Games that you consider masterpieces and why...

Say something.

GTA IV.

A lot of people b!tch about it, but I have never seen an open world game nail the feel of a real city like that. The shift between neighborhoods is subtle, yet recognizable. the driving, once you get used to it is really well done with the vehicles all having a nice weight to them. There really isn't a better realized place in gaming. I can't wait to see what they have done to LA.

gta san andreas

Half Life series.

I say this because despite the game having a story it's really up to the player to tell the story themselves.

That might sound confusing, but there is a level of interaction in the game necessary, and it's up to the player to commit themselves to flesh out the story through what they view in the world.

Two people can have wildly different experiences with the game, and this comes despite the game being linear.

I've played through Half Life 2 probably a dozen times, and I still find new things in the world that change my previous perceptions about the story in the game. In my last playthrough, which wasn't too long ago, I walked out of a building, and in the corner of my eye I noticed a group of civilians tearing down a tv which had Dr. Breen displayed on it. It was something I just hadn't noticed before.

And honestly the first few times I played I had no idea who Dr. Breen was, but I was walking through some Black Mesa scientist's office, and saw him standing with a group of scientists. It just blows me away to discover the story based on my own interaction with the game.

It seems every time I play I discover even more about the Half Life universe which always motivates me to play it again. I'm actually currently in the middle of a playthrough right now :P

Final Fantasy VII

Castevania: Symphony of the Night

Uncharted 2

Uncharted 3

Mass Effect 2

Deus Ex:HR was close...the tacked on boss fights and no true ending were the only weak points.

None comes to mindMonsieurX

Your standards are way too high then...

Super Metroid, Metroid Prime and Megaman 2 all spring to mind.darkspineslayer

Oh yeah and i add "Zelda A link to the past" :oops:

Is this a veiled favorite games of the gen thread or am I supposed to be somehow objective?

Legend of Legaia - Unique battle system, awesome story, emotional development with characters

Brave Fencer Musashi - Night/day time system, same reasons above

Final Fantasy 12 - "" ""

GTA IV.

A lot of people b!tch about it, but I have never seen an open world game nail the feel of a real city like that. The shift between neighborhoods is subtle, yet recognizable. the driving, once you get used to it is really well done with the vehicles all having a nice weight to them. There really isn't a better realized place in gaming. I can't wait to see what they have done to LA.

heretrix

Legend of Legaia - Unique battle system, awesome story, emotional development with characters

Brave Fencer Musashi - Night/day time system, same reasons above

Final Fantasy 12 - "" ""

Liquid_

You, sir, are probably one of the only people on these boards that has fully played through Legend of Legaia.  I don't have the same opinion that it's a "masterpiece" but it's still really, really good (kind of a grind when it comes to leveling, though).

On topic:
FFIX
Uncharted 2
Halo: CE
Megaman 2
Super Metroid
Myst
Shadow of the Colossus
Journey
FFX
Starcraft

[QUOTE="Liquid_"]

Legend of Legaia - Unique battle system, awesome story, emotional development with characters

Brave Fencer Musashi - Night/day time system, same reasons above

Final Fantasy 12 - "" ""

Basinboy

You, sir, are probably one of the only people on these boards that has fully played through Legend of Legaia.  I don't have the same opinion that it's a "masterpiece" but it's still really, really good (kind of a grind when it comes to leveling, though).

On topic:
FFIX
Uncharted 2
Halo: CE
Megaman 2
Super Metroid
Myst
Shadow of the Colossus
Journey
FFX
Starcraft

[QUOTE="Basinboy"]

[QUOTE="Liquid_"]

Legend of Legaia - Unique battle system, awesome story, emotional development with characters

Brave Fencer Musashi - Night/day time system, same reasons above

Final Fantasy 12 - "" ""

Liquid_

You, sir, are probably one of the only people on these boards that has fully played through Legend of Legaia.  I don't have the same opinion that it's a "masterpiece" but it's still really, really good (kind of a grind when it comes to leveling, though).

On topic:
FFIX
Uncharted 2
Halo: CE
Megaman 2
Super Metroid
Myst
Shadow of the Colossus
Journey
FFX
Starcraft

Me: 4-5 times, haven't played it in years.  Its boss battles are some of the best of the PS1 generation.

Mirror's Edge of course :D! The most pure and beautiful viusal style of any game. Unique and great gameplay. Feels really amazing when you get into the flow, exactly like how a freerunning game should feel. Lots of options for how to tackle the courses using the handful of techniques you have at your disposal. I play it a few times every month and never get tired of it. A true Masterpiece!

Edit: Other Masterpieces: Arkham Asylum, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, Zelda: A Link To The Past

Halo 2. > the MP was just SOO much fun that i truely wish there was clock on it. 

from 2004-07 i play the game EVERYDAY from the time i got home from school till midnight from the momment i woke up on the weekends till i went i sleep. ALL free time went to it

Journey.

Because what it set out to do and did... It did perfectly. Its not my favorite game. Or my top ten of all time. But the games above that I can always point out notable flaws that will keep it from being a masterpiece, no matter how little they bother me. Can't say the same about Journey.

Arkham City

-Perfect combat

-Atmospheric open world

-Polished

-Excellent characters/story

-Superb voice acting/overall sound

-Good graphics

-Good stealth

-Flying/platforming

-Puzzles

-Lots of easter eggs

-Its Batman

-No obvious flaws, long loading times after death is probably the only thing i can think of, and even the loading screens have excellent little cutscenes of the villains talking S*%) to you.

Final Fantasy 7

-Everything

Shadow of the Colossus. It's rare that a game full of just boss fights one after another with almost no other characters and a very one tone environment can conjure up so many emotions and epic scale/set pieces without shoving everything in your face. The story is almost non-existent yet it makes you think and speculate more than most games ever do. That game was just my imagination doing all the filling in.

Dark Souls. Deep and satisfying role playing elements, fantastic world and level design. When you do huge arcs and realise it was all connected is genius. A hugely deep lore and backstory that can be so easily tossed aside and never even see half of it. It never shoves it in your face either and lets you discover things for yourself, also allowing a bit of imagination in its ambiguity. The lore could fill a whole trilogy of games but it's all expertly put into one. Also some of the most unique enemy designs and great bosses

These are the only 2 games I have ever given a 10/10 and consider almost prefect

 

Silent Hill 2 is a game with the goal of telling a story, but it doesn't shower the player with exposition. Instead, the tale is told through the game world in some obvious and not-so-obvious ways. Everything is intentional and nothing is wasted.

 

Slashkice

+1 for silent hill 2 also. Almost the epitome of the genre, well paced, great scares and terrific atmosphere all weaved around a great story

Streets of Rage 2-3
Sonic 1-3 & Knuckles + CD
M.U.S.H.A
Tie Fighter
X-Wing Vs. Tie Fighter
Age of Mythology
Chrono Trigger
Super Metroid
Metroid Prime Trilogy
A Link to the Past
Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Super Mario Galaxy 2

Why? They are polished, represent the best of their respective genres, and have or will withstand the test of time.

far cry 3

doom 3

Fatal Frame 1, 2 because they are the scariest games of all time.

Resident Evil 1,2,3,4 because they're the best survival horror games.

God of War 1,2,3 because they're the best hack n' slash games.

Fatal Frame 1, 2 because they are the scariest games of all time.

Resident Evil 1,2,3,4 because they're the best survival horror games.

God of War 1,2,3 because they're the best hack n' slash games.

clr84651

for me:

kingdom hearts 1 and 2- pretty much my favorite games /series of all time. i also loved Birth by Sleep.

mgs4- fantastic ending. very emotional.

uncharted 2- after finishing the campaign for the first time, i felt blown away by how amazing this game was. 

Yoshi's Island: I'm a huge platformer fanatic and I don't believe a game has ever topped Yoshi's Island in this genre. It featured very original gameplay and superb level design and challenge. It became quite an obsession of mine to get 100 points in each level.

-Pikmin: Completely original and done excedingly well. I don't know what more I can say. This game really had a strong effect on me. It breathed new life into me as a gamer. It showed me that innovation and creativity could still happen in spades. This game was just a rush of originality and gave me the same sense of wonder I had when I picked up a video game controller for the very first time.

-The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker: This was the pinnacle of the Zelda franchise. This legendary series has built upon itself over the years until it reached Wind Waker. This game has the most lively and emense overworld of the series with the most content to boot. IT also features the standard Zelda gameplay but refined. This game also boasts one of, if not the best story present in mainstream gaming. The game actually uses strong symbolism and metaphor for the express purpose of conveying a rather touching and powerful message. The Zelda series has never quite lived up to this game ever since and it may never reach this level again.

-Metroid Prime: a game that perhaps captures the strength of the gaming media better than any other. It's pure interactive entertainment. You are always in control and the story only unfolds if you, the player, decides to scan every detail of your environment. It's all about you isolated in this brilliantly designed world.

-Batman Arkham City: I've seen many games attempt many different gameplay mechanics at once before, but each aspect they implement usually ends up mediocre. This is not the case in Batman Arkham City. This game does melee combat, strealth, exploration, and puzzles all at an extremely high level wrapped up in a near perfectly polished package. I've never seen a game this ambitious live up to all of its promises completely.

Ocarina of Time: First of the Nintendo 64 games to recieve such an epic story with emotional ties, with a solid visual style complimented by the best gameplay around.

Half-Life 2: Ahead of it's time when it comes to visuals and gameplay, giving birth to Gary's Mod introducing a massive flood of youtube videos and games to follow.

Halo: Combat Evolved: First game on the 2nd gen consoles to offer difinitive FPS gameplay, with an epic story and great graphics for it's time.

Super Mario Galaxy: Great visual design,  amazing level design, and gameplay make this stand out amongst the greatest.

Gran Thieft Auto III: First GTA game to hit critical success, offering some great visuals as well as hitting the news for controversial issues.

Uncharted 2: First game to offer such a cinematic experience, with some of the greatest visuals, amazing voice acting and animations, and a great story that changed the way some games play.  

League of Legends:  One of if not the most played game, also one of the biggest competative games to date.

Journey:  One of the best experiences to date, Journey offers you an emotional rollercoaster, as well as top notch visuals and a different prospective on how the industry can look at a game.  Anyone who disliked this game was someone who expeced it to be something it wasn't trying to achieve.

World of Warcraft:  Best MMORPG to be released, flooding the PC with hundreds of copy cats due to its success at polishing the game to near perfection. 

Guitar Hero III:  The first game in the Rhythm industry to reach its success and drawing a large amount of users to partake in games such as the earlier guitar hero games and rock band.  Also (IMO) the last good Guitar hero game.

Braid: Some of the most relaxing visuals and music, great story and gameplay.  Really changed the way most people look at Downloadable games. Commercial success.

Super Smash Bros. Melee: Anyone who played Super Smash Brothers Melee knows how good this game was, I put thousands of hours into this game.  With a large roster of characters, solid visuals and controls, and THE BEST LAN gameplay around.  

Pokemon (red or blue):  The first Pokemon game that launched it's success, with great story and gameplay, and groundbreaking visuals for the Gameboy color.

Kingdom Hearts: Offering a MASSIVE cast of characters, combining the Final Fantasy universe and Disney universe to create an emotional story with great gameplay.  It's a dark game also featuring winnie the pooh.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Commercially a success, with some good gameplay, the story was TOP NOTCH, the game made you feel for Snake as he struggles to reach his final goal.

Batman: Arkham City: Really changed the way Open World games play, featuring amazing voice acting and visuals, hooked with a solid story line which was almost completely baron in this genre of video games.

Bioshock: Some of the best gameplay anyone can find in the FPS genre, featuring scares where scares were often not found: Under the ocean.

Shadow of The Collosus: Breathtaking visuals and great gameplay, the first time I was shown a collosus my mind was blown.

Golden Eye 007: Goes without saying, this game defined the FPS Genre and what it is today, with collaboration of Halo: CE and the influence of CoD 4.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare: The last official Call of Duty game (IMO before being milked to hell), offering groundbreaking gameplay, very good visuals for its time, and a controversal and bloody story changing the Call of Duty's (Teen) rating to mature.  The Multiplayer spawned what everyone sees today in terms of shooters, and multiplayer games.

Mass Effect 2: Offering some great visuals, and a compelling story with a great cast of characters.  One of the first games to offer decisions throughout your journey that greately affected how you approached the game.  The game made you feel for the characters and how you approached the game.

All that comes to mind. :P

GTA IV.

A lot of people b!tch about it, but I have never seen an open world game nail the feel of a real city like that. The shift between neighborhoods is subtle, yet recognizable. the driving, once you get used to it is really well done with the vehicles all having a nice weight to them. There really isn't a better realized place in gaming. I can't wait to see what they have done to LA.

heretrix

I'd rather a worse world with more to do, ala Saint's Row.

Bridge scene.

Haunting, poignant, just brilliant. It's a magnificent game that succeeds in all it attempts. One of the rare titles which pushes its themes through gameplay.

Silent Hill 2 is a game with the goal of telling a story, but it doesn't shower the player with exposition. Instead, the tale is told through the game world in some obvious and not-so-obvious ways. Everything is intentional and nothing is wasted.

Slashkice

I aprove this post, especially SotC, what a masterpiece of a game.

I'll also add Red Dead Redemption cause of the emotions it evoked on me, especially coming from R*. Never expected such a serious tone in game coming from the GTA makers

GTA IV.

A lot of people b!tch about it, but I have never seen an open world game nail the feel of a real city like that. The shift between neighborhoods is subtle, yet recognizable. the driving, once you get used to it is really well done with the vehicles all having a nice weight to them. There really isn't a better realized place in gaming. I can't wait to see what they have done to LA.

heretrix

I think the games speak for themselves, what a great generation...

Batman Arkham series
Bioshock
Assassin's Creed 2
Uncharted 2
Half Life 2/Orange Box
Oblivion/Skyrim

These are must play games. I won't even bother going back to other geneartions because there's just too many (and I know I left some out here too). 

I think the games speak for themselves, what a great generation...

Batman Arkham series
Bioshock
Assassin's Creed 2
Uncharted 2
Half Life 2/Orange Box
Oblivion/Skyrim

These are must play games. I won't even bother going back to other geneartions because there's just too many (and I know I left some out here too). 

immortality20

All of those are great except Skyrim...crap.

And honestly the first few times I played I had no idea who Dr. Breen was, but I was walking through some Black Mesa scientist's office, and saw him standing with a group of scientists. It just blows me away to discover the story based on my own interaction with the game.

It seems every time I play I discover even more about the Half Life universe which always motivates me to play it again. I'm actually currently in the middle of a playthrough right now :P

Ly_the_Fairy

Anyways I'd say Metroid Prime, Sonic 2, Sonic 3 and Knuckles, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Super Mario Galaxy 2.

- Fallout 2

- Dune 2

- Earthbound

- Planscape Torment

- Gothic 2

- Mount & Blade: Warband

- Team Fortress 2

- Half Life 1/2

- Super Mario Bros 3

- Final Fantasy Tactics

- Red Dead Redemption

- Warcraft 2

- Diablo 2

- KOTOR2 (Even better with the latest Restoration Mod)

To name a few imo :P

Half Life 2 - Pitch-perfect pacing and varied level design with something different to do in each chapter. 

Mafia - a totally uncompromising open-world game with a great story that isn't bothered with following coventions. 

[QUOTE="Ly_the_Fairy"]

And honestly the first few times I played I had no idea who Dr. Breen was, but I was walking through some Black Mesa scientist's office, and saw him standing with a group of scientists. It just blows me away to discover the story based on my own interaction with the game.

It seems every time I play I discover even more about the Half Life universe which always motivates me to play it again. I'm actually currently in the middle of a playthrough right now :P

cain006

Because there is a difference between knowing who he is, and know WHO he is, if you know what I mean :) There's no need for the angry response.

It's not enough to just know that he is the antagonist of the game, but why he is, where he came from, how he got the power, how people see him, and how you yourself (Gordon Freeman) know him.

Eh, really tough to say...

I wouldn't say masterpieces, but for me...

Demon's and Dark Souls

Bioshock

Final Fantasy VII

RE4

Walking Dead

Limbo

FF10

SOTC

They all, for me, offer great gameplay and compell me.

Resident Evil 4

REsident Evil

Metroid Prime

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Shadow of the Colossus

[QUOTE="cain006"]

[QUOTE="Ly_the_Fairy"]

And honestly the first few times I played I had no idea who Dr. Breen was, but I was walking through some Black Mesa scientist's office, and saw him standing with a group of scientists. It just blows me away to discover the story based on my own interaction with the game.

It seems every time I play I discover even more about the Half Life universe which always motivates me to play it again. I'm actually currently in the middle of a playthrough right now :P

Ly_the_Fairy

Because there is a difference between knowing who he is, and know WHO he is, if you know what I mean :) There's no need for the angry response.

It's not enough to just know that he is the antagonist of the game, but why he is, where he came from, how he got the power, how people see him, and how you yourself (Gordon Freeman) know him.

And I'm pretty sure he was a dude from HL right? Anyways I never liked the game much, the ai is crappy and the gameplay isn't very good.

Uncharted series, the game plays for me. What is better than that?