Free-roaming RPG with in-depth character customisation?

Reginald

Reginald

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As the title states, I want a free roaming RPG with character customisation that will allow me to create whatever I want.

Recently in this category I've played:
Oblivion (which is the sort of thing I want but with less repetitititive dungeons)
STALKER (again, something similar to this but with a little more customisation. Perhaps because it's too set within the semi-real world, but I don't feel the enhancements I give my character)
Mass Effect (not enough customisation beyond levelling up traits)


I have this glorious idea for a game that would fall into this sort of category and I would love to find something that even lives up to half my idea but ultimately these sorts of games lack the depth I am looking for.

Are games like Diablo and Neverwinter Nights worth looking into? Funnily enough the closest I have found to what I want is Urban Dead.

Any ideas?
 
The new Fallout might be what you're looking for.

Fable isn't quite "free-roaming", but it does offer some level of customization.
 
Tarkus said:
Morrowind
Click to expand...

I have played this to death as well as Oblivion.

theotherguy said:
The new Fallout might be what you're looking for.

Fable isn't quite "free-roaming", but it does offer some level of customization.
Click to expand...

Fallout 3 really interests me, but I've never played the first 2 or any of the supposedly awful spin-offs. Would they be what I'm looking for?

Fable was fun but would never really go towards floating my boat in the same respect that I am looking for with this current desire.

The way of doing guilds and side-quests in Oblivion is quite how I like it with the feeling that you are constantly being pressured into doing the main quest or nothing else.
I didn't like the way STALKER handled this where you never really felt part of the side-quests and that they just rush you into doing them as if the main quest might perish without your constant attention.

Off-topic: I apologise for my complete lack of eloquence in this thread. Reading it back it sounds like a complete mess. Ah well.
 
I would recommend maybe Baldur's Gate 1 or 2, or Fallout 1 or 2. If you like Urbandead then you can't be all too worried about graphical frippery, so the slightly aged nature of those games won't bother you. The Baldur's Gate games still hold up pretty well anyway IMO, graphically.

Neither of these series are exactly what you might be after in terms of being free roaming. They are very non-linear, however. There are a set number of locations which you can travel to in any order, but the journey between those locations is unseen (that is to say, it is plotted on a representative map of the world).

Which one you'd prefer depends really on which setting appeals more. Baldur's Gate is sword and sorcery, Fallout is post-apocalypse. Also, Fallout gives you more control over the personal development of your character, while Baldur's Gate is more story driven and has a more cohesive narrative. Fallout has snappier dialogue and lots of flexibility in terms of quest completion, whereas Baldur's Gate has more depth to the game world (all IMHO). Both have good NPC's and neither put much pressure on you to follow the main quest. If you check out the BG series, you might want to try them in order since BG1 is less linear than its sequel (in terms of progression).

Check out Planescape: Torment while you're at it. It's a similar kind of RPG to the Baldur's Gate games, but has a far more linear progression (and so again not exactly what you appear to be looking for in your OP). That is compensated for by some of the greatest writing and story you'll find in a game though.
 
Diablo 1 and 2 are both very fun for a while, but I have to admit every year or so I get bored and take a break for a couple months.
 
There's a gigantic Bioware pack that has Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 + expansion packs + Icewind Dale + Expansion pack for like 60 bucks. Highly recommended. I loved Icewind Dale's art. Absolutely thrilling.
 
Beerdude26 said:
There's a gigantic Bioware pack that has Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 + expansion packs + Icewind Dale + Expansion pack for like 60 bucks. Highly recommended. I loved Icewind Dale's art. Absolutely thrilling.
Click to expand...

Will they work in Visa 64bit?
 
Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall, you need DOSBox to run it properly though.
 
Fallout is definitely worth trying. The story essentially amounts to
- a list of objectives that must be completed in certain combinations
- a number of events that are scheduled to happen after a certain amount of gametime has passed
Other than that, you're on your own with a ticking clock. It really is wonderful.
 
Diablo2 LoD is great, but only play multiplayer (its a must in order to keep it fun and even playable). Its really tuff and hard at first, but once you get rolling it is a ****ing amazing experiance.
 
Baldur's Gate II is the best available for the D&D RPG's, and it also happens to have the most "free roam" potential, at least in a couple chapters. Neverwinter Nights series isn't bad, but BG2 (and expansion) is far, far better.

Diablo I'd stay away from... can be fun... mostly a bore.

Deus Ex is pretty good too. It keeps you on rails for the entire game (though you get options about how to clear the areas), your skills hardly matter, your biomods matter even less, but it's a good game! :P I just finished it for the first time a couple weeks ago. Can't really give a genre since it does pretty much everything.

Some people liked Vampire Bloodlines... I didn't, but hey might be worth looking at!

Then there's always World of Warcraft... can't really recommend it in good conscience though!
 
The original Guild Wars is great for a (long) while and free to play too. I believe they call it 'prophesies' now since all the expansions were released - these only add more of the same, so not really worth buying unless you have too much money and zero life.

Reginald said:
Off-topic: I apologise for my complete lack of eloquence in this thread. Reading it back it sounds like a complete mess. Ah well.
Click to expand...

And I thought Brits were all ignorant ass-hats. This one sentence wins you a level up and a +1 Leather Codpiece of Respect.
 
Don't go with oblivion, it may be huge but most of the dungeons and landscapes are copied and pasted. And it's more of an action game than an rpg, Morrowind is your best bet.
 
^ I'd agree except the combat in Morrowind is really really bad. For me it was just standing right in front of the enemy clicking rapidly and having every 9th 0r 10th blow actually injure him. And those flying lizard things are possibly even more annoying than Oblivion's NPCs, which is saying something.
 
Damnit, this thread got me addicted to blade and mount.

Now I realized there's really nothing to do in the game except trade and go grind on bandits, so I'm uninstalling it.
 
Morrowind, The world it is set in is one of the best for a video game. It's not really about fighting and action though so I don't think everyone will like it.
 
theotherguy said:
Damnit, this thread got me addicted to blade and mount.

Now I realized there's really nothing to do in the game except trade and go grind on bandits, so I'm uninstalling it.
Click to expand...

Truth. Except with more factions, quests for faction leaders, rising in rank, managing properties, and besieging castles, conquering enemy towns and such.
 
Steven said:
Morrowind, The world it is set in is one of the best for a video game. It's not really about fighting and action though so I don't think everyone will like it.
Click to expand...

Damn, so many people say Morrowind but I just couldn't get myself to enjoy it. I played it for a bit and the world seemed so bland... :|
 
Krynn72 said:
Truth. Except with more factions, quests for faction leaders, rising in rank, managing properties, and besieging castles, conquering enemy towns and such.
Click to expand...

I was only able to loot and burn villaiges, and tutorial only allows up to level six. I didn't know you could join a faction or manage properties. Most of the quests are along the lines of "kill these bandits for 70 gold!" And I'm like "Why, when I could get 5000 for buying this velvet, going to the next town, and selling it over a period of a few days?"

I did become quite an evil khan type fellow though. I made enemies with everyone except the mongols and looted almost every villaige. By the time I put it down today, I had an army of well over 60 mongol horse archers.

Damn, now I feel like I've wasted the past five hours.
 
Just started playing Fallout 2 and I'm quite enjoying it so far. Like all old games, the controls feel a little clunky and the difficulty curve is practically archaic. But all in all, the lore and range of things to do is pretty awesome. Sadly I just died and haven't saved since shortly after I left the temple at the start so I quit in semi-disgust but I'm already hankering after returning.
 
Just grabbed the Baldur's Gate/Fallout I/II collections at an easter sale. I've tried the first of each before but neither really held my attention for long enough to get hooked. Would it be better to skip the first games and go straight to the sequels, or would that be like dating the ok-looking girl to sleep with her hot sister? (ie - ill advisable... also, herpes)
 
I dunno... I suspect that if you're not the type of person who is immediately sucked in by the size and depth of the world you're faced with, then fundamentally they just may not be your type of games.

In terms of the BG games at least, the second is much more polished in terms of narrative drive and Party-NPC interaction, so if you feel like that might hold your attention a little more then it's worth giving BG2 a try before you give up altogether. Then again, BG2 doesn't have as many locations to travel to as BG1, so if it's the exploration factor that appeals to you, then maybe it's worth persevering with the first game.

It's been a long time since I played Fallout 1, so I can't really remember how much of a difference there was between it and Fallout 2.

EDIT: I didn't read you properly at first and somehow thought you were still deciding whether or not to buy the collection. Feel free to add +3 encouragement to the slightly discouraging tone of my post; IMO it's well worth sticking at it with the first game in each series, just as long as you're not finding it to be an excruciating drudge. Also have a look at BG1 Tutu ("BG1-to-2") if you want to try enhancing your BG1 experience at the cost of a couple of bugs and some fiddling with setup.
Reginald said:
Just started playing Fallout 2 and I'm quite enjoying it so far. Like all old games, the controls feel a little clunky and the difficulty curve is practically archaic. But all in all, the lore and range of things to do is pretty awesome. Sadly I just died and haven't saved since shortly after I left the temple at the start so I quit in semi-disgust but I'm already hankering after returning.
Click to expand...
Save your game in an extremely paranoid fashion, in several different slots, and you'll seldom regret it. Fallout 2 becomes easier later once you've procured some decent weaponry, and advanced your character to the point where you actually can throw a punch at a barn door without missing. I went from dreading and despising all the combat to actively seeking out punks to massacre. Love those sledgehammer criticals to the groin.
 
How about dungeon siege? that is a great game.
 
I wasn't so much worried about the scale of the games since, honestly, I never got that far outside of the first towns. I'm just really bad with any kind of learning curve, short attention span and all that. I know that once I actually sit down and commit myself to it for more than a couple of hours I'll probably be hooked, just have to get over that mound first.

Would help if the collections came with an actual manual. I hate reading .pdfs.
 
Give it to me in notepad and I'll read it without hesitation... give me a .pdf file and I won't dare touch it.
 
What's wrong with PDF documents? I love PDF documents.
 
Two Worlds is the worst game I have ever played.

So bad, in fact, that my girlfriend almost broke up with me after she saw me play it. This is not a joke.

The writing is horrible. Everything is all 'Aye, and t'was' but the actors sound like they found the script on the ground and just started reading it aloud. The 'main character' is the biggest douche ever. Especially when you ressurect, where he'll say some stupid shit like 'YEEEEEEAH!'.
 
Sea, you should get Titan Quest. It's incredibly fun (and even more in Coop!)
 
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