1. Everquest. (the original one, up to Shadows of Luclin was a BLAST)
2. World of Warcraft. (Up to WOTLK, after that the game got WAY too watered down)
3. Call of Duty (specifically MW3 and Black ops)
4. The Legend of Zelda (The original Gold Cartridge: OMG WE CAN SAVE GAMES?!!?!!?)
5. Final Fantasy VII (pure epicness, why aren't the new FF games this fun?!?!)
I LOVE MMORPG's Everquest was like a dream come true when I first played it. You actualy felt like you were in another world. At the time, I had never experienced something so completely immersive. The community was pretty awesome too. You had to really take care to play the "politics" game and not get a bad rep if you wanted to get in with other good players. There were no random dungeon finders, amazing loot was EXTREMELY rare. You actually felt a sense of accomplishment when you made an achievement in that game. It was the hardest of the hardcore MMORPG's and there will never be another one like it. Thankfully, I was young and had next to zero responsibilities when I was able to play it. There's no way I could muster that level of dedication in a game nowadays.
World of Warcraft was a nice transition away from Everquest, The graphics were cartoony but at the time, very nice to look at. Even today I think certain zones in that game are amazing to look at graphically. The gameplay was somewhat challenging in vanilla before the developers started handing out free epics to EVERYONE who paid a subscription fee. However, I think that's what has kept the game alive for so long. You can jump in and be ready to raid or PVP again within a few days/weeks of playing, even after taking a LONG break. Something that is next to impossible in EQ.
Call of Duty series......... I never played a shooter until I was in my 30's Let me tell you. MW2 and Black OPS blew my freaking mind. Fast paced action, superb graphics, the sound effects, plus I could play online with my friends??@!?!?! Sign me up! Started out with a .35 KDR in MW2, a .65 KDR in Ops, and somehow started with a .65 in MW3... after a good year and a half of SUCKING at these games, I finally learned how to strafe shoot, burst fire, and play the maps with a bit of strategy. I played at over a 2.5 KDR for 3 months and raised my MW3 KDR from a .65 to a 1.10, and for a while ranked in the top 20,000 players for Kill Confirmed score. Not super amazing stats, but what a good time. Had to take the summer off because I prefer to spend time with my kids and Camaro rather than gaming, but I left off at 7th prestige and come september I plan to grind to 15th and get in gear for Black Ops2. Hopefully I won't start off with such an ABYSMAL KDR and can post up some legitimate numbers.
Legend of Zelda: Man, I was 8 years old when this game came out. A friend of mine at school had gotten it, and a group of 6 of us went STRAIGHT to his house after school to play it. I was so excited that I had forgotten to call my parents when I arrived at my friend's house. After several hours the Las Vegas Police department showed up looking for me. My mom was super paranoid and thougt that I had been kidnapped. (lol mom wtf) The game was worth the shaming from the officers and having to get walked home by them hahaha.
Final Fantasy VII: Best non multiplayer RPG ever. Really fun combat system, the world in that game felt SO BIG, and the story was incredible. The soundtrack..... epic. If the FF games were still like this, I'd be all over them.
There's a slew of other games that I've loved over the years. (Tekken, Gran Turismo series, NFS series, MADDEN. NHL hockey...I could go on and on and on.
Kids from the late 80's early 90's grew up playing video games together. We didn't sit and watch TV. We played outside plenty, but we loved our nintendos, segas, and playstations. Not to go all nostalgic, but I live clear across the country from most of my childhood friends. I love that I can jump on XBL and play games, talk smack and have a good time from the comfort of home.
Now they all just need to get Camaros and we will be all set
