So because I was bored, I decided to list my top 10 favourite video games.

10. Neverwinter Nights



Neverwinter Nights is #10 on the list. While it is not the best game in terms of graphics, the story line is gigantic. Taking the character creation of the 3rd edition of Dungeons and Dragons, the player is thrust into the role of a hero to save Neverwinter from a plague. While the first and last chapter of the game deal with Neverwinter, the remaining 4 chapters are full with side quests and adventuring fun for any fan of dungeons and dragons. Efficient character customization and one of Bioware's best games.

9. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time



Nintendo is my first gaming system, and is my first gaming company I really fell in love with its characters. Link and Zelda are no exception. While the 2d games for the NES and SNES were great in of themselves, Ocarina of Time was the game that really got me hooked into the Zelda franchise. The biggest hook? The puzzles. My god, I love games which actually force you to think and adjust to different levels. This game was not a hack and slash game, but a figure out how to get the objectives in a dungeon to further yourself in the story kind of game. Loved it.

8. Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance



When my family first got our Playstation 2, this was the first game we bought for it. Initially my dad bought it for himself, but soon, my brother and I would run ourselves through it. While you could not customize your character as in select race/class combos, and change appearance, you could still choose certain trees depending on the character you chose. The gameplay was also fun for all 3 characters, and the difficulty levels especially extreme mode, made the game challenging and rewarding. Definitely one of my favourite games.

7. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic



Any fan of Star Wars should be a fan of this game. One of the first Star Wars games which allowed the player to actually create and customize their character. While you are eventually forced into being a Jedi, the pregame scoundrel, soldier, scout option was very much enjoyable. The story line is also incredibly large, and while at times repetitive is enough to keep your attention and allow you to experience a great game.

6. Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask



Number 6 on the list is Majora's Mask. Normally, I am not a big fan of sequels over games, and normally, I count sequels as part of the original game in lists like this, but Majora's mask is the exception. The gameplay was completely different, and the story line was full of "WTF is happening exactly" moments that I absolutely love this game. It was also more difficult than Ocarina of Time which I felt was more satisfying an experience when you accomplished the tasks in the game.

5. Pokemon



Yes, Pokemon is my number 5. As a kid, I loved the aspect of raising a pokemon and training it. As an adult, I love the aspect of raising a Pokemon, training it, and creating a team which is strategically incredible. The fact that Pokemon tournaments still exist world wide, is in my opinion testament to the greatness of this game franchise. The game has evolved and adopted new Pokemon, new features such as abilities, and new gameplay styles, but the game has been a staple part of my gaming experience.

4. Dragon Age



Dragon Age: Origins and its sequel Dragon Age 2, have become some of my top fantasy games. I have spent hours playing both games, reruns, retries, etc. all because the games are great. The game was actually an accident I stumbled upon. I was at game stop buying another game, I can't remember, and they asked if I wanted to put $5 down to preorder Dragon Age: Origins. Without thinking I said sure, and when it was released 2 months later, I got a call from Gamestop telling me my Dragon Age:Origins was in store. I bought it, and instantly did not regret it. The story line was fast paced, caught my attention, and like a movie, I wanted to know what happened next. Also character customization. I love games with character customization (I played traditional role playing games where the sky is the limit) and Dragon Age offered that kind of customization I love.

3. Elder Scrolls: Morrowind



Now I know some of you may be thinking, "Morrowind?! What about Oblivion and Skyrim?" And my response to that is, I have been playing Elder Scrolls since it was a floppy disk for old ancient machines. Arena and Daggerfall were great games, but I cannot tell you how amazed I was at Morrowind. It was breathtakingly beautiful compared to all the other games I had been playing. Even the Might and Magic series (which almost made this list) could not compare to Bethesda's game. It allowed freedom of play, customization of one's character, and had a very good storyline. Oblivion was in my opinion, a very disappointing sequel to Morrowind, and while Skyrim did go back to Morrowind standards, I still think Morrowind is a better game overall.

2. World of Warcraft



Number 2 on the list is perhaps the game I spend most of my time playing. Although it is not my all time favourite game, it comes dangerously close to that spot. I love the entire world. A giant world composed of 4 continents and an asteroid, beautiful sceneries, beautiful music, and exciting gameplay, World of Warcraft is an excellent MMORPG and I do believe all others pale in comparison to Blizzard's excellence. Even hyped games such as Aion and The Old Republic fail to achieve the MMO awesomeness of WoW. Since the original release and its subsequent expansions, WoW has offered gamers everywhere a chance to experience a giant multiplayer game. It's a fun and rewarding game.

1. Kingdom Hearts



Okay, okay, so an action game featuring Disney characters sounds odd and lame, right? WRONG! This game was the first game, I think I played through 100 times and each time I still enjoy it. And you know something? This game celebrated its 10th birthday back in September and the game LOOKS like it came out maybe 2-3 years ago. Now hows that for graphics?! The story line is also, while geared for a younger audience, one which even adults can appreciate and the gameplay is actually surprisingly in depth. You can choose whether your Sora will focus on magic, or combos, or rather support defense. The worlds are gigantic, and the combat is fun. This is improved further in the sequel Kingdom Hearts 2, when some of the things you could do in combat was just a load of fun. I rank Kingdom Hearts as my favourite game of all time.

So, what are your top 10 favourite video games? You don't have to go in depth as I did, but I am curious!

Someone's an RPG fan.

I prefer Morrowind to Oblivion and Skyrim. Morrowind felt...more, somehow. Fucking cliff racers,
though.

I might start up Dragon Age again, too. I bought the Ultimate Edition from Steam a while back. It took me a couple of goes to get into it properly; I could never get past Ostergaar. Gar. Ostagar? Whatever.

I think EUIII would be on my list somewhere, and FTL.

My list will make it obvious that I haven't played computer games for quite a while, and it pretty much limited to Nintendo consoles and PC but here goes.

10. California Games
9. Age of Empires
8. Mario 64
7. Super Monkey Ball
6. Goldeneye
5. Half Life
4. Deus Ex
3. Super Mario World
2. A Link to the Past
1. Ocarina of Time (it's not even close)

Age of Empires almost made my list as well.

In no particular order:

IKARUGA
Goddamn, this is a hard game. Really, the pinnacle of shmups, I've played this game for years and I still wouldn't say I'm any good at it. Still, the graphics are incredible and the challenge is addictive. Watching videos of experts play this game is mind-blowing.

SLY COOPER 2
This (along with Ratchet And Clank 2 and 3) got me back into 3D games. Great intuitive controls, lots of sneaking and cool looking areas to explore. A sadly overlooked and underrated game.

SKYRIM
Yeah yeah, I know, obvious choice. But really, it is the ultimate dark fantasy world exploration game. It's not about challenge and it's not about amazing gameplay mechanics. It's about pure atmosphere.

LEGEND OF ZELDA: A LINK TO THE PAST
Unlike many folks on here, I found Occarina Of Time to have really ugly graphics and awkward controls (to be fair, most 3D games from this period had the same problem...I gave up on 3D games for years because of stuff like this). Link To The Past, on the other hand, was a beautiful game in the style of the original (which would be on this list if limited space didn't force me to choose between them).

DRAGON QUEST 8
The most beautiful game in the series. Ideally all of them would get this sort of treatment. Huge world to explore, and some of the best music in any RPG series.

SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI: NOCTURNE
Post-apocalyptic imagery, a plot that hangs just outside of your awareness that asks difficult moral questions, and simply one of the best turn-based battle systems ever devised. Punishing without being cheap. Pokemon for adults.

CASTLEVANIA: SYMPHONY OF THE NIGHT and SUPER METROID
Yeah, they're completely different games in a lot of ways but they work on essentially the same principle: epic side-scrolling exploration and item gathering. Fantastic music, great atmospheric graphics, lots of different areas and potential for re-play.

SOLAR JETMAN
Props for one of the more interesting and innovative 8-bit games, this one is often overlooked which is a shame because it's tons of fun and friggin' hard. It also had great graphics as well as a soundtrack by Ray Wise, best known for the Battletoads music. Though my favorite work of his has to be...

WIZARDS AND WARRIORS and IRONSWORD
Simplicity at its best. Awesome music, dark graphics, simple gameplay and short enough that you can play through it a few times in one sitting. I dream of big shiny gems.

MEGA MAN 2 (or 3)
Can't decide between them, both had incredible graphics, simple controls and challenge out the wazoo. Never had more fun memorizing stages than I did with this series, these two being the standouts IMHO.

Limiting myself to one game per franchise here, to avoid repetition, and not putting them in any specific order.

1. Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas (PC)

The best instalment in arguably the most consistently excellent series of games. Setting, story and scope set this apart from the marginally inferior Vice City.

2. Half-Life 2 (PC)

Takes a copper-bottomed classic and improves on it substantially, which is some achievement. Manages to be a linear shooter without ever feeling like it. And how many shoot-em-ups have characters you care about this much? Oh and we do go to Ravenholm, we do, and we loves it.

3. Grim Fandango (PC)

Hands down the greatest adventure game of all-time. It simply isn't up for discussion. In terms of plot and art direction this is as inventive and memorable and affecting as any movie you care to mention. If you play this game I promise you you will not regret it.

4. Deus Ex (PC)

It's Deus Ex for fuck's sake.

5. Thief: The Dark Project (Gold Edition) (PC)

This classic steampunk sneak-em-up is probably the most atmospheric game I've ever played. Forget Metal Gear, this is stealth gaming at its absolute zenith. Just shades its equally superb sequel Thief II: The Metal Age, but it's like choosing which of your children you love more. The people responsible for this game went on to make things like Deus Ex, Skyrim, Bioshock and Dishonored. This was what they produced at their creative peak.

6. Anachronox (PC)

Never heard of it? Not a surprise. The studio (Ion "Deus Ex" Storm) spent millions producing it and buttons marketing it before rushing it out the door. Anachronox is a Japanese-style roleplaying game set in space. Words cannot do justice as to what a joyous experience this is. Epic, wildly inventive, hilariously funny and adorably quirky. Oh, and make sure you get the semi-official patch to iron out the bugs.

7. Duke Nukem 3D (PC)

Oh what fun this was. I think you really had to be a teenager, in actuality or spirit, to have appreciated this one to the fullest. It's somewhat dated now, but rightly regarded as a classic FPS.

8. Championship Manager 01/02 (PC)

The Championship/Football Manager series has been a best-seller for 20 years now, and that doesn't happen without good reason. The good reason is that this is the finest sports management sim ever created, and this one was the best of the lot. You can download it legally and for free here, and the community is still providing regular updates to the player database. And do remember to get some sleep.

9. Operation Flashpoint: Cold war Crisis (PC)

There are too many military shooters out there, but even lacklustre graphics and a saturated marketplace cannot stop this one from being as tense and realistic a combat simulation as has ever been released. I can still recall how I felt, alone in the forest with enemy troops closing in, a giddy combination of fear and excitement.

10. Sim City (ZX Spectrum)

I loved this game because it was as involving and immersive an experience as you could find on an 8-bit machine. And they managed to fit it all into 28K of memory, which is a minor miracle. And I got it free with a subscription to Your Sinclair magazine. This series is still around even today, but none have seemed as new or exciting as this did at the time.

Pretty much in this order.

10. Dragon Age Origins
Honorable mention, great story, so in depth the story changes due to the slightest choices you made a long time ago. Not amazing but I still really enjoyed playing it.

9. GTA: San Andreas
Classic. So much to do in a huge world. I found it very difficult to get bored of this game I still play it every now and again.

8. Saints Row
I loved this game more than GTA, still do. The ludicrousness of it is just right, it really doesn't take itself serious and aimed to be fun. Wanna blow everything up in a pink and yellow car wearing a purple pimp hat and heels? Better play Saints Row. The sequels took the ridiculousness too far still fun but so insane it lost some of the fun that the first one had because of a fairly decent story.

7. The Settlers II
Age of Empires but cooler. Combat is rubbish, I never got far in the story, either that or I never paid attention, but they blow bubblegum and skip while they wait for you!

6. Half-Life 2
SD said what needed to be said ^^

5. Fallout 3
My first Fallout and possibly my first RPG. This is the game that made me love the customisation and control over an RPG. I can't get enough of upgrades/perks/xp in games because of this. Not to mention the atmosphere again this game is the reason for my love of post apocalyptic settings in games and movies.

4. Red Dead Redemption
GTA with a cowboy. I'm not sure I need to explain anything else. Oh, except the ending is the only time I've genuinely felt sad and angry at a game, not even Mass Effect 3 had that effect on me.....

3. Mass Effect 2
Improved on the original in so many ways but most importantly developed an awesome story to even better heights. The Mass Effect story arc is my favourite from all the games I've played and Mass Effect 2 is ever so slightly my favourite out of the three.

2. Assassin's Creed 2
I love all AC games even the first one and Revelations. It's introduced me to so much history and two of my favourite times in history Holy Land during the Crusades and Renaissance Italy. The freedom to climb any building in a city was completely new and it had an awesome story arc better than Mass Effects if they hadn't muddled the fuck out of the present day story.

1. Europa Universalis III
Grand strategy game of Europe between 1399-1821, over 300 playable nations, war, trade, politics, and the freedom to choose your game. Steam says I've put in 206 hours playing this but I think it may be more. Nothing amazing but I can't go many weeks without playing it, it is so addictive.

I now really want to play all of these games again.

All those RPGs and no Planescape: Torment?

I agree with Morrowind, it was far better than any of the other Bethesda games. Wow, goldeneye, ocarina of time are all great.

1. Europa Universalis III
Grand strategy game of Europe between 1399-1821, over 300 playable nations, war, trade, politics, and the freedom to choose your game. Steam says I've put in 206 hours playing this but I think it may be more. Nothing amazing but I can't go many weeks without playing it, it is so addictive.

Only 1399-1821? Pfffft, where's your stamina man? D&T - 1356-1929.

In no particular order, based largely on games I remember having a large impact on me the first time I played them:-

Doom 2
Elite
The Secret of Money Island
World of Warcraft
Mass Effect
Dragon Age
Gran Turismo 3
Final Fantasy X
Timesplitters
Second Sight

The last two on the list are somewhat there for nostalgia value of shooters (and stealth gameplay as well) back when I actually enjoyed the game mechanics, before the dreaded curse of regenerating health hide behind cover and take pop shots at enemies whose spawn locations you've memorised "gritty and realistic" modern FPS gameplay. And while I'm bitching I'm gonna whine about the need to replace health bars with blood covering the screen so you can't see a fucking thing when you get injured - I get the concept and appeal of a clean UI, but to all intents and purposes covering the entire screen with the health bar so it dramatically impacts gameplay is not a step forward in that direction.

In no particular order:

Half-Life Classic.

Half-Life 2 (and ep 1&2) What SD said.

Thief II: The Metal Age My first experience with 3D graphics. Years earlier, I had said that I wouldn't spend a lot of time gaming if I couldn't get the feeling of being there. When clambering rooftops and looking down in alleys in Thief II, feeling some slight vertigo, I knew gaming was on to something...

Deus Ex While the graphics are dated, the story and roleplaying elements keep it fresh. DX:HR isn't to be sneezed at, and it would be awesome if the original game could be made with HR graphics.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein Knowing a fair bit about the (claimed) occult leainings of Nazi Germany, it was easy to see where the makers of the game had got their inspiration from. Epic game.

Dragon Age: Origins While the story isn't the most original, the companions are so well-written that one can play the game just for the roleplaying elements.

Portal 2 Took a great game and tweaked it even further. Some hilarious dialogue.

Crysis Stealth, tropical surroundings, North Korean baddies and tons of aliens - perfect for an action-packed weekend in paradise!

Far Cry More stealth in paradise. Pity some belligerent fuckers force the hero to use a bulletproof vest instead on sunblock.

Mass Effect The whole series. Maybe the Council will listen to Shepard in the next playthrough.

In no particular order:

HL1
HL2
The Longest Journey
S.T.A.L.K.E.R- Shadow Of Chernobyl
Fallout 1
Fallout 2
Crysis 1
Bioshock
DayZ- If you can call it a full game
Machinarium

This thread is reminding me of all of the great games in my library I'm yet to play. How is your list loooking?

Planescape: Torment, Anachronox, Fahrenheit, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Farcry, System Shock 2, Hitman: Blood Money, The Dig, Beneath a Steel Sky, Sanitarium, Deus Ex, I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream

I have copies of all of them but I haven't played them yet. Which one first?

Beneath a Steel Sky was one of the shortest, punchiest adventure games I've run through. It aged well. It's a good choice if you're not sure about a time commitment.

I'm going to repeat a few already mentioned.

My list in no particular order:

Morrowind.
As already mentioned Oblivion and Skyrim may be better in many ways (and with all the mods the atmosphere of each is incredible) but Morrowind set the bar for the other to have to beat. An utterly immersive experience.

I prefer Morrowind to Oblivion and Skyrim. Morrowind felt...more, somehow. Fucking cliff racers,
though.

I think the first mod for most people on the pc was the no more cliff racers one!

Microprose Gp2
The formula 1 game. There have been many more recent ones that have had better graphics but this is the king of them all. Set in the 1994 season it had all the track,teams and drivers. You could drive individual races or a whole championship. The detail level was incredible. If you wanted to succeed then you would havet o set the car up. None of this just select high downforce low speed rubbish simpler games had. GP2 let you alter the spring tensions and the number of rubber packers in the suspension. You could alter tyre pressures,wing angles and any of dozeons of other options. You didn't do this at random either. You could look at logged telemetry from your laps and see that say coming up Eau Rouge as you got to the top of the hill the right front suspension was bottoming out while the right rear as a few mm higher so you could figure out what to tweak to alter the handling there.

GTA Vice City
The other games may have better graphics but for me this is the one that really did it. It captures an 80s Miami Vice theme that probably never really existed.

Falcon 4.0
The jet fighter simulation. Nothing else comes close. It simulates one of several war scenarios over contemporary North Korea. The whole area is a dynamic battle field with your actions altering the course of events but also those events going on in the background the whole time you are running the game. Its not some scripted campaign either. No two campaigns will be alike. if for example you takeout a bridge on day1 it will be gone until the enemy repairs it. This means they will use alternative routes to attack the south. They will do so even while you are not in the area and are in the mission planner. Ther level of detail on the F16 is stunning and it came with a several hundred page manual to digest telling you how to aviate and fight using the aircraft. At full complexity you could be faced with the 8-10 minute switch flipping fest that is cold starting a fighter jet such was the level of detail.

Microsoft Flight Simulator
I personally am going to say FSX because it is the pinnacle of the series. It may not be as accurate for slow speed flight as say X-Plane is but for sheer scale and scope of things it simulates and the range of addons available its worthy of inclusion. I have flown from the Wright brothers flyer the few feet they did at Kitty Hawk right to the X-15 at Mach 6+ and 350,000ft. You can fly 737s in exquisite graphical detail with high simulation complexity or light aircraft VFR from you local airport. If it flies you can probably do it in this.

Silent Hunter 4
Many would say SH3 is the king but U-Boats never grabbed me. This puts you in command of a US submarine in WW2 facing the Japanese Navy and Merchant shipping. You have the entire pacific to sail in and a crew of 40+ to manage. You will need to master the complexities of not only controlling your boat but calculating the gyro angles and firing timings of your torpedos to succeed. It also has some of the best use of sound in a game. Hearing the propellers of an enemy destroy chopping up the water and closing in the pinging off of your hull racks up the tension to unbearable levels.

Tomb Raider 3
This one of the early games stood out as it really took advantage of hardware 3d on the PC. With more globe trotting and a more engaging storyline that several of the other games it stands out amongst what is a classic (if much imitated and criticised) game series.

Hidden and Dangerous
Putting you in charge of a 4 man SAS team in WW2 this game predated the shooters such as Medal of Honor and CoD. It also had a more thinking approach. It wasn't a twitch FPS and you would die quickly it you treated it as such. You had to use your teams different skills and equipment to succeed in mission ranging from sabotaging Oil Storage facilities to sneaking you way (in disguise) through occupied European cities.

Sim City
There isn't much that can be said about this one that hasn't been said already. I remember 13 year old me having this on the Amiga and being hugely disappointed that i was going on holiday and wouldn't be able to play it for a week.

Frontier Elite 2
No space game (In another series) has replicated the scale of this one yet. If you want to be a pirate you can. Want to be in the Federal Navy..sure. Want to simply trade and make your fortune in huge bulk carriers, Well you can do that too. You can be a bounty hunter or any one of dozens of professions or you can simply explore. And is there ever plenty to explore. Procedural generation meant that there were around 2 billion star systems to explore each with planets to land on (and mine if you wished) or space stations to dock with. An utter classic.

Sim City should have been on my list, such great memories of the first one. 2000 was good too, but I don't have a functional version of it unfortunately. Eagerly awaiting the new one.

quixotecoyote wrote:Beneath a Steel Sky was one of the shortest, punchiest adventure games I've run through. It aged well. It's a good choice if you're not sure about a time commitment.

Its also now available for free thanks to the SUMM virtual machine and Revolution Software deciding to give it away

http://www.scummvm.org/downloads/

Jumbo wrote:

quixotecoyote wrote:Beneath a Steel Sky was one of the shortest, punchiest adventure games I've run through. It aged well. It's a good choice if you're not sure about a time commitment.

Its also now available for free thanks to the SUMM virtual machine and Revolution Software deciding to give it away

http://www.scummvm.org/downloads/

No need for Scumm any more, it's available for free at Good old Games. As are some other classics mentioned here (Anachronox, Deus Ex, Fallout).