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Can someone recommend me a PC game to play?

1. The Sims 2.

2. Black and White 2.

Anata wa wakarimasu ka.....

What genre's?


FPS - Get HL2, or start off with HL and then go to HL2. FEAR and Far Cry are also pretty damn sweet.

RTS - Company of Heroes, Supreme Commander, or old school like Starcraft.

RPG's - Oblivion

MMO's - World Of Warcraft.

There is ton of great games for the PC.

black and white 2, as long as your RAM is over 512 mg..

World of warcraft, supreme commander, Half life 2 are all good...if u like old school rpgs like diablo then try out Titan quest...COH and Dawn of war games are also very nice

I'm not entirely certain, but I'm leaning towards something more story intensive; definitely not any MMORPG's, and I finished Half-Life 2 and Ep1 not too long ago. I've played to death a bunch of the classics (Baldur's Gate, Starcraft, Halo, etc.) and I'm not looking for anything as open-ended and direction-less as Oblivion or Morrowind. I've also already beat F.E.A.R.

how about the legacy of Kain series, few games are as story driven as that...a nice story there, or prince of persia series...theyre great, as well as Myth series, an old series of games but imo they had a good storyline and pretty good gameplay

Umm, Sims 2 has NO story at all and is nothing but open-ended and direction-less. Meaning it's pretty much exactly what he's not looking for.

Misread the last part of his statement.

Disregard my "The Sims 2" recommendation.

You might have liked the "STORY" aspect of "The Sims 2", but I'd say it's even more open-ended than "The Elder Scrolls III and IV" so you'll probably want to skip it.

Anata wa wakarimasu ka.....

I Like RTS so I recomend AOE3 and WarCraft3 both are good and have story lines.

RTS - Medieval 2: Total War or Company of Heroes.
RPG- It's preety dang hard to find a directionless RPG on PC these days.
MMO - Guild Wars.
FPS- Not sure, I loved playing SWAT 4: STETCHKOV SYNDICATE EXPANSION PACK on Multiplayer thought.

I heard Resident Evil 4 is out on the PC, try that.

I do NOT want an open-ended, direction-less game.

I know you said you dont want a game without a storyline, but I'd recommend America's Army anyways, since

a) Its gameplay is a change of pace from that of any other FPS Ive played
b) Even though theres no storyline, its certainly not directionless
d) Its totally free. But it is a hefty download

Originally posted by Maestro
I heard Resident Evil 4 is out on the PC, try that.


i wonder how much is gonna change from the ps2 and gamecube versions

Originally posted by K73SK
good story...shall i recommend...diablo2? story line is great...if u beat the first one ull understand it much much better too...

if not that then..maybe Prey or an ID game like quake4 and doom3. of course u have had to play the original quake 2 to understand anything in quake4 or else itll appear as a game that makes no sense. doom3 the story really starts on that game, although it is the same story as it has always been :] Played all of those, and I hate Final Fantasy/Resident Evil for reference.

Warcraft III

Farcry

Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War and its expansions.

I'll try WIII, thanks BF.

Originally posted by Smasandian
What genre's?


FPS - Get HL2, or start off with HL and then go to HL2. FEAR and Far Cry are also pretty damn sweet.

RTS - Company of Heroes, Supreme Commander, or old school like Starcraft.

RPG's - Oblivion

MMO's - World Of Warcraft.

There is ton of great games for the PC.

Listen to this guy.

My friend plays Warhammer, it's a pretty nice take on things, pretty refreshing, though a bit more limited than what I'm used to. You would definitely like Warcraft3, especially since you love Warcraft.

Originally posted by dirkdirden
Now thats just bad taste in video games right there. Indeed, those games sucks. yes, I know you didn't mean that.

nah ime not too interested in final fantasy, its a long line of games that half of which have nothing to do with the story of the other yet share the name....but thats not what bothers me, the fact half the characters look very animeish as well as many wear ridiculous clothing, theres also ridiculous creatures in it, its like a very detailed and indepthed but can be easily played by young gamers..too easily for my tastes, not enough roughness to it....also i hate Cloud, such a emotionless character, always brooding and thinks hes badass

Originally posted by Burning thought
nah ime not too interested in final fantasy, its a long line of games that half of which have nothing to do with the story of the other yet share the name....but thats not what bothers me, the fact half the characters look very animeish as well as many wear ridiculous clothing, theres also ridiculous creatures in it, its like a very detailed and indepthed but can be easily played by young gamers..too easily for my tastes, not enough roughness to it....also i hate Cloud, such a emotionless character, always brooding and thinks hes badass Sums up my problems with it mostly, besides the theatrical version of 7 having a goku vs. goku battle.

Seriously man, try Company Of Heroes.

RTS with very strong elements, graphics better than most FPS games I've seen, VERY good voice acting, a preety good storyline as you try to penetrade Normandy, and other elements that are too much that I have to explain here.

What I like about it is that you can use anything as cover for your soldiers, and as the game continues more cover becomes available. For instance, if you destroy an enemy tank, you can now hide behind it, or if your tank goes through a wall and destroys it in the process you can use bits of it as cover.

You can also hide your soldiers in buildings, especially snipers so they shoot down opponent's enemies :P
Another thing is that unlike most RTS, you can't just create a bunch of tanks and go ahead and destroy your opponents. You still need backup units of infantry.

Infantry also has a preety good chance to destroy tanks by using their sticky tank bombs or grenades against the tanks.

I hate Final Fantasy games.....they drive me insane.

I also dont like Resident Evil games (outside of RE4 of course), camera angles and movement are too much for me to tackle....I dont mind the story and thats one of the reason why I played through RE2.

I liked Dungeon Siege...

edit : crap posted in wrong thread

Hi, I was hoping somebody would be able to recommend me a game based on the following criteria:

1. (i) A game that's driven heavily by its storyline.
(ii) A game that's very overt in its storytelling.

2. (i) Well developed characters.
(ii) A well developed setting (with preferable sci-fi/fantasy elements as well as a deep history/mythology).
(iii) A plot that's mostly serious in tone.
(iv) A deep plot (with preferable philosophical/psychological elements).
(v) A complex plot.
(vi) A very emotional plot (with preferable love/tragedy elements).
(vii) A plot full of mystery and intrigue.
(viii) A preferably original storyline.

I only plan on playing something that meets all of the criteria, and if the game's part of a series, I intend to play through the series in the order that each game was released (unless there's pretty much no story relation between the game and previous entries in the series, i.e. something like the Final Fantasy series), however I'd be willing to play an earlier entry in the series that doesn't meet all of the criteria, as long as a later entry, to which it relates, does. Gameplay isn't really a concern though I'd rather it be as good as possible as long as all of the criteria are met. Whether the story is or isn't interactive also isn't a concern.

I've also heard a lot of good things about the following series/stand alone games, so if anyone can vouch for any of them meeting all of the criteria listed I'll probably go straight to that as soon as I'm done with Bioshock:


Team ico Series
Legacy of Kain
Mass Effect
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Portal
Half Life
System Shock
Deus Ex
Thief
Assassin's Creed
Prince of Persia
Splinter Cell
Hitman
Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason

Mass Effect or Assassin's Creed sound like they'd fit the bill best for your criteria. I love the hell out of the Thief series, but that isn't as plot-driven as most of the others on the list.

Portal can be played and beaten in like 4 hours in a first run-through. it's worth picking up for the innovation alone, despite having basically no plot whatsoever.

Shadow of the Colossus isn't particularly complex, but is an incredibly fun and surprisingly emotional game. ICO not quite so much.

ME, AC, PoP all are superb series.

The Assassin's Creed series, and in particular AC2 and Brotherhood, hit just about everything on that list.

Also, Final Fantasy X.

I just played through Digital Devil Saga. You'd like it if you havn't already played it and it's pretty good, or it would be if a certain somebody wouldn't keep having ****ing hissy fits and leaving my ****ing party every ****ing five minutes.

****ing Heat. uhuh

Already played through all of the main entry Final Fantasy and Megami Tensei games.

Assassin's Creed seems to be it though is it true that it's a sandbox type game (generally not a huge fan of those)? If someone wasn't a particularly big fan of sandbox elements would something like Prince of Persia be a better alternative?

How would people compare Mass Effect to Knights of the Old Republic also out of curiosity? I really liked the KotOR games (they're what got me into the SWEU) but I wasn't blown away by them (particularly the first) like so many people seemed to be. I'm also more in the mood for an action-adventure than an RPG.

Assassin's Creed (not so much the first one, but the second and Brotherhood) tend to be on the sandboxy side of things, in that you can wander and explore and there are optional side missions and objectives. However, there is a main storyline that you need to follow in order to finish the game, and your wanderings are limited depending on how far in the game you've gotten. And all of the side stuff is purely optional, as I mentioned.

Prince of Persia is extremely linear and offers no exploration at all, really; the exception is the 08 game in which you can do the different 'regions' in whichever order you please.

Mass Effect is basically KOTOR in the future. I did not like KOTOR all that much, and I thought the first Mass Effect was unplayably bad. The second is better, but still not really a great game, IMO.

AC games are very overrated, especially 'round these parts. I personally wouldn't recommend them unless you get them on the cheap.

Mass Effect is a solid game, not the best, not the worst. I would choose Fallout 3/NV in a heartbeat over it though.

Originally posted by General Kaliero
F3 will admittedly entertain for a while if you're into Bethesda games, though.

That I am not (Morrowind is probably my single least favorite RPG of all time).

Originally posted by General Kaliero
Oh yes, the series with aggregate scores of ~80-90% for the main games and dozens of awards, including multiple "Game of the Year" awards, and over 20 million sales, is very overrated.


Well, to be fair, most games receiving 40% and being hated by everyone kinda lack the ability to be overrated.

The Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer expansion might be up your alley. Its written by the same guy who did Kotor 2 and I know you liked that. Its full of deep, interesting characters, symbology (mostly to do with the Triple Goddess figures of Maiden, Mother and Crone) and some of the best roleplaying choices in a VG that I've encountered. In particular it has one of the few evil playthroughs that's actually Evil, rather than petty and thuggish. This is a more calculating, manipulative type of evil.

Hell, it barely qualifies as an expansion. Its far better than most games out there.

Originally posted by Bardock42
Well, to be fair, most games receiving 40% and being hated by everyone kinda lack the ability to be overrated.

Well, that's not really the point; the point is rather that a series that has been shown to have earned its high scores, and where the developers went to such lengths to fix the issues from the first game, isn't exactly overrated. It's not like Halo or CoD where it's just more of the same but it still gets high scores. They're games in a genre that's never before seen commercial success despite always having critical success.

I mean, really, the only complaints I've ever seen about AC2 is that the ending is, to quote Desmond, very "What. The. ****."; the only complaints about Brotherhood is that the main story isn't as strong as AC2, it's seen as being better than the predecessor in every other way, though.

Played the Neverwinter Nights games as well (thought Planescape: Torment and KotOR 2 were a lot better to be honest). The only Bioware/Black Isle/Obsidian Entertainment RPGs I haven't played are Fallout 1, 2 and New Vegas, Icewind Dale 1 and 2, Mass Effect 1 and 2, Dragon Age, Alpha Protocol, Jade Empire, and Sonic: Dark Brotherhood.

If you've played F3 and didn't like it, don't bother with New Vegas. It's just more of the same but not as good, and glitchy to all hell.

Also skip Alpha Protocol, it's a terrible game. They delayed it a year and still couldn't come up with anything that was any good.

I actually liked Dragon Age decently well; it's not a perfect game by any means, but still good.

Originally posted by General Kaliero
Oh yes, the series with aggregate scores of ~80-90% for the main games and dozens of awards, including multiple "Game of the Year" awards, and over 20 million sales, is very overrated.

In Spoony's defence, and in support of Bardock's point, you can say very similar things about, say, Final Fantasy VIII.

Though I have tis vague memory that spoony liked Squall. Might have been jaden. Well, if so, my sympathy starts to plummet.

Regardless, a bit mean to pick up spoony for that when right next to him someone is criticising Mass Effect... if he thinks it is overrated, then let him think so!

Originally posted by Ushgarak
In Spoony's defence, and in support of Bardock's point, you can say very similar things about, say, Final Fantasy VIII.

Though I have tis vague memory that spoony liked Squall. Might have been jaden. Well, if so, my sympathy starts to plummet.

Regardless, a bit mean to pick up spoony for that when right next to him someone is criticising Mass Effect... if he thinks it is overrated, then let him thinki so!

FFVIII is a game I'd say got high scores based on the name more than anything else.

Also I will keep pestering you to play AC2 until you do.

And Mass Effect sucks, damnit

To be fair, my big issue with Mass Effect is the controls. The controls in the first game were pretty much broken, hence why I said that it's unplayably bad. The second is much, much better in that regard; that said, I still am not a fan of the gameplay itself, and the plot wasn't compelling enough to make me want to play more than a few hours.

Originally posted by NCRotCA
Played the Neverwinter Nights games as well (thought Planescape: Torment and KotOR 2 were a lot better to be honest). The only Bioware/Black Isle/Obsidian Entertainment RPGs I haven't played are Fallout 1, 2 and New Vegas, Icewind Dale 1 and 2, Mass Effect 1 and 2, Dragon Age, Alpha Protocol, Jade Empire, and Sonic: Dark Brotherhood.

Well then....you play too many games. Icwind Dale isn't your thing as its a gameplay focussed one, Jade Empire is good, like Kotor but with different gameplay. Play Mass Effect.

The only other game I can think of is Vampire the Masqurade: Bloodlines. And if you've played that too then gbefhdvkfgtfo! We should be asking you for goddamn recommendations!

Well I've not actually played Mass Effect, so maybe it does, but you have to admit that that is not a majority opinion...

And that may indeed be the reason for FFVIII's high score, but the principle remains that for a game to be overrated it... well, it has to be rated highly in the first place! So pointing out that people like it doesn't really disqualify the criticism.

Oh man, I suppose I'll give in one day. I am trying to spend less on games! I'd start with the first though.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
In Spoony's defence, and in support of Bardock's point, you can say very similar things about, say, Final Fantasy VIII.

Though I have tis vague memory that spoony liked Squall. Might have been jaden. Well, if so, my sympathy starts to plummet.

Regardless, a bit mean to pick up spoony for that when right next to him someone is criticising Mass Effect... if he thinks it is overrated, then let him think so!
Assassin's Creed is a relatively new IP, though, and until recently didn't have terrifying brand recognition. Just a bit different from, well, several FF games coasting on the fact they're FF games.

And I can point out several failings of ME1, though I think ME2 effectively repaired most of them while introducing a new handful of issues.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
Well I've not actually played Mass Effect, so maybe it does, but you have to admit that that is not a majority opinion...

And that may indeed be the reason for FFVIII's high score, but the principle remains that for a game to be overrated it... well, it has to be rated highly in the first place! So pointing out that people like it doesn't really disqualify the criticism.

Oh man, I suppose I'll give in one day. I am trying to spend less on games! I'd start with the first though.
There is an odd fine line between legitimately good and overrated that is difficult to really pin down. Unless you actually play the games, you can't really quantify how well they live up to the hype, I suppose.

But I played FFVIII and couldn't stomach the game enough to get past that battle across the sea or whatever right at the front end of it, so that seems evidence of something.

You really should play Assassin's Creed! AC1 is, well, decent, and Altair's an ass, but I suppose I would agree that you should play the first, if only to appreciate the improvements in the second. And maybe unlike Peach you'd be into the series' metastory!

Well, again to be fair, FFVIII was only one game after FF got mass brand recognition. In any case, as I said to Peach, ti is just demonstrative of the issue. The reason Why a game might be overrated doesn't change the issue at hand- a high review score is a prerequisite for being overrated, not a counter!

And flaws or not, if you are attacking Mass Effect, you are also saying a VERY highly regarded game is overrated, so it is subject to the same objection.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
Well I've not actually played Mass Effect, so maybe it does, but you have to admit that that is not a majority opinion...

And that may indeed be the reason for FFVIII's high score, but the principle remains that for a game to be overrated it... well, it has to be rated highly in the first place! So pointing out that people like it doesn't really disqualify the criticism.

Oh man, I suppose I'll give in one day. I am trying to spend less on games! I'd start with the first though.

I edited my post with why I didn't like Mass Effect.

And do it do it do it do it. Though the first is definitely the weakest of the main series (it can be repetitive, and Altair is nowhere near as good of a character as Ezio), and there's a secondary storyline linking the games together that I couldn't care less about. And looking on amazon.co.uk shows them as being dirt cheap for the PC.

Originally posted by Nephthys
Well then....you play too many games. Icwind Dale isn't your thing as its a gameplay focussed one, Jade Empire is good, like Kotor but with different gameplay. Play Mass Effect.

The only other game I can think of is Vampire the Masqurade: Bloodlines. And if you've played that too then gbefhdvkfgtfo! We should be asking you for goddamn recommendations!

Now there's something I haven't played. And something that I hadn't even heard of until you just mentioned it to be honest.

Nobody seems to care about my recommendations. It seems that the majority of the stuff that I like is either really niche or overwhelmingly hated on. Speaking of though, did you ever get around to playing Ever17?

Originally posted by Peach
I edited my post with why I didn't like Mass Effect.

And do it do it do it do it. Though the first is definitely the weakest of the main series (it can be repetitive, and Altair is nowhere near as good of a character as Ezio), and there's a secondary storyline linking the games together that I couldn't care less about. And looking on amazon.co.uk shows them as being dirt cheap for the PC.
Nonono not PC. PC versions are bad. AC1 was notoriously glitchy and the controls don't translate well. And AC2 has a demonic DRM system that means if your internet or their servers go down, you can't play the game at all, including if you're in the middle of a mission.

Well, I feel that if you are happy to say Mass Effect is overrated, you should have no objection to someone else saying AC is. That's how opinion works!

My list of things I feel are overrated goes on longer than I am allowed to put in one post. That's just me, though.

And ok, I'll get around to the darn thing.. I'll probably play both franchises now, just to be awkward.

mod edit - illegal talk is not allowed!

Originally posted by General Kaliero
Nonono not PC. PC versions are bad. AC1 was notoriously glitchy and the controls don't translate well. And AC2 has a demonic DRM system that means if your internet or their servers go down, you can't play the game at all, including if you're in the middle of a mission.

But I don't have any fancy console-ma-jigs!

I do have a joypad though- how bad can the controls be?

Originally posted by NCRotCA
mod edit - illegal talk is not allowed!

Uhhh, what is wrong with you?

Originally posted by Ushgarak
But I don't have any fancy console-ma-jigs!

I do have a joypad though- how bad can the controls be?

With an actual controller you should be good. Like I mentioned the other day, though, I really can't imagine the AC controls working at all with a keyboard and mouse, though.

Originally posted by NCRotCA
mod edit - illegal talk is not allowed!
No talk of those in KMC, thanks.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
But I don't have any fancy console-ma-jigs!

I do have a joypad though- how bad can the controls be?
Man up and buy a cheap used 360!

I'd assume a joypad would help, though.

There's not enough on the the hardcore consoles that suits me to justify buying one.

Hmm, all a little pricey on Steam...

Yeah, I checked Steam before I checked amazon.

(and I even checked the UK amazon site, too!)

Well you should check Play too; it's better for games in the UK.

Well I don't usually look for games online at all! So yeah.

Also I wish we had an equivalent of that site here in the US. If one exists, I haven't heard of it yet.

Since you mentioned play.com, I'll casually mention that I hate you and your European brethren for all the cool stuff Ubisoft gives you but not us.

I cannot help coming from Awesomeland.

Though I am still waiting for Etrian Odyssey 2 more than two years and one sequel later

-

Did anyone speak up for System Shock yet? Because if not... someone should.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
I cannot help coming from Awesomeland.

Though I am still waiting for Etrian Odyssey 2 more than two years and one sequel later

-

Did anyone speak up for System Shock yet? Because if not... someone should.

...stupid ****ing monkeys...

I want to play System Shock, but as far as I can tell a playable version no longer exists.

I don't know about Vista or 7, but Peach and I had the (oirignally unstable) co-op version of it working on modern computers not long ago.

You'd need DOS box for the original.

Also much of its gameplay no longer has the same impact, as its mechanics have been copied. Still; great stuff.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
I don't know about Vista or 7, but Peach and I had the (oirignally unstable) co-op version of it working on modern computers not long ago.

You;d need DOS box for the original.

Also much of its gameplay no longer has the same impact, as its mechanics have been copied. Still; great stuff.

It still can be damn creepy and terrifying. How many times did I turn a corner or open a door, walk into you, panic, and immediately attack?

Note: Psychic powers are awesome. However, you are USELESS against robots then! Gah, so many times I was racing in circles because I couldn't kill the damned things...

The solution for psychic powers not being great against robots is NOT to shoot the person who CAN fight them in the back

I believe you can actually legally download it for free from the website.

How similar would people say it is to Bioshock? I sort of respect Bioshock as a work of art but I was still a little disappointed by it. The storytelling's a bit too subtle for my liking, though I am still currently playing through it.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
The solution for psychic powers not being great against robots is NOT to shoot the person who CAN fight them in the back

Don't sneak up on me then! Jesus.

Originally posted by NCRotCA
I believe you can actually legally download it for free from the website.

How similar would people say it is to Bioshock? I sort of respect Bioshock as a work of art but I was still a little disappointed by it. The storytelling's a bit too subtle for my liking, though I am still currently playing through it.

Bioshock is a near-copy of SS2, with the RPG elements removed.

It's very similar indeed- the finding of logs, the contact by radio chatter all the time, the basics of the power system (swap psychic powers for genetic modification and swap cyber upgrades for adam)... even the bad guys are exceptionally similar (splicers are just 1930's versions of SS annelids). You have the alternative approaches to enemies, the hacking subgame... I spent much of Bioshock somewhat miffed at the direct plot similarities. also.

Bioshock was a good game- though I have zero interest in the upcoming one- but from a historical perspective, SS2 was better. I liked the RP elements better, the character classes were good (if only really distinguished near the start), the level design was good, the inventory system and ammo was good (the maintenance requirement for weapons was LESS good)- and it had co-op multiplayer!

Except for graphics- Bioshock looked the part, whilst even at the time SS2 was only graphically average.

Originally posted by Peach
Don't sneak up on me then! Jesus..

It's not sneaking up if a. you shoot ME in the back or b. I was coming to rescue you!

That was accidental! However you snuck up on me far too often

Peach's criticism's of the ME series aren't without merit. The story and depth kept me glued, but it's not a superb game or series on every front. There was never a moment where I was in awe of the combat, for example.

AC's criticisms I have a bit more issue with, only because the first game is clearly flawed, but the sequel directly addressed most of the glaring issues of the first, and by all accounts the 3rd has as well. It's a classic example of responding to feedback without overreaction, which is commendable. If you don't like the series, you don't like it, simple as that. But I find it almost objectively false (or as close as these things can come to such a label) to say that it's not a well-made series.

I have no clue how you're not into the metastory though, Peach. I'm not into conspiracy stuff just for the sake of it, but the world they're creating through the story is riveting imo.

It just doesn't interest me all that much. Brotherhood gives you opportunities to take a 'break' and go wander about the present-day world, true, but I feel that it's too little too late for getting into the metastory, and there wasn't enough in the previous two games to make me care. I don't find Desmond or any of the other modern Assassins to be very compelling characters, and tying everything ever into the Templar conspiracy is a bit over the top and silly, in my opinion.

The end of the first sequence in Brotherhood, where you're controlling Desmond, I was going through the entire thing going "okay let me get back to Ezio already", and I've left the Animus exactly twice since then, only to get a pair of achievements.

It is true that nobody likes Desmond.

Hopefully in AC3 they fix the Desmond being filler problem. I want to see him become more developed and actually take some prominence like Ezio had. But from what I speculate or the wiki Ezio might be alive due to the apple's ability to extend the life of the user, so we might(hopefully) see Ezio, even though it will be unlikely.

The ending of AC2 was awesome indeed. The whole 'metastory' is beginning to remind me of the one in a certain video game series that I love dearly.

Now a little on ME. Maybe it's because I played in on PC, but I never had a problem with the controls. Sure, the controls weren't perfect, but they worked well enough not to cause any unnecessary issues. There were some bugs, too, but nothing gamebreaking(Once, I had to replay like 15 minutes of the game because of a bug that caused you to become stuck in an elevator). In general, I thought that ME was an excellent game and I still like it more than ME2 in some regards.

Oh yea, and I still don't get the problems that people had with elevator rides and the inventory.

The inventory was admittedly tedious IMO.

Though never had a problem with controls.

Originally posted by ArtificialGlory
The ending of AC2 was awesome indeed. The whole 'metastory' is beginning to remind me of the one in a certain video game series that I love dearly.

Now a little on ME. Maybe it's because I played in on PC, but I never had a problem with the controls. Sure, the controls weren't perfect, but they worked well enough not to cause any unnecessary issues. There were some bugs, too, but nothing gamebreaking(Once, I had to replay like 15 minutes of the game because of a bug that caused you to become stuck in an elevator). In general, I thought that ME was an excellent game and I still like it more than ME2 in some regards.

Oh yea, and I still don't get the problems that people had with elevator rides and the inventory.
The inventory was bad, and some of the RPG elements were unnecessary weight - which the sequel cut out, to its merit.

And the MAKO traveling was just ridiculous. A simple way of extending length, and it showed. Though ME2's scanner is still bad, just not as bad.

For the record, I laugh at conspiracy theorists, but in the context of AC's alternate history, the intrigue of how these two groups have influenced important parts of history is entertaining to me.

After careful consideration I think I'll try The Deus Ex games first off and then move on to the Assassin's Creed series.