I game. A lot. This are the most important games to me, who sucked up way to many hours of "to-be-used-in-another-way-time". But still... I game. I try to accompany each game with a few lines and bring order to them... Work in Progress.
This was the bane of my existance from 15 up to 19 years of age. I don't know how many hours I poured into that multiplayer mod. But it is somewhere in the month range for sure. The perfect competitive multiplayer Experience. It still shines today.
I saw this game at a friends house. From there on I obsessed over it. When I finally got it, I couldn't let go until it was finished. Numerous Adventures in Hyrule followed, but for me this still is the one to revisit once in a while.
Back when I was going on my x386, this was the kind of game that was installed on my harddrive permanently. Not something like MP shooters or Civilization (though I knew about civ back then). I played it over month. When I got new hardware, I installed Lucasarts adventures. Just trying to figure out the puzzles or to just hang around in the world and talk to people. I was 10.
The first game from the 2000s in this List. Can I say it impacted me as a person? I don't know. But it sure as hell made the biggest lasting impression from all the polished epic single player games on the modern consoles. And I like those. Playing this game on an evening with dimmed lights for the first time is a feeling I miss.
This was like a world of possibilities opening up inside the world of shooters. Stunningly I don't feel such a strong bond to this game, as i do with other games on this list. It is just an amazing game. But one that changed everything for the better. Valve showed how it is done and everybody followed. We owe them.
Now this. The Original consumed more time and thought from me. Much more. But this game just came out this year, and it did everything i wanted. The perfect sequel which is just another polish of the Original. But this isn't just a game. It is a subculture. The ones who watch Day[9] know what i mean.
So. Metal Gear. Is a big part of my gaming life. I bought the PS2 for MGS 2. I bought the PS3 when MGS4 came out. As Japanese as this is, it is awesome. If I ever had a nerdgasm, it was in this game. Here was a world I knew by heart. And a story I knew as well and wanted to see finished. And it not only did good, it blew me away. I finished it in 2 sittings only because I was too tired to game on.
Resdient Evil is another prominent series in my life, for no apparent reason. I just played a lot of it. Almost all. Like MGS4, RE4 is the crowning achievement of the series. I couldn't believe what was thrown at me. And at times i was to terrified to go into the next room, tho I had a shitload of weapons and ammo. I just couldn't take the anxiety.
Kratos Journey is one to be witnessed. The only reason nr. 2 is representing here, is because 2 friends of mine were with me. They came by and watched me play. For the whole game. They don't play Video Games. On another note, this is one of the most epic series ever. The brutality and genuine over-the-topness of this slaughter-everything-in-style-and-awesomness has yet to be matched.
Again going with a game with a personal impact on me. The wonder I felt when exploring the planet through Samus' eyes was inspiring. Paired with the music and the general feel of being lost, yet having a clear mission, it was an amazing experience. Cool Boss Fights and Action set pieces aside, i just fired rockets underwater to see samus' eyes reflected in the visor.
I actually got this long before I played "A Link to the past". Just because i owned a gameboy before a snes. Still i got up at 4 o'clock just to play another dungeon. This was my first taste of the Zelda Virus. An I liked ist. Very much so.
The one and only JRPG i ever saw through. I tried a few. But this got everything right. From Toriyamas character design to the battle mechanics to the story told. When someone says "I don't like JRPGs, i just don't see the point", show him this game.
Another LucasArts adventure I hold dearly in my memory. Like with the Monkey Islands, I can play through this in one straight sitting. Just solving all the puzzles from memory without getting stuck.
Another gmae I couldn't wait for to be released. I updated my hardware several times to make sure it was up to the task. When it finally hit, it was another case of two sittings for the game to be finished. I just couldn't stop and watched in awe, as the game unfolded before me.
This is here in place of the original game. Just because it counts as one for me. I played it alone and I played it with friends. Up to recently we would play a few matches whenever we got ourselfs a LAN party.
At LAN partys we would play CS, Starcraft or this. It was a welcomed change of pace from the all dominating CS. I'm glad to see that the Instagib mutator didn't lose any of it's vigor through all the following incarnations of the game.
This game captured everything that Indy was to me. And still is today. A new story with the hero I so loved and idealized. I was overjoyed to see this story unfold and frustrated by the puzzles I couldn't solve. No need to say that this will forever be Indy 4 in my mind. I know a lot of people agree with this. And if you don't... well, then you never played it.
I had the cover art of this game printed and applied to my school scratch book. It was that important to me. I just loved how the story was told n this game. Strangely i never much played it on LANs or ever after. But still, the mechanics introduced in this one solidified the RTS genre. And it is all there today. Right click to attack, anyone?
Devil May Cry really was an important game. Without this game there would be no Ninja Gaiden and no God of War. Sure, the aforementioned perfected the formula introduced by DMC, but this was a great game on its own.
I read about the extraordinary approach to playable characters in this game and couldn't wrap my head around it. How is this supposed to work, if you play a dozen characters? The answer is simple: By an incredible strong story and truly unique game mechanics. This game fucks with you in so many ways. Yet I will never forget the experience.
The second best Metal Gear game to date. Before the arrival of 4 this was the game to surpass. I was angry at Kojima for not giving me then, what would ultimately become MGS4. But the story told, and all the references to the era made for a strong experience. And an amazing universe was expanded in a way noboday saw coming. About the ladder climb: I love it. It is a stroke of genius.
My First encounter with Snake. I played the PC Version of this, cause I never owned a PSX. But this game had so much Ideas in it. It was just stunning. The legendary fight with Psycho Mantis was just the icing on the cake. A hard game to put down once started and a wild, imaginative ride.
This is a game I never finished. My first experience with "hype". I remember watching the tv ads for this and chanting along. When i got it I played the hell out of it. But the NES was not mine, it was at my grandparents. Which meant i never had enought time to hone my skills enough to get past the final world which was tough as nails, at least according to my memory. One day I have to go back to finish the job.
The first game I bought for my gameboy. It was somewhat like what i knew from Zelda, but since i never played zelda myself this was the next best thing. Still it was a game i couldn't let go. And I enjoyed the experience enormously.
When I bought my used gameboy from a friend, this game came with it. The memory is clouded, but I remember biting my way through it. A somewhat wild mix of RPG and platformer, this was no easy game. It was a very big game on the small console. It had an overworld map, towns to explore and people to talk to. And huge boss battles. I would file this under "lost gem".
When this came out, I didn't own a machine capable of handling it. Once I got one, I was stunned by the installer alone. And when the game started, it kicked what i knew from Dune II and Warcraft into overdrive. Huge armies, an incredible soundtrack and way to goofy story rounded it out. This was the first high octane RTS. Today it's actually kinda slow.
This stands for the whole series. Damn, what a timesink this series is. The concept is baffling, and the mechanics got refined and polished and refined ans polished over the years. Yet the game itself actually never changed (in my opinion). And it is as fun and intriguing as in this first installment. I hesitate to lay my hands on V, because I just know what will happen and how many hours are gonna be gone in a jiffy.
