Why you game

[Dale Weir]

Which games (keep the list short if you can) would you show to a stranger as the best examples of why you game?

I ask this because an acquaintance had asked me recently for games that demonstrate why I game. She had assumed I'd be all about Call of Duty and trying to defend or sell that franchise to her.

I was pressed to give an answer so I admit that I didn't think too hard about it. I picked out six games. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Bros and Super Mario Bros. 3, Final Fantasy II and Ico. I guess I picked these games because of the great experiences I had with them and the fact that they are easily playable despite their age.

I don't know if I convinced her of anything or not. (I don't really care if I did because we weren't really friends.) But it did get me thinking about the selections I made.

I'll admit that I haven't done much with the current-gen consoles (PS3/360/Wii) and I didn't mention a lot of the more hardcore experiences because there is the issue of her being able to actually play these games if she were interested--hence no mention of the Metal Gear Solids, 3D Legend of Zeldas or FPSs.

Anyway, what's on your list? What should I have put on mine?

[RandomRob]

Dreamfall
Abe's Odyssee
Clock Tower
Riven
Ring of Red
Just cause 2
X-Com: Enemy Unknown

...any Puzzle Quest game

I'd also mention the Fear Effect series on Playstation. Very ambitious, sad it never got a follow-up.

[Dale Weir]

Originally Posted by RandomRob

Ring of Red

Did you really mean Ring of Red or did you mean to type something else?

[RandomRob]

one of my fave mech strategy games ever ever ever

[Pedro]

All my picks are from the current console generation, not because of age, but because I came to gaming late.

I'd approach this from the point of view that you'd need to draw that person in - so cinematic games with a framing story at the start:

Read Dead Redemption: this has a great intro where Marston is escorted onto a train, then listens to the passengers talking about civilising the West, with their hypocrisy on full display. Then he disembarks at a town straight out of the classic westerns. Powerful.

Of course then you have to control him and he immediately gets caught in the scenery but whatever.

ICO and Shadow of the Colossus would also be great examples of this - try and intrigue your friend with the framing story.

Limbo would be a good platformer example as it is so striking and has that gruesome element right off the bat that appeals to us all. It also has just two inputs - move and jump which would simplify things.

For men, racing games such as Gran Turismo.

I'd certainly choose games with very light gameplay elements to start off with.

In summary - strong on the visuals and the emotional impact, light on complex gameplay or controls.

[frogofdeath]

I would pick one game from the consoles I've had the most experience with, but even that makes it hard to keep the list short

NES - Super Mario Bros. 2
GameBoy - Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
SNES - Super Punch-Out!!
Genesis - Sonic the Hedgehog
N64 - WWF No Mercy
Dreamcast - Samba de Amigo (w/ maraca controllers)
GameCube - Metroid Prime
DS - Picross 3D
Xbox 360 - Red Dead Redemption
Wii - WarioWare Smooth Moves

This was kind of a hard list to put together as there are so many other great games that I would want to show off. There is only one other game I would definitely include: Tetris.