Over the past few months, I've actually been thinking about my favourite games, so I'm prepared for this thread! Reading over your guys' posts, I've got quite a few similar choices as you, so forgive me for peppering my list with your quotes and frantically agreeing with you! Also, most of the games I've played have been Nintendo games, so they do fill up about half of my list. Anyways, here we go!
10.
Warioware DIY Now this isn't something I'd have expected anybody to predict being on ANYONE's top 10 list! If you're not familiar with the warioware seires, they're basically microgame collections (minigames that are second in length). In this title, though, one creates their own games, from the art to the programming to the music. I love just fooling around with it, or coming in with a game idea and trying to work with the programming options to make it come to life! To me, it's the ultimate in game creativity.
(As a side note, I've created a few Sierra-themed games that I should show you guys in the near future!)
9.
Gunman Clive Another (well, slightly less) odd choice. This is a mega-man inspired platformer that's about 40 minutes in length. What sets it apart is the beautiful sepia art and music. The two complement each other perfectly, nailing the wild west atmosphere. In addition, I've played through it dozens of times already. It's just plain fun.
8.
Wii Sports Resort Okay, I swear this is my last 'unconventional' pick on the list! This is basically a collection of a dozen or so sports-based motion control games, and every single one (maybe except for wake boarding...) is awesome. They all make beautiful use of the motion controls, and I can seriously get so absorbed into this game that I spend up to an hour playing golf on it!
7.
Fire Emblem Awakening The most recent game on my list. The addictive turn-based strategy gameplay in this would probably be enough for me to include it, but what sets it apart are its characters. There are about 20 or so, and every single one is overflowing with personality and absolutely memorable. I really feel like I have been through a war with all of them.
6.
Super Metroid I love the creepy, lonely atmosphere in this game. Exploring the caverns and gradually finding power-ups to open up more of the world just felt awesome as well. This is probably the most fun I've had getting to know all of the nooks and crannies of a game world.
MusicallyInspired wrote:Metroid Prime - so hard to pick just one Metroid game. It was a hard toss up between this and Super Metroid. Prime won out because, again, exploration seemed bigger (though it was close). Ultimately I chose Prime because I spent more time on it and had more experience with it. It tied Super in almost every other way.
I've only played the third Prime game, I guess I've got to check out the first as well!
5.
Quest for Glory 4 The only Sierra game on my list. (And I only just finished it about a week ago!)
Rath Darkblade wrote: Quest for Glory 4: Shadows of Darkness. Oh, my goodness... the memories. Oh dear... it's nearly 20 years later, and I
still remember the voice-acting (Jennifer Hale and John Rhys-Davies are particular standouts, but everyone did a superb job), the story, the characters, the atmosphere - oh my, the atmosphere! Oh, and of course - the three bantering farmers, and those avocado-and-garlic sandwiches!
Then again, of course... error 52. (Commence boos and hisses at your leisure!)
You couldn't have summed it up better (minus the bugs, which I luckily didn't have). The voice acting was incredible (especially those farmers!
) and I loved every time I let myself get sucked into Mordavia.
4.
Age of Empires 2 The game that ate up most of my middle-school free time.
Rath Darkblade wrote: Age of Empires series. I know! I know - a Microsoft game (boo!)
But hey, after I played AoE2 for a while, I started wondering about how real all this was, and I started reading into the history - first, I started reading the accompanying history in the game itself, and later in books. 15 years later, I own a fairly considerable history library, and have written (and published) a few short biographies and historical stories. Since it was my dream, when I finished high school, to be published... well, yay. *waves a little flag*
I can totally relate- I swear that I learned more history from that game than I did in school until grade 11!
3.
Shadow of the Colossus The music. (I've posted some in the music thread). It is by far my favourite video game soundtrack; it perfectly fits the epic, but melancholy feeling of hunting giant (and I mean GIANT) stone creatures and murdering them to bring your love back from the dead. The fights themselves are awesome as well: climbing up a colossus' arm as it flails around truly feels like you, the player, are hanging on for dear life.
2.
Metal Gear Solid 3 This game has a really interesting story and tense, immersive stealth gameplay, but the real reason it's on my list is because it has the best boss fight in any game I've played: The End. The fight pits you against an expert sniper in a massive jungle area sprawling 3 in-game rooms. I have never felt so paranoid in my life. You use camouflage to blend in to the jungle. You track The End's breathing, footprints, or whatever you can to find him, all the while hunting for food to survive and praying that he doesn't find you first. The fight lasted around an hour for me, and I swear that my heart rate was half what it normally is the whole time. It's the most exhilarating experience I've had playing a video game.
And...
1.
Portal I'd call Portal pretty much perfect. The puzzles are a blast, and the dialogue from GLaDOS throughout the game is top-notch, making me laugh and die a little inside every time I was graced with her presence.
MusicallyInspired wrote:Portal 2 - another hard choice between the sequel and its predecessor. The sequel won out because it was longer and had a great sense of exploration along with puzzles. Exploring the different eras of Aperture Science's laboratories was great fun and there was a nice plot twist. The first game had some more creative puzzles but the second's co-op mode made up for that.
I've yet to play the sequel, but definitely plan on it. It'll probably replace this when I do.
