101 Games I love (Destiny)

by stabbim , Des Moines, IA, USA, Tuesday, January 31, 2017, 21:01 (2854 days ago) @ Cody Miller

Random comments on some of the ones I've played:

Adventures of Batman and Robin (Genesis)

A run and gun with fabulous animation and backgrounds, which is extremely unforgiving and unfortunately at times visually and mechanically repetitive. The soundtrack is quite good.

I remember playing this at a neighbor's house a little. I probably never saw more than the first couple of levels. I remember that, at the time, it seemed like the most impressive graphics I had seen.

Crash Bandicoot (PSX)

The original plays well to the lack of Dual sticks on the Playstation at the time giving a challenging - at times brutal, set of obstacles to traverse. Wonderful, cartoonish graphics and animation make it a sight to behold in motion. The limitations imposed by the camera are unfortunate, but necessary at the time.

Never played the original, unfortunately. The only one I really played was Warped, which I think was the third Crash Bandicoot game? I did love that game at the time. Not sure if it would hold up now.

Destiny (PS4)

Hidden under the rotten layers of a manipulative player investment system, and a weak story campaign, is some of the most satisfying FPS mechanics ever created. The raids are some of the best co-operative experiences I’ve had in a video game ever.

I heard it was a bad game.

Deus Ex (Mac/PC)

Quite possibly the best RPG ever made. Even to this day, it features and unparalleled level of viable customization for your character. Each section is chock full of secrets, hidden areas, and alternate paths to give any type of player a way to complete the game. Exploration is rewarding for its own sake, and you have a huge amount of control over how the story progresses through your choices. Unfortunately neither the graphics nor the AI were up to standard - even at the time of release.

So, uh... I've only played Invisible War. I really had no idea what it was when I got it, it was one of two used games I picked up alongside a new copy of Halo 1 when I bought my original XBox. I really enjoyed it at the time. Having so many ways to do everything was new to me, and it was the first game I had seen that cast fairly realistic shadows based on the shape of objects and where the light source was. But I'm not sure what dedicated Deus Ex players think of it. My guess is not much, since I never hear it mentioned anymore.

Diablo 2 (Mac/PC)

Wonderful lush 2D graphics bring the world to life. The different classes give the game a ton of replay value, and the story and voice acting are well done. The investment system only hampers players who wish to play at the highest levels. Unfortunately frequent patching rendered character builds obsolete, and the mechanics were repetitive once you found your skills of choice.

Again, did not play this one. But I did play Diablo 1. A lot. Like, a LOT. I had a legit Demonspike Coat. :)

Gears of War (Xbox360)

Perhaps the game of the decade, Gears makes you feel fully immersed in war. Not being an invincible badass pays off, as every fight is for your life and cover is precious.

Oh, Gears 1. I'm seriously thinking about going back and re-playing this one. I was trying to explain to my younger brother recently what a HUGE impact Gears had on the gaming landscape. I think we forget now how different and impressive it seemed when it first came out.

Gex: Enter the Gecko (PSX)

While an early jump into 3D, and so necessarily unrefined, the humor and set pieces made the game stand out at the time, with a decent amount of alternate areas and secrets to explore.

I had this on my PS1. I think I got it used at the rental store (remember those?) or something. This is another one that I'm not sure would hold up, but at the time, I thought it was fantastic.

Gran Turismo 3 (PS2)

Beautiful graphics, tons of cars, nice soundtrack, realistic physics, and great tracks make this the best racing game in a long time.

Interesting pick. I always thought racing sims might be something you could appreciate, but I haven't heard you mention one up until now.

I never played 3, since I didn't have a PS2, but Gran Turismo 1 was one of the most pivotal things in my life, as far as what my interests became.

Prior to playing it, I wasn't really a "car" person. People who know me now would probably find that surprising, but I wasn't. I don't think I would have considered myself a "gamer" either. We'd had an NES, and I certainly played some games on it, but we never bought any new games (which I now understand was probably due to having no money - the NES and games were hand-me-downs), and I was into other things. The NES games were just something I did when I was bored, not a primary interest.

At some point, my parents were finally able to buy a game console - a PS1, about the time the Dreamcast was coming out. :) And for reasons I still can't fathom, the first game I got with it was Gran Turismo - as I said, I really wasn't a car person back then. But for some reason, it really clicked, despite my previous lack of interest. I think it was the instruction manual. The people who made that game were so proud of what they'd done, but very aware that most players wouldn't have encountered anything like it before. So they made this wonderful manual, which was so much more than just "this button performs this action." It had explanations of basic concepts of vehicle dynamics, the layouts of all the tracks, and it went really in depth on driving techniques, and how to approach a racing circuit properly. I read it all, and when I was actually able to apply it, it was a revelation. To this day, driving games are what I love the most. And I'm pretty sure this was the game that turned me into someone who plays games a lot.

Halo (Xbox)

Fantastic console first person shooter, with a great story, wonderful diversity to the AI and combat, and robust enough for a tremendous amount of experimentation within the mechanics. Multiplayer is a blast and the pistol rules.

The reason I'm here reading this.

Katamari Damacy (PS2)

Wonderful charm and insanity. Easy to control and understand. The game is on the easy side, and could have used challenge levels or a difficulty selector.

Played it a bit. Thought it was super cool, but lost interest pretty quickly. Still glad I played it, though.

The Last of Us (PS4)

Everything about this game is incredible, from the characters and story to the tense nature of the survival mechanics on harder difficulty levels. An incredible milestone for video games.

One of these day's I'll finish it. For some reason, I seem to be incredibly bad at the particular stealth mechanics in this game. I'm convinced that I missed something in a tutorial, because I always seem to get encounters slightly wrong. This makes it just a pain to keep going, even though I like the story. I should probably go back and restart it.

Mirror's Edge (Xbox360)

A great game for what it is. Short, but with enough to do that mastery is very rewarding.

I would add that, at least among the games I've played, the mechanics and atmosphere are completely unique. Something that should absolutely be experienced, IMO.

Myst (Mac/PC)

Fantastic Adventure game which utilized the technology, and limitations, at the time.

Played it a bit on an old PC. Didn't really understand what it was at the time. I'd really like to go back and try it again.

Portal (Mac/PC)

Portal beats out Portal 2 because it allows you experiment and be ‘wrong’. The annoyingly long tutorial is unfortunate, as the advanced chambers do not cover the opening areas. Still, quite a creative game.

Another game that absolutely everyone needs to experience, IMO.

Sim City 2000 (Mac/PC)

Fun as a kid, the simulation proved to be simple and exploitable eventually. It was still the journey that was fun.

I wish I could explain just how bad I am at SimCity.

Smash TV (Arcade)

Just pure chaos and carnage, with some cool alternate goals (pleasure dome). Not the most sophisticated game, but it’s a blast with two people.

This is one of the oldest games I remember playing, on an NES or SNES (don't remember which) at a friend's house. Probably the first thing I ever played that wasn't intended for my age group.

Starcraft: Brood War (Mac/PC)

The most exciting and skillful RTS games I have played. Tons of variety in play, and amazing balance. The single player campaign is likewise good, with a well delivered radio drama of a story.

I'm absolutely terrible at StarCraft and cheated my way through most of this game. But it was still a blast.