Need some old-school PC game advice

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 11:39 am

Boys:

I discovered that my laptop isn't such a graphics and video crate after all. I ran the original Call of Duty on it last night with no problem -- what a cool game!

Since CoD was released in December 2003 for the PC, I'm guessing that a lot of games from the 2002-early 2004 era might work on my rig. Any tips for top-quality games during that time frame?

Any genre is fine. All I have is a mouse and keyboard for peripherals, so any game that works well out of the box with that setup is preferred.

Thanks for digging into the time tunnel for me, fellas.

Take care,
PK

James_E · Post by **James_E** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 12:06 pm

Civilization II would run fine. Maybe even III.

Probably could run Half-life 1 as well.

Civ is highly addictive. Be careful.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:33 pm

I have a 4 year old Dell laptop 2.4ghz Pentium 4 with 512 meg of ram. Here are the games I was able to play on my laptop with no problems.

1) Civilization 3

2) Rise of Nations and Age of Mythology

3) FIFA 2004 and 2005

4) MVP Baseball 2004 and 2005

5) Nascar Racing Season 2002 and 2003

6) Railroad Tycoon 2 and 3

7) WE7

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 2:44 pm

Thanks, fellas! Any other advice from others appreciated!

Take care,
PK

matthewk · Post by **matthewk** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 2:59 pm

You're going to have to get at least 1 golf game. I've got Links 2003 running on my PC and I think it's a great game. You should be able to find 2002-2004 golf games for under $10.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 3:05 pm

Many thanks, Matt! I like virtual golf, and the price is groovy.

Lots of add-on courses, I assume?

Take care,
PK

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 3:28 pm

matthewk wrote:You're going to have to get at least 1 golf game. I've got Links 2003 running on my PC and I think it's a great game. You should be able to find 2002-2004 golf games for under $10.

You will have one helluva time trying to find Links 2003 at retail. You may end up having to download it from MS or Take Two interactive. Links 2003 is a better choice for a laptop because it does not require anywhere near the 3D horsepower that Tiger does because the only 3D objects in the game are the ball, the flag, and the golfers which aren't too numerous. Links 2003 is a gorgeous game if you aren't concerned about dynamic cameras or living environments. It plays a pretty decent game once you apply the patch.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 4:06 pm

If you like real time strategy games...my favorite, EVER, is Command and Conquer Generals and the Zero Hour Expansion pack. You can buy both for 20 bucks at retail still. Classics.

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 6:25 pm

If you like build-em-up's, try Startopia, or you could go back to Football Manager 2003/04 - there are bound to be recent data updates about somewhere on the interweb.

If you want something more wargamey, try any of the Combat Mission series, you can probably still get the Trilogy pack on ebay (which are great played online via email....let me know if you get any and I'll take you to school

)

You could also go for the original Galactic Civilizations as well.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 6:53 pm

I have MotoGP2 for PC. It's yours if u want it. I will look thru my junk. I may have some more that you might want.

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 10:16 pm

How about the original , the one which started them all , Medal of honour allied assault.

No fps could touch it at the time.
Only game ive ever played thru more than once.

pigpen81 · Post by **pigpen81** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 11:31 pm

PK, download the Grand Prix Legends 2004 demo, get a cheap &10 racing wheel and have at the over 500 courses available for download.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 12:06 am

Piggy or anyone else:

Any recommendations on a decent wheel on the cheap? I've discovered that my machine can run the original GPL, Colin McRae Rally 2.0 and NASCAR Racing 2003 Season.

I'd love to dive into each of those with a wheel.

Thanks.

P.S.: I really wish my machine had the horsepower for rFactor and Richard Burns Rally, but oh, well!

Take care,
PK

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 11:22 am

I think I have a Logitech Formula Force Wheel in good condition somewere in my basement. Let me have a look.

I was going to say to get the last Nascar PC game. It is still considered one of the best in that series.

pk500 wrote:Piggy or anyone else:

Any recommendations on a decent wheel on the cheap? I've discovered that my machine can run the original GPL, Colin McRae Rally 2.0 and NASCAR Racing 2003 Season.

I'd love to dive into each of those with a wheel.

Thanks.

P.S.: I really wish my machine had the horsepower for rFactor and Richard Burns Rally, but oh, well!

Take care,
PK

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 12:41 pm

I'd look at the USED areas in gamestops/ebs... i have found some good deals there. usually under $5 for some decent games.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 1:08 pm

Far Cry is pretty cool, especially the first half of the game. Good graphics and pretty solid AI. The first level is one of my favorites in an FPS. The second half of the game is not as good IMHO, but it's well worth picking up for $20 or so.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 1:13 pm

PK, if you get a wheel and NR2003, let me know. We can actually run a race with a full field of cars, lag free. You haven't raced online until you've run with 43 cars with a buddy, or 20 or 30 real people.

It's ridiculous fun.

Wilk5280 · Post by **Wilk5280** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 2:13 pm

TCrouch wrote:PK, if you get a wheel and NR2003, let me know. We can actually run a race with a full field of cars, lag free. You haven't raced online until you've run with 43 cars with a buddy, or 20 or 30 real people.

It's ridiculous fun.

I may still have that game around here somewhere, let me look. If I can find it I'd like to hop on with you folks.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 2:28 pm

I still think that fixed-setup, out-of-the-box NR2003 oval racing is some of the most fun I've ever had in video gaming. NR2003's online code is unbelievable and holds up years after it was released.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 2:56 pm

TCrouch wrote:PK, if you get a wheel and NR2003, let me know. We can actually run a race with a full field of cars, lag free. You haven't raced online until you've run with 43 cars with a buddy, or 20 or 30 real people.

It's ridiculous fun.

Terry:

Thanks. I'm definitely looking into it. I did some research on NR 2003 Monday and saw that most people who race online had a certain patched version. Is there only one patch? Is there a certain patch I should have?

Thanks,
PK

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 4:07 pm

I have to agree. I played with the same group of guys about 7 years ago on Nascar PC (forget whicj version) and it was probably one of the most fun online times I have had.

TCrouch wrote:I still think that fixed-setup, out-of-the-box NR2003 oval racing is some of the most fun I've ever had in video gaming. NR2003's online code is unbelievable and holds up years after it was released.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 4:10 pm

pk500 wrote:Terry:

Thanks. I'm definitely looking into it. I did some research on NR 2003 Monday and saw that most people who race online had a certain patched version. Is there only one patch? Is there a certain patch I should have?

Thanks,
PK

When you install the game, there's an "Auto Detect Update" option, but I'm not sure the servers are up anymore for that. There's pretty much only one patch you'll find in circulation, though. I forget the exact number, but it's like 1.2.0.1 or something. I have it at home if you can't find it, I can upload it to an FTP and link you if need be.

People still make current year carsets for Nextel Cup and whatnot, and the only thing I haven't found is any kind of a mod that implements new rules (freezing the field, etc). Since this was before the chase, it's old school points in an offline season, and racing-back-to-the-line during a yellow...but during online races you can usually set an honor-system of freezing and filing up for the line.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 4:28 pm

Cool. It's looking more and more like I'll be all over that in a couple of weeks, tops!

Thanks,
PK

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 11:17 pm

pk500 wrote:Piggy or anyone else:

Any recommendations on a decent wheel on the cheap? I've discovered that my machine can run the original GPL, Colin McRae Rally 2.0 and NASCAR Racing 2003 Season.

I'd love to dive into each of those with a wheel.

Thanks.

P.S.: I really wish my machine had the horsepower for rFactor and Richard Burns Rally, but oh, well!

Take care,
PK

The Saitek r440 is supposed to be a real nice wheel , kinda funky looking but it performs well and its under 70 bucks with force feed back.

im sure you could get a none force feedback for way cheaper

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:04 am

Jimmydeicide wrote:How about the original , the one which started them all , Medal of honour allied assault.

No fps could touch it at the time.
Only game ive ever played thru more than once.

Great game. I just reinstalled it on my pc. I used to play this online for countless hours. I thought I'd give it another go online but I can't seem to get it working right.

Anyways, great game.