Replay Value: Video Games I Love

96   8.1  

When it comes to PC games, I love good stories. Graphics get old, and no game looks good forever. But with a great story, and interesting characters, you can play a game again and again, like reading one of your favorite books. Arcanum has a captivating world, interesting characters, beautifully made music, and many hours to navigate through the many locations in the game.



Also, watch this intro:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7jvpU6lR5E

Joseph Grey's rating:

354   8.6  

Fallout 2 follows the storyline of the first Fallout game, albeit a few generations later. You are the descendent of the Vault Dweller, the character from Fallout. It has a better story than the first game, and a lot of the bugs you might encounter in the first game are no longer a problem in Fallout 2. Tons of characters, and many paths to take in order to finish the game, the best part of the game is really the flexibility in how you can create your character, and how you want your character to interact with the post-apocalyptic world. The graphics aren't that good, but it's an old game. The game is far from perfect, but the story is enough to keep me playing.

Joseph Grey's rating:

96   7.2  

Fallout Tactics has better gameplay than the first two Fallout games, although the story is very linear. It's not so much an rpg as it is a squad based tactical game. I like squad based tactical games, and I like Fallout, so this was a pretty easy choice for me. However, if you don't already like the Fallout series (and I don't mean just the new games) this one might not be as fun.

Joseph Grey's rating:

327   8.1  

There have to be about a million Star Wars video games made since the 1980's. However, this is one of the best. It doesn't rely on franchise characters from the movies, and because of this, the storyline was allowed to develop in interesting directions. The game has good characters, decent gameplay, and a good story.

Another great aspect of the PC version is the ability to add mods that change appearance or restore content.

Joseph Grey's rating:

170   8.3  

This was a game that I used to to be disappointed in, but now love. When it was rushed for release, a good 30% or more of the content was cut from the game. Recently, a group of dedicated modders were able to create a download that allows you to reinstall the restored game content. Now I like it as much as the original Knights of the Old Republic. It has a great story, compelling characters, and a few gameplay improvements over the original.

Joseph Grey's rating:

53   7.9  

Double Dragon II may be one of the most kick ass games ever made for the NES. I'm not a huge fan of action games, but I never got tired of playing this one. Cool enemies, amazingly good music for 8-bit sound, and the Shadow Master. That guy was such a bastard. Killing him was extremely satisfying. Of course, dying in the last battle was also extremely upsetting.

Joseph Grey's rating:

208   8.6  

Mafia is set in the 1930's, during and after prohibition. Most of the game involved driving in the city of Lost Heaven. The game has great atmosphere and a good story. The gameplay can make you frustrated sometimes, but overall I love this game. You feel like you stepped into the thirties.

Joseph Grey's rating:

467   8.3  

When I played through this game the first time, I sat through the entire credits. Then I started a new campaign on the hard difficulty and started playing again. I really got caught up in the Max Payne atmosphere. It's like a good movie that allows you to take time out to shoot a lot of crooks. I really enjoyed playing this game, and I wouldn't mind owning it.

By the way, Max Payne looks nothing like Mark Wahlberg. Why they used him to play the movie role is beyond me.

Joseph Grey's rating:

31   8.8  

Jagged Alliance 2 is a squad based mercenary game. You have to assist a rebellion and retake a country from its despotic ruler. If that doesn't sound like some serious fun you probably should stick to shuffleboard.

The graphics aren't great, but the mercs you can hire all have unique personalities, and that game has its own special flavor that's hard to describe.

Joseph Grey's rating:

216   7.5  

Star Wars Jedi Knight II follows Kyle Katarn as he tries to live a semblance of a normal life after his encounter at the Valley of the Jedi in the Star Wars Jedi Knight game. This is both a 1st person shooter and a 3rd person melee game. The game isn't very attractive in terms of graphics, but the story is pretty nice for a Star Wars game, and it's game that can be enjoyed more than once.

Joseph Grey's rating:

223   8.1  

Baldur's Gate was the first game of its type that I encountered on the PC some years ago. And it blew my fucking mind. I was always behind the curve when it came to getting my hands on games, but I loved the weird characters and dark storyline that Baldur's Gate offered. Because I played this one before Icewind Dale or any of the other Forgotten Realms PC games, this will always be my favorite.

Joseph Grey's rating:

528   7.4  

As far as I understand, this wasn't meant to be a Mario game, but had the characters inserted into a different game. That's fine by me, because I really liked the departure from the first game, and the dream like nature of the levels. This was the most fun Mario Bros. game I played, and I beat it so many times just to sit through those awesome end credits. Also, I really liked the feature of picking between four different characters.

Joseph Grey's rating:

529   8.2  

This may be the best game that Nintendo ever made. It spawned a ridiculous amount of sequels, prequels, and offshoot games that are loved by the masses. It is fun to play, hard to beat, and you feel amazing every time you discover a new hidden area.

Joseph Grey's rating:

207   6.7  

Sick and tired of games that are too easy? Yeah, you won't have that problem with this game. TMNT the NES game starts off easy, and gets harder and harder, until you're screaming at the screen, tearing your hair out, wonderin why you do this to yourself. I love the game even though I have yet to beat the final level.

Joseph Grey's rating:

7   6.3  

Playing this game required the use of an encyclopedia and some patience. You had a limited amount of time to catch a crook, and were given clues only by traveling to different locations in different time periods. It felt really satisfying when you were able to nab the crook. I guess it doesn't sound all the fun, does it? But it was. And it was a much smarter game than your average action game.

Joseph Grey's rating:

14   5.1  

In what feels like previous life, I used to love sports and sports games. This one was my favorite. It's pretty simple, but there is a playbook, multiple teams, and it had a lot of replay value, if you wanted to become the champion with every team. I'll always remember this game fondly, because how much I loved it as a child.

Joseph Grey's rating:

168   8.1  

This game was known as Final Fantasy IV outside the US. I liked the game because of its medieval/tech feel, and that the storyline seemed more grown up and darker than many of the other final fantasy games. Also, it had great music.

Joseph Grey's rating:

61   9  

I probably should have used the FFIII item instead of VI, but it was called III in the US, and VI in Japan, so it can get confusing at times. This game really felt like a masterpiece to me at times. Beautiful music, tragic characters, and the game lasts a long time; long enough to care for the characters.

Joseph Grey's rating:

17   8.4  

Seiken Densetsu 3 was part of the Secret of Mana series, but wasn't released in the US until it was fan translated and made into a ROM. The game is stunningly beautiful for SNES, and I loved every minute of playing through this game.

Joseph Grey's rating:

376   9  

This is probably my favorite SNES game. Chrono Trigger is just that good.

Joseph Grey's rating: