Once I finish my BioShock Infinite 1999 playthrough, here's what I have in mind and how it might foreshadow Destiny (see parentheticals).

Note: Some of these are old as the hills, but I have very limited time for gaming, and I'm an extremely picky creature of habit. I'll play ODST for the 10th time rather than play something new. Many of these have been in my stack for a very long time. Once Destiny comes out I may never get to them, so I'm planning ways to make the wait for Destiny go faster.

Journey/Dark Souls
(seamless matchmaking)
The Last of Us
(Good storytelling/believable characters/world--exploration)
I just have to figure out how to do this without buying a PS3.

Dishonored
(Player choice affects the world. Strong narrative. Destiny foreshadowing might be a stretch, admittedly--this got pushed aside by BioShock, and I want to start over because I very much liked the taste I got!)

Mass Effect 3 with all the DLC
I haven't done the latter yet, and I've still got a femshep character who deserves to have her story finished.

([semi-]space magic, dialogue trees [we didn't get a denial!])

Red Dead Redemption
Finish it finally--yeah, yeah, I know it's sad, especially considering how much I've enjoyed it. I'm pretty sure my last save is near the resolution of the storyline.

(huge explorable world with day/night cycles, long character story arc, co-op missions[?])

Portal 2
(play designed for co-op [and I guess I should play Portal 1 in preparation])

Borderlands
(Highly customizable characters, co-op action.)

Half Life 2: Episode 2
(smooth-as-silk FPS, episodic releases of content [one can hope!].)

Also, to be enjoyed irrespective of Destiny, BioShock Infinite DLC!

This is a very good list.

My list is more of a "tide me over until Destiny" then having specific attributes form Destiny. Here's my current list, which ended up being more of a "Here's releases I plan on playing!" list:

XCOM: Enemy Unknown - finally getting around to playing it. Hoping it'll last me until Shadowrun Returns comes out

Bioshock Infinite DLC whenever it is released

Plants Vs. Zombies 2 - hopefully it's as addictive as the first one

Shadowrun Returns

Saints Row IV

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified

Battlefield 4

Wind Waker HD

Watch Dogs - super excited about this one

I also have a ton of indie games I need to play, but who knows when that'll happen.

Add GTA V (pure sandbox mixed with story)

I have no doubt that I'll play almost none of these games, yet still buy a big chunk of them. The gamer me from 2003 would scream at me to get on my ass and have some fantastical fun.

Xbox 360:
Bioshock Infinite
L.A. Noire
Grand Theft Auto V
Splinter Cell: Blacklist
World of Tanks
Fez
Red Dead Redemption
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Assasin's Creed III
Tomb Raider

PlayStation 3:
The Last of Us
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
Kingdom Hearts HD
Time and Eternity
Valkyria Chronicles
Little Big Planet
Ico
Shadow of the Colossus
Okami
Journey
Uncharted 2: Among Theives
Uncharted 3: Drakes's Deception
Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F
Final Fantasy XIII-2
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

PC:
Wargame: Airland Battle
Empire: Total War
Kerbal Space Program
World of Warships

Next-generation:
Halo: Spartan Assault
Forza Motorsport 5
Watch Dogs
Battlefield 4
Lego Marvel Super Heroes
Titanfall
Killzone: Shadow Fall

Valkyria Chronicles

This is probably my favorite turn-based strategy game! The lack of grids make it feel a lot more realistic, and the mechanics of throwing grenades and everything are a lot of fun.

I have such a huge backlog of games, some of which I've started but remain unfinished (I'm the worst for this...) The games listed are ones that should all be stricken from the backlog by the time Destiny pops through my letterbox, hopefully.

360:
Mirrors Edge
Dark Souls

PS3:
Valkyria Chronicles

PC:
Shadowrun Returns
Borderlands 2 - Just in time for Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep!
Penny Arcade's On the Rainslick Precipice of Darkness 4

PS2:
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne - and a whole mess of other SMT games while I'm at it. I'm part way through this currently, though.
Phychonaughts

Nintendo DS:
Ghost Trick
Pokémon White 2

Emulated:
Earthbound
Mother 3

And while not video games, there's always time for D&D and Magic: The Gathering to devour. Always.

I will play Co-Op with you when you get around to this one. I never got enough of a dose of RDR Co-Op except for a handful of times playing with Paddy friends, and would love to give it a good hearty go with you, Kerm

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I didn't mention any nextgen games because I'm not sure if I'm buying a new console until Destiny comes out.

The wild card is if the new Mirror's Edge comes out first, which I kind of doubt. That is definitely one of my favorite non-Bungie games. Play it!

I am definitely up for playing Portal 2 and/or Borderlands with you if you get around to those (and yeah, definitely play Portal 1 before Portal 2).

Love me some Red Dead.

... but I am absolutely terrible at it, btw...

Haha this is a freaky thread...I was just about to make an indentically themed one later tonight. I have been playing reach and odst of course, being Bungie's latest (and greatest) games.

I also have been playing Red Dead Redemption again, a former addiction of mine. It is an amazing and huge single player, but the multiplayer is more similar to what I think Destiny might do. Before you choose a particular gametype to matchmake into, players are randomly lumped together on one server. You are able to free roam the entire map, with infinite possibilities. Random people join in and might be near you for some time, and you can posse up with people to keep a little score, a not-very competitive game in itself. This helps me cool down after competitive gang matches or stressful zombie games, and when many friends all roam at once, epic wars can reach across the entire map. Also, the shootout mode before each match is awesome and hilarious every time.

tl;dr play Red Dead Redemption

Being light on time and unwilling to spend top-dollar on games unless they are Bungie-made, I'm pretty choosy. Here's a couple thoughts on this thread:

Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Lots of exploring, branching dialogue, upgrade trees in a story-driven world. This is my kind of game... Too bad it's single-player only.

Assassins Creed II, Brotherhood, Revelations
I haven't gotten to the latest installment, but its on my list. I love the use of the open-world to allow many and varied experiences: story, side-quests, exploration, etc. I'm pretty sure I didn't play these the way the designers intended.

And, as always, I'm up for co-op on Splinter Cell, Halo 3, Reach, and ODST....

Huge backlog of adventure games to finish:

-Cognition 1-3
-Primordia
-Book of Unwritten Tales / Critter Chronicles
-So Blonde
-Kentucky Route Zero
-Tales of Money Island
-A New Beginning : Final Cut
-Night of the Rabbit
-The cat Lady
-Edna and Harvey

Destiny triggered a few links to older games in my brain. Here's one no one remembers:

-Kentucky Route Zero

EVERYONE should play this game.

GTA V
Well, duh.

inFamous: Second Son
First inFamous plays like butter.

Watch_Dogs
Looks interesting.

Fifa 14
I'm addicted.

Battlefield 4
Commander mode returns (kinda), 64 players and 60 fps on next-gen consles.

Contrast
Interesting concept.

Titanfall

Mechs...

Being light on time and unwilling to spend top-dollar on games unless they are Bungie-made, I'm pretty choosy. Here's a couple thoughts on this thread:

Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Lots of exploring, branching dialogue, upgrade trees in a story-driven world. This is my kind of game... Too bad it's single-player only.

Played every bit of it. Not as brilliant as the original, but what is?

Assassins Creed II, Brotherhood, Revelations
I haven't gotten to the latest installment, but its on my list. I love the use of the open-world to allow many and varied experiences: story, side-quests, exploration, etc. I'm pretty sure I didn't play these the way the designers intended.

I've never gotten into the series. Maybe someday.

And, as always, I'm up for co-op on Splinter Cell, Halo 3, Reach, and ODST....

The latter three, sure. For us it will probably have to be on the weekend, given our time zones.

Skyrim - Stunning Vistas, Big world to explore
Portal 2 - Co-op with my first pick for a fire team buddy
Myth 2 - Play with my Dad and talk up Destiny
Starcraft 2 - Play with my Dad and talk up Destiny
Borderlands 2 - Play with my Dad and talk up Destiny
Spelunky - Adventuring in some abandoned locale
Monaco - Co-op plundering
X-COM (iOS) - fist bump the MD dev scene, defend earth from an Alien menace

we'll see what I get to, I have to stop picking up Humble Bundles

Xbox Live Gold members will be able to get a free copy of AC2 in July (Fable 3 is free this month), and even if you won't play it any time soon, it'll be good to download and have in your back pocket for when you get around to it.

I don't think you'll miss out on too much by skipping AC1, as #2 was the best of the entire series. Brotherhood was a close second, and I can let you borrow that one along with AC3 when the time comes.

I ordered it last night, it shall be played as soon as I can!

If your account has a different region from where you're living, you may have issues getting the free deal.

I had a US XBox Live account and lived in Australia and now the UK and I had to update it to the UK before downloading Fable 3 would work.

Cheers!

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How does one redeem or get the free games? My Xbox didn't exactly shout it out to me…

Just find it on XBOX.com or through the games section. I *think* that if you go to the main menu, games tab, it is on the upper-right corner and says something like "free for gold" or "free this month" or something.

You can also go here and make sure to buy with MS Points, it won't charge you: http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/Fable-III/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8024d5308d6

I totally agree.

AC1 was cool in that it was much different than a lot of games, but it suffered in gameplay implementation.

AC2 was the best in terms of story and what you did in the game; Brotherhood added some really cool gameplay elements and graphically looked a lot better. Revelations was a let down in terms of gameplay and story.

My wife bought me AC3 for Christmas but I just can't get into it. Despite it being "open world" it still feels like I'm on rails, lots of conversations you can't skip, or people you have to walk next to... slowly... for a long time.

I bought a used copy of Assassin's Creed 1 for dirt cheap long ago, but never even tried it. I also heard bad things about the gameplay. That said, does playing it make AC2 better in any way?

Other than using the same control scheme, not really.

But you should throw in AC1 and check it out. I remember being quite impressed with the visuals at the time, particularly the lighting.

Other than using the same control scheme, not really.

But you should throw in AC1 and check it out. I remember being quite impressed with the visuals at the time, particularly the lighting.

The big complaint was not the gameplay as much as the repetitive design of each location. "You moved to a new city! Now murder these guys." It was super fun to jump off a building and stab someone in the back, but once you've done it 20 times you want some variety. AC2 has a lot more variety in activities.

Just got home and checked; on Xbox live click on Games Marketplace, then on that page it is the upper-right-most tile.

Love me some Red Dead.

... but I am absolutely terrible at it, btw...

Count me in. I've been eyeing my copy lately, never finished it and probably won't unless its co-op. I also have the Undead Nightmare stuff, but never touched it.

~M

does playing it make AC2 better in any way?

Nah. The story of AC1 was not worth the repetitive gameplay. The story of Ezio (the assassin for AC2, Brotherhood and Revelations) is leaps and bounds better. You might understand a little bit more about the universe by playing AC1, but you'll probably understand enough of it just from the intro to AC2 to get by.

I definitely wouldn't discourage you from trying AC1; however it gets boring very fast and the combat in AC2 was vastly improved. You could always just pop the first game in and get the gist of the story and gameplay by the first two or three major assassinations before switching over to 2.

Good advice, thanks!

Destiny triggered a few links to older games in my brain. Here's one no one remembers:

No. Seriously.

Bioshock Infinite is my go to game at the moment. Its just too much fun. Its also why I haven't been posting much these last few days. :)

For me I have a bunch of games backlogged that I have to finish in the hardest respective modes with DLC. Off the top of my head I have Deus Ex : Human Revolution, Mass Effect 3, & Bioshock Infinite.

Its not much of a log - but seeing as there haven't been many other games that I have felt were "Have to Play", this seems about right to me.

Did I mention that Bioshock Infinite if freaking BOSS. Can not overstate how much I enjoyed this game.

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You got me excited. It's the reveal only. Still exciting, but it doesn't look like it'll be released in July.

You got me excited. It's the reveal only. Still exciting, but it doesn't look like it'll be released in July.

Yeah, sorry, I didn't realize that either...