30 Days of Video Games

[Solly]

Favorite Video Game Series

This is going to feel like a generic answer, but Zelda is my favorite series out there. True that maybe the series has a difficult time keeping things fresh, but the games are a lot of fun for me. I've played and beaten nearly every title in the series (that includes Adventure of Link) and I thoroughly enjoyed all of them.

The stories are very basic, yet epic, and in terms of gameplay, Zelda is one of the most unique franchises out there. It's hard to find a gmae out there like it(besides Darksiders from what I've heard).

Other runner ups are the Super Mario franchise and Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.

[Senator NinjaShark]

Day Numbero Three + 1 - Ninja's FAN-FRICKING-TASTIC, "Kami could not even begin to Comprehend", Favourite Franchise ever

Ever since I played the Original Red/Blue for Gameboy, Pokemon had been a special Place to Me and with about each new Edition I like the series more and more. Now the Gameplay is pretty standart RPG fare (wich I find fun), but the World, the Pokemon themselve and even some of the Characters (Trainers and NPC's Alike) add to the whole charm the series has to Me. It's a series I find myself always Into and Probably will never get enough of for a good long while.

Honorable Mentions:

Mario Series - The King of Platformers and rightfully so.

Sonic the Hedgehog series - Well, otherwise I wouldn't be Here

Devil May Cry - one of my Favourite Action series, discounting DMC2 and the new DmC

Metal Gear series - a series wich I consider a Modern classic, and the Only sries in where I find a Sneaking Mission not annoying.

Super Smash Bros Series - as I said, it's one of the Most fun Party/Fighter games to me.

The Legend of Zelda - another Classic Video game series and another one wich I Love alot.

Edited January 20, 2012 by Mr. NinjaShark

[Echidna Adventurer CC14]

My favorite video game series is the Sonic series. (Duh! ) I grew up with it and I love the mix of speed and platforming, the characters, the awesome music, the unique levels, the mechanics, and the story. Some people belittle Sonic next to Mario, but honestly, I find Sonic's world more interesting to watch than Mario's. I just think there's more personality to it and the stories are more interesting. I love Sonic so much, that whenever something vaguely Sonic-related happens in pop culture, I have to check it out, whether it be a product tie-in, a cartoon, a commerical, or even a novelty item. (As evidenced by my very weird collection of Sonic novelty sports equipment. ) I simply cannot get enough of this series and have never given up on it through its many missteps. (Heck, I've even enjoyed some of those missteps. Black Knight, especially.) It's just a really fun series that I'm happy to support.

Edited January 19, 2012 by chaoscontrol14

[JezMM]

Super Mario

Just... yeah, he never fails to make me happy. To be honest, Sonic is SUCH a close second it was painful for me to choose, but Mario's charm is just that slight more consistent than Sonic's, and he gets a slight grandfather clause of being favourite by being first to enter my life. He's just never ever had a bad game to me. Even what is argueably his weakest, Mario Sunshine, is only "bad" for a Mario game. Which of course means it's pretty damn good.

Close thirds after Sonic would be Zelda, Half-Life, BioShock and Left 4 Dead. Zelda I'm just not enough into the 2D games, Half-Life, well, anything that came before Half-Life 2 has just aged horribly to the point of annoying me that it exists and that Half-Life 2 can't completely stand alone since they never explain what happened in the first game for newcomers, and BioShock and Left 4 Dead, while I love all the games in these respective series ... that count currently only consists of two each, lol.

Edited January 19, 2012 by JezMM

[supersonikku]

Favourite Video Game Series-

Highly predictable but how can it be anything other than Sonic.

I’ve been playing since Sonic 1 was released and I became an obsessed kid, everything had to be Sonic. I had the games, video’s, clothes, cuddly-toys, duvet covers, curtains, a little pinball table, stickers, figures ( does anyone remember the sonic and knuckles mini figures? It was 75p for one and you didn’t know what you were getting til you opened the little packet, great selection of badniks). my lovely mum even painted a massive Sonic and Tails mural across one of my walls. My happiest days were spent playing almost endless Sonic 2 multiplayer at my mates house. I can vividly remember getting my hands on each new Megadrive Sonic game. We lived in a caravan for almost a year and playing Sonic 3D in a little portacabin we had got me through most of it!

I don’t know what happened but I suddenly lost interest between 1996 – 1999, I guess other things came along while Sonic went through his quiet period, but when my next door neighbours got a dreamcast with Sonic Adventure, I had one go and it made me fall in love with the series all over again. I’d go round every day just to run around mystic ruins then come home and tell my dad all about whale-chases and massive casino tables.

These days thing aren’t that much different. I’ve still got all my old Sonic stuff and while I never could have imagined the series would end up with werewolves and swordplay, I still adore the franchise, the characters and most of the games. Secret Rings, Unleashed and Generations were all amazing games to me for a multitude of reasons.

I think the main thing, is every Sonic game came at a different part of my life and looking back at the collection is like looking back through time. Whether it was smuggling away a friend during my own 6^th birthday party to show me how to beat the first Sonic 1 boss or huddling over the gamecube as a penniless university student playing Sonic Riders, the little blue guy has always been there with me. The Sonic series isn’t just a great series, it’s a big part of my life and I love it.

Sorry to hear about your personal issues Carbo.. and thanks Marcello and Jez for the Majora advice!

[Jeffhog]

Day 4

Favourite series?

Well, I'll be quite frank that there's quite a few for me. But, to deviate from Sonic here (since it is my top favourite), I'll go for the next best thing.

As I got a Nintendo Gamecube for my 10th birthday, my first home console (I had a GBA/GBA-SP as a portable console), I had the Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker as my first GC game as well, and as my first Zelda game.

I was immediately drawn in. It was gorgeous, it was perfect. I was traveling the seas on an epic adventure unlike what I've experienced on usually cheap 3rd party titles and (amazing) Mario titles on my GBA.

Also, I played with a sword.

I fought titanic monsters and mastered long, harrowing dungeons. I used a wide variety of items. The story was impressive, and even highly so on an impressionable kid like me. I loved it!

When I stayed at the grandma's, there was a kid who lent me A Link to the Past on my GBA. It was difficult, but I actually managed to 100% the game within a couple of weeks (whereas he who had the game for much longer barely made much progress).

A school trip to another city had another friend of mine give me his copy of Oracle of Seasons. I play with the weather! XD

The massive variety between each game and its theme is always amusing as well.

I can go on and on as to my history with the series, but I can't bring myself to do so as I fear my words wouldn't give them justice. xD Also, I'm in a rush.

Edited January 19, 2012 by VizardJeffhog

[Commissar Hurricane]

Day 4.

Sonic 2 was my first Sonic game and one of the earliest games I have played.

Starting from the Genesis, I played them a lot even CD which I did not realized I owned until much later.and I still play them these days.

I did forget about the series for a long even being unaware of the adventure games, Sonic Advanced 2 was what made me aware of it again. I really enjoyed it and it made me want to play the old games again, so I did and I found out still enjoyed them.

Eventually I played the games I missed and I played the ones that came later, enjoying them differently but still enjoying them.

Though once again I forgot about the series once more, not knowing of stuff like 06 or Rush.

Chronicles is what made me get into the series again. Just like before I played what I missed and looked forward at would come next.

After all the years, even forgetting about the series a couple of times I still enjoy the games both new and old.

It is perhaps the only series I look forward to what is next.

[Solkia]

Who would have thought.

I love the Tales series. The plots of the games almost never disappoint me, the skits are hilarious, the RPG meets Brawler style gameplay is addicting, it's just awesome.

Although, I can't say I'm pleased about the localizations. Namco Tales Studio makes some of the dumbest localization choices I've even seen. The original Tales of Phantasia (Super Famicom) was never released outside Japan. However a GBA port was localized MUCH MUCH later, but I hear it is completely inferior to the original. There are more things I could say, but I'll save that for another time.

Overall, hands down one of my favorite series today, I hope localization efforts increase someday.

Edited January 19, 2012 by Solkia :U

[Legendary Emerald]

NOTE: I'm not part of this contest or whatever; I'm just bored and going to give my answers every so often.

Favorite Videogame Series:

Mega Man (All Inclusive)

Mega Man is, without a doubt, my favorite videogame franchise of all time. No series has entertained me for so many years, and disappointed me so few times, or given me quite as many fond memories.

The first game I played in the series was Mega Man 7 for the SNES, back before I knew anything about the character or the games. I remember dying repeatedly to the boss of the intro stage, and then returning the game back to blockbuster without it having left much of an impression on me. It wasn't until years later when I saw the case artwork for Megaman X4 that I gave the franchise another look, and I am so glad I did.

At the time, in 2nd or 3rd grade, I was a terrible gamer. I could barely struggle my way through Kirby's Adventure, I couldn't get past the rising water in Chemical Plant without my mother's help, and the area leading up to the Poke'mon League made me cry. I was not ready for X4. The Mega Man series puts hair on your chest. To put it in even more sexist terms, it's for Mega Men only. You make it your bitch, or you'll have to get used to taking it in the ass. And indeed, my asshole grew five inches wider that year, as I was unable to beat any of the 8 boss Mavericks. Yet I still took the abuse, and I loved the game's flair. It was beautiful, badass, and for lack of a better word "extreme". I hurredly convinced several friends to buy the game, and we all struggled together to beat the game. I only ended up beating Slash Beast, while everyone else was able to conquer Frost Walrus.

Many, many years later, I was able to beat the game. This marked a huge turning point in my life, because I realized that if I put the time and effort in, I could beat any videogame I set my sights on. And after that, I went back to my huge collection of games and beat them all with my by now enormous gamer cock. Nothing could stop me. But oh, how the Mega Man series tried...

At this point, I have beaten nearly every Mega Man series game, aside from the pointlessly dull Battle Network series. My two favorite psuedo-series are Mega Man Zero and Mega Man Legends. While there have been some atrociously bad games, like X6, X8, overall I have played and been disappointed in less Mega Man games than Sonic games. As such, I can't consider any series but Mega Man as my favorite.

Edited January 19, 2012 by Legendary Emerald

[Marcello]

Yay. Zelda is the the only series where each time I get a new game from it, I can stay up all night playing without getting bored. Every new game amazes me and I always think it'S the best, most beautiful game ever.

While I knew LTTP before, OOT is where I became a fan, and MM was the first I owned. I remember seeing OOT for the first time ever. It just looked brilliant and I knew I had to have it, but I never was able to get it until after MM was released. I remember this one time when I saw it, the gold cartridge even, and my mom said we could get it after we went grocery shopping. Well, when we got back, the game was gone I got to play a lot of it, but not buy or beat it. Well, learning from that, I preordered MM as soon as I could and got the gold cartridge with the holographic sticker. I fell in love again. I did the same with WW and was able to finally get OOT!

[Tori Himemiya]

This is going to surprise a couple of people but for Day 4 I decided to pick...

...The Disgaea series. Sorry if the image is too big btw.

This series is actually an inspiration to me. I remember playing the original Disgaea and I had lots of fun with it, its humor was great, the SRPG gameplay is addictive, and it had a great storyline. It was so great it did get me out of a bad depression first thing. I did managed to get the second game and I was hoping to see more of Laharl's adventures but we got Adell instead and while parts of it was funny Adell's story was more serious than others. I do admit they really improved the combat system.

I did got the chance to play Disgaea 3 and while it was funnier than the second game it didn't had the same charm as the original. I still enjoyed however since they changed up the gameplay again. I have yet to play Disgaea 4 but I did spoil myself to the story and I have to say I did love it. I hope I get the chance to play it sometime.

Runner ups:

Metal Gear - While I do enjoy this series a lot the only thing keeping me from picking as number one is its writing. Its good but it can get pretty bombtastic, especially in MGS4.

Pokemon - I love this series a lot. Its just that I wish there was more post-story stuff to do, especially with Black and White.

Darkstalkers - My favorite fighting game series but it sadly needs to be recongized outside cameos. *is waiting for more Darkstalkers*

[Alex2Beta]

Well..It's obvious I enjoy the Sonic series, and seeing people discuss about the games, possibilities and problems of it is interesting. But there has to be a second series to enjoy..That is the Pokemon Series.

The pokemon series was just breathtaking when I first saw it on a GBC screen, seeing that you can catch something and apply it to your party was interesting. Though it's not like I owned plenty of Pokemon games..To this day, I played only the 4th and 5th generation games. But I look forward to future games.

Now I do have the DS Gold remake, but it's in French..And this is why I wish one day, that RPG's would have multiple languages.

[Serperior]

I was wondering how long I could go without mentioning something from this series. It's been disappointingly short.

As anyone can guess, I'm a massive fan of this series. One of the biggest draws to it for me is how much goes into what seems like it would be a really simple game. The sheer diversity of the monsters themselves in looks, statistics, movepools, typing and much more is something I've always adored about this series, and this only grows with each installment to the series. The amount of different ways you can train your Pokémon, use them in battles and team them up to make good synergy and good fighting combinations never seems to end, and that adds a lot of substance to the games to me. This stuff leads to some pretty great moments as well. Some of the most satisfying moments in my gaming history were times when I was able to get a Pokémon with decent IVs, training it up right, and then watching it destroy everything, and it's pretty hard to beat the feeling of getting that all important critical hit when you need it the most. There are things I enjoy outside of the battle system as well. Exploring the reigons can be really fun sometimes, and it feels great to stumble across something you didn't know about before while exploring. The series also has some enjoyable characters as well, and some of the locations are pretty memorable and nice looking as well. Sure, the gameplay is just your bog standard RPG gameplay, and the changes to the gameplay do seem minimal at times, but why try to fix what isn't broken?

As for the spinoffs, they're a mixed bag. There have been what I think are some pretty good spinoffs like the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series and the Pokémon Pinball games, and some spinoffs that were downright awful, like the Pokémon Ranger games, but, as I've said, what makes me really like this series is the main set of games.

Wow, it was surprisingly hard trying to stop myself from going into the technical stuff and confusing everyone with what I was saying.

Honourable mentions:

Mega Man: Another game series I really like because of it's diversity. There's a lot of diversity with the characters, the environments, the weapons and other factors that really make me enjoy this series.

Sonic The Hedgehog: Would I even be here if this wasn't on this list?

Super Mario Bros.: A great series that doesn't have many, if any below average games in it's main series, spinoffs like Mario Kart and the various RPGs are really fun and unique (Well....before everyone decided to rip off Mario Kart that is...) as well.

Marvel Vs. Capcom/Street Fighter/Super Smash Bros.: These are my favourite fighting games due to the fast paced gameplay, and I enjoy the wide roster of characters in both that prevents playing them a lot from getting stale due to all of the different situations you can find yourself fighting in.

[\gunther]

DAY 4: Fav. Game Series

Super Mario

Y'all motherfuckers had better be humming that tune.

The Super Mario series is and always will be my favorite game series of all time.This was hopefully obvious in one of my previous posts when I gushed over Super Mario World.

Few fictional settings engross me as much as Mario's universe. I love the simplistic yet charming characters, the easy to grasp gameplay, the music, the powerups, etc. In my eyes, every title in the series is enjoyable in their own right, and most of them are nothing short of classic. They're uncomplicated yet take time to master, easy yet difficult, familiar but otherworldly. In my mind, the Super Mario series represent gaming in its purest form.

I really don't know what else I can possibly say without sounding like an irritating fanboy who won't stop repeating himself. Super Mario will always hold a place in my heart, there's not much else I can state.

Edited January 19, 2012 by gnth®

[Sonic the Hedgehog in 3D]

Despite its rough patches such as 06 I love the Sonic Series, it holds my favourite game of all time (Sonic Adventure) and is my most played series (along with the next one). It's the only one where im a member of a fan forum of the franchise.

The Pokémon series is another nostolgic series for me, along with Sonic. My old Fire Red had over 423 hours of gameplay alone. It's an addictive and fun franchise, that's simple but when you dig deeper gets more complicated.

Edited January 19, 2012 by Rawrdom

[Your Vest Friend]

Favourite video games series...that'll be video game serieses (no that's not a word) for me then, because I have two! Bet you can't figure them out. Go on, I'll give you three guesses...first two don't count.

Sonic the Hedgehog

Crash Bandicoot

Both of these video game series have had major sway over my gaming years, and at times they seem to be a perfect pair. Ever since about 2003, I've been into both series equally fanatically (I was a fan of Crash from 1999, I had to get back into Sonic) and couldn't imagine l the other. I guess on a very broad overview, they appeal to me equally for similar reasons; the settings, the humour, the characters, the gameplay, I love it all. With Crash nowadays, while Sonic obviously has a lot to look forward to in order to see what new character tidbits pop up, it's great to go back to the past games and see what details I missed thus building a better picture of both in-universe stuff and technical concepts. For example, I spent early last year playing through CTR to analyse what I could for my pleasure, and not only did I discover that Joe was really quite a whiny bitch, but I also theorised that Dragon Mines was once supposed to be Koala Kong's track, that Joe was originally Tropy and Tropy was originally Koala Kong. That's something I can't do with Sonic since the past is pretty analysed to death (although my recent thoughts on the whitestone deal in Mario and Sonic Winter DS does argue against that), but it is fun to see what comes up in the future and attempt to dig up juicy details that others may have glanced over for one reason or another (recent examples; the Generations dialogue text, London mini-games and why Espio was being a dick there, CUTE CURLY CHAMELEON TAIL).

So yeah, overall I'd say that a combination of technical aspects I enjoy and my passion for overanalysis are what put these two series ahead of other franchises that I very much enjoy as well.

[Bria]

Favorite Game Series

Yeah, like most people here. While I love the Zelda, Tales, Poke'mon, and Mario series as well, Sonic was what really pulled me into video gaming when I played the first game. I hold the fondest memories of Sonic when I was young and growing up. I had plushes, toys, lunchboxes, and drawings of him that I think I still may have when I was about five. Despite some of the fallouts I've had with Sonic, I always always find myself returning back again.

[Danj86]

NOTE: I'm not part of this contest or whatever; I'm just bored and going to give my answers every so often.

You still get a badge for taking part if I'm not mistaken.

So...favourite series? Why do you keep asking hard questions?? I guys are totally cruel! Xp

Favourite Video Game Series:

Super Mario Brothers/Sonic The Hedgehog

Because of seniority, I have no choice but to pick these. Although, just like in the 90s, I can't decide who I like more. XP

For it was these 2 series that cemented my enjoyment of the platformer genre. It was the colourful characters and levels that first attracted me to both of them, back when I was a small Dan. And I couldn't resist following them ever since. While some may like or dislike a game from there franchise, I tend to love them all. But there are one or two rare cases...

Whether your saving a princess or saving the world, I always love it. And I have these guys to thank.

I wouldn't feel right if I don't mention the runners-up.

Bomberman

Donkey Kong

Kirby

The Legend of Zelda

PacMan

Rayman

Persona

Disgaea

Tales of -

Professor Layton

Raving Rabbids

[Sean]

Day 4: Favorite video game series

I have two series I can't decide between, so I'm just going to talk about them both.

The area where the main game Kirby series excels is consistent game quality. As far as the platformers go every single one of them is top-notch great. Not counting the spin-offs, I went out of my way to seek out physical copies of every title except for Kirby's Adventure on the NES and the Wii titles, due to the lack of said systems. I also play through all of them on a yearly basis, and I know the majority of them inside and out.

There is nothing groundbreaking when it comes to Kirby games, but they are just simple fun. The graphics are always cute and alive-looking, and the music is some of the best among Nintendo's IPs. In fact, the music is generally the first thing I look forward to whenever a new Kirby game is released. Many games provide enough challenges for more experienced players to pummel through, such as KDL1's hard mode and KSSU's True Arena. That's not counting actually trying to 100% complete some of these, which can be pretty arduous at times, and the only game I have yet to do it on is Kirby's Dream Land 3 due to Super NES MG 5 being a fucking pain in the ass.

Ironically, I don't own any of the non-platforming spin-offs, but I do intend on getting Air Ride and Block Ball one of these days, the latter which has some of the absolute best Game Boy music ever made. My favorite Kirby game of all time is KDL3 (a game that many unfortunately overlook and even lambast due to it not being Super Star), while my favorite non-conventional title is Canvas Curse.

The Mario series may be pretty good, but their RPGs are the best in the entire genre. JRPGs can stagnate, but the Mario RPGs are some of the few that I can honestly relive again and again and only grow to love them more. And it's a crying shame that Nintendo doesn't put more focus on them compared to their main Mario titles (and even some of the other spin-offs), because this is one series that I would definitely not mind seeing more of on a regular basis.

My first exposure to the Mario RPGs was Paper Mario. I rented the shit out of it as a kid, and I guess it would have been easier for me to just have bought the damn thing. A couple times I would encounter some jackass who wiped out my save, but I for some reason never really minded having to restart from the very beginning, because every moment of the game is worth experiencing a second time. Just last year, I won a complete copy of the game off eBay, so it was great not having to use fucking shitty N64 emulation to play it again. For the longest time, I thought Paper Mario 1 was the greatest Mario game ever made... that is, until I got a GameCube and bought TTYD, which is better in every single fucking way.

I own a complete, pristine copy of Super Mario RPG that was handed down to me from my cousin, so at this point I own every game except for Partners in Time, which... yeah, I didn't like all that much. Receiving a physical copy of this game was the first time I truly sat down and devoted time and effort into beating it, and it definitely beats out the M&L series in terms of how much I love it, even if I adore the Paper Mario games just a little bit more.

And as for the M&L series, I bought Superstar Saga when I tried looking for Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land in stores and couldn't find it. And that was one of the best secondary decisions I ever made; I couldn't get enough after beating Paper Mario on the N64, so M&L was definitely an adequate successor to me and I have played it more than any other Mario RPG to date. And I suppose Bowser's Inside Story is good too, but I don't remember a whole lot about it.

[Covskin]

Looks like I'm gonna have to break my self-imposed rule two days in a row.

Sonic the Hedgehog.

I don't think there's any other videogame franchise that has kept my interest in as much other media too. Comics, TV Shows and of course the SSMB. Hell, even plushies! Its also probably the franchise to have consistently kept my interest more than any other, save a gap from 1998-2003 (my gaps with Mario and Monkey Island were far longer).

The Mega Drive games are called Classics for a reason - they are just that timeless. I even got a fair bit of enjoyment from 3D and Spinball. I spent many hours playing those games, loving pretty much every aspect of them.

Then, I went a bit quiet on the Sonic front. I went from Mega Drive to Playstation, then PS2. Once I got a Gamecube though, I was right back in. Sonic Mega Collection hit me hard with nostalgia, and once Sonic Adventure DX came out, I started to pick up on what I missed. It may not be a great port, but Adventure is still a great game.

I admit, I had another blip after Shadow, but thanks to the SSMB and the internet in general I kept up to date with everything that was going on in the series. Gems Collection and SA:DX's unlockable Game Gear games allowed me to keep finding Sonic that was a fresh experience to me.

Back in the games again, from Sonic Colours/4 onwards, and I've still got a lot of love for the hedgehog.

I guess it also helps I stayed away from Sonic 06 and Unleashed (specifically, Werehog).

[Stacy]

Ah this is cool!

Okay here we go:

I can't remember the first video game I ever played. But I certainly remember the first game I played often was:

Command & Conuqer: Red Alert (PC) (1996):

In my household we didn't have any video game consoles, my sister was older than me and she didn't have any. My Mother was against having video game consoles when we were younger she wanted us to have a imagination and play with toys something my younger cousins don't have much because they were given TV's, video game consoles at a much earlier age. Some of you may think it sucks because we didn't have a console in my room until I was 9. But I am actually quite glad it work out that way though I am sure some would say I missed out.

Anyway despite not having a video game console my father bought a Windows 95 computer and my uncle had this Game that he lent to my Dad and he got into it despite not being into video games his whole life (still isn't really). I was 6 and somehow I got a chance to play on it and I loved it, I couldn't get past Mission 5 (Bloody Dogs kept eating my spy) for the Allies for a long time and I got stuck on the Soviet Nuclear Reactor mission also because I was scared of it for some reason. But man I was obessed with this game I only got weekends to play on it, usually Friday after school but I have found memories playing on it.

My parents didn't mind because it was srategy and violence was pretty tame apart from some of the cut-scenes. Started my obession with Coummunism and all things Soviet I was gutted as a kid to find out they lost the Cold War.

Favourite Game: Command & Conquer Red Alert:

Goes without saying really, I chose this because I still play this game to this day and I still love it. Its just some much fun playing Skrmishes buliding tones of Mammoth tanks, nuking the computer, the kick ass real audio soundtrack (no cheesy FM soundcard) that got me into making music. I prefer this over the Red Alert 2, though Red Alert is faster and probably more addictive I find Red Alert more dark and gritty, its not camp and cheesy like Red Alert 2 is.

I've played many RTS from this time Total Annihilation, Dark Reign, Warcraft II and even the Starcraft can't beat my foundness of Command & Conquer Red Alert.

Favourite Game Series: Command & Conquer:

As a whole Conquer & Conquer is my favourite game series There some games in series I really like and some found really disapointing.

I think the first two games in the series Command & Conquer (Tiberian Dawn) and Red Alert are Solid.

Still to this day I think Tiberian Sun is overrated, it was rushed, didn't work well on most computers of the time (even on the latest specs of the time it was still slow) I had to wait a year just to play because my Dad's first Computer couldn't run it. The Cut Scenes had some great actors (James Earl Jones, Michael Biehn) but I didn't like how they changed the player from off screen (E.G. Kane gives you orders) to being a actual character and the story was pretty weak compared to the first. Now looking back its not bad and I do still play it but I don't get the hype other than it was last Westwood one before EA Games start slowly taking over Westwood. Firestorm its expansion pack was miles better.

Red Alert 2 gameplay was great the cut scenes went back to normal, Skrmishes were addictive. Yuri Revenge was also great gameplay wise new units and another playable side. But like I said I found the story are bit cheesy and its quite unrelated to the first one in many respects.

Generals isn't bad the gameplay is solid, the campaign was challenging though really short, no FMV cut scenes and lack of overall story really did disapoint me though. But its not as bad as some fans say in fact at least it was more true to Command & Conquer than Tiberian Twilight was.

For me Tiberium Wars and Kanes Wrath was a return to form, Kane was back, lots of detail on the story, the gameplay was like a fusion of the elements that worked in Generals and first three games in the series. Really fun to play lots of missions, great scenes. Great story that had me hooked like Westwood games. EA really did listen to the fans on this one.

Red Alert 3 was good thought the story is just as cheesy as the Red Alert 2 (this one follows Red Alert 2) the gameplay is good but the Coop wasn't really my thing, the campaign was good but Srkmish I found unbalanced (either it was too easy or too difficult) its Expansion Pack was download only although I did enjoy it. Not Bad.

Tiberian Twilight was a real kick in the teeth though the game could be completed in one day, no bases and resources (gameplay changed drasitically), the story was pathetic, the cut scenes were horrible (Kane just didn't act like Kane, the wife subplot was unemotional and horriblly added), overall you can just an hour in of playing and know that this game was rushed and EA Game had no interrest other to have it released as quickly as possible its so bad that this is the Sonic 06 of the series.

The new Generals looks promising, new developers, new engine (Frostbite 2 which seems odd for an RTS), bases are back. EA are also putting put out an MMO RTS called Tiberium Alliances based on Tiberium Wars era (because lets face it nobody wants to play anything based on Tiberian Twilight).

So yeah long post.

Edited January 19, 2012 by BW199148

[azoo]

Sonic the Hedgehog.

This shouldn't come off as much of a surprise.

Sonic is my favorite video game series of all time; not only for the games that came of it, but the impact it has left on both my childhood and adult life. It's a part of me that would be too difficult to break away from (..if I was foolish enough to think I could get away from it).

Before I gush into several in-depth paragraphs, I'm gonna have to go into three different categories: the aesthetic, the characters, and the gameplay.

AESTHETICS:

The fantastic and colorful landscapes, the convex curves and foliage that warp all around this robust world, and even the way the music paves the overall feel of the environment. In every Sonic game you get to explore another part of Sonic's world, and see just how much variety there is: from wacky yet photorealistic takes on real-life locations to the most stunning and pristine fantasy-lands with crazy checkerboard patterns, and even to dark and grimy factories with bright neon undertones. Sonic's universe is definitely a special one; one where all these places can co-exist at once and just work somehow.

And whenever we hit variety in that aspect, we haven't even started to break the barriers when it comes to music. This franchise gets everything from 90s electro house to hard rock, with everything in between: rave, bossa nova, world cultural music, hiphop-influenced, lounge, techno, electronica, drum & bass, pop, R&B, jazz, blues, cartoony fodder, epic orchestral, heavy metal, heck the series even makes good dubstep (which mind you, good dubstep is far and way few inbetween). I believe you can say that it's quite fitting for such a series to be a massive sonic experience.

And lastly, if there's anything that pulled me into Sonic first and foremost, it was the brilliant pop-art style that caught my eyes as a kid. This is one of the things about the series I have kind of missed nowadays that I'm glad Generations had recently just brought back to the table. The way the menus and box-art were handled, the advertising, everything.. the quirky geometry and colors were unique and cool; gave the series a quality that stood out among others: stylish, extravagent, classy. Sega should use it more often. (would be better than the stereotypical anime fodder)

CHARACTERS:

Sonic isn't your average platforming hero. Sure, he's not SoA's "FAST DOOD WITH AN ATTITOOD" they wanted him to be, but he is pretty class. Guy of great taste. Decently nice and friendly, and willing to help out others, but he isn't exactly the sweetest guy in the world. He's actually pretty lazy and laid back, only really doing what he wants to do (read: either chill somewhere or run and explore); and whenever pushed out of his current comfort zone he's kind of irritable, and overall a really impatient and generally annoyed guy. He also gets a bit corny and arrogant at times with his words, but you can't blame a guy for having a little fun and over-confidence during his constant battles. And you know, even past all of that, you know that Sonic stands as a true good guy. Even with all the irritation he shows to his acquaintances and enemies alike, he genuinely cares for what his friends think about him and other things, means the best for everyone, and loves the universe he lives in. Why else would he save the world from Eggman's oppression time and time again?

Sonic's friends, allies, and acquaintances also come into play as not just complimentary characters, but great characters in themselves.. when not Flanderized to hell and back like the franchise has currently leaned toward. I would love to go into all of them, but really I can't say much more than how Tails is probably the coolest best friend / sidekick ever, Knuckles is the greatest standalone protagonist outside of Sonic himself, and Blaze makes the best of both, being a great standalone character as well as an (arguably) good love interest for Sonic. That said, every other character is great too, but I just wanted to give an "honorable mention" to my three favorite good-guys outside of the 'hog.

Oh, and lest we forget the "Eggman" himself, Dr. Robotnik. He's simply stellar, and most notably the character with the least changes made to his personality throughout the series' run. My favorite villain in any franchise (but of course), he's diabolically smart and bombastically self-serving, although he seems to have a very immature and child-like mind; even if he can get dead serious when need be. He's the epitome of selfishness, all the way to the point of being semi-sadistic in nature, although not due to being "for teh evulz", but being due to his sheer amount of apathy for the world. Why should he care that because of his rule, people/animals can't do what they want anymore? Or that nations may crumble at his feet? That his works may obliterate and/or pollute entire countries? It's not to his concern, he just wants to rule the world under his robotic reign, because he loves himself so much he'd love to see everyone else praise him too. Just having a villain like this (and the way he teases you with his pure bombasticity and sardonic comments) gives you the motivation to take on your duty to save the world and beyond from his control.

All these characters, in some fashion or another, are (or in some cases have the potential to be) three-dimensional and very likable. The mass variety of characters within the franchise make it easy to find a favorite, just as long as they were developed well (which some characters do not have the advantage of). Maybe I've gushed a bit too hard about them, so I'll move onto..

GAMEPLAY:

I'm not gonna lie. Even with all of the things I talk of that I claim pull me into the Sonic franchise so much, this takes the cake. It's a video game after all, it's what you expect. Then again, it's also the hardest to cover, considering the bipolar nature of the series regarding the way they play.

One thing I can say though: I enjoy having a game that can successfully blend high-speed escapades to the goal along with intense platforming. I'm very picky about this of course, as people might know, but overall that's what I'm here for when it comes to Sonic. Collecting the rings and Chaos Emeralds, jumping on enemies, moving really fast while platforming simultaneously, progressing the storyline; this is what it's all about to me. And while I do believe rolling should be a returning influence to the games (it is what made Sonic the most unique, after all), boosting does it's thing in a fine enough way.

Basically, besides the era of every game from 2003 - 2007, the gameplay within this series has been able to successfully captivate me, even if only for not as long of an amount of time as previous entries in the series. Every time I complete a Sonic game I'm always wanting more. It says alot, really. No matter if it be (my highly preferred) momentum-based gameplay or boosting and reflex-based gameplay, most Sonic games don't tend to fail me when it comes to giving me a fun time. Yes, even 3D Blast and games like that. They're fun, dang it.

----

I guess you could say a lot of my love comes from the potential I see in the series, moreso than a lot of the content actually within it. I'm honestly kind of dismayed by the way the series currently handles storylines and characters, and the automated nature of the current games. But I guess I just see how much potential the series would have outside of all these things, if they improved it and went forward with many more concepts that should see the light of day. I want to see many of the things the series left behind post-2003, like the momentum gameplay, or the deeper mythos and character personalities return.

I think that's what makes it my favorite. The amount of games that gave me a thrill of a lifetime that I can keep going back to, and being just as hopeful as ever to have an experience like that once again, if not better than the last time that experience was had. Generations was a huge step in the right direction, but as we know, there's always more room for improvement.

Being an aspiring game designer, I guess the open doors for creativity to step through is what excites me the most. To bring this character and all the ones surrounding him, the world he and they live in, and the gameplay.. bring it all to it's finest potential. I believe that could be what makes my love for Sonic.

Edited January 19, 2012 by Azukara

[Emmett L. Brown]

Fourth: Favourite series

It's not Sonic. It's not Metroid. It's not even that obscure Turrican series I keep referencing. No, my favourite series to date is:

There's no other series so engrossing that I'm able to come back and reexperience it all over every time. The first game I played of this series was FFVI, and it set the bar for console RPGs for me. Superb story, fascinating characters, excellent villains, top-notch orchestral score, and fun gameplay to complete the package.

FFVI remains my favourite of them all, for it's remarkable storyline and varied characters that each bring a unique trait to the combat scene. The depth of the characterisation combined with the simplicity of the presentation far surpasses the heavy-handed dramas of modern Japanese RPGs.

FFV seems an odd choice for second place, but as far as I'm concerned it's got the best battle system of the series. That's enough to forgive a weak story and lack of graphical improvement over the previous game.

FFIX takes third place by proving that the look and feel of an old-school JRPG can function perfectly with modern visuals and storytelling.

It's sad that the series ended after FFIX. Sure, lots of other games with the Final Fantasy logo have been made, but the drop in quality of storytelling and gameplay is so severe that I can't list them alongside the giants of the past. FFX was so painfully linear (and unskippable for god's sake) that I can never play it again. FFXII bored me until I quit, not caring how the story ended. And FFXIII was clearly not a Final Fantasy game, so I've no idea how it got mixed up in the franchise.

[Rawpowered]

Day 4: Favourite Game Series

It took a while to think of an answer, but I can safely say it has to be this:

I love alot of game series, but Star Fox to me has always been great.

Admittedly I've never played Starwing. It's shameful to call myself a Star Fox fan when I've never played the game when it all began. I'vwe just been told so many times that I have Lylatwars so I never needed it. I'm sure it's not that expensive on Virtual Console so maybe I'll finally have I look at it

Lylatwars (or Star Fox 64 for you Americanos) was the first game I ever played in the series and it's fantastic. I won't say much as I've explained my thoughts on this on my Day 1 post. The cast of characters were great and they all had their own charm and personality to the game. It's chemistry like this I rarely see continuing in any game series and is still great to see how the characters have evolved.

Now not alot of people thought Adventures was good, but I really liked it. The graphics were impressive for a start, then again this was Rare who developed it (who disgracefully went downhill after this game). Some people have argued that this is a Zelda rip-off. It may play like Zelda but like I say about all rip-off's, if it's still fun to play it can take as much as it needs. Again, great cast of characters. Tricky may have been to some an annoying little shit, but he's just a kid, I'm pretty sure we were all little shits at one point of our lives. The only downside to the game is the music, while it was nice most of it was forgettable.

To this day I'm still debating over if Assault or Lylatwars is my favourite of the series. I was hyped for Assault as a kid and by no means was I unsatisfied with what I got. Assault may have had it's gameplay problems, but everything felt so right. The cast, the outstanding music, the nice change of pace between levels, everything felt amazing to play in. The multiplayer was surprisingly good too. I spent countless hours playing with my friends on it. My only complaints with Assault were it's story mode was just far too short. Only 10 missions were in the game and you could probably finish it all within 4 hours. But more disappointing was Leon's new voice actor, completely changed his character. =\

Command without a doubt is my least favourite in the series. It's not a terrible game, not at all. I just think the strategy element was just unnecessary and not as exciting as the other titles. I do have to give credit for the online though, that was fun. It's just the story never appealed to me and the 9 different endings were just not worth unlocking. Unlike the other titles, I just don't want to play it again.

So that's my thoughts on the entire (released) series. I do hope for a brand new one, really, I do

[Victory Defender]

Favorite Series for me would have to be the Sonic series.

The gameplay is amazing to me. Speed and platforming. It was fun with all the classical games. With the transition to the 3D games, I haven't been able to enjoy Sonic as much as I used to, but it's still the same. Speed and platforming. Well, besides the gameplay, nothing else really influences my love for the series. Perhaps the different characters? Eh, I don't know.

Argh, that's all I could muster up today.