What do you look for in a video game?

[Eagle]

Alright, this is geared mostly towards first-person shooters and action/adventure type games on the PC, but do let that preclude anyone from chiming in. I'm sure we all like the mindless frag fests like Quake, but what else do you look for? Me, I like games that make me think, but not into the realm of MIT quantum physics (even when I'm playing as good ol' Gordo). Games that stress stealth, and avioding confrontations, but let you duke it out when you want, like Thief and Splinter Cell. Or better yet, games that let you choose one extreme or the other, and you choices from the beginning of the game can effect the ultimate outcome, like Dues Ex and Vampire-The Masquared: Bloodlines. Games that provoke an emotion like Dues Ex, when you wake up in the MJ12 facility not knowing where you are, or whether your brother is dead or alive, when that happened, it angered me, I set my jaw, and I became a cold calculating killer for the first time in that game. And when you finally find out who you've been really working for, I was enraged. Max Payne wasn't normally my type of game, but the story was so engaging, and then when you find that dirty cop, and all the pieces start to fall together, once again I was pissed. Thief, the fact that they stress not killing, and then 2/3 of the way through the game, when you're captured, the gloves came off. At that point the bad guys weren't human, and therefore recieved no quarter. And Thief, my all time favorite game, was on of only 2 games to truelly scare the hell out of me. 'Return to the Cathedral', you're surrounded by Huants, and this one part where one catches me out in the back courtyard, and proceededs to chase me halfway accross the map, including finding its own way through a broken maze of a building, gave me nightmares. And the other game that scared me, the original Quake, when you first encounter the Fiends. They attacked from behind in a pack, and when I turned around and came face to face with them, I literally came out of my chair.

[Destructo6]

I tend to appreciate more unrestricted or non-linear gameplay.

Games such as Operation Flashpoint, where you're often given a list of objectives, which can be completed in any order and in any way you see fit/available.

Action is good, too. I can't really get into the hide and sneak games.

[OysterBoy]

Replayability. Great graphics, physics, and story dont mean dick if Im not compelled to play it again (or, in the case of an MP game, replace story with features). Doom3 is a big one; very neat game, good fun.. but boring as hell to try and play again.

[CaptaiN_JacK]

It needs to have a good multiplayer game mode (if it's a fps or racer). I also like to be able to upgrade my guy/car, like with Halo 2 on live (maybe not upgrading equipment, but at least upgrading rank), and Gran Turismo 3. Even though Gran Turismo 3 got boring and repetitive after awhile, I still loved the thrill of winning a race and figuring out what was the best upgrade to buy. It needs a good story line and time frame too, which is something I didn't like about Halo 2. How the hell are we shooting guns with technology that we already have 500 years in the future (human guns, not Covenant)? Jeez.

[Carbon]

I like tactical elements and versatilty. Good examples:

No one lives for ever: although not the best graphics, the game hade really good elements of stealth, quirkiness and good AI.

Nolf2: same thing althogh not as suprising as the 1st.

Systems Shock2
Deus Ex machina
All the R6 series
Ghost Recon

[Eagle]

Yeah, I got to agree with Destructo6: non-linear with such and such objectives. And OysterBoy with the replayability is a good point too. Both good reasons why I like the DX games and Bloodlines so much.

But one game I forgot to mention, one that I just finished. Half-Life 2. I don't see much in the way of replayability. And I missed not seeing the G-Man much. Couple times while driving the boat, and of course at the beginning and the end. Now, the original HL was good, but the only times it pissed me off was when I first got to the surface and was attacked by the commandos, and whenever I saw the G-Man. In HL2, it pissed me off from the beginning, just seeing the general state of affairs. What has happened to humanity, what happened to me, how long was I gone (5-15 years presumably, did I age?) But I think what got me the most, was the end. It just left you hanging. And with the length of time it took them to make this one, my baby niece will be in high school before we get some resolution. I mean, the first one left it open, but at least Dameclese Sword wasn't hangin over your head. In the Thief series, it was only a little more than a year between the first and second where they really left you hanging. Mind you, it was about 4 years between 2 and 3, but there was a bit more resolution with the second one. As for HL2, I don't know what question I want answered more, do Breen's prediction of the end come true, does Alyx survive, or where do I end up next? And lets not forget, how does humanity and the Vortigan become allied? I'll tell ya, I don't know when I wanted to shoot the G-Man more, right after I saw him the first time through that locked door and he just walks away in the first one, or after he walks away at the end of this one.

[Eagle]

I like tactical elements and versatilty. Good examples:

No one lives for ever: although not the best graphics, the game hade really good elements of stealth, quirkiness and good AI.

Nolf2: same thing althogh not as suprising as the 1st.

Systems Shock2
Deus Ex machina
All the R6 series
Ghost Recon

Never played the NOLF games but heard they were good. Never played Ghost Recon. I like the R6 games, except for there's no save anywhere feature, I hate that more than anything else when a game doesn't have that. Never played the System Shock games (made by the same guys who made the first 2 Thief games) but I heard they were pretty good. There's a game called BioShock in development by a number of guys who worked on System Shock 2 that is suposed to be a 'spiritual successor' to System Shock. Supposed to out some time in 2006.

[MonsterMag]

graphics , detal, and stuff that interests me

[who_311]

Its been said before but non-linear gameplay is where it's at. Something that i can play alot and not get bored because all the levels are the same, or all the gameplay is the same throughout the game. Another point is just stuff to do. Cool stuff, interactive surroundings and stuff like that.

alex