What are your "GEMS"?

They could be considered your excellent games. Perhaps a game that has received low criticism; but had something that shined in your eyes. Maybe a sleeper hit; or a game that was widely critically acclaimed. Just a list, and a reason why it was so special would be nice. Maybe this will inspire some other gamers to try a new game.

For me, these are games I just could never sell.

• Vectorman (Sega Gen.) - The first shooter I really got into; great controls and shooting goodness. Good lighting effects for its time.
• Sonic 2 (Sega Gen.) - THE BEST side scrolling game i've played. Great BGM, sense of speed, and level design.
• The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask (N64) - I loved the mask collecting! Story line was great, and the "time limit" was never too quick for me.
• Super Mario Sunshine (GC) - I actually enjoyed this more so than super mario 64. The FLUDD attachments made for some great platforming.
• Super Smash Brothers Melee (GC) - NEVER played a non-online multiplayer game as much as I did with this.
• Metroid Prime (GC) - Favorite first-person-shooter. So much atmosphere.
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox) - Love me some star wars. Really amazing story telling; and you just feel badass when you become a jedi.
• Mario Kart DS (DS) - I play this.... ALL THE TIME. Mario kart 64 with enhanced graphics, on the go. My favorite racing game.
• Demon Souls (PS3) - The challenge of the game is just so appealing to me.
• Sins of a Solar Empire (PC) - I've played a lot of RTS's; but none were ever as engaging. Steep learning curve; but worth it when you get the idea of it.
• AHHH!! Golden Sun (GBA) - How did I forget you!!! :( Probably my first or second favorite rpg; aside Chrono Trigger.

Looking at the list; i'm surprised I haven't mentioned a lot of newer games. I've played quite a bit of the popular current-gen games. Aside from the Wii (don't have one).

Star Ocean 2.

The only JRPG I've ever enjoyed.

Planescape: torment - the storyline was awesome

The Darkness - The storytelling was awesome

need more games with good stories.

FFVII - one of the first, if not the first JRPG I played. I loved the story and characters, and the world really sucked me in.

FFVI - probably my favourite FF to date. It also had a great cast of characters.

Persona 3 & 4 - Loved the story, but have yet to complete 4. Social links were a really interesting way of interacting with NPC's and characters.

Mass Effect series - Excellent story and the universe is incredibly in depth. Gameplay was fun, and the characters were interesting, if not great (Wrex and Garrus). ME2 did everything the first did, but IMO better, barring the story.

The Witcher - Fun as all heck WRPG. Good story and Geralt is a bad***

MGS4 - finished the storyline from the past Metal Gears. Tied up all the loose ends with a decent story and good gameplay. Definately a must play for fans.

LoZ: OoT - need I say anything here? It's Ocarina of Time. The game was just pure awesomesauce.

FFX - Loved the story, most of the characters and the world was interesting. Blitzball was hecka fun as well.

I thought we were talking about "less popular" games from TC's list? Meh, my reading comprehension fails me after all the trash posts I've seen talking about Starcraft 2. Time to go to bed :roll:

Battlefield 2: Best online FPS ever, hopefully Battlefield 3 will be able to live up to its predecessor.

My "gems" aren't rare games or low rating ones, but are games that I still play and enjoy today:

Super Mario World on SNES - Easy to pickup, fun to master. I can still play this for hours.

Legend of Zelda on SNES - One of my favorite in the series. The reason I bought a SNES

Final Fantasy IV on SNES - This is the one with Cecil the black knight. It was my first large JRPG and one I still enjoy today. The game that really got me stuck on gaming.

Final Fantasy VII on PS1 - This game really blew me away and had me saving every cent I could to get a PS1. This game has been my prize possession for many years even though I don't play it much anymore. I loved the story andthe presentation was great.

Final Fantasy VII : CC on PSP - An expansion on a story I loved with an action feel and a wealth of variety. The repetetive missions were a letdown but I loved playing this game and have played it thru multiple times.

Resident Evil Remake on GameCube - I'm a huge traditiional RE fan. The improvements to the gamecube version of this game had me in awe and the atmosphere is still one that's hard to match.

[QUOTE="Iantheone"]Half-Life 2 - Seems to be getting a lot of hate recently Dead Rising - I loved this game to bits, but most of my friends hated it ='[Logan832

The Orange Box is really cheap now and comes with all 3 HL2 games plus Team Fortress and Portal! Get it, it's still a great game with a great story and a thoroughly enjoyable play

Is it too late for a newcomer to the half-life series to start with half-life 2 and enjoy it? I've always wanted to give it a shot; but i'm cheap with my money.Logan832

Absolutely pick it up and play. Also play it with Fakefactory's Cinematic Mod as it does wonders for the graphics. Maybe play it through vanilla on the first playthrough actually :P

[QUOTE="Logan832"] Is it too late for a newcomer to the half-life series to start with half-life 2 and enjoy it? I've always wanted to give it a shot; but i'm cheap with my money.Stevo_the_gamer

I think I will grab the orange box! Probably will start downloading it off steam tonight. I remember buying Half Life 2, but had to take it back because my POS home computer couldn't handle it. Well now I got myself a badass laptop that can play Mass Effect 2 on min! LOL

Parasite Eve 2

Swat 4

Crimson Skies

MechWarrior 4

Chrono Trigger

Dino Crisis 2

Zelda: ALTTP

Super Metroid

Metal Gear Solid

Need For Speed: Most Wanted

Age of Empires 2

I consider a lot of games to be gems. The classic Resident Evil games, the Xenosaga games I'm playing now, and many more. I'm having a hard time deciding whether or not I consider Valkyria Chronicles this gen to be a gem, but if not then there are none so far.

Gears of war

God of war

Halo

Mario Bros.(NES)

Super mario galaxy.

Bad Company 2( My favorite Online Shooter)

This gen:

Demon's Souls- I like it because it is different from the norm, makes you work hard, and provides a sense of great satisfaction when you move forward.

Valkyria Chronicles- Great characters, great battle system, has a lot of charm, and is something different from most SRPGs.

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn- A game that is unforgiving and requires a lot of attention and planning, characters with great strength, pride, charm, and honor.

Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2- Outstanding level designs, amazing game control, maybe the most fun you can have playing a video game.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade- Beautiful artwork, lots of swords with unique abilities.

Persona 3 & 4- Fusing demons, exploring mysteries with friends and classmates, great fun. Kinda like being in a Scooby Doo cartoon.

Chronologically:

River Raid for the Atari 2600. Rumor was there was an end but I never found it.

Blaster Master for the NES: Loved that little buggy.

Quake: Quakeworld made online FPS possible over dialup. Plus, Team Fortress and Runes.

Fallout: Whoa. I put my intelligence at 1 and now the only responses I can give in dialog are 'Ummmm' and 'eeerr'. This is awesome!

Ultima Online: So incredibly awesome. Until it wasn't.

Grim Fandango. I feel so sorry for those guys: they made one of the best games evar and three people bought it. Strangely, everyone raves about it. Manny is unforgetable.

Morrowind: Such an alien place, and so well realized.

IL2: Sturmovik: Finally someone understands what flight model means.

Planetside: Incredibly awesome in the beginning, when it was still a grunt war before they released that stupid Mech expansion and broke up Osher. Three teams of 333 players each, on one map? Yes, please. Still waiting on a sequel.

STALKER: SoC....the scariest game I've ever played just because it's so damn immersive. Plus, I love the hard decisions about what to carry since you can barely carry anything at all...it reinforces the 'survival' aspect of the game.

Company of Heroes: Better than a WW2 movie.

World in Conflict: Awesome. I grew up in the 80's building models of these vehicles and aircraft. Now I get to blow them up!

Onimusha 4

Jak 2

Way of the Samurai (original)

Ocarina of Time/ M's Mask

Super Smash Brothers (original)

Bloody Roar 3 (Regular)

Final Fantasy 7

Ehrighez (spelled wrong)

Devil May Cry 1 & 3

MGS 2 Sons of Liberty (love Raidenomg) (The original Raiden, not sell-out cyborg Raiden)

These are just a few of the games that I remember loving the most in the past. Strangely nothing really this gen has really blown me away. Too much flash, not enough substance.

Terranigma.

Action RPGs werent supposed to be this good back in the day.

My "gems": Valkyria Chronicles, FFX, Persona 4, Persona 3, Tales of Vesperia, Tales of Symphonia, Pikmin 1/2, and Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow.

Games I would never, ever sell.

[QUOTE="Iantheone"]Half-Life 2 - Seems to be getting a lot of hate recently Dead Rising - I loved this game to bits, but most of my friends hated it ='[Logan832

Half Life 1 & 2 are timeless. If you enjoy thinking, and finding subtle clues that drive the story, you'll love them. If you're one of those people who need the story shoved down their throats through overly macho, crude cutscenes, then avoid it. The best thing about the Half Life series is the atmosphere. Half Life 2 features alot of different gameplay mechanics. One minute you're driving a boat, getting chased by a helicopter, then you'll have to survive a wierd, grotesque, haunted village, then you'll be commanding aliens in a beach assault. Amazing games.

Warioware Smooth Moves.

The Darkness. I trade in my games when I need to, and did a lot of whole sale cleaning of my collection. 4 times The Darkness was tossed in with a pile of games I wanted to trade in, and all 4 times I said "nah **** it I'll keep it". I really like the game. It's not objectively one of the best games this gen. Hell I wouldn't even argue for it to be top 50(well 50 is alot of games), but I just can't bring myself to get rid of it. I enjoy playing through it here and there :)jg4xchamp

the darkness probably is my favorite game this gen.

that and fable 2 were the only games where i honestly couldnt stop playing and would spend every waking moment playing them until i beat them.

Sonic 2, Chrono Cross, Wind Waker, Mass Effect.

Mass Effect 2 - As close to perfection as anyone has gotten with universe and storytelling, while still having solid gameplay and great length.

Alan Wake - Quite possibly the best atmosphere out there.

Valkyria Chronicles - Took the best part of two amazing genres and fused the together seemlessly.

Batman: Arkham Asylum - For one, it's a good Batman game. But, the game whose hype I never quite understood turned out to be one of the best single-player experiences I've ever played and one of the most interesting pieces of superhero fiction out there.

Heavy Rain - Sure, it took a lot of(ok, all of) the gameplay aspects of Indigo Prophecy(Fahrenheit), but it perfectly melds together four dynamic characters into a dark and sinister story that kept getting more and more emotional until a final piece of perfectly told story that wraps up the game.

Persona 3 Portable - Took everything about Persona 3 and made it better and portable. What else could you want?

Mass Effect 2 - As close to perfection as anyone has gotten with universe and storytelling, while still having solid gameplay and great length.

Phoenix534

If only it didn't feel like a too long companion gathering chain.

Or if at least they made all squadmates worth their place.

my gems are

1. ico (still in original wrapper, never opened)

2. final fantasy 7

3.legend of dragoon

4. MGS4

Shenmue, Resident Evil 2, Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines, Morrowind, Metroid Prime, Half Life 1&2, Doom series, Bioshock, Fallout 2, tons more.

Sonic 2

Streets of Rage 2

Super Street Fighter 2

Kid chameleon

The story of Thor

Castlevania 4

Super Mario all stars

The Secret of Monkey Island (1 and 2)

Another World

Starcraft

The Heroes of Might and Magic (series)

Resident evil Code Veronica

GTA San andreas

TES Oblivion

Mass Effect (series)

Outcast - This game featured the most convincing and genuinely interesting world I have entered, the way the NPC's interact with the player still amazes me despite the game releasing in 1999. One of the best action-adventure games ever made, well a head of it's time.






Natural Selection - One of the best Half-Life mods ever made, it merged RTS and FPS gameplay into a (mostly) balanced competitive MP game that required strategy to win. Plenty of people still play it to this day, and the sequel is releasing soon.



And the sequel:




Clive Barker's Undying- A very chilling game that featured a story that kept me intrigued, atmosphere that is unmatched and solid FPS gameplay. It's pity it sold so poorly.






Jurassic Park Trespasser - Sure it was a buggy disappointment and almost broken, but the things this game achieved in 1997 was astounding. Bump mapping and specular highlighting, a global detailed physics system almost 8 years before half-Life 2 was released, on-the-fly sound mixing, dynamic animations. It also features some of the best voice acting in a videogame, featuring Richard Attenborough.

homeworld: its better than whatever game you like

super street fighter 2 turbo: imo the best game ever made, been playing it for almost 15 years, no other videogame has the same staying power

team fortress classic: im glad ive never seen how many hours ive sunk into this game because it would be depressing.

starsiege: so delicious. love those cybrids

Well I didn't list games that just didn't sell well. :P

But thanks to you guys, I found several games i'm about to try!

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - not my first Zelda by any means, but it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed every minute of it. Closest thing to epic Zelda has ever been in my personal opinion.

Final Fantasy XII - I had wished it had a more personal, character driven story and if it did it would probably be my favorite game. Yet even though it didn't have that, I loved the gameplay, the Gambit system, the open world, the art-style, and everything made it to be one of my favorite experiences.

Kingdom Hearts II - At the time of playing it, I had so much fun. The story, music, gameplay (albeit simple) was highly enjoyable and I had a load of fun.

Dead Space - The gameplay and the atmosphere created one of the most exhilarating I've had this generation.

Final Fantasy X - Loved the soundtrack, world, and characters. And although the gameplay was good, if it had the gameplay of FFXII it would be my favorite game.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - Amazing game, great cinematic experience, some of the best storytelling in a video game, and everything from the controls to the graphics to the sound is perfect.

Mass Effect 1 & 2 - I'm just pairing these two up because they are both part of a fantastic experience with great gameplay.

Super Mario Bros 3 - A rich experience and my first game. Absolutely love it.

There are more games that I could put on the list, but these are a few that I could think of.

Little King's Story a huge world to explore with tons to do

Outcast

Omikron: The Nomad Soul

Clive Barker´s Undying

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines

Planescape: Torment

Grim Fandango

Battlezone

Penumbra

No one lives forever

Myst IV: Revelation

System Shock 2

...among many others.

Pretty much any of the Resident Evil games that was released for the Nintendo Gamecube, I was a huge fan of the series back when it arrive on the PS and since I don't have that anymore I value it even more on the Gamecube. Other games I would like to add is Skies of Arcadia and Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic, both are great role playing games that takes a different approach from each other.