5 video games that changed the way you look at gaming

[thedoorsdk]

I've been thinking a lot recently about how my tastes in video games have changed over the years, and what games were landmarks in my shifting perspective. This isn't necessarily a "5 best games" or even a "5 favorite games" list, but rather a recognition of the impact certain games had on you, even if you don't think they're the best or most important games of their era/genre.
Mine goes something like this:

1) Sonic the Hedgehog - Sega Genesis

I had an NES when I was a kid, but I was only about 5 or so, so it never really pulled me in too much. I remember playing Mario, TMNT, Ninja Gaiden, and others, but I was never addicted to any videogame until a few years later when my dad bought my brother's and I a Sega Genesis. Sonic the Hedgehog was packed in with the system, and it was the first videogame I fell in love with. I can't even count how many hours I sunk into that game (and in fact, my time with the original pales by far in comparison with Sonic 2), but that was the first time videogames became an important part of my everyday life. I still have vivid memories of my brothers and I trying to get the level-select cheat to work on the intro screen, and of finally seeing my brother beat the game. Good times.

2) Metal Gear Solid - Playstation
Sonic was great and entertaining, but it wasn't until the original MGS that I felt that games could be more than just fun. I remember my brother renting it when it first came out (before the hype exploded around it), and he wouldn't let me play it because he had spent his own money on it. So, instead, I watched him play. I was just as blown away, if not more so, as a spectator than he was as a player. The cinematic approach was so new and exciting at that time, I can still remember my jaw-dropping during the opening credits sequence. The action movie aesthetic wasn't the only thing that pulled me in, though: I actually cared about the characters and the plot for the first time ever. I still love MGS to this day, and once every year or so I play through the entire series all over again.

3) Resident Evil 2 - Playstation
Back when survival horror was still new and exciting, RE2 scared the hell out of me. I used to rent this game every weekend (my mom didn't mind paying for me to rent a game for a couple nights, even if it ended up being more expensive than just buying it), and I still remember having to close my eyes and continually hit start so I wouldn't have to see the zombie face at the beginning. The notion of survival was also new for me, as it took more than a few deaths for me to realize that running was more often than not the best option. Having not been raised on games like Zelda, RE2 also served as my introduction to obtuse puzzles in games. Even something like moving two statues onto the colored squares on the floors was confusing at first. This one feels a little dated now, but I still love the series.

4) Guitar Hero - Playstation 2
There's not a lot I can say on here that you guys probably don't already know, so I'll just say that I remember getting lots of odd looks from my roommate's friends when I first got this freshman year. The whole GH-craze was still a couple months away, but I took Penny Arcade's advice and picked up a copy as soon as it came out. Watching it go from a small, odd-looking game to a cultural phenomenon was cool to see, as was getting people like my dad and other family members to finally play a video game. The first Holiday season after Guitar Hero came out was spent in front of the TV, with everyone taking turns with the single plastic guitar. Clearly, my love affair with this game continues to this very day.

5) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - Playstation 3
Outside of some time spent with the Medal of Honor games or the original Half Life, I was a cynic when it came to FPS games. I was the guy who wondered what all the fuss was about when it came to stuff like Halo (I mean, I still think that game sucks, but whatev). I was also completely against any and all forms of online multiplayer, feeling that the single-player experience was where the true rewards were located. COD4 proved me wrong. The single-player campaign was more captivating than I thought any FPS could be (I actually formed rather strong emotional connections with characters like Cpt. Price and Gaz and there were more than a few HOLY S*IT moments), and the multiplayer taught me the very meaning of the word addiction. I've tried other shooters since, and nothing has felt right. I'm fairly positive that the only game that's ever going to top COD4 in terms of sheer fun and multiplayer depth is Infinity Ward's next project.

So there's my top 5, although I'd like to give honorable mention to:
Final Fantasy 8
Metroid Fusion
Street Fighter Alpha 3
Streets of Rage 2
Devil May Cry

I'm interested to hear your guys' lists.

[Zeleii]

Sonic The Hedgehog 2
It originally got me into gaming and showed me that it's really fun and got me into Platformers big time.

Halo 3
Taught me that even morons can be good at games... and proved to me that the 360's overall community sucks

Guild Wars
Realized online gaming is really great and it's very fun to cooperatively work with people on a common goal

Guitar Hero 2
First rhythm game and I haven't looked back... my favorite genre period

LittleBigPlanet
Proved that even small minds can be creative and little things can be fun

[Cubecubed]

1.Super mario 64(N64)-first really good 3d platformer

2.Bioshock(X360)-amazing story,atmosphere

3.Halo(XBox)-First Good FPS on a console

4.guitar hero(ps2)-started my love of music games

5.Donkey Kong Country(SNES)-first time i realized how good video game graphics could get.

[theantkid12]

Call me a fanboy of Gears I don't care but it isn't my favorite all time game.

5.) Gears of War 1

-Simply because it was the first shooter I enjoyed a lot. I'm not a huge shooter fan, more adventure/rpg/rhythm fan but this game's campaign had me hooked weirdly. Everything seemed perfect the way Epic made it.

4.) World of Warcraft

-I still play it to this day. I love how it was just so jam packed with things you could do. I've been through thick and thin with some many amazing people and friends on that game and those friends are sure to be life long.

3.) Rock Band 1

-Simply because it changed EVERYTHING I knew about rhythm games. Drums? Singing? Band?! Crazy stuff. I was a Guitar Hero fanboy but Guitar Hero 3 was something that turned me off so horribly. Rock Band was the immediate painkiller (RB2 reference ftfw)

2.) Fable 1

-First real rpg I played. I loved how diverse you could be and how you changed everything how you wanted it to be, which was a real stickler in games that the personality went with the character.

1.) Kingdom Hearts 1/2

-All time. Favorite games. I could play through both of them over and over and never get bored. The Disney mix with the great Final Fantasy series and the lovable characters and extremely complex story line makes for the greatest game in my book.

[Nitz13]

1. Sonic/Sonic2 - we all have to start somewhere yea?

2. Anything by Blizzard(Starcraft, Diablo and Warcraft) - Can these guys ever do anything wrong?

3.Guitar Hero 2 - never got a PS2 so GH2 was first Rhythm game for Xbox360.

4. Bioshock - Hands down one of the best games I've played.

5. Perfect Dark(N64) - I never actually had a N64 but my buddy would bring over his and we spent pretty much our entire summer playing around in the combat simulator.

[thedoorsdk]

A lot of interesting responses so far, stuff I never even thought about.
And no mention of Final Fantasy 7 yet? Blows my mind.

[Shredder87]

Ah, Childhood memories....

(In no particular Order)

1)Snake Rattle N' Roll(NES)
I think I was like 8 at the time, but my goodness this early Rare game had me by the balls. Nothing beat being a snake eating crap up and trying to get to the stupid weight thingy.

2)Resident Evil 2(ps).
I crapped my pants at 11 at a video game for the first time. I seriously would be scared to walk up to the glass door to shut the curtains down over at my aunts house.

3)Sonic 3(Genesis)
Yeah, I spent a lot of time with this bad boy when it came out. AND THEN WHEN THAT KNUCKLES EXPANSION CAME OUT, forget it.

4)Splinter Cell-Chaos Theory(Xbox)
I thought stealth games were a joke. I mean I tried MGS(I still want to really like it!!!I just don't!) and I tossed it out the window. So when a friend of mine told me if I wanted to co-op with him on Chaos Theory I gave him a blunt "Fu** no!!!". To my surprise I actually enjoyed putting a bullet to his head when he set the alarms off, or just punch him. Glorious.

5)The Legend Of Zelda:Ocarina Of Time(N64)
This was the game that ruined it for many other games at the time. How can you have a more awesome game than this?! It had it all, romance, deceit, revenge, and one big ass sword. By far my most cherished of all games.





AND 6)
Streets of Rage 2!!!!!!!(Genesis)
HELL YES!!!! That is all.

Edit-
Damn I left out Fable. Only game that I actually noticed that I hadn't taken a game break when passing it in one sitting.

[Renrock]

Super Mario Brothers
Legend of Zelda
Resident Evil
Phantasy Star Online
Rock Band

[iknowthenumber]

Psychonauts - Made me realize that games could actually be laugh out loud funny, not just chuckle a little bit under your breath funny.

Splinter Cell - Taught me the virtue of patience in video games. Sometimes running and gunning isn't always the way to go.

Final Fantasy VIII - First RPG I ever played. Still one of my favorite genres to this day.

Bioshock - One of the first games that told a story worth telling that couldn't really be told through any other medium.

Guitar Hero 2 - Got me into the music/rhythm genre.

[instantdeath999]

Rather than make out a huge list, I will only say games that have come out in the past few months.

Fable 2 is, in my opinion, going in a great decision. I love the idea of a game that forces you to make tough decisions. I also love the idea of a dog.

Same goes for Fallout 3, for the most part.

[rockfresh126]

5) Doom---Still the only game I've managed to get my father to play with me.

4) FF7. The game that proved an RPG's aren't for nerds. With a story as epic as the best book or movie, this one takes the cake.

3) Guitar Hero---Who knew fake plastic instruments would one day bring everyone you know together? Greatest social experience you can get.

2) Breakout---yup...Atari rules. The first game I played, and my mother and I would spend hours with this.

1) Shadow of the Colossus--I'm not saying it's the greatest game ever (in fact I prefer the others on the list). This is the first game that's truly proved the "game as art" thing to me. Beautiful, epic, sad, all the emotion you could possibly get from aby work of "art."

[Cubecubed]

5) Doom---Still the only game I've managed to get my father to play with me.

4) FF7. The game that proved an RPG's aren't for nerds. With a story as epic as the best book or movie, this one takes the cake.

3) Guitar Hero---Who knew fake plastic instruments would one day bring everyone you know together? Greatest social experience you can get.

2) Breakout---yup...Atari rules. The first game I played, and my mother and I would spend hours with this.

1) Shadow of the Colossus--I'm not saying it's the greatest game ever (in fact I prefer the others on the list). This is the first game that's truly proved the "game as art" thing to me. Beautiful, epic, sad, all the emotion you could possibly get from aby work of "art."

loved shadow. that and god of war are tied for my #6 spot.

[thedoorsdk]

I almost added God of War to my honorable mentions list, but I had to pass on it. Even though it's the only game I've restarted immediately after beating (without even turning the console off), it didn't do too much for me that Devil May Cry hadn't done a few years earlier.

[JukeBoxHero]

1.Dragon Monster Warrior(Game Boy Color)

This game really showed me how fun video games could truly be. I never got around to beating the game but it was fun breeding creatures, raising them and trying all the combinations I could. A good few of eggs I got were bad it certainly was fun.

2.Final Fantasy 7(Playstation)

The first game that made me, actually like and feel connected for the characters in the story. I love all of the AVALANCHE team, intriguing characters in their own right. I got rather upset when Aeris( my favorite character of any game I played) died even though I heard about it before hand. The game sucked me into it's world, something that a good number of games that I've play don't do for me. I must also comment that FF7 was the first game that I paid some attention to the music, set the atmosphere rather well for the game.

3.Halo

Another step closer in really getting into the music. I really enjoyed(and still do) the music, particularly after getting to the Silent Cartographer. It was a fun game and the first one to make me look up some online websites to talk about it. I made a number of online friends at one of the websites(halo.bungie.org), I still generally play with them although lately other games have got my attention.

4.Guitar Hero 2

The final step in opening up my musical taste. I didn't really expect a music rhythm game to be much fun but I got hooked the moment I played. It made me look at rock music(and music in general) with a entirely new light.The first time I could appreciate music for what it really is and spun me on the following paths.
1.Inspired me to pick up bass and form a band
2.Began my search of listening to all kinds of music.

5. That one has yet to come, so I don't quite know.

[Zeleii]

A lot of interesting responses so far, stuff I never even thought about.
And no mention of Final Fantasy 7 yet? Blows my mind.
Final fantasy 7 was vastly overrated...

[instantdeath999]

Final fantasy 7 was vastly overrated...

I'm not a game expert, but I believe it was revolutionary in some way to RPG's. I haven't played it, though.

[vandalizemenow00]

1. Mike Tyson's Punch Out- I played it a few years back and took me three tries to remember to code to get to Mike and I beat him on my second try. Love this game.

2. Super Tecmo Bowl- 8bit Nintendo game defined how I looked at sports games for nearly a decade.

3. Madden 02- had played earlier years, but this was the year that football overtook baseball as my favorite sport.

4. ESPN Poker- Live play on the internet. Learned how to play the game from the ground up. My life revolved around poker for about 4 years until I realized I would never be good enough to go pro.

5. GH 3- First rythm based game I played. RB does it better but this was the game that opened my eyes to a whole new genre of gaming.

[JukeBoxHero]

A lot of interesting responses so far, stuff I never even thought about.
And no mention of Final Fantasy 7 yet? Blows my mind.

I've mentioned it now.(Aeris FTW!!!) :)

[Runesmith]

1. Pokemon Red/Blue: The Pokemon series started my lifelong obsession over RPGs. Excepting Rock Band and the occasional fighting game, RPGs are the only type of games I really play.

2. Neverwinter Nights 1: Quite possibly my favorite online game ever.

3. Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

4. A tie between Street Fighter 2: Turbo and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time: My mom used to play these two games with me when I was a little kid, so they both have a lot of nostalgia attached to them. Street Fighter started my interest in fighting games.

5. Rock Band

Honorable Mentions:

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (Killer storyline, great gameplay, and the best dialogue out of any game I've ever played.)
Knights of the Old Republic I & II
Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (Best fighting game ever made, IMO.)
Dragon Warrior (NES)
Guitar Hero 2
Zone of the Enders (GBA version - love the character development in this game.)

[thedoorsdk]

Final fantasy 7 was vastly overrated...

I don't necessarily disagree, but I think a lot of people have a special bond with their first role-playing game, which I know for a lot of people was FF7. My first was FF8, and I definitely prefer that over any other FF game by a wide margin.

[MooTrain]

I've been playing video games since I could walk.

Pool of Radiance. Waaaaaaaay back around 1989, my first computer RPG and I absolutely loved it. Played through it at least three times and played the rest of the gold box games multiple times. Great series. Started my love of CRPGs and Dungeons and Dragons.

Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 - The first time I've ever cared about a character in a party with me. When I first abandoned Jaheira (sp?) for another character, and she was upset to be left behind... wow. Then in #2 - small amounts of romances developed.

Planescape Torment - changed the way I look at storytelling in video games. Nothing's ever come as close to as compelling a story before, or since.

Quake: Team Fortress - I had played online deathmatch before...but never felt so compelled to keep on playing. There was something in the balance of the classes in this game that was absolutely brilliant. This was in my college years, and we played for days on end. The day I mastered the 'rocket jump'...

Everquest / World of Warcraft - the timesinks. As a perrenial single player RPG player, who seldom ventured out of my own private world, these were amazing.

Frequency - Yeah; Fanboy on the Rock Band site. I picked this up as my third PS2 game (after Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance and GTA3) and it holds a special place in my heart as the first game to successfully blend music and controller button pressing in my heart.

Rock Band - of course, I have to mention Rock Band. Previously, gaming was never a social thing for me. Something I did by myself, occasionally online. This is without a doubt the one game that will keep me owning an XBox 360 forever. I see myself playing this for the next twenty years.

[LankanLatino]

Sonic 2
Final Fantasy 7
Guitar Hero 2
Super Mario 64
whatever my first FPS was but i forget

and i know in the future im gonna add Mirror's Edge to this list

[TheClashTheClashTheClash]

Call of Duty 2-1st game I got for 360 and I played it so much and it made me a fan of FPSs

Guitar Hero 2- Got me into the music games

Rock Band- Gave me the full band expierence and it has shown me how much better RB is compared to GH(3,WT)

Metal Gear Solid 2- This game was a stealthy game and I replayed it atleast 10 times, now I love those games where you just sneak around and killin people

Fallout 3-1st RPG I have really played and I love it

[Eerif]

1. Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight
2. Grim Fandango
3. Star Wars Galaxies
4. Goldeneye (N64)
5. Super Mario Bros 3 (NES)

I'll write reasons as to why later :P

[torchinthesky=rainingfire]

resistance
the thought that a bizarre species of warlike creatures have been in the earth for thousands of years is quite interesting.
and tides of war changing so rapidly is pretty cool

legend of zelda twilight princess
every game needs a story or it is pointless
and they really shouldn't be hopelessly violent. which is why this is on my list. in terms of damage dealt to an enemy it doesn't take to much to kill one so you don't end up having to hack and slash at it for 10 minutes. and strategies for defeating a boss.

rock band
every game needs a goo sound track and should be really fun.
while it has no story it is pretty fun

command and conquer
managing armies is fun
and counter on counter attacks make for a different play every time




ratchet and clank\jak and daxter
platforming games and 3rd person shooters are very interesting in how you have to get to some where and you always seem to have the tool to use. and you can carry around all your weapons in stead of just 2 because then if you're like me you are out of ammo or close to and something big comes up

[rockfresh126]

Planescape Torment - changed the way I look at storytelling in video games. Nothing's ever come as close to as compelling a story before, or since.




DAMN!! How the hell did I not include this game. Great, great, great game

[Mex]

1) Phantasy Star - Sega Master System

I was completely blown away with this game and can't believe I finished it. These were the days before you could just go online and ask for help on a forum or look up a FAQ/Walkthrough. I was like 9 years old or something. Fell in love with the story and the "3D" perspective when walking through dungeons blew my mind at the time :)

2)EA's NHL Hockey (1st one) - Sega Genesis

At the time I'd never seen a sports game like it. It was so much more realistic than other sports games I'd seen, the way the puck moved around the ice, the satisfaction of repeatedly checking the crap out of a guy even after the whistle. Ah good times. And what's this?!?! A REPLAY?? Holy crap!

3)Goldeneye - N64

Still think this is one of the greatest games of all time. Can't say for sure but this was one of the first FPS' I ever played and I really felt James Bond-ish. The replayability (different routes on levels) and multiplayer action kept me coming back for more.

4)City of Heroes - PC

My first and only MMORPG. I have a fascination with "Hero Culture" so I bought it off the rack without any prior research. I wasn't dissapointed at all. Incredible character creator, fast paced action, meeting really interesting players from around the world, forming Supergroups. Great fun. For a MMO virgin it was perfect. I still play now and then.

5)Guitar Hero 2 - PS2

Played it before I'd tried the original. Blew me a way in ways I can't describe. You guys all know it, so I'll leave it at that.

[trench762]

Megaman - moreso than mario this game got me into games. Insanely difficult on NES, no save or password feature. First time I got to dr wily the game froze, needless to say, very po'd

Twisted metal 2 - I liked the first one, but I spent so many hours playing this one. The endings seemed really clever at the time, not to mention the great multiplayer

WCW vs the world - was big into wrestling when I was a kid, this was however the first wrestling game I liked, and it had my favorite wrestler under a different name. Sabu! All the wcw sequals based on this control scheme were pretty great. Then wrestling lost it's appeal, I'm sure the new wrestling games are good too, but I'd rather not play them.

Quake 2 - my exposure to online gaming. Spent countless hours playin The Edge map. Was nasty with a railgun. My pc wasn't good enough to run q3 when it was first released, so I got it on the dreamcast, almost won a custom dreamcast in a tournament, made it to the semi-finals and lost by 2 points to the guy who won overall.

Everquest - I hated this game when I first played it, as my character grew stronger I liked it more and more. Was a necromancer. The thing about everquest that sucked was downtime, but as a necro, one of the best solo classes, at least I didn't have to have a group to progress. Probably spent more time with this game than any other.

I know you said 5, but obviously the latest would be guitar hero, the original. Had much more fun with GH2 with the multiplayer aspect, but the original was like a training for what was to come.

[funkydunkleman]

The Legend of Zelda: A Link To the Past
Goldeneye 64
The Sims
Grand Theft Auto III
Guitar Hero II

[jrcronlakers]

Pac Man. Started my video game career.
Dragons Layer. First real cartoon style game I can remember. Broke my piggy bank on this one.
Techmo bowl. Couldn't stop that stupid slant pass by Montana to Rice.
Resident Evil 2. This also scared me. Never new a game could do that.
Rock Band. Greatest family game ever conceived.
There are so many more that can be added to this list but OP did ask for five.

[Agentespio]

Rock Band
Parappa the Rapper
LoZ: Ocarina of Time
Sonic CD
Sonic Adventure 2

[dady5000]

1)Super Mario 64-N64
2)Goldeneye-N64
3)Guitar Hero-PS2
4)Metal Gear Solid-PS1
5)Half Life 1-PC

All are pretty self explainitory, and all have shaped my tastes in gaming.

[Nitz13]

2)EA's NHL Hockey (1st one) - Sega Genesis

At the time I'd never seen a sports game like it. It was so much more realistic than other sports games I'd seen, the way the puck moved around the ice, the satisfaction of repeatedly checking the crap out of a guy even after the whistle. Ah good times. And what's this?!?! A REPLAY?? Holy crap!

Damn forgot about the NHL series. My first was 93 or 94 for the Genesis. My most played probably 1997, me and my buddy used to spend our afternoons(after School) playing this for hours on end. yeah I used to love running people over after the whistle. :D

[mimic]

Resident Evil - Spawned a new style of gaming, had never seen anything like it before. Never jumped from a video game till then.

GTA 3 - I was blown away, we all were. Nothing like it before.

Final Fantasy - I hated first person dungeon rpgs and when I saw this I was hooked. I wish the new rpgs still had that same feel.

Super Mario - There were tons of side scrolling clones but none was better.

Guitar Hero - You wouldn't be reading this if it was never made.

[Fizzywix]

Probably not 100%, just what I can think of right now.

1. Dark Age of Camelot - This was the first MMO I played, followed by FFXI and World of Warcraft. Definately made me look at videogames in a new light. I've had some of the greatest friends and memories on these games, and as dorky as that is, I don't care because these were just great games.

2. Super Mario Bros. - This was the first game I ever played, so it is a must, naturally.

3. Counterstrike - The first FPS I played, and the first online multiplayer game I ever played. Even today, few games rival the competitiveness and teamwork/strategy required to play this game, and it came out so many years ago.

4. Rock Band - Althought I started music games playing DDR and Guitar Freaks in arcades, I'm fairly confident that the Rock Band series is and will remain my favorite games until there are serious leaps in gaming technology.

5. Now this one is tought. As far as modern games go, I'd say a lot of games have raised the bar and set a new standard for gaming. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has a perfect blend of a great single player game, and a near flawless multiplayer component. Fallout 3 and Bioshock show that single player games are not dead- far from it in fact. Rock Band has changed music gaming forever. Metal Gear Solid 4 has made the PS3 a worthy system :P LittleBigPlanet has launched what I think will be the next big thing in console gaming - user creation (I know it isn't the first, but its the first majorly successful). It's jsut amazing. If I had to pick one single game that has changed modern gaming and how I look at it, I'd say Halo/the Halo series.

[Fausttt]

1. Super Mario Brothers 3 - Beat the first one quickly and the second one was ok, but nothing special. Once 3 came out, I knew video games would forever be a part of my life.

2. Pools of Radiance - as mentioned previously, this was the first RPG I had played (i don't count "Dragonstomper") and it hooked me. I instantly became a fan of computer games and DnD.

3.Half-Life - i liked shooters alright. I had doom/duke nukem and a zillion mods (Pr0n duke nukem ftw!), but it was half-life that showed me you can have a FPS that had depth, an amazing storyline, and a character you actually cared about (even if he didn't talk). If was the first time you actually FELT like you were part of a living breathing world (even if you were confined to the walls of black mesa)

4. Starcraft - I played and loved Warcraft and warcraft 2 (and a billion RTS clones that came out around then) but it wasn't until starcraft that I became sucked in. Multiplayer with my friends was epic.

5. Everquest - I played ultima but hated it. Everquest was the first time i became part of an online community. I was in a time level guild (back when that meant something) and seen encounters, had massive epic battles, and had to use strategy unlike ANY other MMO since then. I sunk countless hours of time into that game (6 years total playing!). I have since played plenty of MMO's and none have been able to capture the epicness of some of the battles in everquest.

runner ups.
1. Sonic the hedgehog
2. FF1/Dragon Warrior
3. Doom (school LAN parties rock!)
4. Myth
5. Rock Band
6. Planescape:torment
7. Diablo

[Runesmith]

I'm surprised I'm the only person to mention the original Pokemon games. Are people just too ashamed to mention it, or are Red/Blue not nearly as influential as I thought they were?

[ELDUDEARINO69]

Damn forgot about the NHL series. My first was 93 or 94 for the Genesis. My most played probably 1997, me and my buddy used to spend our afternoons(after School) playing this for hours on end. yeah I used to love running people over after the whistle. :D

And I thought I was the only human being that played those games lol. I'm going to have to hunt them down since Nintendo don't want to go through all the license to put the SNES version on Wiishop. Though I loved hitting people too after the whistle great stuff!

ANYWAYSSSSSSS

1. Duck Hunt (NES) - This was the only game I played when I was little lol

2. Pieces (SNES) - My mom's friend gave it to me, and for some reason I sat there and played this damn puzzle game all day long. Too bad it's like $30 on ebay =/ Addicting as hell though.

3. Super Mario 64 (N64) - First serious game I played. Still to this day I haven't beat it. Closest Dad & I got was 116 Stars =[. Good game when a 40 year old man will play it more than I will HAHA! But its a fantastic game!

4. Guitar Hero 2 (PS2/X-360) - If it wasn't for this I wouldn't even be here or playing Rock Band for that matter. Well it was good back in the day.

5. Rock Band / Rock Band 2 (X-360) - ...No explaining needed

[BigMonkE]

1. Guitar Hero 2
2. Rock Band
3. BioShock
4. Mass Effect
5. Star Wars: Galaxies (>.<)

[abacab]

Final Fantasy VII - The game that got me into RPG's. Beautiful plot, amazing soundtrack and some of the best character development you'll ever see. Not to mention graphically incredible for its time.

Harvest Moon Series - Farming? Who the hell thought this would be a good idea? For some reason it does work and each iteration makes me think of all the time spent wooing the local hotties or trying to track down all those damn power berries.

Rock Band - It has rarely left my system and is one of those games that continuously builds on itself and giving the gamer something new every week.

Smash Bros. Brawl - nintendo characters beating the crap out of each other just feels right. The battle system for this series is perfect. The original set the stage but Brawl is Smash at it's best.

Mario 64 - It was the first to do it and no one has come close to doing it as good again. Not even Nintendo.

[Flawless]

1) Asheron's Call - The MMORPG was one of the first alongside Everquest and UO, but aside from bringing me into the genre, I met my fiance through it (yes, I know) and we've been together for almost EIGHT years now.

2) Super Mario Bros. 2 - Although Super Mario Bros was the first console game I remember playing (we owned an intellivision too) this is the game that made me a gamer.

3) Rock Band - Completely made me re-evaluate what makes gaming FUN, after the sea of FPS games and MMOs, I made the leap into a new genre and it's led me to a game that I've spent as many hours as a MMO into.

4)Final Fantasy VI - Or 3, whatever. This game led me to a live long love of the JRPGing gaming, and is still one of the most EPIC games I've ever played.

5)PixelJunk Monsters - Number five was so interchangable I figured I'd go with a money-time ratio game and point out this is the best game on the PSN and one of the best games on the PS3 to this point. Spent way too many hours to count on it... playing CO-OP with my fiance. Amazing.

[kiggidykev]

1) Donkey Kong - Way back when my dad had a Colecovision and a shoebox full of games, this was the only game that I ever played on it. Didn`t find it particularly fun at the time, but it introduced me to video games, so I`m thankful to Donkey Kong.

2) Super Mario Bros 2 - Was my first NES game that I actually got to own. I had no idea how to beat the boss of the first level, but it was my game and taught me how to run and jump on things, how to search for hidden areas, and that different characters had different abilities.

3) Final Fantasy III (the NA one) - First RPG I ever played, my friend Stephen and I rented this sucker every weekend for nearly 4 months until we finished it all (this was before we all had internet access and had to find out all the secrets via Nintendo Power!). It introduced me to games that had intricate storylines and stat managing. Still my favorite RPG of all time.

4) Rock Band - After a very long slump of finding gaming just plain uninteresting, Rock Band got me interested in not only games, but social nights and music again. With all the things they`ve done right with this game, I`ve never been a more supportive backer of a company than I am with Harmonix right now.

I don`t really have a fifth :p

[sillystou]

1) Gran Turismo (Playstation 1)
2) Mario 64 (Nintendo 64)
3) Guitar Hero 2 (PS2)
4) Golden Eye (Nintendo 64)
5) Grand Theft Auto Vice City (PS2)

[bmcorrier]

In order that they inspired me...


Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Genesis)-I think it was this game that got me into gaming. My parents bought me a sega when I was young and this was the first game I got. My friends had SNES and mario...and I never got into that. It was Sonic that did it, still all around great game.

Spyro The Dragon (Playstation)-This game introduced me to the action/adventure style of gaming. This is tied with the music genre of gaming for me. I loved all the Spyro games so much, and so far I'm the only one that has said this game.

Diablo II (PC)-What a life changer this was for me. I was pale, overweight, and my grades dropped in middle school and the start of high school because of this game. I stayed in my room for hours every day and most of every weekend playing this. I was a god at this. It was the first and only PC game I ever really played. It ruined my middle school and start of high school life. I loved it, and hated it. I will never play another online game on PC because of this game.

Kingdom Hearts I/II (Playstation 2)-Whoever thought Disney would kick so much ass? These two games I could never get bored of. They are the only reason I still have a PS2. If KHIII is PS3 only, I will buy a PS3...just for these games. Possibly the best Action/Adventure games I have ever played.

Guitar Hero II (Xbox 360)-None of us would be here on these forums had it not been for this. Opened up my musical horizons and to one of my favorite gaming genres.

[HMXHypnotoad]

Ten games, in no particular order:

1) Planescape: Torment
2) Sim City
3) Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
4) Guitar Hero II
5) Super Mario Kart
6) Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
7) Counter-Strike
8) Heroes of Might and Magic II
9) Tetris
10) Baldur's Gate II

[bermuddy]

1 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
2 - EA Sports NHL '94
3 - Mega Man X
4 - Super Mario RPG
5 - Mutant League Football/Hockey

[My name is Fez]

In order from smallest to biggest impact.

1. Rock Band (XBox 360) - The first rhythm game that really got me hooked. DDR was stupid to me and I barely knew anything about GH until my girlfriend's brother got GH3 at christmas last year. He got Rock Band shortly after (sold it because he's dumb), but I played the drums like, 3 times and I was hooked. As soon as I could I bought my own 360 and my own RB bundle and never looked back =p

2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - IMO, the greatest game ever made. Epic win from start to finish. Just a great experience that can't be denied from my list =p

3. Xenogears (PS1) - Solidified my love for RPGs, and my personal favorite game of all time.

4. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis)/Super Mario World (SNES) - I played both at around the same time, and they were the first games I played casually and thoroughly enjoyed. Before, I'd play a level or two of Super Mario World 3 or something and be done. These games I actually finished, or tried to finish XD (That stupid oil level in Sonic pissed me off)

5. Final Fantasy VII (PS1) - The first game that pulled me into gaming further than just a casual experience. Some people might call it overrated, but it's my baby, and easily in my top 3 favorite games of all time, so piss off =p

...God damn, looking back on it, I need to pick up a good RPG, or MGS4 XD I haven't played anything great besides Rock Band for a while.

[sweet-t310]

1)Tecmo Super Bowl (NES) - Real players?!?! Way for me to use sports games to further my knowledge of sports. I wouldn't know the first thing about hockey if it weren't for NHLPA 93.

2)Goldeneye (N64) - Once played for 26 straight hours with friends

3)Tomb Raider (PS1) - Deep story, puzzle elements, and action all in one

4)GTA: San Andreas (PS2) - Open worlds, infinite number of things to do, control your own destiny. Probably logged over 500 hours on this.

5)Guitar Hero (PS2) - Could never imagine myself standing in front of my tv pushing little colored buttons on a plastic guitar. Then I tried it, and haven't stopped since.

[sweet-t310]

5)PixelJunk Monsters - Number five was so interchangable I figured I'd go with a money-time ratio game and point out this is the best game on the PSN and one of the best games on the PS3 to this point. Spent way too many hours to count on it... playing CO-OP with my fiance. Amazing.

And just when you think you're done, they go and add trophy challenges for you!!! I'm re-hooked.

[afterstasis]

super mario bros (goodbye lame atari and colecovision games)
contra (my intro to multiplayer and one of my favorite NES games)
mortal kombat (my intro to fighting games)
team fortress classic (turned me on to online gaming and team-based games)
rock band (though i casually played the GH games, this is a whole 'nother dimension and is my most played game of all time)

[kiggidykev]

I'm happy to see so many people putting Sonic and Mario :)

[Flawless]

And just when you think you're done, they go and add trophy challenges for you!!! I'm re-hooked.

I'm 100% trophies with all Golden Rainbows.

Just playing around on Tum Tum now ;)

[hmxhenry]

Awesome idea for a thread.

1. Super Mario Bros. - For embodying the evolution from fairly simple point and click arcade games like Pac Man or Centipede, to a fleshed out story line with clearly defined heroes, villains, love interests, etc.

2. Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - For capturing the absolutely staggering scale and complexity of an RPG (inventory, combat system, equipped items, quests, etc) while making it both accessible, enjoyable. RPGs had always felt like detail oriented work to me before, but Ocarina of Time was able to get me emotionally invested in a way that no other game ever has.

3. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 - For fostering the desire to achieve 100% completion in a game. I was a little late to this party, but was completely roped in right off the bat. While I was perfectly happy to skate (bad pun) right by enemies or coins in games like Mario Bros., Tony Hawk PS3 was the first game that I played that asked, nay DEMANDED, that every goal be accomplished, that every trick be mastered, that every secret be unlocked.

4. Super Mario Bros. 3 - For creating a sense of continuity and evolution in the world of video games. While Mario Bros. 2 was awesome it was such a drastic departure from the first game that it felt like it wasn't even supposed to be a Mario Bros. game (hmmmm...), but Mario Bros. 3 took the winning formula of their first game, expanded on it, and opened up an entire world of possibilities. It's the first time I can recall a game evolving, to the point where you could clearly see the evolution from point A to point B, and I couldn't help but wonder what other games I loved would eventually get a similar "upgrade". Also, it was in The Wizard, and that movie RULES.

5. Rock Band - For opening my eyes to something new. Hard as it may be to believe, I had never played a rhythm based music game before coming to work for HMX. In fact, I had actively avoided them. But when I was forced to play as soon as I got the job here, for the first time in maybe 15 years I saw something that wasn't a shooter, a brawler, a side scroller, a role playing game... it wasn't anything familiar. Rock Band really opened my eyes and made me wonder what else could be out there that I've been missing out on.

[bermuddy]

contra (my intro to multiplayer and one of my favorite NES games)


wow. can't believe i forgot that one. the original contra was awesome. the xbla version is blasphemous.

[brobot]

Mine.

1.) Final Fantasy VI- Greatest game of all time. This is the game that got me hooked on RPGs. It has one of the greatest stories and gameplay mechanics I have ever seen. It made you care for the characters and their plight. There was so much to do and find which keeps the game fresh to this date. It is still the RPG standard that I hold every other RPG to.

2.)The Legend of Zelda - This is where action RPGs really got their start. This game was so large and epic of an NES game. There were secrets, multiple dungeons, multiple weapons, and solid story for an NES era game. It also delivered on the difficulty scale too.

3.) Guitar Hero - This is the game that started my obsession. Without it I wouldn't be here.

4.)Super Mario 64 - The game that launched the 3D adventure revolution. The controls were tight and the graphics were stellar. It had players searching high and low for stars and all other little secrets that Nintendo put into the game. This is a game that started a video game revolution.

5.) The Sim Series of Games - Sim City, Sim Earth, Sim Ant, The Sims, et al. These games tought me how to micro manage in video games. There was so much depth to these games that when I first played Sim City I didn't know about half of it.

6.) Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Super Mario Brothers 2 - These sequels built on what was right with the first games and made them all the better. These games were the symbols of an era of games that have never been thought of before. They took the platforming idea and molded in such a way that changed the way we think about games today.

7.)Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 - This is a game that I put so much into and got so much more back. This brought extreme sports games to the forefront and kicked gaming ass all the way to the bank. The ideas and gameplay used made it easy to pick up but difficult to master.

There are more just can't think right now.

[bermuddy]

7.)Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 - This is a game that I put so much into and got so much more back. This brought extreme sports games to the forefront and kicked gaming ass all the way to the bank. The ideas and gameplay used made it easy to pick up but difficult to master.


I almost flunked out of college playing this game so much. I was addicted.

[sweet-t310]

4. Super Mario Bros. 3 - .... Also, it was in The Wizard, and that movie RULES.


YES! Fred Savage! SMB3! The Power Glove! I spent sooo many of my childhood years "training" for the day I would be in front of a crowd of roaring fans as they watched me play my beloved NES games on a ginormous screen above me.

That's it, it's DVD Huntin' Time!! I must own this.

[brobot]

YES! Fred Savage! SMB3! The Power Glove! I spent sooo many of my childhood years "training" for the day I would be in front of a crowd of roaring fans as they watched me play my beloved NES games on a ginormous screen above me.

That's it, it's DVD Huntin' Time!! I must own this.

They have it on Netflix.

[sweet-t310]

They have it on Netflix.

I....must.....owwwwwwnnnnn...this!

http://www.deepdiscount.com/viewproduct.htm?productId=5753259&src1=ddaf&extid=df00017

I'm good now.

[jeccaneko]

This is my reply to other people's posts thingie... I'll put my 5 down later once I determine which they all are. I've been gaming for about 20 years so it's hard to knock it down to 5.


I'm not a game expert, but I believe it was revolutionary in some way to RPG's. I haven't played it, though.

Not really. It just opened the RPG floodgate. It introduced a lot of people to the genre. It's kinda the equivalent of Guitar Hero 2 for a lot of people - GH2 opening the rhythm game genre up to a lot of people.



5. Rock Band - For opening my eyes to something new. Hard as it may be to believe, I had never played a rhythm based music game before coming to work for HMX. In fact, I had actively avoided them.

You and many other people, on the avoiding bit at least. Parappa the Rapper was entertaining to people but not taken seriously. Space Channel 5 was like Parappa but girly. Who wants that? And Dance Dance Revolution? Getting up and looking like an idiot in front of other people? You gotta be kidding me.

...no, I'm not speaking for myself, by the way. This is what I've heard other people say about these games. I was one of those "idiots" on the DDR games in the early 2000s. And I quote Master Onion from Parappa even nowadays just because it's entertaining. :)



3. Xenogears (PS1) - Solidified my love for RPGs, and my personal favorite game of all time.


It's rare when I come across people like you. How frickin' awesome. :)

I have an online friend from other forums whom I argue (friendly arguement, mind you) about this game. He complains about those long scenes at the beginning of disc 2 where you see the character sitting in the chair and the game just quickly vomits out all of this story at you. He says those made him dislike the game. But I still see it as one of the best RPGs of all time that not very many people have played.


I'm surprised I'm the only person to mention the original Pokemon games. Are people just too ashamed to mention it, or are Red/Blue not nearly as influential as I thought they were?

Influential to gaming, yes. It started monster collecting games and it was one of the biggest games for marking reasons. There were other games that did stuff with marketing, but look at what Pokemon spawned: tons of toys, a TV show, movies, clothes, etc.

Influential to any one person? I dunno. I mean, I guess if it got you into gaming maybe.

[kiggidykev]

I hope the Wizard eventually comes out on Blu-Ray.

I want to see every greasy pore on Fred Savage's face.

[jeccaneko]

I hope the Wizard eventually comes out on Blu-Ray.

I want to see every greasy pore on Fred Savage's face.

Eww. Not that there's anything wrong with Fred Savage, just the way you described it. :p

I've actually never seen it. Which is strange, because I tend to like stupid B movies. ...except Snakes on a Plane. I didn't get the appeal.

[hmxhenry]

I hope the Wizard eventually comes out on Blu-Ray.

I want to see every greasy pore on Fred Savage's face.

BEST POST I've seen on the forums today.

High on the list of best things I've ever seen on these forums.

[FloodOne]

Super Mario 3
Final Fantasy 6
GTA3
Guitar Hero 2
The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion

[HeyRiles]

I'll try to give my five

1) Donkey Kong Country - This game's the reason I play video games. At my day-care center, I would stay up while it was naptime b/c my mom would come pick me up, and I would just watch the teenagers who helped out play this game. I could never stop watching it, even if I put my head down

2)Pokemon Yellow Version - First Pokemon game I owned. It pretty much created for me why I love RPGs over everything else, even while in just Game Boy form. Without it, I wouldn't have the other awesome Pokemon games, and I might not have tried games such as Paper Mario.

3)Indianapolis 500 / Backyard Baseball (computer games) - Both games taught me the goodness of strategy in a game. In Backyard Baseball, It taught me stats and such, which may be why I'm currently tracking all of my RB stats right now.

4)Rock Band - I had GHIII previously, but when I played this at my cousin's house, it just blew me away. This game has shown me that video games can be yet another alternative to getting a product or a song out, instead of just the radio or iTunes

5)Madden NFL 04 - I had 2002, but this game was so much better. This game further helped me in keeping stats, because usually I like to just play as the owner and coach rather than player, by simulating games, finding out who's hurt and who's doing well or poorly, seeing who's stats go up or down, make trades, and draft players. It's kind of honestly also given me a bit of a sense of orgainization

6) Monster Rancher - The fact that you could put other CDs into the PS and then you'd unlock another monster really helped me appreciate just how fantastic technology can be, and made me want to learn more about technology.

Tried to give five, but I managed six!

[gosox333]

My turn:

5.) Pokemon Yellow.
This was easily the video game that got me started on video games. I've definitely spent at least 200 hours on this game, and that was before I even knew how to truly play the game.

4.) God of War.
I liked what somebody had previously said about this game. It is the only game that has ever had me replay it the instant I beat it the first time. I was completly absorbed in the mindless violence.

3.) Guitar Hero 3.
What can I say? This game opened up the music genre for me. I still love it and I still play it. I think I always will.

2.) Kingdom Hearts (franchise)
Oh, what a quick, impulse rent from Blockbuster can lead to. This is by far my favorite video game franchise. Period. I loved KH1, I loved KH:COM even more, and then KH2 came along and completely blew the first two away.

1.) GTA:San Andreas.
As much as I would have loved to put KH here, I just couldn't ignore San Andreas. It is my favorite video game of all time. This was my first sandbox game. So that may be why.

[PuckJunkie]

Keep in mind that there are games I have liked more than some of these (although not by much). But these were the ones that really changed video gaming for me. In chronological order:

1) Gauntlet, the original arcade version
I don't know if it was the first game you could feed money into in order to continue playing, or the first game with cooperative play, but I was constantly in arcades back when this came out, and it was the first for either I ever saw. It's hard to say which of the two factors was more impressive, but combined it made for an absolutely revolutionary game. People were stacked three deep waiting to pour money into that machine.

2) Ultima III, Commodore 64
And this has to be the first time I ever realized I could play a single game continuously for days. It probably took 100 hours or more to finish the game, and if you didn't do it right you got to try again from the beginning. And I did, and I loved it. The first game I ever considered something other than entertainment for my free time; this game was my primary activity for weeks, and was the first game to take over my life like that.

3) Final Fantasy III, SNES
The first RPG with an honest-to-God story that I ever saw. While others have bettered it (I'm looking at you, Baldur's Gate), not many have, and this series started that trend as far as I know. The game that showed me I could actually expect a real plot from a video game. And while I would rate Baldur's Gate and a handful of others over this game in storyline, and in gameplay, and whatever else, the fact remains that for me this was the first - and thus the one that changed the way I looked at RPGs.

4) Half-Life, PC
Half-Life's AI was such a mind-numbingly large leap forward from all previous FPSs that it wasn't even funny. Finally, a computerized opponent that you couldn't beat by frontal assault - and one that tried to beat you by methods other than frontal assault. I still remember the shock I felt when I realized one Marine had flanked me and thrown a grenade just to flush me from cover for the rest of his group to pick me off.
On top of that, the game came with mods (Counter-Strike, TFC) that added infinite playability onto the game. I was hooked on TFC for over a year, playing for absurdly long periods of time, and that was the first game I ever played that introduced me to an online community. I literally had to cut myself off from the game when my work and home life were suffering too much when playing 60 hours a week. It amazes me that other games took so long to jump aboard the multiplayer bandwagon after this, when those mods kept HL on the bestseller list for an insane amount of time.

5) Guitar Hero III, Wii
It was a gift, that's why it was on the Wii. Stop snickering. And yes, there were others before it, but it was the first one I played. I give full credit to Harmonix for creating the platform that would get me addicted to rhythm games, and again full credit for adding drums and vocals, which gave me my now-favorite instrument and a way for my wife and daughter to enjoy playing. They get all the credit, in my book. But the game I played that got me started was GH3. I have enjoyed games for 30 years, but nowhere outside of this genre have I had such fun playing one, and certainly not for such a long period of time. I never would have guessed in a million years that holding a plastic guitar and pressing buttons would have such a feeling of rocking out with a band, but it does. And now the drums on top of that? I can't stop playing. Kudos.



Honorable mentions: Doom, which got me started on FPS games, and Thief, which in its own way was at least as revolutionary as any of the games above...the concept of a first-person shooter that involved more sneaking than shooting was crazy at the time. Splinter Cell owes much of its gameplay to this conceit. Oh, and Zork, too. Just because. Although I think the best text game ever was HHGG, and it may deserve a mention just because of how clever it was.


Hey, that was fun!

[JukeBoxHero]

I'm surprised I'm the only person to mention the original Pokemon games. Are people just too ashamed to mention it, or are Red/Blue not nearly as influential as I thought they were?

I was thinking of putting down Pokemon:Silver but at the end Dragon Monster Warrior open the gates for myself in terms of those types of games.

[Shredder87]

5.) Pokemon Yellow.
This was easily the video game that got me started on video games. I've definitely spent at least 200 hours on this game, and that was before I even knew how to truly play the game.

God damn that game. I played that game so much, I was actually gunning for that "Special" field area.

If you passed the game 50 times, the next time you end up in this field catching rare pokemon, even Maril and Mew....allegedly.

[thedoorsdk]

Some of these responses are making me want to check out some older PC games I missed.
Also, I'm at that age where I'm beginning to feel old (ok, I'm only 22, but still, a lot of people these days weren't around for the defining cultural moments of my life), and this thread has made me feel a little less old both due to similarities and to people naming games that I wasn't alive for.
So thanks fellas.

[JoshuaB81285]

Ok...I've been gaming since the regular NES, so I'll try to remember what games "blew my mind".

Mortal Kombat (Genesis) - Me and my two brothers yelled and screamed at my dad to go get this game the day it came. The first "violent" fighting game (perhaps maybe first truly "violent" game ever) and we had to have it. That and the Genesis had the blood code (ABACABB) over the non-violent SNES version.

Earthbound (SNES) - Even though the story was kind of "silly", the characters all felt very real to me. Earthbound is and will always be among the top games I've ever played. The way you had to beat the final boss was utterly awesome.

Final Fantasy VII (PS1) - The second best RPG I ever played. I think this was the first video game I actually ever cried at (Aeris death). The soundtrack, character development, setting, everything about this game was epic. I know it's very unlikely, but if Square-Enix ever announced a FF7 remake exclusive to the PS3, this would make me buy a PS3 tomorrow.

Goldeneye (N64) - I know people say "Halo" was the first great console shooter and I would disagree. Goldeneye on N64 was amazing, and "License To Kill" with proximity mines in the Facility was just awesome fun.

Guitar Hero (PS2) - I remember seeing the first Guitar Hero set up on display at a local Best Buy and thought "That is lame as hell". When I actually played it at a friends, I was hooked. I went out and bought it the next day and played through all the careers until I beat Expert (which took a couple weeks). "Cowboys From Hell" gave me the most trouble ever, even more-so than "Bark At The Moon" or any final song in future GH/RB games.

Honorable mentions:
Doom (PC)
God of War (PS2)
Gears of War (Xbox 360)
Soul Calibur (Dreamcast)
Starcraft (PC)

[Xaris3514]

5) Super Mario Bros.: The earliest game I remember playing. Even today, I still play it from time to time. On top of that, it was one of the most influential games ever created for reasons Henry already stated earlier in the thread.

4) Pokemon Red: While I see the later games, particularly Gold, to be vastly superior to Red/Blue, this was the game that started it all, the game the very first RPG I ever played. Something compelled me to explore everything I could, something very powerful. From the moment I chose my Charmander to the moment I caught Mewtwo and beyond, it had me hooked. The reason I listed Red here instead of Blue or Red/Blue is because Red was the first one I got, Blue and Yellow came later, as did Gold. And Silver. And Crystal. Really, it wasn't until Ruby/Saphire that I stopped buying all the games.

3) Fire Emblem/Fire Emblem: The Blazing Sword/Fire Emblem 7 (depending on how you personally list the series, I'm rather fond of the numbering system as it beats remembering 12 different subtitles, especially when only 3 of them have official translations): This is the game that changed the way I look at turn based strategy games. The only experience with TBS games before Fire Emblem was Final Fantasy Tactics, a game I did not like. Even after getting the PSP version of it, I cannot find enjoyment in FFT, but I'm getting off track here. One problem I had before Fire Emblem is that characters in TBS games always felt expendable. With permanent death, you are practically FORCED to care about the characters. Speaking of the characters, before Fire Emblem, I hadn't played a game where there was such a complex web of character relations. Even if Fire Emblem isn't the definitive turn based strategy game, it is the game that completely flipped over my opinion of the genre.

2) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past: This game remains my favorite installment of the Zelda series. There aren't many games that compel me to find everything (though I never did find all the heart pieces), but ALttP is one that not only made me search out almost everything, it is also one that took me a staggering 48 hours to do so in my first play through (my second play through had the game fresh in my memory, but still took an impressive 12 hours to play.)

1) Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes: Ah, Metal Gear, a series that not only do I crave to know the rest of the story, a series I am having the hardest time doing so. The Metal Gear story is one of the greatest stories I have ever experienced. I would consider it a modern day epic. Its just a shame that people seem to think that story isn't important to a game.

EDIT: On an unrelated note, I agree that FFVII is criminally overrated. The story and character development is nowhere near other games in the series (FFIX, FFVIII, FFIV and FFVI stand out for me when it comes to character development) and the setting never really sat well with me. Honestly, I will say very openly that FFIX, while not my first Final Fantasy (my first was actually FFX, my fourth favorite in the series), is my favorite. FFIX, to me, had brilliantly developed characters, from Steiner, a knight torn between his duty as a knight and his beliefs as a person, to Vivi, the mage who fights to learn about his past in fear of the future, to Freya, a woman who wants her freedom, but is tied to the past by love. Besides, what did Sephiroth do? Summon a giant rock and stab a chick which kinda caused his own defeat (the game reveals that if Aerith wasn't killed by Sephiroth, she would have killed herself in order to summon Holy)? Kuja destroyed cities, manipulated a queen, orchestrated wars and nearly toppled kingdoms simply because his desires were against his "father's" wishes.

[Mex]

Damn forgot about the NHL series. My first was 93 or 94 for the Genesis. My most played probably 1997, me and my buddy used to spend our afternoons(after School) playing this for hours on end. yeah I used to love running people over after the whistle. :D

Ahh I have fond memories of CRUNCHING people after the whistle :) I really wish you could still that. Now you've got maybe a second or two to hit a guy and you can't REALLY just mash him into the boards.

I still remember getting this game for my birthday and playing the entire playoffs (No season mode) over, and over, and over with different teams. Since then I've played or owned every version of this game. That's like 16 years of EA Hockey. Yum.

Somebody mentioned Duck Hunt earlier. While I had fun playing that game I always liked Gangster Town for Sega Master system better. Plus the Sega Gun just looked cooler :)

[whofan]

Oooo.... Fun! And a chance to really show my age :(

Most influential games:

1) Aztec Adventure - Sega Master System
My older sister got a Sega Master System for christmas '88 or '89 and this game. It was very difficult (In fact, I never passed the game until about 4 or 5 years ago), but man was it a fun adventure game. It cemented my love of Adventure games (which you will see more of in this list)

2) The Smurfs: Rescue From Gargamel Castle - Atari 2600
Now I'm showing my age. A great, fun and simple adventure game that managed to keep me and my sisters entertained for hours on end, even though we were never able to get past Gargamel and rescue Smurfette.

3) Civiliazation - PC
1990 saw the introduction of a PC into our house and we got a copy of this game from my Uncle. Easily the most fun turn-based game I have ever played. The "Just One More Turn Mom!" line got me into a lot of trouble when I was playing when I should have been doing homework.

4) Kings Quest V: Absence Makes The Heart Go Yonder - PC
I was given this game as a gift for christmas by a family friend who thought I would enjoy the medieval theme. I loved the game so much I started a quest to try to find the original 4 games (which I finally got many years later as part of the Kings Quest Collection)

5)Colonization - PC
Much the same as Civilization, but much more intense because I was older when it came out and I was MUCH more into history at the time. Got into a lot of trouble (even grounded from the computer for weeks at a time) because I wouldn't quit when told to....

Honourable Mentions
Guitar Hero - Playstation 2
This game started my love of the rhythm game genre, but alas came along far too late to make my top 5.

Goldeneye 007 - N64
Hands down the best-shooter I have ever played in my life. My best-friend and I used to play this on Licence to Kill for hours on end. I always got my ass kicked by him, but we had a tonne of fun and some really humorous situations. I remember one time on the facility map with licence to kill and proximity mines, I put myself into a corner of one of the basement rooms, set up a tonne of proximity mines around the entrance and around me and waited for my B-F to come. Well, of course, he saw the entire set up, ran up just enough to set off the first proximity mine (which set off a chain reaction with all the others and killed me) and backed off just in time to survive.
The second humorous incident came by playing Licence to Kill in the facility again, this time with rocket launchers. The first kill, I was backing away from him out the glass doors that lead to the helipad. He fired a rocket as I was closing the doors. As the doors were almost closed the rocket flew through the small gap and hit me. In the last minute of that map he was holed up in the little alcove off of the main control room (The one with the huge screen). As I came up to get him he fired a rocket that killed me and the game ended in mid-death for me. It looked hillarious on his view because my character (Always 006) was caught flying in the air with this huge explosion behind him.

The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time - N64
The game that inspired me to pick up the N64. This game ate my time many times and never got dull. It was just so much fun to continually play. Looking forward to giving my Fiance her Wii for christmas just so that I can play it again (Have the Zelda GC Collector's Edition disc)