Stop Pupping Around, What Is Your Favourite Game Ever (and why)?

Let's forget all the objectivity for a moment here. Forget the most influental games, forget the desert island premise, forget the actual qualities, all the pros and cons because that is all more subjective than we often want to admit anyway. Games, art or not, are so complex and diverse in what they target, why they speak to us, why they click. And even that can change over time.

So, tell me the one game you love the most. Don't be a wuss and pick one and tell me why you did pick just that specific one! Obviously, there are no wrong answers here.

Of course I will go first: I am turning 30 next week and I have been playing games since I was 10 or something like that. Sometimes I do get hyped and I am not ashamed to admit it. The zeitgeist does play its role because playing games as a part of a comunity is the way to do it, at least for me. At the same time I am often short on money so I play some games multiple times and that often reveals the weaker parts. With all that, my pick could probably be seen as almost invalid by most people, because it is a very story-heavy based game. The Last Of Us. I picked it up without really planning to, just on a whim when it first launched on PS3. After playing the intro sequence, I found myself in tears. And that does not happen to me often at all. But the way the game is paced, acted and scored, every and each of those elements clicked with me from start to finish. Years after the release (and re-release) I still listen to the soundtrack often when I walk to/from work. I know Troy Baker is everywhere these days, but that doesn't make him any less talented. Seriously, he is gifted with somethning, and the way the performance capture was implemented just strikes exactly where it needs to. That also extends to the other roles/parts in the game.

I love the minimalistic, super grim and honestly pretty hardcore story. Every sub-plot in the game is chilling, every single character so well realised. It is, for me, the definition of a perfect game, even though I totally understand the most people would not agree with me on this.

I played the game six or seven times over the years, even the expansion was pretty awesome. I came to terms with the shitty nature of multiplayer microtransactions, the multiplayer is very strong overall. But I love the game specifically because of the story and great gameplay. For some reason it hasn't gotten old so far, it just works for me. I am glad there is no sequel coming, although if they announced it I would really have no choice but to buy it.

Now give me your pick!

Persona 4

I don't need to explain myself

lmao dude people on this website dont like games

I would have to say the Civilization series. Either 2 or 5 (with expansions). It's kind of hard to directly compare them.

It's a constant battle between Super Metroid and Metroid Prime for me. In thenpast, I usually named Super Metroid the winner, but these days it might be Prime. I don't know. I replayed Super earlier this year, I should probably play Prime at some point. I'd explain why but I'm on a phone - basically, it boils down to the perfect mix of atmosphere, aesthetics, gameplay, and loneliness and isolation.

It's a secret.

at this point in my life I'm not sure I ever even liked games. It just feels like an addiction that I have to constantly feed.

Bioshock.

There is too much good to say about it, most of which people have heard by now so I'll keep it quick.

1) Story. "Would you kindly" is plot. It's great plot though. Story drips off the game, small narratives stitched from every small corner to every level. Stories centering of desire, poverty, exploitation, creativity, boundaries but all through the lens of a philosophy close to our own but a world away. Peoples travels through Rapture as it rose and fell is the true story of that game and it's fucking immaculate.

2) Rapture. Honestly. It's fucking Rapture.

3) The gameplay is clunky but great. It alternates perfectly between being subjected to your environment and dominating your environment. Both of which ask quick thinking and smart planning to excel at.

It's my favorite game.

@yummylee: we all know it's Resident Evil 0

Super Mario 64... wait, no, Super Mario World... no, 64, definitely 64... but man, World...

Well, I don't fucking know!

I think it might be The Last Of Us for me as well, I think I've never been so invested on a game while I played it. Loved everything about it, it was like everything was so perfectly crafted in it. It's interesting because if I've had that story somewhere else I would probably bash it to hell calling it cliché and predictable but on TLoU it's so well written, it's characters are so grounded and have some of the best voice acting I've ever listened to, the animations and environments were so detailed for it's time. Damn, even the UI design was good! I think it's the kind of game that you really love it and people who also love it will understand you and people who didn't care as much about it will not understand why we love it this much.

Right below on my list, on close seconds, I would put GTA Vice City, Mirror's Edge, Chrono Trigger, Grim Fandango, Marc Ecko's Getting Up and Metal Gear Solid (any of the first three).

I'm gonna have to say Devil May Cry 3 - as well as fun/bonkers visual design, it had the series' best combat, probably the best combat system in any action game I've played. Enough complexity to give you lots to do, but simple enough that every action felt like a deliberate choice rather than button-mashing and seeing what came out (looking at you, Bayonetta). About a month ago I stumbled across a copy of the Special Edition for like a pound in a charity shop, and used it as an excuse to hook up the PS2 and re-run through the game as Virgil - can confirm the game's still great.

Well, mine definitely doesn't have anything to do with my GB username or avatar image.

Kind of a toss up between Suikoden 2 and Persona 4. Both were pretty significant and influential experiences for me.

I'd probably have to give the edge to Suikoden 2 though. It wasn't my first (J)RPG, but it was probably the first time I realized a video game could be more than just a collection of entertaining mechanics. Watching your castle grow and populate with all the characters you recruit over the course of the game is still one of the most satisfying experiences I've had in a video game. Even other Suikoden games never managed to match the fullfillment I got from that game. Probably because it's the only one that made your home base really feel alive.

Sega Genesis, Street Fighter 2 Championship edition on the genesis. That was big, that was actual arcade at home for me. That was owning SF2 and a joystick while we were all still going to the mall arcade.

I hope more answer in line with the OP

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.

Tetris on the OG Gameboy. If you disagree you're an inhuman monster.

EverQuest.

It's the greatest game I'll ever play. Gave me so many magical moments. Real, tangible, moments of emotion. Fun, laughter, tension, happiness, companionship? I sometimes wonder to myself if my time spent playing (easily over 11k hours) could have been better used, but things are what they are and I'll forever cherish my time spent playing it.

Its still Final Fantasy 7 for me. Its got a lot of flaws, but man did I play that game a lot. I've probably beaten that game doing as much of the side content as possible at least 10 times (which is probably 100 hours each playthrough for all the side stuff being done). It also shaped my video game interests. Without having played that I never would have given games like Persona 3 and 4 a shot and I love those games too, which also means I probably would have never stumbled upon Giant Bomb as well.

Overall, for me it's a tie between the Last of Us and Uncharted 2. Both Naughty Dog games, go figure. I love TLOU for exactly the reasons you stated, but I love Uncharted 2 because it is pretty much to video games what the original Matrix was to movies. It revolutionized the way story and set pieces are handled in video games. It's still one of the most action packed beautiful spectacles that you can play, finely crafted in every regard.

If I HAD to pick just one, I would probably go with TLOU. It is everything Uncharted 2 is, but with a more emotional and grounded story.

Uniracers for SNES. Glad it got talked about on a recent Bombcast.

Resident Evil 2 without a shadow of a doubt.

It's the perfect storm of game design and presentation. While the story is objectively really basic and nothing special it's the b-movie voice acting that sells it for me. It's like your favourite song, I can recite the dialogues as they are happening, the music is spectacular and creates the awesome ambience which made the game so creepy and terrifying. I have in my head still ingrained the first moment I have stepped into the police station and the main hall theme that plays while running around that area, to me it outshines all the save room themes. The gameplay is polished to mirror sheen, with hand-crafted enemy encounters and behavior. In the end you can learn the game, get it under your skin and once you know what makes it tick, speedrun it which I do regularly. For me RE2 is the absolute pinnacle of the franchise because of that it was THE game that I could play over and over without getting bored of it, that still stands even now, 18 years later (holy crap I'm old). Even the police station itself becomes a character with so much detail put into each camera angle really making it look like zombie apocalypse happened in Raccoon City. The combination of all those reasons and even more that I don't know how to put into words make it my absolutely favourite game of all time, a game I've finished more than a hundred times and I doubt I'll stop replaying or speedrunning it anytime soon.

probably either civ 2, secret of mana, super metroid, or ffiv.

Cause theyre awesome and eff you.

Also maybe add sim city 2000. Can you tell I'm old yet?

Think i would be a battle between Dark souls 1 and Dragon Age for me.

I dont know how anyone can have a definitive "favorite" of anything. Its like saying you can only have one soulmate. Its an unrealistic/limiting standard to set for yourself.

Super Mario World or Battle Tetris Gaiden (this horrible website has led to me importing that game and now 2 super famicoms)

There's a lot of real good games out there, so many that I adore in different ways. For instance, the Halo universe is my favorite game universe.

But favorite game? That would have to be Mercenaries 2. That buggy, janky, but frankly the most fun, game I've played. Just Cause 2 came close (and I assume 3 would too if I ever get it), but I still vastly prefer Mercenaries 2. And the reason I pick 2, is simply because it's more Mercenaries. Mercenaries 1 was on top until 2 came out. You could destroy trees. Trees. Man, fuck trees. Tank-stopping saplings in 1 were just the worst. I spent far too much time burning forests in 2.

I played that game three times (once with each character), and then constantly played one until the first big patch, which brought back cheats. So I played it three more times through. Mattias is the best (he doesn't like to kill people, he just likes explosions and stuff, also: Peter Stormare).

Also it had these base take-over missions where you could call in a chopper with allies. Get 3 or whatever into the main building and bam, captured. But you weren't restricted to that area. You could just...fly across the map to another one of their enemies bases (but friendly to you, since, you know, merc), and call in choppers there. Impromptu battles all the time. There was also a 'glitch' involving another side mission where the enemy army would constantly spawn jeeps forever if you just left the objective vehicle after triggering them to spawn, sending unending waves towards you, wherever you were. Just sit back and watch a war.

...god, I need to go play that again. I would have it on PC but it doesn't have either of the two big updates, annoyingly.

Man, I really miss Pandemic...goddamnit, EA.

I like trying to answer this question, even though I fail. On the NES, my favorite game was Final Fantasy, but Tecmo Bowl and Contra rank high too. On the Sega Genesis, it was Madden '92. On the Playstation, it was Twisted Metal 2. On the PS2, it was God of War. So if I had to pick one game from this list of Final Fantasy, Tecmo Bowl, Contra, Madden '92, Twisted Metal 2, and God of War, I'd pick Final Fantasy. The reason is because out of all the games listed, I experienced Final Fantasy with family the most. That journey together meant a lot to me as a kid and still resonates with me today.

Phantasy Star. My first JRPG. In the late 80s, In a world dominated by Mario ripoff platformers, it was something completely different and totally awesome. Space travel, aliens, tropical, desert and ice planets. Ultimate equipment that requires getting through some of the hardest dungeons in the game. Exploration! Surprise final boss past the guy you spend the vast majority of the game chasing. Feeding your cat nuts to turn him into a dragon. Sure, lots of objectively better stuff came out later, but that game already had it all.

It's hard to pick one but I have to go with F.E.A.R. PC version the gunfights are so epic the sound design is incredible each weapon feels like it has purpose and they all feel great the shotgun is my fav and proximity mines.I love the levels the office ones are my favorite no I'm not joking they still feel like a cool location that feels different then the regular desert levels in a generic FPS.Also the soundtrack for this game is fantastic and the MP was fun as hell simple but fun the game is a blast. When I get my Oculus rift this summer I want to explore this game in VR can't freaking wait also 2005 and 06 was my favorite years in games but that's for another topic.

I think I'm going to have to go with Super Mario Galaxy 2. Ocarina of Time has long been the one, but that game hasn't exactly aged well (but I still enjoy it personally and loved OoT3D). Super Mario Galaxy 2 is basically gaming perfection and should age beautifully. Fantastic levels, tremendous platforming and great, vibrant visuals.

2010 was such a great fucking year with SMG2, Mass Effect 2 and Red Dead Redemption, all three would have to be in my top 10.

Persona 4 (Golden). I played through it, watched the endurance run, and watched the entirety of a friend's playthrough all in the same year because I just didn't want to let that world go. Honorable mention though goes to Metal Gear Rising; every single thing in that game is 100% my jam.

Street Fighter 2, press a button and something happens. The End.

Shadow of the Colossus

Best horse, best controls, best story, best open world, best structure, best feeling.

Elegance defined.

System Shock 2

It's the perfect balance of role playing and action. It combines terrific atmosphere, a classic yet engaging story, visceral action (that feels dated), inventory management, multiple situational solutions, and survival horror's loot value. And its ending is just fine, thank you very much. Sure, "naw" isn't a great parting shot, but that horrifying scream more than makes up for it.

Dwarf Fortress. It's given me the most hours of entertainment for the lowest cost, free, out of any game I've ever played. Once I learned how to edit data files, how to get mods to work, and how to just enjoy getting angry at my psychotic, suicidal midgets I just kept coming back and I'm pretty sure I'll be playing it for as long as it exists. it's the one game that I can always go back to when I can't think of anything to play and find enjoyment.

Also I can build a 20 foot tall tower, put a bridge on top of it, and use it to catapult dwarves I hate off the top of it. What's not to love?

SimCity 2000.

Okami. I love the art style, characters, music and story. All around I've beaten it over a dozen times and I still go back and replay it all the time.

Lord of the Rings: The Third Age for the GC

C&C: Renegade

The single-player was not great, but it was all about the multiplayer. Also my first introduction to modding and PC multiplayer. There are clearly better avenues for this but it was unique, and had profound hold on me from age 10-13 ('02-'05).

The multiplayer was very unique because it was a mix of RTS and FPS gameplay. You would spawn as either a GDI or NOD soldier, but each (still active) building would have terminals where you could purchase another character/vehicle. If I remember correctly, credits were shared as a team with the tiberium harvester being the main source. You could purchase various classes like engineers with a repair gun that would repair vehicles/buildings, or even as a laser rifle wielding active camo man. On top of that you could also spawn various vehicles like APCs, tanks, helicopters, humvees, and etc.

With all of that at your disposal you would try to destroy the other teams base before they could destroy yours. Plus a bunch of other mods/game types that the community came up with.

Video below, would recommend skipping around some.

Tough to narrow it down to just one. But if I have to I'd probably pick Star Control 2.

The sheer scale of it is and all the options you have are great. Amazing music, great alien designs and awesome story come together to make an amazing game.

Halo CE changed everything for me. It was nearly perfect at the time, the combat, and story were amazing, and I sunk literally hundreds of hours into that game singleplayer alone.

To everybody?

My favorite game used to be Shadow of the Colossus, and while I still think it's an incredible game, I don't think it's what I would consider my favorite anymore. I used to be able to sit down and play it any time and that went on for years, but nowadays I don't ever have the urge to play it anymore, I kind of destroyed the magic the game had for me by playing it way too much. Plus I think people praise the story WAY too much, there's maybe 10 minutes of story related cutscenes, and for the rest of the game you're going around slaying giant monsters.

Honestly, I don't know what I'd consider my favorite game to be.

A few years ago I would've said Resident Evil 4, Super Mario World, or Uncharted 2. Now I say Persona 4. Because Persona fucking 4.

Impossible Mission for C-64. The first game I really deep dove into as a kid. I bet I've put hundreds of hours into it, learning how to play and get through every room (there are 32 of them, I think). I even redrew sections of the manual for fun. I try to play it through every few years, and can go back to any room now and remember all the time I spent bashing my head against it as a kid.

I've played a lot of games in the past 30-odd years that are better games but whenever this question comes up, my mind races immediately to Impossible Mission. "Stay a while... stay forever!"

@trim_fandango:

Have a desktop I stitched together.

@big_jon:

That's my number 2 pick.