Pretty simple, list your favorite single player game, write why you like it, your most memorable moments/experiences, how much time you spent playing it etc... I'll choose the winner based on who has similar taste to mine and a good write-up.
1 entry per person, PC games only. Game doesn't have to be exclusively single player, you can for example pick SC but based on the single player campaign experience. Contest ends in 24 hours.
Take a shovel and decapitate someone. Then wack it around and onto the street. Once someone walks past and sees it, if they throw up, use the shovel to decapitate that person as well, and they vomit will be gushing out of the hole in their freshly severed neck.
The Sims...why cause Sims is hella fun and can do anything lol
from my expiriecnes from sims 2 and 3, i have had a lot of fun...it was funny to do random stuff and go get pregnant lol. i stopped playing because of Starcraft but i would always cherish the game forever
Half-Life, the game itself blew my mind but when I learned about mods It took it to a whole new level for me. From escaping from zombies as a failed reporter to trying to stay alive in a Die Hard type setting was just so awesome and kept me coming back to the game LONG after I had originally beat it.
I was 10 at the time and had NO idea what I was doing, or how to even do the missions, but I had the time of my life when I figured out that I could kill the policemen chasing me without my policemen killed metre going up by running on the electric train track and getting them to follow me and get electrocuted =D.
I would play that game every day just to do that repeatedly.. that and driving around the firetruck and shooting the water out was awesome.
Portal, Because it is so different from all the other games. The puzzles would leave me awake at night if I couldn't figure out how to them better or faster. It was also the only game that made me sad when I had to kill my weighted companion cube .
There was something about Half Life 2 that I don't think I'm ever going to experience in a single player game ever again.
The game designers in that game were men of genius. They constructed levels of complete perfection; every moment was as epic as it could possibly be. Let me give a few examples.
The moment you pick up the SMG is an example. You pick up the gun, turn down a passageway, an enemy rappels down from the ceiling for the first time in the game and some kickin' beatz play. It's such a simple effect, but it makes the game so good. It happens like that over and over again. Father Gregori gives you the shotgun, and the game makes sure you get a chance to use it right away. The courtyard battle in City 17, dear lord. The game builds up to it, starting with the speech when you first reach the courtyard, which at first is clean and untouched by bullet fire. You sneak inside the building, disable the suppression device, and, slowly, the sounds of battle outside reach your ears. By the time you get back out of the building, the ground is pitted and trenched, with RPGs and strider rounds going off everywhere.
The entire game is like this.
Well, no it isn't, actually. The action scenes are all like that. And that's another thing that Half Life 2 does so well -- it inserts puzzle/exploration scenes in between the action, which makes the action even MORE exciting when you get to it. I know that I'm grateful for the buggy level after Ravenholm . I wouldn't be able to handle more action after killing so many zombies.
The story is good, but any game company can hire a good writer! The graphics are good, but any game company can license a powerful engine! The sound is good, the dialogue, the net code, etc etc etc... but what makes this game special is the design. The pacing. The level of epic.
I don't know if there's ever going to be a full-length game that equals it.
Syberia (adventure game). It's one of the few games I would classify as art. The whole game is an experience. It's about a lawyer, Kate Walker, who is sent to this backwater village in France to get a contract signed which would get her company lots of money. However, she has to track down a lost heir to get his signature, and she has to travel across Europe to find him, stopping along the way at these hauntingly beautiful locations which have all seen better days. There is a real sense of melancholy which pervades the whole game.
Along the way, you just get attached to Kate, who is a douche at the beginning but becomes this wonderful, 3 dimensional, developed human being, and her robot, and the minor characters and even locations.
I skipped a week of school just to play this game. It's also the only game I know of where someone wrote a 10 page essay on it (I still have this on my computer). I also wrote my high school graduation/university entrance exam essay on it.
From the game documentation, some snippets on the game's design philosophy:
Major design goals: * challenging and random gameplay, with skill making a real difference * meaningful decisions (no no-brainers) * avoidance of grinding (no scumming) * gameplay supporting painless interface and newbie support
The devteam hasn't quite gotten it all right: there is some definite scumming possibility in a few places, food is almost never an issue, and choosing which three of the fifteen possible runes to collect to win is pretty much a no-brainer (well, two of them anyway). And there are still some things that are definitely too powerful in the game, at least in my opinion. But then, even using the stuff that's "too powerful" I have a winrate under 1%, and probably most people who try the game will never even come close to winning.
It's easily the hardest single-player game I've ever played, but mostly fair. It only kills you when you mess up, unless you get unlucky in the first 10 minutes.
My biggest gaming accomplishment is almost assuredly being able to say that I've won ... eight? ... times, without cheating of any sort. Even if those wins were in earlier, slightly easier versions of the game.
There are other good roguelikes out there, but Crawl comes the closest to what I want from them, I think.
lode runner: mad monk's revenge. so many good memories. it was like a windows 95 game or something and for a game so simple, it had amazing replayability. the two player was good too, but what made it awesome was the campaign editor.
One of the first games I've ever played, and still play it time to time now. I was about 5/6 yrs old then and didn't play mario on SNES like all the other cool kids. Back then the graphics for this game were amazing to me. The game itself was a mix of survival horror and action. The game was crazy suspenseful and my heart was pumping everytime I played this game since I was only 5/6 back then. One of the most epic moments was when there was a faceoff between the cyberdemon and spider mastermind. Also, when I discovered the cheat codes for this game, it was like a whole new game for me (iddqd, idkfa, idclip). Can't forget clipping to the back of lv30 and seeing John Romero's head.
Fast forward 10 yrs, I found a new interest in the game from speedrunning. I watched a demo of a speedrun and I thought I had to try it out as well. Doom 2 has insanely fast movement speed, which gets really addicting. I would learn all the fastest routes, the location of items, etc. Plenty of times I will just sit down for an hour and a half (I know record is way shorter, but some of the shortcuts are way too hard so I just take the longer/safer route), and beat all 32 levels. Even now I will randomly play through it, imo the best single player fps.
Really fun stealth game, and finding ways to do the objectives can lead to Tons of replayability. It's less of a run-and-gun game and more of a puzzle/stealth game. (Although you can choose to play it as a run-and-gun if you want)
Too hard to say, but nominees include: - Nethack - Thief 1 or 2 - Planescape: Torment (though it's more like a one-time experience) - Baldur's Gate 1 or 2 - Deus Ex
Again, just like Half Life 2, it's all about design... but since the game is so non-linear, it's for a different reason. Super Mario World is so simple, and yet its levels are so extensive. There are so many ways to beat the game. There are so many secret exits. There is so much challenge in beating the game for the first time... and in turn getting all of the secret exits in the main world... and in turn getting all of the switches and the star road... and in turn using all three switches to ascend to the bonus world. Mastering flying with the cape is a joy. Finding all of the exits to the ghost houses is SO DIFFICULT, etc, etc. There are so many moments that you can completely miss during the first playthrough, and some moments that some people don't find at all, but that's completely OK!
The point is that no matter where you are in the game, there will always be some kind of challenge to surmount. Whether it's that goddamn secret exit on the bridge where you have to fly UNDER the exit, or it's that crazy level where you have to open up gamefaqs to find the correct scores that you have to earn to get to the secret exit, or whether it's completing the bonus world without flying over the entire level, or whether it's collecting all of the Yoshi coins (something I'm sure very few people have done!), there's always something challenging to attempt. That's brilliant design, and it's something that's very hard to accomplish. What modern games can you say do this?
There's a reason why Super Mario World 2 was so different from the first. The first provided a mountain of challenge... and after players got to the top, what could developers program that would keep challenging vets without crushing noobs? Probably nothing. That's why Lost Levels is a terrible game -- it's too hard. It caters to the people who beat SMB1 and needed a greater challenge. It isn't accessible to most people, and, despite what most hardcore gamers think, an unaccessible game is a terrible game.
Again, it's all about design. RPGs generally overcome the "we gotta appeal to noobs and seasoned pros" by simply saying, "well, if noobs find this too difficult, they can always grind." Pokemon does that, but it's more complicated than that. You can choose to grind your main pokemon (Blastoise: level 70. Zapdos + articuno + moltres: level 50-60. Pidgey: level 10 was usually my endgame composition) or you can do the smart thing and grind your party equally. The game does such a good job of making the noob feel clever (HAHA YOUR PALTRY VENASAUR STANDS NO CHANCE AGAINST THIS RAPIDASH I FOUND! SUCK IT GARY!) but also provides the vet a lot of opportunity to hone a perfect pokemon party.
Adventure game, in a dark futuristic environment. A really awesome plot. When it was released, the number of interactions with NPCs was incredible (you don't have to follow the story line, you can just explore the city, see a strip-tease in a club, fight in illegal matches to earn money, etc)
There is so much suspense, at some moments, I was just :O :O :O
The original sound track was composed by David Bowie, and perfectly matches the game atmosphere.
You'll need around 70 hours to finish it. It can take a lot longer if you want to beat all the optional but capivating side missions.
You have to try it, even if the game looks pretty old now.
Fell in love with the game because it gave me freedom. This was before my days of the internet, back when the computer was in a corner in my room, no outside connection. I spent hundreds of hours enjoying this game, developing my characters, leveling and questing. There's so much to do!! So many easter eggs!!
And what's better, once it got old, I started mapping the game and making new things to have fun with. It's such a great game!!! Love it!!
Final Fantasy 3(6). Although its not a PC game, its the best.
Amazing Story, Soundtrack, and graphics were great for its time. My brother and I even recorded a walkthrough strategy guide on tape when we were kids. Probably played the game for like.. 500+ hrs.
Close second is Ultima Online. Nothing like killing someone and taking all their items. You literally could do anything you wanted in that game.
just cause 2, i don't need a key though, if u want to know why its fucking awesome, just check my shitty videos out. http://www.youtube.com/user/jodogohoo
Planescape: Torment (1999) - probably tied with other Black Isle/Interplay RPGs - Baldur's Gate, Fallout
I've beaten the game four times and am starting a fifth this summer. Each time I've played I've been able to take a different path. The game has a better story/writing than some novels I've read. You can go through the entire game with very little combat, if you wish, using intelligent decision-making through dialogue. Of course, the action in the game is excellent--not against mass, nameless enemies but plot-driving characters in their own right. The items you find are unique compared to your average RPG--the designers actually came in with a "no swords and shields" mentality. The choice > consequence nature of your actions define true role-playing , not what MMOs or action RPGs purport it to be. The ambiance/mood/universe is absolutely stunning--Planescape steps away from the traditional high fantasy of d&d, but doesn't stray too far, still using the same ruleset. The characters are incredibly well-developed, interesting, funny; I find it hard to remove a party member when meeting a new one. The main character, The Nameless One, cannot die (he resurrects elsewhere after falling in battle) and has no memory of his past--an excellent plot device that makes for a fulfilling quest whenever you find new details of his story, and reduces the syndrome of fight -> die -> load quick save that I'm used to. Areas like Sigil, The Smoldering Corpse Bar, et cetera are so engrossing--I put on my headphones, play in the dark and lose myself in the world. Mark Morgan, who also did the soundtrack for Fallout, has made some of the best game music I know, and the voice acting for each NPC brings them to life. I love the graphics (2D isometric) the same way I love BW's, as they have nuanced detail.
I can't express enough through hyperbole how great this game is, and how much it means to me.
Saying anything about this game would ruin the experience. This is definitely the most unique and powerful single player experience that every gamer has to play.
half-life 2 changed my life, half-life 2 episode 2 is the perfection of the half-life formula.
shadow of the colossus is also up there, as is god of war and twisted metal 2.
edit: and why does HL2 episode 1 get such a bad rap? I know it's not as good as ep 2, but when it came out I and most others agreed that it was better than HL2 while it lasted. suddenly after orange box lots of people think it sucks. wtf
Well i love Resident Evil i mean the graphics, the plot, the weapons, the puzzles are overwhelming. i've spent several hours playing resident evil and never touched another game until i passed it i've read the books too and i've seen the movies (just to see if the plot was similar to the game.. i was kinda disappointed) i loved to play RE with the lights out it was so scary it was like i was living that experience. too bad i dont have a ps3 so i cant play RE5 but someday i will pass it and be so happy. I'm kinda surprised that no one has mentioned RE before in this thread
On May 10 2010 15:05 Ideas wrote: edit: and why does HL2 episode 1 get such a bad rap? I know it's not as good as ep 2, but when it came out I and most others agreed that it was better than HL2 while it lasted. suddenly after orange box lots of people think it sucks. wtf
I never ever got past the part where you are on the elevator and stuff is falling on you and you use the gravity gun to shoot at it. I don't know why. But I just stopped right there and never went to episode 2.
The most memorable SP game I have ever played has to be The Secret of Monkey Island. The game is full of humor and really witty, not to mention a bunch of pop culture references.
My most memorable thing from teh adventure game has to be: (it's entitled as a spoiler as I don't want to ruin it to anyone who hasn't played it,)
I remember I couldn't stop playing it until I have finished it because the progression was very well designed and entertaining. My most memorable moment has to be the end part when LeChuck is in the wedding chapel abut to marry Elaine Marley, Guybrush bursts in and desperately shouts "Elaine!", which is an obvious spoof of the final scene of The Graduate. If you haven't played that game or seen that movie do it ASAP. You won't regret it!
The game is really short and I think I spent around 10-15h on my first go, but have been renewing the adventure every few years. Especially now that I have it on Steam.
freespace and freespace 2. i played through the freespace 2 campaign one week in middle school when i was home sick. the feeling you get during the capital ship battles when you blast the volume with a subwoofer under your seat is absolutely sublime. i don't think i've ever felt as engrossed playing a game as those two.
Even if you already have a key don't let that stop you from posting about your favorite game/s. It's interesting reading this and finding out about games you never played before or haven't even heard of. Just mention in the post that you already have a key.
Auditorium Great music and gameplay, intuitive, simple controls, yet takes a certain amount of cleverness. There are multiple creative ways to complete the puzzles, and it's always fun to try to find different ways to solve something while listening to good music =]
half life, the original, followed by deus Ex. Those two games were the biggest revolution in fps(and rpg) When i first played those games it felt like the world actually did change from my actions, for example in Deus Ex i was messing around, and went into the ladies room. There was a woman there and she told me to get out. Later on in the game my boss said he'd received complaints about being in the ladies room. There was no fps game where you could get that much reality from npcs. It was mind blowing. It actually proved i was working for an organization
In half life, it also had massive details, just the amazingness of scripted events, and story in general.(no other fps had done that much story and scripting )
half life 2 was also revolutionary but not nearly as much as the above two methinks.
So many games I've loved over the past few decades..but if I had to choose one based on the fun I had playing it, I would have to say LOOM by lucas arts. My friend had it laying around when he got his first PC (this was when cd-rom was just coming out). He played it once and got stuck after 20 minutes, thus tossed it aside. I was spending the night with him and I put it in and began to play, and got past the part where he got stuck, thus rousing his attention to come over and watch. In the game you have to play musical notes in a certain order to cast spells (ex. A, G, C#, D) so every time we found a new spell, a melody would play, and we would race to write down the notes with a pencil. Being this was before the internet and walkthroughs, we got stuck quite a bit. I finally figured out that if I played the spell notes backwards, the spell would have the opposite effect, and after learning that, things went fairly smooth. We spent the next 9 hours playing, getting insanely involved with the highly imaginative story, and eventually finished it as the sun was coming up. I've never felt a feeling of accomplishment from finishing a game like that since.
Several months later, me and the same friend both decided to get guitars, and found ourselves playing the spell melodies while learning the basic guitar notes (it actually helped in the very beginning). We would go on to play in a band together for the next 10 years, learning multiple instruments, exploring many genres, and making music a huge and permanent part of our lives.
Is this the result of a little known 256 color adventure game, played for a mere 10 hours so long ago?...
Of course not, but whenever I think of LOOM it reminds me not only of a super fun night, but a fun and adventurous period of my life.
I don't want a beta key, I just want to give my option F.E.A.R. (1), not 2, not the Xpacks. Just the original. The Vanilla
FEAR is a First Person Shooter with a horror storyline. Creepy little girl killing people, cool weapons, interesting/cool storyline, for it's time good AI (they actually flanked you, and ran for cover!) and much much more. I'm a veeeeery picky gamer. In the last maybe 7-8 years I can count on my fingers, how many of the games I bought were actually a satisfying investment. FEAR is among one of them. Doom 3 IMO pales in comperation to FEAR as far as "entertainement" goes.
Well, I bought the game very late (2006) so I didn't get to experience much of the multiplayer aspect, but playing the single player, was very refreshing for me. The excitement, the rush of adrenaline you get when you see the little girl is a huuge part of the game, because it's tangible. If you don't shoot her, she'll kill you, making the experience more lively and a big fun factor. There are hard(er) enemies along the way, many weapons to choose from (but you can carry only 4 with you at any given time), and of course a well implemented bullet-time matrix-style game slowing, which on higher (or highest) difficulty is a must, because the AI almost never misses in real-time, true to their profession as "trained soldiers". During the story line you get to know the real deal behind all the mysteries surrounding the little girl, the soldiers and you, the hero yourself.
The game at the end leaves many loose ends, but for your sake, if you enjoyed FEAR, leave the loose ends to your imagination to fill. The Xpacks are ridiculously bad (although I can't remember which one, but 1 of the 2 is actually "playable" while the other is a stinky pile of shit) and the sequel FEAR 2, made me lose my faith in humanity and that it's possible to make a good sequel overall for quite a few months.
Overall FEAR 1 is a masterpiece in it's genre and I really encourage you to play it, even just for the hell of it.
On May 10 2010 14:33 GG.Win wrote: Final Fantasy 3(6). Although its not a PC game, its the best.
Amazing Story, Soundtrack, and graphics were great for its time. My brother and I even recorded a walkthrough strategy guide on tape when we were kids. Probably played the game for like.. 500+ hrs.
Close second is Ultima Online. Nothing like killing someone and taking all their items. You literally could do anything you wanted in that game.
Ultima Online... mmorpg right? Kinda opposite of SP. But i agree 100% amazing game.
Sorry for the double post, but other noteworthy SP games are: Knights of the Old Republic (RPG - KotOR 1) Fallout 1, 2 and Tactics Mass Effect 1, 2 Portal (never played it myself but heard nothing but good things about it) BioShock (again, never played, but supposedly a good game) Crysis (lol) + Warhead (I'm not sure about this - couldn't run it, and still can't) Sacred 2 is fun (it's a very good Diablo clone, probably the best aftter D2 itself and Titan Quest) but for it's time needed a very good PC to run Heroes of Might and Magic 2/3 are absolutely epic games. Civilisation 2 or Medieval II ...
by far the best turn-based strategy game, i spent so much of my life on that game. horribly unbalanced, but when it's single player, unbalanced can be pretty fun.
It gives the player the option to play the game however they want. The player may choose to blow up a town with a nuke or try to disarm it. Try to talk your way out of a situation or just blast your way through. Pick a perk you want to specialize in or try to make your own weapons.
It may be a bit gory a times with the slowmo head shots and whatnot but it helps with the atmosphere of the game.
It has great replay value becuase of the sheer amount of choices given to the player. You can spend a good 100+ hrs trying to get everything done but the game can be completed very quickly if the player chooses so.
Thief all time Favourite i think LOVE the fact that you can get Rope arrows, moss arrows and water arrows Something I've never seen in any stealth style game. Just like Starcraft its old and was very creative (imo of course). Haven't played many games where it was mainly based on you being stealthy like or being able to run around and knock everyone out.
Also Sacrifice Loved the fantasy story line to it and loved running around with little minions destroying your opponents minions then reaping their souls and increase your army!
Playing through that game felt like the ultimate freedom. You felt as though the game was reacting to you rather than you to it. The game built up an amazing storyline based on actions that you yourself initiated (not just your ingame character). If you go back and analyze the game, you'll note that a lot of the stuff is setup to make the character naturally do stuff. But its done with soo much subtlety, that you feel like you were the one who made the choice.
An epic scene in which this is displayed, is the lebedev scene. You are told to kill lebedev by a gun toating looney agent who is your superior. Your brother has specifically asked you to listen to what this guy has to say, and he has been your moral compass throughout the game so far. The guy is offering information about your past that was covered up. He is unarmed. The scene gets more and more intense as the agent orders you to execute him while the man bargins for his life. Finally the agent snaps and points her gun at him, and your instant reaction is to shoot her instead (you dont have to however, you can shoot lebedev or let her shoot him), betraying your own organisation and setting off one of the big twists in the games storyline.
The game never let on that you could kill that agent. Earlier in the game, if you tried to attack her, she was invunerable and would kick your ass. But this scene in the game is soo well done, you are manipulated subtely soo much that it just feels like a natural reaction to kill her, and then when the game reacts perfectly to your actions rather than just breaking because you killed a key character, it feels as though you are dictating the storyline. Which is creates the most increadible sense of immersion.
I honestly could write an essay on how much is going on in that lebedev scene, it shows off how brilliant this game has been structured and designed.
My favorite computer game would have to be Diablo 2. When I didn’t have internet, I would have launched Diablo 2 and start playing for countless hours until I was mentally exhausted and bloodshot in the eyes. Even though I had already beaten the game through all the difficulties, I would keep playing in hopes for a rune to drop, or another gem that I could transmute. Even though it was single player, it was one of the most competitive games for me. I would go hours just trying to get better gear that I didn’t really need because, damn it, I was awesome.
Just going to make a brief introduction, gameplay review, strategies thoughts about the mount and blade.
Introduction:
Mount&Blade is a medieval single-player open-ended action role-playing video game (as per said by wikipedia). of course, you start as a single person wearing medieval yet fashionable clothes and kinda weak in the beginning. You first start to look for companions (Like and RPG) the games doesn't end as well (that is why it's open-ended) and when you battle enemies, it's real time action at the same time the characters and your companions level up as well.
The best thing about mount&blade is that it's mod friendly, and it does have a vast majority of people that modify their own game for it's longevity. Meaning, if you're sick and tired that you've already conquered the whole damn kingdom of w/e. Then you can just download modules at http://www.taleworlds.com/mb_settings.html. As for myself, I haven't finish the game itself and have yet to see those modules.
Gameplay and some thoughs about it:
1. Map navigation: This is a real pain in the ass yo! Just think about how incredibly foreign the names of each town, castle and civilian village. It's really a choir when you visit from town to town and the fact that you want to level up is absurd at times. Sometimes, you would see enemies that will run away from you because you have a huge army, then at times if they know that they can kick you arse, then they'll hunt you down like an animal. Anyway, if you probably play the game for about 14 hours and you've got a feel for it. Then map navigation will not be that much of an issue and I'll try to provide some simple steps on how to deal with this occurrence.
2. Inventory: Yeah the inventory is very simple, kinda Diablo-ish and you know the drill You also need to buy food and stuff. Food so that the morale of your comrades doesn't get low (meaning if they are poor in morale, they'll leave the party and make travelling slower) Stuff, so you can trade it from town to town.
3. Troops: the interesting part, you get to level up your troops everytime you defeat some enemies of the king (or mountain bandits at times). You can order your troops to defend a position or charge the enemies. Also, you can choose if you want to order only the archers, cavalries and infantries. Man, the battles is intense in this one and sometimes retarded at best
Btw, you can actually kidnap defeated lords and kings, then ransom them for money! You'd actually know who you up against if you asked your own lords "who are we at war against or w/e?" I also suggest not to fight every single lord because they can out match you with mass soldiers or they can pounce on you like hyenas. (I'm trying to say 1v5 lords is like 50 soldiers vs 200 to 500 soldiers anyone?)
4. Fighting: This one has a kung fu side to it, I'm not going to provide all the details but I can say is that gets a little repetitive when you're not mounted on a horse, but mount-on-horse action is so fucking awesome! You get do to horse-bys on does puny humans wearing ordinary clothes while you gallop your way and slash their heads! Man, the game is really about the horses if I was to be ask. Also, there is a system called siege the castle/defend the castle. These one is pretty 50/50 for me. It's sometimes fun due to being too challenging and at times retard again because of it's simplicity. Well, you'll get my drift once you play the besiege the castle.
Strategy (I'm going to put it in spoiler for option of finding out the game by yourself):
I'm just going to try listing the necessary stuff in the game so you will not be confused:
1. Importance of Money -> Money here is totally relevant, not unlike in other RPG's that when you go level 9999 you're money is nothing more than display or something you just flaunt. NO, it's like real life, if you don't have the money, you don't have the troops and bye bye to them. So as much as possible join tournaments and kidnap conflicting lords as much as possible.
2. Get Comrades from Town Taverns -> You get unique characters that will help you in your quest from kingdom conquering! They have different specialities, there is an engineer, a medic (so that you can quickly heal the wounded in no time), a very awesome fighter, a leader, a very intelligent young woman (for buying books), etc. The problem with the unique characters is that sometimes they conflict with each other, then of course you have to be bias whom to support with their arguments. Of course, you always have to be bias with the higher level comrade since they are more useful.
Note: Also get a lot of recruits from different villages, Swadia and Vaegirs has awesome knights, Khans have awesome crossbow men, Rhodoks spearmen and Nords for Infantry or w/e.
3. Be an Errand Boy -> The love and hate relationship with the game. You are going to be provided with a lot of task by the kings and lords. Man, it's going to be 50 percent fighting and 50 percent delivery boy which looks like a choir. But you got to do this to get their support, get a lot of pat in the back, of course in the long run, the king and his men will provide you a castle or even best a TOWN!
4. Don't forget to buy food -> for the party's morale of course, and you also need to buy different because they kinda like it. food is quite expensive here and beef always rots. (stay away from buying beef)
5. Take advantage of the trading -> try buying a lot of stuff like oil, furs etc cheaply then selling it to the other town really helps! You'd gain lots of money if you know that the other town want's to buy the junk you have for a higher price.
6. Always talk to prisoners -> very simple just always remember to talk to some of them because there's a big risk that they sometimes run away.
7. Last but not the least, Garrison -> Just put some soldiers in your castle in case you already own one, so that you don't need to pay them all on a weekly basis, Also helps if you are being sieged by the warring tribes.
I'm just going to try listing the necessary stuff in the game so you will not be confused:
Man, I think this is not a brief introduction of the game anymore:
My thoughts:
It's really addicting and personally I like the game, Man the thing that got to me is the horse-by's! It's also damn challenging as well, it's a little complex at times but if you are pretty good at decision-making and planning a head. it will work just fine, I also have problems with autosaving and saving on exit. Man, had to cheat the game many times (pressing alt+f4) because I was losing a castle or losing a fight. Forgot to add the graphics looks like so 2002, which is not too visually appealing
Man, to be honest I just wanted to put this in a link but I don't want to be a rule-breaker so I've tried my best to put all my insight in this post
Also, PM me if you need details or if you very interested about the game since I know for a fact I might have missed some things. I do have some mod stuff with me that I can send to you (like example is battlesizer and so that you can have 500 vs 500 battles which crashed Mount and Blade )
And please enjoy the hard work I've put in this thread
edit: also, if there are alot of grammar issues please just ignore, kinda rushed this one [spoiler]
The first Diablo had the art style, animation and atmosphere perfect for a horror dungeon crawler. I remember playing this game when I was around 8 yrs old. It was just so scary back then, I only played during the day. I even had a friend to press the number buttons for potions, it was so hard for me back then but it was a hell of a lot of fun!
Also worth noting about this game is the music. It just fit in so perfectly with the game and made it so much more dark and medieval. I especially love the tristram theme:
God I wish blizz whoever composed this is making the d3 sounds as well.
Final Fantasy VII the most EPIC game in videogames history, i have expended years playing it even when i alread have finished the game before. The lore, the drama, the history, the action is UNIQUE. I sill have my PS1 with my save games and when i dont have anything to do i always play it.
Played this game when i was a little critter, and I missed a bunch of sleep due to the "1 more mission" problem. It seemly bent space and time turning night into day in a matter of minutes.
It's a round based strategy/RPG hybrid from 1999. The evil dictator Deidranna has taken over the banana republic of Arulco, ruling with an iron hand. The exiled former president contacts you, the player, to recruit a team of mercenaries and overthrow Deidranna. A few dozen mercenaries are available for recruitment, each with their own set of abilities, character traits and funny voice acting. Character attributes include, among others, marksmanship, wisdom, dexterity, explosives, mechanics, agility and leadership, and each character has two special abilities like night ops, sneaking or teaching. Attributes increase over time if used a lot in combat, or by time-consuming training. The player can also create one own mercenary by answering a humorous psychoanalysis questionnaire, followed by selecting the character's appearance and stats.
Arulco is divided into sectors. Some are uninhabited, others house towns, secret military complexes, SAM sites etc. The team is dropped off in the far north of Arulco, the goal is to kill off Deidranna, who is sitting in her heavily guarded palace in the very southwest. The first few sectors offer only a small challenge, but it's enough to learn the basics of fighting. As soon as an enemy is spotted, the game switches from real-time to a round-based battle system. Your mercenaries can perform actions like running, shooting, throwing grenades, ducking or opening doors by spending action points each round. When you don't want to take further action or all action points are spent, it's the enemy's turn. It's important to position your team smartly and in good cover and make good use of special items, because you are far outnumbered most of the time. The game becomes very challenging later on.
Lots of items can be found lying around in containers and from dead enemies. Not only does the game offer an assload of realistic pistols, rifles, SMGs, knives, grenades, rocket launchers, helms, night vision goggles, kevlar vests, rifle scopes, sound suppressors etc. There are also some seemingly useless items like marbles and coke cans, which can be combined to new makeshift items.
Whenever you free a town of enemies, you gain access to the winnings from its ore mine. After each town, you get a funny in-game cutscene of Deidranna getting the news, freaking out and having her assistant send out elite troops after you. It is necessary to train a militia in your towns, or else Deidranna's troops take back the towns and valuable mines from you. The money from the mines is needed to pay your mercenaries and buy equipment for them.
On your way, you meet lots of NPCs who might offer side quests. For example, there is a helicopter pilot to be found hidden in the swamps who offers to ferry your team around in his chopper, but only after you have taken out the SAM sites guarding the area. Some NPCs can even be recruited to join your squad. Dialogue and voice acting are diverse and humorous, a rare quality for computer games.
It's the likeable characters, large collection of items and tactical depth which draw me to Jagged Alliance 2. I've played the game many times during the last 11 years. Of course the graphics aren't up to date, but neither are Broodwar's, right? Try it, it really is a great game!
*just actually read your op and you said only PC games.. well, too late now x_x;; my favorite pc rpg would be PST, that's not a childhood memory but more of a deliberate pick later on because i heard so many good things about the story*
don't really need / want a beta key.
but this is still fun!
think my most memorable one would be FFVII. It was my first Final Fantasy and as these titles go, when you're a little emo kid 12 years old you can't help but be totally immersed by the story. The death of Aerith.. man I felt bad in rl for a week or so. Those were the days. Before that I had Secret of Mana on the SNES which was my favorite game until FFVII popped up. The story was not as epic as FFVII but it was still a fun time playing it with my neighbor (I guess we were like 8 at that time). And I loved the soundtrack. I also never managed to get the last orb for the Mana-Sword - I virtually tried EVERYTHING there was in this game, I scanned every last pixel-----until I found out (way later) you can only get it in the US version and only with a hack or something.
I also played my fair share of Yoshi's Island (I had perfect score in all levels). That was my favorite platformer. I just loved the level design and the overall style of the game. So many cute ideas...
And I was always amazed by Zelda: A Link to the Past. I never possessed it which made it only the more mystical. I only got to play it here and there and there were so many cool secrets to discover. There was this invisibility mantle you could get on the graveyard which we stumbled over by chance, and that only invigorated my awe for the game even more.
When I got my first computer I played a lot of Diablo I which scared the fuck out of me at that time. I was a totally underpowered rogue and as soon as I entered hell I experienced hell. Those knights were able to two-hit me and thus I could only run away from them, turn and shoot and hope they wouldn't come too close. That was really scary.
Duke Nukem 3D was a game I played at my neighbor's before I even got a computer. I was way too young to play it and level 2 was extra interesting at that time (hi strip bar). But I also played Doom I + II before so I already was prepared for the ultra violence.
One PSX game that wasn't really the milestone but which I greatly enjoyed was Alundra. It was kind of a Zelda clone with jumping and fuck hard riddles at times. Apart from being 'similar' to Zelda it had its very own story so it wasn't really just a rip-off. Was a cool game, gonna play it again some time soon I think.
Lol, and I also had G-Police, almost forgot. Not that it belongs to my dearest memories but hey, I played it a lot too.
The last game that would be worth mentioning as I played and enjoyed it a lot was Donkey Kong Country for SNES - had a really nice style and cool levels. I loved the groovy sounds of that game.
Medieval: Total War because the campaign is so epicly long, and there's 10 million things to do. You can play for hours, and hours, and hours during the summer and not get bored. It's like actually having a kingdom of your own. (I think the first one and it's expansion are the best).
The main campaign of Medieval: Total War involves the player choosing one of the fourteen playable factions and eventually leading them in conquest on the strategy map. Each of the factions controls a number of historical provinces, which on the map contain a castle and, if located by the sea, a port as well. In the campaign, the player controls construction, unit recruitment and the movement of armies, fleets and agents in the each of these provinces, using these means to acquire and defend the provinces. Diplomacy and economics are two other aspects the player can use to advance their aims, as well as having access to more clandestine means such as espionage and assassination. Religion is very important in the game, with the player able to convert provinces to their own religions to cement the people's loyalty. Another campaign mode is available, called "Glorious Achievements", in which each faction has several historically-based goals to achieve, which score points; the faction with the most achievement points wins the game. The campaign mode is turn-based, with each turn representing one year, allowing the player to attend to all needs of the faction before allowing the artificial intelligence to carry out the other factions' moves and decisions.
The game is set mainly in Europe, but also features the Middle East and North Africa. Production can occur in every province, with the player building from one of the hundreds of connected buildings and units in the game's technology tree. Income to develop provinces and armies comes from taxation of the provinces and trade with neighboring provinces. There is no specific technology research, but several advances, such as gunpowder, do become available over time. Castles provide the basis for more developed construction in the game, with players having to upgrade to the next castle level to be able to build more advanced buildings; upgrades such as a curtain wall and guard towers can be added to individual castles. Many buildings have economic functions, such as trading posts that generate money, while others are military buildings and allow the training of more advanced unit types. Whilst there are many common unit types, several unique units are available. These units are either restricted to a single faction or are dependent on the control of a particular province. Each unit possesses different strengths and weaknesses. Each faction has a variety of different generals, some related to the royal family and in line to the throne, and the rest members of the nobility, who command units in the field and can assume offices of the state. Each of these characters has a base ranking for several attributes, such as command ability and piety, which affects how they carry out duties on the battlefield and governing the provinces. These attributes, and other factors such as health, are influenced by “Vices and Virtues”, defining the character's personality and actions. These traits can be acquired seemingly randomly, or may be given to the character through actions in the game. Non-military units, collectively referred to as "agents", may be trained. The types of agent a faction is able to produce depends on its religion, but all factions have emissaries, spies and assassins available to them. Emissaries conduct diplomatic tasks such as start alliances between two factions, or bribe foreign armies; spies allow detailed information to be collected from foreign provinces or characters, while assassins can attempt to kill both foreign and domestic units. Factions also have access to various religious agents to spread their religion, and Christian factions can marry their princesses to domestic generals or other factions for political reasons. Occasionally in the game, a character will be trained bearing the name of a famous historical figure, with larger than normal starting abilities. A general such as Richard the Lionheart or Saladin will be a capable military commander, while a bishop such as Thomas Becket will have higher piety than normal. Rebellions can occur if the loyalty of a particular province falls too low, with a rebel army appearing in the province to attempt to assume control from the owners. Civil wars may also take place if several generals commanding large armies have sufficiently low loyalty. In the event of a civil war, the player is given the choice to back either the current rulers or the rebels. It had been planned to allow other factions who had established a prior claim to the throne by marriage to princesses to join in a civil war to claim the throne for themselves; however, this was never implemented. Naval warfare is carried out upon the campaign map, where ships can be built and organised into fleets. These fleets can be used to control the game's sea regions and form sea lanes, allowing trade and troop movement between provinces that have constructed a port. Fleets can engage in sea battles with foreign fleets, although unlike land battles these are resolved by the computer. Religion plays an important aspect in Medieval: Total War, with religious differences between the Catholic, Orthodox and Muslim factions affecting diplomacy and population loyalty. Catholic factions must also respond to the wishes of the Papal States; factions gain favor by refraining from hostilities with other Catholic nations and responding to Crusades, else they run the risk of excommunication. The option to launch a holy war in the form of a Crusade or Jihad is open to both Catholic and Muslim factions.
I love games with a really dense athmosphere and good story. That beeing said Warcraft and Starcraft did have really nice storylines and also good athmosphere but just not as good as that of some others. Max Payne had some really great athmosphere and nice story to but iam afraid even that is not enough to be my favourite. The same goes for Bioshock even though its the inofficial succesor to my game of choice. That beeing said it is of course the good old System Shock 2 a game with story with a lot of nice twists in it and the most amazing athmosphere i have ever exerienced in a game ... oh and certainly the most amazing ending word a protagonist has ever spoken
edit: damn i just noticed that already the first poster mentioned this ... well it is sytems shock 2 after all ... i guess it just deserves it
some of the most amazing games have made it in this thread ... makes me want to play all those classics all over again
On May 10 2010 13:11 BG1 wrote: Pretty simple, list your favorite single player game, write why you like it, your most memorable moments/experiences, how much time you spent playing it etc... I'll choose the winner based on who has similar taste to mine and a good write-up.
1 entry per person, PC games only. Game doesn't have to be exclusively single player, you can for example pick SC but based on the single player campaign experience. Contest ends in 24 hours.
I don't want a key but my favourite SP game is your username =)
Fighting wolves and having to escape because you are too weak at level 1, following the roads to avoid rogues and ogres, cleaning the Nashkel's mines, going to the Durlag tower and being mauled by battle horrors, going to Baldur instead, coming back to Candlekeep and fighting the dopplegangers after being betrayed by Koveras... then coming back to Baldur to kick some asses and avenging Gorion. Ahhhh memories.
Torment, BG2 and Dx are close too.
BG2 while having a weaker storyline is sooo good all round. Torment well this is the kind of game that you can't forget, this is just a gem and a big "fuck you" to all the RPG clichés. Oh and Dx ... i have never felt more involved while playing video games than during the Lebedev scene and when the Unatco guys come to Paul apartement. If you are a Dx lover you MUST play the Nameless Mod btw.
The best single player game of all time (some of you may be too young to remember old the school wasteland but...) Fallout! A post-apocolyptic RPG.
I won't lie a lot RPGs are pieces of crap in my eyes. However there are some exceptions "Chrono Trigger" and "Final Fantasy 7," (etc). Yet there are a few RPGs that can really draw me in, most of them from the 90s.
It was incredible. It was everything "Wasteland" was and more. The game was a tough cookie, but it was more than worth the difficulty, because the combat was extremely rewarding and finally seeing your foe break in half and spill his guts onto the floor after a fierce battle was ever so satisfying. Plus the game remembered what made Wasteland so engrossing: The atmosphere and need to survive. Once again, Fallout improved that BIG time. I really got attached to my character, a buffout addicted merc named Apostle with a cunning tongue and sticky fingers. He was weak to poison and radiation poisoning, which meant I had to continue maintaining a high first aid skill. He wasn't very good with guns, but he made up by being able to gut someone with a simple knife and a big bar of Action Points. Despite his fierce, addicted nature as well as a habit of stealing peoples caps and drugs, he was a good guy who would take the side of the good folk even if the bad guys were paying more. I felt immersed in the role, and despite the topdown perspective, my mind could see through his eyes and everything was vivid and real in my eyes.
Years later, the game still fascinates me. From the tactical turn based combat to the knee slapping dark humour, I love every inch of this game. It also introduced me to my favourite character of all time: Harold. HAROLD DAAA GHOUL!!! (Okay, to be fair, hes an FEV mutant, not a ghoul, but when I first played I thought he was a ghoul.) Harold is funny as hell, and just plain awesome. The story is great, with great twists, interesting characters, and lots of nasty monsters. I still play this game.
Amazing incorporation of army compositions and different ethnic races and their army units. This game required alot of "AC" army control whether it be archers/catapults,towers,elephants,phalanx etc... There were alot of competitive play associated with this game including team archers and team reg (anything allowed). This game taught me the importance of micro and macro and also caused me to improve both micro/macro and what to spend resource on beneficially. Other than that, the graphics were not top notch, neither were they really bad. It was a good game. =]
X-Com is one classic that well-deserves a mention. In fact I'm surprised no one brought this up before.
One of the best strategical turn-based games ever, and I love how the mercilessness factor of this game- just like real warfare your squad will drop off and be utterly decimated by one well-aimed gunshot and grenade. You literally have to contemplate several minutes organizing your soldier's movements as any wrong mistake could result in very fatal, fatal consequences. The game tended to get much easier when you acquired alien technologies, and once I got over the learning curve I could fend off the alien hordes fairly well, but I would always try to incorporate 1-base challenge of Earth-weaponry only challenge to spice up the experience more. Because at least to me, the frailty of your forces was the greatest reason I enjoyed this game. There is distinctive pleasure brilliantly commandeering your platoon into victory instead of simply being one generic hero who would march directly into mass of aliens and kick ass somehow. I think I gave my uttermost attention to this game for about two months until the university matters caught up. One of the favourite thing I always liked to do is name all soldiers after my favourite book/game/anime characters, strongest starting soldier naturally being me of course- you kinda regret making those choices because, unless you are really really lucky, someone always died no matter how cautious you were. Simply superb experience.
One of the single player games I remember most fondly is a turn based strategy game called Age of Wonders. Set in a quintessential high fantasy world, the game's main selling point is the perfect atmosphere it creates. Please listen to this music while you read the rest of my terribly biased review.
The music sets the mood of the game, ranging from melancholic to unapologetically heroic. By modern standards it might lack nuance, but it fits the high fantasy setting perfectly, and obviously there are similarities with the music in other fantasy games (such as Overlord).
The game starts with the emergence of humanity in the old world, and their overthrow of the Elven court in the Valley of Wonders. The campaign makes you choose right at the start between the goody-two-shoes Keeper faction who wish to rebuild in peace and coexist with the young humans, and the hell-bent-on-revenge Cult of Storms. Interestingly, during the course of the campaign it is possible to abandon your initial faction and join a neutral party, or even make a complete face-heel turn and join forces with the pure Evil undead, (or the almost-saintly Highman.) Most of the time, your actions and choices have obvious and far-reaching consequences on the world. As in the very first Cult mission where your objective is to assassinate the ruling Elf queen, Elwyn. + Show Spoiler +
The playable races consist of the good-natured and surprisingly brawly halflings, the sturdy dwarves, and the kind elves on the Keeper side. The Dark Side consists of the dirtly goblins, the decidedly-not-noble orcs (pre-Warcraft 3 style) and the embittered Dark Elves. The Lizardmen, the survivalist Frostlings and desert-dwelling Azracs fill out the race selection along with the humans, undead and highmen.
Another point of attention is the art style. Many things in the game, from campaign journals to unit portraits and parts of the interface, are hand drawn and have a distinctive pastel look which I still find very pleasing: + Show Spoiler +
Gameplay focuses on a combination of empire and city management, turn based tactical combat, and magic, complete with mana, spellbooks and wizard towers selling powerful new spells.
Back in the day I was very fond of skilling my heroes to be as overpowered as possible and send them around the map claiming cities along the way, with only some air support as backup. Regular footsloggers moved too slow, and were better suited to garrison cities in my opinion. Still, some of the higher tiers of units were very powerful in their own right, and posed significant threats to my heroes, or to those who would stand before me. Behold! The might of the Orc Warlord, the majesty of the Frost Queen! The speedy Karagh and the Dark Elf executioner! Although I must admit, some units captivated me in different ways. + Show Spoiler +
Because I enjoy a good story, I finished the game many times, finding out what possible fates can befall the world and your character, and let me tell you, there are some serious downer endings among them. But the gameplay never grew old, as many races have unique strengths and weaknesses to keep things fresh, and you can make the game as challenging as you want.
The game's successors, AoWII and AoW:Shadow Magic, improved upon some of the flaws of the original, making the management of large empires far easier, and better balancing the different aspects of the game, but they didn't have the same feel as the original. They didn't have that sense of wonder which captivated me as a child.
Easily Secret of Mana, my favorite Super Nintendo game. Man, all those memories fighting against Alpha/Beta/Gamma, riding with the dragon, etc. That was truly awesome times (:
I remember getting this game when it came out in 2003 (there was a PC version). It was the the most fun I had playing a game since I first started playing Starcraft (which was 1998 when I was 10 years old). Of course, you later find out that the game copied elements from the Grand Theft Auto series, but I didn't care back then. I was happy to ride my Simpsons car around smashing into stuff and get an adrenaline rush from avoiding the cops, who bust you for 50 COINS!!!
I loved how they incorporated Simpsons memorabilia with real voice actors to give the game an authentic feel, yet make a fun yet demanding game. I spent hours trying to get all the cars, tried the most challenging races and missions over and over again until I succeeded, and felt the ultimate achievement when I saw the secret Itchy and Scratchy cartoon. Recently, I've been trying to get a hold of the game again because I remember the good times. The phrases and jokes characters say when I drive or when I run over people never get old (such as homer saying "CHEST PAINS!! I'M HAVING CHEST PAINS!!!). To anyone who hasn't played this game, I recommend getting whatever version of the game, be it PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, or PC off ebay, and play it. You'll enjoy it as much as I did.
probably Interstate '76. (1997) this did have multiplayer, which I loved, but it was later overloaded with hacksssssss
SP was simply awesome, you are Groove Champion, a vigilante from the 70's with a sweet ass 'Cuda and go on missions with your sidekick Taurus, and your sister Jade. I don't have too much to explain for this but it was just simply funky awesome. Like being on some seriously kick ass drugs, expect you're not on any.
I think it is still my favorite game of all time. Anyone ever played this??
On May 11 2010 13:46 Bub wrote: probably Interstate '76. (1997) this did have multiplayer, which I loved, but it was later overloaded with hacksssssss
SP was simply awesome, you are Groove Champion, a vigilante from the 70's with a sweet ass 'Cuda and go on missions with your sidekick Taurus, and your sister Jade. I don't have too much to explain for this but it was just simply funky awesome. Like being on some seriously kick ass drugs, expect you're not on any.
I think it is still my favorite game of all time. Anyone ever played this??
Hell yea, it was an awesome game, great sound track as well!
Lots of good posts, not an easy choice guys . I haven't played many of these games. Syberia seems interesting, so does JA2, Age of Wonders, Mount & Blade and some others I may have forgotten. Definitely need to check out Shadow of the Clossus, heard many good things about. I've also had Kotor on the comp for about 2 years now and just haven't found the time to play it, need to do something about that heh. Plenty of my faves mentioned here; Fallout series, Baldur's Gate series (which coincidentally my name has nothing to do with), Planescape, pretty much everything Black Isle studios makes is awesome. Loved HL2, unfortunately haven't played episode 1&2, need to check that out as well. Deus Ex was simply mind blowingly good, especially for it's time. Definitely one of my all time favorites. Monkey Island brings a lot of memories, I remember playing it as a little kid and spending ages trying to figure out what to do lol. Duke Nukem 3d was my first FPS, both my dad and I were addicted to it, spent countless hours playing that game lol. Too bad Duke Nukem Forever will seemingly never come out. Thief is a great game as well, I found out about it pretty late actually but man the graphics didn't even matter... I've been looking for a game like that for a long time, enjoyed every minute of it, really my type of game heh. Max Payne, FEAR, Hitman and Splinter Cell were also very enjoyable for the day or two it took to finish them . GTA series? can't go wrong with that. I remember sometimes just cruising around town doing nothing but listening to the radio. Well the list goes on... Really even with all of the games I've played through the years it's still sad to see how many good ones I've missed and some I will probably never get to play .
If I really had to pick my favorite game it would probably be Baldur's Gate 2. Unfortunately no one really did a nice write-up about it so I'll give the key to a game that is in many regards as good (if not better) than BG2 and is made by the same awesome company that has filled my life with countless hours of fun gaming: Planescape: Torment. So congrats Qwerty Thanks for all the good posts guys.
On May 11 2010 17:14 BG1 wrote: If I really had to pick my favorite game it would probably be Baldur's Gate 2. Unfortunately no one really did a nice write-up about it so I'll give the key to a game that is in many regards as good (if not better) than BG2 and is made by the same awesome company that has filled my life with countless hours of fun gaming: Planescape: Torment. So congrats Qwerty Thanks for all the good posts guys.
Wish they would make another BG maybe not my fav but was still a fantastic game! Played that first one that came out on xbox ages ago unfortunately wasnt all that good =( Loved the story line and spells in BG2 =)
I picked this up back in elementary school when it was fresh out of stores and have literally played it almost non stop since. It is pretty much your classic RPG but the music and environments combined with the good story line and fascinating characters have me coming back to it whenever I get bored or burnt out of other games. At this point I could probably write a guide of the game and so in depth that I could tell you specifically what comes out of each chest
All in all, it is the best game ever made (IMO) and I am eagerly awaiting the DS version to come out hopefully sometime this year.