Favorite Game(s)?

[TheFearmonger]

Top Ten:
1)-Mortal Kombat Armageddon :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
2)-Any Elder Scrolls game, and so, naturally, also Fallout 3
3)-FF XII
4)-God of War
5)-Gears of War
6)-Soul Caliber 4
7)-Dragonballz budokai tenkaichi 3(Yes, dbz. Sue me!!)
8)-Halo 2
9)-FF X
10)-pokemon: Blue/Red (I don't like pokemon anymore, but this was one of the best games ever created )

 

[Sinue]

I can't choose a "favorite" game or a top 10 list. Any attempt would unjustifiably leave out other games which I love. But there are two game series which stick out in my mind above the others.

Quest for Glory: Combined the best of story-driven adventure games with character based Role Playing Games - tossing in a dash of Monty Pythonesque humor. What resulted was a gem that truly immersed you in a world that felt real and complete... immersible... without the "rules" or "frames" which games such as King's Quest or Bard's Tale. Obstacles in your path had multiple solutions depending on your character class. Whereas, in Final Fantasy, if an enemy is blocking a path towards a door - your only option is to fight and kill it. In QFG, you could also do that... or cast a spell to calm it and put it to sleep, or stealthily sneak past it. You were also presented with moral choices which have become popular in later games such as FallOut, Mass Effect, and Fable. Although you were -pushed- a bit toward a noble heroic role, you could often receive good and bad effects on the endings depending on your choices. Being a good enough character rewarded you with the Paladin class with bonus abilities.

All character stats were independent of class (though class gave bonuses to certain stats), so you could make a stealthy fighter, or a battle mage, or (my favorite) the Wizard Thief - allowing you to transcend initial class choice. Character stats were raised by practice and use of those skills, not by arbitrary "levels". And all of this back in 1989!

Not to mention that, so far, QFGIII is the only RPG I've come across that has an African setting - being placed in a culture with not only Egyptian overtones, but that of nomadic savanna tribes.

The other game series is Sega's Phantasy Star, especially the original series. It was the first console RPG in America, and unlike it's contemporaries DW and FF - it featured a detailed storyline driven by defined characters, a strong female protagonist, and Star-Wars inspired mixture of space exploration and high fantasy. Phantasy Star II continued this, placing it's storyline in a high-tech future utopia where you play the part of a government agent who, through a series of events, uncovers a sinister conspiracy theatening his worlds. Drawing from western sources such as H.G. Wells and H.P. Lovecraft, Phantasy Star II is a dark game which sets the tragic and bittersweet tone which would become traditional. By the end of the game, you've lost a integral party member (similar to Aeris in FFVII), destroyed the "Mother Brain" supercomputer who provided everything for a weak and decadent population and are blamed for the destruction of the first planet -ensuring the "Great Collapse" which kills off over 90% of the system's population and sends civilization back to the dark ages. Your party dies in a final struggle against.. us... Earthlings... the last few survivors of a destroyed Earth bent on genocide to establish a new home. Rather than being remembered as heroes, the party goes down in history as reviled terrorists. Phantasy Star IV is often the most well known, and one of the best RPGs of the 16bit generation featuring comic book anime cutscenes and an epic and much more contemporary storyline which ties together the loose ends of the previous games, ending in a crescendo wherein you have to defeat a vengeful god.

Phantasy Star Online begins a new series (though it can also tie into the original series unofficially) which strength isn't in it's storyline, but in it's diablo-esque online gameplay that is simple to jump into and highly addictive. Officially shut down (private servers still exist), it was the first and (IMO) still the best online RPG available for consoles. The third series, Phantasy Star Universe is still up and running - but is practically dead in terms of users due to a lack of content and support. I still play occasionally, because I can't stand the point & clicky combat of WoW, but the low population is problematic. It attempts to mix the storyline driven classic model with the online real-time combat of PSO, and while technically a better game, it lacks the atmosphere, soul, and addictiveness of PSO while presenting a bland storyline which just remixes the epic events of previous titles in an out of context bastardization.

 

[borrofburi]

While I've played far too many video games to recall the best (i've been gaming since NES, I'm not that old, just started that young), I'll list a few that stand out off the top of my head (so basically no NES games because those are buried back in childhood memory), listed in approximately best to worst order (I didn't spend a lot of time trying to split hairs, generally if they're close to top i like them more):

Portal: doesn't really need comment at this point in time.

Mirror's edge: it's amazing. A lot of people hate it, but I love it, innovative, flows well, captures a great sense of free movement, what's not to like?

Braid: The atmosphere is great, nice calming celtic music in the background. A few puzzles were brutal and a level or two I pretty much hated, but the ending makes it all so very very worth it.

Halo and bioshock: both amazing immersive games that made you feel like you were the character playing.

Morrowind: so many things wrong with this game, and yet I still find it immersive, and I still go back and feel the wonder at seeing the giant imperial city or walking to the ghost gate. Gets a whole bunch of points for immersion, and loses a whole bunch for the poor combat system and the rather boring final battle, that I'm not really sure where to put this game.

Ninja Gaiden: Makes you feel like a ninja (especially when you finally beat this difficult game).

F-Zero GX: one of the fastest games I've ever played, F-zero for the gamecube also had the difficult to do, difficult to control, physics exploit "snaking" making the game even faster and even more difficult.

I Wanna Be the Guy: I don't know why I liked this game, maybe I am a masochist.

The N-game: free flash 2-d sidescroller that offers quite fluid movement and very difficult hurdles to use that movement to beat.

Honorary mentions (read: I'm too lazy to write summaries that you're too lazy to read anyway): Final Fantasy 6 (everything good in 7 came from 6), Warcraft 3 used map settings (ever changing player-created content).

All character stats were independent of class (though class gave bonuses to certain stats), so you could make a stealthy fighter, or a battle mage, or (my favorite) the Wizard Thief - allowing you to transcend initial class choice. Character stats were raised by practice and use of those skills, not by arbitrary "levels". And all of this back in 1989!

Hmm, you may be interested in "DDO" if you really like being given a wide range to build your character in, though level ups are arbitrary (the combat system is good though). It's got a great free trial right now (they call it "F2P", but it's not like normal F2P games, it'll be better if you think of it as an extended trial).

 

[Sinue]

Hmm, you may be interested in "DDO" if you really like being given a wide range to build your character in, though level ups are arbitrary (the combat system is good though). It's got a great free trial right now (they call it "F2P", but it's not like normal F2P games, it'll be better if you think of it as an extended trial).

Maybe, but I'm not a big fan of point & clicky WOW type combat or huge level grinds. I tried WoW, Perfect World, EQoA, FFXI, and I couldn't find any I liked. I even tried Sacred 2 for the 360 since it has a more PSO/Diablo action based structure... or so I thought. Instead of clicking for auto-attack, you have to hold down the buttons and manage recharge times. But what killed it for me was multiplayer EXP division for parties. Basically, it doesn't matter how much damage you do - if you kill it, you get the XP... even for bosses. Bleh.

I think I can stick with PSU for awhile longer. It's not bad, really, it's just that the missed potential is painfully obvious and the support is crappy. I still have some friends who play and... what the hell... It's Phantasy Star. I'll probably just hold out until the next series in the franchise is released. PSIII sucked. PSO Ep III was a sucked if you don't like card games. Maybe PSU is just suffering from a case of the thirds, and the next one will be balls tighteningly good like PSIV & PSOBB.

 

[borrofburi]

Maybe, but I'm not a big fan of point & clicky WOW type combat or huge level grinds. I tried WoW, Perfect World, EQoA, FFXI, and I couldn't find any I liked. I even tried Sacred 2 for the 360 since it has a more PSO/Diablo action based structure... or so I thought. Instead of clicking for auto-attack, you have to hold down the buttons and manage recharge times. But what killed it for me was multiplayer EXP division for parties. Basically, it doesn't matter how much damage you do - if you kill it, you get the XP... even for bosses. Bleh.

Well... DDO is not terribly grindy if you subscribe (otherwise it starts to get kind of grindy around level 8 and becomes only grind at level 12), at least until level 16 (the latest patch raised the level cap to 20, so there's not a lot of high end content right now). Experience is not given for killing a monster, it's only given for completing a dungeon (and occasionally optional quests), and it is not divided up for parties, everyone gets the same exp if they're the same level. And combat is sort of unique (he dodges every attack, though this is not always possible (smaller things, or things that strike in a wide arc, or things that don't telegraph movement much are hard to dodge)): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQMcENONDSw

I am currently not playing, because I feel betrayed by turbine not explicitly telling us the limitations of F2P (like I said, it's a trial, if I had been told it was a trial that lasts till level 12 at which point you have 3 options to get the game (pay as you go, grind, subscribe), I would have had no problem), but I do like the combat system and I don't think I shall ever play another game that's based on who has the bigger boots in the shin kicking fight. Anyway, I'm not an evangelist, I just figured you might like it, just remember F2P=trial.

 

[g-off]

Steambot chronicles. don't get me started, because I could write my doctoral thesis on this game. The concept alone, "GTA with giant robots" sounds pretty cool, but what the game really excels at is world building. When I play this game I feel like I've been transported to a new world, one in the grip of the industrial revolution where giant robots called trotmoblies have superceded cars as the default method of transit. It's seriously the best game I've ever played and anyone who's looking for a unique experience need look no further.

 

[CkVega]

Dragon Age (only played 10 hours so far and it's already my favourite game xD)
KoTor 1 (Second one sucked)
Mass effect
World of Warcraft
Fable 1 and 2
Warcraft 3
Starcraft
Total Annihilation
Half Life 1 + 2 +Episodes
Metroid 3
Soul Calibur 2 (Xbox Version)
Fallout 3
Oblivion
Planescape: Torment
Osmos
ADOM

This is my list of games that I really love.

 

[Doc.]

Bioshock

Diablo

Max Pane

Heroes

Kotor

 

[nFunk]

Bioshock, Mass Effect, Fable, FEAR 2, Fallout 3, Twinsen's Odyssey, Hitman: Blood Money, Oblivion, Morrowind, Spore (until it crashed on me for no reason :evil: ), Half-Life 2, Call of Cthulu: Dark Corners of the Earth, and The Suffering 1 & 2.

 

[MillionSword]

Final Fantasy VII/VIII
Metal Gear Solid
Devil May Cry 4
Spyro 2

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time might be shaping up to go on this list. I only started it today, I was gonna put one of the R&C games on the list anyway, and I've never been impressed with any R&C game as much as this one.

 

[ExeFBM]

Mega Man 2
Final Fantasy VI
Monkey Island 2
Full Throttle
Tie Fighter
Deus Ex
Half-Life
Resident Evil 1 & 4
Beyond Good and Evil
Okami

Yes, I'm largely old-school!

 

[scalyblue]

Mega Man 2
Final Fantasy VI
Monkey Island 2 Only game on the lsit that's old school ^.x
Full Throttle
Tie Fighter
Deus Ex
Half-Life
Resident Evil 1 & 4
Beyond Good and Evil
Okami

Yes, I'm largely old-school!

They recently remade monkey island 1 with new sprites and graphics, it's really neat and you might be interested in it. Most of the old SCUMM games are available for $4.99 USD on steam

Right now, I'm playing Plants vs Zombies, Torchlight, Braid, and Gyromancer.

 

[Jorick]

Jeez, I could make a list of my top 100 games and all of them would be ones that, for me, have endless replay value... Here's some that stick out in my mind as being some of the best ever.

Dragon Age Origins - might just be my #1 favorite of all time
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Super Metroid
Braid
Bioshock
Fallout games, all 3 of them
Morrowind
Oblivion
Final Fantasy VII
Warcraft 3
Medieval 2: Total War
Civilization VI
Plants vs. Zombies
GTA 3
Star Wars: KotOR, both games
Batman: Arkham Asylum

 

[patduckles]

currently playing EvE online im gallente so can't jion the LoR corp

 

[creamcheese]

Civilization 3: Conquests is without a doubt my favorite game ever, with Alpha Centauri a close second.

Other games I enjoy:
Master of Orion [1&2, but not 3]
Unreal Tournament [the original]
Quake [again, the original one]
Call of Duty 2
Neverwinter Nights
Escape Velocity: Nova
Total Annihilation
Starcraft!

 

[Jorick]

Civilization 3: Conquests is without a doubt my favorite game ever

Have you tried Civ 4?

I've played all the games in the series (although not much of the first two cause they were before my time and had hideously poor graphics and interfaces compared to more recent games...) and think #4 is a definite improvement on pretty much every part of the game. Unless for some masochistic reason you like having to micromanage every little thing, in which case I guess there's no improvement at all there since you can still be all micromanage-y. So yeah, I suggest giving it a look is you haven't already.

 

[creamcheese]

I own all 4 of the series, and really it's just personal preference that makes me love three so much.

-I love the divided attack/defense stats way more than civ4's method [although it would be cool to have some of the unit type specific bonuses from 4 in 3]
-I hate the cartoonish graphics of 4, and don't understand why they made it 3D but only fake 3D [i.e. there is no way to simulate altitude, it's just a 2D map rendered in 3D to make it look nice. See Alpha Centauri for semi-true elevations]
-Micromanagement isn't really a problem in 3 if you use the governors wisely and know how to conduct wars. [obviously if you're playing Deity or Sid level, you might want to micromanage everything; but I rarely play those levels]

 

[idlesniper]

I've seen a LOT of my favs already mentioned here, and a couple were a little obscure so thats awesome!

First up, RPG

Final Fantasy 7, the first game that ever really got me "hooked", to the point I had to finish it and find out how the storey ended. (played it start to finish 6 times)

WoW, played until about a month after the Burning crusade came out, I think Bliz killed it there.

Air Rivals. Formerly "Space Cowboy Online", also known as "Ace Online" This is a free2play MMO. Maybe the best PvP sytem ive ever seen. Becomes VERY grindy in high lvls (lvl cap is 100, currently highest player is ~93 after 2 years of play) This game has amasing potential, unfortunatly, everyone is at the mercy of korean devs who dont really care about the western versions.

Eve is a great game, but they put their server on the north pole, and i live in Australia, so i get terrible pings.

Shooters:

Doom.... 2 (3 was crap)
Counter stike, before the hackers started it was fun. there is a few free alternatives out there but the hackers are even worse on those.
Crysis
Farcry 1 and Farcry 2
Unreal Torny!!!!! My all time fav games! UT2004 was the best.
somebody mentioned Mirrors Edge, every review i can find says its crap, but I enjoyed it.

RTS

The original C&C for being original, Red Alert was fun too.
A couple have said Total annihilation I still play this sometimes.

Racing

I have allways loved racing games, ever since the ORIGINAL Test Drive (on C64).
Need for Speed games... all of them.
Grand Tourismo... only played 1-3 but sure i would love the new ones too.
Colin McRea Ralley.... 1-3 were great
Colin Mcrea DiRT, while quite "arcadey" still a good bit of fun, especially Pikes Peak.
DiRT 2, see above but better graphics, and no Pikes
Richard Burns Ralley..... BEST RALLEY GAME EVER!!! Its very hard to start out, but keep at it, its worth it. The physics are amazing. I recomend a logitec G27 steering wheel/pedal set (3 pedals is better)

ok, im off to play some now!

 

[IrBubble]

Very much of my toplist might come due to nostalgia, but here it is anyyways:

-1 I'm born in 1990 so FFVII
-2 Diablo 2, level 88 amazon HC ftw (I cried when it died).
-3 Halo
-4 Half Life 2
-5 Fallout 1-2
-6 WoW TBC (the PvP is the only part I cared for in the game)
-7 TF2
-8 Portals (This should really be placed seventh, but after having done most of the achievements in the game I feel that the repeatability of it is very poor).
-9 Crash Bandicoot
-10 CS 1.6.

A game I would like to mentioned, even if it's not THAT good is Plants Versus zombies, it's wonderfully humorous and very easily managable.

If I were to make a list of gametime in game it would probably be something like:
WoW 70%
TF2 4%
FF7 3%
D2 6%
CS 2%
misc 15%

Which is rather embarrassing

 

[Jorick]

A game I would like to mentioned, even if it's not THAT good is Plants Versus zombies, it's wonderfully humorous and very easily managable.

If I were to make a list of gametime in game it would probably be something like:
WoW 70%
TF2 4%
FF7 3%
D2 6%
CS 2%
misc 15%

Which is rather embarrassing

Seconded on Plants vs. Zombies! Or maybe firsted since it's on my favorites list already... Either way, it's goofy and looks simple, but ends up being a legitimately challenging strategy game. Well worth the time and money to play it if you like strategy games.

Also, about your playtime split... When I used to play WoW, it was 100% of my game playing. Don't feel too pathetic.