Games you think everyone should at least try.

[DevonFahrner]

Being as young as I am, I've never really taken video games seriously as an interactive medium until the past year or two, and lately I've been doing what I can to broaden my horizons in the world of video games. I've been trying out various genres and titles that I never would have even touched a few years ago, and doing so has expanded my mind greatly to just how truly amazing and beautiful games can be, whether it's within its mechanics, art style, or story-telling. I'm creating this thread to reach out to gamers of all types to ask what are the games that you've personally enjoyed and should at least give a try; be it an old computer game from the 1980's that nobody has ever heard about, or an underrated PS2 gem that's faded from memory. This is my attempt at broadening my own horizons further in the world of games and to perhaps spark meaningful discussion between people of their most favorite titles of old. List any game of any genre of any age for everyone to see, give your reasons as to why people should be interested, and hopefully everyone can be that much more enlightened to games that deserve some extra attention.

 

[Gorilla Gunk]

Bulletstorm.

It got written off as a "dude-bro" game and thus many people missed out on what was probably one of the best shooters, if not one of the best games, of 2011.

 

[TheLoveableMuffin]

Driver San Fransisco. I know Yahtzee said it, so I'll back him up. It is a hidden gem, and grand return to form for the series. Love the mad but engaging body-swapping storyline and the multiplayer is a brilliant laugh. No other driving game can boast to offer capture the flag where an enemy can zap into a oil tanker out of nowhere and aim head first for you.

 

[Launcelot111]

I can't get a sense of how old you are or what you've played from your post, so I'll just give you my list of games that people should at least give a chance.

Planescape Torment- an old PC game, graphics have aged decently and gameplay is fine, but the writing is some of the most creative and bizarre of any game I've ever played. Characters you will not find anywhere else. A brothel where the prostitutes specialize in intellectual debate. A house that got tired of being renovated and swallowed its builder. The physical embodiment of the letter O. Just about every conversation you have in this game is memorable.

Persona 4- Very long, very Japanese, and unforgiving turn based JRPG battle system, but the characters are the most human and believable ones I've come across in any game, the story is engaging, the music is superb, and the gameplay can get you hooked if you're into JRPGs

Okami- The art is second to none, the music is great, the characters are simplistic but fun and enjoyable, the gameplay is tight, there is a painting mechanic where the whole world is a watercolor and you paint fire or wind or the sun onto it to attack enemies, and you also play as a dog, which leads to digging holes or talking to animals or having fun interactions with people. The story drags a little, but very fun to play

The Fallout series- The old ones are great but haven't aged well, and the newer ones are also great but are a much different experience. Old ones are turn based strategy-RPG, new ones are open world FPS-RPG, but all the games let you decide who your character is as a fighter and as a person on a fairly deep level, and the whole game environment (post-nuclear war dystopia) strikes a great balance between the horrible things you'll see, hear, and do and just the right amount of humor to keep it from being too bleak. For the full Fallout experience, I'd definitely recommend 1 and 2

Psychonauts- It's a platformer where you're a kid at psychic summer camp and you explore the minds of people around the camp. The platforming isn't perfect by any means, but the level design is second to none, like the level in a paranoid delusional guy's mind becomes a twisted suburb where undercover agents wage war on girl scouts, or a lungfish's mind puts you as a giant defending a city of tiny lungfish.

You Have To Burn The Rope- It's a tiny flash game. You'll be done in three minutes tops, but something about it is just perfect. Play it

These aren't particularly obscure picks, but I think they're all great and unique experiences, and I apologize if I'm telling you about things you already know about, but these are all fairly easily playable with a PC or a PS2, so I hope you find something you like on here

 

[DevonFahrner]

I can't get a sense of how old you are or what you've played from your post, so I'll just give you my list of games that people should at least give a chance.

Planescape Torment- an old PC game, graphics have aged decently and gameplay is fine, but the writing is some of the most creative and bizarre of any game I've ever played. Characters you will not find anywhere else. A brothel where the prostitutes specialize in intellectual debate. A house that got tired of being renovated and swallowed its builder. The physical embodiment of the letter O. Just about every conversation you have in this game is memorable.

Persona 4- Very long, very Japanese, and unforgiving turn based JRPG battle system, but the characters are the most human and believable ones I've come across in any game, the story is engaging, the music is superb, and the gameplay can get you hooked if you're into JRPGs

Okami- The art is second to none, the music is great, the characters are simplistic but fun and enjoyable, the gameplay is tight, there is a painting mechanic where the whole world is a watercolor and you paint fire or wind or the sun onto it to attack enemies, and you also play as a dog, which leads to digging holes or talking to animals or having fun interactions with people. The story drags a little, but very fun to play

The Fallout series- The old ones are great but haven't aged well, and the newer ones are also great but are a much different experience. Old ones are turn based strategy-RPG, new ones are open world FPS-RPG, but all the games let you decide who your character is as a fighter and as a person on a fairly deep level, and the whole game environment (post-nuclear war dystopia) strikes a great balance between the horrible things you'll see, hear, and do and just the right amount of humor to keep it from being too bleak. For the full Fallout experience, I'd definitely recommend 1 and 2

Psychonauts- It's a platformer where you're a kid at psychic summer camp and you explore the minds of people around the camp. The platforming isn't perfect by any means, but the level design is second to none, like the level in a paranoid delusional guy's mind becomes a twisted suburb where undercover agents wage war on girl scouts, or a lungfish's mind puts you as a giant defending a city of tiny lungfish.

You Have To Burn The Rope- It's a tiny flash game. You'll be done in three minutes tops, but something about it is just perfect. Play it

These aren't particularly obscure picks, but I think they're all great and unique experiences, and I apologize if I'm telling you about things you already know about, but these are all fairly easily playable with a PC or a PS2, so I hope you find something you like on here

Fantastic post, thank you very much for this. I've never hear of Planescape, but I've heard nothing but good things about Persona and Okami (and by extension, Okami-Den?). Psychonauts I have played, and I agree that it was a fantastic game just for its set-up alone, and was the game that got me invested into Double Fine Studios for future titles like Brutal Legend and Stacking. Welcome to the Escapist as well!

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Since I know everyone else will bring up games that are on pretty much every "Great Games You Might Not Have Heard Of" list ever, I'm going to bring up a reasonably popular game that still catches a lot of flak - which I don't think it deserves.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare: The game that started the trend, and like Halo: Combat Evolved, it started the trend by being a good game. Seeing as the developers had no stakes set before them to try and raise, the conflict is more believable - mainly SAS vs. Russian insurgents, and the American military aren't painted as immortal, unstoppable badasses. What's more, there's actually quite a bit of strategy to the campaign: running into a room guns-blazing is a good way to die quickly, and your flashbangs won't just be sitting around in your inventory the whole time. Recommended to gamers and developers alike for the same reason: to see a modern-day FPS done right. Since it's also about four years old, it also isn't nearly as expensive as some newer games - but the online community's moved away a bit so I can only really recommend its campaign.

 

[DevonFahrner]

Bulletstorm.

It got written off as a "dude-bro" game and thus many people missed out on what was probably one of the best shooters, if not one of the best games, of 2011.

Very true from what I can tell; I've only had a taste from the demo but just from that I could tell it was rather stellar for what it was. The weapons were fantastic and the shooting itself was extremely visceral, which is why I was surprised when the game was written off as you said.

 

[Daget Sparrow]

Braid. No other game has been able to keep me thinking and rethinking about it for so long after finishing it's story, even if the game's rather short and simple. Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask comes a close second.

 

[TephlonPrice]

EndWar.

It may be a simple RTS compared to other RTS games, but it's a very good game in its own right. I found it some time back for $10 & I've enjoyed it.

 

[Weaver]

I'm not going to stop talking about this for a long time.

Katawa Shoujo

It's 100% free and was an amazing experience. Though calling it a game is a bit of a stretch...

EDIT: Though you said you are young, this game is 18+ so keep that in mind.

 

[oZode]

halo because it is a good FPS and a good role model for FPS games everywhere. No real bullet sponge foes, makes you go fast and have low health and does the same with foes creating very frantic and fast paced action.

 

[SaetonChapelle]

Legend of Dragoon. If youve played it, you know why. If you havent... I dont even know why this scenario exists.

 

[SaetonChapelle]

I'm not going to stop talking about this for a long time.

Katawa Shoujo

It's 100% free and was an amazing experience. Though calling it a game is a bit of a stretch...

EDIT: Though you said you are young, this game is 18+ so keep that in mind.

Im trying to download it but it always seems to be full. :/

 

[DevonFahrner]

I'm not going to stop talking about this for a long time.

Katawa Shoujo

It's 100% free and was an amazing experience. Though calling it a game is a bit of a stretch...

EDIT: Though you said you are young, this game is 18+ so keep that in mind.

Katawa Shoujo was indeed amazing, I just recently finished it. All of the different love paths touched me in a very personal way. How it portrayed romance in general was very tasteful and mature, something that I've found very hard to find and extremely welcome.

 

[Muspelheim]

As suggested before, the first in the Modern Warfare is actually a pretty good game, and it's worth checking out. The story is a bit Tom Clancy-ish and silly, but it never gets in the way, and the quantum-leaps into different characters is used rather well. Eh, you'll know what I mean when you see it.

Also, I'd like to recommend Operation Flashpoint. That is, the first game from 2001, made by Bohemia Interactive before Codemasters stole the brandname (and produced the present-time abominations).
It's an FPS that decided that instead of having realism as a gimmick, it'd be the foundation of the whole game. It's very punishing, with one or two bullets easily killing you, firefights often taking place at long distances, the works. And there's tanks, helicopters, airplanes, civilian vehicles... It's a blast.

If the graphics are a bit too far off the spectrum (they looked awful even back then), there is always Armed Assault and ArmA II, the -actual- sequels to Operation Flashpoint I by Bohemia Interactive, which are great fun as well.

And, if you like large-scale strategy, I recommend you check out Paradox Interactive and their series of massive, Risk-type games where you control a nation of your choice through history. Then, if you wish, you chuck the history-book out the window and conquer as much of the world as you'd like. There are:

Europa Universalis I, II, III. Roughly from 1400-1900, depending on the game.

Crusader Kings I, II. Around 1066-1400.

Victoria I, II. Focused on the Victorian era, 1838-1920.

Hearts of Iron I, II, III. Focused on the second world war, 1936-1948.

They're a fascinating experience, well worth a look if you like strategy. There's a Let's Play of Hearts of Iron on this very forum you could check out. And Paradox have made some other games worth a gander, too.

And then, of course, there is Portal. That game is history. Exceptionally well-crafted and slimmed to the point of brilliance. There's a reason it's as popular as it is.

 

[DevonFahrner]

Legend of Dragoon. If youve played it, you know why. If you havent... I dont even know why this scenario exists.

Holy crap, I thought I was one of the only people who played that game! Legend of Dragoon was actually my first game with multiple CDs and the story was amazing back when I was a kid. You're right, it makes me want to go out and find another copy just so I could appreciate it more after so many years. Thank you sir!

 

[Weaver]

I'm not going to stop talking about this for a long time.

Katawa Shoujo

It's 100% free and was an amazing experience. Though calling it a game is a bit of a stretch...

EDIT: Though you said you are young, this game is 18+ so keep that in mind.

Im trying to download it but it always seems to be full. :/

Hey there. Try this mirror
http://easymodo.net/KatawaShoujo/

 

[Tartarga]

E.T. the game, because shcadenfreude is fun.

No, in all seriousness i'd have people play Nier. It was a really good game that got completely overshadowed by the release of Final Fantasy 13 if I remember correctly so almost no one heard about it, the only way I learned of it's existence was from Yahtzee. It had beautiful graphics, but then again what game that has a Square Enix logo on the box doesn't? The story was decent and I loved the way it shifted between a hack and slasher, a bullet hell game, and at one point a text based adventure game. It also had what is now one of my all time favorite game soundtracks.

 

[Skin]

Dark Souls. Although I say this not having played Demon Souls, but Dark Souls is a masterpiece. It is dark, immersive, challenging and very memorable.

 

[ComradeJim270]

If you play shooters: Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Duke Nukem 3D and Half-Life (and probably a few other shooters) People need more appreciation of how shooters have changed over time.

Total Annihilation. Years ahead of its time? Try a decade. Ask yourself... if that could be done in 1997, what can we do now?

Deus Ex, because it's awesome and while other games have had similarities, there's nothing else quite like it.

Alpha Centauri (which is possibly the finest example of its genre), Portal, and STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl, because they're awesome and the only things quite like them are copies/sequels that exist in their shadows.

Fallout and Fallout 2, because they show that good interactive storytelling doesn't require good graphics.

GTA San Andreas: this is how you do a "sandbox" game.

Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear: You want call a game "tactical" or "squad-based"? Here's your yardstick for measuring how apt those descriptions are.

Oh, and Audiosurf... just because.