Please add your comments (survey alert)

[Friend_Bear]

I want to know what makes you guys go "wow this game rocks" or "awesome cut scene" basically, what 'really' makes a great game seem better for your own personal tastes? Everyone is different and would be neat to see how everyone has different tastes or has very similar tastes.

Catagorys:

Fps:

Prime examples:

Half-life 2
Unreal Tournament 2004
Deus-Ex

For me, fps has to have a bit of everything thrown into the mix, atmosphere, great weapons, some stealth moments, some great set peices and most of all, some free choice in how to complete your mission//goal or objective. I enjoy mayhem as well, nothing like S hitting the fan and you're in the middle of the mess, bullets flying everywhere, explosions and pretty much everything happening.

Rpg:

Prime examples:

Diablo 2
Elder Scrolls: Morrowind
Final Fantasy 7

This one is tough, I hate grinds in any form, they are evil and are cheap tricks in order to make the game seem longer than it really is, so for me a great rpg HAS to have a great storyline thats constantly evolving as you progress instead of entering one area, get a bit of story then proceeding to spend the next 5 hours killing the same monsters over and over.

Online Rpgs (mmorpgs):

Prime examples:

Everquest 2
World of Warcraft
Guild Wars

Some people love them, some hate them. I played a couple that I loved especially Star Wars Galaxies, and played a few that I hated such as Final Fantasy Online, all have one thing in common and thats god awful grinds, personal since my mixed feelings with everquest 2 i've decided to steer clear of them for the time being, i'm 'semi' interested in WoW but with GW looming ever closer and the lack of fees, i'm pretty much heading to GW.

Adventure:

Prime examples:

Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness
Indiana Jones & the Emperors Tomb
Thief 3

I've found very few of this genre to actually do anything for me these days, the thief series though i've loved because of the stealth and the heartpumping fear of creeping around trying not to get discovered, fun stuff.

Space Operas:

Prime examples:

Freelancer
X2: The Threat
Privateer 2

I love a good space trading//exploring game but still nothing has quite come close to what I would love to see in a space game, I'd love a cross between X2, freelancer, wing commander 3 and Elite 2, but add the ability to build on any planets you discover, add a rich storyline, fun battles, plot twists, supernova, black holes and spacial distortions and weird junk lol basically, something awesome, also add in the ability to land anywhere on the planet like in Elite 2, but go futher and actually be able to exit your ship and explore on foot or even other vehicles you could ferry down to the planet, but DEFINATELY not get a certain person of 'Battlecruiser' fame to create it......and we all know who that is ;)

Strategy:

Prime examples:

Age of Wonders
Age of Empires 2
Civilization 3

I love a good strategy game, something to take my mind away for a few hours and just worry about feeding my peasants and defending my borders against raiding barbarians, I loved Civilization 2 it had pretty much everything I liked in civ games and unfortuntely seems to have headed away from that in recent years :( As for real time strategys, can't really go that wrong with them, they are simple and fun. Just add some buildings, troops and some specials mix with resource gathering and instant game. I've not really played anything special, Empire Earth and Rise of Nations seem to be the better ones for my person choices.

Sports:

Prime examples:

Fifa 2005
Tiger Woods Golf 2005
NBA Live 2005

I never was into sport games that much, I played a couple of golf games that I liked, mostly pretty old now, that was Jack Nicklaus 5 and as for footy games, fifa 2002 was the best one i've played, I like fairness in sport, an equal playing field so the game can go either way based on your own skill.

Simulations:

Prime examples:

The Sims 2
Zoo Tycoon 2
Rollercoaster Tycoon 3

For me, I spend maybe a 3rd of my gaming time playing sim type games, just something about having all the control....hehe....maybe i'm a control freak? Or a weird voyeur...Who knows, but its clean and fun gameplay.

[Aku]

For FPS games, I can go for heavy story and atmosphere (Thief, Undying), or just pure action (UT, UT 2004).

Outcast is a terrific, immersive, and beautiful adventure game.

I always come back to Alpha Centauri for my TBS fix. Kudos also to Civ 3 and Space Empires 4.

FMVs/cutscenes that make the game include the tram ride at the beginning of Half-Life ("Wow!"), various scenes from the Thief series, the wonderfully acted FMVs from Klingon Academy (Star Trek mini movie in a game!), the humorous scenes in No One Lives Forever.

RPGs with great stories: Baldur's Gate 2 has to top the list. That one really drew me in. You connect with every character in your party. Very cool. Best single player RPG I've ever played. Right up there with it is Planescape Torment. You can really empathize with the main character in that one. "What is the nature of man?", the old hag asks the Nameless One - and you get to answer! Powerful, unforgettable moment. Honorable mention to Arcanum and Baldur's Gate.

[Mochan]

FPS don't usually excite me much, what I look for in an FPS is super smooth framerates and great multiplayer play. That's it.

RPGs are my bread and butter, and what makes me go bonkers in these games are freedom, customizability, great characters and fun gameplay. I hate FedEx Quests, especially quests that force you to take them and solve them in a particular way that I would not want to do. I should have the freedom to say, "To hell with you" and slaughter everyone in town if I felt like it. And no D&D licenses. All recent games using them I hate for some reason.

Online RPGs: haven't played a single good one. I hate them all.

Adventure: I usually skimp on these since I prefer RPGs. In these kinds of games what I look for are humor and storyline. But since you include Thief 3 here, then I would say it must play like Thief. That is all. :) But really, when I think Adventure I think Sierra and Lucas Arts adventure games, not action games like Thief or Tomb Raider.

Space Operas: it's all about framerates and in your face weapon effects and combat.

Strategy: Depends on the type of strategy. For RTS, I look for good multiplayer experiences. This means balanced gameplay for the most part. For turn-based, I look for good control schemes that make me feel in command of my units, plus some well-fleshed out empire building aspects that let me build up my empire the way I want it.

Sports: I don't really play them. But if I had to I would look for customizability so I can create all sorts of whacky sports teams.

Simulations: Not really my boat. But if I had to play one I want customizability. But I think you get loads of that in any sim.

[Hieremias]

FPS's come in two categories for me. Smart ones and dumb ones. "Dumb" isn't necessarily bad, it just refers to the no-brains variety. Half-Life 2, UT2k4, Doom 3 are in this category. For me it just needs to be smooth, polished, have good pacing and challenging enemies. UT2k4 is great because of the overwhelming amount of content, its excellent bots, and really well-design vehicles (I absolutely love the Manta). It makes a great LAN party game, just like the first UT. I also appreciate a good dose of atmosphere. Doom 3 was excellent for what it set out to do (many people haven't figured this out).

I get far more excited about smart FPS's, but they are fewer in number. Deus Ex, System Shock 2, Thief, the upcoming BioShock, No One Lives Forever. Granted some of these mix genres (RPG's) or invent genres (sneaker), but that's part of what makes them excellent. They have to have an interesting world to explore, lots of characters to interact with, or storyline that keeps you glued to the seat. And if they have two of those three characteristic, that's fine by me (example, Thief and SS2 have virtually no NPCs to interact with).

For RPGs, the world is the star of the show. It HAS to have a large, interesting, non-linear, believable world to explore. It's what made Morrowind my all-time favourite, it's what made Knights of the Old Republic purely mediocre. Deus Ex, the Fallout games, Baldur's Gate games, and Morrowind succeed with flying colours. I am NOT interested in brainless dungeon crawls (Dungeon Siege, Icewind Dale). I am not interested in RPGs that offer a linear path to travel. And I am not even remotely interested in Japanese RPGs like Final Fantasy.

For space games, I haven't played many recently but I really liked X2: The Threat. They're kinda like RPGs--instead of upgrading your character, you want to upgrade your equipment. And they should have, again like RPGs, a large an interesting universe to explore. X2's problem was that every system seemed the same once you ignored the background colours (though they did look pretty impressive). If a game like X2 came out, but offered a large variety of worlds and stations to visit, with characters to interact with, I would be hooked. I'm no longer particularly interested in the strictly mission-based space sims.

For strategy games, it's turn-based or go home. RTS's are a mindless action game, sometimes amusing for brief times (Warcraft 3), but they're never particularly strategic.

The only sports games I play are racing games, and only occasionally. They just have to be pretty and have good vehicle handling. I mainly just use them as a temporary distraction. The exception to this was Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, which is probably among my all-time top 20 games.

I never play Sim games.

[Suicides-by-Steve]

FPS- Atmosphere- straight up. I want a game that makes me feel like I am there, or yell at the screen... ;)

Like:
Thief
System Shock 2
Ghost Recon
Doom 64
Turok
Far Cry

Dislike:
Doom 3
XIII
Halo

RPG's- Pretty much I demand a shipped editor with my RPG's, as well as no moral, character, and/or travel restrictions. Good conversation trees with lots of options is welcomed, as is music... since most RPG's recycle the scores, they need to be interesting and appropriate. The action needs to be consistant, and it doesn't bother me whether it is in third or first person perspective.

Like:
Neverwinter Nights (Expansions, downloaded modules, and online play)
Divine Divinity
System Shock 2
Wizards and Warriors
Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption

Dislike:
Arx Fatalis
Ultima 9 Ascention
Knights of the Old Republic

Action-Adventure/Adventure- Good storylines, no obtuse puzzles, lots of hidden secrets, and hard to reach areas.

Like:
Mario 64
Prince Of Persia
Syberia
Myst
GTA III+
Flashback
Body Harvest
Hidden and Dangerous

Dislike:
Metroid Prime
Conker

Space Operas- Freedom, plain and simple. I too can't wait for game that allows for landing on any planet myself... that's one of the main reasons I was so pumped for KotOR, and so horribly disappointed.

Like:
Freelancer
X2: The Threat

Dislike:
Haven't really played a bad one that I can recall.

Strategy- Generally I prefer TBS games, however, with pause and replay features included within a good RTS game, I'll bite.

Like:
Silent Storm
Jagged Alliance 2 Gold
Combat Mission
Warhammer 40K: Dawn Of War
Total War
Star Empires 4
Europa Universalis

Dislike:
Age Of Empires
Warcraft
Command and Conquer
SMAC

Sports- basically Racing and fighters for me. The odd well-made teamplay game I'll play. For racers, I want lots of track, secrets, modes, as well as good damage modelling; for fighters, great graphics/animations, sound, and characters, as well and good fight moves.

Like:
Nagano '98 Winter Olympics
Mobil 1 Rally Championship
Rally Trophy
International Superstar Soccer 64
Toca 2
Need For Speed: Porsche Unleashed

Dislike:
Most moddable car racers on rails
Hockey games

I would really like to see a great translation of Games Workshops' Blood Bowl.

Simulations- Lots to do. Mission modes are a nice feature to have, since after you have mastered the simulation (driving/creating etc), things can get stale pretty quick. Sandbox modes are nice for some games under this heading.

Like:
MS Train Sim
MS Flight Sim
SimCity
Startopia
WWII Fighters

Dislike:
Dungeon Keeper
Stat Sims

I really want to have a Driving Sim made... Plotting your course to anywhere on a continent, and just go to it. Expect Stunt Modes, MP3 stereo's, GPS, and hidden goodies, and jumps. Cars could include standard/exotic makes and models, including hidden extras like the General Lee, Bonds' Aston, or KITT for a few laughs.

[Aku]

Dislike:
Age Of Empires
Warcraft
Command and Conquer
SMAC

You don't like SMAC. WTF?!!

Also, how come you like Startopia but don't like Dungeon Keeper (assume you've played DK2)?

[Suicides-by-Steve]

Oh yeah, it was DK2 I played... Eh, I thought that DK should have been a little darker in mood. Startopia was great for the Sandbox mode...which IIRC, DK didn't have as a selectable mode of play. I never really played all the missions in either game. It wasn't really my bag.

SMAC (Alpha Centauri) was a little too ground-based politicking for my liking. I prefer games that let you seige and occupy planets, and not just manage one. Space Empires IV Gold suited my needs in that aspect... Totally occupy a planet, and build weapon platforms and bases on it and around it! Just the way it would be! Also, the interface for SMAC didn't really work for me. I do recognize the quality behind the title, it just didn't really work for me, however.

[Aku]

The things that I love about SMAC:

1. Tech tree is way cool
2. You can custom design all kinds of units (colony pod needlejets, lol)
3. Different factions have different strengths and weaknesses but are well-balanced
4. You deal not with other empires but with their leaders. It is so satisfying to let the mealy-mouthed Brother Lal or the sociopath Sister Miriam have it after they've been pestering you the whol game!
5. The FMVs for completing the secret projects. Like little art films - turns a great game into a classic

Space Empires 4:

1. Custom design your ships (with cool weapons!)
2. Rings and spheres
3. Open and close warp points to improve traffic flow and choke off your enemies
4. Mods (put Klingong and Romulans in your game!)
5. Star killers, muahahahahaha!!!