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The Best and the Worst

Started by Erik, July 04, 2006, 08:31:19 PM

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Erik

Lets face it: We've all played truly great games that will last a lifetime, and some games that tempt us to flush them down the toilet or throw out a window.  What are some of the games you've played, both good and bad, that you want to tell about.

What are some of the best games you've ever played?  Some of the worst?  Post it here!!!  ;D
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edgarnick

obviously my last a life time games are the King Quest series :) American Mcgee's Alice *praises* Kingdom Hearts :D

The ones i would flush down the toilet are MoE ;P (the most obvious) and the movies, there was just something i hated about that game *it could have been that the screen of death came up everytime i played it*
:)

Yonkey

#2
Obviously, the best games for me are King's Quest V and VI. XD  Had it not been for them, I and probably the rest of you wouldn't even be here. :P

Stepping outside of Adventure and into other genres, I also really liked:

Console: Super Mario Brothers 3 (I played it recently and it's still awesome)
Sci-Fi: Subspace/Continuum (multiplayer space game)
Arcade: TetriNet (multiplayer tetris with special moves)
Flash: Bejewelled (the best original Flash game concept IMO)
Word: Literati (basically an online version of Scrabble, but with better points)
Action: Unreal Tournament (the offline demo is fun to relieve stress)
RTS: Diablo II (I only played it for a bit, but it was very nice)
Board game: Cranium (it's like trivia, sherades, pictionary and word games in one)
Card game: Poker (especially the free online ones)
Forum: Word Association Game (probably the easiest and quickest way to up your post count legally on any forum) :P

I'm not really sure what the worst games would be.  There are obviously a lot, but I can't narrow them down. XD
"A wish changes nothing. A decision changes everything."

Jafar

I have tons of favorites, so here are a few random favorites. I might post more with other ones. XD
Adventure: KQ1 ruled. It was just special, somehow.
Platformer: Mega Man 1-7. I usually think of the Mega Man games as one big game, actually. XD
RPG: Skies of Arcadia Legends totally ruled. Yeah, the story and characters were kinda cliched, but they were cliched NICELY. Plus, you're a pirate. XD
Racing: Mario Kart Double Dash!! It's so awesome, it has TWO !'s in the title. XD
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Deloria

Best: King's Quest VI, King's Quest VII, Quest for Glory 2,4,5. Space Quest 4, Betrayal At Krondor, Dink Smallwood and a few others.

Worst will follow when I think of one that I vehemently despise. :P
 
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Oldbushie

Best: Most of Sierra's and Lucasarts' adventure games.

Oddest: 9 - The Last Resort
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koko_99_2001

Best: Pirates...Baldur's Gate II...

Haven't thought of the worst ones yet...oh: Return to Mysterious Island (or something like that)
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Catherine DaCosta

telepathic_cat

Best: Kingdom Hearts II, King's Quest III, VI & VII

Worst: Can't think of many, I try to avoid bad games.
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Piotyr

#8
Best: King's Quest 1-7, Quest for Glory 1-4, Space Quest 1-6, Kingdom Hearts series, Final Fantasy Series, Legend of Zelda series, Mario Brothers series, Metroid series, Breath of Fire Series (I'm a really picky gamer...give me swords, and it's generally good enough).  Oh, and Grim Fandango and Phantasmagoria.

Worst: Kings Quest 8 (Actually, maybe it would've been an average game if they hadn't tried to shoehorn it into the KQ lore), Quest for Glory 5, Myst series, GTA series.

Edit: Here's an interesting question for the KQ crowd:  What are your most and least favorite KQ games (not including 8, as that's a consensus least favorite...and I refuse to acknowledge its existence as a KQ game)

Piotyr

Quote from: Deloria on July 12, 2006, 10:40:13 AM
Welcome to the forum, but shame on you for not liking QFG5!! >:( :P

:'(

Plot:  :thumbsup:
Over-reliance on combat to "solve" "puzzles":  :thumbsdown:
Trying to fight bats near the back of a scene (i.e. play "click the pixel"):  :thumbsdown:

telepathic_cat

Favorite KQ = KQ III

Least Favorite KQ = KQ II
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racx_00

Quote from: Deloria on July 09, 2006, 06:15:30 PM
Best: King's Quest VI, King's Quest VII, Quest for Glory 2,4,5. Space Quest 4, Betrayal At Krondor, Dink Smallwood and a few others.
Ahh Dink Smallwood, gotta love violence! XD

Best games: Secret of Mana, GTA3, Final Fantasy IV, Monkey Island 2, KQVI, Wolfenstein 3D, Quake, Grim Fandango, Need For Speed Underground 2, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Gunstar Heroes, Kingdom Hearts and Donkey Kong Country 2.

Worst games: Robocop (FPS), Quake 2, Tetris and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles.
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Deloria

Quote from: racx_00 on July 14, 2006, 05:50:12 AM
Quote from: Deloria on July 09, 2006, 06:15:30 PM
Best: King's Quest VI, King's Quest VII, Quest for Glory 2,4,5. Space Quest 4, Betrayal At Krondor, Dink Smallwood and a few others.
Ahh Dink Smallwood, gotta love violence! XD
XD Yeah, but it was fun. :P
 
Holy Roman Empress
Queen of *all* Albion
Précieuse and salonnière! :D
"In cases of doubt about language, it is ordinarily best to consult women."-Vaugelas
Space! :D Extraterrestrium! :D Espace! :D

Louisiana Night

#13
As far as videogames go...

The Best(IMHO): Deus Ex, hands down.

No matter what other video game I think of, they all pale in comparison to Deus Ex(until TSL is released, of course ;)). This is in spite of its age(it was released in 2000). As I feel there would be little point in simply naming it, and I am unable to even give a basic concept of it in a line or two, prepare yourself for a very long post. ;P

Defying genres:
The best way I know to define it is a hybrid FPS-RPG, but this doesn't do it credit. One of the two main designers of the game, Warren Spector, called it an "Immersive Simulation," though that is more of an idealized goal than a genre. It is played from a 1st-person view, except during conversations, when it changes to a 3rd-person perspective(Paul Denton left, JC Denton right).
Quote from: GotY(Game of the Year) CD coverThe game that incorporates the best elements of role-playing, action, adventure, and first person shooter genres

Characters
You play as JC Denton(you are allowed to choose your own name, JC Denton is his codename), a fairly unemotional UNATCO agent(as you often get to choose his "lines" during conversations, the rest of his personality is more difficult to define). Some people have said they disliked this characteristic of his personality, especially his monotone voice, but I liked it(partly because that is how I speak, and partly because I think it fits the character).

JC's brother Paul is nearly his exact opposite, being full of passion, and often letting his emotions/feelings decide his course of action(causing him to have a stronger sense of fairness and mercy than most of his fellow agents). I would go into more detail about the characters, but as that would likely reveal a bit too much of the plot, I'll leave it at the two brothers. I will simply say the game is full of interesting characters(some even lack any physical body to speak of).

Voice Talent
This is the one place I think the creators fell short on. It's hit-and-miss. I believe the most common voices found wanting are of the non-American characters(especially the residents of Hong Kong).
Quote from: a drunkardI spilled my drink!

The Future
It gives a very interesting, and sometimes disturbingly accurate(as some events in the game came to pass), view of the future. Coincidences... but still interesting. Due to the forums rules against speaking about politics, anyone interested should look at the Deus Ex Wikipedia article.

Philosophy/Morality/Politics/The "big questions"
Unlike many games, whether in combat, during conversations, or simply reading your e-mail... it makes you think. Your character gets into philosophical debates with other game characters(you/JC usually stating the common American view, when possible), you often are forced to make moral decisions(which often lack any blatantly "good" solution), and conflicting political ideals are everywhere. The ideas and opinions found within DX not only apply to the game world, but also to the world we live in... Deus Ex is a very thought-provoking game, if nothing else.
Quote from: Leo GoldYou can't fight ideas with bullets.

The Mod Community
Despite its age,  the Deus Ex modding community is still very active(though small). There have been many good and interesting mods created, and more are still being made. Some are based on popular material, such as The Matrix and Star Wars, but most of it is quite original. There are also mods being made to update the game, including one which plans to port it to the UT2004 engine(Unreal Tournament 2004), complete with updated graphics/physics/lighting. There is more difficulty in creating mods/maps for Deus Ex(and installing/playing them) than most modern games, but I consider the creativity of the DX community to be more than worth the effort of becoming a part of it.

A note to the kiddies/parents
It is rated M for a reason. There is a good bit of "offensive language"(though likely no more than you can hear on American TV these days), drugs and cigarettes are used throughout the game(during the game, you are even allowed to give drugs to people... though the game drugs do not actually exist in RL), and violence goes without saying. On the other hand, given the results of using drugs/cigarettes,it could be looked at as educational(I think cigarettes greatly lower your HP, I forget the negative effects of drugs). ;P

Choices
Perhaps the biggest selling point of the game is that it doesn't force you to solve problems in any particular fashion. You may play it like an FPS(KABOOM! OH, IT'S BEAUTIFUL! :D), a "stealth-shooter"(hiding in shadows, knocking people out, unlocking doors, listening to conversations to learn passwords, hacking computer terminals, etc.), attempt to accomplish your goals with conversational skills and bargaining, find unique solutions(when trying to get to certain places, it can become a game of legos ;P), and other ways I haven't thought to mention here. They may give you a goal, but how it is accomplished... that is up to you(you may argue the artificial-ness of the freedom DX gives, but it still allows more choices than perhaps any other game I have played). This, in combination with the many possible consequences of your actions, results in a great deal of replayability.

It looks like an FPS...
As many people within this community dislike FPSs, I would like to make something perfectly clear. It has many characteristics of an FPS(and appears to be one, at first glance), but taking a second look, you will find it is VERY different from an FPS. This game is not a simple fusion of an FPS and an RPG, and nowhere is this more apparent than how it gives you the ability to play as a pacifist(difficult, but fun). I believe there are only 3 or so characters that you are required to kill during the game(some claim 1, though I am unsure how this is possible), and off the top of my head, only 1 in an FPS-like way(the others have more Adventure-like alternatives, if I remember correctly). Oddly, the more action-oriented sequel allows you to be a complete pacifist(though this does limit you to 2 possible endings, instead of the usual 5).

Of course, if motion-sickness or a dislike of action games is the reason for disliking FPSs, I suppose everything I have said is of little consequence.

Multiple Paths
Although the choice is made near the end of the game, which I dislike(I felt it should have been influenced by choices made throughout the game), that is about the only thing I dislike in how they handled it. There are 3 normal endings, and one "easter egg" ending. Ignoring the easter egg, all three endings are quite different from one another, and all pose a thought-provoking situation/result. Unlike many games, which act as if there is one "right"/optimal ending, there is not even a hint of this in Deus Ex... other than personal views/preferences/ideals.

Multiplayer
Although the game was only single-player, originally, a multiplayer mode was added in a later patch(I believe I have only heard of this happening to one other game, and it was created at a much later date). The multiplayer modes(discounting mods) are simply Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch(though it is possible to play an odd game of pool/basketball using the console). This does not sound too interesting, but there are a couple of nice twists to it. The first is the stats/augmentations system, where you gain XP for frags(you usually gain augmentations at the beginning of the round, and gain more as you gain frags). The second is the level design, which makes computer/security skills become very useful(agressive security, locked areas/containers, and the like). Obviously, DX deathmatch is quite different from what you would find in most FPSs. There are a couple of things I dislike about the default multiplayer, but as it was "tacked on"(and was requested by fans), I see little room for complaining.

Literature
The game is littered with books, newspapers, e-mails, notes, and other reading material(usually, only 1 or so pages are viewable, and "chapters" are scattered between different locations). Some of the books are completely fictional(don't exist in RL), but excerpts from several non-fictional books also exist in the gameworld. They often further the plot, provide backstory, and provide clues to what you should do next... though many seem to just be there to add to the enviroment. You are not required to read them to finish the game(despite that they often offer very important information), but given the interesting subjects of a large amount of the material, I would not recommend doing so(it actually resulted in me reading up on one or two of the actual book authors, and reading some of their works).

GotY Edition
If you buy the GotY version, along with the game itself, you receive a manual, a fake newspaper(with information about the gameworld), all of the patches(including multiplayer support), the SDK(level editor), a soundtrack CD, and a few other goodies(such as a Windows theme). Regional variations, and possible changes over the years, may result in this not being true of all GotY versions.

-the soundtrack
It has some of the best music I have heard in a game(that was also suitable for its purpose in the game). Other than saying it sounds like something between techno and orchestrated music, I don't know how to describe it.

Although it is not of as high of quality(on average) as DX's soundtrack, DX:IW's soundtrack is freely available from the UK's official website.

Awards
It has won several Game of the Year awards, and is still featured in a large number of "Best Games of All Time" lists.

The Storyline
Taking place in the near future(1952?), you begin the game as a "super soldier"(my term, not theirs) for the UN's military force(to be more accurate, an "anti-terrorist" organization within the UN, called UNATCO). Most of the enhanced soldiers are "mechs"(think Robocop, except they appear more human), but your enhancements are based on nano-technology(making you, with the exception of odd coloured eyes, look completely normal). Some people say it starts out a bit too straight-forward(it seems to be a knee-jerk reaction some people have about the game, and many people stop before they get any further into it), but not far into the game, it picks up speed. It is full of plot twists, people are often(if not usually) not what they seem, and it is very complex for a videogame plot. To paraphrase PCgamer, "trust nobody, and you may just live through the game" ;)

Other than the FPS-characteristics, perhaps the main detail that will "turn off" some people is the storyline is a tad dark/gloomy. As a reference point, I recommend using the style of X-files(for those aware of the genre, DX's style is usually referred to as Cyberpunk). In the TV series, things never turn out that well for the protagonists, but at the same time, incredibly bad/dark things don't seem to happen either(as a rule). In contrast, the sequel(Deus Ex: Invisible War) can seem just plain hopeless/depressing(it makes the first game look bright and cheerful, in comparison). Don't get me wrong, I liked DX:IW, but I do not consider it on the same level as DX, and I found the plot's "style" to be far less enjoyable. To quote PCgamer about DX:IW's plot...
Quote from: Chuck OsbornThere are no light or dark sides to join, no “good” or “evil” options, only a rainbow of grays. Just pretend you’re reading a 10,000-page Choose Your Own Adventure edition of Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, and don’t panic when all paths eventually lead to ruin.

-conspiracies
Once again, think X-files(except more believable). Many RL conspiracy theories exist within the game, and are used to further the plot. The Illuminati, Roswell, Area51, and many other such conspiracy theories are intertwined into the storyline, either as minor details you read about, or as major parts of the storyline. The truth is out there...

The Stats
A characteristic held by the vast majority of RPGs, Deus Ex has a stats system. It is divided into a usual stats system(the categories referred to as "skills"), and a more unique augmentation system. Skills range from basic skills such as swimming, to weapon skills(you "buy" skills with XP, as in most RPGs). Augmentations are special abilities, gained through augmentation canisters hidden throughout the game world(some you gain as the storyline progresses, some must be found through exploration... which also allows you to gain XP). The augmentations range from increased speed/jumping, to heat-sensitive/x-ray vision. There are drawbacks, such as requiring energy to use augmentations, but When fully upgraded, you become a force Superman would fear.

A carryover from more advanced FPSs, there is also location-based damage(one area for each limb, then two more for the head and torso). Each section of a human characters has its own HP(including the player). An example of how this comes into play in the game, is that if both legs of a character reach 0HP, the character is forced to crawl/crouch-walk(instead of walk). If either the torso or head reach 0HP, the human character dies.
Quote from: The Midnight SunImagine some perfectly normal-looking guy, only he's got a 15-foot vertical jump, and he can lift nearly a ton, and he's got skin that bullets bounce off of(or if they don't, the little nano-bugs in his system can repair damage almost as soon as it occours). Worst of all, his body and soul are literally bought and paid for by Your Friends in Government.

OS Compatibility
I know few will care, but it works very well with WINE... though it runs quite slow in DirectX mode. After downloading the enhanced OpenGL software for the game, it works every bit as well in Linux(in my experience). Without downloading the updated software, however, there are many graphical glitches with OpenGL rendering. I do not know if there is a version that is officially XP-compatible, but the 9x version version works perfectly for me(within XP). There is also a Mac version, so it runs across all of the "big three," and likely works with several others as well.

Other Details
Although it was originally created for the PC, it was later ported to the PSX2(its sequel, Invisible War, was created for the Xbox as well). There were also plans for a movie, but they were scrapped. Oh, and leaving it at the title screen makes a very neat screensaver. XD
Quote from: advertisementIt's chocolate, it's people, it's both!

In closing, as far as I am concerned, the goal of Deus Ex(which it failed to reach, due to a lack of resources) is the future of video games(not all, but the most advanced/immersive of them). There have been a few other games that attempted to reach the same lofty goal, but Deus Ex came closest(IMHO). Like many good books, Deus Ex starts out slow. If you do not have the patience, as is the case with some people, don't bother trying it. On the other hand, if you are interested in a game with a good/complex storyline, don't mind action-sequences, and perhaps like a somewhat gloomy plot... you may find one of your favourite video games of all time, as I did.

Demo/Movies
Demos/Addon Map
Deus Ex-FAQ(I recommend that you do NOT read ChapterIII)

*gets a nice, shiny check from Eidos Interactive* :P

As for the worst... I'll have to get back to you. And I apologise to anyone who read through all that.

Jafar

QuoteAs for the worst... I'll have to get back to you. And I apologise to anyone who read through all that.
*force choke*
Apology accepted, Captain LN... ::)
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And who knows what else?

Petra Rocks

Best:  Europa Universalis II (Grand Strategy running 1419 to 1819),

Crusader Kings (The Sims meet Machiavelli playing Risk.  If you ever wanted to wage war on fellow barons and marry off your daughters for political gain while burning heathans at the stake, this is your game.  8)  :o


Caesar III, Pharaoh.  Nice tame city builders.

Kings Quests.  The obvious.  :)

Space Quest 0 was fun, but I've never seen any of the others.  :'(

Birth of America.  A Revolutionary war game.   

And of course, I expect TSL and 0Ad will be high when they come out.  XD

Worst:  Any FPS. I play Halo with cousins, but I am not very impressed.

Yonkey

0Ad?  That's an odd name for a game... What's the url? ???
"A wish changes nothing. A decision changes everything."

Petra Rocks

0 AD is a freeware real-time strategy game, kind of like this only for Age of Empires type games instead of adventure.  It also has no PR division, its marketing strategy is asking people to 'burn a copy for a friend, burn a copy for 10 friends and burn a copy for the neighbors cat."

Its FAQ is here http://www.wildfiregames.com/0ad/page.php?p=1696.

  That should say everything basic about them, the sidebar wil take you everywhere from the forum to the articles the team wrote to prove the historical accuracy of their game.  ;)

Yonkey

Quote from: Petra Rocks on September 06, 2006, 01:18:11 PM
0 AD is a freeware real-time strategy game, kind of like this only for Age of Empires type games instead of adventure.  It also has no PR division, its marketing strategy is asking people to 'burn a copy for a friend, burn a copy for 10 friends and burn a copy for the neighbors cat."
LOL cat. XD  Actually, their game is really good, especially for a freeware game.  I just checked out their screenshots and trailer. ;D  They've been in development since 2001 and are obviously inspired by the Age of Empires series. :P  Come to think of it, they're actually very similar to our team! XD
"A wish changes nothing. A decision changes everything."

Rosella

It made me want to play Civilization. XD Age of Empires was an absolutely AWESOME game that I only got to play when my brother was out of the house for some reason, much like his N64 and his PS2. :P

Now that he's gone, the game is too...I swear, there was a tutorial level that was impossible to complete. :P
I'm a princess even if my kingdom is pixelated.

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