Topic: Most Significant Games of All Time

[Matthew]

Although I think mechwarrior was significant in that it was unique, in the end I don't think it significantly impacted video gaming much. Mech games didn't really catch on, and I don't think any of the features did either. It remained very much a niche genre.

[VANGUARD]

I love Call of Duty, even though I could see myself getting rid of most of them. Yeah, they are sort of the same. I think the older one, or Call of Duty 2 was significant.
It's a game where your teammates (AI) will shout out where the enemy is, in detail. "German, behind the broken wall, near the telephone pole!"

I miss COD2. That is one game I would love to own again, if I can get it to run on Linux. I think I can...
anyway.

[CrazyEnzo03]

Although I think mechwarrior was significant in that it was unique, in the end I don't think it significantly impacted video gaming much. Mech games didn't really catch on, and I don't think any of the features did either. It remained very much a niche genre.

Kinda funny how the past couple of years we had more than our usual share of giant stompy robot games.

[Matthew]

Indeed. The question is, will any of them actually catch on?

[-<WillyP>-]

On a related note, is there any ground left to break? In other words, are there only so many thing you can do given the human interface mode of screen, keyboard, mouse, etc...

[NUMBERZero]

There is definitely more ground to break. There is a new game engine, I forget what it is called, and it focuses on destruction and interaction with the environment. For example, when you shoot a wall, instead of breaking apart in a predetermined spot, it will actively fall apart exactly where you shot it. And you know how if your character wears robes or maybe a suit tie and he starts running and the robe or tie starts clipping through his legs or arms? The robes and tie now get smacked around like it REALLY SHOULD.

Also, virtual reality where head movement controls ingame head movements for first person shooters. Track IR does that, but not many games support it.

And SOOPAH virtual reality, about a gazabillion years down the road where... let's just say The Matrix. ^^

[VANGUARD]

What about Red Faction? Able to destroy parts of the enviroment.

[Sidhe Priest]

Ehehehe. Well here's the list.

1. Doom (1 & 2). Not because it's anything too special technically, but because of the engine and the "firestarter" status.
2. Heretic. Modified Doom engine, stunning soundtrack, haunting beauty, ambience, and a real inventory system!
3. Descent. Just great, and full-3D.
4. Quake. Again, more as an engine than a game, though it was still quite playable thanks to John Romero still being there in the team (and also Trent Reznor, whose ambientation work was the major part of the game's atmosphere).
5. Hexen. This is very underrated at times, but Hexen was an uber-cool RPG/FPS cross that just played itself for hours on end.
6. Hexen II. The quasi-sequel to Hexen, this is simply a masterpiece.
7. Descent 3, though overproduced and dulled-down, was quite interesting in its combination of cinematics, storyline and interactivity.
8. Neverwinter Nights. This did for RPGs what Quake did for FPS, extensive modding and creation booster.
9. Baldur's Gate, Fallout, Icewind Dale series (Infinity Engine) - again, a very extensively modded and player-campaign engine.
10. Morrowind. Strangely enough. It's a fairly monotonous game, but it spawned a huge modding community, and many folks say when properly modded it's superior to Oblivion, which again is rather nerfed. Morrowind finally took and turned the "persistent world" concept into something usable for singleplayer with a decent ambience. It's still a tad hollow though, and the lack of true dialogue (as in NWN) is a bummer.

Surely there is more, but those are some influential games that actually make the player want to stay in them.