[Gobbler]

I'm not really that much into gaming, I hardly follow the news and usually only hear about the latest fad when it has already hit the stores.

However, I still do enjoy the occasional gaming session and got the processing power to run even the latest games, so every once in a while you'll find me looking for some new interesting games to play.

Thing is, a great many games may be okay, but not really worth the time.

Like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Shadow of Chernobyl - nice ideas, nice atmosphere, but very buggy scripting and the so called 'freedom of gameplay' only boils down to enemies always respawning and returning to the camps which you've just cleared. Also, enforce your freedom of taking a bad aim and accidentally shooting a friend and see how you can salvage that, apart from hitting the Quickload shortcut.

Or The Elder Scrolls IV - Oblivion - awesome graphics, interesting world, but horrible levelling system, leading to much frustration without the right mods (and sometimes also with those mods).

So which games turned out to be a thoroughly good experience for you?

Personally, I've had a lot of fun with smashing things up in Overlord. Great graphics and atmosphere, with an arcade-like gameplay that triggers the good ol' levelling-instincts, making it actually fun to maybe spend a little more time in a certain place and wreak some havoc.

Half-Life and Half-Life 2 also amount to the games that I actually don't regret spending money for.

As for the old-timer games, I revisit Dynatech very often - there are almost no graphics, only pictures for the different screens, but that's okay, because I'd probably enter an epileptic shock in this high-speed economic simulation which focuses on creating a healthy economy together with around 20 other computer-controlled companies, instead of trying to just drive them into bankruptcy.

This post has been edited by Gobbler: 31 October 2008 - 08:00 AM

[Dr Lecter]

Dynatech sounds pretty decent, but I don't speak german.

Also, personally, I got kinda bored of Overlord near to the end. There are very few games that I stop playing and never get to the end of. Overlord falls into that category.

[Gobbler]

Oh fuck, never noticed that there wasn't an English version of that game around. You guys are missing out.

Hmm... other games that I always like to come back to... Little Big Adventure 2, heh. It's childish, but Philippe Vachey's music somehow got hammered into my skull while playing it as a kid, that sort of enhanced the whole experience.

Painkiller, also a classic, just like Quake III Arena. I was about to categorize them as mindless shooters, but that's not really it, at least not for Q3A. You could pull some pretty nice things there with the right skills, some observation and tactics. Hmm... that reminds me, I still have to play the Painkiller Add-on Battle out of Hell...

What else... anyone remember Startopia? Lovely little simulation, it's not really perfect, but good for some fun every once in a while. Just like Tropico 2 - Pirate Cove, but that's just me and my typically German interest in simulations.

Ah, and Uplink - Hacker Elite sure is a favorite too.

[David-kyo]

LBA 2 was a really good game indeed (the last game I actually spent money on), had an interesting plot and (for that time) groundbreaking visuals. Also had the first one, but I found that one way too fucking depressing and scary (plus difficult as hell) as a 10 year old kid. I remember recording the soundtracks to tape (CDs were not so much in back then), I loved listening to that game's music.

Duke Nukem 3d and Fallout 2 are also all-time favourites of mine, but I guess those games don't really need any more praising.

[Dr Lecter]

Uplink is one of the most fricken classic games ever. You know the guy at PC Gamer magazine that was reviewing the game disconnected from the internet when he was playing the game because he thought he was actually breaking the law. That's immersion.

This post has been edited by Dr Lecter: 31 October 2008 - 09:56 PM

[Gobbler]

LBA 2 was a really good game indeed (the last game I actually spent money on), had an interesting plot and (for that time) groundbreaking visuals. Also had the first one, but I found that one way too fucking depressing and scary (plus difficult as hell) as a 10 year old kid. I remember recording the soundtracks to tape (CDs were not so much in back then), I loved listening to that game's music.

Aye, the first one got a better part of my patience back then. I've still got the soundtracks here in my library, just for the effect of that nostalgia-wave rushing over me every once in a while.

Hmm... what else...

Final Fantasy VI, VII & VIII were worth the time.

As were Max Payne and its successor, though they should have kept Sam Lake as the model, instead of that older actor who really played it like Bogart, in an irritating way. Then again, Sam Lake really always carries that sort-of distorted looking smile on his face, I had previously thought that this was just the effect of the texture being spread over the few facial polygons in the first part.

[David-kyo]

Since we're talking mostly retro here, we have to mention the first Alone in the Dark game. If you can ignore the low-poly characters' disgusting graphics, you'll find it a nice little survival horror adventure (the very first one unless I'm mistaken).

[Itaritz]

It is my firm belief that the PS1 Spyro games, Spyro the Dragon, Spyro: Ripto's Rage, and Spyro: Year of the Dragon, are the main reason that my gaming tastes are now so limited. Lighthearted, fast-paced, and just generally amusing games.

I doubt I'll ever regret buying Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. My only issues with this game are that one puzzle is practically impossible, and that wookiee heads cannot wear hats. I wanted to make a wookiee with jeans and hat, and name him Smokey The Bear. I still got to make a ghost cowboy and giant Jawa though, so I can forgive it for that.

Rouge Trooper is a good TPS which I felt was completely overlooked. It's not great, but it's certainly worth 20 bucks. The weapons have a good feel to them, and it's great fun to watch the enemies limp around on broken legs, screaming at you with over-the-top Russian/German accents, and then snipe them in the oxygen tanks and watch them go flying 15 feet. Also, you play an angry smurf with a talking gun. This is all presented with complete seriousness.

And as a cult follower of Armored Core, it is my duty to plug Armored Core 2.

This post has been edited by Itaritz: 01 November 2008 - 04:49 PM

[Spann]

Shadow of the Colossus. After a few years out of gaming I took a job at Game, bought it having heard nothing about it, then played it through in two big greedy seatings.

Sublime.

[Gobbler]

Let's add Fallout 3 and Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines to the list.

[Gobbler]

GTA 2. This one was real fun, lots of freedom, runs on even the crappiest laptop, nice for taking a little break from the usual madness.

I also loved 3, liked Vice City and tolerated San Andreas, but I can't even remember what playing the first part was like, only that the tanker could accelerate infinitely.

[Maggot4Life]

Anyone played Knights and Merchants? Probably my favourite RTS if you ignore the irritating fact that you can't control your peasants. Umm... Unreal, Tresspasser was alright i guess. Oh and Tenchu: Stealth Assassins, Swat 4, Aliens vs. Predator 2 aaand yeah. That's about it.

EDIT: Oh and Elder Scrolls: ARENA, Hexen, and the Twisted Metal games

This post has been edited by Maggot4Life: 04 December 2008 - 12:30 AM

[Spann]

Broken Sword 1 and 2 should be added to the list. Beautiful looking, fantastic story, pacing and humour, and lovable, believeable characters. I've played them both through man, many times, and they never get old.

In fact, where's my SCUMM VM folder?

[Zatoichi]

Just off the top of my head. There's more than this, but I just can't remember right now

Computer
Stronghold - on a freaking floppy disk and you had to play it in DOS. The game was hard as shit. My troops always sucked compared the random enemies. Never could get enough supplies. Lot's of things. I don't think I ever beat it, not once. But, I loved the concept and the challenge.

Age of Empires I, Gold edition - just loads of fun. I loved making the largest map, putting on the max amount of armies, having them allied against me, and then using the cheats to see if I could win.

Shogun: Total War - I think managed to conquer Japan maybe twice. Loved the challenge of it. Ninjas fucking blowed in the game though. If I'd actually manage to get a decent level ninja (that actually managed to stay alive) he'd always end up getting whacked when trying to take down enemy generals (just like the rest of my ninjas). Geishas kicked ass with like a 75% success rate.

Nintendo
The Mario games - I don't know, they were just fun. I could play all day long, and not get bored.

Super Nintendo
Mortal Kombat II - I can't explain why, but to me this is the best fighting game I've ever played, in terms of enjoyableness. A decent cast of characters, relatively easy controls, and there wasn't a shit ton of moves you needed to know so that you could win fights (the bosses were kinda fuckin cheap though).

N64
Zelda Ocarina of Time
Star Wars Rogue Squardron
Starfox 64
Goldeneye
Conker's Bad Fur Day
Perfect Dark - most praise worthy aspect - bots and the number of them you could have and you could even set difficulty levels. My friend and I would set all of the bots possible to max hardness, put them on the same team, and tried to see how long we'd last.

Gamecube
SuperSmash Bros

Xbox
Halo 1 - I loved this game, and think the other two went downhill from here.
Kotor 1 - pissed that it wasn't actually finished
Kotor 2 - pissed that it's actually missing 1/4 - 1/2 of the game. I could have waited a long time, as long as they would've actually just finished the freaking thing.

Multiplatform
Tactics Ogre - Best storyline for a game I've ever played, even better than many books I've read. That and the humor in it alone carry this game. It is hands down the best game I've ever played.

[Zatoichi]

I recently played through Advance Wars: Days of Ruin on the DS. It is a well put together turn-based strategy game. The gameplay was solid and the storyline was passable enough, but I wasn't expecting a hell of a lot in that department. If you get the chance to play it, always ask for tactical help on every board in the campaign. Not that you'll need the help, but if you don't watch them you'll miss out on a ton of miniature cut scenes, and 7/8 of the humor that is in the game. And the game was nice and challenging. Except on a few of the beginning campaign boards, the enemy AI does not mess around. Keep on your toes or the AI will slaughter you. And the game has a lot of nice little features such as a map editor and music player (the game has a toooon of music, and some pretty darn good tracks. Occasionally got a bit too repetive though).

All that being said the bad point of the game is that in the campaign there are several boards that are made of bs and tears. I mean they were stupid ridiculous. I spent far too many hours getting my ass handed to me on a silver platter, and I'm actually decent at these kinds of games. And the last board ... oh my God you have no idea till you've played it. After so many tries I had to look up how to win (the only one I did that for). Several guides even said that with the strategy for the board in hand, you will still only beat it once out of every four tries or so. If you can figure it out without looking it up, I may have to make myself your slave.