larrystorch: What was the first computer, console or arcade game you ever played?
Christopher Norton: I think it was Marble Madness or Mario on the original NES.
CoCoPRo: Nintendo / Mario
Deyan Ninov: I used to play with my brother at the consoles when I was 6, but I can't remember the games, I do remember afterburn though, it was great.
Dr. Crowbar: MegaMan2 for the NES (original). I was three years old and not too successful at it.
daz: Very first ever was Defender type game on a zx81 or taipan on bbc micro :O) OH THE MEMORIES.
EMH_Mark3: I think it was called Pitfall. On an old Mac, or Atari, or whatever. I don't really remember, it was so long ago :)
eXpendabLe: I remember playing the original Zork and Ultima games on my Apple ][e.
Janis Bode: I cannot really remember, the first game I played on my own computer (C128) was "Creatures".
Goldabar: That'd have to be my Donkey Kong II game-and-watch console thingy, which I got when I was like 2 years old. I've been a gamer ever since!
j3rky: 'Jungle Hunt' on Atari 2600.
Lassie: Could be C64 games The last Ninja or Bruce Lee.
Timo Kuttenkeuler: Pitfall on atari 2600.
Toby Rees: I got an Sega and a Commodore 64 around the same time, I remember I always played Spy vs Spy on my Commodore and Sonic on my Sega.
Jason Hipps: ENIAC
Nassau: Ghost 'n' Goblins on the C64!
R4V3R: The Fox from Titus! Rocks!
Rojazz: Probably Astrosmash for Intellivision. That game was awesome!
ScHlAuChi: For computer it was RickDangerous or Zaxxon on C64 I think, for console it was SuperMarioBros on NES, and for Arcade it was either Psychic5 or Arkanoid.
Shag: Must have been BioChallenge by Delphine Software on Amiga.
Jack Gilson: Amiga 500 and my first game was Captain Planet :]
Strac: 1982, on the TI 99/4A I played Parsec! 2nd game was space invaders.
Stuart: Sega Master System!
larrystorch: What do you think is the best game you ever played?
I'm passing over the predictable "Tactical-Ops is the Best!!!!" ;)
Deyan Ninov: Has to be Lotus Turbo Challenge (something like this)
Dr. Crowbar: Half Life. Common answer, I know, but it's common for a reason.
duck: I played a lot of great games. But my favorite is definitely Final Fantasy 7. The story line in the game is amazing.
Arnold Kruize: C&CRed Alert and the Civilization series (and To of course :p)
EMH_Mark3: Best single player game would have to be Deus Ex. Best multiplayer.. Well I'm torn between UT and Starcraft.
eXpendabLe: I'd have to say Max Payne, I like single player games with a great story line.
Janis Bode: Many were good, I adored Quake 1 and C&C2, but UT and SuddenStrike are also great games. I can't really say.
Goldabar: Probably Planescape:Torment. Best story line, pace, characters, setting etc, etc, in a game, ever. Period. UT is kinda cool too :)
j3rky: The 'MegaMan' series and 'Parodius' for SuperNES/SuperFamicom.
Jestah: Planescape: Torment but system shock 2 comes close.
Antti Päätalo: Well some games I miss damn much like the Dungeon master 2 coz I never get to finish it. And some role games on C64.
Rich Black: Halo owned me, and Goldeneye was probably the coolest game I've ever played, that was one quality multiplayer game. CS, no need to elaborate.
Timo Kuttenkeuler: Monkey Island II
Jason Hipps: Oh oh oh! Counter-Strike! j/k Seriously tho, I think the best game I ever played was either Betrayal at Krondor or Daggerfall, Both of which is why I have a DOS/win95 emulator, just so I can still play them. Star Control 2 was also fun.
Poneill: Tactical Ops. Really. After that it would have to be Marathon Infinity. Man, me and two other guys at this crappy job I had a few years ago musta played that game for 3-4 hours a day for two years solid :) Amazingly I didn't get sacked.
rojazz: The first Jedi Knight game kicked major ass. That was the game that got me into playing online. Also, this Flash-based game kicks major ass. DIE COWS! AGHGH!H!
ScHlAuChi: The Legend of Zelda - A Link to the Past (SNES) - Miyamoto is a genius, but i also love the Castlevania Series (especially Symphony of the night), ResidentEvil series (especially CodeVeronica), the MetalGearSolid series, ShenMue series and Streetfighter-Zero-III ;)
Shag: Without a doubt Dungeon Master! But Deus Ex is following not too far from it.
Jack Gilson: It has to be 2 I am afraid Tomb Raider 2 & Zelda Ocarina of Time
Strac: System Shock 2, it rocks!
Stuart: Hard to say just one, a few that come to my mind now though are Diablo2, Zelda: ocarina of time, Vampire the masquerade, Red alert, SOF, MOH:AA, Max Payne..
larrystorch: Do you think some of the old pre-Win95/early console games are better in some aspects than the games of today? And why?
Christopher Norton: Absolutely! So many games these days are being rushed to the market, and often detract from the playability and the fun factor of the titles. Although I'm sure it happened back in the older days as well, the phenomenon seems to have run rampant as of late.
CoCoPRo: no :)
Deyan Ninov: Yeah, but I dunno why, they were just more fun for some strange reason, I think because they were more simple.
Dr. Crowbar: I don't think they're better. Today's games have better graphics, performance and ease of use. The only thing old games had was that fact that they didn't pander to a wide audience, but that doesn't rely make me think that they're superior.
duck: Yeah, I do. Some games never get boring.
daz: Yes they were IMHO alot better cus they were virtually ALL original games. Today usually follow the same trends
Arnold Kruize: Yes, more arcade-ish = r0xx0r
EMH_Mark3: Nothing can beat Super Mario World :) Sure, it got crappy graphics and music by today's standards, but the gameplay of the game still rocks. Today, it seems that all we see is 3d games..
eXpendabLe: I think the older games had to have more content in terms of story line, etc to compensate for graphics, but otherwise today's games are simply stunning in what they've been able to accomplish.
Kai Kirchner: Not really, I prefer good graphics and good gameplay to bad graphics and supreme gameplay. Its wrong to say that none of today's games has gameplay and depth. Look at Deus ex or "gothic". I rather play those then giana systers or monkey island.
Goldabar: Sometimes simplicity is a good thing. Right now I think games are pushing a little hard for great graphics and nicely done scripted sequences and because of this a lot of gamers are becoming jaded and bored. There's good points on both sides of this argument though and I could write about it for pages so I'm just gonna shut up :)
j3rky: MANY classic games are better than today's because they made you being addicted to them. Most of today's games are play-and-forget style. Who will ever forget Turrican for AMIGA? I'm still playing it sometimes.
Tim Crowley: Of course. I've played games today that I want to break the CD in half, when I still go back to some Nintendo games when I get bored.
Lassie: No I don't think they were better at all.
Jason Hipps: Yes, since those games, for the most part, couldn't have awesome graphics they had to fall back on excellent story lines... Even then they sometimes sucked. Substance rather than eyecandy back in those days... I still play the H2G2 text based adventure game.
Poneill: Eh? If you was on acid or something maybe.
rojazz: It depends. Civilization 1 has always been one of my favorite games, and nothing beats the first few Zelda carts on the NES. Back then there was a lot of innovation. We still see some innovative new games today, but it's definitely more rare.
ScHlAuChi: Definitive, more than 75% of my favorite games are 2D games, just think about games like SuperMarioWorld, Zelda, Bomberman, Streetfighter, Tetris etc.. they are all better in 2D compared to their 3D versions...Imo all the 3D stuff is overused, some games scream for 2D but they are all made in 3D because its "in"... Of course 3D is good for some genres like 3D-shooters or car-sims, but i really miss some cool oldskool 2D games today :)
Shag: I miss the fantasy and diversity of the old Amiga games. You can find us sometimes on our private IRC channel giving old titles... Dungeon Master, Shadow of the beast, Turrican, Nebulus, Gods, Speedball 2....AAHHH!! I shouldn't have sold my Amiga computer... I would love to see such games return.
Strac: Well, I've been playing games for 20 years now (eek) and graphics aren't all that matter, gameplay in the end is so much more important. Most FPS's that are released nowadays still do not have the atmosphere that System Shock 1 had in 1994!
Stuart: Some of older games were awesome but IMO were awesome in their own day...