I personally love rpg's the most...its what got me into pc gaming. And I genereally buy every rpg that comes out, with a few exceptions... So what is your favorite genre? Strategy would be my second and action my third.

etc

Wargames,Strategy and RPG.With the occasional FPS and Hockey game.

I hate adventure games.With a passion.I loathe them.I piss on them, then set the CD's on fire.

Whoops,got carried away there. :)

-Monkeybutt

RPGs, RTSs, and then I suppose FPSs. Also, the better the multiplayer option, the more likely I am to play it.

I think the best games combine various genres. Is Jagged Alliance an RPG, a strategy, or an adventure. It's really a lot of each, isn't it?

I keep thinking about what Al Lowe said in that recent Mushroom interview that Mark linked the news page to. Adventure is only old in the traditional sense - it has a place in any genre where a story is told, whether that be from an action or a strategy perspective.

Flight sims (WWII specifically, b/c there's no way I'll ever learn how to properly operate an F/A-18 or F-15, so I've stopped trying), and space flight sims are my favorites. They'd then be followed by RTSs, FPSs, and RPGs, in that order, though RPGs might pass up FPSs soon (playing Baldur's Gate now).

Dontcha love Baldur's Gate? I'm playing through it for the first time now, and I simply love it!

My favorites are Squad based tactic games and god games

Hmmm. I'm not sure if I can consistently claim to prefer certain genres, although I certainly seem to prefer certain traits:

1. story-driven
2. turn-based
3. sci-fi setting

- Alan

I love sports games, RPGs, and adventure games... The old Lucasarts games, like Sam & Max, Full Throttle, etc. were way too much fun.

I play more first person and third person shooters than anything. From Quake to Thief and everything in between. I like the immersion factor and the usually solid control schemes plus the immediate pay off. They are easy to jump in and out of especially for multiplayer.

To put a spin on this thread my least favorite genre where I own a number of the games is RTS. I am not a big fan of having to put up buildings to build units and the multiplayer issues of having the perfect build sequence to win is just beyond annoying for me. I like the combat in RTSs but not the building management. Having said all of that I have played AOE, AOE2, TA, CC, RA, Starcraft (2 games I hated it), and Warlords Battlecry. So I have some knowledge of the genre because I buy far too many games. I have played more TA than any other RTS.

My least favorite genre where I don't buy a lot of games is probably military sims. I have bought a few (Falcon 4 and the Jane's helicopter sim) but that is about it.

I have played a wide variety of games in other genres from RPG to driving to tactical combat to space sim to MMORPG.

Sorry for the ramble but there you have it. :)

Everything.
Really.
I just love games.

In this order :

1. Combat simulations - land, sea, air, historical
2. Strategy
3. Space sims
4. Action
5. CRPG

I have no interest in Sports or Adventure games. In fact the last sports game I can remember playing was Leaderboard on the Commodore 64. I was mostly interested in that from a technical point of view and having never actually played golf.

I think probably the FPS/RPG stuff is probably my favorite. You know, the games that are first-person and often involve lots of action, but also let you develop your character in a variety of ways and solve problems through different means.

The Ultima Underworld games, the System Shock games, Deus Ex, and to some extent Thief are examples (though the Theif series didn't feature character advancement, just equipment selection, it did let you approach each problem a variety of ways). That's one of the things I liked so much about NOLF--not always, but many times, you could take drastically different measures to deal with a given scenario.

I also really dig the best console-style RPGs. They focus much more on character, with a well-defined cast that have more distinctive personalities. The bad ones are a snooze-fest, but the good ones really absorb me (Final Fantasy 4, 6, and 9, Skies of Arcadia, Phantasy Star 1, 2, and 4, etc.).

Really though, I like a great game in almost any genre. Except civillian flight sims, and hardcore grognard wargames. I have a motto--"my computer is no good for civillian flight sims. They all run a little boring."

Phantasy Star - now that one was fantastic, especially for its day. I still find myself thinking of that one from time to time. The original is freakin' impossible to find, which is unfortunate, because it was great!

My best friend still has his old Phantasy Star cartridge, and once in a blue moon we fire it up again. Last time we tried (like two years ago), get this... the battery still worked! the names of the saved games were all corrupted and unreadable, but when you loaded it, it worked fine! That thing was like 10 years old at the time.

Yeah, I've heard that about it! Several people I've talked to say that they have it and it the battery is still good. I'm pretty impressed!

My favorite type of game is one that combines a strategic level of decision-making with a tactical level for resolving the consequences of those decisions, ideally coupled with an RPG-esque character/unit advancement system. X-Com, Master of Magic, Ogre Battle 64, Shadow Watch, and Darklands are examples of games that combine those different levels in really good ways. I prefer a degree of open-endedness and randomization in there as well.

Liberation Day and its sequel/prequel(?) had a lot of promise in this area, but were unplayably buggy. MageLords and Freedom Ridge had great potential, but were cancelled. And unfortunately, there don't seem to be many games with this combination of features in the works right now, other than Age of Wonders II...

FREEDOM FORCE!

I can't wait to play that...and it fits your description pretty well I think.

--Dave

Thanks, Dave. Sheesh.

If Freedom Force tanks, you may blame Dave for invoking the Curse today.

;-)

To ward off the Curse, may I suggest the Litany against Excitement, excerpted here from an early draft of Frank Herbert's Dune:

---

Quote:

I must not get excited. Excitement is the game-killer. Excitement is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my excitement. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the pages of gaming magazines to see its path. Where the excitement has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

---

I love the idea of Freedom Force but I'm not convinced you can do a real-time squad game (even with pause 'n give orders) and have any semblance of real strategy to it. Casualties would probably include Star Trek: Away Team and Abomination, among others. I think SWAT 3, even if it's a different genre per se, comes closer by giving squad AI mates some semblance of a brain.

Thus I've cursed it! :)

A close real-time squad game that is done well, isn't even a true strategy game, is Evil Islands an RPG. Evil Islands plays better as a squad game for me then Fallout Tactics has (though the crit hits has been annpying for some ppl).

That surprises me that the crit hits annoy some people. I figured it was par for the course for an RPG. I've enjoyed it thus far.

Dave, yes indeed, I'm looking forward to Freedom Force very much. But is it supposed to have an overarching strategic level? I was under the impression it was pretty mission-based (with between-mission team upgrade options).

From what they've revealed on the message boards for that game, the pausable real-time system just might work. My main hope is that they allow the player to save mission films, because otherwise it'll be hard to appreciate all of the action.

And kafka, could you elaborate on what ways you find Evil Islands to be more tactically interesting than FOT? I hadn't considered picking up the game, but that little bit of info puts it back on my radar...

Freedom Force is really an action game (the producer says as much) with some strategy underlying it. But it's not the Guardians: Agents of Justice I hoped to see some day.

"And kafka, could you elaborate on what ways you find Evil Islands to be more tactically interesting than FOT? I hadn't considered picking up the game, but that little bit of info puts it back on my radar..."

I haven't jumped into earlier discussion of Evil Islands, partly because I was reviewing it for CGO and wanted to reserve judgement until I had finished.

But after finished the game last week, I have to say I don't think you'd like it, Jason. I feel bad enough having made you sit through Monkey Bones, so hopefully I can save you from Evil Islands.

It uses a Baldur's Gate styled real-time pausable combat system, but there's little tactical depth beyond choosing a target for one of your three party members. And like as not, you'll only be using a single character most of the time.

Furthermore, there are a lot of save/reload sneaking puzzles that are really aggravating. The game's difficulty progression is completely boogered up. Other folks mileage may vary, of course, but I'd give it a thumbs down as a tactical combat game.

-Tom

I've come to the conclusion that the best games, in any genre, (for me) are those with the strongest role-playing aspects. Thus - I'm a flight sim fanatic, have been since the beginning of computer gaming, but the flight sims in which you have a well defined role in the conflict (as set by the campaigns, place in the squadron, etc.) are more enjoyable than those which do not. E.g., I want squadron mates that I care about, rather than flak fodder. Same for sports sims - give me a career option. FPS games that make me feel like I'm a real part of a story draw me in a lot more than simple frag fests. Basically - I want a game that draws me into its world and makes me forget that it's just a game.

And there are damned few that do that very well.

- Jeff

Strategy games for me. They've far and away wasted more of my life than any other type of game. Civ, Starcraft, MOM, MOO, AOE, AOK, X-COM, Nobunaga's Ambition, Romance of The Three Kingdoms--lots of titles. The only RPG that really got it's fangs into me was Ultima, starting with Ultima III. I liked old sims, but the more modern ones seem too complicated for me to take the time to get good at these days. For wargames, the only one I just couldn't stop playing was Gary Grigsby's Pacific War. I loved that game. For FPS-I played Doom for years, but that's about it. I think I got a bad taste for them when I played Origin's "Shadow Master" with my (then) brand-new Logitech Mouseman, the mouse-on-a-stick that vibrated when you got hit by something. What a waste of good kopeks that rig was...

"I've come to the conclusion that the best games, in any genre, (for me) are those with the strongest role-playing aspects."

Yep. That's why the first Panzer General was so good.

I've always been a sucker for squad games though sometimes I'm not hooked when you think I would (Jagged Alliance 2, Chaos Gate, Shadow Watch, Abomination, Shadow Company and some others are games I should've by all accounts loved but I didn't warm up to any of them).

My favorite Squad games regardless of genre would probably be X-COM, Incubation, Rogue Spear (in multiplayer at least) and SWAT 3. I'm not and won't ever be into deathmatching, though I've certainly tried, and I just get a lot more joy out of either working with other players or getting my little group to survive a mission.

Evil Islands gets a nod from me only because of the customizability and making items aspect of the game, theres nothing else out there like it. But, I can see many people really disliking this game for simple reasons... one being the very SLOW pace...especially in terms of XP in Normal mode (there are only two modes in EI, normal and easy). and then the insane amount of Commandos style sneaking around... i was only comparing the difficulty of FoT with EI meaning that EI "felt" more challenging and rewarding as a Sqaud Tactic game (which it really is, as is Balders Gate...though in RTS mode)

I really wouldn't reccomend EI to anyone just that they try the demo... it gives a good representation of the game mechanics (3d version of Rage of Mages). Its really doesn't "feel" like balders Gate to me... it felt like a tactical strategy aspect becuase of the planning that has to be done for each encounter...

The only bad thing with EI is the balancing of it, the game tends to be easy at a few points but immensely hard at others....hard meaning you will NOT be able to kill Orcs and Trolls like you could n other games... even on easy mode, you will not be able to fight thru some areas, the game forces you to find anopther way (usually sneaking). The critical hits isn't so big a deal when you plan ahead... outfitting your characters is the biggest strategy to the game; ie do you go with a weaken sword or a strength sword, or a sword that does fire? all the while wearing a regenerating chain mail? this is where the "fun" was for me... the choices. whereas in BG or FoT its always the best weapon you have at this time, or whatever skill lets you use the best...

Anyway, I still like the game for the fact that there really isn't anything out like it... it has nice graphics, a good rpg skill system, a very good item/spell creation system, not too bad of a story...

But again, I'm not a reviewer just stating opinion and not too sure what you're looking for...

etc

"I've come to the conclusion that the best games, in any genre, (for me) are those with the strongest role-playing aspects."

Well said, Jeff. I never really thought of it that way before, but now that you mention it, I think you've hit on something. Sort of answers why a flight sim like FS2k won't keep me up until 3am.

---

Quote:

whereas in BG or FoT its always the best weapon you have at this time, or whatever skill lets you use the best...

---

I agree with Murph, in BG2 for example each of my main two tanks have swords that give them free action. I only use those when I try a web/entangle gambit. Also, I carry weapons with acid effects just for mopping up against trolls. Then there are the missle weapons as Murph mentions.

In FO:T at this point each of my guys has a long range gun (hunting rifle) and a close in gun (ak or machine gun). Maybe later in the game it becomes less important but I definitely use different weapons based on the situation now.

-- Xaroc

CRPGs, MMORPGs, and turn-based 4X games are my favorites.

I didn't mean BG2 didn't have strategy...uhm, i just think it feels less strategic (in a customize your character sense) than Evil Islands. I can't prove it though. Anyway, I still loved BG2!

yes, I love rpgs the most... though i "miss" the days of daggerfall, wizardry and the "good" ultimas. i like "open ended" rpgs espeically, of just wandering around whenever... hopefully NWN and Morrowing make a 2001 release. Im ramblin...

etc

Tom & kafka, thanks for the Evil Islands opinions; from your respective descriptions I don't think I would like it much. Always looking for something new...

But in lieu of that I've begun playing Disciples again, and am having a lot of fun on the second go-round. I'm looking forward very much to the sequel later this year. What makes it great is all the tough decision-making... I wish more games were designed this tightly...

P.S. Tom: Monkeybone sucked, but I maintain that it was worth it just for those five minutes of Chris Kattan going berserk!

In the past definitly console rpgs. But since ff7 witch I thought was a good game in its own right but pretty much ruined the genre I'v played maby two good rpgs. Now without a doubt rts games I like the multiplayer competion. Never have gotten into fps's but a friends loaning me his copy of rogue spear so that might change.

My favorite gaming on the computer is the text-based roleplaying MUSH. The best have talented administrators, coders and players that cooperate in generating some of the most immersive roleplaying worlds and stories that I've ever experienced.

Instead of being a passive observer in a story out of your control, as in a conventional CRPG or another inconsequential flea on a dog's back in an overpopulated, and generally content free, MMORPG or MUD, the MUSHer becomes part of a real, unpredictable, storyline that he or she can really influence. The value of writing skills and a shared corporate culture, or peer pressure, to contribute to the virtual reality of the setting tends to cut down on the proliferation of 'net rabble.' As MUSHes are free to play, the admins are ruthless about removing disruptive elements. No profit is lost, profit was never a consideration, and quality of RP is preserved.

Aside from the MUSH, I tend to prefer open-ended and realistic games that allow me to enjoy quality roleplaying if of a more experiental kind. I agree with Jeff Lackey that flight sims, especially those with true dynamic campaigns, are excellent examples of this. I also tend to like strategy titles and wargames for the same reason, especially those with campaign modes and believable pacing and themes. Most conventional RTS titles just aren't plausible enough to kick suspension of disbelief in.