Games which, for you, define 'replay value'

[Kirov Reporting]

Escapists,

I'm not going to lie to you, I'm of the opinion that Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge is the pinnacle of gaming. It is so finely crafted, so simple yet challenging, so infinitely replayable yet equipped with enough strategic depth to enable you to make no 2 games the same, that after the first time I played it some 7 or 8 years ago, I still find it just as exciting to play now.

To me, it represents absolute replay value, and is a game I can go back to after 3 hours or 3 months, and after a little warmup I'm fast-deploying units and meeting everything the enemy can throw at me.. And loving every minute.

So what games represent this feeling for you? What game, even when you've done and seeing everything, still offer a little something extra and feel worth playing, revisiting, dusting off and having another go?

What games in YOUR collection are robust enough to support this?

Kirov Reporting!

 

[lechat]

portal 1 counts as the only game i have ever played and instantly wanted to play again but i wouldn't describe it as re playable
what you really need is something with fully random levels, weapons and enemies but generally due to the nature of randomness those tend to be crap

ignore this part here testing something

 

[lechat]

ignore this part testing something

ignore this too and apologies forum admins just testing the quote system
this is a bit more text to fill this post

EDIT: feel free to delete post

 

[Kirov Reporting]

what you really need is something with fully random levels, weapons and enemies but generally due to the nature of randomness those tend to be crap

So basically the Diablo / Diablo II system? Very true, the amount of variation those kick up can massively extend the 'just one more dungeon' style.

I'm certainly inclined to agree with you that the X factor is unpredictability - that's what I love about RA2, but it's my own randomness in how I'm able to respond to threats (mixing up the enemy countries, meaning you're up against snipers, Kirovs, Black Eagles, Yuri etc) that makes it for me - and having different scenarios is a large part of that.

What do you think a game like Portal would need to do in order to have a random factor like this?

Kirov Reporting!

 

[The Wykydtron]

Well I find Persona 4 to be infinitely replayable. That's right, the 50 hour game that is heavily story driven with mostly fixed plot points and is half Visual Novel.

Basically if I like a game enough, I can play it again no problem. Sure, built in replay value is good but i'm not that fussed with it.

A lot of multiplayer games have replay value inherantly. I still play loads of UMVC3 more than a year since its release. The flow my matches keeps changing I swear.

Recently I was winning game after game with Vergil going 1v3 (mostly) without X-Factor because lol too much damage. I was almost sick of Vergil's lvl 4 that day... Almost.

"Rest in Peace!"

*stabstabstabstabstab*

HYPER COMBO K.O!

I don't even have combos or use assists and i'm sitting around 8th-7th Lord constantly. I use the Ridiculously Lucky title for a reason XD

I keep playing LoL even though it is so much RAGE! 'Cept our 5 man Ranked team of course. So fun. I'm liking Lulu when i have to support. It lets me deal with extreme bravery more easily.

 

[Kirov Reporting]

-Snipped- Wykyd, I really wish I could relate to your post, but I don't know either of these games - I LOVE the enthusiasm though!

I take your point about a game just being that good, and the flow seeming to totally change is very welcome. I found that with Resi 5 and Mercenaries mode, I played that on local co op with my brother a lot, and we must have racked up 100 hours easy.

What kept us coming back was the slight differences between maps, characters, loadouts and enemy spawns, which as you say, completely alters the flow of combat and impacts success / failure - and sure as hell kept us on our toes!

Plus we knew, win or lose, it was all on us. Every loss just meant a lesson learned, and some serious revenge melee in the next round (usually 30 seconds after).

 

[Sixcess]

For me it's games that focus almost entirely on pure gameplay mechanics, with little or no story to speak of, that I am most likely to replay a lot. I find that games with a strong story are far less likely to be replayed as they're never quite as compelling once you know exactly what's going to happen.

So my two most replayed games are Doom/Doom II and Civilisation II.

 

[Strazdas]

Civilization 4 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas define replayability for me.

 

[putowtin]

Mass Effect Series
Dragon Age: Origins
Skyrim
Fallout New Vegas

For me these style of games where your character has choices (and I don't just mean what armour to wear) are the ones I will keep going back to.

Oh who will I be today? A mage who restored the dark brotherhood, or a sniper who keep's interupting Garrus's Calibrations?

 

[lechat]

What do you think a game like Portal would need to do in order to have a random factor like this?

Kirov Reporting!

i really don't think you can build portal to have a random element. the beauty of portal is in tight well constructed puzzles so all you would be doing is adding a random chance that the room you walk into contains a "jump puzzle" then a glop puzzle then a fall puzzle and finally a box/switch puzlle /end

i think most games these days are taking the right approach by adding customizable maps. once you introduce the core game elements in single player you can then jump online and see how others have built levels in the case of something like little big planet that is 99.9% of the gameplay. the downfall of this is any moron can build a half assed level and you could be left with more monotony than if the devs themselves had done it and end up spending more time searching for something fun than actually playing ( i done that alot with old WC3 maps)

 

[Kirov Reporting]

i really don't think you can build portal to have a random element. the beauty of portal is in tight well constructed puzzles so all you would be doing is adding a random chance that the room you walk into contains a "jump puzzle" then a glop puzzle then a fall puzzle and finally a box/switch puzlle /end

Very fair point, my question should really have been 'do you think a random element would work', which of course it wouldn't with Portal's very tight system, which is based entirely on having a well-defined structure. Any random element would come across as tacky in the campaign proper, and would potentially detract from the shared experience, which I think was a large part of the general enjoyment of the title.

The level editor principle certainly applies, and perhaps this would be the only way to integrate a 'random' element, perhaps separate entirely from the campaign, some sort of 'time trials' mode.

The half-assing is certainly a risk, and it's a case of striking the balance between difficulty / intricacy of the design system which means that average Joe can't fart out a level of turrets with one easy jump to the end, but still allowing those with a good idea but no degree in programming to create.

I used to love WC2 map editing - so many times I tried to recreate Lord of the Rings, but I basically just ended up with a bunch of Peasants, with no way to distinguish my 'Dwarfs' from my 'Hobbits'

 

[thesilentman]

In before Dark Souls.

Dark Souls. Take a huge amount of flexibility for fighting, a vague narrative open to interpretation, and an awesome combat system and you get a finely crafted experience that's quite different than anything else that I've seen. It may have issues, but damn it's replayable.

 

[Eleuthera]

Any 4X type game, Civ, MoO, Ascendency.

Or SimCity and it's brethren.

Basically anything with a random(ish) map and a lot of freedom to do as you please (MineCraft as well)

 

[Nonomori]

Deep and flexible gameplay (Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, Dark Souls) or any game that is short, interesting and with few cutscenes (Ico, Journey). To be honest, it just have to be good enough.

 

[Sir Pootis]

The Metal Gear Solid games did this well.

To have replay value, a game must have something to improve the game on subsequent playthroughs. Be this new weapons, new costumes, collectible doodads to find, or provide a Binding of Issac-esqe random design to make a new experience.

 

[WoW Killer]

Games with different build options and combat styles. So anything D&D based (NWN, KotOR) usually gets a few playthroughs. I think I went through the original Fallout about six times back to back just trying out wacky builds. I like the design aspect of building a character, and also the journey of seeing your toon rise in power. Like, sometimes you get options that start off weak but get much stronger later on; you get that sense of accomplishment when you struggle through the early levels to see the pieces fall into place for that late game payoff. Stuff like that.

 

[King Billi]

Replayability to alot of people seems to depend on the variety of gameplay and the ability to experience new things each time..?

The games I've replayed the most are actually ones that are very scripted and linear but with interesting narratives. Games such as the Uncharted series are ones I like to replay occasionally, just to experience the story again.

I guess it's much in the same way I'd rewatch a movie I like or reread a favourite book.

 

[BlazeRaider]

Total War, every faction provides a different experience, and even repeating campaigns again with the same faction can yield a unique result. Lets not even go into all the mods available which make 1 TW game essentially many.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I like a game that "cuts to the point" and instantly rewards you with fun, immersive gameplay. I'm not saying nay to storytelling and proper build-up/pacing, but those should more or less evolve and tag along next to gameplay rather than have to sit through hours and hours of tutorials and exposition and cutscenes and what not (which can be fine on a first playthrough, but during a replay this is just boring and makes you want to skip it). I can think of lots of games that I would love to replay but will not on account of remembering that five-hour epilogue or the unskippable half an hour intro. So I like a game like Shadow of the Colossus or Resident Evil 4 or the Half-Life games (so, action-adventure?), I guess. Though I've replayed some RPGs as well, these are in the minority.