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Post by Diarmuid on Mar 26, 2009 10:30:42 GMT
I'm not gonna put a poll, because I'd definitely leave something out, but my nominations are Half Life 2, Empire Total War (forgetting for a moment the shocking number of bugs), Deus Ex and Age of Empires 2 (for sheer longevity).
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Post by Aonghus on Mar 26, 2009 10:41:27 GMT
And pacman! Surely pacman counts for addictiveness! And FFVII and Tekken V...
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Post by Diarmuid on Mar 26, 2009 10:51:27 GMT
Well I dunno if you could put pacman down as a contender for "Greatest Game Ever". I mean, it's pretty good, honourable mention, maybe, but the gameplay is a little repetitive...
I'd also like to add Goldeneye to my list, after giving it some thought - the first multiplayer shooter I really loved.
Incidentally, did anyone else hear about John Carmack the other day? Apparently he didn't like the way the iPhone Wolfenstein port was optimised, so he told them they couldn't release it as it was, that they'd have to recode it to use the iPhone hardware acceleration. They told him it'd take their programming team a month and put them over budget, so he said "fine, give me a look at it" - and did it in four days.
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Post by Tom on Mar 26, 2009 14:44:26 GMT
First off, kudos to Carmack. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Secondly, my nominations. I could spend all day spouting out the various game titles that I've enjoyed over my long gaming career, but I think I've managed to narrow it down to a few core titles with one for each system (some systems were omitted, like the NES and the Sega Saturn, quite simply because I haven't come across any good games for them).
DS - Pokémon Platinum (narrowly beating Legend of Zelda: the Phantom Hourglass)
Dreamcast - Soul Calibur (the first of manys an epic fighting game)
GB - Tetris (simple, addictive and just plain fun)
GBC - Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (fond memories...)
GBA - toss up between Pokémon Emerald and Advance Wars 2
Gamecube - Super Smash Bros. Melee (great multiplayer, great replayability and just great fun)
N64 - has got to be Goldeneye (karate chopping Diarmuid to death never gets old)
PC - tough one, but I'd have to say The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (whatever you might say, I've never enjoyed playing a game as much as I enjoyed playing Morrowind)
Playstation - Spyro the Dragon (challenging without being too challenging, simple without being too simple and long enough to keep you coming back for more for a good while without being soul-sucking)
PS2 - GTA: San Andreas (do I even need to give a reason? I would like to point out though that MGS2 and 3 would be close 2nd and 3rd, respectively)
PS3 - Rock Band 2 (I definitely don't need to give a reason for this!)
PSP - Locco Rocco (strange as it may sound, it's actually incredibly fun to play)
SNES - Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (plain and simply brilliant)
Wii - Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (a contender for the best game of all time on any format)
Xbox - Halo series (redefined what FPS meant as a genre - truly epic)
Xbox 360 - A toss up between Fallout 3 and Street Fighter IV (if only Seth wasn't so godamn hard to beat...)
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Post by Aonghus on Mar 26, 2009 15:57:33 GMT
Soul Calibur 4 and A Link to the Past, fo sho...
And Diarmui, you make a good point, but for a game that's based on the surface of a torus, and that's penetrated the popular psyche so much, it at least deserves a shot, I'd say...
Same goes for Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins. Loved it.
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Post by Tom on Mar 26, 2009 16:12:12 GMT
Don't talk to me about that Mario dickhead. I have little, if any, time for him. Same goes for Pacman. There are better internet flash games out there than it. Seriously!
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Post by Aonghus on Mar 26, 2009 16:15:27 GMT
Pacman, maybe, I grant you, but Mario just can't be beat, in my mind Sure, other games have a third dimension, but for challenging platform wondrousness, you can't beat a fat Italian plumber.
I would also like to nominate Gears of War, if it hasn't beenalready. Far too much fun. Same for Guitar Hero and to a lesser extent, rockband.
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Post by Tom on Mar 26, 2009 16:17:08 GMT
Rock Band is far superior to Guitar Hero. Not only are the songs better, but there are more of them. And the instruments/graphics look far better, imo.
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Post by Aonghus on Mar 26, 2009 16:19:52 GMT
I would agree with you wholeheartedly, if the guitar controller didn't piss me off mightily. Although to be fair, that''s my problem, not its problem.
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Post by Tom on Mar 26, 2009 16:25:31 GMT
Well you could very easily make it their problem... ¬_¬... I wonder if Diarmuid's willing to drive all the way out to Activision's/Red Octane's HQ .... anybody up for some molotov cocktail making too?
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Post by Aonghus on Mar 26, 2009 16:32:39 GMT
Always!
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Caoimhe
New Member
The first girl on the board!
Posts: 193
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Post by Caoimhe on Mar 26, 2009 17:29:42 GMT
I like how quickly the conversation degenerated into a decision to make bombs. Bravo, boys.
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Post by Tom on Mar 26, 2009 17:33:21 GMT
Well this is a video game-related thread, and we all know how much violent video games cause violent behaviour.
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Post by Rob on Mar 26, 2009 17:37:31 GMT
Favourite Games:
- GTA San Andreas, GTA Vice City and to a lesser extent, GTA IV
- Everything or Nothing
- Dead Rising
- Spider-Man 2
- Crackdown
- Guitar Hero II
- Street Fighter IV
And some classics:
- Sonic The Hedgehog 1, 2, 3
- Sonic and Knuckles
- Super Mario Bros. 1 & 3
- Super Mario Land 1 & 2
- Batman 1989 (for Sega Genesis)
- RoboCop-v-Terminator (for Sega Genesis)
- The Death and Return of Superman (Sega Genesis)
- The Adventures of Batman & Robin (SNES)
- Crash Bandicoot 1, 2 and WARPED!!!
- The World is Not Enough
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Post by Aonghus on Mar 26, 2009 17:38:25 GMT
Wait a second, were we not getting drinks?!
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Caoimhe
New Member
The first girl on the board!
Posts: 193
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Post by Caoimhe on Mar 26, 2009 17:39:55 GMT
Aonghus's reply ftw.
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Post by Aonghus on Mar 26, 2009 17:42:16 GMT
^___________^
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Post by Diarmuid on Mar 26, 2009 18:20:30 GMT
Xbox - Halo series (redefined what FPS meant as a genre - truly epic) Ah now, it hardly redefined FPSs, let's be fair about this. I mean, I know, I know, I haven't played it start to finish or anything like it, but it doesn't do anything like enough new stuff to say it "redefined" the genre. So there. I'd like to add the ProEvo series, for sheer replayability factor, and SimCity 2 for being kickass and giving me my love of town planning. |
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Post by maxwell on Mar 26, 2009 22:06:39 GMT
Though I'm not an avid gamer, I don't think that a game where you fight aliens as a Space Marine with the same weapons, mechanics and formula that we've been using since Quake redefined anything at all. Halo is fun, but, unless I'm missing something, not extraordinary.
I've always tried to see videogames as nonlinear, interactive narratives, though, so my opinion is probably jaded. Also, I think that Phoenix Wright is the best game ever. Closely followed by anything from the Metal Gear Solid series. So I can understand why most video game enthusiasts don't take me seriously.
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Post by Tom on Mar 26, 2009 23:04:52 GMT
I'd like to point out that I used 'redefined' as a buzz word, as opposed to what it actually means. I'm kooky like that.
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Post by johnny on Mar 27, 2009 0:21:23 GMT
Commodore 64 - Terminator 2 (on tape)
SNES - Mario All Stars, and anyone who says the games are better individually, is an idiot. Sum of the parts and all that...
Game Boy - Battle City
Game Boy - Motorcross Madness
...I can feel a double post coming after this
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Post by johnny on Mar 27, 2009 0:21:44 GMT
Dr. Mario Vs Tetris
discuss...
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Post by Tom on Mar 27, 2009 1:23:43 GMT
That's a toughie, Mick. Dr. Mario had it's merits, but I think it got bogged down in its story (practically non-existent as it was). Tetris didn't bother explaining why there were blocks falling, why St. Basil's Cathedral was on the title screen or why the blocks disappeared when the formed a row. It didn't need to.
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Post by Rob on Mar 27, 2009 10:39:52 GMT
Tetris was more realistic. The characterisation was more intense.
Plus:
DOO-Doodoo-DOO-Doodoo-DOO-DooDoo-DOO, Doodoo-DOO-Doodoo-DOO-DOO-Doo-doodoo (danna-nana) DOO-DOO-Ditteh-Doodoodoo-Dittitteh-Doodoodoo-Doodoodoo-DOO-DOO-DOOOOO!
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Post by Aonghus on Mar 27, 2009 10:44:13 GMT
^End of argument. Nothing can counter that.
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Shane
New Member
Posts: 149
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Post by Shane on Mar 27, 2009 12:48:37 GMT
(Shane rushes to the defense of Halo) Diarmuid what are you talking about of course Halo redefined the genre! They were the first to use regenerative health, let the player drive planes, tanks, jeeps and bikes, use proper A.I in which the enemy dynamically reacted to your position and didn't simply rush towards you firing, pathfinding was impeccable, the diversity of weapons only allowing the use of two at a given time brilliant, gameplay superbly balanced (in campaign that is), excellent plot albeit a rip off of aliens and Iain Banks, decent graphics at the time, great sound, diverse enemies requiring different tactics to overcome, excellent replayability...The list goes on. Look at games that tried to accomplish something similar: Breed for example was terrible. You're just ferociously anti-console, no doubt bread by years of reading PC magazines.  |
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Post by Rob on Mar 27, 2009 12:55:38 GMT
(Shane rushes to the defense of Halo) Diarmuid what are you talking about of course Halo redefined the genre! They were the first to use regenerative health, let the player drive planes, tanks, jeeps and bikes, use proper A.I in which the enemy dynamically reacted to your position and didn't simply rush towards you firing, pathfinding was impeccable, the diversity of weapons only allowing the use of two at a given time brilliant, gameplay superbly balanced (in campaign that is), excellent plot albeit a rip off of aliens and Iain Banks, decent graphics at the time, great sound, diverse enemies requiring different tactics to overcome, excellent replayability...The list goes on. Look at games that tried to accomplish something similar: Breed for example was terrible. You're just ferociously anti-console, no doubt bread by years of reading PC magazines. I don't even know all that much about Halo and I still think this post is awesome and that Shane wins. |
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Post by Diarmuid on Mar 27, 2009 13:41:17 GMT
(Shane rushes to the defense of Halo) Diarmuid what are you talking about of course Halo redefined the genre! They were the first to use regenerative health, let the player drive planes, tanks, jeeps and bikes, use proper A.I in which the enemy dynamically reacted to your position and didn't simply rush towards you firing, pathfinding was impeccable, the diversity of weapons only allowing the use of two at a given time brilliant, gameplay superbly balanced (in campaign that is), excellent plot albeit a rip off of aliens and Iain Banks, decent graphics at the time, great sound, diverse enemies requiring different tactics to overcome, excellent replayability...The list goes on. Look at games that tried to accomplish something similar: Breed for example was terrible. You're just ferociously anti-console, no doubt bread by years of reading PC magazines. A quick google will refute most of those points... They weren't the first to use regenerative health (they may have been the most succesful game to use it, but I'm not really a fan of the concept, so they're getting no credit for it from me...). They certainly weren't the first to provide vehicles (doing something a little better isn't the same as redefining). AI was good, but that doesn't constitute "redefining" when so many other games have come and gone since, and been succesful, without those features. Are they nice? Sure. Do they "redefine" the genre? Hardly. Only allowing two weapons at a time might have been an improvement on some games, but I'd argue that the system in Deus Ex was far better, and over a year earlier as well. Many games still use different systems, and again I'd question whether or not this system that some games have adapted is actually all that great. Decent graphics doesn't constitute redefining a genre. Decent sound doesn't constitute redefining a genre. Diverse enemies has been done before and doesn't constitute redefining a genre. Good plot - but fans of Half Life will quite strongly dispute that Halo was the first shooter with a good plot. I amn't saying it wasn't a good game, but there are very few games that actually redefine genres. Wolfenstein 3D redefined its genre. Shogun Total War redefined its genre. Dune II redefined its genre. Guitar Hero. Deus Ex. There aren't all that many that can be said to have done that. Halo was an incremental improvement. (For the record, Half Life 2 was also an incremental improvement, rather than actually redefining anything. Because I know that's the first thing you were going to say). |
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Shane
New Member
Posts: 149
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Post by Shane on Mar 27, 2009 13:43:10 GMT
Top five:
5 - Rome total war: best of all total war games.
4 - Morrowind: best of all elder scrolls games.
3 - Mass effect: this is the future of gaming, cinematic experience.
2 - Deus Ex: unsurpassed classic.
1 - Half Life 2: if all games were like this I would never leave my house.
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Post by Rob on Mar 27, 2009 13:49:20 GMT
Maybe I'll buy Mass Effect today...
NO! Don't spend all of your money as soon as you get it!
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