GBAtemp's best game(s) of all time

[emigre]

Enters thread.

Casual gamers are talking about their casual games.

Guild tries to educate about hardcore mature games for hardcore gamers.

shit get serious.

Half Lie 2 is the finest FPS of all time.

Lol. I suppose I should pick that one up too... *groan* I'm drowning in way too any games I need to play!

I should just write an guide to the essential games on the HD consoles.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Valve is only really at the point of almost monopolizing steam...
Outside of steam they don't have much of an effect.
Portal 2 on the PS3/360 is great but there are a lot of better titles for consoles out there.
Also, "finest games in history" is not defined, everyone will give a different answer if you asked them.

You do realize Steam has like 75% of the market share in PC game distribution, right? That's pretty much a monopoly.

Also, saying there are "a lot of better titles" than Portal 2 is downright wrong. Portal 2 is a masterpiece. Difficulty curve is perfect, puzzles are carefully crafted, story and environment are some of the best presented, and all the mechanics are good. It's literally a perfect game and has, in fact, made it to the top of many "best games ever" lists. Same with Portal.

Just across the board Valve have made the best games and the best innovations in gaming. They popularized digital distribution and set the model on how it should work. They were able to turn TF2, a game that was already incredibly profitable for them, into an even more profitable game 4 years after its release, without sacrificing anything. They've been able to make incredibly unique games using the same engine and all of them still first person for years. They not only work with gamers but for gamers.

Regarldess of your opinion, Valve games are the finest. That's a fact.

 

[DS1]

Enters thread.

Casual gamers are talking about their casual games.

Guild tries to educate about hardcore mature games for hardcore gamers.

shit get serious.

Half Lie 2 is the finest FPS of all time.

Lol. I suppose I should pick that one up too... *groan* I'm drowning in way too any games I need to play!

I should just write an guide to the essential games on the HD consoles.

Like, I don't feel like arguing, but it's so obnoxious when people assume that everybody likes those games. I understand that some people do, maybe even the majority of people, but I don't. I wouldn't call them essential by a mile, and I was pretty upset when my friend of good judgement said, "You'd love Half-Life 2". Or rather, I was intrigued, and then upset when I wasted three hours of my life on it.

And I mean... to be more on topic, even though my whole point was that the TC's list hadn't been updated, this is about what tempers think the best games are. And so far, it's not Half Life, or Counterstrike, or Portal, or whatever else.

edit - and to that end, if you think tempers have bad taste, why do you guys spend so much time on here?

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Like, I don't feel like arguing, but it's so obnoxious when people assume that everybody likes those games. I understand that some people do, maybe even the majority of people, but I don't. I wouldn't call them essential by a mile, and I was pretty upset when my friend of good judgement said, "You'd love Half-Life 2". Or rather, I was intrigued, and then upset when I wasted three hours of my life on it.

And I mean... to be more on topic, even though my whole point was that the TC's list hadn't been updated, this is about what tempers think the best games are. And so far, it's not Half Life, or Counterstrike, or Portal, or whatever else.

It boggles me that anyone would think otherwise. If I went "Ocarina of Time is not an essential game at all" I'd probably get eaten alive. Well, maybe because everyone enjoys branding me as the "Nintendo hater" but the same would go with anyone else. But I guess Valve games are "not for everyone". They're literally games that every gamer should play in their life. Maybe not their multiplayer ones if you're not into that thing, but Half Life, Half Life 2, Portal, and Portal 2 are definitely essential.

Also my point was that Tempers have terrible taste if they'll vote like TWEWY and Skyward Sword before Half Life 2 or Portal 2. Even if first person "shooters" (I use that term lightly since they're far more than that) aren't your thing, you still can't deny how absolutely flawless and how innovative these games are.

 

[FireGrey]

Valve is only really at the point of almost monopolizing steam...
Outside of steam they don't have much of an effect.
Portal 2 on the PS3/360 is great but there are a lot of better titles for consoles out there.
Also, "finest games in history" is not defined, everyone will give a different answer if you asked them.

You do realize Steam has like 75% of the market share in PC game distribution, right? That's pretty much a monopoly.

Also, saying there are "a lot of better titles" than Portal 2 is downright wrong. Portal 2 is a masterpiece. Difficulty curve is perfect, puzzles are carefully crafted, story and environment are some of the best presented, and all the mechanics are good. It's literally a perfect game and has, in fact, made it to the top of many "best games ever" lists. Same with Portal.

Just across the board Valve have made the best games and the best innovations in gaming. They popularized digital distribution and set the model on how it should work. They were able to turn TF2, a game that was already incredibly profitable for them, into an even more profitable game 4 years after its release, without sacrificing anything. They've been able to make incredibly unique games using the same engine and all of them still first person for years. They not only work with gamers but for gamers.

Regarldess of your opinion, Valve games are the finest. That's a fact.

Valve makes masterpieces, I didn't argue that, I argued that they are only monopolizing steam.
Portal 2 is a great game, for the PC, it's not quite the same on a console though, it's full potential is on the PC.
There are a lot of games better on consoles than portal 2, but on PC it's one of those rare unique games.
The console version is really just a compromise for the people that don't have a powerful pc, controlling with a controller is annoying, but on PC the controls are perfect.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Valve makes masterpieces, I didn't argue that, I argued that they are only monopolizing steam.
Portal 2 is a great game, for the PC, it's not quite the same on a console though, it's full potential is on the PC.
There are a lot of games better on consoles than portal 2, but on PC it's one of those rare unique games.
The console version is really just a compromise for the people that don't have a powerful pc, controlling with a controller is annoying, but on PC the controls are perfect.

Portal 2 is pretty much exactly the same on consoles as it is on PCs minus the controls, some DLC stuff (like there was a DLC pack for a motion controller for the PC), and some of the typical PC stuff (like devkits and whatnot). The core game itself is identical.

 

[FireGrey]

Valve makes masterpieces, I didn't argue that, I argued that they are only monopolizing steam.
Portal 2 is a great game, for the PC, it's not quite the same on a console though, it's full potential is on the PC.
There are a lot of games better on consoles than portal 2, but on PC it's one of those rare unique games.
The console version is really just a compromise for the people that don't have a powerful pc, controlling with a controller is annoying, but on PC the controls are perfect.

Portal 2 is pretty much exactly the same on consoles as it is on PCs minus the controls, some DLC stuff (like there was a DLC pack for a motion controller for the PC), and some of the typical PC stuff (like devkits and whatnot). The core game itself is identical.

Portal relies heavily on the controls and nothing can beat the quick, controlled movement of a mouse for aiming.

 

[emigre]

Like, I don't feel like arguing, but it's so obnoxious when people assume that everybody likes those games. I understand that some people do, maybe even the majority of people, but I don't. I wouldn't call them essential by a mile, and I was pretty upset when my friend of good judgement said, "You'd love Half-Life 2". Or rather, I was intrigued, and then upset when I wasted three hours of my life on it.

And I mean... to be more on topic, even though my whole point was that the TC's list hadn't been updated, this is about what tempers think the best games are. And so far, it's not Half Life, or Counterstrike, or Portal, or whatever else.

Because generalising is fun.

edit - and to that end, if you think tempers have bad taste, why do you guys spend so much time on here?

Because I enjoy being a dick.

@[member='FireGrey'], stop acting like a you're a member of the pretentious intelligentsia. Portal 2 is perfectly fine on consoles, yes the PC controls are better because mouse>>>>>>>analog sticks. The game is excellent either way. From someone who owns the PC and console version.

 

[DS1]

Well yeah, that's exactly it. It boggles me that anyone thinks those games are fun. Like, I still don't 'get' why people like them, but I have enough people screaming it at me that I can only assume it's true (that they are enjoyed by many). Sure, call me 'casual' or whatever, I'm not going to be bothered by internet nonsense (at least, not so much as I am by someone who I respect and feel really knows their stuff trying to tell me a boring game should be played and enjoyed by everyone).

Flawless, maybe, I don't know how to test a game I don't find fun for flaws. Innovative? Compared to what? They brought 'puzzles' that have existed in games forever into the first-person realm. Good on their part, because people seem to love them. But innovative? I can see Team Fortress being innovative, because it brought serious tactics and a variety of gameplay to a genre that was mostly twitch controls and aiming, but Half Life? It's pretty interesting how the story is told, and all those physics-based puzzles starting with the second game, but once again that's just translating something that already existed to FP games. Not innovation...

And just for the devil's advocate counterpoint, since you really seem to dislike TWEWY, look at what that game brought to the playing field: Full use of the DS's capabilities, and not in a gimmicky way. They give you the option to use tons of super-powers, and by combining all of the DS's functions (mic, tapping/touching/dragging/etc. on the screen, face button controls), you are able to flawlessly execute all of them at once! (well, me and anyone else I've shown the game to, though PhoenixGoddess, who I trust, has actually said the controls are frustrating). You could say this is the exact same as mapping 30 different functions to a keyboard, but it's not nearly as fun (for me) as getting into a rhythm on the DS.

TWEWY also cleared up a lot problems people had had with Square/JRPG games as of late - They removed all items and outside-battle nonsense (streamlining the game into battle and adventure portions), got rid of garbage level-grinding and "level walls" (bosses that you can't beat because you aren't 'strong' enough). And rather than piss off obnoxious people who complain about the option for 'easy' difficulties (I don't know who these people are, but they are very vocal and annoying), they actually give you incentives for changing the difficulty from time to time - and you can do so on the fly. The risk/reward system even became a meta-game, where you could clear certain enemies on a lower difficulty, but then develop strategies to beat them on a higher difficulty to get better powers - and then create new strategies.

And random battles? Gone, completely. You choose when to battle, what to battle, the difficulty, and even your 'level', which is arbitrary but for the risk/reward system.

Also you can buy clothes. Don't look at me that way! I like clothes!! And they even affect the game, if only in an obtuse way! (well, obtuse if you can't read a paragraph without falling asleep).

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Portal relies heavily on the controls and nothing can beat the quick, controlled movement of a mouse for aiming.

And I beat the game with a Xbox 360 controller just fine. Your point?

Not saying controllers are better but it certainly works on a Xbox 360 controller.

 

[FireGrey]

Like, I don't feel like arguing, but it's so obnoxious when people assume that everybody likes those games. I understand that some people do, maybe even the majority of people, but I don't. I wouldn't call them essential by a mile, and I was pretty upset when my friend of good judgement said, "You'd love Half-Life 2". Or rather, I was intrigued, and then upset when I wasted three hours of my life on it.

And I mean... to be more on topic, even though my whole point was that the TC's list hadn't been updated, this is about what tempers think the best games are. And so far, it's not Half Life, or Counterstrike, or Portal, or whatever else.

Because generalising is fun.

edit - and to that end, if you think tempers have bad taste, why do you guys spend so much time on here?

Because I enjoy being a dick.

@[member='FireGrey'], stop acting like a you're a member of the pretentious intelligentsia. Portal 2 is perfectly fine on consoles, yes the PC controls are better because mouse>>>>>>>analog sticks. The game is excellent either way. From someone who owns the PC and console version.

My main point is that the game is one of the greatest PC games, but not one of the greatest console games.
The controls are the only point i really have to explain that.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

My main point is that the game is one of the greatest PC games, but not one of the greatest console games.
The controls are the only point i really have to explain that.

The controls are fine. I beat the game on my Xbox 360 and most of my friends have to. Probably only one or two of my friends beat it on the PC actually. AND YES I HAVE LOTS OF FRIENDS THANK YOU.

 

[emigre]

My main point is that the game is one of the greatest PC games, but not one of the greatest console games.
The controls are the only point i really have to explain that.

I think FireGrey is being FireGrey now.

@[member='DS1'], let's not get started on TWEWY. I'll just end up going crazy about how it does little to revitalize the JRPG genre. Cuz I love me JRPGs.

 

[DS1]

My main point is that the game is one of the greatest PC games, but not one of the greatest console games.
The controls are the only point i really have to explain that.

I think FireGrey is being FireGrey now.

@[member='DS1'], let's not get started on TWEWY. I'll just end up going crazy about how it does little to revitalize the JRPG genre. Cuz I love me JRPGs.

Did you play the Metal Max games?

edit - and I mean, TWEWY didn't revitalize anything because it was sort of a dud. There's a giant fanbase that ruins everything (nothing new), and that's it. SquareEnix barely brought any of its innovations into their other games, which they insist on ruining ever so slightly with every new iteration. And now I hear there might be a new TWEWY? Get ready for that to turn into some Kingdom Hearts garbage. (and I freakin' loved the first Kingdom Hearts!... until the last 2 hours when it was a bunch of boring button mashing)

 

[emigre]

Did you play the Metal Max games?

They're on the to play list. Well the fan translated ones, as MM have never been released in Europe.

 

[Deleted_171835]

Valve is only really at the point of almost monopolizing steam...
Outside of steam they don't have much of an effect.
Portal 2 on the PS3/360 is great but there are a lot of better titles for consoles out there.
Also, "finest games in history" is not defined, everyone will give a different answer if you asked them.

>lot of better titles for consoles out there
Portal 2 is a masterpiece, dude. There are few games released this gen that are as good as it. Honestly, if you tried to make me name a single con of the game, I couldn't name any. It's that good.

To deny that Valve makes some of the finest games is just plain ignorant. Half Life and Half Life 2 was revolutionary to the FPS genre and brought along several new innovative aspects (one of them being the new style of "cut-scenes"). Portal was just amazing. Counterstrike is one of the most popular FPS games. Team Fortress is an incredibly fun team-based game that brought tactics into the FPS realm.

Valve has consistently made solid games one after the other while managing a terrific game distribution platform. There aren't many companies like that in the gaming industry.

 

[DS1]

Did you play the Metal Max games?

They're on the to play list. Well the fan translated ones, as MM have never been released in Europe.

I'd say 'learn Japanese and play the new ones!!", but I won't be a dick. Try out Metal Max Returns (I think??), which they did a translation of for SNES. Or something. The games are basically Fallout meets Earthbound, which is like, best of both worlds (even though MM predated both of them)

 

[TripleSMoon]

It boggles me that anyone would think otherwise. If I went "Ocarina of Time is not an essential game at all" I'd probably get eaten alive. Well, maybe because everyone enjoys branding me as the "Nintendo hater" but the same would go with anyone else. But I guess Valve games are "not for everyone". They're literally games that every gamer should play in their life. Maybe not their multiplayer ones if you're not into that thing, but Half Life, Half Life 2, Portal, and Portal 2 are definitely essential.

Also my point was that Tempers have terrible taste if they'll vote like TWEWY and Skyward Sword before Half Life 2 or Portal 2. Even if first person "shooters" (I use that term lightly since they're far more than that) aren't your thing, you still can't deny how absolutely flawless and how innovative these games are.

What boggles ME is the complete arrogance and error of your statements. Are you seriously so cocky that you think you can claim that ANY game (Zelda, Portal, Halo, no matter what it is) is "factually" among the best, or "factually" among the worst? If so, you're just a pompous fanboy who's fooling himself, and no one else except others who think the same as you.

I'm not saying Portal is a horrible game by any means... Having not played it, it would be grossly STUPID for me to say that it is. However, word of mouth has told me it's an amazing game, and I expect I will thoroughly enjoy it once I get to play it.

And that's just it... I haven't played it. As long as there's at least one video game in the world I haven't played, I simply CANNOT honestly make a claim that a game I have played is factually "the best" or "essential" while other games that I haven't even touched are factually "unessential". Agreed, I think it's safe to say that there are games that people can (almost) universally agree are good/bad across the board, simply from the skill and effort put in by the developers (you can't really argue that games like the bootleg "Sonic Adventure 7" are good when the controls only respond half the time and you randomly fall through platforms to your death because of glitches and poor design).

But as long as the game mechanics are at least halfway decent, it's really a matter of opinion. You think Call of Duty is a bad game because it isn't as realistic as Battlefield? Matter of opinion. You think Zelda is a bad game because it has no voice acting and copies the same plot elements every game? Matter of opinion. You think Portal is a bad game because it's too short? Matter of opinion. You think Halo is a good game because of its story? Matter of opinion.

You wanna go ahead and say "Portal is the best game out there" or "Zelda: Skyward Sword is one of the worst games out there"? Go ahead. That's your opinion, and it's a perfectly fine one, and I won't think any more or less of you for it. But don't go around saying grossly unintelligent things like "Valve games are the finest, and that's a fact." Because no, it's NOT a fact: It's an opinion.

And since this thread is completely off topic, I'm going to bow out here, unless someone responds with something truly compelling.

 

[emigre]

@[member='DS1'], I know about Metal Max on the SNES. It's just the time to actually play games.

@[member='xwatchmanx'], Guild is just being Guild. And that's why we all love him. I would happily spit roast a woman of easy virtue with him. Cause he's a bro.

 

[DS1]

And since this thread is completely off topic, I'm going to bow out here, unless someone responds with something truly compelling.

If you're getting a 360 (I think you said you were??), buy Import Tuner Challenge. It's like 10 dollars used. You will probably hate it, but at least you'll understand the types of games I love. I only say this because I seriously thought about dropping a cool $150 just to play that game (which I spent 8 HOURS on at my friend's house, if only to wash the taste of HL2 out of my mouth).