Some of my opinions:

Baldurs Gate 1: If you've played Baldurs Gate 2 you almost have to play the original as it's the same story. Just remember that BG2 starts close to where BG1 ended (story-wise) and frankly BG2's intro is kinda spoilerish. But if you want to know exactly what happened before BG2 it's a good buy. Not as good as BG2 though.

Icewind Dale 1&2: In the Icewind Dale games there are no joinable NPC or interraction between party members as you create your own party, instead they focuses on battle. IWD1 uses the same rules as the BG games, 2nd edition, while the IWD2 uses the 3rd edition rules so that means learning a whole set of new rules. Personally I prefer the 3rd edition ones. The setting for IWD1 is in Icewind Dale far north of where BG2 takes place. It got a fairly linear but decent story. I have bought IWD2 some time ago but have not found the time to play it yet so I can't give any insight into the game but I assume that's it similar to IWD1 just with new rules. You should be able to find at least IWD1 in the bargain bin as it's a couple of years old.

Planescape: Torment: This game is all about story, character interaction and quests. Or rather the focus is on these things. It got one of the best main plots ever in any game and it's the heart of the game. There is some interaction with your fellow party members that can give you insight on their past and even teach you a spell or two. The main character is set though, since he is so connected with the plot, and there are only three playable classes for you: fighter, thief and mage. If you're love playing a mage you will love this game as playing one arguably get you most out of the game. PS:T can be a little tricky to find I have been told so you might have to search.

Neverwinter Nights NWN uses the 3rd edition rules and it's main focus is on multiplayer. The single player Official Campaign that come with the game is decent although you'll most likely only play it through once. There is alot of combat and sometimes it feels like it never ends. No what makes NWN a good game is it's multiplayer capabilities. You can play online with your friends at no charge any time of the day, it ships with a Toolset so you can create your own 'games' called modules with everything the Official Campaign contains and you can download other modules for free. Some of these modules are plain lousy and some are more or less brilliant. If you don't intend to play online NWN hasn't got much to offer and in that case I woulnd't bother with this game if I were you.

Fallout 1&2: These games are very different from D&D and are not set in a fantasy world. Instead they take place on future Earth after a global nuclear war that have completely destroyed the civilisation. They have completely different rules than D&S and there's no magic but alot of guns, both 'normal ones' and more exotic one like laser rifles and plasma rifles. You create and play one character but there are NPC's that can join you during the course of the game. Their AI are pretty limited though. Further there are no classes like in D&D so you are free to create the character you want. Both this games are somewhat old but very good ones.

Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind: This game is alo different than the D&D games but they still takes place in a fantasy world. It doesn't have the over-head view that is so common for CRPG's but instead uses a first-person view as a default. There are classes but that is a very loose term and only applies for which skills the characters focus on in the beginning. All skills are available to all characters and all can be increased and trained by you. Morrowind is a very non-linear game to such an extent that some people don't like it be´cause the feel lost and they don't know what to do. It boasts a very good graphics, better than any of the above mentioned and it has gotten good reviews.

Lionheart: I haven't played this game myself but I know that it's considered a mediocre game. The game haven't recieved great reviews so I assume it's something of a disappointment. Of what I know about the story it takes place in a alternative history where magical forces have been released in a medieval Europe. It has been released recently and it uses the same rules as the Fallout games.

Temple of Elemental Evil (ToEE): This games is to be released in the US in a couple of days so I haven't played this one either but it looks promising. It's a single player only turned-based D&D game that uses 3rd edition rules just like NWN and IWD2. There's been a new forum dedicated to this game opened yesterday(?) so you might check it out.

[ 09-15-2003, 04:48 PM: Message edited by: Stratos ]

lion heart link in the micel forum
http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...;f=22;t=000561

people who have played it says the game is not as good as it seems :(

perhaps you want to try an online game thats based on database actions...

www.trollscantsing.com

sadly i must agree with those people. the story isnt all that good(it certainly didnt inspire me to finish it yet...), and it seems theyve chosen to combine all the worst things from many games. to mention a few:

theyve got this diabloish spell casting thing going on, what with the mana being able to cast spells super fast and having to improve the spells to make them affective. sad really, 'cause this is the only thing i DIDNT like too much about Diablo(2)

well, to their defense, they put the Baldurs Gateish interface, meaning massive 3d background and a 2d paper doll. i like this! the downside: the paper doll sucks! it doesnt even have a standing picture(!), it just freezes in mid walk. stupid, IMO...

the voice acting in this game isnt all that good. the voices fit with the characters, but they are NOT very enthusiastic(sp?) or anything. not very inspiring...

now comes the thing i loathe about the game the most: the arsenal of weapons/armor is PATHETIC!!! lets see, these are the different kinds of weapons ive run into(hopefully theyve put more in the end); Long Sword, Two-Handed Sword, Short Sword, Warhammer, Mace, Long Bow(no short bow) and the X-bow(no light or heavy, just a regular), and maybe Club, dont remember. truly a weak show...and to add to that, i dont think theyve put too many unique weapons. theyre all like Long sword of Carnage or Fleshseeking(then theyve put different modifiers on them, to make them different)

out of ten points, id give it a 4...my advice, dont pay more than 20 bucks for it...

...Which just goes to show - don't trust demos! [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Man, I would've thought there were far more weapons in the game. That just sucks. As I only played the demo I thought more weapons would turn up later. Right. Thanks, I was gonna buy that game! For £28 too! Rip-off!

Planescape Torment wil be ery satisfying, I garantee it!

If Shotgun really enjoyed the interaction between the NPCs, then that is definitely the way to go. Arguably the best story in any RPG. Some of the best NPCs, too.

However, if combat is Shotgun's forte, then maybe Icewind Dale (1 or 2) may be more appropriate. Create your own party, pretty linear, mostly combat.

I'd suggest you toss ToB to start off with; it's about half as good as SoA.
Just to add this in there, Arx is pretty good for a FPRPG.

Neverwinter nights and morrowind are a must play for any d and d fan

Morrowind isn't D&D.