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    The PC (Personal Computer) is a highly configurable and upgradable gaming platform that, among home systems, sports the widest variety of control methods, largest library of games, and cutting edge graphics and sound capabilities.

    New to CRPGs, where to start?

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    Darth_Navster

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    So I just built my first computer and I just realized that GOG has a great selection of point and click style CRPGs like Baldur's Gate and Planscape Torment. I'd like to try one of these games out but I'm not sure where to start.

    I'm a big fan of modern CRPG and games like KotOR and Skyrim are some of my favorite games of all time. Should I just start with Baldur's Gate and work up from there or am I better off starting with something more modern like Divinity: Original Sin or Wasteland 2?

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    ThunderSlash

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    #2  Edited By ThunderSlash

    Fallout is a good one. It's pretty simple for a CRPG, you don't need to research much to understand how it plays. Plus it's like 15 hours long at most, which makes it great if you don't have the time to commit to something extra long.

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    jasondaplock

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    If you've played KotOR, there's no pressing need to play newer games to acquaint yourself with the systems in the classic CRPGs. You've got as much training as you need. Playing a modern version will just make the mechanics in the old games bother you that much more. By way of example, it's fun to play the earlier Fallout games just to see the roots of the systems in the new games, but I came to them after playing Fallout 3 and New Vegas myself and found 1 and 2 to be a slog because of it.

    Torment is very cool and very old school. I'd say it is the strongest cross-section of the things you'd want if you plan on going back in the catalog that far. Play this one first, play carefully, and save often.

    If you like the Western RPG format (and are okay with reading dialogue) you will almost certainly enjoy Baldur's Gate 2, and it would be a shame if BG1 soured you enough that you didn't go on to play BG2. If you play BG1 and don't like it, don't let that deter you from trying the next one.

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    tbk

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    If we talk about ye olde infinity engine games:

    Icewind Dale 1 and 2: Mostly Dungeon crawlers, focus on the combat system

    Planescape Torment: Mostly philosophical, lots of reading, less combat oriented.

    The Baldur's Gate Series: If you have played any Bioware CRPGs then is likely a good start it is just way more unrefined than current day Bioware work.

    Please bear in mind that this a great oversimplification though.

    Other stuff they have:

    Neverwinter Nights 1 + Add-Ons: The base game campaign is meh, Hordes of the Underdark is probably the best of the two big expansion packs. There are some really good fan made campaigns you can have fun with.

    Neverwinter Nights 2 + Add-Ons: ah yes the hated one of the two, The base game campaign suffers from a overly long tutorial and drawn out Act 1, Act 2 or Act 3 are better.

    Mask of the Betrayer is probably the reason one ought pick this up, its really good also this bloke called @rorie worked on it or so...

    Storm of Zehir is interesting as it tried to be a more traditional Pen & Paper campaign played over many months with the Party acting as merchants from time to time.

    I know that Icewind Dale 2, and Neverwinter Nights 2 with both big Add-Ons is on the LParchive. I recommend reading the LP for Neverwinter Nights 2, since it also delves into analysis of the genre and the game itself a bit and isn't just a summary of the plot.

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    Darth_Navster

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    Thanks for all your suggestions guys. I'm particularly drawn to narratives and moral choices, so it looks like Planscape: Torment should be the one I try first, possibly followed by the BG series.

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    ArtisanBreads

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    #6  Edited By ArtisanBreads

    I'll say for a modern game, Shadowrun: Dragonfall is a good one because I think it's pretty modernized and friendly to play through, more so than those classic games. I was disappointed with the first game but Dragonfall is great.

    Divinity has incredible combat but I find key parts of it lacking, like art and story. Story is what keeps me playing an RPG. But the combat got me to play for like 60 hours. It's as good of tacitcal RPG combat as I've seen.

    I own Wasteland 2 but haven't played it yet. Might start it soon. Got sidetracked playing Fallout: New Vegas.

    The classics are great too and I support the recommendations in here, but just wanted to weigh in on modern games.

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    Darth_Navster

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    @artisanbreads: I actually played Dragonfall last year as I was able to run it on my Mac at the lowest settings. I might go back to it just to see what it looks like at max settings.

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    Justin258

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    @artisanbreads: I've been playing Divinity. Its story does seem a bit lacking in plot twists and such, but I think there's a lot of pretty good writing to be read in there.

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    ArtisanBreads

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    @believer258: I have seen other people that agree with you. I haven't seen anything that's been appealing to me and the main plot is so poor that it makes me not invested in the story at all. To be fair I might be missing some of it because I'm not paying enough attention because I can't be invested. At some point I was playing it with the mind of getting from one bit of combat to the next.

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    alexl86

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    #10  Edited By alexl86

    Fallout 2 is probably your best bet for an older CRPG. It's everything it's predecessor was, and more. If you prefer something more fantasy-based, then Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale are both excellent.

    Original Sin is likely your best choice for a modern CRPG. If you're unsure if you'd like the genre, I'd try Original Sin first(the combat is basically Fallout with spells).

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    BeachThunder

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    Planescape: Torment is a terrible place to start; but take a deep breath, get ready for a lot of reading, and put everything into WIS/CHR/INT.

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    stonyman65

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    Fallout 1 and 2, and Wasteland 2

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    omghisam

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    #13  Edited By omghisam

    I would say Dragon Age Origins and work your way back, but if you want to start with GOG games Baldur's Gate 2 is a better start. Be cautious of NWN 1, I am having difficulty getting it running on Windows 7 and 8.

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    Darth_Navster

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    @omghisam: I've played every Bioware game from KotOR on so I've already played Dragon Age on the 360. BG2 would probably be a good start for me.

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    MeMonk

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    #15  Edited By MeMonk

    I would say start with Fallout 1&2. Then play Baldurs Gate 2, it is better than 1 in everyway. Then play one of the best RPGs ever in Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura. I would not start with Planescape I could never get into it. And while it is not technically a CRPG if you like Xcom and want to play a game with more RPG elements then I recommend Jagged Alliance 2.

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    Anund

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    #16  Edited By Anund

    You are getting a lot of advice here. I would just like to chime in with my support for the Baldur's Gate series. I would buy both 1 and 2, then install the Baldur's Gate Tutu mod, which allows you to play through Baldur's Gate 1 with the classes and graphical improvements of Baldur's Gate 2. Specially the classes are a big deal, because it helps you importing your character into BG2 without limiting yourself to using only the classes in 1.

    Here's a link to the Tutu mod.

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    Savage

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    If you're going to play the Baldur's Gate games, I'd recommend playing the Enhanced Editions instead of the original versions.

    If you're really squeezed for cash, then the originals, being less expensive, are an okay way to go (especially if you install some mods like TuTu, mentioned above).

    But, if you can afford the EEs, you'll get a number of quality of life improvements that mods cannot replicate, including better pathfinding AI, better framerate, better inventory interface, mousewheel zoom, quickloot, etc. The EEs also have some exclusive content (a few new party members/quests and a battle arena mode) as well as many of the original games' basic mod improvements already integrated to save you the time of finding and installing the right basic mods. You can also install additional mods on top of the EEs, if you want to go that far.

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    ArbitraryWater

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    Here is a topic I can actually talk about with some authority! Yay.

    I love Baldur's Gate and its sequel, just be warned that BG1 is a little rough early on when your characters are all level 1 and 2 and die depressingly easily. Don't feel bad for skimming a walkthrough, you can miss a lot of stuff if you aren't careful.

    Planescape has the best writing I've seen in a video game, but the game part isn't super great. Once again, feel no shame for glancing at a FAQ from time to time.

    Icewind Dale is more combat heavy and should probably be messed with if you like the Infinity Engine style of combat.

    Fallout 1 is surprisingly short and not a terrible first choice. Just be warned that you'll have a hard time with things if you aren't using small guns.

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    thomasnash

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    @savage said:

    If you're going to play the Baldur's Gate games, I'd recommend playing the Enhanced Editions instead of the original versions.

    If you're really squeezed for cash, then the originals, being less expensive, are an okay way to go (especially if you install some mods like TuTu, mentioned above).

    But, if you can afford the EEs, you'll get a number of quality of life improvements that mods cannot replicate, including better pathfinding AI, better framerate, better inventory interface, mousewheel zoom, quickloot, etc. The EEs also have some exclusive content (a few new party members/quests and a battle arena mode) as well as many of the original games' basic mod improvements already integrated to save you the time of finding and installing the right basic mods. You can also install additional mods on top of the EEs, if you want to go that far.

    Personally I think most all of the brand new content in the Enhanced Editions is kind of trash, but I've enjoyed having them on my tablet! I would say the main advantage of them over using BGTuTu is that it retains the XP cap. It's very easy with tutu to finish up all of BG1 and TOTSC with a level or two more than you are supposed to have at the end of the first game, which makes the early goings of BG2 a lot less fun.

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    lotrsam0711

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    All the Infinity Engine games are worth playing. Suggested playorder: Balder's Gate, Balder's Gate II, Planescape: Torment. If you still want more after that, play Icewind Dale and Icewind Dale II, but neither are essential to play.

    Fallout 1 & 2 are both great and worth your time. Also somewhat similar in spirit to those games is Arcanum. It's very rough around the edges, but those who love it, adore it.

    Gothic 1 & Gothic 2 are worth playing. I'd liken them to the souls games to a certain extent, open world with a very tough sense of progression. Combat is quite wonky, though.

    I'd also recommend Darklands. It's not as popular or well-known, but it's a great, mostly open-ended RPG experience that comes the closes to playing a tabletop RPG, IMHO.

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    Cagliostro88

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    Think of the infinity engine triad as this: Planescape: -story-, Icewind Dale: -combat-, Baldur's Gate: -mix-

    Honestly you can directly skip the first Baldur's Gate and go straight to the second, which is far better from any point of view (and my favourite game of all time). You can quickly read in 3 minutes about the setting/story and couple of important characters (the antagonist, imoen, minsc and boo) of the first one since it's in no way necessary to have played it to enjoy the second.

    Go for the EE edition, the new content is mediocre at best but it solves a lot of headaches and saves time spent looking for mods needed to play it properly on a modern pc

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    esuing

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    In my opinion, Planescape: Torment has the best story ever put into a video game. It will present you with decisions to make within the game that you will agonize over. it's extremely deep in a way so few games are. With that said, you obviously have to be prepared to do a lot of reading. As mentioned before, sink your points into wisdom, intelligence, and charisma because that will allow you to experience the magic that that game brings that puts it so far ahead of it's peers. Also, it's a good idea to glance at a walkthrough while you play because it's impossible to get the full experience in just one play-through. I played through it twice. The first time without knowing anything. I thought it was a "good" game. The second time, I sank the points into the right attributes and glanced at the walkthrough occasionally and the game just blew me away. It's a masterpiece.

    Oh... and the BG and Fallout series are great too. Wasteland 2 is pretty good but a little rough around the edges. I have Divinity, but haven't played it yet.

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    falling_fast

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