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Chrono Trigger I remember being 40-50 hours on first playthrough. More, of course if you start seeking out all the extra stuff and various endings. It just blows by, though - once you guys get into it you'll be tearing it up.
Half-Life 2 was... 20 hours maybe? Maybe even shorter, there were several points where I got confused and stuck, especially in the driving and boating sections. (lol let's do Team Fortress 2!)
it's one of my all time favorite games but THE FUCK FUCK FUCKING MEAT CIRCUS at the end is the worst
^this. But it's a good recommendation - very linear, the collectathon elements are very optional, and probably doable within a month or so.
Jagged Alliance games are great - I'd recommend skipping straight to JA2 since the first one really is pretty ugly now. Then again, I feel like they're gonna have similar problems as with Fallout, very non-linear, and it's far longer and more difficult to boot. But yeah, it is totally awesome, highly recommended if you like X-Com/tactics games.
Two nominations:
Star Control 2 (aka The Ur-quan Masters) free and open-source, playable on pretty much any PC today, a classic mixture of arcade shooter/adventure game/RPG space opera. Very open-ended, though - and I don't even remember how long one playthrough will take. Fantastic game, one of those games that refuses to stick to one genre and succeeds wonderfully, and a great sense of humor throughout.
Killer7. I know this has a ton of marks against it - a) GameCube, PS2 or Wii only b) frustrating control system and gameplay and c) completely obtuse plot conveyed deceptively with an immature tone - but it's a truly unique experience, very thought provoking and ripe for discussion. Also it's very conveniently structured into chapters.
― Nhex, Tuesday, 21 July 2009 08:15 (fourteen years ago) link
I also own but haven't played Psychonauts. Seems to be a pattern here, and maybe there's a reason for that? I know I started it once, and found the opening cutscenes long and unfunny and unskippable, and then the first level a bit meh, and then it got put on the shelf and hasn't been picked up again, yet.
― JimD, Tuesday, 21 July 2009 09:09 (fourteen years ago) link
Ha... I bought Psychonauts on PC a year before I even had one that could run it! I'm guessing you guys also ran into the game for really cheap, since it was hitting a lot of bargain bins and such due to the poor sales despite critical acclaim curse.
― Nhex, Friday, 24 July 2009 13:04 (fourteen years ago) link
psychonauts yes, let's do that one in due time. i have never played it or owned it but have heard only good things. before this thread that is...
― sonderangerbot, Thursday, 30 July 2009 18:07 (fourteen years ago) link