| one vote just not enough
i agree that one vote isn't enough. for me it was between fallout and system shock. i remember playing the old gold box games and EoB, but both fallout and system shock really brought the genre to new levels--though in different ways.
in the end, system shock got the nod because i just remember so many different moments, playing late at night, scaring myself silly. but of all the system shock moments--from both 1 & 2--the most memorable has to be the end of the very first floor. it probably took me a few days to get through that whole first floor. 1) i usually start a game a few different times as i get used to the mechanics and play the first few bits differently just to see how i want to play overall, and 2) i had just started working then and no longer had the option to blow off class and play computer games.
but anyway, i still remember fighting my way through and finally reaching the elevator. the door slid shut, and i remember feeling the relief that i had made it through. and then i heard it... muzak playing over the elevator intercom. the feeling i got from that tiny ridiculous bit of "realism" has only ever been surpassed by the "haunted house" level in Vampire: Bloodlines.
and finally, i agree with not including the infinity engine. while i don't remember any muzak in the elevator bits, it so rejuvenated the genre there wouldn't have been any other realistic choice.  |