Your gaming turn ons

[-Samurai-]

Customization of any sort. The more complex, the better. I got so into building ACs in Armored Core 3 that I forgot there was a combat portion to the game. It's a shame the cut the complexity of it down. Finding that perfect balance of weight, energy output, energy usage without overheating or shutting down, movement speed, turn speed, radar lock, and a host of other things was something I spent weeks on, and enjoyed every second of it. Then you build a new one that functions differently and uses different weapons, and you get a whole new set of challenges. That's it, I'm putting in my AC3 disk.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

- Orchestral/Opera like soundtracks (See Nier's Shadowlord's Castle/Roar)
- Really well done effects, both smooth and really expertly done, and flashy too as a bonus
- Gameplay concentration, putting graphics second (They still gotta be good though)
- Fast paced gameplay (I'm not much into strategy games like Fire Emblem or RTS games)
- Loads of replay value (I know Monster Hunter is repetitive at times, but I clocked 465 hours on Freedom Unite. How's that for replay value? Best 30$ ever spend in my entire life)
- Voice acting (As long as it's good)
- Really good character customization (Outside and inside of the start of the game)
- Back to music, anything with an Opera voice in it, a full symphony, piano, and a violin put in the soundtrack, will get me every time. (Falcom JDK is a good example. I love countless songs by them, because they are a fast rock/metal band with a wicked electric violin player. They even get a little symphonic in some songs. It makes my ears tingle when I hear it. Symphonic soundtracks are just beautiful to me, and it doesn't take much for me to like a song that sounds orchestrated)
- Final bosses that make you go "Holy shit man!" Examples: Nyx from Persona 3, White Fatalis from Monster Hunter, Ganon from LoZ: Ocarina of Time, Rul Ende from Ys Seven, Merlina from Sonic and the Black Knight

Whew, that's a lot of typing XD

 

[Torrasque]

Good music that fits the aesthetic of the game
A bad guy(s) that seem to be impossible to stop
Leveling system that gives you lots of choice to develop your character(s)
Support characters that add hilarity and depth, but do not steal the spotlight
Lots of back story so you can figure out the motivation(s) for each person/faction

 

[StylinBones]

3rd person.
Smooth controls.
Give me a storyline to follow, minimal sandboxiness is ok.
A world that's not too big, I don't want to spend half a game traveling.
Pretty graphics.
Turn based combat.
Weapon variety/RPG elements (armor, character customization, etc.)

Don't need all of them in 1 game, but those are my turn ons.

 

[Veylon]

8- or 16-bit graphics and music
Large areas to explore with things to find
Being able to invent, customize, or create things
Saccharine aesthetics combined with the serious themes

 

[arnoldthebird]

-Stealth
-Good story
-Customisation
-Nonlinear/Sandbox
-Swords and shit

And above all...the game must be made with LOOOVVVEEE

 

[Nouw]

Character Customization is a definite turn on for me in shooters. I loved how in Halo:Reach you can totally pimp out your spartan. It's funny how you're scrawny at the start and end up incredibly buff with massive pauldrons and chestpieces at the end.

 

[Cameron Hyatt]

-Good stealth. Doesn't just have to be sticking to the shadows.
-Challenging in both single and multiplayer. Dark Souls is the best example I can think of.
-Eye for detail. Doesn't have to be pretty, but details like having 31 bullets in your gun after reloading with a shot still in the chamber is sweet.
-Well written stories
-EVE Online. I love just about everything in that game.

 

[Bigbomb94]

-Large scaled battles
-Long Story with extra things to do after you beat it
-Really good customization
-Zombies
-Cooperative survival modes

One thing that turns me off are collectibles in games like Gears of War. I waste so much time just trying to find all of them. But then I find out that I missed some in a level and I don't feel motivated enough to play the level again just to find it.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

Well, I can definitely answer to this:

1: Like many others, I love to customize my character in any way I can. Face, gender, body type, armor and armor colors and patters if possible. Better yet, let me play as a cool alien. Because hell, I'll always like aliens better than humans. I'M a human, and compared to aliens humans are boring.

2: In sci-fi, cool aliens. In fantasy, more than just elves and dwarves. For bonus points, make the elves and dwarves unique somehow.

3: In any kind of shooter, guns that are not only good looking, but fun to use. To borrow the Blizzard mantra, "Easy to use but hard to master.". Prime examples: The F2000 from Modern Warfare 2, and the Mattock from Mass Effects 2-3. For bonus points, make it so I can tweak the performance just the way I want.

4: Again, going from Mass Effect, deep characters and great interaction. If you can make me cry when a character dies, or make me really laugh when they make a joke, or just end up being unintentionally funny, you're doing it right.

5: This could be part of the point above, but I think it deserves its own part; Strong, well-characterized Female characters. Don't just make them men in drag or with bigger chest-plates, but actual women with strength. If they also happen to be nerdy and cute, thats icing on the cake.

 

[VoidWanderer]

Everything about Deus Ex (Original) and the Thief series.

 

[Cranky]

Other than agreeeing with those OP listed,
-Armor. Lots and lots of armor customization with unique and different armor variants.
-More armor.
-Story.
-Stealth.

 

[Existentialistme]

- Color Customization. (And I don't mean just the primary and secondary colors I want to be able to create my own artistic pallets.)
- Games where I can admire the scenery. (Shadow of the Colossus. Assassin's Creed series. Batman: Arkham Asylum.)
- Playing as anything other than a human. (I have a soft spot for the Spyro games because of this.)
- If it's an FPS, I like each reload sequence to be vastly different between guns. (Feels more personal that way, don't ask why.)
- Silent Protagonists. (The Half-Life Series. Bioshock. Portal 2. Bastion.)
- Solid, intriguing stories with good characters. (Bioshock. Half-Life 2. Portal 2.)
- Third person combat that isn't made up of just button combinations. (Jedi Outcast/Academy.)
- Battles that get my adrenaline going. (First couple Big Daddy fights in Bioshock, or clinging to the back of the giant bird colossus in SOTC ... and pretty much all of Amnesia.)
- Cartoony childish games. (Spyro. Fable. Jak and Daxter. Alice Madness Returns. Bastion. And holy hell did I play the shit out of the Harry Potter games.)
- Games where I find background information by finding or studying things in the environment. (The Metroid Prime series. Bioshock. Bastion.)
- Having a single companion or pet. (Half Life 2: Episodes 1 & 2. SOTC. (Yes, I really freaking like this game.) Fable.)
- Games that don't take themselves seriously if they know people aren't playing them for the story. (Borderlands.)
- Good stealth that isn't too frustrating, but still makes me feel like a badass. (Assassin's Creed series.)
- Games that are a blast to play even if the controls are incredibly simplistic. (LIMBO. Super Mario Brothers. Pac Man. Kirby.)
- Pop culture references or nods to other video games. (But I basically just like these at all times.)
- Immersive environments. (Bioshock. SOTC. Amnesia. Assassin's Creed. Batman: Arkham Asylum.)
- Diverse environments. (Metroid Prime. Spyro. Kirby.)

Yup. That's what I got.

 

[DanielBrown]

Medieval and mythological settings always draws my attention. Being able to level up and set skills is also a huge plus. I like being rewarded for killing stuff.

 

[Wintermoot]

mod friendly ness- it,s one of the reason I keep buying Bethesda games
Cyberpunk- I just love cyberpunk

 

[BehattedWanderer]

Gratuitous, full bodied, button mashing, blood fueled, psychopathic catharsis, a la God of War. Just wailing on things with the unbridled rage found only in those characters truly pissed, so far off the deep end that they're making their own pool, and filling it with blood.

Ridiculous, impossible destruction, like covering a mountain in TNT in Minecraft and making it freaking disappear.

Doing something so freaking ridiculous that there is no alternative to rib cracking, gasping, painful, tear-filled laughter, a la Just Cause 2 or Saints Row 3.

Competent platformers with an awesome aesthetic--all my socks are rocked if we're discussing this.

And, on topic completely, realistic girls in games, with breast sizes other than "comparable to mountains", like an A cup, or a B cup. Er...this might actually be a turn on. I'll have to look into that in myself.

 

[Gunner 51]

Lots of well executed dialogue and a good script. These things do wonders for games and can make you overlook some horrendous flaws in a game - at least for me.

Good characterisation and development - especially in the case of Garrus Vakrarian.

I also like a soundtrack that's both fitting and memorable - the kind you could hum to yourself while working.

 

[Don Savik]

Parkour
And I'm not talking about slowly crawling along liner wall edges and leaping on linear pipes Uncharted/Assassin's Creed style, I'm talking about like ACTUAL ADRENALINE PUMPING parkour, where you don't sacrifice speed for maneuvering.

Customization
A lot of games fail on this aspect, either sticking us in the shoes of boring protagonists with no options to change them/their actions, or not giving us full customization until we reach a certain level or rank. People like individuality. It turns me on. That is all.

A Big Arsenal
Multiple ways of solving problems/dispatching enemies. Something thats not repetitive.

No Jar Jars
No annoying sidekicks. Yes, the entire cast of Final Fantasy included. I'd rather drown myself.

 

[VeneratedWulfen93]

I have quite the variety:

Sending waves of my own troops in to die by the hundreds to swarm an objective or my foes forces

In any shooter, the guns have to be loud, impactful and have a good kick, enemies should recoil when I shoot them. I like my guns powerful.

For RPG's I love 0 accessibility games like Dragon Age: Origins, with its RPG combat and incredibly long story with a long investment time to get the best of it.

Linear and Non-linear can go either way if done right but I enjoy combat that is varied and mixes itself, presenting differant challenges upon each retry. (I don't like CoD's glorified shooting gallery where no matter how many times you fail the guys always come to the same window and all they can do is shoot at you.)

Finally, screw what everyone else says I LOVE 'press B to brutally kill' finishing moves. When done well, A La Space Amrine, they aren't long winded and serve a useful gameplay purpose.

 

[kouriichi]

Character Customization is my biggest turn on. Depth is the most important part.
Its what really made Skyrim my game of the century. I mean, once you get enough alchemy, enchanting and armor crafting, you can make any suit of armor have amazingly high statistics. It ends up meaning you can wear whatever fits your preference. ((Dont lie, Dwemer armor makes you feel like a SPHESS MAHUREEN))

My other big gaming turn on is comedy. A game that can make me smile and laugh is a game that adore. Some of the conversations in ME3 were just gold.
"No likes sarcasm...."
" i do~!"
"I hate you....."
" i hate you....?"
".....D:< sir...."
"Carry on :3"