Your Personal Criteria?

[Monica]

What makes a great video game to you? I'll make kind of a form, and y'all can fill it out too. I'll use Not too Important, Important, Very Important, and Most Important and give short discriptions.

Graphics: Not too Important - I like 16bit and up, but as long as the plot and gameplay are fun, I don't care.

Plot: Most Important! - I am an extreme RPG fan, the story MUST be good! If the story isn't good, the game is wrecked! Examples of stories I like are Tales of Symphonia and Xenogears and Golden Sun and Megaman Battle Network. A story I had to stop playing was the Megaman X RPG, ugh...

Length: Very Important - I really love long games and don't like short games. IMO the short ones aren't woth $50

Gameplay: Important - I need stuff to equip, dungeons or places to explore, treasure to find, towns to visit, people to talk to, etc

Battling: Very Important - I like simple Turn-based battling and SO3 and ToS-style action, and I like when the charecters gain new abilities during battle or leveling up. I didn't really like FF6 and Chrono Trigger "Active" Turn-based Battling.

Audio: Not Very Important - I suppose the music should be good, but I don't really notice it while I'm playing. I do like voiceovers but they aren't vital.

What about y'all? Feel free to add stuff. :)

[Daarkseid]

I'll just give my take on RPGs, since its one of my favorite genres.

Graphics: Not Important. I still play Dragon Warrior games(nes versions) on occasion. They're awesome, despite having, even for their time, primitive looking graphics(only the character designs for monsters were any good).

Plot: Not too important. A plot definitely adds to a game, and a good plot will make a game fairly incredible. However, I find myself forgiving alot of RPGs for having mediocre or even lame stories, because of the gameplay options.

Length: Very Important, largely because I really do prefer games that require time and dare I say it, work to complete.

Gameplay: Most Important. FFX didn't have a particularly compelling or likeable plot, but the character building grid system kept me glued. This was probably the only FF game in which I actually completed every little side-quest, because I wanted to maximize my character's stats and abilities on the grid. I ended the game with everyone possessing an average of 68,000 HP, 3500 MP, and 255 of every stat(including Luck), as well, they all possessed their fully upgraded legendary weapons. I wound up beating the final boss in a single hit from Auron's sword, which did 99,999 points of damage. I'm not really trying to brag or anything, but the grid system and the way in which the side-quests were presented were such that I was very much compelled to take efforts to such a hideous extreme.

Battling: Very important. Also a long diatribe:
An excellent and fresh battle system can also have the same effect as compelling gameplay. FFX's conditional timer battle system was quite refreshing, after having played 6 FF games that used the same ATB system concocted in 1990(or possibly earlier). Its turn based, yes, but theres a meter indicating the upcoming order of turns, and the individual commands you issue to your characters when their turns come up will show how they affect the actual order of turns. This means using some attacks will cause a character to either require waiting more turns for their next attack, or waiting fewer. This makes a battle system that was actually much more strategic than anything ATB had.

Also, its the battle system in Chrono Cross that largely causes me to place it above Chrono Trigger. CT used a modified FF like ATB system that didn't particularly impress me, while Chrono Cross's elemental system(which is a little difficult to describe) actually made battles fun and in alot of cases, require actual attention.

Another great battle system in an RPG is in the Shadow Hearts series, which uses a ring with a moving indicator on it to determine the lethality and success of attacks. The ring will have sections of a different color, and the indicator(like a clock hand) will move clockwise along the ring once. At which time, you'll want to press the X(cross) button when the indicator has moved over each colored section. If you fail to hit the button while the indicator is over those areas, you'll score a miss. So a normal attack will have three green hit sections(of varying size). If you hit the button in time to hit all three sections, your character will hit the enemy three times. Theres also very tiny Red sections that are even harder to hit, but hitting them causes the attacks to do critical damage. In the case of Shadow Hearts 2, the game actually has a running score for your game that is raised by getting successive perfect hits(hitting every red section on the ring).

Audio: About as important as plot. Excellent music will definitely add to the games appeal, but I can let it slide if its terrible if the gameplay or battle system is good.

[MacWeirdo42]

Graphics - Well, graphics quality doesn't matter so much as artwork style... Also, I want the graphics to be solid. In other words, it can be low-polycount, but it'd better not look like the model's broken, and there'd better not be jaggies.

Plot: Eh, the plot's a throwaway... Just as long as it makes reasonable sense... And I don't want the plot to be so vital that it kills replay value.

Length: I certainly want to feel like the game was worth it. Then again, shorter games tend to have higher replay.

Gameplay: Um, yes? Don't really understand this category.

Battle: Had better be fun and enjoyable. And I want to feel in-control at all times... I hate turn-based combat, it totally ruins the fun and takes you out of the game. All in all, I think this is one of the most important aspects of a game. If you make it fun yet challenging to kill stuff, I'll buy it.

Audio: Eh... Good music is a must.

Replayability: THIS IS A MUST!!! I want to be able to play the game over and over again, and still have fun... A good example is Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow... I've lost count of how many times I've played through that game. It's a real blast, though. The game is just really good, and it doesn't get repetitive or boring. Same with Super Mario Bros. Then there's Tetris, which is a whole different matter altogether.

[Orion]

There's two things that will make the difference between a mediocre game and a great game for me. The mood the game provides (which is not necessarily dictated by graphics or music), and how captivating the game is (for instance, if a game is bad in my book, I will play it maybe for an hour or two before I lose motivation, and never play it again. However, many games I can get completely drawn into and play over and over again. It also can't be too complex to pick up, I either need to get the hang of it right away, or I will rarely ever play it again). That said..

Graphics: Not too important - Some of my favorite games are NES, SNES and Genesis games.

Plot: Not too important - Games I can pick up and play, like sports games and multi-player games are just as great as any game with a story.

Length: Not too important - Maybe I lack patience, but I'd rather have a quality short game than a mediocre long one.

Gameplay: Very important - For reasons specified earlier

Battling: Not too important - Many of my favorite games don't have "battles"

Audio: Somewhat important - good music won't make a game great, but horrible music can really get to you.

[Eckels]

The thing that none of you mention, that is of the upmost importance to me, is controls. Video game controls should work like an extension of a person's mind. Anything less, is a failure on the part of the game designers, in my opinion. Try naming a great game that has poor controls. You won't find one.

And I don't necessarily mean, "oh the fire button should have been here", or "why can't my character swim?", but when controls are supposed to work in a certain way, and they're sluggish, or choppy, or if there's lag between button presses, or whatever, it'll kill the game, and whatever awesome plot, graphics, etc etc, could have made the game great.

Honestly, a game could have a truly unique and fun premise, but if the controls suck, it's garbage.

And then the second most important thing about a game is the basic principle of the game, which I guess you would call gameplay. I tend to prefer unique games. I'm not a huge fan of sports games, or anything where there's 500 versions of the same thing.

Something I picked up recently was a game called The Indigo Prophecy. A pretty neat game, check it out. When I get a chance i'm going to try out that Shadow of the Colossus game too. Right now I'm working on From Russia With Love (best bond game since goldeneye).

[Grasshopper]

Because you like RPGs so much, it sounds like this is geared toward RPGs, but what about people who don't play RPGs, like me? :) Here's my take on this...

Graphics: Important - I wouldn't say its not important at all. For one, the type of game dictates what type of graphics is needs. Some games can get away with it, others, no. For instance, I want a WWII shooter, or scary games to look good, because it adds to the atmosphere, and for those games, you need the atmosphere. For other games, like handheld games, something I want to play quickly, I don't need something flashy. So I don't really care. 2D graphics look awesome when used in the right situations.

Plot: Important - Meh, I'm not a story guy. (I know this is geared toward RPGs :) ) I want lots of action. I'm not saying I don't like a good story, but I'm not dependent on it. For one, I play a good deal of Rollercoaster Tycoon 3. I like it. No story. 'Nuff said. :laughing:

Length: Not Very Important - Thats the reason I don't play RPGs. Too long. I don't have time to invest in long games, and when I try to, because I lack the time, I usually loose the interest too. I want to feel accomplishment, and I can't if I have to play the game for 60+ hours. Blah...So the shorter the better. A good game can still be about 6 hours to me. And who's stopping you from playing it again and again? Katamari Damacy, Call of Duty, ICO, these are some games I beat really quickly. But I was extremely satisfied with the game. Plus, I'd rather beat the game wanting more, than beat the game thinking "It's about time"

Gameplay: Most Important - Of course, I can still get into RPGs if the gamplay is good, and frankly, I don't like turn based games if they're really slow paced. Some turn based stuff is cool. Advance Wars for example. I like dungeons, treasures, towns, but not all games have to revolve around that. :) Basically, I'm happy if a game does what it does very well. Pikmin was pretty cool for instance.

Battling: Not Very Important - I'm with Orion here. Most of my favorite games don't even involve "battling", unless you're referring to shooting someone in the back with a flak cannon, or chucking purple pikmin at a Queen Bulbax. But I will go on the record saying that I like real-time battles better. It feels more... epic, for lack of better words.

Audio: Very Important - Good audio. I like good sounding stuff. Orchestral music, good sound effects. Something that really gets me in the mood to play the game. Call of Duty has some really good war music, LoZ: Wind Waker has a great little irish jig that played at the menu. I loved that song. Silent Hill 2, Ico, Katamari Damacy, that stuff was good audio. :)

[*b*]

graphics: depends on the style, and the quality. if it's really cartoonish (not WW cartoonish. poorly drawn 2-year-old cartoonish), then I won't even bother. also, if you can see each seperate polygon (head, torso, legs, arms), then I'd probably try to find something else. graphics are really important to me

music: the music dosen't have to be fantastic, just as long as it fits with the theme. I don't want a Bond-type theme in the middle of a holy temple

story: not all that important, but if it's a good storyline, I'll suffer through some of the shortcomings in the other areas

gameplay: if the controls handle well, and there arent' any real complex commands to pull off a certain move, then I'll play. but if I'm smashing the forward button with all my might, and my character just walks, I'll pass

[MottZilla]

I prefer Retrogames over current games personally.

Graphics should be of good quality for the time frame in which the game was developed. Same with the Audio. Story isn't THAT important to me. Gameplay is critical. Replay value is very important too.

It's all about enjoying the game. And about the 50$ which nowdays is 60$ with Xbox 360. The last game I bought was WarCraft III for 60$. It was worth every penny. But that is a game with insane replay value. Plus I bought the expansion which is like making it a 90$ game or so. It was still worth every cent. I logged soooo much time on that game.

Anyways, it's all about you enjoying it or not.

[Petoe]

I like action/adventure games the most. This is what I think:

Graphics: As long as the graphics won't hurt my eyes like some PSX graphics, I don't give a damn about graphics. The best games ever released are 8 and 16-bit after all. ;)

Plot: Well obviously this depends on a game. A Mario or Zelda game is fine without a story, but from an RPG I demand a good story.

Length: The longer the better usually. I like to get my moneys worth. But if the game is lenghtened with cheap stupid tricks like the triforce hunt in WW, well that just sucks.

Gameplay: Very Important! - Gameplay is everything. The game has to be challenging enough, but easy enough to learn quickly. The game must offer some surprises and epic stuff etc.

Audio: Very Important - I just love good music. An awesome soundtrack can make a mediocre game like a FF7 an unbeliveable experience! And FF6 is my favorite game ever not only because of it's spectacular story and characters, but the f**** fantastic soundtrack.

[Aegix Drakan]

these are my criteria

Graphics: I like games with good graphics, but I won't complain if they are not.

Plot: There has to be a plot that grabs my attention and glues it to the game like it was superglue! If the plot sucks, then I'm much less likely to enjoy the game. and if there is no deep plot, then The gameplay must grab my attention.

Gameplay: This has to be good! How can you have a good game with crappy gameplay?

Multiplayer: This isn't really a requirement, but a good multiplayer mode adds much more fun to the game, especially if you have a lot of friends.

Replay value: I especially like game that make you want to play again, and again, to get a beter score, or unlock something, or to get a different ending.

Length: long, but not too long. It has to be long enough to be a challenge to beat, but not so long that it gets repetitive.

Audio: A good soundtrack is the icing on the cake. If the music is amazing, I will sometimes play a game just to listen to it!

[KingArthur]

here we go,

Graphics: not really important, my absolute favorite style is low-res 2d with modern particle effects and the like, see cave story

Plot: Definately a plus, in rpg's anyway, i prefer a plot that makes me want to find out what happens next, even if the story itself is crap.

Gameplay: well, yeah. if it aint fun to play why play it?

Multiplayer: I tend to favour games with some sort of multiplayer mode, after all, the best times are to be had playing with your friends

Replay Value: a must for me, once i beatg the game it should be fun enough to go back and do things i missed, or just generally screw around

Length: depends, if the game has no real replay value, the game itself being long can make up for it, but a short game that you can always pick up and enjoy is good too.

Audio: yes, there is nothing worse than crappy music in a game. it doesnt have to be full on orchestral stuff, but as long as the song istelf is fun to listen to, i'm there (see, Dragon Warrior)

[Archibaldo]

I prefere RPG's but if has other good qualities, I'll get it.

Graphics: Kinda important. I find it easier to concentrate on a game with better graphics. That's probably why I've never beaten any NES games.

Plot: Most Important. If the story sucks or is waaay to cliche, then the game sucks.

Length: Very Important. I don't want a game to last only like 15 hours of game play. As long as it has 30+hours, I'm happy.

Gameplay: Very important. I don't want to have to manage too many things. Like making sure your party members,person your protecting stays above 75% or you fail whatever it is while you're trying to keep your self alive.

Battling: Kinda Important. Every game has its own style of battle. The only kind I can't stand is the Mortal Kombat or the platformer battle styles.

Audio: Not Very Important. I can turn the volume down if the audio bothers me too much. The voice overs are kinda neat though. But I'm not illiterate(sp?) so it doesn't matter.

[AlexMax]

I honestly don't have any of these types of criteria. I simply play it if I look at it and it looks interesting, and depending on my reaction, I either continue playing or not play it for more than a few hours.

However, being a "cult classic" and hearing about a game via word of mouth certainly helps pique my interest in the first place.

[Spiral Flame]

I agree with Alex, I don't exactly think about what in the game interests me. I let my eyes decide what games are good to play, and what games aren't.

[VT_Hokie_Fan]

Graphics-Important. I can play a game with bad graphics, but great graphics are always a plus.

Plot-Important. The plot has to be semi-good, even though I can play a plotless game, depending on how fun it is.

Length-Important. I'm okay with short games as long as they have replay value(I'm talking to you Beyond Good and Evil)

Gameplay-Most Important. If the gameplay sucks, the game sucks. Simples as that.

Battling-Very Important. The battles don't have to be extravagant, they just have to be fun.

Audio-Very Important. That's why I like the Final Fantasy series. Great music. Playing a game without sound effects in music sucks, so why not play a game with good music. I'm also a big music buff, so :).

[algam86]

Ok, here I go...

Graphics: Eh. As long as there aren't any major glitches while I'm playing, or too much stuff that looks out of place without being on purpose, I'll play it.

Plot: Also eh. I don't tend to be bothered by the story unless it's totally stupid and makes no sense.

Length: Depends. If it has replay value, it can be short. If it doesn't, it better be long, or cheap. Best if it has replay value and length to it, like Final Fantasy, where there's a ton of stuff you can do besides the main story.

Gameplay: If it's unplayable, I'll quit. Otherwise, I won't play anything with tedious management systems, like so many PC strategy games. No sims of real life, because it doesn't make any sense to waste your life playing through someone else's. Otherwise, I'll play anything except sports, and few fighting/racing.

Audio: Better be good. I hate playing games when they're muted, so if the audio's not good, I don't tend to play it.

Hm.