The Important Games Thread

[Negi]

haha.. I don't usually reply to these sorts of threads and not sure if the opinions of a 44 year old surf bum would be worth much to kids.  I mean I was born before PONG!  So yeah, I've seen them all.

Anywho for what it's worth here are this old fart's top 5 "PC" games.. at least I think this is limited to PC from what I've read.

#1 STARCRAFT... well duh.  I find it rather odd that I've spent more time "around" the game than actually playing it tho!   It's really the only video game I'm still active with and it's more of a way to kill some time in the winter evenings to be honest.  I feel this is pretty much a kid's game due to the "real time" aspect of the game.  I doubt a 75 year old man would be able to hang with an 18 year old with a 6 pack of Pepsi.  Which brings me to my next choices.

#2 CHESSMASTER Series.   Chess is similar to tennis in that if you don't find a playing partner of equal skill, it's a real bore.  As a kid I found myself mostly playing against positions in books or solving puzzles.  When the first chess computers came out, they weren't very good and were very expensive.  Chessmaster was one of the first PC programs that finally delivered.  There are much better programs now, but this one still is a favorite on my hard drive. 

#3 Sid Meyer's Alpha Centauri or Civ Series.   The 2 are intertwined together so this really is just "one" game.   Sid is one of a kind!  I'd probably place SMAC above Civ just because of the sci-fi and how different the factions were compared to the civs.  I really should check out some of the latest Civ games.  I sort of burned out on video games around Civ3. 

#4 X-COM UFO    A little dated, but hey it has a special place. 

#5 Unreal Tournament.  Why do I put this above Half-life or other FPS?  Half-Life had some great multiplayer games, but I don't do internet games much.  I'd blow a fuse trying to co-ordinate something with the typical punk ass teenager yet alone a "group".   Both Half-life and Quake's single player game were entertaining, but not quite as compelling as Baldur's Gate 2.   And so Unreal Tournament simulated a fun multiplayer environment that could be enjoyed in single player.  I really enjoyed the way the game progressed and killing Xan, or whatever that final bitch's name was, was a gaming highlight for me!

.. wow 5 games goes by quick.   Red Alert/Yuri's Revenge Campaigns > Starcraft. Definitely Tanya > Kerrigan, so I had a blast with those.  Diablo2's "hardcore" concept (you die you lose everything) was pretty cool.  Fallout2, Master of Orion, Monkey Island,  Sim City, Populous.. yeah is it obvious how ancient these all are?

Played quite a few SNES console games with my nephew.  Zelda, Tetris, Wing Commander, and Soldiers of Fortune, and Blizzard's own Lost Vikings topping that list. 

Prob broke a few rules with this post.. but oh well.

You're right!  I don't care about a post from a 44yo surf bum.  I hate surfing, and I hate bums.  ..Then, you wrote a friggin essay that is littered with smilies.  What the hell, man?  Are you just trying to piss me off?

[Mr.]

You're right!  I don't care about a post from a 44yo surf bum.  I hate surfing, and I hate bums.  ..Then, you wrote a friggin essay that is littered with smilies.  What the hell, man?  Are you just trying to piss me off?

But you forget... you don't care about anyone, and everyone pisses you off.

Also, hardcore is the best.

Prob broke a few rules with this post.. but oh well.

No broken rules are coming to mind...

[bajadulce]

hardcore is the best!

Hardcore or no core!

I hate surfing:

Surfing doesn't hate you.

I hate bums:

After busting my ass off for 20+ years as a home builder as well as making some good dot-com investments when they were ripe for picking, I love being able to do nothing now (Tho I can't sit still when it comes to building shit like cars or doing home renovations).  I Golf almost every day, Surf up and down the coast, ski with my skiaholic brother-in-law when he drags me along (I'm not much of a cold-weather guy).  I own a small plot of land in Costa Rica, a 2 week timeshare in Maui, 2 rentals + a 35ft sailboat here in my beloved Santa Cruz, California.  I can do almost anything I want or nothing at all.  I just got a new kite board and am really stoked to have a new hobby to keep me on the beach this summer.  Being a "bum" is everything it's cracked up to be... Someday you'll get there too if you play your cards right.

Peace .. I meant no harm in my postings.  Only trying to share some fun with other gaming lovers.

[Marco]

After busting my ass off for 20+ years as a home builder as well as making some good dot-com investments when they were ripe for picking, I love being able to do nothing now (Tho I can't sit still when it comes to building shit like cars or doing home renovations).  I Golf almost every day, Surf up and down the coast, ski with my skiaholic brother-in-law when he drags me along (I'm not much of a cold-weather guy).  I own a small plot of land in Costa Rica, a 2 week timeshare in Maui, 2 rentals + a 35ft sailboat here in my beloved Santa Cruz, California.  I can do almost anything I want or nothing at all.  I just got a new kite board and am really stoked to have a new hobby to keep me on the beach this summer.  Being a "bum" is everything it's cracked up to be... Someday you'll get there too if you play your cards right.

Peace .. I meant no harm in my postings.  Only trying to share some fun with other gaming lovers.

Oldest CC fan ever...

[GreatGodSajuuk]

WIBOD I SHALL NOW WORSHIP YOU LIKE A GOD

[Dread]

It's called preregistering, reserving, and banning usernames, wibod. Why are you attempting to counter with your logic, umad? I know how to operate a forum.

That is debatable.

See? Operated.

Code Blue! Code Blue!

I think these people have a DNR on the Forums.

To remain somewhat on topic; Continuum or Subspace. Spent a ton of time in this one, both as a player and eventually as a sysop in one of the servers. Had a lot of fun hacking this game up to make it do things no one intended. Still hop in once in a while.

[thebrowncloud]

Is this a bad time? Am I too late for the "influential games" list thing? Perhaps I should come back later.....

@Dread: Nice new sig graphic! w00t!

[Thalraxal]

#3 Sid Meyer's Alpha Centauri or Civ Series.   The 2 are intertwined together so this really is just "one" game.   Sid is one of a kind!  I'd probably place SMAC above Civ just because of the sci-fi and how different the factions were compared to the civs.  I really should check out some of the latest Civ games.  I sort of burned out on video games around Civ3. 

Alpha Centauri almost made my list, but it was fighting it out with a couple of other games for fifth place, so I gave up on deciding and dropped game #5 from my list.  Still, great game.  It's been a long time since I last played it though.  But it was hard not to go on a world domination tour once you got some well armed and armoured hover tanks.

[Lavarinth]

Never played, but was very crazy into Civilization III.. Pretty sure I stayed up two nights straight playing.

[Zilla-]

1 starcraft: brought me here, my first internet home. most likely spent more time with this game than any other ever
2 donkey kong country series: my first video game was DKC and i've been addicted ever since. all 3 games in the series are just wonderful platformers, the kind they dont make nowadays, the first was all like lolanimals fighting, the second was lolpirate animals, and the third was meh but still a good time. they're awesome
3 final fantasy 7: lolgayjrpg but it was like the 3rd gane i had and the first rpg I ever played, good memories are associated with it. [lol associated]
4 warcraft 3: satyr saturday was the highlight of my week back when i had time and i wish i could still show up. the best times i had on the internet stem from this game, "HOW IT IS GOING" "CAPTAIN PLANET" and all that jazz. you guys are cool people.
5 devil may cry (3): first off, fuck DMC2, but 1 and 3 are awesome. i am a huge fan of the challenge that the game provides, i remember the first time i ran into that shadowdog thing i got my ass beat like 7 times before i defeated it and then later on in the game you'll be fighting like 3-4 at a time like its nothing, not because of some super awesome thing that makes you unstoppable, or a retarded number of upgrades (although they help) but simply because when a game punches you in the face you learn how to fight back. most games today are very simple and don't care for a proper level of difficulty but DMC delivers a true challenge that is a worthy meaningful victory.

yea, im a bit late to this party. oh well...

[Ricky_Honejasi]

4 warcraft 3: satyr saturday was the highlight of my week back when i had time and i wish i could still show up.

Well, it depends ... do you imply you don't have time on Saturdays or in general? If it's on Saturdays only (due to a job or something), it got changed to Sundays about 4-5 weeks ago.

Also curious to what it takes your time away? Job? School? etc.


And now for the thread itself ...

1) Warcraft 3 was probably the first game that really caught me my interest due to the ability to be able to trigger a lot of things and more diverse maps. Yes, it still have some limitations there and there but with the exception of a modding perceptive, pretty much everything could be overcome with enough work (especially on the triggering side).

2) Starcraft : As similar to quite a few, it brought me to CC. I did have quite a lot of fun for a long time although I was always a bit annoyed at the limited editor (although it was quite superior to others' game editors such as AoE1's or even AoE2's for its time). Nowadays, it's mostly left in the dust as far I am concerned except for special cases (ex : those last contests).

The thing I do miss from SC1 to WC3 is the general melee gameplay (more units, soft counters, races that truly felt different, etc.) but that I would REALLY want to be able to mix it up with WC3's triggering potential or better. That's what I really hope in SC2 ... presuming it doesn't overkill in the graphic requirements in the end.

3) Final Fantasy series (FF2 USA and later) : I always been a RPG player as well and it's one of the inevitable series for one. Lately that I been less following the FF series but it's certainly childhood memories.

4) Age of Empires 1 & 2 : At the time I played Starcraft, I also played AoE1 & 2 quite a lot as well (although Starcraft won in the very long run, probably due to this community + better game editor at the time). One thing I always liked about it is the civilization aspect (stone age to tool age, etc.). I also remember a 3v3 game where we literally mined EVERY bit of resource and it was a very tactical end-game yet low-scale battle to do harm without losing those few remaining units + resources as much as possible. It sure did have a special feeling.

[DrumsofWar]

Besides Starcraft, there's a few big personal favorites I'll add to the list.

The best RPG I've played, MMO included bar none, is Neverwinter Nights I.  Everything from its engine, the gameplay, the expansive multiplayer, to the incredible custom content makes this game as much of a workhorse in the RPG realm as Starcraft's longevity as a playable RTS. 

[imgwh 640x480]http://i49.tinypic.com/10qwd9g.jpg[/imgwh]

There's still projects being made to upgrade its graphics.  The game also offers such a balanced experience for casual gamers, power RPG'ers, single player denizens, and of course pen and paper roleplayers.

The only other RPG that's come close is DDO, itself a MMO refit of the NWN2 engine, but while the game is being heavily revised, it still has a long way to go in order to overtake WoW. 

I can't think of a favorite FPS but it'd have to be between Vietcong and Unreal Tournament 2004.  The former had some great singleplayer campaign work, something you don't see often in a FPS, while the latter of course, has more custom content than all the Half Life and Quake games combined.

[imgwh 640x480]http://i50.tinypic.com/2e22c0h.jpg[/imgwh]

[imgwh 640x480]http://i47.tinypic.com/28ivwpu.jpg[/imgwh]

Freespace 2 is another game I really wanted to mention.  Sure, the space fighter sim genre isn't a big draw but this game casts a shadow as imposing as Starcraft or Neverwinter Nights.

Its 3D engine was made in 1998 but the incredible efficiency and graphic quality still looks modern even today.  With the release of its source code by Volition, half a dozen mods have come out with a level of polish that makes recent retail space fighter games look amateurish by comparison.

[imgwh 640x480]http://i46.tinypic.com/vr4mxi.jpg[/imgwh]

The last 2 games I'd really like to plug are Age of Wonders 2: Shadow Magic and Space Empires V.  Both games are among the best turn-based strategy around but were overshadowed by games which were easier to learn and quicker to beat - HoMM and Gal Civ respectively, but both games have a nearly unparalleled depth that make battling even AIs addictive fun for a very long time.

[imgwh 640x480]http://i45.tinypic.com/34rukwg.jpg[/imgwh]

I know this is a longer and more unconventional list but design and playability are the top two things in my book.

[Lavarinth]

I was debating whether or not to include Freelancer in my list of games, by far a very open ended space Sim/RPG with a very, very effective multiplayer ability where dozens, if not hundreds (can't recall) players could play on a server simply.. Enhancing their ships. Graphics are still good for this day.

[Thalraxal]

Age of Wonders 1 was also duking it out alongside Alpha Centauri for fifth place.  I regret not getting a copy of AoW2, because the first one was awesome.

I've always liked NWN1.  If I ever actually finished and released a module for it, it probably would have made the list.

[bajadulce]

Can't believe I didn't include AOW2 in my list as well.  Great game.