Favorite Sci-Fi Games!

[Darunia]

In the spirited tradition of the runaway smash hit Favorite Sci-Fi movies thread! We'll be assuming a BROAD field of sci-fi titles to make this more interesting. Is it Doom, Resident Evil, Half Life, or a Star Wars game? Find out today, right here in the FAVORITE SCI-FI GAMES THREAD!!



I don't want to go first.

[Great Rumbler]

Hmm...for now I'll go with Final Fantasy 7. After I have time to think about it some more I may come up with a different answer.

[OB1]

Dude, Super Metroid. You forgot about Super Metroid. The best game ever, period, so that's an easy one. ;)

[Great Rumbler]

Of course! But, I'd probably go with Metroid Prime. :)

[Weltall]

I'd go with Petroid Mime too, because, get this, I never played Super Metroid.

[A Black Falcon]

Hmm... I'm not sure, there are so many good ones...

For Star Wars, there are two that I'd call clearly the best: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (with is expansion pack, Mysteries of the Sith) and TIE Fighter CD-Rom Collection. Two fantastic, fantastic games.

[Private Hudson]

Hmm..

Dune 2.

Unless Final Fantasy VII counts, which I don't think it should.

[OB1]

I'd go with Petroid Mime too, because, get this, I never played Super Metroid.

*GASPS*

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT??????!!!!

[Dark Jaguar]

Best Game Ever? Well, FF7 isn't it. It's not even the best Final Fantasy to me. That goes to FF6.

Best game... Well, if it's all about the replayability... But, what if it's all about not that but just how drawn in you were the first time you played?

Huh...

Well, I knew exactly that Zelda 1 was totally awesome the second I got past like, the first dungeon. I was FUSED to that game, but later games did improve on it. Personal experience is hard to call a measure of goodnessitude, because there just wasn't anything like it up UNTIL then, so should it be based totally on originality?

I dunno...

I will say that, off the top of my head without much thought, here are games I think are awesome.

Zelda 1
Ocarina of Time
Metroid 3
Katamari Damacy (yes, it's just THAT good)
Chrono Trigger
Chrono Cross
Zelda: Link's Awakening
Final Fantasy 6
Super Mario Bros 1
Super Mario Bros 3
Mega Man 2 (NES)
Mega Man 5 (Gameboy)
Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Starcraft

There's some logic why I picked those and not others, but mainly it was because I thought of those FIRST when thinking of certain game types, and just accepted it as that. So, that's my list of... 14 apparently... totally awesome games, and in no real order except when I thought of them. Those games, thinking about it, are the few games I've played that got me so obsessed I went without sleep, food, waste disposal, and some other stuff I think, just to totally dominate those games. They WERE gaming. They go beyond AAA+ or whatever they call the killer aps for me. These games, and I might be forgetting a few since this was a top of the head thing, are, to me, S class games. Oh, some I picked because they were simply THE FIRST I got my hands on (Megaman 2) rather than the best of the series, and while later ones improved, I never really got as INTO the games as I would with that first title (until Megaman 5 came along, wow was I obsessed with that... also it was hard, it's just terryfing to slide under DEATH SPIKES into a small gap BETWEEN death spikes, and the whole time you are on a conveyer belt).

S class games... I get the S from Japanese people. S is apparently higher than A, namely because the Japanese are idiots that don't get that S is like WAY on the other side of F in the alphabet.

[A Black Falcon]

Sci-Fi game, DJ, Sci-Fi Game!

[Great Rumbler]

Which is why I picked FF7.

[A Black Falcon]

And why I'd choose either Starcraft, Jedi Knight/MotS, or TIE Fighter. But DJ didn't seem to get it...

[Darunia]

If this was just "Best Game Ever" it'd be Ocarin of Time for me. But that'd be too easy--- so maybe Jedi Knight. If REMake counts (and I guess it doesn't) then it could be that as well.

[A Black Falcon]

I wouldn't say REmake isn't a sci-fi game, no.

Jedi Knight... great game. Kind of dumb story at times, but a really great game... and one of the many reasons I used to love Lucasarts. Stupid Lucasarts...

[Weltall]

I change my mind. Xenogears is better than Prime.

[EdenMaster]

I was about to say, Ryan.

NOT picking your former <i>namesake</i> as your favorite sci-fi game? :)

For me...hmm...Sci-fi, eh?

Hmm...not a big fan of that genre but...I'll say Beyond Good & Evil, for lack of ability to think of anything else at 2:30 in the morning. Perhaps another time I'll be more coherent.

[A Black Falcon]

BG&E? Not even close, I'd say...

[Darunia]

I love the storyline from JK... simply, and video-game like. Not an overly intricate space opera. In fact, few games have a story that can compare. Doom had no story; MotS is too much like TESB, and many other sci-fi games like Galactic Battlegrounds have no story at all, but simply gameplay. A possible contender is the original Dark Forces.

[A Black Falcon]

I liked JK because of the gameplay. Same for MotS. The story? Decent, but nothing special. Plenty of sci-fi games have better stories, for sure... no, it was the gameplay that gets me to put it in my top 10 PC games list.

This is my review of MotS. It's more useful than me saying all that again. :)

http://tcforums.com/home/modules.php?mod...iews&id=13

[Darunia]

Yea I agree with you a lot on that. A few fews I'd say differenty is that virtually no level or map of MoTS can equal the majesty and scope of JK's levels. A lot of levels in MoTS were defective, and poorly textured (if you look hard.) Also, the cities looked much less like cities than they did in JK. More, as you already pointed out, the story doesn't flow like in JK... in MoTS, all the levels are almost completely different... the ending doesn't fit. (I'm still on the last level, btw, but am far into it.) And those cutscenes weren't even comparable to the FMV of JKII, which almost seemed like a well-composed movie at times. My final word is that I really loved the first level, on the Rebel base... it's my favorite from the game. The last three aren't doing that much for me, I have to admit... I hate the darkness.

[A Black Falcon]

The last level of MotS... that level is PURE EVIL! I didn't get through it until I managed to find an FAQ... let me tell you, it was pretty hard to find. I seem to recall not finding one at Gamefaqs. That level...

Let's just say that I have part of that music track memorized after spending so long wandering around lost and annoyed in that stupid stage. :D

It's worth it, though... the final boss fight might seem a bit dissapointing, but it's clever and somewhat different, just like so much else about JK/MotS's level design. :)

A few fews I'd say differenty is that virtually no level or map of MoTS can equal the majesty and scope of JK's levels.

Hmm... both games have great, great levels. Perhaps JK does have more big open spaces, but MotS has fantastic level designs as well and its share of big open spaces. Level design is the best thing about both games, I think. And also, remember that MotS has fewer levels total... but I definitely remember some big open spaces in MotS -- like that giant room with the base in it in the asteroid, or that city in one stage, or some parts of the jungle, or in the big rooms in the spaceship...

A lot of levels in MoTS were defective, and poorly textured (if you look hard.)

JK wasn't exactly great looking even for a late 1997 game. MotS uses the same engine and came out later. You don't play either one looking for a fantastic technical graphical experience and never have... JK has just as many graphical issues as MotS.

Also, the cities looked much less like cities than they did in JK.

Hmm... I don't know. In both they don't look like REALLY real cities -- like all FPSes it's linear. Of course, as I said in the review JK/MotS go to great lengths to seem less linear than most, and do a good job of it, but still, it's not like how a real environment would be. It's just better than the competition. :)

As for how they compare, why do you think that? MotS to me seemed to have level designs that were very similar to JK, just with new locations... I don't see there as being much of any level-design gap there (design or whatever). As I've said, I love the level design and 'realism' in both JK and MotS, and don't think MotS is any worse at it than JK... really, both do about as good a job as you can hope for.

In MotS, the only one I can think of I could complain about is that one which is a more open city-street environment... it's got the same level design as everywhere else, but they try to do a normal city area and it just doesn't work quite as well (JK never really tried that, it only has rooftops, inside buildings, single buildings not in towns, etc...). Oh well. MotS more than makes up for it in level design. :)

More, as you already pointed out, the story doesn't flow like in JK... in MoTS, all the levels are almost completely different... the ending doesn't fit. (I'm still on the last level, btw, but am far into it.)

How do you know what the ending is, then?

Yes, though, it really is four or five seperate chapters loosely tied together by a main plot... though it might be more accurate to say that the game starts and finishes with a main story and in between takes a series of 3 or 4 level sidetrips that have only a little to do with it. It definitely doesn't have the narrative cohesion of JK... but I liked it anyway because I really appreicated how they were including elements from some books. MotS is the only game, really, that has put much in from the books... I thought that was great. I'd just recommend reading Zahn's trilogy before playing to help it make some more sense (characters, some monsters, etc). :)

And those cutscenes weren't even comparable to the FMV of JKII, which almost seemed like a well-composed movie at times

But the FMV was so cheesy! It's kind of hard to take it all seriously... the in-engine stuff of MotS is much better that way. It was probably an improvement.

My final word is that I really loved the first level, on the Rebel base... it's my favorite from the game. The last three aren't doing that much for me, I have to admit... I hate the darkness.

... but the last three levels are the best part of MotS... the jungle part is just fantastic. So unique and different... NO GUNS! You can't use them! Saber and force only! It's so different, and adds so much challenge... as I say in the review, probably the biggest problem with MotS is how it starts this great part of the game so late in the game. The game takes a major change in direction and in how you have to play it -- and suddenly gets a LOT harder -- and it's a big adjustment so late in the title... really, it should have had that for more of the game. It's just so much fun... yeah, I like the guns. It's fun to just blow things up. But when you remove them you force a lot more puzzles, more strategy, more challenge...

The Rebel Base level is pretty cool, though. But it's hard to choose a favorite when, just like JK, there are so many fantastic levels... really, those level designers did great work.

[Dark Jaguar]

Final Fantasy VII is fantasy... That's why...

But hey, if we are using even the slightest bit of science that doesn't exist to call it sci fi, my ENTIRE list still stands.

Hookshot!

[A Black Falcon]

No, Zelda definitely is fantasy. Some technology they didn't have in the middle ages doesn't make it science fiction...

[Darunia]

A lot of levels in MoTS were defective, and poorly textured (if you look hard.)

JK wasn't exactly great looking even for a late 1997 game. MotS uses the same engine and came out later. You don't play either one looking for a fantastic technical graphical experience and never have... JK has just as many graphical issues as MotS.

Maybe we're not on the same page. I've logged a lot of experience with JK level editors... what I mean is that some of the textures are just poorly chosen... and some of the walls weren't even built right. You'll see in levels of MoTS, fire-like textures that don't flow...they just sit like a snapshot of fire. That shatters the realism... at least make them flow with a water COG so that they move. Also, in the level wherein you escape from the rancor, and steal back the device for Ka Pa the Hutt, there's one hard-to-find texture that's obviously horizontal, and hidden in shadows, whereas all the others are vertically alligned. I know what you're saying, big fucking deal, but it's a simple rookie level design mistake.... so I'm saying that JK was designed much more professionally as well.

[Great Rumbler]

Final Fantasy VII is fantasy... That's why...

It does have some fantasy elements, but it has a lot more scifi. It's a classic example of dystopian scifi.

[A Black Falcon]

Darunia, but they were developed by the same people...

[Darunia]

Was it really the exact same level-making team...?

[A Black Falcon]

I'd expect so, given that the level design styles are so similar... but of course between projects there's always some turnover.

[Darunia]

This talk got me playing JK again

I'm on Gorc & Pic right now.

Good times will be had by all.

Except Gorc & Pic.

[A Black Falcon]

Maybe we're not on the same page. I've logged a lot of experience with JK level editors... what I mean is that some of the textures are just poorly chosen... and some of the walls weren't even built right. You'll see in levels of MoTS, fire-like textures that don't flow...they just sit like a snapshot of fire. That shatters the realism... at least make them flow with a water COG so that they move. Also, in the level wherein you escape from the rancor, and steal back the device for Ka Pa the Hutt, there's one hard-to-find texture that's obviously horizontal, and hidden in shadows, whereas all the others are vertically alligned. I know what you're saying, big fucking deal, but it's a simple rookie level design mistake.... so I'm saying that JK was designed much more professionally as well.

If you want bad textures, just look at water. In both games. The water is amazingly bad... completely unrealistic and really awful looking. Pretty pathetic, really... but as I said, neither game exactly has the best graphics and texture qualities ever. That just doesn't matter much once the great level design, fun factor, and those other things are considered. For either JK or MotS. :)

[OB1]

Hey... is Will Wright ever WRONG? EH? GET IT??!!!


I am so unbelievably bored right now. Spent most of today studying. Ugh.

BYE!

[Darunia]

The best level of JK has to be either the one wherein you escape with the map, after killing Gorc and Pic... or Descent into the Valley... either way, both levels have amazingly well-designed, complex Imperial infrastructures withinwhich I could wander around aimlessly all day.

[A Black Falcon]

It's hard to choose a best level, from either JK or MotS... I loved the level in the JK demo (where you go into the refinery complex thing and adjust that tank), but there were so many great levels... that big rooftop one, the one with the big Imperial base (open-air), the sewer one, etc, etc... :)

[Weltall]

Yeah so like, Xenogears is still the best.

[OB1]

Pfft. Super Metroid destroys everything.

Metroid Prime is also an acceptable choice, however.

[Weltall]

Super Metroid has no sex scene.

[OB1]

Dude you never even played it, so how would you know?!

[Great Rumbler]

It has Samus in a bikini! *giggles*

[OB1]

HAWT!

[Weltall]

Saying a Nintendo game doesn't have a sex scene is like saying today's 700 Club episode didn't have a sex scene.

[OB1]

...


what?

[Dark Jaguar]

Meaning "duh", or "that's not saying very much".

And he can actually pretty surely state that Super Metroid has no sex scene even without playing it. It's almost a certainty given the information he DOES know, about Nintendo for example.

[OB1]

Yes that was the joke.

[Darunia]

"Pink Floyd-The Wall" is one of the most incredible movies I've ever seen.