Your personal top ten

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

Not trying to pick a fight but goddamn, I feel like I am being trolled when dudes put Invisible War on their lists. Did we play the same fucking game?

The original is better by a long shot, yet I enjoyed IW for what it is (besides, it's a lot better than DX: The Fall and it's closer to true Deus Ex than anything done by Eidos Montreal). You're welcome to offer games that provide better execution of the same ideas, but I doubt you can offer something I haven't played already.

 

[Cromlech]

Here's my top whatever:

Ultima VII
Because it was the first game that really opened my eyes to what was possible. Because it was so good you didn't even notice it had combat. I played for the first time as child who couldn't read English ,at a friend's house. It was a demo that only contained Trinsic, the first town. I borrowed the CD and, well, I played the hell out of Trinsic, which still allowed me to do more things than all the other games I had played before combined. You could move into a house and rearrange the furniture and put all the things you stole from other houses(a wonder I didn't turn out a kleptomaniac); you could murder people in the middle of the night and drag the body throughout the street to some hidden place, while trying to make sure no one saw you; then perhaps you'd make some silly candle ritual with the candles you nicked from the church(along with the poor box, you know what I'm talking about); you could have a drink at the bar and use the smithy; you could buy a deed to a ship(although you couldn't use it in the demo, iirrc). The possibilities seemed endless. The inventory also blew my mind, in that it wasn't just a number of slots, but you could physically place objects inside of bags, that you could then put inside of boxes or your backpack. And that was only one part of the game.

Gothic 2: Night of the Raven
This game and its predecessor, in a certain sense parallel the relation between Fallout 1 and 2, in that the original game is more coherent and has a more interesting setting. But in this case, I still prefer Gothic 2, because exploration is the essential element of Gothic games and Gothic 2 expands it far beyond the original without any loss of quality. It's not a hiking simulator, it's a dangerous world of adventure, where everything is mysterious and intriguing, like it should be. I also love the old world feeling of the towns and characters, which is very genuine compared to what we usually get.

Victoria 2
It has the best setting for the kind of global geopolitical chess game that Paradox games try to recreate and has some of the best core mechanics. POPs, political movements, social change, technology. literacy, nationalism, etc. It actually manages to make all these elements come together and make you feel like a great statesman at the helm of a nation waiting to fulfill its destiny. I can think of a million things I'd like to change in this game, but that's because I've played it perhaps more than any other. Favorite nation to play: Austria. You're a decadent empire surrounded by potential enemies, so you must use careful diplomacy and pick your enemies until you're able to catch up technologically and unleash your vast potential.

Master of Magic
I like fantasy more than space, so I prefer it over MoO. It's remarkable how many options and combos the game allows you to choose. Sure, it's not very balanced, but makes up for it with variety and flexibility. It doesn't condescend, in that you can choose to start with elite spells or summons if that's how you specialize. And you can build any building as long as you have the prerequisites, without having to wait for "technologies" to come up.

Geneforge
Altough when I read Vogel, he doesn't really strike me as a genius, this is perhaps my favorite RPG setting of all. It's not simply a mix of fantasy and sci-fi. It naturalizes fantasy without turning it into a "superpower", instead it turns it into a question. The "wizards" are a social and political class. Creatures are slaves, or even lower than that, disposable matter. You can choose to use this power as well, either for your own ends, to become part of the order or to abolish it. C&C is pointless when it involves only the individual, instead it should involve broader issues already present in the game world. This game had me consider the questions I was facing as if I were a character in the world.

VTM: Bloodlines
It made me think vampires were cool, which I didn't think was possible. Vampire the Masquerade is actually one of the most interesting alternate history universes I've seen, so there should be more games in it. Like I said above with Geneforge, Troika didn't turn vampires into normal people with superpowers, instead it tried to imagine what the world would be like if they existed. The first half of the game is strongest package of atmosphere, setting, dialogue and exploration that I've seen in any game, which of course only makes the second half more disappointing.

Uncharted Waters 2: New Horizons
Travel around the world with your fleet, trade, become a pirate, fight your rivals. A game that combines many elements successfully and gives you enough freedom to get lost in.

 

[wyes gull]

Right, let's give this a go.

The top:
Fallout 2
Streets of Rage 2
Pirates! Gold

The rest (let's try 1 per genre):
(2dRPG) Fallout
(3dRPG) VtmB / Shock 2
(squad strat) Silent Storm Sentinels (with a nod to Syndicate)
(Pirates!-like) Sword of the Samurai
(JRPG) Uncharted Waters 2
(SJRPG) Der Langrisser
(SHMUP) Thunder Force IV
(3D shooter) Panzer Dragoon Zwei / REZ
(TPS) Hitman Blood Money
(FPS) UT 2k4
(BMUP) Guardian Heroes
(Run & Gun) Contra Hard Corps
(Platformer) PoP (DOS)
(P&C) Blade Runner
(Civ-like) Civ 2
(Puzzle) T.I.M.
(Sports) Speedball 2
(Porn) True Love
(French) Colorado (!?)
(Soviet) Tetris / Misha Goes to Hollywood
(Weird) Floor 13
(Weirder) Vidiot Game?
(Recent) FTL, Hotline Miami, Underrail, The Wager
Can't believe I forgot (RTS) The Ancient Art of War at Sea (FUCK YEAH SHIP BATTLES)

 

[Abhay]

Keeping this short ( and also not repeating certain titles in the list, which are already popular, or considered favorite among the Codex ) to briefly touch upon a few aspects that I really loved about these games:-
1. Divine Divinity - Love the quests, world design, and the overall experience still feels quite refreshing on every play through. The developers should have continued to offer more of such experiences, than going in the direction of the Original Sin series.
2. Commandos 2 - Just recently received an update to Destination Paris, and planning to start the game soon after GMDX. What makes C2 in the list of my personal favorites is the scope of experiment in each mission. Its up to you how far can you think of better ways to approach every corner on the map and also manage to push it through the tricky / challenging areas effectively with little to no reloading, and fast. Just love it! The only complaint is the lack of high resolution textures, which forces me to play in shorter periods as the frequent zooming in / out really causes strain on my eyes.
Lastly,
3. Max Payne 1 - Love everything about this game. Still a great shooter. Simplistic, straightforward with no-nonsense features.

That's all I can think since most of the games are already so commonly popular that it'll make into the list of many members here.

 

[Whipping Post]

Top 25 (In no particular order):

* Ultima VII: Part 2
* Ultima Underworld
* Ultima Online
* Wasteland
* Darklands
* Fallout
* Fallout: New Vegas
* Baldur's Gate II
* Planescape: Torment
* Arcanum
* X-COM: UFO Defense
* Jagged Alliance II
* Deus Ex
* Thief II
* Dark Souls (PTDE)
* Ancient Domains of Mystery
* Dwarf Fortress
* Master of Magic
* Master of Orion II
* Heroes of Might and Magic III
* Europa Universalis IV
* Victoria II
* Crusader Kings II
* Mount and Blade: Warband
* King of Dragon Pass

 

[BLOBERT]

BROS THIS IS HARD

NOT JUST FAVORITE HERE BUT DESSERT ISLAND TYPE SHIT

IN NO ORDER

MIKE TYSINS PUNCHOUT
ANY AND ALL DARK SOULS
ULTIMA V
VANQUISH
WARBAND
AOD
AVERNUM EITHER OF THE FIRSR TWO
SPACE RANGERS 2
PEERFECT DARK OR GOLDENEYE
MORROWIND

 

[cowking]

Not trying to pick a fight but goddamn, I feel like I am being trolled when dudes put Invisible War on their lists. Did we play the same fucking game?

The baton in IW is one of the most satisfying weapons to use in any FPS I've ever played, also it's one of the actually few thought provoking games that I can think of. Plus it's actually got fun gameplay, I would often reload a fight just to play it again.

 

[Tribal Sarah]

Silent Hill

Silent Hill 2

Everything else has been shit

 

[Paul_cz]

Mafia 1
STALKER Call of Pripyat
Hitman Blood Money
Metal Gear Solid 2
Dishonored 2


However if counting classics, then obviously Fallout 1/2/NV, Gothic 1/2, Vampire Bloodlines, KOTOR 2, Witcher 1/2/3, Torment would take precedence.

 

[Deflowerer]

In no particular order,

DOOM II
Demon's Souls
Yakuza 0
Ridge Racers
Resident Evil
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Dark Messiah / Hellnight
Tomb Raider
Vagrant Story
Deus Ex

Also limited to only one game per franchise/series.

Mind you, there's quite many RPGCodex classics missing only because I haven't played them (yet)

 

[unfairlight]

No order.
Thief 1/2, overall I thought 2 was better.
Chaos Theory, third favorite stealth game.
Deus Ex
Oblivion because it's my guilty pleasure.
SWAT 4 with mods to fix the otherwise broken AI (in particular, the SWAT: Elite Force mod which transforms the game from a 7/10 to a 9/10)
CS 1.6 as it was one of my first very beloved multiplayer FPS and because even in 2017 it's arguably one of the best multiplayer shooters of all time.
Fallout: New Vegas
I think if Midair fleshes itself out it has high potential to be in my top 10, but at the moment I'll play more and wait for development to progress along until I feel like it deserves this title.
The Dark Mod, the single best stealth game the past 7 years.
I think I need at least one Hitman game, so I'll choose Hitman 2: Silent Assassin or Blood Money but I find it hard to decide as I love them both a ton.

 

[Crimson_Striker]

My Top Ten but in no real order because I like different games for different reasons.

Dark Souls 2
Fallout 1
Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Roller Coaster Tycoon 2
Street Fighter 5/3rd Strike
Morrowind
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Resident Evil Remake
Miasmata

There are many more games that feel just as deserving to be on this list. As well as plenty of games that I see as being quite flawed but still really enjoyed my time with them.

 

[pakoito]

Street Fighter 5

 

[Crimson_Striker]

People mostly criticize SF5 because they hate Capcom. Capcom definitely deserves it but the game itself is really fun, at least when played offline with your friends.
I like Street Fighter but each entry has at least one terrible design choice and 5 is no exception but its arguably the best one imo. It's tied with 3rd strike because 3S is close to being the best but it has some really shitty aspects to it.

 

[Severian Silk]

1. Fallout 4
2. Skyrim
3. Skyrim
4. Skyrim
5. Skyrim
6. Skyrim
7. Skyrim
8. Skyrim
9. Skyrim
10. Skyrim

 

[FuckLiefeldGiveMeChew]

Zelda 2, Mario 2 and Galaxy 2, Superhero League of Hoboken, Bionic Commando, Gabriel Knight 1 but not the awful sequels, Little King's Story, Wing Commander 2, Adventures of Batman and Robin for SNES but not the awful Genesis game, Metroid Prime, Donkey Kong Country 2. Other candidates for the list are Street Fighter 2, Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and 2, Anachronox, Zelda 1 and 3 and Space Quest 5.

 

[Joni Odin von Hassenstein]

Zelda 2, Mario 2 and Galaxy 2, Superhero League of Hoboken, Bionic Commando, Gabriel Knight 1 but not the awful sequels, Little King's Story, Wing Commander 2, Adventures of Batman and Robin for SNES but not the awful Genesis game, Metroid Prime, Donkey Kong Country 2. Other candidates for the list are Street Fighter 2, Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and 2, Anachronox, Zelda 1 and 3 and Space Quest 5.

I haven't played even one of those gaems.

 

[anvi]

It is a good list. Streetfighter 2 put fighting games on the map. Mario 2 was really good, loved Gabriel Knight as well. Only Space Quest I played was 4 which was v good. Never really liked the Wing Commander series. Don't like pew pew games in general, although I had fun with Xwing vs Tie Fighter.

 

[sullynathan]

Metroid prime is good

 

[Humanophage]

Not a desert island list, as that would be defined by replay value. It is a personal top-tenhundred, and some games are above their proper rank for personal nostalgic reasons. Add-ons are generally included, unless specified otherwise. For online games, I specified the period with which I associate them.

1. Victoria II - the perfect game for creating grand historical narratives. Less focused on 'winning' and map-painting than other Paradox games, has a lot more non-combat content. Makes you read the history of the state you chose, including the parties, major movements, cultural regions, etc. The setting is perfect. Great replayability. There are many hidden mechanisms that are altered in mods, so it is hard to game the system too much. Watching what the AI does with the rest of the world is a significant component of the story. Now playing Czechoslovakia in the 1910s, with Prague being somewhat bigger and more industrialised than London thanks to an early focus on social welfare, pop growth techs, and the preemptive expansion of factories (I am getting so many workers that I cannot change the industrial profile of Bohemia). Probably the most memorable episodes were preserving apartheid with South Africa in NWO, forging Korea into an industrial giant without an implausible colonial empire, and restoring an economically advanced Greece through diplomacy. The combat interface is too cumbersome and time-consuming, and war is too easy to exploit towards the end, so I prefer realistic peaceful strategies.
2. Heroes of Might and Magic III - elegant gameplay, excellent replayability, good map-making and modding community. Seems like the only exceptional strategy on mobile platforms, too.
3. Baldur's Gate I (sans add-on) - mostly for very strong nostalgic reasons, but also for its superior and free-form exploration element, compared to relatively streamlined and plot-driven IE games. I like its unusual focus on low-level adventuring, since most serious fantasy games quickly spiral out of control into dragons, demons, and summoning meteors. I also enjoy the uncommonly large selection of companions, though they are not elaborate enough. Sadly, not too fun to replay.
4. Gothic II: Night of the Raven - uniquely well-designed exploration. Good character progression and atmosphere, though the plot and writing are a bit subpar, even if the conceptual approach to dialogues is good - no walking encyclopaedias here.
5. Civilization IV - chiefly because of its highly sophisticated and competitive multiplayer (see RealmsBeyond for a sample), but also for the grand narrative it makes you create in your mind. I especially enjoy the geographical element - e.g., you might happen to be a thalassocratic empire with scarce natural resources, but a good position for diplomacy. Initial exploration is sweet (Thea capitalises on that aspect of Civ). The game is quite well-balanced and lends itself well to theorising. Decent difficulty in single-player.
6. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines - better than any major RPG except P:T when it comes to dialogues. Memorable interactive characters. Good implementation of a setting I enjoy (I read WoD rulebooks for pleasure).
7. Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic - impressive diversity of units and races, overland and economic magic. Has some excellent player-made grand scenarios (e.g., Gates of Elocin). Really pretty, even more so than the map in HoMM3. The AI is a bit flawed, alas, so pre-made scenarios are the best choice.
8. Eador: Genesis - tough gameplay and interesting development of units, especially with New Horizons. Has the same appeal as AoW:SM. Great for playing while listening to an audiobook. The campaign is lousy; I only play random maps.
9. Ultima Online [~2001] - the perfect sandbox MMO with so many things done right. No "levels", no instances, no zones intended for this or that level, proper housing, punishing death, full loot, much less emphasis on equipment than is common now, good exploration, no silly "quests", emphasis on player-created content, etc. Generally, a lot of freedom, including opportunities for exploitation. Importantly, it is no mere nostalgia. The gameplay still holds up on independent servers, though the public is a bit trashy and too scarce.
10. King of Dragon Pass - an intricate story system with good writing and plenty of elaboration on the setting. Loved the mythology and the counter-intuitive customs. Gradually falls apart after a few replays, but highly atmospheric and alive initially.

11. Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
12. Space Rangers II
13. Gothic I
14. Underrail
15. Crusader Kings II
16. Victoria I (Victoria II is strictly better, however)
17. Mount & Blade
18. ADOM
19. Unreal Tournament
20. Age of Wonders I
21. Geneforge IV
22. Hearts of Iron II
23. Jagged Alliance II
24. Cybernations [~2007]
25. X-Com (Long War mod)
26. SW: KOTOR I
27. SW: KOTOR II
28. Anachronox
29. Might and Magic VI
30. Battle Brothers
31. Magic: The Gathering (1997)
32. Warlords II
33. Rome: Total War
34. Revenant
35. Sam & Max Hit the Road
36. Arx Fatalis
37. Wizardry VIII
38. Faster than Light
39. Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War I
40. Neverwinter Nights I (add-ons and mods)
41. Master of Magic
42. Hearthstone [~2015]
43. Civilization III
44. Europa Universalis III
45. Geneforge V
46. Risen (may go up, but a bit too derivative of Gothic II and has a really irritating obligatory quest)
47. Avernum V
48. Civilization I
49. Disciples II
50. Star Wars: Jedi Knight II (multiplayer)
51. Lords of Waterdeep (tablet)
52. Temple of Elemental Evil
53. Warchaos [~2009]
54. King's Bounty (2008, haven't played the add-ons)
55. Thea: The Awakening
56. Indigo Prophecy (Fahrenheit)
57. Might and Magic VII
58. Elder Scrolls Online [~2014]
59. Princess Maker II
60. Icewind Dale I
61. Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher's Bay
62. Evil Islands
63. Woodruff and the Schnibble of Azimuth
64. Gorky 17 (Odium)
65. Nox
66. Age of Empires I
67. Ultima VII: The Black Gate
68. Rollcage
69. World of Warcraft [~2005]
70. Dungeons and Dragons Online [~2009]
71. SW: TOR [~2012]
72. Alone in the Dark I
73. Caves of Qud
74. Heroes of Might and Magic II
75. Icewind Dale II
76. Path of Exile [~2013]
77. Xenonauts
78. Knights of the Chalice
79. World of Tanks [~2010]
80. Master of Orion II
81. Divinity II
82. South Park: The Stick of Truth
83. Blade Runner
84. Diablo II
85. Twilight Struggle (tablet)
86. Clash Royale (tablet)
87. TESV: Skyrim
88. TESIII: Morrowind
89. MechCommander
90. Darkest Dungeon (sped up)
91. Grim Dawn [~2017]
92. The Witcher
93. Blades of Steel (NES)
94. Tecmo Basketball (NES)
95. Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim
96. IndyCar Racing
97. Tony Hawk ProSkater III
98. Heroes of Might and Magic IV
99. Descent
100. Zanzarah

I haven't properly played a bunch of popular games like Age of Decadence, New Vegas, MotB, or Expeditions: Conquistador, since they don't seem to work well on my PC, which I refuse to upgrade. I started Deus Ex and Thief at some point, but got distracted from them by life events, so I'll get back to them some time later on.

Baldur's Gate 2 (sans the add-on) and Planescape: Torment would be around position 3, Arcanum around position 15, Fallout I around position 20, and Fallout II around position 25.

 

[zool]

Nice list

16. Victoria I (Victoria II is strictly better, however)

Would you care to elaborate on that? I'm just finishing a Victoria game (with VIP:R 0.4 installed) as the Ottoman Empire and I'm having a blast. I'm not really attracted to Victoria II (and CK II for that matter) since I like too much the old-school feel, graphics and convoluted interface of first-generation Paradox games (EU II, CK, Victoria, HoI I and II). How is Victoria II strictly better than Victoria and has it any mod that compare to VIP in terms of number and quality of historical events?

 

[anvi]

7. Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic - impressive diversity of units and races, overland and economic magic. Has some excellent player-made grand scenarios (e.g., Gates of Elocin). Really pretty, even more so than the map in HoMM3. The AI is a bit flawed, alas, so pre-made scenarios are the best choice.

Why no AOW3?

 

[Farewell into the night]

I just realized I hardly like any game. From the nostalgia point of view I could choose couple, but I wouldn't play them. Currently i'm into Magic and Mayhem nad from time to time I dabble in Pillars od Eternity (with dlcs) and Divinity Orgiginal Sin 2, but I don't even know if I like them so I would recommend them to anyone?

 

[Astral Rag]

Joined: Monday

 

[Humanophage]

Would you care to elaborate on that? I'm just finishing a Victoria game (with VIP:R 0.4 installed) as the Ottoman Empire and I'm having a blast. I'm not really attracted to Victoria II (and CK II for that matter) since I like too much the old-school feel, graphics and convoluted interface of first-generation Paradox games (EU II, CK, Victoria, HoI I and II). How is Victoria II strictly better than Victoria and has it any mod that compare to VIP in terms of number and quality of historical events?

I haven't played Victoria I in a while, so my memory is hazy, but my impression is that Victoria II is insufficiently different from it in core mechanics while being more detailed and reasonable. E.g., there are more factory types, more details for pops (such as literacy for individual pops rather than provinces), better-organised stats in tables (though fewer line charts, sadly), more map filters, more provinces and province groups (e.g., the Sudetes are just Bohemia in Vic 1, Isle of Man and the Channel Isles don't exist, etc.), detailed descriptions for technologies, etc. It is also has less micro-management, and the atmosphere of Victoria benefits from more independent and fluid pops. I like the little synergies, such as a steel factory in a coal-producing region being a bit more productive, while a tank factory benefitting from proximity to a steel factory - don't remember if it was like that in Victoria 1. The focus mechanic is an excellent addition to represent state policies. I recall the ability to sell provinces (and techs) to be extremely exploitable in Victoria 1, and I like it how such major decisions are more event-driven in Victoria 2. The SoI mechanic is also solid, though the interface for it could be improved. It seems there are more mods for Victoria 2. There's POP Demand and Historical Project Mod to diversify core gameplay and add more history - I'm currently playing with the latter. I did play Victoria 1 with VIP and enjoyed it, though it was more than five years ago.

I'm fine with either graphical style. EUIII was initially way too ugly compared to EUII, but Victoria 2 in its current stage is pleasant enough, especially if you zoom out.

Why no AOW3?

It won't run on my PC, too resource-intensive. I tried running it and liked the wizard generation part, but the framerate in the game was unbearable. I'll play it some time later on in my life; there is no shortage of good games (and there is a shortage of time I can allocate to games). I don't want to upgrade because it will lead to even more gaming.