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ahoodedfigure

I guess it's sunk cost. No need to torture myself over what are effectively phantasms.

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Favorites

Everyone has a favorites list. I can't really remember everything I like since I sorta have to be in the right frame of mind to even remember stuff I liked or still like. Played many games...

List items

  • I think adventure games never really learned the cool lessons that this game's structure had, allowing for multiple puzzle solutions and optimal choices that allowed for replay value and getting 100% completion for each scenario. Multiple episodes, too, had that fun Star Trek feel, and allowed for different moods between missions.

    The copy protection was clever, but perplexed me when I was trying to play this game in the store. You had to find the coordinates on a star map, otherwise you would be attacked by Klingons or Romulans in the random sector of space you wound up in. Not exactly free roaming, but at least it stuck with the theme of the game.

  • I spent way too long on this. I think I was having Star Raiders withdrawal.

    They had to alter the Klingons to something like Space Mongols (not a stretch given the old series' Klingon designs) after Paramount started getting on their case.

  • Although I think some were better than others, I-IV are on the whole a great series.

  • Frigging meta, frigging great.

  • One of the best RPGs ever, in my opinion, just because of what it tried that most, if not all, game makers have failed to develop further. I mean, damn. Historical RPG, with saints and alchemy, medieval Germany, weapons with real differences, skill based instead of level based... man. Just great. Even most pen and paper RPGs now don't try things this fresh.

    Was plagued by a bunch of bugs at release, which must have dented whatever chance they had of reaching a lot of people. But just try it now, even for a little bit. Really cool.

  • Just great

  • Great use of the Gold Box engine. My only wish is for more flexibility in the town and planet exploration. I'm an explorer kinda person, I guess.

  • I wanted this game before I even knew anything about it. Star? Flight? I'm there!! And it turned out to be one of the coolest games ever. Meet alien species, explore procedurally generated planetary surfaces, upgrade your ship, hire a crew, buy and sell minerals, and get into some rough space combat. Independents are making a third installation to the series; there are even some of the original designers on the crew!

  • Never got very far in this but I loved their design decisions. It seems like innovative products like this are often not built upon in later RPGs, making us go through the same tired formulae when really, RPGs should be varied and dynamic.

  • One of my first games for our old PC. Interesting landscapes and puzzles, but I have to say the PEACE that I felt when roaming that countryside in the first part of the game was something I'd never felt in a game before.

  • Funny games with tons of meta references. IV was the one I first played. It had a heart as well; any game with heart should be on this list, I think.

  • Independently developed game by Bit-Blot. Great environments and music.

  • 1st person space shooter. Weird physics by today's standards, but fun to play. Has a damage system, fuel management, lock-on guided weapons, scanning devices, docking, three different kinds of enemy ships, and a ranking system. Not bad for the olden days.

  • Man, what a lame-ass cover this is. M-16 in World War II? Whatever.

    Great game, fun dungeon romp with machine guns and secret doors.

  • Interesting trade system, minor races in addition to new major ones, and the hilariously tragic Dweenle.

  • This may sound lame, but my favorite part in this game was toward the beginning, when I was just accumulating data on what caused all the damage to the space station, using my visor to download information and scan things. That combined with the tension of biocombat was just great. More games need that sort of tension with intensive information gathering instead of puzzle solving or hunt and click. Even if Prime didn't really give you a lot to do with the information, it added to the mood quite a lot.

  • I have wasted a ton of time on this game. I don't think I'm the kind of person whom this game was made for; I tend to like trying to unite the species together (they never listen to me, the sniveling bastards), and I spend more time building ships and considering where to send my hired leaders than in waging war and assimilating or wiping out populations. It also brings out the OCD in me, because I feel the need to fill planets up with every damned little building they have available, although I'm starting to shake that habit now. Also, I think the jump in difficulties is too severe, the random elements to a galaxy should have toggles, and management for a large amount of planets is probably why MOO III had a lot of advisor positions. Whatever you think of MOO 3 they at least tried to fix some of the stuff here. But MOO 2 is still fun and I still play it.

  • Permanent death of characters, and the character relationship system made this game much more interesting than your usual tactics game.

  • While this game was a bear to play (the translation certainly didn't help) I played the hell out of this game. I loved exploring new class options, experimenting to see if I could find secrets (and surprisingly getting rewarded once in a while), and coming to feel a connection with my particular band of characters.

    But I never used bags. I'm sorry, but if you're going to have powerful weapons, everyone should be able to use them. No double standards allowed, not if everything else is equal.

    I'd almost buy the PSP just to have War of the Lions, but, nope. Gotta focus on one console at a time, I think, even if the PSP is portable.

  • I love the menace in this game, and although the puzzles were cruel enough that cheat guides were sort of a must for me at the time, I still have some fond memories of this one.

  • I remember sitting in the basement of my friend's house, looking at an animated version of a militant nun through his orange-tinted, monochrome screen.

    Like with black and white in movies, monochrome sort of helped me feel like this was a window into another world, instead of a fallow attempt at simulating this world.

  • What got to me was the soul crushing creepiness of the ruins, complemented by the excellent musical score. People make fun of old Fallout fanboys but there were certain aspects of this game, the dark thrust behind the humor, that made these themes worth exploring further.

  • No game makes the explorer in me sing like Noctis. Imperfect as it is, I really feel like I'm exploring an unknown universe in this. Graphical improvements and increased options could only make this more captivating. If the original designer or the modders go really far and make exploration even more rewarding, I might have to make this my favorite game of all time. Like, plug my brain into this game if you can save my personality in a computer when I die. Yeah, I liked it about that much.

  • Great, incomparable setting.

  • Atmospheric space adventure. Hard as fuck, and the fact that the version I was played was in French didn't help :)

  • It takes a while, but I love the non-random, and non-warlike aspects to this civilization game.

  • I just want MORE features. C'mon, guys.

  • Firing the ball through the goal at the last split second to win the game, plus the high speed, aggresive shield flaring, deflecting the ball off the boundaries... fun stuff. I'm not a big sports guy but this game sort of collects all that I enjoy in sports into a single game. Cool. And I loved the music, it was the first game I would just let run while I was drawing or whatever because it was different every time; the background would do random, jazz -like riffs in the background. Not with much skill, but it was neat to hear want kind of interesting tunes the whole thing would spin out.

  • This has to be one of my favorite games of all time, hands down. The end. Full stop. The environment, the gameplay, the story, the arsenal. Holy hammers.

  • Not sure why this stupid picture is coupled with Metal Age... There, better. One of my other super favorites.

  • That's right, and I'm not in the least bit ashamed. I think if anything Myst suffered from its success, because people were too willing to just repeat Cyan's formula, creating a bit of market glut. I loved the haunted, abandoned world. I played Riven, but I think the original was the most interesting. Still, their devotion to different endings in the sequel was memorable.

  • You haven't lived until you clean someone's clock with a stolen billy club, sending their ass spinning on the pavement. I mean, really, this game is brutal but hilarious, especially against friends.

  • I have yet to find a game as fun, tense, rewarding, and easy to pick and play as the Tank Pong feature in this game. Some of my fondest gaming memories are locked up in this admittedly primitive classic.

  • I still love this game. The setting is dark, and I think it's more atmospheric than the movie it's based on. This is what movie tie-in games should be like, no question. It adds a lot to the original film, and makes the film feel bigger. What other tie-in games do that?

  • I still think there's a lot to mine from wild west style games, as exemplified by my high percentage of wild west games relative to the general amount...

    Love the cover art on these old Atari games.

  • This game never gets old. Can you hold out a split-second longer than your opponent? I bet not. SQUISH!!

  • Although a stray, environmental magic missile managed to kill a pivotal character, and a skull I needed to use happened to be collected with mundane skulls and thereby BECAME a mundane skull, I can't say I had more fun in an exploration game than with the varied, hostile worlds in this game. This was one of the games that truly felt like an adventure.

  • The arcade version had a lot of interesting secrets. The game was mad tough and complex, but now that I have it at home through Midway Arcade Treasures I can explore the game at my leisure. Fun and hectic.

  • The arcade version of this set my Road Warrior-addled mind into a permanent pro-apocalypse agenda, at least where fantasy was involved

  • The arcade version, with all its characters, three player splitscreen simultaneous play, aliens to kill, and bases to explore, was mindblowing.

  • Futuristic dungeon hack (originally going to be a three-dimensional gauntlet sequel). Probably my favorite all-time arcade game.

  • Hilarious, if nihilistic, destruction fest. Just like in real life, if you eat dynamite you breathe fire.

  • No matter how frustrating that pterodactyl is, I will never hate this game because it has to be one of the most trippy premises while still being accessible. FLAP!

  • This may sound crazy, but if there's any game that I'd like to see get the sandbox, free-roaming, nonlinear treatment, it would be Toobin'. I mean, I don't even know how to put the game I have in mind into words, but it would be fucking epic.

  • This game was brutal. It's an action puzzle game where hand to hand combat can result in cutting dudes in half. The mood was great, it made good use of the Genesis sound chip, and although it was a bit rough on you, finally figuring out the puzzles was rewarding. There were a couple, slightly different endings depending on how things worked out. Well done.

  • There were a lot of things wrong with this game... but combine information gathering, conspiracies, base building, squad-level turn based combat.... head just a'sploded. Love it love it love it wish it would have been improved upon instead of copied (i.e. sequel).

    One of my favorite games ever.

  • PoP style action with a BEAUTIFUL future world (I'd pause the game and just soak in the art direction).

    Anyone who ever said they hated France either never played this game or is an imbecile.

  • What a cool game. No dialogue, just puzzles, quick animation, a cool world to learn about, and brutal death rays that turn things into crispy, explosive bones.

    Interdimensional frienships FTW.

  • This game needs to exist again. I haven't beaten it yet. One of the most interesting storylines for a game, hands down.

  • You know, I don't care if this game is somehow a lesser cart game, or a lesser game because it has carts. I had a frigging blast playing this with my friends.

  • I think this one was my favorite, because of the random weapons you could pick up, and because of a bunch of fun two-player co-op moments with my friends where the pitched battles almost got lost, but we managed to win. That moment after we kill the stupid final bad guy with a sliver of health left... I mean, I understand that DW is sort of the poster child for mediocrity and lack of innovation, but I think even THEY don't realize the basic, good elements they have swimming around in there.

  • Reloads. Window blasting. Repeater rifles. Slamming-down-on-the-hammer-rapid-fire pistols. Man, this game was sweet.

  • The music, especially in the arcade version, was just great.

  • Some of the best music for a game I've ever heard.

  • This may sound weird, but the thing that sticks with me the most about this game, apart from the emotional surprise that just about everyone knows about (but Phantasy Star II did better, in my opinion), is the music. The overworld, for one, but there were a lot of tracks that just made me stop and listen. How often can one say that about a game?

  • As with VII, the thing that stuck with me above all other things was the music. That title theme is one of the best single tracks I've ever heard for a game. The universe felt very lived-in and real; it's just disappointing that so much of it is an illusion, and has to be killed off to preserve CD space. I beat Ozmu before I learned he was hard to beat, by the way.

  • I can't believe I forgot about this. For all its flaws it had a really neat engine and story. I still remember struggling with those backpack thrusters, and agonizing over weapon choices.

  • I guess by others' standards this is an arcade-style racer, but it had a ton of features that made racing really, really fun.

  • Thanks to Arbitrary Water for reminding me about this. One of the best old-school style, party based 1st person dungeon and exploration RPGs. One of the pinnacles of that particular style, if you ask me, before things felt obligated to be 3D.

  • Despite some serious issues I had with the gameplay, the setting and depth of characterization trumps most games, and the setting is outstanding no matter what may come. Hard to top a romp through people's psyches. I even tend to hate psychic stuff, but this is done in such a campy fashion that it's easy to get past.

  • The music, the atmosphere, the extra little features, the lack of dependency on language (though it does use some symbols that have associative value). It also manages to make adventure gaming a bit more than what others have been doing; not too much inventory, but not too easy.

  • I've neglected this list for a while, but few deserve to be here as much as this does.

18 Comments

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ex_machina

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Edited By ex_machina

I'm still waiting on a sequel to The Warriors! Good list!

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ahoodedfigure

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Edited By ahoodedfigure
@ex_machina: Thanks man.  I think it'll forever be incomplete, though.  Too much stuff I forget about until I'm away from the computer.  If I start categorizing things maybe it'll be easier for me to remember, but favorites lists are a dime a dozen.
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Wood636

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Edited By Wood636

Road Rash II: Smacking into a billboard is hilarious, and clocking a bike cop in the face was bad-ass. Also, don't forget the chain! As soon as you pick that up, you're just looking for people to fuck up.
 
APB, Xenophobe, Xybots, and Rampage are (for me) part of this golden age of cartoony, inventive, and fun arcade games. Multiplayer games of Rampage at the arcade during high school lunch break could be expensive, epic, crowd-forming, and caused a few tardy slips... and unfortunately not the same in an emulator with unlimited quarters.

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ahoodedfigure

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@Wood636 said:

" Road Rash II: Smacking into a billboard is hilarious, and clocking a bike cop in the face was bad-ass. Also, don't forget the chain! As soon as you pick that up, you're just looking for people to fuck up. 

 Yes.  This video was a treat, especially the end:
 
 

 APB, Xenophobe, Xybots, and Rampage are (for me) part of this golden age of cartoony, inventive, and fun arcade games. Multiplayer games of Rampage at the arcade during high school lunch break could be expensive, epic, crowd-forming, and caused a few tardy slips... and unfortunately not the same in an emulator with unlimited quarters.

For a second I thought you were reiterating what I already said, but I guess I didn't say it out loud :) I agree completely. That was a time I was actually interested in hitting the arcades to see what sorts of new ideas they could come up with.  Those four were the most fascinating for me, although you could probably add Gaultlet to the mix (I wasn't advanced enough a player, though, to know how Gauntlet II was different at the time).  Also, Road Blasters for me.
 
Xybots was the best, though, and I still enjoy playing it on my Midway collection, although some of the danger is gone when you have endless quarters.

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ArbitraryWater

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Edited By ArbitraryWater

Man. I need to play more of these games, especially Darklands. Also, why no World of Xeen? I recall you saying that you liked it a lot.

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ahoodedfigure

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Edited By ahoodedfigure
@ArbitraryWater:  You're totally right, although I'd played Xeen after I finished this list, I think.  Or pretty much so.  I try to be more specific as to why I like something because favorites doesn't really fit how I feel about games any more.  Wayyy to many.  I will definitely add that, though.  Thanks.
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Astras

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Edited By Astras

Thanks for putting in the time on this list, I am definately going to check out some of the games you have listed.
Glad that you have put classics in the list such as Shadowgate Nes... i never had a guide and can remember grinding away for months on that thing :P
I didn't play the PS1 version of tactics I was too busy playing Vandal hearts instead, I played the GBA version at work though and loved that, not sure if it's the same game?
I am playing Master of Orion 2 at the moment lol, love it!

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ahoodedfigure

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Edited By ahoodedfigure
@Astras: I appreciate the comments.  
 
Yeah, Shadowgate stumped my friend and me.  That may have been a multiple rental, and I think we went to Nintendo Power on that one to solve it...  if we ever did manage to solve it, now I'm not so sure.
 
Tactics Advance is a completely different game.  The original tactics I think is now available on a portable system; I'd bet it was listed somewhere in the same entry for the basic game here on GB.  I blew many hours on that.  MANY.  The combat system was a bit futzed because encounter difficulty was gauged on the main character, and the purses were overpowered (I kept my dude's level low and never equipped any of the gals with purses.  It was stupid and I resented items not being usable by both sexes anyway).
 
Master of Orion 2 is great, although I miss the lack of micromanaging that I think made the first more of a classic.  MOO2 tends to exhaust me unless I put some stuff on auto after a while, especially on big galaxies. I prefer designing ships and space combat to building all the little buildings, I guess.
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hawkinson76

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Edited By hawkinson76

This is a VERY good list. Hey, where is TechnoCop for the Amiga? Don't tell me I was the only one... 
 
Unfortunately, I did not FINISH most of the games on this list, and that breaks my heart. Put some of these on the iPhone, Damnit, so I can actually finish them (while on the bus to work). 

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ahoodedfigure

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@hawkinson76: Dude!!!  Technocop!!!  I was trying to think of that game's name for literally years!  I never managed to play it, but I really wanted it. There was a version for the Genesis, but I wondered if the gameplay was ultimately more shallow than the premise, so in the end I decided not to get it.
 
Thanks so much for mentioning it, now I finally get to watch a longplay.  Boy, is jumping a great way to get past most of the badguys in the level...  kinda ridiculous.  The driving reminds me of a toned-down Road Blasters.
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deactivated-57b1d7d14d4a5

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:o Very nice. Points for Noctis. Hope for a new version one day.

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ahoodedfigure

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@Bellum: Good to see another Noctis aficionado. I guess there were some relatively recent updates on the main site, suggesting progress.  I just hope the rough charm of the original will be preserved.  Even if everything was super blurry, it almost made it like you were looking at a real world through a smoky lens. Unless the graphics are perfect, sharper models just mean it'll be more obviously fake...  Rather than surreptitiously fake :)
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mylifeforAiur

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Edited By mylifeforAiur

Thief II is unequivocally one of the best games to date. And, I also has an indelible soft-spot for Myst - the atmosphere is staggeringly oppressive and beautifully omnipresent. Oh, oh, oh, Machinarium is also a an indomitable force of creativity and elegance.

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ahoodedfigure

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@mylifeforAiur: Yes, yes, and yes. :)
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helios1337

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Edited By helios1337

It's October, perfect time to play Sanitarium!

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ahoodedfigure

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@Helios1337: Oh, yeah. Good point. I might be able to get it to work on the other machine; this one freaks out during a certain scene and crashes, but that's par for the course with this thing.
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deactivated-5abeb9715d7a2

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I voted positively for this list a long time ago, but having returned to view it again, I must say that this is definitely one of the better favorites lists out there. You have much more patience than I. (I find it tough to get into some of these classics now, even though I grew up with them.) Perhaps it's attention spa... *switches to another browser tab*

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ahoodedfigure

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@doppelgamer: Thank you. It really would need revision, maybe cull a few, add a ton. Haven't been here in so long, though. Feels weird.

And well... I can appreciate a classic and still wish it would be updated. It's not all attention span, though if it's the only game you have (not the fifty or more one gets to sit on now for the same price) you were willing to put up with a lot more and learn its "language" or whatever.

I was replaying the old Wasteland recently and was irritated by a lot of the unnecessary keys that get you from menu A to menu C. I don't remember feeling that way at all when I first played it... in addition to it being the only game to mess with at the time, I wonder if games used to feel more like toys back then, these amazing things that computers could do, so you were happy to jump through a few extra hoops because the functionality felt huge. Now we're used to it and demand a bit more.

Not to turn this into an essay, but I think sometimes this demand is misinterpreted, and we wind up getting stuff that's over-simplified. Yeah, this could very well turn into an essay...