5 Games to Introduce Somebody to Gaming
- Thread starter MisterDyslexo
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Pick any title from each essential category:
A platformer: Strider, Sonic, Shinobi 3, NiGHTS, Super Mario World, Donkey Kong Country
A racer: Daytona USA, Test Drive Le Mans, OutRun 2006
A fighter: Street Fighter II, The King of Fighters, Guilty Gear
A brawler: TMNT Turtles in Time, Streets of Rage Remake
A shooter: DonPachi, ESP.Ra.De., Vapor Trail, Radiant Silvergun, Ikaruga, Under Defeat
A first person shooter: Doom, Crysis, Half-Life, Quake, Deus Ex
A 3D shooter: Panzer Dragoon, Omega Boost, Star Fox, Propeller Arena
A puzzle game: Tetris, Columns, Puyo Puyo
A role playing game: Panzer Dragoon Saga, Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger
A rhythm game: Donkey Konga, Guitar Hero, Rock Band
A sports game: Tony Hawk, Tennis 2K2
A platformer: Strider, Sonic, Shinobi 3, NiGHTS, Super Mario World, Donkey Kong Country
A racer: Daytona USA, Test Drive Le Mans, OutRun 2006
A fighter: Street Fighter II, The King of Fighters, Guilty Gear
A brawler: TMNT Turtles in Time, Streets of Rage Remake
A shooter: DonPachi, ESP.Ra.De., Vapor Trail, Radiant Silvergun, Ikaruga, Under Defeat
A first person shooter: Doom, Crysis, Half-Life, Quake, Deus Ex
A 3D shooter: Panzer Dragoon, Omega Boost, Star Fox, Propeller Arena
A puzzle game: Tetris, Columns, Puyo Puyo
A role playing game: Panzer Dragoon Saga, Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger
A rhythm game: Donkey Konga, Guitar Hero, Rock Band
A sports game: Tony Hawk, Tennis 2K2
Anyone who starts a new gamer off with Mass Effect or Dragon Age Origins deserves whatever piece of hardware gets lodged in their skull from their former friend's frustration. Those games are many things, but intuitive or easy cannot be used to describe them, especially since one of those games lacks any sort of tutorial.
What would I start them off with? Assuming we are going with the standard definition of games that means nothing that can be played on an iOS device or Facebook, I would probably start them off with Phoenix Wright or Professor Layton and move on from there. Might include some XBLA games like Bastion. I haven't played more than the demo yet, so I can't say for certain. I would also consider starting them off with Rock Band, but it can be a bit overwhelming and having someone playing expert drums next to you while you are on easy guitar breeds resentment. The key though is to get easy mechanics and work your way up from there, not dive head first into the hardest of gaming and assume everyone has familiarity with all controls.
What would I start them off with? Assuming we are going with the standard definition of games that means nothing that can be played on an iOS device or Facebook, I would probably start them off with Phoenix Wright or Professor Layton and move on from there. Might include some XBLA games like Bastion. I haven't played more than the demo yet, so I can't say for certain. I would also consider starting them off with Rock Band, but it can be a bit overwhelming and having someone playing expert drums next to you while you are on easy guitar breeds resentment. The key though is to get easy mechanics and work your way up from there, not dive head first into the hardest of gaming and assume everyone has familiarity with all controls.
Portal
Halo
Red Dead Redemption
Plants vs Zombies
Chrono Trigger
They're all relatively easy to pick up, are each amazing in their own way, and show off different genres and styles.
EDIT: If RDR ended up being too tough for them, I'd replace it with Animal Crossing.
Halo
Red Dead Redemption
Plants vs Zombies
Chrono Trigger
They're all relatively easy to pick up, are each amazing in their own way, and show off different genres and styles.
EDIT: If RDR ended up being too tough for them, I'd replace it with Animal Crossing.
I dont get why I cant make it older games? Easy to give 5 games from throughout the age of gaming to make it retrospectical and thus more respecteable.
Pac-Man
Tetris
Super Mario World
LoZ: OoT
Portal
Great variety, all parts of great franchises and in some way has shaped the way of gaming. The player gets a great look on the variety of games, how they have progressed through the years and overall get to play a bunch of really, really good games.
Pac-Man
Tetris
Super Mario World
LoZ: OoT
Portal
Great variety, all parts of great franchises and in some way has shaped the way of gaming. The player gets a great look on the variety of games, how they have progressed through the years and overall get to play a bunch of really, really good games.
lol, I know right? For me if a gamer wants to learn FPS games then he should just go with either Unreal or Quake, since I never played that much of Quake I would put an Unreal match with Instagib (one hit kill with a laser rifle) on the easiest difficulty, he would only need to worry about getting the hang of character movement (only being AWSD and SPACE) and moving the camera (with the help of the bots serving as targets), no need to reload, pickup health and powerups, no need to crouch, just the basics. And if he died he would just respawn instantly.Kalado said:
In no particular order:
Bastion
Portal 2
Shadow of the Colossus
Outland
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (haven't played Last Specter yet)
...As you can see, I wouldn't pick anything that could really be construed as shocking, even if people don't mind the same thing in movies and other media. I definitely wouldn't want to "confirm" any of the negative stereotypes surrounding video games as a medium. I think Bastion is a great example of exciting gameplay married to a well-told story. Portal 2, well...I don't really need to explain it, at least not on this website. Same goes for Shadow of the Colossus. Outland is an example of a game that is really just that: a game, and a really fun one at that. There isn't much of a story, but between exploring the levels and fighting the bosses, I really didn't notice, nor did I care. Professor Layton is disarmingly charming...who doesn't like the professor?
Bastion
Portal 2
Shadow of the Colossus
Outland
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (haven't played Last Specter yet)
...As you can see, I wouldn't pick anything that could really be construed as shocking, even if people don't mind the same thing in movies and other media. I definitely wouldn't want to "confirm" any of the negative stereotypes surrounding video games as a medium. I think Bastion is a great example of exciting gameplay married to a well-told story. Portal 2, well...I don't really need to explain it, at least not on this website. Same goes for Shadow of the Colossus. Outland is an example of a game that is really just that: a game, and a really fun one at that. There isn't much of a story, but between exploring the levels and fighting the bosses, I really didn't notice, nor did I care. Professor Layton is disarmingly charming...who doesn't like the professor?
Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Minecraft
Defense Grid: The Awakening
Mario Kart
New super mario brothers wii
All of these games are pretty much what people who don't play games expect. They have very simple stories so the person won't experience any unnecessary confusion while getting to grips with the controls. The controls are also very simple; mainly focused on just navigating the areas and they all have their own art style that is, for the most part, pretty vibrant.
Minecraft
Defense Grid: The Awakening
Mario Kart
New super mario brothers wii
All of these games are pretty much what people who don't play games expect. They have very simple stories so the person won't experience any unnecessary confusion while getting to grips with the controls. The controls are also very simple; mainly focused on just navigating the areas and they all have their own art style that is, for the most part, pretty vibrant.
As much as I love Persona 3, I don't think I could recommend it to someone new to video games. Maybe 4 is better about this, but 3 definitely has quite a bit of grinding. I don't mind that sort of thing as an avid RPG fan, but I know a lot of people simply don't have the patience for it.Alucard 11189 said:
Super Smash Brothers: Brawl - doesn't take a lot of commitment and has simple controls, BUT it does reward players very generously even at the beginning of the game. I also like how you can unlock stuff while playing multiplayer, so the new player will start to feel some investment even if he (or she [but let's be honest, He]) doesn't play alone.
Grand Theft Auto IV - again, no pressure to 'complete' anything and it's really fun right off the bat. Red Dead Redemption would also work, but it's slightly more story driven, and some of the mechanics are less intuitive.
Psychonauts - one of the few games that's not funny for a game, but actually funny. It gets a bit difficult toward the end is the only issue, but even if they don't complete it, this'll give them a great impression of games.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution - for all the reasons the game disappointed me: light RPG elements, moderate to heavy handholding throughout, excessive polish, and most importantly the illusion of free choice while you're pretty well stuck on a rail.
The Sims - obviously, it's THE girl game.
Grand Theft Auto IV - again, no pressure to 'complete' anything and it's really fun right off the bat. Red Dead Redemption would also work, but it's slightly more story driven, and some of the mechanics are less intuitive.
Psychonauts - one of the few games that's not funny for a game, but actually funny. It gets a bit difficult toward the end is the only issue, but even if they don't complete it, this'll give them a great impression of games.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution - for all the reasons the game disappointed me: light RPG elements, moderate to heavy handholding throughout, excessive polish, and most importantly the illusion of free choice while you're pretty well stuck on a rail.
The Sims - obviously, it's THE girl game.
Minecraft is always a good choice, depending on the play style of this person.
As others have said, Halo 1 is a great choice for getting people into the 1st person mode, and for getting them used to dual-stick controls. It'll also let them figure out if they play inverted or not.
There's always Mario Kart and some of the Need for Speed games for racing, at least arcade racing.
Portal, as others have said, is fantastic for getting people used to thinking abstractly while in a game.
And then, to top them off, give them an RPG like Pokemon, or an action-RPG like Oblivion to see if they like that type of game.
I, personally, would recommend staying away from Far Cry 2, because my playthrough is forever impossible to finish due to a game-breaking glitch. We wouldn't want our new gamer to be discouraged from playing games because he can't beat a game as "simple" as Far Cry 2.
*Edit* Oh, and my personal favorite, Yoshi's Island, because it's incredible and everyone loves Yoshi.
As others have said, Halo 1 is a great choice for getting people into the 1st person mode, and for getting them used to dual-stick controls. It'll also let them figure out if they play inverted or not.
There's always Mario Kart and some of the Need for Speed games for racing, at least arcade racing.
Portal, as others have said, is fantastic for getting people used to thinking abstractly while in a game.
And then, to top them off, give them an RPG like Pokemon, or an action-RPG like Oblivion to see if they like that type of game.
I, personally, would recommend staying away from Far Cry 2, because my playthrough is forever impossible to finish due to a game-breaking glitch. We wouldn't want our new gamer to be discouraged from playing games because he can't beat a game as "simple" as Far Cry 2.
*Edit* Oh, and my personal favorite, Yoshi's Island, because it's incredible and everyone loves Yoshi.
