The Five games that define you as a gamer

[King of Asgaard]

Here's my five:

1. Final Fantasy X
This was the first Final Fantasy I played all the way through to the end, and it left such an emotional impact on me that it still brings tears to my eyes when I think of the ending. It's been at least five years since I finished it.

2. Metal Gear Solid 3
Again, the first in the franchise that I completed, and every single aspect has something I find engaging. The sneaking and camouflage system is surprisingly robust, and way ahead of its time. The story and characters are engaging, with a few twists to keep things interesting. Because of the time period, the story has aged very well. It also marks the second game to ever make me shed tears during the end sequences.

3. Kingdom Hearts
I honestly cannot pick a single entry of this series to feature on my list, so I will be referring to the most important in the series, namely 1 and 2, and Birth by Sleep. Simply put, I love Kingdom Hearts. Everything from the endearing story, to the incredibly entertaining combat, not to mention the sheer level of variety, makes this series a collection of modern classics. Birth by Sleep in particular is an amazing experience.

4. Red Dead Redemption
I was honestly surprised by how much I loved this game. I never expected to grow as fond as I did of John Marston. To this day, it's still my favourite sandbox, and the ending is one of my favourite and most satisfying moments in gaming, ever. Aside from that, the mechanics are solid and enjoyable, aside from the multitude of glitches.

I know OP asked for five, but I can't think of a fifth that measures up to these magnum opuses.

 

[Kirke]

Civilization 2 - The game that introduced me to strategy games, a genre I play to this day.

Ceasar III - I played this game with my aunt, and it was the game that introduced me to co-op.

Star Wars: Battlefront 2 - This was the first game I played co-op with one of my best friends, and we still prefer co-op over competetive most of the time. It also introduced me to shooters.

Lego Racer 2 - The game that pretty much introduced me to consoles, and one that helped me bond immensely with my dad.

Warcraft III - I first played this game on a LAN party, and that was some of the best times I've had gaming, ever. The host of the party got sick, and I ended the night lying on a sofa scratching my stomach. Good times...

 

[Sanshou]

Spyro (PS1)- My first ever game I got at the age of 4. It got me into gaming.

RuneScape (PC)- The biggest grindfest ever, but it was my first online game and i had hours of fun playing this and enjoyed the competition between myself and my friends.

Pokemon Leaf Green (GBA)- Hours and hours of my life were invested into this game so it deserves a mention, I havent played any pokemon since Pokemon Pearl, really should start playing the old ones again.

Call of Duty 4 (PS3)- This got me majorly hooked on online gaming and I really liked the community back then, sadly the community surrounding Call of Duty has been declining in some areas.

League of Legends (PC) - Aside from RuneScape this is the only PC game i've ever played, and this marks me beginning to delve into the strangeness of the PC gaming world.

 

[Sanies]

Ultima Online

The first ever mmo I played, spent a good 3-4 years playing this and made some friendships that last to this day.


Icewind Dale

First DnD game that I played, fell in love with the action and the brilliant story in this game, little did I know what amazing story goodness Baldurs Gate 1,2 and Planescape Torment had to offer.

Blood and Duke Nukem 3d

These two games are the first shooters me and a couple of my friends ever played in a LAN setting. God we spent so much time in a local internet cafe playing these.

World of Warcraft

It's hard not to mention this after spending a good 5 years playing this game and making a ton of new friends who I still talk to on a daily/weekly basis even after quitting the game itself.

Warcraft II

The game that made me fall in love with the RTS genre and the rush of playing rts against human opponents.

 

[roushutsu]

1. Final Fantasy VII: This introduced me to the series and JRPGs in general. Had I not played this, I might have missed out on some of the best JRPGs I've ever seen, like Chrono Trigger, Persona 4, Shadow Hearts Covenant, and Lunar Silver Star Story Complete.

2. Bioshock: Growing up, I never really got into the shooting games and for the longest time simply wrote them off as "unimaginative and dull." I had heard so much about this game that I decided, "eh what the hell. why not?" and bought it. It's one of the best games I've played this generation, and it's made me think twice about the shooting genre.

3. Sonic the Hedgehog: While other kids had Nintendos, I was the lone kid in the neighborhood who started off with the Genesis. I've spent many years playing the games, even when everyone was criticizing the modern entries I tried to find some good in them. To this day, I'm still a big Sonic fan and it's by far the longest series I've stuck with from the beginning.

4. Silent Hill 2: By far the best survival horror game I've played. It genuinely scared me the first time I played it, between the characters, the monsters, and the Labyrinth. Just...the Labyrinth. Being stuck in a maze with Pyramid Head in there with you, but you have no idea where and when he'll show up. No amount of zombies or monsters could ever match that feeling.

5. NiGHTS into Dreams: If you were to ask me, "What is the most imaginative game you've played?" I would answer this game within a second. The levels are captivating, the bosses had creative and unique ways to beat them, the music has always stuck with me, and to top it all off, it's just a great flying game. I also thoroughly enjoyed the sequel and I wish in vain that a third game comes out. There is so much untapped potential with this series I would hate to see go to waste.

 

[woodsymoments]

Star Wars Knights of the Old Repblic - An absolute amazing game best Starwars game ever

Morrowind - The scale of this game makes Brand ew games still look pathetic

Halo CE - Showed that the FPS genre was actually able to be done n a console

Thief 2 - Greatest Stealth game ever made

Fable Lost Chapters - nothing needs to be said about this as its that great

 

[Frezzato]

Very cool thread. I hope I stay on topic.

1. Halo: CE
The first FPS with excellent graphics. The single player campaign was excellent, excellent, excellent. My friend and I were playing the campaign splitscreen on normal difficulty when the game was brand new. After a marathon co-op gaming session of 10 hours we finished the game at around 7AM. We were so full of adrenaline that we immediately started a new game on Legendary. That's a defining moment for me, playing all night and immediately starting over. I pulled all nighters before, but not like this.

2. Burnout 3
This game was so fast it seemed impossible to play. Factor in the teen angst soundtrack and you have what I call the "adolescence simulator". It was quick, reckless, and unfair almost 90% of the time. Every time you win a race it's a relief. Somehow, strangely, it reminded me of what it was like to be young again.

3. KOTOR 1 and 2
Star Wars games before the movie prequel atrocities. You didn't just start with a lightsaber, you had to build it; you had to earn it. And the ending monologue in KOTOR 2 really hit a nerve (light side).

4. Mass Effect 1
Nobody liked the Mako? Really? If Mass Effect 1 had just ended at the first game, it would have been mind-blowing. In the ending fight sequence I was still rushing with urgency even though I knew time wasn't important. Finishing the game and then watching the end credits with the song 'Faunts' playing was an experience beyond any movie I had seen.

5. DiRT Series
I have every Gran Turismo (except for #3) and some Forza games and I realized that you can only make things so realistic. Gran Turismo, to me, has always been about collecting cars ("The Real Jay Leno Simulator"), while Forza felt like a GT copy (dry, boring) but with an excellent car painting mechanic. DiRT on the other hand, is just fun. The handling in all three games is wild and loose but somehow it FEELS like rally driving LOOKS. DiRT is to driving games what any modern FPS is to Operation Flashpoint. It made me realize that if it isn't fun, it isn't a game.

 

[BrionJames]

1. Final Fantasy VI - The best JRPG ever made. Fantastic gameplay, an excellent, deep, well-thought out story. Good colorful characters and villains to boot. It will always hold a place in my heart.

2. Contra series - It's hard to name just one of these, since they all pretty much play the same with varying degrees of difficulty. If I had to name one it would be Contra III: The Alien Wars mostly because that's the first of these games that I finished on Hard difficulty.

3. Diablo - Not many refer to the first Diablo, but it had a pretty rich storyline. This was back before Blizzard sold it's soul to the cash devil. It was very fun and extremely addicting for its time. Nothing like dungeon delving after dinner.

4.Daggerfall - The third entry in the TES series and probably my favorite out of all of them. I've never seen a world this big. Yes it's buggy, yes many of the towns are similar. It was also the first game I played that had full frontal nudity in it. You can do anything and be anyone, I spent hours playing this game just running different characters and I still do today.

5. Metal Gear Solid - One of the few games anyone ever bought for me. It can't be denied that it brought steal action to many. I love this game for it's characters, story, and action. Not many games get my heart racing anymore but this one still does. Fist fighting Liquid Snake while a timer ticks away on top of the giant bi-pedal robot you just destroyed single handed with a missile launcher. Awesome.

There are several more games that I believe have had an effect on my tastes as a gamer. Baldur's Gate, System Shock 2, and the Legacy of Kain games.

 

[sanquin]

1: Morrowind. God I've spent so many hours in that game, yet never went past delivering the note on the main quest. Skyrim comes close to how much I've played it, but Morrowind was just so much better apart from the combat.

2: Final Fantasy VI. I never finished that game, but it was so much fun. The challenge, the 'you don't get a waypoint' quests, the combat, the story...everything.

3: Mass Effect 1/2: These are equal to me. I played them both a ton. And both gave me such an epic feeling when playing. I wouldn't mind a few more games of the series if they were like ME1/2, but with different characters and story.

4: WoW. There hasn't been a game yet that I put so many hours in. It really did define the mmorpg genre and still kind of does. I don't play it any more though.

5: Counter Strike 1.2~1.6. The second most played game for me. This was my first 'serious' online game before WoW. After like 3~4 years of playing this game for several hours a day it started to get a bit boring though. Still, I got CS:GO now and liking it again.

 

[Cette]

1. Unreal Tournament. The original still feels the best but really I'll take any of them over any other competitive multiplayer shooter. Got me into LAN gaming and really helped cement PC gaming as my mainstay.


2. Fallout 2. Just some of the best mix of player choice and customization with a good storyline and characters and some damn fine referential humor. This is why I still play western RPG's.


3. Chrono Trigger. As good as japanese style RPG's ever got as far as I'm concerned.


4. Max Payne. Great characters, a fun mix of stylistic elements and really enjoyable shooting. This one of the earliest games where the story itself just had me by the balls and I had to know how everything was going to play out.


5. Heroes Quest/Quest for Glory 1. First PC game I ever purchased and what really got me hooked on how much fun problem solving in a game can be. Also may be partially responsible for me becoming such a punny guy.

 

[King Billi]

Civilisation 2 or Age of Empires 2
Um? I can't decide which of these two games it was honestly... But one of these was really the first "game" I ever really got hooked on when I was younger before I ever considered myself a real video gamer.

Kingdom Hearts
The first console game I ever played through to completion and also the first game "story" I ever got fully envolved in that took longer than a weekend to see through to the end.

Portal
The game which forced me to recognise this medium as an equal force too books or films and which lead me to seek out almost exclusively games which pushed the boundaries of the medium into curious and unknown areas.

Call of Duty
The game which reminds me that there will still thankfully be a way to achieve simple thrills and visceral fun even when it may appear that so many people woul prefer all games to be elevating themselves to new heights.

Dark Souls
And this game is the game I am currently obsessed with at this very moment... I can't quite explain what its greater appeal is to me right now like I can with the other four on this list but I imagine I will be able to in the future with the benefit of reflection.
Anyway this really is the game which best personifies the kind of gamer I am at this specific moment in time and while that could easily change in the future, right now it's the only game I can think of to put at the number five spot.

 

[Zykon TheLich_v1legacy]

1) Interstate 76 - Nitro Riders

A game I spent countless hours of my youth on. It's basically a 3D driving game where you play as vigilantes, equipping a variety of vehicles with all sorts of weapons and armor ranging from machine guns to guided missiles. You did missions where you had to fight enemies using similarly weaponized cars, escort missions, timed races, etc etc...it all was just insanely fun with all the different loadouts and fairly big maps.
Still waiting for a remake or a game which is similar, anyone got any suggestions?

I still have the CD soundtrack to that.

"They're all dead Groove! We're the only ones left to hold back a world of shit!"

"Always remember...never get out of the car" etc etc.


There was a similar game on the original playstation however I really can't remember the name. It had an alien in a flying saucer as an unlockable character who's major line was "let the invasion begin". It was great multiplayer fun.

OT:

Fallout 3/NV

Civ 4

Dawn of War

Goldeneye

Worms

will explain later but now I have an appointment to get to.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Let see-

Mario Kart (Snes). One of the earliest game I played that I was good at.

Guild Wars. That game was also pretty much part of my Uni years since I was playing that alot.

Pokemon Red. Another occession spending alot of hours into it.

Phantasy Star Online. Another game that I spend vast amount of time even after sevreal years later.

Red Alert. While I didn't cared for statergy games due to fear of losing but once I played it, the fears were gone.

 

[thejackyl]

Final Fantasy Series: I know it's probably cheating, but either 4 or 6. I learned how to read and it actually gave me a better vocabulary as a kid.

Earthbound: A light-hearted RPG on the surface, but underneath there are some rather creepy aspects to it. Most notably the final boss.

Wolfenstein 3D/Doom: These two FPS' got me into the genre in the first place. I just wish I could get into more games like this. (Serious Sam, Painkiller, Hard Reset), but they all seem to be missing something. Perhaps it's just the nostalgia.

Dark Souls: A lot of people say "I don't have the time to learn how to play." but those friends of mine who say that are the kinds of people who have 1000s of hours in WoW, and play that almost 10 hours a day... It also gives boss fights a sense of "epic" that a boss fight should have. Simply because a single mistake could mean instant death.

Team Fortress 2; Probably the best multiplayer FPS out right now. I love the fact that the game doesn't need any personality, but it's completely flooded with it, and it makes the game even better for it.

 

[uchytjes]

In no particular order:

1. MINECRAFT
Pretty much the only game I have been able to play for more than a year without taking a real break from it. I don't know what it is... its just so damn fun for me!

2. Metal Gear Solid 2
One of the first games I actually remember completing as a child (I know, I have such wonderful parents ) even if i only played on very easy mode... Today, however, I'm pretty much able to run through that thing like its no body's business.

3. Steambot Chronicles
I cannot understate my love for this game. It has absolutely everything in it. The only problem is it can get very cliche at times, but it has a sort of twist ending that any 12 year old mind can see as awesome.

4. Portal 2
Why not portal one? Haven't played it. But I can say with certainty that I absolutely love Portal 2, even though my computer pretty much threw a shit-fit whenever I tried to play it...

5. Bully
One of the best worlds created by rockstar. Its basically grand theft bicycle and is completely awesome. I recently picked up the scholarship edition for xbox, but haven't gotten around to playing it. Also, why didn't this become a big franchise like GTA? I mean, its good on its own, but I don't see why they didn't make a sequel to it.

 

[Nazulu]

Interesting idea for a thread, great idea, and good choices too.

Super Metroid - I played many games before SM, but this is the first that took into a more interesting direction. It's the game that made me realise that video games have the potential to be the greatest artistic entertainment of all. I became glued to this as I was fascinated by each new challenge. I still consider this one of the best as well, at least the best on the SNES.

Lineage II - This MMORPG is my first big online game I played. Released before WoW, it was easily one of the best (even though bloody hard). It's a game that taught me that painful obstacles I couldn't normally accomplish can be achieved easily with other peoples help, or putting our minds together to over come difficult situations.

Also, it taught me that online gaming experiences can be really unfair as I had people always try to steal my stuff, and I remember the first people that killed me in that game right at the beginning (one name fuck, and the other you, lol). And it doesn't stop there, you really got punished in the early chronicles if you died, losing experience and dropping items. I find this makes people take the game more seriously, and is the bane of bots and farmers as we stole a lot of their shit.

Some of the areas in this game had real atmosphere which I find to be one of the most important parts of any game, and it was also the first game where I found characters actually had there own opinion on the world (controversial) instead of just falling into the cliche' good and bad. These things all added up, making it feel like there is a lot of things going on in the world. Unfortunately the game has become like the latest MMO's, and everything has become poorly placed and pointless.

Lineage 2 means a lot to me, and I'd love the play the classic chronicles again, with all the consequences. I can't play games like Guild Wars 2 because it's just nothing in comparison.

Starcraft - I never thought that much about RTS games before this came out. Nearly everything about this game is really well done, and I still love it. This one I had to add to the list because I am still absolutely terrible when playing RTS games, but I still love playing some of the classics. Funnily enough, I never played chess again after this, so I think of RTS games as a more creative version of chess.

SSB Melee - I'm also crap at playing fighting games because I never could be bothered learning heaps of the moves to make combo's, but I still reckon fighting games (like Street Fighter, KOF, etc) are great games. However, Melee is the answer to my problem, making the most difficult part just keeping up with those with more experience or fast hands.

I can't explain why, but I can still play this game like it was new. I literally played it for 8 years straight! It does have great game play because of it's fluent movement and well designed stages. One of my dreams is to play an addictive game like this with a long campaign.

Half Life 2 - I first played this at the end of 2011, and I have to say it has the best controls and movement for a FPS. Every FPS I play now I wish was more like HL2. It's not nostalgia at all, I can promise you that.

Also, ATMOSPHERE! This game has incredable design, one of the best easily, and the challenges were so unique, it's like unforgettable scenes in a great movie. I would like to re-live them every now and again. I wish the episodes were as good.

 

[Doom972]

In chronological order:

Doom 2 - The first game that made me sit for hours in front of my computer and made me understand that video games are more than just a pastime.

Little Big Adventure 2 - Like the OP, my English vastly improved after I played through this game. This game made me care about plots in games.

Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain - The idea of vampirism always fascinated me, and in this game I was finally able to play as one. Due to its harsh combat and save systems, I learned to overcome some tough gameplay for a very rewarding plot. I'd like to mention that I haven't completed the first (and harder) LBA game.

Fallout 2 - The first RPG I really got into. I wasn't very familiar with the genre, but ever since I played this game, RPG has become my favorite genre.

Deus Ex - The ultimate balance between action and RPG. This game has everything I ever wanted in a game. I'm still waiting for something to blow my mind as much as this one did.

 

[catalyst8]

Atari's Tempest
Although I'd cut my teeth on earlier arcade games like Space Invaders & Asteroids, Tempest was an excellent, fast-paced & intense shooter. It was always a pleasure to get your three initials in the top ten for the rest of the arcade punters to see (even if it did eat all of my money).

Elite
With the introduction of home computers in the early '80s, as soon as Elite became available for my Spectrum 48 I spent months working my way to the hallowed rank. 'Right on commander!' Needless to say I'm greatly anticipating Star Citizen which, to me at least, sounds very much like Elite the MMO.

Speedball II: Brutal Deluxe
Arguably the best Amiga game ever, admittedly with strong competition from UFO: Enemy Unknown/X-COM: Enemy Unknown.

Medal of Honor[sic]
Despite being unable to spell 'honour' correctly, this was my introduction to multi-player FPS. The first expansion was OK, but the subsequent ones were always just that little bit more shit than the previous one. FPS set in modern environments with their ubiquitous levelling systems & weapon unlocks just leave me cold. For a skill-based multi-player shooter if you need to give better weapons & gear to anyone it should be the rubbish players, not the good ones - they don't need it.

Left4Dead(2) - Versus
I don't play this nearly as much as I used to, but as far as the team based FPS game goes, this is currently unbeatable. If you disagree then that's up to you, you can take your CoD clones & the new Medal of Honor[sic] & shove them far enough up your arse to rupture your intestine.

As an aside I nearly chose Thief instead of MoH, but once you'd beaten it Thief's replayability was minimal compared to the constant entertainment & time spent in MoH.

 

[juyunseen]

Pokemon Silver: My first game ever. EVER.

Halo: CE: Showed me gaming outside nintendo, and I liked it. Also my first real PC addiction aside from the next game on this list.

Runescape: I dunno what it is about this game. I know it's boring, I know everyone hates it, but dammit I love the world, I love the grind, and I love the game. I don't play much these days, but there was a time when it was a daily happening.

DayZ: So mods used to be a thing I ignored. But then I saw DayZ mentioned in Extra Credits. Then I watched Rooster Teeth play. Then I watched an LP series of it. And then... and then... well countless hours of gameplay later, here we are.

Half-Life 2: This showed me just how smart a shooter can be. Enough said.

Simple as that really.

 

[gritch]

Let's see.
I suppose my first game would be:
1. Toypop [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toy_Pop] When I was younger this was my first game I really played often. My mother and I would play the game together for hours. Sort of what made me aware of gaming to begin with.
2. Spyro the Dragon While Toypop might have been my first game Spyro was definitely the first game I played as one would consider a "gamer". First "real" game I actually played through to the end.
3. Monster Hunter I accredit this game to first getting me into online gaming. I enjoyed the game so much I got an Ethernet apdater for my PS2 so I could play it online. Online gaming during the haydays of Halo followed suit.
4. Runescape Back in middle school this was my life. I loved playing with all my friends (it was big at the time) and even after they got bored and left I still hung around. Eventually I grew out it but for a time it was undoubtedly my favorite game.
5. Persona 4 I suppose if I would have to describe my current state of gaming this game would sum it up. I'm not into online gaming anymore and prefer single player RPGs. I don't game nearly as much as I used to.
So those would probably be the games that define my evolution as a gamer. Not necessarily the greatest games but they're what I learned from.