The Five games that define you as a gamer

[dogenzakaminion]

Interesting topic, nice one OP! I don't know if this list are the games that really define me as a gamer...but they are the games that changed the way I view games and gaming, even though it might be a little clichè.

1: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The first major console title I played that really made me love games. The escapism blew my mind and influenced my imagination for years, probably for life.

2: Metroid Prime
Again, a game that sucked me in and really made me interested in the world the game was set in. Grand adventure with mystery and spooky surroundings, I just wanted more.

3: Resident Evil 4
I like the early resident evil games, but the atmosphere, the claustrophobia, the feeling of always being hunted really made me appreciate how gameplay and design affects how you choose to play a game.

4: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
A massive, immersive, and well crafted game. I love this because of how it handles the choices the player makes. The story and characters are all well written and not too over the top.

5: The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind
People who have played this will understand. Again, the way this game handles player choices and how it allows you to play it any way you want to really hits home with me. Not to mention the massive and engaging world that I still haven't seen everything of.

 

[Thoughtful_Salt]

1.Fire Emblem (GBA)
My favourite game of all time. its depth of character development and strategy kept me going for a long time. It's amazing in almost every way and it is aging gracefully.

2.Battlefield 3
The ultimate outlet for my inner warrior

3.Halo:Combat Evolved
In my mind, it still is the most satisfying installment, despite numerous sequels and innovations since, this game still stands tall on its immersive campaign and its gorgeous soundtrack.

4.Spec Ops: The Line
The counterbalanced antidote to the modern military shooter, it's one of the deepest stories ever told.

5.Command And Conquer: Red Alert 2
Zany, corny, and a masterpiece of nostalgic wish fulfillment.It is showing signs of aging, but it is still worth a look.

Honorable Mentions: Portal, FTL, Limbo, Golden Sun: The Lost Age, Medal Of Honor (PS).

 

[WoahDan]

So hard to limit myself to 5...

1. Duke Nukem 3D, played it with my Dad on his laptop even though I was only four, the game that started it all for me.

2. Pokemon Blue, first game i got into in a major way even if i had no idea what i was doing.

3. Total Annihilation/ Red alert , I genuinely cannot remember which i played first, whichever it was it was the game that first got me into strategy, one of my favorite genre's today.

4. Halo, i kinda lapsed as a gamer half-way through the Playstation era, it was Halo that got me back into gaming in a big way, i still remember playing it for the first time and being completely blown away, must have re-played the single-player at least a dozen times.

5. KOTOR, not only did it introduce me to RPG's another of my favourite genre's , its story was one of the first that showed me that games were capable of having stories that could impact upon me emotionally.

 

[pvaglueman123]

Let's think here...

1. Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped
This was likely the first game i ever played and still have my working copy to this day. There is nothing about that game that i didn't like, even if i was 6 and it kicked my arse.

2. Jade Empire
This was the game that made me fall in love with Narrative in Games and began my ongoing love affair with BioWare. The setting, the characters, the combat. Everything about it just made me love it. Its a shame that it didn't do better, actually, that game needs a sequel.

3. The Mass Effect Trilogy
I've played the trilogy about 3 times now and every single time it works. The story is brilliant, the characters are fantastic and the music is top notch. Even now, I think of Shepard saying goodbye to Liara on the Normandy as its blowing up or Mordin making the ultimate sacrifice on Tuchanka, or indeed Ash/Kaiden doing the same and i get emotional. Brilliant series of games

4. The Halo Games
When i first got my Xbox, it came bundled with a copy of Halo CE and Midtown Madness 3. Naturally (Since i despised driving games) I tried Halo first. My God. For the first FPS i'd ever played, it took my breath away. I still, to this day, am a massive fan of the Halo franchise. With Halo 4 just come out, i can fall in love with it all over again.

5.Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
When i was first getting into games, i played this game after i played Jade Empire. After playing this, I basically fell in love with story all over again. This was the game that made me a game enthusiast, this was the game that made me think "This is the Entertainment Medium that will take the world by storm".

 

[El Chiwawa Loco]

Pokemon Yellow ( the first game I ever played, and one i played with my dad all the time when I was 4)

Crash Bandicoot 1 (the first game I ever played on the ps1, and my personal favorite game of all time)

Rachet & Clank 3 (The first game me and my best freind ever bonded over)

Left 4 Dead (the game that convinced me to join the PS3/360/Wii generation and buy an xbox, and a game I still play today [though on pc])

Uncharted 2 (the game that, several years after it was released, convinced me to sell my xbox and get a ps3)

 

[Seydaman]

1. Legend of Zelda: OoT
What got me into games.

2. Garrys Mod
What got me into roleplaying

3. World of Warcraft
MMO stuff

4. Neverwinter Nights 2

5. Oblivion

 

[Barciad]

As sad, steady curve in the decline in my gaming based ethics can be inferred from this list:-

Civilisation - What got me into gaming

Command and Conquer: Red Alert - What got me into RTS's

Europa Universalis II - What got me into Imperialism

Medieval Total war II - What got me into mass murder

Hearts of Iron II - What got me into playing as Hitler

 

[blueshark217]

I thank my father for being a gamer, and thus making me a gamer playing the games he bought for himself which include...

Star Wars Jedi Knights II Jedi Outcast
setForceAll 9 anyone? cheats made this game hilariously fun when I was little, and was still fun eight years later when I beat it without.

Command and Conquer Generals
I completely sucked at it, and kinda didn't get it, but it was fast and fun.

Grand Theft Auto Vice city
I asked my dad why I was killing police officers, and he said they weren't real so its okay. Thats how its done.

Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare
I was in the fifth grade when my dad brought this game home. My first multi-player fps.

Super Smash brothers melee
My cousins and I used to play for hours whenever they'd come over, cause I was the cool cousin with the gamecube.

 

[blackrave]

Sooo, let me see

1) Contra- first game ever, the day we won the game with my brother was the one of the best days in my life
2) C&C:Tiberian Sun- my first entry into PC gaming good times... (you know that you can't simply assault enemy without pretty base )
3) Neverwinter Nights- my first entry into RPGs and user created content (I still consider it one of the best games ever, with the best inventory system ever done- seriously weight and space limited inventory with different size items and boxes/bags, only thing it lacked was ability to flip items for 90° like in DeusEx:HumanRevolution)
4) TES3:Morrowind- I love 1st person POV games, especially if they are RPGs with big open world and a lot of lore.
5) System Shock 2- I love 1st person POV games, especially if they are RPGs with big open world and a lot of lore AND sci-fi based

I think that's about it
(although I'm pretty sure nobody cares and most probably nobody will even read this)

 

[Crazy]

The games that define myself as a gamer? Well well... What do we have to say...

1. Halo CE. Lets just say, if I never played it, I wouldn't be bothered to love you all right now.

2. Paper Mario: TTYD. This game sealed my fate into my video gaming career, to say to least.

3. Luigi's Mansion. How could I forget the game that united so many laughs? Honestly...

4. Doom. Just a little lovely game... That forever annoyed me with puzzles until I got a migraine.

5. ???. Why should I tell you the game that started my video gaming reign?

 

[BrerRabbit]

Max Payne 2
great sequal and a great film noir style. I loved the relationship between Max and the russian. "I was supposed to be the hero..." perfect dying words

Mass Effect
true character development and custimization

Star Lancer
best space fighter game i ever played.

Alien vs Predator 2
possibly the best multiplayer game in terms of straight fun and true panic moments ever. Survivor Mode

Rainbow Six Raven Shield
Multiplayer Co-Op Terrorist Hunt
we used to set this to max difficulty with maximum # terrorists and not move on to the next map until the 5time of us could get all the way through it without any casualties. Loved the tactics and planning and challenge.

 

[Genocidicles]

5)Halo 3. The first FPS I played online in a serious way. I think I've sunk more time into TF2, but I never played it with friends. Whereas nearly every time I went on Halo 3 I was playing with several of my buddys. Plus splitscreen is always awesome.

4)Gunman Chronicles. The first FPS I played and the first game I ever finished.

3)Red Alert 2 + Yuri's Revenge. The first RTS I had fun playing, and the first game I played online (but never in a major way).

2)Final Fantasy 7. I sunk hours into this game at the time. The first game I played where I actually paid attention to the storyline too.

1)Deus Ex. My favourite game of all time. I go back to it about once a year, and I'm still finding new ways to get through the levels, or new people to talk to.

 

[shrekfan246]

Wacky Races
An old PC kart racer, similar to Mario Kart. Until I was 10 the only game system I had was my parents' computer, and this was the game I played far more than any other. It was the game that got me into videogames.

Do you mean Wacky Races or Wacky Wheels?

OT: Hm. Let's see here.

1) Sonic the Hedgehog

The first three Sonic games on the Genesis were probably what I played more than anything else while I was growing up. The controls, the levels, the soundtrack, the speed, everything about it was just so engrossing. And I continue to follow the games to this day.

2) Banjo-Tooie

Banjo-Kazooie was a great game. But the entire way through, you still feel just like you're playing a game. It's amusing, it's cute, it's fun, but it's obviously a game with the disjointed levels, literally artificial doors, etc.

Banjo-Tooie took the base that the first game set and built off of it, creating a much more organic game-world with inter-connected levels, more natural progression and more context for the "worlds" you were visiting. The controls were still top-notch, the additions were numerous, and the game was just so much more epic. A shining example of 3D platformers and the mind-set developers held back then.

3) Final Fantasy VII

The first grand RPG I ever played. It was overwhelming. I'd never played a game on the same scale before, and I always wanted to keep playing on just to see what would happen next. Also, without it I never would've played Final Fantasy IX, which I'd hold up as one of my favorite games that I've ever played.

4) Pokemon Red & Blue

The first handheld games I ever played. 150 different unique and interesting monsters, all of which I could catch, train, and use myself in battle? Set in a massive, sprawling world all packed onto this portable system that just ran off of batteries?

5) World of Warcraft

Over the twenty years I've been playing video games, I don't think I've put more hours into any game than WoW. I've met lots of interesting people, made a few friends, and just generally had a lot of fun over the five years since I began playing.

 

[PinkiePyro]

Pokemon (series):
this series whole is the major reason of my love of gaming *waves hand towards giant bin of pokemon toys and a large pile of plush dolls. I have been playing sense red and blue and I still love it.

Skyrim:
Dragons and freedom to roam thousands of miles and do crazy shit like fill a house with cheese. oh skyrim I love you! and bethsida are you spying on me?(also its the first game I ever bought DLC for)

Zelda (series):
once agin going back to my old GB links awaking was my first zelda title I also love zelda for its challenges and its art I often forget to eat when a new one comes out (expt you skyward you suck)

L4D:
a combonation of my two loves gaming and zombie flicks. it helped launch me into PC gaming and more adult games in genaral.

spyro (triogly): spyro the dragon was my first console game I instantly loved it. also notable spyro ripto's rage was the first game I 100% completed (well first without a cheating device)

 

[Captain_Dreadmor]

when i think about it the only ones that i feel defined me as a gamer are age of mythologies age of empires 2 and fable

edit: when i think hard i remember playing a lot of star wars jedi knight 2 and battlefront 2

 

[FallenTraveler]

Kingdom Hearts - First game I truly felt something for, there was emotion in this one. Also, I love the mashup of disney films and FF characters, I am an animation nerd and it is just incredible to look at these games and their art styles.

Ratchet And Clank- the first second and third are some of my favorite games of all time, some of the greatest memories I've ever had on a christmas

F.E.A.R - First game to actually scare me, still love every moment of this game.

Bioshock- honestly this was the game that helped me grow up, I feel like it helped me get out of the mentality that games are just fun and can have a cool story, it actually made me think.

Strangers Wrath- I don't care what anyone says, this is one of the best games ever made, it had a great, unique premise, a fun set of systems for combat and movement, it had an interesting and diverse set of characters, and you had a crossbow that shot animals. Fuck yes.

Honestly I'm not certain this list is entirely correct with Ratchet, I think Jak or Sly could have also been there. I think Ratchet was the one I spent the most time with.

 

[putowtin]

KotOR II: Ohhh I went there, I love the Exiles story and Darth Traya would kick Vader and Sidious' collective arses!

GTA San Andreas: The game that changed how I looked at gaming, no more "over in two second games" (until the force unleashed II!), I want games that last hours!

Assassin's Creed Series: Historically interesting, beautiful to look at, amazing sound tracks, and a multiplayer I actually enjoy playing!

Mass Effect Series: I'm not a big fan of shooty games (COD, Gears of War, halo etc) but I love the combat and the well crafted universe.

InFAMOUS Series: I truly, truly love these two games. I love the characters, the stories. The game play just flows, and the soundtracks (especially the second) are beautiful.

Hon mentions
Fallout NV
Skyrim

 

[JEBWrench]

Myst: It was the first PC game that ever really drew me in enough to want to follow the story more.

Dwarf Fortress: Because losing is !!FUN!!

Civilization II: Got me hooked into grand turn-based strategy games. (Special nod goes to Crusader Kings to getting me hooked into grand strategy games of pretty much all sorts)

Scorched Earth (The Mother of All Games): This was probably the first game I would actually have people over to play. Haven't had as much fun in a multiplayer game since.

Dragon Warrior/Dragon Quest: First game I ever beat, and for that will always hold a soft spot. (special nod goes to King's Bounty, the first game I beat repeatedly)

To quote the CAPTCHA: Easy as pie.

 

[Rooster893]

1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

This game, to me, is the ideal first person shooter. The campaign to this DAY sucks me in and refuses to pull me out. The multiplayer is one of the best I've ever played. Everything about this game is just PERFECT to me!

2. Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus

I have fond memories of playing the first game in the series, Oddysee, with my best friend, but the sequel to that, Exoddus, is my absolute favorite platforming game of all time. Haunting, immersive music coupled with amazing graphics (For a PS1 2.5D platformer) and challenging but satisfying gameplay, and a little bit of hilarious dark comedy makes for one sublime video game.

3. Super Smash Brothers Brawl

This game saved video games for me. Absolutely not kidding. I was slowly losing interest in gaming (music is to blame; still love tunes!) until my friend invited me over to play this. I hadn't played a video game in almost a year, and haven't touched a Nintendo system since 2004. Seeing Captain Falcon, Link, Fox and Donkey Kong back in action touched a nerve inside of me. And my friends and I have played the hell out of that game. We still do it every time we get together, for traditions' sake.

4. Team Fortress 2

Call of Duty 4 is one incredible game with a great multiplayer, but it sweet Jesus it does not compare to Team Fortress 2. I literally poured consecutive hours into this game. As soon as I got home from school, I turned on the Xbox 360 and played for at least 4 hours every night. I have over 60 hours clocked into each class, and my brother and I constantly competed for the personal record of backstabs. My mother actually had to turn it in to GameStop while I was at school because I was literally getting addicted to it. That's how good of a game it was.

5. Crash Bandicoot

This game got me into gaming as a child. It was the first video game I ever played the whole way through, with the most gorgeous graphics I had ever seen and fun, addicting gameplay. The levels were memorable, as were the bosses (albeit frustrating, but memorable) and what game could be complete without....

Spoiler: incredibly catchy music?

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[Xman490]

Listed by Playtime:
1. Minecraft
I love all the biomes, animals, and dozens of blocks to build with. It's so relaxing to walk through (snowy) forests and (sandy) plains and see spawned buildings and stone patches on my map. I love to explore.

2. Team Fortress 2
It's an adrenaline-filled war of rockets, bullets, and healing. However, the colorful characters make me love it much more.

3. Plants Vs. Zombies
Every once in a while, I take out my iPhone and play a level and watch as my lawn slowly gets filled with whatever plants I happen to choose/get. Like in TF2 and Minecraft, I love the variety.

4. Grand Theft Auto IV
The story is good, the gameplay is bad, and the multiplayer is barrels of fun! When I'm not in a mission, I can sit back and drive through a highway. Maybe the character will fly out of the car (or the car itself will fly off the road), screaming as I laugh.

5. Super Mario Sunshine
Why I really like this game is partly nostalgia, partly exploration, and partly jetpacking and rocketing in the air. It's the best Mario gameplay experience, and in realistic, industrialized locales!