Has any game just blown you away?

[brikis98]

Maybe I'm a bit jaded/desensitized after years of gaming, but none of the latest games have really "wowed" me... i've been looking for "the next big thing" to play and have come up short recently. not that there haven't been some enjoyable games, but IMO, nothing has really "raised the bar"...

some examples of earlier games that really amazed me:

1. Wolfenstein 3D: first time i ever saw any "3d" game, first fps i'd seen, and fighting nazis was damn fun
2. Red Baron: the first 3D combat flight simulator i played... amazingly fun gameplay, great graphics and terrific replayability... the black fokker dr I was my plane of choice...
3. Half Life: the scripting, style, story and graphics of this game were incredible for it's time. it was just so damn immersive and movie like, you had to keep playing. "it's all within theoretical limits... theoretically"

it could be that the video game market has matured now, so it's difficult to be revolutionary... but none of the latest games - even ones that i really enjoyed, such as HL 2, FEAR, Oblivion, etc - really blew me away. they typically did a few things really well (HL 2 was again immersive, FEAR had cool special effects, Oblivion was HUGE) but none of it was particularly new. graphics & sound have improved dramatically... but the actual gameplay and interaction, IMO, have stalled.

so, what games really made you go "wow" and have any of them been recent?

 

[Trevelyan]

Quake 2 was the first, only because it was the first graphics-accelerated game that I played. (Forced me to be a TNT1 video card.)

Half-Life was the second one, and probably my favorite game of all time.

Counter-Strike Beta 6.5 was the third one... I never had so much fun wasting an entire summer.

....

So far, those are the only three. HL2, Max Payne and SOF2 came close, but never really did it quite like those three.

 

[jfall]

Duke Nukem 3D (PC)
Ninja Gaiden (Xbox)

 

[CP5670]

Nothing recently. There were two fairly modern games I thought did almost everything very well (Riddick and SCCT), but I wouldn't say they "blew me away."

As for all time, Lemmings (Mac version with better graphics and music), Descent, C&C, Battlezone, Unreal, both Freespace games and Deus Ex. Can't really think of anything since then that had me playing nonstop for 14 hours the first time, as I did with Deus Ex. System Shock 2 (which I played in 2003 or something, some years after it was released) probably comes the closest.

 

[Megatomic]

Not in years have I been blown away. The last time for me was when I fired up Unreal for the first time on my Voodoo 2 card.

Gaming is so boring that I've given it up completely.

 

[Stuxnet]

I've all but given up on games, too. I don't think it's the result of desensitizing, but rather a lack of focus on good gameplay.

Games that have blown me away (in no particular order):

- Duke Nukem 3D
- Half-Life
- Counter-Strike
- Unreal Tournament
- Deus Ex
- Warcraft II / Starcraft
- Half-Life 2
- Unreal Tournament 2004
- Splinter Cell
- Battlefield 2 (when it worked)
- Company of Heroes

I've tried a lot of other games, but they just felt like background noise for the most part. Take FEAR for instance. I can't put my finger on it, but it was boring as hell. The game wasn't the least bit engaging. Sure it was scary, but a game better have a little more than "scary" to be fun. Same goes for Doom 3. Scary as sh|t, but laaaaaame.

 

[IamDavid]

resident evil back in the day..

 

[Bateluer]

Its harder to amaze older gamers. They've seen a lot more and demand a lot more.

 

[sswingle]

Deus Ex comes to mind the most...

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
Its harder to amaze older gamers. They've seen a lot more and demand a lot more.

that's true - after all, some of the games that amazed me were the first of that kind that i saw... however, i think there's more to it as well...

for example, today's graphics engines are extremely complicated - far more so, IMO, than they used to be. 3d models are way more detailed, bigger/more textures, bump maps, shaders, HDR, etc...

i get the feeling that developers have to spend far more time on the graphics engine today than before which leaves less time for story, gameplay and polishing. there are very few (if any) 40 hour single player games nowadays, for example. not that a game needs to be that friggin long to be good, but given the same development cycle, the game studios are pumping out games that are 4 times shorter. and sadly, they don't compensate by making each minute of that experience 4 times better.

the result is that we are not as impressed and at times - like when you blow $50 on a 8 hour game - we feel somewhat ripped off.

EDIT: this makes me wonder if the solution to improving game quality is to give developers better game-design tools. perhaps better (2d/3d) scanners to allow 3d models to be created faster? maybe generic level design tools that can be ported to any graphics engine? some kind of overarching API for game design that has hooks to a renderer? it might not be possible to make something that generic, but maybe that kind of streamlining is what's missing...

 

[pontifex]

not sure that it "blew me away", but I really enjoyed Gun. Wild West setting, themes, weapons, and characters. Fighting on horseback is awesome and fun.

I'd like to see a Gun multiplayer version. Need more games like this that are fun and have different settings than the normal stuff we always see.

The original Call of Duty blew me away. Felt like you were there. CoD2 did that to some extent, but I think since I already went through CoD1, that it wasn't as new/fresh.

 

[HN]

when a game causes me to have physical reflex reaction, i feel it's something special.

Half-Life: climbing up a ladder and head crab jumps at me just as i reach the top of the vent; i flinched back in my chair

Counter Strike (early beta stages): wasn't really into it until i got into a 2 on 1 situation. heart started pumping when they were hunting me down; all of us walking to stay quiet. i found one guy and unloaded on him (wasn't used to burst shots yet); other guy jumped down and died from the fall. it was the first time i won it for the team. I was hooked from there. although, now it's been a couple years since i've played.

 

[Schadenfroh]

The last game that blew me away was Baldurs Gate 2, finished it about a week ago.

 

[imported_Imp]

Same as the rest mostly, been jaded over the years.

In all of last year, the only thing that really 'blew me away' was Oblivion. Moreso when I got a 7600gt to actually do the graphics some justice; it was pretty much the HDR that did it. The Fear demo blew me away, but after getting the full version, it just blew (ok, exageration, it was good). Everything else like Quake 4, GRAW and AoE III were good, but not blowing.

In the past, Half-life, Baldur's Gate 2 (I initially regretted getting the first instead of Total Anhilathon...no I can't spell that), Age of Empires and Rainbow Six. Over the past 3/4 years, I seriously contemplated for months about getting on the console wagon, but never did.

 

[Chaotic42]

I'm prepared to be blown away by Supreme Commander in early 2007. :heart:

 

[Ricochet]

No recent titles. Of course I was so much into gaming way back then as compared to now.

1. The original Doom without question was so far ahead of its time. One of the reason I got into PC gaming at all. I remember playing the shareware copy with some buddies and we got to the end level to confront the Barons of Hell for the very first time. It sent chills down my spine.

2. Blaster Master for the NES. There were so many crap games for the NES so when I finally did play this game I was wowed by the incredible gameplay, level design, and its atypical plot. The end level is hard as hell, though.

3. Strider for the Genesis. The graphics for this game just blows everything away for the home console at the time. It's an incredible arcade experience brought to the home in near perfect fashion.

4. Phantasy Star 2 for the Genesis. Before RPG even became popular, this gem stole away a lot of my time. It captured the furturistic/fantasy theme perfectly, complete with the synthesizer tunes. Animated battle sequence that was unseen on any other RPG at the time. Plus you get to experience the death of the female lead (a decade before Aeris's in FF7) and a shocking ending as you find out who your real enemies were.

5. Final Fantasy 2 for the SNES (FFIV in Japan). The SNES which came after the Genesis brought many advantages over its competitor, most notably is in the audio dept. No game demonstrated this better than FF2 (with possible exception of Actraiser by Enix). Combined with an involving plot this game was just a blessing for RPG fans. FF3 did improve on a lot of things over its predecessor and is my favorite Final Fantasy, but it did not produce a significant wow factor after experiencing FF2.

6. Panzer Dragoon Saga for the Saturn. This was definitely a sleeper hit. Because the Saturn was making an exit and production copies of the game was very limited very few even got to play this game. Plus as RPG goes, Final Fantasy VII just overshadowed everything around this time. Square (and perhaps Sony?) spent tremendous amount of money to hype FFVII to the general populous and it pays dividends. I'm not a detractor of FFVII by any means. FFVII was a very imenseful game with epic plot, mini-games, suspense, and drawn out battles. In fact it was a visual and audio tour-de-force for the Playstation. Having played both games, a friend and I both agreed that PDS was the more innovative game even though not as flashy. PDS offer an almost surreal experience with a fantasy world that is both bizarre and magnificent. A feeling that is usually not captured unless you read a fantasy book. The battle system for PDS is also unlike any RPG to date (then again no other RPG have you riding a dragon). The fault of most RPG is the repetitive turn-based battle system. Take a few steps, you're in fight. Take a few more steps and you're in another fight. Rinse and repeat. This was one of the few RPG where that feeling of repetiveness was non-existent. Random encounters does not come as often. When you do encounter a fight, the battle system is a very fun experience, not a straight forward hack & slash or use magic. You have to find enemy weak spots and position yourself accordingly to strike effectively. You are given ratings after every battle depending on how fast and effective you accomplish them. At certain points you can evolve your dragon to different forms for different mode of battle. You fight bizarre and fantastic looking creatures. The ending was reminescent of my childhood movie "Neverending Story".

7. MDK for the PC. With so many Doom clones running around, it was such a relief to find a game that offered something new. Amazing level design: some parts as if inspired by reknown Swiss artist H.R. Giger. The main character has a bizarre parachute/glider to traverse the huge, bizarre landscape.

8. Sacrifice for the PC. Another winner for Shiny. Just absolutely gorgeous. This game blended FPS and RTS perfectly. The settings and creatures were so bizarre that perhaps the general populous just couldn't grasp it. It sold poorly despite how polished the game was thus putting an end to Shiny.


Other PC games that I got into: XCOM, Duke Nukem, Descent, X-wing, Warcraft 2 & 3, Starcraft, Diablo, Warhammer 40000, Quake 1 & 3, Half-life 1 & 2, Halo, and Far Cry.

As much as I like PC games, I think PC gaming is dead. Not in the sense that you're thinking, but dead in the creative sense. The gaming populous are into realistic FPS like COD or BF2. Even Far Cry and Half Life can be lumped in there as well. Their motto is make it as real as possible: realistic battles, realistic physics. I don't have anything against that but that genre is overflooded. Either that or they want MMORPG. The buying public won't put money into quirky creative titles so publishers like Shiny can't even survive anymore. There is no incentive for innovation. The hardcore gamers who want more variety has to suffer from choosing a FPS or MMORG.

 

[QuantumPion]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
I'm prepared to be blown away by Supreme Commander in early 2007. :heart:

Yesh.

TA blew me away, first RTS with 3d units and realistic (even though futuristic) gameplay.

Oblivion blew me away, I have to say I spent hours just staring at the scenery. However after I upgraded to a 1600x1200 lcd monitor, my 7900gt was not fast enough to play it at max settings, so I am shelving it until I get a better system so I can truly enjoy it.

Doom 3 blew me away I think, it was so well polished and genuinely frightening.

And as someone else mentioned, Unreal on a voodoo2 was absolutely amazing for its time.

Oh yeah, Decent was also pretty awesome, especially the multiplayer. Flying around in really cool levels was a blast. Go go purple death blob gun!

Jedi Knight II: Outcast, the first lightsaber duel you fight definately blew me away, that game was so fun.

ETA: Oh yeah, I almsot forgot! Ultima VII! That game had such a huge world with so much to do, really an amazing achievement for its time as well. I think Ultima Online was also comparable, when it first came out it was the first real MMORPG, offering just about unlimited freedom.

Ah! And going back even further, Wing Commander 2. That game kicked ass, I loved the torpedo runs in the broadswords. Woo, that takes me back.

 

[40sTheme]

I don't want a game to amaze me; I just want it to be fun.
But it is great when a game amazes me.
Usually it's just one part of a game that amazes me, like Oblivion's AI. I love effing around with them. It's so funny to test like Bethesda tested it. Seriously, watch someone's daily routine, and then take one essential thing they need out of it. Watch them the next day. They will kill, steal, anything they need to do to get that item. It is hilarious. I've had huge fights between people and guards... So yeah. Most of the time, an entire game doesn't amaze me. Just play for fun.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Biggest ones for me were StarSiege: Tribes for the PC and LoZ: Ocarina of Time for N64

Other than that I don't know if any games have blown me away more than hardware upgrades in the middle of games where you can really feel the difference from before to after.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: 40sTheme
I don't want a game to amaze me; I just want it to be fun.
But it is great when a game amazes me.
Usually it's just one part of a game that amazes me, like Oblivion's AI. I love effing around with them. It's so funny to test like Bethesda tested it. Seriously, watch someone's daily routine, and then take one essential thing they need out of it. Watch them the next day. They will kill, steal, anything they need to do to get that item. It is hilarious. I've had huge fights between people and guards... So yeah. Most of the time, an entire game doesn't amaze me. Just play for fun.

a valid point. i certainly still play the games and enjoy them. however, the problem is i seem to be liking/enjoying the latest games far less than those from before. when that happened before, some kind of "spark" would come along, like half life, and reignite the gaming world. however, i guess i just haven't seen anything like that in a while...

 

[Shortcut]

NOLF - for its rare combination of a highly entertaining storyline and great gameplay

OP Flashpoint - its excruciatingly challenging, yet still a fun game to play

 

[Alienwho]

Diablo - It was just so polished and gorgeous and imersive. The second I started it up and watched the cutscene, followed by graphics and music in the background. Then actually playing ONLINE with other people, and talking to them in real time absolutely blew me away. That was my first real taste of the power of internet communication.

Unreal Tournament ('99) - I tried playing it for a month or two on a crappy old laptop with terrible performance. When I pieced together my first real PC with that TNT2 Ultra (maybe it was a voodoo 3, I forget what generation of cards matched up with UT) i was absolutely blown away at the beauty and speed and performance of the game.

Thief - Sneaking around and jumping on rooftops and stealing peoples stuff was just amazing.

 

[KeithTalent]

From a while back, Street Fighter 2 in the arcade, it was like crack to me.

Also HL2; just loved the game and I actually felt like I was Gordon Freeman, that rarely/never happens in a game for me.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: ricochet

4. Phantasy Star 2 for the Genesis. Before RPG even became popular, this gem stole away a lot of my time. It captured the furturistic/fantasy theme perfectly, complete with the synthesizer tunes. Animated battle sequence that was unseen on any other RPG at the time. Plus you get to experience the death of the female lead (a decade before Aeris's in FF7) and a shocking ending as you find out who your real enemies were.

Definitely agree with this one (can;t believe I forgot about it). I had never experienced anything like it at the time. Probably the only game I ever finished then just started all over again the same day. Briliant, brilliant game! :thumbsup:

 

[murban135]

Battlezone
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