Fallout 2 - for expanding on already awesome and involving story and increasing the game size, time and fun dramatically. Also, thanks to this game and this game only my most favorite RPG kind is post-apocalyptic wasteland setting one.
Secret of the Monkey Island - the game basically redesigned the Adventure games genre. Thanks to it point and click adventures grew from interesting time killers to full size awfully funny stories. The graphics were not great in original (before the VGA update) but the gameplay... Let's say I play it to this day once every year or so. ^__^ Also, SCUMM engine... Come on, the games that followed SotMI for years used the mechanics and layout introduced by it!
UFO - Enemy Unknown - hugely progressed with the basic idea introduced in Laser Squad adding loads of depth, storyline and stategic/economic elements that defined the game and it's succesor as all time classics basicaly on the very day of it's premiere. I mean, what other game has so many fan and commercial made sequels that had never reached the level of original that is more than 15 years old now? Even very good turn based tactic games like Jagged Alliance based their mechanics on UFO's ideas.
Superfrog and Fury of the Furries - I know these are two totally different games but I belive both deserve being mentioned here. I played them initialy on my Amiga and then years later on a PC. I still do. Why? Simple, as much as the first one is my understanding of what proper "PC Mario clone" should be and how it should expand on the secret areas and multiple enemy kinds ideas the second progressed even further not only in the two fore mentioned areas but also added the puzzle elements as some of the levels not only required steady hand and perfect timing but also a lot of thought to it.
Frontier - I had some experience with Elite and some with First Encounters. But I've spend countles hours playing Frontier! I mean not only the game is huge (and I mean HUGE) in size but also gives you that uniqe sense of "living in space" thanks to it's open World sandbox kind of gameplay. And don't even get me started on the wormhole legends that were carried by the word of mouth on the game's golden days. It may have not been as huge success as UFO was but also spawned counteless more or less good followings like Privateer, Freelnacer, X series and so on...
Civilization 2 - Need I say more? ^__^ The game took what was best in first installment and built on it to create even better and more thorough experience. And when the Multiplayer Gold Edition was released I could not think of a better way to spend my free time. Well, I was pretty young back then and did not have a clue how to act around girls, so go figure why I was playing so many games. ^__^ There's not many more better gaming achievements in my opinion than seeing your small tribe progress to rule the World by fear and a power of Iron hand. Well, honestly I'm more of a peaceful tech based player but it just sounds lame. ^__^
SimCity 2000 - I know it's not the first SimCity game (third if not counting the addons) and not the best (opinions usually differ between SC3K and SC4 I belive) but it's the first one to be that in depth with the whole simulation and the first one to be so immensly enjoyable. I do understand the fact that original was available on nearly all platform of the time including C64 and Atari ST, but it's the 2000 version that really made a difference. What difference? The difference in understanding how simulation games should look like. They need not to be 16 color tiles and some charts anymore. They could as well be huge colorful Worlds (or cities for that matter) were things literally came to live, where cars rode the streets (and I'm not talking of crappy Streets of SimCity, even though you could actualle export your SC2K cities to it), buildings grew before your own eyes and the simulation whilst not losing in depth of all the charts, tables and statistics appeat to be "alive".
Pinball Fantasies - Not the first and not the most technicaly advanced but sure as hell the best Pinball simulation I have ever played on my PC. The tabeles were just fun and smartly laid out. There was a lot but not to many unlockables and game was very easy to pick up but darn hard to master. What else could one hope for in an arcade title!?
Mortal Kombat II - For many it's either the first part of MK or Street Fighter II were the definite fighting games of yesteryear. Not for me. Even though I enjoyed original MK more and liked the easy to master (on normal difficulty that is) gameplay of Street Fighter II, there was no other fighting game in the early 90's that I would've spend that much time on. Sure, more better games got released over the years since then & I enjoyed them as well but it's MKII that I played the most and literally strived to complete time after time. Funny enough, you would've thought that after playing a game so much I'd be good at it... The truth is, that now, after the years I suck at it even on the easiest setting. And I suck badly... ^__^
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