lobotomy42

VOTE FOR THE BEST GAME OF ALL TIME

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Seriously, why not? Everyone seems to hate these stupid lists...so let's see if ours comes out any different.

Just type in your favorite game and we'll tally them up as we go...

I vote for Grim Fandango. Go!

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A big part of me is telling me not to get involved in this

Another part of me though is saying Grim Fandango

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Grim Fandango had a great story, but controlling Manny was like trying to steer a dump truck. Also, you couldn't even combine objects together. Seriously, what.

As a story? :tup:

As a game? :tdown:

I have spoken. Or something.

Oh wait I didn't write down a game. Star Control II. I didn't like it myself, but I certainly appreciated the incredible detail and depth that the game had. It was pretty hard not to be humbled by the damn thing.

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Grim Fandango. If everyone who doesn't recognize its status chooses to be pussies and abstain from voting all together, that's fine by me.

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Y'know what? I love Grim Fandango. It's one of my favorite games ever made. Is it one of the best? I don't feel qualified to say. Who is? There are a lot of games that I love. The best game of all time? Well, that probably changes every year or so. As graphics/plot/gameplay/whatever gets you off evolve, the best game ever made will be the newest and greatest evolution of that. I'll say a favorite game from several genres, sure. Grim Fandango, Alien Hominid, Ocarina of Time, Tron 2.0, Donkey Kong Country 2. There's a few for you. Are any of these the best? I doubt it. How is this still a topic with so many different people with so many different preferences playing games?

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How is this still a topic with so many different people with so many different preferences playing games?

This is more or less what I wanted to say. Why does there even have to be something that is "best"? There are a ton of these lists, for games in particular, and every forum and every site does polls to calculate which one is superior. Does it ever lead to any good discussion? Rarely, if ever.

If we were going to have this kind of thing, it should just be a thread called "post your favorite game" and you would have to back it up with actual reasons and a screenshot or two.

Grim Fandango kicks most games in the metaphorical nuts though.

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I would rather make it favorite 3 or something, it's difficult to pick one

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So we could talk about games we like, and then maybe some games we don't like? sounds like some sorta forum to me!!! i can't play grim for more than 5 minutes before getting too frustrated with the controls. i'm going for earthbound. the writing's better than anything else around, and its pretty as all hell. i like the start sequence of super metroid very much, but that doesn't count as a game.

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Since we claim to be above all that Edge nonsense here and are generally better informed and superior human beings, how about we don't post what our favourite game is?

Instead, thats agree on some criteria, then have a think, then post the game that we each judge to be the best, rather than the one we would like to win.

Off the top of my head for instance, I might nominate Super Mario Brothers; even though I personally would prefer to see Sonic win, because SMB:

  • is a really playable game,
  • it is very well crafted,
  • it coined a genre
  • it introduced iconic characters, all of which
  • made Nintendo a household name

That was just an example, I'd have to think a bit more carefully to make sure I haven't overlooked a more important game.

So what criteria? How about

Concept (including the story if it is a narrative game)

Gameplay (including features, balance etc)

Use of Technology (including graphics if they are a major component)

Quality (including art assets if important)

Impact (the knock on effect the game had on the industry and the world)

Interject now if you disagree, agree, or wish to remain neutral!

Yes this is an attempt at being objective, which Thumbs likes to steer clear of, but even attempting one of these lists is an admission of a desire for objective judgement. There's no point in trying decide a "subjectively best" game.

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[...]because SMB:
  • is a really playable game,
  • it is very well crafted,
  • it coined a genre
  • it introduced iconic characters, all of which
  • made Nintendo a household name

I take offense at that inconsistently phrased bullet list.

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Interject now if you disagree, agree, or wish to remain neutral!

Yes this is an attempt at being objective, which Thumbs likes to steer clear of, but even attempting one of these lists is an admission of a desire for objective judgement. There's no point in trying decide a "subjectively best" game.

I like your criteria actually and I think that if any good discussion is to come from a list like this, a common base of discussion will be needed. So I guess I'm on board.

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There are too many criteria, it's just impossible.

I think it's better to focus on one aspect, and highlight the game(s) that set milestones in that aspect.

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Let it be known that, before this thread matured/degenerated into people talking about how stupid this thread is, that....

GRIM FANDANGO WAS WINNING!

Therefore, Grim Fandango is truly the best game ever and I win! Yes!

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I take offense at that inconsistently phrased bullet list.

The internets made me do it.

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I'm voting for Daikatana.

Design is the law, you know?

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Grim Fandango had a great story, but controlling Manny was like trying to steer a dump truck. Also, you couldn't even combine objects together. Seriously, what.

As a story? :tup:

As a game? :tdown:

I agree with you. When people ask me what I think the "best game ever" is (which, yes, is a very stupid thing to ask), I make a rather odd and probably pointless distinction where I say Grim Fandango is the best in terms of a work of entertainment/art in general, but Deus Ex is the best in terms of being a game, because I think it utilized interactivity to the greatest effect of any game I've played and really embodies in my mind what a game can do, even though the art was uninspired and the writing was bland and so on and so forth.

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Hitman Blood Money : I'm a long way from finishing it yet but what I played simply was simpley 100% brilliant and surprising and all kinds of things.

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Grim Fandango had a great story, but controlling Manny was like trying to steer a dump truck. Also, you couldn't even combine objects together. Seriously, what.

As a story? :tup:

As a game? :tdown:

I have spoken. Or something.

Oh wait I didn't write down a game. Star Control II. I didn't like it myself, but I certainly appreciated the incredible detail and depth that the game had. It was pretty hard not to be humbled by the damn thing.

Grim Fandango had great controls. Seriously, I loved them, and I wasn't even a Resident Evil nut at the time. They weren't in the way, they were simple, and best of all, they didn't detract from the cinematic experience. Someone could just sit down and *watch*. You could hold down the "up" arrow and watch Manny run in a continuous straight line for multiple screens, even as the camera angles changed.

Seriously, if GF had a stupid Monkey Island-esque mouse pointer waving around all the time, I'd hate it.

The controls were fine. The gameplay was great, combining objects or no. The story was fantastic.

Look, it was just perfect, and clearly the best game ever, and if you can't accept that than I'm afraid you're going to have to live with being dead wrong for the rest of your life, and possibly I'll take you off my MySpace page or something. That's what you get!

GRIM FANDANGO WINS AGAIN

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Go Grim Go!

I think at some point we have to make distinctions between influence and quality. While I think SMB wins on both, that doesn't mean that a game of the same quality but with less recognition doesn't deserve a spot on the list. If it were "The Most Influential Games of All Time" or "The Most Important Games of All Time," that would be the case. Lists serve a purpose both to take the pulse of the evolving attitudes of whoever is making the list, and as a an opening to discuss what is important in games and what makes the great ones great.

Just because different people have different preferences than others doesn't mean that the reason behind these preferences can't be argued.

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Wow, any passer-by lookig at the list of topics right now might think this was a typical internet gaming forum :P

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I don't know about Grim Fandango...

I liked the idea of criteria for a great game, although my criteria are a little different. For me great games are ones that I can sit down and play over and over again for any number of time.

Whereas Grim and other games in that genre I would say were great experiences, I would have to leave them for a couple of years so that I forgot the plot and the twists to be able to enjoy it again. So much of it is reliant on the novelty of the first experience with diminishing returns with each subsequent replay.

I would easily put Speedball 2, SMB3, and Super Streetfighter above Grim Fandango on the list as each of these I can still spend anywhere from 5 minutes to two hours replaying these; finding new things each time I pick up the controller.

I enjoyed Psychonauts, Monkey Island etc. But like I said a great game for me has the very bare minimum of story and is never dependant on it to propell me through the levels.

I mumbled something about Manhunt recently, again I found the game very compelling at the time. So I tried to replay it. Couldn't as I still remember the twists and turns of the plot too vividly and so I'm left with a simplified version of Splinter Cell with a decent soundtrack.

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The idea of the "best game" is ridiculous, the same way you can't really say "the best film" of all time. Super Mario World still amazes me at how well it was designed, Knights of the Old Republic dazzles me with its story and characters and Guitar Hero II floors me with it's sheer enjoyability... Which is the best?

(Guitar Hero II...)

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