So with the Christmas game release season fast approaching, we here at Neteffect Internet Cafe had a long hard talk about the best games we have ever played in our 15 years here. Baldurs Gate 2, Hitman, Psychonauts? Everyone has there opinion on the best game they have ever played. Thats what an opinion is, its all about what YOU like. I too have my top 10 greatest games of all time list.
# 10: Classic Doom 2
As much as i loved this game at the time, and i dont think there was ever anything like it. I cant go back. I tried. Doom 3 awoke nostalgia that was quickly extinguished as a false yearning for a better day that never actually existed. But you know what? If they made 4 i would be in it instantly. I am a sucker for punishment.
#9: Battlefield 2
Best team shooter? I think so. Counter strike was fun and replayable but didnt have the ummmph of the Battlefield games. Fully destructible environments in the newest Battlefield make my forays into it once in awhile plenty enjoyable. We wont even mention COD. Damn, i mentioned it.
#8: C&C Generals
The Command and Conquer games were a blast and a half without the skill level requirements of WC3 and Starcraft. Yes, you had to understand what you were doing but if you didnt, you still had fun. The online match making was broken, the spy was broken, sometimes the pathing was broken. I still had many hours of fun.
#7: Warcraft 3
Calling this the greatest RTS of all time is not too far fetched. Better than C&C, easier than Starcraft. For me that is a perfect sandwich. I played plenty of others, but always came back to WC3. To be fair, Company of Heroes got a fair amount of my attention as well. It just never held it like Warcraft 3 did.
#6: Max Payne
Max Payne, probably the originator of the emo shooter. Loved it.
#5: Mass Effect
There is nothing bad to be said about this series. Even the controversial ending wasn’t that horrible. Incongruous yes. Horrible? No. I actually plan on running through this series again soon enough. Unless something comes this season to take that urge away from me. Like Mass Effect 4 maybe.
#4: Elder Scrolls World Map
As an ever evolving persistent universe, this franchise doesnt ever do wrong. The world is MASSIVE, the story is yours. With time in all Elder Scrolls titles combined i think i have in excess of 1200 hours. (i know, pathetic) Skyrim was SO good. People lost their jobs from playing in this world.
#3: Fall Out New Vegas
The Fallout series rolled through 3 decades unbowed and unslowed. I can only think of one other game that brought me into its world more deeply. Fallout Tactics was the best of this series.
#2: Half Life 2
Half Life, people are still mad. And those same mad people would go clean Gabe Newells’ house every week if it made him get the next installment out. Never have i been so frustrated, saddened and suffering from withdrawal from a game as much as i was with Half Life 2. Gabe, if you are reading this. Please. PLEASE! Just one more hit man. Ill be good after that.
My #1 game: Everquest Classic
This, bar none, is the game that changed the world. Ya ya, Warcraft had more subscribers but it lacked the challenge and absolute clarity of class that the godfather of MMO’s needed for a player to be successful. The term ‘know your role’ might as well have originated there. Everquest, for all its first 3 months of buggy hell, ruined or enriched the lives of more people (depending on your point of view) than anything else to come out since. If Everquest Next gets finished and successfully pulls off this procedural world engine that they are trying to build. they will have created a new metric to be measured against for all other wannabe’s. I remember my first foray into Norrath like it was last week. If you were an idiot, you were punished. If you tried to be anything outside of what you were, you were punished. If you were a griefing dirtbag, you were pretty much done. But, if you played the game as if it mattered, the eRewards were great and felt earned when you got them. Unlike WOW which just pretty much gives you stuff when you pay them. The risk reward emotive connection in WOW disappeared the second they started pandering to the whiners. Vanilla WOW was close, for a clone.
This is my list of my favorite games. I am sure alot of people will disagree and others will have similar picks to mine. Spout off in the comments if you think my picks are stupid. You just might actually introduce games that others might not have heard of.