Gaming has already died for true gamers, its just a bunch of garbage for ADHD 12 year olds now. Master of Orion? Baldurs Gate stlye RPGs? Tactical Strategy (x-com)? CRPGs? Lucasarts Style adventure games? Space Sims? All dead genres only released by small companies with a very small if not unnoticed released. The big companies is all action garbage, so gaming is dead for me.

Thank god I buy 3rd party however which is still good, soon all these idiots will leave for console games and PC games will be for gamers once again.Kanaric

As for games becoming more action-oriented, what's wrong with that? Bioshock is as much puzzle solving as it is shooting, and World in Conflict is as deep as a turn-based war game. They're just leaner and faster.

And it's not just "ADHD 12 year olds" that are buying action games. The hardcore gamers of the 1990's are getting jobs and wives and just don't have the luxury of the six-hour-straight gaming sessions that the older strategy games demanded.

There was a level of depth we lost in gaming once video cards could start making things look pretty. They had to make up for crap graphics in the past with awesome story-telling and superior game play. Games with great depth and game play are still being made, but they are the exception to the rule. weirjf

And as for story telling, games these days are better on average than those in the past, with TV quality scripts, pro voice actors, and a license to cutscene. Aside from Planescape: Torment and a few adventure games, modern games got 'em beat.

And to those who wish to add Baldur's Gate to the "Greatest Story Ever" list, let me give you some advice: get a library card and go to rehab. I mean, where did Bioware get that crap? A Powerpoint presentation in a comp lit lecture?

1) Have you seen a decrease in the quality of PC Games?

2) Do you think PC Gaming is in decline?

3) If you answered "yes" to #1 or #2, then, when, in your opinion was the "golden age" of PC Gaming?Stowik

Seriously, though, I don't think it's fair to say that games are getting worse. I love the classics and still play them, but few of them would fly today, even with updated graphics. Their gameplay and presentation just aren't as polished as modern games.

Die by the Sword: It's utterly unique, but not for everyone. Use VSIM controls and rack up the dismemberments.:twisted:

Thief 1/2: The first stealth-action games ever, but they're still the greatest, IMO.

I'll second those that said Battlezone 2 (well-crafted and unique, but not for everyone), Disciples 1/2 (warning: fun, addictive, and time-consuming), and Fallout 1/2 (has a theme song from the 1940's, the Bridge Keeper from Monty Python, crashed flying saucers, and allows you to become a porn star ... oh, and the gameplay's pretty good, too :D).

But there is one game you absolutely MUST play, and that is

System Shock 2

Best FPS I've ever played. Similar to but much better than Deus Ex. You may want to install the mod that stops weapons breakage, but ABSOLUTELY DO PLAY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you don't have the money or the power to run Bioshock, might I recommend its predecessor, System Shock 2? Put it on the hardest difficulty, play it through with all three classes, and try to grab every log, and I guarantee it will take a long, glorious while.

And Far Cry isn't bad, either, though you'll spend half your time banging your keyboard in frustration on the last level. :evil:

Oh wait, I've got it! DIABLOCRAFT!Yuggs

I agree with arjun180 about a WoW expansion/sequel deserving terrorist retaliation ( :twisted: ) but after OD'ing on Warcraft 2 in junior-high, I can't stand RTS's, so I had to vote for Diablo 3.

Too be honest, though, I'm losing interest in Blizzard. Their games are extraordinarily polished, but they're also derivative. I mean, they only have three IP's (Diablo, Starcraft, and Warcraft), and they haven't done anything truly adventurous since they invented the action-RPG with Diablo 1.

I must be getting old, because MOTS is getting less entertaining all the time.

You also might see if you can find a way to force your graphics card or your TV not to expand the picture to fill the screen. Technically, it's possible for your TV to run games at 1024x768 while leaving black bars on the sides, just like the black bars you get when watching widescreen movies on 4x3 TV's. I have a hard time believing that a high-end card like the 8800 doesn't have that option.

I'll add my voice to a call for Max Payne and Descent Freespace, and second the guys who mentioned Wing Commander and a true Rainbow Six sequel (Lockdown and Vegas don't count).

But also let me add my own old, dusty, never-to-be-resurrected franchises to those of the original poster. :)

1) Terranova

2) Die by the Sword

3) One Must Fall (a full-budget one, not the chintzy crap called Battlegrounds)

4) Oni

[QUOTE="Proagent514"]Honestly though if your a gamer my first reaction is HELL NO last thing you need is a system hog (anti virus) aren't you computer literate enough to not have to even use one?

There are other alternatives to virus scan etc. Partitioning your hard drive(s) into an os partition or a seperate data partition and just reformat OS partition when you have a problem?donwoogie

rofl, sounds like you need a better PC boyo :P

AVG only takes up 2mb of RAM. It's hardly going to bring your system down to its knees.

And besides, Proagent's partitioning solution isn't just good for virus protection, but for just about everything else. I have an OS/app and a data partition, and that saves me from at least four hours and a whole lot of worry every time I have to reformat, whether it be because of some nasty spyware I picked up from a fake keygen (I know, I know, I deserved it), because my tweaking broke Windows, or just because XP's getting slow.

System Shock 2thusaha

BF 2 or maybe Armed Assault...its not out yet in North America, but I'm pretty sure this game will rock my world since its one of the best war simulator ever created, and with the map editor and mods, you should never get bored.lamx30108200