game gift suggestions

rtil · December 9, 2011 12:56 PM

ok, so my little brother just got his first computer and he's 14. it's an old computer.. i wanna say its' 5 years old now. i dont remember what video card is in there, but the video card is as old as the computer, if not older. my parents are sort of strict when it comes to violence so im trying to keep that in mind, although i dont think they'll take away anything i buy him. also, i'd like to pick out games that have a lot of replay value when it comes to single player, because he is not allowed to use the internet very often so if a game requires the internet to do anything it won't be any fun for him. he really doesn't care playing against computers.

he's barely played any games bar worms armageddon and a handful of wii, genesis and DS games.

i haven't played a ton of games myself and i'm having trouble picking out stuff, and if i do find something i find out it sucked.

so yeah. i need old pc friendly games with a focus on singler player (doesn't even have to be campaign, just replay value), preferably not too violent.

Ashington · December 9, 2011 01:34 PM

need for speed: most wanted if he likes racing stuff and its cool to have him evading the cops and street racing (no one dies). its dirt cheap and should work ok on that machine

Gladius · December 9, 2011 01:58 PM

family friendly racing fun

plus starcraft 2 has a no-gore option if his parents are ok with war games

psi43 · December 9, 2011 02:26 PM

Quote from: Gladius on December 9, 2011 01:58 PM

family friendly racing fun

plus starcraft 2 has a no-gore option if his parents are ok with war games

sc2 would be hard to play with if he doesn't get to use the internet too often (updates, having to log in for the first time, etc. It's a little complicated to play it offline if you haven't used computers much before).

I'd say go get him some games that YOU enjoyed at his age. Seeing as the computer is old, it should fit nicely. You can for example get him the Age of Empire or Empire Earth Trilogy. Those are fun to play, you can play them alone + replay value.

I also highly recommend the Anno games. When I was around your brother's age, I really liked those games and could play them for hours.

And here's another suggestion that you will probably not listen to; Minecraft. It will probably be enjoyable for your brother for his own reasons. Building stuff and fighting monsters in a cartoony sense. It's fun to play, it's not hard and - even playing it offline - it has an incredibly high replay value. Additionally to that, it's quite cheap (20$ now I think?). You will just need internet to update the game right after you download it, that's it. After that, he can just play offline as much as he likes to.

Crabarms · December 9, 2011 04:52 PM

Maybe something like the sims? I played the crap out of the first one and I'm pretty sure the second one is just bit of the same but better graphics but probably still in range with his computer.

trent bortknob · December 9, 2011 07:08 PM

dude, just get him an N64 emulator, a SNES emulator, and some zelda games. it's free, the games aren't too violent, and they'll increase his problem solving skills (uh...maybe)

cipher · December 9, 2011 07:09 PM

Yeah I really doubt a five year old computer could run minecraft that well. Anyways, there's some good RTSs like age of mythology that might be worth looking into, but that might be too violent..

(but it is somewhat educational)

tmk · December 9, 2011 08:04 PM

maybe morrowind? I remember it stole a big chunk of my time when I was about that age. I suppose it's a little bit more on the violent side though

BluPhoenix · December 9, 2011 08:19 PM

star wars: empire at war
simcity 4 deluxe
sid meijer's pirates
abe's oddysee or exoddus (or both)
minecraft maybe?

naturally · December 9, 2011 10:11 PM

minecraft
cave story (it's free though so idk)
torchlight
pacman world 2
super meat boy

rtil · December 9, 2011 11:24 PM

um yeah, i'm not getting him minecraft. the "game" is $30 now (LOL), i wouldn't even play it for free and i certainly wouldn't give it as a gift to anyone else.

i guess i should have been more specific. i'm not looking for some kind of boring sandbox for people with aspergers, i was thinking more of adventure, action and rpg type games where there's an actual goal and things to do and interact with. you know, a real game.

the age of empires/mythology stuff is a good idea. i'm hoping to find a physical copy or bundle of something. digital download is kind of lame to give as a gift.

and as far as emulators go, yeah that's cool and all, but it's also kind of lame as a present imo. that's something i could set up for him any time.

his favorite games are sonic and mario stuff and worms armageddon. but he really hasn't played much of anything outside of those and i want him to try different stuff.

and the computer might be old, but it's not so old that i need game titles from 10+ years ago.

naturally · December 9, 2011 11:49 PM

i'm just gonna say torchlight then 'cause it's the only thing i can think of that covers everything you've mentioned

also age of mythology 'cause that's the only game i played on my pc when i was younger and i had no internet

ZennyPLUS · December 10, 2011 02:35 AM

I'd have lots of suggestions if this present were to be a home console game and not a PC one. BUT, since it is, I'm stumped, I'll try to think of one though.

rtil · December 10, 2011 02:50 AM

well, he has a wii

CVG · December 10, 2011 04:26 AM

Sonic Generations for PC, Oddworld Abes Exoddus, Beyond Good and Evil, Psychonauts, Scaler (gamecube but plays on wii). All these games I own and can say they a load of fun for all ages...they have story,complex levels, great gameplay and you can play them over and unlock stuff for different endings. If you can sneek in a M game I'd suggest Bioshock since thats really fun and as a single player game its also a plus in all the above too.

redmongoose · December 10, 2011 04:57 AM

http://www.telltalegames.com/samandmax

these are really great

dilly · December 10, 2011 04:59 AM

psychonauts! it's hilarious and well put together

also the sims 2 was always fun to play. I know the sims 3 plays on my sister's laptop which is relatively old, but it doesn't run the fastest.

trent bortknob · December 10, 2011 05:33 AM

dude i know that the emulators are free and easy to set up but he doesn't know that. they're still great games regardless.

but don't listen to me cuz i am not a gamer and i am not in the loop plus i can be a cheapskate

rtil · December 10, 2011 05:57 AM

Quote from: dillybar on December 10, 2011 04:59 AM
psychonauts! it's hilarious and well put together

also the sims 2 was always fun to play. I know the sims 3 plays on my sister's laptop which is relatively old, but it doesn't run the fastest.

i didnt know there was a psychonauts for pc. i'll check that out

what's the goal of the sims anyway? i've seen people do hilarious stuff in it but i'm guessing if you play the game "normally" it's to lead a sim to a successful life?

Quote from: CVG on December 10, 2011 04:26 AM
Sonic Generations for PC, Oddworld Abes Exoddus, Beyond Good and Evil, Psychonauts, Scaler (gamecube but plays on wii). All these games I own and can say they a load of fun for all ages...they have story,complex levels, great gameplay and you can play them over and unlock stuff for different endings. If you can sneek in a M game I'd suggest Bioshock since thats really fun and as a single player game its also a plus in all the above too.

i'm not sure if sonic generations or bioshock would run so great on his computer. the abes oddysey games are all good, i remember playing one on the xbox and having lots of fun with it.

Quote from: redmongoose on December 10, 2011 04:57 AM
http://www.telltalegames.com/samandmax

these are really great

they look cool but what is the game? it says nothing about what the game actually is.

Quote from: trent bortknob on December 10, 2011 05:33 AM
dude i know that the emulators are free and easy to set up but he doesn't know that. they're still great games regardless.

but don't listen to me cuz i am not a gamer and i am not in the loop plus i can be a cheapskate

i would set up an emulator for him but not as a gift.. it's just something i would do one day visiting the house. he already has a bunch of genesis roms anyway, and n64 emulators don't work that great.

dilly · December 10, 2011 06:39 AM

yeah you can buy psychonauts for $10 on steam

there's really no overall goal to the sims. it's just fun to play and design houses and make them do shit.