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[kswiston]

PREFACE:

So there seems to be a lot of bitching about IGN's latest list of the Top PC games (see: HERE).

While making fun of IGN is all well and good, I thought it would be worthwhile to create a list of our own. A list more reflective of the strengths of PC gaming, and hopefully more inclusive of titles beyond the 2005-2011 AAA releases. Because "Top XX games" lists can be pretty shallow, I'd like this thread to serve as a Hall of Fame list similar to my Essential Rpg threads (see: HERE). There are a ton of awesome PC games out there that may not be well known by younger posters, or those new to PC gaming. Tons of people create recommendation threads asking GAF what they should play. This thread can serve as a quick summary of what titles are generally considered worthy of your precious (or not so precious) free time.

WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE VOTING STAGE:

For over over a week, GAFfers listed their personal all-time top 10 PC titles. Over 200 people voted, and well over 300 games were nominated for the list.

NeoGAF’s Favourite Entry: Age of Empires 2

What they are: Age of Empires is a series of computer games developed by Ensemble Studios. The titles are historical real-time strategy games, and their gameplay revolves around two main game modes: random map and campaign. They competed with another popular strategy series, "Civilization", and are set amidst historical events. Age of Empires focused on events in Europe, Africa and Asia, spanning from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. The sequel, Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings, was set in the Middle Ages, while its expansion focused partially on the Spanish conquest of Mexico. A spin-off game, Age of Mythology, was set in the same period as the original Age of Empires, but focused on fictional elements of Greek, Egyptian, and Norse mythology.

What GAF has to say: I LOVED playing the multiplayer with friends or online. Castle clumping, or bullshit Mongols, or my personal favorite Goths, it all made for a great game. If I could find my discs, I think I’d play this game now if I could.

Where to buy: Ebay. Microsoft hates old games and PC gamers.

NeoGAF’s Favourite Entry: Baldur’s Gate 2

What they are: The Baldur’s Gate Trilogy is comprised of Baldur’s Gate, Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn, and Baldur’s Gate 2: Throne of Bhaal. Based on the 2nd edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing system, the Baldur's Gate triology was praised for its epic story and well developed characters. Throughout the game, the player must make crucial choices, some of them vital to the character's development. Using Bioware's infinity engine, the game is played from an isometric view, and enemy encounters can be fought in both active and turn-based modes.

What GAF has to say: I've started dozens upon dozens of new games and they very rarely play out the same as the previous one. There's so much to do and so many ways to go about it. (Danne-Danger on BG2)

Where to buy:
http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/baldurs_gate_the_original_saga (BG1)
http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/baldurs_gate_2_complete (BG2 + ToB Expansion)

NeoGAF’s Favourite Entry: Battlefield 2

What they are: The Battlefield franchise is a series FPS games developed by the Swedish company EA Digital Illusions CE. The games feature a greater focus on large maps, teamwork and vehicle warfare than traditional first-person shooters. Also, the games are mainly focused on online multiplayer.

What GAF has to say: Everyone who owns a PC and considers themselves a gamer should own this game. It's another game where bigger (player count wise) means better. Riding along with a handful of soldiers in a friendly bomber before parachuting out, awesome. Filling a jeep with dynamite before running it into an enemy tank, awesome. And then there is the more zany stuff. Standing on the wings of friendly planes as a form of quick transport. Diving into prone position whenever you engaged an enemy to decrease your profile and improve accuracy. Secret Weapons of WWII only makes it better. (Doncamatic on BF1942).

Where to buy: http://store.steampowered.com/app/24860/

NeoGAF’s Favourite Entry: Civilization IV


What they are: Civilization is a series of turn-based strategy, 4X video games produced by Sid Meier. Basic gameplay functions are similar throughout the series, namely, building a civilization from prehistory up to the near future. Each turn allows the player to move units on the map, build or improve new cities and units, and initiate negotiations with other AI or human controlled players. The player will also choose technologies to research. These reflect the cultural, intellectual, and technical sophistication of the civilization, and usually allow the player to build new units or to improve their cities with new structures.

What GAF has to say: The worst part about Civ4 was whenever I played it, the rest of the day (into the night) was just gone. I don’t think I ever played this game in a spurt shorter than 4 hours. So engrossing. I’m not especially a fan of the end-game management overload, but having games where it’s you vs. the world for hundreds of years is an experience not found anywhere else (HiddenSentry on Civ 4).

Where to buy:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/3910/ (Civ 3 Complete)
http://store.steampowered.com/sub/4323/ (Civ 4 Complete)
http://store.steampowered.com/app/8930/ (Civ 5)

What it is: Originating as a Mod for Valve’s Half-Life, Counter-Strike is a first-person shooter in which players join either the terrorist or counter-terrorist team (or become a spectator). Each team attempts to complete their mission objective and/or eliminate the opposing team. Each round starts with the two teams spawning simultaneously. A player can choose to play as one of four different default character models. Standard monetary bonuses are awarded for winning a round, losing a round, killing an enemy, being the first to instruct a hostage to follow, rescuing a hostage or planting (Terrorist)/defusing (Counter terrorist) the bomb.

What GAF Has to Say: Getting a dorm floor together playing this makes me miss college. Aside from WoW, probably my most played multiplayer game ever. (Struct09 on Counter-Strike)

Where to Download: http://store.steampowered.com/sub/717/

What it is: Deus Ex is a cyberpunk-themed action role-playing game developed by Ion Storm Inc. and published by Eidos Interactive in 2000, which combines elements of first-person shooters with those of role playing games. Set in a dystopian world during the year 2052, the central plot follows rookie United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition agent JC Denton, as he sets out to combat increasingly prevalent terrorist forces in a world slipping ever further into chaos.

What GAF has to say: Terrible voice acting, badly dated graphics even by the standards of the day, and a cheesy (if fun) conspiracy-filled plot. So why is it my all-time favourite game? Freedom of choice, pure and simple. One of the only games that does not punish you for trying some wacky, or trying to push the limits of what's possible. Chances are, the game will reward your creativity. And this does not happen once during a heavily scripted scene, but more or less throughout the entire game. Still untopped (Guerrillas in the Mist on Deus Ex)

Where to buy: http://store.steampowered.com/app/6910/

NeoGAF’s Favourite Entry: Diablo 2

What they are: Developed by Blizzard North, Diablo I and II are a dark, fantasy-themed action rpgs with elements of the hack and slash and "dungeon roaming" genres. Players fight monsters through wilderness areas and/or dungeons in order to level-up their character and gain better items. Combat is in real-time, and shown from an isometric viewpoint. The game can be played either in single player mode, or in multiplayer through Blizzard's Battle.net service, or via a LAN.

What GAF has to say: Digital crack. A disturbing amount of my life was poured into this evil evil game. (Sinatar on Diablo 2).

Where to buy: http://us.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=110000047 (Retail copies are cheaper)

NeoGAF’s Favourite Entry: Doom

What they are: Doom and Doom II popular FPS games developed by id Software. The series focuses on the exploits of an unnamed space marine operating under the UAC (Union Aerospace Corp.), who fights hordes of undead and demons in order to survive. The series was widely considered as one of the pioneering first-person shooter series in the video game industry, introducing features such as 3D graphics, true third dimension spatiality, networked multiplayer gameplay, and support for player-created expansions with the Doom WAD format.

What GAF has to say: This was the most impressive thing I had ever seen. Technology sure moved at a very fast pace during those years. Went from some pretty simple sidescrollers to this in such a short period of time. The horror aspect with fast paced action and probably the best graphics out there made this the FPS everyone remembers. (ToD_ on Doom).

Where to buy: http://store.steampowered.com/sub/426/

NeoGAF’s Favourite Entry: Fallout 2

What they are: Fallout 1 and 2 were crpgs developed by Black Isle Studios. While later games in the series drew many elements from the FPS genre, Fallout 1 and 2 were presented from an isometric perspective, with turn-based combat taking place on a grid. Although set in the 22nd/ 23rd century, its retrofuturistic story and artwork are influenced by the post-war culture of 1950s America. The Fallout titles were partially inspired by an earlier game, Wasteland, published by EA games on the Commodore 64, Apple II & later on the PC.

What GAF has to say: Charming, brilliant, a bit silly and just such a memorable pastiche of locations and characters that the meandering narrative isn't annoying at all. Tactical isometric turn-based combat pushes it over the top (erragal on Fallout 2).

Where to buy:
http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/fallout (Fallout 1)
http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/fallout_2 (Fallout 2)

NeoGAF’s Favourite Entry: Half-life 2

What they are: The Half-Life titles are a series of linear, narrative FPS titles that share a science fiction alternate history. Developed by Valve, each of these games feature Gordon Freeman, a theoretical physicist initially employed by the Black Mesa Research Facility. Two of these games, Half-Life and Half-Life 2, are full length titles, while two more, Half-Life 2: Episode One and Half-Life 2: Episode Two, are shorter, episodic titles.

What GAF has to say: one of my top three games of all time. An amazing experience that made me a believer in scripted events. Great graphics and the best art design in gaming, incredibly satisfying weapons and physics attached to those weapons (I can only think of a couple of games that actually utilized Havok physics as good in the last 7 years). And I loved the calm beauty of the sea side while driving from abandoned house to abandoned house...those levels were my favorite! (bengraven on HL2)

Where to buy: http://store.steampowered.com/sub/715/

NeoGAF’s Favourite Entry: Portal

What they are: Portal and Portal 2 are puzzle games set in the Half-Life universe, developed by Valve Corporation. The player controls a test subject named Chell as she moves through the laboratories of Black Mesa's primary rival, Aperture Science, completing various tests with a device that allows her to create linked portals in physical space.

What GAF has to say: The gameplay mechanics were fun, the puzzles were creative, the characters (OK, just one character really, though the WCC arguably could count as one!) were captivating, and the now-famous (or would it be infamous?) ending credits/ending theme is the best I’ve seen in a game in years. All in one damned-near perfectly paced package - truly the most brilliant game of this generation. (gokieks on Portal).

Where to buy: http://store.steampowered.com/sub/7932/

NeoGAF’s Favourite Entry: Quake (followed closely by Quake 3)

What they are: The Quake games are a series of FPS titles produced by ID Software. The original Quake was programmed by John Carmack, Michael Abrash and John Cash, and the he level and scenarios were designed by American McGee, Sandy Petersen, John Romero and Tim Willits. The Quake engine, popularized several major advances in the 3D game genre: polygonal models instead of prerendered sprites; full 3D level design instead of a 2.5D map; prerendered lightmaps; and allowing end users to partially program the game (in this case with QuakeC), which popularized fan-created modifications (mods). Quake 3 has also been used extensively in professional electronic sports tournaments such as Quakecon, Cyberathlete Professional League and the Electronic Sports World Cup.

What GAF has to say: It is the best feeling shooter of all time hands down. It feels so fucking good to shoot in Quake, I've probably replayed it a over 50 times. (Cat in the Hat on Quake).

Where to buy: http://store.steampowered.com/sub/434/

NeoGAF’s Favourite Entry: Sim City 2000

What they are: SimCity is an open-ended city-building computer and console video game series and the brainchild of developer Will Wright. The game was first published in 1989 as SimCity, and it has spawned several different editions sold worldwide. In SimCity, the player is given the task of founding and developing a city, while maintaining the happiness of the citizens and keeping a stable budget.

What GAF has to say: Still the definitive game in the series for me, although I haven't played 4. It improved on the original in every way without being overly complex, which trapped 3000 (Chris FOM on Sim City 2000).

Where to buy: http://store.steampowered.com/app/24780/

NeoGAF’s Favourite Entry: Starcraft (w/ Brood War expansion)

What they are: StarCraft and Starcraft II are sci-fi themed RTS games developed by Blizzard. The series centers on a galactic struggle for dominance between three species—the adaptable and mobile Terrans, the insectoid Zerg, and the enigmatic Protoss—in a distant part of the Milky Way galaxy known as the Koprulu Sector at the beginning of the 26th century. The series has gathered a solid following around the world, particularly in South Korea, where professional players and teams participate in matches, earn sponsorships, and compete in televised matches.

What GAF has to say: The first game that got me hooked in to RTS and the competitive online scene. Pretty immaculate balance compared to other games and created a huge following. It wasn't the most innovative game ever, but it was crafted and polished, and the scene it created was so awesome that it takes the cake. (Paches-EJ- on Starcraft).

Where to buy:

http://us.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=110000124 (SC1 Anthology)
http://us.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=1100001122 (SC2)

What it is: Team Fortress 2 is a free-to-play team-based first-person shooter developed by Valve Corporation. A sequel to the original mod Team Fortress based on the Quake engine, it was first released as part of the video game compilation The Orange Box. In June 2011, the game became a free-to-play title, supported by microtransactions for unique in-game equipment through Steam. The game itself revolves around two teams, each with access to nine distinct character classes, battling in a variety of game modes set in evil genius environments.

What GAF Has to Say: My favorite multiplayer game of all time. I've logged over 600 hours and it's still insanely fun. Great art and fantastic gameplay that rarely feels stale due to a lot of variety. Valve's support is second to none. (Helmholtz on Team Fortress 2)

Where to Download: http://store.steampowered.com/app/440/

NeoGAF’s Favourite Entry: Morrowind

What they are: Part of the Elder Scrolls series, both Morrowind and Oblivion single-player computer role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios. Both games continue the open-world tradition of its predecessors by allowing the player to travel anywhere in the game world at any time and to ignore or postpone the main storyline indefinitely. However, where Morrowind was designed with an open-ended free-form style of gameplay in mind (with a lessened emphasis on the game's main plot), Oblivion’s developers opted for tighter pacing and greater plot focus than in past titles.

What GAF has to say: The ideal open world game, with a massive, unbalanced world full of undiscovered secrets and sights to see. I first played it on Xbox, but Morrowind will always be a PC game thanks to the vastly superior interface and the nearly unlimited amount of mods available. (Snuggler on Morrowind).

Where to buy:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/22320/ (Morrowind GOTY)
http://store.steampowered.com/app/22330/ (Oblivion GOTY )

NeoGAF’s Favourite Entry: Unreal Tournament 99

What they are: Unreal Tournament was designed as an arena FPS, with head-to-head multiplayer deathmatches being the primary focus of the game. For team matches, bots are used to fill the roles of the player's teammates. Even on dedicated multiplayer servers, bots are sometimes used to pad out teams that are short on players. Unreal Tournament 2003 had a name change from the expected Unreal Tournament II in order to imitate traditional sports-based video games, where annual releases are typical. The series was further refined with Unreal Tournament 2004.

What GAF has to say: If you were a PC gamer back in 99, you were either the UT or the Quake guy. I was the latter. Played it so much, even with bots (Son1x on UT99).

Where to buy: http://store.steampowered.com/sub/683/

NeoGAF’s Favourite Entry: Warcraft 3

What they are: Warcraft is a series of real-time strategy games developed by Blizzard. All games in the series have been set in and around the world of Azeroth, a high fantasy setting. Initially, the start of the series focused on the human nations which make up the Eastern Kingdoms, and the Orcish Horde which arrived in Azeroth via a dark portal, beginning the great wars. Later on in the series the world of Azeroth was expanded, revealing the new continent of Kalimdor allowing the introduction of the Night Elves, Tauren and other major races into the universe. The series developers have traditionally welcomed the creation of user generated content, and some of these custom maps and scenarios have become hugely popular in their own right. DOTA, a custom map for Warcraft 3 helped to establish and popularize the Tower Defense genre.

What GAF has to say: To this day, this is still my favorite RTS of all time, and just about my favorite game of all time in general. If WarCraft II laid the foundation which StarCraft perfected, then WarCraft III took that perfection and dared to expand upon it (BrokenEchelon on Warcraft 3).

Where to buy: http://us.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=110000090 (cheaper at retail)

NeoGAF’s Favourite Entry: Evenly split between the Witcher 1 and 2

What they are: The Witcher is a series of computer role-playing games for the PC developed by CD Projekt RED STUDIO. The games are based on the book series of the same name by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The Witcher takes place in a medieval fantasy world and follows the story of Geralt, one of a few remaining "witchers" — traveling monster hunters for hire, gifted with unnatural powers. The series utilizes a system of "moral choices" as part of the storyline and is noted for its time-delayed consequences and lack of black-and-white morality. The Witcher 2 is a direct sequel, picking up where the first game left off.

What GAF has to say: I had been ignoring this game for years before I finally decided to play it in early 2011. Fantastic RPG game with an engrossing world and story, as well as the best decision making I've witnessed yet. Witcher 2 is also incredible (Helmholtz on The Witcher).

Where to buy:
http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/the_witcher (The Witcher. DRM Free for $10)
http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/the_witcher_2/ (The Witcher 2. DRM Free)

What it is: World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) by Blizzard Entertainment. World of Warcraft takes place within the Warcraft world of Azeroth, approximately four years after the events at the conclusion of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. With more than 11 million subscribers as of Jun 2011, World of Warcraft is currently the world's most-subscribed MMORPG, and holds the Guinness World Record for the most popular MMORPG by subscribers. In April 2008, World of Warcraft was estimated to hold 62 percent of the MMORPG subscription market.

What GAF Has to Say: This, by far, was the game where i had the most fun and probably the best gaming experience of my life, something i doubt will change ever. (ASilva on WoW)

Where to Download: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/ (Free to Play up to Level 20)

 

[kswiston]

Reserved for later

 

[kswiston]

Reserved

 

[Pixel Pete]

Half Life 2
Warcraft 3
World of Warcraft
Dark Reign
Portal
The Witcher 2
Total Annihilation
Diablo 2
Team Fortress 2
Minecraft

 

[The_Player]

1. Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura
2. Heroes of Might and Magic 3
3. Doom 3 (fuck you haters, I love it)
4. World in Conflict
5. Neverwinter Nights
6. Jets'n'Guns
7. Frozen Synapse
8. Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars
9. Eve-Online
10. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat

Will add some description later.

 

[Snuggles]

Nice idea.

I'm working on my list. I'm not quite as seasoned as a PC gamer as some of you guys, but I'll have no problem making a list. Only problem is I gotta decide which Witcher to go with.

 

[CrashPrime]

mirror's edge - redefined what could be done with a first person gaming perspective. my pick for a 2 pointer.

bioshock - is a man not entitled to a really amazing storytelling experience?

world of warcraft - hours upon hours upon hours upon hours

burnout paradise - just a joy, and supported with tons of free dlc

dirt 2 - dx11 eyecandy on one of the best arcade racers to ever hit pc

portal - because it isn't portal 2 (kidding. but this one blew everyones minds with originality.)

team fortress 2 - this game has some of the longest legs, and all thanks to valve's undying support

quake 3 - helped shape what online gaming communities are

starcraft 2 - it's about time.

left 4 dead - the best zombie game, and it came out right before the zombie craze took hold of the gaming world

 

[cj_iwakura]

Offhand...

1. Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines
2. Wing Commander III: The Heart of the Tiger
3. F.E.A.R.
4. The Witcher
5. Freespace: The Great War
6. The Curse of Monkey Island
7. Sam & Max: Freelance Police
8. Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
9. Alice
10. Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War: Soulstorm(Only one I played, I loved it)

 

[gillty]

Work in Progress

EVE Online
∟Made and destroyed real life friendships. Drama and adrenaline through the roof 24/7. The ultimate meta/social sandbox.

Age of Empires
∟My first and go to Strategy game, inspired my love of geography and history, I am now a second year Geography Major!

Roller Coaster Tycoon
∟One of my very first modern PC games, I spent countless hours designing my themeparks and woke up ever morning before school as a young child to play the game.

Unreal Tournament 2004 (2k4)
∟This game has everything.

The Witcher 2

Team Fortress 2
∟No other game has been supported to such great lengths as TF2. Hundreds of updates since launch, and content through the roof. A Unique and fun universe adds to the memorable experience that is TF2.

Company of Heroes

PlanetSide
∟The MMO of the decade for me, no other game really has done massive first person shooter like PlanetSide. Ran home in Grade 7 during lunches for 3 months to play the game. Made real life friends, and gamed for countless hours.

SimCity 4
∟Like AoE, SimCity inspired my love for Geography and Planning. With all of the oustanding mods from Simtropolis, SC4 is the best of SimCity.

1. Startopia
∟A gem of a game by short-live Mucky Foot, this game really emphasizes the values of Bullfrog. No other game allows you to manage a space station, catering to the needs of crazy and comical aliens inspired by Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I will never forget that cover.

 

[we.are.the.armada]

1. Final Fantasy XI
Final Fantasy XI was my first MMO and probably the most bittersweet game that I have ever experienced. So many tedious and unnecessarily convoluted things about this game that I don't even know where to start. The Japanese release of the game was full of problems that were for the most part solved by the time it came out to NA; however, everything that remained difficult and untouched was tolerated by the player base due to the strong sense of adventure and community.

About why I said bittersweet earlier, I can sum that up in this screenshot:

Grinding crabs, for hours upon hours at a time. Anyone that played FFXI knows about kraken/DRK spam and any DRK that had one became very close to the crabs. Hell, what am I saying, everyone regardless of class was killing crabs, 24/7.

2. King's Quest III
One of the first games that I played that had RPG elements. I was a very young kid at the time and my dad bought this game for me hoping that it would help me learn to type and think critically. Very good entry in the series as there were a lot of unique areas and creatures to outwit as well as the wizard/time limit aspect.

3. Myth: The Fallen Lords
This is a great strategy game that has an incredible narrative structure. This game also had pretty good online PVP. I felt that this game was ahead of it's time.

4. Warcraft III
Really amazing entry to the series - it sort of blurred the lines between RPG and RTS as well as providing a rich editor that allowed players to create things like TD and DOTA.

5. Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
Wow, I talk enough good about this game. I didn't play this until about a month ago and it blew my mind. I could write entire pages about how I feel that the quest and dialogue systems are still better than anything on the market but I'll stop by saying this: I would like this game to receive 2 Points please.

6. Starcraft II
They managed to keep the classic feel of Starcraft and bring it into a new generation of games. I feel like a master chef has taken a dish that everybody cherishes and recreates it with the same ingredients, only changing the preparation and presentation.

7. Half-Life II
This game actually got me into reading science fiction. Everything about the game is so tight and varied. Also, I think that the physics in the game were amazing - especially in the Ravenholm stage when I was running scarce on ammo and having to improvise.

8. The Witcher II
This game is nothing short of amazing. It was the first game in a very long time that immediately upon beating it, I started a new game and then played for almost 5 hours straight.

9. Doom III
This was one of those games that demanded a pretty powerful PC at the time. For me, it was the first time that I had seen bump mapping and dynamic lighting look that good. I ended up dropping a bunch of money to play this game and at the time I loved it.

10. World of Warcraft
Ugh, I hate this game but I love it too. So many memories of meeting internet people and making friends with people that shared a common goal. So many memories of manipulative players that would drop you once you no longer served a purpose to them or got in their way. But yeah, about the game itself, I felt that they streamlined enough of the MMO formula to make the grind a bit more convenient.

 

[ampere]

1. Grim Fandango - great writing, great characters that, while dead, feel more alive than most others
2. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - engrossing story, cool character interactions, and takes place in the Star Wars universe
3. Half Life 2 - the atmosphere is incredible, I felt sucked into the world and shoes of Gordon Freeman, gravity gun physics puzzles were really great
4. Dreamfall: The Longest Journey - one of my favorite protagonists of all time, incredible fantasy world, great puzzles
5. Portal - a new type of physics puzzle, clever writing, fun puzzles, short and sweet
6. DOOM - scary as hell, still playable today, one of my first games
7. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - an absolutely enormous world filled with NPCs with tons of dialogue, quests, and story material, and an amazing and memorable main quest
8. Mass Effect 2 - an exploration through the galaxy with detailed descriptions of numerous planets that astronomy fans will appreciate, great characters and fun missions
9. World of Warcraft - my most played game of all time, a huge fantasy world that is a blast to explore alone, and even more fun to tackle with friends
10. Audiosurf - a showcase of what can be done on a PC, adapting your music library into interactive racing levels, great indie title

 

[Tanolen]

Half-Life
-My favorite game, it changed the entire FPS genre. It had a fun story and great level design, the game still holds up pretty well today. Xen wasn't the greatest but Black Mesa more than made up for it.

Vampire: Bloodlines
-Best RPG ever, some of the most clever writing and best voice acting in any game.

Fallout 2
-Kind of a draw between Fallout 1 and 2, but Fallout 2 didn't have the time limit of 1 and just felt more open.

Planescape: Torment
-Best writing of any game, the combat wasn't the greatest, but you could not die which made up for it.

Deus Ex
-Fun, futuristic FPS/RPG romp through open ended levels

System Shock 2
-Another sci-fi FPS/RPG, you are trapped on a space ship with a crazy AI with a fetish for metal, but that is ok because flesh is better. Last hour in the body of the many reminded me alot of xen, but the rest of the game makes up for it.

Fallout: New Vegas
-I feel New and Old fallout are different enough from each other to be on the same list. New Vegas did everything Fallout 3 did and did it better. In some ways I feel that this is the best fallout game.

Portal 2
-It is portal 1, but better. This is probably the most hilarious game that I have played, blended with some great puzzles and fun coop

Morrowind
-Great open world RPG, the combat sucks until you level up your skills, but the exploration is great. With some graphic mods it holds up amazingly well.

Thief 2
-This is a FPS/Stealth game which sadly was a genre that never caught on. This one got rid of the forced combat of the original and has some of the most memorable levels in the series.

 

[Jokab]

Update later with comments:
Baldur's Gate II
Mass Effect
The Witcher
Machinarium
Age of Empires 2
Starcraft 2
Heroes of Newerth
Portal
Team Fortress 2
World of Warcraft

 

[RukusProvider]

Counter Strike (2point)
Would never have bought into PC gaming if it wasn't for CS. Still get the urge once in a while and it still feels good.

BF2
I moved onto this from CS and it was happy times

Chronicles of Riddick
Quite a different game and than most. Great use to game play mechanics

Half Life 2
Not much needs to be said here

Oblivion
My first RPG on the PC and still have great memories about it

Dragon Age
Dragons and Magic. Hard combo to beat

Portal
I remember playing this the first time. I played through the whole thing in one sitting. Just so damn good

WarCraft 3 RoC and TFT
My first RTS and I enjoyed it greatly. I loved the story in WC3 and found the campaign to be engrossing due to it

DOTA
WC3 ladder was too hard for me. This was the perfect balance of effort and fun.


Pure shit:

Doom 3
Oh look! a room right next to you. Go in! haha sucker! you need to run through 30 damn corridors to get the access card first.

 

[BobsRevenge]

Fallout 2 - Simply the best non-linear RPG ever made. So much to do, hilariousness abounds, great characters, and you always seem to find something new every time you start a new game.

Crysis - This is the best FPS ever made, and it just happens to be on PC.

Sim City 4 - Still the high-water mark of the sim genre. I really wanted to list Tropico 3 here, but Sim City 4 has much more to it and I can't justify picking anything else.

Supreme Commander - Most will probably disagree, but for me... SupCom is the best RTS game there has ever been. The multiplayer is insanely fast paced, cerebral, challenging, and there are so many ways to win that are viable.

Mafia - It hasn't aged the best, but damn it, it still has one of the best stories in the medium. It steals a lot from gangster movies, but it was the first truly mature narrative outside of adventure gaming that I can remember. I'll never forget experiencing the ending act for the first time. I was crushed.

Quake - This is the most perfect example of Id gameplay, and Id gameplay needs to be in this list.

Medieval: Total War - The Total War games are PC classics, and Medieval is the best. It maintains the more Risk-styled campaign system, which I always appreciated more. The rest are all great games, even Empire, but nothing has beaten Medieval for me.

World in Conflict - Not only the best RTS single player campaign, but one of the best single player campaigns of any genre. It is unforgetable and tugs on your heart like very few games are competent enough to pull off.

Blood - The best of the old 2.5D FPS games. Very creative, excellent maps, unique weapons, and a focus on just being fucking fun.

Morrowind - The best open-world there is. Tons to do. This is the only RPG I've ever really gotten lost in.

 

[Fjordson]

1. Fallout 2
2. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
3. Counter-Strike
4. World of Warcraft
5. Diablo II
6. Starcraft
7. The Witcher
8. Max Payne
9. Battlefield 2
10. Planescape: Torment

Will edit in reasons later tonight.

 

[kswiston]

Great lists so far everyone.

Please avoid acronyms for game names as your votes will be missed when everything is tallied!

 

[Grimm Fandango]

Grim Fandango
-The atmosphere of the game couldn't be improved and Tim Schafer's finest achievement.

The Curse of Monkey Island
-Great artstyle, great dialogue, and one of the few replayable adventure games.

Max Payne 2
-So damn replayable and a great conclusion to Max Payne. Mods also made the game even more fun.

Half Life 2
-I feel Valve is one of the best storytelling developers out there. And this game shows it.

Team Fortress 2
-Perhaps the best multiplayer game (and hat simulator) on PC in my humble opinion.

Oblivion
-Debated between this and Morrowind as the best sandbox game out there. Oblivion gets the edge for me due its refinement.

Starcraft
-Still the undisputed king of RTS. And a decent story? Who would have known.



Sorry that's all I can think of right now.

 

[RyanDG]

I'll be editing this post more as I come up with more games... But the very first two that come into my mind when this thread popped up were:

1 (and 2). Myth The Fallen Lords/Myth 2 Soulblighter

Myth the Fallen Lords and Myth 2 Soulblighter were easily two of the best examples of real time strategy (tactics) games on both the PC/MAC. I spent ages with the multiplayer in the two (which was highlighted by Bungie pre-Halo's commitment to multiplayer variety excellence) and while the single player campaign played second fiddle to me (simply due to the amount of time I spent in MP in the game), the Lore behind the Myth series is great. The first game has a bit of a clunky interface, but with some easy finagling, you can play the Fallen Lords in the Myth 2 engine which makes it infinitely better (including pre-battle campaign maps and post battle win loss totals) -- the only thing missing is the animation which are essentially Saturday morning fantasy violence affairs... (Why they never did a short with the Myth series animators to go along with a re-release of the game you got me.)

Physics calculations, blood splatters, dwarven molotov cocktails (and the guaranteed friendly fire incidences... 'Oops, sorry!'), wights, journeymen, berserkers, god this game had it all. And add to it the fact that there was no base building to distract you from the blood sport, it really did highlight tactical talents over massed units. In fact pretty much all missions had you greatly outnumbered and it was only with making smart decisions with the units that you were able to make your way through the missions against the Fallen Lords. The unit experience was great -- you can rename your guys -- and because of that, the X-Com factor of your squad that you kept with you from day one was really heavily a part of this game. It pains you to lose a Warrior who was with you since Crow's Bridge (even more so when it was your own damn dwarf who threw a fucking explosive device at his back... fucker).

I'm not quite sure what happened to make Bungie lose this license (some kind of agreement with Take-Two during the Microsoft acquisition I believe), but this was probably the worst part of the Microsoft purchasing Bungie affair (well in addition to me being a Mac owner at the time of course).

The follow up that Take-Two had completed by Mumbo Jumbo was a far cry from the quality of the first two titles which was a bit of a shame considering that the story period that they were trying to tell was part of the rich fantasy world Bungie had created in the first two games (think Myth 1 and Myth 2 as being the Lord of the Rings while theoretically Myth 3 was going to serve as the Silmarillion for those Tolkien fans out there had the game succeeded... protip - it didn't). It's been updated since then with fan effort (some of the same people keeping the Myth 1 and 2 online community alive -- project magma), but I haven't had the heart to start it up again.

I believe anybody who is a fan of real time strategy/tactics games to owe it to themselves to try to track down one of the Myth complete packs that still pop up now again (the Myth Total Codex). With the fan patches to the game, you can really get some nice graphical fidelity despite being almost a decade and a half old.

 

[bhlaab]

• Fallout
• Outcast
• STALKER Call of Pripyat
• Gothic 2
• Deus Ex
• System Shock 1
• Ultima 5 Warriors of Destiny
• Doom
• Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura
• Planescape Torment

 

[StuBurns]

Portal (to receive two points)
The greatest game on the PC platform I've had the pleasure of playing. I think it's fair to assume most people know why someone would love the game, but many people prefer the sequel, so I'll just touch on why Portal 2 is inferior. Portal 1 has no fat, it had a novel idea, and used it's fullest, without the need to extrapolate hours of additional content that was weaker. It's funnier too.

Half-Life 2: Episode Two
IGN favoured the normal game, EP2 is so much tighter, it has design decisions I'd swear were awful (defending Alyx with the tunnels) that in the context of the game blew me away. It's also the point where I actually cared about the greater story Valve were telling, over the immediate relationship with Alyx.

Left 4 Dead
The best co-op experience I've ever had. When things go great, it's awesome, when things go terrible, it's even better. It's almost an unfair entry because it's value is so dependent on the people you play it with, but that is the nature of gaming going forward, and they decided to make the game that way, so I'm including it.

System Shock 2
I'm not sure it's the true beginning of combining a shooter with an RPG, but it's an early example. Atmosphere in games is highly subjective, and it has such an impact on people's experience. It's hard to say why SS2 and BioShock are so incredible, because the various elements that make them up aren't especially impressive, but when viewed as a whole, their impact on me was signifiant.

BioShock
Almost a modern remake of SS2, and I'd played SS2 before hand, but despite it's lack of originality, it was just long enough since that it was the perfect time for it. The ending is terrible, but the game had so much to say about where the industry is, and how this game that felt fresher than anything else was far from it.

Deus Ex
Half-Life 1 came out in '98, in '99 SS2 came, in '00 we got Deus Ex. The idea of using the environment to tell a story, empowering the player beyond their ability to shoot shit, creating an experience beyond the mechanics of the game are the things that made this medium of value to me, and these three games, in succession were responsible for it. I can't wait to play the new one. True player choice is still so rare, something BioShock mocked.

Braid
I've actually never played it on PC, I literally just bought it today with the humble bundle, but I think it's fair to judge it based on it's console versions (as I will with two below). If you wish to write off the various elements of story as pretentious, there was an effort made to give an audience something substantial thematically, and ultimately it's easy to ignore. Much like my actual favourite game (which is not on PC) Braid also has it's emotional peak fundamentally reliant on the greater game design, which made it hit pretty hard for me. The puzzles are fun, the art is beautiful, the music is great. It's really an amazing game.

Crysis Warhead
Yes, it is better than Crysis. It's what was good about Crysis, more focused, with a more personable frontman. It doesn't have the wonder Crysis does, but it's more refined in it's intent. It's peaks are never higher than Crysis, but it's lows are no where near as low.

Super Meat Boy
It surprised me a lot. I hate the art, the hype was irritating to me for whatever reason, and it pretty much took a friend sitting me down and forcing me to play it. It's the best 2D platformer I've ever played. It's hard, but not frustrating, and immensely rewarding. It's mechanically rich enough that you feel yourself improving, and what looks impossible one day can be destroyed in another, and there's so much content, with so much care and love poured into every aspect of the game.

Mirror's Edge
The single player is fairly middling, I played it to almost the end in one night and didn't care for it. Maybe a year later a friend bought it and was pretty obsessed by the time trails, and I soon followed suit. When at it's best, it's unlike anything else, the sense of fluidity of complex motion in a 3D environment is amazing, we've had 3D games for a long time, and this is the first, and only one I know of that really represents what 2D platformers are, but in 3D.




That's my ten, I want to mention two others which aren't getting a vote.

AudioSurf, amazing, I can't give it a space in the ten (SMB is the one I care least about in the list), I like AudioSurf more than some of those games, but it'd be like listing a game that included a favourite film playing on a screen as a best game because it contains that. AudioSurf is great because it plays music I love, but that's my influence on the game, not it's design.

The Witcher 2, started weak, but it's amazing. If I posted in a week this might be in the ten, but I'm just too early to commit to it. It's getting progressively better though, and it's very pretty.

 

[commissar]

Edit: posted before done D:

will update in a minute lol

 

[BobsRevenge]

I'll be editing this post more as I come up with more games... But the very first two that come into my mind when this thread popped up were:

1 (and 2). Myth The Fallen Lords/Myth 2 Soulblighter

Myth the Fallen Lords and Myth 2 Soulblighter were easily two of the best examples of real time strategy (tactics) games on both the PC/MAC. I spent ages with the multiplayer in the two (which was highlighted by Bungie pre-Halo's commitment to multiplayer variety excellence) and while the single player campaign played second fiddle to me (simply due to the amount of time I spent in MP in the game), the Lore behind the Myth series is great. The first game has a bit of a clunky interface, but with some easy finagling, you can play the Fallen Lords in the Myth 2 engine which makes it infinitely better (including pre-battle campaign maps and post battle win loss totals) -- the only thing missing is the animation which are essentially Saturday morning fantasy violence affairs... (Why they never did a short with the Myth series animators to go along with a re-release of the game you got me.)

Physics calculations, blood splatters, dwarven molotov cocktails (and the guarantee friendly fire incidences... 'Oops, sorry!'), wights, journeymen, berserkers, god this game had it all. And add to it the fact that there was no base building to distract you from the blood sport, it really did highlight tactical talents over massed units. In fact pretty much all missions had you greatly outnumbered and it was only with making smart decisions with the units that you were able to make your way through the missions against the Fallen Lords. The unit experience was great -- you can rename your guys -- and because of that, the X-Com factor of your squad that you kept with you from day one was really heavily a part of this game. It pains you to lose a Warrior who was with you since Crow's Bridge (even more so when it was your own damn dwarf who threw a fucking explosive device at his back... fucker).

I'm not quite sure what happened to make Bungie lose this license (some kind of agreement with Take-Two during the Microsoft acquisition I believe), but this was probably the worst part of the Microsoft purchasing Bungie affair (well in addition to me being a Mac owner at the time of course).

The follow up that Take-Two had completed by Mumbo Jumbo was a far cry from the quality of the first two titles which was a bit of a shame considering that the story period that they were trying to tell was part of the rich fantasy world Bungie had created in the first two games (think Myth 1 and Myth 2 as being the Lord of the Rings while theoretically Myth 3 was going to serve as the Silmarillion for those Tolkien fans out there had the game succeeded... protip - it didn't). It's been updated since then with fan effort (some of the same people keeping the Myth 1 and 2 online community alive -- project magma), but I haven't had the heart to start it up again.

I believe anybody who is a fan of real time strategy/tactics games to owe it to themselves to try to track down one of the Myth complete packs that still pop up now again (the Myth Total Codex). With the fan patches to the game, you can really get some nice graphical fidelity despite being almost a decade and a half old.

I didn't mention Myth in my post, but that was mainly because I overlooked it when I was brainstorming.

Myth: the Total Codex is ESSENTIAL PC gaming.

 

[Vyrance]

EverQuest - My favorite PC game of them all. Was enthralled with it for years. Holding down camps, rewarding raids and groups, corpse runs... EverQuest had it all.

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 - Loved the first Red Alert, but I feel Red Alert 2 improved on an already excellent game. Especially enjoyed Yuri.

The Witcher - Loved the storyline and atmosphere. The combat was the only thing that could improve for me.

Rainbow Six - My favorite FPS ever. Loved no respawning in multiplayer. Also really enjoyed planning missions and the tactical side of the game.

Age of Mythology - Chose this slightly over Age of Empires II. It's basically that with mythological units mixed in. Awesome.

Settlers II - Played this for hundreds of hours. Loved how you had to build the economy along with managing roads. Have played a lot of the 10th anniversary edition lately.

Sim City 4 - Still the greatest city-building sim out there.

Galactic Civilizations II - Easily my favorite turn-based RTS. Loved the scope, the modibility, and the AI in the game.

Defensive Grid: The Awakening - Great tower defense game. Enjoyed figuring out the different builds for each of the unique stages.

Total Annihilation - Awesome RTS back in the day. Tons of units and constant crazy action.

 

[sestrugen]

1. Half Life 2
2. Counter Strike
   [*]World of Warcraft
3. Warcraft 3
4. Age of Empires
5. Diablo II
6. Starcraft
7. Roller Coaster Tycoon
8. Doom
9. Wolfenstein

 

[Sinatar]

Tie Fighter - My personal favorite game of all time. It's nearly flawless, graphics (at the time), gameplay, mission design, story, sound, controls, depth, difficulty, all of it brilliant. A masterpiece.

Fallout 2 - My favorite RPG. Took everything great about Fallout and blew it up, way bigger, more ambitious, and entertaining. Brilliant game.

Deus Ex - Took the fledgling FPS/RPG subgenre and basically nailed it out of the park. It was the best entry at the time and hasn't been matched since.

Baldur's Gate 2 - The ultimate D&D CRPG, huge (insanely huge), deep, challenging and just all around brilliant. Still holds up today as one of the greatest RPG's of all time.

X-Com UFO Defense - The best tactical strategy game ever. Perfect blend of overworld base building mechanics and nail biting tense tactical combat. Environmental destruction, random maps and near limitless replay value.

The Witcher 2 - One of the finest examples of modern RPG gameplay. Great game, great story, nice mature themes that are handled very well. Exceptional game.

Duke Nukem 3d - Just pure fun. Amazing level design, great enemies, great weapons and an awesome sense of humor.

Starsiege Tribes - One of the most ahead of it's time games ever made. Huge maps, vehicles, classes, tight balanced teamplay, cool original weaponry. I lived and breathed this game for years. One of the few games I ever played competitively.

Diablo 2 - Digital crack. A disturbing amount of my life was poured into this evil evil game.

Half Life 2 - Valve are the absolute masters of their craft. Everything comes together in this game. Art direction, story, characters, writing, combat, level design, enemy design, pacing, length and on and on. Best of breed for straight FPS games.

 

[Lasthope106]

• StarCraft
• Civ IV
• The Witcher
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl - The game that showed me what is possible when games aren't held hostage to the weaknesses of consoles. Thinking back, it really is the most atmospheric game I've ever played.
• Minecraft
• Half-Life 2
• Portal
• Team Fortress 2
• Torchlight
• Diablo II

 

[Chris FOM]

I'm trying to stick with games that are unique to the PC either in terms of being exclusive or the gamestyle just fitting a PC game, so some PC/console multiplatform titles will get left off.

1. Myth: The Fallen Lords: gets two points because it was that good, that innovative, and also that likely to be overlooked. Edges out Marathon because I think it was the better game for its time, even if I enjoyed Marathon more :/
2. Marathon 2: Durandal: Yes, two pre-Halo Bungie games. I was a Mac gamer, what can I say, and Marathon ran rings around what any of the other FPS games were doing at the time. Durandal was particularly impressive, with liquids you could sink and swim in, outdoor environments, and a fantastic story. The entire trilogy is worthy of recognition, so while I specifically singled out Marathon 2 consider this a vote for the franchise as a whole.
3. Deus Ex: Needs no further explanation. There are things Deus Ex did that still haven't been surpassed.
4. Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri: My initial impulse was to vote for an entry in the Civilization series, but I actually think SMAC in the better game. One of the best 4X games ever made.
5. SimCity 2000: Still the definitive game in the series for me, although I haven't played 4. It improved on the original in every way without being overly complex, which trapped 3000.
6. Half-Life: One of the seminal FPS titles. Eclipsed by HL2 in a lot of ways, but nothing can match the impact the original had when it first landed.
7. TIE Fighter: Back when Star Wars games were still good, this was one of the best.
8. Myst: I enjoyed Myst even if it wasn't a personal favorite. However, if we're making a PC Games Hall of Fame Myst is impossible to overlook.
9. Baldur's Gate 2: Arguably the definitive WRPG.
10. Warcraft 2: I debated between this one and Starcraft, but came back to the Hall of Fame point again. For a Hall of Fame influence matters as much as personal enjoyment, and so while Starcraft is probably the better game Warcraft 2 set the standard for things to come. Starcraft then took the formula and basically perfected it.

 

[Zzoram]

Starcraft II - esports
Civilization V - hexagons
Tropico 3 - fun music and humor
Portal 2 - that ending omg
Plants vs. Zombies - amazing casual friendly TD
Diablo II - loot whoring at it's best
Warcraft III - DOTA, rise of TDs
Left 4 Dead 2 - this series made human controlled AI bosses a reality
Baldur's Gate II - amazing quantity and quality of content, great story
Team Fortress 2 - unprecedented free post-release content updates

 

[Snuggles]

Deus Ex
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-BQqotCQT0&feature=related

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines <---- 2 FUCKING POINTS, MAN
My favorite game of all-time along with Deus Ex, they're both heavy on interaction and player choice, which I value highly in a game. Instead of rambling on about why the game kicks ass, I'll just link to my LTTP thread.

The Witcher: Enhanced Edition
It was really hard to put TW1 over TW2, but I could only go with one of them! I loved it for it's moral ambiguity and meaningful choices, even if they combat didn't always rub me the right way. I'll link to the post I made upon completing the game, and a recent post about one of the best quests in the game. Also, it has bewbs.

Mechwarrior

It's been ages since I've played Mechwarrior, but I played it until the floppy melted. The main attraction was the strategic and engrossing mech battles, but hiring companions (as pictured above) and purchasing increasingly awesome mechs kept me playing for hours on end.

F.E.A.R.
Forget the uninteresting story and drab level design, FEAR made blasting fuckers in the face feel new again. The AI wasn't content with simply standing still and being shot, and the weapons were very satisfying to use since Monolith did an excellent job of making enemies react to your shots. Once you've turned an unsuspecting guard into a red mist with a shotty blast, in slow motion, you'll understand.

STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl
The antithesis to modern shooters - there is no fast travel, regenerating health, and your weapons handle realistically instead of being magnetized to the enemies head. It's rare for an open world game to have a constant sense of danger, but STALKER keeps me on my toes and it's what makes the game so damn good. I'll never forget the underground lab, godddamn son.

Sim City 2000
Interchangeable with any of Maxis's classic Sim games like Sim Ant and Sim Tower, SC2000 was part of the golden age of simulation games. You gotta love the funky midi soundtrack.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
The ideal open world game, with a massive, unbalanced world full of undiscovered secrets and sights to see. I first played it on Xbox, but Morrowind will always be a PC game thanks to the vastly superior interface and the nearly unlimited amount of mods available.

Fallout New Vegas
The best serial killer simulator on the market.

Terraria
Yes, it's new, but fuck you I don't care. Terraria may seem like a retro-styled 2D platformer at first sight, but it's so much more. You dig, mine and hunt for treasures and use your loot to upgrade your gear and build structures. It taps into my imagination by allowing me to design elaborate (and ridiculous) structures with the materials, and it has an addictive, trance-like effect on me that keeps me playing the game until it's way too fucking late to be playing a videogame.

 

[Ardenyal]

FreeSpace 2
Medieval: Total War
Fallout 2
UFO: Enemy Unknown
Baldurs Gate 2
Portal 2
World of Warcraft
Arcanum: Of Steamworks And Magick Obscura
Quake
Thief: The Dark Project

 

[Cat in the Hat]

1) Diablo II- As much as I think to myself "well STALKER was pretty great" I always come to the realization that D2 was the funnest experience I've ever had or will have playing a videogame and afterall isn't that the point of games.

2) STALKERseries(excluding clear sky)- No game has given me the feeling that STALKER gives me. I've always thought that GSC if they could get the tech right were capable of making the perfect game for me and CoP made huge steps in that direction. Can't wait for STALKER 2.

3) Baldurs Gate 1 As much as I loved the story of Baldurs Gate 2, BG1 was always the game I prefered to play. I just loved the crazy quests and cast.

4) Deus Ex- By the time I played it(2005) I was so suprised of how original the game was. It was truly something completely new to me and not only that it worked. No FPS/RPG has come close to matching the depth of choices in D2.

5) Icewind Dale 2- I love Infinity Engine games and ID 2 is my favorite one in terms of gameplay and that's saying a lot.

6) Quake- It is the best feeling shooter of all time hands down. It feels so fucking good to shoot in Quake, I've probably replayed it a over 50 times.

7) Team Fortress 2- I'll probably continue to play it for years.

8) Killing Floor- Fucking A this game. I can't quit it, it's my Left 4 Dead.

9) Civ III- I'm sure Civ 4 is better in every way as everyone says. I'd listen but I was too busy playing 3.

10) Morrowind- Such a great game in terms of atmosphere and the world. Really and unmatched world in my eyes.

I think the order of these game could change but these are my top ten.

 

[basic_element]

1 - Civilization 2 - One of the reasons why PC gaming was so much better back in the day as nothing on the consoles offered anything close to the complexity of this game. (I loved Civ 1 also but Civ 2 just offered the biggest jump imo)

2 - Doom 2 - Wolfenstein and Doom 1 were the pioneers of FPS, but Doom 2 was the best. Playing co-op via direct connection over a modem was ahead of it's time.

3 - Diablo 2 - Most addicting game for me.

4 - MechWarrior 2 - The MechWarrior series was one of my favorites on PC. I played this game to death.

5 - Star Control 2 - The one on one multiplayer was sooo fun. I used to play this with my friend hours on end.

6 - Leisure Suit Larry 2 - I loved all the Sierra point and click adventures but as a kid, this game was the most appealing. LOL.

7 - Unreal Tournament - This was my most played online FPS.

8 - Left 4 Dead - This is the game that got me back into PC gaming

9 - Pool of Radiance - I loved playing D&D Pen and Paper RPGs and the gold box series were revolutionary for me.

10 - Lakers vs. Celtics - This PC game was the best basketball game for it's time. This was before the Genesis version came out. So the only thing that compared to it was Double Dribble on the NES and this game blew it away.

Honorable Mentions

Double Dragon - Even though I loved the NES version, the PC version was true to the arcade version which I loved.

One on One - Jordan vs Bird - I just loved this basketball game.

Battletech: The Crescent Hawks Inception - I loved this RPG

 

[Hazaro]

StarCraft: Brood War (Two points)
Starcraft 2 <- Does this count? It should imo.
Diablo II
Team Fortress 2
Crysis
TrackMania ((Nations) Forever)
Defensive Grid: The Awakening
The Witcher 2
EVE Online
Quake 3
Just Cause 2

A more recent list since I was LTTP on early PC stuff.

 

[StuBurns]

You probably can't have Brood War and SC2, read the OP.

EDIT: Although you clearly did already, you must really want to include them both.

 

[O.DOGG]

It's very difficult to pick the top 10 PC games. The PC is a platform with a very long history, and there are a lot of games I haven't even tried - hell, haven't even heard of that probably deserve a spot on that list. With that said, this is the best list I could come up with in a few days notice.

Planescape: Torment (2 points) - my favorite game of all time. Incredible story, unforgettable characters, incomparable story-telling, great atmosphere. The game is untouchable as far as I'm concerned.

Sanitarium - the best point-and-click adventure game in my opinion. Very engaging, twisted story, a great emotional journey.

Star Control 2 - excellent space adventure game. Explore a galaxy full of quirky races and wondrous secrets. Feel like a kid again!

Doom 2 - one of the early first-person shooters, still great fun to this day (I love zDoom!).

Fallout: New Vegas - outshines every other Fallout game to came out before it. I was skeptical before I played it, with Fallout 2 being my favorite. Well, New Vegas dethroned it. I put everything in my life on hold for the 120 hours it took to finish it.

Heroes of Might & Magic 3 - the best HOMM game in the series, and one of the finest turn-based strategies. A lot of fun, unlimited replayability (random maps, yo!). Only downside is that it takes too much of your time!

Far Cry 2 - a controversial game which I consider to be the finest shooter available. Incredibly immersive, and highly enjoyable once you get the mechanics of the game.

Dune - one of the earliest PC games I played, it holds a special place in my heart. A mix of strategy and adventure with one hell of a soundtrack, it brings the Dune universe to life like few other games have managed over the years.

Left 4 Dead 2 - the best co-op shooter around. Easy to get into, very enjoyable with a good team.

Deus Ex - I think just about everything has been said about this one. Revolutionary for its time.

 

[maniac-kun]

1. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Great scale, sense of adventure and a unique world to explore.

2. Diablo 2
Its allways fun to slay demons with friends. REPLAYABILITY

3. Half Life
Defined the fps genre. Great story.

4. Deus Ex
Conspiracy, stealth gameplay, freedom of choice. One great mix!

5. Quake
Loving the atmosphere. Great fast gameplay in both SP and MP.

6. Portal
One of the most creative ways to tell a interactive story.

7. World of Warcraft
Revolutonized the MMO genre.

8. Team Fortress 2
OBSESSING ABOUT HATS WAS NEVER SO FUN.

9. Thief - The Dark project
Atmosphere is fantastic.

10. Day of the Tentacle
The best adventure out there.

 

[Puppet Shadow]

Unreal Tournament
Vampire Bloodlines
GTA San Andreas
Minecraft
Simcity 2000
Civ IV
Deus Ex
Crysis
Portal
Duke Nukem 3D

 

[Chiggs]

1. Deus Ex
2. Diablo 2
3. Thief: The Dark Project
4. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
5. Quake
6. Doom II
7. Half-Life
8. Crysis
9. The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind
10. System Shock 2.

 

[pillarofdawn]

Half Life 2
Team Fortress 2
Starcraft 2
World of Warcraft
Warcraft 3
Battlefield 2
Unreal Tournament 2004
Counter Strike: Source
Diablo 2
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl

 

[Para bailar La Bomba]

Half-Life 2
Tie Fighter
Thi2f: The Metal age
Doom
Star Wars: Dark Forces
System Shock 2
Deus Ex
S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl
Crysis
Duke Nukem 3D

 

[blizzardjesus]

Sim City 2000:dos version the madness I created in this game, no sim game has come close to this complexity, I judge them all based on this.

MYST my #2 yea thats right
Doom
Quake... what,, you can listen to the music in a cd player, thats impossible
Alice: still looks good, she's still hot.
Beavis and Butthead: Virtual Stupidity, point/click adventure game that has some terrific pixle are(not to be confused w/ the snes game)
Minecraft, I lost 8 hrs to this when I was just gonna try it for an hr.
Half Life 1, atmosphere, story
Warcraft 3, i couldn't click fast enough
Command and Conquer 1, better than starcraft, not saying that starcraft is bad...

I would put Mega Man X on here but it was a port.

 

[Dog Problems]

10. Anarchy Online - This is the only MMORPG I've ever played but I loved it and it's all I played for over two years. I'm afraid to try something like World of Warcraft because
how addicted I was to this game.

9. Team Fortress 2 - I actually started playing this on the Xbox 360 back when Orange Box came out. I played on and off for almost two years, and then hacking got really
bad which was never fixed. So I stopped and didn't play for about a year and a half and then got back into it on PC. Fell right back in love and the added items and hats
made it better for me. This is the only online shooter I've ever gotten into.

8. Deus Ex - I can't say anything that hasn't been said by others. Terrific game.

7. Planescape: Torment - Again, I have nothing to add that hasn't been talked about before. This is the game that veared me away from Japanese RPG's and got me to focus on non-Japanese RPG's.

6. Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge - It was tough choosing between this and Curse of Monkey Island. But I went with the second game because I enjoyed the puzzles much
more and I loved the locales.

5. Half-Life 2 - My favorite first-person shooter. I love every thing about it.

4. Grim Fandango - My favorite Tim Schafer game and I absolutely love everything about it.

3. Day of the Tentacle - An awesome follow-up to to Maniac Mansion that surpasses it in every way, in my opinion. I love the humor and overall insanity.

2. Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers - Great story, characters, puzzles, locales, and voice acting. Despite its aged appearance I still get fully immersed in it.

1. Sam & Max Hit the Road - This is the game that got me into point-and-click adventures and PC gaming in general. One of my all-time favorites.



It's always hard for me to put into words why I like certain games so much. Especially when my reasons are the same as others and I feel like I'm just repeating what someone else said.

 

[dorkimoe]

Counter strike
Company of heroes
Red alert 2
Warcraft 3
World of Warcraft
Battlefield 1942
Team fortress 2
Half life 2
Doom
Sims (not my favorite but it did a lot)

 

[kswiston]

StarCraft: Brood War (Two points)
Starcraft 2 <- Does this count? It should imo.

A more recent list since I was LTTP on early PC stuff.

Pick one or the other. I really want to emphasize diversity in this thread.

 

[chessnut]

-Red Alert 3 - Had way too much fun playing this with my buddies...I find it hard to get into other RTS games
-Half Life 2: episode 2 - The best half-life. The first one looks dated (I played it through completion for the first time a month ago, so I don't have any nostalgia for it =/) and HL2's driving parts were too long.
-Counter-Strike 1.6 - I used to this play game for 8-10 hours a day in high school, enough said
-Unreal Tournament 2004 - good game is good
-Starwars Jedi Knight: Jedi Outcast - The game that got me into online fps
-Portal 2 - Witty dialogue and good puzzles, one of my favorite single player experiences.
-Just Cause 2
-Natural Selection - Introduced me to team based gameplay in a FPS
-NBA Live 98 - TIED FOR THE BEST BASKETBALL GAME EVER!!!!! My favorite way to play this game is with all fouls off with all star teams. Eddie Jones and Tom Gugliotta were unstoppable
-Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 - I never beat the campaign, but I had so much fun downloading ridiculous cars and playing with my brother

 

[Visualante]

1. Solitaire
2. Minesweeper
3. Internet Checkers
4. Calculator
5. Notepad

 

[Card Boy]

1. Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

• Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura
  

Arcanum: Of Steamworks And Magick Obscura

GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE.

Anyway heres my list.

- Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura (2 points)
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- Super Meat Boy
- Diablo 2
- Just Cause 2
- Sam and Max: Hit the Road
- The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
- The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind
- Guild Wars
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

 

[Helmholtz]

In no particular order:
Half-Life 2 (2 Points): Best singleplayer FPS game I've ever played. It showcases one of the most engrossing worlds in gaming, it has great visuals that still hold up, and the gameplay and sense of adventure is something you rarely see in games of its genre. A masterpiece.
Team Fortress 2: My favorite multiplayer game of all time. I've logged over 600 hours and it's still insanely fun. Great art and fantastic gameplay that rarely feels stale due to a lot of variety. Valve's support is second to none.
Super Meat Boy: This game has the best level design I've ever seen before bar none. On top of that, it has a phenomenal soundtrack. It also has loads of content that never feels stale, even after I've spent 45 hours playing. Top it all off with a great sense of humor and nice retro graphics and you have my favorite platformer of all time.
Braid: This is the game that really sold me on puzzle games. It's also the game that got me into the 'Indie' gaming scene, resulting in me playing fantastic games like SMB and Limbo. It has a beautiful artstyle, a wonderful soundtrack, and amazing gameplay mechanics that really reward your ingenuity.
Portal 2: I wasn't the biggest fan of the first game. I thought it had interesting gameplay but failed to live up to the hype. Portal 2 took the solid gameplay that Portal 1 had established, and improved upon it in almost every single way. I just recently finished the co-op campaign which was very fun as well.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent: Amazing horror game, probably the best I've played. Takes the 'haunted castle' idea to a whole other level. Suffers from a weak ending(s), but it's a very minor thing.
The Witcher: I had been ignoring this game for years before I finally decided to play it in early 2011. Fantastic RPG game with an engrossing world and story, as well as the best decision making I've witnessed yet. Witcher 2 is also incredible.
Mass Effect: Hard to choose between ME and ME2, but I feel my overall experience was slightly better with the first game, mainly due to the fact that it felt more like an RPG. There just aren't many games like it right now, and it does space RPG very well.
Counter-Strike: My first multiplayer FPS game. I was insanely addicted to it back in the day, and I still feel it is one of the best multiplayer games out there.
Guild Wars: I feel like I need to include this on my list since I've spent over 2000 hours playing it. While it can get monotonous at times, it's still a great Co-op RPG experience that I have very fond memories of.

 

[chessnut]

list

read the OP, cant have 2 games from the same series (hl2 and hl2ep2)