Work continues on my major projects but there's nothing to show just yet, so today I thought I'd share a few of my favorite computer games. Computer games were my introduction to gaming; while I have certainly branched out since my early days playing Age of Empires and Starcraft, they remain my go-to when I can't find a group for tabletop games. While I tend to default towards strategy and role-playing games, the designer in me will check out anything with innovative mechanics or an interesting setting. Replay value is also an important factor for me, as it means you can enjoy the best games for longer.
Don't Starve: A dark and quirky open-world survival game by Klei Entertainment. You play Wilson, the Gentleman Scientist, who is thrust into a mysterious world with nothing but the clothes on his back. You must explore, gather supplies, avoid dangerous monsters, maintain your sanity and withstand the fury of the seasons, all the while minding the game's directive: don't starve! For me, the best part of this game was the initial learning period; you're given very little in the way of instruction and have to learn everything the hard way*. As a roguelike, that means dying and starting over. A lot. While occasionally frustrating, the risk of permanent death adds a whole new level of tension to the game that I find very enjoyable.
*Or by reading the wiki. I'd strongly recommend playing at least a few hours on your own, though; it makes survival so much more rewarding.
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup: A free open-source old-school roguelike romp through a highly randomized dungeon. This game was my introduction to the roguelike genre: games sharing features such as permanent death and randomized game worlds. In Dungeon Crawl, you play a hero delving the depths of the Dungeon to retrieve the fabled Orb of Zot, an artifact of great power. Character options are many and varied, and combined with the randomization of the dungeon, make this game infinitely replayable. It is actively updated, with new versions coming out every few months.
FTL: Faster Than Light: The roguelike genre goes to space. You command a small ship carrying a crucial message that must pass through seven increasingly dangerous sectors. Along the way, you upgrade your ship, recruit crew members, and try not to get eaten by giant alien spiders. The best moments in this game are the tough battles, when you find yourself with multiple hull breaches, a fire in the engine room, and not enough power for both the weapons and the shields. Great replay value--there are dozens of starting ships to choose from and multiple difficulty levels.
Half-Life 2: Valve's landmark first-person shooter. Outstanding story, excellent variety in gameplay, all backed by the excellent Source engine. My only complaint is the continued absence of Half-Life 3. Honorable mention goes to Black Mesa, a Source engine fan remake of Half-Life featuring modern graphics and improvements to several areas of the original.
Mark of the Ninja: A side-scrolling stealth game by Klei Entertainment. The stealth mechanics are what sold me on this one--the game uses a variety of visual indicators for sound and vision that work especially well with the side-scrolling design. The early game does an outstanding job of teaching you the mechanics, and flexibility of play style as well as a very challenging "new game+" mode keep the challenges coming.
Metro 2033: Based on the novel of the same name, Metro 2033 is a first-person shooter set in the Moscow Metro, one of humanity's last strongholds after a devastating nuclear war. The atmosphere of this game is outstanding; you really feel the claustrophobia of dark tunnels and gas masks and the desperate scarcity of ammunition. I strongly recommend playing on the Ranger Hardcore setting, which features the most limited resources, a minimalistic interface, and increased weapon damage (compensating for limited ammunition and avoiding the feeling that your character is a bullet sink).
Portal: Just play it. An outstanding puzzle game wrapped in a wonderfully bizarre package.
Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast: A strong first-person shooter, with the added bonus of lightsabers! It's really the Star Wars angle that earns this one a spot, though I do enjoy the storyline as well. Though part of a series, I can't particularly recommend the others: Dark Forces and Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II are incredibly dated, and while the sequel Jedi Academy improves on the lightsaber combat (notably adding dual 'saber and saberstaff options) it is otherwise an inferior game.
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: One of the best-designed computer RPGs ever, KotOR has an outstanding story, beautiful graphics, excellent voice-acting, and as a bonus it's set in the Star Wars universe. Based on the d20 Star Wars tabletop RPG, the game skillfully blends turn-based mechanics with real-time action. A leap forward from the similarly d20-based Neverwinter Nights, KotOR set a new standard for Bioware RPGs, a standard which they have, for the most part, continued to improve upon.
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind: This is probably my favorite game of all time. While by current standards the graphics are terrible and the
gameplay lacking certain modern innovations, there is a magic to the
island of Vvardenfell and its Dunmer inhabitants that is hard to match. Fortunately, the game is extremely mod-friendly, and with a little bit of work it remains very playable. I hesitate to say the same of its sequels Oblivion and Skyrim; while far more technologically advanced, they lack a certain spirit.
And there we are, my ten favorite computer games of all time. Do you agree with my choices? Have any favorites of your own to add?
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