Originally Posted by LoathsomePete

Here's a few games that have had an impact on my life:

01. Half-Life

I've been playing FPS' since '94 when my dad introduced me to DOOM II and my mom let me play the first DOOM. From there I upgraded to Duke Nukem 3D, which was a lot of fun (especially the levels with strippers), but none of the games really satisfied my desire for a story, even when I was little. In 1998 my mom surprised me at Christmas with the first Half-Life game along with my own computer (with the hardware to play it) and we both got hooked. The story was brilliantly executed, and because there were no cut scenes that explained the story, you would most likely miss key plot point dialogue as you were exploring the level. With that, every time you replayed it you learned a little more about what was going on, which was really cool because until then replaying a game was just for cathartic purposes. This was also the first FPS that used the WASD + mouse controls, rather than just directional arrows, space bar, and ctrl which made the game feel far more realistic. It was also a great bonding moment for my mum and I was we played our way through the levels and completed the various puzzles.

02. Age of Empires

This was my dad and I's bonding game. While my dad enjoyed DOOM, he was far more into the strategy aspect of games, in which case Age of Empires delivered to all those feelings. It was here my dad taught me about utilizing my resources, using the terrain to my advantage, and the importance of a powerful naval fleet. It's just a shame I always felt bad for losing my soldiers, perhaps due to the immersion of FPS' so I always had a hard time making the most of my army. By the time I started playing Star Craft and Warcraft these feelings had lifted a bit, but I was far more into the reflex tests that I felt FPS' delivered.

03. Grim Fandango

Best game ever made. Gorgeous graphics (even by today's standards), colorful without being ostentatious, well developed characters, and genuinely funny. The story was well told and paced, none of the characters felt neglected to unimportant to the overall story, the voice acting was superb, and the puzzles were fun to try and solve without feeling impossible. I can play this game today and feel the exact way I did in 1999 when my mum picked it up on the way home from work. If only Lucas Arts still made games that were worth a damn.

Originally Posted by OBEY

"Never trust your own eyes, believe what you are told".