30 Days of Video Games

[Lucky]

DAY #4 - FAVOURITE SERIES

It's the obvious answer, but nothing else could even compare. Not just because of how much I love the games, but for the fact that the series has had such a massive impact on my life in general over the past 20 years.

But a lot of people have already pointed out what makes Sonic so great, so let's keep this short and sweet...

The first memory I have of the series is someone playing the Star Light Zone in the local electronics store, and even now I still remember how fixated I was. As luck would have it, the only reason we were there in the first place was to get a new console, so we came up with a Mega Drive & Sonic 1, and my Mum often jokes that she regrets picking the system up that day, because I was immediately hooked and my love's never lessened since. Yeah, I'd played a few games before that and they were awesome, but Sonic completely blew them away because it was like nothing else I'd ever seen before. From the speed, to the amazing worlds you got to explore (and later blast through once you'd got the hang of them), to the catchy tunes, to the character himself... it was an incredible experience, and all reasons the games are still some of my favourites to this day.

And yeah, the series might have gone through it's low points since then, but it's still the one thing I've always stuck with no matter what. Because Sonic means a hell of a lot to me, and my life would have been very different if he'd never been in it.

Edited January 20, 2012 by Lucky

[Cola]

Mine is something unique, something you haven't quite seen yet.

It's from those guys over at Wayforward, and you'll enjoy it, I bet.

(blah blah rest of poem comes later, I need to post this before the day ends)

Wayforward's Mighty Series!

Each game has something different to offer, but all 3 are fun, addictive puzzle/platforming challenges with a unique gimmick and an addictive formula. A trend between the Mighty games is that they all have female protagonists, which is fine by me. The music is composed by Jake Kaufman, and the tunes he writes are infectious and will be sure to follow you for days. The graphics are bright and colorful, and the controls are simple.

(most post will be here after AP World History is over, mainly game overviews)

I'd highly reccommend the Mighty Series, not only for that, but because these game are so well crafted, you'd be crazy NOT to buy them!

And that is why the Mighty series is my favorite game series of all time.

[Carbo]

Day 5 - Favorite Multiplayer Game / Component.

[Cola]

Favorite multiplayer?

SUPER

FUCKING

SMASH

BROS.

Yes, the Smash series. Who doesn't like having Kirby duke it out with Donkey Kong, or Captain Falcon and Luigi teaming up on Ganondorf, or even Mario fighting with long time rival Sonic, Smash is awesome for multiplayer. Grab a few friends and get ready for a wild rumble filled with pure Nintendo goodness. The items and stages make things even CRAZIER. And the Smash Ball? Final Smashes can just level the playing field, LITERALLY. (but then everyone comes back)

The great thing about Smash Bros is that you'll never know what's gonna happen. I especially love those 4 player Stock Matches, where only two people are left, and you both have critical damage percentage, when suddenly an item shows up, or someone pulls an awesome combo, and wins the game. It's such a rush, I love it.

Honorable mentions - Mario Kart, Goldeneye 007, LittleBigPlanet 2, Team Fortress 2, Custom Robo

Edited January 20, 2012 by Colasaurus Rex

[Your Vest Friend]

Aw, this one's pretty hard. CTR got used up, and so did Sonic 2. Erm...uh...hmm...

Crash Bash

This one had a pretty fun mulitiplayer component. Not only do you have the standard battle mode where you purely played the mini-games and a tournament where you played a series of them in a row for a trophy, you could actually play the story mode in full multi-player as well. Surely that'd make the game a breeze, right? Wrong; while it made csome things easier (like getting the initial trophies, the conditions in place on other things made later rewards (gems, crystals) an absolute bitch to win. The best thing about this though? The whole basis of the game is that it boils down to being about the good team vs the evil team. But what if in multi-player you were playing as both good and evil and beat the last boss? The game does not ignore this;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNqFRCNEO98

A dopey beat-down against each other after spending the entire game on co-op? I'm down with that.

Edited January 20, 2012 by VEDJ-F

[Phantomime]

TEAM FORTRESS 2

Yeah there was pretty much no way I wouldn't POOTIS here.

What is there to say? I love this game. The fun characters, the different gameplay styles, the artstyle (which isn't as solid as it was, but still), all the fanmade stuff, this game is a joy to play. I play it when I feel like I need to chill out and have some fun!

I enjoy all the classes, but my favorites are Spy, Scout, and Soldier. They just feel the most natural to me.

Close second: Super Smash Bros., Melee or Brawl. Haven't played the original. Good fun for all, that one is.,

Edited January 20, 2012 by Phantomime

[supersonikku]

Aw man I wish this category had been split into Co-operative and Competitive.

I think for me, this has to go to a game that I can ONLY do multiplayer.

I don’t think I need to explain what monster hunter is. Group up, run around, punch dinosaurs in the nads.

Online is great and everything, but playing “locally” is where it’s at. We set whole days aside for this. 3 of my best buds who all got the game at the same time as myself set-up 4 TV’s, 4 wii’s and spend the whole day having a few beers and a great laugh on-top of getting some really good difficult questing done. Being able to interact and talk to your fellow hunters in the same room during battle is so beneficial; it’s quite hard going back to playing over an internet connection and the moment of euphoria when a particularly nasty beast goes down in the last minute is amplified tenfold.

Monster Hunter is a superbly crafted social multiplayer experience and the fact it’s a fantastic game doesn’t hurt either.

[Marcello]

The easiest question so far. Yet, the one I give the most answers to xD

Edited January 20, 2012 by MarcelloF

[PSI Wind]

Stole your pic, Phantom :U

Team Fortress 2 is pretty much the BEST Multiplayer game I have played. The controls are simple (WASD for movement, move the mouse to aim, Mouse1 for Fire, Mouse2 for Secondary Actions, Mouse Wheel to cycle through weapons), A LOT of customization through both weapons in-game and fan mods, hilarious writing in the responses ("SCOTLAND IS NOT A REAL COUNTRY! YOU'RE AN ENGLISMAN IN A DRESS!"), an amazing community, and just something you can easily get into. I've already played 100 hours on it and I haven't even had it for a MONTH! It's just THAT good.

Edited January 20, 2012 by PSI Freeze

[Octarine]

Wh- no! I'm only, like,five minutes a goddamn hour late!

...crap. Whatever, I had this written out anyway:

The Legend of Zelda.

There's no particularly deep reasoning behind it; I just happen to enjoy collecting equipment to solve puzzles so I can get more equipment to solve more puzzles to get more equipment, and the Zelda series has typically been able to deliver that kind of OCD-testing goodness in a high-quality package with enough unique gimmicks and art styles to keep it from getting stale (at least to me). The characters are usually charming and while the stories are usually pretty simple, the tantalizingly haphazard timeline is always fun to contemplate. And, er, it probably doesn't hurt that the Game Boy Zelda titles were some of the first video games I ever owned, either.

A close second goes to the Metroid series, for fairly similar reasons. There's just nothing that gets my heart racing quite like picking up a thing that makes my gun shoot a different colour.

...

And, uh, for Day 5, which is the day that it actually is:

I've never been a huge fan of multiplayer. I just tend to prefer being able to play games at my own (read: slooooow) pace without having to make time commitments. That said, there is one game that I sunk a totally unreasonable number of hours into playing online back in the day:

StarCraft was a fantastic game on the basis of its single-player alone, but it was the multiplayer, or more accurately the devoted if not slightly deranged mapmaking fan community, that really brought the game to life with a constant influx of new content. Whether it was regular ol' matches (which I am and always have been awful at) or any of the zillions of pseudo-RPG or tower defense maps, StarCraft's multiplayer always seemed to have something new up its sleeve. Add on to that that it was easy to run reliably on pretty much any computer and you have a multiplayer experience that even a multiplayerphobe like me couldn't help but enjoy.

Edited January 20, 2012 by Octarine

[Serperior]

Going to parrot several people here and say Team Fortress 2. It's one of the few FPS games I find myself enjoying due to it's wide options in many regards. Each of the 9 classes are very varied in how they play, and each of the classes even have a high variation of styles they can use because of the wide array of weapons at their disposal. The classes as characters are pretty amusing at times as well when they make remarks at getting a kill, dominating someone or other events. It may seem like there's a lot to learn with it, but nearly all of the classes are very easy to pick up and play due to the game's easy to learn control scheme. The fact that it has constant updates, even to this day is also a big factor in why it holds up well, as it prevents the game from getting stale. Well, ignoring if it's several hat/misc. item/clone weapons only updates like it was for a while last year. The fact that even how things look can be customised with the various hats and other items in the game and fan made modifications is a rather nice touch as well, and makes each player distinct both in looks and in playstyle. Also it gets extra cool points for not trying to be super realistic like a lot of FPS games do, in regards to art style, weapon ideas and much more. It feels nice to see a game like this that doesn't take itself super seriously. Even if the community does.

[Neon]

TEAM FORTRESS 2

Simply put, it is the multiplayer FPS to play. From the amazing characters, the fantastically unique artstyle, the constant almost weekly updates, to the brilliant community. TF2 is a complete dream. I've been playing since release and yet I'm still coming back for more. Like I said, the frequent updates are able to make the game feel fresh even now. I also adore the extensive crafting system where you can craft seperate weapons, hats, and armor which takes customisation to an all new high.

Team Fortress 2 is for any gamer. It's free, fun, easy to play, and will have you not moving from your computer for a long time.

Edited January 20, 2012 by Neon

[Starman Swift]

Everyone is picking this game. Everyone.

This is one of the only games that I’m still playing years after I first got it. Why? Mainly because this game has added more content to itself than any other game I have seen, barring some of the MMO genre’s games. When I first played this game, there were maybe nine or so weapons to pick besides the normal stock weapons. Now there’s more like a hundred weapons, not to mention all the new maps, modes of play, and of course, hats. The only other FPS game I can think of that seems to come close to adding so much free content is Killing Floor, and even that doesn’t update as often as TF2. The content keeps the game fresh, and it keeps me playing even after all these years.

[Senator NinjaShark]

Day Numbero Five - Ninja's Gloriously phenominal, "Kami is forever alone by Comparsion", Favourite Multiplayer Game(s) ever

yeah, uhm....yeah

anyway, I try to go more into detail as to why I love TF2, first and foremost: it's about one of the Most Fun FPS I played. Each class has their own Unique playstyle wich makes a unique expirience per class (Soldier/Pyro/Heavy/Engie player here), wich is something I always appreciate in Multiplayer games, and the constant Updates, wich add new Weapons and such, thus adding more to the replay Value to me.

Furthermore, I'm a huge Fag when it comes to customising Your character and change their Look, wich is also why I Love the Hats/Misc items (well, aside of some Multi class Hats/Misc)

Lastly, the Characters themselve, Everyone of them has their own Likeable quirk wich makes them Great, from the Brilliantly Insane Soldier, to the Giant Eloquent (in his Native tongue) Heavy to the Black Scottish Cyclops the Demoman.

now, as I've said, this Series is about the Most Fun Party/Fighter game out there to me. I just Love the sight of Mario going toe on toe with the Likes of Kirby, Pikachu and so On. it's a sight I'll never get enough of.

The gameplay is Fun and to me never really Gets Old, the Music is Awesome, the Stages themselve are all wonderfully designed, and the amount of History referenced in this Series always mesmerises Me.

and of course, who could forget my all time favourite Commercial

Edited January 20, 2012 by Mr. NinjaShark

[Danj86]

Hmm, that's a lot of Team Fortress 2!? I've never played it though...

Favourite Multiplayer:

But for me it is a pretty easy choice to make and oddly enough, it's also an FPS. Let me take you back in time...

007 Goldeneye: N64

If by favourite I mean the one game that I had the most fun playing with others, then yes. It has to be Goldeneye, with Perfect Dark coming a close second.

I had so many laughs playing with friends and family on this gem. Getting the drop on an unsuspecting opponent either by sneaking up from behind or poping out of an air duct and blasting away, only for moments later to discover that they where targeting someone else who is now aware of you and punishes you for it.

While my strategy tended to be less sophisticated...to put it simply, it was known as "Charge!" unless I was suffering great damage, then it changes to "Run!!"

There is something about playing with people IRL that you don't get from online...it could be the warm atmosphere, there's no need to worry about a sore loser shouting angry abuse through a headset for no reason. Plus we all now each other so well, that we understand each others sence of humour and will often perform as commentator to the character your playing as, like screaming when being chased, or going "AAHH..." when killed. We'd often make each other laugh through this act of insanity, and it was always fun.

[Emmett L. Brown]

Fifth: Favourite multiplayer?

I'm at a handicap on this one, since I don't play multiplayer games. So I'll just go back down memory lane and pick the only game I've played multiplayer for any length of time.

STARCRAFT

LAN parties were all the rage when I was a pimply-faced teen, and playing Starcraft with my buddies was the most fun of all - mainly because I got my ass handed to me in Counterstrike and Red Alert consistently. But in Starcraft I could strategise with the best of them...well, after laying down a NO ZERG RUSH rule, meaning we weren't allowed to attack for the first eight minutes, so Allan (not his real name) couldn't win with the same cheap strategy every time.

I still remember the glorious day I crushed my cousin with the dragoon army I'd been building up on the opposite side of the map from my base while he thought he was crippling my formidable defences. The expression on his face when he destroyed my command centre at the same time as I completely overran his base was priceless. When I turned my army around and destroyed his invasion forced from behind was even better.

[Lady Soniko]

Day 5: Best Multiplayer

Nintendo's Mario Kart Series!

What isn't there to love about the Mario Kart Franchise? out of all the games i've ever played with friends & family, Mario Kart is a high runner in terms of fun and competitive challenge.

Personally the only 2 i'll ever replay again and again with friends are...

this bad boy, not only did Nintendo nail the CPU A.I but the item selection was balanced and wasn't a total buzzkill like the recent titles today, the time when the blue shell didn't have wings, but was an overpowered homing shell that you had no idea actually targeted first place and you discarded it as the useless item. The times when Snowmen were filed with explosives that sent you flying into the air on impact, the time when you raced along a highway full of dangerous traffic switching lanes constantly, before finally racing amongst the stars on a road made of rainbow... Mario Kart is just a memory, a bloody good memory at that, its one of those games where you can pick up and play again and again and never, never get tired of playing.

the multiplayer was split into 2, Grand Prix and Battle...

now if you remember Battle like i do then the first stage you probably think of is coloured tower level where there was 2 levels to the stage, and strategically placed bridges going from one tower to another... this level was FUN you start out with 3 balloons, indicating 3 lives, thrown into an arena with other players, and are set to hunt each other down and pop all of those balloons, either chase your targets down with shells, or set up traps with upside-down item boxes or banana peels, the beauty of Mario Kart is probably the characters and level design as well as iconic items, whatever your reasons you can't get enough of Mario Kart 64...

however my personal favourite in the series is...

Double Dash

Why? its twice as fun as 64 imo, adding an extra player to each kart, new innovative tracks, and adding new "Special Moves" for each character its just madness i couldn't get enough of the game with a friend, as in multiplayer you can either Race against eachother OR you can team up, as one person drives, the other lobs items and gains the ability to punch side to side to knock other racers into obstructions or off the course, and of course battle mode returns, probably one of the best games i own on the Gamecube to date.

and for shits and giggles

Edited January 20, 2012 by Freckles

[null]

Day 5 - Favorite Multiplayer Game/Component

Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Nintendo Wii - 2008

Growing up as an only child and being an anti-social loser until my final years in high school, I have not had the chance to play multiplayer in many games. That said, during the rare occasions that I have played with other people, the Smash Bros. games have always made up for lost time. Any characters allowed, all items on very high, any stage allowed; That's how real men play it. I picked Brawl specifically because there's no way I can go back to playing Melee; it's too fucking fast for my ripe old age of 18 and I don't have the lightning-reflexes of an 10-year old anymore. Smash 64 is still fun though, solely because of how broken Ness' aerial Down-A was in that game.

Even when I wasn't playing with anyone else, I loved the Smash Bros. games for their encyclopedic information on Nintendo's history via the trophies. I felt like I was the only one among my peers who cared about it, but I feel like it's made me more open-minded about games I'm willing to play, and I'm thankful for that.

Runner-Ups:

Mario Kart - The whole series, because I just can't pick one

Halo: Combat Evolved - Good times playing this on LAN during Electronics class and trying to be stealthy about it. Shits and giggles were had every time someone yelled "OH MAN, NIDA (Our workstation) IS SO FUN YOU GUYS"

Edited January 20, 2012 by Ricky

[Sean]

Day 5: Favorite multiplayer video game

Maybe I shouldn't talk because a. I am too alone to play multividya, and b. I only play on one server, but Minecraft has proven to be one of the most memorable video games ever based on my time spent with Cody, Trav, and the others in the game. Cody bought me the game last year as a surprise present and I've been hooked since. We play on a co-op survival server, which allows for some pretty crazy shenanigans such as running away from Endermen and showing off our crazy creations. And when the admins switch us to creative mode every once in a while, that's when things take a turn for the insane. On this server alone I've seen people make some incredible things such as a lava-based house, secret underwater passageways off the beaten path, a kick-ass Christmas tree with a Starman on top, and a giant statue of Cody's FIG character who takes a piss whenever you flip a switch inside.

Minecraft is awesome, but playing it with others is much more fun. When you're on a server in which everyone is familiar with everyone, you develop wonderful bonds and lots of memories to share even when offline. When you're cooperating in building something or trekking through caverns and abandoned mines, you really do feel like a team. That's my favorite part about Minecraft that you can't experience in single-player mode: that sense of community. Of course, there are plenty of PVP servers out there but I can't exactly see myself getting into them unless I didn't know the other players personally. I take breaks every once in a while, but this is one game I can't see myself putting down entirely.

[Kamicciolo]

Day #5 - Kami's Absolutely Awe-Inspiring "Ten Times More Friends than Ninjashark to play with" Most Favourite Multiplayer game!

My favourite Multiplayer game would have to be Crash Team Racing.

Yes I know that technically it's a Mario Kart rip-off, but when I was younger this was the game I particularly remember for multiplayer (well this and Smash Bros., but that came later and stuff :V). I still remember how it used to go, Me as Crash, my little bro as Coco, my dad as Tiny, and his friend as ...that one escapes me..., and just playing for ages. We used to mix between the cup races and the battle mode, and back then they actually did feel kinda like intense competitions between us all (and as much as I dislike to admit, my younger bro tended to be the victor more often than not when we all played >_>).

My honourable mentions would have to be Sonic Shuffle (me and my bro loved those mini games~), most of the PS1 and PS2 Dragonball Z games (up until the Budokai Tenkaichi games at least, since I hate those), the Smash Bros. series, and as most people have already said, Team Fortress 2. Also...

hilarious writing in the responses ("SCOTLAND IS NOT A REAL COUNTRY! YOU'RE AN ENGLISMAN IN A DRESS!")

That line is neither hilarious or witty. It is simply very racist material that is very untrue. >:V

Edited January 20, 2012 by Kamicciolo

[Neon]

That line is neither hilarious or witty. It is simply very racist material that is very untrue. >:V

Stop being such a crybaby.

KAMICCIOLO IS BABY!

[Danj86]

Stop being such a crybaby.

KAMICCIOLO IS BABY!

And people wonder why Scotland doesn't want to be a part of Great Britain anymore...

[Neon]

And people wonder why Scotland doesn't want to be a part of Great Britain anymore...

... because I referenced Team Fortress 2?

[Sean]

Cut it out, and get back on topic.

[Carbo]

I had already prepared to answer this question with TF2 days back.

Then something happened.

TF2 may have the undeniable aesthetic catharsis with far more coherency. But after merely a couple of days of playing Tribes Ascend I've never had so much dumb fun with an FPS in forever.

Tribes is commonly known as being perhaps the fastest FPS game. With Tribes Ascend this is shown pretty clearly. This game is only in it's beta phase with Team Deathmatch, Capture The Flag and it's special game play mode Rabbit as playable modes, and there are no Ranking Servers as such, but basically it all boils down to having to go fast. That doesn't prevent the game from bringing back so much of that nostalgic deathmatch appeal from games of yore where chasing each other around like headless chickens was the name of the game and strategy was for PUSSIES.

Of course it's actually hard to hit anything but fuck that doesn't matter.

You gotta go fast.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5vt-_cm1Qs

We Shazbot now.