30 Days of Video Games

[\gunther]

My favorite video game is none other than this little SNES launch title:

To explain why I like this so much, we need to go back in time a bit. When I was a young boy, my parents didn't exactly spoil me with video games (not including a few edutainment games on dad's PC). Every chance I got to play a game at someone else's home was savored, and I longed for the day when I'd have an actual console to call my own. Sometime around 1997, my cousin got a PlayStation, and because of this, his old SNES wasn't seeing much use. So, rather than letting it further rot away, he decided to give his SNES to me and my brother. Included with the SNES were games like Paperboy 2, John Madden, an infuriating Scooby Doo game, and one or two other titles. However, the one that stood out more than the others was Super Mario World.

It took me a looooong time before I was good enough to make it past the first few worlds, but I was simply enraptured with this game. The colors, the music, the power-ups, the simple to grasp story, the creative and sometimes scary enemies (I seriously think that Chargin Chucks are the reason I don't really like sports)... this wasn't just a video game; To my little schoolboy brain, this was an adventure like no other. This was a long journey on an exotic, dangerous island to free your woman from the grasp of your lifelong rival.

I still play this game frequently and it's one of the few games that I've memorized 100%. Is Super Mario World the pinacle of video game? Is it absolutely perfect? No, it probably isn't even what I'd call the best Mario game. However, this will always be the most cherished game I have played. No other gaming experience can compare to that feeling of euphoria I get hovering high in the sky as Cape Mario, or that warm feeling I get when I save the Princess and watch the credits roll. Super Mario World, to me, is just pure joy.

RUNNER UPS: Super Mario Bros. 3 (probably my 2nd favorite game of all time), Mega Man X, Persona 4, Sonic 3 and Knuckles, Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen, Kirby and the Amazing Mirror.

[Covskin]

Super Mario Bros. 3!

This was probably the game I spent more time with on my NES than anything else, and I completed both Zeldas. SMB3 is packed chocka-block of hidden items, level gimmicks and just tons of levels. For a NES game, the size of this game is staggering.

SMB3 gave us the map-level structure that the SNES games would follow, allowing for a non-linear experience. Warp Whistles replaced Warp Pipes, but you had to work for them. And at the heart of it all is that classic Mario gameplay. A true trailblazer.

[mcsleepy]

Favorite game - Super Smash Brothers Brawl

Art by Abysswolf

Brawl is a game I can play constantly and not get bored with at all for weeks and weeks. Though it's weird, there is plenty of stuff I can say that would make this a weird pick, but I don't care. I have had more fun with Brawl than I habe had with any other game. The character roster has some weird choices in my opinion, but I enjoy or respect most of the choices made for the cast. Even though the gameplay removed a bunch of features and techniques that made Melee great, it's still fun to play. The single player adventure mode is great too. A bunch of great Nintendo characters and Snake and Sonic team up and go on a side scrolling beat'em up adventure with Kirby-esque gameplay and a bunch of fancy CG cutscenes? Hell yes. Whenever I come home for break I play through it with my brother and have a blast.

Of course the real meat of the game is the multiplayer battles. A bunch of nintendo characters beating each other up is like my fanboy dream. However many of my friends don't play it that often and tournaments cost money, and I also tend to lose pretty quick, and they tend to be pretty far away, so the trips aren't really worth it. That's where the online comes in. Admittedly, it's pretty terrible online, but just the fact that I can play this game with plenty of other people with out having to deal with travel expenses like I would have to otherwise makes me like this game more than Melee. If this game didn't have online, I'd probably be talking about Melee right now.

I am basically in love with series. Hopefully SSB4 will be even better.

[Rawpowered]

I'd like to see another story-driven 3D Pokémon game again. Colosseum and Gale of Darkness were perfect!

Totally agree man, though XD would of been so much better if it had alot more new areas. As much as I like seeing Orre change 5 years after Colosseum, I just wanted to see more, not re-visit the same areas as before

[Jeffhog]

Totally agree man, though XD would of been so much better if it had alot more new areas. As much as I like seeing Orre change 5 years after Colosseum, I just wanted to see more, not re-visit the same areas as before

Orre was nice to see it twice, but we've already moved on two generations since then anyways.

Though I'm guessing that if they are going to make one in the future, it will be on the Wii U.

...*suddenly imagines a 3DS completely 3D Pokémon game*

ALL OF MY MONEY ;A;

[Rawpowered]

Though I'm guessing that if they are going to make one in the future, it will be on the Wii U.

I would love a new 3D Pokemon game, but nothing like Battle Revolution. That was utter pants

[gato]

Day 2: (Favourite video game)

It's really hard to choose since I tend to switch favourite games in a monthly basis, and TBH I never really invested a lot of time in a game nor I have enough skills at them to be considered anything beyond casual,..

Except for a select few that provided me with years worth of entertainment (I still suck at them though).

And if I have to go with any of them I would probably go with this little classic:

This is actually another game that I got introduced thanks to my big bro, but this one turned out in MY obsession for many years. (my brother got tired of it after the campaign)

These little jewel (always ranking first or really high in the lists of "Best RTS of all time") puts you in the role of a commander of the Terran Confederacy, who is ordered to deal with a swarm of alien locusts only known as Zerg, while at the same time another race who call themselves Protoss are pretty much incinerating any planet who might be infected by the other alien swarm. The story sounds simple enough at first but then as you progress you realize the intergalactic mess you and Jim Raynor (who is pretty much the series protagonist) got themselves into.

Of course, the campaign doesn't only put you in the head of this nameless commander, you also take the role of a Zerg Cerebrate with the mission of raising the next leader of the swarm and a Protoss executor tasked with the defense of your home planet, as well as the hunt of a renegade executor who apparently joined forces with the treacherous Dark Templar caste.

As for the gameplay, it's freaking brilliant, an easy to learn yet (freaking) difficult to master system that pretty much revolutionized the whole genre, and an almost perfect balance (that Blizzard spent years trying to achieve with patches and an expansion) between all the races grants you that you are going to have fun playing the game no matter what side you chose, each race has an advantage and a con, there is no useless unit, even the lowly 50 mineral footmen can level entire bases if you handle him well, between this and the (at that time) great matchmaking system (Blizzard's very own) Battle.net, Starcraft managed to remain as one of the most popular games in the genre (and PC gaming in general).

Considering the time of release the presentation was pretty impressive, most of the graphics were simple sprites but were detailed enough, maybe the best thing about the graphics were the unique and animated unit portraits that were displayed in the lower part of the HUD, you could really see what were you controlling and it certainly gave them some form of "character" (instead of being just random grunts), speaking of character, one of the most hilarious things of this game (and many Blzizard titles) are the amusing dialogues your units can say if you select them enough times.

But the greatest quality when it comes to presentation is the soundtrack, each race has it's unique flavor:

- from the epic, adventurous and country(!?) Terrans. (I freaking love this track's ending)

- to the creepy, alien and powerful Zerg. (which really didn't impress me until their Brood War theme came out, it's the one I linked FYI)

- and the majestic, noble and mysterious Protoss.

All of them memorable in their own way. (I wish they were officially remixed though, that instrumentation and audio quality aged awfully )

As for replayability, as mentioned before, Battle.net was a huge success and managed to keep the game alive for many years (I believe it's still going), but there is more, with the game came a quite complex but easy to handle level editor (way easier than the ones in future games if my experience is anything to go by... I can't be bothered to make my own AIs), the community was also quite active last time I checked (2 years ago >_>) so there is always something new to play! And even if there isn't you can make your own adventures! (I know this is were I spent most of my years, I used to map/mod as many games as I could back then).

Starcraft is by far one of the greatest games I have the pleasure to experience with an interesting story (and ambiance), amazing soundtrack and funny, addicting and (above all things) balanced gameplay. Not to mention there is (or at least used to be) always something new to try both single and multiplayer... All in all the greatest time waster I've ever had!

Maybe my opinion would've been different if I have found out about Warhammer before (Shame that franchise never managed to "take off" where I live). But as I am nowadays I've learned to appreciate both franchises (and when it comes to "PC gameplay" Starcraft triumphs).

[Alex2Beta]

FAV GEAM TIEM!

Ouch..Thats a hard one, but I'll give it a shot.

Dino Crisis

This game, it is what made me cry like a coward.

When I would play something such as Silent Hill, I wouldn't be that scared. I'm honest, I would be scared,but not as much as this monster would scare me out of the room. The fact that it used simple dinosaurs that back then looked like paper origami might have not scared some...But I didn't care. A game that managed to use something thats not a zombie (okay, okay, I know that Silent Hill games have far more then those jackets or faceless nurses!) . The Dinos in the game gave the feel of a predator who you can't escape, they ran fast or flew, they knew you where a walking silver plater and didn't slowly crawl for you. Take the Velociraptor at first encounter. You where introduced to a quick enemy that you could not defend yourself against. Sure some other horror games did that to (find monster, run away since you can't hurt it)

But this ones quick!....I'm not giving enough reasons to convince, am I?

I liked the whole abandoned lab, where it was infested with Raptors, ready to chase you down (How I remember that one protective shield you had to unlock to the see myself behind it with a raptor at the opposite side trying to rage through it, I only laughed), and to me the puzzles weren't half bad.

the Music in it was also well suited for all kinds of moments, like the main hallways had this sense of danger while the coast was clear, only forcing you to run before something gets you, all cause of the soundtrack. Then when at the save room, you are greeted with a calm and mellow tune playing.

But then came a time in the game where the bastard T-Rex would just brighten your day of trying to investigate for a mad doctor who made this whole adventure possible. The raging T-Rex would appear at times here and there, but the best part would be when you finally get to show him what you got in the final boss (which will take place depending on what ending you chose).

A truly terrifying game to play.

[Lucky]

DAY #2 - FAVOURITE VIDEO GAME:

So... I had to think about this one for a long time and I'm still not 100% certain of my answer. Chances are if you were to ask the same question tomorrow I'd tell you something else, but I had to choose something and after narrowing it down to six titles I decided to go with this...

The Operative: No One Lives Forever

NOLF is one of those rare games that's just a total blast from start to finish, and that's the main reason I decided to go with it. It was released in 2000 and I've been playing it since not long after it came out, and even now I still play through it without finding a single thing to complain about.

The most important thing is of course the gameplay, and one thing NOLF doesn't lack is variation. You have an amazing arsenal of weapons to choose from and can quite easily go down the trigger-happy route if that's what you prefer, and that is awesome and all. But then you also have your additional super-spy gadgets (from hair-clips to robotic poodles) and there's so many missions to make your way through that it would be a shame not to experiment with them all. One of my favourite things about the game has always been just how much you actually have to play around with, and there's some cool vehicle segments thrown in along the way.

The AI is also some of the best I've ever came across in an FPS and it's challenging without being cheap.

And if the gameplay wasn't epic enough, it also has a great plot and well-acted, genuinely funny dialogue, not to mention an awesome soundtrack. I could say a lot more about it, but I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone who's never checked it out and it's one of those games that I'd recommend to anyone, just for the fact I can't see how they couldn't enjoy it. It's not often I'd use the word "perfect" to describe a game because there's usually something or other that could be improved on, but in this case there's really nothing I would want to change. I mean, a HD re-release or something of the sorts would be amazing, but not if it sacrificed a single bit of what made it so great to begin with.

Oh yeah, and Cate Archer is totally the hottest video game chick of all time.

And whilst I'm not going to ramble on about the other five on my list, I feel I should include them as honourable mentions at the very least: Shenmue, Banjo-Kazooie, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, NiGHTS into Dreams, and Descent.

[Random Rhyme]

My favorite game mainly because it has so many things that I never expected it to have. When Im playing a game where I fight a pile of shit I know Ive found the right game. I played it on and on and couldnt believe that a game like this could of been made. It even went as far as parodying other things as well.

To this day I await a proper sequel.

[Match]

My favorite video game:

(I promise the next one won't be a PS1 game)

Ape Escape is one of the first games I got for my brand new Playstation back in the day, because of my aforementioned demo disc. I made sure to get the right controller this time around. I got hooked almost instantly. I say "almost" because the monkeys scared me, but that made it all the more gratifying to shove those little bastards in a net. I remember having started kindergarten when I got it, and bringing it to show-and-tell like a little weirdo. If you're unfamiliar with Ape Escape, it's a platformer based around catching monkeys. Spike and his blue-haired friend Jake are visiting Spike's friend the Professor, having heard that he'd built a time machine. Upon arriving, the two are sucked into the time machine or something, because an evil monkey named Specter (who has a raised IQ from the Professor's peak-point helmet thing) and his legion of adorable primates who wear pants for some reason have hijacked it with the plan of changing history so that apes rule the earth. Jake gets brain-washed or something.

Spike, going through time from dinosaurs to the present, uses a variety of gadgets to capture the monkeys and send them to the present. Most important of these is a teleporting net thing. You progressively unlock new gadgets that help you navigate the crazy worlds, including Dexter's Island (THE GREATEST VIDEO GAME LEVEL OF AWL TIEM) in which you go inside of a dinosaur named Dexter and have crazy bowel adventures.

The game uses all the buttons on the Dualshock controller. I would explain it here, but it sounds more complicated than it is.

I love this game for a large number of reasons. It was my first real platformer, and is the standard by which I rate platformers to this day. The game's learning curve is very considerate, but still rather challenging. Its length really depends on the player, in that I can beat it in about two days. My first time took about two years.

This game's music is as catchy as...er...something really, really catchy. I can probably wait one hundred years, hear a million different songs, die, come back and still recite the first stage's theme. Doo-doo-doo doo doo, doo-doo-doo doo doo, dun dun-dun dundundun dun-dun dundundun.

What I think is the greatest thing about the game is the concept of strength and growth that is prevalent. To me, anyhow. When I started,I was running away from dinosaurs and generally anything bigger than me. The monkeys could climb into flying saucers and shoot at me! I basically got into a rhythm where I wouldn't try to take on anything that wasn't a monkey on foot. As time goes on, I get more gadgets and get better with them. I occasionally bump heads with my buddy Jake, who is brain-washed by Specter. We're evenly matched throughout these encounters. He even has the same gadgets as me! Well, when the game is reaching its climax, you fight a giant robotic knight with a scary giant-robot-knight sword. This battle felt like it was getting across the message that I've gotten fucking unstoppable. After I finally rescue the Professor and his assistant, I fight Jake one last time. This time, however, he's driving a car. Why don't I get a car? Oh shit, he's gonna mop the floor with me. I KICKED DAT BITCH'S ASS. Seriously, if the knight wasn't an indication that you've gotten stronger at this point, the fact that you've finally surpassed Jake should be a big indicator. After that, it's time to fight Specter...but I've gushed enough.

This game is seriously amazing, and I probably wouldn't like games as much as I do if I hadn't played it. Even though the sequels were cool, no other game will ever be better than Ape Escape in my eyes. Does Skyrim have fly-swatters that you can wave around to climb a mountaintop and surprise some naked monkeys in a sauna? ...Really? Oh. Well, still.

[T-Min]

Day 2: Your Favorite Game

Zelda is a franchise I have utterly loved since I played The Wind Waker in 2003. In fact, before last month, if you had asked me what my favorite game was, I would have probably told you it was Ocarina of Time. But that game has finally been topped. Skyward Sword represents a massive evolution of the Zelda formula in absolutely every respect. The motion controls are brilliantly well done, especially the swordplay, which makes combat more engaging than it has ever been in a Zelda game. The dungeon designs are some of the most creative and fun in the entire series. The overworld areas are designed just as brilliantly. While they are smaller and more linear than those of most modern Zelda games, in return they are more densely packed with things to do. There is a crapload of gameplay variety. The story is easily the most engaging and even touching in the series. Heck, I even found the fetch quests in this game fun!

In all seriousness, I can’t think of any legitimate gripe I have with this game. Oh, sure, I have my nitpicks, but in comparison to how much I loved the overall experience, these were inconsequential. Skyward Sword is a nigh-on perfect game. It’s the best Zelda game, possibly one of the greatest games ever made in general, and my personal favorite game of all time. I love you too, Nintendo.

Edited January 17, 2012 by The T-Man

[The Kid]

Day 2: Favorite Video Game

There were so many games that I could call 'my favorite' but if I had to choose one it would be...

Sonic Adventure 2: Battle.

I have so much love for this game. I didn't even know what Sonic was when I picked it up, but soon he grew on me. Everything from my first run through City Escape (I tried to hit all the cars for some reason), the first fight with Shadow, that fight with King Boom Boo, all of it left me wanting more. I fell in love with the characters, the story, Robotnik, everything. After that I hunted down all the Sonic games I could find. I loved the nonstop action and the sense of speed. It was completely different from the platformers I had played in the past.

I still remember not being able to beat The Last Story by myself when I picked it up. I had to get a friend to help me.

I'm so glad I rented that game on a whim so many years ago. It was endless fun.

Edited January 17, 2012 by Penguin_Soldier

[PeanutButterDimond]

Day Two - Favourite Video Game

This game is not only the game that got me to love games with open spaces, it's the game that got me to love games period.

Words can not express my love for this game. The gameplay, characters, story, locations, music, everything. This is a fantastic game in idea and execution and it's the reason why I love Suckerpunch and it's why I'll blindly buy any game of theirs because all their games are well made and have a lot of effort put in to them. This was my first introduction to Sucker Punch and it's a damn good one.

This game has a fantastic story that's very much held up over time and only gets better every time I replay it. But the story would certainly not be as good without the fantastic characters. Namely the trio if thieves, Carmelita and the Klaww Gang. Sly, Bentley and Murray are all fantastic characters and they not only have a lot of chemistry but a lot of unique depth. Sly is charismatic, sneaky, witty and cunning. Bentley is intelligent, good with technology and hacking, and is an expert with darts and bombs. Murray is tough, over the top, ever eating and an excellent driver.

That being said, this isn't all about them. There's a lot of dimension that make them so much more than a gang of lovable thieves. Sly has a dark past of having his father killed by the Fiendish Five at a young age and he's determined to live up to his family name. Murray is the one with the biggest heart, he's a very caring person despite his brute strength, he's a very tough fighter but due to events later on he gets disheartened by it. Bentley is very worried to get in the field at first but due to events he gradually gets more open and even takes control at one point. The voice cast represents this perfectly and the characters really do feel like people and friends. I think that's one of Sucker Punch's and this game's biggest strengths. The characters do develop and it's nice to see how they do so. It works well and sets up to be continued well in the third.

The graphics are fantastic. It's very atmospheric from France to graveyards with blimps overhead. The cutscenes are very well done with a 2D cartooney style that make for some pretty funny moments. The game's style lets out a lot of personality and is able tom represent a wide range of tones and emotion from fear to heappieness to sorrow and so on. It only helps to really let the characters shine and present the story well. It's fun to go around all the unique enviornments as well.

The gameplay is phenomenal. Each levels had is open and your missions are represented with icons of the character you need for that mission. There are clue bottles which are fun to collect and give the combination to a safe which gets you new moves. There are also many enemies which fit each environment. A lot of the stages have unique things in them such as bears, tanks, trains, blimps and so on. Even Carmelita is in some of the levels roaming around.

The game has a well implemented and simple style of stealth by slowing moving behind an enemy and holding "the circle button"(As it is called many times in the game to the point where the actors have joked about it. "Jump and press the circle button.".) to walk on ledges, land on spires, climb or slide on pipes and vines and hang to wall hooks. There are also recon missions where you use the binnocucom to take pictures that will help you plan for the big heist at the end of each level.

Murray and Bentley have many of the same moves yet are a bit different. They are harder to do stealth with and can't climb on things. Bentley does use sleep darts that have a very good rang and he can place or throw bombs. Murray may not be as stealthy or be as good at jumping but he's very tough and can thunder flop on enemies from above with his righteous justice. This isn't even inclusing the many abilities for the three of them that can be bought at Thief Net with the coins you collect.

There's also the villains which are great. Some are threatening, some are funny, some are sympathetic and some are complete monsters. It's really fun to fight them and they're fun characters to watch. Some of the boss fights are really clever and non of them are repeats of other boss fights in the game.

The music is perfection. I am so glad that they got not only the voice actors but the composer back for Thieves in time. The series music is wonderful and this game's music is no exception. It can be funny, it can be dark, it can be silly, it can be mysterious, it can be anything while still remaining familiar in style.

But I've gone on enough about this game. It's my favourite for a reason and there are many reasons.

Edited January 17, 2012 by PeanutButterDimond

[Sapphire]

It's kind of hard to choose, because for "favorite", you could go with the overallbest game you've played, the game you've played the most, or game that just means the most to you. And I have different games for each one of these. I could choose Portal 2, LittleBigPlanet, or Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. I'll go with the last, however, since it just seems right. And since I'm lazy, I'll just say why it means so much to be by copy-pasting some of my Sonic statue-winning blog from IGN.

Falling from the sky with a piece of conveniently skateboard-shaped helicopter metal in hand, I land on the oh-so-familiar street of City Escape. Doing this memorized routine today, I am immediately taken back to my 7 year-old self, who performed this ritual of the level City Escape from Sonic Adventure 2 nearly every day. Though mentioning this game exhumes many, smaller memories rather than pinpointing just one, together they create a massive wave of nostalgia that cannot go ignored.

The feelings I got back then of adrenaline when speeding around loops, accomplishment when grinding down rails without falling, and joy when finding an impossible emerald shard are things I still feel in the exact same way when replaying Sonic Adventure 2 today.

I raised as many Chao as the game would allow, all with embarassing names like “Emerald”, “Ring”, and of course ”Sonic". I cried the day my brother cruelly threatened to "goodbye" some of my precious Chao, so I could never see them again.

I was thrilled with the addition of new characters, and I constantly played as Rouge, just for the fact that I could finally play as a girl character than wasn’t as lame to me as Amy.

After playing through the game many times, my brother and I would randomly quote the cutscenes, reciting banter between the characters. The amount of times I called him a “Faker” is ridiculous.

I became best friends with a kid in my school just because this of this game. We went over each other’s houses many times to compare Chao and race against each other in 2-player mode.

I even remember going through the sound test soundtrack songs, playing them as loud as I could on the TV, and running throughout the house, occasionally giving my mom a bold finger-wag.

This isn't just ONE memory, but these many small memories of Sonic Adventure 2 mean more to me than any other video game experience I can possibly imagine.

Edited January 17, 2012 by Sapphire

[Jimbo]

Day 2: Favorite Video Game:

God damn. This is a really difficult one to choose, as there's about 10 or so that I can name to place here.

Sonic 2 was the first Sonic game I ever played (The game that originally came with my Genesis when we purchased it), and the game that started my following of the series. It was pretty much the only game I played on the system until I picked up Sonic 3 in the bargain bin for 99 cents (in 1999 or so). Sonic 2 was the game that stuck with me, from the beginning to now, and never will I be able to forget the countless memories it gave me.

Honorable mentions go out to Toejam and Earl, Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Pokemon (H)G/(S)S/C.

[Rinzler]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_Galaxy

This is definitely my favorite game ever. The level design is amazing of course, but it's the other things in it that make me love it. The story, while still a bit simple actually tries to have an "epic" feel especially with Rosalina's tear-jerking story. Couple all that with an amazing soundtrack, art style, and longevity, and you have an instant classic in my book.

Edited January 17, 2012 by Metalriders

[Autosaver]

Favorite Video Game of All Time?

Mario Galaxy 2

I used to always hate Mario when I was still in elementary school. I mean, come on. Sonic is the real winner. Right? Well, when I got older I started to become interested in Mario. Super Mario 64 DS was a blast so Mario Galaxy 2 had to be a phenomenal title. I was craving for a Mario title so I bought it. The game surpassed everything I expected it to be. This was THE game. It had perfect gameplay, listenable orchestrated tracks, and amazing graphics for the Wii. There is a reason why this game has countless 10/10s from various critics. If you haven't tried out this game, you're missing out on a masterpiece.

[Phantomime]

Oh dear! My favorite? I daresay that's impossible for me. So I'll just give one of my absolute favorites, and maybe put in some others in coming days depending on what topics.

Oh man. Where to begin. Okay, a little history. One day about a year ago I was near a Gamestop and was like alright imma get a GC game. And I saw this in there and was all like "Whoa hey I remember playing a demo for this a long time ago! Also it's part of that Legend of Zelda series everyone says is so good." So I stood in like a half-hour long line, and got home and shoved it into my Wii. AND THEN THE MAGIC HAPPENED.

Okay so it starts out pretty simple, you're this kid on an island wearing a lobster shirt for some reason, and your sister gets up and kidnapped by a bird because it thinks she's a pirate. (long story) And suddenly you're off, setting out on a massive sea full of stuff just waiting to be explored.

I love the story in this game. It's very lighthearted at the beginning, and even when it gets all serious, it still maintains a similar, yet darker charm. The characters are very likeable, (except Tingle and Beedle, jerks) and even manages to portray the villain in a somewhat sympathetic-but-still-a-really-bad-guy sort of way. When you find

Old Hyrule

[Mandyrobin]

This one was a tough one, but I think I finally settled on one.

Known as Dewprism in Japan, Threads of Fate is a game in which you control one of two characters: a mysterious boy named Rue who can transform into animals he has killed, or a bratty princess named Mint who wants to take over her kingdom and eventually the world. Both character are looking for a mysterious [relic], a powerful magical item that is rumoured to have incredible power. Rue's story is more serious, while Mint's has a lot of humour.

It is different that what you would normally expect from a Square RPG. All battles are done in an open environment instead of random, turn-based battles from game series like Final Fantasy. In that way, it is much like the real-time RPGs that are so common today. The locales you visit are the same in both stories except two, which are split between the two stories and are exclusive to the story in which it appears. Like most RPGs, you character has a HP bar and a MP bar. Your max HP increases the more you get hurt (makes you more resilient I suppose) and your max MP increases the more you use your magic. There are also Attack and Defense stats, which can be increased by buying upgrades at a shop in the hub town.

It may not seen like it at first, but this game is quite fun, simple and addicting to the end. Once both stories are done, you can reload the save file for a "New Game Plus" where you keep all your stats from the old playthroughs. Nothing new happens, but you can play through it faster and increase your stats if you wish. Those who have a PS3 or PSP can download the game from the PlayStation Store.

I posted the intro video below. The guy who made this video also did a "Let's Play" series of videos for this game that you can check out.

[Indigo Rush]

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles

Whether it's the original cartridge, digital download, in a compilation on a disc or being emulated, this is without a doubt my favorite game.

1,000 apologies for being a total Sonic fanderp, but this game is the pinnacle of the series. This is Sonic at his peak, the most ambitious of it's time, the most addicting, the most epic, and, of course, the most fun game I've played in my life.

Sorry Mario, Pokemon, Tetris or Zelda, but Sonic is my number one guy, and to me, nothing tops this one. Please, allow me to count the reasons I love this game, and why it's my favorite:

Gameplay and Level Design:

This is the tried and true formula improved upon with multiple characters and huger levels. This game is massive, and it the largest epic you'll ever find on cartridge. Sonic and friends control like a dream, and and it's truly a game that's easy to pick up, but difficult to master.

Characters:

I can play as Knuckles? No way! Not only that, but Tails can fly! This opens the door for some incredible variety between each character, all the while keeping a solid Sonic feel to each of them. They don't put you through completely different styles of gameplay like every console game that's appeared since Sonic Adventure (up 'til Sonic 4), they give you straight up Sonic while changing it up each time. This is where the strength of this game's replayability lies, and I believe is where the series should find it's strength in the future.

Replayability:

Like I said, this game is timeless. It stood the test of time for almost a decade, showing no signs of slowing. You can go back for either a quick run to complete the story, 2 or 3 more runs as Sonic alone, Sonic with Tails, Tails alone or Knuckles alone, and then again to find all of the Chaos (and Super) Emeralds. The level design is amazing with plenty of things to find. Heck, I'm still finding new things I've never seen before, and this is the first Sonic game I've ever played! This game is massive, and has a ton of content to offer, despite having a 2 hour average gameplay time. This goes to show that long games don't immediately mean good.

Bonus Levels:

This includes the Special Stages as well. I love them. They provide a neat distraction and give you some bonus power-ups to help you on your way. The Special Stages themselves are also addicting, nearly to the level of Tetris. There's a reason they made "Blue Spheres" it's own game.

Levels and their Music:

Memorable, incredible, unforgettable and iconic. Everyone knows Ice Cap Zone, and I hardly know a Sonic fan that can bring themselves to hate Hydrocity or Sky Sanctuary. Not only are the vistas engaging, but the music is what helps make this game! I even have the invincibility jingle as my ring-tone.

Story:

As minimal as it is in comparison to more modern Sonic games, it still has plenty to offer. With 2 main stories (Sonic's/Tails' and Knuckles') each with a host of short cutscenes in-level to compliment the manuals, there was enough there for a coherent and contextual epic that saw Sonic and Tails battle Dr. Eggman in his attempt to revive the Death Egg, all the while dealing with the native dread-locked tool, Knuckles, only to find out that he was a good guy after all! Of all the Genesis Sonic games out there, this one was the most memorable and effective, seeing even more expansion in Sonic Adventure.

Multiplayer:

Co-op or Competition, your friends are never left out of the fun with this game! Tails is even there to help lift Sonic to greater heights to find some out-of-reach goodies, but that's only if you have a buddy to help you. While the racing mode isn't as solid as Sonic 2's, it provided unique levels that have some of the catchiest tunes in the game.

The Sonic Factor:

This may sound odd, but along with Sonic 1 and 2, 3 & Knuckles maintains that legendary "Sonic feel" that separates it from other games at it's time. There was a lot of speed, there was a lot of platforming, there was a lot of exploration and replayability, and there was a lot of Sonic. Fighting badniks, saving animals and collecting rings, all in one amazing package. It's great.

So yeah, I kinda like this game, guys. >______>'

Edited January 17, 2012 by Indigo Rush

[Silver*]

wantstoparticipate;

My favorite game would have to be Shadow the Hedgehog. The gameplay was truly spectacular in many ways. It follows the "rules" of Sonic; meaning the speedy platforming and stuff but with a hint of an alternate style done right. You can use vehicles to go long certain places and they actually add a fun twist to the game. Best part, except for that one level with the green fog, is that they were optional... the way it should be.

Speaking of weapons; they added fun to the game play as well. It's not just guns, but also sign posts, lances and torches as well. And they were actually a life saver when dealing with bosses such as the Egg Breaker, Black Doom, Heavy Dog, Blue Falcon and Egg Dealer. The Black Bull as well but the homing attack was more useful. Same with Diablon since you can bounce off Sonic and kill the machine. And when Shadow doesn't have a weapon.. I can also use his karate-style kick that is affective for breaking walls.

As for the chaos control/chaos spear... it was awesome a nice twist to the game as well seeing that if you are completing a normal mission, chaos control can help get you there faster. Chaos spear was awesome got defeating many enemies at once and breaking walls... and second more affective for the Egg Dealer and Devil Doom.

My favorite part, other than gameplay. First off.. the concept is original and unique. It wasn't just a typical save the world kind of game. You actually got to choose which route you want to go and who you want to help out/listen to. You can even mix and match your missions making it an awesome replay value. In short... you can do what you want and find the emeralds or you can be bad or be good. Also.. and again, you got to experiment with different weapons other than guns to fight your enemies.

The bosses have gotten better and more fun from Sonic Heroes. They had a challenge to them but it was fun to try to destroy them... mostly because you had 3 ways of getting them other than just spamming your homing attack. Devil Doom has gotten especially better from Metal Madness. You had many ways of defeating this guy (except for the guns). You could do a homing attack or you can do your chaos spear or chaos control. Also what made him challenging was that he had a small weak spot... thus using your skill and persision of the homing attack to try to defeat him.

Or and that ARK level... got me tense... one of the hardest levels on here. The whole damn place was falling apart so you had to stand on these floating floor boards.

Some nitpicks I have is that Sonic in this game was annoying. For some reason, his lines are more repetitive in most cutscenes with him IE: BRING IT ON!!111 TIME TO ROCK AND ROLL!!11. Also.. Shadow's constant rambling about his past got annoying after a while. Black Doom was very obnoxious. YOU TRAITOR!!111. Lastly, I had technical difficulties with the game at first where in say the Central Park or the Circus Park Zone... the music would stop playing and peaces of the ground were missing, thus sending me in to a long bottomless pit. Also, when the Eclipse Canon ray stroke the White House... that cutscene was stuck as well... but I got it fixed.

[Noir]

I think it would be a nice idea to change the title of this thread to show which day we're on, for the sake of making things simple and keep everyone on track. JUST SAIYAN.

Well. With that said, my favorite game. Now I often stress a difference between favorite and best and as it happens my favorite game is not the best game I have ever played. But most people seem to mean best when saying favorite, so I'm going to go ahead and talk about the best game I've ever played.

Which brings me to my next problem. Deciding what it is. If, however, I was held at gunpoint, I would have to answer with this:

I can just hear my other choices weeping as I type.

Where to start with Majora's Mask? Without meaning to sound like a pretentious faggot, it's more than a game; it's an experience. The way it pulls you into its world is unlike anything else. (Except one runner up) It sets an incredible standard for storytelling, on top of all of Zelda's strong points as they are, and together they make something not a bit short of perfect.

Majora's Mask was a complete mystery to me for a long time because I was not a Nintendo child so while I'd heard of Ocarina of Time, when I first learned of MM I assumed it was an oddball sequel quickly thrown together for shits and giggles (Not to say bad, but not something with much thought put into it - kind of like PH) Little did I know that when I bought it from the Virtual Console it would blow my mind, and only about a decade too late.

Going into it I felt like my expectations were holding up. I mean, the Skull Kid was a random character in OoT and now a main villain, the ocarina mechanic was old news, and I wasn't even playing as Link. Then the timer is introduced and the whole thing feels like a giant gimmicky experiment.

As I went on, I found that the last point was true. But it was a successful experiment.

The world feels almost uninspired, being nothing but a hub and generic level tropes to the four directions, not to mention having only four dungeons and relying so much on side quests. Yet it's that simplicity that brings your attention elsewhere. I wanted to get the most out of the game, so while the number of dungeons was lacking, I made up for it by completing side quests, collecting all the masks, observing the townsfolk and their changes over the days. And it was amazing.

Everything about the way the world changes is so expertly done. I cared deeply for each and every character, and for the only time in any game (except one other runner up) I wanted to beat it not because it's a game, but because I actually cared about these bits of data as if they were real people.

My initial expectations were fucked every which way by the time I was done. Either the game did the exact opposites or it did just what I thought it would be managed to be unbelievably good at it. For a game I thought would be nothing but a gimmicky, milked version of OoT, I really can't say enough good things about it. I absolutely love it.

And nothing, nothing, will ever top the ending. Specifically, Kafei and Anju. (Well... except another runner up)

-----------

So runners up! Because I couldn't possibly bear to leave them in the cold.

Metroid Prime - Dear lord this game. It's the one that rivals MM in its storytelling, and with damn good reason. The environments, the music, the lore, it's all just something else. I truly felt apart of the world, like I was behind Samus' visor myself. The gameplay is fabulous too, being an impressively well done switch from 2D to 3D that felt every single bit like Super Metroid as it possibly could. Which is great, because SM is great.

Half Life 2 - The odd thing to me about this choice is that I don't think it's quite as good as either of the two above, but for whatever reason I can play it countless times and love it no less each time than I did the moment I first touched it at a friend's house. Like how MM convinced me to care for Clock Town's citizens, Half Life 2 convinced me both to care about saving the human race and about defeating the Combine, because fuck the Combine. I do think Half Life had better gameplay, but it's not quite as fun, and I don't feel like the world pulls me in quite the way its sequel does.

Portal 2 - Like a true Valvefag, another Valve game on my list. The ability of the game to put a gigantic grin on my face in so many ways is just wonderful. Whether I'm finally realizing the solution to a tough puzzle, laughing at the dialogue or noticing amusing bits of scenery, I don't know a single moment I went with smiling like an idiot. The gameplay is a little irksome for being much more restricting than Portal's, but it's still immense fun in its own way, and the script is an enormous improvement from the first, which is a big feat itself. Also the soundtrack is probably one of the best. And it's got the one ending that can hold its own against MM's.

JESUS FUCK did I write a lot. It's like I'm really in school. But hey. It's for badges.

Oh and by the way, speaking purely favorites and disregarding quality, TF2 is easily filling that spot.

Edited January 17, 2012 by Noire

[Octarine]

Oh god, I'm on a terrible sleep schedule and I don't know what time zone we're supposed to be on but whatever. Let's say it's still Day 2.

By an uncomfortably small, hastily-decided margin, I'll go with these (well, Silver specifically, not that it matters) as my favourite games of all time, even though I'm probably never going to play them again. The incremental improvements the Pokémon series has made over the years have kind of left Gold and Silver in the dust, and even if that weren't true I'm not sure they'd even be in the running if I had to pick the best game I've ever played. I can't think of a game I've had more fun with than Silver, though, especially on those first few days after launch. I knew nothing ahead of time about the new monsters or the region, so I was constantly being surprised, learning what worked and what didn't by trial and error. I remember finding a Dunsparce in the Dark Cave by accident at the very beginning of the game and spending hours training it in the hopes that it would evolve into something cool... and still being happy when it didn't, because none of my friends had ever seen one before. Good times, man.

That's not to say that Gold and Silver weren't good games in their own right, because they absolutely were. They made significant improvements over their predecessors in almost every way: the graphics were considerably better, the plot was... well, not great, but there actually sort of was one, the mechanics were much deeper and more balanced, and it basically threw in the entire world from R/B/Y as a bonus, complete with older, cooler versions of most of that region's important characters. They're some of the most improved video game sequels ever, and they were the successors to games that I already loved.

But yeah, if I had a craving for Pokémon tomorrow I'd probably fire up Black, and if I was in the mood for some GBC nostalgia I'd probably go with a Zelda game, Dragon Warrior III or Wario Land 3. None of those have that special, sacred place in my heart, though.

[SonicHOG]

I know this is going to be cheap, but this game has to be one of my favorites:

This was the game I had been waiting for all last year and the wait paid off. Generations was basically SEGA's gift to Sonic fans, old and new, and what a delightful one it was. While the story in the game is light, the gameplay more than makes up for it. Sonic Generations, "nostalgia game" or not, took the best gameplay elements of Sonic's modern adventures and mixed them with the beloved Genesis gameplay. In my opinion, the blend was seamless. Classic Sonic controls very much like he did back in the day (a bit faster, though), while Modern plays like he did in Unleashed and Colors with even more fine-tuning. The levels really took me back, notably Chemical Plant (for reasons I stated with Sonic 2) and most of the stages City Escape onward.

Of course, I should note the wonderful score. The music throws a nod to nearly every Sonic game (except SEGASonic Arcade), even throwing nods to Sonic Jam and Chaotix. City Escape's Modern remix gave me a rush of nostalgia for the game that got me into the fandom in the first place (Sonic Adventure 2 (Battle)). Most of the other tracks are just as fantastic in my opinion, but "Escape from the City" holds a special place in my heart.

In a nutshell, Generations was not just the biggest celebration of the blue blur, but reassured the fans (myself included) that his future will be a bright one.

"Hey Sonic. Enjoy your future. It's going to be great!"