Your absolute favorite games, and why

[Arce]

Of all the hundreds of games you've (hopefully) played, if you were to narrow it down to a single one or two titles, what would they be?

Also, what's your criteria when judging a game for something like this? Is it simply the best childhood memories, unforgettable gameplay, or maybe even a sub-par game that you played during a good/bad time in your life?

I'm interested, and I'll post mine once somebody else does. I'm interested to see what titles appear.

[MarauderIIC]

Rescue: The Embassy Mission. The music's pretty good. Gameplay is varied and enjoyable. Multitude of difficulty levels works as a set of options, essentially, as well. It's the only game I've played a lot that while thinking back I don't go "eh."

[trufun202]

My default answer is usually Tempest 2000, but I really sat and thought about this for a while..

I'm going to have to say that Super Mario Bros. for the NES is my favorite game of all time. The game single handedly defined the platformer genre that we all know and love - and it was executed flawlessly. The play mechanics, graphics, and level design have all withstood the test of time.

Simply put, SMB is the benchmark for solid platformer design.

[deryni21]

i really dont know. i would have to say i don't have one. I like games but truly have never really liked one long enough to say it was my favorite game. I get so bored with games that i beat few of them. I guess my default answer would be star wars knights of the old republic. For what ever reason i absolutely loved that game i have now beat it twice. It is probobly the most enjoyment i have gotten out of a game. Not a big gamer at all

[aamesxdavid]

I tend to divide everything by genre, and I guess it's easier for a game to stand out if it's not your favourite genre, because the one game that really stands out to me is Syberia. Point-and-click adventure games are certainly not my favourite, but if they were all the quality of Syberia, it'd probably be close. It's one of the very few games I saw to the end.

Other than that, I'm a huge JRPG nerd, so it's harder to pick there. Among the top is Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. I just had more fun with it than most. It would also be remiss of me not to mention that I still have a Final Fantasy XI account that I've been playing off and on since its North American release. It's almost more nostalgia than anything that keeps me playing now and then, but it's still the only MMO I've ever really enjoyed.

[MadPumpkin]

Honestly i really don't have ONE single favorite game... I separate games by category, not just genre but also console.
for SEGA Dreamcast probably my favorite game is Phantasy Star Online, for SNES i think i like... A lot of games lol i LOVE Harvest Moon, and stuff like Secret of Mana, Zelda(Link to the past). For the

[programmerinprogress]

well I guess on of the FIRST games I ever played was a DOS platofrmer called 'Fury of the Furries', the objective was to get these furry ball things through each level, each one had it's own ability.

I don't actually remember playing this game per-se (I was only about 3 at the time), but the name stayed with me for years, and my dad said he couldn't get me off it back in 1994 on our little rented computer with windows 3.1 on

As for actual games I love...

I used to be glued to age of empires 2 when that was new(ish, new enough for me lol).
I was a complete Broken Sword(PC version) addict, and until my pc broke, you couldn't drag me a away from a game of rise of nations!

[avansc]

monkey island 3 : escape from monkey island.

if you dont find this game hilariously funny and witty.

you might be.
1. certifiably retarded
2. in a coma
3. british
4. a complete douche

[wtetzner]

monkey island 3 : escape from monkey island.

Do you mean Monkey Island 4: Escape from Monkey Island, or Monkey Island 3: Curse of Monkey Island?

I like both (actually all of them), but I think Curse is better.

-Walter

[avansc]

monkey island 3 : escape from monkey island.

Do you mean Monkey Island 4: Escape from Monkey Island, or Monkey Island 3: Curse of Monkey Island?

I like both (actually all of them), but I think Curse is better.

-Walter

woops, my bad. curse of monkey island. 4 wasent that good for me. well it was, i just wasent for the 3d. it looked horrible
thanks for the correction.

[MadPumpkin]

monkey island 3 : escape from monkey island.
if you dont find this game hilariously funny and witty.
you might be.
1. certifiably retarded
2. in a coma
3. british
4. a complete douche

or all of the above because i don't like that game...

oh and i also love Assassins Creed, Animal Crossing, WarCraft I-III (WoW is gay up the anis), StarCraft (CANNOT WAIT FOR SC2!!!), Diablo 1 and 2(CANT WAIT FOR 3!!!), Half-Life 2(cant wait for EP 3!), BioShock, Portal(if you don't like it your an ass-hole), and i LOVE Sonic the Hedgehog! all of them ive beaten three er four of the classic ones and a couple newer ones. i LOVE MegaMan, i LOVE the old Mario Bros. games, i also love Morrowind, Oblivion, Daggerfall, Mass Effect, Fallout 1,2 and 3, Xcom Enforcer, Lost Planet the first one and Extreme Condition, Phantasy Star Online ep 1,2,3,4, Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2,
as well as like... any Valve game, any GOOD RPG you can think of especially all of the Zelda games

BUT! with narrowing it down to one or two titles...
i LOVE WarCraftIII for PC
and Midieval 1 and 2 for the PS1
thats if i HAD to narrow it down but to be honest i would probably go for any of the games ive laid down

[BlueMonkey5]

Also, what's your criteria when judging a game for something like this? Is it simply the best childhood memories, unforgettable gameplay, or maybe even a sub-par game that you played during a good/bad time in your life?

Let's not forget about this part, because this is a very important aspect of a favorite game. A great game can just be a great game to anyone, but it's the times in which we played a game that makes it our own personal experience. Like, when I played Skies of Arcadia for the first time on Dreamcast, I think of my old room, playing it with my dog that was a pup at the time... that cute lil s-o-b could almost fit in the palm of your hand!! So, the whole experience is huge. But I didnt answer the question.

My favorite gaming experience was playing the original Phantasy Star. It was a great childhood memory and I played it with my brothers and cousins. It brought us all together for many sleepless nights, as we journeyed along an amazing quest. Thanks for reading my novel! :D

[Falco Girgis]

Dragon Quest 8 for PS2. Everything that you would ever want from an RPG and much, much more wrapped into a charming little package full of tits, alcohol, sex jokes, amazing cell shaded graphics, and the largest continuous world that I have ever explored.

[liveordie2112]

all of the lucasarts and sierra games (mostly lucasarts) and the legend of zelda series because the lucasarts game were hilarious and the crude humor on top of amazing concepts and solid gameplay was really enjoyable,
for zelda i first played windwaker and that blew my mind

and then i played all of the others and loved those

then there was the tony hawk series because you could "skate" on the days you couldn't skate(rain, snow, sleet, hail, there's alot of that in new jersey)
today is a snow day lol

kingdom hearts was captivating
theres so many more gosh i can't name them all

[deryni21]

all of the lucasarts and sierra games (mostly lucasarts) and the legend of zelda series because the lucasarts game were hilarious and the crude humor on top of amazing concepts and solid gameplay was really enjoyable,
for zelda i first played windwaker and that blew my mind

and then i played all of the others and loved those

then there was the tony hawk series because you could "skate" on the days you couldn't skate(rain, snow, sleet, hail, there's alot of that in new jersey)
today is a snow day lol

kingdom hearts was captivating
theres so many more gosh i can't name them all

snow day here also