What do you think is the most groundbreaking game?

There have been many games that have set a certain standard and have been groundbreaking. GTA IV for example, love it or loath it, you can't deny a living and breathing city like Liberty City is one of the gaming industries greatest achievements.

So what game(s) do you think are groundbreaking?

mass effect 1 and 2zahyr

Hard to choose one.

King's Quest - first fully animated adventure game

Half Life - changed the FPS genre forever

Thief - defined the stealth genre

Homeworld - the first well done true 3D RTS. A really unique experience; there's been nothing like it before its release or since Homeworld 2

System Shock
Thief: The Dark Project
Half-Life
Populous
Command & Conquer
Homeworld

[QUOTE="zahyr"]mass effect 1 and 2GeneralShowzer

Half Life

Portal

System Shock

[QUOTE="GeneralShowzer"][QUOTE="zahyr"]mass effect 1 and 2JigglyWiggly_

Good voice acting is groundbreaking now? Besides there were a lot better games with better voice acting before that.

Again loads of dialogue is not groundbreaking, it's kind of a negative to be honest. All that dialogue and nobody really says anything.

I'm not gonna comment on "epic regenerade stuff", I've seen way more badass than a guy punching a woman.

[QUOTE="zahyr"]mass effect 1 and 2GeneralShowzer

Assassins Creed ?

These came to my mind as some of the games that wowed me or basically defined genres through my years of gaming...but really this is a hard question I am sure I am missing MANY games.

GTAIII

Zelda: Ocarina of Time

System Shock

Magic Carpet

Street Fighter II

Alone in the Dark

Warcraft

Diablo

Halflife

Doom

Mariokart

KOTOR

GeneralShowzer, Why can't you let people have their own opinions? You also started bashing me because I thought the Mass Effect games were great, just let people have their opinions. After all, this topic is called "What do YOU THINK..." Anyway, I agree with Rheorin.Ikavnieks

A game being groundbreaking is not an opinion.

And i don't bash people on forums, just games.

That's your opinion, personally I wouldn't consider it as most gournd breaking game, but the manner in which is presents it's dialog and the cinematic approach and quality could certainly be considered groundbreaking. I can't think of any game prior to it that had such cinematic and naturally feeling interactions between the player and NPC.

I am not saying Mass Effect has the deepest dialog options out there or anything...I am strictly talking about it's presentation and quality.

BTW, when you say things like "nothing" you are using absolutes which really diminishes the value of your view point. When dealing with facts that's one thing...but with opinions and perceptions it's silly and almost rude.

Quake...hardest to master FPS game todaywhois80

Pretty sure that title goes to Starsiege: Tribes.

[QUOTE="GeneralShowzer] I guess the opinion comes in the MOST groundbreaking part, but seriously Mass Effect had nothing groundbreaking about it.

So you don't consider Mass Effect groundbreaking, yet you consider Deus Ex groundbreaking, even though it was preceeded by System Shock 2 and Thief.

[QUOTE="GeneralShowzer] I guess the opinion comes in the MOST groundbreaking part, but seriously Mass Effect had nothing groundbreaking about it.dos4gw82

So you don't consider Mass Effect groundbreaking, yet you consider Deus Ex groundbreaking, even though it was preceeded by System Shock 2 and Thief.

[QUOTE="whois80"]Quake...hardest to master FPS game todaydos4gw82

Pretty sure that title goes to Starsiege: Tribes.

Diablo II - For defining the game genre from which is a part of...did i made any sense?:D

Crysis - Like someone above me said: safe choice...groundbreaking visuals.

GTA Series - you will never find a city more alive bla bla bla

P.S. Mass Effect 1,2 are both great games(i love the first more)but they are not groundbreaking at any capitol...you name it...name something on what you think Mass Effect holds the crown or is the best and ill name at least 2 games that are better(and i dont mean overall better :P)

Diablo II - For defining the game genre from which is a part of...did i made any sense?:D

Crysis - Like someone above me said: safe choice...groundbreaking visuals.

GTA Series - you will never find a city more alive bla bla bla

P.S. Mass Effect 1,2 are both great games(i love the first more)but they are not groundbreaking at any capitol...you name it...name something on what you think Mass Effect holds the crown or is the best and ill name at least 2 games that are better(and i dont mean overall better :P)

rhazzy

Cinematic quality and presentation with dialog. I really haven't played a game the had such great quality between the interaction between the player and NPC. It felt very natural...I think for me it's the closest gaming has been to "movie quality" interactions.

*patiently awaits the two games that do this better*

System Shock
Thief: The Dark Project
Half-Life
Populous
Command & Conquer
Homeworld

JackBurton

Most of the time in Mass Effect you're just standing around while talking to NPC's like any other RPG. I guess there are some times where people move around and it does look cool, but it's like a cutscene and you chose good/bad dialogue during it. I've seen way better cutscenes.GeneralShowzer

[QUOTE="GeneralShowzer"]Most of the time in Mass Effect you're just standing around while talking to NPC's like any other RPG. I guess there are some times where people move around and it does look cool, but it's like a cutscene and you chose good/bad dialogue during it. I've seen way better cutscenes.YoungGSReviewer

[QUOTE="YoungGSReviewer"][QUOTE="GeneralShowzer"]Most of the time in Mass Effect you're just standing around while talking to NPC's like any other RPG. I guess there are some times where people move around and it does look cool, but it's like a cutscene and you chose good/bad dialogue during it. I've seen way better cutscenes.GeneralShowzer

World in Conflict - moves away from base building entirely, first completely combat focused RTS (or RTT) with its total lack of collectable resources (other than Tactical Aid points).

Mass Effect is somewhat groundbreaking for its dialogue system - you choose a short response and your character responds in full, although its not really that big of a deal.

Im with Showzer, Mass Effect didnt do anything that hasnt already been done before in games like Omikron: The Nomad Soul. Its just that Mass Effect is more well known today because of the massive hype that surround video games these days.

But your entitled to your opinion I suppose, that doesnt mean people have to agree with it though.

Im with Showzer, Mass Effect didnt do anything that hasnt already been done before in games like Omikron: The Nomad Soul. Its just that Mass Effect is more well known today because of the massive hype that surround video games these days.

But your entitled to your opinion I suppose, that doesnt mean people have to agree with it though.

pelvist

[QUOTE="pelvist"]

Im with Showzer, Mass Effect didnt do anything that hasnt already been done before in games like Omikron: The Nomad Soul. Its just that Mass Effect is more well known today because of the massive hype that surround video games these days.

But your entitled to your opinion I suppose, that doesnt mean people have to agree with it though.

Renevent42

[QUOTE="Renevent42"][QUOTE="pelvist"]

Im with Showzer, Mass Effect didnt do anything that hasnt already been done before in games like Omikron: The Nomad Soul. Its just that Mass Effect is more well known today because of the massive hype that surround video games these days.

But your entitled to your opinion I suppose, that doesnt mean people have to agree with it though.

GeneralShowzer

And missing voice over for the main character, and other things mentioned.

When a game is being praised as epicly cinematic and some people may believe this aspect of it is groundbreaking...showing a game a decade old and claiming there's nothing new is ridiculous.

If that's not the case, tell me what's so ground breaking about Halflife? It's not the first FPS with a story or strong narritive...or with good puzzles...or with good AI.

What's most likely ground breaking about HL is how well it put it all together into an extremely compelling game that redifined these aspects in a FPS. I think that's the same (at least for some people) thing in Mass Effect...it's the quality and presentation that brings that type of game to the next level.

Leisure Suit Larry, never seen a game go so far and be sold in a store.

Leisure Suit Larry, never seen a game go so far and be sold in a store.

hooded1man

[QUOTE="dos4gw82"]

[QUOTE="whois80"]Quake...hardest to master FPS game todaywhois80

Pretty sure that title goes to Starsiege: Tribes.

Don't mean to be rude, but you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. Perhaps you should try the game? Rocket jumps (disk jumps) are very common in Tribes, though I wouldn't exactly call it an "advanced game mechanic."

However, navigating the battlefield in Tribes requires that you learn how to 'ski,' which you do by making rapid jumps down a slope and activating your jets on an incline. Doing this effectively requires good timing and a sense of speed and distance. Studying 'routes' is essential if you want to cross the map fast enough to be an effective flag capper.

It is extremely fast paced, given the fact that you can be moving across huge maps at 200-300 MPH speeds. Weapon timing is very complex, considering that every projectile in the game has a different travel time, and unlike quake, few of them reach their target instantly. On top of that, you have to time your shot based on your location, speed, and altitude against your opponent's location, speed, and altitude. Plus, you often have to make these shots when your opponent is many, many meters away from you. Imagine that you're driving down the interstate at 150mph, and you have to throw a water balloon at another car that is going 180MPH in the opposite direction 7 lanes away from you. Oh yes, and both of the cars are flying at different altitudes. These are the kinds of shots players have to make in Tribes. Some players can even hit their targets mid air with great consistancy.

As far as health/item management goes, there are multiple loadouts, repair packs, energy packs, ammo packs, health kits, repair stations, ammo stations, deployable turrets, deployable ammo stations, deployable turrets, deployable sensors, etc. Lots to juggle.

Quake is not as hard as Tribes to play. Not even close.

PS: Had to search for what starve was..never did find out. Apparently searching for "Quake" and "starve" makes google think you are looking for news on Haiti. :(

[QUOTE="pelvist"]

Im with Showzer, Mass Effect didnt do anything that hasnt already been done before in games like Omikron: The Nomad Soul. Its just that Mass Effect is more well known today because of the massive hype that surround video games these days.

But your entitled to your opinion I suppose, that doesnt mean people have to agree with it though.

Renevent42

Omicron was an example of this genre of videogame (just ONE example) being much older than Mass Effect to support what I said about Mass Effect not doing anything that has not been done already. Yeah Omicron has worse graphics than Mass Effect, there may be no voice overs, what a surprise! Its a game from 1999! Its the same type of game and I enjoyed it much more than Mass Effect when this genre of videogame was still pretty new. So if this genre of game has voice overs then that makes it groundbreaking does it? Didnt Outcast (2000) have voice overs? Im sure there were other games before that which did too. Mass Effect isnt the first and only game of this kind, and its certainly not groundbreaking...

[QUOTE="Renevent42"][QUOTE="pelvist"]

Im with Showzer, Mass Effect didnt do anything that hasnt already been done before in games like Omikron: The Nomad Soul. Its just that Mass Effect is more well known today because of the massive hype that surround video games these days.

But your entitled to your opinion I suppose, that doesnt mean people have to agree with it though.

pelvist

Omicron was an example of this genre of videogame (just ONE example) being much older than Mass Effect to support what I said about Mass Effect not doing anything that has not been done already. Yeah Omicron has worse graphics than Mass Effect, there may be no voice overs, what a surprise! Its a game from 1999! Its the same type of game and I enjoyed it much more than Mass Effect when this genre of videogame was still pretty new. So if this genre of game has voice overs then that makes it groundbreaking does it? Didnt Outcast (2000) have voice overs? Im sure there were other games before that which did too. Mass Effect isnt the first and only game of this kind, and its certainly not groundbreaking...

Doom. Not the first of it's kind, even for ID software (catacomb and wolfenstein at least) but it was light years ahead of its predecessors. 3-4 years of "Doom Clones" before the first-person shooter genre was born!

And people thought it would flop because you weren't killing Nazis :D

It certainly is groundbreaking, and the games you listed (while amazing for their time) don't come close to what's being presented in Mass Effect in cinematic quality and presentation. It's on a different level than what was technically feasible in 2000 and before. And if you don't agree, please answer this (was in response to the other post) What's so ground breaking about Halflife? It's not the first FPS with a story or strong narrative...or with good puzzles...or with good AI. I can think of many titles prior to it that had pretty much everything Halflife had prior to it's release.Renevent42

Your contradicting yourself with the question about Half-Life. Your reasonse for Half-Life not being groundbreaking are the same as my reason for Mass Effect.

Like I said before, your entitled to your opinion just like everyone else.