WSGEXE

Dark Alliance II occurred to me, but I wasn't sure if it was a good suggestion given its age and very high used (nevermind new) price.

Dark Alliance II's unofficial EverQuest-themed sequels, Champions of Norrath and Champions: Return to Arms both let you play as a Dark Elf Shadowknight. In addition to weakening and poison-based magics, they can summon undead helpers to fight for them.

If you can get a copy of any of those three for <$20, they're worth playing.

Bonus (mediocre) suggestion: Undead Knights for PSP.

It's funny you should make this topic, I was just looking for games of this type the other day. I definitely enjoy playing the villain, especially when that villain has minions.

I found a few and I'll give some details on each:

Diablo II which as mentioned, has a Necromancer class. There are several builds and if you're interested in summoning, I'd search about for the so-called "Zoomancer" build. As I understand it, back in the day you could have a fairly sizable (20+) skeleton army but this has been scaled back somewhat by patches. You can also summon three or so types of golems.

Diablo III has a witch doctor class with a variety of summons. I haven't investigated the game yet, as I heard it's quite easy. I will eventually.

Titan Quest has a semi-classless system with different "masteries". One of the masteries is Spirit, which allows you to summon an upgradable Lich King, who eventually becomes fairly powerful. I found the AI of the Lich King to be a little spotty but the game does offer direct (attack/move here) commands to compensate.

You can also temporarily charm almost any monster, though they eventually return to an aggressive state. I found it more trouble than it was worth to bother with charming after a while. The whole point of being a Necromancer (in my opinion) is to avoid getting your hands dirty with direct attacks.

NoX, which is available on GOG, has a Conjuror class. I haven't fiddled with it yet so I can't give any details. Here's a wiki link:

http://nox.wikia.com/wiki/Conjurer

Hammerwatch has a Warlock class which does not summon but is otherwise what you'd want out of a Necromancer. He has life drain and other similar debuffs. I haven't gotten around to trying this one yet either but it's high on my list.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning has a classless system, similar to Titan Quest. The Sorcery skill tree has an ability called "Summon Faer Gorta" which is a fancy name for horned skeletons. I think this game is cool.

Lastly, Torchlight has a surprisingly deep summon tree for the Alchemist class. You can summon little ether imps and several types of golems. You can also find spells as loot and there are a handful of lesser summons (like mini-skeletons) offered by this means. I was impressed by the AI and had a good time with the abilities offered. I rarely felt like my minions weren't doing their job properly, which is high praise.

There are more, mostly older games like Sacrifice. Let me know if these don't scratch the itch.

I'm considering buying a PS3 because you can actually format your drive. Unlike on the 360 where format means "delete everything installed" and actually remembers your settings in every game you've ever played.

I'm fixated on keeping hard drives "clean." I wish there were a way to properly wipe your hard drive on 360.

This is my dumb hangup that genuinely keeps me up at night.

Can you go to the moon in Mass Effect?

They're almost certainly waiting to post the GB East video so they can have someone present to moderate the comments.

Yes.

irc://irc.rizon.net/giantbomb

@ohnoaghost: Neither side is after any material end goal. That's what makes it an ideological conflict. And no one is obligated to give out a handicap because one side claims the other is privileged.

See you on the next thread.