If you liked Arx fatalis, you'll like Ultima Underworld. the dev of Arx Fatalis wanted to develop UU3, to give you an idea... It was refused, hence AF.

I would advise the Gothic series (sans the third). Arx Fatalis and Ultima Underworld come second and third (hey, I know, ultima rocks, but arx puts on a nice, brave smile).

Of the games you mentioned, Ultima Underworld is the best, followed by Betrayal at Krondor.

But you should also play Baldur's Gate 1/2, Planescape Torment, and Might & Magic 6. All are great games.

great - ultima underwordl with planescape torment it will be! baldurs gate is not my kind of games, sadly.

PS:T is much more about the story and less about combat than BG. There's tons more dialog to read, and the combat is a lot easier because of two differences from BG:

1. The game pauses when you go to your inventory, so you can just guzzle any number of potions to instantly heal any of your characters at any time.

2. You do not have to "Gather Your Party Before Venturing Forth." That is having one character enter the next area automatically makes your whole party travel there even if they are all the way across the screen. Not realistic, but far less frustrating.

Of those you picked, my favorite is definitely Realms of Arkania 2: Star Trail. It is very hardcore on rules though (you need to have the manual close by to create characters adequately and you'll need to hunt for food and drink every day, be careful not to get diseases and so on).

I must agree.

It depends what experience you already have with crpg's. But from BG to PT, Gothic 1+2, Might & Magic 6, Fallout 2 the choice is huge here so it is difficult to decide here.

The user interface for Baldur's Gate is much better, as is the actual combat. Though combat is largely unnecessary in PS:T. Really, the main reason to play PS:T is the story. But the BG and IWD games are much better in terms of game play. The UI for PS:T is rather clunky in comparison.

So my point was, if you didn't like BG, you may not like PS:T because it is based on the same engine, but has a clunkier UI. As a game PS:T has many faults, but the story more than makes up for them for most people.

Just in response to your avatar: AHMAGAD Lost Odyssey was/is SO GOOD! Couldn't believe how fantastic it was. Man, I really should play it through again.

Not a GOG game, but I would suggest Wizardry 8. Modern enough graphics with all the old school goodness intact.

But for the true old school awesomeness, Wizardry 7 Crusaders of the Dark Savant, a truly hardcore rpg experience, insanely difficult and a lot more cruel than Wiz 8 - there's a turn limit and some invisible randomness in each game iteration that affects the ending. Also, you kinda have to master (that is, game) the rules in order to have a less-grueling go at it... I remember getting random encounters with every step in some dungeons, each of which could have wiped out the party. And some of the puzzles are completely inscrutable, like they make no sense whatsoever. Oh, and the game itself is very nonlinear and doesn't give you any hints about where to go or what to do either.

Agreed. But W8 is a better game overall. They found the right balance of hard core role playing and accessibility. It has perhaps the best UI ever developed for any game.

Plus, it was more fun to me.