10th place: System Shock Series
A wonderful mix of an RPG, adventure and shooter, with an enticing story and unique gameplay, which are definitely the highlights for this game. You really sense the feeling of being there, and the story carries a lot of surprises. The occasional visit to Cyberspace also adds a lot of atmosphere to the gameplay.
9th place: Gothic Series
Gothic is an action role-playing game franchise, created by Piranha Bytes and currently published by JoWooD Entertainment.
The Gothic games stand out for their compelling story, complex interaction with other in-game characters, and interesting graphics.
8th place: Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age: Origins is a single-player role-playing video game developed by BioWare’s Edmonton studio and published by Electronic Arts.
Set in the mythical kingdom of Ferelden during a period of civil strife, the player assumes the role of a warrior, mage or rogue who must unite the kingdom to fight an impending invasion by demonic forces.
7th place: Fallout Series
Fallout is a series of computer role-playing games (CRPGs) published by Interplay and later by Bethesda Softworks. Although set in and after the 22nd and 23rd century, its retrofuturistic story and artwork are influenced by the post-war culture of 1950s America, and its combination of hope for the promises of technology and lurking fear of nuclear annihilation.
6th place: Baldur’s Gate I & II
Baldur’s Gate is a popular series of computer role-playing games that take place on Faerûn, the main continent from Dungeons & Dragons’s Forgotten Realms campaign setting, set in the years after the cataclysmic Time of Troubles (1358 DR).
The games are based on a real-time modification of the second edition AD&D (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons) ruleset. The player’s party can have up to six members, either created by the player according to the AD&D rules or NPCsrecruited by the protagonist from the game world. Numerous side quests and plot twists are associated with particular NPCs and can be activated if they are found in the player’s party. Through extensive, context-dependent dialogue, many characters inside and outside the player’s party are fleshed out and given an added level of complexity.
5th place: Planescape: Torment
Planescape: Torment is a computer role-playing game developed for Windows by Black Isle Studios and released on December 12, 1999 by Interplay Entertainment. It takes place in Planescape, an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) fantasy campaign setting.
The game is primarily story-driven; combat is given less prominence than in most contemporary role-playing games. The protagonist, known as The Nameless One, is an immortal who has lived many lives but has forgotten all about them, even forgetting his own name. The game focuses on his journey throughout the city of Sigil and other planes to reclaim his memories of these previous lives.
4th place: Deus Ex
Deus Ex is a cyberpunk-themed action role-playing game developed by Ion Storm Inc. and published by Eidos Interactive in the year 2000, which combines gameplay elements of first-person shooters with those of role-playing games.
Set in a dystopian world during the 2050s, the central plot follows rookie United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition agent JC Denton, as he sets out to combat terrorist forces, which have become increasingly prevalent in a world slipping ever further into chaos. As the plot unfolds, Denton becomes entangled in a deep and ancient conspiracy, encountering fictional versions of organizations such as Majestic 12, the Illuminati, and the Hong Kong Triads throughout his journey.
3rd place: The Witcher
The Witcher takes place in a medieval fantasy world and follows the story of Geralt, one of a few remaining “witchers” — traveling monster hunters for hire, gifted with unnatural powers. The game’s system of “moral choices” as part of the storyline was noted for its time-delayed consequences and lack of black-and-white morality. The game is based on the book series of the same name by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski.
2nd place: Chrono Trigger
Chrono Trigger is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1995.
Chrono Trigger takes place in an original world similar to Earth, with eras such as the prehistoric age, where early humans and dinosaurs share the earth; the Middle Ages, replete with knights, monsters, and magic; and the post-apocalyptic future, where humans and sentient robots struggle to survive. The characters often travel through time to get allies, gather equipment, and learn information to help them in their quest. The party also gains access to the End of Time (represented as year ∞), which serves as a hub to travel back to other time periods. The party eventually acquires a time-machine vehicle known as the Wings of Time, nicknamed the Epoch. The vehicle is capable of time travel between any time period without first having to travel to the End of Time.
When you hear all the faithful loyal followers of Chrono Trigger saying that Chrono Trigger is the best rpg game out there, you tend to expect the game to be just that – and it sure may be! A marvelous sotryline, full of twists and interesting characters, all spiced up with a cool time-travel mechanism makes this game a must play! However, I just couldn’t award it first place, because it is reserved for…
1st place: Betrayal at Krondor
Betrayal at Krondor is a fantasy role-playing game produced by Dynamix and released in 1993 for the PC.
The game’s plot is based on The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist, and it takes place roughly 10 years after the events described in the Darkness at Sethanon. That, and Mr. Feist’s supervision on the story (actually written by Neal Hallford), was a guarantee that the game would pull you deeper and deeper into its world as you progress through the game’s 9 intriguing chapters.
What else can I say, if you love RPGs, you just have to play this game and if possible get the CD version which features great music for that extra bit of wow.
You can download the game for free on gameogre.com.
Sources: Wikipedia.