Games
I am a hardcore gamer and have been seriously playing both computer and console games for as long as I can remember. I used to limit this to 11 games, but over time it became too had to limit it to a certain number. Most of these are in no particular order.
X-Com : UFO defense
This is, without a doubt, the best game of all time. This is THE tactical, squad-based combat game. The balance is almost perfect. There is a strategic part where you set up bases and manage inventories, and then there is the combat part where you fight aliens. Even after all these years, it is still fun to play. Recently they have re-released this game in the X-com collectors edition with it re-worked to play in windows. I recomend everyone play this game.
Alpha Centauri
This runs a close second as the best game of all time. It was created by Brian Reynolds, who made Civilization 2, and it was produced by Sid Meier. This is the sequel to Civ2 in reality, if not in name. There is not really much that can be said about this game other than “Go buy it!” Be warned - Don’t plan on doing anything else for a couple of days after you get it.
X-Wing Series
Every single one of these games is worth your time, and X-Wing Alliance is a worthy addition. No other space combat game has been able to pull off space combat as perfectly as this series. The games are difficult but accurate to the movies and books exactly. There are hundereds of missions if you add up all the games, and nothing beats destroying the Death Star in the Millenium Falcon.
Dragon Warrior IV
This was the first real story-oriented RPG I played, and it has made a great impact on my views on RPG’s. With really bad NES graphics, it still is an awesome game. It has five chapters where you play a little subplot in each one with different characters. In the fifth chapter they all meet up and go off to save the world. This game has incredible battles, with tactics galore. This is probably the very best NES game ever made.
Xenogears
The story of this game is way beyond the scope of any previous computer or video game. Although it suffers from some minor interface problems, the story is as good as it gets in a game, and the combat is
good, if not as good as it could have been. Any console RPG fans who have not played this game should, especially if you liked Chrono Trigger. It was created by the same development team. The music is, without a doubt, the best console music ever done.
XenoSaga
This is a retelling of the Xenogears story starting from the very beginning (far before Xenogears). It is the most cinematic RPG at this time and feels like you are playing in an Anime. It also has a higher difficulty level that most modern console RPGs, which have gotten ridiculously easy. The battle system is unique and takes a fair bit of strategy. The only bad thing about the game is that it is too short and it will be a long wait for the next one.
Added 7/12/2003
Final Fantasy III (VIj)
This is the last ‘Old School’ Square RPG before they moved on to games like FF7, with more effort put into 3D eye candy than plot and combat. I liked FF7, but it just didn’t have the same emotional and mental impact as the previous Final Fantasies. I also like Sci-fi, but I don’t believe it belongs in the Final Fantasy Series. Anyway, Final fantasy III is my second favorite console RPG, and any fan of the genre should play it.
Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 2)
A cross between Zelda and Final Fantasy, Secret of Mana is just a cool game. It can even be played with friends controlling the other two characters. There is not really any specific reason it is so cool - it just is.
Final Fantasy Tactics
X-Com in Final Fantasy world. This is the best way to describe this game. It has a good, if poorly translated, story and awesome combat. With up to six characters at a time, you fight on an isometric 3D battlefield. Very cool.
The Legend of Zelda
This was my first real exposure to an Adventure/RPG, and it is still a cool game to play. The best part is that after you beat it, you can do it all again with different maps and harder puzzles. What kind of game nowdays gives you that kind of replay value?
Mechwarrior 2
This was the first real computer game I bought when I got my brand new, smoking P100. It is one of the best simulations I have ever played. It requires skill and brains to beat, and you can’t just go in with guns blazing and expect to win. The music is probably the best of any computer game so far.
Super Mario Brothers
What can I say? This is the game on which my generation trained its reflexes and honed eye-hand coordination. This is the game without which no one would have been in shape to play current games like Quake.