My own Top Ten(all on PC in no particular order):

World in Conflict
Crysis
Halo 3
Off-world Resource Base (ORB)
Galciv2
Rise of Nations
Blitzkrieg
Age of empires(all 3)
TP: BP
Mechwarriors(I liked it at the time)

yeah that was one thing I loved about dark reign there were a crapload of mission varieties. I think the second mission in the game for the freedom guard you had to stage a prison break and make sure the guy you needed to protect didnt die. playing from the imperium side of that mission you had to STOP the prison break. Tons of fun, and the AI in dark reign never cheated like most of those older RTS with unlimited resources, well except for the last mission. The final mission in dark reign is seriously insane, its not like other games with one HUGE enemy base with a constant onslaught of forces, you have to try and take down 2 different enemies while making sure your ally dosent die. Great story telling. How many RTS do you spend the first half of the game playing two different factions and mastering them, just togo back in time and use what you learned about them, against them to try and save a planet from being destroyed? Yep didnt think so!

i have been playing since i was 5 and i am 14 going on 15 now
ok let me clarify on my list
Portal
sure it dose not have a good story but its the physics the game play and the fact is that it is a original game.
F.E.A.R
i can see your point with system shock 2. its a grate game but it dose not have that sock and ahh that F.E.A.R dose. and F.E.A.R has the beast AI to date.
SIN
sin of a solar empire out shines homeworld do to the fact that you can find sins but
you cant find homeworld in stores.
Star Wars Empire at war.
is a great game as best but there probably is better i chose it because of the mods it has. its a game for hard core star wars moders. it may be hard at first but if you get it right you can make some good mods. i say this because i found a grate mod online where you get to play the CIS and the Republic
Half-life 2
if you have not played this game let alone Half life go buy its to complicated to say why its grate go and buy it
Resident Evil 4
probably the best zombie game and best Resident Evil so far. its the game play that sets it apart from the other Resident Evil(manly the aiming of the gun) and the story line will give you that you want to know what will happen next felling when playing the game.
Crash Bandicoot 2
it is just Fun, point blank fact it just fun
Dawn of war winter assault
the game gets some good tweaks to the races and you get to play as the imperial guards i mean come on.
Galciv2-DA
you get to build the Enterprise or what ever ship you want and the fact that you can find it in stores in steed of online.
Ratchet & clank up your Arsenal
Great game play, great weapons and is funny.
Star Wars Nights of the old Republic II
there both great but the second one may not have the plot twist as the first dose but the second one has some game play elements that the first one didn’t have.

but your right i have not even played half of these games do to the fact is that i am to young and i don't have a credit card some of these games i could not play because i cant find them in stores or at walmart.com or bestbuy.com. But i have played star wars X-wing vs. tie fighter but there’s better dog fighter out there now and fallOut 2 i am waiting for the third one so. And Freespace i what’d to play it but could never find it. but hay its not like i put a Barbie game or Nancy drew (yes there are games like that) i put some real hard core games that are modern. i focus on game play story and individuality and those games had all three of those qualities.

now if you can give me some reasons why you put those games Uranium - 235 ok but all you put is pictures and put me down by not calling me a gamer. I am a gamer a poor one but a gamer no the less. i like some games so much that i make custom game shirts instead of going online and buying one i make them i just finessed one yesterday so Uranium - 235 this goes out to you personally i am as much of a gamer as you are just fresher.

sins
star wars galaxies
gal civ series
warhammer 40k series
black and white 2
startopia
jade empire
star wars knights of the old republic
alpha centari
mass effect
deus ex
sid meiers Pirates
star wars empire at war
homeworld series

just a few i can think of right now

Freeman43 - Thanks for the games info.


General Homsar - Thanks for the discription. Going by what you say, it sounds like the kind of mission that will turn out to be a deception by the Dormin in the end.

same here

Ah the old AI debate!

Technically speaking, what makes a good AI will be that it has a greater range of responses and tacktics to employ. However what really makes a good AI, is it's ability to entertain... which comes down to individual preference!

that was the point

and about FEAR which one are you talking about? consale or PC

As someone with development experience, here's my formula for a guaranteed good (great) game:

1.) Story/Content of interest and quality- While you don't have to break the bank coming up with the most amazingly original idea ever, you need to have something within the game that people are interested in learning more about, or at minimum willing to watch evolve over the course of the game- and care about it.

2.) Random- What games do I STILL play, 5 or 10 years after their release? Only the games that are random in nature. What possible reason would I have to go back through the story-driven exploration game if I've already seen the scenes and solved the puzzles? Why bother if I know my character gets the "power up" after the next boss? No, the games that always reside on my hard drive are the games where the content is randomly generated to the largest degree possible. Certainly aspects of of the game will never change- that's not only unavoidable, but necessary. But, Diablo 2 and Civilization IV will ALWAYS be a different game each time you play, because of the random aspects of the map layouts, the items you find, the wars you fight... every time through the game is a new experience. Random over static, always. Even brilliant "static" games like Half-Life 2 are only good for a single run through every few years... but who in their right mind would spend three months replaying Half Life 2 over and over in a row, just to see the same thing?

3.) Lengthy- Nothing hurts a gamer worse than getting up to steam in a game and then having their seat pulled out from under them: Game Over, thanks for playing! No, the best games always have massive content to them. Now, this content can be used in various ways- mounds of weapons and skills, or large research trees, combined with large gameplay maps or, in the case of single-player story driven gaming, a long and satisfying adventure that doesn't end after 20 hours. Take this example: Which is better... I hand you a game and tell you that in 30 hours you'll have seen everything in it, solved all the puzzles, beaten all the bosses, and run it through its paces. Or I hand you the upcoming Spore in your other hand and tell you that to see all of the content in the game, it would take you 60 YEARS in REAL LIFE to explore it all. Not much of a choice, eh?


I think those three things alone dictate great gaming over the games that are off of your hard drive in a week or two and sit in a box or drawer gaining dust.

I do think there's one myth involved in "great" game development though: Multiplayer.

A great game does NOT have to have a multiplayer component in order to be brilliant. Diablo 2, without ever touching the online aspect, is infinitely playable and enjoyable. Same with the Civilization series, or most of the Final Fantasy games. Sure, multiplayer can give a game that WOULD go by the wayside pretty fast long legs- Team Fortress 2 and Counter Strike keep people playing in the Half Life universe long after they'd be waiting around for Half Life 3. But a truly remarkable game can exist without requiring other people to participate.

In fact, those games that DO require others can really drag a game down- not everyone is a social butterfly with a ready stash of friends to game with, and everyone knows how unfriendly the majority of the online gaming crowd is- those of us who have particular requirements in our "friends" find it extremely hard to find other gamers that we're capable of spending time gaming with and getting along. Single player games allow the player to proceed in their own style, at their own pace in a way that maximizes their happiness level.

Complete agreement.  You are the man!  Great List.

I'm with you on AoE III including all the expansions.  Civ IV as well.  I'd include:

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - changed my gaming life (so THAT's what an RPG is all about - more to life than shooters)

Fallout 3 for a twist on the previous

If you can get around the bugs, the two STALKER games put you in a radioactive funk (in a positive way) - maybe it's just an eastern Europe vibe but great world building.

Company of Heroes - first two.

The Sims 3 - my latest fling (I'm out of the closet now)

Only MMO I'd ever want to play (since I love the books) - Lord of the Rings Online

Demigod is quite simple yet fun.

Same with Sins of a Solar Empire (and most of what Stardock publishes and/or develops)