showing 8 games

namepublisher(developer)year arrow_downwarddescription
Gothic 2  JoWood Productions (Piranha Bytes)2002You have torn down the magical barrier and released the prisoners of the Mine Valley. Now the former criminals of the forests and mountains are causing trouble around the capital of Khorinis. The town militia is powerless due to their low amount of force–outside of the town, everyone is helpless against the attacks of the bandits.***Re-released together with the Night of the Raven expansion on 2005-11-29 as [i]Gothic 2 Gold Edition[/i]. labelimagesubject
Gothic 2: The Night of the Raven  JoWooD Productions (Piranha Bytes)2003"When you're in need of something and don't know where to find it, go to Khorinis. There you can surely buy it." -- Saying (author unknown) The mine valley of Khorinis. The glorious days of the once productive mines in this small seaside region were long over. Surrounded by the impenetrable magical barrier, the slaves eked out their miserable existence in this apparently natural prison.
One brave man managed to burst the bonds of imprisonment. Following his own call to freedom, he ventured deep into the subterranean temples. Willing to do whatever was necessary, he went out to banish Evil and destroy the magical barrier forever. Spurred by the hatred of men long-suppressed, the prisoners streamed trough the only pass to freedom.
No one in Khorinis had been prepared for this. Too long had they lived under the deceptive notion of security granted by the apparently indestructible magical dome. The small militia garrison could not put up enough forces against the onrush. After numerous bloody clashes, many captives escaped and found safety in the woods or rugged mountains of the surrounding countryside.
The steadily escalating number of raids in the vicinity of the town wall and the bandits' ever-increasing boldness seemed to paralyze the whole town. Angered by the militia's inability to protect their farms, some of the farmers formed an alliance with the refugees, no longer willing to pay allegiance to the king.
Khorinis is facing an uncertain future. Due to the farmers' decreasing production, more and more of the food deliveries do not take place, and the stocks diminish continuously. The militia's might ends at the town gate. Outside the town wall, nobody is safe from the bandits' armed raids. There is war in Khorinis. A civil war.
But there is something else that could not be foreseen. Evil is not dead, rearing its ugly head again. But this time it is set on delivering the deathblow to humanity, and no one can stop it.
No one?***Adds one more area to the game as well as re-balances the gameplay otherwise. Pretty much like a huge patch.***English version was released as part of the Gothic 2 Gold combined re-release (2005-11-29), never sold in English separately.
labelimagesubject
EverQuest II  Ubisoft;Square Enix;Gamania (Sony Online Entertainment)2004[b]Minimum:[/b]
* Windows 98, ME, 2000 or XP
* 1 GHz CPU
* 512 MB RAM
* 64 MB VRAM
* 6 GB HD space
* 56 Kbps internet connection***These are the expansions and their release dates for EQ2.

The Bloodline Chronicles (Mar 21, 2005)
The Splitpaw Saga (Jun 28, 2005)
Desert of Flames (Sep 13, 2005)
Kingdom of Sky (Feb 21, 2006)
The Fallen Dynasty (Jun 14, 2006)
Echoes of Faydwer (Nov 14, 2006)
Rise of Kunark (Nov 13, 2007)***[company=Sony Online Entertainment]Sony Online Entertainment[/company] was also publisher for this (as well as being its developer), but there was no space for it left after the three others.***Official site:
EverQuest II is a parallel online universe to the hugely successful gaming phenomenon EverQuest®. Featuring breathtaking graphics and a vast, beautiful game world to explore, EverQuest II sets new standards in graphical realism as players are immersed in the game's powerful epic storyline with thousands of players online.

Set 500 years after EverQuest, EverQuest II is a new and different game experience in a changed world marred by a fantastic, life-changing event. Players enter this world by creating their own unique character from 16 races and 48 classes, and using a powerful facial customization system for unprecedented player individuality.

Players will encounter hundreds of creatures as they travel across the majestic landscape of rolling hills, barren deserts, dense forests and bustling cities. Thousands of new items, hundreds of new spells and unlimited adventures await all who enter the world of EverQuest II.
labelimageminimize
Ultima VII: The Black Gate  ? (Origin)2006Thanks to a game engine called Exult, Ultima VII: The Black Gate and its addon The Forge of Virtue can be played on a variety of platforms.

Tags:
The 7th canonical game in the Ultima series and the first game in Ultima's Age of Armageddon. But, it was never intended to run on Windows. Exult uses SDL for the Linux version. The player and party can use crossbows and bows. Ingredients can be mixed to bake bread and other things. Cheese is available as food. A variety of items can be crafted into other items. There are pumpkin fields in the game, from which pumpkins can be harvested. Flight of the Bumblebee is played at one point, Rule Britannia is overplayed. There are severl prisoners in the game and its this plays into the plot more than once. An addictive medicine in the game is abused by characters and can be abused by the player's character and party, with consequences. Unicorns are mentioned in in-game books and by characters[spoiler=and;and]one can be found by the player also.[/spoiler]
[Zerothis]
labelminimizesubject
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion  2K Games;Bethesda Softworks (Bethesda Game Studios)2006Oblivion is set during the Third Era, six years after the events of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, although it is not a direct sequel to it or any other game. The game is set in Cyrodiil—a province of Tamriel, the continent on which all the games in the series have so far taken place.

The story begins with the player imprisoned in a cell for an unknown crime. Emperor Uriel Septim VII, accompanied by Imperial bodyguards known as the Blades, arrives in the prison, fleeing from assassins who have murdered the emperor's three sons and are now targeting him. The emperor and the Blades reveal that the player's jail cell contains a secret entrance to a part of the city's sewer that functions as an escape route. Pardoned by the emperor, the player follows the group into the sewer, where they come under attack by assassins. The blade captain is cut down during the fighting that ensues. Knowing he is destined to die by the hands of the assassins, Uriel Septim entrusts the player with the Amulet of Kings, worn by the Septim emperors of Tamriel, and orders the player to take it to a man named Jauffre, the grandmaster of the Blades, at Weynon Priory. Immediately afterward, one of the assassins kills the emperor. The player escapes the sewer and heads out into the open world of Cyrodiil.***
[100]***
[12]***[b]Add-ons:[/b] (DLC)
* Knights of the Nine
* Horse Armor
* Frostcrag
* Battlehorn Castle
* Mehrune's Razor
* Orrery
* Thieves' Den
* Vile Lair (Deepscorn Hollow)
* Spell Tomes

[i]Shivering Isles[/i] is also DLC but adds ~30 hours of gameplay and is considered an actual expansion rather than minor add-on.***[b]Performance optimization:[/b]
1) In [code]Oblivion.ini[/code] set [code]iMinGrassSize=130[/code] (default: 80), this makes grass more sparse (the grass is mostly CPU intensive).
2) Disable HDR and use only Bloom effect (HDR in Oblivion is very hackish anyway). In most other games HDR doesn't cause much performance issues nor looks as garish as it does in Oblivion.
3) In [code]Oblivion.ini[/code] set [code]bDSoundHWAcceleration=0[/code] (default: 1, eanbled) if sounds are strange.

Anything else is just choosing right quality vs speed trade-off with video settings.

[b]Crashes:[/b]
4) In case of random crashes, try running the game on single core.

[b]Other:[/b]
5) There are plenty of user made mods that make the game look prettier, but this is usually accomplished with higher polycount models and larger textures, so if you have trouble running the game as is, don't even dream of it. Not that the performance is any issue for hardware people are transitioning to now.***?? 2007? --- Game of the Year (GOTY) edition with [game=#161048]Shivering Isles[/game] and [game=#159888]Knights of the Nine[/game] expansions.
INT 2009-06-16 on Steam, by Bethesda Softworks (lang: eng) --- GOTY edition, includes Knights of the Nine and the Shivering Isles expansions.***Oblivion, when it still wasn't out in the light, held my hopes of redeeming the errors done in Morrowind for the series, but woe it was not to be so. Oblivion is much like Morrowind, except they ruined the beast races' looks even more (though I kinda like it they chose not to use digitigrade legs for them instead of vainly trying to get them to work like they tried in Morrowind - it was a horrible sight if you don't know).

Anyways, Oblivion did have many improvements over Morrowind, the graphic mood isn't as happy as in Morrowind, but still needs work to reach what it was In Daggerfall to really suit my taste (Battlespire and Redguard had the mood right, too). The graphic side really had gained some improvement (mostly just tech eyecandy), except the land still looks like it's made of bent plastic like in Morrowind.

Unsurprisingly the AI seems to have received extremely little attention, with the opponents blindly rushing in at you or blasting from afar with little regard to tactics or anything else than to attack and.. well.. attack. The last time I saw AI this weak was in Serious Sam, but that game didn't really need it. Still, You'd have expected Oblivion to have something more advanced but no, it seems they ignored it completely.

It's also sad that they still rely on level-scaling the opponents to keep the "challenge" up, but that makes the world seem ridiculous since everything becomes tougher with you. So, in the end, you don't kick the ass out of those pesky rats any more easily then than you did when you just started out of the prison, which leaves room to question, what is the leveling there really for? It seems as if you leveling up means the world is becoming more and more dangerous simply because _you_ are becoming better (by around level 20 pretty much every bandit and God knows what is wearing full Daedric armour and weapons all enchanted to the brink with who knows what), raising curious questions about what your character really is to cause such grand change in the order of things.

Your actions still go largely unnoticed by others and have little impact on things that you can do, making one wonder what they really did for the series. The story goes on, the series gets better tech, but the gameplay stays the same crappy self from year to year.

If they ever decide to make fifth chapter, well... if it looks like nothing's changed from this for the better, then my hope for the series will be gone for good.***Game links:

[[link:http://www.tessource.net/ The Elder Scrolls Source (mods)]]
[[link:http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/ Planet Elder Scrolls (mods)]]
[[link:http://timeslip.chorrol.com/obmm_download.html Oblivion Mod Manager]]
[[link:http://jorgeoscuro.googlepages.com/home Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul]]
[[link:http://www.tescreens.be/oblivionmodwiki/index.php/Cosmetic_Compilation Cosmetic Compilation (mod for making better looking characters)]]
[[link:http://korana.elricm.com/eshme_bodies.htm Eshme's Bodies (better bodies)]]
[[link:http://btmod.beider.org/ BTmod (better UI)]]
[cjlee001]
labelimagesubject
Titan Quest  THQ (Iron Lore Entertainment)2006[b]premade protagonist[/b] - besides being able to choose your gender (which only affects what you look like), you have absolutely no choice who your character is, later you get to choose which class to progress, though.
[b]adv-static[/b] - does not occur when the character gains a generic level, but when they assign a point to class (mastery) level. Same points are used to unlock and increase the power of your class abilities, but a large number needs to be dedicated to unlocking class levels as well. Regular levels only give points to distribute: 2 for attributes, 4 for classes.
[b]seamless world[/b] - there are a number of breaks, mostly when player goes on a sea voyage to reach another distant region. Otherwise, the world is massive.
[b]sauroids[/b] - there's humanoid crocodiles/alligators, dinosaur-like ice raptors, and the centauroid mini-dragon things.
[b]china[/b] - although never named thus (called the Orient instead), the map shows clearly the eastern side of mainland China with the island of Taiwan to the east and Hainan to the south and some other recognizable elements.

[b]req-swapfile[/b] - can be disabled by adding line [code]`skipCompatibilityChecks = true´[/code] to file [code]`Documents/My Games/Titan Quest/Settings/Options.txt´[/code].

--- averted
historically inaccurate - although Sparta was established in 11th century BCE and the Yellow Emperor reigned in around 27th century BCE, the Yellow Emperor apparently has waned to myth, people doubting his existence, so he's likely some form of an immortal within the setting though this is not elaborated.***From the co-creator of Age of Empires, Brian Sullivan, comes an all-new action role-playing game set in the mythical worlds of ancient Greece and Egypt. Amazing visuals and fast-action gameplay deliver a true cinematic gaming experience. Lush ancient world settings crafted in near-photo realistic detail provide the player with an extraordinary canvas on which to set forth on an epic quest of the ultimate good versus evil. The Titans, gods before the gods, have escaped from their eternal prison to wreak havoc on the world. In this titanic struggle between old and new gods it is the heroes of humankind who will ultimately determine the fate of all existence. The player quests throughout the ancient world in a race to uncover the secrets needed to once again imprison these ancient gods. Journeying to fabled locations such as the Parthenon, the maze at Knossos, the Great Pyramids, and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the player will have to overcome terrifying monsters and mythical beasts. A flexible class system allows almost limitless ways for the player to develop their character. Skills can be customized in many ways, and never become obsolete. With addictive, fast action gameplay and tons of unique loot, epic gaming has never been so good. Brave the trials of Titan Quest alone or bring a group of friends to share the glory while playing through the thrilling story-driven campaign.

* Epic adventuring in the ancient world
* Stunning 3D graphics, with an amazing level of detail and realism
* Addictive, fast-action gameplay
* Custom, definable character classes and modifiable skills
* Streaming, seamless world
* Over a thousand pieces of unique and legendary equipment
[THQ]
labelimagesubject
Torchlight II  Runic Games2012The award-winning action RPG is back, bigger and better than ever! Torchlight II takes you back into the quirky, fast-paced world of bloodthirsty monsters, bountiful treasures, and sinister secrets - and, once again, the fate of the world is in your hands!

Torchlight II captures all the flavor and excitement of the original game - while expanding the world and adding the features players wanted most, including online and LAN co-op multiplayer. Torchlight II is fast, fun, and filled to the brim with action and loot. Adventure solo or online with your friends!

Key Features:
* Multiplayer - Play co-op with your friends via LAN or over the Internet for free. No subscriptions, no item sales. Our new matchmaking service lets you find friends, start new games, and join existing games. And, as always, you can play single-player offline as well.
* Customizable Characters - Players will create and customize a character from one of four brand new classes. Each class can be played as either male or female, with customized cosmetic features and looks to make each individual character stand out. All new skills and loot give loads of opportunity for unique character builds.
* Moddability - TorchED, the Torchlight II editor, will give players the ability to create their own mods, adding even more content to the world. Have your friends download the same mod and play together.
* New User Interface - Torchlight II boasts a new and improved user interface, designed to be easier than ever for new players to pick up and play. This intuitive interface ensures you can focus on playing the game the way you want to.
* Open World - We're not only in the town of Torchlight anymore! Explore vast overland areas and multiple hub towns, fight through rain, snow, day and night. Our level randomization ensures new layouts, paths, loot, and monsters every time you play.
* New Game Plus - In New Game Plus, the game's not over until you say it is. Once you've beaten Torchlight II's primary campaign, you can start again with the same character for a significantly greater challenge. You'll keep all of the skills, gold, and gear you worked so hard for!
* Pets & Fishing - These popular features make their return in Torchlight II in improved form. More choices, better effects, and your pet will still make the run to town to sell your loot so you don’t have to.
labelimagesubject
Sir, You Are Being Hunted  Big Robot Entertainment2014 labelimageminimize
permalink