Your Favorite Video Games Of All Time - and why?

Asteroids (Arcade) - This game is different every time, and can be unbelievably hard at the higher levels. The constant thumping of arcade machine mimics that of your heart when you get to the end and then UFO's appear. I always try to have a few quarters in my wallet in case I run across this game, and I will MAKE time to play it, regardless of how busy I am.

Galaga (Arcade) - This is a game I never played much as a kid, but learned to appreciate as an adult. It is challenging because you need to learn the patterns of the bugs really quick, and you need a high level of skill to shoot them all before they even form. And the dynamics of having your ship hijacked only for it to return and fight alongside you for a dual shot gives the game a whole new dimension.

Starcraft (PC) - The fact that people in Korea are still playing this game professionally speaks volumes about the amount of skill required to really be a master at this game. Extremely well balanced, Starcraft achieved what many other games didn't - and that is to completely balance all three races so that no matter which one you pick, you have a chance of beating the other - if you know how to play your cards right. Command & Conquer started this whole RTS craze, but Starcraft perfected it.

Super Street Fighter II (Arcade) - Again, it's a classic that'll never die, and people from all over the world still travel to Vegas to play in this competition. It takes a tremendous amount of skill to pull off some of the moves in the game, yet it's not skill alone that wins it, but the way you think about fighting. Believe it or not this game has helped me a lot in my own martial arts studies, and I find that people who play some form of fighting game are actually harder opponents for me to take. The characters are fairly well balanced, and even now, people are learning new ways to use the moves in the game.

I'll add more later, but for now, tell us yours.

PC: Age of Kings: The Conquerors Expansion- best RTS game with the noteable exception of Star Craft(which won't be making my list). I prefer AoK:TC to Starcraft because in warfare I prefer middle ages over the space age.

XBox/360: Halo 2 & Halo- This doesn't require explination, but if you insist: Some of the most fun video gaming experiences I've ever had were when we had a few xbox's hooked up and 8-16 people killing each other in a free for all or in teams. Just plain fun.

Football: Super Techmo Bowl 1992 on NES. Eight plays are all you need if you're a true football God. Madden 2007 on the Wii is the first football game since NFL Blitz came out to give it a run for its money, but there is just something about running Bo Jackson back and forth from endzone to endzone that takes STB 92 up to that next level.

Zelda: Link to the Past- one of the greatest games ever on any system. A giant adventure with more hidden secrets than Flow has from his college days.

My current favorite game: Guitar Hero II- so addicting, so fun, so challenging.


I'm sure I left some good stuff out, I'll post again later.

Shenmue (Sega Dreamcast) - Anyone who says videogames cannot be an artform needs to play this game. You cannot walk through the environments without feeling the dedication that was poured into it. The world feels real, dozens of characters each with their own voices, lives and daily habits. The weather changes based on the time of year, from sunny to snow lined streets.

It's a love it or hate it game. Some parts of the gameplay do feel old fashioned, even more now almost a decade after the game was completed, however you will usually be so immersed in the world Yu Suzuki created that you won't care.

The plan originally called for several sequels to complete the Shenmue tale, however with Sega moving away from the console market into third party Shenmue became one of the casualties, leaving us with just one Sequel and thousands of fans desperately wanting a conclusion.

I would trade any upcoming game for the chance to play a Shenmue III and finish the story.

[yt=Shenmue Trailer]MK4599A8[/yt]

Also, Nozomi.

Super Mario Brothers (Nintendo Entertainment System) - Does this really need explanation? The game that sold countless NES consoles and laid down the rules for platformers for a decade to come.

Wii Sports (Nintendo Wii) - It may be controversial having such a new game on the list, and I should clarify that there are plenty of better games out there. However Wii Sports is the first game where I have been able to get everyone in my friends and family to not only play, but enjoy.
Even my mother who had not touched a console since the Christmas Day I got my Sega Megadrive was able to join in, learn the controls and have fun.

Quake (PC) - I still have Quake installed. It's where I first started modding and discovered online multiplayer. Every first person shooter has aspects derived from the Quake series in one way or another. Still some of the best pure deathmatch, as well as being the source of such mods as CTF and Team Fortress.

Goldeneye, N64- God I played that game to death.

Mario Kart, SNES - Superb. I hear tell the DS version is better but the N64 and the Gamecube certainly never topped the SNES version.

Super Mario World, SNES - Love/Hate relationship. I nearly destroyed my console trying to get all 96 levels. Butter Bridge had my blood pressure at boiling point, aged 10.

You would LOSE at MarioKart.

Arcade

Galaga
Galaxian
Russian Attack

PC

X-Wing Series
Dark Forces / JK Series
KOTOR Series
Janes Combat Simulations

Street Fighter 2: Best fighting game ever. I used to spend most of my dinner money at school lunch times playing this game at the local grocery store which had a SF2 arcade machine. Ah, happy days.

Sonic: He's the reason I nagged my dad to buy me a Mega Drive. Spectacular series of games, way ahead of anything else in its time.

Mario Kart: I wasn't a fan of the usual dull Mario games but this was a brilliant racing game, especially when playing with a friend!

ST: BOTF: Still one of my favourite Trek games! A sequel for this could have been incredible, pity it hasn't yet materialised.

Pre PC: Elite on the BBC micro, the grand daddy of all space games.

PC: Privateer 2: Darkening, Master of Orion 2

Xbox: Halo, was the first game in a long time that was fun to keep replaying. (System link and co-op)

River City Ransom (NES): Played it to death, would still play it to death today.

Shadowrun (Genesis): Loved the RPG and the game was pretty good too.

Breath of Fire II (SNES): RPG in which you could build your own house.. not sure, but when I was a kid, that was awesome.

Secret of Mana (SNES): 2-4 player Co-op RPG, need I say more?

Lunar (SegaCD): RPG of epic proportions, way back then.

Test Drive (Commodore64): Couldn't believe the graphics on this one.

Gears of War (360): Amazing graphics, fun as hell gameplay, great control scheme.

Guitar Hero 2 (360): Same as Tex said.

Master of Orion series (PC): Best 4x space simulation series ever.

Freelancer (PC): Great space sim, easy to use controls, endless hours of fun and replay.

World of Warcraft (PC): Like crack, only better for your health.

Magna Carta (PS2): Love the character designs by korean artist Hyung Tae Kim.

Was it this one or the earlier one that had Clive Owen in it?

Super Mario 64 is my favorite, mostly because it's the game I'm best at, but also because of the cool graphics and the difficulty. Tick Tock Clock is the best.

mario cart - SNES and N64 are both fun....great game to play with a group of people.

Crash Bandicoot - 1, 2 and 3 are all fun, but the first one is my favorite. I'm always amazed that a game where you basically only have two moves (jump and spin) can be so hard. I bet that was a fun game to make.

Monopoly - doesn't take as long when you've got the system keeping track of all the money and property.

Mortal Kombat - BARAKA!!!!!!!!

Tomb Raider - I like those kinds of puzzles, plus she's got big cartoony .

Dr. Mario - just plain addictive and fun. Same with Tetris.

Ooooo.. I use to love Crash Bandicot Racing or whatever it was called. IMO, it was better than mario kart.

The one with clive owen in it.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117391/

Call of Duty
No One Lives Forever I&II
Max Payne
Crimson Skies


Because they're fun and you get to shoot stuff.

Diablo II - I have never played a more addictive game that offered such a variety of ways to play. I'm not surprised it's still on the shelf at stores amongst all the new releases. When is a sequel ever going to come for this game?

Max Payne - loved it, played it endlessly.

Half-Life 2

Arcade: Robotron 2084. Amazing--a game that allows you to shoot in a different direction than you're moving! Such a simple concept put it head and shoulders above the rest. Didn't hurt that I was great at it as well, and could play for an hour or more on a single quarter.

PC: Diablo II. What the Flashlight said.

Defender (Arcade) - Love alot of classic arcade games, but Defender was MY game back in '83.

Karate Champ (Arcade) - Favorite College-era game (Late 80's). Memorized the computer attack patterns & 'flipped' the round counter. Other favorties of that era: Galaga (found the secret to enemies that won't shoot), Ms. Pac-Man (With speed chip), Bosconian, Rolling Thunder, Golden Axe, and Return of the Jedi.

Jurassic Park (Genesis) - Another game I actually beat.

I pretty much stopped playing video games when I got married back in '95, but I do enjoy Roller Coaster Tycoon II (PC), which I feel is easier 7 more satisfying than RCTIII. And I still play all my old arcade favorites on my PC emulator.

Samba De Amigo - Dreamcast

Of the Zelda games, probably the Legend of Zelda.

Eternal Darkness - GameCube

ToeJam & Earl I & II - Mega Drive

Animal Crossing - GameCube and DS - I'm a big kid at heart.

The game was visually beautiful but the battle system was one of the worst I'd ever seen in an RPG. Only being able to control one character at a time and having to excute every attack by timing button pushes like an Overdrive move from FFX just blew.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
I want to step inside this game and never come back.
I AM Tommy Vercetti.

Mega Man 2
Eh, MM3 supposedly set the standard for the following sequels, but I just bonded to this one somehow.
It just, I dunno, flows best of all of them.
And metal blade is the best weapon ever.

Final Fantasy 4
Perfect.
Love it.

Final Fantasy 6
Eh, you could do more, and it was bigger, but...I didn't love it as much as 4 for some reason, but still a fave.

Super Mario Brothers
Original is still the best.

Super Mario Brothers 3
Same deal with FF6, it's bigger, has more goodies, I should like it more than SMB1, but I don't. Still love it though.

Asteroids
Can just go into a zen state and lose myself in this.
Nice escape from stress.

Tetris
Same as Asteroids.

Actually, Castle Wolfenstein came first, begat Doom, which begat Quake. FPS games trace their roots back to Wolfenstein.

Doom is still far and away my favorite game, console or PC. Something about running thru those levels blasting everything that moves is just endlessly satisfying.

MechWarrior, for much the same reasons as Doom.

Tomb Raider, due to the total package . . . playability, challenge, graphics, soundtrack, everything.

Ooops, that reminded me, forgot..

Duke Nukem 3-D

NES

- Star Tropics: a kid running around killing things with a yo-yo.
- Contra: UUDDLRLRBA Select Start.
- Final Fantasy: my introduction to RPG games. This game got me hooked.

SNES

- ActRaiser: great side-scrolling action combined with world building.
- Contra 3: awesome sequel to Contra. I replay this game regularly.
- Chrono Trigger: probably the best RPG game for the SNES. Awesome storyline and combat system.
- Zelda: Link to the Past: great puzzle-solving game with a decent storyline.
- Final Fantasy VI: another great RPG for the SNES.

PC

- X-COM:UFO Defense (UFO:Enemy Unknown to the Brits): C'mon, this game should be in everybody's list of favorite PC games. The game was ground-breaking for its time. Awesome gameplay, cool aliens, the best isometric 3-D strategy game ever.

- Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge: great RPG, great storyline.

- Wasteland: Post-apocalyptic RPG goodness. URAQTLN.

- Doom: My first ever FPS. Loved the hell out of the game. Also, the first game to introduce me to online play (connecting to my friend's computer via 14.4k modems )

- Battletech: Crescent Hawks Inception: great Battletech game. Fond memories of running around the Star League cache opening color-coded doors.

- All Mechwarrior games: There's no substitute. Walking around in 40-foot-tall war machines blowing the hell out of each other with missles and lasers.

Mechwarrior 3 was my favorite, playing a solitary 'Mech squadron running around a Clan-controlled planet fighting for survival after the other dropships carrying the rest of the attack force explode during entry. Also, MW3 didn't have the dumbed-down 'Mech customization like the later versions did.

X-com rocked!

Especially if you play the battle music from "Aliens" on a mission...

Also, DONKEY KONG COUNTRY!!!!!! :rave:

mine cart carnage is fun.