Blue Swirl wrote:

Djornson wrote:

"Wife's" top 5: 5) Final Fantasy 7 4) Gran Turismo 3) Ocarina of Time 2) Portal 1) Shadow of the Colossus

So close to a perfect list. I'd definitely be interested in seeing more "top 5 from Mrs. Forumite", they've generally been solid lists so far.

How can you not like it? If you prefer ICO fair enough or even if you think it's slightly over-rated i won't shoot you but you seem not to like it at all?

Crazy Taxi was fun

Blue Swirl wrote:

Djornson wrote:

If you prefer ICO fair enough or even if you think it's slightly over-rated i won't shoot you but you seem not to like it at all?

I prefer Ico, yes. But SotC is a little bit pants, IMHO.

Fair enough. Each to their own. Just surprised.

I found it fun for about a day that was it.

YouTube vid or it didn't happen

Listening to Okami as I make my way home. So good. 

Might start a replay in HD on my PS3. Have the Jap physical copy which came with a gorgeous snowglobe thing.

I'm missing the Prime ost out of that list.

In no particular order.



It may not be the best game ever made, it may not even be the best football game ever made, but this gave me countless hours of fun, MP hijinx and fantastic times with my friends. I was at uni and we were caning this, Goldeneye and Mario Kart, to the extent where a few of us would have 24 hour sessions on each game. Ridiculous, but the games were truly involving and we were lazy-arse student scrotes who wished for nothing more than a goal from half-way, the Golden Gun and Lightning. And some cheap-ass booze. 



I got lost in this game. Lapped up all the dlc, forgave it the occasional crash/invisible wall/Deathclaw stuck in scenery and just revelled in how much there was to do and see. Far prefer it to its predecessors and New Vegas and is probably my favourite ever game for the engagement and involvement I got from it. Only seen the announcement trailer for F4 as I want to experience it all for myself rather than have any surprises revealed. 



The modern versions of Football Manager are pretty much dead to me. There's simply too much to do. This was just perfect. You could spend hours prowling the transfer market, adopting the Xmas Tree formation and using the data editor to put you and your mates in the game. Ibrahima Bakayoko, Tommy Svindal Larrson, all of Partick Thistle and any Man U youth players would soon become world beaters and paved the way for the likes of Nii Lamptey and Freddie Adu to become virtual (rather than real) footballing icons in future iterations. I would always play as Carlisle and my friend as Wrexham. I'd win the league every season, yet he would always win our league matches. That desire for just 'one more game' led to many late nights. 



The best online FPS ever made. Spent over a month of my life playing this game, made loads of friends through it, delighted in inane conversation in lobbies, revelled in the gunplay, played like a toddler on Red Bull every time Shipment came up and had an absolute ball. How on earth the franchise fucked up so magnificently ever since amazes me. Along with California Games, it's the one game I would like a redirect HD remake of, warts and all. 



All of these games have some pretty obvious flaws and Bioshock is no different. But, the whole imagined world captured me from the very first trailer. One of those games where you're desperate to play it whilst also being reluctant to, for the fear it will soon be over. Replayed it a few years back and it still grabbed me as it did on the first run through. 

Loads more I could rave about and there's probably been a stack of games that have given me more concentrated enjoyment, but not the sustained relentless bliss these delivered.

hylian_elf wrote:

Hey, I tried to get you down here, despite you being extremely wrong about SotC.

SotC is pants, search your feelings, you know it to be true.

And it was a very generous offer.

Promised a write up and have a free evening so here it is (@SpeedHaak you have already added these so don't add again).

1. Banjo Kazooie.
I first learnt about this game from a issue of N64 Magazine covering the E3 it was first unveiled (possibly 1996). I didn't have an N64 yet but it was out. I had this magazine, a 50 word write up and a postage stamp sized screenshot in a "100 things we saw at E3" article.
I was in love. Whoever wrote those 50 words was too.
As the game developed I followed it closely intrigued by the bright, colourful characters and promise of humour with strong gameplay.
Launch day was approaching, the N64 was in the bag thanks to a celebration of my birth, as so happens annually. Such celebration came with some cash moneys too, that went into the cupboard, wedged between two oversized tubs of multivitamins for precisely two months.
Launch day came, the first time I have ever even been aware of a launch date let alone waited for one. It was he summer holidays and I was spending the days at my mate's house while my parents were at work. I convinced my Mum to take me to town to pick up Banjo via a Burger King.
Got it home, fired it up and it was everything I wanted and expected. From the opening song, to flying cauliflowers, to the stupid rhymes and dumb voices.
Every world in the game is a big storybook adventure, even the weaker levels provide challenge, humour and something unique. As the game progresses the hub world becomes more and more tied to the individual worlds. 
Then we get to ClickClock Woods. Now I would happily say SM64 had better mechanics than Banjo, Galaxy largely had better levels in terms of challenge but nothing in the world of 3D platforms beats the absolute brilliance that is ClickClock Woods. At first confusing, even once I thought it may be a 4 season thing I couldn't quite believe they could do that. 
Just when you think the game can't throw anything more at you we get to the quiz. Just brilliant, I would welcome a quiz stage in almost any game, it was almost nostalgic going back through, reliving my adventure.
The charm oozes from this game, it is just so loveable in every way. I still walk around the house doing impressions of the Captain Blubber, Mumbo Jumbo and Clanker.

Banjo Kazooie isn't my favourite game because it is the best game, it is my favourite game because I absolutely love it.

2. THPS3
Ok, this game in a sentence. I used to format my PS2 memory Card so I could spend the weekend completing it again. I first got the ropey PS1 version of this and completed it over and over again. Once I bought a PS2 I picked up this again and immediately spent ages completing it fully with every character.
The first game in the franchise to appear on the new gen (at the time). It had a fuller soundtrack, bigger levels, better graphics and more custom options than ever before. The big change however was Revert. Not the most realistic of moves but it allowed endless combos while using the full range of tricks, for the first time in the series. I think this is the first and last game I was actually good at, I complete games, I am competent enough on others but I was good at this. The Foundry I could 100% in a 2 minute run (bar gaps obv) Canada I could do in a run and a half. It is a game I could be totally dedicated to and at the same time a game I could play without really paying attention while chatting to mates.

3. Timesplitters 2
The most fun FPS to be made to date. A bit like Banjo, there are better games in terms of precision and competition but this game is the most fun a group of friends sat around a TV could have. On the other hand don't be mistaken for thinking the game is anything but super tight, balanced and tactical. The series are the true sequels to Goldeneye/Perfect Dark and they play like them too, with the advantage of twin stick control. I loved how the story mode involved as much challenge and variety as most games at the time, sometimes more, but kept the tone light. The missions section of the game provided some true challenge and incredibly inventive things to do using the base mechanics. The weapons built on the teams legacy of being varied and many had secondary fire modes which made for some nifty tactics. Custom games provided a huge range of options including bots, weapon sets and game types. Big, silly, fun with tight mechanics.

4. Micro Machines Turbo Tournament 2
This could have been any of the MM games after 2. Colourful, bright, varied and at times tough. The time trials proved hugely competitive in my group of friends. At the same time multiplayer was a different beast, ruining each other's by knocking each other off the course, pushing the screen edge hoping for a point before you had to turn, risking that shortcut doing the same. There was more to just racing it took guts and cunning. Big, silly, colourful and variety will always win me over and Micro Machines always delivered on this. You could be amazing at getting a dragster around a toilet seat then suck at the Helicopters flying over and under pipes in the attic. Ultimately the best thing about Micro Machines is that it let me do what I wanted to do with the actual toys I had.

5. Streets of Rage 2
Always the warm up game but none the less fun for it. So from about the age of 8 to 12 I used to go to my mate's house after school with a third mate until our parents finished work. Nearly every day of that we would put the Mega Drive on and start with Streets of Rage 2. 3 Continues on Normal, lose a life pass the pad. Lose all continues and we would play something else. By the end we would just finish the game. The first few weeks we mostly just beat each other up but we got tighter and tighter at the game. Ive played it since on 360 with other people and it isn't the same. I knew instinctively my mate Alex  would go in on the boss while Darren would go for the lower baddies first, I knew Alex always got the pipe weapon because he was pixel perfect with it while Darren could throw a knife like a boss.  a lot of memories and good times tied to this one but it is still the top tier of its genre.

Mostly I think I prefer big, bold, colourful games, games that have teamwork but aren't necessarily built around it and I definitely miss same room multiplayer. I need silliness, games that take themselves seriously become a turn off. Any game I can imitate stupid voices from will always have a soft spot.

It's insanely good.

Banjo is a top tier game

hylian_elf wrote:

I found it fun for about a day that was it.

Qft.

GTAV for scope of gameworld
Ico for emotional engagement
Orange Box (Portal) for design
Rez for in the zone experience
Spelunky for infinite playability

It's like a visual Haiku.