I'm in my 40s, and for the last 20 years life hasn't allowed me much time for playing PC games. I'm almost unable to do some flying as work and family eats up most of my time, but things are changing and I'm about to make a few life changes that will set me back economically, but free up a lot of time. 

 

I really want to play some games, but have always been very picky and most stuff made after the mid 1990s have failed to interest me. I loved Civilizaition I & II, Railroad Tycoon, Pirates, Oil Imperium, Ports of Call, Dune 2, Sim City, X-Com, Second Front, Doom, Duke Nukem',  Populous, Capitalism, and a few more.

 

I like it simple - yet complicated, kinda like chess - which I play a lot on my cellphone. I love games that have lots of playability, are easy to learn and not too action packed - I'm more of a strategy and turn based type of guy. I have never liked typical console games (Nintendo, Sega etc.). The only "new" games I've played are GTA III and Vice City, but never bothered to finish San Andreas. I also played a few of the first Call of Duty games - but am not interested in 1st person shooters anymore.

 

So what do you recommend for a guy like me, and what great games have you played the last five years or so? 

 

 

Old one but a good one is Empire: Total War.

I'd suggest another oldie; the Silent Hunter series. Sure, it's pretty dated, but still challenging and enjoyable.

 

Alan  :smile:

Euro Truck Simulator 2 with a wheel and pedals is very chill and fun.

I loved Dirt 3 until my drunk cousin caught my barn and garage on fire and they burned completely down and I lost 90% of everything I had saved in my life, including my wheel and pedals.

 

So for now just flying.

I'm in my 40s, and for the last 20 years life hasn't allowed me much time for playing PC games. I'm almost unable to do some flying as work and family eats up most of my time, but things are changing and I'm about to make a few life changes that will set me back economically, but free up a lot of time. 

 

I really want to play some games, but have always been very picky and most stuff made after the mid 1990s have failed to interest me. I loved Civilizaition I & II, Railroad Tycoon, Pirates, Oil Imperium, Ports of Call, Dune 2, Sim City, X-Com, Second Front, Doom, Duke Nukem',  Populous, Capitalism, and a few more.

 

I like it simple - yet complicated, kinda like chess - which I play a lot on my cellphone. I love games that have lots of playability, are easy to learn and not too action packed - I'm more of a strategy and turn based type of guy. I have never liked typical console games (Nintendo, Sega etc.). The only "new" games I've played are GTA III and Vice City, but never bothered to finish San Andreas. I also played a few of the first Call of Duty games - but am not interested in 1st person shooters anymore.

 

So what do you recommend for a guy like me, and what great games have you played the last five years or so? 

 

While not turn based I would strongly recommend witcher 3 with the expansions. Its the best gave I have played in awhile and is outstanding with story. Its an open world adventure/rpg, but better than the GTA games IMO. I also play thehunter a fair amount which is kinda chill if you like the feeling of being in the outdoors and hunting. Civ VI is out and is well reviewed. I haven't played it but I did play civ V which was decent with the expansions. If you like games where you can pause the combat and setup a strategy for fights using your party members then I can recommend Dragon Age: Origins (game is from 2008 so its old), which is probably one of my all time favorite games. A more modern party combat D&D type game that requires strategy is Pillars of Eternity. Its quite good if you like that type of thing and I have gone back to it off and on since it takes awhile to get through the story. Also, you could look into the mass effect series if you want sci-fi. It is a rpg/shooter but its not like a CoD shooter and was a really enjoyable gaming experience. Just start from game one and work your way through though because the story and your choices impact later games. 

Planet Coaster is a great theme park creation game (less for its management, more for its editor-style creative gameplay). Cities Skylines is the true successor to the SimCity franchise and very enjoyable. There are also tons of very good retro games available, which recreate the feel of the 90s without being remakes - Faster Than Light comes to mind as a shining example, but you might also try "Papers, please", Big Pharma, Prison Architect, Turmoil, and Gunpoint. Kerbal Space Program might be your cup of tea if you enjoy a cute space ship building simulation, World of Warships if you like boats with guns.

You seem to like strategy games most.  If you're a Civilization fan,  you really should check out the newly released  Civ VI.  It's just as engaging as any in the series, and could challenge Civ IV for the best of the lot with a little more time.   There have been two new (official) X-Com games released in the past few years which have been well-reviewed.  There's also a game called Xenonauts, which strives to update the original to modern interface standards but keep more of the original feel than the previous two.

 

There hasn't been a good SimCity in a while, but that role has been filled nicely by Cities: Skylines.  The Tropico series is also good if  you want something with a little more personality.

 

There has been a mini-revival in "beer and pretzels" wargames which might interest you.   Panzer Corps is very much Panzer General redone for the modern day, and it has enough expansions to keep you busy for ages if that's your thing.  Order of Battle is another one along the same lines that has come out recently and offers the first campaign free.  Battle Academy and its sequel are other games in the same genre, plus that engine is also used for games in two other time periods: Pike and Shot and Sengoku Jidai.

 

If you liked the old Heroes of Might and Magic games, you could stand to check out Age of Wonders III or Endless Legend.  For party-based RPGs, you can do no better than Pillars of Eternity, which is the spiritual successor to the Baldurs Gate/Icewind Dale games.  (Those, btw, have also been remade and you can, in fact, buy all three and their sound tracks in one huge bundle).

 

If you're getting back into PC gaming, I'd highly suggest reading Rock Paper Shotgun -- IMO it's the best PC gaming site going right now.  They have an ongoing "50 Best" series; you might want to check all of them out for a crash course on what you've missed, but I think the 50 Best Strategy Games on PC one might be right up your alley.

 

Hope this helps!

GTA baby!

Ohhh boy

Check diz out (most of them I have played through and removed from harddrive, some yet to be played through(not many).

 

 

In summery: around 100 ish, mostly quality games, on pc and around 50-100 (cant remember) quality games for Xbox 360+Xbox one. A biiig halo fan, so those are included as well...

I will make a short summery of the games YOU must have payed before dying! You look like my type of gamer (stealthy and sneaking with strategy involved) so I do have some in the back of my mind. But thats tomorrows story.

Btw... you should just see my book collection

Flight sim and only flight sim!

 

DCS in the next few months.

I'm also in my 40's and a sucker for any good FPS (currently BF1) - other than that, I spend most of my downtime on P3D

Also developed a liking for LSPDFR 

Fun read folks. I'm taking notes, so keep 'em coming!

These are the games I've spent most of my time on when not FS-ing...

 

• Fallout 3/New Vegas/4
• Skyrim
• Combat Mission: Battle For Normandy/Red Thunder/Fortress Italy/Final Blitzkrieg
• Scourge of War Gettysburg/Waterloo
• Mass Effect
• Chess

FPS, Racing and Strategy Games are what I play the most.

 

To name a few:

FPS (no AAA titles)

- Insurgency

- SQUAD

- Day of Infamy

- Ghost in the Shell

Strategy

- Civ V and now Civ VI

- Europa Universalis IV

- Crusader Kings II

- Total War series

Racing

- Assetto Corsa

- Automobilista

- F1 2016