Best Game Ever

[Luther Prower]

I want to take a poll on your favorite games doesn't matter the year or the system just your favorite, and why.

I would have to say that mine is Final Fantasy 7, because to me it brought along a whole new era of gaming, it had great graphics for the time it was released, and it was one of the few games that you actually had to play longer than a week to beat.

[Karl Valten]

For JRPGs, FF7 hands down for me. I still have my old playstation somewhere for whenever the urge strikes.

WRPGs, Mass Effect easily trumps everything else.

FPS.....hmmm.....I don't play these anymore, really. But BF: BC2 is probably one of the more fun ones. Half-life as well of course.

Vehicle Platformers: World of Tanks. WWII tank combat with simple controls, but complex mechanics. 1st or 3rd person game. It's a free as well!

RTS: Dawn of War, Supreme Commander, Company of Heroes.

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Betrayal at Krondor is the best game ever.

Fallout? Skyrim? Go meet your granddaddy so he can smack you and tell you what for from back in the day.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Fruit Ninja

[Luther Prower]

I would also have to say Gears Of War 3 on live.

[Sam Porter]

As far as ports for the PS1, I'd have to say Einhander. Sadly I haven't been able to find copies of it anywhere outside of Japan, or a copy that ISN'T 200 bucks on Amazon (no I am not buying that game used).

Unmodded PS1, the title resoundingly goes to Soul Reaver. I spent literal DAYS exploring that game and absolutely eating everything about it up with a Jethro-sized spoon.

PS2 - SSX 3. The first SSX and Tricky have special places in my heart as well, and I used to play them all the time, but 3 I associate with a lot of good memories, so it catches that spot.


Honorable mention - Silent Hill 2, but only because I love that game to death, yet am utterly terrified of it. I refuse to play it at night, and I won't play it around Charley either since he makes scary heavy breathing noises and tries to make me soil myself when playing. One of these days I'll finish it. I hope.


XBOX 360 - New Vegas. It took me forever to actually say 'Hey Charley, I want to give this a shot', but when I did boy howdy I was hooked. Skyrim is fun don't get me wrong, but there's just something about New Vegas.

Comp - Hands down, Dark Forces. 'Nuff said.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

I can never pick a definitive favorite, so here's my handful:
Fallout Saga (Except Brotherhood of Steel lol that was garbage)
Mass Effect Trilogy
System Shock 2
X:COM UFO Defense and X:COM Terror from the Deep
Master of Orion 3
Scorched Earth (HOURS OF MIDDLE-HIGH SCHOOL, LOST)

[Droo]

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - no other game has had the same kind of impact on me when playing it or stuck with me in quite the same way once it was over. Maybe it's dated now, I don't know, but for its time it was the gold standard, and has been the yardstick with which I measure my new gaming experiences.

Bioshock - it's all about Rapture. The most stunning and immersive environment I've ever seen in a game. The story is brilliant, given incredible depth by the audio logs, and the Splicer dialogue is a chilling joy.

Call of Duty - the original and, in my biased view, best. Years of multiplayer joy and the most fun I've ever had playing a game. The guys I play games with today are the mates I made playing Call of Duty all those years ago.

Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas - introduced me to this concept of pure open world exploration. I was instantly hooked. I have lost hundreds of hours on single playthroughs and am haunted by them when I'm not there. The Fallout world is like the Hotel California: you can check-out, but you can never leave.

World of Warcraft - a special mention here. I'm not going to kid myself, I played this game for a shameful length of time, and there's been nothing else quite like it. I chalk this down to the people and experiences I had playing that game, so many memories of fun and hilarious times stay with me, and that has to count for something.

[Inyos Aamoran]

PS2 - SSX 3. The first SSX and Tricky have special places in my heart as well, and I used to play them all the time, but 3 I associate with a lot of good memories, so it catches that spot.

I am gonna SSX you so hard this summer. ;)


Mass Effect was the game that got me into gaming. I probably had completed games before that, but Mass Effect was the first one I absolutely had to finish as quickly as was physically possible. I think it took me less than a week all told: and that was with re-starting half-way through after deciding that I wanted to change class. :uhoh

Fallout: New Vegas deserves a special mention. While I blitzed through Mass Effect at a rate of knots, NV soaked up my life like a sponge. I have never been so amazed and frustrated with a game at the same time: amazed because of how ridiculously versatile it was; frustrated because I knew I'd have to come back and play again with a different set of choices.

My absolute favourite game of all time (so far) though has got to be Frontier, the sequel to Elite. It was such a simple game: buy commodities on planet A, sell them on planet B, upgrade your ship with the proceeds, and hope you didn't get attacked by pirates en route. But somehow it was so phenominally addictive. There's a whole slew of music I can't hear without thinking of the game; I can't hear Blue Danube without thinking I'm about to dock at the space station. It's the first time I ever read fiction to do with a computer game as well - I think one of the manuals had a short story in it, or something like that?

I miss my old Asp Explorer. Maybe there's a good Frontier emulator out there somewhere?

[Peter McCoy]

I apologise in advance. I get carried away talking about my favourite games and so at times I am anything but concise.

System Shock 2

The best FPS/RPG hybrid I've ever played, and it's also got the added bonus of being incredibly atmospheric and terrifying. With three different ways to play as well as a hybrid-style mixing aspects from each, you explore the starship Von Braun 67 trillion miles form Earth where a sinister biological force is at work, infecting the ship and the crew. Fantastic locations across the 5 decks of the ship and it's military escort, the Rickenbaker, will have you cowering in corners from what you think you heard in the next room. A masterpiece!

Resident Evil 2

The Resident Evil series holds a special place in my heart and, while I thought Resident Evil 4 was something incredible, it's the second game in the series that I have fondest memories of. Trying to get to the sewers without using shotgun ammo, saving all my magnum rounds for the last boss when I knew 6 was enough, the dark ambience whenever you're outside (apart from that nightmare of an opening section!), even the deceptively calming feel to the area around that lift at the end of the factory area that takes you down to the labs. And man, that upgraded shotgun was just a beast!

Sid Meiers Alpha Centauri

As 4X games go, this is the bets for me. Instead of the Wheel, Writing, Railway and Rocketry, you're on an alien world uncovering the secrets of Synthetic Fossil Fules and Sentient Algorithms. And your political ideals are not limited to self-contained ideas of "Democracy" or "Communism", but instead are made up out of social engineering choices like Wealth, Power, Eudaimonia, Cybernetics, Thought Control - all of which contribute towards what you could call your "government" type. Also, tech allows you to design your own units as new discoveries allow different chassis, weapons, shields and reactors to be combine dinto custom units rather than arbitrary "paramilitary" or "musketeers". Plus the factions and their leaders' backstory is fantastic and something which really adds to the games immersiveness. You're not some historical leader on Earth working for the good of the people, you're CEO Nwabudike Morgan of Morgan Industries and you're going to strip Alpha Centauri of every last mineral and nutrient you can, and line your energy reserves with as many credits as possible along the way.

Minecraft

The most recent game in my list of all-time faves. The sheer possibility of what you might find or create every time you start up a new world in Minecraft is what makes it so special. To explain it to someone risks mockery. To show them it risks ridicule. But sit them down and let them play it for an hour and they'll soon wonder why it took them so long to jump in and get cracking. And the mods out there just make the vanila experience even richer without detracting form it or changing the core way you play - they just let you do more and find more and build more stuff with more, different stuff.

Diablo 2

As 4X games have that "Just one more turn" effect, Diablo 2, for me, has the "Just one more area" effect. The desire for better and better loot is what spurs you on in this dark fantasy hack'n'slash monster masher. Better loot means you can kill bigger and badder monsters, which means you gain XP and level up. So you improve you stats a la Strength, Dextery, Stamina and Energy, which means you deal more damage, take more damage, cast more spells and can also wear better equipment. So off you go to find bigger and better loot to repeat the whole process ad infinitum. It may sound like a tedious grind but to me it's just so much fun. Whether I'm in the thick of it swinginng a pair of Ancient War Axes as the Barbarian with my power shout debuffs and whirlwing attacks, shredding beasties with metal wolverine claws building up combo points before unleashing a finishing move on the area boss as the Assassin, or simply standing at the back thowing curses around while my undead army does the hard work as the Necromancer, there's just so many different play styles, even within the seven classes on offer. And once you've finished your run and thwarted Diablo, Baal and Mephisto, you get to do it all again in both Nightmare nd Hell modes. Just be prepared to die. A lot!

Demon's Souls/Dark Souls

Speaking od dying a lot, this hardcore RPG from japanese developer From Software is as brutal and unforgiving as they come. Harking back to the golden days where games were ruthlessly difficult and repetition was the way to nail technique and progress, this is an action hack'n'slash RPG where you cannot simply run in and throw caution to the wind without getitng your head cut off or eaten by a dragon. The enemies in these games, even the weakest ones, are quite capable of killing you in just a few hits if you aren't sensible and bide your time. Useing your shield, parrying attacks, studying enemy movements and abilities, timing your own attacks perfectly and waiting for that opportune moment are what really counts. The moment you show even the slightest lack of respect for every single enemy in this game is the moment you reappear at the hearth fire/Nexus depending on which game it is.

Red Dead Redemption

The only flaw with this game is its lack of a PC version. Other than that, it's brilliant. Never has the American West been so beautifully presented in videogame form. With Assassins Creed 3 on the wya, that may change but for now, Red Dead Redemption is the game to play if the Wild West is your thing. From the look of the game to the soundtrack to the activities on offer, this game will make you feel like Wyatt Earp. From the central area of New Austin which has the typical Wild West feel to it, down to Nuevo Paraiso in northern Mexico, and up to the greener, snowy-ish West Elizabeth which is bear country with forests and creeks, this game has it all. Shooting contests, blackjack, horse races, bandits and mexican bandito's, farms and ranches, cattle herding, lasso challenges, and my favourite aspect of hunting the local wildlife for hide, pelts, meat and other valuables such as antlers. Like GTA4 before it, this games has lots and lots of content and activities to sink your teeth into. But the feeling of the southern US frontier just makes it very very kickass to play.

Starcraft series

My all-time favourite RTS. While the genre as a whole has moved on in the style of play, the recent Starcraft sequel, Wings of Libery, stayed true to the mechanics of the 1998 original. Staring off with a headquarters building for your selected race, you start by producing a number of workers to gather resources before getting your military and tech buildings onto the board. Whether it's marines and tanks, zealots and carriers, or zerglings and defilers, the three races of the game offer three very different styles of play with numerous tactics to boot.

The story being told on the face of it is about a malevolent alien force threatening to overrun the Koprulu Sector. But the Terrans not only have to worry about a second outside threat in the form of the technologically superior ancient warrior race - the Protoss - but also have to contend with the enemy within. Civil war turning Terrans against each other, with political intrigue and power plays adding to the mix will force you to seek out unlikely allies as you delve into the story of Starcraft, which only gets more awesome with the original games Brood War expansion (which sees the folsk from back home, the Earth Defense Directorate, paying your distant Koprulu Sector a visit in an attempt to start telling you what to do after so long in isolation) and recent full sequel Starcraft 2 turning up the heat once again and refining the gameplay mechanics to pitch-perfect levels and delivering an even more engaging story with glorious game engine cutscenes.

[Crusader]

Wait let me see:

Best Coop Game:
SWAT 3 in the GOTY Edition
First of all it is not your average FPS game since your goal is to save everyone even the bad guys from themselves. Every level has got a random number of criminals or terrorists and they are always someplace else. You might have finished the first level 10 times but only in the 11th attempt you will realize that the highway shooter is able to hide under his bed.
Interacting with civilians in a FPS game was taken to a completly new level since you never knew if they were just part of the catering service or terrorists in disguise: More than once the same waitress that used to be just terrified by being caught in the middle turned on us with a Uzi and so caught us off guard.

Best cinematic presentation in a Game:
Max Payne 1 and Metal Gear Solid 3
Normaly I would have given this to MGS3 alone but since you spent a good percentage of the game in menus instead of actual gameplay it has to share this spot with the first Max Payne since that game always felt like a graphic novel turned into a movie and then into a video game.
Oh and MGS3 features the best boss fights ever in gaming.

Best Roleplaying Game
Mass Effect the series.
I guess I don't need to add anything that has not already been said about this game.

Best Multiplayer Game
Battlefield 1942/2/3
CoD might be the best selling game and WoW and KOTOR might fool you by having a "Massive" Multiplayer in the name but the Battlefield franchise really deserves to be called best multiplayer game ever since nowhere else you will get the feeling that you are in the middle of a real battle and not a shootout.
Standing on top of a 64 player list really makes you proud(the now and then where this actually happens). In most MMORPG areas you do not see that many people at the same time and here they are fighting each other with boats, jeeps, tanks, helicopters and Jets.
Everybody has got those only in Battlefield moments, where you use a sniper with armor piercing rounds to kill the pilot of an attack helicopter that than crashes into a backalley where it road kills two more players before exploding. Leaving you with a total kill count of 4 with a single bullet.

Best Emotional Game
Heavy Rain (with PS Move!!!)
If a game asks you to do something and you can not do it to your virtual self and ask a friend to do it for you because you have grown too attached this says a lot about this game.

Best Action Adventure
The Assassins Creed series because I love their approach to turn the gameplay of a Tomb Raider game into a sandbox experience with a good narrative that spans an entire millenium and beyond.
This game feature some of the best animations in the industry and it really shows it off in combat and while exploring the countryside

Best Sandbox Experience
Red Dead Redemption
This is not only Grand Theft Horses game but a true interactive Western Movie, the atmosphere is thick, the wildlife is believable and beautifull. You never ask yourself "WTF is this creature doing here?" like in some Bethesda games. On top of it all it is a great Pony Farm Simulator.

Best Romantic Game
(Sorry Jenny no Liara here)
Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption

I am a hopeless romantic sometimes and Vampire's bitter sweet love story just nails it down for me. A love story that can not be, seperated by society and a millenium that succeds in the end....D'awww I love this stuff
On top of it this game featured some of the best animations ever or at least it was way ahead of its time. I am looking at you Fallout! Only letting the mouth move during a conversation does not make believable characters. Vampire characters had different facial expressions and the characters used over exaggerated gestures like Shakespearian actors and this was even a decade before Mass Effect came out!!!

Best Space Simulation
X-Wing Alliance and Wing Commander 4 the Price of Freedom
X-Wing Alliance had the better gameplay but Wing Commander the better story telling.

Best Top Down Shooter
Crusader: No Remorse and No Regret
Best 2D animations of all time and everything that makes a 80s sci fi action movie funny all in one game

Best Horror Game
Resident Evil 5
I do not play many horror games but I enjoyed this in Coop

Best FPS Single Player Game
Halo ODST and the Halo series in General
Any game that makes me play as and alongside Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Tricia Helfer and Adam Baldwin wins this award right away. But if you then add shoot outs with a sand box instead of an on rails approach you simply win my heart over. Halo's legendary difficulty(TM) and it's challenging and adaptive AI makes those games an experience I do not want to miss.
Plus ODST's narrative is exceptional in the entire series and even it's collectable secrets tell a story of their own.
You might not like the entire Halo Franchise but ODST is a story of its own and it is worth telling.

[Dasquian Belargic]

My answer to this has evolved over time. Right now, I'd say the Mass Effect trilogy, since it managed to get me so emotionally involved in the fate of the characters.

...but I also have a huge amount of love for:

Thief series
Grim Fandango
The Legacy of Kains series
Final Fantasy 7 and 8
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
The Prince of Persia series
Knights of the Old Republic

[Luther Prower]

Ohhh and I almost forgot about the horde for 3DO I dunno if any of you remember that or not, but yeah.