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Off-Topic Discussion => Gaming Discussion => Topic started by: StarSlayer on June 01, 2009, 11:35:09 pm

Title: Games that wowed you
Post by: StarSlayer on June 01, 2009, 11:35:09 pm
You know the ones that from the moment you got in your grubby little mitts till you finished had you giddy as a school girl.  That totally knocked your socks off from the intro to the ending.  

Xwing and TIE Fighter(not "vs." i mean the originals that came in about 20 floppy discs):  Oh the sweet intro cutscenes with their awesome midi soundtracks!  Angry blaster toting personnel making sure you signed in your password!  Sure looking back the low poly models and textures not deserving the name might be a bit dated but at the time? Bliss from start to finish, everything I could ever want from a Star Wars game.

Hexen II Beyond Heretic:  First Person Melee set in this medieval fantasy realm.  This was probably my first bloody game, and boy was it fun.  Featuring a pletethora of fun weapons, from lighting axes to magical powers and a special item that turned you enemies into piglets.  The environments were absolutely beautiful featuring complex puzzles to progress though the multi zone levels.  There was this one ice level with strobing lights and big nasty yeti monster things that used to scare the crap out of me as a kid.

Journeyman Project: Time Turbo and Buried in Time:  Ah I miss the point and click adventure games, and these two were excellent examples.  Graphically they were complete eyegasms, even today there isn't much I could complain about in terms of the visuals and audio.  Thats pretty good considering Presto Studios released them in 1992 and 95 respectively.  The stories and puzzles were excellent, even today I will occasional take them out for a spin.  As a member of the Temporal Protectorate you were charged with protecting the time stream, and boy was it a fun job.

Duke Nukem 3D:  Hail to the King Baby!  The perfect blend of one liners, violence and debauchery.  What else is there to say?  cept maybe shame on you 3D Realms.

Rebel Assault II:  Where else could you fly a YT1300 balls to the walls through a bloody mine shaft?  At the time for me this was a graphical tour de force, the full motion video was amazing.  From the intro following the mouse bot around the corridors to blowing up that massive asteroid facility I was hooked.

Total Annihilation:  Probably my favorite RTS ever.  A few RTS games come close, Dawn of War in particular, but I still will dig out the old disks and create some mayhem.  The rumbling advance of Bulldogs, the whithering fire of Brawlers and the thunder of Big Berthas all combine into this great destructive adventure.  If I were to only have a few games to play for the rest of my life TA would be one of them.

Dark Forces II:  I remember it distinctly because it was the first game I got after a major computer upgrade.  When I saw the FMV intro zooming through Nar Shadda to see Kyle Katarn dealing with a shifty droid I knew I was not going to be disappointed.  Nor was I, in a few ways I think DFII was even funner and more epic then Jedi Knight.  The story, the environments complete with civilians, the weapons everything was just fabulous.  It all combined into an adventure that seemed much more grandious then Jedi Knight, even if the latter did perfect much of the light saber combat and force powers.

FreeSpace 2:  This was another benchmark game for a new computer.  From the beginnings of the Gregorian sounding vocals through the flyby of the Colossus I was just wowed.  That greatness continued into the first training mission when after shooting an amazon i noticed the particle spew.  Holy Crap there are flames shooting out of my weapon strikes!  I was also impressed with how fleshed out the "verse" was when i visited the techrooms.  The campaign was magnificent, the impetuous bravado of the GTVA running into a solid wall of unbeatable Shivan strength was very well executed.   Everything about FS 2 was top notch from start to finish.      

Call of Duty:  The original, when WW2 Shooters were not done to death, and I couldn't navigate Carentan despite never being there.  It just had plenty of great moments, those scripted events COD does so well where amazing the first time out.  The perfectly recreated boat trip over the Volga was right out of Enemy at the Gates.  Not to mention the multiplayer, oh good times indeed.

America's Army: Oh the free multiplayer goodness.  This game was a staple of my college multi gaming.  So many little things were just great, from the ringing after affects of a grenade going off close by to needing to unjam your weapon.  Plus the original photo recon Ranger mission in the depot?  Being the last remaining member of your team running around the halls in Night Vision?  Probably the only game ever that actually got my adrenaline to pump.

Knights of the Old Republic:  I remember standing out in the street on Taris being deliriously happy I was in a living breathing Star Wars world.  Statement: There isn't much I can say about KOTOR that hasn't been said master.  May I splatter the meatbags' organs all over the floor now?

Half Life 2:  I picked it up late with the Orange Box so it came with the extra episodes.  If ever there was a game that made me feel like I was living in a dysotopian hell hole post alien invasion it was HL2.  From regimented City 17 to the gutted hulks of beached ships i totally bought the environments in Half Life.  It also scores high marks on making me care about my fellow NPCs.  Kudos Valve, i hope Episode 3 rocks hard whenever it comes out.

Portal:  One of the most unique things I've played in a while,  All the obscure cake jokes Axem prodded me with to get it was well worth it.  The novelty alone makes it stand out but the execution of it made it a big wow for me, albeit a short one.  The cake was a lie, but does that mean there was grief counseling?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

God I miss full motion video cutscenes :D  Well thats my list, now these are complete knock your socks of games, I've left off plenty of good ones that either grew on me or didn't have the complete impact from frame one.  For example I consider Dawn of War one of my favorite games ever but in terms of wowing the crap out of me from the get go it didn't cut the mustard.  So I'd like to hear some of everyone else's.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Dark Hunter on June 02, 2009, 12:14:01 am
Half-Life 2 (plus Episodes) and Portal, definitely. I'd played Half-Life (which also wowed me), but HL2 was a major step up from that, and Portal... is Portal. No more explanation needed.

Freespace 2: Everyone here knows why. But for me, the moment I saw the first beam cannon fire, I thought "Holy crap, this game is gonna be awesome!" And it was.

Cave Story: I'd heard good things about the game, but, it being freeware, I didn't expect all that much. I was wrong. Dead wrong. Perhaps my favorite part was finding out that the machine gun propelled you upwards at full power: I don't know how long I spent "flying with bullets", because that was just plain awesome (too bad getting the machine gun loses the best gun in the game).

Touhou series: particularly after getting the English patches. As shooters, the games definitely deliver: intricate, challenging, but never unfair bullet patterns and a not-annoying-like-Gradius-was item system. But then it also had some great characters, good and occasionally hilarious dialogue, and some of the most jaw-dropping soundtracks I've heard. Seriously, that one guy with a synthesizer can make something like this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zis2TtxdFjQ&fmt=18) amazes me. The stories also obviously had a lot of thought put into them: reading up on the legends that inspired them made me realize just how clever ZUN can be at times. A pity that so much gets lost in translation.

There have been many more, many MANY more (that's what happens when you play games for more than 16 years), but these are the examples that currently stick in my mind.  :)
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Scotty on June 02, 2009, 01:17:44 am
Halo:CE.  Mostly the first one, because the first time I played it, I had no idea what was coming out of that door the dead guy falls through.  2 and 3 just had the feel of "Eh.  Flood."

FreeSpace 2.  Duh.

Call of Duty 4.  One of my favorite story lines in any game.

Mass Effect.  The best story of any game I have ever played IMHO.

Legend of Zelda:  Ocarina of Time.  This was just a classic.

Knights of the Old Republic.  Both of them.  Number 1 for the story, number 2 for the gameplay.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Ghostavo on June 02, 2009, 01:37:28 am
Most games that qualify for me have already been posted, so I'll just add one that hasn't been.

Morrowind
I wasn't expecting much from it, and was just looking for a storyline, but then the intro intrigued me and then... you get out of the boat.




I swear I spent an hour just looking at the water. It was that gorgeous at the time.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: ShadowGorrath on June 02, 2009, 01:46:52 am
Call of Duty 4, FreeSpace 2, Tiberium Wars, Red Alert 2.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: bloated on June 02, 2009, 04:17:17 am
StarCraft

Mechwarrior 2 all versions and Mechwarrior 3

Freespace 2... FS1 was pretty good despite several annoying missions.

Half Life, Half Life 2, Episode 1 and Episode 2..... where the hell is Episode 3!!!!

the original Unreal Tournament.

the first Call of Duty

Medal of Honor Allied Assault...... a group of 6 of us were all playing the campaign at the same time and we all were uber pissed off the day we walked into the sniper village and *****ing about it at work.

Ground Control II.

the fist Halo for Xbox..... the only decent game on the old Xbox, Halo 2 was ok but showed Xbox's age graphically.

Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: starbug on June 02, 2009, 05:26:12 am
Oh for me it was

Doom 1 & 2

Hexen

both Freespace's

Novastorm, awesome soundtrack

Now this one seems to have been forgotten, Realms of the Haunting. It was an huge epic game with amazing live action cutscenes that scared the crap out of me, i was just a kid at the time and the graphics at the time were brillant! I haven't seen another of its like, it took me 2 months to finish!

Total Annihilation, Still to find a game that beats the soundtrack.

Warcraft series, except WOW.

Starcraft

The First Half-life, wasn't to struck on Half-life 2, amazing graphics just i didn't find the game as good as the first

Blood 1 & 2 brillant games with a good sense of humor, i would love to see a third bring back caleb!

Shogo

Both KoToRs more the first.

Conquest Frontier wars

Dungeon Keeper 1 & 2, i mean come on those were a joy to play, i just loved the humor in them.

and Oblivion
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mikes on June 02, 2009, 05:59:29 am
Freespace 2 naturally... and now that this is out of the way:

Baldurs Gate 2 for a story that has yet to be surpassed.
Planescape Torment for its uniqueness and twistedness.

Deus Ex for showing what potential FPS really have.
System Shock 1 for sheer atmosphere and immersion.

Vampire 2: Bloodlines for expanding on the FPS/RPG idea and meshing it into a fantastic experience.

TA for showing what scope RTSs can have.
Supreme Commander for adapting the TA idea, but building the game for multiplayer from the ground up.

Portals for showing that innovation still exists even today.

Guildwars for showing how great MMOs can be without grind, but complex gameplay instead.
Neverwinter Nights (1) for really exploring the potential of user-created content (ironically while only being shipped with a mediocre "official" campaign).

Unreal Tournament 2004 for unforgettable mods, not neccessarily the game itself. Air Buccaneers and Alien Swarm certainly are hard to forget however. ;)

Master of Orion 2 for being propably the most important "classic" 4X game even today.
Sins of a Solar Empire for showing that 4X games actually CAN work in realtime.
Galactic Civilizations 2 for featuring one of the most elaborate AIs to date and delivering the most enjoyable modern 4X experience.

mhhh and maybe The Witcher... for showing that storyline and immersion actually CAN trump crappy (combat) gameplay quite easily hehe.


Edit: and almost forgot Wing Commander 1-4, the games i grew up. Ah the glory days of full motion life-acted video immersion goodiness. ;)
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: newman on June 02, 2009, 08:32:29 am
Ah, the games of my youth.. I won't go on about X-Wing and Tie Fighter, and the other stuff Slayer mentioned, suffice to say I lost many a night's sleep over them.

Dune. Not Dune 2 the RTS, Dune, the first person strategy game. It was one of the first games that really had me hooked, as a kid.
The Lost Vikings - anyone who's played this DOS game knows what I'm on about.
Chuck Yeager's Air Combat - 3 campaigns, one WW2, one Korean War, one Vietnam. How can you go wrong?
Privateer - unprecedented graphics for that age, large explorable space, ships you can buy/maintain, good storyline and the possibility to be a bounty hunter, merchant, pirate...
Star Control 2 - this may have been the first game I lived and breathed. Literally, from start to finish, it was all I could do or think about. Living in Croatia, this was about the time when the air raid sirens were frequently going off, and school was often canceled due to this. I didn't care. All it mattered was getting every spare moment behind the computer, collecting enough ore around the galaxy so I can put those Hellbore cannons on my Precursor mothership..
Monkey Island 1 and 2 - possibly the best and funniest adventure games ever made. Feel free to count every Lucasarts adventure game of the era, from "Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis" to "Day of the Tentacle"..
There were many games after this, I really loved "X-Wing: Alliance".. but the only games that managed to make me go nearly maniacal on them as I did over StarControl 2 were DeusEx (1, 2 was crap) and SW: Kotor.
Oh, one other I kinda liked was "Vampire: the Masquerade Bloodlines". Had many faults, but I liked it all the same.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Sushi on June 02, 2009, 09:32:02 am
In addition to what's already been listed...

Oni. It successfully blended the best parts of those 2D/2.5D fighting games with a full 3D action game. I'm always on the lookout for a sequel, or at least a "spiritual successor."

Jedi Knight 2/3. I actually played JK3 first, and while the story was only so-so the light saber action was amazing. It was clearly revolutionary when it appeared, and as far as I know there's still nothing with a comparable dynamic. About the only thing that could get me excited about this "The Old Republic" MMO crap is if it somehow featured real-time light saber combat ala JK2/3 (or better).

Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Ashrak on June 02, 2009, 11:07:06 am
Outcast in its day

Tachyon

EVE

GRID
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: darkone on June 02, 2009, 11:31:51 am
Diablo - Is still being played today and D3 is coming and looks amazing
Wing Commander 3 - in all its FMV glory and the story was great
Farcry - Brought FPS to a new level ... have you played Crysis Warfare... gfx are insanely good
Syberia - Great story
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: haloboy100 on June 02, 2009, 11:49:07 am
Freelancer - Definitely. Freelancer is a beautiful game, and even though the planets were horribly underscaled, I spent over 400+ hours (according to Xfire) playing that game, which is longer than I've played Guild Wars, which is a persistant online game (the type of which usually drain hundreds of hours).

Half-Life 2 - Oh, damn. my favorite FPS of all time. It's the only game where I've truly felt cinematic unscripted moments, which number way to many to describe. The simple, memorable, thumping sound that the explosions make is probably what makes everything so realistic in huge battles. I can go on, and on, and on; like how the game uses a persistant health instead of the bull**** regenerating health most games use, the realistic recoil, and the very best atmosphere and story I've ever seen in any video game. Dis the story all you want, but take one good look at the fanon circuling about and you know that Valve has the potential to launch the whole series into a massive franchise.

Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2. the single player was downright amazing, but I have yet to find a mod that will ever match the power and novelty of the explosive weapons pack. Modding the Jedi Knight games is something I'll never forget...which leads me to my next choice;

Unreal Tournament 2004 for unforgettable mods, not neccessarily the game itself. Air Buccaneers and Alien Swarm certainly are hard to forget however. ;)
:nod:

Air Buccaneers was awesome.

and I'm surprised Descent isn't mentioned - it revolutionized the way I look at First Person Shooters. If there's one concept I want to see copied and cliched to hell in this generation of gaming, it's the 6 Degrees Of Freedom that Descent offered...not the bull**** regenerating health gimmick.

/me Will try harder in the future to not rant about regenerating health in games.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Sushi on June 02, 2009, 12:37:18 pm
and I'm surprised Descent isn't mentioned - it revolutionized the way I look at First Person Shooters. If there's one concept I want to see copied and cliched to hell in this generation of gaming, it's the 6 Degrees Of Freedom that Descent offered...not the bull**** regenerating health gimmick.

I knew I forgot something!
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: NGTM-1R on June 02, 2009, 12:59:49 pm
MechWarrior 3 was basically everything a giant robot game should ever be, with lovingly detailed textures for the 'Mechs and atmosphere. These were not the usual uncanny-valleyed mocap mecha. These were giant friggin' robots and they acted like and felt like giant friggin' robots. They fought like it, they moved like it. MechCommander would also win this accolade, except for the fact that I did not actually finish the game until more than a year later due to striking a brick wall on one of the missions.

X-Com and TFTD; this was squad combat as it should be. It's rational, and realistic squad tactics actually work. That's not something I can say about any other squad-based games I've played. UFO Aftermath does it too, but not until the late game unfortunately. (While a more forgiving game in general, Aftermath's aliens are actually much more difficult to kill, requiring much more concentrated fire...and hence much more bunching up.)

Ground Control was more or less the perfect Real Time Tactical game in play and story. Ground Control II was good as well, but not as good...though there is much to be said for the only game which ever gave the MBT a freaking coaxial machinegun. I mean, my god. Tanks are suddenly as badass as they should be.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: General Battuta on June 02, 2009, 01:01:19 pm
I agree with NGTM-1R's picks. I'll add Hardwar for its atmosphere, economy, and living-world AI.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Scotty on June 02, 2009, 02:06:27 pm
Quote
MechCommander would also win this accolade, except for the fact that I did not actually finish the game until more than a year later due to striking a brick wall on one of the missions.

Same for me with MC2.  I actually liked MC2 better because the graphics aproach MW3 for 'Mechs and vehicles, even if it is an RTS.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: General Battuta on June 02, 2009, 02:26:49 pm
Really? I always thought MC1 looked a lot better.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Angelus on June 02, 2009, 03:06:43 pm
You know the ones that from the moment you got in your grubby little mitts till you finished had you giddy as a school girl.  That totally knocked your socks off from the intro to the ending.  


Knights of the old Republic, great story, great graphics and a really awesome dark side ending.

Mechwarrior 3, this is how a Battletech Mechsimulator is like, Microsoft! Not the wishy-washy sequel Vengeance and Mercs you gave us.

Mechcommander 1, tankrush impossible unlike C+C.

Thief 3 ( with high-res texture pack ), awesome game, handled the stealth-and-sneak-around-thing a bit better then the Splinter Cell series.

Spinter Cell, 'cause sneaking around is way cooler then shooting everything on sight.

Shining Force, my first game on the Genesis and my first RPG ever. It feels like it's decades ago...

X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter 1+2 no explanation needed.

Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, it's for PC games what Alien is for the movies.

Alien vs. Predator 2, the first part of the game is awesome, the rest is average, but those first missions are great.

Homeworld 1, for me, still one of the best RTS games.

Here ends the list, although there are more good commercial games.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Almost everything FSO based.

I knew about the existance of FS2, but it never was interesting enough to buy it, or download it with FSO.
I was more interested in TBP.
I was searching the internets for screen caps of BSG as i found pics of BtRL.
Knowing that most mod teams fall apart, mods never get released ( or only partly like the B5 mod for Homeworld ) my first thought was, " yeah sure, no way that the game looks/ plays really that good", it has to be crap.

I was almost sure that those pics have been "enhanced" in photoshop ( like the C+C designers did it in the first three games ), during the download i prepared a "little letter" to the DEVs, just in case i'm right.
I downloaded it and was all "OMG, that actually is playable BSG", and months later i DL FSO, so basically everything FSO based is top, regardless of it's standalone ( Diaspora, BtrL, TBP ) or a mod for FSO ( Blue Planet... ).



Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: colecampbell666 on June 02, 2009, 03:14:46 pm
FS1 - It was completely different from FS2

HL2 and Episodes, Especially Ep2. Just an amazing story

Portal

Age Of Empires, I was about 7 when I first played, and I was wowed.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Rodo on June 02, 2009, 03:24:19 pm
In chronological order:
Call Of Duty 4, Homeworld, Clive Barker's Undying, FS2, Total Annihilation, Prince of Persia.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Rick James on June 02, 2009, 03:27:00 pm
Homeworld.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Roanoke on June 02, 2009, 03:38:05 pm
Super Probotecter/Contra (SNES) - when Sprite-Rotation and >256-ish colours really mattered!
F-Zero (SNES)- What was it called ? "mode 7" ?
StarFox/Starwing (SNES) - Proper 3D, years ahead of it's time.
Wipeout - PS1 "cool" personified.
Gran Turismo (PS1)- Epic making in it's day. Redefined the racing game genre.

That's all I can think of for now.
Not quite on topic but sneaking into the over 18s arcade to play Sega Rally and Daytona was cool.



Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: General Battuta on June 02, 2009, 03:46:19 pm
Homeworld, yeah.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: redsniper on June 02, 2009, 04:06:34 pm
Ico

Beyond Good & Evil

Final Fantasy VI

Metal Gear Solid

Half-Life

Shadow of the Colossus
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Rodo on June 02, 2009, 04:09:40 pm
ohh how could I have forgotten these!!: Dungeon Keeper 1 & Dungeon Keeper 2.

I should burn in hell for that.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: bloated on June 02, 2009, 06:31:24 pm
I bought Homeworld about 7 years ago but never played it until last year.

it was indeed an excellent game.... now I wish I had played all of them although from what I've read the stories were never as good as the first.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mikes on June 02, 2009, 06:53:09 pm
Forgot that earlier, Homeworld 1/2 are definitely noteworthy as well, as are Ground Control 1/2 for outstanding and innovative contributions to the RTS genre. Even World in Conflict, while less complex than GC, for offering such a playable twist on RTS multiplayer.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: NGTM-1R on June 02, 2009, 07:44:29 pm
Homeworld 1 was superb, until you realized how to break the game into Grand Theft Starship. (Which, while fun as all hell, sort of ruined the epic scale and immersion when you view attacking fleets as a means to bulk up yours.) Catacylsm was actually the best of the series in my opinion, as it never had the opportunity to go crazy on you like HW1 could (the final battle frequently liked to do this if you stole too many Ion Frigates earlier) and HW2 always did with its adaptive difficulty bull****.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: colecampbell666 on June 02, 2009, 07:46:52 pm
Has anyone had luck running HW2 on Windows 7or Vista?
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: The E on June 02, 2009, 07:50:46 pm
Yes. On Vista, anyway. Have to try it on 7.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: colecampbell666 on June 02, 2009, 07:57:39 pm
What did you do?
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: The E on June 02, 2009, 08:09:39 pm
On 7, running it in XP SP2 compatibility mode with admin rights worked (note that you have to mark that checkbox specifically). ISTR that this worked the same way on Vista, as well.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: colecampbell666 on June 02, 2009, 08:15:18 pm
7 64-Bit? I tried that exactly, and no dice. Apparently you have to patch it, patch a copy on a virtual machine, and then copy the files from the virtual as the patch doesn't work right. Then you have to use a German No-CD.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: The E on June 02, 2009, 08:20:50 pm
Ooops. No, i used 7 x86. That was pretty painless, all things considered.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mikes on June 02, 2009, 08:27:50 pm
Has anyone had luck running HW2 on Windows 7or Vista?

mh didn't notice any issues at all in Vista64. Even got it to run in widescreen with the -w1920 -h1200 commandline options.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Axem on June 02, 2009, 11:09:31 pm
FF6: Without sounding too much like a out of context advertising quote, just about the most cinematic game to grace the SNES. I loved how everyone got their own deep story and a moment to shine in it. The way the story unfolded too, like when the party gets split into 3. You could have easily just had the whole party go through 3 short arcs and then go to Narshe. But it just felt awesome to reunite them all and take on the Empire. And then there's the Opera House. Epic.

Ocarina of Time: While I had experienced Super Mario 64 before, Ocarina of Time was a lot more immersive. It felt like a real breathing world. People moving around, shops closed at night, the drawbridge opening and closing. The dungeons were just fun to go through, and the bosses even more (Except the Water Dungeon. Damn it to hell!). It all felt like out of a movie.

Shadow of the Colossus: Not quite sure how to describe this, other than epic. Epic in the grand sense (epic in the omfgepic sense too of course). There's nothing else in that game other than you, your horse and the Colossi. Normally this would be boring, but once you get into it, it just seems natural. And when you're fighting the Colossi, wow. That's how boss fights should all be.

Deus Ex: Took some time to get into, but once I was there, I was there. I think it all clicked that this was totally awesome when I first woke up in the MJ12 facility and Daedelus tells me he's going to break me out. I think my favorite bit about it all was the AIs. If there ever anything that creeped me out, it was Icarus trying to contacting me (ICARUSHASFOUNDYOU x 100). Also walking into the VersaLife building, and seeing that Globe with the Hand as seen in the intro. Wow.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: eliex on June 03, 2009, 12:52:53 am
SW: Battlefront II - Although old, this game when played on the computer is unbelievably fun with over 50 units in the game at the present time. The multiplayer area is filled with excitement and tension. Only shelved the game a short time ago.

Battle for Middle-Earth I: In my opinion, still better than BFM2, this really brings to light the universe of LoTR. The campaign is the highlight while the multiplayer side is rather unbalanced towards the Mordor faction. It is very immersive and the graphics were excellent for that time.

Age of Mythology-The Titans: Possibly the best game from the Age of Empires series even if it is a spin-off. The Fall of the Trident campaign is exceptionally good with a very good plot and voice-acting. The implemenation of special abilities granted by relics granted a wider range of strategies.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: voidSkipper on June 03, 2009, 01:59:23 am
Corncob3D - First flight sim I played, and probably my first 3D game. No textures, just plain colours and running on DOS in 1992. Absolute blast, though. I think it was pretty much the reason I got a joystick back then. Also, it had permanent death, which is not something that has been explored overly well in flight/space sims. Getting downed behind enemy lines meant humping it back to your airstrip with nought but a pistol and a map, and there was really a sense of urgency to save your veteren pilot for another purple heart.

Fury3 - My first space sim. The first computer game I actually put on my christmas list too, I think. Played it with an ancient joystick on a machine that could barely handle it, but it sure was fun. Debris and particles were great, and following your spiraling, stricken enemies down through cloud cover until they slammed into the terrain below was an extremely rewarding experience.

Wing Commander - I didn't really play this a great deal - a friend of mine had a copy, so we used to just fly around a bit whenever I went over to his. I picked it up again years later in DOSBOX and it definitely was still a blast.

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - A game with a storyline! Unheard of! I'm pretty ashamed to say I needed a walkthrough for the Water Temple. I still stand by this being the best RPG ever created.

Diablo2 - I didn't play this until years after it came out, and it really blew me away. The art and atmosphere was fantastic, there was very little grinding in the single-player campaign, and the story was engaging. It was really the dark, melancholic feel of the game that hooked me, though. When I got to the end of the first act and the sight of the tortured-to-death-and-forgotten corpses in the Monastry didn't even phase me, I knew I'd been playing too long.

Freespace2 - Now, the order of things here was weird. I bought a new joystick - a Wingman Force 3D - though I have absolutely no idea why. I knew of no decent space sims at the time, and wasn't interested in flight sims. It came with a copy of Freespace2:The Colossus though, which I almost didn't install. I think I ended up playing through that demo 20 times before I managed to track down a copy of the full game. It's worth noting that a mate of mine bought me a boxed FS1 with manual after he stumbled across it in a second hand bargain bin for AU$6. People just don't know the value of what they sell.

Nothing's really "blown me away" in recent times, though. There are plenty of games I've had fun with, certainly, but nothing that I'd expect to be looking at through rose tinted goggles in ten year's time.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Kosh on June 03, 2009, 02:55:18 am
Duke Nukem 3d (and when I was even younger than that, Duke Nukem 2, the VGA, 2d, dos, platform game)

Doom 1&2

Freespace 2

StarCraft

Half life 1

Red Alert 2

Master of Orion 1 - sure it had somewhat pixellated 2d dos graphics, but I had a lot of fun with it over the years. It was simple enough to get into after a few run throughs, but it was sophisticated enough to keep me interested for years. If you used your imagination a bit to flesh out the story, particularly for the epic fleet battles (especially the ones that turned the tide of whatever war you're in), it really was a blast.

Deus Ex (the original) - conspiracy theories woven into a sophisticated storyline combined with innovative gameplay makes this one of my all time favorites. It was long, so perhaps it should have been split up into 2 or 3 games to provide for even more depth, such as increased involvement with x-51, and missions to texas (which is a warzone between the US and Mexico in the story) and the moon. Those things were originally planned but canned or scaled back because of time constraints. Would have been awesome if they were included. What was even more of a shame was the badly botched sequel, while IW was a mediocre game on its own, compared to the original it was such an Epic Fail.

Halo 2 - played it with one of my then co-workers on his x box 360. Was awesome.

honorable mentions:
Sin (the original) - this game was a lot of fun, but it was rushed and sadly that shows up too many times ranging from sudden and random CTD's to enemies who repeat exactly the same line over and over. Other than those things, it was one of the more enjoyable games I've played so it gets a runner up prize.

Halo 1 - It was a very good game, but other than vehicle driving (which was then a seldom seen feature on PC shooters) and an awesome backstory, the sequel outshined it in everyway (except the grenades were too greatly weakened).

Games I want to play but can't because even in 2009 I still don't have a good enough computer for it:
Doom 3 & resurrection of evil
Half Life 2 & episodes
C&C 3
FarCry 1 & 2
Halo 3 (no longer have access to previously mentioned other persons' x box)
StarCraft 2 (when it is released.....still won't have a computer good enough to play it)
T-72: Balkans on fire
F.E.A.R.
Call of Duty 2,3,&4
World in Conflict
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Wobble73 on June 03, 2009, 04:30:33 am
Prince of Persia. I mean the original, yes I'm showing my age but...............the first time I played that game I was like "Wow, he actually moves like a human being!!!!!". Before then I was used sprites in computer games, blocky polygon based characters in games, but the Prince's movement in that games opened my eyes. Around the same time period, Castle Wolfenstein 3D. First 3D game FPS I ever laid my eyes on, was in love with FPS games from then on, followed quickly by DOOM! Boy these are old games!

Shortly afterwards I got into Carmageddon and then Carmageddon 2.

But these are all PC games, older games that wowed me, Attic Attac (on the Spectrum), Manic Miner (on the Spectrum) and Knightmare (IIR the name C, on the Commodore 64). I just loved the challenge of Manic Miner and the music. Attic Attac and Knightmare were fairly cool isometric games with a pretty cool atmosphere.

Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Rodo on June 03, 2009, 07:09:16 am
Oh... deux ex... I think I have that cd around here somewhere... tnks for remainding me! :D
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Titan on June 03, 2009, 08:50:39 am
Hmmm...

Need for Speed 1 demo: That was the first video game I ever played. I remember back when I was like 5, sitting there going around that little figure 8 circuit, watching the other cars fall behind. I grew up playing need for speed, probably my favorite gaming series ever (until EA ****ed it up with all that sreeet racing ****).

Freespace 2: Came with my joystick. I remember, the first time I played, I didn't even know the story or what the hell I was doing. I just flew around, shot stuff, and managed to crash into the boadicea before my framerate dropped to about 2 and my computer crashed a couple minutes later. About a year later, I came back to it, got obsessed. Played the campaign about 20 times, then started playing the multiplayer missions. In the middle of the summer, my dad surprised me. I walked into the computer room, and there, in all it's glory, is an illegally (or whatever, everything else he gets that way is illegal) downloaded version, installing on the computer. I started playing around 6:30 PM, by the time I when to bed at 9, I had gotten halway through the chess missions. I snuck back downstairs at about 10:00, when up about an hour later to change my pants, and finished the campaign by midnight. Good times. That december, I joined HLP. Right after the next school year began, I got SCP. Damn, I wanna replay the campaign now. Currently stuck on A Game of TAG.

Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator: The original. I used to play that for so long. I remember, getting the high score in dogfight mode, me in a P51 against a pair of respawning JU-87s. Would just wait for them to appear, then open up at range with my guns. Watch them fall a minute later.

Close Combat demos and Age of Empires II demo: They came packed with a bunch of other demos and the CFS game mentioned above. Once I got bored with CFS, I checked these out. Loved them.

Star Wars Galactic Battleground: my neighbours showed this game to me. I played that one demo mission for months, doing everything I could, even single handedly using darth vader to convert then entire rebel force from the first two bases and using it against the big one. My dad even played a bunch of multiplayer rounds with me. I asked my mom for it, gave her a month's worth of allowance, and one day I get home from school, she shows me this little, plain, gray box with a hole in the cover. Through that I could see the coverart for the edition that included the original and the expansion. That game is probably a close second for longest lasting game, with FS the first.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: haloboy100 on June 03, 2009, 09:08:47 am
Freespace...ugh. Of course I loved it, but it's a shame how miserable my life was playing multiplayer. :rolleyes:
I remember this one time I shook off my friend in a one-on-one deathmatch using a corkscrew maneuver, which is essentially turning in one direction and then rolling in that direction at the same time. He kept following me and desperately trying to hit me for about 5-10 minutes straight, before finally hitting me with some Tempests and killing me. Me, being 10 years old, spent the next hour in the game *****ing to him about how bad of a player I was. :rolleyes:
Naturally the single player completely blew away a little kid like me at the time, and it's the only game in my life I ever drew pictures about (Except for maybe the mechwarrior 3 demo in like, grade 2). And I never draw. People can't even read my printing.
I mean, I had the freespace theme installed in my computer, a desktop, all the music playing constantly (as I didn't listen to any music at the time), the screensaver, even though it didn't work...if there was Freespace merchandise, I'd own it all. :P
Speaking of which...what happened to the HLP store??
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: colecampbell666 on June 03, 2009, 02:01:14 pm
Still there. We need a link.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Roanoke on June 03, 2009, 04:13:38 pm
I suppose the intro from Quake 2 was my first actual pc wow moment. It had always been SNES, PS1 etc untill then.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: MP-Ryan on June 03, 2009, 05:02:48 pm
I have four:
1.  System Shock 2.  Still the bar by which I measure all FPS-RPG hybrids.
2.  Deus Ex, a close second.
3.  Oblivion.
4.  Half-Life 2

Those four were truly innovative and made you sit back and simply marvel at the game.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: mxlm on June 03, 2009, 10:44:05 pm
Half-Life 1/2: I don't really need to explain, do I?

Planescape: Torment: Best RPG evah? Probably.

Fallout 1/2: Atmosphere, man. Atmosphere.

Vampire: Bloodlines: See above.

KOTOR 2: First deconstruction of Star Wars I encountered. Frickin' great.

Wing Commander IV: Yeah, yeah, III was better. I didn't play three until a couple years later. So.

Jagged Alliance 2: Still break this out every couple years. Think I actually like it more than X-Com.

X-Com 1/3: Yes, they're great.

Alpha Centauri: Screw Civ, this is where it's at. Planet busters, man. Planet busters. Also sea colonies and proper social engineering and so on.

Call of Duty: Immersion, thy name is WW2 shooter. I played the demo alone a dozen times.

Warcraft II/Starcraft: Duh

Il-2: The high water mark of WW2 flight sims

Crimson Skies: dude, you get to shoot down zepplins. And fly through the Hollywood sign! And pick people up from speeding trains! It's great!
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Grizzly on June 04, 2009, 12:19:16 am
The WIng Commander series. I actually bought 3 and 4 on the flea market for €1 a piece, and they are in a quite original state. Those movie's are awesome, and I haven't played WC4 yet, whose movies are.... even more awesome.

Almost everything from Valve... Do I need to explain myself?

Freespace 2, obviously.

NFS3.
Airfix Dogfighter
Age of Empires (2). Most played computer games in the family for over 6 years.

Fallout.

Mass effect.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Cyker on June 04, 2009, 02:06:10 am
Mmm...

Old sk00l (C64, Amiga): Creatures 2 and Mayhem in Monsterland, Ikari Warriors, Operation Wolf, UN Squadron, Shining Force 2, Stormlord, Hawkeye, R-Type, Armalyte, ?Iridium? Alpha, Blood Money, Forgotten Worlds, Xenon 2 Megablast.

PeeCee: Every LEC adventure game, X-Wing, TIE Fighter, XvT, XWA, Dark Forces, Mechwarrior 2 and 3, Planescape Torment, Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, Diablo 1, Raptor, Jets'n'Guns, Wolfenstein 3D, Blake Stone, System Shock 1 & 2, Deus Ex 1, WH40k: DoW.


Just off the top of my head ;)
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Titan on June 04, 2009, 07:03:48 am
Operation Wolf... I remember playing that, back when we had MAME working. That's the one about like the secret commando insertion, and you swing through the trees and stuff, right?
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Vidmaster on June 04, 2009, 07:19:33 am
the biggest whoa!!!! ever is still Call of Duty 4 for me. Those first moments when we approach the ship, the nuke scene, the Chernobyl field scene (I remember holding my breath during this one), ...    :)
Shortly followed by God of War, holy crap what a game. Or Resistance. First game I played on my Playstation 3 and it has one of the best introduction levels ever.
Crysis is another one. Mass Effect. Day of the Tentacle.
Nexus and Homeworld 2. Half-Life 2. Crimson Skies on PC. Man, everybody who played my FortuneHunters campaigns probably knows that those are a huge love letter to that game.
Riddick. The dream tutorial level just kicks so much ass.


Best game I have ever played is still very very difficult to determine. It's between Uncharted, Freespace 2 and Beyond Good & Evil.  If you just count time spend with it (replays  :lol:) it's of course Freespace 2. Although a very hard contender would be Freedom Force then.

Has anyone had luck running HW2 on Windows 7or Vista?

Perfectly working on Vista for me, although I heared some people had problems with the copy protection.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Sushi on June 04, 2009, 08:42:00 am
One more huge one I missed:

Falcon 3.0. I breathed that game as a kid.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Rodo on June 04, 2009, 01:13:21 pm
Bioshock? another one hehe.. so twisted and unexpected that I just wowed when I played it.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Angelus on June 04, 2009, 01:18:05 pm
I forgot to mention two games that wowed me bigtime:

GP2 - for me one of the best F1 simulations.
The game was awesome, although you needed a high-end system to run it with all details.
GP3 and 4 had only graphic improvements and different circuits.


Gothic - great story, cool quests, a large world, the freedom to explore it, the AI doesn't stand around and waits 'till you ask them something, they work, they eat, they fight, they sleep...and they have a plan :P...

The graphic isn't the best, but frak it, the game puts you under its spell and doesn't release you 'till the end.
Only KOTOR 1 was able to shove it from the throne of the best RPG ever, at least imo.

Gothic 2 was like KOTOR 2 in many aspects, Gothic 3 had good graphics but the rest...

I also have to say that all parts of Gothic are buggy as hell ( it's kinda a trademark of the developers  :P ), although Gothic 1 was perfectly playable with version 1.07.


If you have the chance, buy Gothic 1, it's totally worth it.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Vidmaster on June 04, 2009, 02:27:56 pm
hey Ang, try the new Gothic 3 Enchanced Editon Community Patch. Now with new combat AI and complete rebalancing  :)
Really a playable, fun game now.

While Gothic 1 and 2 were great, both suffered from bad pacing and a general lack of tension. Also, the later chapters range from boring to terrible.
Gothic 1 still has a special place in my heart, especially it's first two chapters.


And I still think Kotor2 is superior to the first one, because this actually makes you care a lot more and raises so many ethical and philosophical questions AND it features Kreia, the most brilliant video game character to date.
Soon, the TSLRP will be finished and we can finally play this game the way it was meant to be.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: SpardaSon21 on June 04, 2009, 03:11:29 pm
Soon, the TSLRP will be finished and we can finally play this game the way it was meant to be.
Is that ST:R soon or Duke Nukem Forever soon?
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Angelus on June 04, 2009, 03:29:09 pm
hey Ang, try the new Gothic 3 Enchanced Editon Community Patch. Now with new combat AI and complete rebalancing  :)
Really a playable, fun game now.

While Gothic 1 and 2 were great, both suffered from bad pacing and a general lack of tension. Also, the later chapters range from boring to terrible.
Gothic 1 still has a special place in my heart, especially it's first two chapters.

I have to check out that patch, but i have only around 1GB of free diskspace atm, and G3 needs a tad bit more :sigh:

I never had the feeling that Gothic 1 suffered from bad pacing and lack of tension, unlike 2 and 3.
The only "boring" part is, imo, the first quests for the Sect, but towards the end it gets better again.
TES: Morrowind is a game that had a lot to offer, theoretically, but was boring. I played it only halfway through. I have both expansions, but never had the time to find out if they are better.


And I still think Kotor2 is superior to the first one, because this actually makes you care a lot more and raises so many ethical and philosophical questions...


I think that's one of the reasons why i don't like it that much.
For me, Star Wars was always good vs. bad, light vs. dark, not how many levels of grey life, the force or whatever has.
I don't mind philosophical/ ethical questions in games, but i don't want to much of 'em in a Star Wars title.

Imo, KOTOR 2 lacks the Star Wars "feeling", with all the bla-bla it reminds me more of a Trek game then Star Wars, i also have sometimes the feeling that parts of it are missing.
Like you watch a show on TV, and after the last commercial, the last few minutes are replaced with the beginning of the next episode. :wtf:

It's technically ( the different saber styles, the fact that it runs smoother on my PC then the first one - the Dantooine Level for instance )  better then the first one, but the story wents downhill really fast, although i have to admit that there are some good story-bits and quests.
The game had huge potential but it feels uncomplete AND much too philosophical, for a Star Wars game, IMO.


...AND it features Kreia, the most brilliant video game character to date.

I'm not sure what to think of her, she is a intruiging character, but still...

Soon, the TSLRP will be finished and we can finally play this game the way it was meant to be.

I'll definitively will check that out, it's not the first time a mod team turns a halfway decent game into a good/ great one.
Let's see how things turn out... :)

Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Javito1986 on June 04, 2009, 05:41:06 pm
Kudos on the great thread. There's two games that come to mind immediately. I'll post more later! I love talking about my favorite games.

1) Wing Commander. The original. Oh glory! I was 9 years old, it was about 1996, I picked this up for the SNES. So inferior to the DOS version but I didn't know that. Man what an amazing game, immersive in ways that modern gaming has just utterly forgotten. The manual with its timeline, biographies, warship specs, dogfight tactics. The rec room where you meet your shipmates and ol' Shotglass, the briefing room with that music and the badass Colonel Halycon, and then those crazy dogfights with the amazing and beautiful graphics. Yes they're not technically impressive by 2009 standards but the graphics in the original two Wing Commander games hold up today for their aesthetic appeal. Those were some pretty, pretty games. Especially WC2 is pretty, I still enjoy looking at the explosions. The graphics in later games, ironically, don't hold up nearly as well bc they went for a more "realistic" look instead of hand drawn prettiness.

2) Final Fantasy VII. Graphics hold up really well, with the exception of the ugly character models but that can be overlooked. The soundtrack, characters, story... it was my first JRPG and I fondly remember it. FF7 is the reason why Tales of Vesperia is sitting in my 360 console right now, it started me off on RPGs. It's a really great game.

3) Nobody's mentioned Okami. Shame on all of you! Okami is so magical. As much as I love games it's so refreshing to play one that doesn't revolve around killing people or war or etc. I'm about 15 hours in last I left off and I just love this game. And it's GORGEOUS.

4) Rowan's Battle of Britain. OMFG has anyone else played this? Rowan was just the king of flight sims. IL-2 is cool and all but seriously. No, SERIOUSLY Rowan's Battle of Britain is the best WW2 flight sim ever made. It takes patience though because the flight model is brutally hard, I really had to spend freaking hours training myself to take off and land in those old planes. It's -so- hard to shoot anything down, as it should be, the AI is stunning. Not to mention the scale. During the latter stages of the campaign you're taking off with every fighter in the Royal Air Force behind you, 300+, and throwing yourselves into those massive formations of 1000+ Luftwaffe bombers and their fighter escorts that darken the skies. Oh if only this laptop could run the sequel... woe is me!



Kudos to the guy who mentioned T-72 Balkans on Fire. Amazing tank sim. Pretty much any game published by Battlefront is unrivaled in authenticity, immersion, and ridiculous fun. The Combat Mission series is my favorite series of strategy games of all time, bar none.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Pred the Penguin on June 04, 2009, 05:50:50 pm
Age of Empired II: First game I played, definitely left an impression, and it's still very enjoyable

Freespace: That intro just did it for me.... "Wow"

Halo 1: First time I met the flood, I couldn't play for 2 weeks. XD

KotOR2: I have no idea how many times I played this game, very addicting. Shame that the end was just crap...
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: General Battuta on June 04, 2009, 06:15:27 pm
KOTOR2 wasn't finished - it was rushed out for the Christmas season. Thus the crap ending.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Topgun on June 04, 2009, 07:00:25 pm
as a kid it was zelda ocarina of time and descent []. then came freespace and metriod prime.
still my favorite games to date, along with a few others.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Dark Hunter on June 04, 2009, 08:16:19 pm
I feel old.  :sigh:

The first game I played religiously was Super Mario Bros. I don't know if I can say it was a "wow!" game, but it was my first, so it's needless to say that it left an impression... 

Also, Descent. Descent really wowed me as a kid. The sheer size of the mines amazed me and kept me playing for hours. Though when I was that young the furthest I made it was level 11.  :p
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mikes on June 04, 2009, 08:54:21 pm
The first game I played religiously was Super Mario Bros.

That would be R-Type for me ;) hehe
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Ziame on June 05, 2009, 04:27:27 am
Star Wars - Empire at War : For the space battles (especially with the ultimate-empire-at-war mod) (ground battles suck hard though)
Nexus - The Jupiter Incident : for everything (though the shields suck)
KOTOR 2 - for being KOTOR 2
Mass Effect - for storyline and gameplay (wouldn't you want a KOTOR with JK3-like battles? That'd rock)
Star Wars - The Phantom Menace : Great game! Fun to play, especially Mos Eisley
Jedi Outcast: Storyline, voice-acting, sabers
Rome Total War, Medieval 2 Total War - for epicness and being what I love
EMPIRE TOTAL WAR: for the feeling WTF THAT'S GREAT, and for the yell "MUM BUY ME A DECENT COMPUTER!"
Starcraft: I don't need to say why, huh?
Galactic Civilizations 2 - if only it had space battles in which you can command the ships... it'd be perfect
Homeworld - you know why
Homeworld 2 - for being shiney and for Star Wars mod
Grand Theft Auto Vice City - for being what GTA should be (screw u GTA4)
GTA4 - for Katt Williams, rag doll, interaction with city and phisics. (SCREW YOU ROCKSTAR AND YOUR ****IN DRMS)
Emperor: Battle for Dune - I loved that one :)
FALLEN HAVEN - http://www.mobygames.com/game/fallen-haven   SO GREAT! I LOVE IT !!!
Heroes of Might and Magic III - In The Wake of the Gods : For the great "Heroes-pizza-parties" :)
Assasin's creed - Storyline, cities, gameplay
FreeSpace 2 - everything
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles - just ****in amazing
X3 Reunion with X-tended Mod - I can just play and play and play it
Last but not Least : Mount&Blade - the only game which features you as a single person (you start as a lone knight and can build up your army, the conquer and so on) in which the countries actually Declare Wars, Sign Peaces and CONQUER TERRITORIES

Kthxbai
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Roanoke on June 05, 2009, 06:31:37 am
Operation Wolf... I remember playing that, back when we had MAME working. That's the one about like the secret commando insertion, and you swing through the trees and stuff, right?


Operation Wolf was an arcade game where you point a gun at the screen a'la Time Crisis, House of the Dead etc.

Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Locutus of Borg on June 06, 2009, 08:21:17 am
Journeyman Project 3
FreeSpace 1
Descent 3
Quake2 (Was da **** when it came out :P)
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Vidmaster on June 06, 2009, 11:37:59 am
I played FS1 after FS2 and it's save to say it was one of the most disappointing games I ever played at the time.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: captain-custard on June 06, 2009, 11:45:54 am
most recent wow for me has been RFactor car race sim , just the level of detail and the user made mods and how good the AI is in it...

the car models and how they react is really good and it has no arcade mode which is even better

i think that this game will force me to buy another hard disc as a total instal todate would be way over 60gb....;

just need to convince my girlfriend that i really neeed a logitech G25 racing wheel setup now ..

better start the washing up
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Pred the Penguin on June 06, 2009, 07:18:28 pm
There's also Sins of a Solar Empire, not so much "wow" as being a gem in the genre.

Assassin's Creed was also pretty good, some parts were too repetitive, but the good gameplay made up for some of it.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Rhymes on June 06, 2009, 07:19:30 pm
I played FS1 after FS2 and it's save to say it was one of the most disappointing games I ever played at the time.

HERESY! BURN HIM! BUUUURRRN HIIIIMMMM!!  :mad2:
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: General Battuta on June 06, 2009, 07:35:47 pm
I played FS1 after FS2 and it's save to say it was one of the most disappointing games I ever played at the time.

HERESY! BURN HIM! BUUUURRRN HIIIIMMMM!!  :mad2:

I totally agree with Vidmaster.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: NGTM-1R on June 06, 2009, 07:41:09 pm
I sometimes argue with myself which FS game gives the impression of a more "mature" military force.

I usually tend to come down on the side of FS1. This maturity reflects itself in comparative lack of drama to FS2.

It also makes for amusing contradictions in the relative intelligence of the GTA and GTVA.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: General Battuta on June 06, 2009, 07:45:36 pm
Isn't military history (including modern military history) utterly full of drama? Of an absurd, personal kind not usually seen in either Freespace?

I mean, look at the clashes of personality. Look at Halsey's breakdown in response to Nimitz's 'the world wonders' communique.

Or, heck, the kind of petty squabbles and absurd fights that happen in any infantry unit or between officers in any chain of command.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Vidmaster on June 06, 2009, 07:59:47 pm
FS1 has lots of plot holes, many even apparent to the casually listening player ("investigation of the Lucifer at Antares", I just thought what the **** did I miss out on a mission or what"), some really bad mission design, lots of logical errors (three jump points only a puddle jump away from each other in Exodus for example, THIS IS SPACE!!!) and just a real lack of drama. And highlights were mostly missing.
It really sells the desperate feeling during most of the plot but that's about it.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: NGTM-1R on June 06, 2009, 08:03:13 pm
Isn't military history (including modern military history) utterly full of drama? Of an absurd, personal kind not usually seen in either Freespace?

I mean, look at the clashes of personality. Look at Halsey's breakdown in response to Nimitz's 'the world wonders' communique.

Or, heck, the kind of petty squabbles and absurd fights that happen in any infantry unit or between officers in any chain of command.

True, but I have to work with what I'm given in this context, which isn't terribly much but can be fairly illuminating.

FS2 GTVA shows symptoms of poor discipline (the whole "I can live with being a pawn" thing) and a seriously fractured command structure (people are clearly working at cross-purposes in several missions), but they never distingrate to the point where they don't have a plan and aren't executing it. FS1 GTA has relatively higher discipline and a much more unified command structure (with unified objectives), but fell down on the "do we have a plan, do we even try to have a plan" part when faced with the Lucifer.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Rhymes on June 06, 2009, 08:17:57 pm
They had no plan when Lucy showed up because it was an incredibly powerful ship that was also invincible. How do you make a plan for killing something that can't be killed?
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: mxlm on June 07, 2009, 05:19:23 am
You run an asteroid into it. You run a destroyer into it. You hide a bunch of Meson bombs in asteroids. Whatever. Even if what you try doesn't work, at least you're trying something.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Ghostavo on June 07, 2009, 06:11:52 am
You run an asteroid into it. You run a destroyer into it. You hide a bunch of Meson bombs in asteroids. Whatever. Even if what you try doesn't work, at least you're trying something.

No weapon in the GTA or PVN arsenal could put a dent in the Lucifer? Did you miss that brief?
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mobius on June 07, 2009, 06:20:07 am
They didn't have Meson bombs at the time of the Great War, either.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mikes on June 07, 2009, 06:20:36 am
There's also Sins of a Solar Empire, not so much "wow" as being a gem in the genre.

Well... technically, i guess you could even sort of say it was the game that founded the genre of 4XRTS lol ;)
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: SPARTAN-367 on June 07, 2009, 08:47:03 am
Freespace 1: Enough said and understood.
Freespace 2: Enough said and understood.

Half-Life 2: Everything about it is awesome + mods are awesome.

Longest Journey: Awesome story.
DreamFall: Longest Journey: Awesome story.

Halo 1: Story & single player & multiplayer gameplay, After reading the first Halo book I got attached to the Halo storyline so deeply and I can't get out.
Halo 2: Story & multiplayer gameplay
Halo 3: Story & singeplayer & multiplayer gameplay

Mass Effect: Story is good, Books drew me in deeper also.

Kill.Switch: First ever simple game to introduce the cover system and did it so well and was a blast, just too short :( had a good story going too.
Bourne Conspiracy Game: Such a simple game which is fun to play, just too short.
Call of Duty Series: Amount of crap happening at same time is orgasmic.
Mirror's Edge: Differently cool and beautiful.

Battlezone 1: Graphics wise nice and gameplay was so fun!
Battlezone 2: Graphic wise nice... gameplay wise sucked :(

Starcraft: everyone played it for sure...
Diablo: everyone played it for sure..
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Ghostavo on June 07, 2009, 09:06:41 am
There's also Sins of a Solar Empire, not so much "wow" as being a gem in the genre.

Well... technically, i guess you could even sort of say it was the game that founded the genre of 4XRTS lol ;)

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

Been there, done that.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: MP-Ryan on June 07, 2009, 09:20:24 am
There's also Sins of a Solar Empire, not so much "wow" as being a gem in the genre.

Well... technically, i guess you could even sort of say it was the game that founded the genre of 4XRTS lol ;)

Um, Homeworld?
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Ziame on June 07, 2009, 09:29:29 am
In Homeworld you don't claim planets and don't do diplomacy iirc.


Sins of a Solar Empire? It's cool for a while but: Ships are ugly:(, lacks 3D battles :(
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mikes on June 07, 2009, 09:37:38 am
... i don't think anyone could mistake either Homeworld or Haegemonia for an actual 4X game. They are both "RTS in space"... but if you call them 4X then you basically are saying any RTS is "4X" as long as it has Spaceships. ;)

Don't take me wrong. I consider Homeworld one of the best games of all time. Heagemonia not so much. But good or bad is beside the point. Matter of fact i would say that Homeworld is/was quite a bit better suited for Multiplayer than Sins of s Solar Empire is, simply for the reason that it is NOT a 4X game LOL ;) Heagomonia just proves that "4X" is not just about having planets to colonize either.

The idea behind the 4X label is a scope scale and metagameplay that has little to do with classical RTS gameplay.
So matter of fact, Sins really was the first game (to my knowledge anyways) that was built as a 4X game in realtime (instead of a "classic RTS in space / 3D" , which is something else entirely).
The only other game i would know of in the genre (coincidentially with horrible 2d graphics ;) ), would be the new indie game "Ai Wars: Fleet Command".

Don't mistake your apples for oranges and don't mistake my intent here: I definitely am not as silly as to propose discussing wether a game has to be an apple or an orange to be "better" either LOL ;)

What they are however, is different.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Ghostavo on June 07, 2009, 11:02:02 am
What does differentiate Haegemonia from Sins of a Solar Empire?
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: SpardaSon21 on June 07, 2009, 12:45:21 pm
A lot.  Hegemonia might not have much diplomacy (but then again, neither does Sins, most people play Sins with locked teams just like an RTS), but Hegemonia is much more of a 4X, at least in my opinion since it has a much deeper research tree and you get involved with your planets more.  In Hegemonia you can build all sorts of structures on your planets.  In Sins you conquer, colonize, build a few orbital structures, and spam frigates.  To be honest, I was hoping Sins was a cross between Hegemonia and Galactic Civilizations 2.  I thought it had fewer planets, more ship-to-ship combat, and a bit more micro than it does now.  Instead I got what I refer to as Supreme Commander in space, when I thought I would be getting an involving 4X game in real-time.  Yeah, I suffer from a good deal of buyer's remorse.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mikes on June 07, 2009, 02:13:45 pm
A lot.  Hegemonia might not have much diplomacy (but then again, neither does Sins, most people play Sins with locked teams just like an RTS), but Hegemonia is much more of a 4X, at least in my opinion since it has a much deeper research tree and you get involved with your planets more.  In Hegemonia you can build all sorts of structures on your planets.  In Sins you conquer, colonize, build a few orbital structures, and spam frigates.  To be honest, I was hoping Sins was a cross between Hegemonia and Galactic Civilizations 2.  I thought it had fewer planets, more ship-to-ship combat, and a bit more micro than it does now.  Instead I got what I refer to as Supreme Commander in space, when I thought I would be getting an involving 4X game in real-time.  Yeah, I suffer from a good deal of buyer's remorse.

Hegemonia appeared way too one-dimensional to me, with a quite linear upgrade path and a severe lack of diversity in unit types, tactics and strategy.
It offered neither the scope nor complexity that is a staple of pretty much any 4X game and i rather left the impression of some sort of "poor mans Homeworld" on me.

And while in Sins a simple "spam" strategy is possible there, it is also easily counterable and there certainly is a much wider variety of possible fleet compositions with ships that actually fill specific rules, including carriers, fighter defense, long range missile attack, anti structure siege torpedo ships, and a WIDE range of utility ships offering fleet wide targeting bonuses, individual ship repair, sabotage drones, et cetera and a range of capital ships with unique special abilities to top it off. Heagemonias unit selection is quite embarassing in comparison not just to Sins, but the almost any "decent" regular RTS i played up to including Homeworld and Supreme Commander, ... but i guess that goes to show how opinions differ ;)

Imho. Heagemonia would be a rather lackluster example of a regular RTS game and that is what it was to me: An RTS game that happened to play in space, but sadly didn't offer much complexity in gameplay or strategy.
That it has a "Tech tree" and happens to play on maps that features a couple of planets instead potential resource/base locations doesn't suddenly put it into a new genre.
There are enough titles that offer a quite similar gameplay experience that "just don't happen to play in space".

And Homeworld would be an example just how much better and playable the basic idea of "classic RTS in space" can be spun.
Sins on the other hand has a quite different gameplay focus, scale and scope. It's gameplay on a different level that requires different thinking.

Again... that doesn't make it better or worse, not even more or less complex than other games ... but the different focus on gameplay with the emphasis on the strategic layer instead of other games tendency to focus on the tactical layer as well as the scale and scope of the decisions that have to be made and the odds that have to be balanced, matter of fact is what could be an argument to put it in a genre of its own.

I.e. i would argue again that there is a difference, and it's not a differnce that could be measured by pairs like "good/bad" "complex/simple gameplay" or even "diffcult/easy"... rather it's different... in what kind of gameplay it offers and focuses on.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on June 08, 2009, 01:30:36 pm
Games that wowed me ... hmm...

Raptor: Call of the Shadows for extreme difficulty;

Freelancer, because it is very lively and filled with excellent (American) chatter;

RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 because it has a sandbox and lots of stuff to mess around with without any tedious view controls (:ha:, RCT3);

Tyrian 2000 for having lots of features;

Jets'n'Guns for unrivalled side-scrolling gore and shout-outs every ten seconds;

Dr. Lunatic Supreme With Cheese for Dumbness;

SuperTuxKart for OS mascots racing each other; and finally

Bejeweled Twist for fruit.

The only games that I buy or obtain are those that really catch my eye.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: mxlm on June 08, 2009, 09:50:37 pm
Imperium Galactica and Pax Imperium were both 4xRTS space empire games released years ago.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: General Battuta on June 08, 2009, 09:57:18 pm
Imperium Galactica was technically real-time, but it went into a tactical mode for battles.

I loved that game dearly, though.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: CP5670 on June 08, 2009, 11:41:00 pm
Quote
Battlezone 1: Graphics wise nice and gameplay was so fun!
Battlezone 2: Graphic wise nice... gameplay wise sucked

I think it's the other way around, especially after having played both recently. BZ1 was revolutionary but had a lot of serious flaws in its gameplay and balance, most of which were fixed in BZ2.

Quote
Raptor: Call of the Shadows for extreme difficulty;

This game was actually on the easy side by the standards of side scrollers, even on the elite difficulty. :p
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on June 08, 2009, 11:48:22 pm
Quote
Raptor: Call of the Shadows for extreme difficulty;

This game was actually on the easy side by the standards of side scrollers, even on the elite difficulty. :p

I'm talking about Outer Regions on Elite difficulty. Of course, Jets'n'Guns puts that to shame, but still... :nervous:

It's interesting to note that DemonStar didn't really impress me as much as Raptor, and although it's never mentioned by Mountain King Studios, I suspect that DemonStar is Raptor's spiritual successor.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: CP5670 on June 08, 2009, 11:53:54 pm
I'm talking about Outer Regions on Elite difficulty. Of course, Jets'n'Guns puts that to shame, but still... :nervous:

It's interesting to note that DemonStar didn't really impress me as much as Raptor, and although it's never mentioned by Mountain King Studios, I suspect that DemonStar is Raptor's spiritual successor.

Even Outer Regions isn't that hard. I guess I played that game way too much and had memorized all the enemy waves, but I never found it to be a big challenge.

Demonstar was supposed to be exactly that, but many people consider it inferior to Raptor due to the slower pace (in terms of both your and enemies' movements) and the lack of a money/shop system. I do think it's somewhat harder though, since your ship can only take a couple of hits unlike Raptor.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on June 09, 2009, 12:24:09 am
Even Outer Regions isn't that hard. I guess I played that game way too much and had memorized all the enemy waves, but I never found it to be a big challenge.

Pfft ... easy for you to say. I've only managed to complete Wave 9 of Outer Regions earlier this year, and I still find going through the whole of Outer Regions a headache on Elite.

Demonstar was supposed to be exactly that, but many people consider it inferior to Raptor due to the slower pace (in terms of both your and enemies' movements) and the lack of a money/shop system. I do think it's somewhat harder though, since your ship can only take a couple of hits unlike Raptor.

The shield system in DemonStar is rubbish. What's the point of having shields if you blow up when:

- you hit two red shots;
- you hit three big yellow shots;
- you fly into any enemy;
- you get skewered by a blue laser for 0.3 seconds;
- you touch a red laser;
- you fly into the debris of an enemy ship; and
- you hit an asteroid?

As a result, I spend most of my time playing DemonStar worrying about not hitting anything.

Secret Missions 1 and 2 makes the shields a bit more powerful, though. Not only do they recharge if you don't shoot (like Raptor on any difficulty except Elite), you get two seconds of invulnerability if you pick up a shield crystal with full shields. In addition, they can withstand stronger projectiles. I once got skewered by a blue laser in Secret Missions 2 for 0.5 seconds before I died.

DemonStar also has that "systems damaged" quirk from Raptor. In Raptor, you lose a weapon with every hit if your regular shields are below 10%. In DemonStar, if you somehow manage to get your shields down to one bar, your primary weapon drops by a level.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: TrashMan on June 09, 2009, 07:51:40 am
Sword of the Stars.

nobody mentioning it is a crime against humanity. Best 4X EVAR!
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mikes on June 09, 2009, 09:29:57 am
Sword of the Stars.

nobody mentioning it is a crime against humanity. Best 4X EVAR!

uh.... not... lol.

MOO2, GalCiv2, Imperium Galactica2 and even Sins kinda just say otherwise, with emphasis.

SotS main trapping in my eyes was that it was mostly built around allowing these tactical space battles to happen,
as often and painfully as possible, because gameplaywise the battles themselves were way too simplistic to be interesting and the framework (i.e. rest of the game) around them couldn't carry any weight of its own either.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mobius on June 09, 2009, 12:45:14 pm
Do you guys have DemonStar? I thought I was the only one... :eek2:
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: CP5670 on June 09, 2009, 01:13:42 pm
The shield system in DemonStar is rubbish. What's the point of having shields if you blow up when:

- you hit two red shots;
- you hit three big yellow shots;
- you fly into any enemy;
- you get skewered by a blue laser for 0.3 seconds;
- you touch a red laser;
- you fly into the debris of an enemy ship; and
- you hit an asteroid?

As a result, I spend most of my time playing DemonStar worrying about not hitting anything.

Secret Missions 1 and 2 makes the shields a bit more powerful, though. Not only do they recharge if you don't shoot (like Raptor on any difficulty except Elite), you get two seconds of invulnerability if you pick up a shield crystal with full shields. In addition, they can withstand stronger projectiles. I once got skewered by a blue laser in Secret Missions 2 for 0.5 seconds before I died.

Yeah, you basically have to avoid getting hit at all in most situations. This wouldn't have been a big problem in itself, but your ship moves quite slowly and makes it harder to dodge things. Raptor definitely had better game mechanics in general.

I played through the original Demonstar many times, although I never got the secret missions. Are they any good?
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mobius on June 09, 2009, 01:15:52 pm
Don't you have to complete the basic missions to access to the secret ones?
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: CP5670 on June 09, 2009, 01:30:42 pm
I believe those are some sort of expansion packs that you have to pay for separately, although I'm not sure.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: SpardaSon21 on June 09, 2009, 03:43:49 pm
As bizarre as this is going to sound, I am going to have to agree with TrashMan on his Sword of the Stars call.  They basically ripped out anything resembling a spreadsheet allowing you to get down to the business of diplomacy, colonization, and conquest that much faster and easier.  I love it, and I can't stand turn-based games.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Ziame on June 09, 2009, 04:02:15 pm
Jets'n'guns - for introducing me to the Machinae Supremacy (IMO the best band evuh)
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: TrashMan on June 09, 2009, 04:07:31 pm
MOO2, GalCiv2, Imperium Galactica2 and even Sins kinda just say otherwise, with emphasis.

SotS main trapping in my eyes was that it was mostly built around allowing these tactical space battles to happen,
as often and painfully as possible, because gameplaywise the battles themselves were way too simplistic to be interesting and the framework (i.e. rest of the game) around them couldn't carry any weight of its own either.

Bull****.
There is way more tactics and strategy in SOTS than in any of the other titles. And the game keeps getting better and better. With the latest expansion it's practicly perfect. FS2 level.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Demitri on June 09, 2009, 04:41:15 pm
FS1 &2 for obvious reasons. FS1 intro when first seen had my jaw on the floor for about a week! HL2, KOTOR, Rome TW, Silent Hunter 3 and original C&C. Loved that game, especially orcas.

Played the first wing commander game way back when on my Amiga 500. was only about 8ish and didnt really have a clue what was goin on. Most of the time i'd take off fly about then not knowing what to do, would blow up the tiger's claw!  :lol: wish i had finished the game properly and tried the others.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Ace on June 09, 2009, 05:45:21 pm
As bizarre as this is going to sound, I am going to have to agree with TrashMan on his Sword of the Stars call.  They basically ripped out anything resembling a spreadsheet allowing you to get down to the business of diplomacy, colonization, and conquest that much faster and easier.  I love it, and I can't stand turn-based games.

Thirded. The strength of the game comes with keeping the core of the 4x games. Plus the tactical combat is well done in the potential combinations of ship designs and technologies which oddly enough stay balanced.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: TrashMan on June 09, 2009, 06:04:53 pm
You know what's strange?
People are still finding new tactics and counter-tactics. And there is no pure-win tactics since everything can be countered in more than 1 way. (unless you get a REALLY, REALLY crappy tech rolls. But you can still slavage or get tech from an ally)
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: SpardaSon21 on June 09, 2009, 09:33:25 pm
Dear god TrashMan, do you know how possible it is to get poor tech rolls with SotS's built-in sadorandomizer?  Uh oh, I've said too much.  No no-one will want to play it.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: paul1290 on June 10, 2009, 03:40:51 am
Freespace 2 - Obviously

Deus Ex - This game has been on nearly every computer I've had since I first got it. I've probably played through it more times than any other game and yet I still find new things I didn't notice before.

Mechwarrior 3 - My favorite out of the Mechwarrior series. To bad the engine is glitchy and has all manner of problems with modern hardware and operating systems.

Falcon 4.0 - Probably the best combat flight sim I've ever played.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: TrashMan on June 10, 2009, 07:30:34 am
Dear god TrashMan, do you know how possible it is to get poor tech rolls with SotS's built-in sadorandomizer?  Uh oh, I've said too much.  No no-one will want to play it.

People actually love that randomization.
Makes each game a bit different. It all evens out, especially since you get a 100% chance on all core techs and since you can always salvage tech. Judt bring repair&salvage ships with you into battle.

And as I said, with the new expansion you can also give tech or recieve tech from an ally.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: SpardaSon21 on June 10, 2009, 12:23:44 pm
While I may be a SotS n00b, I'm skilled enough to know about salvage rolls and science missions.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: JGZinv on June 10, 2009, 03:22:57 pm
Tachyon the Fringe - flight system, scale, free roam, character personalities

Xwing + Tie games

COD4

Halo 1-3 - vehicle combat

Zone of the Enders 1 and 2 - fast mecha based combat, zero shift

SSX series - it sold the PS2 and the whole BIG line of games

MTV music generator - soo many possibilities for a sub 10 year old

Super Mario World - for infecting the planet with said theme song
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: headdie on June 10, 2009, 03:44:00 pm
in order of wow.

1st - FS/FS2
2nd - Doom
3rd - Elite
4rd Wing Commander
4rd X-wing / Tie Fighter
5th C&C tib wars
6th C&C tib dawn
7th dune 2
8th Unreal
8th Duce Ex
9th Baulders gate / Ice wind Dale
10th Warcraft 1
11th Quake
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Ghostavo on June 10, 2009, 03:51:00 pm
There's Space Empire IV. It's simplicity and mind bogglingly huge tech tree is addicting.

The only bad thing about it is that some techs (awesome techs, might I add) are rarely used, since by the time you get them and the resources needed to use them, you already have no credible opposition in the game.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: redsniper on June 10, 2009, 04:55:59 pm
I can't believe no one besides me is mentioning ICO ;_;

Heck, I got spoiled before playing it, and even knowing what was going to happen, it was still one of the most emotionally intense games I've ever played.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mongoose on June 10, 2009, 07:18:37 pm
I can't believe no one besides me is mentioning ICO ;_;

Heck, I got spoiled before playing it, and even knowing what was going to happen, it was still one of the most emotionally intense games I've ever played.
I'd gladly mention it, but I'm too lazy to post in here. :p I finally got my hands on a used copy relatively recently, and it wound up being just about the most memorable gaming experience of my life.  A sheer masterpiece from start to finish.  Seriously, if there's anything out there that could truly fulfill the "games as art" mantra, it's the products of Team ICO.  Lord knows if/when I'll ever get to play The Last Guardian, since I don't exactly plan on running out and buying a PS3 anytime soon, but its trailer evoked all of the same emotions in me that ICO and Shadow of the Colossus did.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: GTSVA on June 10, 2009, 08:32:13 pm
Crash Bandicoot anyone?
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: colecampbell666 on June 10, 2009, 08:38:33 pm
Crash Team Racing was my favourite for YEARS.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mikes on June 10, 2009, 08:59:47 pm
There's Space Empire IV. It's simplicity and mind bogglingly huge tech tree is addicting.

The only bad thing about it is that some techs (awesome techs, might I add) are rarely used, since by the time you get them and the resources needed to use them, you already have no credible opposition in the game.

Space Empires IV was a lot of wasted potential in my eyes.

The AI is outright stupid... braindead even, offering little challenge at the start and practically no challenge by midgame, which turns it all into a mindnumbingly boring and tedious cleanup operation one system at a time.
Multiplayer...  is worse. We actually tried to get it to work on a lan session once but the netcode and multiplayer mechanics really only resulted in excruciating painfullness and annoyance lol.

GalCiv2 is still the very best 4X game to play vs. AI in my opinion. No other games AI even comes close.
Multiplayer Sins has a draw simply due to how much more suited real time games are to multiplayer compared to turn based solution ... and i'll definitely still play classic MOO2 at a lan even today rather than torturing myself with Space Empires heh. ;)
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: GTSVA on June 10, 2009, 09:37:15 pm
Crash Team Racing was my favourite for YEARS.

Finally! Someone with class. (jkjk) But still. All Crash games DOMINATE. (Classical ones only)

Crash Bandicoot 1, 2, 3, CTR and BASH. Nothing else.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mongoose on June 11, 2009, 12:28:42 am
Since I've already posted in here, I might as well mention the Genesis Sonic games.  My first gaming memories involve my cousins' Genesis and the original Sonic the Hedgehog, and I'll still play through any of them at the drop of a hat today.  No other platformer came even close to capturing that raw feeling of speed, and all of the games had utterly fantastic soundtracks.  It's incredibly fortunate that I never managed to play anything after Sonic & Knuckles, since it probably would have ended in pain.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: eliex on June 11, 2009, 12:59:05 am
Ah, that one.
I know what you mean.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: TrashMan on June 11, 2009, 07:10:46 am
GalCiv2 is still the very best 4X game to play vs. AI in my opinion. No other games AI even comes close.
Multiplayer Sins has a draw simply due to how much more suited real time games are to multiplayer compared to turn based solution ... and I'll definitely still play classic MOO2 at a LAN even today rather than torturing myself with Space Empires heh. ;)

It has a nice AI. SOTS AI is still way better tough.

Space Empires VI was nice, but it was tedious. Galciv 2, I liked that you can physically design a ship, but it had no effect whatsoever on the combat. And the combat was too simplistic and pre-calculated.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mikes on June 11, 2009, 09:30:21 am
It has a nice AI. SOTS AI is still way better tough.

:coughs: ... me thinks you need to play both games longer LOL.

There's nothing wrong with preferring one game over the other and if that game is Sots for that's fine as well...  gaming is a subjective matter overall.
 ... however and that needs to be pointed out: AI capabilities are not quite so ... subjective.

It's not necessarily a matter of difficulty either. You can give the AI 10x as many ships as the player and yeah the game will be "difficult" even with a braindead AI... and that is pretty much the whole point.
It's the varied tactics and adaptability that the GalCiv2 AI is capable that constantly amazed me. Any AI will on occasion still do something stupid, sure, the point is that Galciv2 was pretty much the first game where the AI kept positively surprising me by doing "smart things" much much more often than something stupid... and yes, that does make the GalCiv2 AI absolutely unique. Sots AI again... is functional, but as AIs go is no more or less a "stock" AI as you can find it in any other game. GalCivs2s AI is one of the games features that ate up a huge % of the games developpment time and it shows every time you play.

Seriously... if you can't appreciate the difference... then i would have to conclude you simply haven't bothered to properly compare the two.

Galciv2 has its flaws, as does any game and there certainly are games out there that have more features and longer tech trees (even Space Empires 4 would fit that bill ironically) or flashier graphics and tactical combat resulution (i.e. Sots)... but nope, haven't seen a 4X game that featured AI that was even remotely in the same ballpark. Galciv2s AI likes to do things differently and has a habit of being quite devious at times. I wouldn't call it as adaptive as a real human player, certainly not ;)... but it definitely does show just how limited most other games AI really is, similarily as playing these games with a human opponent shows the same thing.

Ironically it's also one of the issues i actually have with Galciv2. They deliberately focused on singleplayer and spent a huge amount of developpment time on the AI. It really shows in the singleplayer experience too.
Yet me and my friends are mostly looking for games that you can play together and that's something you can't do with GalCiv2 heh ;). But you gotta give credit where credit is due, and GalCiv2s AI definitely deserves that credit.


In conclusion: GalCiv2 was pretty much the only strategy game that "really wow-ed" me with its AI.
This doesn't mean that other games haven't been "fun" or "difficult/challenging"... but that just proves that AI is only one factor out of many for "fun" and "difficulty" alike.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: headdie on June 11, 2009, 01:21:17 pm
I forgot to mention Master of Orion 2
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: General Battuta on June 11, 2009, 01:44:31 pm
After reading (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=161570&site=pcg) articles like these (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=195920&site=pcg), which are amongst the funniest things I've ever encountered on the Internet, I am convinced that Mikes is correct about the GalCiv AI.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Scotty on June 11, 2009, 01:52:27 pm
 :wakka:
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Demitri on June 11, 2009, 04:15:52 pm
I cant believe i nearly forgot Goldeneye on the N64. Legend of a game that one!
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Dark Hunter on June 11, 2009, 04:57:17 pm
After reading (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=161570&site=pcg) articles like these (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=195920&site=pcg), which are amongst the funniest things I've ever encountered on the Internet, I am convinced that Mikes is correct about the GalCiv AI.

After reading those articles, all I can say is "wow".
And I concur with Scotty's reaction: :wakka:

That guy is the best. "Screw peace, I'm blowing up your suns."  :lol:
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: TrashMan on June 11, 2009, 05:11:05 pm
:coughs: ... me thinks you need to play both games longer LOL.

There's nothing wrong with preferring one game over the other and if that game is Sots for that's fine as well...  gaming is a subjective matter overall.
 ... however and that needs to be pointed out: AI capabilities are not quite so ... subjective.

Seriously... if you can't appreciate the difference... then i would have to conclude you simply haven't bothered to properly compare the two.

I'd agree with you that GalCiv 2 has one of the best AI's I've ever seen.
I'd still rate SOTS AI a bit higher tough.

I've been surprised by both with some really clever and really stupid moves.

One thing I never did like about GalCiv was that is has quite a few exploits. And Death Stars and similar super-tech.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: SpardaSon21 on June 11, 2009, 07:09:29 pm
Yeah, the SotS races aren't quite at where they can blow up entire suns.  They've just barely figured out fusion power and how to build 270m long dreadnoughts after all.  A Death Star is a bit out of their price range and drydock size.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: mxlm on June 12, 2009, 12:43:54 am
You know what's surprisingly good? Modded Master of Orion 3.

No, really.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on June 12, 2009, 02:04:13 am
Do you guys have DemonStar? I thought I was the only one... :eek2:

I do. I own the 9-level eGames Special Edition and have tried out the entire game for myself once. Not something that I'll forget in a hurry. ;)

I believe those are some sort of expansion packs that you have to pay for separately, although I'm not sure.

They're standalone sequels, CP and Mobius.

http://www.mking.com/demonstarsm1/index.html
http://www.mking.com/demonstarsm2/index.html

They're slightly better because your shields are stronger. SM1 changes the appearance of your ship to something more futuristic (not by much, though) and the last boss is almost as bad as the original DemonStar. SM2 changes the appearance of the weapons slightly, as well as the appearance of your ship to look more like it came from WW2 or the FTF MiG's illegitimate son. Everything else is more or less the same, though.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on June 12, 2009, 02:13:44 am
/me doesn't care if this is a double-post. :p

Jets'n'guns - for introducing me to the Machinae Supremacy (IMO the best band evuh)

If I didn't play (and buy) JnG or tried out JnGG, I would probably spend the rest of my years whining about metal music. The fact that I don't usually do that now is thanks to the works of MS in JnG. :)
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: TrashMan on June 12, 2009, 05:33:55 am
Yeah, the SotS races aren't quite at where they can blow up entire suns.  They've just barely figured out fusion power and how to build 270m long dreadnoughts after all.  A Death Star is a bit out of their price range and drydock size.

I always thought those tech redicolous even in a far, far away future. the energy and time required is just too much to be either practical or possible.

SOTS races do have anti-matter. And the thing with SOTS AI is that each race is VERY different, so the AI for every race is also different.

Hm.m...now I feel like playing GalCiv 2 again.

Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: SpardaSon21 on June 12, 2009, 02:29:37 pm
I thought that at the time of AMoC everyone was still in the Fusion era, even the Liir and Morrigi.  Late Fusion, but still Fusion.  It still doesn't change the fact that they can't build ships big enough to mount planet-destroying superlasers.  The biggest ships in SotS are only about as big as a Fenris.  It would be interesting to see SolForce and the GTVA fight each other in a BoE situation though.  The GTVA's massive beams and insane HP versus SolForce's lots of guns and smaller, faster ships.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mikes on June 12, 2009, 05:26:20 pm
I'd agree with you that GalCiv 2 has one of the best AI's I've ever seen.
I'd still rate SOTS AI a bit higher tough.

Please take the time to compare properly.

GalCiv2 is not without flaws, but the AI's complexity, adaptability and ability for variety as well as the attention to detail and flavor, is something absolutely unique in the genre.
Sots AI is functional enough, but no matter how much you like the game, if you would compare the AI aspect properly you would come to the same conclusion as pretty much anyone does.

If you don't believe me and do not care enough to actually compare yourself, maybe you believe 8/8, it's a decent enough review site.

http://jaguarusf.blogspot.com/2006/09/sword-of-stars-review.html
http://jaguarusf.blogspot.com/2006/03/galactic-civilizations-ii-dread-lords.html
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mika on June 12, 2009, 07:31:40 pm
Quote
Falcon 4.0 - Probably the best combat flight sim I've ever played.

Two - wilco. Probably the biggest time waster I have been doing for a while have ever had, currently I think I have something like 300 hours in that simulator. And I think I have had to reinstall it a couple of times with similar numbers... but it indeed does provide genuine shills when trying to land the aircraft with a jammed rudder and disappearing aileron controls. AAM and SAM streaks do that also, along with the RWR lock-on warning. And the SA-6 locking & guiding sound is infernal. Having been struck with an IR missile more than once, getting hit from long range with those bastards genuinely made me jump out of my seat once - and the resulting WTF just happened(?!!) was quite something also. If other readers haven't seen or heard this before, here's an interesting clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5PNhNEW-os
That infernal warning sound is audible in the clip also as a constant high pitched noise, if Falcon 4.0 is to be believed.

Other than that, Dune 2, first C&C, Laser Squad, and Duke Nukem 3D (still fun with high resolution packs) come to mind at first. Red Baron, Prince of Persia - Sands of Time, and Wing Commanders I and II were also good. Not to mention Falcon 3.0 back at its time. Fallout I and II for their feel, KOTOR I and II for introducing me to RPGs.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: TESLA on June 12, 2009, 09:13:15 pm
Hmmmmm games that wowed me.

The first ever game i bought was command and conquer: red alert -with my confirmation money.
Must have played that game, non stop for many months!! Thought it was great!

Other honourable mentions id include would be:

The original Grand Theft Auto
Duke Nukem 3d
Theme Park
EF2000
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: TrashMan on June 13, 2009, 05:28:14 am
I'd agree with you that GalCiv 2 has one of the best AI's I've ever seen.
I'd still rate SOTS AI a bit higher tough.

Please take the time to compare properly.

GalCiv2 is not without flaws, but the AI's complexity, adaptability and ability for variety as well as the attention to detail and flavor, is something absolutely unique in the genre.
Sots AI is functional enough, but no matter how much you like the game, if you would compare the AI aspect properly you would come to the same conclusion as pretty much anyone does.

Anyone?
Hehe... You think GalCiv2 is the best and it's AI is the best thing since fire, I get it.
Painting anyone who doesn't agree with you as irratoinal is another thing alltogether. I'm as objective and rtational as I can possibly be...and I still think SOTS AI is better.


I thought that at the time of AMoC everyone was still in the Fusion era, even the Liir and Morrigi.  Late Fusion, but still Fusion.  It still doesn't change the fact that they can't build ships big enough to mount planet-destroying superlasers.  The biggest ships in SotS are only about as big as a Fenris.  It would be interesting to see SolForce and the GTVA fight each other in a BoE situation though.  The GTVA's massive beams and insane HP versus SolForce's lots of guns and smaller, faster ships.

Yes. NOT having planet-destroying super-lasers is what I like about SOTS. I hate redicolous tech.

Like a small ship (even 20km is nothing compared to a planet) will ever be able to produce enough power to destroy a planet. That's retarded.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on June 13, 2009, 06:10:55 am
Carmageddon is a great game, but it's very old. :(
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Alpha0 on June 13, 2009, 06:33:54 am
If I didn't play (and buy) JnG or tried out JnGG, I would probably spend the rest of my years whining about metal music. The fact that I don't usually do that now is thanks to the works of MS in JnG. :)
I honestly think that the only reason people may still be discussing Jets'n'Guns in a few years from now will be the Machinae Supremacy soundtrack. Yes, it really is that good.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mikes on June 13, 2009, 07:15:04 am
Anyone?
Hehe... You think GalCiv2 is the best and it's AI is the best thing since fire, I get it.
Painting anyone who doesn't agree with you as irratoinal is another thing alltogether. I'm as objective and rtational as I can possibly be...and I still think SOTS AI is better.

You are perfectly free to believe whatever you want, just as i am perfectly free to point out that pretty much everyone will disagree with you on that matter, including pretty much any serious review site and they do so for good reason ;)  (If you want to attack 8/8s credibility on that matter as well, or whoever elses... feel free :coughs:).

As said before, Sots is a decent enough game, with a functional enough AI. That AI however is not even in the same ballpark as the complex multibranching and interactive AI of Galciv2 (with emphasis: I'm not talking about the game as a whole, or even the gaming experience or difficulty, of course THAT part is subjective. ... AI complexity and variety however is not.)

In this instance, i'm not even calling one game better than the other. That is indeed a mostly subjective matter and therefore would be a different argument. I'm referring to the complexity of a very specific and isolated aspect of each game - the AI - and am hardly alone with my assessment. I don't think you are doing your own argument about the overall superiority of Sots a favor here, when you call me biased on this very specific point ;)



I thought that at the time of AMoC everyone was still in the Fusion era, even the Liir and Morrigi.  Late Fusion, but still Fusion.  It still doesn't change the fact that they can't build ships big enough to mount planet-destroying superlasers.  The biggest ships in SotS are only about as big as a Fenris.  It would be interesting to see SolForce and the GTVA fight each other in a BoE situation though.  The GTVA's massive beams and insane HP versus SolForce's lots of guns and smaller, faster ships.

Yes. NOT having planet-destroying super-lasers is what I like about SOTS. I hate redicolous tech.

Like a small ship (even 20km is nothing compared to a planet) will ever be able to produce enough power to destroy a planet. That's retarded.


You are neglecting the different timescales involved.

Sots is taking place during a very specific time period and is mostly about military conquest. Thats how you end/win the game anyways. Of course technology is expected to not radically change from one day to the other, i fully agree. It's quite similar to Sins of a Solar Empire in THAT respect, except of course that each game is portraying a slightly different period of technological advancement. Both games are pretty much locked in a period however.

But you are doing the 4X genre in general a disservice if you do not acknowledge that other games like MMO2, GalCiv or SE4 simply deal with entirely different timescales that are not locked in a specific time period... but rather with a races interstellar story start to finish in its entirety: From the very first interstellar ship that is built to a galaxydominating empire where "victory" can involve anything from cultural to military domination, to securing galaxywide peace with diplomacy, to a races ascension to a higher plane of existence. Expecting technology NOT to radically change here would be kinda silly...  

And it also has to be pointed out that in most games its not quite as silly as you make it deliberately appear there. A super laser on a small ship that destroys planets ? ... In the case of GalCiv2 try star bases that about look as big as a planet, assembled in multiple stages, over multiple turns, that can only move a single field a turn and take several turns to activate after completion. Course you can kill a sun (not planet, sun ;) with it and annihilate an entire star system in the process... but to do so you need to have military superiority in the first place because otherwise your "Terror Star" will simply be shot down by the enemies fleet. And in Space Empires 4 ? Well you can build frigging Ringworlds and Dyson Spheres that turn the whole system into a giant habitable world, which does deserve a mention, even tho the game as a whole kinda sucks. ;)

In any case... you are doing the genre a huge disservice if you don't acknowledge the difference in timescales involved and what they mean for a "campaign".

As i keep saying: Gotta give credit where credit is due. Don't just lump everything together.

"Early, Mid and Lategame" can mean entirely different things depending on what game you look at and what overall timescale is actually involved.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: TrashMan on June 13, 2009, 12:31:10 pm

You are perfectly free to believe whatever you want, just as i am perfectly free to point out that pretty much everyone will disagree with you on that matter, including pretty much any serious review site and they do so for good reason ;)  (If you want to attack 8/8s credibility on that matter as well, or whoever elses... feel free :coughs:).

Again, the feabled "everyone". They don't exist.  I can find more than enough people who think the same as me, and with that being the case, the everyone theory falls apart.







Quote
You are neglecting the different timescales involved.

Sots is taking place during a very specific time period and is mostly about military conquest. Thats how you end/win the game anyways. Of course technology is expected to not radically change from one day to the other, i fully agree. It's quite similar to Sins of a Solar Empire in THAT respect, except of course that each game is portraying a slightly different period of technological advancement. Both games are pretty much locked in a period however.


But you are doing the 4X genre in general a disservice if you do not acknowledge that other games like MMO2, GalCiv or SE4 simply deal with entirely different timescales that are not locked in a specific time period... but rather with a races interstellar story start to finish in its entirety: From the very first interstellar ship that is built to a galaxydominating empire where "victory" can involve anything from cultural to military domination, to securing galaxywide peace with diplomacy, to a races ascension to a higher plane of existence. Expecting technology NOT to radically change here would be kinda silly... 

Doesn't really matter. I don't believe any civilization will be blowing up planets or suns. EVER. Not even a kazillion years in the future.

Energy generation has it's limits (with anti-matter. you  can't go over 100%), planets are big, and blowing them up is a MASSIVE waste of time and resources.
Completley upractical and unlikely.
Title: As one of the seniors in here :
Post by: Skullar on June 13, 2009, 01:25:48 pm
RTS : Command and Conquer . Red Alert
One of the first games requiring WINDOWS 95 to run, in a time when MULTIPLAYER games were new the first LAN-Parties took place. LONG before online gaming, guys ! First BIG lanparties were ALL about the DUKE and Red Alert :)

FPS : System Shock 2
It has been mentioned, especially the sound'n'music created an atmosphere that was simple breathtaking. I don't kow how often I played it through. For those who remember : There is an high-poly fan update out there, download and replay SYSTEM SHOCK 2 !!!

WING COMMANDER 1
THE reason to buy a PC at all. Nothing on a C-64 or an Amiga-500 could rival the gamplay of WING COMMANDER with our blue-hair hero Lt.Blair. TBPs EACW campaign is inspired by Wing Commanders way to create atmopshere.

STAR CONTROL 2
Now, keyboard controlled real time space combat in 2d-space, THAT was fun, the story was hilarious and it was a game FAAAAr ahead of its time. I played it for years and loved the story, the atmopshere, the music, everone should know this game. Fans remade it for modern systems, and it can be found online under the name THE UR-QUAN MASTERS. THAT was game design, people ! A game from a time people KNEW how to design games !

TIE FIGHTER
Far better than xwing, and with a music score to die for. Former TBP, IFH soundartist BLACKSHEEP grabbed a few midis from the original game, and we two rearranged them to make three mp3s that take you back into your childhood :) In addition, he used professional sound software to let the COMBAT-SIMULATOR midi play with real instruments ( as if recorded by London Synphonic orchestra ), also dropped as mp3. WOW ! I still have them and hear them.

Master Of Orion 2
Yeah, my two cousins tried to beat each other for YEARS in top score, at a time I couldn't rival them any longer. Best method was to expand at all costs, as soon as possible.

Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: mxlm on June 13, 2009, 03:14:59 pm
Carmageddon is a great game, but it's very old. :(

Members of the public, you now have one minute to reach minimum safe distance.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mongoose on June 13, 2009, 05:36:26 pm
Speaking of automotive carnage, Twisted Metal 2 was pretty much the high point of my PS1-playing experience.  Just all-out fast-paced car-on-car destruction from start to finish, featuring a hefty lineup of different vehicles, each with their own unique special power.  The levels took you all over the world, but the highlight had to be the ability to blow the hell out of the Eiffel Tower in Paris and use its remains to trek across the rooftops.  The soundtrack was great, the atmosphere was fantastic, and everything played perfectly.  Just don't ask me about the terrible sequels. :p

For a more realistic take on things, I loved the game Demolition Racer on the same system.  Try to earn points from smashing the hell out of your fellow vehicles while keeping yours (mostly) intact, but you'll have to finish the race near the front to get enough of a multiplier to win the day.  It had to have some of the most realistic damage modeling of its generation, and again, it had a nice array of cars to take for a spin, all set to a rocking soundtrack.  There's just nothing in the world as satisfying as lining yourself up for the perfect death-from-above insta-kill on an opponent and earning 500 points in the process. :D
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: NGTM-1R on June 13, 2009, 06:15:47 pm
Again, the feabled "everyone". They don't exist.  I can find more than enough people who think the same as me, and with that being the case, the everyone theory falls apart.

Okay, fine.

Here's the drill.

You are demonstrably completely wrong. It doesn't matter that you can find other people because they're demonstrably wrong. Mikes can't word an argument, sure, we get that, but that doesn't change the fact the GalCiv 2 AI is greatly superior to any competitor you care to name and can be proved to be so.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: TrashMan on June 14, 2009, 05:34:14 am
You are demonstrably completely wrong. It doesn't matter that you can find other people because they're demonstrably wrong. Mikes can't word an argument, sure, we get that, but that doesn't change the fact the GalCiv 2 AI is greatly superior to any competitor you care to name and can be proved to be so.

Can be proved?
By you and what army?


Btw I just got back playing Gal Civ 2 again. Dark Avatar to be more specific.
And it just reminded me why I stopped playing in the first place - so many exploits. Tons and tons of exploits. Both in game mechanics AND AI.
I'm owning the game cause my diplomacy is so high that I'm practicely stealing ALL tech by trading from ALL the other races. I'm building stabases inside another territory and it's not considered an act of war.

Oh, and the fact that so many tech are supurflus and redicolous. Titanium I-IV, Laser I-IV etc... the ONLY difference is size. That's it. Or, having to research Alliances before you can enter one? What's there to research?

Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mikes on June 14, 2009, 06:26:05 am
Again, the feabled "everyone". They don't exist.  I can find more than enough people who think the same as me, and with that being the case, the everyone theory falls apart.

Okay, fine.

Here's the drill.

You are demonstrably completely wrong. It doesn't matter that you can find other people because they're demonstrably wrong. Mikes can't word an argument, sure, we get that, but that doesn't change the fact the GalCiv 2 AI is greatly superior to any competitor you care to name and can be proved to be so.

:snickers: well, so, neither can you ;) Kidding aside, i find it refreshing that we actually find ourselves agreeing on some point for a change.

I am pretty certain however that your argument here will not convince Trashman any more than mine did. Just watch lol.
Try prove him wrong by laying out the facts? Been there, done that... convince him ?
I really doubt you will manage that with an "argument" or pointing towards a score of reviews that say disagree with his opinion ;)
He'd have to play the game for that and actually try to look at the AI in an unbiased way.

In that light, the displayed hostily is not only unneeded, but also quite... unfortunate.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: BloodEagle on June 14, 2009, 11:08:02 am
Epic lulz at the TrashMan bashing.  :wtf:  :no:

----

I find the AI in GalCiv 2 (Orig. and DA) to be lacking. Then again, I never clicked that 'use the rest of my CPU' button. Will that make the AI stop cheating?  :rolleyes:
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mikes on June 14, 2009, 11:38:26 am
I find the AI in GalCiv 2 (Orig. and DA) to be lacking. Then again, I never clicked that 'use the rest of my CPU' button. Will that make the AI stop cheating?  :rolleyes:

With multicore options enabled, the AI uses more advanced predictive algorithms. When set to "Tough", the AI does not cheat. Period. It actually does not even treat the player any different than another AI race.
Yet it offers a fine challenge and uses a varied array of tactics and strategies. It's one of the most commented on and talked about features of the game.

As said before. It's not about difficulty. You can make a GalCiv2 game as easy or difficult as you want by selecting any kind of number of options. Enabling or disabling Tech trading. Playing against an AI alliance, making the AI Dumb on purpouse (i.e. preventing it from use most of its algorithms... which will actually cause complaints to you via diplomacy channels on occassion, giving you a message that points out how it would beat you "if its generals weren't that stupid" LOL) or even actually giving the AI ressource boni (i.e. allowing it to cheat) IF that is what you want. But difficulty is beside the point, complexity, variety and adaptability is what makes the AI in GalCiv2 so great.

It's pretty much the only AI that i know of, that is actually fun and challenging to play against, without it cheating. The strongest point here of course being that it isn't nearly as predictable as all the "stupid/regular/average/typical" AIs that rely on cheating to create any kind of challenge at all. (Talking about 4X games of course and ignoring any number of Chess programs heh.)

I'm building stabases inside another territory and it's not considered an act of war.

Why would it be an act of war? If an AI builds a starbase in your territory does that mean you automatically attack it? A starbase is a minor annoyance, but yes it actually is an annoyance that will get noticed. But noticed != determined stupid action. If you keep building enough starbases you can be certain it will have consequences - of some sort -, especially if the acrued influence threathens to flip one of the AIs planets.

But then it will still be an annoyance. If the annoyances outweight the benefits of your existence, it just might attack you IF it thinks it will benefit from such an attack. But a smaller empire would be outright stupid to risk war with a larger empire over a single planet threathening to flip via influence, or a larger empire might simply not care enough because it has other pressing concerns. so why should it automatically attack over a starbase ? Course they might bribe another race into attacking you without getting personally involved or try get an alliance together, if they feel they need backup. If you actually pay attention you will notice that the AI is well aware of the known relative military power of different empires and it WILL attempt to ally against the larger powers, instead of just helplessly running to its doom when its outmatched - and no matter if the player happens to be involved in one way or the other or not.

The fun things is that you don't really know because it's not as predictable as the usual AIs. It might actually already have decided to attack you and just wait till its attack fleet is finished so it can roll over you in some sort of Blitzkrieg. Had that happen once as i was still clueless about the game heh... all quiet for a while... and then i get a message detailing all kinds of longstanding grievances and concluding that they had decided to end my existence. Next turn i had multiple fleets all over my planets and 3 turns later 3/4th of my planets were invaded :p

Also, with several AI players, you can actually happen to have a quiet game if your empire is too small and nowhere near reaching a victory condition. Because the AI doesn't care if you are a player or not. AI Races will actively plot against the most powerful races and especially against those who get close to achieving any kind of victory condition. If you play against "tough" AIs and actually are perceived as a power to be worthy of attention you will quickly find out how nasty things can get LOL. It's especially kinda funny when you quickly try to  get close to a tech or ascension victory and suddenly you face an alliance of almost all the other AI players (except for the ones with really REALLY irreconcilable differences of course) who are annoyed with your attempt to win so easily ;)

And well... that's just a small glimpse at how it actually works..., there is a reason why people write so much GalCiv2 based fan fiction based on actual games vs. the AI... and especially why pretty much all of these stories are quite different.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: GTSVA on June 14, 2009, 01:28:21 pm
Halo anyone?
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Roanoke on June 14, 2009, 02:23:47 pm
shesh enough of the AI fanboi-ism already.

I was a big fan of Halo in the day. I mean, when you shot down a Banshee it actually exploded, rather than some horrible .bmp or something.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: TrashMan on June 14, 2009, 02:32:30 pm
I am pretty certain however that your argument here will not convince Trashman any more than mine did. Just watch lol.
Try prove him wrong by laying out the facts? Been there, done that... convince him ?

Display any real facts and I might be swayed.


I just owned the game - first in almost everything, no cheats, half the galaxy is mine, the other half are my allies. I didn't even use the "realod-after-something-bad-happens" (I was playing Iron Man style). Easy when the AI can be so easily exploited. And this is fresh start, I haven't touched this game since GalCiv2 came out.

By comparison, when playing SOTS, winning is very hard, even when constantly reloading (and after quite a lot of playing it before). SOTS AI doesn't cheat and it does adapt to your attacks.
How does that bode for your "brilliant AI" theory?


Quote
He'd have to play the game for that and actually try to look at the AI in an unbiased way.

I just did. That only lowered my oppinion, since it refreshed all the flaws.
I'm sorry, but AI that can be so easily exploited is not that good.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: TESLA on June 14, 2009, 03:41:55 pm
getting back on track


Another great old game: Day of the Tentacle!!! Was deadly!!!

And let us not forget: Syndicate Wars (I played that for ages, just blowing everything up) such a fun game :)
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mikes on June 14, 2009, 03:55:23 pm
getting back on track

Another great old game: Day of the Tentacle!!! Was deadly!!!

And let us not forget: Syndicate Wars (I played that for ages, just blowing everything up) such a fun game :)

Fully agreed on both:) ... coincidentially, i hear EA s making a remake of Syndicate Wars...


Other (unrelated) games:
Sam & Max, for showing that adventures ain't dead yet LOL.


Display any real facts and I might be swayed.

If the arguments i made, together with countless reviews stating the very same thing don't convince you, then i won't bother anymore.
I could not disagree more with your opinion, but you know what they say about opinions ;)

I think we both made our cases and can leave it at that.
So i would agree with Tesla to get back on track.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: SpardaSon21 on June 14, 2009, 06:31:18 pm
There's no way you are going to convince TrashMan.  Just give up.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: TrashMan on June 15, 2009, 06:17:34 am
If the arguments i made, together with countless reviews stating the very same thing don't convince you, then i won't bother anymore.
I could not disagree more with your opinion, but you know what they say about opinions ;)

If reviews were considered proof, I could prove anything I want.



EDIT:
Syndicate Wars? A remake? By EA? I just felt a shiver go down my spine.

We can list any game, right?

How about  Battle for Wesnoth or Soldat? They are free, bu the are excellent!
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: headdie on June 16, 2009, 02:29:33 pm
hmmmm, a thought has struck me here, we are missing a series and i am just a guilty as anyone on this and when i think about it they all wowed me and that is the MechWarrior games, i mean any of them did it, just the thought of thundering around in a 30+ foot robot armed to the teeth, then the graphics in the later ones were plain and simple winners
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: redsniper on June 16, 2009, 04:54:06 pm
"Roger that, Lance Leader. Transferring now."
"We have arrived and are ready to deploy."
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: BloodEagle on June 16, 2009, 05:11:00 pm
Aside from roughly 85% of the playerbase (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtgOLATTTk8), Soldat is made of complete win.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on June 17, 2009, 12:34:40 pm
/me is wondering if Stargunner wowed him... :doubt:
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Dark Hunter on June 17, 2009, 02:55:38 pm
If you have to wonder, it didn't.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on June 17, 2009, 10:03:50 pm
If you have to wonder, it didn't.

In retrospect, it didn't really impress me as much as Jets'n'Guns did, and given that games like Carmageddon could exist for MS-DOS...
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: SpardaSon21 on June 18, 2009, 12:20:33 am
Three games that really wowed me.  First one is old, second just got its third, kickass expansion, and third one is old, and has never been successfully replicated.

First one was Privateer 2.  From the FMV cutscenes, to the 3d graphics, to its massive size on three CD's, plus its cool menus with liquid buttons and wide ship and component selection and the free-ranging areas you could fly in, it hooked me with I was a little child and hasn't let go of me.  Its a shame you need DOSBox to run and install it though.

Second is Sword of the Stars.  I pirated it when it first came out was bored, deleted it, pirated it again when the first expansion was released, deleted it again, did the same for the second expansion, except instead of just deleting it I deleted it then bought it off Impulse when the Ultimate Collection was released that had the game and both expansions, and I just bought the third expansion, Argos Naval Yards, which has some cool new toys for you to use in your quest for galactic power.  It has excellent AI, a rich and complex backstory, unique and different races, plus it has some of the best combat I've ever seen in any strategy game.  It just rocks.

Third is Total Annihilation.  Realistic LoS and weapon modelling (terrain WILL block your LoS and weapons fire), excellent explosions, plus it has unit variety that puts Supreme Commander to shame, and its only real successor is Spring, which doesn't quite have the same charm as TA does.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: headdie on June 18, 2009, 02:58:20 pm
TA another game i forgot about lost untold hours to that single and multi-playing that game and one of the first games to have hundreds of units per side
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: TESLA on June 18, 2009, 05:39:18 pm
TA another game i forgot about lost untold hours to that single and multi-playing that game and one of the first games to have hundreds of units per side


Until some fraker comes along with a nuke and ruins all the run!!!

I actually lost many hours on Starfleet academy. But, me thinks people have mixed views on that game!


Dont suppose anyone here remembers: Bedlam -was a good laugh

But the all time fav (when in two player) WORMS!!!!!! Soo much fun, bazooka, grenades, mines, dynamite, holy grenades, flying sheep, with good auld dodger, clanger, basher, wimpsy, Tykes, ahhhhhhhhhhhh memories
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: dragonsniper on June 18, 2009, 06:53:24 pm
FreeSpace, FreeSpace2, FSO and several others. I'm just to lazy to think about them right now. :doubt:
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Flipside on June 18, 2009, 07:01:07 pm
The original Unreal wowed me at the time, and the first Unreal Tournament, but it went downhill from there in my opinion.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: dragonsniper on June 18, 2009, 07:09:02 pm
I played part of the original Unreal also. Not all that bad... Call of duty 4 really wowed me, as did GTA 4 (the whole go everywhere that you want really surprised me.)
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Rodo on June 18, 2009, 07:44:03 pm
anyone played twinsen's odyssey?  :cool:
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: NGTM-1R on June 18, 2009, 08:02:08 pm
I played part of the original Unreal also. Not all that bad... Call of duty 4 really wowed me, as did GTA 4 (the whole go everywhere that you want really surprised me.)

Oddly enough I have to give that accolade to GTA3, which was a pretty crappy game in most other respects (though I rather liked the story too, at the time).
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: phatosealpha on June 19, 2009, 11:12:58 am
anyone played twinsen's odyssey?  :cool:

That was the one with the nurb people and the guard boss who ***** slapped you in a cinematic when you got caught, right?
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: headdie on June 19, 2009, 12:23:52 pm
anyone played twinsen's odyssey?  :cool:

I only eva played the second game didnt wow me but a cool game.

on a similar track anyone eva plat Simon the Sorcerer 1 or 2 (3 was utter pants and neva should  have been released)
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Sushi on June 19, 2009, 12:54:31 pm
But the all time fav (when in two player) WORMS!!!!!! Soo much fun, bazooka, grenades, mines, dynamite, holy grenades, flying sheep, with good auld dodger, clanger, basher, wimpsy, Tykes, ahhhhhhhhhhhh memories

Concrete Donkey. Best by far.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Rodo on June 19, 2009, 02:19:36 pm
anyone played twinsen's odyssey?  :cool:

That was the one with the nurb people and the guard boss who ***** slapped you in a cinematic when you got caught, right?

don't know.. I played LBA 2 so maybe you are talking about the first version, on the second the guy had a magic rubber ball which he used to smack enemies down and pretty much anything in the game.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mika on June 19, 2009, 05:31:17 pm
How come I forgot about WORMS? That game (the original) was a blast with friends. It always seemed they were more lucky with the combination of bazooka and wind, or grenades and correct angles than me!

The other especially fun multiplayer game was still is Molez. Four players using a single keyboard in a real time worms -type of game guaranteed fun. Especially if you were better or smarter. The survival strategy was to never get between a couple of other players at the bottom of the screen basically anywhere. And those molez really started to bleed when they were hit bad, actually so much it was possible to use it as a temporary wall.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mobius on June 19, 2009, 05:34:00 pm
How about Hogs of War? I really miss that game.

I still have it, but the CD is corrupted. :(
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on June 20, 2009, 06:03:21 am
Bookworm Adventures
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: TESLA on June 25, 2009, 10:35:35 am
Two Words: General Chaos
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Angelus on June 25, 2009, 11:17:12 am
the doctor games i played with my girlfriend...
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: TESLA on June 25, 2009, 01:28:53 pm
the doctor games i played with my girlfriend...


Well i thought the sex games were better with my girlfriend, but to each their own  :D  :p  :lol:
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: GTSVA on June 25, 2009, 05:06:42 pm
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh  :eek2:
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Mikes on June 26, 2009, 05:20:48 am
new record for going offtopic ?  :wtf:
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on June 26, 2009, 09:16:41 am
It was only three posts, Mikes. I've seen a lot worse.
Title: Re: Games that wowed you
Post by: TESLA on June 26, 2009, 09:20:34 am
new record for going offtopic ?  :wtf:

Yeah, ive also seen a lot worse

Sometimes by me  :D