What game is your gold standard?

[OceanRunner]

With RPGs I'd say Breath Of Fire IV's tag and spell combo combat systems, and it's spectacular soundtrack hold top rank with me, with an honourable mention to Grandia with it's own time-bar system.
With adventure games I'm tied between Shenmue and Okami, both having a beautiful soundtrack, well developed characters, and compelling gameplay.

 

[VanillaBean]

God of War- Terrific mix of action, adventure, and story.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare- Great FPS that definitly had the best multiplayer in the series.
Mario Galaxy- Best Wii game ever.
Link to the Past- Just a plain old amazing game that never gets old.
Bioshock- Proof that games can be art.
Portal-Its just too brilliant.

 

[Simmo8591]

FFX

I know many people will disagree with me on this but I still judge every game on how it compares to Final fantasy 10, sure i love other games but never was i so utterly devoted to one title

 

[warm slurm]

Shenmue.

 

[Kevonovitch]

-for racing games: onroad-GRiD offroad: DIRT2
-for FPS: infantry only-CoD4 all out warfare: BFBC2
-for RPG: Oblivion/The Witcher/FF7/ME1+2
-For Platforming: Asscreed 2 XD (ty yahtzee XP)

 

[Geekosaurus]

Either Hitman Blood Money or Splinter Cell Chaos Theory. It's been a while since I played Chaos Theory, I'm not sure if it'll have aged well. On that basis - Hitman.

 

[LarenzoAOG]

I judge games on their own merit. Having a gold standard is basically faulting every other game for being something other than the gold standard, basing your opinion of something on how it stacks up to somthing it isn't is kind of stupid, I wouldn't like Ted Cazinsky because he wasn't as bad as Adolf Hitler, and I wouldn't dislike Oprah because she isn't as nice as Mother Theresa (although Oprah does seem like a really nice person).

 

[Griphphin]

It's pretty genre/category specific, but one thing that jumps to the top of my nostalgia-tainted mind would be the cutscenes for FFX. Dear God, those were amazing <3
Not to mention Kimahri and Auron as my gold standards for badassery.

 

[Wayneguard]

Morrowind.

 

[thereverend7]

There are lots of games I hold dear to me, and would probably say they are all my "gold standards" but out of all of them, whenever I hear or read the words "Favorite Video game" The first thing that pops into my head is Resident Evil 4.

That game is perfection to me. It never gets old, and i've 100%'d it multiple times. I don't think I can say that about any other game, no matter how much time I spent playing it or loved it.

 

[Smokej]

Strategy:

Squad Tactics - Jagged Alliance 2
TBS - RoTK VIII
4X - Civ 2
Hybrid - Medieval 2 TW
RTS - Warcraft 2

Adventure / RPG:

Point&Click - Monkey 2
cRPG - BG 2
JRPG - FF VII
Action RPG - Diablo
Online - DAoC (for the PvP/RvR) UO (for the Rest)

Shooter:

FPS (allround package) - Half Life (including its best addon ever -> TFC)
Multiplayer - Quakeworld
Hybrid - Deus Ex (Mass Effect is a good contender as well)
Military - Operation Flashpoint
Sandbox - GTA Vice City

Simulations:

Racing - Gran Turismo 3
Space - Privateer 2
Mech - Mechwarrior 2 Mercenaries
Sports - NFL Headcoach 09 (real depth for a console game here)
Flight - Janes AH-64D Longbow

if i had to choose one for a desert-island it would be BG2 hm... maybe JA2 for replay value, hm close call here

 

[FernandoV]

Shooters: CoD:MW (the original) RPGs: Used to be Bioshock, now it's Mass Effect 2 Gimmick games: Mirror's Edge

 

[TheLiham]

KoTOR 1, FFVII, Half-Life, Halo 2, Halo Reach, Oddworld, Pokemans Silver, Mass Effect 2, Brutal Legend, Silent Hill 2/Homecoming.

 

[Sovereignty]

Depends seriously... There's 3.

Any type of shooter: Rainbow Six 3 (I know there's like 70, but I'm talking about the xbox one... That or the old school n64 rainbow six)

Any kind of game with RPG-esque stuff: Way of the Samurai 2

Sports games: NFL Blitz 2000 for dream cast

All else: Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusades.

 

[ImprovizoR]

Counter-Strike. Nothing's beat it yet.

So true. After more than 10 years I still play it with the same enthusiasm. But I only compare FPS games with it.

But for me it depends on genre and sub-genre.
So: MGS3, Morrowind, Mass Effect 2, Max Payne 2, Warcraft 3, San Andreas and Vice City, Hitman Blood Money, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Dragon Age Origins, NBA 2k11.

 

[Double A]

My gold standard for platformers, adventure games, stories, and general amazingness is PoP: Sands of Time. For shooters I guess I use Halo Reach. ME2 for cover-based shooters and RPGs, and Morrowind for open-world games.

No one game to judge the rest by for me, sorry. The genre/gameplay matters into all my comparing.

EDIT: Aww snap, first guy replying to thread must answer!

NHL 10.

It met or exceeded every expectation and want I had. I wish another game let me say so as well.

You, sir, sadden me deeply.

OT: Mass Effect 2

I think it's a good idea. Only the worst of the worst of games will ever be seen bad in his eyes!

 

[Wakefield]

Mass Effect. Both of them.

 

[Austin Howe]

From a purely aesthetic perspective, Super Metroid: Redesign, a rom hack of what was PREVIOUSLY the gold standard of aestheticism in gaming, is golden. Immersive, richly detailed, creative, long, and utterly satisfying.

From a narrative driven perspective Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is an unapollogetically theme-driven piece of game, a game that admits that, despite it's awesome gameplay, it's using it as a vehicle to interactively depict war, and to present what I find a frankly more haunting vision of it than has yet to be presented in a game. The ideas of soldiers as expendable units, the disconnection of soldiers from their states, all of it comes through in the gameplay.

As a combination, you'll have to get back to me.

 

[Savagezion]

Mostly I do the genre separation. Although, I compare A LOT of games to Arcanum now that you mention it.

Of the genres I play:
RPG - Arcanum, although here lately Mass Effect has been getting recognition from me.
Racing - Midnight Club 3 Dub Edition
Action - Uncharted
Shooter -MW1
Builder -RollerCoaster Tycoon 1 + Bullfrog's ThemePark + Tropico (It's collective perfection)
Strategy - Civ/X-com

]Wow...after reading through this thread it made me feel very old. Of all the games mentioned (well, most of them anyways) they all seem to have been made in the last 5-10 years.

What about a classic like TIE Fighter? It was one of the BEST uses of the Star Wars franchise, had a terrific story with intrigue, political backstabbing, crushing the Rebel scum under the boot of Imperial might combined with outstanding gameplay and excellent production values.

How about Transport Tycoon? One of the best "tycoon" type games out there which has yet to be matched, even by it's own creator, Chris Sawyer (his laughable Locomotion sequel was...well, laughable). And now with a dedicated community creating an open source version, it's even more awesome than it was.

And have we all forgotten Fallout 1 and 2? Games that redesigned the CRPG genre for the better. Black Isle was way ahead of it's time with the writing and game designs on these ones. Sure, I hated the turn-based combat, but I put up with it because they were just awesome games.

Just my $.02

Chris Sawyer was a bad ass for Tycoon/builder game fans. I love his stuff. I even found myself playing locomotion on bored days. (Yes, it did suck) But unfortunately the steps into modern technology have definitely made some pretty amazing leaps in gameplay. Most of my list is pretty modern because sometimes comparing old games with new games can easily make the old not shine so bright. I like Fallout 1 & 2 a lot and enjoy putting on my nostalgia goggles every so often. But in all honestly it had a very skimpy dialogue and shallow characters. Not for its day, but by today's standards it fails in that department. It honestly isn't any more deep than a Bethesda game, if in fact it is that deep. It is original for sure. I credit Planescape:Torment as well for its originality its mechanics aren't anything to be praised.

Black Isle was recently shown tribute with Dragon Age and it got mixed responses after people had experienced where the evolution in games has went. But it was more the mechanics that received the tribute. I am not talking bad on Dragon Age or the old system but Bioware pulled out of that fast and tried to modernize Dragon Age for the sequel because the old style didn't go over as well as they had hoped.

I definitely agree the old games have their charms and I have ridiculous games I pull out for comparison I don't even want to mention on here. But I don't seriously expect games to be held to that standard because I personally think the standard too low for today's time. Just to share a couple I haven't mentioned is Platformers: Joe & Mac 2 (SNES) and MMOs: Anarchy Online. Realistically I would hold MMOs to City of Heroes + Guild Wars. But my brain illogically wants me to compare them all to AO, my first long term investment in an MMO that is now a dated system with glaring balance issues.

I ain't knocking your opinion, I actually quoted you because it is cool to see another person obviously near my own age that takes an interest similar to myself. Just offering my view on the $.02 that you threw out there.

 

[Valiance]

X-Com: UFO Defense.

Everything else pales in comparison.

(runner-up prize to Wing Commander 3: Heart of the Tiger, honorary mentions to Terra Nova:Strike Force Centauri and Shattered Steel)