[SKOPE]

Surprised no one has suggested these yet.

God of War (PS2)
Action game heavy on puzzles and story. All other action games will feel weak after you play God of War. Seriously. This is what Prince of Persia: Warrior Within could have been had Ubisoft created a new game instead of ruining an existing series.

Just to warn you, God of War is rated M (Mature 17+) for every reason a game could be rated M. If it were any more in any category it would be rated AO (Adults Only). Think before you let a child or teenager play this.

The Bard's Tale (PS2, Xbox, Windows)
(The new one, not the original trilogy.) Action RPG. Funniest game ever; Al Lowe and Ron Gilbert have nothing on Brian Fargo.

Mocks every gaming cliche out there. Fourth wall regularly broken with The Bard and narrator arguing with and insulting each other. (Come to think of it, characters arguing with and insulting The Bard is a common theme in this game.) Silly songs and Snarky or Nice (or, rather, Snarky or Less Snarky) dialogue system are nice touches.

Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future (PS2, Dreamcast)
Cannot be categorized into a single genre. Action, adventure, exploration; this game has everything. Emphasis on puzzle solving.

If you have both a PS2 and Dreamcast, go with the PS2 version. The Dreamcast version has numerous technical and gameplay issues fixed in the PS2 version. Not to mention the complicated nature of this game makes the Dualshock 2's (or Cordless Action Controller or whatever you prefer) additional buttons and analog stick welcome.

[Captain Blondebeard]

Not sure whats been covered here but if you liked Morrowind the 4 game in the series is due out at years end. It's called Oblivion.

I'm also seriously enjoying Battlefield 2. My user name is ZombiePirateLechuck

[Ariel Type]

All of those exellent story-driven platformers, such as Another World, Prince of Persia 1-2, Oddworld series, Ecco the Dolphin, Black Thorne, Heart of Alien, Herat of Darkness and great freeware game Doukutsu (Cave Story).

And one of the best games that came out in the last 4 or 5 yeras, Mafia, which is also a story-driven action game.

[Tobbe]

Final Fantasy..(didn´t check if it was already mentioned..)

[Jeysie]

I've recently just discovered and been playing Jagged Alliance 2, and I'd have to recommend it to anyone who also likes or doesn't mind trying strategy games.

Oodles of crazy characters and hilarious writing... you could almost get your money's worth from the game by simply doing nothing but sitting around making your characters bicker and banter with each other. The various NPCs and quests are quite entertaining as well, and as you progress through the game you get little cutscene updates on the bad guys that will have you rolling.

Of course, the main thrust of the game is squad-based battles, and the turn-based system is quite fun and intriguing, albeit very challenging. (Feels kind of like Fallout on steroids.) I don't ordinarily play strategy games, though, so someone who does might not find it quite as difficult.

Finally, IIRC, Josh Mandel of Sierra-dom was one of the writers.

Peace & Luv, Liz

[samIamsad]

Originally Posted by Jeysie

Finally, IIRC, Josh Mandel of Sierra-dom was one of the writers.

Really? I didn't know that. Always wanted to get it - its predecessors were some highly original and quality games as well. Each character has a personality all of its own.. it's amazing. Too bad Sir Tech isn't around anymore.

[Jeysie]

Yep, I just checked through the manual (*mutters unpleasant things about budget packs and PDF-ized manuals*), and sure 'nuff he's in the credits. That explains quite a bit.

I picked up the Gold Pack version several months ago (yes I am very, very bad at getting around to playing the games I buy) at my local Electronics Boutique for something like $15 USD, so you might still be able to find it pretty easy. (I've heard there's also another updated version called Wildfire... don't know anything about that one, though.)

Peace & Luv, Liz

[BerserkerTails]

Haunting Ground

I can't reccomend this game enough. It's a survival horror for the PS2 by Capcom, but with very little fighting involved. It's mostly all running away from evil people.

Thing is, it has very logical and great puzzles. Plus you can examine almost anything in the castle you're stuck in, more interaction than most new adventures these days.

Also, there are a few sudden deaths that are sure to please fans of old Sierra games (Though there's always quite a few warnings about the deaths, something that will please the Sierra-Haters).

It's a great game, and my friend and I consider it an adventure game, as it didn't feel like any other genre but adventure.

[Kwiksnax]

Baldur's Gate 2.

Hands down my favourite game of all time.

It's Even more complex and replayable than Planescape:Torment (which I also love).
Great character interaction (your party members are all unique and complex characters. They'll have conversations with each other, and your player character can even enter romantic relationships with some NPCs).
Epic storyline.
Dynamic gameplay (being 'good' or 'evil' really does change the fundamentals of your game).
Great environments and atmosphere.
Highly customizable role-playing.
High replayability (you'll never experience everything this game has to offer with just one play through).

And these days you can buy the box set for cheap from most game stores!

It's a role-playing masterpiece! Get it!

[Ninth]

Originally Posted by samIamsad

Really? I didn't know that. Always wanted to get it - its predecessors were some highly original and quality games as well. Each character has a personality all of its own.. it's amazing. Too bad Sir Tech isn't around anymore.

For your information, I don't think JA2 is quite up to its predecessors. It's still a very good game, but its over ambitious scope makes the fun more diluted than in Deadly Games, which is in my opinion the best in the series.
Of course, the graphics are much better than in Deadly Games, too.

EDIT: Wildfire is some kind of expansion that makes the game even more difficult than it already was. I recommend trying to kind the original JA2, if you're going to buy it. Which you should.

[seek83]

Ninja Gaiden - XBOX

If u like fighting and cool adventure then this is the toughest you'll find. Mercilessly unforgiving on any unsuspecting player. Amazing production value's, cutscenes, nice simple puzzles, and ridiculously awesome fighting system. Wahtever u say, one the best action adventures around. One of the best games around. 80 hours of crazyness.

Sid Meier's PIRATES!

ARH ME HEARTIES. The sheer enjoyment and immersion this game provides for you while travelling the high seas of the caribbean is amazing. treasures! skullduggery! dueling! pillaging! And you can dance with governor's wives! bonus!

[Captain Blondebeard]

What type of game play is Bards Tale? I know it is an RPG but there are so many differant types.

[BerserkerTails]

Originally Posted by Captain Blondebeard

What type of game play is Bards Tale? I know it is an RPG but there are so many differant types.

Well, the new one for PS2, Xbox and PC is an action RPG. A bit of a hack 'n slash, with some strategy involved in "summoning" teammates and such.

The original three are very much turn based RPGs, played from a first-person perspective.

[Captain Blondebeard]

Originally Posted by BerserkerTails

Well, the new one for PS2, Xbox and PC is an action RPG. A bit of a hack 'n slash, with some strategy involved in "summoning" teammates and such.

The original three are very much turn based RPGs, played from a first-person perspective.

So it is simliar to Morrowind with a comical side? Nice.

[SKOPE]

Originally Posted by Captain Blondebeard

So it is simliar to Morrowind with a comical side? Nice.

More like Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance with a sense of humor. The new one has a top-down third-person view.

Come to think about it, it's exactly like Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance with a sense of humor.

[Tramboi]

Originally Posted by seek83

Ninja Gaiden - XBOX

If u like fighting and cool adventure then this is the toughest you'll find. Mercilessly unforgiving on any unsuspecting player. Amazing production value's, cutscenes, nice simple puzzles, and ridiculously awesome fighting system. Wahtever u say, one the best action adventures around. One of the best games around. 80 hours of crazyness.

and so hard too

[seek83]

Originally Posted by Tramboi

and so hard too

damn straight. LIke i said, 80 hours of madness; though I suspect seasoned fighting gamers would get thru it in 20-30. lols. One thing tho was the very end, the very last boss was strangly easy... probably because by then the game's forced you to become so good. I downloaded from XBOX LIve the 'master ninja tournament' ... I can't even get thru the 1st lev.. !

[ozzie]

I recommend Heretic 2. Actually, this game hasn't much of a story and also it is pretty much fighting, it has a pretty unique, and often a bit scary atmosphere. It's actually a while ago I played it. There are some NPCs to talk to and there is an evolving, but still simple story. I think I came about the third in easy - and I played it already for days. It is really HUGE, but very, very fun. I actually think that most action games, most FPS feel a bit stiff, not so this one. Theoretically, it also has some real puzzles with items, but actually they are solved for you when you stand near the right object. I guess this was made that no action player would get frustrated because of them. Oh, and for all those who are really bad with timed sequences and in action games overall, the game is really easy on easy, I think I only died like 5 times then.

Of course, Seiklus. Does this need any more words?

Hm, can't think of any more right now.

I actually LOVED Fallout 2 & Jagged Alliance 2 but stopped both playing them for various reasons. The first one then when I found out that map squares which aren't marked as some special zone or town are only random. I think that broke my suspension of disbelief too much. Maybe it wasn't that bad at all, I know only that I was disappointed by it. I had better to learn for school anyway. I played it really for days and nights....I think in this point it was pretty bad design. I mean, you could drop some item there and loose it forever when you leave the scene. So you would become easily...well, not exactly stuck because of the open-endness of the game, but you wouldn't be able to solve some quest. You wouldn't do it when you know about it, however. It's just a bit silly because the designers made everything else so damn right. Well, but when I think about it...okay, except combats...I mean, they felt for me like Jagged Alliance VERY light. Well, I maybe should conside that it came out earlier, nevertheless it has just too many faults. Actually, it doesn't allow many tactical variations, it's always basically hit, move back, then the enemy goes towards you, then in next move you again hit, move back. With stronger enemies you often have to move two moves back. Also, I found it a bit strange that I had to turn my character in the right direction so he could attack the enemies properly. Why he couldn't do it on his own? It took me also a long time to figure out how I should place him properly so he would hit the enemy at all, it wasn't really obvious. This all makes the combat very tedious. The were also some bugs I've noticed...I'm not sure if I should have patched it because I actually have it from a more recent issue of a gaming magazine...well, maybe they were just too dumb to patch it. However, I enjoyed the many possible decisions and the dialogues. Also the atmosphere was great, too. Overall it was much more good than bad, I loved it with all its faults. I think I should pick up again.
Well, after I wrote a half review of the game although nobody asked me to do it really, I cut the story short for the reasons with Jagged Alliance 2: I felt like the computer enemies were cheating. Really, it frustrated me. Also I knew I would win the battle overall, although with many many injuries, it just didn't feel fair. Had also some nasty bugs.

Oh, I remember now two other games every adventure player should play. THe first one is Evil Twin (but only if you can bear a very bug-ridden game, well certainly not, I had a love-hate relationship with it) and the second one is, of course, Psychonauts.