gaming series - skip the earlier versions and get the latest, or play in sequence?

[lord of the mark]

ive already played PST. Having played PST, BG1, and almost finished BG2, im not real eager for another Infinity Engine (or similar) RPG. (Though if I was, it would be in a different setting like Fallout or KOTOR. )Thats why I was particular interested in the Elder Scrolls series.

I played Civ2 using the TOT graphics, and never quite understood the appeal of the original graphics (which ive used when playing non-TOT scenarios) I thought the TOT graphics were far superior to the SMAC graphics, and while there were interface improvements in SMAC, I dont recall finding them that overwhelming. But then Im not the biggest SMAC fan around.

[Jon Miller]

SMAC graphics suck. I can play simple games with simple graphics (NetHack for example.. I play it in text), but I bad graphics I have a problem with.

Unfortunately, SMAC is one of these... I just have a hard time looking at the screen. I can get use to it, but still.

I find Fallout I think close to unplayable because of the graphics.

Jon Miller

[Dis]

heretic!

Fallout 1 and 2 are still very much playable. i'll probably replay them later this year.

BG1 and PST is pushing it graphically for me. But BG1 did have some nice outdoor areas that looked pretty.

Kotor and Fallout are not infinity engines btw. So you don't have to worry about the gameplay being like Bg1 and 2. it's not even similar. Kotor still has good graphics for a rpg imho. Fallout games are acceptible graphics imho.

As for morrowind, it's not a horrible game. I found it fun. But it took 3 tries for me to like the game and enjoy it. The first 2 times I played I didn't like it. But something pursuaded me to give it more of a chance. It's still lacking in some areas. Arena and Daggerfall (the first 2 in the series) might be too old. I haven't seen the graphics for them, I doubt I'd like them.

Oblivion didn't seem that great. It seemed repetitive from what little I played. Once I get a better system, I may finish it though. I'm in no hurry to do that.

as for SMAC, the gameplay is so great it trumps the graphics. I didn't like the graphics, even when it came out. Too dark. And the unintuitive technology names and unit upgrades. But I love the game. I only play like 1 or 2 games a year though, at best.

Interesting you like civ2 tot graphics over the original. I could not play TOT because of the graphics. Worst civ purchase I ever made. I got very little play out of that XP. Though PTW for civ3 was another dud for me.

You've played pretty much all the infinity game engines except for Icewind Dale 1 and 2. Those games are combat heavy, and don't have much of a story. So unless you really enjoy the combat in the infinity games (Baldur's gate 1 and 2 esp.), then I'd pass. For me, they were fun to play through once.

[Standup]

Fallout 2 is probably still one of the best RPGs as opposed to something like Oblivion which has limited role playing. The graphics are on a par with BG and perfectly functional.

I'm not (or rather wasn't) a big morrowind fan but with mods you get a better gaming experience - there's a recent thread with El Cid's suggestions that I found useful.

I think going back more than a couple of years you may start to get more problems with games running on XP.

[Bkeela]

I'm surprised that people find Fallout unplayable because of its graphics. I find them perfectly sufficient.

Games that I find hard to enjoy retrospectively are ones using 3D. Poor textures that looked stretched and unnatural, and terrible clipping glitches when you come close to edges are ugly.

[Nostromo]

I bought Fallout 2 a couple of months ago. I played it for a while. The graphics didn't age very well. They probably never do, anyway. But its not the main reason why I'm not enjoying playing it. Here are some of the reasons:

- the UI. Its really old, its obsolete and its very irritating.

- I also hate the isometric view. There's always a damn wall somewhere that's hiding something from view.

- But the most irritating thing of all is combat. Make your move. The game pauses. You enemy makes his move. The game pauses. I wish they had implemented a system similar to Baldur's Gate.

[Quillan]

Computers couldn't handle it back then. Fallout 2 was old in January 1999, when a 450 Mhz processor was state of the art, and the Pentium 3 hadn't been released yet.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Standup
Fallout 2 is probably still one of the best RPGs as opposed to something like Oblivion which has limited role playing. The graphics are on a par with BG and perfectly functional.

I'm not (or rather wasn't) a big morrowind fan but with mods you get a better gaming experience - there's a recent thread with El Cid's suggestions that I found useful.

I think going back more than a couple of years you may start to get more problems with games running on XP.

Thats ok, I could run them on my dino PC, its running Win 98.

[Dis]

for the record I haven't had any problems running the above games on windows xp.

the only old game I can't play that I still like is Xcom. Actually it's playable, but too fast.

[Tuberski]

DosBox Dis.

ACK!