40 Games critics should play

[J T]

I really like that board games are dovetailed in with video games because it immediately places the list into a broader thinking about games.

There are a fair amount of games here that I haven't played, especially with respect to the board games. I like this list for being so different from what I would expect, or what I would have put together myself.

I think the "we did it first" games aren't as important as the "we set the gold standard" games of a genre, though this list has a bit of both.

I think there are also several important genres absent from the list, like platformers and shmups, though it's pretty obvious that everyone should have played Super Mario Bros. and Gradius or R-Type to fill those gaps.

I think I've got to finally force myself to sit down with a real time strategy game some time. I can never get through the tutorial before I decide I don't have the time for it. I should probably play a proper roguelike for more than an hour too.

[Ack]

So...why Arkanoid instead of Breakout?

[J T]

So...why Arkanoid instead of Breakout?

Because Arkanoid is better.

Shatter was even better than that, but by that point, you should have already played Arkanoid and Breakout. Man, this kind of list is really hard to settle on.

[Ack]

It is? I don't really think so...

[Stark]

It is? I don't really think so...

Would have to agree with Ack on this one. Breakout is the original and had the added ability of using the paddle controllers on the 2600.

[MrPopo]

It is? I don't really think so...

Would have to agree with Ack on this one. Breakout is the original and had the added ability of using the paddle controllers on the 2600.

We'll have to agree to disagree on which is the better game, but we can all agree Arkanoid has the better name.

[Stark]

Agreed.

I've played 31/40 for 77.5%! Not too bad.

[J T]

It is? I don't really think so...

Breakout is the original and had the added ability of using the paddle controllers on the 2600.

+ lazers

[isiolia]

I know, that's why they are here.

The distinction between cardboard and code is arbitrary, it's smaller than the difference between live action and animation and the lines are so blurred it soon becomes silly to make a distinction.

Think about it. Civilization. Panzer General. Heroes of Might and Magic. Archon. X-COM. Final Fantasy Tactics. Source of the Nile. Heroes of Might and Magic. 1830. Boardgames in digital form. It's impossible to talk about Baten Kaitos without talking about Magic, it requires mental gymnastics because videogames and boardgames are one and the same. They are both games!

On a purely abstract level, sure, both board games and video games largely create a scenario utilizing a set of rules that translate player action into something (often) wholly unrelated. Sports, again, much the same thing. You have a set of rules concerned with balance and fair competition.

Where they differ significantly is the kind of rules and interactions that either realistically support. A DM can be creative in ways that a scripted story would struggle to be. At the same time, a computer can simulate an environment in real time that would be impractical for a pen and paper game.

Even games that aspire to recreate board games digitally have a number of factors to judge them on besides the core rules. Is the presentation clear, is the control well implemented, that kind of thing. The vast majority of games that take more advantage of the medium have yet more to judge. Physics that "feel" right, goals that are clear, combo systems that are intuitive, good/fair AI, whatever.

Simply put, there are a lot of merits to judge video games on that are unique to the medium. There would be for pen and paper as well, of course, or LARPs, or football, etc. In turn, there are ways to make a rule system work that are "right" for one medium, but not another.

I'd just think that a short list of must-plays would more appropriately focus on the defining attributes of video games as they have evolved over the past few decades.

For a scholarly look at game design, etc as a whole, then sure.

[jfrost]

It is? I don't really think so...

Would have to agree with Ack on this one. Breakout is the original and had the added ability of using the paddle controllers on the 2600.

We'll have to agree to disagree on which is the better game, but we can all agree Arkanoid has the better name.

And the better story.