If you could play a game again for the very first time, what would it be?

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If we're talking about the same sense of wonderment, and innocence of later tech we had when we first saw the games:

- Phoenix, Ladybug, Star Wars, Dragons Lair, Firefox, Outrun, Space Harrier, Super Sprint, Kung Fu Master (all arcade)
- Manic Miner on the Sinclair ZX Spectrum
- Jet Set Willy on the Spectrum
- The Hobbit and Knights Quest on the Spectrum (text adventures)
- Knightlore on the Spectrum
- Elite on the Spectrum
- World Class Leaderboard (Golf) on the Commodore 64
- Turrican on the C64
- Stunt Car Racer on the Commodore Amiga
- Tetris on anything, but Spectrum initially
- Flashback on the Sega Megadrive/Genesis
- Tomb Raider on the Playstation
- Tomb Raider 4 on the Playstation
- Gran Turismo on the Playstation (also GT2, because massively-increased content)
- Silent Hill on the Playstation
- Broken Sword on the Playstation
- Need for Speed Hot Pursuit on the Playstation
- Soul Reaver on the Playstation
- Myst on the Playstation
- Final Fantasy VII on the Playstation
- Goldeneye 007 on the N64
- Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the N64
- Shenmue on the Sega Dreamcast
- Ico on the Playstation 2
- Shadow of the Colossus on the Playstation 2
- Okami on the Playsation 2
- Grand Theft Auto Vice City on Playsation 2
- Gran Turismo 3 on Playastation 2 (then GT4 because content)
- Limbo on the Playstation 3
- Forza 4 on the XBox 360
- Minecraft on PC

Phew quite a few there but I've been playing games since our first Pong-style console in 1980 (with something of a hiatus during the 16-bit years admittedly), also I realise some are better known for being on other platforms, but these are the ones I first played them on :)
 
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I think Gran Turismo 4 might do it for me, here was a game with a huge amount of cars, great graphics and for the first time available to me, it had Holdens in a "sim". The excitement around that game was huge for me.
 
Ratchet and clank 3. First game i ever played, and with the PS3 remake it was the first game i ever platinumed.
 
Burnout (The very first one)
Gran Turismo 4
Gran Turismo 5
Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition REMIX
Lego Star Wars II The classic trilogy

Basically every game I played to death because it was so great :P (I still play GT4 and GT5 tho :D)
 
Whew so many insanely great memories but I will try to name top contenders.

No specific order.
  • Grand Turismo 3
  • Grand Turismo 4
  • Grand Theft Auto Vice City
  • Grand Theft Auto San Andreas
  • Crackdown 1
  • Halo 3
  • Halo 4
  • Gauntlet Dark Legacy
  • Saints Row 2
  • Test Drive unlimited 1 and 2
  • Half Life 2
  • Fallout 3
  • Borderlands 2
  • Final Fantasy 13
  • Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2
  • Forza 4
  • Grand theft Auto 5
  • Fable 2
  • Kameo
  • COD: WAW
  • Burnout Paradise
  • Mass effect series
  • Gears of War series
  • Bioshock 1
 
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The feeling of seeing this new monster, something you'd never fought before, and either beating it, or coming back better prepared to win, was amazing.
 
GTA: San Andreas
Gran Turismo 2
Pro Evolution Soccer 4

All 3 left a long-lasting impression and fantastic memories for me, as well as a sense of wonder. These 3 games represent the games of my childhood.
 
One game I would love to go back and experience again for the first time is colony wars. I think the only other games I've vested as much time into is the GT and GTA series.
 
Number 1 would probably be Bioshock Infinite and the Under the Sea DLC pack. Probably the best story of any game I've ever played.

Gran Turismo 3 would be fun to go through again.
And Ace Combat Zero.
 
After some thought, there aren't that many games that gave me a "HOLY 🤬" reaction upon initial play, but here's what did:

-Pokémon....WHAT?! Game Boy was the most advanced thing I had for years, It was something completely different from anything I'd played before. I swear I played for DAYS at one point, no sleep. I know that I killed one set of batteries at least, actual battery failure. Blue was my first. Also about the only cartridge game that ever did it for me.

-WipeOut 1. NASCAR 98, Test Drive Off-Road 2, and Vigilante 8 showed me what the PlayStation could do, the pawn shop I was at bundled the PSX where the N64 was just the console for the same price, but even NASCAR didn't pull enough for 10-year-old me to justify spending my chore money, a bit more than $100. Then this caught my eye. Racing? Good start. Anti-gravity? Wait...what? Turning over the long box, six pics on the back, all similar, and all looked great. The shop allowed people to try games, so the clerk put it in and I had to be pried off the thing. Sold me on PlayStation, and while I never kept up with the series, it is one of those games that changed a lot for me.

-Gran Turismo 2. Fun Fact, I could pronounce "Mitsubishi" as a three-year-old. I've always loved cars, but I wasn't sure about GT. I'd played a bit of GT1 at a cousin's house, and while entertained we only did 2P arcade races. Once I'd talked myself into buying it...so I've always been stingy, sue me...searched to no avail. Going through Wal-Mart one day, happened to have my money on me and went through electronics, and at eye level was GT2 'Greatest Hits'. First thought "GT2? Is there more?", and dear God was there ever. I didn't have a memory card for years, so while arcade mode was OK, at this point my Simulation mode disc should be worn out. So many cars, so many tracks, so pretty, so FAST! This one surpassed WipeOut, and is without question my favorite of the series.

NASCAR Thunder 2003 and 2004. Odd, yes, but it changed my expectations of what a good NASCAR game should be. Anyone who played earlier EA NASCAR games will recognize that, being inconsistent aside, they did the job and not much more, up to Thunder 2002. Then it seems someone at EA Tiburon said," We can do better. We can make something that exceeds the status quo." and they did TWICE. 2003 is truly harder than any previous title, and yet became more engaging, to me at least. 2004 looked at you, looked at 2003, then looked back and said "That was nothing. Try me.". Sadly, 2005 dropped a massive chunk of challenge, and visuals for that matter, for trucks and modifieds. It continued falling with each new release.

Warship Gunner 2. So off the radar with me, knowing what KOEI made as well, I finally gave in when the local Blockbuster had ditched many non-sports or shooter games for next gen (read 360) games, including much of my PS2 selection. Six days later I considered buying it from the store, and rented it another 5 times before I found a copy for myself. It makes as much sense as applying anime to reality, and could be considered a 'Warriors' game with ships, but the ship builder alone is worth it. It's a slow boil, but it pulled me in and hasn't let go yet, if only the PSN copy was HD.

Kingdom Hearts. The first time I played it, I was in the prelude when fighting shadows when the camera was positioned in such a way that one I didn't know was there jumped into my screen, all of it, in a pitch black room, as a early teen. I don't think I've ever jumped in terror like that since, or moved so fast to turn off the system. Days later I tried again, and while the premise is...questionable, the absurdity of Disney and Square not just crossing but having a massive party was entertaining, fun even. I guess this would be the "Shock" entry.

GRID. I knew some about Codemasters, knew they still existed when I bought my PS3, but didn't know what they made anymore. My basis was TOCA World Championship (known as Jarrett & Labonte Stock Car Racing stateside) for road racing and Colin McRae 3 for off-road. This new shop in a nearby town had opened, and I was already starting to frequent it when CM came up. The guy said that this was a really good racing game, wasn't a sim like GT, but wasn't as arcade as Need for Speed or Burnout. J&L having clicked in my head as similar, I got it....two months later as I had to talk myself into it....don't look at me like that. Once I did get thought, it was an experience that brought a new train of thought to my gaming, and actually took some oft he light away from GT and Burnout Paradise. It felt like GT2, but like GT2 the cars felt different from each other. Then there were the visceral crashes and damage modeling that beat BP out badly. Then there was LeMans. Don't care that it's 12 minutes long, night driving is tense as hell, and the 911 is a PITA, but the combo is always rewarding when you do win.....or plow into a barrier at 160.

Last entry, ME2, Arkham Asylum, and Assassins Creed get a honorable mention.

DiRT2. Good off-road games are hard to come by, great ones are rare indeed. Knowing about Colin McRae before hand, through CMR3 and the internet, and knowing he was dead I wasn't sure what to expect. I wanted to play DiRT 1 first, but after three months I went ahead and bought it. The atmosphere is great, the immersion is amazing, the soundtrack is awesome (and a good bit is on my iPod), and the tributes are everywhere, and damn good ones on top of that. The whole game feels like a tribute to Colin, and I suppose it is, but it's so inviting and just damn fun it makes everything better. I love it.
 
GTA: San Andreas
Gran Turismo 2
Pro Evolution Soccer 4

All 3 left a long-lasting impression and fantastic memories for me, as well as a sense of wonder. These 3 games represent the games of my childhood.

Ah Pro Evo 4 the best football game ever made in my opinion, only 2015 has come even close to matching the standard of PES 4,5,6, always nice to see some PES fans!

Number 1 would probably be Bioshock Infinite and the Under the Sea DLC pack. Probably the best story of any game I've ever played.

Gran Turismo 3 would be fun to go through again.
And Ace Combat Zero.

I loved Bioshock 1 and 2, the story and setting was amazing, finally picked up Bioshock Infinite this last week expecting great things and although i thought it was a good game i just didn't really dig the story after Elizabeth had opened her 10000th different tear, was very let down, seems like i'm in the minority tho as everyone seems to love it.
Heard the DLC is set back in rapture so might give that a go.
 
Gosh, reading through this thread reminded me of how many awesome games ive had!

Well lets see...

Uncharted (entire series)
Ratchet and clank: going commando (ps2)
Test drive unlimited 1 ps2 (much better physics than xbox 360 version for some reason imho)
Splinter Cell: Blacklist

Battlefield Bad Company 2 online, (my first real combat game the level of immersion of such a fluid chaos blew my mind, i literally skulked around the bushes for the first few rounds just trying to get used to the insecurity of FPS not being able to watch you own back.
I play Battlefield 3 now, which is a great game, but once your brain adjusts its not quite the same.


Awesome, perception altering games that change how you see entertainment, are like the first time you hot rod in a car, the blood pumping, adrenalin dumping, endorphin gushing first taste of speed.
In every measureable way my current vehicle is far superior to my first car, and when I floor it I still get a grin, but its never the same as the first time.

maybe that would be another good thread, if you could experience something real again like the first time... pg rated only. lol
 
Gran Turismo 5.

There was just something about that game, the atmosphere. The fact that I didn't get a PS3 until 2011 so everything looked incredible to me. Driving a matte black McLaren F1 all the time because I thought it sounded and looked badass. The game just sent this sort of feeling that I don't think I can ever get again, how everything was new and looked incredible, as well as my first experience with online players.
 
Just simply: Fuel. I don't think a subsequent playthrough could match that excitement of exploring and discovering found during the first time through.
 
Colony Wars : Red Sun. That game blew my mind when I first played it on my PS1. The sheer scale of the battles, the cockpit view, the Star Wars-inspired ''Walker'' ships, the planets, it was simply incredible.
 
Colony Wars : Red Sun. That game blew my mind when I first played it on my PS1. The sheer scale of the battles, the cockpit view, the Star Wars-inspired ''Walker'' ships, the planets, it was simply incredible.
Glad I'm not the only one. I'll be giving Star Citizen a try after this semester as well. I am hoping it ends up being as awesome as the trailers make it look.
 
For me, it would really be any game that has a massive world to explore - Final Fantasy XII, Far Cry 4, Assassin's Creed and so on. I love finding out what's on the next horizon, or around the next corner.
 
Impossible task, but here are two that stand out above thousands others:

GoldenEye (N64)
Half-Life (PC)

If I had to pick just one then it would be Half-Life.
 
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