In the order in which I played them:
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 - Between the ages of 6 and 12, I worshiped a lot of things; the
Power Rangers, Ryan Giggs,
The Galaxy Rangers...but none came close to my love for Sonic The Hedgehog. He was (as the TV show put it)
way past cool. His games were super fast and super fun. Sonic as a character sparked something in my young imagination like nothing else before it. I'd draw pictures, read the comics, make up stories and play it with my friends.
Shenmue - In the year 2000, at the age of 13, I knew nothing of PC games. I hadn't even heard of the point and click adventure, so
Shenmue on Dreamcast was my first truly story-driven gaming experience. Unlike
Final Fantasy or
Resident Evil,
Shenmue didn't have flat backgrounds that you hopped between. It was fully 3D that
didn't look blurry, warped or suspiciously empty. You could interact with the environment and talk to everyone that roamed the streets. You could participate in cut-scenes and fight like in
Tekken. The characters felt like real people to me, and I wanted nothing more than to get my revenge on Lan Di, the man who killed my father.
It really was the title that opened my eyes to gaming beyond cool mascots, extreme sports and survival horror. I know I always bring up
Shenmue, but hey - what can ya do
That's just how much it means to me.
Fallout 3 - Who knew that a desolate wasteland would be so compelling to explore? To me,
Fallout 3 is the first open world game where your character feels like a part of the environment and your decisions feel like they really have an effect. The world itself is so well-realised, with a variety of realistic and interesting locations, seamlessly strung together.
The Longest Journey - I've never experienced such an interesting mix of magic and science, in all mediums.
TLJ's world(s) are simply captivating, and the sheer amount of thought and detail put into them is marvelous.
