Quote:

Original post by Kylotan Realms of the Haunting - very underrated horror/adventure/FPS with a great premise and setting. Shame the execution was poor.

God !
I remember playing with a friend this one yeaaaars ago. We never went very far, but the athmosphere was awesome and the adventure / FPS mix refreshing. I couldn't find the name until you mentioned it in this very thread (and I spent some time trying to remember it, unfortunately the web doesn't speak a lot about this game). I guess I'm gonna have to find it somewhere...

As for the original topic, I think it's a bit hard, as there are so many categories and genres that you could have 10 games for each.
If you are willing to distinguish between solo and multiplayer gamers, I'd say:
Solo:
- Oblivion : the first "RPG" I really played. I enjoyed the universe and freedom, though as mentioned earlier the game mechanics suffer (imho) from a lot of flaws. I've been replaying it a few times with mods. I haven't played many RPG's since, but I'm planning on finding the classics of the genre and playing them as soon as I have some time.
- Warcraft II : Warcraft II litteraly hooked me up. The music especially (I still listen to it from times to times). Blizzard has made an habit of creating epic music for their games, and Warcraft II's music is really fitting the manichean fantastic universe. The map editor allowed infinite fun. Two RTS deserve their place in my top 5 : C&C: Red Alert (exceptional storyline, fast gameplay, infinite units = love), StarCraft (Warcraft II bis repetita), and of course Dune II.
- SimCity 2000 : Imho, the reference for the simulation genre. Though it had some flaws in the gameplay, I still remember the hours of fun I had developing my small village into a million inhabitant megalopole filled with arcologies. Transport Tycoon Deluxe deserves a honorific medal, though it is more specific.
- As for FPS's, I enjoyed a lot Medal of Honor for its movie-esque realization, though the gameplay was linear. I actually like a lot the Medal of Honor / CoD series. Of course, Doom, Half-Life (both I & II) and a few others deserve a place on the podium. Special award: Deus Ex.
- Many other games I can't remember.
As for multiplayer:
- Quake 3 Arena : the pinnacle of multiplayer FPS : fast-paced, with a strong emphasis on movement, this game has yet to be equaled in terms of gameplay. I spent dozens of hour on the mere demo, which ran perfectly on my PII 350MHz while counterstrike didn't have a decent framerate to be playable.
- DotA: the perfect mix between action RPG and multiplayer gameplay. Enjoyable with friends as well as watching high skilled replays. DotA is a genre in itself : what comes the closest to it would be a bastard between team FPS's and GW / WoW style arenas. It has gained some popularity these last years, and I hope that the upcoming Starcraft II or GPG's demigod will help the concept evolve and gain even more popularity.
- Natural Selection (Half Life mod) : a FPS / RTS mix, settled in space, featuring a classic aliens vs marines matchup. Though it has never been perfectly balanced, and did not offer the strategic deepness of a classic RTS, it is amongst one of the best multiplayer games I've ever played. Too bad it died because of Flayra's laziness.
- A few others can be worth mentioning : Wolfenstein:ET, TF2, etc...

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Original post by Dave There is only one game that inspires me to make games, Deus Ex.

Quite true, Deus Ex was simply the most amazing game I've ever played. It's inspired me to do way more than I could imagine!

Anyway, my list is as follows:

1) Deus Ex
2) Half Life 2 + Episodes
3) Call of Duty 4
4) Team Fortress 2
5) Quake 4/Doom 3

Quote:

Original post by Telastyn Go - The most elegant game ever. Few rules, tons of gameplay.

Yeah, great game; Hard to write AI for(think it's NP).

Chad

Top Five Favourite Games:

- Final Fantasy VII, IX, X
- Metal Gear Solid (all)
- Silent Hill (all)
- Winning eleven's
- Hitman (all)


Top 5 'good example not to do it' games:

ALL NINTENDO GAMES

1. Roller Coaster Tycoon I & II - I have spent more hours on these games than all others combined. Very addicting game play. The reason it makes it to the top is that you are never really finished. When you get done you can start another park and build in a compleatly different way than before.

2. Half Life 1 & 2 - Both games have set new standards in the realm of FPS's. These games are just so very well crafted. The only reason they don't make it to #1 for me is that RCT was the first computer game I have ever played and it is what started me in gaming.

3. Mario Kart 64 - Again very addicting and fun in a group of people.

4. Return to castle wolfenstein - One of my all time favorite FPS.

5. Starcraft - Very good game play. Good multiplayer.

In random order:

Deus Ex is the winner for me. The first legit game I have bought, I just couldn't stand stealing such a piece of artwork, without anything for the creators.
Extremely polished storyline, non-linear gameplay (either blast your way with rocket launcher, snipe enemies with sniper rifles and crossbow, sneak on them with sword or don't fight at all).

Operation Flashpoint is also a game I will always remember. Very large terrains, vehicles and extreme realism. Two shots and you are dead, you go out of cover, you are dead. Vehicles - tanks, aircrafts and choppers are nice as well.
Oh and it's very non-linear and you can actually fail few missions without real consequences (assuming you tried to win it).

Gothic 1 and 2 - very huge gameworld, non-linearity, interesting dialogues and places. You can finish the game very quickly or make all the secondary quests prolonging the playing period.

C&C Red Alert 2 wins the strategy competition in my opinion - very quick gameplay, many strategies to employ, nice singleplayer campaigns

Hexen - yes, an old classic. Great locations, a lot of difficult (very difficult) puzzles, nice boss fights and every character class plays different.

Top five listed according to how much I enjoyed them when I played them:

1. Shadowrun - RPG, Sega Genesis
Atmospheric darkness. The only game to utilize my favorite form of character development to date. Questing for money and power instead of just being a helpful hero was also extremely refreshing.

2. Star Control II - RPG, PC/3DO
The most incredible and interesting NPCs I've ever interacted with. The exploration is also amazing. Combat is simple, but addictive and fun. This game did almost everything right. There is a totally free download of the game here, which is far superior to the old PC version, and includes voices for all of the dialog.

3. Fallout - RPG, PC
Wanderer-style adventure with items and enemies that don't level up with you provides very engaging exploration. The combat was also a blast.

4. Deus Ex - FPS Action RPG, PC
Very fun role to play. Best RPG player character to date.

5. X-Com: UFO Defense - TBS, PC
Far too many things to list here. Combat was blazing fun, as well as building earth bases and outfitting your defense teams. Acquiring and researching aliens and alien technology amplified all of gameplay fun by several magnitudes.

My top five favorites are also my top five inspirations. But here are my top five inspirations for game development that are not games:

1. Blade Runner - Movie
2. Farscape - TV series
3. Cyber City Oedo - Anime movie
4. Total Recall - Movie
5. Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, etc - Zombie Movies

Top games:

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
For me as near flawless a game can get. Great gameplay and sense of flow. Excellent storytelling. Set the bar for every game that followed. Really can't ever get tired of looking at this game and appreciating it.

2. Super Metroid
The ultimate exercise in atmosphere. The level design and art style are so perfect in this game, every single attempt to replicate them just leaves me saying "well, it's certainly not Super Metroid". The immense sense of freedom and non-linearity make each playthrough different and unique. Truly a gem.

3. Super Mario Galaxy
I know, I know, the best Mario games are supposedly Mario 64 or Mario Bros 3. But I disagree. The perfect controls married with the great level design kinda put any other platformer to shame. And we finally got a 3D Mario that still understands it is an action platformer, not just an exploration platformer.

4. Half-Life 2
Oh boy, where do I start. Um, great storytelling, wonderful gameplay (a great example of how to keep shooters full of variety), and near-perfect flow. And I guess I could mention the physics, animations, and character development...

5. Viewtiful Joe
Just pure fun. Such a simple game, but impossible to get tired of. The humor is great, especially amidst the games of today which take themselves so seriously.

The most inspiring games for me would be definitely those in the Half-Life series. They all are so great and have a great sense of narrative but don't sacrifice the gameplay for it. Others would be those in the Metroid series. Their relative non-linearity allows for a much more personalized experience and yeah, art direction in each game is great. Eternal Darkess: Sanity's Requiem also gets the wheels turning. While it certainly has its fair share of flaws, the narrative structure of the game serves as a great showcase as to the potential of the medium. And, lastly, Viewtiful Joe. So simple, so fun, so innocent, so unique in its style. The game really shows how simple gameplay can be sustained throughout without oversaturating the player with options.

And finally, games which make me go "why?". Well, the Mortal Kombat series after the third entry. Oversaturated with characters, fatalities not nearly as fun as they used to be, the characters aren't as "special" as they used to be. The new entry doesn't seem to acknowledge this. Fable. Granted, it's a good game. But if you're gonna talk about choice, please deliver. Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles. Good theory of a multiplayer game, but requiring everyone to have the hardware, bad choice. Effectively removed half of the game for the majority of the consumers. Manhunt 2. In these days, gore alone can't sell a game or make it special. Lastly, Jet Force Gemini. The game had an incredible beginning half, but the second half was literally a massive scavenger hunt and pseudo escort mission. Really a huge letdown and large slump in flow.

Some favorite games:
Chrono Trigger
Super Mario 64
Half-life (The original)
Quest 64
The Legend of Zelda: Orcarina of Time (Or perhaps Zelda: Link's Awakening)
Metroid Prime

Games that make me want to program:
Kings Field
Quest 64
Half-life
Any 2D Zelda game
Thief 1 or 2
Turok (And someone else mentioned Trespasser - Yes, that game too)

Just this second finished Deus Ex: Invisible War, and that's doing a good job at it also. [grin]

(It's actually movies that make me want to make games, more than games themselves, but certain games do stir up my creative blood)

Games that shouldn't have been made:
Shadowgrounds: Survivor (The original Shadowgrounds rocked, however. But only for it's coop play, SG: Survivor was a huge disappointment)
Zelda: The Wind Waker (Not just the cel-shading, I actually liked that(somewhat) when I got used to it, but all the annoying NPCs that I wanted to jab with the sword but couldn't - The entire game just didn't 'feel' zelda)

Games that I wished they would hurry up and make:
Chrono Break (Third installment to Chrono Trigger & Chrono Cross)
Quest 64 II (Wished they never canceled that [sad])
Portal 2

Games that I wish they would remake with better graphics:
King's Field
Quest 64
Turok
Half-life (Black Mesa mod)
(And pretty much any other 3D game that was made before 2000)

Top 5 Games and why

Quake 3 - C'mon do I need say why with this game?

Half Life 2 AI, Physics, Animation, nuff said!

World of WarCraft It's community is unstoppable!

Mario It's Mario. Mario 1000,000,000,.0.b.a could come out and would be a huge success just because Nintendo has invested wisely in making Mario the fun, hip, new attractive and high end risk new way to develop games.

Pong What started this all? And as a programmer when I programmed my first pong game; Oh, it was unimaginably FUN!

Top Inspiring games!

Half Life 2 - As a programmer who is way interested in mathematics/physics this game proves that game development in physics and mathematics can only get better, and is very important of why you need good Math skillz

New SuperMario Bro's (for DS) - Right when I thought I was tired of playing such a game that gets remade every 2-3 years, Nintendo threw us a curve ball, and remade a classic with some really cool new features! Goes to show you you can remake a game over and over, but just because you remake it doesn't mean people we get sick of it; if you're innovative enough.

N It's just FUN and innovative

Orbox This game shows that puzzle games are good, addicting, and teaches kids/game players that our mind is important. Take care of it! Also, that games can be fun and challenging at the same time, and can teach us and help us improve our skills.

GTA - nonlinear game play with many different Fun, random, insane stunts mini-games, attractions to do that doesn't impede on the linear story line of GTA.

Not to do

Bee Movie/ or any other lame ass game from movie Terrible games that are derived from good to mediocre movies, but are never a success in the game industry

DDR - Anything that makes me exercise. No no, video games for me is away for me to relax and not have to move, because I'm tired and I want to be lazy and do nothing much, but at the same time have some FUN!

Bad and Ignorant Renditions & Remakes of Classics Online Many games that are classics like Mario, Street Fighter 2, etc... show up as a rendition/remake from a third party dev team that you know they had no rights whatsoever to use any graphics, game concepts, name, etc... And they still make that game, and it always ends up terrible.

I only have 3 "not to do" games.

some inspirations:

Secret of Mana: This game was all around awesome, but I think what I liked the most was the unfolding of the plotline. The twists in the story. Every time I finished a session of playing this game, I was looking forward to the next session. I loved leveling up my weapons and spells. This game inspires me to make good games.

Punchout!: Such a simple control scheme and such a simple game design: Fight an opponent who displays a pretty simple pattern using only a few kinds of attacks. Fun every time, challenging, timeless. This one inspires me to make my control scheme focused.

Starsiege Tribes: For some reason, I loved the huge outdoor levels of this game. Popping up over the ridge a mile away from your opponent, shooting him quick with the laser rifle, and dissapearing again from sight... priceless. This one inspires me to use large, outdoor worlds. ( a personal preference, i'll admit ).

GTA: By this I mean III, Vice City, San Andreas, and IV (I presume). I love the emergent gameplay of GTA. It isn't just fun to have a mission to get from point A to point B in a certain amount of time; it's the taxis swerving into your lane, the police who chase you when you bump into their car, the pedestrians diving out of the way as you careen onto the sidewalk...

Final Fantasy: By this I mean the old final fantasies, the 2 dimensional ones. Specifically, FF I, FF II (4) and FF III (6). These games I loved for their story, their character development and plottwists. I loved how they gave you a specialized character to work with, rather than letting you make any character into any type you wanted. This made, for example, Polom and Porom's spells unique and awesome. It made their petrification that much more poignant. And Kefka's music showed me how powerful music is to atmosphere and character presentation.