What makes a great game?

[lendelin]

The most basic of all Qs, and the most important. It plays a role when 'gameplay' is discussed for individual games, basic gameplay changes occur from 2D to 3D, game eras and genres are compared, and when gamereviews are criticized.

I'm puzzled by this Q every time I play a first rate game like Metroid Prime or the new Zelda which draws me in. In top 100 lists games are listed which cover more than two decades; very different games, very different hardware with very different gameplay, like a Galaga, Final Fantasy 3 and Gran Turismo 3. How is that possible? Obviously there are common characteristics of classic games which just makes them exceptional independently from different hardware and genre, but what is it? What makes some games just stand out?

????What makes a great game???

[Rev. Link]

I think this is a really subjective question that pretty much can't be answered difinitively.

Everyone has different tastes and views on what is good and what isn't. Some of the games you mentioned just happen to be liked by a great many people, probably for different reasons.

[Sotenga]

One word alone is the answer to this question, and that word is "opinion." Really, it's all about perception and what you conceive to be elite among video games. I'm sure everyone out there likes at least one game that is universally blasted for some reason. I like Gradius, but Gradius, as well as the whole genre of shmups is not everyone's cup of tea. For me, the graphics could be oversized blocky pixels, there could be no sound, the gameplay would be absolute dung, and yet, there could be a special charm to the game that keeps me coming back to it. It's all about what you think. This is why I'm not heavily influenced by opinions, even if I agree with them. I make my own tastes. What makes a great game? You do. That's all there is to it.

[KirbyStar27]

The two factors that I think make a game great are good graphics and exciting game play, Unlike ROLO for genesis. OMG that game is the stupidest game ever!!!!

[dave2236]

Replayability, Pikmin is so simple yet, I start a new game and see how many I can grow in 30 days, how fast I can finish (I've done 13 days) or how few I can lose in battle.

I also like difficult games and unlockable characters and boards.