Malf on 8/8/2012 at 06:31
If you want something fun and unique and you liked Startopia, give Ghost Master a shot. Dirt cheap, easy to understand yet with some very challenging targets for the highest rewards.
I bought it when it originally came out and replay it every couple of years, and it's a fantastic game with lots of love poured in to it and some wonderful attention to detail.
It's available on both Steam & GOG.
nicked on 8/8/2012 at 06:32
I'd second Far Cry 2 if you want a non-hand-holdy FPS. It's definitely not without it's flaws, and seems to be a marmite game that people either love and defend to death or hate with a virulent passion, but if you find yourself in the former camp, it's an extremely rewarding game.
june gloom on 8/8/2012 at 06:57
Quote Posted by ZylonBane
For the record, I think that the sun will come out tomorrow. Tomorrow. The sun will come out tomorrow.
Yeah, but Half-Life 3 won't.
icemann on 8/8/2012 at 07:04
Dead Island is pretty damn kickass so I'd recommend that highly. Rage is pretty good, though it ends too quickly. If you've not played Skyrim, Fallout 3 or New Vegas then I would HIGHLY recommend playing any of those.
Briareos H on 8/8/2012 at 07:19
Let's review these suggestions:
DayZ: 0/10 story (10/10 if you're a "role playing type"), 10/10 no hand-holding, 10/10 exploration, still super buggy at the moment.
Crysis: 5/10 story (there is one, it's not great), 6/10 no hand-holding, 7/10 exploration (large semi-linear levels), a good choice.
Crysis 2: 2/10 story, 2/10 no hand-holding, 2/10 exploration, lol.
Chaser: 6/10 story (because why not), 6/10 no hand-holding (it's an old game alright), 6/10 exploration (large levels), competent FPS but much less exciting than Half-Life. If we're talking about games old as hell, you'd be better off playing Codename: Outbreak which is GSC previous foray in FPS territory and has everything you asked for. And it's as buggy as Stalker SoC the day it was released :) (ps. if you're brave enough to actually try it, be aware that there are game breaking bugs and that, as far as I'm concerned, the game is not completable).
Amnesia: 9/10 story (if you're into horror), 3/10 no hand-holding (directly tied to: ) 4/10 exploration -- Amnesia is a wonderful atmospheric game which makes you feel like you are 'exploring' while you're really following a linear path. If you're a sucker for atmosphere and tension, this is one game to play. Also a good place to recommend Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, which has slightly more exploration than Amnesia and is a good game.
Penumbra: 8/10 story (it's interesting), 6/10 no hand-holding, 6/10 exploration, I seem to remember that there was much more actual exploration in Penumbra because of the puzzles. It's less terrifying and polished than Amnesia but worth a try.
Far Cry 2: 6/10 story (kinda boring but it's there), 8/10 no hand-holding, 8/10 exploration, but it's plagued by its other systems: enemy respawns, fetch quests and general balance. Gameplay is really not that good.
Rainbow Six Vegas: Haven't played this one. Wasn't it a bastardized R6 for consoles?
Ghost Master: Same. Wasn't it a Dungeon Keeper clone?
Dead Island: 7/10 story (standard zombie stuff but it works), 4/10 no hand-holding at first becoming 6/10 later in the game (does play like a console game with quest arrows and so on, gets better), 8/10 exploration (exploration is fantastic but the loot is so much always the same that it becomes tedious rather fast), it's a pleasant game but repetitive.
Rage: 3/10 story (it's a id game), 4/10 no hand-holding (you're always pointed into the right direction by quests), 5/10 exploration (I mean you can explore, but there's not much to see there), shooting is fun and old-school missions are great. In-between, not so much. All the driving and exploration aspects are boring.
Since you're considering DayZ, ArmA II and its expansions are pretty nice military simulators. Very open-ended (would get a 8/10 exploration rating), pretty difficult. The AI is not that great (too precise and still a bit dumb) but the SP missions are built well. It can be a bit fiddly though.
Finally, I know you're asking for first person games, but if you enjoy sandboxes you really should look into Just Cause 2. It has exploration in spades, a fun, over-the-top story, it is completely open-ended and hilarious to play.
Sulphur on 8/8/2012 at 07:23
So why isn't anyone suggesting Stalker: SoC, again?Edit: Derp. Go with Crysis and Crysis: Warhead. Screw the story, as far as both are concerned, it's about the freedom of the environments.
Crysis 2 is a bog-standard FPS with small, barely open areas and a phoned-in narrative; hell, at least Crysis's story had the decency to not shove itself down your throat, and it was charmingly naive in a way. Crysis 2 is pretty, though. (But not as gorgeous as Crysis, as far as I'm concerned.)
Oh, and and and: (
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/02/17/the-longest-day-24-hours-in-white-gold/) this. Yes. Boiling Point 2. God, yes.
demagogue on 8/8/2012 at 07:24
Quote Posted by BEAR
@Demagogue: I never actually got around to playing pnumbra, is it worth just skipping to amnesia or should I start at the very beginning?
I wondered the same thing myself and found some forum thread out there where a general opinion was was the best way is to play all of them in order of release, even though the stories don't overlap or anything, but they play to different strengths in the mechanic... I mean a lot of people said it was ok to start with Amnesia too, and I just gave that if you had to play one, but since you're specifically asking, I'd say start at the beginning.
I guess I could explain it more. There was a lot of disagreement which was actually better, Penumbra (and then which one) or Amnesia, and people brought up all sorts of things like setting (do you like a modern setting or medieval), which was scarier (do you like more screamers per minute or more foreboding throughout), do you want a weapon or not, do you want more puzzle or more story... You can just google penumbra vs amnesia if you want to see all the details. But that led some people to just say, play all of them then you can get the full spread. They're all good in their own way.
Quote Posted by ZylonBane
For the record, I think that the sun will come out tomorrow. Tomorrow. The sun will come out tomorrow.
Inline Image:
http://i46.tinypic.com/2danjtw.jpgMalf on 8/8/2012 at 08:21
Quote Posted by Briareos H
Ghost Master: Same. Wasn't it a Dungeon Keeper clone?
It has the same flavour, a very British one, but saying it's a Dungeon Keeper clone is like saying Dwarf Fortress is a Dungeon Keeper clone.
You have no direct control over your ghosts; you simply place them and then give them orders. It's incredibly hard to describe, as there's not really anything else I've played that's quite like it other than thematically. There's a little Sims there, a bit of Majesty, a touch of Theme Hospital, a Sprinkle of Dungeon Keeper, a smidgeon of Black & White, but mostly it's Ghost Master and occupies a slot in gaming that nothing else really does.
If we have to slot it into a genre, broadly it's a god/management game. If you like such games, give it a go.
Briareos H on 8/8/2012 at 08:30
Cool, that sounds interesting.
DarkForge on 8/8/2012 at 09:03
Quote Posted by BEAR
...I really wish the game was completely hands off,
no getting lead around by the nose by any number of allegorical characters.
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
Crysis?
Having just played Crysis and Crysis Warhead for the first time, I'd have to say that probably isn't the best suggestion, especially in light of Bear's requirement in bold there.
I've rarely seen so much hand-holding in a game, especially when it takes an opportunity to remind you of what you should be doing a mere five seconds after it told you to do it when you are clearly in the process of doing it already...
"We need to find a heat source." Okay then, let's go. "I said find a heat source." Yes, I'm doing just th... "I need a heat source." GOD DAMNIT YOU'RE STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO IT! I WILL BEAT YOU, I SWEAR TO GOD!!!
