What's Your Golden Age of Gaming?

[Unsung]

Everyone has a different answer. Some people are PC-centric, while others look to their consoles. Whatever your system, what time span do you consider to be a golden age for gaming?

I expect many answers, and many similar answers, but I don't think anyone is going to have the same opinion as me:

My personal golden age for PC gaming was 2005-2009.

-WoW
-Bioshock
-Titan Quest
-Crysis
-Far Cry 2
-Dawn of War II
-Sins of a Solar Empire
-Hinterland
-The Orange Box
-Fallout 3
-Oblivion / Shivering Isles
-Civilization IV
-Company of Heroes

And a ton more. There's a lot of PC / console crossover in that list, and I even played a few on consoles first. I just happen to think that this period of time is an overlooked mini-renaissance of quality. They were just really, really, REALLY good years.

 

[Vault101]

this gen....

I mean there are a few past games I love (yoshis island, super metroid, banjo kazooie) but its this gen that really brought me into gaming

starting with Bioshock

 

[shadowedge]

I am mostly a PC gamer, but my golden age of gaming is the Sega Genesis days.

 

[LookingGlass]

1997-2003 is where the vast majority of my favourite games have come from.

You've got everything (roughly in chronological order)... Fallout 1 and 2, Thief 1 and 2, System Shock 2, Starcraft, Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, Homeworld, Freespace 1 and 2, Deus Ex, Arcanum, Operation Flashpoint, Silent Hill 1 and 2, GTA: Vice City, Hitman 2, Rainbow Six: Raven Shield, and Morrowind. And probably some that I forgot.

I could just replay those games again and again and be pretty satisfied on the gaming front for the rest of my life.

It doesn't really fit a console "generation", it's basically the end of the PS1 era and the beginning of the PS2 era.

 

[pyrosaw]

1997-2003 is where the vast majority of my favourite games have come from.

You've got everything (roughly in chronological order)... Fallout 1 and 2, Thief 1 and 2, System Shock 2, Starcraft, Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, Homeworld, Freespace 1 and 2, Deus Ex, Arcanum, Operation Flashpoint, Silent Hill 1 and 2, GTA: Vice City, Hitman 2, Rainbow Six: Raven Shield, and Morrowind. And probably some that I forgot.

I could just replay those games again and again and be pretty satisfied on the gaming front for the rest of my life.

It doesn't really fit a console "generation", it's basically the end of the PS1 era and the beginning of the PS2 era.

I agree with this guy. 1999 was a great year for gaming. 2007 is also a really good year.

 

[Smokej]

my golden gaming decade is the 1990s; starting with the great Adventure and RPG Games (Monkey Island, Gold Box) and ending ~2000/01 (BG 2, JA 2)

Reason: all the good games had the feel, that they were made from gamers for gamers and the consumer was regarded as a sophisticated being...

 

[veloper]

Same here. Mid '90s to 2000.
Jagged Alliance 2, fallout 2, planescape, deus ex, thief, homeworld, master of orion 2, etc.

Most of the classics that have not been improved upon today hail from this period.

 

[Ranylyn]

Gamecube/PS2

(Honorable mention to the SNES/ Sega Genesis, but they just didn't deliver on the plots and characters as well.....)

Gamecube:
- Tales of Symphonia
- Soul Calibur 2
- All the wrestling games I used to play with my cousin (the CaW was hilarious)
- 007: Agent Under Fire (The gadgets made the multiplayer VS a total hoot; spiderman, anyone?)
- Star Fox Assault
- Legend of Zelda: Windwaker

PS2:
- Tales of the Abyss
- .hack//G.U.
- Disgaea 2
- Dark Cloud 2
- Soul Calibur 3 (Chronicles of the sword mode = Ogrebattle + Soul Calibur? NERDGASM)
- Grandia 3
- Atlier Iris 3
- Persona 4

 

[Scarim Coral]

For me that would be the Gamecube era-
Time Splitter 2
Super Smash Bro Melee
Soul Calibur 2
Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 & 2
Gotcha Force
Resident Evil 4
Legend of Zelda Wind Waker
Metroid Prime 1 & 2

 

[Radox Redux]

I like to think that on a whole we've just finished a golden age of gaming lasting from 1985 - 2005 (roughly), but on a personal level my favorite years where the time period from 1997 - 1999. In that three year period more 'best game evar!' candidates came out than any other. Most of these where masterpieces that are still considered the best in their respective series these days by some people. Examples:

Banjo Kazooie
Final Fantasy VII
Ocarina of Time
Goldeneye 64
Metal Gear Solid
Resident Evil 2
Tomb Raider II
Half-Life
System Shock 2

Those are some that come immediately to mind, but I know there's a lot more.

 

[piinyouri]

The N64 and the PS1 I'd say for me.

Just....yeah.
So many good memories.

 

[gambler778]

We're in my golden age. Games are getting better and better each year.

 

[The Funslinger]

I think that with the idea of kickstarters really taking off, we'll soon be entering it.

 

[kingthrall]

1997-2004

 

[Ickorus]

We haven't hit it yet, I think PC gaming is about to come into it with the rise of very high quality free to play games though.

 

[chimeracreator]

I would have to say now. While I don't think the Lucas Arts did a good job remaking the interface for Monkey Islands 1 and 2 I can buy a huge chunk of my older games on Steam and I still have original CDs from the 90s for some games that aren't available there but can still be played on DOS Box. So all of my old games are still around.

New fun games come out all the time as well. I loved Overlord and Overlord 2 and the Assassins Creed series. I have high hopes for X-COM Enemy Unknown and if that's a flop I can still play X-COM UFO Defense. Bastion was a great example of writing and Minecraft is wonderfully addictive. Plus I have Starcraft II's new expansion pack to look forward to and whatever Double Fine decides to sell me.

So yes, this is a golden age of gaming. We have access to lots of great old works while new works and being made all the time. Sure lots of them suck, but 90% of everything in garbage. What matters is our ability to retain the diamonds that shine through the rest of the mess.

 

[Skeggers]

I'd say that although 1996-2004 was where most of the games I really enjoyed when I was little came from, games are only getting better and better, with a lot more variety and new ideas to be spread around. The newest generation really reached it's best in about 2008, with Fallout 3 and Dead Space, Bioshock, Far Cry 2 etc. and it's pretty much continued being that good.

 

[BLAHwhatever]

Mh. I'd say the times when Black Isle Studios and Bullfrog still existed

 

[Starik20X6]

I take 'golden age' to mean 'look upon with fond nostalgia', which can only mean one thing- Nintendo 64. Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Mario Party, Ocarina of Time, Banjo-Kazooie, GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, Donkey Kong 64, Super Smash Bros... Gooooood times.