Kyle Haight typed:
> - Finishing the original Quest For Glory with a different friend at
> college. The ending of that game, which showed you the impact your
> choices in the game had on various NPCs and the world, was one of the
> best I've ever seen. The personalization made it far more satisfying
> than any pre-rendered cutscene ending I can recall,
I played the VGA version and agree wholeheartedly. Coming from more
linear adventure genre, the open-endedness was great - going to almost
every location right from the start, having different puzzle solutions
per character, etc, really made me feel like I was playing that role.
More than any other previous "CRPG" I'd played (mostly C64 AD&D stuff)
Likewise, QFG5 Dragon Fire (the series finale) was the same and I feel
perhaps even an underrated masterpiece. The combat was a bit dodgy,
but the *music*, voices, graphics, world and atmosphere were top-notch.
The feelings evoked by the music in various places, I'll never forget.
I loved the Greek mythology aspect, and not to mention it had more puns
per minute than I could count.
I remember playing as the thief,
sneaking around at night, breaking and entering, etc - there were so
many things to do it was criminal!
Sierra at their equal-best IMO
(see below, KQ6) - though I admit it might be nostalgia talking.
> - System Shock. Someone else has already mentioned the way Shodan
> left the music playing in the elevators -- that's the moment I knew
> she was truly *evil*. But really the whole game is one entire
> favorite gaming memory. I wish there were a way to play it again for
> the first time.
Never played the first System Shock, but I feel the same way about the
second.
Along with other notable games ("experiences" really, they
transcend mere games) as mentioned already - Thief, Half-Life, and I'll
add Unreal.
Unreal was the first time my eyes did lay upon the
sexiness of hardware acceleration; the first time I exited the ship and
saw the outside world seemingly glowing, my *jaw-hit-the-floor*! First
time seeing that Skaarj AI, practically killed me.
Just the sheer
immersion ...
> - Lemmings. The way the game ratcheted up the difficulty was
> seductive and brilliant. You'd do a level using all the lemmings they
> gave you and swear that it couldn't be done with any fewer. Then
> you'd get the same level with fewer lemmings, and swear, and
> experiment for hours, and figure it out, and feel really clever for
> the next several levels until they gave you that level *again* with
> even *fewer* lemmings. And they repeated this cycle far longer than
> you'd think possible. I still have the theme song stuck in my brain
> almost two decades later.
I'm still playing Oh No! More Lemmings to this day.
I'll knock off
a few levels (and/or lemmings) every month, until encountering yet
*another* fiendishly tough puzzle and give up until next month...
I've saved well over 12,000 lemmings to date (yes, I'm keeping count).
The original Lemmings though I used to play at University lunchtime
with my mates and even during class! As someone else mentioned, that
game was probably responsible for my lack-of-education too.
> - The entirety of Deus Ex and Baldur's Gate 2. As with Portal, the
> only complaint I have about those games is that they ended.
Yep, I've only recently started Deus Ex and agree, fantastic, great
freedom of choice. I'm up to Paris and it continues to impress. Also
currently enjoying Icewind Dale, but not ready for Baldurs Gate 2
just yet. (I have a *massive* backlog of PC games!)
Some other stuff I think no-one has mentioned. I cannot remember the
chronology I played them in back-in-the-day, so no particular order:
Bioforge. Had a fascinating story that drew me in such that I had
to finish it almost non-stop over an extended weekend, just left me
wanting more. I vividly remember mashing the keyboard trying to
learn the karate moves.
I loved the blend of action, sci-fi,
horror, adventure, with great graphics and perspective (that was
later coined 2.5D) - a unique hybrid all-together. A game made by
Origin - 'nuff said.
Crusader: No Remorse. Controlling that little red silencer guy in
the isometric view and creating such *havoc*, had such a blast -
explosions, high-tech weaponry, acrobatics, etc.
I had never
played anything like it, such intense, yet tactical fun. Another
game made by Origin - 'nuff said.
I still own the sequel but
bought it much later and unfortunately never did install it.
Kings Quest 6. The best of the series IMO, also my first and thus
favorite adventure. This game helped kick-start my early PC upgrade
"necessities"
- first time I played it from 3.5" floppy with only
PC speaker. It had enough charm that I had to save up and buy an
SB-Pro(16?) to get sound/music (ooh!), then shortly later when I had
CD-ROM, I bought the game again on CD to get voices (oooh!) and at
last finish it. The characters were so delightful, but the narration
was what *really* made it a masterpiece. That voice is forever etched
on my brain: <mimicking> "The sky is sunny and clear. A few white
clouds accent the bright blue"
</mimic> It gave it such a story-
book quality. (I only wish more adventure games had voiced narration
<sigh>)
The 7th Guest. Different type of adventure, but my first CD-ROM game.
In fact I probably bought the CD drive just for this game (and the
above/below). I'm sure I had nightmares about Henry Stauf - imagine
that voice constantly *tormenting* me <shiver>, trying to solve the
ingenious puzzles. The best soundtrack I'd ever heard. Later I was
forced to get a new CPU just to play this in SVGA mode (a 486DX2/66,
if I recall, or Pentium 90?) Proved useful for the next game ...
Wing Commander 3. One word upon first sighting the 12 minute intro:
"Awesome!" Two words: "Freaking Awesome!" In fact, I was speechless,
zero words. This game was in the stratosphere compared to anything
I'd played before it, and I was unprepared.
First time seeing
movie "quality" FMV, 4CDs worth, that I had to show off the game to
*everyone* who visited and used to watch their faces as they looked
on in amazement. The space combat was fun too. And hey, you guessed
it, made by Origin - 'nuff said. (Seriously, /they created worlds/)
Of course, to experience the full glory, I also needed to buy a new
video card ... (Do you see a pattern here?)
And finally, no such thread should go without saying ... Planescape
Torment.
The best-story /best-written game I've ever played. So
many moments in that game it is impossible to recount them with any
justice. ;-P
--
};> Matt v3.3 <:{
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