In short, I’d like to find a nice RTS or two to complement my RPG arsenal. Variety is, after all, the spice of a gamer’s life.

Let me begin by saying that I don’t mind the Civ series…but I don’t like the latest installment. At all. Yeah, I’m weird. So scratch that off the list completely. Mkay?

Civilization aside, what are the strategy games you’d recommend? I’m even willing to go back in time to older games if they’re quality.

For example, some of my favorite strategy games are in the Age of Empires franchise (III and its expansion packs). The game play is solid and can be at times quite challenging. The voice acting, sound and music are not so bad as to make you want to put sharp objects in your ears prior to each game session. The visuals are – especially with a decent-to-great graphics card – really quite nice. It’s a game I’ve come back to play even after beating it, and I don’t usually do that.

Recently I took my TARDIS back to 2007 and gave Age of Mythology a try, and while it’s no Age of Empires, it may be worth my time. (Ask me when I’m about halfway through. It was in the discount bin, after all.)

Other titles, some very ancient, that I’ve enjoyed are StarCraft; Heroes of Might and Magic (I must say, Heroes of Might and Magic V is lovely…but the sticklers among you are likely prodding the screen and shouting “it’s a turn based game!” by now); Rome; Amazons and Aliens (I believe I was the sole player); Startopia; Dungeon Keeper; and many others of space and/or fantasy ilk.

So space, fantasy and silly are all OK with me. Given that, and keeping in mind that while old games are alright, I do have a nice shiny gaming PC waiting to take on a challenge: what would you recommend I play next?

I hope you will chime in and look forward to your suggestions – lest a perfectly good Björk reference go to waste.

MUDs (or any of the other MU* designations) were in essence MMORPGs in the days before graphic integration. They were interactive stories, playable solo or in a group with elements that were conducive to actual roleplay. In a good MUD story was the focal point, with social interaction spinning off plot with a life of its own.

In some cases MUDs were exactly like stepping into the pages of a book. Take into consideration my favorite MUD, one I still play on occasion, Discworld MUD. Discworld is based entirely on Terry Pratchett’s rich fantasy-slash-comedy novels. It’s stunningly detailed and unbelievably customizable, with every aspect of life in game up to the players. (There are rules, of course, but like any stellar game, the bulk is self-policing in the spirit of roleplay and character development.)

Readers of this blog know that I’m sort of…well…shall we say, down on MMORPGs. I’ve yet to find one in all my years of trying that offers a truly satisfying roleplay experience. So much of them seem dedicated to senseless PvP (which has its place, but not in excess) and mindless leveling, which on any scale grows intensely boring after a short period of time.

And there are idiots in MUDs, too. I can remember days spent playing Avalon, one of the oldest text-based games on the ‘net, when I couldn’t catch a break for the challenges to PvP that would be lobbed my way, typically when I was right in the middle of something time-consuming and precision-oriented, and not desiring the constant distraction in the least. But for the most part the spirit of MUDs seems to be very much about creating and adhering to a character, and facing consequences of your actions. Something that unless rules are severely violated doesn’t seem to be much of a concern in present-day MMORPGs.

The most common complaint by anti-MUD crowds is that play is often repetitive, and it can be. How many times can one type (or macro) “map” to pull up an ASCII map before one’s eyes blur? There’s a lot of “look east” and “drink potion” and such commands to daily life in MUDs. Some combat systems are a back and forth blur of text and numeric stats, confusing to the uninitiated eye. But get past the somewhat clunky limitations that MUDs’ fairly primitive coding imposes and you’ll find game worlds with little to no limit on imagination. You can only draw so many pixels in one scene, but you can paint a thousand portraits in the descriptions you assign to any given location.

If I sound overly-enthusiastic, I perhaps am. I was part of a development team for a highly addictive commercial MUD for several years. And the roleplay I enjoyed as a deity in that game, coupled with the expansive creative freedom the medium provided in actual game creation, cemented the common MUD’s place in my heart.

So, typewriter that plays Zork, I lift my glass in toast to you for bringing back to mind the good old days, when I didn’t have to look very far to find someone IC, OOC was not a condition of life, bashing was actually fun, and game worlds were limited only by the vision of the creators.

Now this is all very flashy and impressive with first person shooters, because FPS are pretty much what’s hot in new releases these days. So, the litmus test for a gaming machine would have to be how well it performs in FPS action.

But I’m not such a big fan of FPS. I can tolerate them. Heck, I even loved them once upon a time. But nowadays I find myself pining more and more for the golden era of RPGs – when compelling stories were told without the need to go all MMORPG instead of a plain old, good clean fun single player campaign.

It truly is increasingly difficult to find a good single player RPG because of the jungle of MMORPGs one must hack a path through along the way. There are some pretty MMORPG worlds out there, and indeed, some have quite addicting gameplay. But if you’re looking for the RPG aspect one would expect to find in most massively multiplayer roleplaying games, you’re more or less stuffed. MMORPGs are more about bashing NPCs and randomly engaging in mindless PK than actually roleplaying, or making roleplay-oriented, strategic decisions.

So what am I doing? I’m moving backwards in time. Beginning with Oblivion, and traveling all the way back to the Might and Magic days, I’m actually stepping so far back in time that my machine’s amazing specs are completely wasted. All because I can’t find a decent RPG that’s not overrun with 12 year old hack n’ slash aficionados, as too many MMORPGs seem to be.

Thus I am posing a question to you, as someone who’s more than likely been around the gaming block. What good quality RPGs do you recommend? What’s the most eye-catching? What has a gripping story? What will simultaneously take advantage of my machine’s 100% pure grade A win and provide an old fashioned RPG thrill? Is there such thing as a freshly-released RPG that’s not a MMORPG?

Suggestions will be deeply appreciated. Please, help give my gaming machine a reason to live.

But Square Enix’s attempt at creating mystery might be all for naught. Japanese magazine Weekly Shonen Jump may have actually jumped the gun on the company. Scans of the magazine showed Square Enix’s new game Four Warriors of Light: Final Fantasy Gaiden for the DS. The game will be a turn based RPG that will arrive this fall in Japan. The game will revolve around a 14 year old boy who has been tasked by a king to rescue a princess from a witch.

The gameplay will involve controlling a four-man squad of various roleplay types. The magazine also revealed that as characters gain and equip various weapons and armor, their appearance will also change.

There are no reports yet of whether the game will be released outside Japan.

To whet your appetite here’s a picture of Gilgamesh in all his awesome glory.

But the PS2 will prove the critics wrong again as it braces for another quality release this year
– as Atlus has hinted at another Shin Megami Tensei RPG that will be given a North American release. Based on tantalizing clues given by Atlus it looks like it is going to be Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon.

RPG gamers wait with bated breath for new developments to this exciting new development.