeat and DoD:Source is coming real soon. There are many many more mods for both HLs. Of course the HL1 will run smooth as silk on your laptop...HL2 may need some tweaking...

zen_tom

Doom, or Quake. Both of these are cheap as free to get hold of, and you have access to all manner of level creation tools that extend the games ever further. Just an idea.

irateplatypus

get a wireless mouse and hook yourself up with team fortress or counter-strike. i'm more of a console gamer, but i enjoy ducking in and out of those games every once in a while.

both will run very smoothly on your machine.

note: counterstrike is sometimes difficult for beginners. too many pale 29 year old live-with-moms who've devoted the last 6 years to it. team fortress is free and might be right up your ally.

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If you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.

~ Winston Churchill