Poll: Is there such a thing as a "Must Play" game?

[Tekyro]

"Must play" games are often the same games that get bad press.

Mirrors Edge for example, there is no other game like it - You must try it.

A thousand times this.

OT: It kind of depends on what context you mean. For example, if you're planning on playing a game which is part of a series (say, Metal Gear Solid 4), you MUST play previous games in the series, or you probably won't have a clue what's going on.

 

[HatchetDown]

In the scheme of "all of humanity must at least play a certain video game" I think it would be a tie between Tetris and Super Mario.

 

[Pyotr Romanov]

Uhh... Does Fate/Stay Night count?
I kind of tell everybody I meet that you could just as well be dead if you don't read it...
Too bad most people I meet don't like reading, apparently even less than being dead.

I hate manga with a passion so fierce, it sometimes feels like a fire in my heart. Still think I should read it?

OT: Morrowind, or old school Mario.

Yes, as it's not a manga!
Oh who am I kidding...

Oh, and I agree with Morrowind.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

There are must plays like Portal, Counter Strike 1.6/Source (at least try, everyone has played it), Felix The Cat(?) and ..i don't know.
It's more like must TRY playing.

That what I put. Like it or not, you must try certain games.

Personally, I don't believe there's any game that every gamer has to try. Fuck, I didn't get around to playing Ocarina of Time until this weekend. And it sucks compared to the new Zelda games, in my opinion.

 

[TOGSolid]

Super Mario Bros 1
Zelda 1
Super Metroid
Goldeneye
Doom
Metal Gear Solid

There's others, but I think you get the general idea.

If you haven't played a Counterstrike before, you really need to experience one of the biggest collection of whiny-ass punks on the internet.

Fixed that for you, but you are right, CS is worth playing just so you can really get a taste for the douchebags online.

 

[Angerwing]

Yes, as it's not a manga!
Oh who am I kidding...

Oh, and I agree with Morrowind.

I looked it up, and it's like "Japanese Visual Novel". Sounds like Manga in disguise.

 

[Chunko]

Yes, MW2 is an example, even though I hated the first one I had to play it out of social pressure. Good thing though b/c i thought it was a great game.

 

[Chancie]

It's already been mentioned numerous times but I'll say it again anyways, just to reinforce it:

Shadow of the Colossus.
That is all.

 

[willard3]

There are no really Must Play games. I mean, it's all completely subjective to opinion. I mean, some people say that the God of War and the Metal Gear Solid games are must-play games but I haven't played a single one of them aside from demos and, well, I'm not particularly inclined to. And my gaming recommendations no doubt would be met by scorn by an equal number of people.

This and very this. Personally, there are some games I've played that I feel everyone who may potentially like them should play.

HOWEVER, not all games are for everybody. A twitchy FPS'er will probably not like/appreciate Shadow of the Colossus, for example (not to bash on FPS's; I like them myself). So to say that you're not a "real gamer" because you haven't played certain games seems rather unfair...especially if they're exclusive to one platform...again, Shadow of the Colossus. (Yes I played it, beat it, and loved it.)

But I do think everyone should at least try some of the older classic games that gave gaming its start. You don't need to like them, but at least give them a passing glance.

 

[jokr2thief]

Pokemon Yes. Yes Pokemon.

No. Not Pokemon. I tried to get into this cornerstone of the Nintendo Franchise, and I love beating people up with Squirtle in SSBB, but I can't play Pokemon. The story is shallow, the writing (or at least the English translation) is awful, and I never understood why I was bothering to 'Catch 'em all' if I ended up using the same ones over and over again. I was bored to tears by Pokemon.

 

[Levitas1234]

Yes viva pinata

 

[Charli]

Pokemon Yes. Yes Pokemon.

No. Not Pokemon. I tried to get into this cornerstone of the Nintendo Franchise, and I love beating people up with Squirtle in SSBB, but I can't play Pokemon. The story is shallow, the writing (or at least the English translation) is awful, and I never understood why I was bothering to 'Catch 'em all' if I ended up using the same ones over and over again. I was bored to tears by Pokemon.

But you played it. At no point in my original response did I say anyone had to like any of those 4. Merely that they play them once for the experience, for better or for worse.

 

[jokr2thief]

But you played it. At no point in my original response did I say anyone had to like any of those 4. Merely that they play them once for the experience, for better or for worse.

Yes, but if you detest the experience, what the bloody hell is the point? I knew going in to Pokemon knowing I wasn't going to like it, and would have much rather put the time into playing through a classic title. But I still gave it a chance to not disappoint me. The experience failed to enrich my gaming experience or my life in any fashion. The only thing it taught me is never to bother with any one's pocket monster aside from my own.

And I think the enrichment of some part of your life is the crux of them being 'must play' games.

 

[TIMESWORDSMAN]

Uh, Super Mario Bros.?
I mean, I'm pretty sure you have to play that to even qualify as a Rookie Gamer.

 

[mindclockwork]

thief and half-life. thief for inventing whole sneaky bastard genre (pretty much)... and half-life is just awesome game.

 

[Crimsonsniper]

Don't know if this has been said but, "Freedom Fighters" is a must play in my opinion. It set the standard for what a console fps with squad commands should be.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Mario Bros and Pong

Know thy roots

/thread

DONKEY KONG. I mean the original arcade Donkey Kong. That is another timeless classic. AND GALAGA!!

 

[Idle]

System Shock 2

I registered just to approve of this message:
Play System Shock 2. It ruined Bioshock for me. Bioshock is a POS to me because I was spoiled by System Shock 2.

Anyone mention Deus Ex yet? GOTY on Steam for 10$. RPG shooter with one of the better plots, side quests, exploration, characters, multiple endings etc I've experienced overall.

All the quirky original stuff like Psychonauts, Braid, Portal etc that I can immediately think of has been mentioned.

Then there's all the games that you must play because if you haven't then you've never been in contact with another human before (Starcraft, Half-Life, Halo, Zelda, Mario).

Then there's the games that just did everything right, generally while inventing their own entire genre or being the outstanding examples in a small genre, yet fall under the radar sometimes. I don't see a lot of these already listed, excepting Shadow of the Colossus and something else I probably missed. XCOM. You MUST play XCOM at some point (1992? DOS). ChronoTrigger, the only JRPG I ever liked. Ground Control, a solid predeployment RTS. StarControl 2 was amazing with what it was. Planescape Torment (>Baldur's Gate IMO). Fallout 1 & 2. Alpha Centauri (If you liked Civilizations). Freespace 2. Operation Flashpoint.

 

[joshuaayt]

Morrowind.
Deus Ex
System Shock 1/2/3 <- that was a clever joke