I'm going to have to agree with the nod to Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. What was grat about this stuff wasn't just thesuperb VO, but also the dialogue and and timing of the delivery. After each major boss fight or puzzle, Prince would chime in as if telling the story as it was unfolding, from a past perspective. Which was the point of course, so it did well, and it was a perfect marriage.

I will also have to give a quick nod to that Batman game that came out for the PS2 or whatever some time ago. It was based off the animated series, and all I really remember from the game was how cool Batman's cape looked and the excellent VO. The game itself was really kind of crappy. Of course it helped that the people who did the voices in the show were the actors in the game - but still. Mark Hamill was the Joker by the way.

EA does take some risks every now and again - sort of. I'll restate that, they take risks that will basically not fail because of their popularity.

Take Medal of Honor for instance. Now, Allied Assault wasn't the first medal of Honor, true, but it was the first one to come along that made people say "Hey! There's something to this whole WWII shooter thing..." In other words, EA practically invented the WWII Shooter sub-genre. Although, to be fair id made Wolfenstein a long time ago, but it had about as much to do with WWII as the original BloodRayne did - which is absolutely nothing except for character renderings. Medal of Honor was always about the reality of WWII whereas those titles were complete fantasy fabrications - cool games though...

Anyhoo, EA isn't evil. They're smart. They don't have to be innovative when their games, albeittried and trued, are just good games. EA to the entire gaming populace is like Blizzard is to MMOs. Everyone talks about how great WoW is, but in reality, there is absolutely nothing new there. I hate the game, but I respect its appeal and overall success as being a solid game.

All that being said, there are maybe two games EA has ever released that will go down in time as being truely great games. One is a given (MoH:AA), and the other is merely reserved in the event that I forgot that they ever had a better game or at least one that was as groundbreaking. The rest, as solid as they are, won't walk in that hall alongside Mario, Link, Master Cheif, Prince, Lara, and the like. You should take pride in at least that fact.

crimson_axe

A quick additon:: You playedMike Powell in MoH:AA

EA does take some risks every now and again - sort of. I'll restate that, they take risks that will basically not fail because of their popularity.

Take Medal of Honor for instance. Now, Allied Assault wasn't the first medal of Honor, true, but it was the first one to come along that made people say "Hey! There's something to this whole WWII shooter thing..." In other words, EA practically invented the WWII Shooter sub-genre. Although, to be fair id made Wolfenstein a long time ago, but it had about as much to do with WWII as the original BloodRayne did - which is absolutely nothing except for character renderings. Medal of Honor was always about the reality of WWII whereas those titles were complete fantasy fabrications - cool games though...

Anyhoo, EA isn't evil. They're smart. They don't have to be innovative when their games, albeittried and trued, are just good games. EA to the entire gaming populace is like Blizzard is to MMOs. Everyone talks about how great WoW is, but in reality, there is absolutely nothing new there. I hate the game, but I respect its appeal and overall success as being a solid game.

All that being said, there are maybe two games EA has ever released that will go down in time as being truely great games. One is a given (MoH:AA), and the other is merely reserved in the event that I forgot that they ever had a better game or at least one that was as groundbreaking. The rest, as solid as they are, won't walk in that hall alongside Mario, Link, Master Cheif, Prince, Lara, and the like. You should take pride in at least that fact.

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time really didn't sell well until later when the two sequels came out - so it sort of counts.

Freedom Fighters... honestly, with all the hub-bub about squad tactics and whatnot that was going on at the time, this is one of the only games that got it right, and people just passed over it. I know it's been mentioned, but credit is served where credit is due.

However, given these two highly undersold titles, there is one that I will take to the grave with me as one of the best games that NO one has ever heard about other than a very small group of people.

Blade of Darkness

Alright, to be fair, this game had some problems, but none of them were game breaking. At best, they weremildly annoying. This game literally had it all. In 2001-02, it basically had the best visuals of any game out, not to mention some of the best shadow rendering that rivals stuff even today. It was way ahead of it's time as far as that is concerned. To top it off, you had excellent melee combat that works better than even Jedi Knight. Sure, it was extremely linear, but nothing was more satisfying than to chop some orcs head off, then pick it up and beat up the goblin that just ambushed you.

I know they will never made a sequel for this game, but I swear I hope someone picks up the torch where this left off.

[QUOTE="crimson_axe"]

I miss the feeling of newness - that's about it.

When I load in a new MMO, I sort of already know how it works. There's no discovery in it anymore. When I play a new FPS, it's sort of like "Been there, done that...". Probably the only genres I don't feel "old" in are the RPGs, but that's basically because the mechanics are more or less overshadowed by whether or not the storyline and content is actually enjoyable.

Nowadays, I've become a big fan of Level Design, and you mostly only get great level design out of Action/Adventures or Platformers.

zero9167

Actually, when I was talking about Level Design, I was thinking of that game specifically. A lot of people disregard how important a good level design is, and the original Tomb Raider (now glorified in Anniversery) is about as good as it gets no matter what year we're talking.

I remember "some" parts of the game, but most of it is extremely foriegn. I'm, stuck on it at the moment though. i just entered the Scion of Atlantis level or whatever, and the first puzzle has stumped me. Maybe I was just too tired to deal with it for the moment. No matter, there is always tomorrow.

But yeah, great level design can go a long way. The great thing about Tomb Raider is, that it's sort of a linear path system, but it doesn't feel like it. I don't know how to explain it, but it's like every room I go into and complete, I somehow feel like I did it the "unintended way".

Prince of Persia was like that for me as well, where I just got lost in the levels, forgetting about pretty much everything. It just sucked me in, and I was completely absorbed in the subject matter. Well worth the bargain bin price I payed of $7 for two copies. That's one of those games I sort of bought later on because I wasn't sure of it, but then once I started playing and realised I had beat it - I was asking myself why I waited so long to get it. I would have gladly paid $40-50 for a game like that. Here's hoping Assassin's Creed will be that good...

Age of Conan looked a whole heck of a lot better a year ago. The anticipation has sort of run its course now, and I feel sort of like "Meh.... you had me at hello, and lost me at delayed... for the second time." I think it all falls back onto Level Design for me, and that's something MMO's just don't have. Guildwars had it, but it wasn't exactly an MMO, and the rest of the game sucked - so it's a double edges sword. I'll still get Conan though. At least it looks refreshing. That and Tabula Rasa and MAYBE Chronicles of Spellborn.

Probably for me would be Badwater on F.E.A.R. when I went down the ladder and Alma was in front of me and when Paxton Fettel just appeared in front of my face. Creeped me out and I still haven't got past the game I guess it is too scary for a 15 year old or maybe I should just face my fears. :(Allan225

Thos are definitely the scariest moments of the game. The rest is mostly just blowing stuff up. you can generally tell when things will get creepy in that game, because there are no badguys around. Basically, you kill stuff, then go through a period when you get scared, then kill more stuff. The ending is worth it though. By far one of the coolest endings of a game I've played in a while.

I miss the feeling of newness - that's about it.

When I load in a new MMO, I sort of already know how it works. There's no discovery in it anymore. When I play a new FPS, it's sort of like "Been there, done that...". Probably the only genres I don't feel "old" in are the RPGs, but that's basically because the mechanics are more or less overshadowed by whether or not the storyline and content is actually enjoyable.

Nowadays, I've become a big fan of Level Design, and you mostly only get great level design out of Action/Adventures or Platformers.

Freedom Fighters! and NFS: Porsche Unleashed!Gamartto

Just when I thought all hope was lost, someone mentions Freedom Fighters! Man, what a great game, and truely needing of a sequel. I don't know what EA was thinking except that the original was not a big seller, therefore not worthy of their attention. I hope the sequel doesn't try to mess with the formula too much. Maybe ramp up the AI and that's it. Nothing else abotu that game needs to be "fixed".

I would also like to see a new Tomb Raider following Legend, and this time around, actually having great level design like in the original. I've been playing Anniversery lately, and I guess I was just reminded as to what I loved abotu that game so much. By far some of the best level design you'll find in any game out right now.

Also, I would like to see another KOTOR. I would dare suggest use the NWN2 engine, but that thing is just a mess.

SWG2 would be good as well. When SWG was first released, it had some great concepts that were just dead in the water because they were never extrapolated upon. I wish they would revisit that.

City of Heroes 2 would also be nice. I'd like to see them really take that liscense somewhere great. I loved the original, but it was mostly nostalgic. Greta concpets, but the idea I'm afraid was mostly ahead of its time.

Someone mentioned Prince of Persia, but I think that franchise needs a time for resting. Ubisoft is following suite with a new franchise now, which will probably be our PoP thirst quencher for the next 5-7 years - Assassin's Creed.

Can't remember the name of it, but i think it was the first abandoned research facility you visited in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Damn, that place creeped me out ever more than the Ocean Hotel (Think that was the name of it) area in Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines.

P.S: I've had Thief: Deadly Shadows since just after it was released, but never played it much since it was damn choppy on my old computer. I guess i should give it another try on my new, beefed up rig.

-Dragon_Hunter-

Theif III is a glorious game man, seriously. It took me a bit to get into it because I've never been a big fan of stealth games, but this one more than makes up for it because the story is just solid on all levels.

Every Level of Clive Barkers Undying.Mlazaro

Agreed - I stopped playing that game. It's probably cheese by today's standards, but I still won't play it again. I don't mind the irregular moments of horror, but to be constantly on the edge? I can't handle it. Kudos to whomever finished that game. You are a braver soul than me.

I'm sure it's been said, but whatever levelthat insane asylum was in Theif III was pure hell. I almost stopped playing that game too (lol), but it was such a rivetting story, I couldn't. One of the best uses of ambience in a game to date.

Also, a quick nod to Doom 3 when "all hell breaks loose", and a few memorable moments in Fear, but nothing that would be considered an entire level's worth of scariness.