a: very good question, considering how MAME is wasting all my free time.
at the moment, it's NBA Jam TE, but that's just because I'm hugely nostalgic of the days spent in Stillorgan Bowling, Dublin trying to finish it, back in 1994. On the whole, I'd better give an articulate answer to this (indeed) very complex question.
- The video game which stirred the deepest involvement/emotions (hey, I was a kid): Quest for Glory II, which was my first graphic adventure and also one of the first things that made rahvin and me become friends back in 1991.
- the video game which i have enjoyed most in the recent past: Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4.
- coin-ops I couldn't really live without because they're so fundamentally good: Final Fight (it's on the MAME as well. hah! i've already finished it once), Street Fighter II, Chase HQ (first good steering wheel type of game), Wonderboy, Ghost n'Goblins - although playing these last two on the emulator simply isn't as much fun as I anticipated.
- coin-ops that have a special place in my life: Shinobi because I played it in 1989 during my first summer in England, and spent almost all of my pocket money on it; and City Connection (I didn't even know the exact name until last night, but I couldn't forget the screen, gameplay etc) because I spent ages looking at people who played it without ever being able to play it myself - I was too small.
- a coin-op i'd really love to see again but it's nowhere to be found: can't remember the name but it was a police academy kind of thing, you had to pass a number of dexterity, EHC etc tests.. there was a gun and you had to shoot still targets, moving targets etc.
- coin-ops i cannot stand because they bring me back memories of boredom and, incidentally, big ilaria, even if the games themselves are good: klax and street hoops (not sure about the name, two-on-two street basketball)
- coin-ops i played without liking really, just because the market was weak: windjammers, football champ.
- best rpg of old: lands of lore I.
- most disappointing rpg of old: lands of lore II and III.
- best adventure game evah: gabriel knight I most probably, although police quest IV probably comes a close second along with a bunch of other sierra games.
- best multimedia for the time: day of the tentacle, hands down. well, maybe dragon's lair, too (i had a long academic discussion with a mate last week about this exactly), but dragon's lair was totally unplayable.
- coolest characters: under a killing moon.
- most addictive shoot 'em up: doom II.
- best atmosphere: quest for glory IV.
- best sim: the corporate machine.
- most disappointing non-rpg: well, i can't even remember the name, but it was a business sim sponsored by (of all people) james coburn, and it was supposed to give one the unprecedented thrill of power etc etc. bunch of lies, very boring sim and no thrill at all.
i could really write for ages about this subject, so i'll stop now.
q: same, same. regale us with your videogame expertise.
