What makes you like your favorite games?

[PrimeJunta]

The dicussion about Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment in that Good, Bad, and Ugly thread (which describes the thread too pretty well IMO) got me thinking. I can easily list, say, five or ten games that I really, really, like. I think I can see a pattern there, even though they're, on the face of it, a pretty eclectic bunch. 

 

My question to you is: what's your list, and is there a common thread there? What is it about them that makes you like them?

 

Here's my top 10 -- not in order of preference; I couldn't sort them from number 2 down:

 

* Planescape: Torment

* Deus Ex

* Mask of the Betrayer

- Rome: Total War with the Total Realism mod

- NetHack

- Dwarf Fortress

* Vampire: Bloodlines

* Fallout

* The Witcher 1

* The Witcher 2

 

For a surprising number of these (I've starred them), if asked to describe them, I'd say something like "well, the gameplay is kind of meh [or insert some other significant but more specific criticism of the gameplay], but man, it really grabbed my imagination. 

 

Put another way, it's clear that as much as I like to gripe about deficiencies in gameplay -- and as much as I'm hoping that Project: Eternity will have the cRPG game system to end all cRPG game systems -- ultimately, for me, it's really not that important. If gameplay isn't so badly broken that it's still able to carry the content, and the content is worth carrying, I'm pretty happy.

 

And, conversely, the best game system in the world isn't enough to get me hot and bothered if the content in it is unimaginative, generic, badly written, or just not worth the trouble.

 

How about you?

[Razsius]

FFS Prime could you ask an easier question please?

 

I mean Top 10?  How am I supposed to quantify them?  Okay let's see here... i'll do my best.

 

Baldur's Gate series (CRPG) - Have to evaluate this as a whole the story isn't complete otherwise.  Probably my #1... probably.

Chrono Trigger (JRPG) - Made by a dream team.  It did EVERYTHING right as far as i'm concerned.  Razor thin margin behind my #1.

Clannad (Visual Novel) - Most convincing love story i've ever seen in an anime form.  Not pretentious or forgiving simply "transcendent."

The Witcher 1 (CARPG?)- Setting, atmosphere, gameplay and concurrent storytelling... what more could you ask for?

Morrowind (SbRPG) - The Elder Scrolls done right... nuff said.

"Mother 2" (JRPG) - There's psychic powers, aliens, slimeballs, bottle rockets, sentient parking meters and a kid named Poo.  Yet it works.

Advance Wars series (TBS) - Complex Turn Based strategy system that can be easily picked up.  Each CO is a potential MONSTER if used right.

Final Fantasy IX (JRPG) - Harkened back to the old school Final Fantasy that i loved.  Love story done Final Fantasy right.. oh and nods to Shakespeare.

American McGee's Alice (TPS) - Craziest rendition of Alice and Wonderland ever.  Clearly made by professional game designers.

Fallout (CRPG) - It's Fallout.. what can I say?

 

I have no clue what the common factor is among these.  They're all uh... awesome?  I think they all have "believable" worlds for me.  Or rather, they build atmosphere that pulls me in.

 

Edit: Oh and you need to answer my question in the other thread Prime .

Edited March 10, 2013 by Razsius

[Darth Trethon]

A three point issue comes up when I think of my favorite games Story-Choice-Consequence and the more varied the endings the better but I do not actually like or believe in endings that are bad for the player and I think that all endings should be positive for the player while consistent with his/her choices.

Edited March 10, 2013 by Darth Trethon

[Nonek]

Lets see there's Torment, Ultima iv-vii, the Witchers, The Sith Lords, New Vegas, Mask of the Betrayer, Krondor, and a few other real oldies. I guess what appeals to me about them is not just the writing, though a logical and well plotted narrative is something I consider to be essential, but the sense of a living and internally consistent world. Take Torment for example: Why would Nameless wear heavy armour when a little trinket can achieve the same task as the heaviest of harness, or Grace who naturally in rebelling against her heritage chooses to become a puritanical seeker of mental sensation. The Transcendant Ones simple desire to kill you once more at the cost of a companions life and send you back to begin again, thus extending the cycle that ensures his longevity. With aid from Nordom you can even realise that your memories are not lost with each death but are taken by Him and his shadows, though you can work this out yourself if you pay attention to the previous incarnations speaking of being deathless and yet maintaining their personality.

 

Yes as well as logical, well plotted narratives, and internally consistent worlds that one can easily lose themseleves in I also consider subtlety of presentation to be something desirable: Whether in the presentation of underlying themes such as the moral absolutism of Warriors of Destiny or the nature of monstrosity in the Witcher. The presentation of characters, such as the tormented and conflicted cast of Torment or the many faults, strengths and ideals that motivate the players in the Sith Lords, and the reasonable motivations that drive the Witchers antagonists to such depths of depravity.

 

Edit: Oh and Severance because the combat system still hasn't been bested, immensely enjoyable to thrash a goblin with its chums limbs.

Edited March 10, 2013 by Nonek

[Sacred_Path]

My favorite genre is RPGs, and I think my favorite games all give me detailed options to create diverse characters, then allow me to test those different characters in how well they fare in this setting. I think this places me somewhere between gamist and simulationist; I want a coherent world with consistently applied rules, but I also want gamey mechanics that make use of abstractions and challnge various skills, vs. ultra realism. So in short, I think I really like to roleplay and prefer games that give me the chance to do so.

[Rostere]

I liked Snatcher, which was a Japanese point-and-click adventure with shooting sections, so I think you could safely say that gameplay takes a back seat to story.

[Malekith]

In order:

1)Baldur's Gate 2 + Throne of Bhaal

2)Planescape:Torment(should be first, but BG2 was the first game i realy liked and nostalgia clouds my judgement. Razor thin margin behind my #1)

3)Fallout 2

4)Fallout

5)Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

6)Icewind Dale

7)Mask of the Betrayer( The engine and 3D really harms it, if it was made in IE it would be No3)

8)Icewind Dale 2

9)Baldur's Gate/Sacrifice - TIE

10)Vampire the Masquerade:Bloodlines

 

The common factor? Excactly what PrimeJunta said. It was as he read my mind.

The only think i want to add is that i don't like sandboxes. The whole "go craft your own story" just tells me that the devs didn't bother to make an interesting one themselves. To sit and play a game for hours it means that it draws me in and makes me prefer it from the other things i could be doing like reading a book, go for a drink to meet new people, watch a movie etc. I don't want something to simply waste my time. Drop me in a game like Skyrim and i'm like "Why should i bother to do anything? What fun is to walking around hacking things in a repeated environment?"

 

There were some sandboxes that did it right. Fallouts 1+2 and Arcanum. But both had superb atmosphere, they had good stories(nothing special but they were not the focus of the game, like Icewind Dales) and more importantly the focus wasn't on exploration.(By that i mean TES,new Fallouts or BG1 wilderness kind of exploration) Each area was self contained, packed with interesting content. They weren't  made for you to simply walk around and waste your time.

[TheTeaMustFlow]

I really couldn't narrow it down to 10, but I have two main criteria for a good game. Firstly, that the core gameplay is consistently enjoyable. For me, that chucks out quite a few of the old cRPGs (as I just didn't enjoy combat in, say, either NWN). Secondly, while I'm not so concerned with an innovative or original plot (though I like those, I consider them secondary), I hate games without a solid plot - as in, one that makes some degree of sense within the game and doesn't have any glaring plot holes (bad) Deus Ex Machina etc. when I notice a `fridge logic` problem in the time it takes me to make my obligatory English tea, I really lose interest. Which disqualifies Mass Effect for me, as well - the massive amount of inconsistencies and problems in the ending just takes the fun out of the whole series for me. I would actually maintain that Super Mario Bros has a better plot than ME as it remains consistent within it's own framework and doesn't lose what willing suspension of disbelief you have.

 

So, if it turns out PE has boring combat or big fat plot holes, I will hunt down the dev team and chop them up for tiffin.

[Tagaziel]

It's an unique, well realized and explained world that draws me in the most. As such, worlds where the author(s) have shown a dedication to creating a complex, interconnected world that feels real are most appealing to me. It's hard to make a definitive list, though. There are plenty of games, books, films, TV series, and more I'd like to fit in.

[smithereen]

1. Planescape: Torment - yeah. Needs no explaination on these forums

2. The Sith Lords (w/ Restored Content mod)  - yeah

3. The Total War series (usually modded) - Brilliant strategy games. Often challenging; each game tells a story.

4. Alpha Centauri - Also amazing. Truly frighting science fiction narrative; up there with Heinlein and Clark, all in a Civilization game.

5. The Mass Effect series - yeah

6. Amnesia: The Dark Descent - Terrifying.

7. Mask of the Betrayer - yeah

8. Human Revolution - great RPG. Ending was a little on the weak side.

9. Baldur's Gate series - yeah

10. Knights of the Old Republic - yeah. Aside from The Twist, the plot was quite straightforward and some characters were a little flat. But still, one of the best RPGs of it's generation.

 

I think the common element is games that don't talk down to their audience, are unique, and tell a great story. I also love games that don't use gameplay for gameplay's sake, like Amnesia, Torment and the strategy games listed.

[Larkaloke]

Top ten games? Baldur's Gate trilogy, Icewind Dale, Icewind Dale II, Planescape: Torment, Neverwinter Nights, Morrowind, Arcanum, Dragon Age: Origins, Unreal Tournament 2004, Neverwinter Nights 2.

 

Well, ignoring the completely odd one out (Unreal Tournament), and the somewhat odd one out (Planescape: Torment), they've all got a lot of character creation possibilities, such that I can create a great variety of different characters. The ones at the top have the most, being the ones where one can create a full party. The gameplay isn't very similar between them all, but this makes it clear that I tend to prefer an isometric view and also tend to prefer older D&D rules to newer ones.

 

Other than that? Interesting story is a common thread, and interesting world seems to come in a little bit secondary (I've personally never found the Forgotten Realms all that interesting, tending to think of it as being almost as default as Greyhawk, but the others all have settings I consider interesting).

 

I know why Neverwinter Nights 2 is at the back there. In many ways I like it just as well as or better than Neverwinter Nights, but for me the camera is almost completely unmanageable, and I find it more difficult to make the kind of characters I want because of the head-choosing system instead of portrait choosing. Those are, I suppose, both gameplay problems; I do care a fair amount about gameplay, although if it comes down to it, I'll choose story and background and such over it in the case of an RPG.

[LadyCrimson]

I don't know if I could easily describe what makes a game click for me. There's a few things that do tend to attract me however:

 

Obsessive task-oriented skills/goals (whether purposely part of the game or made up by me) that can play out a bit differently depending on your approach and which keep me going "I must try/finish that." A fun sense of exploration (doesn't have to be fully "open world", just a sense of hey what's that over there, must go see), fun/interesting combat, individual stories/backgrounds/things to do that make me give a hoot about something other than "winning the game", and interesting/amusing companions to travel with would be high up there.

 

Games that make me laugh also get high marks. Not so much slapstick-y, but a lot of subtle humor...even if it's only something unintentional that I find humorous. Which seems to occur a lot. Me: "If you do x and z, the resultant AI behavior of these cartpushers is hilarious, can't stop laughing!"  Most Other People: "Huh? You're weird."

 

...but then again, I've also loved games that have very little of any of those things, so ... y'know....there's no single answer.

[Tigranes]

Have a strong and distinct theme, and push that theme consistently across all game mechanics. Invest in a game which doesn't presume you don't give a damn and you just want to mash buttons for a few hours. That's it, really.

[smithereen]

Have a strong and distinct theme, and push that theme consistently across all game mechanics. Invest in a game which doesn't presume you don't give a damn and you just want to mash buttons for a few hours. That's it, really.

 

Well put.

[JFSOCC]

I won't number them, they all have different strengths and weaknesses.

 

For me, visual narrative is important, you can infer a lot simply by depicting the environment. Bastion and Beyond Good and Evil are both fantastic in this sense. Both games also had a fantastic sound track. Half life 1 told you a story without many words (Half life: opposing force did it even better)

Knights of the Old Republic II was special to me because it spoke directly to me and my philosophy and challenged it. It too was a visual masterpiece, despite crappy graphics.

 

I enjoy colourful games. No greyish brown corridors shooters for me.

I enjoy games which don't automatically seem to assume I'm retarded, way too many games do that these days. They get bogged down in tireless exposition, in foreshadowing a child could manage to pick out, or help you out because you can't immediately solve a puzzle.

 

Riven is another formative game for me, every puzzle was part of the world, or part of the environment. They weren't even really puzzles. They were parts of the normal world which you as a foreigner had to understand. Without saying a world you could see that the world of riven was a world in decay, a broken world which once used to be unified. You could see the patchwork mending that had been done by Gehn and this too was mostly visual narrative. You could infer it from using your eyes and mind. It made you explore the story, involved you in it, rather than delivering it through exposition.

 

Warcraft II and III, Both games I sucked at, both I beat only by the skin of my teeth (at normal difficulty too) Warcraft II is nostalgia mostly, as it was my first game on my first own computer, and I played it a ****load with my best friend. Blizzard is a genius at sprite art, the attention to detail, the vast amounts of polish both games had received all worked in their favour. Every unit or building had little sounds which just fit. And, again, the games were rather colourful. I still dream of the music from Warcraft II, it was very atmospheric.

 

Visual narrative and great sound both do a great deal for immersion. All these games also had an element of exploration. Myst and Riven needed to be solved by looking everywhere and connecting the dots, there were no text puzzles (thank god, my English back then was limited) I could spend hours photographing animals in the comfortably paced Beyond Good and Evil, Warcraft III rewarded you with extra treasures on the map (and awesome cutscenes, but I digress)

 

By contrast, I liked morrowind, but after the millionth time hearing the same song, ARHG< headache! The world was always miserably subdued and I had the Xbox version so I couldn't download the better weather patch.

 

Portal had it all: great visual narrative, a themesong I still know by heart, great pacing, and very little handholding. Half of the game was a tutorial, and you didn't even realise it. That's how you do a tutorial.

 

Dreamfall, while it was not a game so much as an interactive movie, was one of the few games which actually had mature content. (and I don't mean violence and ****) It too was a very visually beautiful game, it too was well paced with different challenges and no "DO IT!< DO IT NOW" pushing time limits I resent so much. I was forewarned that it was a short game, so I took my time too, taking it all in.

 

Baldurs Gate II: well, you could do so much, and you couldn't be good at everything. There was always more to do, and you could (mostly) do it at your own pace. I loved the city, lost interest as soon as the game became linear and I couldn't build anymore. I love building up, creating something which last. Getting a stronghold and then having to leave it was a major bummer.

 

Commandos: sucked at this game too, but I played this with my friends in the chairs next to me (we'd take turns, have a member die, reload someone else got to sit in the big chair) We'd try to solve it together. We got pretty far. A game which rewards taking your time and exploring.

 

Team Fortress Classic, 2, great game for getting rid of frustration, go to a server with instant respawns and just go nuts. I miss hunted game mode in TF2. Visual design of this game is one of its strong points, class balance is nearly perfect. I'm not even a big multiplayer fan, but this game, wow.

 

Delta Force (1+2, maybe 3)

It's where I get my nickname from. the Vexel engine allowed for VAST game maps at the cost of graphics. I felt like I really was a Delta Force Operator. Missions where open and you could choose to follow the plan or do your own thing. AI sucked but since you were perpetually surrounded and one shot could kill you (sometimes up to three, but never more) it was still pretty tense for me.

I remember mailing NovaLogic a question about a "US army grenade case" which was in an enemy camp and not an ammo refill. I asked if it was the policy of the US to supply terrorists, this was days before 9/11. Ouch. Childhood folly. The lay-out of the villages and the maps felt fairly realistic, and it too was an immersive game (are you catching a theme yet?)

 

Quest for Glory V: Another visual masterpiece, and the puns, oh the puns! this game knew not to take itself too seriously, something many games fail at these days. Not to say that the entire game was a farce comedy. It played differently based on the class you picked at the start of the game. And quests had great diversity in challenge and solution. I thoroughly recommend anyone who wishes to make quests in games to play this game. Dancing with the dryads was a magical moment for me, that entire copse, it just bled magic, in this almost twilight. fighting of hordes of armies in diablo 2 doesn't come close to the epic nature of completing smaller scale obstacles with greater challenge. This game got challenge just right. It was a well polished game and the only game I know which has magic which actually felt special and magical, rather than utilitarian.

 

Ceasar 3, Civilisation 3, Medieval Total war(1) Rome Total war.

Digital Heroin. I remember starting one morning at 10am at a game of Rome total war, and deciding at 3pm the next day that maybe I should go to the toilet, eat, and then sleep. These games just keep me playing. I actually banned myself from RT:W because I can't seem to stop. Even when I don't enjoy myself anymore.

So what do these games do right? They allow you complete freedom in how you build your empire, and I love empire building. There is literally no end to what you can do. And there is always more that needs to be done.

 

So what do I think makes a great game?

Well there's no single recipe for success, but I value

Great soundtrack. (only bombastic when it applies. nothing breaks immersion like having epic music while having to do the ingame equivalent of tax returns)

Attention to detail (polish)

Respects the intellect of the player

Moddable (whenever possible)

Great visual narrative, good visuals (which is not the same as great graphics)

unforced pacing.

Challenging but not impossible

rewards exploration. (doesn't have to be tangible)

Community support. (look at all the bethesda games, and the community, the release of modding tools and support of fan forums does a lot in keeping even the older games popular to this day)

Humour, especially in serious settings. Makes characters more likeable.

 

There's many more games which I love, but I think these have been the greatest influences for me.

[JFSOCC]

Oh man, I keep coming up with others I should add to the list. lol Halo(1, not the others) and Alpha Centauri, both great games. Halo is probably the game with the best difficulty settings in the universe. Finished it on easy, then normal, then heroic, then legendary.

Edited March 10, 2013 by JFSOCC

[Ffordesoon]

There is only one question that matters to me when evaluating anything:

 

Does it accomplish what it sets out to accomplish, and if so, how well?

 

The games I like, then, are those that succeed at their goal, whatever that goal may be. This means I like games as diverse as Gunstar Heroes, Fallout, and Minecraft. I'm not going to provide a list of favorites (it changes by the day), but I will say that my favorite games usually possess at least three of the following attributes:

 

1. Tight, thoughtfully designed controls.

2. A perfectly balanced risk-reward mechanic.

3. Oodles of reactivity to the player's choices.

4. A well-written narrative, or at least a decently written one.

5. A content-rich world. Internal consistency and vastness are pluses, but optional.

6. Complex simulations of minutiae that impact gameplay in unexpected ways.

7. Memorable characters and world.

8. A good sense of humor.

9. Multiple approaches and solutions to problems (similar to "oodles of reactivity," but not identical).

10. Mechanics with a fair amount of elasticity to them (that is, no lock-and-key, should've-bought-the-walkthrough, you-can-only-beat-this-boss-through-trial-and-error design).

 

In addition, there are a few smaller, less definable factors that aren't as crucial as the ten above, but which can be important to me nonetheless:

 

11. A spark of inspired lunacy.

12. The feeling I get when I'm playing an obvious labor of love on the devs' part. Call it "soulfulness," if there must be a name for it.

13. Polished mechanics.

14. No filler content.

15. Customization of some type.

16. Allows for mods or user-generated content.

17. Allows for nonlethal conflict resolution in some capacity.

18. The game is considerate of the player's experience with it.

19. No "innovative" features shoehorned into an experience in which they don't belong (e.g. Assassin's Creed's contextual control scheme, wherein you are often asked to perform feats of graceful, speedy movement that the loose, autopilot-heavy controls can't accomplish with nearly enough regularity).

20. The game tries something new, and succeeds at it.

21. I can murder every elf I see.

 

Hopefully, that paints a picture of the sorts of games I like better than a list of favorites would.

 

EDIT: Oopsie, two other ones I meant to include on the lower list:

 

22. Colorful graphics.

23. Great audio (music and sounds).

Edited March 10, 2013 by Ffordesoon

[MattH]

Atmosphere and/or gameplay that is engaging and motivating. Games have to be successful at some kind of illusion for me. I don't think I like any games for their own sake or representative value. The only value it can have is that of any great illusion or experience (speaking of "depth"). But that is not absolutely necessary if it has some pull to it and is available at a good price...

[Tagaziel]

4. Alpha Centauri - Also amazing. Truly frighting science fiction narrative; up there with Heinlein and Clark, all in a Civilization game.

5. The Mass Effect series - yeah

 

Oy vey, putting AC right next to ME. Dem's fight words.

[smithereen]

 

4. Alpha Centauri - Also amazing. Truly frighting science fiction narrative; up there with Heinlein and Clark, all in a Civilization game.

5. The Mass Effect series - yeah

 

Oy vey, putting AC right next to ME. Dem's fight words.

 

I don't follow.

[Darth Trethon]

 

 

4. Alpha Centauri - Also amazing. Truly frighting science fiction narrative; up there with Heinlein and Clark, all in a Civilization game.

5. The Mass Effect series - yeah

 

Oy vey, putting AC right next to ME. Dem's fight words.

 

I don't follow.

He means ME is garbage. The way BioWare handled ME3 and its issues along with their fake choice system mkaes me inclined to agree.

[Jelei]

Okay, yeah. the favourite games and why, I had to like your post PJ. We do seem to share quite a lot there. anyways. Here I'll go:

 

1) Planescape: Torment - I mentioned in the good, bad and ugly thread that I consider it the best game, yes, it's combat is quite bad, it has it's defiencies pointed out by people in the G,B&U thread better than I ever could. Still, the quality of the writing, the atmosphere, the storytelling, the way it did grip my imagination and pulled me right into it, how it actually did use the mechanics it established very well (IMO).

 

2) Deus Ex - Quite good writing, (arguably) good mechanics over the board, good gameplay, good storytelling. I personally didn't much like the conspiracy-theory thing, never have, yet I didn't mind that aspect because of the way this game yet again pulled me into it's world.

 

3) X-com or UFO: Enemy Unknown, depending on where you live - This might be considered something of the odd-man out. It simply occupies this position because it actually is a game that to me almost perfected the mechanics in it's particular niche. I love it. what can I say?

 

4) Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magica Obscura - Oh dear, Arcanum, how I love you? I love arcanum, I admit it. I love the world, I love the story and writing, though not quite as good as some games. I love, above all, the character creation. I love my odd characters I've used to complete the game, more or less, the beatiful half-elf woman, the electrical engineerging gnome called Nichol Tesla. Every one of them. So much that I don't mind one of the worst UI:s ever, one of the most broken combat-engine ever.

 

5) Witcher 2 - Good gameplay, most of the time, the world is different and thrilling and the quality of the writing is exemplary. I do like the twitchy gameplay though I suck in it. But it is the story that really gets me in the witcher 2. Sadly, I got into the Witcher with the second game - I tried the first. It wasn't the graphics that got me (I really care nothing of graphics) but ther weird semi-twitchy combat that I couldn't stand, which is quite weird, considering I could deal with arcanum's combat. I just couldn't get past act1 IIRC.

 

6)  Vampire the masquerade: Bloodlines - In the vein of Deus Ex. Except with much, much more broken system, sadly. Yet still, I wish I could place it higher on the charts, and on a different day I probably would. I do love this game, it just is one of the better ones. Even with it flaws, namely, most of the end game. After the sewer the game just falls apart. But still. This one is one of the good ones. It did pull me right into it's world, once again.

 

7) Spec Ops: The Line - This probably should be far, far, higher up, but it's been such a short time since I've played it, and I haven't been able to quite fully process it yet. Let's just say that it was a game that affected me quite a lot.

 

And this is the part where rating gets real difficult. So, I'll just clump these together.

 

Baldur's Gate 1 & ToSC

Icewind Dale

Chrono Trigger (seriously, one of the most beatiful games, ever)

Final Fantasy Tactics ( fantasy war of the roses, yes please!)

Final Fantasy IX

 

Um, more than 10, I couldn't help myself.

 

Bsically, games that really pull me into their world. Well-written and rounded characters, good writing and good storytelling, believable worlds, writing that doesn't consider me an idiot, if possible writing that allows my character to be quite the genius. And, quite a lot of different genres, What I really care about cannot be defined by the genre. And there are a couple of examples of just games that really do the gameplay part right. Games that have so great gameplay that it just amazes me.

 

Ps. PrimeJunta: Näköjään täällä kohta suomalaiset tekee jotain foorumivallotusta, pitäis varmaan itekki aktiivisemmin postailla ja lukee.

PPS. Primejunta, given the games you seem to like, if you do read and aren't afraid of tackling series with quite large scopes I do recommend Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen to you,  I've got a feeling you might like it.

[PrimeJunta]

Dagnabbit, Arcanum again. I really, really, really, REALLY want to like it. WTF am I doing wrong? I just play it up to about level 15, and then lose interest. In theory it has everything I should like about a game, and I've enjoyed games with worse combat than this... er, I think... but just... no. I can't get into it. I think I'm having the same problem as with BG -- I just can't bring myself to care about anything or anyone in the game, so it just feels like do-this-do-that busywork for no compelling reason.

 

I thought maybe it was the frustrating combat, so I did some reading up on how to make it the least painful possible, and rolled up Arsène Lutin, the gnomish charlatan's protégé with a minor knack for magic, proceeded to Harm my way through the early game, then watched my faithful band of minions mow down everything in their path. And that got boring. WHYYYY? I'm SUPPOSED to like this for cryin' out loud! Wacky world, steampunk, magic and gunslingers and a victorian vibe and great music and out-their characters and... I just don't.

 

If someone has ANY ideas on how I can get my imagination in gear with this one, all suggestions are welcome. Please?

 

PS. I bought that Book One of the Malazan series. No comment yet, but that may follow. Thanks for the recce everyone.

[AGX-17]

There isn't really any consistency in what my favorite games are. They're diverse.

 

Team Fortress 2 is just plain old fun.

 

Fallout and Fallout 2, I enjoy the character creation, trying different builds, and the SPECIAL and combat systems.

 

The Super Robot Wars series for its over-the-top style combined with an unusual variation on typical turn-based tactics games and intricate, almost excessively complex meta-lore spanning multiple games which are unrelated at face value.

 

Exploration and combat in the revamped Fallout games.

 

The meticulously crafted experience for the Half-Life games.

[Thingdo]

I think in terms of single player games the ones that I've loved the most were the ones that really drew me into the world. This might not be the most popular opinion here, but I have to say that I love the Elderscrolls series for that reason, and I really liked Mass Effect 1 for that reason as well (the first game only). 

 

I've spent hours in Morrowind just reading the in game books that detail the history of everything. They are often irrelevant to the main storyline, but some of the stuff just makes the world so much more believable to me. 

 

Mass Effect 1 was also pretty good for that. If you really wanted to find out, there was quite a bit of detail about all the alien races, the different cultures, the governments, and even stuff about how they had used new technology for weapons and everything else. It added that level of detail that let me start feeling like it was a real place with a real history.