1) Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (PC)

Bioware at its best. While their games are typically good, they have never matched or surpassed the greatness of BG2 with its tactical combat, robust character customization, and grand storyline. Using the same character all the way from Baldur's Gate to Baldur's Gate 2: Throne of Bhaal was truly a grand experience. It's a shame that these days we're seeing watered down versions of the formula with KOTOR, and Mass Effect drags the RPG genre through the mud by destroying dialogue and making the combat twitch-based. I've got a feeling it will be a long time before I buy any of the current generation consoles...

2) Deus Ex (PC)

Why was the sequel so terrible? It's like they TRIED to destroy the good memories of the first game. A great story weaved in with character and weapon customization make this game nigh unforgettable. Gunther is one of my favorite video game characters. "I wanted ORANGE!!"

3) Chronotrigger (SNES)

One of two JRPGs I like, the other one being number 5 on this list. I don't know why I like it so much, but I always find myself playing it again and again, so it deserves its place on this list.

4) Counterstrike 1.6 (PC)

Frequently immitated but never surpassed, Counterstrike is truly the god of multiplayer FPSes. There is nothing more fun than headshotting noobs with the AK-47 across de_rats on a heavily modded server running AMX X, BlackJack, Hook, WC3, Roll-the-Dice, and other abominations of mods that make the game absolutely unpredictable.

5) Earthbound (SNES)

I normally don't like JRPGs, but this one had so many endearing quirks that it was impossible not to love. Breaking the fourth wall at the end with the final boss battle (easily my favorite boss battle in any game) was an excellent final touch to an amazing game.

6) Dwarf Fortress (PC)

You will not find this game listed on Gamespot. It is a rogue-like that is so unbelievably deep and complicated that most people will probably try it for 15 minutes before being scared off. But for those who stay, Dwarf Fortress will prove to be an utterly addicting game. It's only in alpha and it still has so much to offer, and more is being added all the time. The next version is set to deliver an enormous load of new content and should be out in a month or so. Amazingly, this game is done entirely in ASCII. It proves that gameplay is always superior to graphics.

7) Planescape: Torment (PC)

This game had the greatest story in any game I have ever seen, bar none. The characters were amazing and the setting was unreal. It was a mature game that didn't need blood and guts to be considered so, and rewarded intelligence, reading, and roleplaying. If the combat had been as good as it was in the other Infinity Engine games, this game would easily, EASILY be number 1 for me.

8) Goldeneye 007 (N64)

No FPS on a console has ever captured the perfect formula that Goldeneye did for me, and indeed most PC FPSes haven't either. The single-player was amazing too. Few things are more fun than running over people with the tank on the airport level.

9)Mount and Blade(PC)

Who knew that a tiny team in Tukey could create a game with addicting gameplay that rivals that of most high-profile, high-budget games on the market today? It's so exhilirating charging into a mob of infantry on horseback, cleaving people asunder with your sword, with 20 of your buddies right behind you about to do the same.

10) Super Smash Bros.: Melee (GCN)

What can I say? Deep? No. Fun? Y-E-S!

AMD 5600+

eVGA 8800 GTX

4 GB DDR2 800 RAM

2x 320 GB HDD

And all displayed on a 32" LCD TV. Too bad I won't be able to use it for four months because I'm out of the country :(

My laptop which I'm currently using is a Pentium M 1.80 GHz with all of 512 MB of RAM and a mobile ATI Radeon 9600 :( It overheats while playing World of Warcraft.

Whoever said not to bother with the machine gun needs to realize that weapon selection isn't all about number-crunching and hard scientific experimentation but individual playstyle. The machine gun is easily my favorite weapon. It has an obnoxiously large clip so it makes it a whole lot harder to get caught reloading. It does decent damage, and you don't have to worry too much about recoil if you fire off in single-shot or two-shot bursts. I can reliably get headshots with the machine-gun on a player standing on the opposite side of de_rats from me. Sure, it took practice, but it makes it all the more satisfying when people who call me a machine-gun n00b get a slug to the face.

Combine the machine-gun with the five-seven, and good times will be had by me!

Also, i have 1gb or RAM, can anyone tell me if i upgrate to 2 GB it will make a difference playing games?

 

 thanks

swar

A fan/heatsink I just bought comes with a thermal pad that I want to remove, and I know that it is best to use alcohol to do so. I've got some isopropyl rubbing alcohol, but the cheap garbage is only 70% alcohol by volume, with the rest being water. Should this be fine for getting rid of the pad, or should I get something with a higher alcohol volume?

Please explain the "practical point" to level up in the game. If your talking about being able to get stronger weapons and armor, it is completely nullified since almost every single humanoid npc in the game will also have those stronger weapons and armor, actually ruining the game's lore. bandits in daedric armor, supposedly only a few sets in the entire world(according to the lore)? WTF?ice44

This.

If anything, levelling up in Oblivion makes the game MORE DIFFICULT to beat. Take the seige of Kvatch. If you walk in there as a level one character, you and the guards will easily cut through the pitiful monsters that are rampaging through the city. However, if you walk in at, say, level 14 (which I made the initial mistake of doing), you and the guards will get swamped by Clannfears and Dremoras so fast that the guards will all die (except for the quest-required captain), and you will barely have enough time to run into the chapel door. I had to break the seige by valiantly hiding in the chapel, waiting for the captain to respawn and deal as much damage as possible while he was up, and the hide back in the chapel and repeat ad nauseum.

Level scaling makes sense if EVERYTHING isn't scaled to your level, but sadly, in Oblivion, it is. Is it really immersive or logical that a level 2 character can become the master of all the guilds, be the champion of the arena, and/or save the world? Plus, even the stuff you can buy in stores scales to your level, which is beyond absurd.

I'm building a new system because my old one is driving me nuts (the case is garbage, the fan is loud, the demo for Supreme Commander really chugs at the lowest settings, etc.), but I have a question about motherboard northbridges. I've been planning on getting the 8800 GTX, and was going to put it in a motherboard with an NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP northbridge. However, with all of the buzz surrounding the R600, I've been seriously considering waiting for that card to come out before I get my system. However, the problem is that there are maybe six ATI northbridge motherboards out there that fit the specifications that I need, and they all leave a lot to be desired.

Would putting an ATI card in a motherboard with an nVidia northbridge be a really stupid thing to do? I know very little about motherboards, so I'm kinda at a loss for an answer.

Bonus: Newegg listing of said motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813128011

[QUOTE="smokeydabear076"][QUOTE="cobrax25"][QUOTE="primetime2121"]you can hook up your PC to your HDTV but that will cost a boatload of money for both..I doubt many people will do such thing Sushimaster

Forbidden? What are you talking about? My computer is hooked to a 31" TV with a DVI=>HDMI cable and it works perfectly.