Atarti 5200: Montezuma’s Revenge. I still think this is one of the better platformers I’ve played. After you got to the end of the pyramid, you started over, only the level was completely reconfigured so all the monsters, doors, etc, were different. I remember going through about 6-7 completely different configurations. Still not sure how many there were.
Commodore 64: Lemmings. Need I say more? One of the all time greats. Of course there were a lot of great C-64 games, but this is the first great one off the top of my head.
Commodore Amiga: Shadow of the Beast. Ok, it was as hard as hell, but the graphics were fantastic, and the music was just plain awesome. They released a Sega Genesis version, but the music was horrible and the graphics not quite as sharp.
Sega Genesis: Hmmm, a toss up between Gods and Soldiers of Fortune. Both Bitmap brothers games with tons of secrets. You could play either game dozens of times and still find new secrets every time. Flashback is right up there too. Ok, a three way tie! Actually, Desert Strike and Jungle Strike should be up there too…
Playstation 1: Single Player: Oddworld: Abe’s Exodus. An awesome platform game, great graphics, great humor, and just flat out fun. Also: the Deception games were great. Actually, given some time to really think about it, I could probably add a half dozen games to the list. This is one of my favorite systems, and had many, many awesome, ground-breaking games. Multi player: Quake II. The game supported 4 player split screen with a multi-tap, and the pure awesomeness of it was only surpassed by Halo.
X-Box: Halo. The single player was ok, but with 4 people it rocked. We loved that you could customize your games. The favorite at my house was “Dad Rock”, a variation of oddball (grab the skull and hold it for a total of 2 minutes). The player with the ball was invisible and had super speed and all that stuff. Everyone else had a rocket launcher. “I got it!” <Boom!> “I got it!” <Boom!> “I got it!” <Boom!>
Early PC: X-Com. Nothing else comes close for me. The ultimate strategy game.
Playstation 2: I’m going to go with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The game it’s not possible to be bored with (IMO). One of the few games where you can have as much fun making up your own missions/goals.
90’s PC: Baldur’s Gate II & Fallout I and II. Two of the best RPG’s of all time.
Modern PC: Hmm, there’s some decent games out there, but nothing that’s grabbed me like the others I’ve listed. Fallout 3 probably comes closest, but what brings it down for me is the bleak, barren, samey-looking landscape. And I still haven’t gotten to Morrowind, much less Oblivion.
