Games that properly qualify as "Epic"?

[GammaZord]

Majora's Mask, after finishing the four main dungeons and you're waiting for the moon to descend while the eerie/epic music starts. SO AWESOME

 

[Phlakes]

the most epic game for me is doom, I had lots of fun killing hoards of demons

Did you read the title? Apparently not.

Games that properly qualify as "Epic"?

OT: Ocarina of Time, especially in the final final battle. Also Mass Effect.

 

[crop52]

Shadow of the Colossus.

I can not shout it loud enough. Absolutely everything about this game was epic. Even the lizards were epic.

 

[Savagezion]

Arcanum
Baldur's Gate 2
Shadow of the Colossus
Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time - Twilight Princess (Renditions of the same epic)
Earthbound / Mother
Mass Effect
Civilization
Guild Wars
Red Dead Redemption
Uncharted

 

[Secret world leader (shhh)]

Okami
Red Dead Redemption
The God of War series

I wouldn't really put Shadow of The Colossus on the epic list because (while it is jaw-droppingly amazing) there isn't any conventional plot apart from the beginning and the end, everything else is told through visuals and gameplay.

 

[Thaius]

Halo. Mankind flirts with extinction against a xenocidal alien race while its last hero goes on a journey to use the lost technology of the galactic precursors to save them. Pretty cool stuff.

Seconded. People often overlook the awesomeness of Halo's story and universe; I freaking love the series for it.

Also, Shadow of the Freaking Colossus. A million times over. A billion times over. This is a game where you literally climb towering monsters in order to slay them, hanging on for dear life as they try to shake you off hundreds of feet in the air to an incredible orchestral soundtrack that intensifies it tenfold... *shudders* And though the narrative is simple, it is powerful. Can't freakin' wait for the HD collection.

Have to also mention Mass Effect, 'cause. Holy crap, does it qualify.

 

[Z of the Na'vi]

The lack of Brutal Legend in this thread disappoints me.

Therefore, I will be the first to say so. In Brutal Legend, you are practically a Roadie nobody, but after you are sent back in time by your magic belt buckle, you embark on a quest to free the land using only the power of metal. For God's sake, the entire game looks like it takes place inside a Megadeath album cover.

If that isn't epic, I don't know what is.

 

[baddude1337]

God of War - First thing that came to my mind after reading the title. Surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet.

You're not alone. I thought that, too. The first one was about a powerful, but still very human warrior trying to beat a God to save a city. And, of course, there were some great and epic battle against many a mythical beast like a Hydra and Minotaur.

The other two might not have been quite as epic in terms of story, but the battles were huge and epic n their own right. Who didn't feel like a bad ass upon beating Hercules?

Thirded. The Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta are on par with them too. GoS IMO has the best show of Kratos since the first one.

 

[Dfskelleton]

Painkiller. Epic gameplay, epic level design, epic maps, epic weapons, not so epic story, epic boss fights, epic fun.
I would also like to throw in Bioshock. That was pretty epic.
Okay, another honorable mention would have to be I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream. The gameplay itself isn't incredibly remarkable, but the story, characters, and aesthetic design make for (depending on how you play it) a terryfying or touching game.

 

[damselgaming]

I would agree with the previously mentioned God of War, the entire series is just jaw dropping.

I found Alan Wake to be surprisingly epic... all up to you know, evil tornado.

Oh also Dragon Age: Origins. Amazing.

 

[rekabdarb]

Resident Evil 4... everything but the ending

 

[Johnnydillinger]

On top of some mentioned before, I'd list the Homeworld games here. All 3 of them.

 

[inFAMOUSCowZ]

Theres a lot of games I could mention, but for me Mass Effect. the entire galaxy is n the hands of one man, everything about it is high production, and simply epic.

 

[rokkolpo]

I would just like to say......BRüTAL LEGEND!

*GUITAR SOLO WHILST DRIVING THE DEUCE INTO THE SUNSET*

 

[Alssadar]

Rome: Total war.
It's my family that has lead this fight, my genius that gathered 1,400 men of Rome to this battlefield, it's my tactical mind that shall out thwart the hordes of charging barbarians. It is by my hand that I am destined to lead Rome.

I also feel that Minecraft has a slight point in this.
When I arrived, this land was untamed wilderness, beset by creatures of the night. Now, it is a spiraling metropolis created by my hands alone. I have achieved what is my natural right as a human and defied nature's laws, reaching to the heavens to claim the fires of the gods themselves.

Like others, I also say Halo, for what they have already said.

I also like your mention of Fallout:NV, as it truly can be a epic of such scale, if not for my computer's lagging action that draws me away.

 

[Fidelias]

Well, as others have said;
Halo 1-3 (I also really liked ODST, but it wasn't as epic)

Mass Effect

Kotor 1

Also some of my own;

Fire Emblem (The one for the Gameboy in the US, with Eliwood, Hector, and Lyn. Hector was a BEAST)

Stalker Shadow of Chernobyl (A mix of horror and gritty realism plus a pretty cool storyline and enough weapons to get through it in style)

Fallout 3 ( I haven't even finished it yet, but even the half that I played puts it on the epic scale)

 

[uzo]

I felt that the Way of the Samurai ... *snippy snip*

Hmmm .. interesting suggestion. And I would definitely concur - there's *something* about the feeling of the first Way of the Samurai especially.

I put it down to a tantalisingly close taste of Japanese culture in a bygone era, and the bittersweet pangs as it slips through your fingers .. for better or for worse. A truly romantic game (not hugs n' kisses romantic, of course, something more like wabisabi-romantic).

I played it in Australia just before I left for Japan - where I lived for the next ~7 years. I remember my first visit to Osaka Castle, on my 2nd day in Japan - I had the music of the Way of the Samurai games on loop in my head. And it was AWESOME.

As for my choice for big ol' Epic .. hmm ..

Myth, The Fallen Lords, by pre-Halo Bungie.

Some of those cut scenes, damn ... I remember a battle where the Legion was fighting a desperate delaying action (hell, most of the game was desperate actions of some sort or other) in the shadow of a volcano as a blustery wind promising naught but death tugs at their souls ... it's only short - we're talking 1997-era 20 second cut scenes ... but please, view this ... and remember, these men are about to die ... but their sacrifice will maybe -- JUST *MAYBE* -- give someone else a *TINY* chance of saving, perhaps, the last stragglers of humanity.


Goddamn ... the sombre Myth narrator and his music still makes me misty eyed.

If you've got the time and can find a copy ... PLAY IT.

 

[Aircross]

First Mass Effect
Dragon Age: Origins
Chrono Trigger
The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Deus Ex
Final Fantasy VI
Dragon Quest III
Rome: Total War

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

I'm gonna say Mafia 1. Great story and setting, great pacing and an amazing finale. Truly an epic game.

Also, Deus Ex! But you knew that already.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

Shadow of the Collosus, hands down.

You are a puny little normal human who can barely swing a sword (and you have a bow that's....pretty much only useful for distraction)...and you are expected to slay 16 HUGE FREAKING god-beasts with said sword, which may as well be a freakin toothpick.

And then, you slay them. And you feel like you have conquered the world, for you are a simple mortal who has slain a modsbanned living MOUNTAIN.