We have a 7 year-old PC running XP that my 12 year-old son uses for gaming.  (I know I'm a bad parent - I should get him a Wii or Xbox or something better.)  Any suggestions on some (older) games that he could get?  He has played Lego Star Wars and Star Wars Battlefront to death.  We're not getting anything too graphic. (I know I'm a bad parent, that violent stuff doesn't affect anyone.)  A PG-13 first person shooter would be nice.  Thanks.  

You really can't go wrong with the original Doom, if you ask me.

It's also never too early to introduce a child to the Civilization series, and the original Civ should run fine on a box that old.

He'll get Frogger and he'll like it!

Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
Thief
Popcap Games collection (some are dumb, some are fun)

Of these I recommend Thief the highest, it's a first person 'sneaker' (I think they basically invented the genre), and is one of the most immersive games I've ever played.

Any old RPG. I saw Loom on valve for $5 in a combo pack with some Indiana Jones games which is a superb game. Otherwise, any of the King's Quests are grand fun. And, for the ultimate win, hit up the Monkey Island series for the Gold Standard in PC gaming.

Warcraft/Starcraft.

PG-13 FPS = Doom, Wolfenstein, oh, just get the kid some goddam Duke Nukem and a copy of Leisure Suit Larry already. If you think he can handle the outside world, Counterstrike is the best bang for your buck. Otherwise, Half-Life is solid.

Cramchakle wrote:  oh, just get the kid some goddam Duke Nukem and a copy of Leisure Suit Larry already.

ALN, YES! i grew up on that... Ahhh good times. did you ever play the 2D Duke Nukem?

I also liked Civilisation and Age of Empires and old school WarCraft not the online RPG stuff.

Yes, I second Starcraft big time. Seven year old computer will run it nicely, and its still an amazing game, and one a 12 year old can both enjoy and grow into. Civilization, yes! You should go with at least Civ 2 though, the original Civ is a bit dated.

While I loved Doom and Wolfenstein when I was 12, they have not aged well in the graphics department.. kids these days are used to things being a bit smoother and flashier. Half life is what you are looking for.. not too graphic, and some decent puzzle type stuff going on. I've never played Theif, but that would also be the right type (and age) of game.

Yeah... I used to play Starcraft on Battlenet back when NetZero was actually free. Ah, for the days when you could play multiplayer games over the internet via dialup.

Battlefront was pretty fun. Others he may like.

Jedi Knight I & II were fabulous! actually want to and play those again now...

Civ 2 definitely will help his organizational and logic skills. Spent many many hours with that. (the Civ II Goldedition will conver all variations and still cost under $10).

Half-Life and Doom are great (tho doom can turn blood on/off IIRC).

WarCraft II; I was never a fan of StarCraft. starcraft got too complicated and convoluted.

The Lara Croft Tomb Raider series were always great on the PCs too. Lots of puzzles and actions to solve!

Call of Duty 2 is prolly pushing it (WWII era - modern stuff definitely is). wasn't too graphic, but it is way more 'realistic' than doom. But then again Battlefront wasn't that much less than CoD.

Sim City is kinda neat too.

Myst for more mind bending puzzles.

And last but not least, I was always a fan of the car racing games. Need4Speed, etc.

weathertop wrote:

I was never a fan of StarCraft.

All your other opinions have now been invalidated

It might have something to do with the fact that I never spent any time on it (something about that was when all my aero classes started requiring studying - oh yeah and my stint at fatherhood began) and I always got my [bleep] handed to me.

Kind of like Unreal. Was fun as a single player, but i could in NO way keep up with those literally running circles around me until i went POOF!

Pengo!
Mappy!
Crystal Castles!
Tag Team Wrestling!
Oregon Trail!
Super Sam!
Moon Patrol!
Wizards of Wor!
Berzerk!

Oh, Berzerk........coming soon to wargear.net!

Wow Moon Patrol. Best... game... EVER!

And Oregon Trail, don't even get me started. I would always forget to buy pants and die from exposure. Then I got fed up with losing so I bought ALL pants. You don't wanna know how that turned out.

Thanks a bunch guys. I've shown him the list and he is going bonkers wanting all of them. He's definitely more of an action guy, so he is not going the Civilization/Sim City route - but Doom or Tomb Raider would definitely work. We'll have to look up some of the other titles though. He likes to download mods (which is why he gets the old computer) and has found a bunch for Doom, so that may be the one for now.

And Risky - I'm definitely in your camp. I was a junior in college when the first Doom came out (93). Somebody loaded the demo version onto the school network so we were able to go into the library and play against each other. It was absolutely awesome and I could see the future of gaming, but, for many reasons, I stopped gaming about that time and would just hook up my 2600 or NES when I wanted to video game. (and still do)

Which is why I need to ask you guys for some titles. I recognize most of the names, but haven't owned/played any of them - and just don't have them in the brain to think of on my own. (And my son grew bored with the 2600 pdq - kids these days.) Thanks again.

PS Risky - Make sure you work in the bouncy killer happy face.

You can never go wrong with Battle.net. End of Story.

I can no longer be friends with Weathertop. :(

I know, it's really too bad. I thought he was a pretty cool guy. Sucks to be proven wrong.

wow, you wanted to be friends with me in the first place?! damn foot-n-mouth disease gets me once again.

but why? cus i don't like starcraft or because i suck at playing against real ppl and not AI?

Some others not on the list, though maybe not as action-oriented:

Majesty
Heroes of Might and Magic (III)
Marathon

Also, Age of Mythology is a better RTS than Age of Empires, IMO.

Oh Heroes of Might and Magic III was one of my all-time favorites. Also in that genre is the original Wizardry, among the most addictive basic first-generation dungeon-diving RPGs I've ever played.