Well, not new but the last time I played non-casual games, I was running DOS. This weekend I ordered a 17" Alienware laptop for gaming. I have a few question and would welcome any general advice about gaming on the PC. I'm mostly interested in RPGs but may try a few shooters. On the Xbox, I've enjoyed the Elder Scrolls Games, the Mass Effect games and Deus Ex Human Revolution especially. I also liked the last two Saints Row and Rainbow 6 Vegas games.
1. Do I need a mouse or is a trackpad adequate? If I need a mouse, what should I look for?
2. Are there any especially good places to buy games? I tried Googling a few titles and didn't see any exceptional deals.
3. Any other advice for a n00b? Jim
1. I definitely would go the mouse route vs trackpad, its just not good for PC gamming in my opinion
- I use the Logitech G700 Mouse, has a few extra buttons you can program and can be either wire or wireless and has a good weight to it.
- Go to a tigerdirect, frys, or best buy and check out the mouse selections there and find out which one feels best in your hand. If your coming from a gamepad, it will be learning curve, but I will take mouse/keyboard combo vs gamepad any day of the week (Be warned that PC games don't auto target, unless you select it in the options like console games, so get used to that as well)
2. RPGs are fun, and since you have come out of your cave, I would also suggest looking at MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) Like World of Warcraft, Guild Wars, Rift. If you like playing multiplayer its the way to go.
- If you are a fan of old school PC RPGS, there is a great website
GOG.com that has a ton of older PC RPGS
- STEAM is a digital download site that often has specials on all types of games, i.e. Borderlands 2 was 9.99 at one point
3. Don't worry about being a gaming newb, unless you are playing some MMO's lol..and my suggestions are StarCraft II, WoW, Crysis on PC is much better than the consoles IMO.