The Fantaverse Members Top 20 Games of All-Time

[numbersix]

Rainbow Islands: Remember it being quite difficult
Sensible Soccer: This was fun. From what I remember it's still the fastest football game ever.
XCOM: UFO Defense: Played the sequel, but not the original
Tetris: Made my Top 20. Addictive
CoD: Modern Warfare: All these war shooters look the same to me.
Cannon Fodder: Loved the humour, though I remember it being really frustrating, especially when utilising the AI of your own team.

[NSpan]

Now that we're finally there, does anybody have any guesses for anybody else's #1 ??

[numbersix]

Nope, I honestly don't know enough about games, nor do I see trend occurring in y'all (except SS, who most likely will have an Amiga or 16-bit console game as his Number 1) to have any guesses.

[W]

Now that we're finally there, does anybody have any guesses for anybody else's #1 ??

I'd guess a turn-based strategy or other strategy like Sim City, Civilization, Colonization, Age of Empires series for you. I haven't played Amiga at all, actually, but I'd guess Silver Surfer's favorite would be an Amiga platformer, or maybe Frogger. I already know RonB's, so that wouldn't be fair.

[numbersix]

A clue on mine: it's realted to a game someone else has picked in their Top 5

[silversurfer19]

Both W and six are both on the right track, I think there is a vein of similar titles running through my top 20 which should make it easy to guess, and I'll say that I reckon six and myself have the same no.1.

[numbersix]

X-COM: UFO Defense
(MicroProse) - PC
(1994)
the 2nd-best game ever made. I could create a 10 minute lecture about how great this game is... but that'd just be ten minutes less that you could be playing Master of Magic.

PS. Of note is the sister-series, Master of Orion. An amazing sci-fi strategy game with (surprisingly) a brilliant sequel. Nonetheless, I'll always prefer the fantasy setting of games like Master of Magic.

NSpan, check his out: http://ufoai.ninex.info/wiki/index.php/News

[NSpan]

Downloading it now, thanks.

Also: I obviously mislabeled my #2 entry. #3 was X-COM, #2 is Master of Magic.

[W]

Number ONE

W



Sid Meier's Civilization II 1996 (PC - Turn Based Strategy/Nation Building) - Ah, the greatest game of all time, Civilization II. I've spent more time on this than probably any ten pieces of media combined. It's always up on my laptop with a game going. It's the greatest combination of simplicity and and strategy that takes years to master. I've played hundreds of games and no matter how many millions of times you play it, you will NEVER get the same game twice. There are very few games that can make that statement. There are few games out there that offers the ability to create that the game does as well. Everything from the terrain to the units, city names, and leaders/empires. To me Civ II is the most replayable, longest lasting, most addictive game I've ever come across hands down.



Ron Burgundy



Mario Kart 64 1997 (N64 - Racing/Car Battle) - My favourite game of all time. And probably the game im best at. And i would probably beat anybody that challanges me haha (really). Some say the game lacks depth but in multiplayer mode it offers the best entertainment ever, rivalling any other game. Ive had some of the best competitive battles ever against my mates in this game, and it always goes down to the wire. Im glad they released a sequel (my no. 6) because to continue this franchise is the way to go. Yeah i guess you could say that i feel sentimental about this game, but that why its my Number 1, because i can look back and remember that i shared some of the most fun times with some mates of mine and i know that there will be more good times ahead with this game. If im ever near yourself this game and a 64 and you wanna battle, bring it on!

[numbersix]

#1 XCOM: Terror from the Deep -1995 (PC)






(Disclaimer: I haven't played the first game, which from what I read is exactly the same except this is mostly set under water)

Probably the only game I've fully completed three times over, and deservedly so. The second X-Com game combines elements of RTS with mostly turn-based action and strategy. It's almost like a board game, but with randomly generated maps, technology development, team upgrades, and a great climax. The game deals with an alien invasion on earth, and you control the agency who must put an end to it all. The gameplay is divided into three main sections. There's your base, which you build, train your team, conduct experiments on alien technology, and devlop new devices and vehicles. There's the map of the globe which is played in real time, where you place your base and monitor alien crafts, sending out ships to gun them down. Finally, there's the main section. Once an alien ship is gunned down ~(or if they raid a coastal town) you must send in your troops to kill the suriving aliens or capture living ones. Your team has a number of hit-points to move/fire, and once your turn is taken the aliens take theirs.

There's a dash of realism in that aliens can react during your turn if you walk in front of an aggressive one, which adds to the tension. All levels are randomly generated, making the entire game replayable. There's hundreds of weapons to develop, and with the stronger guns the game gets really interesting. My favourite was a tool to cause aliens to panic, and when you trained your team enough, they could take over the bodies of the aliens. The aliens themselves had different races, the most dangerous being brain-like creatures which could take over your team members, and also kill a soldier in one go.

The game felt massive, and the variety was astounding. The game built to a climax (though not until you researched enough living aliens to get a sense of who they were), and overall it is an exceptional and unrivalled piece of gaming. The sequel was a tad disappointing, though it was still worth playing, and later came the UFO games which got mixed reviews, so I never bothered to try them. If any of you know a game similar and as good as this, let me know because this is a work of genius.

Finally, thanks W for puching ahead and getting this started. Turned out to be a blast!

[numbersix]

Civ 2: Well, W, I think you've made a great and sensible choice for your No. 1 game. It truly is amazing stuff. I discovered this during my MA year in uni, and it was nearly responsible for ruining me! Well, not quite, but I did spend hours discovering the tactics of this difficult yet rewarding game. As I said, Civ 3 was a disappointment, but perhaps it's impossible to improve on a game like Civ 2.

Mario Kart 64: I don't think I every played an N64 in my life. However, a lot of N64 games were ported to the DS. Indeed, the DS Mario Kart has some tracks that are from the N64 version. Mario Kart has been a consistently great game on whatever platform (I played the Wii version briefly and enjoyed it, although I found the motion sensor control very sensitive).

[silversurfer19]

1. The Secret Of Monkey Island (1990), Amiga, Atari, PC, Mac. Adventure





I think by now my personal tastes regarding computer games has been well and truly laid bare, and my no.1 game of all time bears are the hallmarks of what is inherent of my favourites which came before it. Taking a well designed narrative and fleshing it out with brilliant characters and amusing environments, Monkey Island is the absolute pinnacle of platform gaming, and gaming in its entirety for me. There aren't many games which have such a darkly wicked sense of humour, and such a well thought out game play, but Monkey Island has it all. I would spend months playing this game (although I'm sure the majority of that time was spent changing floppy disks at every given minute... oh the good old days!) and desperately try to complete it. It took forever, but it was so, so worth it. I never had a clue what "grog" was at the age of 12, but man, it sounded like good stuff and it inspired the pirate in you to win at all costs. I've never had so much fun with a game since, its totally immersive without ever taking itself too seriously (which seems to be all to familiar nowadays), and I think it was that reason that led me to seek out the Special Edition and replay it again. And to my pleasure it was still just as fun and creative as I remembered. However, the early 90s were a different world to now, and I doubt any new game will ever come close to matching what LucasArts did here, a true classic of the genre.

[numbersix]

The Secret of Monkey Island: Good pick, SS, although it is a surprise because I don't remember you having any other point-n-click adventures in your list? I love Monkey Island, maybe the sequel that little bit more, and I'm tempted to get the special editions because I've forgotten so much about them. A great story that's full of wit. Are there any games like this anymore? I think Sam and Max made a return but that's about it.

[silversurfer19]

Well technically my no.2, Cannon Fodder is a point and click, but I think more so what determines my favourite games are what I have most fun playing, and that is usually ruled by their sense of humour. For the most part (though there are obviously some exceptions like RE IV) I think games take themselves too seriously, and I prefer my games to be a little lighter in tone, which is why many of my favourites take this same slant. Monkey Island is a perfect example of this, it's wit and style are perfect counters to the creativity of the narrative.

In regard to similar games, I'm not particularly sure, we never really owned that many games growing up so we made full use of the ones we did have. I'm sure NSpan could point you in the right direction though.

[W]

Mario Kart is good no matter what system. I think I put more time into the 64 version than the others.

I'm going to have to throw X-COM on my backlog.

I haven't played Monkey Island, but it looks like a Hugo game I used to play or maybe a little bit of Leisure Suit Larry.