Replay value
Author
What game have you played that had the greatest replay value, and how did they implement it?
Mine would have to be Fallout 2. They made it so that the player''s actions affected the outcome of another action later on down the road. Kind of a, "Kill this guy now, or else he''ll hurt you later; or kill him now, and get paid by this guy for killing him; or... " It just had so many differnt routes for the player to take.
The game I''ve spent the longest time with is undoubtly Half-Life. The possibility to change EVERYTHING not specific to the game engine (C++ code, models, maps, textures, sounds etc.), has proven to be a very successful concept. I still play HL modifications today (hell I''ve been programmed my own monster which was really stupid 
!).
Most games I still play today and much have been modifiable in some way or another: Half-Life, Close Combat 3, Civil War Gnerals II, Europa Universalis II etc.
!).Most games I still play today and much have been modifiable in some way or another: Half-Life, Close Combat 3, Civil War Gnerals II, Europa Universalis II etc.
I always thought it was odd when people thought of Half-Life mods as essentially Half-Life itself. Counter-strike isn''t Half-Life. They are two separate different games.
That said, Counter-strike is the game I''ve played the longest. One reason is because it had continual updates over the span of years, and still does so. I really hope that with XBox live, downloadable new content will take shape, even if it means paying a small sum of money. The new costumes for Dead or Alive 3 that came with an Xbox demo disc got me playing that game again. Other games should follow suit.
That said, Counter-strike is the game I''ve played the longest. One reason is because it had continual updates over the span of years, and still does so. I really hope that with XBox live, downloadable new content will take shape, even if it means paying a small sum of money. The new costumes for Dead or Alive 3 that came with an Xbox demo disc got me playing that game again. Other games should follow suit.
In the sense that Unwise Owl was talking about, Counter-Strike IS Half Life. Its the Half-Life engine, Counter-Strike is merely a HL Total Conversion modification. Total Conversion means that you take an existing game and change the code, the maps, the models, the weapons, everything but the engine itself -- but its still based on the Half Life foundation. Without HL, CS wouldn''t exist.
Anyway, I''d also say that I''ve spent more time on Half-Life-based games than any other -- Counter Strike and its endless maps, Day of Defeat, Opposing Force, Firearms, Neil Manke''s mods, and of course Half Life and HL Deathmatch.
Thief also had a lot of replay value for me because I enjoyed exploring the maps and trying different methods of accomplishing the missions -- some more difficult but more profitable than others.
Hm.. also Curse of Monkey Island and Grim Fandango, not because they had a lot of replay value, really, but simply because I loved them so much I had to play through them each three or more times. And I just got Neverwinter Nights, I''m hoping that will be the kind of game I can play for years to come.
What else -- well really any game that has 1) multiple outcomes or choices or 2) that can be extended by the user community (or both). I''d say those are the two elements that can really boost a game''s replay value.
Brian Lacy
Smoking Monkey Studios
Comments? Questions? Curious?
brian@smoking-monkey.org
"I create. Therefore I am."
Anyway, I''d also say that I''ve spent more time on Half-Life-based games than any other -- Counter Strike and its endless maps, Day of Defeat, Opposing Force, Firearms, Neil Manke''s mods, and of course Half Life and HL Deathmatch.
Thief also had a lot of replay value for me because I enjoyed exploring the maps and trying different methods of accomplishing the missions -- some more difficult but more profitable than others.
Hm.. also Curse of Monkey Island and Grim Fandango, not because they had a lot of replay value, really, but simply because I loved them so much I had to play through them each three or more times. And I just got Neverwinter Nights, I''m hoping that will be the kind of game I can play for years to come.
What else -- well really any game that has 1) multiple outcomes or choices or 2) that can be extended by the user community (or both). I''d say those are the two elements that can really boost a game''s replay value.
Brian Lacy
Smoking Monkey Studios
Comments? Questions? Curious?
brian@smoking-monkey.org
"I create. Therefore I am."
But essentially, even though it runs on the half-life engine, counterstrike is NOT half-life. Yes, it''s good that games such as half-life can be modified, but this is NOT the same thing as a replayable game. This is a modifiable game, which means you can buy the game, and download lots of cool addons later.
With games like the sims, they took this modifiable aspect and actually made it almost part of the game. The line between modiiable and truly replayable gameplay gets a little fuzzy in that case.
But I think it''s important to not only talk about modification, buttruly replayable gameplay. Games that you can play over and over, even if the game never gets a mod in it''s life. Fallout 2 is a good example, although I never got into it, but both the first and second fallout had so much flexibility that multiple plays can still be fun and interesting. The theif/deus ex/system shock games all are very good, because although the games are fairly linear, there is a lot of choice in how you go through them.
With games like the sims, they took this modifiable aspect and actually made it almost part of the game. The line between modiiable and truly replayable gameplay gets a little fuzzy in that case.
But I think it''s important to not only talk about modification, buttruly replayable gameplay. Games that you can play over and over, even if the game never gets a mod in it''s life. Fallout 2 is a good example, although I never got into it, but both the first and second fallout had so much flexibility that multiple plays can still be fun and interesting. The theif/deus ex/system shock games all are very good, because although the games are fairly linear, there is a lot of choice in how you go through them.
I game I tried hardest to replay was TIE Fighter. I just wanted to complete all the secret objectives on HARD and see if I could obtain the highest level in the Secret Order of the Empire.
Never made it
Always missed one or two of them.
Never made it
Always missed one or two of them.
Chrono Trigger. Twelve endings, and a lot of gameplay.
AnonymousPosterChild!
Black_mage_s in disguise!
AnonymousPosterChild!
Black_mage_s in disguise!
I would disagree that playing CS and Half-life is still the same game. Just because the engine is the same doesn''t make it the same game. (Playing Unreal doesn''t mean you have played DeusEx.) CounterStrike is so different that it is no longer the same. DoD and Firearms are close enough to CS to call them the same game. Just my opinion of course, which makes it as good as an international law. That''s in the UN charter somewhere...
Anyway, as to the original post: Anything with mutually exclusive paths. You mentioned Fallout2. I played it four times just to make sure that I had tried everything. Also, I STILL play Darklands. There''s just so much to do.
ShadeStorm, the Day_Glo Fish
Anyway, as to the original post: Anything with mutually exclusive paths. You mentioned Fallout2. I played it four times just to make sure that I had tried everything. Also, I STILL play Darklands. There''s just so much to do.
ShadeStorm, the Day_Glo Fish
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