ChaosTheory
Virtual Reality Hero
Purists will hate me since I have games some wouldn't consider RPGs, but it's my list so buggar off. I also have to admit that ever-increasing graphics technology goes a long way toward my enjoyment of a game, even though I've been playing since the early 1980's.
1) Jagged Alliance 2. I'm not a mod guy, really at all, but mods made this game so re-playable and customizable that you could play a thousand hours and still never get tired of it. My dream remains that someone will make a proper sequel with updated technology without trying to get cute.
2) The Witcher 3: I enjoyed the first 2 games of the franchise, but the third stands alone as arguably the single greatest pure-RPG ever created. There's just so much content, excellent writing, stories, detail, depth… While I wasn't much of a fan of Geralt himself, I felt more for Yennefer, Ciri and Triss than I care to admit.
3) Mass Effect (trilogy): I'm not going to pick one, as each of the 3 does something a little different that I liked. What it lacks in story cohesion it makes up for with well written characters and dialogue. Garrus, Ashley, Jack and Tali were the best companions I've ever had in a game. I look forward to getting started with Andromeda after a few patches.
4) Fallout: New Vegas: Sooo many stories… The only Fallout game that I felt like I was surviving in a wasteland. I also got the overall concept of the NCR vs Cesar's Legion fighting over the only known power source and center of commerce-- it just makes sense. I usually go into survival RPGs as a bad-ass, male soldier-type, but by the end of my New Vegas run I had settled on a small, female assassin with a cowboy hat and sunglasses. When a game begs you to get that far out of your normal PC comfort zone, it's a huge accomplishment…
5) Neverwinter Nights 2: It was the first game in which I really enjoyed nearly all the companions. It felt like my perfect D&D adventuring party, as if the writers knew exactly what I wanted at the time. Also, while I played and liked Baldur's Gate(s) and original Neverwinter Nights, to have a rotating/tiltable camera was like breaking free of the chains. I get that handcrafted maps are hip, but I never preferred the confines of isometric perpective.
6) Star Wars: Galaxies. (boo, hiss! MMO! Kill the witch!) This game became a bit of an obsession for me as I was "that guy" who built up the largest mining operation on the server, became filthy rich and had to check in for a couple hours a day like it was a job to keep my empire and guild running. It was like a second job, and it taught me a valuable lesson about what/how far I'm willing to go for an imaginary lifestyle. I had to step away completely. Funny story-- I went back years later when SWG was in its death throes, during a 'free weekend'. My chacter was still there, and I logged in just long enough to walk up to a noob player and make him filthy rich, before logging, never to return. It was the Star Wars equivilent of winning the lottery, so I hope he spent it wisely.
7) Anarchy Online/Dark Age of Camelot: Lumped them togther as I played them nearly simultaneously. My first 'real' MMO experience.
8) Neverwinter Nights: The tragic story of Aribeth… Oh Aribeth… Why? Whhhhy? HoTU was actually better than the original game.
9) Baldur's Gate: I liked it more than BG2, which to this day I have never finished. I've tried 2-3 times to 'get into' BG2, but I can't get past the 2nd act. BG1 I've finished multiple times.
10) Wasteland 2: Director's Cut. Great fun once the DC was released, even if the story wasn't the best.
Not on the list/why:
Oblivion: Loved this game until I realized I was only halfway through it but I had already maxed out equipment level. It was a scaling debacle and I never finished it, but for awhile it was brilliant.
Skyrim: Enjoyed the first 2 acts, but once dragons became easy to kill and I mastered all of the smithing options, I quickly lost interest and never finished the main story. I also felt the world just seemed so dead, with lifeless NPCs, horrible facial art/animations, etc. Plus, perma-winter gets me depressed.
X-Com: Even I won't call this an RPG, but if it IS, it would be top-5 on this list.
Elite: Dangerous: What virtual reality was created for. I played the shit out of this for about 8 months until recently, but realized there's not a lot to do once you have the perfectly engineered, high-level ship. I plan on coming back once more content is released, because right now, space is pretty lonely when you can't walk around.
Dragon Age: Inquisition. Almost made my top-10 list. Loads of content, fun exploration, but I didn't really like any of the characters outside of Sera-- and that's HUGE for an RPG. I usually like BioWare game characters, but here, not so much…
Fallout (others): Fallout 3 was actually my first experience with the franchise, but it wasn't as good as NV. Fallout 4 has some really cool features, but Boston was boring as hell to me and once I found out the dozens of hours I spend on settlements didn't mean squat… I did finish the game, but really have no interest in returning, which is telling.
1) Jagged Alliance 2. I'm not a mod guy, really at all, but mods made this game so re-playable and customizable that you could play a thousand hours and still never get tired of it. My dream remains that someone will make a proper sequel with updated technology without trying to get cute.
2) The Witcher 3: I enjoyed the first 2 games of the franchise, but the third stands alone as arguably the single greatest pure-RPG ever created. There's just so much content, excellent writing, stories, detail, depth… While I wasn't much of a fan of Geralt himself, I felt more for Yennefer, Ciri and Triss than I care to admit.
3) Mass Effect (trilogy): I'm not going to pick one, as each of the 3 does something a little different that I liked. What it lacks in story cohesion it makes up for with well written characters and dialogue. Garrus, Ashley, Jack and Tali were the best companions I've ever had in a game. I look forward to getting started with Andromeda after a few patches.
4) Fallout: New Vegas: Sooo many stories… The only Fallout game that I felt like I was surviving in a wasteland. I also got the overall concept of the NCR vs Cesar's Legion fighting over the only known power source and center of commerce-- it just makes sense. I usually go into survival RPGs as a bad-ass, male soldier-type, but by the end of my New Vegas run I had settled on a small, female assassin with a cowboy hat and sunglasses. When a game begs you to get that far out of your normal PC comfort zone, it's a huge accomplishment…
5) Neverwinter Nights 2: It was the first game in which I really enjoyed nearly all the companions. It felt like my perfect D&D adventuring party, as if the writers knew exactly what I wanted at the time. Also, while I played and liked Baldur's Gate(s) and original Neverwinter Nights, to have a rotating/tiltable camera was like breaking free of the chains. I get that handcrafted maps are hip, but I never preferred the confines of isometric perpective.
6) Star Wars: Galaxies. (boo, hiss! MMO! Kill the witch!) This game became a bit of an obsession for me as I was "that guy" who built up the largest mining operation on the server, became filthy rich and had to check in for a couple hours a day like it was a job to keep my empire and guild running. It was like a second job, and it taught me a valuable lesson about what/how far I'm willing to go for an imaginary lifestyle. I had to step away completely. Funny story-- I went back years later when SWG was in its death throes, during a 'free weekend'. My chacter was still there, and I logged in just long enough to walk up to a noob player and make him filthy rich, before logging, never to return. It was the Star Wars equivilent of winning the lottery, so I hope he spent it wisely.
7) Anarchy Online/Dark Age of Camelot: Lumped them togther as I played them nearly simultaneously. My first 'real' MMO experience.
8) Neverwinter Nights: The tragic story of Aribeth… Oh Aribeth… Why? Whhhhy? HoTU was actually better than the original game.
9) Baldur's Gate: I liked it more than BG2, which to this day I have never finished. I've tried 2-3 times to 'get into' BG2, but I can't get past the 2nd act. BG1 I've finished multiple times.
10) Wasteland 2: Director's Cut. Great fun once the DC was released, even if the story wasn't the best.
Not on the list/why:
Oblivion: Loved this game until I realized I was only halfway through it but I had already maxed out equipment level. It was a scaling debacle and I never finished it, but for awhile it was brilliant.
Skyrim: Enjoyed the first 2 acts, but once dragons became easy to kill and I mastered all of the smithing options, I quickly lost interest and never finished the main story. I also felt the world just seemed so dead, with lifeless NPCs, horrible facial art/animations, etc. Plus, perma-winter gets me depressed.
X-Com: Even I won't call this an RPG, but if it IS, it would be top-5 on this list.
Elite: Dangerous: What virtual reality was created for. I played the shit out of this for about 8 months until recently, but realized there's not a lot to do once you have the perfectly engineered, high-level ship. I plan on coming back once more content is released, because right now, space is pretty lonely when you can't walk around.
Dragon Age: Inquisition. Almost made my top-10 list. Loads of content, fun exploration, but I didn't really like any of the characters outside of Sera-- and that's HUGE for an RPG. I usually like BioWare game characters, but here, not so much…
Fallout (others): Fallout 3 was actually my first experience with the franchise, but it wasn't as good as NV. Fallout 4 has some really cool features, but Boston was boring as hell to me and once I found out the dozens of hours I spend on settlements didn't mean squat… I did finish the game, but really have no interest in returning, which is telling.
s in two posts above but i've had time to reflect.
