your top 5 favorite vidya's

[vladgd]

i don't think i made a thread like this...so i will do so now.  1, and 2 are in order, 3-5 are in no order in particular.  also NO FUCKING FLAMING, NO SHITSTORM, JUST LISTS.  positive coments are ok, but keep the negativity to yourself, its just opinions bro.

1. Diablo 2: LoD
2. Tomba! 2
3. Super Metroid
4. Pokemon Silver
5. Jet Set Radio

excuse my lack of "description" below, i generally say said aspect is awesome, and for me, that's good enough.

1. diablo 2 is a game that i literally can't stop playing, i keep playing it to this day.  to prevent from this from being a tldr, theres a lot to do, co-op with friends is awesome, two of the same class can be very differant from eachother, the item system is awesome, ECT.  i could say a lot more about this, but its a simple game, make character, kill stuff, get loot.  its a simple system, its an addicting system, its a fun system, and it works.

2. best platformer ever, awesome music, great graphics (for a ps1 game), the gameplay is FANTASTIC, theres a ton of shit to do, and its definatley worth replaying multiple times.  like i bought a used copy of this game for $45.00 and i re-beat it with 100% completion, and it was as good as when i first got it years ago.  the grapple/glide mechanics work well, the relativity small gameworld is irrelevant to how much stuff there is to do in the confines of it.  to people playing for the first time, its easy to get overwhelmed with the amoung of missions you will be taking on at one time, and its just great.

3. super metroid, dude, its metroid.  you explore this huge planet, getting items to progress, you gradually get more powerful, the gameplay is great, the music is great, the bosses are great, its a shame they haven't made a better metroid game since this.  i really wish i could say more about this game, but aside from the gameplay, experiancing the game is what gets the enjoyment for me, that and nostalgia, even though ive "recently" beat this game a few years ago.

4. back in the day, shortly after the release of the gameboy color, i wanted one.   i got one for my birthday, and i got pokemon blue with that.  this was the start of a whole new addiction (hey you pikachu, pokemon red, blue, yellow, silver, emerald, sapphire, pearl, trading card game, stadium, pinball i had all of these at one point).  so i play the fuck out of red, blue, AND yellow.  yes, all 3.  so a real sequel comes out, gold and silver, and my god, its like they improved everything.  the new pokemon were awesome, the day and night system were awesome, the new legendaries fucking rocked.  the game just sucked me in, like no other pokemon game before, and i played it and beat the elite 4.  but after that, LEGENDARY DOGS, fuck yes.  i never caught one, but god, i must have spent at least 20 hours hunting those fuckers down, and i enjoyed every second of it.  not to mention you could go back to kanto and see what happened after the first set of games occured.  no pokemon game has yet to top this generation, its only gotten stale after the release of these games.  i may actually get a flashcart for my ds so i can play this, or i may even open up my cart and replace the battery so i can play a new file.  and you can bet your sweet ass i am looking forward to the "fire red, leaf green" type remake for this game when it comes out(not sure if it was announced or not, but as predictable as nintendo is, its happening). 

5. JET SET RADIOOOOOOOOOOOO GUH ROOVY!  what do you get when you combine, unique style, bitchin' music, and tight gameplay?  you get a game where you are a bunch of dudes spraypainting graffiti all over tokyo, avoiding the cops, rival gangs...the military, TANKS, HELLICOPTORS, FLYING DUDES ON JETPAKS WITH MACHINE GUNS...ect  and you do all of this under a time limit.  trying to find the best route through the city to nail everything in time, is both challenging and a heck of a lot of fun.

[LunarKeys]

1: StarCraft

This game was my world for six years of my life. I first picked this up in 1999, a year after it came out. I had played the demo, and, having never played a good PC game before (My parents were Mac freaks until we moved to Texas), it was breathtaking. I bought the game and my world disappeared. Starcraft was its own universe, a thousand different worlds and strategies that took place over a delightful storyline. It took me months to even finish the campaign mode (To my credit, I was only 13 at the time), and then I signed up online and...wow. My original account, before it was deleted, had over 500 games played. I can't count the amount of times I yelled at my parents 'Just a few minutes! I need a few minutes! C'mon, c'mon...'. I probably lost weight by the amount of dinners I missed out on while playing this game.

I haven't ever played a game that has made me think so much, yet enjoyed even more ever since. SC has always been the first and only perfectly balanced RTS I've ever had the chance to play, and I still enjoy it today.

2: Skies of Arcadia

I had played my fair share of Final Fantasies and other RPGs over the years, and while the genre was entertaining, nothing had really caught my attention. Nintendo (my favorite console company) was doing poorly at the time, so I skipped the Gamecube in favor of a Dreamcast, my old favorite. Many of the games were fun to play and certainly ahead of their time - Bangai-O!, Sonic Adventure 2 (if they had fixed the camera, the game would've been nearly perfect), Crazy Taxi, Ikaruga, and the like. But this gem was hiding in the corner of a GameStop cleanout sale. I had heard good things about the game, so I picked it up at a cheap twenty bucks and took it home.

Wow. From the moment 'go', you're dropped into a firefight on an enemy admiral's airship. You fight your way through, force the admiral to run for his life, and loot the treasure - and an attractive (if overly shy) girl, all within the first hour. After that, the game expanded into a wild and expansive adventure. While the plot here and there tended to flag (the game was, admittedly, predictable at times), the combat system was excellent. The characters were lovable (Gilder makes me laugh to this day), the environments were outstanding, and the game was enormous. I've invested about 140 hours finding every Discovery, recruiting every crew member, and plowing through every last optional boss...the first game I had ever done so! SoA is definitely one for those who have played Final Fantasy and little else.

3: Sly 2: Band of Thieves

The Sly Cooper series in general is outstanding, but this was my favorite one in the group. The game is admittedly very short (15 hours for a single playthrough, 25 if you go for all of the hidden goodies), but that's one of its best attributes - you are ALWAYS doing the best stuff. There isn't any filler or crap that you need to wade through. You control Sly, a raccoon thief, Bentley, his geek partner and explosive expert, and Murray, the 'brawn' of the operation. Each goes forth in their own set of missions to wreak havoc against the Klaww Gang, a group hell-bent on reassembling Clockwerk, your nemesis from the previous gang. The cel-shaded graphics are a welcome change from the usual, and the areas are bright and entertaining. Much of the humor and creativity is as wacky as can be, and the boss fights are inventive and challenging as they are fun. The game overall manages to be lighthearted even while it tells a relatively dark storyline, and I love it for that. Sly's relatively cheap in stores as well - definitely worth a look.

4: Sonic 3 & Knuckles

I know, I know, it's technically two games, but almost any gamer will tell you that they were inseperable once you tried the two of 'em together. I've always been more of a retro gamer, and I still pop this combination into my Genesis or Nomad every few months. But really, does this need any introduction? It's SONIC! Mad-dash rushing through sandy wastelands, lava reefs, tropical forests, and giant spaceships of doom. The boss fights are always a fun experience, and few things beat the screen desperately trying to keep up with that blue blur (or orange blur, for those who elect for Sonic's infinitely better sidekick =p). I've played and beaten this game so many times that I have every save file filled to the brim with all Master Emeralds. This was my childhood before StarCraft (and my N64, for that matter)

5: Jet Force Gemini

While everyone who knows Rare knows Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Banjo-Kazooie...etc, etc...few seem to know about this excellent game. Jet Force Gemini is an outstanding shooter for the N64, a wild run-and-gun with a trio of young space rangers named Juno, Vela, and Lupus (the dog). You trek across several planets, fighting your way through hordes of alien space bugs that threaten the splintered rangers across the galaxy. There was everything in this game from puzzles to exploration to find all kinds of new weapons and items, and LOTS of shootouts. One of the most intense moments in games that I've ever enjoyed was when I crashed into the most heavily-defended enemy base in the galaxy, unloading grenades and missiles and watching bug guts flying in every direction. It was a constant rush to find new ammunition just to survive, and I somehow needed to find my way into the reactor! By the time I was finished, I looked up and it was four hours later. I grinned, saved, and did it all over again just for the intense moment. Damn this was an excellent game.

[OmegaOmni]

Wow tough one for me...well here they are:

1. Final Fantasy 7

One of my all time favorite FF.  It was my first FF that really dove me into the whole series they have had me hooked since.  Just the plot line in its self was just enough to draw me in.  The materia system was extremely simple to learn and to use efficiently if one leveled  up the materia to where it needed to be.  The only thing that sucked was that Aeris dies in it, and she made an awesome mage.

2. Resident Evil 1 (PSX and GC)

I know I am using 2 different platforms but I don't care both had their distinct charm to them.  First off I was introduced to Resi 1 for PSX when my dad first bought the original gray brick PSX.  I had nightmares for awhile but eventually got used to the horror of it and played it.  Even though it can be beaten in one sitting, once again the plot line got to me.  Very detailed and intricate plot line for both platforms.  Game play was middle ground but the sound effects for the various monsters was ingenious. 

3. Wipeout

Not to sure if many have heard of this game but here it the low down of it.  The genre was racing.  However it was not with cars but with rocket-propelled hover ship.  I loved the difficulty of it and the music on it was really good. (Actually one could take the game disk and play it as a CD.)

4.  Sonic 3 and Knuckles

I am with total agreement on Keys with this one.  I have always (and still do) love retro-Sonic games.  The music for it was amazing and is awesome to listen to.  The levels had their own uniqueness to them and had their good and bad sections to them.  Though you can break the game with Hyper-Sonic and I have (hey large ring=50 rings and there are 8 rings in this level), still it was/is fun.   Oh by the way favorite zone and act Ice Cap Zone Act 1.  Sonic+snow board=fucking awesome.

5. Quake 2

id software has been around for a long  time as most of who do game and keep with the history of gaming.  The Quake series is more of a personal favorite over the Doom series (but I still find them to be fun) but out of all the Quakes the 2nd one is my favorite.  I mean it was a fun game and certian parts of it are challenging ( as long as you don't hit tilda and put in god or giveall).  Not much plot line other then your a marine behind enemy line and have to do several mission to fuck over the Strogg and kill their leader, but overall your standard retro-FPS where the basic premise is to KILL EVERYTHING.  Hell I found it fun and very stress reliving.  The varity of weapons are not that bad but majority of the animations for them were similar (other then the BFG 9000 aka the big ball of Death <3).

[Sneaky]

1. Half Life and series
     The story for me goes - I did something good, stepdad rewarded me with my choice of ps2 vidya. I was between Half Life and the first Devil May Cry. I hadn't heard much of each, and ended up landing on Half Life. I'm really glad I did. I am in love with the entire story and saga of Gordon Freeman. I love the character they've developed over time, the environments he is in, and the shit he's got in to. I own everything there is to own about the story game wise, and have branched out to the other games such as CS, DoD, etc.

2. Final Fantasy 7
     Obvious, before I moved back in with my mom, I was living with my 'real' dad, who had the briefcase size playstation. One day he came home with FF7. I watched him play through it, then started my own game. My reasons for loving it are 2 fold. It was one of the first huge RPGs I had played, reminding me of my childhood, and also as I grew, I understood the mechanics and nuances of the storyline and character relationships, which just made it better.

3. Diablo 2
    The versatility of this game always amazed me. Whenever I'm bored and run out of games to play, this is always here to run through online with some buddies. using a character editor and playing an IP game with them is always interesting. Doing time trials, just running around. Definitely one of gaming's more fine examples of longevity.

4. Earthbound
    Bigger than FF7 to me than any other game. I can't describe how awesome this game is to me. My grandparents bought it for me when I actually asked for it for xmas one year or something. I was hooked. The music, characters, and storyline were all so perfect, fun and interesting to me. The game has a lot of hidden lessons/morals in it, and to be exposed to that greatness so young did some good for me.

5. GTA series except san andreas
   Pick up game. Put in game. Load game. KILL ALL PEOPLE RAPE MURDER STEAL KILL. Major aggression relief tool here, so controversial yet so ingenious. Decent story lines made for an interesting ride whilst you slay the innocent and guilty. The games are way too fun to not be put on my list.

that is all.

[Zakamiro]

1)  The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time N64

Seriously, the gameplay is incredibly long, and for its time was fucking amazing. Still pretty amazing.

2)  Lords of the Realm II PC

This is a treasure. Basically you try to make an empire and defeat your opponents in taking over the country one county at a time, and can even control your army during the battles. Complete with alliances and sieges. Been playing it since its release. LOL.

3)  Street Fighter II: Turbo SNES

I originally got started on this game from my half-brother, who became so ungodly at it he even competed in local tournaments. Needless to say, even the game's most challenging difficulty was weak sauce for him. Anyway, it's an easy to learn game, controls are easy, yet learning how to dominate the game takes lots of skill and practice. For a simple fighter, this packs loads of gameplay.


4)  Diablo II: Lords of Destruction PC

Yep.

5)  Contra III: The Alien Wars SNES

This.