Top 10 games to play exclusively

[Vahnyu]

Imagine, for a moment, that you are to live on a secluded island for an indefinite amount of time. Maybe an hour, maybe a year, or maybe the rest of your life. Such a life would be rife with boredom, but maybe you can stave it off if you have the right tools. Of course, there are plenty of entertainment media that one could chose for such an occasion, but I'd like you to focus on one media in particular... So... who wants to play some videogames?

 

For the purposes of this thread/thought experiment, Let us assume that said secluded island comes equiped with all necessary instalations to support every single game media under the face of the sun. Power generators, weather/earthquake/disaster proofing, internet connection, tvs, consoles, the works. Food, water, and other first needs are plentiful and easily procured.

 

So, the question falls... which videogames would you absolutely must have, if you were to spend your time in this island? Which combination of games would ensure that you'd spend years without becoming bored, or regretting your decision of choosing said games? Which games would ensure the maximum amount of enjoyment and time investment for you?

 

This is the top 10 list of video games to play exclusively forever. Or rather, MY top 10 list, as such a list could not be anything but a personal preferrence matter.

 

The Groundrules:

• A single cartridge/disc counts as a single game, even if it holds a collection of games inside (ie. Sega Genesis Collection)
• A given series of cartridges/discs count as a single game, provided that they are sold as a single package (ie, a game that has multiple discs, like Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistance, or like Final Fantasy IX).
• Mods, DLCs, Expansion Packs, or Other Downloads for a given game, all count as a single game along with said given game (ie, Elder Scrolls Morrowind, Neverwinter Nights).
• Downloadable games count as distinct single game each, unless they fall under the Mods, DLCs, Expansion Packs, or Other Downloads clause above.
• Sequels of a given game do NOT count as a single game with said given game, unless following one of the above rules (Final Fantasy X-2 counts as its own game. On the other hand, the Mass Effect Trilogy bundle counts as a single game).
• Remakes, Rereleases, Remasters, Ports, etc, of a given game, all count as a distinct single game each
• Only games currently available, but also complete (ie, not Early Access, Demos, upcoming games, etc).
• The list need not be in any particular order.

 

My Reasoning:

Doing the same thing over and over can get a bit boring. In my particular case, I decided to only choose one game for a given genre, and one game for a given series, unless it was bundled like stated above. Feel free to ignore these two rules, if you are so inclined to do so. I am merely stating them to explain my reasoning behind my picks, in terms of variety. Also, another thing I had to consider was replayability. Thus, while I rate certain games in certain series higher, I picked other games from said series, which where close enough in terms of quality, but significantly higher in terms of replayability. Think of it as not picking a 1000 metre run athlete, but as picking a marathon endurance run athlete, instead. Of course, I chose bundles were I could, in order to min-max my options. Finally, some 

 

The Picks:

1. Action Adventure: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii): The most EPIC of Zeldas, at least until Breath of the Wild comes out...

2. Fighting: Soul Calibur 3 (PS2): While I prefer the Guilty Gear series as a whole, both aesthetically and in terms of a battle system, SC3 surpasses it in sheer replayability.

3. First Person Shooter: Metroid Prime Trilogy (Wii): Because the other shooters don't hold a candle to these.

4. JRPG: Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City (DS): Etrian Odyssey IV may be newer... but Etrian Odyssey III has MONKS!

5. Racing: Gran Turismo IV (PS2): Nothing much to comment here, it's a good racer that will provide with tons of stress relief, for when you are feeling speed-inclined

6. Space Sim: Freelancer (Windows): Start low and work your way up to being the badest space gun the universe has ever seen.

7. Stealth Based Game: Batman Arkham Collection (Windows): Because I'm Batman.

8. Strategy: Civilization V (Windows): Explore. Expand. Exploit. Exterminate. And make history your own.

9. SRPG: Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift (DS): While I personally rate FFVII higher, I feel like FFTA2's replayability lends itself better to the perils of chronic boredom.

10. WRPG: Elder Scrolls: Skyrim (Windows): Super-modded to hell and back.

 

Honorable Mentions that just couldn't make the cut:

• NBA Live
• FFVII
• Persona 3
• Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
• Pokemon X/Y

 

And there you have it, my top 10 pick of games. What would your picks be?

Edited July 27, 2016 by Vahnyu

[Raveled]

So does the Orange Box count as one game, or three?

[Vahnyu]

1 hour ago, Vahnyu said:

• A given series of cartridges/discs count as a single game, provided that they are sold as a single package (ie, a game that has multiple discs, like Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistance, or like Final Fantasy IX).

 

So the Orange Box counts as 1 game

Edited July 26, 2016 by Vahnyu

[Raveled]

What about games that require an Internet connection? You can't even load up an Ubisoft game post 2005 or so without connecting to their servers; are games that require a 'net connection assumed to have it, or to have the requirements removed? What about a game that started as a mod of another game; if I pick Half-Life 2, do I also get Garry's Mod, since GM started out as a mod for Half-Life 2?

Edited July 26, 2016 by Raveled

[Vahnyu]

For your first question, Rav, here:

5 hours ago, Vahnyu said:

Let us assume that said secluded island comes equiped with all necessary instalations to support every single game media under the face of the sun.

 

As for your second question, if  it's a mod applicable to a base game, it counts as that game, so long as it requires that base game to run. Otherwise, it counts as its own game.

[Raveled]

Alright then.

• I think my list starts with the Orange Box. Not only do you get two Game of the Years nods in Portal and Episode One, you get TF2. Sure you could only play with bots, but it would finally give me a chance to try and grind out all the weapons and actually manage to figure out Rocket Jumping and the like.
• Next up has to be Final Fantasy Tactics. It's the only game I've ever played long enough to max out the timer -- 99:99:99 and more spent on a single save.
• After that I'd try the Mass Effect Trilogy. On a deserted island I might finally have time to do my perfect Paragon/perfect Renegade/Golden Perfect run throughs.
• Gat Out of Hell and LEGO Marvel are necessities. I've run into very few games that are as purely enjoyable to navigate. I could spend hours flying around Hell or racing the MTA trains.
• For mods galore, I'd pick up Grand Theft Auto IV. Again, I like the base game and there's pages and pages of mods for it.
• I've sunk entire days into Star Trek Online, so let's get that.
• That gives me three left. I suppose it would be cheap to go with RPG Maker and try to pass all those games off as mods; I suppose I'd also put the Batman Arkham Series on the list. Like the Orange Box, the games are just too damn good.
• Okami is zen meditation in a video game. It's too perfect to leave behind.
• Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director's Cut. Maybe the best treatment Shadowrun has ever had, and there's reams of fan-made stuff to play through.

Edited July 28, 2016 by Raveled

[Ra-endome]

MTV Music Generator,
Civilization Deluxe Pack (II, II-Test of Time, III),
Qixx,
Klaxx,
Galaga, 
Xybot,
Major Havok,
Mine Craft,
Shinobi,
Populous.