Anyone play any great new games? I'm willing to try something new. I just picked up Quake 4 and its pretty damn fun. Visually it looks great and the singleplayer is well done. This is my first Quake so I'm new to the madness of its multiplayer, but it's also pretty fun.

I find myself going back to Half Life 2 as well. Steam doesn't seem so bad now and they actually just released a hidden level that uses some new lighting engine or whateva. Looks great. The new Day of Defeat was also just released.

Other than that, most of my time is spent with Battlefield 2. I can't get enough of this game. That and a bit of Guild Wars.

I'm wondering if I should get into the new Civilization. I've never played any of the previous versions but apparantly it's entertaining. Gotta say though, I never really got into the original Sim City if its anything like that. Mostly cause I sucked at it. Stupid citizens.

Anything great I'm missing? I really need to take advantage of this freakin $400 video card I bought before it becomes worthless.

I've heard good things about F.E.A.R. and intend to buy it after I'm done playing through Quake 4.

Also, if you haven't played it yet, Far Cry is exceptional.

And if you like old skool adventure games, Out from Boneville is cute and inexpensive. I'm having trouble with the online purchase, though. They told me to scan for spyware but of course my system is clean so I'm still stuck...

Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay is quite nice.

Painkiller is a kick in the pants, too, very doom-ish stylistically but with a fantastic graphics engine. The last level of Painkiller is mind-blowing in its architecture and level design, so much so that I don't want to spoiler you by telling you what the level is about.

Thanks for the recommendations. I was looking at F.E.A.R. but opted for Quake 4 instead. Everyone seems to be raving about FarCry so I should probably give that a shot as well. Painkiller looks sweet, it'll probably be pretty cheap at this point too. The list grows longer!

I also really like Battlefield 2.

The only other game I've been spending any time with is GTR Racing, which is a FIA GTR simulator. The driving physics are amazing and it will definitely show off your $400 graphics card. The only problem is that this is a *simulator*, so you've got to be willing to deal with that. A wheel, preferably with force feedback and pedals are a necessity. The GT cars have 600 hp and are quite a handful. The game also has NGT cars (440hp) and the Lotus Elise, which drives a lot like a street-legal BMW M3. If you start with the Lotus, you can have fun with the game right away. If you start with the Ferrari 550, you'll be frustrated...

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was amusing, too, but it gets tedious after a while.

I've never played it, but a friend of mine has played a lot of Painkiller and claims its one of the best FPS games ever. I watched him play it and the graphics are stunning.

Jim

I played through the F.E.A.R. demo and posted a short review about it.

I am currently playing Battlefield 2, which is quite excellent (I only wish that you could populated a private multi-player game with bots). I also just started playing Age of Empires III. The AOE games have always been personal favorites, and this current venture adds some nice features to the series.

Games that are on my purchase horizon are Call of Duty 2 (I played through the demo and it was very nice) and Star Wars: Battlefront 2. I enjoyed the first SW:BF for it's general gameplay, intriguing levels, and ease of vehicle control. By biggest beef with it was the stupidity of the AI, which I hope they've corrected in this newest release.

When I really get bored, I sometimes play through my "older" list of enjoyables: Rome: Total War, LOTR: The Battle for Middle-Earth, Pirates!, Half-Life 2, and Star Wars: Republic Commando.

Oh yeah, Republic Commando is exceptional, too. Forgot to mention it. One of the best single-player experiences I've had in a first person shooter.

Damn it Jim. I think I'm gonna have to go buy a wheel setup now. That game looks awesome. Which wheel do you have? I've seen them all over the place and I imagine there are a lot of crap quality ones.

DUDE. Another thing I just noticed. I was reading the review of GTR Racing and the guy mentioned TrackIR. This thing looks very cool. I wish more games had support for it. It'd be awesome for an FPS.

Quote:
I only wish that you could populated a private multi-player game with bots

Tell me about it. It'd be awesome if there were an easy way to practice in the chopper or jet. Other than that I'm very happy with the game.

Its awesome. I wish I had the TrackIR. I think you'd really like GTR.

I have the Logitech MOMO Force (the red one) which is considered a great wheel. I don't think its still made, but you can sometimes find factory refurbished ones or get a used on on ebay. You can't go wrong with it.

You can spend lots of money on great race controllers. Sim racing is a whole "thing", and there are people who are into it to a ridiculous degree. Check out the Race Sim Central Forums to learn all you need to know about which wheel to get. I suggest posting there and figuring out how to buy a red Logitech MOMO setup.

This game (and the pedals) are worth it just to thrash that Lotus Elise around Limerock Park. Limerock does not come with the game, but it is one of about a hundred tracks made by the fan community of this game (which is headquartered at the RSC forums).

One great "mod" for the game is the 1972 Ford Escort Cup. These are the original Escort race cars, small, rear-wheel drive, and about 200hp. With 1972 tires and suspensions these cars are a blast to drive. You "drift" them around curves by inducing a 4-wheel slide to get the fastest laps.

Between the Escorts and the Lotus, this game has given me the best entertainment per dollar of any game in a really, really long time. The GT cars are fun, too, but they are so twitchy and powerful it can be frustrating.

Let me know if you get it and I'll get you set up with the right additional files and we can race online together. I'll teach you a few tracks. Following someone to learn the racing line speeds up learning a track by about 1000%.

Jim

Hey, on the GTR game web site you can download a movie of some guy driving with the TrackIR setup. Definitely spend the money on a good wheel/pedal setup, but if you have the cash, the video makes you want to spend it...

J

There is a review of the trackIR here. I doubt you'll want to use it for a FPS unless you want to get neck strain...

I love Dan's Data.

Civ4 is another game that I'm looking forward to purchasing, but I'm waiting until the lull in faster-paced game development (they're pushing out all the good titles in time for Christmas) before I settle down with a nice, slower paced game.

A vote for Need for Speed 2, I'm still loving that game. That reminds me, I still need to buy my silly GFX card.

I competed in a GTR competition at E3 this year. First time ever trying the game, and I finished in second. I ended up winning a signed copy of the game, and a few t-shirts and hats. First prize was a $6k computer. :/ I posted about it here just after we got back.

Anyway, GTR looks nice, and it definitely can be fun, but it has some serious flaws. One is the netcode; basically, it sucks. The physics are fairly accurate, but if you really want a real racing simulator, try Live for Speed.

I have been playing LFS for a few years now, and I can say without a doubt that it is the most realistic and fun sim I've ever played. The physics and car "feel" are far better than GTR, and the massive amounts of car setup options you can tweak really adds to the competition between drivers. What really makes the game is the online aspect. I run an LFS league called the North American League that races every week during an eight week season. Great fun. As a matter of fact, our next season will be opening up soon for registration.

LFS is also unique in that it is developed by a small team (3 people), and they are regulars in the community. They answer questions, add things that are requested, and fix bugs quickly. It reminds me of this community, actually.

Edit: Oh, and there's a video of Tim doing his winning lap linked in the RSC forums post.

There are 3 modes to GTR. In "Arcade" and "Semi-Pro", the game is quite easy to drive. If you took second your first time playing, no offense, but I doubt it was in Simulator mode in GT cars. These cars are just too easy to spin, and you wouldn't know the track geometry well enough to get around the track at race speeds. In Arcade or Semi-Pro mode, I could see it, and I agree the game is much more like an arcade game then.

On the other hand, if you were with a bunch of other noobs, then just driving slowly would be enough to guarantee a top finish, because everyone else will spin and crash.

The physics in GTR are widely considered the most realistic engine in sim racing. Prior to this, Grand Prix Legends (1999!) held that honor. GTR also has all of the "setup" adjustments, but only in Simulator mode. I understand LFS is a simulator as well (as opposed to a "game"), but I haven't driven it.

I also agree about the netcode in GTR. It can be pretty dodgy.

Jim

Yes, it was in simulator mode. It's the only way they run the contest. Hence the reason so many people tried and couldn't even finish a lap and disqualified themselves. There ended up being about 20 people or so that were in the running. The top five spots had a spread of six or seven seconds. By the time I had my final lap that put me in second I had done maybe five laps total on that track with that car and their "competition" setup. The competition setup had to be used to make sure it was driver skill and not car tweaking that put you in first.

I've been playing racing simulator games for quite some time, so I was used to it and picked it up fast. Anyone who has never tried a simulator before would probably not be able to finish a lap (and that's exactly what happen to many). I still play GPL every so often, but most of the time I'm in LFS.

HL2 did come "free" with certain ATI cards if you preordered them.

Indeed. GPL experience explains everything. If you can drive that thing fast, you can drive anything. Driving the cars in GTR must have felt like driving an old Briggs & Stratton go-kart. :-)

I'd like to get GPL going again. There are sound and graphics updates, etc, etc etc. I understand its quite a process to get a "current" install of GPL going.

Man I can't stand that game. I was elated when they introduced Pinball to the mix.