Medieval and Epic Fantasy Role Playing Games for the PC - My Reviews

Making video games is fun but not as much fun as playing them! If you are into medieval style role playing games the way I am then you can draw a lot of inspiration from some of the great games that are out there. I have been finding myself looking around for a new game to play on the pc but am not sure what I should get. I really love, and enjoy, games that are cut from a medieval cloth. I really enjoy being an adventurer, or wizard, while I explore villages, castles, and the mysteries of a new world. Not to mention the occasional encounter with a dragon. Anyway, I am looking for a new medieval world to explore and if you have any recommendations I would love to hear them.

For now, what I can give you is a review of some of the medieval role playing games I have enjoyed. Hopefully I can lend some insight. I have arranged them in order of which ones I think are the best. From best to not so best.

Dragon Age: Origins Collectors Edition

Great game with some terrific gameplay. his is a very complex game. It took BioWare five years to develop this game and it shows. There is an awful lot of stuff in it. And most of this stuff is what is expected. There is plenty of battling and plenty of world to explore. And it is a party oriented game so if you have played Dungeon Siege or World of Warcraft you are very familiar with the style of game play. As you adventure through and explore the world you pick up party members that will fight with you. And you have to put together a complimentary set of members. You need a balance. If you are a warrior you are going to need a mage for healing and a rogue for lockpicking etc. It's a nice way to explore a lot of different roles in the game.

Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion - If you are looking for a medieval role playing game to get and you haven't played this one then you are in for a treat. This is the one to get. It is simply one of the best games in the genre. The game play is smooth, seamless, and remarkable. You can follow any of four professions ranging from fighter to mage, assassin, or thief. And you can blend all four in any way that suits you. This is not kids stuff. It is very involved and very detailed. There are large quest lines that will give hundreds of hours of play. It is worth every penny. Another nice thing about this game is the ability for you to own your own home in every major city. It's a nice way for you to get comfortable and a great place for you to store all your stuff. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Gothic - This used to be my absolute favorite game (until Oblivion came out). It is quite remarkable and when it came out in 2001 it was a step above everything else in the genre. It has a remarkable story line and it will keep you moving forward towards the conclusion. Game play is a little bit different than your typical game and it takes a little bit of time to get comfortable with the interface but awesome game. This is one of the first games that had a world that was an entity unto itself. Things happened in the world regardless of what you were doing and I remember the first time I played it I was adventuring around and exploring things and I had to keep adjusting the brightness on my monitor because the game seemed to be getting darker. Eventually I caught on and realized night was quickly falling and it was really getting dark! Needless to say it wasn't long before I was stumbling around in a forest in almost total darkness being chased by wolves! Fun game. Gothic

Dungeon Siege - This game is different than the others in this review. It is what I call a small character game where the figures and players are small on the screen. But it is a lot of battling and adventuring fun. The game play is very linear In that you have to make your way through a series of environments all the way to the end of the game. There are lots of secrets and lots and lots of armor, weapons, treasure and more. Eventually you end up controlling a party of players and a few pack mules to carry all your stuff around. I spent many hours managing and enjoying all the various weapons and treasures in the game. It's a lot of fun tracking down and finding the secret objects in this game. Dungeon Siege with Legends of Aranna Expansion

Final Fantasy VII - This game has anime like characters and a look that is generally aimed at a younger audience but I do love this game. It is now considered a classic and it warrants that title. A lot of fun although the interface and interaction with NPC's can at times be a bit of a drag on the game play. It is just a lot of good epic fantasy fun. This game put the Final Fantasy franchise on the map and I think they are up to installment 12 now but 7 is the one that really made its mark on the gamers world. These games are mostly aimed at console players but 7 is readily available for the PC. Final Fantasy VII, Platinum Edition

Gothic 2 - This is an upgraded and more intense iteration of Gothic 1. It is smooth, more refined, and more involved but just not quite as good. The world is expanded upon and everything is bigger and better. In other words it is a great sequel. But it can't beat Gothic 1 because that is where it all was introduced to us. It's just a great sequel with more of the same.

Betrayal at Krondor - This is based on Raymond Feist's series of books. When did this come out? 1994? It has been released into the public domain and is now freeware. You can download it from any of several places. When it came out it was a unique game and unlike any other. I thoroughly enjoyed this game and it set the stage for much in the genre. It's a bit unusual in the way it handles things and the combat is turn based which is unnecessary in today's games. But the story line is great and adventuring around Midkemia is a lot of fun. Just a fun blast from the past and I have fond memories of exploring the world within. This game loads into DOS so I am not even sure you can play it on new computers. If you snag a copy of this game you may have to dig up an old computer just for playing it. Worth it though. I have a copy of this game on my website if you want to give it a try. Its about ten meg Betrayal at Krondor Download Page

The Elder Scrolls 3 Morrowind - This is a pretty good game and it is well done but I found it to be just a bit tedious. The interface and means of interacting with others tended to be a bit too much of a labor for me. Game play often comes to a stop while you interact with a non player character but it's necessary for the game to move forward. Good game, just not great. The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind Game of the Year Edition

Fable - This is a fun game with some interesting differences. One of the hooks of this game is that as you play you make decisions that are good or bad. And the more you lean one way or the other the more your character actually changes. Make good decisions and you start to look more angelic. Make bad decisions and you start to look more evil. It is kind of fun little hook and of course characters in the world take notice and act accordingly. You will eventually become worshipped or feared. Fun game and very smooth but my biggest criticism of the game is that it is not big enough. I conquered the whole game in quite a brief period of time. Fable: The Lost Chapters

The Lord of the Rings - The fellowship of the Ring - My sense of this game is that because of the unprecedented success of the movies this game was rushed to market and it wasn't made the way it could have been made. But it was a lot of fun to adventure around Middle Earth and move the actual story line forward. I also had a lot of fun exploring the Shire. It's a bit nostalgic if you are a fan of the books and it is aimed at younger audiences but I did enjoy it although I am pretty sure I never completed it. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

RESOURCES to the Games on Amazon.com

• Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
• Gothic
• Gothic Universe (all three Gothic games together)
• Dungeon Siege
• Final Fantasy VII, Platinum Edition
• Gothic II
• The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind Game of the Year Edition
• FABLE - THE LOST CHAPTERS
• Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
• Betrayal at Krondor (Free download on my website)