Ten PC Games to Watch in 2007

[fitbabits]

No mention of Duke Nukem Forever on the list, unfortunately, but what's there is interesting... Oh, and there's 12 games on the list!

Thanks to Computer & Video Games (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=152561?cid=OTC-RSS&attr=CVG-General-RSS).

CRYSIS
German developer Crytek delivered Far Cry - which was its first game - an incredible achievement and a first-person shooter that some regard as better that Half-Life 2. [Not by me, I hasten to add. - fitbabits]

Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
It's been nearly 10 years, incredibly, but now Command & Conquer is returning and with it GDI vs. Nod destruction. The game boasts an impressive cast of actors - including the legend that is Michael Ironside!

Half-Life 2: Episode Two
Summer 2007, eh? Well, yes it's still a fair old way off, but we're standing firm in the face of adversity and refuse to let our little tapping toes of anticipation kick off their dancing shoes and admit defeat.
Nothing Earth-shattering, but it is PC gaming after all! I kid, of course.

[Adam Blue]

I can't wait for c&c 3. drunk new year's party ftw.

[GunnyMo]

I'd have to say that their definition of "some" regarding Far Cry being better than HL2 would be better categorized as "few". :D Far Cry was fun but it was mindless fun. HL2 had a compelling storyline coupled with fantastic gameplay.

[Tricky Thumb]

Supreme Commander multi-player beta has been quite awesome thus far, I am definitely excited for that little gem.

Though I do have to say that LotR Online looks bleh, honestly. Especially with WAR coming out next year, which when I got to play it at PAX '06 was quite 'smooth', as the kids on the street say.

[The Iron Weasel]

What Far Cry lacked in story, it more then made up for in gameplay and AI.

[Syl]

I can say that the graphics of Crysis are better than half life 2...

[Paranoia]

I just don't get the hype behind Crysis.

[TrackZero]

I just don't get the hype behind Crysis.

Ditto. I'm sure it'll be a great game, but it's not in the same league as HL2, IMHO.

[TrackZero]

For me next year, I'm looking forward to:

Hellgate: London
UT2K7
HL2: E2
Quake Wars
Supreme Commander

(Bioshock is most likely going to be on the 360, for me.)

Though I must admit, STALKER certainly is on my radar. Though I'm reserving judgement on that one, as it could go either way.

Oh yeah, and the left off the BEST PC game of next year (already voted on, and awarded):

Pirate Loves Ninja

[Lactose]

Aw, no Call of Duty? But the latest UT is on there? When have we let PC down?

[Tricky Thumb]

Aw, no Call of Duty? But the latest UT is on there? When have we let PC down?

Is there even a Call of Duty coming out on the PC next year? Even if there were one, UT2K7 is sometime to be far more excited about than another WWII shooter. Beyond that even is Quake Wars, which I hope will achieve a factor of fun I have not seen in many years.

Oh right, Spore looks neat too.

[F3nyx]

I'd have to say that their definition of "some" regarding Far Cry being better than HL2 would be better categorized as "few". Far Cry was fun but it was mindless fun. HL2 had a compelling storyline coupled with fantastic gameplay.You won't catch me knocking HL2, but nor can you deny that it's glaringly linear. Most of Far Cry's outdoor levels were something like, "Here's a an objective and a bunch of islands and bad guys separating you from it." And the rest was up to you -- vehicles, route, tactics, everything. That kind of freedom is refreshing, all too rare, and far from mindless. You don't find many environments as beautiful and ambitious as Far Cry's, either.

In the storyline department, sure, no contest. But the gameplay seems an apples/oranges situation to me.

[TrackZero]

You won't catch me knocking HL2, but nor can you deny that it's glaringly linear. Most of Far Cry's outdoor levels were something like, "Here's a an objective and a bunch of islands and bad guys separating you from it." And the rest was up to you -- vehicles, route, tactics, everything. That kind of freedom is refreshing, all too rare, and far from mindless. You don't find many environments as beautiful and ambitious as Far Cry's, either.

In the storyline department, sure, no contest. But the gameplay seems an apples/oranges situation to me.

True enough. They're different gameplay concepts (albeit in the same "genre" being FPS), but no direct comparison should be made beyond controls/graphics.

Personally I prefer a linear experience, but with different path choices along the way. For me, Far Cry's jungles were simply too open, I couldn't get my bearings most of the time and felt directionless. Maybe if there had been more unique landmarks and a smaller land mass, I'd have felt differently.

Strange I never had that problem with Oblivion though. Perhaps Far Cry should implement a way to jump between important landmarks if you don't want to travel manually all the time. Then they could concentrate on larger, unique battle sequences.

[The Iron Weasel]

I personally think that Crysis looks almost too much like Far Cry. I absolutly loved far cry, but people keep talking about Crysis like its going to make these quantum leaps, and I don't see anything but good graphics. Far Cry had very slow pacing tactical gameplay. You had to observe how many enemies there were and look for the leader and take him out so that your enemies stoped working as a team. Its also super replayable as you could pretty much go about things how you wanted. HL2 was very linear, and far less intesne if you ask me. Don't get me wrong though they were both great games.

[Predation]

I refuse to believe they put Warhammer and LOTR on the list but not Age of Conan (www.ageofconan.com). I have been awaiting AoC's release since it has been announced, it won almost every award an MMO is capable of winning at (the) last E3, and they didn't put it on the list? That loses most of the credibility of that list for me.

[dphrygian]

BioShock and Spore top my list. Spore because it's freaking Spore, and BioShock because System Shock 2 is still great fun seven years later and if BioShock is only a fraction of that caliber, it will still be the best shooter of 2007.

The HL2:E2/Portal/TF2 bundle is right up there too. I'm actually more excited about Portal than the rest, oddly enough.

I'm not terribly excited about playing UT2007, but I'll still pick it up simply for the first (public) opportunity to dive into Unreal Engine 3 modding.

[sardonic_wrath]

what about Quake Wars?!? That game is going to be fucking awesome.

[mightbe]

what about Quake Wars?!? That game is going to be fucking awesome.
If we ever see it. I also desire this game something feirce.

[ECM]

You won't catch me knocking HL2, but nor can you deny that it's glaringly linear. Most of Far Cry's outdoor levels were something like, "Here's a an objective and a bunch of islands and bad guys separating you from it." And the rest was up to you -- vehicles, route, tactics, everything. That kind of freedom is refreshing, all too rare, and far from mindless. You don't find many environments as beautiful and ambitious as Far Cry's, either.

In the storyline department, sure, no contest. But the gameplay seems an apples/oranges situation to me.

Completely agree (and I prefer FC apples over HL2 oranges as part of a nutritious breakfast.)

[mightbe]

I did not care for Far Cry at all. And I only paid $12.99 for it.

[bean19]

I refuse to believe they put Warhammer and LOTR on the list but not Age of Conan (www.ageofconan.com). I have been awaiting AoC's release since it has been announced, it won almost every award an MMO is capable of winning at (the) last E3, and they didn't put it on the list? That loses most of the credibility of that list for me.

Yeah. I was amazed by LOTRO too. While the "play as a monster" PvP sounds really cool, there doesn't seem to be anything new to the game besides it's setting. Also, the most awarded MMORPG at E3 2006 was Gods & Heroes (http://www.godsandheroes.com). How quickly they forget. If anything, I would have AoC and G&H up there. Warhammer Online isn't expected until 2008 and LOTRO is made by fucking Turbine.

Otherwise, this is a pretty good list. I'm not an RTS fan so my list would be a bit different, but I think it covers everything besides MMORPGs quite well.

[Gel214th]

*quietly mumbles*

How about Stalker?
0_0

[CapnAJ]

Hurray for Spore. :)

[Johan]

Half-Life 2: Ep. Whatever -- Get the platforming crap OUT of my FPS fun! If I want to jump around and figure out puzzles, I'll buy a genuine platformer. in a FPS, I want to SHOOT things, not jump, push, etc. on things. :(

[menage]

Good line-up. now I need to upgrade my PC again. Damn them.

[H.Bogard]

Nothing Earth-shattering, but it is PC gaming after all! I kid, of course.

I think Spore is pretty much Earth shattering, literally! :)

[swiftdraw]

Hurray for Spore. :)

Ditto, that and Supreme Commander are on the top of my watch list.

[Borys]

Nothing Earth-shattering, but it is PC gaming after all!

I knew you were a Playstation troll fits but trolling the PC is a new...umm... low even for You.

[the Jack]

Half-Life 2: Ep. Whatever -- Get the platforming crap OUT of my FPS fun! If I want to jump around and figure out puzzles, I'll buy a genuine platformer. in a FPS, I want to SHOOT things, not jump, push, etc. on things. :(

Then I guess that's more Portal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal_(computer_game)) for the rest of us, which didn't appear on the list (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=152561?cid=OTC-RSS&attr=CVG-General-RSS) either.

[Talanvor]

UT2k7 for me. Though I might have to wait a bit until I can buy a new rig, since this one prolly won't be able to handle UE3 goodness at a level I want.

[Frogleg Special]

Where's Conquest Frontier Wars II or Mechcommander 3? :(

Damn you Nvidia and ATI for making video cards so expensive. I foresee your stock prices would decline rapidly in the coming years because your corner of the world is insignificant now (...off playing PS2).

[bapenguin]

I really need to upgrade my PC soon. Hopefully Crysis doesn't come out till fall...because I need to drag out the upgrade as long as possible.

[Tricky Thumb]

I really need to upgrade my PC soon. Hopefully Crysis doesn't come out till fall...because I need to drag out the upgrade as long as possible.

I'm pretty sure Crysis did in fact get pushed to Fall '07, Baps.

[fitbabits]

I knew you were a Playstation troll fits but trolling the PC is a new...umm... low even for You.
Oh, Borys. If you know me as much as you claim to, you'd know that it's always a good idea to check for hidden text before replying. Especially with comments which are so brazenly controversial.

[Tohoya]

Actually, this list looks as good as any console's upcoming releases. I'm really looking forward to spore, hellgate, UT2k7, and bioshock.

[51|RandoM]

I just don't get the hype behind Crysis.

Me either, people were spooging all over destructible palm tree trunks... ignoring the fact that the fronds were evidently made of some newage kevlar/ceramic composite impervious to all damage.

Far Cry was a great big non-linear sandbox, and one can hope for the same from Crysis---but I haven't seen that demonstrated yet.

Screw HL2EP2, I want the other game shipping in that particular box and I'm not talking Portal.

[The Continental]

I honestly never cared for Far Cry. It was certainly gorgeous, and the open ended gameplay was fun enough, but the A.I. was just too much. I'm fine with the close quarters stuff, I like the A.I. being able to flank and being hyper aware, but when I'm hunkered down a half a mile away in some bushes with a sniper rifle and an entire camp of guards keys on me the second I fire a shot, that is just too much. Other than that, every video that isn't an official Crytek release has shown Crysis to be a little clunky, particularly that horrendous multiplayer video...

Quake Wars is my heart breaker for this year, if that slips any further I'm going to be one sad mother fuckin' panda.

[Taco]

I liked Farcry. It was a unique and very well done experience. If I had to rank them, I put HL2 first, but I look forward to any sequel.

[Vulture]

Will any of these games REQUIRE VIsta as the OS?

I heard a comment while at a game stop shoppin gthat HELLGATE would only support Vista?

[bean19]

Where's Conquest Frontier Wars II or Mechcommander 3? :(

Damn you Nvidia and ATI for making video cards so expensive. I foresee your stock prices would decline rapidly in the coming years because your corner of the world is insignificant now (...off playing PS2).

I think internet piracy deserves an equal bit of blame for the specialization that we are seeing in PC gaming.

Though honestly there are still a lot of games coming out for the PC. Certainly as many each year as there were throughout the 90's.

[fitbabits]

Will any of these games REQUIRE VIsta as the OS?

I heard a comment while at a game stop shoppin gthat HELLGATE would only support Vista?
Hellgate is the only one on the list I'm aware of that requires Vista - the rest recommend it.

[HumpYourWay]

"Not by me, I hasten to add. - fitbabits"

LOL who gives a fck what that guy thinks.

[bapenguin]

I'm pretty sure Crysis did in fact get pushed to Fall '07, Baps.

Good, by that time DX10 cards should be slightly more mature and Vista might actually be worthwhile at looking at.

[fitbabits]

"Not by me, I hasten to add. - fitbabits"

LOL who gives a fck what that guy thinks.
"That guy" being me? If so, I'd tread ever so delicately.

[Schnoogs]

Ditto. I'm sure it'll be a great game, but it's not in the same league as HL2, IMHO.

And you know this because you've played through the whole game? :rolleyes:

[fitbabits]

And you know this because you've played through the whole game? :rolleyes:
You don't have to have played a game to state that it's not in the same league as another game in the same genre. Just reading about Crysis and viewing the movies available is enough to give one a decent impression of how the finished product will turn out.

Troll on.

[Schnoogs]

You don't have to have played a game to state that it's not in the same league as another game in the same genre. Just reading about Crysis and viewing the movies available is enough to give one a decent impression of how the finished product will turn out.

Troll on.

on a technical level it seems as much as an advancement as HL2 was so I would say they are on par there...and I have yet to see anything that would suggest the narrative is any more or less cinematic than HL2.

Regardless...common sense would suggest that until you've actually played a game its premature to comment on how it stacks up.

[Frogleg Special]

I think internet piracy deserves an equal bit of blame for the specialization that we are seeing in PC gaming.


Console games get downloaded and pirated, too. It's not as easy as PC games, but it's there.

No, the difference comes within the exorbitant price the GPU manufacturers charged for their "state of the art" video cards. Charge more, and soon they'll eat MS and Sony bungs for life. The sad thing is they dont have the foresight that as soon as PC games dead, they would all be forgotten.

[fitbabits]

Regardless...common sense would suggest that until you've actually played a game its premature to comment on how it stacks up.
Actually, common sense would suggest that it's an intelligent consumer who reads about the game and can then comment on how it's stacking up. It's also wise to have a rough idea of something before you decide where it belongs on your list of future purchases.

[Schnoogs]

Actually, common sense would suggest that it's an intelligent consumer who reads about the game and can then comment on how it's stacking up. It's also wise to have a rough idea of something before you decide where it belongs on your list of future purchases.

Well Fit..point me in the direction of material and video that perfectly sums up what crysis has to offer....I shouldn't have to argue that no matter how much you read up on something you wont know til you play it.

You may have heard the age old saying..."The proof is in the pudding". But I suppose I'm trolling by having to point that out.

[fitbabits]

Well Fit..point me in the direction of material and video that perfectly sums up what crysis has to offer....I shouldn't have to argue that no matter how much you read up on something you wont know til you play it.

You may have heard the age old saying..."The proof is in the pudding". But I suppose I'm trolling by having to point that out.
There's plenty of written previews and development diaries out there if you look for them. You're right in saying the one can't know for certain how something will play until they play it for themselves, but one can get a pretty decent impression of something based on whatever information is already out there.

Based on what I've seen and heard about Crysis, it has all the makings of a classic game, but it still falls short of the bar which was set by Half-Life 2. There doesn't appear to be any emotional involvement with the characters, based on what I've seen and read so far, and that's why, for me, it's falls short.

[Schnoogs]

There's plenty of written previews and development diaries out there if you look for them. You're right in saying the one can't know for certain how something will play until they play it for themselves, but one can get a pretty decent impression of something based on whatever information is already out there.

Based on what I've seen and heard about Crysis, it has all the makings of a classic game, but it still falls short of the bar which was set by Half-Life 2. There doesn't appear to be any emotional involvement with the characters, based on what I've seen and read so far, and that's why, for me, it's falls short.

I'm really looking forward to this game...fingers are crossed that it will both play on my system and be as enjoyable as Far Cry was (I was a huge Far Cry fan especially the underrated PC multiplayer).

I guess we can all post our reviews whenever it comes out.

[BigJonno]

I'm looking forward to playing most of the games on the list, but equally most of of them are in my "I'll mostly ignore them until I can get my hands on a demo or something" category. I've pretty much lost interest in RTS titles, so Supreme Commander and C&C3 don't even register for me, though I've always loved the C&C storyline.

I agree that LOTRO should be replaced by Age of Conan. I've heard a few good things about LOTRO, but AoC seems like it's going to be genuinely innovative, which is exactly what the MMOG genre needs right now.

[cp#]

The hype behind Crysis is warranted.

[Grudgenog]

definitely hellgate: london

i never played diablo, but, from what i gather, this is diablo in three dimensions with a first person view.

[Borys]

I am sorry fit, I am truly sorry. I didn't notice the hidden text, my honest apologies.

[KingGorilla]

5 of those we will be watching take a jolly jog right into 2008 in fact.

[bitwise]

A lot of brown and black in those shots. They ought to just start making graphics cards that dont do color :)

[BlackPete]

Maybe I'm just super jaded, but this is how I saw that list:

1) FPS
2) RTS
3) Spore
4) FPS
5) FPS-RPG
6) MMORPG
7) MMORPG
8) FPS
9) FPS
10) FPS
11) FPS
12) RTS

And people wonder why PC gaming is always accused of being dead (or at least nearly so). Note that the only game I listed by its name was Spore -- simply because there was nothing else like it. That's actually a good thing.

A FPS-RPG may be interesting too... so I'll give that a chance. The rest... they'd better have one HELL of a storyline to back them up.

[goc_sin]

I'm surprised that World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack didn't make the list since it will sell the most copies by far.

[theguido]

I'm really looking forward to Hellgate: London and Warhammer out of that list, personally.

I'm a huge UT fan but I'm worried about the cost to upgrade---so I'll probably just be getting the PS3 version......

[Voodoo]

Maybe I'm just super jaded, but this is how I saw that list:

1) FPS
2) RTS
3) Spore
4) FPS
5) FPS-RPG
6) MMORPG
7) MMORPG
8) FPS
9) FPS
10) FPS
11) FPS
12) RTS

And people wonder why PC gaming is always accused of being dead (or at least nearly so). Note that the only game I listed by its name was Spore -- simply because there was nothing else like it. That's actually a good thing.

A FPS-RPG may be interesting too... so I'll give that a chance. The rest... they'd better have one HELL of a storyline to back them up.You are jaded.

Almost every attempt on the PC to break out of the FSP, RPG, RTS or MMORPG genres have been presented with very low sales. Very low sales do not warrant developers to continue to develop games that do not sale or have very poor response. There have been less than 5 titles that were hybrids of those genres that sold well. Unfortunately us gamers didn't buy enough of them to warrant their continued presence in the market. For example, how many System Shock Clones did you play after System Shock 2 came out? Hmmm... I can't seem to remember a single one. Great game but the market response to it wasn't as good as hoped until it had been out for many years...

It takes alot of time, money, personal sacrifice to make a gaming title and when (on the PC) you start to work on something that isn't in the main genres you had better have one hell of a record/reputation to rest assurances on.

[Taco]

He is jaded and diluted.

You can look at a console list and not do the same thing? After all, that is where this trend started.

[BlackPete]

Almost every attempt on the PC to break out of the FSP, RPG, RTS or MMORPG genres have been presented with very low sales. Very low sales do not warrant developers to continue to develop games that do not sale or have very poor response. There have been less than 5 titles that were hybrids of those genres that sold well. Unfortunately us gamers didn't buy enough of them to warrant their continued presence in the market.

I certainly don't deny that. However you can only continue with a genre before it starts to stagnate, and you need to do something new to reinvigorate it. If you don't, you lose money anyway.

I personally consider the FPS market to be stagnant in my own opinion simply because there's just so many of them. The only ones I'd look at are the ones rating a 90+ percentage on metacritics.

Breaking away from the mold doesn't necessarily mean it's ALWAYS a waste of money. Look at the Sims, for example. I just want to see more attempts to break the mold, that's all.

[BlackPete]

He is jaded and diluted.

You can look at a console list and not do the same thing? After all, that is where this trend started.

That list had: FPS, RTS, and MMORPG, along with a couple of hybrids (and Spore).

Where are the racing games? The platformers? Heck, even quickie games like puzzle/arcade style games? Anything to spice it up a little? Don't forget that this is a "Top Ten" list... meaning that they had the option to include different genres, yet they chose not to.

I don't mind having FPS games for a platform, but when half of a list is FPS... I smell a stagnant market.

[mightbe]

That list had: FPS, RTS, and MMORPG, along with a couple of hybrids (and Spore).

Where are the racing games? The platformers? Heck, even quickie games like puzzle/arcade style games? Anything to spice it up a little? Don't forget that this is a "Top Ten" list... meaning that they had the option to include different genres, yet they chose not to.

I don't mind having FPS games for a platform, but when half of a list is FPS... I smell a stagnant market.
Mostly in independent titles and ports.

[Voodoo]

I certainly don't deny that. However you can only continue with a genre before it starts to stagnate, and you need to do something new to reinvigorate it. If you don't, you lose money anyway.

I personally consider the FPS market to be stagnant in my own opinion simply because there's just so many of them. The only ones I'd look at are the ones rating a 90+ percentage on metacritics.

Breaking away from the mold doesn't necessarily mean it's ALWAYS a waste of money. Look at the Sims, for example. I just want to see more attempts to break the mold, that's all.Firstly, I didn't say that it ALWAYS is a waste of money. What I said is that you had better have one hell of a reputation when you attempt to step out of the primary market driven genres. You presented Sims which is a game made by Maxis and designed by Will Wright. There was no mistake on anyones part that this game made it big. I seriously doubt anyone else could have made it...

There have been more attempts than I can think of to break the genre molds BUT unfortunately that time has passed in PC Gaming. Ever played Sacrifice, for example? Hopefully there will be more developers in our future that are willing to go down this scary alley and produce something that the market is willing to purchase & play.

The FPS market is in a odd situation. There seems to be a few of them that attempt to go off the central themes but the good majority are clones of eachother's coolness. Regardless, they seem to continue to sell well.

You said that genres need to reinvigorate in order to not loose money. Well, unfortunately, I can't think of a FPS in recent memory that didn't repeat something contained in a game previously. Someone could come out with a newer better Tribes type game (I don't care to count Tribes 3) but I be damned if they aren't compared by the originals by jaded gamers.

The designer of Bioshock, in his interviews, had a terrible time in the design process to keep the game from being a "Me Too" FPS without going so far that it would put itself into a odd market hole that System Shock 2 did.

CliffyB came up alot of his ideas for Gears of War while playing games of Paintball... Talking about Cliff, you might remember the shit talk when him and Epic produced Unreal & UT 1999 while people were touting it was just another Quake clone. Strange, I can't remember the last fun Quake or Doom game I played.

Talking about game design and saying that developers ought to do is alot easier than actually doing it. A great example of this is the community modules for Neverwinter Nights. How does one begin to develop a module you hope to have popularity without giving in to popular trends?

[Zinmezz]

Meh, the PC game I want the most is the second expansion pack for Civilization IV. I'm so freaking addicted to that game.

Hopefully Firaxis will announce it any day now.

[Taco]

That list had: FPS, RTS, and MMORPG, along with a couple of hybrids (and Spore).

Where are the racing games? The platformers? Heck, even quickie games like puzzle/arcade style games? Anything to spice it up a little? Don't forget that this is a "Top Ten" list... meaning that they had the option to include different genres, yet they chose not to.

I don't mind having FPS games for a platform, but when half of a list is FPS... I smell a stagnant market.

I'm perfectly happy without gaming spam. IE Platformers and racing games.

[gspot]

Everyday I don't play Team Fortress 2, I die a little inside.

[H.Bogard]

Maybe I'm just super jaded, but this is how I saw that list:

1) FPS
2) RTS
3) Spore
4) FPS
5) FPS-RPG
6) MMORPG
7) MMORPG
8) FPS
9) FPS
10) FPS
11) FPS
12) RTS

And people wonder why PC gaming is always accused of being dead (or at least nearly so). Note that the only game I listed by its name was Spore -- simply because there was nothing else like it. That's actually a good thing.

A FPS-RPG may be interesting too... so I'll give that a chance. The rest... they'd better have one HELL of a storyline to back them up.

I think you enjoy playing Madden and Need for Speed on a keyboard?

Besides... RPG heaven isn't ever a bad thing to have.

[CptTripps]

Ever played Sacrifice, for example?

Hell Yeah!!! I love love love that game and still have it installed!!!

*raises fists* You want some of this!?!?

[Shifteh]

HL2 had a compelling storyline coupled with fantastic gameplay.
Ok, I don't mind that people think HL2 is the greatest game ever, but what the hell was so compelling about the storyline? Aliens invaded, kill aliens.

And people wonder why PC gaming is always accused of being dead.
So what are the top-selling console games?

1) FPS
2) FPS
3) Sports
4) Sports
5) Sports
6) Sports
7) Sports
8) Sports
9) Sports
10) Racing

[bean19]

Ok, I don't mind that people think HL2 is the greatest game ever, but what the hell was so compelling about the storyline? Aliens invaded, kill aliens.

Well there is much more to it than that. You can reduce any game down to it's most basic elements and thus call it crap.

Shadow the Colossus - Dead girlfriend. Beseech gods. Kill collosi at their bidding.

It's HOW the story is told and the details of the story that make it great. The NPCs in HL 2 are extremely likeable (or detestable when they need to be). The bad guys and the good guys feel very real and the story is not aliens invade; kill aliens like you surmised.

The story of HL 2, even summarized, is that you wake up on a train after a disturbing conversation with a mysterious businessman and the train is going into City 17, a city that is occupied by the Combine, a group that is made up of humans that are working for alien masters but who are superficially lead by one of the scientists from the Black Mesa project that created the ability for the aliens to enter our dimension/world. You see the effects of this occupation, humans are being systematically gathered up and used for some mysterious purpose in the alien's mysterious citadel. The bulk of the game is spent fleeing from the aliens to the resistance base, but during that time you are constantly given new gameplay through vehicles, puzzles, and new weapons like the gravity gun and the ant-lion spores.

This is a well-told and excellently written game. If all you are getting from that is your hasty synopsis, then I'd be interested to find out what you think makes a great story in video games (with examples).

[Mason]

Well stated, bean and Voodoo.

I have trouble with primarily identifying a game as a RPG (in the mechanical sense of the term). Identifiers like racing, platformer, sports, or FPS all encompass most of a game's interface and gameplay, while RPG says nothing about the actual gameplay, but rather the resource allocation which determines the gameplay values and options. Hence the need for all the prefixes: action RPG, tactical RPG, JRPG, FPSRPG. Any interface genre can be RPGed-up to some extent: would it be impossible to imagine a Pong RPG? Good money says someone's already made one.

As further proof, look at the wildly disparate game systems of JRPGs. They're all over the place, even if one only considers FF games there's a ton of diversity, and yet they're lumped in a single genre together. Why? Because the actual gameplay interface is uniformly the canonical stand-in-a-line-and-hit-the-randomly-attacking-enemies routine. It doesn't matter what the stats, advancement, or equipment systems are like (or even if a game has those systems at all), but rather the gameplay which occupies the bulk of the player's time.

So to deride a list because it contains lots of stuff with RPG elements is missing several points. PC games tend to have those elements because they cater to a niche market of veteran players, who demand games of staggering depth rather than easy or friendly titles. This isn't good, but it's true.

We should probably have a whole new vocabulary, because too many of our common terms meld together concepts which should be distinct.

[Shifteh]

This is a well-told and excellently written game. If all you are getting from that is your hasty synopsis, then I'd be interested to find out what you think makes a great story in video games (with examples)
My main problem with the NPC's in the game were that they simply showed the same
thing, over and over and over. The aliens invaded, they won, now the earth sucks. Not only that, the 'plot' had nothing to do with the story. You just went where you were sent, and killed people. These people seldom had anything to do with said invasion, other than the Stormtrooper 'combine soldiers.' Killing insects? Killing zombies? These are all by-products of that portal-thinger opening up and aliens popped in.

Half-life one had a fairly good story: Get The Fuck Outta Dodge. There was shit happening all over the place, and your sole goal was to get out. The characters were backdrops of what was going on, not what had gone on. None of the characters in Half-life 2 had any real life, unless they were given names. Then suddenly, woah, they won't: A) Get the fuck out of your way. B) Actually kill anything. C) Provide any use to you, whatsoever. Remember the "Barney's" from HL1? The random security guards, the professor guys, etc. They were totally interactive in the first game. You could help them move through the level, or shoot them, or watch them die, etc. In HL2, there's some guy in Ravenloft running around, only you can't shoot him, he can't die, etc. He's just a trigger for the level to do something. And when you get the black-comedy-bad NPC's 'helping' you, they're a far greater detriment than they are helpful. They, as I said, get in your way, don't actually shoot anyone, and you can't kill them. You can attempt to give them commands, but good luck getting those to work.

So, to take a step away from my HL1 example, check out Deus Ex. Deus Ex had a living world your actions influenced the NPC's. Not in terms of "I did A, and when I'm forced to see that named NPC again, he says thanks" or whatever. If you fired a gun near civilians in Deus Ex, they ran the fuck away. If you shot a friendly soldier, he shot the fuck back. Not only that, but half the NPC's in the game would give you side-quests, information, great speaches, etc. In HL2, they... don't. The world doesn't change because of stuff you do, it changes based on when you go. Beat level 2, X happens. Beat level 3, Y happens.

My problem was that HL2 was toted as having a great story, and how amazingly interactive the world was. But other than picking up stuff and throwing it (hello again, Deus Ex) nothing you did mattered. You can't kill NPC's, you don't learn anything from them other than "World sucks now, aliens are mean, that guy is their puppet" over and over and over. The game is entirely on rails, you make no real choices, and it just feels like an engine demo. It's probably the best engine demo ever, but it wasn't some fantastic immersive environment where you did anything other than exactly what you're told. To reference Deus Ex again (SPOILER WARNING) you can defend your brother and save his life. Or, you can let him die. This changes many aspects of the later game, such as whom you meet, what they say to you, and so on. Going into the Women's Washroom lands you a reprimand, saying you like killing gives you less ammo from the Supply Officer, discovering who is stealing from UNATCO gives you an informant, and additional supplies. Hell, even random NPC's will have huge and fantastic conversations on the benefits of true Free Market Economies versus Government Controlled Economies.

Hell, (spoiler, again) if you hack well enough, and search everywhere, you can even find ways to defeat boss characters without having to actually fight them. Find me that kind of immersion, and a story other than "Go here Gordon, save these guys, then go here, kill these guys, yay, world saved: OR IS IT?! <insert obvious sequel time>" then I will agree. But the fact is that it HAD a world, and it HAD characters, and you went places, but by and large you were on a rail, and you followed it, and stuff happened. Whether or not you talked to this guy, or solved this puzzle, or discovered some hidden text, the same stuff happened. Is there a situation where Alyx can die if you mess up? Can you have multiple endings?

Another game mentioned above was Sacrifice. You could choose a single God to serve (each giving different missions, spells, etc), or you could serve all of them. It changed the characters you found, the missions, etc. But in Half-life 2, nothing changes, no matter what you do. Those zombies are still terrible enemies, the Combine soldiers still can't hit you 99/100 times, and the same characters do the same things.

[Schnoogs]

I seriously believe that people who hate on HL2 have no souls ;)

How anyone cannot recognize the amount of thought and effort that went into it is beyond me...and I'm not just talking about the technology. The art direction is of a caliber seldom found in games and most often only found in huge blockbuster movies.

When I think of polished games names like HL2 and God of War come to the forefront. If video games are to be thought of as works of art to me its the Sistine Chapel.

[Taco]

Who cares. Why argue. HL2 is the best FPS ever, but it's also rather polarizing. I don't need to justify my love :).

[Schnoogs]

Who cares. Why argue. HL2 is the best FPS ever, but it's also rather polarizing. I don't need to justify my love :).

I got your back man! ;)

[KingGorilla]

Did someone say that Bioshock and Hellgate are FPS titles? Those people are flat out wrong. Hellgate is the spiritual successor to Diablo 2, not just because all the important members of the D2 team are working on it. Bioshock is a setting based and story driven FPS-RPG hybrid, similar to Deus Ex. Damn the haters, every one of those games, save C and C 3, I have seen nothing but good things of for the last year.

EDIT:
ANd with Halflife Ep 2, Portals and Team Fortress are two genre defining titles, possibly genre creating with Portal, you will be shocked.

[Shifteh]

How anyone cannot recognize the amount of thought and effort that went into it is beyond me...
You know, thought and effort don't make things good just by existing. Like I said, Half-life 2 is a good game, but it isn't a great plot. And of course you don't have to justify why you like it -- I'm not saying you can't like it, I'm saying that it's rather ludicrous to say that it's the quintessential FPS game. I loved F.E.A.R., but I'm not going to claim it had the best plot ever, or that nothing can surpass it.

If you want to disprove my various examples of how Half-life 2 is lacking, go ahead, but if you don't, consider that I backed my opinion, and you're essentially saying "Nuh uh!"

[Taco]

I enjoyed it more than any other game. Apparently his feelings are similar.

No other "backing" is needed.

[KingGorilla]

Halflife 2 had a GREAT plot...until the end. Where most game, film, television stories utterly collapse, at the end. Ask Scorsesi how damn hard it is to write a proper ending. How about Oblivion, that ending was utter shit. Few games ever have a proper ending. Last ones I played that did were Indigo Prophecy, Psychonauts, and Advent Rising(written by Orson Scott Card).

[bean19]

Shifteh - What I'm getting from you is that, for you, a great story in a game can't be on rails. However, great stories in literature, movies, and every other story-telling medium are completely on rails. . .

So, I disagree with this argument, but it really is just opinion. At least this one isn't as simple as your first one.

[bryan]

Someone mentioned that Warhammer is pushed back to 2008, could someone link me to a source please? I was looking forward to it since I've quit WOW.

Supreme Commander might be the game that gets me back into RTS full hilt.

I never managed to get my copy of System Shock to work, though I think it's cause my computer was crap, so I never got into the whole System Shock cult. But regardless still looking forward to Bioshock.

I didn't realize Hellgate was Vista only. Very disappointed as I don't plan to upgrade to Vista for a good long time till they worked out all the bugs and kinks and from what I've read so far the absolute atrocious DRM issues, and their 'jilt bits.' Read this article (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/28/vista_drm_analysis/) on The Register for more info. And after reading it tell me you'd you even touch Vista with ten foot pole.

Crysis looks overhyped.

Stalker overreached and had to be reined back in by another company. Does not bode well.

I'll get get excited for UT2007 when I put together a new rig sometime this year.

[bean19]

Someone mentioned that Warhammer is pushed back to 2008, could someone link me to a source please? I was looking forward to it since I've quit WOW.

They don't have an official date yet, but they aren't in beta and they don't have the world construction for the entire world complete. 2008 is a reasonable estimate for an MMO. For instance, G&H, Age of Conan, and Vanguard all had playables at E3 last year. It's possible Warhammer could make it by the end of 2007, but I would bet against it.

Also, Hellgate isn't Vista-only. It will work on both. I thought about correcting the person that said that (forget who), but then I thought no one would believe him as going Vista-only would be retarded at this point.

Anyway, source (http://www.flagshipforums.com/index.php?showtopic=428&st=0&p=7455&#entry7455).

[bryan]

Makes sense. That's a real shame, thought they might benefit in terms of positioning against Burning Crusade.

[bean19]

Makes sense. That's a real shame, thought they might benefit in terms of positioning against Burning Crusade.

I'm hearing mixed reviews on Burning Crusade. . . mostly that it is not enough for a $40 expansion. I'm definitely going to check it out though as I'm sure there will be enough (compared to other games I buy) to keep me interested, and I also won't be playing on a PvP server anymore (Always hated world PvP as it is so often unbalanced and only chose it because I wanted to be certain that I'd get BG access eventually).

I'm really interested in the 2v2 arena matches as I can play these with my brother. Also, I think I will join a guild and give raiding another shot since it seems like with a 25-man, I will probably be able to find a mature guild (all adults that don't scream at each other and focus on having fun) to do the endgame content.

[Schnoogs]

Crysis looks overhyped..

I have to ask...how does game LOOK overhyped? I can see a game being overhyped but how does it look overhyped?

[Ravenlock]

Halflife 2 had a GREAT plot...until the end. Where most game, film, television stories utterly collapse, at the end. Ask Scorsesi how damn hard it is to write a proper ending. How about Oblivion, that ending was utter shit. Few games ever have a proper ending. Last ones I played that did were Indigo Prophecy, Psychonauts, and Advent Rising(written by Orson Scott Card).My vote for best ending has long since been a tie between The Dig (all the endings were great) and Grim Fandango. Have never seen anything come close to those two.

Seeing as they're members of an almost-dead genre, though (pretty much only the new Sam and Max games are still being made in the 3rd person click-fest adventure form), I doubt anything's going to topple them anytime soon.

For what it's worth, those games were, of course, completely "on-rails", since games in that genre always are. The best written stories generally have the least genuine user input, simply because the more user input you have, the more variables your story has to try to cover.

EDIT: There are exceptions to that statement, pretty much all RPG's. Fallout, Deus Ex, and Planescape: Torment come to mind. Still no endings better than the two I mentioned, though, IMO.

[bryan]

I have to ask...how does game LOOK overhyped? I can see a game being overhyped but how does it look overhyped?


In the sense that after all the furor regarding next gen graphics I've seen videos of it and have been left feeling underwhelmed.

[Fyd]

I just don't get the hype behind Crysis.

Me too, like with halo and gear of wars ^^