High playerbase (to guarantee some longevity)

Character/ship whatever persistant progression multiplayer game

Secure (no wide spread of hacking/exploits that exists or is swiftly taken care of)

Reasonable payment model (no absurd pay to win system)

I'm not restricted or too dependant on certain individuals to play it.

What comes closest (in your opinion?)

@OP

Firstly, rarely people read wall of texts (including me). So, I'll just replay on your thread title. Yes, games are indeed dying because the economy in general is declining. Less fun games = less people participating = more IRL participation = prepare for world war 3 in a decade or two top without great games to keep humanity interest. After that I can see another golden age in the gaming industry when mankind will free itself from the corruption, greed and everyone else who thinks that they can avoid taking responsibility for their own actions that are impacting other lives in a negative way.

Forget the P2P/sub only option.

3 years average $540 + 60 on boxes/expansion, at least you'll be spending $600 on a single game. The only time I would see myself spending $600-1,000 on a single game is if the game is truly something on a whole different level, which is not in 99% of the MMO's.

Any F2P or MMORPG that requires $50 top per year to fully enjoy its content/features is the only option for me.

Sadly, there aren't many F2P MMORPG's out there that are fun to be played in first place for free. Maeby by 2020 that will change.

Market is overflooded with card/battleground type MOBA/FPS/RTS repetitive/deathmatch/shoot em up games that I remember playing back 20 years ago with my friends on the Nintendo. Only difference now is they are 3D and better 3D graphics than 10+ years ago.

@Won't hurt to add your reasons behind your choices...Here it goes!

1. Xenogears

2. Suikoden 2

3. Secret of Evermore

4. Final Fantasy 8

5. Gran Turismo 2

6. Azure Dreams

7. Star Craft 1

8. Civilization 2

9. Illusion of Gaia

10. Star Wars Galaxies (Pre-CU)

Xenogears, Suikoden 2, Secret of Evermore, FF8, Azure Dreams, and Illusion of Gaia are some of the best RPG's of my lifetime. They forever changed the way I perceive the world, the way I think, and in general set the standard of what a true RPG masterpiece should be about.

From playing so many racing games, with only 10 choices available, Gran Turismo is the only racing game I can recall doing more than just racing. Every license was challenging. Every car was different. Every music was exceptional and every race I did was exceptional, especially those long, rainy nights. It also educated me about cars, about models, parts and so on. Top Gear II would've taken the spot if Gran Turismo II didn't exist.

Star Craft 1 is without doubt the most skill cap, properly balanced, action packed strategy game with such a great theme, music, and battle net on top together. The best without doubt.

I've played a lot of MMORPG's but SWG Pre-CU comes first by far. Ultima Online 2nd. SWG Pre-CU made me feel like I was part of the Star Wars universe and I was thankful for skippin every single high school class to sacrifice more time experiencing the world and making my own saga from a rifleman to a druid engineer, and after a long road eventually a light jedi padawan, who eventually became a knight, through many months of struggle against the many bounties and their coverts chasing me across planets for that big bountry reward.

#1 Path of Exile

#2 World of Warcraft

#3 Don't know

Reasons behind my choices. I have not played/tried anything else to be more useful. Path of Exile, free, challenging, competitive, perma death game with some economy, crafting, character progression and unique build/talent/skill system.

World of Warcraft, great overall MMORPG. Allows the player to PvE, PvP or pursue titles/achivements/collectables while content is delayed. Drawback is of course the monthly fee and expansion fee that's coming soon.

Both of these games do very good job with security. There is wild bottin going on, but it doesn't severely impact players gameplay. At least there are no hacks, so that's a plus.

No more classic RPG's where you can immerse yourself in the world, with the characters, ambience and doesn't seem to be much romance or deep emotions involved. Market seems to be predominent now with smash, bash, shoot em up games.

That's how I see games like Far Cry 3, Dark Soul, Tomb Raider even the Batman series. I mean are you old enough to played any of the classic, charming, unique games like Spyro, Crash Team Racing and so on. Those for example were not RPG's or had any story, but the gameplay was a blast. Most importantly the replayability, collecting platinum relics was fun to do.

Now, all I see is plain, emotionless, shallow products overwhelmed with generic stories, generic features. Can any developer out there release a product where the player at the end will be WOW, what a great experience. A product where the world, the characters involved will be something to look up to. A truly engaging, conflicting story and epic battle and struggles between forces about a true purpose.

I have not seen a great game released in a long long time...

Everything else from racing to what not I've overplayed it. I would still be down for an epic racing game or other simulator, but I dont think such game exists in todays age. Gran Turismo 2 for example was so epic due to the things I had to go through, silver/gold licenses, cars and on so on...About all those "realistic" features you described about Skyrim, I just see em as a extra, repetitive chore I have to invest time like back when I playing Sims with all the bladder, hygiene thing...

Are there at least 3 good games I should have a good reason to buy/play that came out in the last 3-4 years? Please, if you share your opinion try to not just add a game name, but why the game it's worth to be considered...

From my 22 years of gaming the best memories I have were out of Suikoden, Xenogears, FFVIII due to their very depth and emotional storylines combined with some of the best music, characters and content. I spent 40-50 hours at least on those games.

Sadly, I could never get into the PC RPG genre like Mass Effect, Witcher, Dragon Age series. Skyrim also seemed very weak when it came to story telling, characters, and cities seemed generic.

[QUOTE="lostrib"]

Civ 5?

Macutchi

+ expansions = win

Except the fact that I overplayed Civilization over the last 15 years. I've spent more hours in Civilization 2 on PS than anything else I recall, but thx for suggestions.

I'm looking for something unique, not generic that I could play for more than 10+ hours...So which games did you actually enjoy a lot for a significant time. I got Skyrim and I finished Arkham Asylum and Crysis 1/2, but that's all. I could not stand the Witcher and played a bit of Mass Effect 1, but yea I could not stand those sequels as well. I almost finished Dead Space 1, but yea I lost interest in the sequels.

I played Bioshock 1 for a bit, but yea I stopped playing that or got any interest in the sequels. I am so so sick of games that relay on generic story that I go through like on rails. I'm looking for something epic and unforgetable.

I know everyone got their own taste, but yea I got basically 0 taste since I can't stand todays PC games. Guess I'm suffering from a burnout.