The Important Games Thread

[DrumsofWar]

Anyone want to try a game of AoW2 this week then?

[Lavarinth]

Never played.

[Pr0nogo]

Freelancer

-has nerdgasm-

That game was awesome. I loved it before I understood multiplayer (or even had an internet connection for that matter). Sadly, I seem to have misplaced my disc.

[Aiursrage2k]

Metal Gear
Max Payne
Goldeneye
Crimsonland - spawned Alien Shooter, Zombie Shooter (indie games) but I dont think any big companies do that type of game.
Half Life 2 - I still havent beat it!

[Frozty]

Half Life 2 - I still havent beat it!

How is this possible?

[Xelxiuz]

Half Life 2 - I still havent beat it!

How is this possible?

Wanna hear something even more impossible? I've never played HL or HL2. Ever. Or any FF series.

[Frozty]

Whoa...

[Negi]

Frozty, that thread is so played out that references to it are played out. !

[Death_Wing]

Whoa...

Lol, only thing I've played from those is FF:Tactics which doesn't really count but hey, lol.

I've missed out on a lot, but at least I didn't miss out on the glory that is Starcraft/Diablo/Warcraft (Blizzard)!

[Xenon]

!

Ruined by the auto-smiley system...

Anyways, most of the important games I remember have already been described, so here's the one that hasn't:

Descent II. Probably the first 3D computer game I ever had, and the first I ever modded. There were (and still are) dozens if not hundreds of single-player missions made by players available online, making it rival Blizzard's RTS games for longevity even before I ever played a Blizzard RTS. Hecks, I never even played it multiplayer!

I used to spend hours with only a hex editor and a list describing the weapon data in the main game data file, tweaking things to ridiculous proportions. Lasers that split into more lasers on impact, penetrating through enemies and homing in on them and bouncing off walls? Sure. (the ridiculous number of projectiles caused by that one made robots leave indestructible main body sections behind, keeping the projectiles respawning on their impact with it.)

Since the source code was released, there are at least 2 unofficial versions out with some nice graphical upgrades and gameplay options. I still play D2X-XL occasionally.

[Legion]

I play mostly on PS3 these days, but I don't discriminate. Games are games. It should be noted that I am not an online gamer. I've only used a multiplayer option to annihilate my brother on Ghost Recon split-screen.

Diablo

Simply the best. I loved the story, voice acting and gameplay all equally. I also bought the expansion built by Sierra but that was a great disappointment. Ruined the whole mystery of the game. Same with Blizzard's followup, Diablo 2. That sucked big time.

Lords of the Realm 2

Oh my God, such beautiful music! This game REALLY felt like you're in medieval times. I miss that one. I've never played any other LotR, but this one was great. I still listen to the game's soundtrack on youtube.

Starcraft

Duh. How else would I end up here? Seriously, when I saw the hard scifi space-junk mess of the terrans, I was HOOKED, and then when I played as protoss, I was even MORE HOOKED. Introduced me to the world of modding, voice acting and campaign creation. Good times had by me thanks to this game.

Half-Life

I would play this mother all the time with my bff back when he was my bff, hah! Loved the game. Weak story + shoot 'em up gameplay + facehuggers = fun for a long time! The sequels were actually pretty fucking awesome, but still the biggest treat to come from the Orange Box has to be Portal. Oh well, I'll keep Half-Life in my heart for a while.

The rest

I'm currently hooked on both Red Faction 3 and Fallout 3 (DLC) and I can't get enough of those. Most of my favorites come from the nineties, obviously, but the past decade has brought us some good stuff as well.

Nice thread! Should do this more often!

[Taeradun]

1) StarCraft

• distracted me from my highschool work and set me up on the road to failure
• got me my start in online forums (sup campaigncreations)
• got me interested in RTS games - before then the only other one I'd played was Red Alert 1 for like 5 minutes at a friend's house and had no idea wtf was going on and got bored and gave up, then with the SC demo I was all godhand edit all over that shit
• my first serious foray into modding, after having just done a few minor things like making tracks in Stunts (and hacking maps to get different map terrain other than the 5 templates) and a bit of dicking around trying to make levels for Commander Keen 1 and Duke Nukem 1

2-5) ? I dunno, I could give you a list of 5 or 10 favourite games but hadn't really thought about "most important", so here's some random crap

2) Tiberian Sun - awesome setting
3) Wasteland - my first ever RPG
4) Hero Quest (Quest For Glory 1 / So You Want To Be A Hero) - my first ever adventure game
5) Stunts - when I was a little kid my brother came home from school with a pirate copy on floppy disk and I wanted to play it so I punched him in the face

3) Transport Tycoon (Deluxe and OpenTTD flavours included)

+1 pie

2) EVE Online - Even though I've only played a two week trial, I have to say this changed my outlook on things. I probably would play it, but there aren't any stores in my area with prepaid game cards for it.

lol yeah I've never played it or any other MMO games (except the occasional crappy browser game) but the in-game politics and metagaming are fun to watch

[Frozty]

My favorite game of all time is definitely Starcraft. However, I personally do not believe that Starcraft was all that important in the gaming world in the States. Obviously it revolutionized gaming as a sport throughout the world, but not so much here.

I have played almost every "Greatest Hit" that has been made from NES to Xbox 360. I have still yet to play a PS3, because I know that if I do, then I'll end up buying it, and I can't afford it atm. This is just a short list of the 10 that I think changed gaming for me.

1) Super Mario Bros. - This is the Mecca of the gaming world. The game that put games in the hands of EVERYONE. It was also the first game I ever played. I beat it in a week after lots of failing because my NES was a piece of shit.

2) Halo - Now, don't shoot me for this one. This is arguably the best mixture of Story, Gameplay, and Replayabiility that was available at its release. It also helped put Microsoft on the map as a competitor in the Console World.

3) Half-life 1 and 2- Personally, this is the best gaming series I have ever played. Once I start them, they keep me hooked up until the explosive endings. These games redefined the "Next-Gen" FPS, in that story is just as important as gameplay. Also helped promote Modding in large part due to the open nature of Valve's engines.

4) Starcraft - Definitely defined Blizzard and the whole RTS genre in its own right for the better part of ten years. I have played it since 2000 and have enjoyed every second of its gameplay. The sheer perfection that was the way all the races were balance but completely different and how there were ALWAYS new strategies to learn and explore. No doubt this is an important game in that its influence has changed the way companies go about creating their games. Innovation is KEY.

5) Wii Sports - Now, don't shoot me. This seems odd, I know, but, this is the game that comes with the Wii. It's the game that instantly acquaints you to the simple use of the Wii Remote and all of its possibilities. Plus, who has never played this game?? Good luck finding someone who hasn't.

6) World of Warcraft - Well, I only played it for a little while. I got a Tauren Shaman to level 43, but quickly ran out of income and time, and had to let it go before I lost any chance at career as a musician. The ultimate time-suck. People literally live and die based on this game. Has found a way to get a novel concept and make it accessible to EVERYONE. Millions are still grinding away in the many dungeons to find the perfect drop to finish out their gear. Oh, and they are still making VERY successful expansions for this monster-grossing game.

7) Madden 96(I think this is the one) - This finally made a sports game that people could easily pick up and enjoy. Set the bar for future sports games in every sport. It also introduced a yearly development cycle that feeds to the ultimate football fans that enjoy being up-to-date with their sport in its playerbase and in its Madden features. Add Franchise and Superstar down the road, and internet play, and this game is STILL selling Millions of copies even with its yearly release.

Call of Duty - Great Game. Top 5 FPS of all time. Would have to say that this is one of the first games that REALLY was accepted as a tournament video game. Hugely known for its great single player story and flow, but now is more known for the millions that play online everyday on various consoles and versions. Also has taken the whole yearly release flow.

9) Guitar Hero - More controversy. Remember Amplitude? Well remember how bad it was? Harmonix took that concept and the desire that every teenage kid has to become a rock star and turned it into a HuGE franchise. No one can deny that they have played this (or Rock Band) at parties, totally drunk off their asses, singing a song by Evanescence is a girly voice while dancing around half-naked on a table. (Well, maybe not exactly, but you get my drift) One of my favorite games to play now. With Rock Band's introduction of new instruments other than the guitar also helped put this game on the list of every teenager in the US. Rock on, my friends.

10) Final Fantasy (the whole Franchise) - Turned story-driven gameplay upside-down and made it enjoyable. I remember spending hours trying to reach Sephiroth, only to find out I was too late to save my friend. Fantastic games made even better wtih fantastic music and visuals that created a fantasy world I wished I could be a part of.

This is just my view of the gaming world and its footholds. There's so much more I could add on so many levels, but I just don't feel like typing anymore.

[Church]

1. StarCraft - suprise suprise. How ever did I find Campaign Creations but by googling for StarCraft campaigns...
2. Pokemon Leaf Green - First Pokemon game I ever played- and loved it!
3. All the Sonic games, besides Sonic Heroes - Oh yeah =3 Tails Forever.
4. WarCraft III - Dunno, just love it.
5. Super Mario 64 - One of the first console games I ever played. FTW!

Funny thing is... I first found StarCraft in a box of old games back in 2001 I think. Me and my brother were searching the box for games to install because we were bored, and grabbed random games. Lo and behold, StarCraft is installed.

[Negi]

Jim_Raynor, stop being 12 years old.