Best Game Ever

[Matt Deckard]

'Lo fans 'o games. In the spirit of this new section of the org, i have decided to find out if we can answer the question that has been plaguing gamers for decades -'what is the best game ever?'

For me, it would have to be Zelda - The Ocarina Of Time. I could get lost in that game for ages trying to get that last heart piece and not lose interest at all

[frogbeastegg]

I second that, no game has even come close to TOOT in all these years, not even the two sequels. Even the shortened version of its name is so...fitting. I went one better than you - I got all the heart pieces, skulltulas etc and then stood around in Hyrule field fighting at night as young Link to keep things going. That and swimming in Lake Hylia or diving off the waterfall in Zora's domain. I thought it sounded mildly interesting, I'd never played or heard of Zelda before. Then the day before release I saw the rolling demo in my local EB and I just stood there for 20 minutes watching. To my horror I found it was preordered fo the next 3 months worth of copies and my little heart sank. Next day early in the morning my mother found that Virgin Megastores had exactly 3 copies that were not taken by preorders so she reserved one and ran off to town. I finished it 100% inside of two weeks even with a lot of time wasting, simply because I couldn't put it down. It's a rare game that keeps me playing for more than half an hour at a time, TOOT had me playing for hours. The game does have its flaws (bombchu bowling has a terrible camera I hated that mini game, really hated) and it is no longer beautiful to look at but the moment the title screen appears, the music starts and you hear the hoofbeats of Epona that no longer matters....I should stop rapsiding now or I'll be running off to play it again I keep my N64 hooked up for that alone, the Gamecube remake just wasn't the same...load times for the menus?

[Matt Deckard]

Quote[/b] (frogbeastegg @ Feb. 16 2004,21:57)]and then stood around in Hyrule field fighting at night as young Link to keep things going.
Thats hardcore http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/bigthumb.gif
I just remembered the music and sound effects. I still get on overwhelming feeling of satisfaction whenever i hear the familiar Da-Da-Da-DAAAAA noise that you get when link receives an item

[The Wizard]

Baldur's Gate II - The Shadows of Amn and its expansion Throne of Bhaal...

I shalt explain this further later, can't be arsed now http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-jester.gif



~Wiz

[Mount Suribachi]

Too many to choose from..........Half Life, MOHAA, KOTOR, Civ2/SMAC, Champ Man, BG2, PS:T...........I can't decide

[Somebody Else]

MS Solitaire - it's been on my computer since I had one, and has always had some playing time. Of course, the graphics are a little out-dated, and the multiplayer mode is non-existent...

Good storyline though...

[ShadeFlanders]

Shogun, no game has ever been on my HD for that long.

[Bushido]

Ground Control. Bought it when it was first released. I'm going through my 2nd cd at the moment.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

It's Gotta be Ocarina. The only game that has almost made me cry when I finished it, simply because I knew it was over.

Sheer, unadulterated genius. With fishing and very, very angry chickens.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Shogun http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Cebei]

Strange.. story wise Soulreaver and legacy of kain series are my favorites.

[Teutonic Knight]

Quote[/b] ]I second that, no game has even come close to TOOT in all these years, not even the two sequels. Even the shortened version of its name is so...fitting. I went one better than you - I got all the heart pieces, skulltulas etc and then stood around in Hyrule field fighting at night as young Link to keep things going. That and swimming in Lake Hylia or diving off the waterfall in Zora's domain. I thought it sounded mildly interesting, I'd never played or heard of Zelda before. Then the day before release I saw the rolling demo in my local EB and I just stood there for 20 minutes watching. To my horror I found it was preordered fo the next 3 months worth of copies and my little heart sank. Next day early in the morning my mother found that Virgin Megastores had exactly 3 copies that were not taken by preorders so she reserved one and ran off to town. I finished it 100% inside of two weeks even with a lot of time wasting, simply because I couldn't put it down. It's a rare game that keeps me playing for more than half an hour at a time, TOOT had me playing for hours. The game does have its flaws (bombchu bowling has a terrible camera I d that mini game, really d) and it is no longer beautiful to look at but the moment the title screen appears, the music starts and you hear the hoofbeats of Epona that no longer matters....I should stop rapsiding now or I'll be running off to play it again I keep my N64 hooked up for that alone, the Gamecube remake just wasn't the same...load times for the menus?




Quote[/b] ]For me, it would have to be Zelda - The Ocarina Of Time. I could get lost in that game for ages trying to get that last heart piece and not lose interest at all

I never thought I was surrounded my so many like-minded people TOOT is my all time fave also, I had it for n64 and I beat it several times, but for some crazed reason I sold it with my N64 http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/ht_scared.gif

After I realized what I had done I began longing for TOOT, which I thought I had lost forever...

But then, as fate would have it, Lo and behold, A Gamecube version Although I had my gamecube for awhile and they were only sold with new ones, I just had to have it

So to make a long story short I paid a friend of mine $20 for it when he got his new Gamecube...

I must respectfully disagree Froggy, I didn't mind the load times at all (it only takes a grand total of 8 seconds for me, I'm not that impatient) and the controls were easy enough (possibly even easier than the N64 controller) to learn, so I say it's just as good if not better (I might be biased though cause I haven't played N64 version in years)

P.S.: don't you just love the fishing pond guy who just won't stop scratching his armpits? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-laugh.gif

[hrvojej]

I know it's cliche, but... Morrowind.

[Antalis::]

Powermonger and Populous:

Revolutionary Strategy games from Peter Molyneux.


Populus:
[/img]http://iskor.free.fr/covers/populous.jpg

Powermonger:
http://exotica.fix.no/gallery/games/images/p/Powermonger.jpg

http://www.jgb.abelgratis.co.uk/SSHOT/P/powermonger.png

[frogbeastegg]

TK you sold TOOT? You must have been http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-mad.gif

The reason I didn't like the loading times was that it disrupted those carefully honed, near reflex actions I had carefully learned playing the N64 version. You know, like run along hit start cursor moving to iron boots as screen opens, boots selected and on and screen going away all in the minimum possible time. Waiting for the screen to load broke that up and I was left accidentally pulling out bombchus and blowing myself up or something equally daft because the menu behaved differently. I could have adapted but I had wind waker to play, so that's what I did.

You could steal the hat off the fishing guy if you had a good aim with the fishing rod, it's that kind of attention to detail that really made TOOT great.

Morrowind was a fine game, the first expansion really fixed it up but it was still missing...something. I don't know what, direction perhaps? You could go and do anything but I always found myself trying to do everything at once. Outside of the missing something I had two niggles, the map and the combat, both of which I lived with for a long time and neither was game breaking but they did make things less enjoyable than they could have been. I hated the original journal system but the add-on fixed that nicely. I didn't bother with the second expansion.

[Aurelius1]

I'll likely get lynched, but I'd say Panzer General. It just never gets old. Best money I ever spent on a game, besides possibly Dungeons and Dragons for the Intellivision.

[Teutonic Knight]

Quote[/b] (frogbeastegg @ Feb. 17 2004,04:41)]TK you sold TOOT? You must have been http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-mad.gif

The reason I didn't like the loading times was that it disrupted those carefully honed, near reflex actions I had carefully learned playing the N64 version. You know, like run along hit start cursor moving to iron boots as screen opens, boots selected and on and screen going away all in the minimum possible time. Waiting for the screen to load broke that up and I was left ally pulling out chus and blowing myself up or something equally daft because the menu behaved differently. I could have adapted but I had wind waker to play, so that's what I did.

You could steal the hat off the fishing guy if you had a good aim with the fishing rod, it's that kind of attention to detail that really made TOOT great.

Morrowind was a fine game, the first expansion really fixed it up but it was still missing...something. I don't know what, direction perhaps? You could go and do anything but I always found myself trying to do everything at once. Outside of the missing something I had two niggles, the map and the combat, both of which I lived with for a long time and neither was game breaking but they did make things less enjoyable than they could have been. I d the original journal system but the add-on fixed that nicely. I didn't bother with the second expansion.
Yeah, I almost cried after I realized what I had done http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/mecry.gif

I was never that meticulous with my menu screen but of course I hadn't played the game in teo years so there wasn't really any difference for me to notice in the game.

I didn't know that *runs off to go try it*

[Knight_Yellow]

BF1942.

Played it for over a year hard core, couple of hours at least 6 in every 7 days.


several all nighters and a good few wtf its tuesday sessions.

of course i would have stopped playing it long ago if it was not for the massive and great mod support the game has.

Desert Combat for me is better than Bf1942, just something about landing a black hawk while under fire and watching 5 marines get out and be riddled by automatic fire that brings a tear to my eye.


EDIT: 3000 post http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/bigthumb.gif

[Teutonic Knight]

Quote[/b] (Knight_Yellow @ Feb. 17 2004,13:34)]EDIT: 3000 post http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/bigthumb.gif
I've almost caught you m8

[Knight_Yellow]

god damn spammer.

Challenger 2 is the new generation main battle tank in service with the British Army and the Royal Army of Oman. Developed from Challenger 1, which proved so successful during the Gulf War, it is fitted with a completely new turret and is protected by Advanced Armour Technology. Proven to be the world's most reliable main battle tank, Challenger 2 has exceeded the most stringent reliability targets ever set by the UK Ministry of Defence.

The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards were the first regiment to receive CHALLENGER 2 and also the first to take the tank on operations.



http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/bigthumb.gif

[Teutonic Knight]

Quote[/b] (Knight_Yellow @ Feb. 17 2004,17:56)]god damn spammer.

Challenger 2 is the new generation main battle tank in service with the British Army and the Royal Army of Oman. Developed from Challenger 1, which proved so successful during the Gulf War, it is fitted with a completely new turret and is protected by Advanced Armour Technology. Proven to be the world's most reliable main battle tank, Challenger 2 has exceeded the most stringent reliability targets ever set by the UK Ministry of Defence.

The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards were the first regiment to receive CHALLENGER 2 and also the first to take the tank on operations.



http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/bigthumb.gif
that's just another brand of spam m8 http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

Oh and by the way I've cleaned up my act, I hardly ever spam anymore...that's the godsgospel truth...

[kiwitt]

Best game of All Time.


C H E S S

[kiwitt]

Quote[/b] (Knight_Yellow @ Feb. 17 2004,16:56)]god damn spammer.

Challenger 2 is the new generation main battle tank in service with the British Army and the Royal Army of Oman. Developed from Challenger 1, which proved so successful during the Gulf War, it is fitted with a completely new turret and is protected by Advanced Armour Technology. Proven to be the world's most reliable main battle tank, Challenger 2 has exceeded the most stringent reliability targets ever set by the UK Ministry of Defence.

The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards were the first regiment to receive CHALLENGER 2 and also the first to take the tank on operations.



http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/bigthumb.gif
Did you know I modded a Challenger 2 in Steel Panthers III.

140mm Smoothbore Cannon = Replacing the 120mm
Hellfire Missiles = Replacing the Smoke launchers
30mm Gatling Cannon (from the A-10) replacing the MG

It also was the fastest.

[Knight_Yellow]

Quote[/b] (kiwitt @ Feb. 18 2004,00:46)]
Quote[/b] (Knight_Yellow @ Feb. 17 2004,16:56)]god damn spammer.

Challenger 2 is the new generation main battle tank in service with the British Army and the Royal Army of Oman. Developed from Challenger 1, which proved so successful during the Gulf War, it is fitted with a completely new turret and is protected by Advanced Armour Technology. Proven to be the world's most reliable main battle tank, Challenger 2 has exceeded the most stringent reliability targets ever set by the UK Ministry of Defence.

The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards were the first regiment to receive CHALLENGER 2 and also the first to take the tank on operations.



http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/bigthumb.gif
Did you know I modded a Challenger 2 in Steel Panthers III.

140mm Smoothbore Cannon = Replacing the 120mm
Hellfire Missiles = Replacing the Smoke launchers
30mm Gatling Cannon (from the A-10) replacing the MG

It also was the fastest.
Your pretty high up on my list now.


Lower than God but higher than jesus


http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-smile.gif

[kiwitt]

After the Challenger 2 Mod, I did have to make sure their was a lot of opposition. However, it did become a bit of a Turkeyshoot. But fun never-the-less.

[Fragony]

Thief: The Dark Project.

[frogbeastegg]

Ahem, best game ever, not best spam ever And neither of you have it down to an art form. Take a look in the entrance hall, that Gregoshi chap keeps posting the same thing over and over many times a week and has been made a moderator and won an award for it. Now that is art http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif

Thief is a true gem of a game, one of the best I have played...still haven't finished it, must do that sometime. If I can escape from people's interruptions

[econ21]

Best game ever?

Well, the one I am most likely to be playing these days is still this one - MTW. So that must be a contender. More long-lasting than many other genres (eg RPGs), especially with the PBM part of the org.

Most memorable? I still can't get System Shock 2 out of my mind. It's also more vivid than 99% of the books, TV and movies I've read.

Game I have most enjoyed (but moved on from), is Panzer General 1. Like MTW, it struck a nice mix between historical accuracy and fun. It had a similar hook in terms of a linked campaign, with unit experience, tech advances and upgrades etc. The core gameplay may have been more fun - the scenarios managed to distill the strategic essence of many operations and yet give you many interesting tactical decisions to make. [This was brought home to me when comparing the Balkans 1941 scenario with the more hardcore version made for the Operational Art of War: both gave me similar historical insights, but the PG version was so so much more fun to play.]

[Beirut]

Falcon 3. The grand-daddy of all flight sims. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-toff.gif

[Teutonic Knight]

Quote[/b] ]Your pretty high up on my list now.


Lower than God but higher than jesus




LOL http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-laugh.gif

[Gregoshi]

Quote[/b] (frogbeastegg @ Feb. 18 2004,03:59)]Take a look in the entrance hall, that Gregoshi chap keeps posting the same thing over and over many times a week and has been made a moderator and won an award for it. Now that is art http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif
Yeah, hehehe, but the trick is that almost all of them are unique to the individual. Try saying welcome a thousand different ways over the past year and a half. SPAM isn't as hard as that. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-sweatdrop.gif I've spent almost a half an hour on some of my more creative greetings. The two characteristics of a SPAMMER are 1) their sole purpose is to elevate their post count and 2) when challenged, they justify their SPAM as worthwhile or not SPAM...eh, kind of like I just did. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-embarassed.gif

Back on topic, the greatest game has to be Shogun Total War - the game that blew my socks off (and I've never found them since). STW has the advantage over MTW in that it was first and had the never-been-seen-before WOW factor going for it.

If we stay away from the TW games, I'll put three games up for the Greatest Game nod:

StarCraft
Pirates (Commodore 64)
The Seven Cities of Gold (Commodore 64)

[Dhepee]

Age of Rifles because I am a sucker for anything 19th century.

[Crazy Duke]

Of course MTW,
than all other can stand behind and watch the winner: Duke Nukem, Doom 2, MOHA, Wolfenstein, Shogun, Delta Force, Need for Speed, Age of Empires, FIFA, NBA live......

[spmetla]

GAH I can't really decide, it's a split between these 4:

STW
MTW
Caeser II
Halflife

That's all gonna change this fall though http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[MiniKiller]

powermonger looks cool, any rom for it?

[Beirut]

Sex. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smokin.gif

[The Wizard]

o_ô;

[Eastside Character]

Quote[/b] (Wizzy @ Feb. 16 2004,10:24)]Baldur's Gate II - The Shadows of Amn and its expansion Throne of Bhaal...

I shalt explain this further later, can't be arsed now http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-jester.gif



~Wiz
BG II http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/bigthumb.gif Thats it I play it all the time since I got it. Now I play with a one character only. Im evil and unstoppable (level 30 now, mage - master of conjuration).

Regards,
EC

[The Wizard]

I got this lvl 20 normal mage, who kicked Irenicus' arse in the final battle by both magic and turning into the slayer. All my party was dead except him http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Still, I'm still waiting for ToB to arrive, they don't have it on stock on bol.com, and they still need to get it from Interplay http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/frown.gif



~Wiz

[frogbeastegg]

BGII was really good but it never hit best game status with me because I don't understand AD&D rules, never have and never will, even after playing all the Bioware/Black Isle AD&D games I still don't understand them in the slightest http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/mecry.gif Irenicus was a fantastic villain, what he did to Imoen, your character and the rest of your party was sick and it really gave you a neat motive to hunt him down. ToB tied everything off so well, the ending I got was so...sad, bittersweet and that made a change from the usual you've saved the world hurrah, I hear there are several possible endings though. I went kensai, male because the female voicesets stank to high heaven. Dual wielding katanas...or single wielding a katana, I don't remember which. I kicked rear and the end fight was quite easy, you have no idea how glad I was since I kept getting killed all the way through the game because of my inability to understand how spells etc work. Made a change to be able to wade in and hit things successfully http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-grin.gif

Planescape Torment is my favourite out the lot, the characters were so good...Morte, Fall From Grace, Dakkon, Nordom, Annah, the Nameless One himself. Fantastic stuff. I also liked having an immortal character who got back up if he died - since I end up doing a lot of that it saved me a lot of reloading

And Gregoshi you did know I was joking with the spam comment? Been sat here for days trying to decide whether you were joking yourself or not. My humour detection radar has broken.

[Somebody Else]

BG II - I remember when I got hold of that - didn't stop until I finished... that was a very odd weekend...

Character... has to be Kensai/Thief... with ToB, the Thief's use magic item ability... gives an armoured up kensai... who can hide in shadows and sneak attack. Completely lethal - especially with... Celestial Fury and The Equaliser in hand. Could single-handedly carve through everything and anything.

I've now moved onto Neverwinter Nights, Rogue/Shadowdancer... hide in shadows, multiple sneak attack, hide in shadows, multiple sneak attack... etc.

[The Wizard]

Ahh... now: why BG II was the best game ever.

WARNING:: SOME SPOILERS AHEAD

First: I like games with a story. MTW does not have a story, but that is what makes its campaign so great. Still; I prefer a storydriven game, but with a substantial amount of freedom within the bounds of the story. This is exactly what BG II delivers.

It gives this great, intricate plot full of mysteries and succeeds in sucking you in, making you want to reach that, end, to make that god-blasted Irenicus, who keeps on escaping, pay for what he did. There's a twist and a turn everywhere, and at least two ways to do anything.

Then there are the tons upon tons of sidequests, sideplots and also an option for starting a romance with someone in your party. Now I always like a story with a good romance in it, but this time you get to do it yourself and you can do it at your own pace, and it's easy to make a mistake in it.

Then there are the strongholds for each kind of character class (Planar Sphere rocks, too bad it doesn't work anymore http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif).

The gameplay is also great. In my first go into the game, with my old character from BG I, a ranger pure and simple, I found the fights extremely challenging and great, much better than other RPG's I'd played by then, such as Diablo (fighting Diablo? Pah, hackhackhack, oh he's dead...). Here you need to use the right spells, the right buffs, you need to save against a good enemy and it can always go wrong. In that first go into the game, I kind of did a few quests in Chapter 2, such as helping Nalia, the Umar hills quest, and busting out Windspear's kid from Firkraag's grip, but I wanted to get Imoen and quickly got into Bodhi's (sp?) lair. Fight with Tanova? Omg http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/eek.gif That was one of the hardest challenges in the game I'd ever had (yes... my party was below the advised level for doing the Bodhi's lair thang...). Great http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/bigthumb.gif

My second (and current) go into the game was with a mage. Now there I stayed in Chapter II for ages, but just not long enough to get a romance going, so I saved that for the Chapter before the last one (5?). Now with this party, which was actually above the advised level of entry for Bodhi's lair, I busted Tanova's ass real quick and same went for the short fight with Bodhi. This mage also got further than my ranger, and I completed the game with him. Surprising, as I had until him viewed mages as weak characters that would make the game a lot more challenging.

The involvement with some choice NPC's is also great, some people I hate are the Harpers, that buccaneer that betrays you twice (forgot his name), Irenicus of course, Bodhi (cowardly biatch), and at first Firkraag, but the comments he made before I fought and killed him were too funny to hate him http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-jester.gif

At any time in the game where you can, there are a crapload of sidequests, even in places you don't expect (the Underdark, for instance). I personally loved the intrigues of Ust Natha (sp?) and how that ended if you took the good way, and it might also be great if you took it the evil way.

About the fights again: fighting Kangaxx the demi-lich was bloody hard Amazing fight, 10x harder than anything in the game (final fight was annoying because of the confusion and domination and imprisonment spells Irenicus casts, and because of the creatures he summons). After about 10x of loading my quicksave, I busted his ass with the Crom Faeyr (yes, I sacrificed all those items 'cause most of them were on my casters who could get an equal, more balanced amount of benefit from weaker items) on Korgan, plus boots of speed (I had three, bloody three pairs on my frontline people at the end of the game) and a whole load of buffs that killed him in the end (berserked partymembers can't be imprisoned, so I had to be quick). The ring of Gaxx makes my mage so strong
Every dragon was also great fun, that last one in Suldanesselar was surprisingly strong.

As seen by the length of my post, there was (and still is) a crapload of stuff to be done in this game, and I spent a very long time doing what I've done so far. It'll make my post a lot longer to tell you of my escapades in Amn, so I'll refrain from telling more.

In shorter terms: this game has a very, very good story, absorbing gameplay, a lot of challenges (which are perfectly balanced, anything can be overcome by the right strategy), a gigantic amount of things to do, and each and every of these things are worked out very well. A lot, a whole lot of love and hard work went into creating this baby, and I'm happy it did.

NWN seemed promising, but it didn't have the atmosphere, nor the story, nor the absorbing gameplay (no longer are the fights challenging, it's more like a complicated version of Diablo-style hack 'n' slash), nor the party-based gameplay, nor anything that made BG II so great and lasting.

P.S. Did anyone defeat the lich hiding behind the so-called Rogue Stone Doorway? I hear he's as tough, if not tougher, than Kangaxx.



~Wiz

[Eastside Character]

Quote[/b] ]P.S. Did anyone defeat the lich hiding behind the so-called Rogue Stone Doorway? I hear he's as tough, if not tougher, than Kangaxx.





Well I dont think he is tougher than Kangaxx, there is no tougher. I defeated him with not much effort. Besides with my current spells (Black Blade of Chaos, A Trap For Spells, Dark Planetar, the one stopping time and so on - cant touch me) I can defeat ANY enemy. Full strength unit of Amn soldiers with hooded inquisitors (together some 6 soldiers + 3 inquisitors) took me about only 10 seconds (LITERALLY) when i made myself a test of power last time.


Quote[/b] ]My second (and current) go into the game was with a mage. Now there I stayed in Chapter II for ages, but just not long enough to get a romance going, so I saved that for the Chapter before the last one (5?). Now with this party, which was actually above the advised level of entry for Bodhi's lair, I busted Tanova's ass real quick and same went for the short fight with Bodhi. This mage also got further than my ranger, and I completed the game with him. Surprising, as I had until him viewed mages as weak characters that would make the game a lot more challenging.



Second try? Oh man I ended it like 12 times if not more...
Using all sorts of characters and completing missions in all the possible ways. My current game prooves a single character can succeed in this game, one has to know quite a lot to stay alive tho. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

Regards,
EC

[The Wizard]

I might try that. I once made a quicksave, entered the Cowled Wizards' HQ with just my wizard, Minsc and a healer (think it was Jaheira, my romance interest) and crushed the enemy without much interference from Minsc (and yes I had the ring of Gaxx by then).

Of course, I was good and I quickly loaded the quicksave afterwards.

Now I needed a fighter in my party, otherwise it would be too weak to face enemies that like to storm up to you and beat your main character (such as clay golems that haste themselves), so I took Korgan. He's a real funny guy, and with a reasonable amount of reputation (16-17), and with a bit of diplomatical work, I kept him in my party and he kicked serious ass ^_^

Being a mage is great fun indeed... lich combo's, the synchronised casting of several spells (forgot the two spells for that), etc. It's fun to be buffed up to near-invulnerability (as far as normal monsters go) in one casting, and then the next spell is another one of those and it destroys most of the monsters. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif


~Wiz

[Eastside Character]

Im a master of conjuration so I can always conjure some mighty creature like Dark Planetar (not a mere Elemental or Glaubrezu(sp)). I can also change myself into things like a Troll, a Steel Golem, an Illithid, and some more I dont remember right now.

I now play a very selfish and ruthless character who destroys anything on his way, and those who oppose him and are viewed as unworthy having a deadly pleasure of fighting with him, are being turned into stone. There are pretty of nice sculptures thanks to that fact all around Athkatla(sp?), and also some few more in other places.

Regards,
EC

[The Wizard]

Hmm

Are you using ToB? As far as I know, lvl 30 is above the xp cap...

But it sounds interesting, yes... but I guess being a single character can be quite hard in the beginning.

One of the better surprises in the game were the Knights of Solamnia from Forgotten Realms' sister series Dragonlance... now when I was younger I liked those books a lot, so that was a pleasant surprise. The room after that room (in the Planar Sphere), with the crazed halflings and those two halfling wizards was tougher than it appeared. It's quite a laugh to see two wizards get owned by a double cloudkill... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif



~Wiz

[Monk]

Best game ever...

Zelda Toot by far the best game i have purchased/played in the last ten years. (and thats saying alot)

The main quest resembled the the SNES game Zelda: A link to the past. Gathering three main objects only to find that in doing so a great world changing event occurs that blasts you into another world. In ALTTP (A Link to the Past) you were transported the the Dark World, in TOOT, it was Seven years in the future. Yet despite the similarity i found in the game, the depth of the game made up for it greatly. I explored the entire landscape of Hyrule, got scolded by the thieves, questioned by the Zoras about a certain princess, and nearly ran over by a large Gorgon, I don't remember ever being bored while i played it...ever.

After i got to the Adult Link and continued my journey, the interest didn't fade. From fishing in lake Hylia, and casting a certain fisherman's hat in the water having to pay a fine, racing the runner from the Valley to the forest, the side quest provided more than enough entertainment. Especially the quest for Bigoron's Sword which had me running errands through the entire realm. After collecting every Skultella, earning all the secrets, and finding all the heart pieces i actually found time to complete the main quest and finish the game. By that time it felt like the game had ended all but to soon, and i started it again and played till dawn. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

After i got a decent PC and got into TW and other games of the same type, i pretty much gave up console gaming, yet still my N64 remains hooked up and Zelda is in it ready for another go. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif

[Eastside Character]

Yes Im playing with ToB, it adds quite a bit really (now level limit is 40 I think). There are new spells, objects, adventures, and so on.

And yes it is quite hard at the beginning, but if you properly use all of your abilities, you will succeed. Also you gain new levels more often compared to playing a team. The only problem is that you cant carry much.

Unless you have that magic bag which can contain hundrets of things (I dont remember the exact name). I have that bag (if I remember correctly, you can get it in Ust Natha in a tower where that lich lives).

Regards,
EC

[The Wizard]

Gah, I need ToB... I might get it tommorrow, missed a package this morning so that might be it http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

About the Zelda's. Personally, burn me for blasphemy if you will, I think I prefer The Wind Waker. The sailing, the world, the story and the link to the first Zelda/OoT, great I'll explain further in depth later, I'm in a mood for BG II now http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif



~Wiz

[Monk]

Quote[/b] (The Wizard @ Feb. 22 2004,16:15)]About the Zelda's. Personally, burn me for blasphemy if you will, I think I prefer The Wind Waker. The sailing, the world, the story and the link to the first Zelda/OoT, great I'll explain further in dephth later, I'm in a mood for BG II now http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif



~Wiz
Burn you? no no, we only burn witches not wizards. :while no one is looking, puts a witch nose on The Wizard:

He's a witch A Witch http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

sorry but i had to do it http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-book2.gif

As for the Wind Waker, i never got a chance to play it, but i hear its a pretty good game. However until i get a chance to try it out, TOOT remains the best game i have played.

[Gregoshi]

Doooh I'm trying to ignore all this BG talk. I've avoided CRPGs since the Pool of Radiance gold box days because I get too wrapped up in them. I'm getting a new taste of it with BG: Dark Alliance 2 on the PS2. And now you folks are talking about the PC BG games... must... resist... temptation...


Quote[/b] ]And Gregoshi you did know I was joking with the spam comment? Been sat here for days trying to decide whether you were joking yourself or not. My humour detection radar has broken.

Hehehe. I knew you were joking. See, I can't answer 95% of the questions new patrons ask in the EH, so the http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif is all I have. As a result I take it waaaay too serious. I thought my self put-down ...like I'm doing now was the nudge and wink that I was having some fun too. Your radar may be broken, but next time I'll plant my tongue more firmly in my cheek. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-shame.gif Sorry for the worries - I've been in that situation a few time myself and don't like it.

[The Wizard]

Adult Link... that sounds kinda... wrong.

Sorry, the teenage mind... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif

And that hack 'n' slash ripoff which is being published by Interplay and isn't even developed by BioWare? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif Gregoshi you must escape, play BG II http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

~Wiz

[Divine Wind]

Waaay to many games to choose from Heres a small list that id consider my all time favourites.

Final Fantasy 7 - Hooked my entirely for over a month, until i completed it. Wonderful atmosphere, huge gameplay, hilarious and touching scenes (Aeris's death), massive variety of magic, weapons, characters, enemies etc. Just great.

Goldeneye - This really set the standards for most first person shooting games. Extremely addictive.

Zelda Ocarina of Time - All round fantastic stuff.

Medieval Total War + Shogun - The first game that actually made you feel you were a general on the field. Brilliant

Tetris - Hours of my childhood wasted

Sensible World of Soccer - I can remember when i got this with my Amiga 500. Happy days.

Championship Manager - Again...another extremelyyyy addictive game...should be classified as an A class drug.

Tomb Raider - Real fun, very atmospheric, especially going into the egyptian tombs. Great fun.

Close Combat -Barbrossa to Berlin - Beyond Overlord - Wow wow wow...this is the game that has almost all my attention at the moment. Brilliant game and i recommend to all war strategy nerds to go for this one. Go d/l the demo now

Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear - i loved this game so much when it came out all those years ago, and it was the first to get me hooked on online laddering for first person shooter games. Infested with cheaters, and children now...but at its height...wonderful.

[Matt Deckard]

Quote[/b] (Divine Wind @ Feb. 23 2004,04:37)]Waaay to many games to choose from Heres a small list that id consider my all time favourites.

Final Fantasy 7 - Hooked my entirely for over a month, until i completed it. Wonderful atmosphere, huge gameplay, hilarious and touching scenes (Aeris's death), massive variety of magic, weapons, characters, enemies etc. Just great.
Ah yes, i'd forgotten about it http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-oops.gif

FF7 was another one of those games that had that mysterious factor that meant it was genius...

Also, the motorbike level = Very cool http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif

[The_678]

Best game ever is Final Fantasy VII for the PS1. Great graphics for its time and best story ever. I also LOVED the battle/materia system. Sephiroth is still my favourite character of all time in any book,movie or game. He is even better than Raistlin

[Matt Deckard]

Yeah, i forogt about the materia system. That was genious. It was a tiny bit better then FFVIII's junction/GF system, but MILES better then the sphere grid idea of FFX

[The Wizard]

Quote[/b] (The_678 @ Mar. 13 2004,05:07)]Best game ever is Final Fantasy VII for the PS1. Great graphics for its time and best story ever. I also LOVED the battle/materia system. Sephiroth is still my favourite character of all time in any book,movie or game. He is even better than Raistlin
Omg, I like the dwarf better http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif



~Wiz