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What Is Your Favorite Video Game Of All Time?
This week's question is so simple I'm surprised I haven't asked it before.
My question this week is, "What is your favorite video game of all time?"
It's surprising just how often I get asked this question (all the freaking time), but yet I never seem to have an answer. I like so many games for so many reasons that I find it difficult to narrow down my answer to any one game.
Back in college I loved, and still love, playing Tetris, but yet I wouldn't call it my favorite game of all time (but it's still "the perfect game"). And when arcades ruled the world I must have poured thousands of quarters into Dragon's Lair, but yet again I wouldn't call it my favorite game of all time (although close). And when I was a kid I used to love playing a crazy Atari 2600 game called DragonStomper, but once again I wouldn't call it my favorite game of all time (although this guy from Forbes did).
But when push comes to shove I would have to say my "favorite game of all time" would be No One Lives Forever: The Operative. This first-person-shooter was a bizarre game that mixed so many genres and play-styles that it's no surprise that this game had a hard time finding an audience (much like the fantastic Psychonauts).
Mixing first-person-shooting, first-person-sneaking, colorful graphics, British '60s spy humor, clever A.I., psychedelic music, innovative weapons, fantastic level design, original mission structure, amazing voiceovers, and the best dialog writing ... ever, NOLF is a constant surprise from beginning to end.
Perhaps that's why it's my favorite game of all time, not only does NOLF contain dozens of gameplay elements that you rarely/never see but it somehow manages to combine them into a nearly perfect package. Oh yes, and it's perhaps the funniest game of all time without even trying. Again, best dialog writing ever!
If you haven't given this game a try I would strongly recommend you do. Sure the graphics aren't quite as good as Crysis (to say the least), but the gameplay is so strong you won't care. Just play up to the mission "Unexpected Turbulence" ... trust me, that mission alone is better than most games.
What about you? What is your favorite game of all time?
NOLF was fun... Unexpected Turbulence was a blast, especially the failure ending.
My favorite game though, gonna have to say Final Fantasy VII. Sorry but that's just the way it is. I love the game and have played it over fifty times (No lie) and it never gets old for me. Turn based combat will always be the best and the materia system is still the best thing I've ever seen, it is part of the reason why every play through is different for me.
So take all of that and mash it together with a great story and great characters (Although Kefka is still far superior to Sephiroth) plus an AMAZING soundtrack (Although Dancing Mad is far Superior to One Winged Angel; like what I did there?) and you get a game that is fantastic. Say what you want, but there is a reason why so many people love this game and that is the same reason why I love it too.
Posted by PatMan33 at February 4, 2008 10:51 PMFor me, simply for the countless hours of enjoyment, The Fool's Errand and Ultima IV are tied for #1 with Heaven & Earth and Lode Runner tied for a close second.
Posted by Karen at February 4, 2008 10:54 PMIn order for me to answer that absolutely, I would have to heavily examine every game I've got here.
By process of elimination, I assume I would end up with one game.
But it would take me a long time.
So instead, I'll just go with my favorite on SNES (which happens to be my favorite console), Uncharted Waters 2.
I had straight months of fun with this game. I even made my own guides and stuff to help me out later on if I ever picked it up again.
This game changed how I thought about games back then; to me, it was a revolutionary experience.
Fun little game where you would sail around, trading, fighting, or exploring. I just loved it.
Acquire it somehow and give it a try. That was pretty nonspecific, but it's all I'll bother to say.
Posted by Gauphastus at February 4, 2008 11:02 PMMy favorite game of all time would have to be Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle.
It was the first Adventure game I had ever played and I loved every second of it. The concept of playing in the Past, Present and Future at the same time was such a cool idea.
Posted by Dan B Ham at February 4, 2008 11:39 PMmy favorite game of all time thats a hard one but if i had to pick just one i would say final fantasy 9. Why because the story was great (to me at least). and it was one of the first final fantasys i played it really got me into all the others. and still today i find myself going back and playing it.
Posted by chris at February 4, 2008 11:51 PMThis is truly one of the hardest questions to answer, but if I had to pick one on the spot I'd go with Half Life 2 (including the separate Episodes).
Half Life 2 truly is the epitome of incredible gameplay, characters, and story. Fun throughout, with an engaging and memorabe cast of characters (and some of, if not the best voice acting in the industry), Half Life 2 is the game I always compare a new FPS too. With it's scripted events and cut-scene light story telling, Half Life 2 tells it's story and allows it's characters to develop without trying to pretend like it's a movie, which really above all else impresses me. The action, adventure, and story telling simply wouldn't work in any other art form, making Half Life 2 a true champion of the medium.
And the best part is, my favorite game of all time isn't even over yet!
Very tough, but if I had to say one game that really blew me away...
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It was my first true RPG experience...
There are so many great games though back then, MGS 1, Mario 64, Half-life 1, that I consider great experiences..
I also hold a special place in my heart for Mass Effect.... few flaws, but still great IMO...
Posted by Michael at February 5, 2008 1:11 AMMy favorite game of all time is probably going to be in a future article.... Don't forget that your retro reviews for the games are archived:
Ep. 25 w/Dragon's Lair
Ep. 22 w/Dragonstomper
Ep. 16 w/NOLF
Posted by Robert Gauss at February 5, 2008 1:13 AMMine is Viewtiful Joe. It was a gave all about beating up robots and solving, and it just pulled it off perfectly.
Posted by Chris/Aybraus at February 5, 2008 1:14 AMI have a few I wasted soo many hours on as a kid...The two most promintent being Heroes of Might and Magic II & III(which are amazing still) and Sim City 3k. Though those are really good games, the prize goes to Red Alert 2. The only game I ever seriously modded for, this gem is amazing in graphics, storyline, cut-scenes(bring them back!) game-play, and detail. The kickass industrial soundtrack is among the best ever as well. Hell March 2 Hell yeah!
Posted by Huggkruka at February 5, 2008 1:48 AMPlanescape: Torment, definitely. I can't think of a game I ever enjoyed more than that one. There's many tied for a close second, but none that can beat it.
PT just had such a fantastic story, and a completely unique way of playing an RPG. It took me forever to realize that, to advance the story, you had to let yourself get killed, but once I did I couldn't put it down. Been thinking of playing again lately, actually.
Posted by Fobok at February 5, 2008 1:58 AMBest game ever is easily Planescape Torment, closely followed by the Baldurs Gate series.
Posted by Andreas at February 5, 2008 2:01 AMI love Theme Hospital. Sure, I never completed it, but I still consider it great. Just the disease names say how good it is. Hairy-itis, Slack Tongue, Bloaty Head. Magic stuff.
Posted by Dingo at February 5, 2008 2:31 AMI have so many I love. Kotor, pokemon series, DKC 1,2 & 3. But there are 2 games that sort of switch for which is my favourite it depends what mood I'm in 1st is Super International Cricket a SNES game in fact the 1st console game I owned. I dont think they have made a cricket game better than that since. All they manage is updated graphics and use of official players names.
The other game that tops my list is Super Mario Kart. The original and the best, maybe it is a lot to do with the nostalgia but I could play mushroom cup endlessly and never get tired of it despite the fact I always came in 1st with out even a challenge from the other racers. Through in some multi player with friends and you got it made.
It all depends on my mood but it always is one of those 2.
Posted by Cobra at February 5, 2008 4:31 AMBuck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday.
Posted by Martin T at February 5, 2008 6:03 AMDeus Ex baby.
Posted by Matt Robinson at February 5, 2008 6:06 AMThe Quest For Glory series, I'd have to say.
Each one took place in a different setting with a different real-world cultural influence. Got some puns thrown in. Three character types (later four, of which the Paladin rocks supreme), with three ways to play the game. The ability to take a character at the end of each game, save it, and carry it over to the next. Epic stories.
"Quest For Glory 4: Shadows of Darkness" will always be my favorite in theme, setting, and characters. "Quest for Glory 2: Trial By Fire" wins the award for best combat engine, though.
Posted by Skewed Jester at February 5, 2008 6:29 AMI think I'm going to have to go for Civ 2 if for no other reason then that, like tetris, I can still go back to it year after year and still enjoy it and still find new and awesome things to do. Besides, rolling your tanks into Samarkand is always a satisfying feeling.
Posted by lemurbouy at February 5, 2008 6:48 AMMy best game is Planescape Torment.
That game had an awsome story and dialogues, like a good book.
For me it has to be Chrono Trigger on the SNES.
I enjoyed playing that game for hours and hours and all the endings and such made it a lot of fun to replay!
Posted by Lazerbyte at February 5, 2008 10:39 AMTo me there's a difference between what I think is the best game ever made, and what is my favorite. Like, for example, my favorite movie is The Deer Hunter, yet I think Apocalypse Now! is better. I guess the difference is that the favorite might have some negative things about it that you can easily ignore, because you love everything else so much, and it just hits you the right way.
So, my all-time favorite game would be Baldur's Gate II. That game was like one of those absolutely most awesome songs, which you don't really feel anything special about right away, but then it grows on you and you begin to experience the immense depth that lay hidden at first. BG2 was that to me. Planescape: Torment was better as far as story and and plot goes, but damn ... BG2 had these awesome environments, memorable bosses, juicy loot, epic battles that required planning, and characters I'll never forget.
It's been a while since I've played it, actually, and I think I might fire it up again soon. Today, at work, I made some notes on possible parties. I think I'll go with Minsc, Imoen, Viconia (romance), Haer'dalis and then later Sarevok. I haven't yet decided if I should go Archer, Assassin or Kensai.
Posted by Inglorion at February 5, 2008 11:06 AMI'm torn between Half-Life 2 and Civilization 2.
On one hand, you have amazing storytelling and characters. The entire Orwellian theme to Half-Life 2 was brilliant, it's conveying it's story as well as if not better than any movie out there. Then you have the revolutionary side of Half-Life 2, like how you can use physics as a weapon with the gravity gun. Let's not even mention how well optimized the game is, or the fact that it was the first game to be sold over Steam, or the fact that the story is still ongoing.
Then we have Civilization 2. I'm addicted to Civilization 2, the entire concept of the game is brilliant. You're in charge of a small tribe in 4,000 B.C., make them stand the test of time. The game is utterly addicting, I still play it regularly to this day.
So I think I like Half-Life 2 more in terms of story and setting, but gameplay wise, Civilization II wins.
Posted by Sub at February 5, 2008 11:38 AMWell, up until 2007 it was definitely the supremely fantastic Star Control 2 (Available for free today).
Now? Bioshock, the greatest game ever made. I disagree, with all due respect, that Bioshock is a rip-off of System Shock 2, it's another game in its lineage that perfects, and yes, streamlines, many of the best things about the prior games, and where the complexity that prior existed only in the game-play elements in System Shock, now exists also in the brilliant story telling, thematics and philosophical musings that I could write literary essays on. I have a friend who is writing his Thesis on Bioshock.
In fact, recently an excellent Destructoid Article put "Would you Kindly" as the most meaningful quote in videogaming history, I agree, as, with due analysis, that event was the deepest, most profound retrospective of gaming as an artform we're likely to ever see.
http://www.destructoid.com/the-ten-most-meaningful-videogame-quotes-of-all-time-64837.phtml
I really can't pick one
I was only around 13 when I played Deus Ex and I guess that had something to do with it, but that game drew me in like nothing else. A combination of suspension of disbelief and great story means I'll probably never trumph the experience of playing that game.
The original Counter-Strike I've played more than most WoW addicts have played WoW. I've played so many machtes in that game, played with the same people for many years, made great combacks, stumbled at the finish line, had some great times. That has more to do with the nature of competition than the game itself, but it's a great one never the less.
Diablo II. Played that one to death too and the experience of finding some of the rarest items in the game just can't be had in any other game. It's the only game that's ever put me in extacy. When you have enough invested, and you really care about your stuff and you realize how incredibly rare something is and how much effort you spent to get it, it's great. I mean, like you can feel pure excitement pumping in your veins. Dying with hardcore characters (permanent death) is just as emotional, although on the opposite end. Spending months on a character and items for it and see it all disappear is quite an experience. It makes you feel REALLY empty, and any game that makes you feel anything is a good game
Posted by teo at February 5, 2008 2:49 PMCounter-Strike. I've played since the early betas all the way up through source though I haven't played it much in the last few years. I don't think I sank as many hours into any other game when I was hard core into CS.
runner-ups:
I think Guild Wars might be a close second.
After Burner in the arcades. I sank so many quarters into that
machine. I was so obsessed with that game I remember being able to draw all the enemy plane formations from memory on a napkin at some restaurant (this was a long time ago in my earlier childhood).
Halo 3 seems to share some of the same addictive qualities as CS but I'm guessing it won't have the same staying power at least for me.
Posted by ARogan at February 5, 2008 4:53 PMMine are hard to pin down.
Arcade game.... Tron or Road Blasters - those are the two I sunk the most quarters into.
Console - Zelda 2 Link for the NES, or Sonic 1 for the Gensis - sue me, I like Platformers. :) I love my PS2 and 360, but nothing has grabbed me the way those two classics have. I still play them.
PC - if I go by how much time was spend playing Doom. My introduction to the world of FPS.
For the PC - XCOM: UFO Defense or Starflight
For the NES - Final Fantasy
If I could pick only one game, it would be the original Quake in its glory days with the Threewave CTF mod. Quake was a revolution in what games meant to me - it solidified the PC as my gaming platform of choice after 12 years of consoles (and c64), and made everything prior just seem like "toys".
Going online and blowing people up in a high-speed 3d environment with fantastic sounds (the sound of rockets, especially with a haste or strength rune would instill fear!) was an incredible experience. Later, once the CTF mod was released and cohesive teams began to form, the entire thing was elevated to an even higher, unbelievably awesome level.
If a time machine is ever invented, I would pay to go back to that time and be able to relive the glory days again...assuming my reaction time isn't so withered by age that I'd be completely incompetent by then ;)
Posted by T-BirD at February 6, 2008 6:24 AMMy favorite Video Game of all time was a type-in game from a 1980's computer magazine. (I don't even remember which magazine, it was either Compute! or Antic.) It was a canyon-racing themed game written in Basic on an Atari 800 home computer. After correcting the typos (everybody makes when typing in program listings from a magazine), I spent several months studying the code and learning how to modify the game with my own improvements: adding my own sound effects, changing the colors, substituting the text-character "spaceship" object with a multiple-color sprite (the Atari documents called their sprites "player-missile graphics"), and basically living the dream at age 14 of being my own game designer.
A year later, Electronic Arts released their first title, Bill Budge's Pinball Construction Set, which did the same thing: it let me design my own video game, this time a virtual pinball table. I'll call that my second favorite game of all time.
Posted by BlueBottle at February 6, 2008 9:35 AMMine has to be the first Descent. By far more time spent playing that game than any other.
Posted by BigJoe at February 6, 2008 10:14 AMI'd have to say that my favorite of all time, like Karen above, is Ultima IV. I spent so many hours playing through this game and is likely the biggest reason I got hooked on the hobby.
As for BlueBottle's comments above... can you get any more geeky? ;)
Posted by jazzchamp at February 6, 2008 10:37 AMDefinitely geeky, Bluebottle. Love it! Jazzchamp--yeah, the Ultima series is what got me hooked on rpg's. I also forgot to mention Tetris in my original post. I can't even begin to count the hours of enjoyment/obsession I spent with it over the years!
Posted by Karen at February 6, 2008 2:30 PMHmm...favorite video game... I'm kinda stuck between KotOR and CoD4. KotOR is definitely my favorite RPG, I dunno why, probably because it was my first, and I just loved the characters (especially..whatshername, the twi'lek who spoke basic and HK47) but CoD4 is such an addictive game, and is EXTREMELY fun when you work as a team (hence why i love team tactical on it). And not just multiplayer was fun about it though. Trying to play through the last level never gets old, and I still haven't beaten it on veteran. All Ghillied Up was a great level, too.
I guess I'm going with CoD4, simply because..well, if I had a choice between playing KotOR and CoD4, I would go with the latter.
Posted by Gungnir at February 6, 2008 10:39 PMIs a strategy game the same thing as a video game? If so, my answer is most definitely Civilization IV.
If not, then I nominate an underrated third person shooter game, Messiah, made by Shiny. You played as an cherub who could possess all NPCs at will. It was so fun. Pity I can't run the admittedly buggy game on XP.
Posted by Laurence at February 6, 2008 11:33 PM1) Resident Evil 4 - four playthrus, going on five
2) SSB Melee - Thousands of hours and counting
3) Mass Effect - Only 2 playthrus so far...
I can not pick my favorite. Even if you forced me.
Here is the solid tie:
Arcanum: Of Streamworks and Magick Obscura
Halo 2
Portals
Half-Life 2
Stronghold Crusaders
For all of you planecape fans:
Try Arcanum. It has much the same feel, and it seems straight out of a book. It's critisized for having an unbalanced firearms system, but I never use firearms anyways. There are so many creative ways to get through the game! Just try it.
Trust me. If they were to somehow rebuild the company and create an Arcanum 2, I would want it more than Spore!!!
Posted by Markonite2 at February 10, 2008 12:47 AMfreddo and I seem to agree.
Xcom is forever one of my favorite games of all time, even though (and I know some would argue against it) there have been games that have improved on the formula since then (the game, in my opinion just wasn't paced well).
Also, although my experiences with the PC version freddo chose were not very good, Starflight for the Sega Genesis holds a dear place in my gaming history. I invested all of my gaming free time into that game for months as I explored the galaxies in search of the source of its closing demise. Like Xcom, there have been games that took the core of what made it great forward, but none of them truly engrossed me in their fiction like Starflight had.
My third choice for favorite game of all time, and yes this is a three way tie, would have to be command and conquer: red alert. The first real time strategy game I owned (although I had played dune 2, warcraft, and command and conquer years before). It was the game that turned me onto that genre, and I haven't looked back since.
It would appear as though tactical combat or exploration are at the core of all of my favorite games even now, from Role Playing Games to Adventure. It's no surprise that the roots of my gaming were birthed from games that had those principles at their core.
Posted by fidgetwidget at February 11, 2008 1:50 PMim going super mario 64 its da best eva
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