I'm fairly new to gaming. When I was younger, I owned a super nintendo, but after that I didn't play PC, console, or any games at all really until my brother bought a PS2, which I didn't play all that much. I only recently started sinking hours into gameplay when I bought a 360. The first game I recently sat down and played through was the first Bioshock last year, and I've been playing games like Mass effect and Oblivion since.
Bottom line, I haven't played many games. However, I still want to experience a wide variety of games. I keep hearing about games that are similar to point and click adventure games or DOOM style shooters, but I don't truly know what to make of these terms. I haven't played the games.
I'd like to appeal to the wisdom of my fellow gamers and ask all of you to suggest landmark games for me to check out. Whether they defined a genre, like adventure games, or did something novel that has stuck with you over the years, I want to hear about it. I have the feeling that a vast history of unique games exists consisting of interactive experiences that aren't just good, but defined something new for games. I want to explore this history outside the scope of current generation games. After all, it's summertime and I have nothing better to do.
Well Some of the best games of different genres I've played and can recommend are:
RPG:
Baldur's Gate 1 and 2(PC) Defining classic WRPG titles with its wonderful character development, story telling and combat.
Persona 3 FES & Persona 4(PS2) Two of the finest JRPGs ever made.
Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines(PC) Deep RPG and enjoyable game even with somewhat clunky combat it's got an engaging story and characters that will draw you in.
Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2(PS2) Because it's a crazy crossover of Disney and Final Fantasy that combine to create a incredibly fun action RPG.
Final Fantasy VII(PS) A fantastic JRPG. There is a reason it's still well loved by many.
Earthbound Zero/Mother(NES) One of the greatest RPGs that never made it out of Japan. There are English translated ROMs that can be found.
FPS:
Halo: Combat Evolved(Xbox/PC) Defined the modern FPS.
Doom(PC) The FPS that pretty much started it all.
Point-and-Click/Adventure:
The Last Express(PC) Fantastic point-and-click adventure game with a complex storyline.
Grim Fandango(PC) Very good adventure game that features great writing and a distinctive style.
Sanitarium(PC) Engaging and immersive and psychological horror point-and-click game.
Action/Adventure:
God of War(PS2) Engaging action game and the first has some extra depth hiding a classic Greek tragedy in a tale of a bloody quest for vengeance.
Psychonauts(PS2) Funny and engaging adventure game.
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest(NES) First Castlevania game I ever played as a child and it's still a favorite. Definitely a platformer classic.
Okami(PS2) One of the most innovative and enthralling adventure games ever made.
Misc:
Portal(PC/XBL) Unique and well made puzzle game with a fantastic story.
Amnesia: The Dark Decent(PC) For its wonderful atmosphere and a great horror game.
Marathon is available on the iPad now, maybe on the iPhone as well? It is the big daddy of FPS games, a bit dated now perhaps.
Anyway just go to GOG and start anywhere, I'd recommend Freespace 2 (The Space Combat Game), Planescape: Torment (The greatest story ever told in a game), The Longest Journey (Point and Click adventure masterpiece), Psychonauts (Hey it's Psychonauts), and Jagged Alliance 2 (Turn based squad level strategy that may even be better than X-Com).
On Steam you can get Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines (A bloody good RPG), KOTOR (A bloody good Star Wars RPG) and X-Com: Enemy Unknown (The greatest game ever made?).
I don't know where to find them but seek out System Shock 2 (Scary Sci-Fi RPG that Bioshock and Dead Space wish they were half as good as), Homeworld (Space Battle RTS), and KOTOR 2 (Get it on PC and use the unofficial patch to restore content and you'll find it better than the original).
These off the top of my head anyway. Consider Hitman: Blood Money, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, and any of the Thief games (even 3) if stealth interests you at all.
I would recommend one of the more recent Total War games (Rome, Medieval 2, Shogun 2, not Empire) for the PC if you want a good strategy game. Or for a platformer/action game, I would recommend a Prince of Persia or Assassin's Creed.
Uh . . . off the top of my head and in no particular order, games that haven't been mentioned that I think have made significant marks on the industry:
StarCraft/Diablo2/WarCraft3
Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Zelda: Majora's Mask
Superman 64 (I'm serious about this one. It's important to properly understand how terrible this game was)
Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City or San Andreas (mostly just because so many games tried their damnedest to be GTA3, so it's important to know what they were basing themselves off of)
Beyond Good and Evil (not really a "landmark" in that it is more of a cult classic than a blockbuster hit, but still worth investigating)
Here are some other Landmark games that were not named
Shenmue- The first actual Free game for the Sega Dreamcast. Also the first game to use Quick Time Events
Mario 64- First game to do free roam 3D enviroments right
Diablo- Dark fantasy dugeon crawler RPG. this one is a classic
Myst- A very solid adventure game
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night- Best side platformer ever, (In My Opinion)
Metal Gear Solid- Started a style of game called `Tactical Stealth Espeanos` It also broke the fourth wall in gaming
Metroid Prime- Probably the most suprisingly good game ever. Other games struggled to switch 2D to 3D. Metroid Prime probably did the best
Duke Nukem Forever- The most disapointing game ever. You would think after 14 years a game wouldnt... well wouldnt suck.
ET- started the video game crash in the 80`s the game was horrible
Custers Revenge- your going to have to look this game up
Soul Calibur- Probably the best rated fighting game ever. It showed that Console now had better graphics then the arcades. The Dreamcast was to thank for that
Phantasy Star Online- the first console MMO game and it was done well
Super Mario Bros.- Stopped the video game crash in the 80`s
and lastly Tetris- My dad could sit down and play tetris. My grandma could sit down and play Tetris. This game is played by many still today
FPS:
-Wolfenstein 3D
-Doom
-Quake 1, 2, & 3
-Half-Life 1 & 2
-Counter-Strike
-Team Fortress
-Call of Duty 4
Adventure:
-Zork
-Legend of Zelda
-Myst
-Day of the Tentacle
-Monkey Island series
-Sam & Max: Hit the Road
Horror:
-Alone in the Dark (1992)
-Silent Hill 1 & 2
-Resident Evil 1 & 4
RPG:
-Dungeon
-Nethack
-Wasteland
General:
-Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device (made in 1947!)
That's all I can think of right now, but there's definitely quite a few more worth mentioning. It's kinda neat going back through gaming history like that.
Is it a good thing or a bad thing I actually have a document file I keep tucked away for when this topic or any variation thereof pops up (New to PC gaming, need classics. Looking for good old games. etc)
Think this is the third time I've posted it. Anyway, here you go:
First of all, I consider this series pretty much mandatory for any rpg fan: Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2. In my mind Biowares finest work to date and the pinaccle of what an rpg should strive to be. Solid narrative, great characters, surprisingly vibrant 2D artwork even today, entertaining tactical combat, absolutely massive open world... I seriously can't think of any real major flaws in the series. It's absolutely brilliant. And then when you consider there are mods out there which combine BG1 and 2 into one cohesive game as well as improve and tweak the experience towards perfection, then really you just can't get any better. Though other rpg try such as...
Planescape: Torment. You might've heard of this game, hell, there's another active topic about it in these forums right now. Bluntly put this game has by far the best fantasy story and one of the most unique styles and setting in any game, regardless of genre, ever. It's not disputable, it's fact. In terms of story, setting and character Planescape: Torment is one of the most in-depth and provocative games ever made. If only the combat and the basic gameplay mechanics were more solid it'd probably be my number 1 pick for rpg ever. But as it is it comes a close second, which considering how many rpg I've played, is still damned impressive methinks.
Stepping a bit away from pure rpg we've got the absolutely spectacular Heroes of Might and Magic 3. It's a hard game to describe to someone that might not be familiar with this sort of game, so I'll just say it's brilliant and that everything this game does, it does exceptionally well. This is another of those 'I can't think of any real flaws' sort of games, so much so that despite being well over ten years old, I've introduced this game to kids who hadn't even been born when it came out and seen them enjoy it! Now that's the sign of a solid, long lasting experience!
If you wanna give the old Point & Click classic PC adventure games a try, my personal favourite is The Longest Journey. Despite all the gushy mushy love I just gave to Planescape above, this is the game which in terms of story and character really stole my heart. Planescape is deeper, more in-depth and covers a number of more touchy subject but The Longest Journey... well, it's got soul. The main protagonist is my favourite of any game and her journey throughout the games length is enthralling. It's like a really, really nice book for me that I like to re-read every once and awhile for that fuzzy warm feeling of nostalgic happiness. Even nostalgia wont blind me to the shit puzzles and gameplay, but screw that, use a walkthrough if you have to. The story is worth it in my mind!
And as a final suggestion for something more actiony if that's you're thing: Freespace 2. The space sim that was so good it killed the genre... or at least I like to think so. Simply put the story is solid but the gameplay so awesomely intense that you'll be suffering from shellshock and probably need to have your fingers pried from the joystick (I bought a force-feedback joystick exclusively for this game. So worth it!) with a pair of pliers when it's done. Not only that, but of all the games I just listed, this is probably the easiest to get into since a couple of years ago the developers released the games source code online, and as a result the community has been improving the engine ever since to such an extent that it still looks fantastic today. This game is so good at what it does it's become an entire genre unto itself, with so many mods and even total conversion that buying this game is like buying the last ten years worth of amazing space sims all in one. I kid you not!
And there you go! Between those five games (Technically 6 since there's 2 BG games!) that's enough PC gaming goodness to keep a normal human occupied for... hell, well over a year especially if they take the time to play the games fully and explore the communities which have sprung up around each game.
Mmm... spent some time on this reply. Think I'll save it for the next time someone asks for PC game suggestions.
Which I have. Which I have. So very much time saved.
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