Video Games: Wallets Getting Steamed

[Fez]

So, my company recently bought me a MacBook Air to replace my crappy old laptop. If I quit/get fired I have to return it, but otherwise its mine until its obsolete and I can do whatever I want with it beyond work. I'm thinking of getting some of the computer-only games that I've missed on in recent years due to my old laptop. Obviously it won't be all of them since I'd imagine that not all of them have Mac versions (although there's more available on steam than I first thought), and that the Air won't be able to play them all; particularly the newer ones. I have no sense of what this machine is capable of though, and was wondering what I could expect to be able to play. The specs are:

Processor: 1.7 GHz Intel Core i7

Memory: 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

Graphics card: Intel HD Graphics 5000 1024 MB

Any thoughts on what that'd be capable of? Those numbers are just gibberish to me; there's a reason I've stuck to playing console games mostly.

[Gears of the Beast]

Memory is good but I'm pretty sure there's not much you can do with that GPU and CPU. Macs are pretty much (like I've said before) expensive paperweights.

You could play some cool indie games though. I recommend Terraria and Binding of Isaac (with the DLC). - I actually dunno if you can play them on a mac though.

If you wanna look at some other stuff try http://www.systemreq...ntslab.com/cyri it'll tell you if your computer can run a specific game but I don't even know if you can play most games on a mac.

yeah, check out the mac section in steam.

[Alcibiades]

Yeah, I should think you'll be good for anything 2D. I'd play stuff like Bastion, FTL, Super Meat Boy, Frozen Synapse, etc. Any kind of 3d FPS experience is probably beyond it.

Though, for 3D stuff, you may be ok for some retro stuff. Maybe the likes of Kotor or games of that era or older.

[KiDisaster]

You can use a program called Bootcamp on your Mac to have Windows installed on it as well as OSX (or whatever the current Mac OS is) and boot into Windows to install/play games. However with a integrated GPU you won't be able to run very many current games unfortunately.

[Howdyphillip]

A friend of mine loaned me the new Tomb Raider game. I am enjoying it quite a bit although I think that it may be a forgettable title once I am finished.

I am also playing a co op game of Borderlands 2 with a friend of mine. I tried playing single player, but really like the co op better.

[Fez]

Alright, thanks. That's sort of what I imagined really. I mean, even though I get to do what I want with it, there's not a legitimate work-related reason for the computer to have an advanced graphics card for example. Fortunately, I don't need it to play the big AAA titles (although I did see youtube footage of someone playing Crysis 3 on my specs with the second lowest settings at 28 fps), I just want to be able to play some of the strategy games I've missed (which I think often don't have particularly high specs, particularly Paradox games) and maybe some of the next round of MMOs if they live up to expectations and aren't too graphicly-taxing; Nexus and Everquest Next for instance.

[Maia]

First of all - thanks for all your help!

Not at all, completely different games with little in common.

But are DS Crystal Chronicles worthwhile games? And what are they like, if they aren't similar to FFIII and IV?

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon is a roguelike and not very much like the regular games. I would guess you can do better in the genre, if you're even interested in something as punishing as a roguelike.

Well, I played and enjoyed some roguelikes on iOS. If it is decent and has nice presentation, it could be interesting for me. I don't think that my library has any other DS roguelikes.

Is there a version of Super Mario World for the DSi, on the eShop or something?

Dunno, I didn't even do a wi-fi set-up on my DSi. The idea is to rent games and to maybe buy a few select titles for under 10 Euro.

Trauma Center: Under The Knife - Animu Hospital, but if you can get past the presentation this game is pretty neat.

Isn't it one of those mythical "Atlus" games that never get published my side of the pond? Are they similar to Ace Attorney? Not that I'd have a chance to play one, unless I get a flashcard... No, not paying through the nose to import.

Picross DS - The best puzzle game you've never heard of.

Funnily enough, I have heard about it, my library has it and I very much intend to play it! ;).

Not interested in rythm games.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - A Mario RPG. Others liked this more than me, but I thought it was solid.

Oh, really? Didn't expect that. Doesn't seem like there could be much of a plot in something like this. Or does it just have a great combat system?

Kirby Canvas Curse - One of the reasons for the touchscreen to exist.

My library only has Kirby Mass Attack...

Castelvania games seem to be very twitchy sidescroll fighters. Not my cup of tea.

Dragon Quest Monsters: Rocket Slime - The dumbest game you won't be able to put down. Slimes! Tanks! Guns!

What about Dragon Quest Monsters Joker and Dragon Quest Monsters 2?

Advance Wars - Any you can find. These are tactical turn-based strategy games in a cute Nintendo presentation and they are all pretty good.

Yep, know about them and am going to buy them if I see them.

There are some other very good games as well but they tend to be more niche. I can elaborate if you find you want more.

Please, TIA. I have played and enjoyed CING games, Ace Attorney, Ghost Trick, World Ends with You, Sola to Robo, FFIII and IV.

Have heard good things of and intend to try since my library has them : Dragon Quests (VI, IX, Monsters 2), Infinite Space, Three heroes of Light. + stuff you have advised me on above.

I also know about Chrono Trigger, but didn't see a copy yet and anyway, isn't the SNES version allegedly superior? I'll probably just wait until I jailbreak my iPad again.

[Werthead]

This is interesting. Basically it's the story of a company that focuses on making non-violent simulation games, most notably the Euro Truck Simulator series. They're impressively successful. Worth a read for something different.

[Muttering Bill]

Played a bit of The Unfinished Swan. It's an interesting premise, and has some some really neat visuals, but is also really boring.

Started DmC: Devil May Cry, about halfway through. I like it a lot more than I expected to. New Dante has been toned down and isn't as obnoxious as he was in the first trailer (after which I stopped paying attention to news on the game). I'm still going to download the costume pack though, to use classic Dante. The story is interesting; sort of an odd mixture of Bayonetta and Dante's Inferno, with just the DMC basics underneath (not really sure that I like it though). But the combat, which is the most important thing, is actually quite fun - a big surprise considering Ninja Theory's past attempts. It's missing a lock-on button, and has some color coded enemies that break the games rhythm (and goes against the style ranking system), but otherwise it's good. Like they combined Dante and Nero from DMC4, and gave them Heavenly Sword's quick weapon swap system.

A friend of mine loaned me the new Tomb Raider game. I am enjoying it quite a bit although I think that it may be a forgettable title once I am finished.

Story was OK, and exploration was kind of weak. But I love the game for it's combat. I'm probably going to replay it soon.

[Hallyington]

This is interesting. Basically it's the story of a company that focuses on making non-violent simulation games, most notably the Euro Truck Simulator series. They're impressively successful. Worth a read for something different.

I quite enjoy Euro Truck Simulator 2, nothing more relaxing than listening to an actual radio station, driving around Europe.

Except when i'm fined for speeding, which is ridiculously high.

[Inigima]

But are DS Crystal Chronicles worthwhile games? And what are they like, if they aren't similar to FFIII and IV?

The only thing CC has in common with the regular numbered series is Moogles. They play completely differently, have their own races, have little story to speak of, play almost like beat-em-ups, and at least what I've played was a multiplayer sort of affair.

Isn't it one of those mythical "Atlus" games that never get published my side of the pond? Are they similar to Ace Attorney? Not that I'd have a chance to play one, unless I get a flashcard... No, not paying through the nose to import.

Are you in Europe? I'm not sure what the global release was like, but this was a big deal as an early title and may have been published there. It's nothing like Ace Attorney, you're actually performing surgeries.

My library only has Kirby Mass Attack...

Not even close to the same thing. Mass Attack is a "normal" Kirby game. Canvas Curse is... not.

What about Dragon Quest Monsters Joker and Dragon Quest Monsters 2?

Dragon Quest Monsters is the name of the subseries that includes Rocket Slime, Joker, and Joker 2. I don't like any of them except Rocket Slime. Joker is very different.

Please, TIA. I have played and enjoyed CING games, Ace Attorney, Ghost Trick, World Ends with You, Sola to Robo, FFIII and IV.

I would have suggested The World Ends With You, yeah. Ace Attorney ends up irritating me. You might be interested in Cing's other games, like Hotel Dusk and its sequel; it's a shame they aren't around anymore. Other stuff to consider:

Contact - RPG. Annoyingly grindy, but there's nothing else quite like its personality.

Etrian Odyssey (series) - Brutally difficult old-school dungeon crawler. Think Wizardry, but you can draw your map on the touchscreen instead of graph paper.

Lost In Blue (series) - Also difficult. You're stranded on an island, trying to survive.

Lostmagic - Real-time magic combat where you draw your spells on the touchscreen.

Meteos - A decent puzzle game. Not amazing, but if you can play it for free or cheap...

Nostalgia - RPG with airships.

Radiant Historia - One of the last big RPGs of the DS. Sprawling with an "alternate history" mechanic.

I left out some stuff that didn't seem like your cup of tea (too twitchy, etc.)

[Fez]

Got my first game for the Mac, Europa Universalis 3. It runs fine, although the Mac does heat up a bit playing it, and considering its a low-graphics game from 2007, that doesn't give me a ton of confidence for much more recent stuff. Anyway, fun game. I like the improvements made from EU2, its a much smoother game, and has lots of neat little touches; like having names for all the wars that break out. The game came with In Nominee and the Napoleonic expansion, and I started as Norway in 1399. Its now 1433 and I've broken away from the personal union with Denmark, taken two provinces from Sweden in war, and established a pretty decent economy thanks to spreading merchants throughout Europe. I still don't have much manpower for armies though, and I don't think I can afford to let inflation rise any higher for a while, so right now I'm sort of coasting; waiting for the next golden opportunity.

I've also definitely put aside Kingdoms of Amalur for the timebeing. Its a fun game, but it just gets too samey after 25 hours. I've started replay of the new Tomb Raider, and that's a great game Lots of mindless cinematic fun. I've also continued to intermittenly play Max Payne 3, but I'm getting rather uncomfortable with the whole, being a white guy killing hundreds of Hispanics thing. It was okay at first, they were the ones attacking me, but now that I'm on disc 2 and in the slums, bringing the fight to them, its getting to be a bit much. Particularly since the most recent batch of enemies hadn't even been the ones who attacked me before; they seemed to be minding their own business until I showed up.

[Sci-2]

It runs fine, although the Mac does heat up a bit playing it, and considering its a low-graphics game from 2007, that doesn't give me a ton of confidence for much more recent stuff.

This seems to be a problem with Mac ports. Just about every game I have seems to put undue stress on the comp, even System Shock 2 and Hotline Miami.

[Alcibiades]

I tried EU3 on my 2007 MBP. That machine had a dedicated graphics processor (nvidia 8600 GT) and could run most new games at the time at a reasonable level of detail. It would still chug on EU3.

[Fez]

I tried EU3 on my 2007 MBP. That machine had a dedicated graphics processor (nvidia 8600 GT) and could run most new games at the time at a reasonable level of detail. It would still chug on EU3.

I don't actually find that too surprising. Paradox doesn't seem like it has the programming capacity to properly optimize their games.

Processor: 1.7 GHz Intel Core i7

Memory: 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

Graphics card: Intel HD Graphics 5000 1024 MB

As an addendum to this, I just learned that this machine can "turboboost" (whatever that is) to 3.3 GHz. Does that significantly expand the potential world of games it can play or no? And for purposes of looking at minimum game specs, should I be looking at the 1.7 or 3.3 number? That is, if a game requires a minimum 2.0 GHz processor, could I play that or not?

ETA: Alright, I've now seen on youtube people playing Bioshock Infinite and Arkham City on lower setting on Airs with my specs; so I'm thinking it'll manage Civ5.

[Rhom]

Saw a rumor reported on a RPG website that PS4 bundled with Vita for $500.

I'd get it.

[Sir Thursday]

I don't actually find that too surprising. Paradox doesn't seem like it has the programming capacity to properly optimize their games.

As an addendum to this, I just learned that this machine can "turboboost" (whatever that is) to 3.3 GHz. Does that significantly expand the potential world of games it can play or no? And for purposes of looking at minimum game specs, should I be looking at the 1.7 or 3.3 number? That is, if a game requires a minimum 2.0 GHz processor, could I play that or not?

ETA: Alright, I've now seen on youtube people playing Bioshock Infinite and Arkham City on lower setting on Airs with my specs; so I'm thinking it'll manage Civ5.

I definitely remember having issues with some of the older Paradox games, but I think they might have cracked it for Crusader Kings II - definitely haven't felt the same slowdown I did with previous games (although admittedly I'm playing on a desktop so it's less noticeable).

You should definitely be able to play Civ 5 - on highest graphics it might be a little demanding, but to be honest the graphics aren't really what the game is all about :P.

ST

[Sci-2]

The gorgeous looking platformer Trine 1 for $0.99 in the Mac App Store.

Controls are a bit unresponsive, and it did heat up my machine more than other games, but for such a low price point I'd say it's worth a try.

[Seli]

For EU3 Paradox dumped everything they could on the GPU, and the hardware needed to run it fluently is deceptively heavy as a result. But they do have seem to learned since.

[KiDisaster]

I've always wanted to get into those Paradox grand strategy games, but I just can't seem to get past the learning cliff. There's just so much to know and the tutorials in my opinion don't do a very good job in explaining what the hell everything is and what I'm supposed to be doing. Tried watching some intro videos on YouTube and began a takeover of Ireland in Crusader Kings 2 but I became lost pretty quickly and didn't know how to proceed.

I think I'm too dim to rule an empire :lol: