The Games I Play; The Settings I Use
Borderlands is basically a mix between an FPS and an action RPG in the spirit of Diablo — kill stuff and get random-generated loot. While co-op is arguably the best way to play the game (the game supports up to four players), it can also be played solo and it runs pretty well on a Mac that’s three years old.
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Tags: borderlands, diablo
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is one of the scariest, most atmospheric games I’ve ever played on the PC. I’m not a huge horror fan — not even a little horror fan — but that didn’t stop me from buying S.T.A.L.K.E.R. last July. In fact, two things overrode my instinct to not get the game: 1) Shawn Elliot repeatedly mentioning the game on the GFW Radio podcast and this article by Jim Rossignol on Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
I picked up the Dungeons & Dragons-based Neverwinter Nights 2 and its expansion Mask of the Betrayer last summer in a desperate bid to quell my hunger for an RPG. I didn’t finish NWN2, but I mostly enjoyed what I played of it, slowly learning the D&D ruleset. In March, I was totally engrossed by MotB when my internal hard drive died, wiping out Windows and my saved games. I haven’t gone back to MotB, but I recently reinstalled NWN2 and the newly released $10 adventure pack Mysteries of Westgate. As they all use the same engine, the main game and add-ons run about the same on my iMac.
I know, I know — another RPG. What can I say? I like RPGs, and I came to the party kind of late. One of my friends had Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic a couple years ago and, while I didn’t really like that specific game, it got me hooked on role-playing games in general. So, in November 2007, I bought The Witcher and that game sealed my fate: I loved it and that began my quest to find other similar games. Since then: Oblivion, Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Neverwinter Nights 2 & Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer, Fallout 3, and Gothic II. I also tried Baldur’s Gate 2 and Fallout 2, but couldn’t get past the dated graphics (if I had Windows on my EeePC 701, I’d give them a try again). Anyway, let me tell you about Drakensang.
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Tags: drakensang, kotor, witcher, oblivion, vampire the masquerade, nwn2, fallout 3, gothic series, bg2, fallout 2, stalker
Ubisoft had totally sold me on the idea of Far Cry 2 (Oct 2008) before the game ever came out, mostly because of their promo videos (especially, “Deceiving Your Enemy“). Semi-descructable environments (including buildings and vegetation), a huge, open world, night-and-day cycles, decent enemy AI, and fire that could spread unpredictably — all seemed like the ingredients for a dream flambé FPS.
But would I be able to run it?
I had my doubts, until I read a story stating that the game ran pretty well on modest/mid-level PCs. So, I downloaded and installed the game to see. While Far Cry 2 itself isn’t everything I’d hoped for (it’s fun, no doubt about it, just repetitive), it has performed well on my “modest,” one-year-old iMac. Below are the settings I’ve used.
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Tags: far cry 2
Fallout 3 (Oct 2008) is the game I most anticipated this year. I loved Oblivion and the idea of a post-apocalyptic RPG from the same developers seemed like an incredible idea.
The phrase “Oblivion with guns” has been tossed around a lot to describe Fallout 3, both positively and derisively. Well, it is and it isn’t. There are definitely similarities between the two Bethesda games (for better and for worse), but I’ve enjoyed this game immensely and it runs quite well on my iMac, with a solid 30-50 fps @ 1280×800 in most areas.
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Tags: fallout 3
