Our favourite games

[Flintlock]

Obligatory (and apologies if this has been done before, feel free to merge):

I was about to reply to Jason's post here about Final Fantasy VIII by saying that, while it's not one of my favourite Final Fantasies, it's still one of my favourite games. But then I starting thinking (a) I've said that before, and (b) is it really one of my favourites?

Only one way to find out: by making a list!

I started by writing down all the games I could think of that I really enjoy playing, then picked out the ones I love. I ended up with 21* of them. The games that didn't make the cut, while still very dear to me, just don't hold the same place in my heart. This is an entirely and unashamedly subjective process.

Without further ado:

1. Final Fantasy VII
2. Chrono Trigger
3. Final Fantasy XII
4. Final Fantasy VI
5. Final Fantasy IX
6. Metal Gear Solid
7. Metal Gear Solid 3
8. Final Fantasy X
9. Zeus: Master of Olympus
10. Civilization IV
11. Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars
12. Crash Team Racing
13. Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time
14. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
15. Civilization V
16. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
17. L.A. Noire
18. SSX 3
19. Final Fantasy VIII
20. Prince of Persia (original)
21. Age of Empires II
22. Tombi!
23. Invisible, Inc.
24. Transistor

So there we have it: Final Fantasy VIII is in 18th* place; definitely one of my favourite games despite all its flaws.

I'm sure I've forgotten something, and I'm bound to change my mind on the order many times (the arrangement of my top four Final Fantasy games is always changing and this is probably the first time I've ranked XII as my second favourite), but I can always edit it later. My Playstation bias/history is definitely showing, but a few PC games and a couple of pre-PS1 games have made it onto the list as well.

What's on your list? Pick as many games as you can honestly say you love.

* Note: this list has been updated.

 

[RedFFWolf]

Glad to see CTR & AoE II [making scenarios was the best] on your list!
And subjectivity is all we need to justify our own decisions

Originally, I had created a list, but I deleted it all and started over, and decided I won't rank every single game in a particular order. But, by bunching certain games into their respective series, it made the ordering a lot more easier (such as putting FF on top, with KH second - but Twisted Metal Black and Spyro 1, for example, would rank higher than where I put them for now)

Later, I'll fix up a coherent order of single titles (maybe - I find these things difficult, ha-ha) - I'll probably find I've left out something vital! EDIT: Oh, God, I did (Worms Armageddon) immediately after I posted!

1. Final Fantasy (VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, X-2, XII)
2. Kingdom Hearts (I, II, Birth by Sleep)
3. Spyro the Dragon (1, 2, 3)
4. Legend of Zelda (Majora's Mask, Ocarina of Time)
5. Worms Armageddon
6. Yume Nikki & .flow
7. MediEvil (1)
8. Ni no Kuni
9. Rayman (1, 2)
10. Twisted Metal (World Tour, Black)
11. Tekken (3, 4, 5)
12. Crash Bandicoot (1, 2, Racing)
13. Guitar Hero (2, 3) (I cannot deny the hours years I put into this, developing my future arthritis)

Music is possibly where the bulk of my decisions boil down to. Following that, or perhaps hand-in-hand, would be atmosphere.

For some nostalgia kicks or honorary mentions that wouldn't make a necessity list (at least, at this very minute of lesser thought - especially GTA: SA), Bust-a-Move II for PS1, Live Wire!, GTA I, II, III and San Andreas, and Where the Wild Things are (for PS3 - I like its atmosphere in between levels) - oh, and a few old Sonic games like III and Sonic VS Knuckles.
On a multiplayer-only basis, too, I'll say Super Mario 3D World for Wii U! And, Mario Kart 8 deserves some love, but it'll never beat CTR

EDIT: Now I really want to play a lot of these games that I haven't played in a while. Cheers, Flint! After my few days of work are up, I'm heading off on a nostalgia buzz

UPDATE: Yume Nikki & .flow

 

[Flintlock]

Nice list! For what it's worth, Worms Armageddon, Ni No Kuni and Tekken 3/4/5 all nearly made it onto my list. I think NNK will definitely get there someday, but I haven't played enough of the game yet. I just reached Old Smoky, taking it slow to do all the sidequests and catch lots of familiars.

 

[Jason Tandro]

Jesus Flint, you have opened the floodgates. I truly have loved most games I've played as I don't make a habit of playing bad games. For this list I am going to just go with the games that I most frequently mention and I'm not going to sweat the actual order too much, so this is sort of a rough list.

Pretty much any Final Fantasy game but my personal favorite is VIII and my objective favorite is VI. I call IV through X the "Golden Age".

Final Fantasy XIV I feel deserves a special mention as well because of its the only MMO I have ever stuck to and been truly obsessed with, though I did go through a Runescape period for a while. Tried WoW and wasn't that impressed.

Not counting Final Fantasy- here are my front-runners:


Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Zelda: Link To The Past
Zelda: Wind Waker

I consider these three my favorite Zelda games, with Majora's Mask, Zelda II and Link's Awakening coming after. OoT and ALTTP are self-explanatory and I loved the sailing and adventurous feel of Wind Waker, even if some people had a problem with it.

Star Ocean: The Second Story

Frankly the only Star Ocean game that I've played that is unironically fantastic from start to finish. Til The End of Time was pretty good but there was a lot of fuckery- particularly the batshit insane plotline. And SO2 has an absolutely gorgeous soundtrack.

Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete

I have played this game through once but it was enough to permanently latch itself into my heart. It's an astounding RPG with a great story, beautiful music and the anime cutscenes were a great touch too. If you haven't played this you are missing out.


Wild Arms III

This is the only Wild Arms game I've played so far but it changed my view of what could be a compelling fantasy game in much the same way FF8 did. Where FF8 brought fantasy into the real world, WA3 told an amazing fantasy epic in a Western world. The battle system was fun as hell, the story was great, the music was amazing.


TES: Oblivon / Skyrim

I have played Morrowind too but I have yet to finish the main quest though I'll say it's like to go on this list too. I love Oblivion for its old-school feel and the amazing Dark Brotherhood questline and Skyrim I feel needs no introduction as while it did simplify things a great deal it also polished a lot of things. Skyrim is my go to "bow-wank" game just as MG: Revengeancce is my "sword-wank".

Metal Gear Franchise

Just all of them. All great games. I'm referring to the Metal Gear Solid series mind you, none of this Acid nonsense. I even liked Portable Ops for what it was worth. But the Solid series and Revengeance were all so much damn fun, especially Metal Gear Solid V which really let you just go nuts. Though if I had to choose - the best overall game is Metal Gear Solid 3, followed closely by Metal Gear Solid. Both had great stories, great characters and amazing music (see a trend?)


Tony Hawks Pro Skater Series

Of particular note here is THUG2, which taps into the joy of destruction and offers more freedom than we've seen in the series. This one was just chosen for the simple release of a truly tight skateboarding game. Nothing fancy, but a fun quick game to play.

Spyro The Dragon

Childhood points on this one. I loved the fantasy, I loved the game, I loved the music. Gliding through colorful levels was an absolute joy.


Super Mario Brothers III / Super Mario64

I like all of the Mario games because who doesn't? They are video game popcorn- everybody fucking loves them. But these two games are the height of the franchise imho, with World coming in a close third. SMB3 is my absolute favorite side-scroller of all time and easily one of the best games ever made.

Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door

I am going to play Super Mario RPG at some point, I promise. But until then, this is the only Mario RPG that I have finished and it is a god damn gem of the sub-series.


Mario Party 2

Not much to say- just a go to party game.


Ehrgeiz

If you haven't played this "all in one" title you're really gonna need to. It has an arcade fighter , RPG and some party games all rolled into one. And did I mention it stars FF7 characters?


.hack//GAME

The first four are the ones I played and it was phenomenal. It tells a compelling and sometimes confusing story all set within a virtual MMORPG. It's a pretend MMO, that alone is a fun concept that's worth the price of admission. But since your gameplay doesn't just take place in the MMO, but also on the forums and your own desktop it's interactive story-telling at its finest. And each of the four games came with a side-anime!


Illusion of Gaia

My first action RPG. Playing the childhood card on this one. It's not too special but for what we get it delivers a really fun experience with a pretty awesome story.

Threads of Fate

See above. This B-game from Square is another solid Action RPG that doesn't get enough love IMHO.


Halo franchise

In terms of overall gameplay 1 through 3. In terms of fun extras Reach and 4 (love me some Forge). But the best in terms of feeling? ODST. The free-roaming world and night time setting gave a sense of like Halo meets Metal Gear Solid that actual freaked me out a little. Great game.


And here's a few that I think speak for themselves:
Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2.
Chrono Trigger
Donkey Kong Country
Pokemon Red / Blue
Sonic The Hedgehog 1, 2 and 3.
Castle Crashers
Limbo
Braid
Minecraft
Age of Empires II

And probably lots, lots more that I'm forgetting.

 

[Mayo Master]

Same as Jason Tandro, I loved most of the games I've played. Now that I think back on them, well some of them are so old (and at the time, I was a kid) that it depended on the context and my tastes of the time. The ones which had left a very big impression on me would be...
Auf Wiedersehen Monty (ZX Spectrum, 1987)
Captain Blood (ZX Spectrum, 1988)
Castle of Illusions (Master System, 1990)
Sonic (Genesis, 1991)
Thunder Force IV (Genesis, 1992)
Flashback (Genesis, 1993)
Formula 1 World Championship: Beyond the Limit (Sega CD, 1994)
Daytona USA (Arcade, 1995)
Formula 1 (PS1, 1996)
FF VII (PS1, 1997)
Metal Gear Solid (PS1, 1998)
Tekken 3 (PS1, 1998)
Gran Turismo 1&2 (PS1, 1998, 2000)
FF X (PS2, 2002)
Star Ocean 3 (PS2, 2004)
WRC 2005 (PS2, 2005)
Soul Calibur 3 (PS2, 2005)
FF XII (PS2, 2006)
Assassin's Creed (PS3, 2007)
Uncharted (PS3, 2007)
Mirror's Edge (PS3, 2008)
Fallout 3 (PS3, 2008)
Uncharted 2 (PS3, 2009)
Assassin's Creed 2 (PS3, 2009)
Dragon Age: Origins (PS3, 2009)
Red Dead Redemption (PS3, 2010)
Skyrim (PS3, 2011)
Sleeping Dogs (PS3, 2012)
The Last of Us (PS3, 2013)
Dragon Age: Inquisition (PS4, 2014)
Fallout 4 (PS4, 2015)

... and I probably forget a bunch of them.

 

[Strangelove]

1. Tombi!

i completed this last year after having only played the demo a bunch when i was a kid (getting 100% was a bit of a nightmare mainly down to the cart race)

i might try to come up with a list but that might be difficult because i can't decide on stuff like that easily

 

[Interslicery]

I had to look it up, cause it was bugging me, but Tombi is Tomba in NA. Just a public service announcement.

 

[RedFFWolf]

Nice list! For what it's worth, Worms Armageddon, Ni No Kuni and Tekken 3/4/5 all nearly made it onto my list. I think NNK will definitely get there someday, but I haven't played enough of the game yet. I just reached Old Smoky, taking it slow to do all the sidequests and catch lots of familiars.

Tidy!

Thank you! It seems we have quite a lot of similar tastes (including that FFVII is, at least for now, at the top of the list) - PS1 holds such glory.

The thing with Ni no Kuni is that once you had an errand or hunt, it was suddenly a priority before the main story - there was no resisting those rewards! I must play it again.
Anyway, I first played it two years ago [almost to the day], and completed everything

Spoiler: bar

one or two sidequests that just involved acquiring rare items. It wasn't about skill; it required patience and luck. So, with nothing left to beat, I didn't see the value in it

. So, feel free to ask me anything about it as you go ahead. Not that you strike me as someone who'll need help/advice somewhere down the line, and there are plenty of guides out there - I just like following people's progress in games - Have fun with it! I'll say one thing, and the following in spoiler tags is not a spoiler to the story

Spoiler

Completing the game, if you are playing the PS3 version that is, rewards you with a lot of post-game content

Updated my list to include two games: Yume Nikki and .flow
(They're free to download and play from a computer - not everyone's cup of tea, but play it/them once through and it's hard to ever forget it/them)

 

[Alex Strife]

This is interesting... let's see. I think (and hope!) I'm not forgetting anything:

1- Final Fantasy VII
2 - Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals
3 - Gravity Rush
4 - Final Fantasy Tactics
5 - Baldur's Gate 2
6 - Baldur's Gate
7 - Kingdom Hearts (II and BBS stand out)
8 - Final Fantasy X
9 - Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth
10 - Final Fantasy IX
11 - Final Fantasy VIII
12 Ar Tonelico 2
13 - Icewind Dale
14 - Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria

I place the following aside since they provide an entirely different experience:

- Age of Empires 2
- Age of Wonders (1)
- Gran Turismo 5/6 (They essentially play the same. I'd say 6 because of content but I have many fond memories of 5)

 

[Flare]

Oh man, this is tough. D: My favorite games? I have a bunch, really.
I'll see if I can list most of them. This isn't in any particular order...though the first 7 listings might definitely be my top favorites of all time. These games are all games I always come back to and play.

1. Final Fantasy's VII, IX, X, XII. Also favorites, but not in quite the same league as the first four, are XIII and VI.
2. Kingdom Hearts II, BbS
3. Elder Scrolls Oblivion, Skyrim
4. Deus Ex
5. Minecraft
6. The Legend of Zelda OoT, TP, WW, SS
7. Journey, Flower
8. Age of Wonders (first game)
9. Pikmin 1 and 2
10. Chrono Trigger
11. Mario Kart (only racing series I really enjoy)
12. Unreal Tournament (just a fast-paced shooter with no real story, fun to play)
13. Metroid Prime
14. Dungeon Keeper

These one's are some classics that I really enjoyed playing growing up, in no particular order:

1. Donkey Kong Country, 64
2. Bust-A-Move
3. Perfect Dark
4. Kirby and the Crystal Shards
5. Banjo-Kazooie
6. Yoshi's Story
7. Super Mario World (SNES)
8. Star Fox: Dinosaur Planet
9. Luigi's Mansion
10. Animal Crossing

^All Nintendo games. Now you know what game systems I grew up with. I think that covers it, but if I think of other games I'll add them!

 

[Shinra'sMostWanted]

I had to look it up, cause it was bugging me, but Tombi is Tomba in NA. Just a public service announcement.

i was thinking the same haha.

Well in no particular order.. I can't quite decide on a favorite and or put in order of favorites so what I have done is put the games I know I have recorded the most hours in

As far as story goes: Final Fantasy 7 and Ocarina of time are quite equal for me for favorite of all time

As far as hours of recorded gameplay: These fall into the insane amount possibly adding up to a year straight of gameplay lol.
Diablo 2
Counter-Strike
Descent 2 (1996) even though havnt played it in over a decade was first online experience for me
Starwars The Old Republic MMO

Other games with 100-300 + hours:

Rust
Dragonball Xenoverse
Final Fantasy 8-10
Smash bros melee and wii u
goldeneye/perfect dark 64
League of legends
Heroes of the storm
Halo combat evolved (#1 only)
brute force

Games I have played and beat and loved:
Chrono trigger
Metal gear series
Devil may cry series
Final fantasy 6
zelda majoras mask/twilight princess

Handfuls of snes and ps1 rpgs I am sure im not listing. Just too many good titles to mention

 

[Mayo Master]

- Gran Turismo 5/6 (They essentially play the same. I'd say 6 because of content but I have many fond memories of 5)

Same here, could have been on my list as well. I just mentioned 1 & 2 but I could have written the whole franchise.
I'm doing a bit of Project CARS right now (although I had to get a new wheel), which I find excellent (and tough!), did you get to try it?

 

[Shinra'sMostWanted]

Flintlock what do you mean by rating ff8 at 18 because of all its flaws?

 

[Flintlock]

Despite, not because of.

The things that I consider to be flaws in Final Fantasy VIII are the way it handles magic, the junction system, the battle system, every one of its playable characters besides Squall, time compression, memory loss, the way monsters and bosses level up with the party, the linear XP requirements for levelling up, GF summon animations, GF compatibility scores, the SeeD ranking system, pretty much everything that happens on disc three, not being able to do anything on disc four, the Laguna flashbacks, the weapon upgrade system, the lack of armour or accessories, and last but definitely not least, the random rule. And I'm probably forgetting a few things.

My point was that even considering all of those flaws, it's one of my favourite games.

 

[Shinra'sMostWanted]

I was just curious. I didn't beat ff8 till i was like 22 or so lol. When I picked it up when I was like 13 I was like WTF is this junctioning. I want materia. I didn't have the patience with games that had a steep learning curve

 

[Alex Strife]

Same here, could have been on my list as well. I just mentioned 1 & 2 but I could have written the whole franchise.
I'm doing a bit of Project CARS right now (although I had to get a new wheel), which I find excellent (and tough!), did you get to try it?

Actually, because of time constraints, I haven't tried Project CARS, even though I actually followed its development pretty much since its inception! I have received mixed opinions, though. Some say it's fantastic but others say it's still a bit too arcade-y. I guess its degree of simulation is similar to GT6 but the feel is different? What do you think?

Regarding GT5, the thing is I used to race competitively. While I did not get into the GT Academy finals, I was pretty fast and got some good results in big online series . Though I admit I always had a bit more racecraft than raw speed. You know, tyre management, the skills to read the way a race develops, attacking and defending, using draft in a smart way, driving your opponent to make a mistake... When you get to that level, 0.3s a lap feels like a whole world and you have to use your wits to compensate!

GT2 in particular was just amazing, particularly because of the time it came out.

(Sorry for the off-topic here!)

 

[Mayo Master]

Spoiler: Replying to Alex about P-CARS - sorry about the off topic!

Same here, could have been on my list as well. I just mentioned 1 & 2 but I could have written the whole franchise.
I'm doing a bit of Project CARS right now (although I had to get a new wheel), which I find excellent (and tough!), did you get to try it?

Actually, because of time constraints, I haven't tried Project CARS, even though I actually followed its development pretty much since its inception! I have received mixed opinions, though. Some say it's fantastic but others say it's still a bit too arcade-y. I guess its degree of simulation is similar to GT6 but the feel is different? What do you think?

Regarding GT5, the thing is I used to race competitively. While I did not get into the GT Academy finals, I was pretty fast and got some good results in big online series . Though I admit I always had a bit more racecraft than raw speed. You know, tyre management, the skills to read the way a race develops, attacking and defending, using draft in a smart way, driving your opponent to make a mistake... When you get to that level, 0.3s a lap feels like a whole world and you have to use your wits to compensate!

GT2 in particular was just amazing, particularly because of the time it came out.

(Sorry for the off-topic here!)

I'm surprised to hear about an arcade-y feel about P-CARS, honestly. I would think P-CARS is more sim than GT. Perhaps the difference is that cars in P-CARS are outfitted with racing tires. I haven't had much time to sink my teeth in it, honestly, mostly because my good old Logitech GT Driving Force wheel was not working on the PS4, and I found the game to be almost unplayable with the pad. IMO it requires the sensitivity of a wheel (which is also why I don't understand an "arcade-y" feedback). I just got the Thrustmaster 150 wheel for Xmas so I began to play some more, even though my current play-time is largely taken over by Fallout 4 But yeah, the game is really good, and IMO the racing aspect of competitions (with Practice sessions, qualifying sessions before the race day, and races can be long) is better than in GT. The difficulty can be quite challenging (you can adjust it though - personally I play with full-length races and 90/100 Difficulty). I would recommend it to you, especially seems you mention the "racecraft" aspect of your driving style. Just be sure you have a proper wheel to play though.

Regarding my own level... to be honest I tend to remain away from online racing. First because my initial experiences were poor (races filled with punters and dirty drivers), second because I don't want to "have" to play following a particular agenda/schedule.
I would qualify my level as a "good non-specialist", in GT Academy competitions I was ranging around 100-200 nationwide in Canada (Canada has never been eligible for finals anyway). Not too shabby, but I think you would kick my butt

 

[Flintlock]

This is a thread about our favourite games, if Project: Cars is one of your favourites (or is vying for such status), then it's not off-topic.

I used to be into sim racing games - Gran Turismo 1, 3 and 4, mostly - but I eventually got bored of them. I realised that they're full of hundreds of settings that I don't understand, let alone use. Also, those GT games didn't have multiplayer and the AI was super dumb, so it basically became "let's take some pretty cars out for a drive" - not much fun. Nowadays I prefer "simcade" racers - games in which it definitely helps to know the fundamentals of racing, and which have a few basic customisation options, but without getting too complicated. The racing in GTA online is actually pretty good, I think, or maybe I'm just saying that because I win most of the time.

 

[Claymore]

Extremely tough! Tried to shorten it as much as possible, and even then, I had to cheat and list several games in a series.

• Final Fantasy VII
• The World Ends With You
• Resident Evil 1, 2 & 3
• Mass Effect 1 & 2
• Gain Ground
• Wonderboy In Monster World
• Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1 & 2
• Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
• The Last Of Us
• Fable 1 & 2
• Dead Rising
• Vagrant Story
• Red Dead Redemption
• Grandia 1 & 2
• Mortal Kombat 1, 2, 3 Ultimate
• Dynasty Warriors series
• FTL
• Sonic 1, 2 & 3

Disclaimer!
This list is subject to change!

 

[Alex Strife]

Spoiler: Racing games replies to Flint and Mayo

First of all responding to Flint... yes, that's my problem with the GT series. The AI is weak. VERY weak. The guys at Polyphony Digital artificially ramp up difficulties by having changing weather races where you don't know what's going to happen (rain, etc.) while the AI obviously knows. But it's still weak.

And responding to Mayo... Well, as I said, it's just something I read. Although I have also read many good things about P-CARS, too. All in all, if you enjoy sims and have a good enough PC (I don't), I would give Assetto Corsa a try. The people who are behind it are probably the best you can get. Of course, you also get user-generated content, much like rFactor, which can be a bit of a hit or miss. But you know...

GT6 included quite a few settings that made the experience feel a bit more "sim-like" than GT5 but it's never meant to be a true sim. In fact, I don't think there's such a thing as true commercial race sims simply because they wouldn't sell. These games are nearly always unplayable with pads, though! Not that you can't physically play them but once you get used to the wheel, it feels terribly awkward.

I'm sure that the fact the system implements proper Practice and Qualifying sessions makes everything much more seamless (we were able to replicate this on GT5 and GT6 added qualifying but...). To be honest, I sometimes feel the best race sim should just be about driving and leave the rest to the people organizing competitions! I'm surprised that you claim Project CARS to be challening, seeing how you were so high up in Canada! Makes me curious (and hopeful) about the difficulty levels. I just hope it's not rubber-banding .

Sadly, I do not have a wheel for PS4. I'm still sticking to my trusty Logitech G25, which is "too old" but it continues to work like a charm for PS3. But I'm planning on buying some wheel at some point. I'll certainly keep all of this in mind!!

Now for some boring story... I used to enjoy GT5 by myself but I got bored of the AI and decided to give online a try despite repeated poor experiences at first (dirty drivers, mostly). And since I'm a race nut, I ended up thinking it might be fun to enter a series with points and all. It adds to the race dynamic. You're not just driving one race, you have to use your head. And there's extra pressure, etc. Fell in love with it right away!! It was roughly a year I raced for but it was great fun. I had to stop because I did not have time to follow particular schedules, sadly.

I don't think I would kick your butt! I haven't driven for a long time. It's a matter of getting into the pace, after all, don't you think? I mean, you try a new track and you feel quick. You could stop there but after going on for half an hour, you actually become a second and a half quicker and you're like "oops!" . Just a bit more about GT Academy... I have raced with guys who did qualify and I'm friends with a guy who came in 2nd a couple of years ago (he was much, much, much faster than the rest of our group, as you would expect). I'm aware I could never be the fastest virtual driver but I know if I had the time to devote to this, I could at least qualify for the National finals. What happens after that is anyone's guess...

Regarding some of the other games on my list, I'm excited about playing Gravity Rush on the PS4 next week!!

Also, I was happy to see Flare enjoyed the original Age of Wonders too. I acually came across the Demo many years ago on a magazine and played the hell out of it. I then got the full game a couple of years ago. It's just fantastic. It's one of the games where I could just spend hours playing and time flies...

 

[Flintlock]

Interesting to read your thoughts on racing games, Alex.

I'm adding Invisible, Inc. to my list after completing it twice in the past week, first on "beginner" difficulty, then on "experienced". I wrote this review for Steam but it won't let me save it, so you can have it instead:

This is a combined review of Invisible Inc. and the Contingency Plan DLC.

As my games library has grown larger and larger, I've come to appreciate games which do one thing really well, perhaps even more than big titles which try to do lots of things well and only partially succeed. This game is a perfect example.

New agents, abilities, items and programs become available as the game progresses, and while they're definitely fun additions, the core gameplay of sneaking around, hacking and stealing doesn't change much from the first mission to the last. I don't mind that at all, because it's so brilliantly executed.

I love video games that make me think, and, like any good turn-based game, this one has me thinking all the time. No two levels are the same, even if you play through the game multiple times, and with limited information available, I'm always having to scout, analyse and plan. And despite my best-laid plans, every level has its share of hairy moments which force me to improvise, sometimes diverting agents well away from their intended locations to help each other out. The alarm tracker increments every turn, building the suspense and forcing me to move quickly, but I can say with some confidence (and experience) that rushing through the levels is hazardous to agents' health.

The game has a great failure spectrum. It would be pretty annoying if getting spotted meant an instant game over, but that's far from the case. If you make too much noise, a guard will come to investigate, but you can usually hide or ambush them. If you get spotted, you still have one turn to take cover or knock the guard out. If a guard still has eyes on you after that turn, your agent will be shot, but you can still revive them with another agent or just drag them to the exit. If you don't manage that, as long as one agent escapes, your agency will live to fight another day (and you can recruit more agents as the game goes on). There's also a limited-use rewind button, which takes you back to the start of the previous turn. I know some people find it to be overpowered but you can choose how many times it's available when you set up a campaign.

The XP system is also well designed. Every time you play the game, you'll make progress towards unlocking new things for your future playthroughs, even if your agency is eliminated. If you try a particular difficulty setting and realise it's too easy or difficult, you can retire that save file, "bank" the XP and start afresh with new toys to play with, which is not something I've seen in any other game.

The story is fairly simple but it develops in an interesting way, and the voice acting is top-notch. With Contingency Plan installed, the length of the campaign is good for about 15 hours of gameplay by default, but you can make the campaign shorter, longer or even endless in the settings. I've just finished the game for the second time, and I'm eager to get started with a third, so don't be put off by reviews saying it doesn't have replay value.

Finally, I think the game looks and sounds fantastic, but I know that's a matter of taste. The interface is generally good: I found everything to be intuitive except for figuring out how to throw items such as the Transport Beacon, which I had to look up (answer: click on the item, then click somewhere on the map).

Highly recommended.

If you like strategy games or stealth games, it's definitely worth your time. It's actually on sale right now at the Humble Store for 14,39€ for the next two days.

I'm putting it at the bottom of my list for now because I'll need some time to think about it's proper ranking.

 

[Mayo Master]

Spoiler: More about GT and P-CARS...

Regarding the GT Academy, worldwide I think I was around 3000-5000.I still feel like I wouldn't have what it takes to reach Nationals, there seemed to be a "gap" I couldn't really close even if I were to devote to it full time. Basically, very top times were always almost 3 full seconds ahead, and I couldn't figure how it would be possible to shave off that much time to my own laptimes. Oh, and I have been playing with an even older steering wheel than yours, with my Logitech Driving Force which I had been using on the PS2! Sadly old Logitech wheels are not compatible with the PS4.
Yeah, and since I play on the PS4, no Assetto Corsa for me, but that's ok - I think the level of "sim" from GT and P-CARS satisfy me as they are.

About the AI in P-CARS: from my experience, it is much better than in GT, but it can still be pretty dumb at times. At least, in P-CARS opponents do try to fight for a position, and can be quite aggressive. I do not think there's rubber-banding. I've spent races starting from pole, and steadily building a lead from start to finish, I've spent races climbing my way up the pack, I've started races from pole but got distanced by my opponents, and I've also spent races trailing 30 odd seconds behind the whole pack, so I've seen a huge variety of scenarios. But sometimes it can be pretty dumb. There was that one Cup-car race in rainy Monza (short-course), where I was starting around 15th place, and the whole pack completely crashed in a tight chicane, creating a complete traffic jam. I was able to squeeze through, pass everybody, and more than half of the cars were remaining stuck on the same spot on the following laps. I ended up winning the race with 2 full laps ahead of the 2nd (out of 8 laps)

I think one of the challenges I had was about always getting used to new car/track combinations, and some of them have been eluding me (which had me ending up the race 30 seconds behind everyone else). I also think it also rewards consistency (which may have to do with the lack of rubber-banding). Anyway, that being said, I've always played at the same Difficulty level (90/100), I'm not sure how that changes upon increasing or decreasing that level. Something I've appreciated in that game is that on some events, I would start 13th and finish 9th and be fully satisfied with the race (whereas in GT I've seldom found satisfaction when not finishing 1st).
Anyway, that's what I had in mind for now.
And Yay about Gravity Rush

 

[vaderSW1]

Excellent topic Flint!

Here are the games that I can honestly say I LOVE (in no particular order):

1. Final Fantasy VII
2. Final Fantasy VI
3. Final Fantasy IV
4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II - The Arcade Game (NES)
5. Chrono Trigger
6. Lego Star Wars The Complete Saga
7. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox)
8. Super Mario RPG
9. Final Fantasy V
10. Final Fantasy IX
11. Final Fantasy Tactics
12. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
13. Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow (Gameboy)
14. Madden NFL Series
15. Batman Arkham Asylum
16. Batman Arkham City
17. Rampage (NES)
18. Mario Kart 64
19. Blood (PC)
20. Doom (PC)
21. Lego Marvel Super Heroes
22. Lego Batman 2
23. Lego Star Wars 3
24. NBA 2K Series
25. MLB The Show Series
26. Red Dead Redemption
27. The Last of Us

Those are all the games that I have played more than any other and just really enjoyed my experiences with them. They all hold a very fond place in my heart.

 

[Flare]

^Oh man, I totally forgot Chrono Trigger in my own list! Time to edit it.
By the way, you listed Chrono Trigger twice.

 

[vaderSW1]

^Oh man, I totally forgot Chrono Trigger in my own list! Time to edit it.
By the way, you listed Chrono Trigger twice.

*edit snip*

Thanks for catching that Flare!