Warhammer 40K, Dawn Of War (and all it's expansions)
Well, what can you say about it?
It's just pure RTS entertainment set in a universe full of awesome, steadily flowing gameplay and cool looking units with all sorts of different abilities and sometimes lulzy quotes.
If you haven't played it, and you're somebody who likes RTS games, you should absolutely pick it up.
Nooooow for a step back eleven years into PC gaming...
Omikron: The Nomad Soul,
came out in 1999
Let's see...
Soundtrack created and mostly performed by David Bowie (Bowie also plays several characters in the game itself)
Fairly decent First Person Shooter style gunfights.
Streetfighter style melee combat.
Original and creative storyline.
Oh, yeah, it's got strong roleplaying elements in it as well and was the first production done by Quantic Dreams (Who later went on to create "Indigo Prophecy", and more recently "Heavy Rain"
Basically, you're a computer gamer who somehow opens up a portal between our world and "Omikron" and well...these Demons are using said portal to lure the souls of gamers into Omikron so that they can...well, devour them and make MORE EVIL DEMONS. You wind up being thrust right into all of this and it's up to you to unravel the mysteries of Omikron and stop these demons, you can play something like 41 different characters (Not right from the start, but through means of "Reincarnation" later on, you can transfer your soul into them. Comes with different advantages/disadvantages, it's really pretty cool.
Sooo yeah, since it's 5AM, I can't really go deep into the story of the game without spoiling stuff right now.
But uh...
- Sci Fi backdrop
- Open World.
- Demons
- Solid FPS action
- Solid melee combat
- Pretty damn fine soundtrack
- Solid, Original storyline
- Roleplaying elements: fairly deep story, interacting with NPCs, Improvable skills (melee and gunfighting skills are improvable through training or using them, not through adding exp points) Conversation outcomes impact some things that happen later on in the game, etc etc.
- Vehicles (They're amusing, they're basically futuristic cars called "Sliders" and they don't do much but look nifty and drive around XD)
Oh yeah, "Omikron" is basically full of humans that are kinda sorta almost slaves to a computer called Ix, it controls marriages, punishes "Nonconformist thoughts", regulates what kinds of music people are allowed to listen to, books they can read etc etc, Oh yes, and there's even "Thought Police", mentioned more than actually seen, but it all adds to the atmosphere of the world of Omikron.
Oh yeah, and there's Drugstores, Supermarkets, Restaurants, Bars, Strip Clubs, Gunshops and Electronic stores, and of course, money to spend in those places.
I've probably missed stuff but....I'm tired and those are the good qualities I can think of right now, mind you this game is from 1999, so....hell, I was impressed with it then, and I am now.
Its basically Rome total war in space, but with a sci fi backdrop. The AI is one of the greatest I've ever seen and the scale of the game is really large, featuring entire galactic conquest which could take up to 70 (in game) years to finish! The diplomacy is really well worked out as well as the popularity rating system. I just want there to be a feature of 'cassus belli' included in the next expansion, or game released. Right now, you can declare war on any alien race and still be popular even though you declare war on them for no reason.
The developers have most of the major stuff figured out, all they really need to do now is to begin nitpicking (and nitpicking heavily) all the small minor things which could have a big effect on the game, like the cassus belli system.
Freespace II
Do I even need to explain? Game of the year, best and most realistic space simulation ever made. Yes, even better than Freelancer. The only thing that makes Freelancer different and more playable is the fact that its a sandbox game.
Doom - Where would we be without it. Well, probably exactly where we are now, but I wouldn't have wasted quite so much of my life when Doom first came out.
In no particular order, here is a list of those games I've <strike>wasted</strike> spent too much time on, over the last 3 decades.
Sublogic ATP: Air Transport Pilot
Was part of the FSFan network back before the Internet took off, and also participated in the yearly Flight Simulator World championships (The Interstate Races), with a third place as best result.
EF2000
Oh man, this one was one of the greatest fighter flightsims. Enough realism in physics and cockpit control to not make it just another shoot'em'up, and still easy enough for anyone to get into it. And Vodoo graphics. Flying down the norwegian fjords, hunting SU-27's.. Priceless.
Falcon IV
Realism like no other fighter flightsim. Was involved in the community based modding for realism. Still fly it.
Elite
8bit versions on BBC, Spectrum, Amstrad, C64, 16 bit PC versions, fan remakes... I've flown them all. So ahead for its time, and clearly an influence of later space sims such as Freelancer.
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth. A semi FPS/Survival Horror (Well, pretty scary for me). Wound system (As seen in Fallout 3), insane villagers, hellish monsters, etc, etc...