Best Game of All Time Tournament - Nominate Your Favorites!

Hipolito · Post by **Hipolito** » Sun Sep 29, 2013 1:54 pm

Having recovered from the laughter and tears of our Best Game of Last Five Years tournament, we shall now begin the big one: our Best Game of All Time Tournament!

We have done this tournament a few times before, but we'll be doing things differently now based on our feedback poll. We are now free to nominate not just PC games, but any type of video and computer games of any era. PC, Mac, handheld, coin-op, mainframe, wristwatch, they're all in!

Here are the rules:

Post a list of your nominees. Your list may contain from one to twenty video or computer games of any platform of era. The order in which you list the games is up to you and will not affect their standings in the tournament.
The deadline is two weeks from today. You may edit your post at any time up to the deadline if you change your mind. Please do that instead of posting a second list.
Winners of previous BGOAT tournaments are now eligible to compete again, so you may nominate them.
Even though we did the BGOLFY, you may nominate games from the last five years.
Nominations for the below games, which are the Elite Eight of the BGOLFY, will not be counted because they are already guaranteed slots on the bracket.
- Borderlands 2
- Dragon Age: Origins
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Fallout: New Vegas
- Portal 2
- Red Dead Redemption
- Sid Meier's Civilization V
- XCOM: Enemy Unknown
If you want to include the BGOLFY Elite Eight in your list, simply to express that they were among your favorites or whatever, you may do so. Since they won't be counted, you may go beyond the 20-game limit to offset the BGOLFY Elite Eight. Example: You have a list of 20 games that includes Borderlands 2 and Dragon Age: Origins. Since the BGOLFY Elite Eight aren't being counted, you've really only nominated 18 games. You may therefore extend your list to 22 so that you have 20 nominations.
If there is ambiguity in your nomination, I will assume you mean the earlier release. For example, if you nominate "Prince of Persia," I will assume you mean the 1989 original. But if you nominate "Prince of Persia (2008)," I'll know you mean the reboot.
Nominate only individual games, not entire series. For example, don't nominate "Ultima series." Nominate only the individual game(s) of that series that you like. Exception: you may nominate a series in which each game is a revision of the last, as is often the case in sports games.
The games that receive a substantial number of nominations will compete against each other in a single-elimination bracket tournament. The games getting the most nominations (top seed) will be paired against the ones getting the fewest nominations (bottom seed).
You may nominate a game that others have already nominated. In fact, it is a good idea to do so, because the more nominations a game receives, the more likely it will be placed in the bracket tournament and the higher its seed will be.

Feel free to ask any questions, and have fun making your lists!

wonderpug · Post by **wonderpug** » Sun Sep 29, 2013 2:27 pm

edit: Ok, here's my final 20:

Made My Cut
Subspace
Dune 2
Legend of Zelda (original)
Zelda: Link to the Past (SNES)
Super Mario World
Mega Man 2
TIE Fighter
Wing Commander Privateer
Total Annihilation
Street Fighter II
Minecraft
Sim City 2000
Mass Effect 2
Civilization II
Civilization IV
World of Warcraft
Counter-Strike (original)
Rock Band
Grim Fandango
Out of This World

My Contenders
Syndicate (original)
Fallout 2
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Dark Age of Camelot
Tetris
Ms Pac-Man
Ancient Art of War
Ico
Team Fortress 2
Day of the Tentacle
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Portal
That X-men arcade game with two screens
Rampage
Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow

I'll pare this down to 20 after some more thought.

edit 1: oh crap, I gotta fit Counter-Strike (original) in there somewhere. I'd also like to find room for Team Fortress 2 and Minecraft

edit 2: Damn, gotta find room for Grim Fandango and maybe Day of the Tentacle

edit 3: done!

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Sun Sep 29, 2013 8:27 pm

Finally made up my mind. I think. Here are my 20:

Freespace 2
TIE Fighter
Guitar Hero
Zork
Dark Souls
Dragon Age: Origins
Psychonauts
Katamari Damacy
The Secret of Monkey Island
Team Fortress 2
World of Goo
AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!!
Minecraft
No One Lives Forever
Rome: Total War
The Walking Dead
Red Dead Redemption
Doom 2
Star Wars (1983 arcade game)
Solium Infernum

wonderpug · Post by **wonderpug** » Sun Sep 29, 2013 10:01 pm

Hipolito, you ok with discussion happening in this thread, or did you want this to stay clean with nominations only?

Because...

AWS260 wrote:King's Quest 3: To Heir Is Human

I really wanted to throw in a ____ Quest game, but I couldn't figure out how to pick one. You of course had to go and choose one of the few I never got around to playing. Did KQ3 really stand above the other King's Quests? I may have to GOG it.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Sun Sep 29, 2013 10:04 pm

wonderpug wrote:
AWS260 wrote:King's Quest 3: To Heir Is Human
I really wanted to throw in a ____ Quest game, but I couldn't figure out how to pick one. You of course had to go and choose one of the few I never got around to playing. Did KQ3 really stand above the other King's Quests? I may have to GOG it.

That one came from my wife, so I can't speak personally to its merits.

Hipolito · Post by **Hipolito** » Sun Sep 29, 2013 10:18 pm

wonderpug wrote:Hipolito, you ok with discussion happening in this thread, or did you want this to stay clean with nominations only?

I'm OK with discussion here. Thanks for checking, wonderpug.

Oh, and though it's the only KQ game I've played, KQ4 (The Perils of Rosella) may be on my list.

Archinerd · Post by **Archinerd** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 12:20 am

My Nominations (alphabetical)
1. AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! – A Reckless Disregard for Gravity (2009)
2. Armadillo Run (2006)
3. Armageddon Empires (2007)
4. Bastion (2011)
5. Borderlands (2009)
6. DEFCON (2007)
7. Fallout (1997)
8. Gravity Bone (2008)
9. Half Life 2 (2004)
10. King of Dragon Pass (1999)
11. Laser Squad Nemesis (2002)
12. Master of Orion (1993)
13. Missile Command (1980)
14. Portal (2007)
15. Quest for Glory (1989)
16. Sim City (1989)
17. Super Mario Bros. (1985)
18. Super Mario Kart (1992)
19. Tetris (1984)
20. Ultima VII: The Black Gate (1992)

+some of the auto-included already listed in the first post.

Possible Nominations

Spoiler:

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 12:44 am

PC:
Master of Orion
Privateer
System Shock
Tie Fighter
Wing Commander
Knights of the Old Republic
Balur's Gate 2
Fallout
DOOM II
Freespace 2
Star Control II

SNES:
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Final Fantasy II

Sega Genesis:
Starflight
Road Rash
Abrams Tank
688 Attack Sub
Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday

Atari 2600:
Asteroids
Combat

I got to 20 and ran out of room for my arcade picks..but if I did have room....

Arcade:
Omega Race
Star Trek
Frontline
Tron
Dragon's Lair

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 12:48 am

And can we put a link to this thread in the PC forum?

silvaril · Post by **silvaril** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 3:08 am

Heya

Starting now, will refine later:

Age of Wonders
Deus Ex
Doom 2
Fallout 2
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Half Life
Jade Empire
King of Dragon Pass
Morrowind
Pools of Radiance

Quest for Glory
Spacewar
Spellforce
Star Control 2
Starflight

Sword of the Stars
System Shock 2
Wing Commander
Wing Commander: Privateer
XCom

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 9:43 am

Here goes, in no particular order. Might add to this later as more come to mind:

- Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions
- Diablo II
- Thief II
- Guild Wars 2
- Planescape Torment
- Baldur's Gate 2
- SimCity
- Final Fantasy VII
- Okami
- Bioshock
- Mass Effect 2
- Knights of the Old Republic
- Heroes of Might & Magic 3
- Rock Band
- Unreal Tournament
- The Longest Journey
- To The Moon
- Civilization II

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 9:51 am

Mafia
Jagged Alliance 2
TIE Fighter
Wing Commander: Privateer

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 11:59 am

Broader List

Alpha Centauri (going with that as my "Civ game" representative)
Fallout 2
Planescape: Torment
Freespace 2
Baldur's Gate 2
Europa Universalis 2
Final Fantasy 3
Mass Effect 3
Master of Orion 2
Starcraft
Soul Calibur
Starflight 2
Wing Commander: Privateer
Deus Ex
X-Wing

Finalists

If I could only pick one game, I would say Alpha Centauri. Expanding it to a Top 3 would yield Alpha Centauri, Baldur's Gate 2, and Master of Orion 2.

wonderpug · Post by **wonderpug** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 12:18 pm

Oh crap, I forgot about Grim Fandango. How the hell am I going to pick just 20?!

Grifman · Post by **Grifman** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 1:19 pm

Fallout
System Shock 2
Mass Effect
Civilization 4
Alpha Centauri
Command & Conquer
Deus Ex
Master of Orion
Knights of the Old Republic
Rome Total War
XCom (original)
Tomb Raider (most recent version)
Stalker

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 1:32 pm

wonderpug wrote:Oh crap, I forgot about Grim Fandango. How the hell am I going to pick just 20?!

Should be easy, drop all of the stuff that would never make it, like Ms Pac Man, Tetris, DAoC, Mega Man 2, SF2, etc.

Can you really think about each of those games and say to yourself, "Hey, that's the greatest game of all time!" They may each be special, groundbreaking and even iconic in specific ways, but if you are coming up with more than 20 greatest games, I don't think you are going about it the right way. You know, because there is a right way to do something completeyl subjective.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 1:45 pm

coopasonic wrote:
wonderpug wrote:Oh crap, I forgot about Grim Fandango. How the hell am I going to pick just 20?!
Should be easy, drop all of the stuff that would never make it, like Ms Pac Man, Tetris, DAoC, Mega Man 2, SF2, etc.

Can you really think about each of those games and say to yourself, "Hey, that's the greatest game of all time!" They may each be special, groundbreaking and even iconic in specific ways, but if you are coming up with more than 20 greatest games, I don't think you are going about it the right way. You know, because there is a right way to do something completeyl subjective.

Yeah, I agree. We're not talking about just classic games - to be the GOAT it has to stand up to modern games as well. Like when I was thinking up nominees, I thought about Command and Conquer (Tiberian Sun), which I loved, and which was largely responsible (along with Warcraft 2) for creating the modern RTS genre. But it in no way holds up to modern games - I could probably rattle off a dozen subsequent RTS games that are more fun to play.

Alpha Centauri, by contrast, absolutely holds up, and that's why we can shut the thread down and just agree that it is the best ever.

wonderpug · Post by **wonderpug** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 1:48 pm

coopasonic wrote:
wonderpug wrote:Oh crap, I forgot about Grim Fandango. How the hell am I going to pick just 20?!
Should be easy, drop all of the stuff that would never make it, like Ms Pac Man, Tetris, DAoC, Mega Man 2, SF2, etc.

Can you really think about each of those games and say to yourself, "Hey, that's the greatest game of all time!" They may each be special, groundbreaking and even iconic in specific ways, but if you are coming up with more than 20 greatest games, I don't think you are going about it the right way. You know, because there is a right way to do something completeyl subjective.

Oh no you di'n't!

Ms Pac-Man is in there as my choice for the greatest game of the pre-1985 gaming era. If I'm lucky enough to find myself in a bar or restaurant with a Ms. Pac-Man cabinet in the corner, I can still, 30 years later, pop a quarter in and have a great time.

Tetris is a game that everyone has played. It's so simple in design "here are all the shapes you can make out of four squares" but so timelessly fun. It's a game that not only still entertains today, but that continues to influence puzzle games made today.

Dark Age of Camelot is the best MMO ever made, except for arguably World of Warcraft which I also included. Every time a new MMO comes out, I still see people here and at GT checking to see if the new MMO will include some of the awesome features DAOC had that nobody else seems able to do.

Mega Man 2 is still one of my favorite games to play. In recent history I'd still fire it up at least once a year, but while I don't play it as often it's still a lot of fun. Aside from Super Mario, I can't think of another platformer game that has controls as tight and precise as Mega Man 2.

Street Fighter 2 has reigned as my favorite fighting game ever since it came out. The only fighting game to come close for me is Street Fighter IV, which is only awesome because they tried so hard to make it recapture the magic of Street Fighter 2. The game single-handedly redefined video game arcades in the 90s. They're still making documentaries about how influential the game was.

tl;dr - my nominations are correct.

Archinerd · Post by **Archinerd** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 1:58 pm

Influential or not, Tetris is still a fantastic game.

ColdSteel · Post by **ColdSteel** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 2:01 pm

I really think you should break these into genre categories. There's just too many great, great games going back 30 years or so.

PC
Heroes of Might and Magic III
Master of Magic
Master of Orion 2
X-Com: Enemy Unknown
Might and Magic 7
Unreal Tournament (1999 original)
Wasteland
Fallout 2
Civilization IV
Alpha Centauri
Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic
Baldur's Gate 2
Planescape Torment
Icewind Dale 2
Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark
Max Payne
Morrowind
King's Bounty: Armored Princess
Elite (the original)
Warlords 3
Doom
Quake 1
World of Warcraft
Everquest
Myth: Soulblighter
Space Rangers Reboot

wonderpug · Post by **wonderpug** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 2:04 pm

El Guapo wrote:Yeah, I agree. We're not talking about just classic games - to be the GOAT it has to stand up to modern games as well. Like when I was thinking up nominees, I thought about Command and Conquer (Tiberian Sun), which I loved, and which was largely responsible (along with Warcraft 2) for creating the modern RTS genre. But it in no way holds up to modern games - I could probably rattle off a dozen subsequent RTS games that are more fun to play.

I see it a bit differently. Take your Command & Conquer example. Let's say that today you were in the mood to play an RTS. Buying something modern like Starcraft 2 sounds more appealing to you than reinstalling Command & Conquer. Starcraft 2 has better graphics, fancier cutscenes, more unit types, and a more robust online matchmaking system than you could even have dreamed of in the C&C era.

But if Starcraft 2 only keeps your attention for a month or two? Compared to the months/years you put into C&C? If you dabble in the online multiplayer but find it can't come close to the fun you had dragging computer towers to your friends' for C&C LAN parties?

This is where, for me, old games can be better than modern ones that are 'better' on paper. Street Fighter II isn't just a fighting game to put side by side next to a modern fighting game and compare. Street Fighter II is putting coins on arcade cabinets for your next turn, seeing arcades get giant projector screens for the game to make it even more specator-friendly, dreading getting a turn on the SNES after your friend with really sweaty hands, playing with friends until 3am without realizing where the time went, and on and on.

That's why I put both Civ II and Civ IV on my list. Civ IV improved on Civ II in pretty much every way, but even then it probably only managed to at best break even with the 'fun' Civ II brought into my life.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 2:09 pm

I don't... I can't even...

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 2:15 pm

El Guapo wrote:Final Fantasy 3

The US version (which was actually Final Fantasy 6) or the Japanese version that didn't get released in the US until the 3D remake a few years back?

Lagom Lite · Post by **Lagom Lite** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 2:34 pm

Civilization
Civilization II
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
UFO: Enemy Unknown
Elite II: Frontier

Syndicate
Guild Wars
Diablo II
Might & Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven
Baldur's Gate

Fallout II
Minecraft
Portal
SimCity (original)
Tetris

Bejeweled
The Secret of Monkey Island
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Day of the Tentacle
Mortal Kombat

Edit: Minecraft should win this category imo, hands down. Even though I don't play it much myself, it's just a wonderful piece of software and its influence is so great on contemporary gaming culture. Or maybe Tetris should win, because... Tetris. Dude. The perfect game.

I suppose my top 5 would be:

1. Minecraft
2. Tetris
3. Civilization
4. Elite II: Frontier
5. Baldur's Gate

Lagom Lite · Post by **Lagom Lite** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 2:49 pm

Do we nominate individual games btw? Or is it okay to nominate franchises? Like "the Civilization franchise".

Seppe · Post by **Seppe** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 3:02 pm

The first 14 or so were failry easy but after that ,hmm.

Master or Orion 1
Master of Magic
Star Control 2
Dwarf Fortress
Civilization 1
fallout 2
Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday - (the gold box engine really)
Mech Brigade (1985)
MechWarrior 2
M.U.L.E. (1983)
Front Page Sports Football Pro
Fantasy General
X-Com (original)
Super Mario Kart
Gunship (microprose)
SimCity
Tetris
Wolfenstein 3D
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 1
Minecraft

My top few would be:
1) MULE
2) Tetris because they could be played by anyone, and are the only ones i got my sister to play
or
1) X-Com
2) Master of Magic because they are awesome
or
1) Front Pages FB
2) Dwarf Fortress because i spent the most time with

(edited to trim list down to 20)

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 3:06 pm

Lagom Lite wrote:Do we nominate individual games btw? Or is it okay to nominate franchises? Like "the Civilization franchise".

Nominate only individual games, not entire series. For example, don't nominate "Ultima series." Nominate only the individual game(s) of that series that you like. Exception: you may nominate a series in which each game is a revision of the last, as is often the case in sports games.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 3:34 pm

Skinypupy wrote:
El Guapo wrote:Final Fantasy 3
The US version (which was actually Final Fantasy 6) or the Japanese version that didn't get released in the US until the 3D remake a few years back?

The U.S. version (FF6).

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 3:40 pm

wonderpug wrote:
El Guapo wrote:Yeah, I agree. We're not talking about just classic games - to be the GOAT it has to stand up to modern games as well. Like when I was thinking up nominees, I thought about Command and Conquer (Tiberian Sun), which I loved, and which was largely responsible (along with Warcraft 2) for creating the modern RTS genre. But it in no way holds up to modern games - I could probably rattle off a dozen subsequent RTS games that are more fun to play.
I see it a bit differently. Take your Command & Conquer example. Let's say that today you were in the mood to play an RTS. Buying something modern like Starcraft 2 sounds more appealing to you than reinstalling Command & Conquer. Starcraft 2 has better graphics, fancier cutscenes, more unit types, and a more robust online matchmaking system than you could even have dreamed of in the C&C era.

But if Starcraft 2 only keeps your attention for a month or two? Compared to the months/years you put into C&C? If you dabble in the online multiplayer but find it can't come close to the fun you had dragging computer towers to your friends' for C&C LAN parties?

This is where, for me, old games can be better than modern ones that are 'better' on paper. Street Fighter II isn't just a fighting game to put side by side next to a modern fighting game and compare. Street Fighter II is putting coins on arcade cabinets for your next turn, seeing arcades get giant projector screens for the game to make it even more specator-friendly, dreading getting a turn on the SNES after your friend with really sweaty hands, playing with friends until 3am without realizing where the time went, and on and on.

That's why I put both Civ II and Civ IV on my list. Civ IV improved on Civ II in pretty much every way, but even then it probably only managed to at best break even with the 'fun' Civ II brought into my life.

Right, but much (maybe even most) of that is a function not of the game itself but of where you are in life when you play the game. I played way more C&C than Starcraft 2, for example, but that's because I was in high school when C&C came out and (thankfully) didn't have kids. Even more so with you stuff about arcades, SNES controllers, and everything else. Kids today are going to have their equivalents. That really has very little to do with the games themselves.

So I think the GOAT should be great on its own merits, devoid as much as possible from nostalgic haze.

Hipolito · Post by **Hipolito** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 6:23 pm

ColdSteel wrote:I really think you should break these into genre categories. There's just too many great, great games going back 30 years or so.

We talked a bit about having a genre-based tournament in our BGOLFY win thread. Maybe in the future someone can undertake running it and we'll see how it goes.

Zaxxon wrote:I don't... I can't even...

Aww, someone nominate Zaxxon already!

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 6:35 pm

1) Nintendo Wrestling.

Better to go back to after all of these years than Tie Fighter. Nothing else has stood the test of time like it. And that's coming from a life long computer gamer.

We could hold a Nintendo Wrestling championship tomorrow and it would be as fun as 1987.

Kelric · Post by **Kelric** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 6:48 pm

Working on it...

Spoiler:

Varity · Post by **Varity** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 8:03 pm

Civilization 4
Covert Action
Darklands
Dwarf Fortress
Europa Universalis 2
Falcon 4.0
Gothic 2
Grand Prix Legends
Jagged Alliance 2
Longbow 2
Mafia
Maniac Mansion
Outcast
Pool of Radiance
Silent Hunter 3
Sim City 4
Starflight 2
Thief 2
Tie Fighter
Ultima 4

Trent Steel · Post by **Trent Steel** » Tue Oct 01, 2013 10:55 am

LordMortis wrote:1) Nintendo Wrestling.

Better to go back to after all of these years than Tie Fighter. Nothing else has stood the test of time like it. And that's coming from a life long computer gamer.

We could hold a Nintendo Wrestling championship tomorrow and it would be as fun as 1987.

I must concur with this as I am undefeated as the Amazon.

Also, since we're talking about old-time NES, how about Tecmo Super Bowl. Many a brawl was started over that in my college dorm I tell you.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Tue Oct 01, 2013 11:22 am

I was also a great Nwresler.

And thanks for the links in the other forums pointing back to this thread. Maybe we can get some new entrants in here.

T · Post by T » Tue Oct 01, 2013 12:27 pm

Command and Conquer
Command and Conquer: Red Alert 1 + 2
Command and Conquer: Generals
Total Annihilation
Starcraft 1 + 2
Warcraft 3
Dominions 3
Master of Magic
Morrowind
Duke Nukem 3D

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Wed Oct 02, 2013 2:13 pm

1. Alpha Centauri
2. Fallout 2
3. System Shock 2
4. Thief II
5. Baldurs Gate 2
6. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II
7. Amnesia: The Dark Descent
8. Planescape Torment
9. Deus Ex
10. Super Mario World
11. Bastion
12. The Last of Us
13. Fire Emblem Awakening
14. Starcraft
15. Portal
16. Sim City 2000
17. Mass Effect 2
18. Dragon Age Origins
19. Gothic 2
20. Mark of the Ninja

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Sat Oct 05, 2013 7:46 am

Hipolito wrote: [*]Nominate only individual games, not entire series. For example, don't nominate "Ultima series." Nominate only the individual game(s) of that series that you like. Exception: you may nominate a series in which each game is a revision of the last, as is often the case in sports games.

I don't really like this rule. When several of us pick the original X-Com and several pick TFTD, the importance of the X-Com series will be diluted. Likewise for Fallout/Fallout 2 and all the good Ultimas, Wing Commanders, etc.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Sat Oct 05, 2013 9:01 am

Holman wrote:
Hipolito wrote: [*]Nominate only individual games, not entire series. For example, don't nominate "Ultima series." Nominate only the individual game(s) of that series that you like. Exception: you may nominate a series in which each game is a revision of the last, as is often the case in sports games.
I don't really like this rule. When several of us pick the original X-Com and several pick TFTD, the importance of the X-Com series will be diluted. Likewise for Fallout/Fallout 2 and all the good Ultimas, Wing Commanders, etc.

I like the rule (games within a series differ, after all), but I take your point. Perhaps a separate tournament for best series of all time?

Hipolito · Post by **Hipolito** » Sat Oct 05, 2013 9:34 am

Holman wrote:
Hipolito wrote: [*]Nominate only individual games, not entire series. For example, don't nominate "Ultima series." Nominate only the individual game(s) of that series that you like. Exception: you may nominate a series in which each game is a revision of the last, as is often the case in sports games.
I don't really like this rule. When several of us pick the original X-Com and several pick TFTD, the importance of the X-Com series will be diluted. Likewise for Fallout/Fallout 2 and all the good Ultimas, Wing Commanders, etc.

It does cause some dilution, but I think allowing entire series to be nominated would cause too much aggregation. Imagine pitting the entire Ultima series against the entire Final Fantasy series. That might be an interesting match, but when trying to decide the best individual game, I think that gets too fuzzy. Also, you start getting into "weight" issues; how do you compare the merit of one great game that has had no sequel against a long series of games that maybe aren't as good but combined have a lot of weight and influence? Plus, I think there is value in pitting individual games of the same series against each other.

One week left to post/edit your lists. My thanks to everyone who's already done so, and to Kelric and AWS260 for bumping my spam threads in the other fora.

Below is my list in decreasing order of belovedness.

Planescape: Torment
Wasteland
Star Control II
Persona 3
Secret of Monkey Island, The
Starflight 2: Trade Routes of the Cloud Nebula
Fallout
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Trinity
Demon's Souls
Guitar Hero
Jagged Alliance 2
Portal
Xenoblade Chronicles
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Moria
Quest for Glory II: Trial By Fire
Wizardry 8
StarCraft
Wing Commander: Privateer