The Five games that define you as a gamer

[Vigormortis]

Man, that's a tough list to narrow down to five. There are a lot of games I would consider "defining", as far as my gaming tastes go. Regardless, I'll give it a shot:

1: Super Mario Bros - SMB was, essentially, the first video game I had ever played with any interest. For all intents and purposes, it was the game that started my interest in the medium of video gaming.

2: Doom/Doom 2 - These were the games that showed me the potential of multiplayer and "online gaming", as it were. In a way, they are what got me into playing games like Quake 3 Arena, Counter-Strike, Unreal Tournament, Starcraft, and so many others in the competitive and pro-league arenas. I can't count the number of hours I likely spent playing with friends over a dial-up modem. I can recall vividly, and happily, those moments loading up Doom 2 in DOS. Starting the multiplayer menu. Hearing that "beep...beep....beep...booooooooo" as the modem dialed my friends computer. Good times.

Also, on a side note, Doom 2 was the game that showed me what "modding" was. I learned how much fun it could be to alter, tweak, and modify your games to extend their longevity or make for an interested change-of-pace. I recall creating a "Christmas" mod with a friend. We reworked and re-drew almost all of the sprites in game to make them "Christmas-y". Right down to Cyberdemons where wool hats and Imps tossing snow-balls.

Though, Half-Life was the game that made me appreciate the modding community and the potential therein.

3: Half-Life - This was the game; game series in fact; that cemented my love-affair with gaming. It showed me the vast potential within the medium to tell stories, some we'd likely heard before, in ways impossible via any other medium. It also showed me that video games could be so much more than a passing distraction. It was probably the first game that truly immersed me in it's story, characters, setting, and story-verse. By the time I had finished the game I was not only enamored with it, I was also fascinated by the potential in gaming.

4: Homeworld - An RTS that was truly ground-breaking and unique, at least for it's time. Homeworld attempted something virtually no other RTS dared: It tried to make a 3D RTS that actually used all three dimensions. Fully free movement within the 3D space. It also did something else most RTS attempted, but often failed at: It told a very well written, very immersive story. One that has stuck with me long after other games stories have faded into memory.

5: MechWarrior 2 - This was the game that started my fascination with mech-lore, Battletech, simulators, and, in a way, technology. The unbelievable graphical fidelity the 3D engine presented, at a time when 3D was usually a gimmick, and the high-degree of realism present in regards to the mechanics and functions of the 'Mechs, made me very interested in technology; both because of the themes present in the game-space and because of the upgrades my computer need to play the game. Basically, for better or worse, MechWarrior 2 is responsible for me being the sci-fi-loving computer nerd that I am today. [sub](though, I can probably also thank Issac Asimov, Carl Sagan, Arthur C. Clarke, Mary Shelley, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and Michael Crichton for that as well)[/sub]

Oh, it's also the game that lead me to such classics as Freespace, Freelancer, and the space-sim genre as a whole.

Honorable mentions go to:
Wipeout/F-Zero/Mario Kart - for showing me the joys of racing games
Banjo-Kazooie - for cementing my love of action-adventures
Metroid Prime - for making me appreciate exploration in games
Donkey Kong Country - for allowing me to learn to appreciate art-direction in gaming
Zork/Earthbound - for showing me that not all RPGs need be "super-serious" narratives that are overly derivative of Tolkien
Diablo 2 - for, unfortunate or not, making me love dungeon-crawling and "grinding". to a certain degree.

 

[Sehnsucht Engel]

Spyro the dragon

It was probably one of my very first games, that I played through a few times and loved. It also lead me to buy convince my parents to buy the other spyro games and the first Ratchet & Clank game. I really like Insomniac, their games were fun to play and with humor that made me laugh. Unfortunately I couldn't afford a PS3, so I haven't played any of the latest games they've made. I will probably try to do that sometime in the future.

TES III: Morrowind

I think this was the first roleplaying game I ever played. I fucking loved it, even if I spent most of the times playing it with cheat codes and it had some long loading screens. Still, RPGs are now my favorite genre.

GTA: San Andreas

Probably the first sandbox game I played and the first game which had a darker mature story. My mother disapproved of me playing it, but I still played it a lot. GTA hasn't really been good since that game, but Saints Row filled it's place and I've loved those games. Sleeping Dogs was great too.

Hitman: Blood Money

I bought this game twice, for different platforms. I've finished it at least five times. I haven't experienced many games that were as enjoyable to play. I tried different approaches for each mission, on different difficulties. A great stealth game. I still think AC is pretty meh, but Dishonored made me think of this game and I loved playing that one too.

Guild Wars 2

I'll choose a more recent game for my last one. I was kind of hyped for this game, and thought that it wouldn't live up to my expectations, but it surpassed them and I played this game for three weeks straight. I've not done that with any game before. If MMORPGs goes more in the direction of what GW2 is in the future, then I will be there. Also, I really love how they're still updating it.

Honorable mentions should go out to Kira Kira and Muv Luv Alternative. I didn't really care about what a visual novel was before I played these.

 

[Beautiful End]

So in no particular order:

-Final Fantasy VIII (PS1): My first official RPG ever. At first, I was skeptical about this game because it was a type of game I had never seen before and it wasn't the typical no-story platformer that I was used to. I enjoyed everything about it and RPGs soon became my favorite genre. Bonus points for teaching me English while I played and motivating me to pick up a translator just to understand the game.

-Little Samson (NES): This wasmy first favorite game ever. This game taught me that you can have a rich palette, simple but accurate music (If that makes sense), fun characters, an original gameplay and a simple story, all in a single platformer. Even after all these years, that game still is one of my favorites.

-Legend of Dragoon (PS1): Probably because of similar reasons as the one listed above, except this is an RPG. And how did it define me as a gamer? Well, it helped me come up with my namertag that I use everywhere now. I did it out of pure respect and love for that game. Can't get more defining than that.

-God of War/Assassin's Creed: It made me realize there are still game developers out there who try to think outside the gray, dull, repetitive, FPX of a box. Sure, these games might not be historically accurate or flawless, but I enjoy the fact that they've both taken two of my favorite eras, ancient Greece and the Renaissance, and somehow made a game out of it. I can now show off to my friends about it. They don't know any better either so its cool.

-Kingdom Hearts: Because it showed me a couple of things: 1. Disney doesn't suck, 2. Square Enix CAN make a fun game even with Disney characters, 3. There is such thing as a fun action/RPG, 4. Game companies can keep you hanging for decades and you can whine and complain all you want but you're still gonna be waiting for that one awesome game that may or may not come to exist one day.
I've learned so much from them.

Runner-ups:

-Devil may Cry
-Dragon Age: Origins (My obsession)
-Portal
-Metal Gear
-Every other Final Fantasy game out there

 

[Iron_will]

Atelier Totori
It's the game that made me go 'Hey, this JRPG stuff isn't so bad after all'.
I used to hate them solely out of my hatred of the turn-based system and pure stupid prejudice against JRPGs.
I loved the interactions between the characters and how adorably innocent the protagonist was. Playing the game made me feel so... content and relaxed.

Faraway Dawn [http://muvluv.wikia.com/wiki/Muv-Luv_Alternative_Faraway_Dawn]
This is the game that practically eliminated my hate of turn-based games.
Now I honestly don't understand why I was so against them.
Each mission was like an uphill struggle of fighting back the despair of seeing all those goddamn BETA on map while making sure every single one of my units survive for the next mission.
And I absolutely enjoyed it.

MechCommander 2
I think my undying love and devotion to mecha was probably from playing this game.
I still remember the murderous grin I had when I had after seeing my assault classes --all armed with multiple gauss cannons-- destroy opposing mechs almost flawlessly.

Bastion
End-game spoilers:

Spoiler

Words can't describe the rush of emotion I had at the end of the game; discovering Zulf lying on the ground being beset and assailed by his own people, and then making the choice: leave him, or get him to safety, sacrificing your only weapon.
I have never chosen to leave him behind, ever.
There's no way I could do that.
It's further hammered in by the song that plays when you return back to the Bastion with him on your back.
What I'm trying to say is, that the end-game of Bastion was pure art.

Shadow of the Colossus
I don't even want to elaborate. This game is perfect. Everything about it was completely amazing.

Muv Luv Alternative

You got some fantastic taste there.

 

[Atmos Duality]

1) Metroid series: I love exploring the unknown in games.
Metroid has largely managed to attain that sense of haunting, organic ambiance through its musical score and superb level design. The gameplay is pretty damn awesome too, and ties everything together.

As a matter of influence, the original Metroid was the first video game I ever played.

2) Chrono Trigger: This game has the most directly "epic adventure" feel to it of any single game I can imagine. Others have tried, but very few games have ever managed to reach that specific sense of overall ambiance, let alone do it so well for the entire game.

See, you don't need Michael Bay explosions or shiny set pieces to make something "epic" and memorable. They help when placed correctly, but above all you need consistent tones that simultaneously inspire the player to action while making them feel very small in the grand picture of things.

If Chrono Trigger were remade today, I imagine the game would start with a CGI video dream sequence where Chrono gets into a badass swordfight with actions and abilities the player can not perform in-game.

(This was a painful decision between Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana, but I feel that Chrono Trigger better represents what I consider "ideal" in game design)

3) Mega Man X series: This is all about mechanics, action and some of the best controls in gaming. It's amazing how fun (most of) this series is without being really overly complicated.

4) Deus Ex: I believe DE is the near-perfect marriage of gameplay mechanics to both story and problem solving, nevermind that DE is the closest we've gotten to a "perfect" spy-game.
It's refreshing to see a game where blasting the other dude's head off isn't the only real solution to a given problem (though you can if you want).

5) Baldur's Gate 1 & 2: Strong contiguous story. Fantastic characters. Great mechanics.
This is still the best unified story I can think of in gaming.

Honorable mentions include Diablo 2 and Unreal Tournament 1. Going outside of video games, there's also Magic the Gathereing and Shadowrun.

 

[janjotat]

1. Battlefront 2- made me love the shooters, but I am extremely picky about them. The only ones I have really loved since was battlefield bad company 2 and 2142.

2. Age of Empire 3 got me into the rts genre. I recently bought SC2 and I am playing it to death.

3. Minecraft realy got the creative juices going.

4. Bastion my favorite game of all time because of the story. Before this I only cared about game play Bastion made me realize story is just as important

5. Witcher 2 made me love complex dark games. It also made me love RPGs, after playing it I am going back and playing older games.

 

[bojackx]

Super Mario World
Was basically the first game I ever owned and got me into gaming. The SNES cartridge actually contained about 7 Mario games, but this one was the best and the one that caused me to get into...

Pokemon Red
After Mario gave me a taste of the gaming lifestyle, I requested a Gameboy Color for one of my birthdays. I think Pokemon Red was a bundle game or something, but it was the only game I got at first. It must have been a pretty influential game because I've owned every Nintendo handheld since then, as well as the PSP and PS Vita.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Up until this point, no game had ever been so immersive as this game. It has the first sandbox RPG I had ever enjoyed, I ended up spending hundreds of hours with it, as well as the game which got me into several other RPG franchises.

Call of Duty: World at War
A weird one that makes it onto my list, since it's by far not one of my favourite games. I was hooked on it for about a month before I got bored with it and moved on. The reason it makes it onto this list is because it was my introduction to online multiplayer. It would lead to me Team Fortress 2 and PC gaming itself.

And most recently, Mass Effect 2
About 7 or 8 months ago, I was looking for some games that I could get into since I was getting bored quite a lot. My friend first told me to play through the Assassin's Creed series, so I did and found them to be pretty damn fun. I was then told to get Mass Effect, and so I followed his instruction once again. I thought that that to, was pretty damn awesome (even if the gameplay was hardly the best I've seen). It wasn't until I played Mass Effect 2 that I knew this series was amazing. It showed me how a story as good as those found in TV and film could be put into a game, and never before have I been so attached to a group of characters.

These aren't my favourite games, but they have all turned me onto the path I'm on now, so I guess I thank them for that.

 

[Quesa]

Everquest (250 days played in 3 years, more friends than I will ever have before or since combined), Star Control 2, Civilization 2, Counter-Strike, Mechwarrior (the first one).

 

[mateushac]

1. Prince of Persia

The game that first got me into gaming. My dad brought it home with the first home computer our family had.

2. Wolfenstein 3D

This game sunk most of my cousins' and my own childhoods. We'd play for hours, skipping several meals and showers.

3. Metal Gear Solid

Made me stealth nut I am today. Also taught me pixel butts are pretty hot.

4. Final Fantasy Tactics

Showed me how story in videogames can be pretty complex and interesting. Also made me realize RPGs can be fun sometimes (if they ditch the goddamn JRPG standard battle system).

5. Deadly Dozen

I've always loved WW2 games, but this one made things pretty interesting with its difficulty and the introduction of permadeath.

 

[Duck Sandwich]

1 Mega Man X
The game that got me into the Mega Man X (and by extension, original and Zero) series, back when I first played it in 2000. It's always been among my favourite series, and I've beaten pretty much every Mega Man game in the Original/X/Zero collections countless times.

2 Exile 3: Ruined World
My first RPG. It was a confusing game at first, especially considering that when you start the game, you have 6 pre-made characters with a bunch of stats that you can customize as you see fit. And I was only 8 when I first played it. Not many games like it. There's a huge, open world to explore, there's long paragraphs of text explaining your various encounters, with bits of humour, like "the angry sailor makes several harsh comments regarding your race, ancestry, and the availability of your mother."

3 Devil May Cry 4: The game that got me into the Devil May Cry series, which has the most awesome action ever.

4) Starcraft: I used to have so many matches with my friends. Loved the campaign. Seeing the last cinematic ending of Brood War was awesome.

5) Street Fighter 2: The first game I ever played in an arcade, when I was about 5. The first time I played, I picked Ryu, then got promptly destroyed by a hadoken-spamming, CPU controlled Ken. Bastard.

 

[Dark Prophet]

Mass Effect 1-3/Fallout 3, NV games that take a lot of time to complete and when I say complete I mean COMPLETE, like 100%, I'm mad like that.

C&C all of them, in my univerese C&C 4 does not exist, I just like RTS games where you can just select all and steamroll over the map and still win.

Half-Life/Bioshock good story driven FPS games, they are like some books I read over and over again.

Borderlands, Brderlands 2/Torchlight, Torchlight 2 glorious, gloorious loot.

And I can't think of a fifth one.

 

[Tahaneira]

My mom had encouraged me to stop playing as many video games as I got older... they were a "boy thing," as I was told... but the thrill of playing Halo against my brother's friends (and kicking their asses) made me take another look at that "boy thing" that I was being encouraged to dismiss. Years and years later, I'm still gaming.

That sounds quite a lot like Brony logic there.

And the English major in me loves the Ayn Rand parallels and themes. It really challenged my perception of what a game could be.

'Tis a dangerous road to walk down. Start taking professional interest in a game and it could lead to over-analyzing, writing essays, and perhaps even a career as a critic. And we all know how horrible that would be.

Honorable mention to Dishonored as well. I am truly enjoying even my second play through of this game, it's refreshing to see publishers send out a new single player IP set in a bizarre world and let people have so much freedom in each mission in an age of way points and health regen.

Have to agree with this. There aren't quite as many games which focus on making a fantastic new world to see these days, and Dishonored did a fantastic job at setting the stage.

Anyways, my defining games? Hoo boy, this is gonna be a trip down memory lane. My defining games will be, for the most part, the first ones I ever played. So, here we go.

1. LEGO Alpha Team
This was the first actual game-game that I ever owned or really played. Before, I had just fiddled around with various titles at friends' houses. But my love of LEGO convinced my parents to let me get a computer game, and this is what I got. And I loved it. Still do, as a matter of fact; I'm very upset that I can't get it to work on my current computer. It's what introduced me to gaming, and in retrospect, taught me that a game doesn't necessarily have a deep plot, intriguing characters, or really good graphics to be a lot of fun. Hell, even this challenge I see some gamers obsessing over doesn't need to be present. A game can be highly enjoyable without any of that.

2. Age of Mythology
Out of all of my hobbies, being a mythology geek is probably one of the oldest, next to LEGO. I've been obsessed with the old stories since before I was old enough to read, and here was a game with story and gameplay marinated in ancient Greek, Egyptian, and Norse Teutonic myths. I was pretty much a goner. This one was what introduced me to the concept of having a good story in a game, and encouraged me to seek out more like it. It led me to BioWare, and I've never regretted it.

3. Metroid Prime
Ah, this game. It was what introduced me to shooters, and it took me an embarrassingly long time before I was actually any good at it. It trained me on the controls for the vast majority of the games I play these days, but it was also the game that showed me that apart from story, games could have incredible world-building. That's another concept I'm a sucker for, and it has encouraged me to keep an eye out for games with interesting concepts behind their settings.

4. Knights of the Old Republic
As a Star Wars fan, I felt obliged to pick this up, and I had heard good things about the story in the game. What I turned out to love the most was the characters and how they all interacted with the player and each other. This was the game that sparked my love for RPGs in general and BioWare in specific, for whom I have held a fanboy torch ever since.

And, last but not least...

5. Dragon Age II
Yes, I loved Dragon Age: Origins as well, but this specific game taught me something about myself and the gaming community. Never before had I liked a game that attracted so much hate from other gamers around me, people who condemned it and couldn't seem to understand why I liked it. What I took away from the experience was this: everyone has opinions. These opinions are valid, to themselves at least, often to others who like them or debate with them. But when it comes to whether or not I like a game, the first, last, and only opinion that matters is my own. Others can rant and rave about how much they hate something, and try their best to convince me why I should hate it too, but that doesn't matter. If I enjoyed something, I enjoyed it. End of story. It's the reason I like games that seem to attract bile such as Dragon Age II, Mass Effect 3, Fallout 3, Crysis 2, and the Gears of War, Force Unleashed, and Overlord series. I loved the gameplay, story, setting, or characters, or any combination of the above, in all of those series, and no amount of persuading will convince me that I did not enjoy them.

 

[pilouuuu]

While classic games are all well and good I have a strong love of newer games who's art made it through even though the technology for gritty brown realism was there.

Half-Life 2:
Possibly my favorite game of all time, there's just so much to love. The mix of human and alien architecture is one of my favorite things to look at as, sure, chunks of the game qualify as gritty brown realism, the fact that there's usually some dark blue Combine tech jammed in there still gives it a unique feel. Not to mention the writing and the weapons.

Fallout 3:
Fun to explore and fun to play. Another on my list of nearly gritty brown realism, the difference being it's all so 1950's what-if charming is what sets it apart. All this impossible tech powered by the atom.

Dragon Age: Origins:
Just fantastic. As far as I knew this game came out of nowhere and blew me away. Mostly for the writing, some of the best moments are spent in camp talking to characters like Shale and Lelianna.

Morrowind:
One of the few games where you never feel like you were meant to be the hero, but somehow managed to save the province just by following the steps. Made you feel like you had control instead of just being the chosen one.

BioShock:
A masterpiece of writing, bought it because I liked the TV-spot and now I have Jack's chains on my wrists. Andrew Ryan may also be my favorite character in existence, he's totally insane, yet (nearly) always so calm.

Honorable mention to Dishonored as well. I am truly enjoying even my second play through of this game, it's refreshing to see publishers send out a new single player IP set in a bizarre world and let people have so much freedom in each mission in an age of way points and health regen.

Very good taste in games, dude! Those are amazing games! I hope Dragon Age III and Bioshock Infinite don't disappoint.

 

[Sarah Kerrigan]

No particular order, like others..

1. Resident Evil 2- My First dip into survival horror. Played it at a friends house, both of us around 9 years old, huddled around her playstation. We screamed and yelled about how we didn't want to play anymore but we kept playing. I have loved the series every since, yes, even Five and Six.

2. Gears of War- My first Xbox game. My babysitter's brother let me play multiplayer, where I picked Baird having no idea who he was. I've played and beaten every game since then and I have weirdly always picked Baird as my multiplayer and my favorite character.

..that's all I can think of ^^;; XD I know theres others. Twisted Metal 2, Crash, ect.

 

[FootloosePhoenix]

Sly 2: Band of Thieves
I accredit this game with cementing my interest in the hobby. It was one of my first PlayStation 2 games and from the time I popped the disc in, I was enthralled. It remains one of my favourite games of all time, on part due to the nostalgia factor admittedly, but it's still a great adventure. Climbing around Paris, picking guards' pockets and feeling like the world is mine to conquer with my thiefiness...ahhhhhhh, good times. Sly 2 also made me a lasting Sucker Punch fan.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
My dream RPG, in a nutshell. I must've put well over 300 hours into the game by now, including about 140 on my beloved Khajiit, though I'll let you in on a little secret: I've never made a mage character, or even bothered with magic aside from the occasional heal spell. The atmosphere of this game is so much better than Skyrim's generic "epic fantasy" crap. Oblivion is full of flaws to be sure, but they're all very forgivable in the face of the grand adventure and hours of fun it's provided me with.

Final Fantasy VII
There simply had to be a Final Fantasy game on this list. I'm a massive fan of the turn-based combat in the series and the overall structure the games possess, aside from how they tend to take a very long time to really get going. I was debating which one to choose for awhile. X-2 was actually my first FF and I considered putting it on here for that reason, but while I did enjoy it a great deal, it's not...Final Fantasy-like enough to deserve such a position. VII was the first FF I finished proper and I loved just about every moment of it. The materia system is also my favourite, as it's easy for newcomers to grasp but you can spend a lot of time and effort strategically improving your characters with it. There is definitely good reason that a lot of people obsess over this game.

BioShock
Oh, BioShock. How can I even begin to explain my love for this game? Well it's pretty much the only first-person shooter I like. And I like it a lot. It also significantly contributes to the argument that video games can certainly be art. BioShock 2 was a decent sequel, but there's just no comparing it to the original. I believe I finished BioShock three times in a handful of months after I first got it and never got bored.

Kingdom Hearts II
While the first game has the better story in my opinion, KHII was a major improvement in most other areas. Boy, was I obsessed with this series for awhile. I've fallen out of touch with it in recent years due to the unfathomable amount of spin-offs they've released on platforms I don't own, but Kingdom Hearts II in particular still holds a very special place in my heart. I remember buying it before I'd finished the first game, rushing to do so and then beginning my Kingdom Hearts journey anew. I have some pretty big gripes with the series, but overall it's just a blast to play and the game's final bosses in particular are magnificent.

 

[themind]

Super Mario Bros. 3 - I had a lot of fun with NES, but nothing tops this game. Infinitely playable to this day. Love it.

EA NHL Hockey Series - From '93 to 2000 I owned every game, and since 2000 have owned probably 7 out of the 12 games released.

Goldeneye - The first truly insanely fun multiplayer game, and with the exception of Half Life, stands as an untouchable FPS in my books.

Morrowind - The first game I ever played for over 500 hours. I could still play it today.

Fallout 3 - I loved FO & FO2, but this was by far my most anticipated game of the 21st century.


HONOURABlE MENTIONS:

N64 Wrestling Games: WCW vs NWO and the WWF series stands as the standard bearer for pro wrestling multiplayer.

Shining Force 1 & 2: Got me into turn-based RPGs, and been a fan ever since.

C&C Red Alert: The RTS experience of a lifetime, still own a copy.

Diablo: Point & Click game that was something remarkable for its time. Very dated now, but it was something special when it was released.

Civilization 4: Pick it up and play it now, it's just as fun as the first time.

 

[kanyewhite]

Chrono Trigger
GTA: Vice City
Battlefield 2
Heavy Rain
LA Noire

 

[saintdane05]

Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. I played Sonic games all my life up to this point, so nothing was surprising to me in terms in gameplay. In terms of gameplay and level design, I was shocked first playing this. When I played Hero story, I got a brief cutscene and BAM! Playing as Sonic, riding down as snowboard in the middle of the street, with a kick ass soundtrack blaring and the distant sound of sirens as I was chased by GUN. But the big moment was the Truck. You know, THAT truck. I remember distinctly going into the stage select, and playing that level over and over again just to play that part with the truck.

Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty: This is what I consider the Greatest Game ever. Of all time.

Pokemon Emerald: Last time I checked, I spent 13 days of my life playing that game. Seriously. I would play it at dinner, in the car, on a plane, while walking down the street.

Thats what I have. I think.

 

[Frezzato]

My top five in no apparent order:



5. Halo 3. The first fps I have ever played. I loved almost every minute of it (fuck the flood) and was equally pleased with the way the felt. I also just love sci-fi.

Hey there, you said that Halo 3 was the first FPS you ever played. Did you ever play Halo 1? I'm curious to see what your thoughts are about Halo 1--AFTER playing Halo 3. I'm not interested in the graphics, I mean the actual single player campaign for both story and action.