Zardon

This isnt a thread about what game you think PLAYS the best, but more a thread so we can all share our gaming experiences, and what has been the most immersive gaming session we have had.

Ill elaborate. What game have you played in say in the last year which has just blown you away visually with audio to match?

Ill state mine but it might be a bit of a surprise to you as ive been quite outspoken about how poor the game has been, and in some respects I still feel that. However I feel the potential with the engine is quite amazing.

Mine would be, Doom3 Resurrection of evil at midnight, when the neighbours were away for the weekend. Of course the atmosphere was helped by a high end gaming system I built..... I cranked it up on my gigaworks speakers until the walls shook when I fired the double barrelled shotgun at the monsters, all via an FX55 system with XFX 6800 ultra in SLI, all firing through a Dell 2405fp at 1920x1200. Quite delicious !

I thoroughly enjoyed the whole aural and visual experience, even if after a while it got quite monotonous (it is however quite a bit more playable than the original). No engine I feel looks quite as nice as this at night and to create a horror atmosphere, its damn scary (well more it makes you jump) in parts too.

What gets your heart pumping?

FDM80

I also have not exactly praised this game as well. Doom 3 was the first game I have ever played where for a little bit I actually felt a little scared. I really didn't expect that to happen so it is something I remember. I also remember the highly repetitive gameplay as well. I also found myself very involved in some levels of Far Cry. I'd say those are the 2 most recent games I've been "immersed" in.

I also remember when I was around 10 years old and my neighbor and I used a code to give us each 8 lives in Contra on NES and we beat the game. Really the first game we ever beat and at the end we were so excited that we were screaming for joy. That was a long time ago though.

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CDsDontBurn

On PC, I would have to say that the game i have played in the last year that has really gotten to me would have to be HL2, followed by Doom3. HL2 I enjoyed for its puzzles. I enjoyed the fact that HL2 would make you think throughout the game. Most FPS games you just walk/run and shoot at everything. Not HL2, well, not always at least .

On console, I am going to side with Halo2. I enjoyed Halo alot, and Halo2 was far better I feel. But I guess I am just a Halo dude .

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Dark Lord

for the PC it would have to be...

HL2, its just looks amazing and you can do almost anything you want to in it.

followed up with Doom3 + expansion. playing it in the middle of night, 5.1 cranked, graphical settings maxed. the game looks absolutly amazing.

and of course farcry, just simply because i love jungle shooters.

on the console front....

Resident Evil 4. the game is amazing in every aspect. graphics, sound, story, aiming system, hit system, everything. i honestly dont think ive ever played another game quite like it before.

Gran Turismo 4. whats more to say for it other then its almost perfect?


heh, i guess the game that made the biggest impression on me has been Silent Hill, the original. that game has scard me for life.... it may have something to do with the fact i was about 8 when i played it, but in my mind its still the scariest game ever made. heh... couple years ago power went out at my school and an heavy heavy late afternoon fog rolled in.... that was a great day.....

MSX

Immersive?

System Shock 2: Never have a squeeled and recoiled in horror so much durning gaming.

Theif series: The games have you stop breathing so the undead don't notice you.

Silent hill one: You really feel like your in the nightmare that is silent hill.

But I digress, nothing really recent aside from RE 4. Well made horror games seem to be the most immersive for me.

topbob

The release night for Half-Life 2, was waitting all day and listenting to the HL2 release party radio heald by gamesurge, then we all counted down and started it up. Was a very special time for me because I had been waitting for the game to come out anxiously for nearly 2 years. Once I started playing it, I was overwhelmed in the detail and getting to know more about the story.
was a very fun experience.

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Sargentwhitey

Gran Turismo 4 for the most immersive driving experience.

However, the Cradle level in Thief Deadly Shadows, late at night, with headphones on and the lights off. As well as barely having enough ammo and health to survive, scariest, most immersive moment of any game.

Edit: That one, and the original Thief The Dark Project, The Bonehoard had me on my toes, as well as the Cathedral, I'll never forget that level.

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Drakon

On the pc, it would have to be Half Life 2. It had the visuals and gameplay to back it up. Some of my favorite moments of the game were Water Hazard and Follow Freeman. I mean what gets better than tearing down in a waterboat trying to dodge Combine shooting at you with guns and rockets? Plus with Follow Freeman fighting those Striders was fun as well as a pain


On the console it would have to be God of War. The game is just fricking great. Sweet graphics, excellent gameplay and sound. Memorable moments would be fighting the Hydra in the first level, although I knew what to do in that fight, cuz I saw it in a movie. The other moment would have to be fighting the giant Minotaur. That was the hardest boss at that point in the game. It was very frustrating and yet intense trying to get those movement combos in order to weaken him. Did a bit of sweating and cussing too Having the klipsch 2.1's to deliver some sweet sound was a boost too

riles9262

Lately: system shock 2. Old game, but really immersive and scary.

Past year: would have to be far cry. It's a great game all around.

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BWX

Immersive... to me it has a lot more to do with the game play than visuals and sound, however they are important.

Richard Burns Rally for PC, the first and only true rally car driving simulator. Physics are perfect. Force Feedback, Perfect. Sound, Very good.. sometimes pretty amazing actually. Visuals, very good.. Lack of AA (without artifacts) is a downside.. but still very good because it uses alpha blending for most textures. With some tweak programs 4x SSAA is available though. It's all just a backdrop to turn your PC into a driving simulator anyway. Unless you have played this game for more than 3 months with a Logitech Momo, or comparable FF wheel, and really truly enjoy driving sims, you just couldn't possibly understand. It doesn't take much of an imagination to feel like you are actually inside a car, dodging trees and sliding around turns on a bumpy dirt road. Sadly, few have the desire, patience (or skill?) to enjoy this sim.

Farcry was great- best AI for FPS, totally puts you in the action. I just started a new game a couple weeks ago. It is different every time. Put AI on Auto balance, things get interesting.

HL2 looked great too, and AI was OK, but the whole world felt quite dead, artificial, and just not "alive" like Farcry.. It could have been photo-realistic with GFX from 10 yrs from now, it wouldn't make any difference. It would still be the same game. It was fun, just not immersive as FarCry.. Doom III to me was like target practice while being caught in a rat maze. It looked great -but again, didn't matter.

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BiGBrOwNPimpsta

half life 2 is by far the most interactive game.

but i think metal gear solid 3 tops it all for me, when snake is put into the mission by halo drop with good sound system it is stunning. you really hear the propellers turning, wind on his jumpsuit, major zero briefing him feels so real.

gran turismo 4 is great, but you really need a crazy tv (my sony hdtv is OK) and true 5.1 sound system and steering wheel to get the full effect. i tried the simulator version at the autoshow that made me dizzy it was so realistic

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davidnsibs

Max Payne - There are plenty of well hidden attackers that make you jump when opening a door and turning a corner, and the dream sequences and cut scenes really involve you and create a great atmosphere

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wiskerbizkit

Most recently would be vampire the masquerade- bloodlines. But in the past year definately Half life 2

kelticknight

farcry,cod

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Necrosis

1. Cod plus expansion
2. Fary Cry
3. Doom III plus expansion
4. HL2
5. The Suffering
6. Max Payne Series

That is all I can think of right now.

BWX

Oh yeah I forgot about COD- it was great. I little bit too linear, but besides that- extremely immersive.

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BiGBrOwNPimpsta

jedi outcast really put u in the role of a jedi really well done. doom 3 is over-rated, graphics are nice never scared me though.

splinter cell you get a nice feeling of stealth, but metal gear pulls it off better with the story

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Necrosis

Yeah forgot about Jedi Outcast.

Splinter Cell is good too, I like the 1st and Third installment. Never played any of the Metal Gears.

The_Neon_Cowboy

to many to list

"ENEMY Territory" Last knight "total ownage"
CS:S when there aren't hackers and when my shots actually register good
Used to play COD and before that medal of honor series


One of the best multi player game was one killed by atari UNREAL 2 XMP they bought out the maker and shut down the master sever makeing it almost impossable to play and find servers. You have to find severs or lists on the web. Becouse it rivals ut2003/ut2004 and is better in many ways. Later they have rolled out pharo wich is ut2004 based (total conversion mod type) and somewhat quite simular to UNREAL 2 XMP & Tribes. But nothing has the feel of XMP Atari gave lame arse resaons as to why the master severs was down. Funny it was never down before they bought the company. They even let the domains go! the original markers website, the game it selfs website, the master sever adresses All gone. I hate you atari!!!


They still sell Unreal 2 with "XMP" multiplayer on the boxes WICH was added to the
boxes and advertised by atrai as well. Some one should sue them big time

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quakerjtf

Max Payne and Max Payne 2, Remedy has a great future.

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Bruuce

I agree that the gameplay has to do with the immersion for me than graphics and sound, (sometimes).

Raiding with 60 people in Everquest was a rush, especially when you know of the lore of the bad guy you're fighting. Basically, most of the 60 people have the same goal in mind, the team aspect was the immersion. Far Cry was great also even though I only played the demo. The AI was smart but not too smart, (on easy lol), which alot of people seem to like. No one wants to play a hard as heck game.

I only played the demo of HL2 and I didn't like it. Part of the reason was the graphics were buggy on my system. There are alot of games out there but not a lot that pull you in.

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Mazuko

I would have to say my most recent top 4 immersive game play experiences have been Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic (played it for 53 hours straight!), Knights of the Old Republic II (Only took 20 hours to beat this one ), and finally The Suffering. Call me crazy but that is one of the freakiest games I have played in ages. The running across the yard level always freaked me out! Finally there is the original Silent Hill. I remember getting the game thinking wow this is one good looking game! Than I remember going to the school and being attacked by babies with knives as I was trying to run away from a filleted human hanging on a wooden door.....I have never looked at dark fogy alley ways and an empty school the same way again.

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brutusmaximus

Probably Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, then Doom3, I liked both of those, I love high quality graphics and both played well.

Half Life 2 looked like cardboard cutouts in parts, game was boring too.

kelticknight

forgot max payne,hitman,rainbow 6,ghost recon,igi

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Lowfat

Almost any online blizzard RPG. In a game where I think i am going to definately an underdog, but coming out on top.

Another is seeing my brother play Wolfenstien 3D when it was first release. He had 2 massive speakers hooked up, and the chaingun sounded just awesome.

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Stop It

For me it has to be the Kotor series, basically because of the storyline, it draws you in if you let it, especially the first one, you feel like part of the story, rather than being brought along by it, it was the most engrossed in a game ive been since FF7, still my favourite gaming experience.

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torrobinson

Well, the most "immersive" is Halo 2 on XBox Live. But onyl once or twice have I actually been sweating. and forgot I was playing.

Off topic: the most nostaligic for me is Duke Nukem 64. When I was 6, my brother and I would play that of hours on end. Only we wouldnt kill, we'd play "house"-sort of. Example: "OK, I own the Duke Burger, and you'll own the Gun Shop". Then we went through a phase of machinamation without actual recording. we'd just have someone be the "camera", and someone else would act. It somehow brought us through all of the levels. Thats why I'm still hyped because (although it's not 64), I got Duke Nukem 3D for my Pocket Pc. Somebody ported it. Somehow, after almost 9 years, I still remember the levels, their secrests, and how to beat them... :o

Warpy

We had some problems in Australia recently with power outages and bizarre quakes in the State of SA. Now I know why...

Doom 3 has been the most atmospheric game I have ever played, made me jump and occasionally change my shorts, this was before I became so disappointed with game play that it fell beneath my coffee mug. Visual graphics and sound would have to be Far Cry 64bit.

The most immersive game would have to be Guild Wars; a game that requires you to have a fair bit of spare time.

Dyre Straits

This is actually gonna be a tough call for me. I do want to include Half Life 2, BUT, I'm still so steamed with STEAM I don't want to encourage them.

So, my list of most immersive gameplay would go like this:

1. Far Cry
2. Max Payne and Max Payne 2
3. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
4. Mafia

Honorable Mention: Half Life 2

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cheese_thief

I like your's and Riles's tastes.

My most immersive moment was playing System Shock 2. When I play that game, I play it in huge chunks at a time, so I get so immersed that I keep playing. I don't need 5.1 sound (earphones all the way!), don't need normal maps and pixel shaders, it's just me, the Von Braun, and the legions of ghouls between me and whatever the hell I'm trying to get to. When I played the Shalebridge Cradle in Thief: DS, I got scared enough to stop playing after 20 minutes of gameplay, and come back to it when I was feeling up to it, but SS2 was exponentially scarrier and immersive, and wouldn't let me stop playing. Now thats a prettttttyy damn immersive experience! Also, not very many games can go from creepy to balls-to-the-wall action like SS2 does.


And the original Thief, yea, I also have forgot to breathe on numerous occasions

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