Open ended RPG for PC
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The majority of RPGs for PC fit that description. To me, those are true RPGs but there is little sense in spewing my hate for console RPGs here. 
Fallout 1 and 2 (The BEST RPGs ever created)
Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 (The second best RPGs ever created)
Neverwinter Nights
Arcanum
The Elder Scrolls series (Morrowind is the latest one so you might like that more than the first 2)
Hell, anything made by Bioware, BlackIsle, Bethesda, Origin (the Ultima series), and SSI (for the old school D&D games).
I'm missing a few so please add to the list.
Fallout 1 and 2 (The BEST RPGs ever created)
Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 (The second best RPGs ever created)
Neverwinter Nights
Arcanum
The Elder Scrolls series (Morrowind is the latest one so you might like that more than the first 2)
Hell, anything made by Bioware, BlackIsle, Bethesda, Origin (the Ultima series), and SSI (for the old school D&D games).
I'm missing a few so please add to the list.
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Dunno about all the games you said, but Fallout 1 and 2 are NO DOUBT the best you can get on PC (until Fallout 3?), though you'll have to deal with outdated graphics
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I think Gothic 2 is open ended, i never tried the game, but at one ppoint i was pumped up to buy, but never did.
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morrowind + 2 expansions is definetly the way to go for an open-ended rpg. you could get so carried away with the "side" quests that you could play the game for days and never hit the actual plot.
wizardry 8 was pretty open ended as well, but not much to do to really warrant moving off the main story line.
the baldur's gates/icewind dales are still a little too story driven since you'd just get killed trying to go to any higher levels, but they have their little side quests along the way.
in the end, morrowind is the best choice, but you'll need a fairly powerful PC seeing as how the engine isn't too efficient.
wizardry 8 was pretty open ended as well, but not much to do to really warrant moving off the main story line.
the baldur's gates/icewind dales are still a little too story driven since you'd just get killed trying to go to any higher levels, but they have their little side quests along the way.
in the end, morrowind is the best choice, but you'll need a fairly powerful PC seeing as how the engine isn't too efficient.
Wow, Morrowind sounds great! Especially the wind part
Of the above mentioned I only played Fallout 2 and it's pretty open. And evil. You can go around tipping cows over, killing children, digging graves, ****ing prostitutes, stealing, selling friends into slavery, sniping random people, and do drugs! So much fun...... :lol:
Of the above mentioned I only played Fallout 2 and it's pretty open. And evil. You can go around tipping cows over, killing children, digging graves, ****ing prostitutes, stealing, selling friends into slavery, sniping random people, and do drugs! So much fun...... :lol:
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Where the hell is Planetscape Torment? Definitely the most open D&D based RPG...
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Ah yes, thanks for reminding me. I'm going to have to dig up that CD and play it again.
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Planescape and Baldur's Gate aren't as open as the Elder Scrolls series; Daggerfall and Morrowind. Compared to console RPGs they are very open, but they have a driving motion behind them which gives you a clue as to what the hell you shoudl be doing, whereas Daggerfall and Morrowind essentialy drop you in it and let you get on with it. I never worked out what the plot of Daggerfall was meant to be.
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Story wise yes... more or less Planetscape is straightwforward. However:
* The Main Char (that is, you) development is completely up to you, you don't choose at the beginning of the game a class, you develop it as the game goes on and according to what you want to be.
* How you do something is completely up to you, Planetscape was one of those games that provided multiple alternatives to achieve something. So many dialog lines...
* The Main Char (that is, you) development is completely up to you, you don't choose at the beginning of the game a class, you develop it as the game goes on and according to what you want to be.
* How you do something is completely up to you, Planetscape was one of those games that provided multiple alternatives to achieve something. So many dialog lines...
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Pretty much any MMORPG.
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Bloodlines runs crap regardless of your PC specs. At the same speed regardless of your specs. A Duron 1.1/256Mb RAM/GF3 ran it almost exactly the same speed as my current rig with the same settings. Pumping up my settings to max didn't change the framerate in the slightest.
Masquerade isn't really happy with XP BTW, and its' a very different game. They loosley use the Vampire rules, but over-complicate
Masquerade isn't really happy with XP BTW, and its' a very different game. They loosley use the Vampire rules, but over-complicate
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Bloodlines runs at around 10fps in the streets, but in other areas the framerate is
very playable (except some rare exceptions)... and since you have no fights in the street
unless you choose to kill someone just for fun, it's no big deal :I
very playable (except some rare exceptions)... and since you have no fights in the street
unless you choose to kill someone just for fun, it's no big deal :I
Out of all the games listed so far, I'd say only a few truly fit the OP's request for open ended.
Yes Baldur's Gate, Planescape, Fallout, et al. are more open ended than console RPG's. But they still have a main storyline that you must complete. You can't play seemingly infinitely. You'll quickly run into ruts where you've completed everything there is to do in every section of those games (esp NWN & Planescape - in fact, both of those games are much more limited than Fallout with fallout 2's ability to travel where you please).
All games are finite, but only a handful feel unending. Three of them come from Bethesda, and those are the Elder Scrolls games, Arena, Daggerfall & Morrowind; soon to add Oblivion to that list.
In each of these games you can wander aimlessly in any direction and find quests upon quests upon quests, along with tons of area to just explore and treasure raid dungeons, or speak with people and travel with NPC's (not too often but there are some). Even after you complete the main quest you still can go around doing whatever; they are truly the only RPG's I would call open ended.
Fallout 2 is a good choice though, lots of traveling, no real time limit. Fallou has a time-limit though. Take too long and your village will die, so that's not open at all (yeah you can toy with other things but I've played a couple times where I had to reload a save and rush through to make sure I could complete it).
Baldur's Gate II has so many quests that originate from Amn you'll feel like its infinite, it's really quite crazy. But still it has an end unfortuantely that finishes the game (Throne of Bhaal add on makes it even longer!). BG is really quite short in relation to BG2, you can finish it in 20 hours and do most of what you could encounter, great game though.
Vampire The Masquerade, I would say is extremely limited. Esp for the first half of the game. You can't really choose where to go or what to do, you just do what is available. When you get to the other section of the game then you have a little freedom but it's still quite limited. VTM: Bloodlines is also quite limited, the game unfolds in chapters, there are side quests but nothing too extensive. You could find just as many side attractions in Final Fantasy.
Planescape, as I was saying above, quite limited. One of my favorite games of all time, wish they'd make a god damn sequel (and I hope every day that the modules for NWN will come to fruition, I'm not good enough at them unfortunately). But it's quite limited in where you can go and what you can do (not much backtracking ever either).
Best bet, grab Morrowind, Daggerfall & Arena are so old they're too frickin hard to get working on today's machines without a DOS emulator (I'm playing Daggerfall right now matter of fact) and I wouldn't wish to tell someone to play them because then I have to explain how to get them running. One word of warning though, the amount of freedom you get in Morrowind, you might lose yoruself in all the side stuff to do and forget what you were supposed to do for the main quest. And hte journal entries will be so far back and mixed in that you'll forget about the main quest at all (I know a few friends that don't even know what the main quest is ^_^ ). That much freedom is both a blessing and a curse. So if you do want to complete a main quest and have little reminders on occassion, any of the games I mentioned above give you some fun on the side but don't detract your from the quest too much (enough, but not too much more than Star Ocean Till the End of Time would).
Yes Baldur's Gate, Planescape, Fallout, et al. are more open ended than console RPG's. But they still have a main storyline that you must complete. You can't play seemingly infinitely. You'll quickly run into ruts where you've completed everything there is to do in every section of those games (esp NWN & Planescape - in fact, both of those games are much more limited than Fallout with fallout 2's ability to travel where you please).
All games are finite, but only a handful feel unending. Three of them come from Bethesda, and those are the Elder Scrolls games, Arena, Daggerfall & Morrowind; soon to add Oblivion to that list.
In each of these games you can wander aimlessly in any direction and find quests upon quests upon quests, along with tons of area to just explore and treasure raid dungeons, or speak with people and travel with NPC's (not too often but there are some). Even after you complete the main quest you still can go around doing whatever; they are truly the only RPG's I would call open ended.
Fallout 2 is a good choice though, lots of traveling, no real time limit. Fallou has a time-limit though. Take too long and your village will die, so that's not open at all (yeah you can toy with other things but I've played a couple times where I had to reload a save and rush through to make sure I could complete it).
Baldur's Gate II has so many quests that originate from Amn you'll feel like its infinite, it's really quite crazy. But still it has an end unfortuantely that finishes the game (Throne of Bhaal add on makes it even longer!
). BG is really quite short in relation to BG2, you can finish it in 20 hours and do most of what you could encounter, great game though.Vampire The Masquerade, I would say is extremely limited. Esp for the first half of the game. You can't really choose where to go or what to do, you just do what is available. When you get to the other section of the game then you have a little freedom but it's still quite limited. VTM: Bloodlines is also quite limited, the game unfolds in chapters, there are side quests but nothing too extensive. You could find just as many side attractions in Final Fantasy.
Planescape, as I was saying above, quite limited. One of my favorite games of all time, wish they'd make a god damn sequel (and I hope every day that the modules for NWN will come to fruition, I'm not good enough at them unfortunately). But it's quite limited in where you can go and what you can do (not much backtracking ever either).
Best bet, grab Morrowind, Daggerfall & Arena are so old they're too frickin hard to get working on today's machines without a DOS emulator (I'm playing Daggerfall right now matter of fact) and I wouldn't wish to tell someone to play them because then I have to explain how to get them running
. One word of warning though, the amount of freedom you get in Morrowind, you might lose yoruself in all the side stuff to do and forget what you were supposed to do for the main quest. And hte journal entries will be so far back and mixed in that you'll forget about the main quest at all (I know a few friends that don't even know what the main quest is ^_^ ). That much freedom is both a blessing and a curse. So if you do want to complete a main quest and have little reminders on occassion, any of the games I mentioned above give you some fun on the side but don't detract your from the quest too much (enough, but not too much more than Star Ocean Till the End of Time would).1 - 20 of 53 Posts
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