Short but sweet games

[The-Epicly-Named-Man]

Stacking on the Xbox live arcade certainly comes to mind.

I second that (well, not the XBL version, but whatever). An absolute gem of a game. Aside from that, I'd back Portal.

 

[WaReloaded]

Contra, both the NES and XBLA version. Unfortunately, I've yet to play the original arcade version of the game.

 

[ZehMadScientist]

Mandatory comment says Portal.

Also, Super Meat Boy comes to mind. Short, fun and at times very frustrating.

 

[rabidmidget]

Braid- It combines complicated story-telling techniques (how many games can you think of that use game mechanics as metaphors) with great puzzle design as well as a beautifully crafted atmosphere with emotional violin pieces and impressionism inspired art style.

 

[diggy140892]

Vanquish - The story was pretty short but it was so much fun and was challenging. It was a cover based shooter I didn't find to be incredibly bland.

 

[Zhukov]

Port... no, too obvious.

Mirror's Edge.

...

What?

Well, I enjoyed it.

 

[inFAMOUSCowZ]

Metro 2033. Beat the game around 5 hours, and it was really just great. The atmosphere was great for that game. The story, interesting, the characters I thought were also interesting. Went back through to beat the game a second time. It also convinced me to buy the book. Can't wait for the next one.

 

[endtherapture]

Half Life 2 Episodes - great action, great characters, spectacular setpieces (like the Citadel exploding, exploring the citadel, the spooky Zombie bit, Razer train crashing, the Hunters, Combines Advisors, STRIDER ATTACK!!), a carefully crafted world, and you saw more settings and got more of what made HL2 amazing.

Problem I have with that is while they are very good games, the main problem with them was the length. Other games tend to use the length to their advantage, they just leave you wanting more *cough* episode 3 *cough*

I dunno, I think the length was good because they were so focused, and they had quite a lot going on in fact.

Episode 1 had returning to the Citadel, delaying the explosion, escaping the Citadel, working your way up to the streets again, fighting Zombies and Antlions, and the whole train station episode - that's a lot going in only 4 hours, especially at Valve's slow pacing.

Episode 2 had Hunters, Combine Advisors, the massive bridge puzzle, the Zombie town, the car chase, the Antlion caves, the Antlion attack, the Strider attack, the missile launch and the last attack.

Loads of setpieces for 10 hours of game pretty much - 10 hours of game in HL2 had got you to about Nova Prospekt? A few setpieces but not as many as the episodes.

If they'd stretched the Car bits out in Episode 2, or anything else out longer in Episode 1, I think they would've overstayed their welcome.

The problems with the games aren't that they are too short, it's that we're still waiting after Episode 2 for the next instalment. If Episode 3 was delivered on time 6 months after Episode 2 it would have been fine.

 

[Guffe]

Well the new Alien vs Predator game (new and new but 2010) has 3 campaigns and alone they are pretty short but I found it entertaining.

 

[Scrustle]

Mirror's Edge

Braid

Ninja'd. Love both those games.

Enslaves was also pretty good but pretty short. As are Muramasa and No More Heroes.

 

[Rude as HECK]

Beyond Good and Evil wasn't exactly War and Peace.

 

[Father Tunde]

I'm likely going to receive some raised eyebrows here, but I enjoyed the storyline of the Modern Warfare games. Unbelievable? Yes, but not many shooters take you around the world twice!

 

[PureIrony]

VVVVVV.

Granted, it is rendered somewhat bitter by the dozens of deaths one incurs in that 90 minute playtime.

 

[JasonKaotic]

Silent Hill 2. So much Silent Hill 2.
It's not that short, but it's pretty short compared to most games.

 

[idodo35]

portal (the first) most consatrated fun i ever had ran through it in 2.5 hours and imidiatly plaied again!

 

[hazabaza1]

Vanquish. It's so freaking cool! Seriously, go play it now.

 

[kijebe]

all the games that have awsome story and atmosphere are usually short

metro 2033, beyond good and evil etc...

 

[necromanzer52]

Metal Gear Solid. Can be finished in around 3 hours - but it's perfect. And so good that you'll play it again. And again. And again.

Isn't that game on multiple discs? With cutscenes up to an hour in length?

I've been putting off getting into this series due to its size, but if the first game is short enough, I'll try it out.

 

[Randomperson9999999]

amnesia even though I wouldn't call it sweet

 

[Diablini]

Indigo Prophecy. One of my all time favorite games, but sadly very very short.