10 games you MUST play before you die

[JimmyC99]

I've Decided to keep it to one per company/franchise

1.Half Life 2 (Valve Software)
2.Fallout (Black Isle Studios)
3.Final Fantasy X (Square Enix)
4.Deus Ex 1 (Ion Storm Inc/Eidos Interactive)
5.Knights of the Old Republic (Bioware)
6.Red Dead Redemption(Rockstar)
7.Mafia II (2k Games)
8.Assassins Creed 2 (Ubisoft)
9.Red Faction (Volition)
10.Hitman Blood Money (Io Interactive)

Some honorable mentions

Portal and Portal 2
Team Fortress 2
Fallout 2
Fallout 3
Fallout New Vegas
TES III Morrowind
TES IV Oblivion
Mass Effect
Bioshock
Dragon Age

 

[Bags159]

So many bad games in this thread. I'd make a list but it would boil down to my favorites which I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't agree with.

What the hell:

1.) Portal 1
2.) Portal 2
3.) Oblivion
4.) Super Smash Brothers Melee
5.) Planetside
6.) Starcraft II
7.) Age of Mythology
8.) Armored Core 4 Answer
9.) Motorstorm Pacific Rift
10.) Assassin's Creed 1

 

[Mike Laserbeam]

Not in any order:

TimeSplitters 2
Kingdom Hearts 2
Final Fantasy 7
Fallout 2
Oblivion
Persona 3
Dead Rising
Deus Ex
BioShock

And number 10 is any of the pre/sequels of the first 7 games on my list! Because they're good games, but those 7 are my favourite
Oh but don't waste your time on DE:IW or Bioshock 2.

 

[Vrach]

GTA 4 ten times.

Seriously though (although rather reflecting my ten favourite games as opposed to the "most important/influential" or the ten games which offer the broadest understading of gaming):

1. GTA IV
2. Vice City
3. COD 4
4. Tetris (Gameboy version)
5. Mario Kart (SNES)
6. Manhunt
7. Fallout 3
8. Resident Evil 2
9. Tekken 3
10. Super Mario Land

Out of interest, how come you love both Vice City and GTA 4, but not San Andreas? I suppose it is somewhat subjective, but I just find it the pinnacle of the series and definitely an improvement in pretty much every single way on Vice City in the very least

OT: Note that this list assumes you play the games when they comes out, a good number of them are hard to get into from today's standpoint for anyone without a great tolerance for aging graphics/game systems:
Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout 3 (can you tell I'm a Bethesda fanboi yet? ), KOTOR, Portal, Civilization 3, Battlefield 1942 (and Battlefield: Vietnam if I can cheat a bit, note that this is a multiplayer must play, not a singleplayer), GTA San Andreas, Alpha Protocol, Mafia

It's not a final list by any means, just what I can think of atm out of the must-play experiences. I'm also not gonna order it cause the games tend to be vastly different and are therefore mostly incomparable.

 

[Jodah]

My personal choices would be:

10: Clock Tower (SNES Verison)
9: Final Fantasy VI
8: Shadow of the Colossus
7: Warcraft III (Both RoC and tFT)
6: Warhammer 40 000 (Including: DC, SS and WA)
5: Fire Emblem (both the GBA games)
4: Final Fantasy IX
3: Final Fantasy Tactics: tWotL
2: Lufia II: Rise of the Sinnistrals
1: Valkrie Profile Lenneth

The original works for that one too. The PsP version is the same thing with some minor differences some of which actually make the game worse.


As for my list (in no particular order):

10. Warcraft III
9. Starcraft
8. Fire Emblem
7. Final Fantasy X
6. Tactics Ogre
5. Pokemon (any of em)
4. Civilization (any of em)
3. Neverwinter Nights 2 (original game + the two expansions)
2. Dragon Age: Origins
1. CoD 4 (both of them for the combined story of the campaign)

 

[tigermilk]

GTA 4 ten times.

Seriously though (although rather reflecting my ten favourite games as opposed to the "most important/influential" or the ten games which offer the broadest understading of gaming):

1. GTA IV
2. Vice City
3. COD 4
4. Tetris (Gameboy version)
5. Mario Kart (SNES)
6. Manhunt
7. Fallout 3
8. Resident Evil 2
9. Tekken 3
10. Super Mario Land

Out of interest, how come you love both Vice City and GTA 4, but not San Andreas? I suppose it is somewhat subjective, but I just find it the pinnacle of the series and definitely an improvement in pretty much every single way on Vice City in the very least

I do like San Andreas but not enough to make the top 10. Vice City for me captures a feel for a time better than San Andreas (it felt more focused) and I also think it had a better soundtrack (Flock of Seagulls FTW). Basically I enjoyed it more than San Andreas.

GTA IV for me was just hugely immerssive and absorbing game. I adore that it is more "down to earth" than San Andreas (I know a lot of people hated this). I found the protagonsit the most likeable of any GTA, really liked the car physics and mechanics such as escaping police and the cover system. Its my favourite game of all time for these reasons amongst others.

I do like San Andreas, but not enough to make the top 1o, perhaps if they hadn't included jet packs and dildos and had used a different frame of reference to the cycle of black urban youth films of the early 90's (did love the Terminator 2 homage with the lorry though).

 

[hardband]

Viva Pinata, Banjo-Kazooie, Oblivion, Fallout, Saints Row 2 and Viva Pinata 5 more times.

Seriously, play Viva Pinata. Like now. It's even on PC if you know where to look.

I have a feeling your a RARE fan

OT: In no particular order:

1. Ratchet and Clank
2. Portal
3. Kingdom Hearts
4. Portal 2
5. Call of Duty (any of them, their all the same)
6. Legend of zelda: wind waker
7. Super Street Fighter 4
8. Saints Row 2
9. Team fortress 2 (to see the different style of FPS compared to call of duty)
10.Uncharted 2

I tried to choose games which are the best in their genre (even if i didn't include horror or sports as i don't play them)

 

[eggy32]

In no particular order:
1.Final Fantasy IX
2.Elder Scrolls IV
3.Elder Scrolls III
4.GTA IV
5.Red Dead Redemption
6.Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga
7.Final Fantasy VI
8.Guitar Hero
9.Soul Reaver
10.Tomba 2

 

[Bugerion]

I don't see anyone saying BALDURS GATE 2 X 5 and DUngeon Keeper 2 X 5 seriously how has no one remembered those games????????

 

[Jibblejab]

In no particular order
1. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
2. Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
3. Portal
4. Tomb Raider (the first ever one)
5. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
6. Pokemon
7. Assassins Creed
8. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butchers Bay
9. Tetris
10. Ratchet and Clank

 

[Legendairy314]

Portal 2
Halo CE
Shadow of the Collosus
Prince of Persia: SoT
Fallout 3
Resident Evil 4
Bioshock
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Beyond Good and Evil
KoTOR

More personal preference than anything else but I would definitely choose these. Also, I started gaming in 2000 so not much that is older than that I would recommend because I haven't played it.

 

[OmniscientOstrich]

In no particular order:

1. Half Life 2
2. GTA 4
3. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
4. Metal Gear Solid
5. Dragon Age: Origins
6. Portal
7. Fallout 3
8. Mass Effect 2
9. Red Dead Redemption
10. Everyone should play at least one Pokemon game before they die

 

[DirgeNovak]

Silent Hill 2
Half-Life 2
Jak II
Grand Theft Auto IV
Knights of the Old Republic
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
Condemned: Criminal Origins
Chrono Cross
Mass Effect
Fallout 3

 

[Jinjiro]

Toughie. I'll go with the 'they must experience the game with the impact/fun value it had at the time of release' idea.

1. Street Fighter 2 - The World Warrior
2. Goldeneye 64
3. Grim Fandango/Monkey Island series (tie)
4. Red Dead Redemption
5. Prince of Persia
6. Timesplitters 2
7. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
8. Metal Gear Solid 1/3 (another tie)
9. Mario Kart 64
10. Unreal Tournament 2004

 

[Vrach]

GTA 4 ten times.

Seriously though (although rather reflecting my ten favourite games as opposed to the "most important/influential" or the ten games which offer the broadest understading of gaming):

1. GTA IV
2. Vice City
3. COD 4
4. Tetris (Gameboy version)
5. Mario Kart (SNES)
6. Manhunt
7. Fallout 3
8. Resident Evil 2
9. Tekken 3
10. Super Mario Land

Out of interest, how come you love both Vice City and GTA 4, but not San Andreas? I suppose it is somewhat subjective, but I just find it the pinnacle of the series and definitely an improvement in pretty much every single way on Vice City in the very least

I do like San Andreas but not enough to make the top 10. Vice City for me captures a feel for a time better than San Andreas (it felt more focused) and I also think it had a better soundtrack (Flock of Seagulls FTW). Basically I enjoyed it more than San Andreas.

GTA IV for me was just hugely immerssive and absorbing game. I adore that it is more "down to earth" than San Andreas (I know a lot of people hated this). I found the protagonsit the most likeable of any GTA, really liked the car physics and mechanics such as escaping police and the cover system. Its my favourite game of all time for these reasons amongst others.

I do like San Andreas, but not enough to make the top 1o, perhaps if they hadn't included jet packs and dildos and had used a different frame of reference to the cycle of black urban youth films of the early 90's (did love the Terminator 2 homage with the lorry though).

Fair enough, just different tastes then, I loved the whole "less focused" thing cause you had so much more to do and stuff

I'm afraid being Serbian doesn't help with liking GTA 4... the protagonist's Serbian is awful, as is everyone else's on the cast, it boggles my mind that they hired random Americans or sth. to play those people than actual ex-Yu people when I'm sure there are plenty available.. or at least someone who has spent enough time speaking Serbian to actually speak it fluently rather than at the quality of a guy who just picked up a dictionary and is struggling to read the words out of it right. The fact we have a ton of war movies that have done the "war-torn protagonist" thing to death (and much better than GTA 4 in a lot of cases) doesn't help either, though I would've enjoyed it if it was done right :\

The down to earth thing was awesome on some levels (driving, cover etc.), sucky on others. What I hated most though was the phones and the fact there was so little to do once you were done with the main missions (and those didn't take too long either). I played every GTA from GTA 2 for ages well past the point of being done with the missions, even past the 100% completion in Vice City, but GTA 4 held my attention for less than a week after I got through the missions.

Oh and the radio sucked for the most part :<

 

[The Unworthy Gentleman]

Fallout 3
Portal
Star Wars Battlefront 2
Rome: Total War
Team Fortress 2
Civilization 3
Mafia 2
Company of Heroes
Toy Soldiers
Morrowind

I think they are 10 examples of games done well, 10 games that you must play before you die.

 

[TheKruzdawg]

What is the difference between Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and MGS3: Subsistence?