What are the greatest games of the 21st century?

[Benji]

4 hours ago, Lint said:

I don't get why everyone keeps saying GTA:SA.  GTA3 pretty much gave birth to the modern sandbox 3rd person action games as we know it.  There is a reason that, for the longest time, any such game was described as a "GTA clone"  GTA:SA did have many revolutionary elements, yes.  But a few of those where taken from other Rockstar games.  Its much praised shooting system was lifted right from Manhunt (which takes place in the GTA universe)

I just don't think you can say GTA:SA was a "great game of the 21st century" while leaving GTA3 out of the discussion, since without it you wouldn't even be talking about  GTA:SA

Most innovative ≠ Greatest 

San Andreas took GTA 3, tore out its flaws and put it in a far more epic and enjoyable package than III and Vice City managed. It wasn't just an open world game, it was a downright adventure.

This very sub-forum was literally born out of everyone trying to discover stuff in San Andreas.

[MDK]

3 minutes ago, Benji said:

Most innovative ≠ Greatest 

San Andreas took GTA 3, tore out its flaws and put it in a far more epic and enjoyable package than III and Vice City managed. It wasn't just an open world game, it was a downright adventure.

This very sub-forum was literally born out of everyone trying to discover stuff in San Andrews.

Truly a beautiful place

[Benji]

Damnit. I caught the first one but not the second >_>

[DFF]

X-Men Legends 2 should also bee in the mix, I think. It was basically everything the Marvel Ultimate Alliance games wanted to be (though MUA 1 was pretty great in itself).

[Mick]

2 hours ago, Benji said:

 

This very sub-forum was literally born out of everyone trying to discover stuff in San Andreas.

"INSERT MISSION HERE can go to hell"

 

Hey, who remembers learning to fly? 
Or trying to catch Berkley's vans? 

[Azazel]

Bully was a great game, I did not expect to put so many hours into as I did.  Shenmue was another one that was fantastic, I had the players guide so I could literally do every single thing in that game.  The 70 vs 2 fight was one of the best things I have ever experienced in a game and allowing you to do redo it by yourself afterwards as a bonus was amazing.  Mind you, I would just span the newly acquired Tornado Kick to wreck everyone, but it was awesome.

[Fudge]

I think San Andreas is the best GTA game, and possibly the best ever. GTA V obviously surpasses it in a number of ways like mechanics, graphics and overall world detail that couldn’t realistically have been on a PS2 game, but San Andreas was just so fucking good.

The mission variety is incredible, whether you’re shooting up the hood, heisting a casino, burying someone alive in a portable toilet, jumping out of planes on to other planes, sneaking around a rappers mansion to steal his rhymes or trying to shoot down RC planes with a minigun (fuck that mission btw), they were all just so fun to play, and so much more memorable to me than any other games missions.

The characters were amazing, larger than life and brilliantly portrayed, whether serious like Officer Tenpenny and Mike Torino or ridiculous like OG Loc and The Truth. The interactions and relationships between the characters were great. The dynamic between CJ/Sweet/Smoke/Ryder and the big plot twist. They gave you a reason to give a shit about the random characters, like Madd Dogg, Woozie, Zero etc. Even Officer Pulaski. I remember 11-year old me feeling so good about myself when I rid the world of that bastard (though that may just be because it took me a while to complete the mission). Then there’s the cameos from Salvatore Leone, Claude, Ken Rosenberg and Kent Paul.

I could go on about the map seeming massive even though it’s smaller than GTA V, the variety of the cities and landscapes, the vehicles, activities like street racing, driving/flying school, dancing, basketball, etc., the character customization, the fun cheat codes, the amazing soundtrack and so on, but we’ve all played it and you all know the deal.

I think the thing that really seals it for me is that it's fucking hilarious. San Andreas is the best

As for anyone who disagrees:

 

 

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

The drive with The Truth and arriving in a whole new city was brilliant. Suddenly you really had moved out of street gang warfare into a whole different world.

[RPS]

Added The Sims, Grand Theft Auto SA and Grand Theft Auto 5. There was a strong consensus for The Sims and less of a consensus for GTA SA and 5. But around 60-70% of people thought one or both of the games should go on. 

I've added a poll about 5 games that we've been chatting about. Once we decide on these 5 game/franchises, we can move onto discussing the other games that have popped up. 

[Rich]

I am surprised Minecraft isn't in here actually, that game has legs!

[RPS]

Minecraft will be in the next discussion cycle. It has been mentioned a bit, like WoW, but more people were mentioning the above noted games, @Rich. 

I voted no to The Last Of Us, Mass Effect 2 and Assassin's Creed. While they may be impeccable stories and characters, I never got into them because I absolutely did not love the game play in any of these games. I've always found the Uncharted/Last of Us series to be far too linear and restricted. Obviously that has it's perks - it means that when you funnel somebody through a particular channel, that channel can be refined and very tight. Unfortunately, I find the game play quite dull and lacklustre. I am probably going to completely contradict what I just said now. Assassin's Creed is in the same boat of - I just don't like the game play. 

I tried to play Mass Effect 1 and 2, but I just never got into the series. I think it is a commendable series that offers up some interesting game play experiences. But it is simply just not the game for me. I think it is fascinating the way they can weave so many stories together, but I find that the manner in which they do so is dull. I enjoy open ended games when they have a set protagonist who is interesting and who has a perspective that fascinates me. In games like Mass Effect, Skyrim, even the Fallout franchise, I find the ability to customize your character so much means you create this sort of depth lacking character. I never find the stories or tales told in these games that interesting. 

I voted yes on Fallout New Vegas and Smash Bros. NV gets a yes from me, because even though it does have a shallow main character, I think the world is so tightly constructed and interesting that it saves it. Your main character is quite dull, but the world around you is so zany and interesting that it saves it. Smash Bros is just the definition of fantastic game play with infinite replay value. It takes beloved characters who we've known for so long and asks us to rethink who they are and what world they live in. But at the end of it - it's just really fun game play. 

[MalaCloudy Black]

I've never cared about the AC games at all, but ME2 was one of my favorite western RPGs of the modern era. Haven't played The Last Of Us, but I always enjoyed the Uncharted games so I voted "other Naughty Dog game". 

Fallout: New Vegas does nothing for me. I've tried again and again to get into it, as well as Fallout 3, and I just can't. A big part of it is that I have no interest whatsoever in the story or setting, I think.

[MDK]

6 minutes ago, Cloudy said:

Fallout: New Vegas does nothing for me. I've tried again and again to get into it, as well as Fallout 3, and I just can't. A big part of it is that I have no interest whatsoever in the story or setting, I think.

If you don't enjoy the post apocalypse and the retro future thing they have going on then of course you wont like it. I love the depth of the game.

[Kaney]

I said no to (any) Assassins Creed, yes to The Last Of Us and SSBM, and I prefer Mass Effect 1 over 2.

Never really sure why, but I preferred Fallout 3 to New Vegas.

[MDK]

15 minutes ago, Kaney said:

Never really sure why, but I preferred Fallout 3 to New Vegas.

But the farms

[OctoberRaven]

The only AC game I've played is Black Flag, which was neat. As far as Naughty Dog games, Uncharted for me was 1) something I actually enjoyed and 2) felt like a loving homage to Indy movies instead of a lifeless rehash.

I still don't get how the bad guys always seem to be one step ahead of you even after you open a door that hasn't been open in a thousand years, though.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I've played AC 1, 2, Brotherhood, 4 and the new London one. Of the PS3 games I like Black Flag the most I think.

 

I played a LOT of Fallout 3 and, after taking ages to get into it, loved it. New Vegas I just couldn't get into. Fallout 4 is cool. Seems harder though.

[Benji]

11 hours ago, OctoberRavenO said:

The only AC game I've played is Black Flag, which was neat. As far as Naughty Dog games, Uncharted for me was 1) something I actually enjoyed and 2) felt like a loving homage to Indy movies instead of a lifeless rehash.

I still don't get how the bad guys always seem to be one step ahead of you even after you open a door that hasn't been open in a thousand years, though.

I liked that they explained that in U4 with them being tracked by the phones. It was like "yeah, we know it's a problem with how the breakup of the gameplay happens, here's an out to explain it".

 

As for the current games - AC2 was beaten by AC Brotherhood to best AC in my opinion, but whilst the series is one of the best and a personal favourite, I wouldn't say any are a contender for best game of the 21st century having thought about it.

Last of Us, Mass Effect 2 and SSBM are no-brainers to be in contention for me.

FNV I haven't played and am hoping for a remaster so I can't say either way.

[MDK]

Even though I wouldn't consider it one of the best games of all time, and that it was released in '99 (but it was only a month away from 2000 and the console ports were in the 2000's), I'd like to throw out Unreal Tournament. Not for the game but for the game engine that has been used in so many great games following its release. 

[OctoberRaven]

Also re Fallout, while New Vegas was IMO the best of the lot, it's far from perfect either... in that there's literally no good reason for a non-Stupid Evil Courier to decide to go with the Legion.

I mean, the Stormcloaks and the non-Lyons BOS are both shitlords, but they... hell even the Institute have upsides to them. The Legion is a glorified raider gang that by all accounts will inevitably collapse due to it's reliance on the cult of personality that holds it together. The only reason anyone should have for joining them is for the evulz.

Edited March 23, 2017 by OctoberRavenO