I just got my hands on a copy of Warcraft 3 and I started thinking. Who do I like better? Black Isles or Blizzard?
Hmm… I guess I would have to say Blizzard because they consistently make outstanding (if ever delayed) games. I dont think they have released a dud yet.
Black Isles is close though because they have made some awsome games too ( Namely Fallout 2, the best game ever made in the history of the world).
Who is your favorite?
I was going to make this PC only but figured consoles could get in here too.
Is Fallout really that good? They have a dual pack of Fallout and Fallout 2 selling for 9.99. Should I get them? How much of my life will be swallowed whole?
Fallout 2 is great. Neither Fallouts can compare with Planescape:Torment, which is by the same company and is the best game I’ve ever played. I suggest you get that one, which also comes in a duel-disc pack(with some Soulbringer game).
Fallout 2 will own you. I didnt care for Torment though. Too much dialouge for my tastes, but everyone else in the world loves that game.
Be forewarned though, its an aging game so if you want mindblowing graphics you will be disappointed. The story is very adult and very funny alot of times. Definetly get it. Best story of any game ever made. You can be a porn star, drug dealer, mobster, and ANYONE can be killed in the game. You can even kill people you need to finish the game so be careful.
The only games I play are console RPGs. So far, i’ve never been disappointed in Square Soft. Their games consistently kick ass. Every non-Sqaure RPG I’ve played has been very poor by comparison.
I like Black Isle and Blizzard for PC, and Rockstar and whoever did Metal Gear 1&2 for console. Also the “new” Resident Evil for Gamecube is incredible but I don’t know who did it.
My favourite has to be Egosoft, OK they’ve only ever made one (remotley succesful) game - X-Beyond the Frontier - but for that they released an add-on for free if you were quick enough, and cost about £5 afterwards. Then they released a patch that would’ve been an entire new game for some companies, and that was FREE. The developers of the company actually ask opinions and respond to messages on the game’s messageboard (which used to be about as busy as GD when it first came out).
Apart from them, it’s got to be ID Software for releasing huge parts of Doom and Quake as shareware and now releasing the code for the Quake 3 engine for free, it seems as though they not in the business just to make money.
id Software: Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Quake, Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Classics. Wolf3d started the whole first-person shoot 'em up genre. (DOOM III is coming soon!)
Honorable mention: Microsoft/Ensemble Studios for the Age of Empires series.(Age of Mythology and Rise of Nations are coming soon)
Interplay has owned my ass for a while, though they are in a bad way now. Black Isle can probably still produce at least Icewind Dale II and Lionheart before they fold, but at least BioWare is still going strong, and is about to have a major release which for some fiendish reason they’e not going to let me get my hands on until wednesday.
The late, lamented Looking Glass Studios produced the Thief games, which were beyond all previous measures of first-person coolness. I observe a moment of silence in their honor every time I pick a lock. (Actually, several moments of silence–I can’t pick them that fast.)
id Software. Even though I haven’t bought Quake III, Doom and Quake II were enough to land them high on the list.
Blizzard, even though I thought Diablo was incredibly boring after the first few hours.
Westwood Studios. I lost many an hour to Command and Conquer and Red Alert.
Balance picked a winner with [b/Looking Glass Studios**. The Thief series is set to continue, by the way, brought to us by Eidos. I think Warren Spector is even the designer for Thief III, and they have most of the Looking Glass folks on the project.
Eidos also produced Deus Ex, which is my current time-sink. It got GameSpot’s “Game of the Year,” and deserved it.
Then there is Firaxis, makers of Civilization III and Alpha Centauri, two very addictive strategy games.
Good times.
RR
When it comes to adventure type games, no one tops LucasArts. Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, Sam & Max, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Maniac Mansion…all classics that are actually worth playing more than once. Not many adventure games you can say that about.
And a tip of the hat to the late, lamented Bungie, before they were assimilated by Borg Gates. Oni could have been so much better if it wasn’t rushed out the door, but even as a half-baked game, it still rocks.
Id and LucasArts could release nothing but Britany’s Dance Beat sequels from now on and I would still hold them in high esteem. Such is the greatness of Doom, Q3A, X-Wing, and Sam and Max.
but recently, Smilebit has been doing some really impressive work. Jet Set Radio Future, Gun Valkyrie, and soon enough, Panzer Dragoon Orta. Even if you would like to see bill gates roasting on a spit, do yourself a favor and find a way to play Jet Set Radio Future for even a few minutes - its the most fun you can have without altering your brain chemistry.
