# What makes a great game & what are your favourites?



## Kid_Eternity (Sep 10, 2011)

We seem to have this discussion fall into a good number of threads about other games, perhaps it deserves a thread of its own?


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## tommers (Sep 11, 2011)

I think a great game involves some sort of progression.  That used to be called "RPG" but it's become part of pretty much everything.  Games are better when you identify with the protagonist and progressing the character does that.

I think for me it was when Gran Turismo introduced RPG elements into a driving game that it made it pretty clear where things were going.

Top games of all time for me...

Elite
X-Com
Civ
Dragon Quest

Probably more I'll remember tomorrow.


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## souljacker (Sep 11, 2011)

Its simple, in my view. How addictive is a game? Will you start playing and suddenly realise 8 hours later that you haven't stopped? My favourite games of all time have all had that ability:

NHL 96 on the Megadrive
Civ II
COD4:MW
Atic Atac
Street Fighter II on the Snes
Super Mario Land on Gameboy
Tetris
Super Mario Kart on Snes
EvE online


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## Stigmata (Sep 17, 2011)

Atmosphere and immersion, just like a good film or book or piece of music.

Deus Ex
Planescape: Torment
Half-Life
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines


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## ohmyliver (Sep 18, 2011)

great idea (I'm not going to use the word 'concept') implemented well.

Like Elite, Populous, Red Dead Redemption, Fallout 1 and 2, etc


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## Chester Copperpot (Sep 18, 2011)

C & C Red Alert


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## Epona (Sep 23, 2011)

Replayability - there have been some good games that I've played through just the once, but the games that I can come back to time and time again and still get enjoyment from are the best ones. Sometimes that is due to multiple story paths implemented by the developers where you can get different results on different playthroughs, and sometimes that is due to a great modding community.

My favourite games of all time are Morrowind and Civ 4, I have been playing both of these games pretty much non-stop since they were released (Morrowind in 2002 and CIV 4 in 2005) with a variety of mods installed for each - my PC has changed several times since then, but these 2 games are always the first ones I install.

Other games that I have had good value from in terms of replay have been: Planescape Torment, both Baldurs Gate games, Neverwinter Nights (not so much for the OC which was a bit unimaginative, but the modding community produced some fantastic stuff that kept it on my PC for at least 5 years), X3: Terran Conflict, and the whole series of Caesar/Pharaoh/CotN type city building games. Very good value for money, these are the games I keep coming back to year after year.

I find it difficult to spend £35 on a game that I'm going to spend less than 50 hours playing - all the above have kept me entertained for years.


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## Ax^ (Sep 23, 2011)

A game which I still loved the story, was still replaying it from time to time, was still addicted to the various multiplayer formats and always waiting on the next sequel



Sorry half life is still the best game of all time.

Ffs its the star wars of video games


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## Ax^ (Sep 23, 2011)

Saying that the balders gate series was akin to pure video game crack


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## Stigmata (Sep 23, 2011)

Epona said:


> My favourite games of all time are Morrowind and Civ 4, I have been playing both of these games pretty much non-stop since they were released (Morrowind in 2002 and CIV 4 in 2005) with a variety of mods installed for each - my PC has changed several times since then, but these 2 games are always the first ones I install.



Bollocks, I completely forgot Morrowind. I like Civ4 as well, because I like worldbuilding.


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## rubbershoes (Sep 23, 2011)

weapons

lots of weapons


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## Ich bin ein Mod (Sep 24, 2011)

A proper learning curve. Not easy easy easy fucking controller's broken cos I've hurled it against the wall after failing for the fifty-first time. Nor "go away and do the same thing for eight hours so your character's stats are high enough to ensure success". I work to keep a roof over my head, don't make me do the same thing for "entertainment" and sell it to me as "Seventy hours of gameplay!!!!"


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## Stigmata (Sep 24, 2011)

A good soundtrack also helps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-CN552hecc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBPK_oXeJgA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekMbt-ZfexI


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## Ax^ (Sep 24, 2011)

Bah don't refrenece baldurs gate, last time someone did that I ended up reinstalling all the games plus the full series modifications and wasting another seventy hours of my life starting the whole saga as a level one wild mage :/


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## Stigmata (Sep 24, 2011)

That music still makes me feel a bit sad inside about Viconia


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## Picadilly Commando (Sep 24, 2011)

One of the greatest games in the world ever.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Sep 24, 2011)

Picadilly Commando said:


> One of the greatest games in the world ever.


I loved that. Finished it in no time.
I put it on a couple of months ago though and found it unbearably difficult and shit. Its in the loft now.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Sep 24, 2011)

Doesn't he die in the end?


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## Picadilly Commando (Sep 24, 2011)

I can't really remember. I bought the anniversary edition off amazon for a couple of quid, it's been re-released in HD. I don't want to play it and ruin my memory of it and from what you said, am doing the right thing


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## Ax^ (Sep 24, 2011)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Doesn't he die in the end?



Don't we all


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Sep 24, 2011)

Ax^ said:


> Don't we all


No, I mean at the end. He gets shot unavoidably and has to struggle across the floor to pull the lever and destroy the enemy base.
At the last minute his friend carries him off on a giant bird but he dies.
There was a sequel and it was confirmed that he was dead I think. Well he's not in the sequel that's for sure.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Sep 24, 2011)

Ah my mistake.
He dies in the second game.


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## Ax^ (Sep 24, 2011)

*stares at calander*

Friggin payday

Saying that sort of got the feeling everyone dies at the end of gears of war 3


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## Crispy (Sep 24, 2011)

If I had to choose one thing, it would be: A coherent world that has rules and systems to interact with. I
can't stand the Modern Warfare style of shooter, for instance, where an infinite number of bad guys come running out of a building until you move forward, and there is only one route to success. Much prefer Halo (esp. the first one), where the bad guys have behaviours and the play area is wide for experimentation.

I'll only play a tightly structured, guided story game if it's very very good.


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## no-no (Sep 26, 2011)

Atmosphere - Shadow of the Collossus
Freedom - GTA,Elite
Music - Anything by Martin Galway
Multiplayer-ability - GETTING TIRED OF DEATHMATCH,WE NEED MORE COOP GAMEPLAY!! - any recent examples of this?


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## Crispy (Sep 26, 2011)

no-no said:


> Multiplayer-ability - GETTING TIRED OF DEATHMATCH,WE NEED MORE COOP GAMEPLAY!! - any recent examples of this?



Portal 2 co-op is absolutely fantastic. Only works if both of you are playing it for the 1st time.


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## no-no (Sep 26, 2011)

ah yeah, I need to buy portal2. I played the single player via a torrent download. It's a game well worth paying for though.

The coop missions in GTA4 were pretty good but I think there were only a couple of them.


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## TitanSound (Sep 26, 2011)

Damn. So many faves.

PC wise: Battlefield 1942, Battlefield 2.

The best FPS games on the PC for me. Also one of the first times I was part of a clan (apart from Counterstrike but that was casual).

The first 16v16 clan war we had was epic. Madness all over the map with tanks, planes and helicopters. Some very cool moments like piloting an F-18 Hornet on Operation Clean Sweep as cover for the F-15 Strike Eagle bomber. Breaking off to engage a MIG 29, shooting him down and resuming cover for the bomber. All whilst my squad mates parachuted into the enemy base, C4'ed the Artillery and UAV station and we dominated the map.

Transport Tycoon: I was so addicted to this game it was unreal.

Sim City 3000: Never had the patience to build a city so just used to go for fantastical creations using a cheat code for unlimited funds. I had an unhealthy obsession that made sure all utilities and roads/transport links were grouped together and placed in grids/blocks.

Command and Conquer: No need to go into detail as to why surely? 

World in Conflict: An underrated game for sure. An RTT (Real Time-Tactical) game, you could take charge of air, Infantry, support or Armor. Very team and teamwork orientated but fun at the same time. If you didn't help each other out, you were screwed. You also had "Tactical Aids" so you could call in airlifted tanks, A-10 strokes, Daisy Cutter bombs etc based on how well you did during the game.

Check it out.



As I've only had an xbox for just under a year, I tried all the Modern Warfare games, black ops etc and hated the multiplayer. Battlefield: Bad Company2 has rarely left the DVD tray in all that time. Fantastic when played with friends.

For me it's always been about the multiplayer when it became prominent. I even remember playing Warcraft III over a 56k connection with a friend


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## Blackandyellow (Nov 14, 2011)

Good graphics, great story, in depth character history and the ability to alter the storyline all attribute to making a great game. But that's single player stuff. For MMORPG's, it's really all about graphics and PVP system.


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