RECOMMENDATIONS PLEASE! Based on this:

I've been given a bunch of games by a friend who knows some games I've enjoyed in the past and who was working on the premise that I like 'role playing games', possibly 'action role playing games'.

From what I can ascertain from internet reviews that I read before selecting a game to install, it seems I wouldn't like pretty much anything he gave me and most were major titles that I expected to love.

Here's an idea of my hits and misses. Please tell me what you think I'd love (before I splash money that I shouldn't be spending anyway on things I won't like).

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines (Love love loved it, to bits. Willing to put up with the bugs (and willing to search for, download, mess with to get working & use patches).

Assassin's Creed: This may not fully be what is traditionally called a RPG. Not sure what to call it but I loved it. The PC version seems better than the PS, Xbox because more variety of missions but I wish they'd kept in the acheivements. I adored the controls (using xbox controller with only slight variation of the already clever default control set up). The movement was so beautiful, I couldnt' get enough of leaping around and swan diving off the view points. I even liked fighting for once, revelling in my main talent, the counter kill (especially proud when I took out 10 ppl or more using only my hidden blade, dangerous to myself but infinitely rewarding) & throwing in combo kills for fun. The ending was huge let down until I discovered this is only the first part of a trilogy. I can't wait for more!!!

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (inc all expansions to date): Liked this one a lot. A little too much dungeon crawling though. Shivering Isles was fun as it was a darker theme, which appeals to me.

*I should add that I like dark, mature plots. When RPG were in their infanthood (say 10-12 years ago when I was a kid) I was playing Phantasmagoria & Phantasmagoria 2. I loved the guy who you find staple gunned to death in one of those.

Never Winter Nights with SOTU & HOTU expansions: This was a few years ago. For it's time I liked it a lot and invested 250 hours to complete the game and all add ons. I don't remember much but NWN2 with MOTB is sitting on my desk ready to try.

Hitman 2 & 3: Liked these a lot, wouldn't play too much in a row again (I have 4 here ready to go but know I probably won't play it obsessively like most games. I'll do a level or 2 to break up bigger, more important (to me) games.

Resident Evil 4: Liked this somewhat but found the boss battles frustrating as well as all those scenes where you don't know which selection of 2 button combinations you'll have to press to dodge or end up taking a one hit death (and you get half a second at the most to react and press that correct combination). I found the aiming of guns too hard, though the game does compensate by giving you the right amount of enemies attacking to match the slowness of aiming (even with mouse support you can't just click on their faces and fire, the crosshairs move slowly in the direction you move the mouse rather than landing instantly where you place the cursor, I didn't like that though using my xbox controller compensated for some of the inconvenience). I do like the unlockable bonuses given as a reward for completing the game. If I really loved a game, like Vampire, extra stuff would compensate for not having the game to play any more and wouold make weaning away easier (pathetic aren't I?)

So now you know what I love and like, what about what I hate (remaining on games often referred to as RPG).

Clickety Click! Yukky! Diablo series, Titan Quest (though I did play through the entire thing and I.T. when I had nothing else) and anything else where you are a tiny little figure running around left clicking on other tiny things. I HATE this style of game. For me the fighting is an afterthought, it's all about snooping around, talking and deciding what to say, solving puzzles and cutscenes for me (I see cutscenes as a reward but don't like fighting to get them). I liked the fighting in Vampire, though it did get a lot at the end but I think that was because it was FIRST PERSON that I liked it, but I still wouldn't play a first person shooter by choice unless it was also heavily weighted toward the solving of quests via investigation etc.

I started playing the Witcher a couple of days ago. I wasn't thrilled. The storyline appealed to me and I've been playing since installation for that reason, but the clickety click factor is frustrating. At least 'chaining' blows with the flaming sword icon makes it a little more challenging but that got old within minutes.

I'm Australian and can't whinge enough about internet access costs here. Unlimited high speed isn't a common set up here. It's pay for a small amount of bandwidth here and top ups cost the earth. So I'm not into anything online. I would like to play with my other half over a LAN connection though, and I'd sacrifice on how much I actually enjoy a game style just to be able to play together. I'd even take racing cars or shoot em ups to play together over a home LAN.

So now you have an idea of my likes and dislikes, please recommend!

Thanks guys!

I haven't played or looked into any of those games you suggested, other than Mass Effect, which I've been planning to get as soon as I don't have to pay $99 for it.

I've heard of some of those older games like the Baldur's Gate series and have been meaning to check them out. I will for sure now.

Cowudder- I totally agree with you. I think the way the term 'action RPG' is used, it is indeed an abomination. I don't consider Diabloeque games to be RPGs of any form. There should be whole other term for that genre. I think Vampire TMB is an action RPG. A lot of ppl didn't like the way the last 1/3 of that game turned into action, like they'd hired a new writer, and the fighting interface was said to be 'clunky' but I found it a lot easier to use than say, Resident Evil's battle system and I didn't mind it. I wish I could find another game that was similar in to the first 2/3 of that game though. I love walking around talking to people and working things out, whilst exploring a deep storyline.

BTW OFF TOPIC! COWUDDER- I love your name and your sig. If you want to make a donation whislt removing those man-boobies I'm willing to receive! I'm a young woman who is boobie-ly deficient ;) Also your username reminds me of something that happened when I was about 4 yo. I was staying for a couple of days with an Aunty. She was having coffee with her neighbour and I remember her saying "I'm a cow, I'm a cow" to her friend. I butted in, "You're not a cow Aunty Sandra!". She said "Yes I am. I'm a cow", to which I prompty replied (with a perfectly logical comment, to my way of thinking) "Well then, Can I milk your udders?". I couldn't work out what was so funny at the time but I think I cheered her up anyway. :P

I lost all hope in you after seeing you loved Assassin's Creed, (disgraceful letdown of a game) but I will buck up and endeaver to make a recommendation... ;)

First, I will second KOTOR, especially if you like Star Wars even a little bit.

Since you like RPGs I'll suggest Gothic II, though you may get hung up on the rather awkward combat. (it's not as bad as suggested by some)

If you've never tried adventure games, I'd suggest checking some out. (perhaps my favorite genre on the PC) The Monkey Island series, Full Throttle, Grim Fandango...

For LAN, you might try the silly but entertaining shooter Serious Sam I/II (co-op), obviously any of the highly rated RTSs--whichever interests you, or a more serious (not co-op) FPS like COD4--which is a pretty good game.

I'll throw down the name Deus Ex here (I and possibly II, though I has more RPGish elements to it).

Also, some adventure games are good fun (Monkey Island and Grim Fandango from the previous post are excellent examples).

Might give the Metal Gear Solid series a try as well as any Final Fantasy games you can find and Dark Cloud 2.

I had an abnormal fear and hatred of clowns as a child and enjoyed being able to fight them in parts of DC2 - but it is a good overall RPG.

MGS games are excellent action-RPGs and each Final Fantasy game is an enjoyable experience - there isn't one I can't recommend.

BUT the absolute best you will fine is Silent Hill and although not the most difficult gameplay Silent Hill 2 is still my favourite game of all time for its great creepy-spookiness and the multiple endings.

SH3 has a female protagonist - one of the few games that does.

I was always sorry that Heavy Metal F.A.K.K. never had any sequels - I thought Julie Strain pwned Lara Croft.

System Shock 2 (FPS/RPG hybrid)

Escape from Butcher Bay (FPS/stealth hybrid)

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas (open-world third person shooter)

Grand Theft Auto 4 (upcoming, may be banned in Australia)

Max Payne 1 & 2 (very story driven third person shooters)

Mirror's Edge (upcoming - might suck, but it should appeal to the Assassin's Creed fan in you)

Fallout 3 (I personally do not have high hopes for this game, but if you like Oblivion, you can essentially think of Fallout 3 as Oblivion 2)

Thanks guys! Some great sounding recommendations here & a lot mentioned recurringly so I'll be sure to check them out. Right now the top of the list try try is Mass Effect if it's what I'm thinking. Is there talking in it like in Vampire & what's the battle loading/style? Is it clickity click like the Witcher (which is growing on me despite my intial hatred of the battle controls).

KOTOR keeps coming up so I"ll try that, and Morrowind doesn't sound too far behind Oblivion so I'll try that too as long as someone reassures me there isn't more dungeon crawling than Oblivion as that was the part I didn't really enjoy.

FALLOUT series particularly 3 seems to be Vampiresque style right? If so, that's top of my to do list too. Actually I'm sure I'll try most of the games that got a couple of mentions.

IN MY DEFENSE OVER ASSASSIN'S CREED- I probably would NOT have enjoyed that game if the movement wasn't so beautiful. I loved the ease of the controls which was imho very well programmed & the gorgeous athletic way you could vault across the screen & backdrop. The rest of the game was boring, repetitive, monotonous & lacking in storyline development. I believe it was slightly more interesting on the PC as it had a few extra quest types added in (although the reward acheivement system was removed for some unknown reason) & I'm hoping all that will be drastically improved on in the next installment of the AC series (& the more we talk like this, the more the producers will have to listen and fix it right?)

As for FINAL FANTASY, it wasn't released on PC after VIII (other than online) or else I WOULD be playing it right now. I almost resorted to emulators to play further into the series but I'm BIOS phobic unless desperate to do something and for now there's other games I can make do with.

Lastly, what is really meant by the term 'adventure' gaming? What's the difference between adventure, rpg, action rpg etc in the opinion of ppl here. Generally speaking I can't find many clear descriptions that agree, so what do the real games think? (esp what would you call Vampire TMB?)

Well, usually adventure games lack combat and RPG-style stats. You uncover the linear plot of the game by talking to characters or by solving puzzles, most of which are frustrating as hell nowadays.

RPGs have fewer puzzles, if any, have stats (lots of them), a non-linear story (the good ones) and sometimes you kick someone's ass.

Action RPGs: kicking ass is the main gameplay element. There are some simplistic stats, maybe an inventory and occasionally two-three endings.

I think you'll like Undying, Call Of Cthulhu: Dark Corners Of The Earth, the Penumbra games... and Sid Meyer's Pirates! Maybe Rise Of Legends too.

I liked almost all those games too. I'm fairly easy to please as long as the game is made well. Sports games hold little to no interest for me.

I'm going to suggest a few games that are somewhat off the beaten path.

Ascension to the Throne: Despite the somewhat low budget look to the game, this is very fun if you want one of the few Turn Based Strategy games on the pc. The voice acting is bad, the story is kind of ho hum, but somehow it held my interest until the end.

Fable: TLC: A good entry into the rpg genre. The story is good. The gameplay is good. The character development is pretty good. This is really a winner all around.

GUN: This is a few years old now, but it's a game that shouldn't be missed. It has a short story and the game bugs out on certain hardware, but if you can get it, it's not to be missed.

Splinter Cell: I haven't played much of these games, but Pandora Tomorrow drew me in with it's gameplay and multiplayer that I played it back to back immediately after I'd beaten it the first time. I don't think you'll find many people playing multiplayer now, but it's fun if you can.

I have more but I don't really have access to them right now so I can't remember them. I'll post more if I can.

By this I think RPGs is the go for me. I like a little bit of action in there to reassure me that I really am a big hero, esp if the star character (moi) is a male in the game. hehe.

When I say puzzles, I don't really mean puzzles. Trying to rotate a dial to match up some confusing symbols based on a few lame clues I've uncovered in order to open a special door, frustrates the crap out of me. When I say solving puzzles, I mean storyline puzzles ie: talking to people and choosing answers that may or may not get them to tell me what I need to know (and could kill quests by pissing ppl off too so watch what you say) is fun for me.

I typed a reply before to the guy who said Silent Hill series was best ever but it seems to have got lost. In fact, no I don't really like that series. There was 1 I played back in 1999 or 2000 on PS that was either SH1 or SH2 and I really it liked it back then. I think ppl were turning into zombies and in the end I found myself in an alternate dimension, facing a mutant clone of myself that I had to put out of it's misery because it was too mutated to live in any real way other than being forced to power up whatever horrible energy was mutating everyone back in my world. I think that was a silent hill all though maybe it was a resident evil because although the gameplay was SH style, I could of sworn Umbrella (or maybe another big company) was to blame.

Either way, SH3 was one of a few games I used to have on Xbox and I found it very slow moving and frustrating at times when you have to walk back over the entire game's map trying to find a tiny object or clue you may have missed and to need to do that repeatedly without a walkthru.

SH4: The Room was one of the worst new games I've played! The multiple endings are apparently so varied taht I'd love to get them all but I wouldn't play this slow, boring game even 1 more time. (Sorry Iowastate).

BTW- I don't think your fear of clowns is abnormal. There is a recognised phobia re the fear of clowns. I myself never liked them, though I wasn't afraid. They wierded me out.