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What's your favorite PC game of all times?


chakkman

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This is actually really hard, considering many series had multiple great games.

 

1. Half-Life 2: Anyone who had the pleasure of experiencing this game in the release year will agree here. Stunning immersion, the beginning of modern (cinematic) gaming, a "dream game", the "Citizen Kane" of video gaming

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2. - 10. in no particular order (no series mentioned twice):

 

- GTA San Andreas (best GTA game regarding gameplay and replay value)

- Enderal (Elder Scrolls with a good story)

- The Dark Mod (Thief with superior content and presentation)

- Guild Wars 1 (Online gaming done right, PVE really enjoyable and PVP on another level)

- Path of Exile (Insert many hours of endless looting and theorycrafting builds here)

- Deus Ex 1 (Great game that did more things right than anyone could ever imagine when it was released)

- Age of Empires 2 (the pinnacle of RTS)

- Shadow Warrior 2013 (really my kind of game for some strange reason, it is just so much fun and the story surpassed my expectations)

- F.E.A.R. 1 (slow motion greatness for those epic moments you would otherwise miss in gaming, sound design, particles and AI still amaze today)

 

Honorable mentions:

Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines, Underhell, Zelda: Ocarina of Time (yes, no PC game, otherwise clear #2), Bioshock Infinite, Thief 2, Settlers 3, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, Nehrim (will still mention this game for obvious reasons), Mirrors Edge Catalyst, Metro Last Light, Assassins Creed Black Flag, Jedi Knight Jedi Outcast, Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare and many more I just can´t remember at this moment...

Edited by Cookie
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  • 2 weeks later...

Chakkman,

 

I still have problems to vote as the games I prefer are available for both PC and PS.

 

Is it ok to pick one which is available for both platforms? I mean, most of the guys picked games available on consoles, too.

Edited by JackFarmer
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Alien Isolation has to be my favourite game of all time. After that; Thief series

I have an eclectic YouTube channel making videos on a variety of games. Come and have look here:

https://www.youtube.com/c/NeonsStyleHD

 

Dark Mod Missions: Briarwood Manor - available here or in game

http://forums.thedarkmod.com/topic/18980-fan-mission-briarwood-manor-by-neonsstyle-first-mission-6082017-update-16/

 

 

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Chakkman,

 

I still have problems to vote as the games I prefer are available for both PC and PS.

 

Is it ok to pick one which is available for both platforms? I mean, most of the guys picked games available on consoles, too.

 

Sure. Feel free to do so.

 

Wanna add Skyrim to my list, as i'm playing Skyrim Special Edition at the moment, and i really like it. :) Not quite as hooked on it as on the Fallouts, but, close enough.

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Sure. Feel free to do so.

 

Wanna add Skyrim to my list, as i'm playing Skyrim Special Edition at the moment, and i really like it. :) Not quite as hooked on it as on the Fallouts, but, close enough.

 

Good. :) Here is my Top 5:

 

1. Tomb Raider 3: Adventures of Lara Croft --> Unique soundtrack, extremely reduced story telling, but the overall atmosphere has not been reached in any similar action adventure since then.

 

2. Thief --> The perfect mixture of stealth play and atmospheric story telling, plus: the cast for the German voice of Garret is great and (to my perception) much better compared to the English original (which is also very good).

 

3. Oddworld 2 --> The video game for the rainbow warriors.

 

4. Portal 2 --> Tomb Raider meets Half Life and combines the best of both worlds.

 

5. Dead Space 1 --> The greatest shocker of all times ("Alien Isolation" comes close; I have to agree with NeonStyle) and to me it is the true successor to System Shock 2.

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I enjoyed Dead Space as well, but, never played it through. I surely will do that one day.

 

I played it on my PS3 back in 2009. The console crashed when I had finished ca. 50% of the game. Had to start with a fresh PS3 and a fresh run. Let me be frank with you: I was really happy after I had "finished" (the wording seems to be incorrect due to what happened next...) the final alien.

 

I think this was the only game I played during daytime - sometimes I also insisted to be companied by friends and alcoholic beverages.

Edited by JackFarmer
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Good. :) Here is my Top 5:

 

1. Tomb Raider 3: Adventures of Lara Croft --> Unique soundtrack, extremely reduced story telling, but the overall atmosphere has not been reached in any similar action adventure since then.

 

 

 

Reduced storytelling is an advantage?

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"I really perceive that vanity about which most men merely prate — the vanity of the human or temporal life. I live continually in a reverie of the future. I have no faith in human perfectibility. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active — not more happy — nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago. The result will never vary — and to suppose that it will, is to suppose that the foregone man has lived in vain — that the foregone time is but the rudiment of the future — that the myriads who have perished have not been upon equal footing with ourselves — nor are we with our posterity. I cannot agree to lose sight of man the individual, in man the mass."...

- 2 July 1844 letter to James Russell Lowell from Edgar Allan Poe.

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Reduced storytelling is an advantage?

 

Core Designs's TR 1 - 3 had quite simple stories (explore area xxx and show where it leads you, that sort of thing) starting or ending each level with a short render video.

 

After said videos, the player was left alone with a hostile and strange environment. The gameplay was not interrupted with comments or further cut scenes and mysterious puzzles/creatures or situations had not been explained. That left a lot to the player's imagination and added much to the atmosphere. Thief 1 and 2 had been produced in a similar way and newer games like The Talos Principles or Dishonoured follow that structure as well.

 

Please compare this style to the modern approaches as used in Crystal Dynamics' TR reboot or Eidos Montreal's Thief reboot. I don't know about you, but to me most dialogues in said games are - to put it mildly - extremely awkward and destroy more than they add, not to mention some highly illogical actions during the cut scenes.

 

EDIT: "Show where it leads you" transformed into correct English means: "Look where it leads you". Embarrasing mistake due to phonectic similarities between German and English wording. :)

Edited by JackFarmer
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Core Designs's TR 1 - 3 had quite simple stories (explore area xxx and show where it leads you, that sort of thing) starting or ending each level with a short render video.

 

After said videos, the player was left alone with a hostile and strange environment. The gameplay was not interrupted with comments or further cut scenes and mysterious puzzles/creatures or situations had not been explained. That left a lot to the player's imagination and added much to the atmosphere. Thief 1 and 2 had been produced in a similar way and newer games like The Talos Principles or Dishonoured follow that structure as well.

 

Please compare this style to the modern approaches as used in Crystal Dynamics' TR reboot or Eidos Montreal's Thief reboot. I don't know about you, but to me most dialogues in said games are - to put it mildly - extremely awkward and destroy more than they add, not to mention some highly illogical actions during the cut scenes.

 

On that I agree. But it can't be said Ubisoft's Prince of Persia trilogy didn't succeed with evoking good atmosphere with the occasional cutscene here and there whether cutscenes using the engine or CGI.

Same exploration, ambiance vibes in a way.

 

Problems appear when Quick Time events are pushed down the player's throat.

Edited by Anderson
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"I really perceive that vanity about which most men merely prate — the vanity of the human or temporal life. I live continually in a reverie of the future. I have no faith in human perfectibility. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active — not more happy — nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago. The result will never vary — and to suppose that it will, is to suppose that the foregone man has lived in vain — that the foregone time is but the rudiment of the future — that the myriads who have perished have not been upon equal footing with ourselves — nor are we with our posterity. I cannot agree to lose sight of man the individual, in man the mass."...

- 2 July 1844 letter to James Russell Lowell from Edgar Allan Poe.

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At least the Crystal Dynamics Tomb Raider parts didn't turn it into a survival action game like the last 2 reboots did...TBH, i vastly prefer the Crystal Dynamics Tomb Raider's up to the reboot to the original ones. They took the general game ideas, and extended them meaningfully. Then they realized that nowadays players want brain less action games more than skill games, so they did the last 2 reboots, and they served them dumb action with loads of emotional action highlight cutscenes, where you have to make such skill full actions as "Press up at the right moment" and stuff. And a intro sequence with hundreds of highlights, instead of 1 small highlight, how it used to be. Poor kids these days, they get bored after 5 seconds, when there's no ACTION ACTION ACTION!!!!

Edited by chakkman
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At least the Crystal Dynamics Tomb Raider parts didn't turn it into a survival action game like the last 2 reboots did...TBH, i vastly prefer the Crystal Dynamics Tomb Raider's up to the reboot to the original ones. They took the general game ideas, and extended them meaningfully. Then they realized that nowadays players want brain less action games more than skill games, so they did the last 2 reboots, and they served them dumb action with loads of emotional action highlight cutscenes, where you have to make such skill full actions as "Press up at the right moment" and stuff. And a intro sequence with hundreds of highlights, instead of 1 small highlight, how it used to be. Poor kids these days, they get bored after 5 seconds, when there's no ACTION ACTION ACTION!!!!

 

It's so cliché to mention people "nowadays" when most people didn't really ever desire delicate activites for their occupation.

People just migrated from Rambo, Terminator in movies to video games.

If Paulo Coelho or 50 Shades of Gray qualifies as literature, why wouldn't Santa Barbara qualify for "serial show" worth watching ?

 

It could always be worse.

"I really perceive that vanity about which most men merely prate — the vanity of the human or temporal life. I live continually in a reverie of the future. I have no faith in human perfectibility. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active — not more happy — nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago. The result will never vary — and to suppose that it will, is to suppose that the foregone man has lived in vain — that the foregone time is but the rudiment of the future — that the myriads who have perished have not been upon equal footing with ourselves — nor are we with our posterity. I cannot agree to lose sight of man the individual, in man the mass."...

- 2 July 1844 letter to James Russell Lowell from Edgar Allan Poe.

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Tomb Raider used to be quite popular for what it is though. Same for Splinter Cell. The focus has shifted, from remotely demanding gameplay, to pointless action occupational activity, with gazillions of different things you can do, which all feel the same in the end. It's like that in every single game i play these days. I'm playing Skyrim SE at the moment, for example. And, while i quite like it, there's a lot of same-y same-y though. Quantitiy over quality. A real disease these days.

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On that I agree. But it can't be said Ubisoft's Prince of Persia trilogy didn't succeed with evoking good atmosphere with the occasional cutscene here and there whether cutscenes using the engine or CGI.

 

Well observed and I fully agree. Especially Sands of Time does a very good job and - believe it or not - I wanted to mention this particular game in my previous post but skipped it to reduce the paragraphs. :)

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Tomb Raider used to be quite popular for what it is though. Same for Splinter Cell. The focus has shifted, from remotely demanding gameplay, to pointless action occupational activity, with gazillions of different things you can do, which all feel the same in the end. It's like that in every single game i play these days. I'm playing Skyrim SE at the moment, for example. And, while i quite like it, there's a lot of same-y same-y though. Quantitiy over quality. A real disease these days.

This has been discussed on this forums a couple of times and I think you won't find anyone here, who would disagree. The problem is that the gaming industry has developed into exactly that: an industry. It is focused on maximising profits and one way is to create games that appeal to as many people as possible. It is comparable to the film industry: there are tons of same-y films that are aiming to reach a broad audience. Most studios will rather not experiment in fear that a film might flop and they lose a lot of money. With games it is similar. Fortunately, there are at least a couple of indie developers that try out new things and try not to simply repeat the popular mechanics. And there are still studios (like CDProject RED) that try to make high quality games and not high profit games (although these two points do not exclude each other; The Witcher 3 was a huge success because it was high quality).

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And there are still studios (like CDProject RED) that try to make high quality games and not high profit games (although these two points do not exclude each other; The Witcher 3 was a huge success because it was high quality).

 

But it had a cheap ending compared to the books :/

"I really perceive that vanity about which most men merely prate — the vanity of the human or temporal life. I live continually in a reverie of the future. I have no faith in human perfectibility. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active — not more happy — nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago. The result will never vary — and to suppose that it will, is to suppose that the foregone man has lived in vain — that the foregone time is but the rudiment of the future — that the myriads who have perished have not been upon equal footing with ourselves — nor are we with our posterity. I cannot agree to lose sight of man the individual, in man the mass."...

- 2 July 1844 letter to James Russell Lowell from Edgar Allan Poe.

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I have just started to read the books, so I cannot tell (yet), which is better. But if in doubt I always assume that the book is better.

 

They've definitely cut corners with Witcher 3. Especially the expansions which were supposed to be free initially. At least it was always this way before that when making Witcher 1 and Witcher 2.

"I really perceive that vanity about which most men merely prate — the vanity of the human or temporal life. I live continually in a reverie of the future. I have no faith in human perfectibility. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active — not more happy — nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago. The result will never vary — and to suppose that it will, is to suppose that the foregone man has lived in vain — that the foregone time is but the rudiment of the future — that the myriads who have perished have not been upon equal footing with ourselves — nor are we with our posterity. I cannot agree to lose sight of man the individual, in man the mass."...

- 2 July 1844 letter to James Russell Lowell from Edgar Allan Poe.

badge?user=andarson

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This has been discussed on this forums a couple of times and I think you won't find anyone here, who would disagree. The problem is that the gaming industry has developed into exactly that: an industry. It is focused on maximising profits and one way is to create games that appeal to as many people as possible. It is comparable to the film industry: there are tons of same-y films that are aiming to reach a broad audience. Most studios will rather not experiment in fear that a film might flop and they lose a lot of money. With games it is similar. Fortunately, there are at least a couple of indie developers that try out new things and try not to simply repeat the popular mechanics. And there are still studios (like CDProject RED) that try to make high quality games and not high profit games (although these two points do not exclude each other; The Witcher 3 was a huge success because it was high quality).

 

The problem with that is that you won't find any great and demanding mainstream games anymore. Indie games either have very bad graphics, or some pretty experimental gameplay. Ok, you mentioned The Witcher 3. Pretty mainstream for me as well though, and definitely was created with appeal to a mainstream crowd.

 

We need more stuff like TDM. *cough cough*

Edited by chakkman
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The problem with that is that you won't find any great and demanding mainstream games anymore. Indie games either have very bad graphics, or some pretty experimental gameplay.

 

We need more stuff like TDM. *cough cough*

 

Well, there's remakes of old games at least. Planescape: Torment, Grim Fandango and others.

 

Every once in a year or a few years there are additionally some decent AAA games too like L.A. Noire, The Wolf Among Us, Spec Ops: The Line.

 

Just some examples but I think all cases were handled really well.

 

There are just fewer AAA games in frequency coming out, which makes fewer good games overall in the AAA mainstream category to see. But it's not like they are totally absent among the ones worthwhile for our attention.

"I really perceive that vanity about which most men merely prate — the vanity of the human or temporal life. I live continually in a reverie of the future. I have no faith in human perfectibility. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active — not more happy — nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago. The result will never vary — and to suppose that it will, is to suppose that the foregone man has lived in vain — that the foregone time is but the rudiment of the future — that the myriads who have perished have not been upon equal footing with ourselves — nor are we with our posterity. I cannot agree to lose sight of man the individual, in man the mass."...

- 2 July 1844 letter to James Russell Lowell from Edgar Allan Poe.

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Also did we mention the crazy grand strategy simulators Paradox publishes? That is definitely not indie and it's pretty impressive. But not the DLC's. Please not the DLC's. Same problem with Total War.

But c'est la vie I guess.

 

Even though I'm more into city builders myself.

Edited by Anderson

"I really perceive that vanity about which most men merely prate — the vanity of the human or temporal life. I live continually in a reverie of the future. I have no faith in human perfectibility. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active — not more happy — nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago. The result will never vary — and to suppose that it will, is to suppose that the foregone man has lived in vain — that the foregone time is but the rudiment of the future — that the myriads who have perished have not been upon equal footing with ourselves — nor are we with our posterity. I cannot agree to lose sight of man the individual, in man the mass."...

- 2 July 1844 letter to James Russell Lowell from Edgar Allan Poe.

badge?user=andarson

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The problem with that is that you won't find any great and demanding mainstream games anymore. Indie games either have very bad graphics, or some pretty experimental gameplay. Ok, you mentioned The Witcher 3. Pretty mainstream for me as well though, and definitely was created with appeal to a mainstream crowd.

 

We need more stuff like TDM. *cough cough*

Well, one of the most popular demanding and still mainstream games would be the Dark Souls series. Personally, I have never finished the first part, but it is a great game with a stroy that is told mainly through the environment and through item descriptions. But all in all I agree that most games have become quite easy, especailly regarding mental challenge .

I also agree that the Witcher 3 was pretty mainstream, but it still had more depth than most modern games, especially regarding side quests. Of course, they are still pretty similar, but all quests are. Still, Witcher 3 told interesting stories in the quests with some plot twists in it, which kept discovering quests intreresting. I found for myself that this is the main difference to side quests I considered boring: what story is told? Even the question marks on the map (which is the only point I found tedious/boring/repetitive at times) were connected to each other through readables. E.g. a bandit camp that contained a letter about not having heard of the other camp, which you later discovered to be overrun by monsters. The tasks were still "kill the bandits" then "kill the monsters", but the simple connection made it more interesting.

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I've played so many good games that to pick just one would be impossible. It always depends upon the mood that I'm in.

 

Here's a partial list of some of those games (in no particular order):

 

* Modded Civilization 4: I can't tell you how many times I used to look up at the in-game clock and think, "I've been playing for THAT long?!!!"

 

* Spaceward Ho! IV for Windows: This is another one of those "Just one more turn" games for me.

 

* Thief 1 / 2 / Dark Mod: Let's just address the 800-lb gorilla in the room. Dark Mod is an absolute blessing on the gaming community. Thief 1 / 2 were genre breakers in the best senses of the word. How many collective hours did I spend waiting for a guard to finally move or to learn their route so that I could continue to ghost a level?

 

* Half-Life 1: First FPS game that merged both a decent story and familiar visuals. Played innumerable fan levels during it's heyday.

 

* Quake 1: First polygon "room-over-room" FPS. I can remember using a cheat code to freeze the enemies and simply marvel at the fact that I had just walked under the bridge that I had just walked over without the game using any sophisticated programming tricks.

 

* Total Annihilation Kingdoms: Yes, I wrote that. An RTS for the rest of us that had a darn good story and it was an unofficial predecessor to the tower defense genre. I remember people being hugely butthurt by it when it was released but I don't care. Great game and (shameless self-promotion) I remember being one of the few people to ever try to release single-player missions for that game (was an absolute pain to create, if I remember correctly).

 

* Ultima Underworld I / System Shock I / System Shock II: I remember going to a gaming store with my friends. I bought System Shock 2 while one of my friends picked up Kingpin and thinking to myself that maybe my friend had made the better quality purchase. In hindsight, I couldn't have been more wrong. Spent way too much time salting the fries.

 

Anywa... More to follow.

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Civilization 4: I can't tell you how many times I used to look up at the in-game clock and think, "I've been playing for THAT long?!!!"

 

 

 

Same for me but with Civilization 3. Never understood the cartoonish look they went with starting with Civ 4.

 

But nuclear Gandhi was not funny.

"I really perceive that vanity about which most men merely prate — the vanity of the human or temporal life. I live continually in a reverie of the future. I have no faith in human perfectibility. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active — not more happy — nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago. The result will never vary — and to suppose that it will, is to suppose that the foregone man has lived in vain — that the foregone time is but the rudiment of the future — that the myriads who have perished have not been upon equal footing with ourselves — nor are we with our posterity. I cannot agree to lose sight of man the individual, in man the mass."...

- 2 July 1844 letter to James Russell Lowell from Edgar Allan Poe.

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