The Second Escapist Community?s Top 100 Games [Voting Closed]
- Thread starter Cpt_Oblivious
- Start date
Goldeneye (the n64 one of course)
Driver
Crimson Skies (the PC original)
TIE Fighter
Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction
Driver
Crimson Skies (the PC original)
TIE Fighter
Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction
Mass Effect 2
GTA: San Andreas
Fallout: New Vegas
Crash Team racing
Final Fantasy 7 (yes i know i'm very sorry but i just happen to love the thing)
GTA: San Andreas
Fallout: New Vegas
Crash Team racing
Final Fantasy 7 (yes i know i'm very sorry but i just happen to love the thing)
Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind
Fallout: New Vegas
Star Wars Battlefronts 2
Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
KotOR
Fallout: New Vegas
Star Wars Battlefronts 2
Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
KotOR
Mass Effect 2
The Witcher 2
League of Legends
Warhammer 40k
awn of War 2
Arcanum
First 2 seem like they are off the top of my head but infact I've played them and will play them in future as much as some multiplayer games I've sunk many hours in.And well Arcanum is a timeless classic in my opinion better than Fallout 2 and deserves a lot of people interested in the genre's attention.
The Witcher 2
League of Legends
Warhammer 40k
awn of War 2Arcanum
First 2 seem like they are off the top of my head but infact I've played them and will play them in future as much as some multiplayer games I've sunk many hours in.And well Arcanum is a timeless classic in my opinion better than Fallout 2 and deserves a lot of people interested in the genre's attention.
Metal Gear Solid 4
Star Wars Jedi Knight Dark Forces 2
Final Fantasy X
System Shock 2
Tombraider 2
Star Wars Jedi Knight Dark Forces 2
Final Fantasy X
System Shock 2
Tombraider 2
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Deus Ex
Prince of Persia: The sands of time
X3 Terran Conflict
Half-Life 2
Deus Ex
Prince of Persia: The sands of time
X3 Terran Conflict
Half-Life 2
Tomb Raider Underworld
Halo: Reach
Batman Arkham Asylum
Max Payne 1
Mass EFfect 1
Reasons as for why if anyone's really interested
Halo: Reach
Batman Arkham Asylum
Max Payne 1
Mass EFfect 1
Reasons as for why if anyone's really interested
Tomb Raider: Underworld:
Anyone who's seen me around these forums will know I am perhaps the biggest Lara Croft/Tomb Raider geek you'll ever meet. Tomb Raider III was my first PlayStation game (and as such my first 'real' game) and Lara Croft probably one of the only fictional characters I have ever genuinely had a crush on. I have played every game in the series and loved... well most of them, and I couldn't in good conscience give my nomination to any other but the latest installment. You see although I grew up on the originals (1-Chronicles) I will be the first to admit that they have not aged well, the difficulty is actually restrictive, instead of challenging, the combat dodgy, the camera beyond unhelpful, the story nonexistant and the platforming fiddly. All of these are criticisms that could be levelled at the revamped series but playing through the entire canon is a revelation. Underworld is not without problems, but (and I guess I must just have gotten lucky because I have never experienced any of the problems I here people talking about) it is the best and most updated game of the lot. It brings a conclusion to a story I genuinely cared about, that had an arc of more than one isolated game. It made Lara into a person, with weaknesses and proper reactions to things. It brought her one step closer to my ideal view of Lara, the comic book version, and I love it for that if nothing else. Hopefully the reboot will be the next golden egg but until then, to Ms Croft, who captured my heart at age 8 and hasn't let go.
Halo: Reach:
I'm a big Halo fan. It was the game which enticed me away from the PlayStation and to buy the XBox over the PS2, a decision I have never regretted. Halo: CE was, I think, a pretty great game that stands forever amongst my favourite games of all time list. The reason i nominate Halo: Reach instead is that I honestly believe it was a better game. I got interested in the mythos of Halo, the backstory and the characters and the world they had created. Given the book-verse in particular, the Master Chief's story seemed like a tiny little segment, albeit it one with great significance. Halo Reach showed a much more personal view, one team struggling simply to survive, and when that becomes impossible to strike the strongest and hardest blow they can. Also, the one thing I thought was missing from Halo: CE was having a team who felt useful, and while ODST introduced many aspects of that, some of the early levels of Reach, running around with Noble Team, felt like the Halo game I had been waiting a whole decade for. Also, the controls are better, the graphics greatly improved and the AI ramped up. I guess when the remade Halo: CE gets released it will supplant Reach, but until then, Reach is my favoritew First Person Shooter, and my favourite of the series.
Batman: Arkham Asylum:
These recommendations are turning into Colon: Revenge of the Colons. Batman Arkham Asylum is fun. There's very little other way to describe it. The combat is fun, fast, fin...tuitive and all flows fluently from the fingers to the fighting (I love alliteration). The sneaking aspect is the first time in a long time I've seen stealth gone really well, and the controls aren't getting in the way (which was always my view of the Hitman series.) The story will appeal to comic book fans because it fits into continuity and references it enough to make any devout Batman reader smile, but still remains accesible to non-fans who just want to beat up punks. Nothing much more to say about it besides adding that Mark Hamill's Joker was the voice of my Saturday morning cartoons and practically the reason I got into Batman in the first place.
Max Payne 1:
Finally, no colons in the actual title. Max Payne is one of those games I really shouldn't like anymore. Max Payne 2 had greatly improved combat and a better story, and Stranglehold added so many new moves you could actually feel like you were in a John Woo movie, instead of moving a clunky platformer from one movie setpiece to another. But Max Payne 1 works so well, the simplicity of the story, the variety of the weapons and the absolutely phenomenal pacing of it all make it in my opinion one of the landmark games. All of the games I've talked about so far look like they'll be getting sequels which are great improvements on the formula but Max PAyne is probably the only one of them I'd argue doesn't need it. Nothing about Maxie ever needed making better, it was a near flawless first time outing that has yet to be matched.
Mass EFfect 1
And here's the controversial opinion that was already warned against in the Cap'n's opening words. Why do I love Mass Effect 1? Well call me crazy but I like the micromanagement, I like feeling like my Shepard really is my Shepard. That I am the only one who would level her up as I have, rather than the incredibly restrictive ME2 levelling system. I don't like being able to tell where every attack is going to be by the placement of chest high boxes, I don't like there being so few weapons, I don't like the story feeling like a collection of sidequests which converge at the end instead of an actual hunt. Mass Effect 1, in my opinion, had a better story, better pacing, better Role-Playing, and better characters (much better characters) than ME2, so it will remain above it's sequel until the release of ME3, which I pray every day to the gaming gods will be the coveted 'Naked Gun 33 1/3, Back to the Future III, Return of the King, or Toy Story 3,' instead of the turgid depths of the 'Rise of the Lycans, Bourne Ultimatum, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Robocop 3, or Goldmember.'
Anyone who's seen me around these forums will know I am perhaps the biggest Lara Croft/Tomb Raider geek you'll ever meet. Tomb Raider III was my first PlayStation game (and as such my first 'real' game) and Lara Croft probably one of the only fictional characters I have ever genuinely had a crush on. I have played every game in the series and loved... well most of them, and I couldn't in good conscience give my nomination to any other but the latest installment. You see although I grew up on the originals (1-Chronicles) I will be the first to admit that they have not aged well, the difficulty is actually restrictive, instead of challenging, the combat dodgy, the camera beyond unhelpful, the story nonexistant and the platforming fiddly. All of these are criticisms that could be levelled at the revamped series but playing through the entire canon is a revelation. Underworld is not without problems, but (and I guess I must just have gotten lucky because I have never experienced any of the problems I here people talking about) it is the best and most updated game of the lot. It brings a conclusion to a story I genuinely cared about, that had an arc of more than one isolated game. It made Lara into a person, with weaknesses and proper reactions to things. It brought her one step closer to my ideal view of Lara, the comic book version, and I love it for that if nothing else. Hopefully the reboot will be the next golden egg but until then, to Ms Croft, who captured my heart at age 8 and hasn't let go.
Halo: Reach:
I'm a big Halo fan. It was the game which enticed me away from the PlayStation and to buy the XBox over the PS2, a decision I have never regretted. Halo: CE was, I think, a pretty great game that stands forever amongst my favourite games of all time list. The reason i nominate Halo: Reach instead is that I honestly believe it was a better game. I got interested in the mythos of Halo, the backstory and the characters and the world they had created. Given the book-verse in particular, the Master Chief's story seemed like a tiny little segment, albeit it one with great significance. Halo Reach showed a much more personal view, one team struggling simply to survive, and when that becomes impossible to strike the strongest and hardest blow they can. Also, the one thing I thought was missing from Halo: CE was having a team who felt useful, and while ODST introduced many aspects of that, some of the early levels of Reach, running around with Noble Team, felt like the Halo game I had been waiting a whole decade for. Also, the controls are better, the graphics greatly improved and the AI ramped up. I guess when the remade Halo: CE gets released it will supplant Reach, but until then, Reach is my favoritew First Person Shooter, and my favourite of the series.
Batman: Arkham Asylum:
These recommendations are turning into Colon: Revenge of the Colons. Batman Arkham Asylum is fun. There's very little other way to describe it. The combat is fun, fast, fin...tuitive and all flows fluently from the fingers to the fighting (I love alliteration). The sneaking aspect is the first time in a long time I've seen stealth gone really well, and the controls aren't getting in the way (which was always my view of the Hitman series.) The story will appeal to comic book fans because it fits into continuity and references it enough to make any devout Batman reader smile, but still remains accesible to non-fans who just want to beat up punks. Nothing much more to say about it besides adding that Mark Hamill's Joker was the voice of my Saturday morning cartoons and practically the reason I got into Batman in the first place.
Max Payne 1:
Finally, no colons in the actual title. Max Payne is one of those games I really shouldn't like anymore. Max Payne 2 had greatly improved combat and a better story, and Stranglehold added so many new moves you could actually feel like you were in a John Woo movie, instead of moving a clunky platformer from one movie setpiece to another. But Max Payne 1 works so well, the simplicity of the story, the variety of the weapons and the absolutely phenomenal pacing of it all make it in my opinion one of the landmark games. All of the games I've talked about so far look like they'll be getting sequels which are great improvements on the formula but Max PAyne is probably the only one of them I'd argue doesn't need it. Nothing about Maxie ever needed making better, it was a near flawless first time outing that has yet to be matched.
Mass EFfect 1
And here's the controversial opinion that was already warned against in the Cap'n's opening words. Why do I love Mass Effect 1? Well call me crazy but I like the micromanagement, I like feeling like my Shepard really is my Shepard. That I am the only one who would level her up as I have, rather than the incredibly restrictive ME2 levelling system. I don't like being able to tell where every attack is going to be by the placement of chest high boxes, I don't like there being so few weapons, I don't like the story feeling like a collection of sidequests which converge at the end instead of an actual hunt. Mass Effect 1, in my opinion, had a better story, better pacing, better Role-Playing, and better characters (much better characters) than ME2, so it will remain above it's sequel until the release of ME3, which I pray every day to the gaming gods will be the coveted 'Naked Gun 33 1/3, Back to the Future III, Return of the King, or Toy Story 3,' instead of the turgid depths of the 'Rise of the Lycans, Bourne Ultimatum, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Robocop 3, or Goldmember.'
Here's mine completely biased and nostalgic list, of games that hold a special place in my heart.
In no particular order:
Final Fatasy IX
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Metal Gear Solid
Curse of The Monkey Island
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (a narrow win against Planescape Torment only beacue I spent more time playing it)
Also only 5 games ???? It was hard leaving out likes of Broken Sword, Call of Duty 4, Portal, Half Life 2, Dragon Age: Origins etc.
In no particular order:
Final Fatasy IX
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Metal Gear Solid
Curse of The Monkey Island
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (a narrow win against Planescape Torment only beacue I spent more time playing it)
Also only 5 games ???? It was hard leaving out likes of Broken Sword, Call of Duty 4, Portal, Half Life 2, Dragon Age: Origins etc.
Final Fantasy IX (I've always found the story, music, characters, and feel of this game to be pitch perfect compared to the others in the series. And while I have only really played FF5, 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11, I think the balance between being able to traverse the entire overworld with ease and filling that overworld with interesting and meaningful sidequests and extras is best achieved in FFIX.)
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (the realism and flow of multiplayer (not to mention its cinematic nature) makes this game a favorite for me as well as the great pacing and witty+very well written dialogue of the single player. I'm not the biggest patron of military shooters but I think this one has a level of depth and detail that others, namely CoD, don't.)
Half Life 2 (No explanation needed in this community)
Shadow of The Colossus (My personal answer to the 'are games art?' question. I'm sure I'm not the only one.)
Warcraft 3 (I saw someone else post this game and I decided to use it also because I was having trouble with a fifth choice. Starcraft was my first experience with mod-able online multiplayer and I spent many many hours playing different people's takes on turret defense and stacking maps. However Warcraft 3 added many layers of complexity to the RTS paradigm and I think it deserves a vote for its versatility with respect to community made maps as well as being excellent in its own right.)
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (the realism and flow of multiplayer (not to mention its cinematic nature) makes this game a favorite for me as well as the great pacing and witty+very well written dialogue of the single player. I'm not the biggest patron of military shooters but I think this one has a level of depth and detail that others, namely CoD, don't.)
Half Life 2 (No explanation needed in this community)
Shadow of The Colossus (My personal answer to the 'are games art?' question. I'm sure I'm not the only one.)
Warcraft 3 (I saw someone else post this game and I decided to use it also because I was having trouble with a fifth choice. Starcraft was my first experience with mod-able online multiplayer and I spent many many hours playing different people's takes on turret defense and stacking maps. However Warcraft 3 added many layers of complexity to the RTS paradigm and I think it deserves a vote for its versatility with respect to community made maps as well as being excellent in its own right.)
