As a friendly community service I put together a list of quality PC games that everyone who plays PC games should have.
Let us begin shall we?
Sim City 2k or 3k
The classic game of city hall, real estate development and un-ethical tax plans. This is the grand daddy of the simulation games and I have probably wasted too much of my life playing Sim City 2k.
The Sims and an expansion pack
The Sims is a guilty pleasure. It like masturbation. Everyone can have a good time alone but it is not something you brag about to your friends. But there is something so right about subcubing to virtual consumerism and blow all your Sim's bank account on a really cool place and then sleeping with the neighbor's wife.
Civilization 3
I don't play this game because I have seen what the empire building and empire crushing game can do to a person. It is like The Matrix.
Microsoft Flight Simulator
This is a game that people who don't like computer games like to play. Last time I played it in 1999 it was fun to take off from a virtual airport and find a virtual landmark and crash into it. I know that is morbid and in bad taste but I am not making it up.
Crimson Skies
A fun fun fun game of a weird alternative history with air pirates in the 40s and anti-zeppelin air combat.
Need For Speed High Stakes 1 or 2
Racing games made by Electronic Arts are fun but when you have to do your street racing while avoiding the highway patrol it really added to the adrenalin fix that this game provides.
Half-Life
Ah Gordon Freeman so glad to see you. The most refreshing first person shooter ever made with a compelling story line, great environments, perfect art and a plethora of game mods that will never end. Oh yeah and CounterStrike runs on this game.
Quake 1 and 3
You have to respect your roots and know your future. Quake 1 remains a brilliantly designed single player experience. Quake 3 is one of those games that causes gamers to loose all controls over their bodily functions as their spirt leaves their body temporarily. If you see a crazy kid on the street screaming about the Rockets you can blame Quake 3.
Update: "What about Quake 2?"- Kiwi.
I like Quake 2 but it did not floor me like Quake 1 and 3 did.
Unreal Tournament
I spent most of the later half of 2000 with Unreal Tournament. I don't want to get into a Quake 3 vs Unreal Tourny holy war but lets just say that I love them both but I will not tell you how much.
Return to Wolfenstein
While it is no where near the most historically accurate game set in World War 2, Return to Wolfenstein is a stunning first person single player experience that Quake 2 and 3 were lacking. I only wish that there was more swearing in German in this game.
Warcraft 2
The pinnacle of 2d real time strategy perfection. Great 2d animation and sprite design. I know Warcraft 3 is all slick and 3d but crushing a human camp with an army of 2d orcs is just plain fun.
Starcraft
I am just now getting into Starcraft the sci-fi follow up to Warcraft 2 and damn is it fine. Blizzard has not released a bad game yet. They were making a animated 2d adventure game that looked crappy but it got canned. One thing that I respect about Blizzard is that they will not ship a game before it is done and they will push back the release date to ensure a quality game. It is tough love.
Diablo 1 and 2
Oh yeah, 2d perspective sprites, top notch 3d animation and simple one handed mouse game play. Great moody music and online game play. Diablo is like a single player action game of old school Dungeons and Dragons. You can kill monsters with your right hand and drink beer with your left. Good times.. good times.
Fallout
My cousin Gavin insisted that I include this Cyberpunk Diablo-like RPG that is known for it's kracktacular game play.
These are just off the top of my head and if you have games to suggest let me know and I might add it on in a revision.
Have you tried Fallout Tactics yet? This one is a tactical version of Fallout. It is also cool because you can customise your own team and take on opponets from around the world. Plus it's only $20 now. Not that I dislike it or anything thing but Fallout 2 is better because it has it's own distinct "flavor" that more RPGs should have.
What about Quake 2?
And off-topic, Warcraft 2 took 11 months to code.
hubby likes that warcraft & wolfenstein stuff...i'd probably get hooked if i played the sims...:P
It is totally wack that you forgot to put Halo on the list. Dude it is the dopest game ever!
Halo is not a PC game. Yet.
I don't play Civ 3, but that's only because I got tired of waiting for my 30 or so automated workers to move every turn. Call me a philistine, but that game is boring as hell if you aren't at war with anyone.
My girlfriend, who categorically hates all video games, is a Sims motherfucking addict. Something about the combination of interior decorating and controlling people's lives really appeals to her. Me, I just like engineering complicated love triangles, squares, pentagons and dodecahedrons in which everyone is sleeping with everyone else, and then getting jealous when they see each other making out.
You can't have both Diablo games on a list of must-have PC games and then forget the Baldur's Gate games.
Ha! Many of those games aren't very good at all, comparing them to the best and most original works out there.
GTA2 is the definitive video game of all times. It's got everything, including very exciting multiplayer experience. That's a must see.
Try looking into the indie scene a little more, there's some right pimped out good games going on all over the place, and you don't even need to buy anything to get yourself hours and hours of entertainment.
For example, one of my all-time favorites is a game called "Leiro", it's like Worms, only it's realtime. Look it up, it really rules. (you might want to have two people, though)
Try a video game (it's kind of an old one now, though) called Cyberdogs, by Ronny West, or anything by a guy named Johan Peitz (freelunchdesign.com) it's all really good stuff.
And then there's BZFlag, it's not a classic, but I think it's schnazzie. http://www.bzflag.org/
In perspective, I've had more hours of fun on Indie video games then any $3million production cost, need-a-$3million computer to play peice of crap out there. (Doom rules though, try Doom Legacy! it's a 3Dfx version of Doom with Quake3 Controls)
GTA2 was the only game that I had heard of that you mentioned. I like the Dreamcast version of GTA2
I guess those weren't necisarily the best examples of "must play" video games, I guess they were more indie showcase kind of games.
Please, do not forget command and conquer and it's sequels