Favourite Games

Wouter’s Favourite Games List (not updated since 2007):

Rank	Genre 1	Genre 2	Year	Platform	Name	Most prominent reasons why
1	FPS		1996	PC	Quakeworld (Quake 1)	Most intense multiplayer ever invented, very satisfying physics, weapons and strategic teamplay. 10 years after I first tried it, I am still playing it pretty much every week.
2	FPS		1994	PC	Doom 2	fast movement, large battles, great monster variety, large open dynamically changing levels, unique immersive atmosphere, there is still no other singleplayer FPS that does it better.
3	RTS		2007	PC	Supreme Commander : FA	This game totally ruined the RTS genre for me, as it is now impossible for me to enjoy an RTS that doesn't have the "strategic zoom" and a host of other features this game has. It is really just TA on steroids, but since that was already the best RTS ever, this just makes the addiction worse. Note to people making RTSes: you don't have to like their gameplay, but PLEASE steal their UI ideas.
4	RPG		2002	PC	Gothic 1&2	normally game storytelling makes me cringe, but this had me engrossed. Wonderful immersive persistent world with a lot of life (every part of it feels unique) and freedom to act. I can't recommend this to most people since it has a long and steep difficulty curve, but that makes it all the more satisfying if you persist.
5	Racing		1998	PSX	Gran Turismo 2	fun in racing = speed * control, and this game has more than any other, in an insane variety of forms (cars + tuning), with very satisfying physics.
6	TBS		2002	GBA	Advance Wars 1&2, DOR	a great variety of very balanced units that can be mastered to perfection makes this the benchmark of TBS games. simplicty + deep gameplay, yes please.
7	RTS		1997	PC	Total Annihilation	unlike other RTSes shifts the gameplay from micromanagement and tactics to creative strategies, giving endless ways to play. Large unit variety and huge battles don't hurt either.
8	RTS	Sim	1995	PC	Dungeon Keeper 1&2	building in games to me is tremendously addictive, and here the layout, connections and sizes all affect gameplay deeply.
9	Racing		2007	360	Forza 2	A total gran turismo rip-off, and certainly not as deep in the physics department (more arcade-y), but that also makes it a lot easier to enjoy, with less of the frustration that often comes with GT's less balanced cars.
10	TBS		2002	PC	Etherlords II	the gamedesign is a streamlined/simplified version of Magic The Gathering, but dare I say it is actually better? The large variety of opponents require constant new strategies.
	Racing		1996	PSX	Wipeout (1)	well done flying/racing physics with great sense of speed and satisfying learning curve
	RPG		2002	PC	Morrowind	huuuge world, very immersive, lots of freedom
	TBS		2005	PC	Domination: Massive Assault	amazingly balanced TBS with great interface
	RTS	Puzzle	2002	GC	Pikmin 1&2	the right way to do an "RTS" on a console: no frantic mouse actions, but all action centered around a single character. great puzzles/challenges, wonderful style.
	FPS		1995	PC	Descent 1&2	the endless tunnel structures get in your head... very surreal and immersive
	RPG	TBS	2003	GBA	Pokemon	the second game where I enjoyed reading the dialogue. interesting world, and fun battle system
	RTS		2004	PC	Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War	lots of small but significant tweaks to the RTS formula that make it stand above all the usual blizzard/westwood clones.
	RPG	Action	1999	PC	Diablo 2	I still don't know why this should be so addictive, but it is. The crack of gaming.
	RPG		2005	PC	Fable	The third game with great dialogue. Does a lot of small things right as to what an RPG should be. Sadly no continuous world or as much freedom as promised.
	FPS	RPG	2007	PC	Stalker	Fantastic atmosphere, interesting world to explore. I normally don't enjoy "realistic" guns, but stalker somehow got the balance right.
	Puzzle	Action	1990	Amiga	Lemmings	puzzle + building + screaming little guys = fun. This game defies genre limits, you might as well add Sim and RTS as additional genres.
	Puzzle	Action	1996	PSX	Puzzle Bobble / Bust a Move	the best pure puzzle game of all time. genious concept like tetris, but unlike tetris, requires "aim" which linearly balances difficulty. brilliant.
	Puzzle		2006	PC	Armadillo Run	Fantastically creative 2d physics puzzle game
	Platform	Action	1996	PSX	Jumping Flash	you can jump, then jump 2 times more on the apex of your jump, allowing you to reach insane heights (several hundred meters?), which defined the entire game
	Sim		1989	Amiga	Sim City (1)	for me, this was all about creating nice city layouts. I couldn't care less about happy citizens.
	Puzzle	Action	1992	Amiga	Tetris	no comment :)
	FPS		2001	PC	Cube/Sauerbraten	my own.. probably my second favourite FPS to play online.
	RPG		2009	PC	Fallout 3	Really polished and enjoyable RPG, if only they'd stop making the same mistakes they have been making since morrowind: repetitive indoor level design, and enemies whose level changes depending on yours
	Racing		1996	PSX	Need for Speed (1)	the tracks is what made this game.. very long, made you feel like being on a roadtrip :)
	FPS		1997	PC	Jedi Knight (1)	I don't care for star wars at all, but the interesting environments this weird fps engine creates immersed me
	RPG		2007	PC	Two Worlds	Game reviews unanymously panned this one for bad dialogue/animation/bugs, but I really enjoyed the large game world. It is a bit of a gothic/oblivian clone, but incorporates plenty of good of both.
	RPG		1999	PC	Ultima 9	big continuous worlds with lots of freedom always get a thumbs up
	RPG		2006	PC	Oblivion	Horribly flawed gameplay mechanics (I beat the game at level 1, since monsters level up with you, theres no point in levelling), but I can't resist enjoying the large open world and lush graphics.
	FPS		2000	PC	Serious Sam (1)	it is really quite monotonous compared to their inspiration (doom), but it somehow keeps you going
	Sim		2004	PC	Railroad Tycoon 3	you can never lay enough track..
	Action	RPG	2005	PC	GTA San Andreas	I must admit I don't care for the "missions", but I spent days just driving around everywhere and doing random stuff. Maybe the biggest game world yet? If only it had better gameplay.
	RTS	Action	2007	PC	Overlord	"for teh ovahlord!".. if you liked Pikmin, you have to try this one.
	FPS		1998	PC	Unreal (1)	great use of scale, a breath of fresh air after quake 1 & 2.
	FPS		1998	PC	Quake 2	Though the multiplayer was a dissapointment, the singleplayer was quite atmospheric

I must have played hundreds of games in the last 20 years, but I am not one for persisting and finishing them. Most games I toss aside after 1-5 hrs of play when I feel they aren’t good. For the enormous amounts of games that exist, there are suprisingly few really good ones, I guess what sets the above ones aside from the rest is that they got quite a bit more intense playtime from me than most games.

As you get to the lower half of the table, the ordering is less well defined, and there are probably lots of games I can’t recall right now that should be in the list instead. But these are some of the games I can remember. Also I would say that some of the games lower in the table may be a case of “fond memories”, but the ones higher up I certainly would enjoy playing them almost as much today as I did when I played them for the first time.

Interestingly 5 genres (FPS, RTS, RPG, TBS, Racing) are quite equally represented, and this does reflect exactly what I enjoy playing. Probably my least favourite genres (not represented) would be Sports (why o why), Adventure, Rhythm, and Fighting games.

I am clearly a PC gamer, but the PSX, Amiga, GBA and GC have quite a few entries too. From the platforms I have owned, the PS2 and C64 do not have any entries. The PS2’s best game, Gran Turismo 3, is outclassed by its predecessor, and on the C64 (and Amiga for that matter) I was far too busy programming to play games, 2D games in general never excited me. Something about being in a 3D environment that was my prime motivator to play games.

The timeline goes from ‘89 to NOW, with 94-98 being the era of a lot of the top games.

Some common trends: fun physics and sense of speed, large continuous environments with freedom to do whatever, environments far from “reality”, building/creating, variety in gameplay elements, streamlined controls, simplicity, obsessive compulsive collecting :)