Top 10 CRPGs of all time

Amazing list everyone, I wish I could put one together alas I am terrible at lists. ;)

Lord Alex
"Also, Warren Spector's writing and story rival anything ever done in gaming on any platform."

In case your intrested, Warren Spector isn't the writer nor is he given credit for writing the story or dialogue, but for Producer and Project Director, this includes offical credits which can be seen here;
http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/deus-ex/credits

This also includes other Developers and can been seen in chats on the International Game Developers Association boards as an example here;
http://www.igda.org/Forums/printthread.php?threadid=10779

"Sheldon Pacotti who wrote the stories/dialogue for Deus Ex and Deus Ex 2 was a published writer and a programmer before he went to work at Ion Storm."

Keep the great list coming. :)
 
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The first three games have been my top three since I finished G2. The bottom 7 change depending on mood and time of year so I just put them in alphabetical order.

Gothic 2
I was late to the party but became an instant fanboy once I got beyond the strange interface. The Gothic games are the only RPGs I actually feel like I am in a real world. If PB ever hires a strong producer that can bring out a polished game out of the gate it will turn the Gothic franchise into an evergreen product.

Might & Magic 6
Yeah, 7 had a lot of neat things going for it but I felt MM6 finally got the 1st person perspective, party RPG right. And the music was just spectacular.

Deus Ex
My first rig couldn’t run the game so I had to wait about a year before I could play. If they would have handled the franchise right, we’d be looking forward to Deus Ex 4 right now. With tremendous atmosphere and solid game play and a sorely needed other-than-fantasy setting it was just about a can’t miss.

Bard Tale 1
After being seduced by the goodness of the early Wizardry games and its vector graphics what a shook full upon seeing 16 bit full color graphics. Plus there were towns to travel in, not just dungeon to explore. BT1 was a great transition game that was fully realized with Might and Magic 1.

Divine Divinity
It was word of mouth that got me to play this game. The demo sucked so it was a really hard sell. But enough folks convinced me that the opening dungeon was the worst part of the game and they were right. As a whole, this game probably had the best overall score of any RPG. And I’m a big fan of Rob King, of Might & Magic fame.

Fallout 1
Being a huge fan of Wasteland, I was looking forward to this game. When I finally got the game and opened the box I was treated with the best RPG gaming manual ever (sadly even to this day). And what pain I went through designing my character. I had to make a whole bunch of real choices (unlike the few you had to make in some of the Ultima games). And then the opening cut scene, the living towns, and the tremendous voice actors. Wow just WOW.

Land of Lore 1
Technologically speaking, this game was behind the times when it first came out. Using step motion instead of the fluid motion was a great disappointment when I started playing. But what a great game to play. And for once monsters attacked from above instead of just directly in front of you. The sequels, while interesting, were nowhere close to the majesty of LoL1.

Morrowind
There’s something about this game that just makes me nostalgic in a good way. It was just a fun game to play and a wonderful world to explore. It just boggles my mind that from a game play standpoint, Morrowind is superior to Oblivion in just about every way.

Ultima 9
This was another game that did not run on my rig. I didn’t play the game until much much later with a far better rig. This really wasn’t like an Ultima game, but I have to say I enjoyed this game more than the others. Ultima 4 was a fun game but making food and regents was tedious. And it’s dungeon design was more of a distraction than anything else. Ultima 4 succeeded because it had a fresh take on how RPG should play and it worked. Still, I had more fun with 9.

Wiz 8
The combat in this game almost qualifies it as a strategy game. But I too just loved how your skills went up as you used them.


ADDENDUM

There are some really good RPG that I have played and loved but never finished. Maybe some day they might break into the top 10. Betrayal at Krondor, Star Trails Realm of Arkania, Outland, Fallout 2, Anachronix, Albion, Balders Gate.

And finally, I’ve been playing RPGs on computers since Tunnels of Doom on my TI99. I just want to give a shot-out to some other excellent games. Nintendo’s Dragon Quest 1 and Final Fantasy 3. Segas Phantasy Star 3, Stonekeep, Anvil of Dawn, Dragon Wars, Pillars of Garendal and Sacred.
 
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While I didn't like MW, the only choice that stuns me, is U9!! Did you play all the others? I love the series, but HATE U9 as it was NOT a proper Ultima game by any reasonable definition of what makes a genuine Ultima game!!
 
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Sorry to offend your senses Cor, but yes I played Ultima 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 & 9 and Ultima Online. And yes, even in my post I said it wasn't a proper Ultima Game. However just as a stand alone product, I had a lot of fun playing the game. Of course since I played the game a good two or three years after release, I never had the bug problems. In a certain sense, U9 played very much like a Gothic game in that you could wander all over the world and do a ton of stuff. Yep I could easily give the game a replay.

Basically I very much enjoyed the Utima series but the prior games just never struck me as fun and great. All the games I placed in my top 10 had oddles of both.
 
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hmm..lots of talk about obscure but excellent (or not so) CRPG's of the past lately.

I'm the only one to put Dark Heart of Uukrul in their top 10. Has no one else played it?

Its not so surprising to be a lost classic because it came out around the same time that the Apple ][ was finally obsoleted.
 
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I do empathize with you regarding the choice, Dajjer, my favorite Ultimas being the Underworlds and U9. For me, the others I played (6 and 8 - how comes nobody played 7? :p ) were 'meh' games, they just didn't cater to my tastes.
 
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GG, I've played and enjoyed all the games on your list except the last one-Albion, which I've not heard of. Could you post a link or some details about the game, since your tastes seem to reflect mine!!

You really missed out then. The story starts on a space ship that crashes on a technologically primitive planet filled with alien customs our surivivers must learn how deal with or die. A bit of hyperbole but it should do in a pinch. It's really a surprise that more develpers didn't try to go the alien planet route for RPGs. My hard drive crashsed about 3/4 of the way through the game and I was never able to find my save game on my special save games floopy. :(
 
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I do empathize with you regarding the choice, Dajjer, my favorite Ultimas being the Underworlds and U9. For me, the others I played (6 and 8 - how comes nobody played 7? :p ) were 'meh' games, they just didn't cater to my tastes.

Thank god we all have different tastes or we would all be playing ONLY World of Warcraft.
 
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The best 2 Ultimas EVER, are 5 and 7 (both parts) which it appears you didn't play!! (Shock/Horror) :) Get Lazarus to see U5 at its best, and try to grab 7. After those, U9 shouldn't even be in the picture!!
 
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Please don't get me wrong, I loved the other Ultima games, they just don't merit a mention in my tip ten, but there was always just a tad bit of tedium in the game play which I suspect was still present in both 5 and 7. Ultima 9 got it right in that it reduced the regent creations and needs for food to a minimum. One of the Ultima I missed was remade with the dungeon seige engine and I plan on giving that a go. But I guess some where down the line I'm going to have to play 5 and 7 just to keep some street cred.:)
 
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The one you're referring to is Lazarus, which I suggested you get.
 
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Geez Corwin, you're a tougher salesman with Ultima than I am with Wiz8. You're gonna have a stroke, old man. ;)
 
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Dear god!!!! ULTIMA 9!!!! For the love of baby jesus please play ultima 7 and 7 part 2. They are surely near the pinnacle of RPG goodness.

Ultima 7 has none of the "tedium" you speak of, the combat is real time and most battles finish in mere seconds...
 
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Ultima 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 & 9 and Ultima

LOL you missed 7............ this is the ageless classic masterpiece! It's really strange you played that many... but not this one.

Geez Corwin, you're a tougher salesman with Ultima than I am with Wiz8. You're gonna have a stroke, old man.

Both you and Corwin has great taste, no wounder both of you are trying hard! Wiz 8 and ultima 7....... will we ever see such a good games again?
 
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U5 wasn't nearly as innovative as any of the other Ultimas. U6 and U7, not to mention the Underworlds, weren't capable of being run on anyone normal person's PC at the time. You had to have some expensive hardware and in some cases something called a "hard drive" . The same thing could be said about U9 but it was such a complete mess its not worth mentioning. U8 I think most people consider it an aberration from the Ultimas and it was such a brilliant marketing strategy!

U3 and U4 are the best of the Ultimas. Origin got so focussed on their Wing Commander cash cow at the end they lost sight of what they did best IMO.

Getting back to Dark Heart of Uukrul...
 
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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!
 
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thanks for the link!
the screenshots brought back fond memories.
yet another reason to learn german...
 
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