Games that are Undeniably Great

[Chevalier noir]

Mass Effect? A critic proof classic? It was an on rails shooter pretending to be a full fledged RPG, the much touted choices in role play boiled down to "pick the blue or red option", none of the decisions the player makes have any real significant impact on the game world at all. Don't get me wrong, it was a very fun on rails shooter with good writing, great characters and nice visuals, but an epic?

I don't want to start a debate here, if that is your opinion then that is your opinion but if you want to have an objective discussion, could you try to put into words why you think it transcends just being very good?

Pray tell, what falls under your definition of a "full fledged RPG?" Here's to hoping that your not person who defines an RPG as being an inventory clerk in all but name.

Who said anything about inventory? Crap like that weather or not you put points in dexterity of strength never made much difference to me.

I said the role playing was lacking. The limited ways to role play the character given to you may as well not have been there for all the difference it made. Your choices don't impact the game world in any meaningful sense that the player can really see or experience. I could shoot the evil scientist begging for her life, or let her go but the only difference as far as the game is concerned is weather or not I want more paragon or renegade points.

You may see some of your choices from the first game get a cursory acknowledgment in the form of an email in the second game but that is it. You don't get to interact with the world or its characters in any meaningful way. The games tell you that the world around you changes, but how much of it to you get to experience during play? The council living or dieing is the biggest think that does make a difference, but not much of one unless you import into the second game.

Like I said, very good writing, very well done characters, definitely a good game and a great thing to have experienced. However, Its just not a very good role playing game compared to some of the really great ones.

 

[Zyx150]

UFO: Enemy Unknown is as close as it comes...

...no, wait...



...I...

...I have it...

...TETRIS!

this man is a genius. you,sir, win internet. in all seriousness,however, i would say THE best games ever would have to be.....

Shadow of the colossus
Disgaea:hour of darkness (the original PS2 one)
In a sense, Ogre Battle 64 could be put up there, depending upon how you look at "flaws"
Super Mario 64
StarCraft
BlazBlue:Continuum Shift
Infamous
Wipeout HD
Ace Combat 5

i pity any who hate these, and i hope they recover from their mental disability and see the error in their ways.

 

[ZZoMBiE13]

Halo: Combat Evolved springs to my mind,

gamplay: funs foes to fight, nice slection of fun guns (most op pistol ever in gaming) many tactics can be done in campaign in terms of weapon selection and using the envrioment to your advantage, overall solid gameplay.

Story: eh rather weak when in-game, but in the expanded universe its rather deep, plus great plot twist.

Cultural impact: leads to the birth of machinima via redvsblue, has a active and strong fanbase, and has lead to many changes within the fps genre.

It'll take a lot to convice me that Halo: Combat Evolved is not a undeniably great game.

I'm with you. And I think even most Halo haters would agree that the first one holds a special place in gamings history. Halo legitimized the console first person shooter. I don't want to slight 007 or Perfect Dark of course. Those games were great and all. But Halo is the one that made it all truly click for the consoles. Before that, serious FPS play was limited to the PC. I know a lot of PC players would have preferred it stayed that way, but for those of us who prefer to play on consoles, Halo was one of the best.

You could probably add Timesplitters 2 to that list without making too many people mad.

 

[shurikenshado4]

So many.
TF2,
Half Life,
Time splitters,
Mass Effect,
Skyrim, Morrowind,
Star Wars: Knights of the old republic,
far cry (1),
SSX,
Street Fighter IV,
Marvel Vs. Capcom,
Tekken 3,
Sims 2/3,
Ninja Gaiden,
Bayonetta,
Forza Motorsport (1),
Soul Calibur (up to 3),

 

[TheGreatAndPowerfulZOG]

While we're at it, can we stop using that term? If I never watch Citizen Kane in my life, I will be happy. It was his fucking sled and that's all I needed to know for memetic purposes. I don't hate the movie, and it can be as perfect as it wants to, but I'd rather watch something flawed and interesting than something perfect and boring. In fact, I find that when the focus is on a shine to perfection, the final product ends up being boring almost all of the time.

How can you say that the "focus is on a shine to perfection" when you've never even seen the movie? Citizen Kane is so overused as an example of brilliance that, ironically, many dismiss it outright. But it really is a brilliant film that gets better with repeated viewings, and it definitely wasn't made with "Let's make a perfect movie" in mind. The movie is not about a sled; Orson Welles didn't even want Rosebud in the film.

Anyway, with that out of the way---all my favourites have pretty glaring flaws. The closest I can think of would be Metroid Prime and Resident Evil 4, and Prime has a scavenger hunt at the end while RE4 has the overlong castle segment and the stupid helicopter level. The original Fallout would be it imo if it wasn't buggy.

I disagree with Half Life and Portal. They're good; Half Life is a good action blockbuster, Portal is good clever puzzle gimmick. But going back to them now... It's not the same. Those formulas have been taken and improved.

Please show me the game that took and improved Portal's concept; because I've never seen anything at all like it.

Portal 2 but seriously, you have a point. I guess I misspoke, Half Life is what I was thinking of when I wrote that. Metroid Prime and Resident Evil 4 are good choices. I would add Metal Gear Solid 3.

 

[Rastien]

Cultural impact: leads to the birth of machinima via redvsblue, has a active and strong fanbase, and has lead to many changes within the fps genre.

It'll take a lot to convice me that Halo: Combat Evolved is not a undeniably great game.

I would contest that statement but its defintly one of the most well known ones.

Anyways on topic, Bastion narrative told through gameplay gorgeous enviroments and a very fun combat system.

 

[Kizi]

I disagree with Half Life and Portal. They're good; Half Life is a good action blockbuster, Portal is good clever puzzle gimmick. But going back to them now... It's not the same. Those formulas have been taken and improved.

Of all the billion thousand trillion FPS games these days, none of them have even come close to improving Half Life 2, save for maybe the gameplay mechanics in episode 1 and 2.

 

[Zac Smith]

I disagree with there being any games that are undeniably great. I personally can't stand zelda, games, none have ever appealed to me in my life, therefore I would deny they are great. Regardless of how many people say a game is great, there will always be a fair few that say it isn't

 

[TheGreatAndPowerfulZOG]

Braid might come to be considered a kind of seminal artistic achievement in games comparable to Citizen Kane. It certainly jump started the art game scene and got people talking about the artistic merits of video games (well, that and Roger Ebert).I think it also fits because, while a lot of games have been mentioned that were fantastic, few if any aspired to be anything more than pure entertainment (even if it could be argued that they were). Furthermore, it really was a different approach to the design of games, not because of some cool gameplay features or a great story, but because everything in that game is relevant to the "meaning" of the work.

 

[VeneratedWulfen93]

Is there something wrong with me? I class myself as a gamer but I can't bring myself to like portal it's...just...so....boring.

But all across the internet its apparently a flawless gem of a game but I can't find any appeal in the game...Help!?

 

[Freaky Lou]

Portal 2 but seriously, you have a point. I guess I misspoke, Half Life is what I was thinking of when I wrote that. Metroid Prime and Resident Evil 4 are good choices. I would add Metal Gear Solid 3.

Half-Life has definitely suffered from the many, many games who've taken its ideas and played with them. Some would argue, however, that HL gets points for inventing a lot of this stuff and for how well its AI holds up. I wouldn't know, personally. Still haven't played Half-Life.

 

[TheGreatAndPowerfulZOG]

Portal 2 but seriously, you have a point. I guess I misspoke, Half Life is what I was thinking of when I wrote that. Metroid Prime and Resident Evil 4 are good choices. I would add Metal Gear Solid 3.

Half-Life has definitely suffered from the many, many games who've taken its ideas and played with them. Some would argue, however, that HL gets points for inventing a lot of this stuff and for how well its AI holds up. I wouldn't know, personally. Still haven't played Half-Life.

I agree, and I give Valve huge amounts of points for being innovators as well as putting out exquisitely polished products. But I doubt many people will be playing Half Life 1&2 in 10 or 20 years.

 

[shadow_Fox81]

fable the lost chapters, got problems with that you know where to find me.

hahahahahahahaha.

 

[northeast rower]

I'll throw in a name.

Burnout 3: Takedown.

As a (FUN) racing game i feel it is nearly impossible to find flaws.

Yes. Yes. YEEESS. yesyesyes. I miss this game so fucking much.

OT: Red Dead Redemption gets my vote. Does it have flaws? Yes. I still consider it the best game of all time.

 

[Terminate421]

People, what we have here is a game that is perfect at what it does.

 

[Ectoplasmicz]

I'll throw in a name.

Burnout 3: Takedown.

As a (FUN) racing game i feel it is nearly impossible to find flaws.

Yes. Yes. YEEESS. yesyesyes. I miss this game so fucking much.

OT: Red Dead Redemption gets my vote. Does it have flaws? Yes. I still consider it the best game of all time.

im glad somebody agrees

 

[weker]

Every game has flaws, especially after a year for the graphics to go out of date.

 

[lacktheknack]

Pong.

Am I doing this wrong?

I would personally put forward DEFCON, but it's too divisive.