What game is your gold standard?
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Tetris, anything better than tetris gets my vote, what can I say I'am an easy man to please, so please me, please I'am so desperate for some pleasing right now....
It's different for every genre. I'd say my favorite games ever are jak 2 and 3 on the ps2, but I don't COMPARE them to anything (mainly because there aren't any other games like them except maybe Ratchet and Clank if you stretch it.) If a game is similar to another game that's vastly more popular, that's what I'll compare it to, regardless of which one is better.
Oh, that is a good question ... now that I really think about it I'd say on a conscious level I'm thinking of Mass Effect, Darwinia, and Dear Esther. However I feel like I really compare everything to Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds and Battlefront. It's totally irrational, but those games were my childhood.
I'd say Half-Life 2 because OP did and I like to feel like I'm fitting in, but, as much as I hate to say it... Crysis is.
It still needs top-of-the-range hardware to run on full at a decent framerate and it still has more buttons to memorize than an RTS but it all has such astounding gameplay depth to go with the sort of over-complicated PC-ery, that no game has matched since 2007. Honestly! I expected by the end of 2008 we'd all have graphics approaching Crysis-level and games with unseen depth as we squeezed every last drop from the hardware, but now in 2010 the only things that're even close to Crysis are Assassins Creed sequels and the occasional RPG. Why aren't our action-games and first-person shooters getting Crysis-flavoured injections? I mean, obviously with a much better stories... but the sort of technological depth that pushes gaming as a medium forward.
So yeah, Crysis, if only because it shone as a glimpse of the future and three years later that future is yet to catch up with us.
It still needs top-of-the-range hardware to run on full at a decent framerate and it still has more buttons to memorize than an RTS but it all has such astounding gameplay depth to go with the sort of over-complicated PC-ery, that no game has matched since 2007. Honestly! I expected by the end of 2008 we'd all have graphics approaching Crysis-level and games with unseen depth as we squeezed every last drop from the hardware, but now in 2010 the only things that're even close to Crysis are Assassins Creed sequels and the occasional RPG. Why aren't our action-games and first-person shooters getting Crysis-flavoured injections? I mean, obviously with a much better stories... but the sort of technological depth that pushes gaming as a medium forward.
So yeah, Crysis, if only because it shone as a glimpse of the future and three years later that future is yet to catch up with us.
You know, I just never could get into Homeworld. I'm not sure why. I played through the original game once; I struggle to remember which mechanic it was that turned me off, but the interface really didn't click with me.Mr.K. said:
I always played Master of Orion 2. A lot.
Now I'm playing A. I. War: Fleet Command and it might just be the best tower defense\rts game I've ever played.
One that has a lot of potential is Distant Worlds; we'll see about them after the expansion.
edit: oops edit fail
Hm...a high-standard game; something we hold up to all other similar games in order to compare them.
I wouldn't know which one to pick out of the lot of them. I have a list, however, of some that would definitely be my shining examples:
Over-all: Okami - PS2
Flight Simulator: Ace Combat IV, V, & Zero - PS2
FPS: Battlefield Bad Company - XBox 360
Franchise Games: Reign of Fire - PS2
RPG: Breath of Fire IV - PSX
Spacefighter Combat: Freespace II - PC
3rd Person Shooter: Robotech Battlecry - PS2
MMORPG: World Of Warcraft & City of Heroes/Villains - PC
I wouldn't know which one to pick out of the lot of them. I have a list, however, of some that would definitely be my shining examples:
Over-all: Okami - PS2
Flight Simulator: Ace Combat IV, V, & Zero - PS2
FPS: Battlefield Bad Company - XBox 360
Franchise Games: Reign of Fire - PS2
RPG: Breath of Fire IV - PSX
Spacefighter Combat: Freespace II - PC
3rd Person Shooter: Robotech Battlecry - PS2
MMORPG: World Of Warcraft & City of Heroes/Villains - PC
I would say for..
JRPG's a toss up between Tales of Vesperia and Final Fantasy IX
Gears of War/Resident Evil 4 for 3rd person shooters and the whole Call of Duty franchise for 1st person
Guild Wars for MMO's even though its technically not classified as one.
Bioware's whole catalog for western RPG's.
And I'm pretty open with fighting games and action games as long as the graphics are up to date and the characters look pretty cool.
JRPG's a toss up between Tales of Vesperia and Final Fantasy IX
Gears of War/Resident Evil 4 for 3rd person shooters and the whole Call of Duty franchise for 1st person
Guild Wars for MMO's even though its technically not classified as one.
Bioware's whole catalog for western RPG's.
And I'm pretty open with fighting games and action games as long as the graphics are up to date and the characters look pretty cool.
3rd person shooter: Spyhon Filter series
story/FPS/RPG: S.T.A.L.K.E.R:SoC
1st person shooter: Unreal
Spacefighter combat: Freelancer
mecha based combat: toss up between Zone of the enders: the second runner and armored core 2
racing game: Wipeout series
RPG: Valkyria Chronicles
Multiplayer: Unreal Tournament
story/FPS/RPG: S.T.A.L.K.E.R:SoC
1st person shooter: Unreal
Spacefighter combat: Freelancer
mecha based combat: toss up between Zone of the enders: the second runner and armored core 2
racing game: Wipeout series
RPG: Valkyria Chronicles
Multiplayer: Unreal Tournament
Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis is my gold standard for realistic first person shooters.
Released in 2001, it was capable of doing things most of today's shooters can't or won't do. At a time when most game worlds took the form of small, arena-style maps and indoor settings, Flashpoint took place on whole islands several square kilometers in size, full of forests, valleys, mountains, villages and bases, and it did this with no in-game loading screens, at all. If that alone isn't impressive enough, the engine also simulates ballistics (bullet drop and travel time), sound travel time (a supersonic bullet reaches you before the sound of the rifle that fired it)... even the tides change depending on the hour and time of the year.
This is a game that was modified into a training simulator (VBS1) which is currently in use by several of the world's militaries. The realism and difficulty is such that playing mainstream "war" shooters feels like an amusement park ride in comparison. In this game, every bullet that wizzes by is a potential instant death, being shot in the legs means crawling until you can find a medic (if you can), and you rarely get close enough to be killed by an enemy hand grenade, because often the last thing you see is a dot on the horizon just before they shoot you.
Furthermore, on top of simulating infantry combat in great detail, it also features a huge variety of vehicles (everything from tractors and boats to tanks and fighter jets), all of which can be controlled by the player (or players) and all of which are depicted with a surprisingly high level of detail and realism. It also does an incredible job of putting all these vehicles to work in practice and depicting the complex relationships between infantry, armor and air elements in war (combined arms warfare).
Just about anything NPCs can do, you can do. In the long and varied single player campaign, you start out a lowly private in the U.S. Army, following the orders barked at you by your superiors. Much later on you receive a promotion to Lieutenant and can take charge of up to 11 soldiers. The command system is complex and detailed, and adds a huge tactical element to the game. Want to tell your AI sniper to stay low and target that guy over there but not fire until you give the order? You can. Want to split your squad into two or three teams and search a forest? You can do that. Want to order an NPC to pick you up in a helicopter? You can do that.
As squad leader you can use your initiative and try a wide variety of solutions to achieve your objectives. In stark contrast to most games in which you're led around by the nose and rarely make any real decisions, in Operation Flashpoint you're simply given some objectives to complete and some resources with which to do so, and exactly how you go about it is up to you. Want to go in heavy with a tanks? Go ahead, but you'll lose the element of surprise. Want to sneak in on foot and set up and ambush. Sure, but you better hope the enemy doesn't have a tank escort.
Then there's the fact that any and all of the scenarios in the single player game are also possible in multiplayer. One of my favourite missions involves two groups of guerilla fighters fighting in two seperate locations 3 kilometers apart, while a third group fly an A-10 tank killer and a Blackhawk helicopter in support. Humans lead AI or vice versa, and there can be any combination of infantry, armor and air power in any given mission. The potential for diverse gameplay is huge, from serious and drawn-out cooperative missions to outlandish scenarios. Want to have a player versus player capture the flag? How about a bicycle race? What about a dogfight in WW1-era prop planes? All of that is possible.
And to top that all off, OFP was its developers first ever game.
Released in 2001, it was capable of doing things most of today's shooters can't or won't do. At a time when most game worlds took the form of small, arena-style maps and indoor settings, Flashpoint took place on whole islands several square kilometers in size, full of forests, valleys, mountains, villages and bases, and it did this with no in-game loading screens, at all. If that alone isn't impressive enough, the engine also simulates ballistics (bullet drop and travel time), sound travel time (a supersonic bullet reaches you before the sound of the rifle that fired it)... even the tides change depending on the hour and time of the year.
This is a game that was modified into a training simulator (VBS1) which is currently in use by several of the world's militaries. The realism and difficulty is such that playing mainstream "war" shooters feels like an amusement park ride in comparison. In this game, every bullet that wizzes by is a potential instant death, being shot in the legs means crawling until you can find a medic (if you can), and you rarely get close enough to be killed by an enemy hand grenade, because often the last thing you see is a dot on the horizon just before they shoot you.
Furthermore, on top of simulating infantry combat in great detail, it also features a huge variety of vehicles (everything from tractors and boats to tanks and fighter jets), all of which can be controlled by the player (or players) and all of which are depicted with a surprisingly high level of detail and realism. It also does an incredible job of putting all these vehicles to work in practice and depicting the complex relationships between infantry, armor and air elements in war (combined arms warfare).
Just about anything NPCs can do, you can do. In the long and varied single player campaign, you start out a lowly private in the U.S. Army, following the orders barked at you by your superiors. Much later on you receive a promotion to Lieutenant and can take charge of up to 11 soldiers. The command system is complex and detailed, and adds a huge tactical element to the game. Want to tell your AI sniper to stay low and target that guy over there but not fire until you give the order? You can. Want to split your squad into two or three teams and search a forest? You can do that. Want to order an NPC to pick you up in a helicopter? You can do that.
As squad leader you can use your initiative and try a wide variety of solutions to achieve your objectives. In stark contrast to most games in which you're led around by the nose and rarely make any real decisions, in Operation Flashpoint you're simply given some objectives to complete and some resources with which to do so, and exactly how you go about it is up to you. Want to go in heavy with a tanks? Go ahead, but you'll lose the element of surprise. Want to sneak in on foot and set up and ambush. Sure, but you better hope the enemy doesn't have a tank escort.
Then there's the fact that any and all of the scenarios in the single player game are also possible in multiplayer. One of my favourite missions involves two groups of guerilla fighters fighting in two seperate locations 3 kilometers apart, while a third group fly an A-10 tank killer and a Blackhawk helicopter in support. Humans lead AI or vice versa, and there can be any combination of infantry, armor and air power in any given mission. The potential for diverse gameplay is huge, from serious and drawn-out cooperative missions to outlandish scenarios. Want to have a player versus player capture the flag? How about a bicycle race? What about a dogfight in WW1-era prop planes? All of that is possible.
And to top that all off, OFP was its developers first ever game.
I'm honestly surprised Planescape: Torment hasn't had a single mention yet.
It has now.
Bam.
Edit: I suppose I ought to add Company of Heroes (and its expansion, Opposing Fronts) to the list as well.
It has now.
Bam.
Edit: I suppose I ought to add Company of Heroes (and its expansion, Opposing Fronts) to the list as well.
Pokemon, I can't fault the games, I still enjoy the older ones as much as I did when they first came out, if not more.
Secondly, Spyro: Gateway to Glimmer, an immense game that I played to it's untimely death, I'd love it to be re-released on newer consoles, completely untouched but that isn't going to happen. *sheds a tear*
Secondly, Spyro: Gateway to Glimmer, an immense game that I played to it's untimely death, I'd love it to be re-released on newer consoles, completely untouched but that isn't going to happen. *sheds a tear*
