anachronox
despite the fact that i've technically never finished it, it hovers somewhere near the top of games i've ever played. i love sci-fi games but most are everything but rpgs. the characters in this game were great and never have i laughed/smiled so much or actually cared for the characters like i did in this game. i've played through it twice and the first time i got 'stuck' on the last level and so the second time through, knowing their wasn't going to be a sequel i was hesitant to finish as i already wanted more and this way i could still have some 'story' left for a later point. not an insult but everytime i see corwin's icon i think of grumpos rather than gandalf
gothic
this one doesn't need much explanation. the gothic world is magic and it is nice to catch the genisis of a beautiful franchise (just like a band) from the begining. i will buy everything they produce and hope they have a nice long career.
system shock 2
sci-fi yet again. this game had first-person going against it in my book. at this point 2001? i not only hadn't played system shock 1 but i hadn't played more than a demo of thief but i tried the demo an felt a more heightened 'fear' than in any of the resident evil games (which were great) i had played. in addition the fact that it all took place on a huge spaceship (2 as you later find out) made it heaven for me. spawning enemies actually worked to as this is something i normally despise. seeing aliens as a kid made me embrace this game as well for the feeling of being on a massive ship in space.
bards tale
this was actually the first boxed game i owned. i can still picture the ornate grey square box. i was in fifth grade and although i never had or would go on to play pen & paper my friend said years later that i was running around the schoolard saying 'wizards cast fireball' or something of that nature. being that oregon trail and atari styles games (never owned an atari but we did have a vic 20) were all i'd played this game made me realize that 'thought' was actually needed in some games. i wonder what ever happened to my graph paper maps of the dungeons...
ultima v
i was 13-15 when i played this game, and after having played ultima iv sometime before, i really 'understood' what my actions meant and the responses to favouring certain virtues over others. the graphics were a huge leap forward i recall to but that really wasn't why i liked it. i was so intrigued by the chance of being an avatar while 'learning' things about virtue i either hadn't understood in school and church or been taught at all. i somehow missed ultima vi and ultima vii (school and extra activites nixed most gaming for me in high school save a breakaway to play arcade games). i did play ultima viii, which i remember being the only game i bought at a 'commisary' with my grandparents who were in town, and realize now what they (both religious and conservative) must have thought of their grandson who was buying a game that had a pentagram on it and said pagan
i also played ultima ix, though it had been out over a year, and if it weren't for the profound effect ultima v had on me i would have put it up instead. it is a great game and would make my top 20 list which i feel i could include multiple titles of the same franchise. maybe i would feel that way if i had played 6 and 7 i can't say, but after ultima viii being the most frustrating game i've tried to finish twice i was delighted by the 3-d world which ultima ix offered.
summoner
i am aware this was a multi-platform game but i played the pc version and from start to finish i thought it was a well made/polished game. it had fun side quests enjoyable dialogue, was in 3-d, and just about everything it had i liked. and i have yet to see another game where wearing rings is so important!
deus ex 2:invisible war
this is sure to draw some comments
but it comes down to i played the original after it had been out over a year. i agree that it definately got a bit to 'consolized' and that some good things got removed or changed. i thought the characters and story were better though. specifically i thought it was cool how they had voiced dialogue for both sexes. i realize that some may cringe at that, but for me well done storytelling is usually more important and makes other things forgivable. the demo played horrible on my machine at the time but i eventually got it smooth on a 2nd or 3rd playthrough. the ending was fairly weak, but what upset me most was that there was no 'non-lethal' way to kill the armoured templars--though they probably did deserve it. simply put the original was more groundbreaking and better in most regards, but it did not engross me or emerge me like invisible war. and probably the most ridiculous reason is i don't like people who were sunglasses all the time so why would i want to play one! only if they are vampires is it ok
siege of avalon
i don't remember how i found out about this one but i remember being drawn to the slogan "played a good book lately". that in essence is what it was and again 'catching' it at the genisis made it especially great for this game as you actually could have feedback into what they put into the coming chapters of the game. this not only made a bond but becauses it was released in chapters you had a much shorter time to wait then for an expansion. i highly recommend this 'indie' game (i thougt divine divinity was kind of similar) and am saddened they never got to make 'pillars of avalon'.
knights of the old republic 2
i played these both back to back last year and only because my fiances brother let me borrow the first one, which i then immediately purchased the 2nd (recieved it before i had even finished 1). i've never been a big fan of star wars and have only seen episode 1, and of course the earlier ones--my mom did a damn fine job making me and my brother ewok costumes as a kid. but the reason i liked 2 over 1 weren't the additions of item creation and such but the influence system and the characters themselves which i found much darker, deeper, and more mysterious than the somewhat cliche ones of the first. maybe this games should actually be called deus ex because the lightsaber is kind of a 'deus ex machina' in that without it would the combat and game itself be as enjoyable? neverwinter nights 2 might eclipse this spot but i haven't finished it yet. either way an obsidian game will always be in my top ten from now on.
vampire the masquerade: bloodlines
i enjoyed redemption, which would probably be on my list if it weren't for bloodlines. not only was bloodlines fun beyond belief but it is the game i replayed most ever. the story/dialogue/music also is also the pinnacle for me of what could/should be in a game. if i ever need to feel like i'm not gaming but taking part in a virtual story i load the game back up. thank you troika.
certainly worth mentioning--
fallout 1, fallout 2, arcanum, arx fatalis
games that ive have spent over a hundred hours on each, through multiple playthroughs, but have never finished. arcanum and arx fatalis i played within a year of release the first time, but i didn't step into the fallout realm until ~2002/2003.
damn that took well over an hour!