Your favorite game of all time.Why?
I am surprised this thread hasn't been up yet (maybe because it's tired out) so here it goes:
With the re-release of Deus Ex on gametap, I began to play through it for the 6th time. Funny thing is I am still not sick of it. I love the story,voice acting, multiple branches, dynamic music, and the many different approaches you can take in levels. It sounds like I am talking about a next gen game, but this game that came out 8 years ago. It really was ahead of it's time.
So needless to say this is my favorite game of all time. For some people its hard to narrow it down so I am going to list my top 3.
It would be interesting to see what kind of games this community is mainly into.
1:Deus Ex-above
2:Super Metroid- I got this game memorized so well in my head. I play it over and over trying to beat my previous time. Another game that was ahead of its time. It pretty much defined what 2d adventure were going to be like in the future. Oh and the music. I loved the music.
3:Counter-Strike 1.6/source- I can't tell you have much fun I had playing this game. Being in clans and lan parties were some of the best (and most frustrating) times. My desk paid dearly when I played this games at times because got so into it. I made over $3k playing this game and it was a free mod! Good times. Now you see why I love sniper in Tf2. I'm an AWP whore
Thanks for standin' still Wanker!
-XBox Gamertag: Tempest Blaze (Without the Y)
*points to avatar*
Disgaea. No bout a doubt it. Original setting, great story, great writing, great voice acting, insane customization, and a design philosophy that seems to amount to, "Well.. if you really WANT to..." There are almost no artificial barriers in that game. I mean, they set the level cap at 9999, and even then you can bank those levels and start over at 1 with huge stat boosts for your troubles.
It's also the first game where I found a 100-floor dungeon full of people, monsters, treasure, and EPIC BATTLES inside a piece of used chewing gum.
NOTE: This is not a doodle bug.
Spore
Chrono Trigger, hot damn, what a good game.
Civilization, in all its iterations.
As for a why, I don't really have a good explanation. It's just the perfect strategy game. Addictive, immersing, a perfect blend of simple concepts with complex strategy.
I hate doing my top of all games, because I hate giving numeric "values" to those great experiences. So here are the memorable few:
Pirates! - the very first one. First game I spent whole night with. I was drawing my own maps etc. Later I found the original floppy version and bought it just for the map. Oooh, sweet nostalgia. Also, I have Pirates! Gold and the new Pirates!
Colonization! - one of the games I never get tired of. The possibility of building your own colonial empire and then making it free always fascinated me. It also had great trading and diplomatic opportunities, not mentioning the lovely art direction. I have at least three different copies of the game (floppy DOS one because of real manual, then CD version and Windows version).
System Shock - the first really immersive and frightening game for me. Up to this day I remember layouts of levels and the feeling when I had no stimpaks, a sliver of health and the reviving chamber was not yet activated. And there was a strong robot right around the corner. Also, cyberspace, the skates and lightsabre were fantastic.
Deus Ex - loved the possibility to solve things differently each replay.
Thief - atmosphere that has yet to be topped.
Disgaea - first game in a long time that I started in the evening and turned off only at sunrise. Doesn't happen that often in recent years due to having work and life etc. I can spend weeks in Item World only, and I love destroying Geo Panels in correct order so as to gain maximum experience. Yeah, it's a game for obsessive people, once it's out on the DS it will never leave the slot again.
Ico - I finished the game in one go, because it drew me in so much. I fell in love with its world, ambience and the two protagonists. And I felt sincerely worried about the princess everytime I left her on her own. No other game succeeded in me caring so much for the protagonists.
Portal - Drew me in, made me laugh (a lot) and then surprised me in a totally unexpected way. And the fabulous Latino rendition of Still Alive blasting through the radio in the game menu is just an icing on the whole cake (pun unintended, but it's difficult to avoid it).
I believe these are the obvious ones for many people, although the reasons may vary. Currently I'm playing through The Witcher and like it very much (art direction and quests are great), but I'm not sure whether it will be a love affair. There are other games close to making the cut - Half-Life 2, both Max Payne games, for example - but I'm not really sure why they hadn't impacted me as much.
You can't take the sky from me.
Portal - Do I need to explain this?
EQ- All the expansions up to and including Planes of Power; after that the game lost me and was downhill for my tastes. The community, the game play, and grind almost cost me a full year of college.
lancejt wrote:
WAR -Vozhd Bratovitch
The entire Monkey Island series, funny and challenging at the same time.
"Everyone's always in favour of saving Hitler's brain but when you put it in the body of a great white shark, ooh, suddenly you've gone too far."
Great topic.
Favorite game of all time:
1. Counterstrike. This game was revolutionary for several reasons. First, It was the first hugely successful game that was developed as a mod and a free download by an amatuer developer. Second, It arguably started e-sports as a valid medium and spectator sport. It took my love of on-line shooters and refined it in a game that was accessible, simple to play yet exceedingly difficult to master. Participating in organized CAL leagues with my team was some of the most fun and tense moments I have ever had in gaming.
Lots of close seconds:
2. World of Warcraft. Raiding with a large group and the sense of accomplishment from downing a new boss counts among some of my favorite gaming memories. Challenging and fun PVP rounds out a complete game. Best MMO ever.
3. Quake. I still remember the first time I logged onto a server with my 28.8 modem and fragged a real live player. At that moment the skies parted, the sun shone down and a whole new gaming reality was revealed to me. I was hooked. I later spent a lot of time designing levels for Quake and, on a personal level, Quake was very much the most influential game in my life. It led to a job in the gaming industry as a level designer.
4. Civilization. Sid is a God. So addictive.
5. Doom. This was another one of those gaming experiences that changed my understanding of what a game could be. The sense of tension and fear the first time I started to play this game was something I had never experienced before.
6. Diablo 2. Nothing revolutionary, just the most addictive hack and slash game ever. I am a Blizzard fanboy.
Wow. This question is one tall order. I had to stew on it a while. After taking myself back to how it felt playing and finishing MANY games, here's what I think is my favorite (though this could easily change after thinking some more)...
Infocom's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - The planets aligned to give me my best gaming experience ever over Christmas break in 1984. I had played many other games by this point, but this one had the best puzzles ever, the best humor ever, and the best 'feelies' ever. There was also the fact that I had read the book for the first time just before getting it. This game also helped to start my mother's (yes... mother) addiction to computer games as we worked on it together. She's playing WoW as part of a top ranked guild right now, and no one knows she's a 60-year-old grandma.
RIP Douglas and Infocom. You'll both be remembered.
"There is a computer disease that anybody who works with computers knows about. It's a very serious disease and it interferes completely with the work. The trouble with computers is that you 'play' with them!" -- Richard P. Feynman
Quake 2
It wasn't my first FPS by far (Wolf3d, Duke Nukem 3D, Quake, Blood, RotT, Doom, Doom 2, etc.).
Quake 2 was the first game where I felt like I was right in the thick of it. That I wasn't shooting at extras in my own action movie. Quake 2 felt like a world hell bent on killing you and you had to work for it to survive.
I can still sit down in front of Q2 and have a great time.
Also, Quake 2 has the best game soundtrack ever.
Letters to the Internet
I do not know how this one slipped my mind.
MajorMUD - I remember walking across town to give the Local Sysop my 20 bux for my 3 months subscription to his board. This started my addiction to multiplayer games.
The night I was up until 0300 working on killing the She-Dragon will forever be marked as my first steps down the slippery slopes of MMO-like games.
lancejt wrote:
WAR -Vozhd Bratovitch
Close second is Quake 3. That was the standard tourney game at our LAN parties.
I've put more time into Quake 3 than I have my marriage.
Letters to the Internet
1 - Quake World - It was my first real gaming addiction. I played vanilla QW for years and also the original Team Fortress. Copingsaw pretty much described my feeling about the game the first time I fragged a real player over a phone line.
2 - Anarchy Online - My second biggest gaming addiction and my first MMO. I think AO was the most hyped MMO of it's time and I was in Beta and at launch. Well, I was not able to actually "play" at launch but I was sort of there.
It took them 6 months to make the game playable, but I hang in there. I just loved the storyline and the promise it would change according to player actions in game. That turned out to be sort of a lie in the end, but oh well. The first time I got out of one of the city backyards (n00b zone) and end up in Omni Entertainment with its huge buildings, bars, night clubs and people hanging around using sniper rifles instead of sword and shield, I was hooked. After 7 years, of which I played almost 5 without breaks, I still get back to the game once in a while to meet familiar faces and see what they added to the game. The promised graphic engine overhaul that should come out before the end of the year has me more excited than the release of any game!
3 - Quake 3: Arena - To me it was not as good as the original Quake, but I spent a lot of time playing it in Lan Houses with my friends. Rocket Arena and vanilla team death match were my favorite modes. Oh, such good times!
XBL/PSN Gamertag: KillTrash
Gungrave: Overdose: Unlimited ammo, rechargeable super gun that will kill most bosses in one shot, and completely destructible environments. What's not to love? Played it through to the end. Then did it again, then did it again. To date it's one of only two games I've played four times in a row without taking a break with another game. The other one is...
God Hand. Deep combat, customizable combinations, and a good sense of humor about its background as a beat-em-up. How do you hate a game with killer poison chihuahuas?
G.I. Joe (arcade version): I wish I could find a home version of this somewhere. Sigh.
Area 51 (arcade version): I used to play it with my Dad. For my money it's still the best light-gun game ever produced. Certainly the best one that involved sprite based enemies. I have the PS1 disc, but my guncon1 broke so now the disc is only a scrapbook page.
L337 is not a word. BA7F is a word.
Agreed, Area 51 was the only arcade game I ever beat.
Letters to the Internet
A man after my own heart. CAL was awesome. Then high school/college ended and I couldn't commit to a team anymore.
Thanks for standin' still Wanker!
-XBox Gamertag: Tempest Blaze (Without the Y)
Elite - for my trusty old C64. That 64 in there denotes how many kilobytes of memory the whole machine had. Since, we are yet to be given a game to match its free form play and open world.
Fallout 1/2 - The humour, darkness, little easter eggs, various details, the story, just about everything about these games goes beyond superb.
Gothic 1/2 - I know people have faulted these games with terrible interface, but once you get over it, the gameworld is beyond incredible. This is, to this day, the most fantastic instance of a living world yet created in a computer game.
A Tale in the Desert - Never though the game could teach you someting? Well you were wrong. This game takes societal development simulation to a whole new level. WoW 200 man uber guilds have nothing on this game when it comes to scheming, politics, social interaction.
I suppose I could add a bunch more games to this list, but that would just water it down.
(@)
How about Final Fantasy 7? The game that took over my early teenage years... And then Morrowind which took over an entire summer later on. Also Shining Force 2! Classic classic strategy game.
Others include Super monkey ball and Timesplitters 2 (all for social gaming fun).
#1. X-Com. Nothing can replace it for me. I'm so nostalgic I am screwed.
Playing WoW as: Vilius (70 NE Druid)
“The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable.” John K Galbraith
Planescape: Torment - Since the release and to this day, it's still one of my favorite games I've played. The Story, the World... and everything in it, had me glued to my computer screen from start til finish. Also, Lobo's write up give good idea as to why I like the game.
Xbox Live: Nei HD | Playstation ID: Nei_GWJ
1.X-Wing: CD-ROM: For all you nay-sayers, I never got to play Tie Fighter, so that's why. This is the first game I lost entire afternoons and evenings to. I loved it sooooo much.
2.Final Fantasy VII: First game I ever played on PS1. I'll never forget that sense of wonder I felt when watching Aries looking into a fire, then that great big pan-out to the whole of Midgar, all this while the music swelled and the title was splayed up and the coolest and first cutscene I had ever seen in a game so far kicks in. It was just a train, but by god it looked real to me. (f*ck, Im gonna have to go play this again)
3.Warcraft II: Tides of War: Total emmersion into a RTS game is not easy, but this game did it. I loved being Horde, and it sold me on Blizzard as a company since.
4.Metal Gear Solid: I don't know if it was the game or just the experience, but I beat this game so many times it was as easy as breating. I rented it early one December. I played it that Wednesday and loved it and didn't want to stop. Santa heard me, and school was snowed out the next day and the day after. There was some snowball fights and sledding and playing around, but after, I sat 3 feet from the TV and ignored my mom as she put hot chocolate down next to me and asked why that big guy with the huge gun was being eaten by ravens.
I'm an Uncle!!! -8/20/07
I buy even though I have 2 of them. I likey the Snakey. - Scrub
ICO: General Fancypants l Steam: Grenn[GWJ] l WoW: Goquelyrslf, Grendwar l XBLA: GWJ Grenn
I beat it once and a half times with my Dad. Fortunately for the wallet, it was in a nickel arcade. (Good concept: Keep the rabble out by charging a $3 fee to enter, then all the games take nickels instead of quarters. The most expensive ones in the place took two nickels. Some of the older games were free. Naturally, the place went out of business.)
The second time through the game crashed, and neither of us wanted to start over from scratch.
L337 is not a word. BA7F is a word.
I actually ended up putting in two quarters and using both guns.
That game was so awesome.
Letters to the Internet
In no particular order, I would say my favorite 4 games would be:
Gunship 2000 A classic, seminal helicopter sim from back in the days when sims were more prolific. I was part of an online squadron where we would plan missions and fly them offline and then put our AARs (after action reports) together into a coherent story and outcome.
Flight Simulator 4.0 I bought every expansion and add-on that came into my local Software, Etc. store for this. I haven't been able to get into a civilian flight sim since this one.
Privateer It was just awesome.
World of Warcraft Maybe a little grindy sometimes, but there's so much to do.
I really like true open world / exploration games.
XboxLive: georobGWJ
WoW - Cinster
My games are like my children. I can't tell you which one I love the most.
There are quite a few, though, which I would sell to gypsies.
Fedaykin98 wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:
Ah yes... and the intro. (Wish I could find the 3.5" version with the original voice acting. It was better.)
"I don’t mind that you tried to kill me, but protecting myself against your type gets expensive - and I’m on a budget."
"There is a computer disease that anybody who works with computers knows about. It's a very serious disease and it interferes completely with the work. The trouble with computers is that you 'play' with them!" -- Richard P. Feynman
I cam into PC gaming around 1997 so I never got to play X-Com. Is there any place that I can get it and play?
Thanks for standin' still Wanker!
-XBox Gamertag: Tempest Blaze (Without the Y)
X-Com 2 is available on steam. I never played it so can't personally compare them. From what I hear though, it's more difficult than X-Com 1, which was already pretty hard.
XboxLive: georobGWJ
WoW - Cinster
I'm not sure if I can come up with a favorite, honestly. Many games come to mind when I think of my favorites, so I'll try to keep it low. In no particular order:
1. Homeworld: Great graphics for 1999, still good graphics today. Interesting gameplay, some very odd missions, excellent story and voice acting. I still fire this up a couple times a year just to go through it.
2. Sacrifice: Shiny Entertainment really put out a great game here. Good gameplay (I was never very good at it), nicely done artwork, and some very funny writing.
3. Freespace II: I never beat this game, but I got nearly there. The story could have been better in my opinion, but overall it was a very well-rounded space flight sim. I love being able to disable only certain parts of ships, so I fell in love with this one. My favorite sport was loading up the endurance challenge and disabling the engines on fighters...
4. European Air War: Came out about the same time as Jane's WWII Fighters, but I always just liked EAW better. It's a bit more conservative on art design, but that makes it feel a bit more rustic. The controls feel better as well, though I think Jane's had the better physics engine. The biggest problem I have is that XP Compatibility mode doesn't work well for it... It'll run, but it has a lot of bugs to it.
5. Knights of the Old Republic: I like the Star Wars movies, but I'm a much bigger fan of the games. And it's hard not to include KotOR here. Very nice artwork, voice acting, gameplay, and story. The skill system was done very well. The only problem I had was the typical light/dark story choice where once you're locked in, you have to go down that path. KotOR II was a huge let-down compared to the original, but I'm still hoping for a KotOR III.
IronClad Online: PurEvil
Look for X-Com Gold Edition. I won't list any actual sites as they all seem to be dubious in nature, but I'm pretty sure it's the only way you can get it anymore. It's not for sale anywhere that I've found. Should work fine in XP though the mouse and scrolling might be a bit fast.
X-Com 2 is also known as X-Com: Terror From the Deep. It's essentially the same game except it takes place underwater instead of on land. It IS a good bit harder than X-Com 1, so be warned if you decide to go that route.
I didn't know it was on Steam. That's pretty cool and definitely a legit way to get the game (for only $5 to boot). Too bad the original isn't on there as I think that's a better one to play first.