Well guys, just for fun, I'm wondering if you would be interested in posting what your favorite game, computer, and Video Card of all time are. I'll start of...

•I must say my favorite game to play is either AQ2 or Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force (on PCs NOW)
•Favorite computer is the MP G4/500
•Favorite video card will most likely end up the Radeon, if I get my hands on one

Go ahead all, post on!

--Nate Borland

[seanyepez]

My favorite computer has to be a 500-megahertz G4 Cube with RADEON, all maxed out. I'd like a Cinema or Studio display with that.

My favorite computer that I actually own... that's a tough question. Although I love my PowerBook (500-megahertz FireWire PowerBook with 384 megabytes of RAM and a 12-gigabyte hard drive), I have to give the gaming away to my desktop PC. I like ATi's RADEON and nVidia's GeForce^2 GTS. I have the nVidia GeForce^2 GTS (64-megabyte DDR AGP4x graphics card). If I were going for looks, I'll give it away to the RADEON. The FSAA and 32-bit graphics make everything look nice. Being a hardcore gamer, I hands-down love nVidia. I'm one of those all-railgun people, so I prefer frames per second ratings to beautiful graphics.

My system:

• ASUS A7V motherboard
• To-be dual 933-megahertz AMD Athlon Thunderbirds (currently just one)
• 512 megabytes of PC133 SDRAM (two DIMM's)
• 75-gigabyte IBM hard drive (7200 RPM, Ultra DMA/100, 2-megabyte cache hard drive)
• 34-gigabyte IBM hard drive (of the same specifications)
• 16x slot-loading DVD-ROM drive
• 12x/4x/32x CD burner by HP
• Iomega Zip 250 (with FireWire adapter)
• Floppy drive
• Leadtek nVidia GeForce^2 GTS
• ViewSonic PF815 22-inch flat CRT
• Creative Labs SoundBlaster Live! X-Gamer 5.1 PCI sound card
• Altec Lansing ATP5 4-speaker system
• 300-watt ATX power supply
• Elan Vital T10 chassis

I got it for $2,200 without the really expensive CRT.

I get about two to three hundred frames per second on timedemo 1 in Quake III: Arena.

Of course I'm using a very stripped-down graphics configuration for those tests. I usually get around 100 to 120 frames per second at 1024 by 768 with everything turned up (except 32-bit color anything).

My PowerBook, using the same settings, averages eighteen frames per second.

[seanyepez]

Even though Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force was cool, it was too short. I like the classic Quake III: Arena. It's the best computer game ever in my humble opinion.

Even though this has been debated in the past, Quake is more frantic and unrealistic to me. I love it. You can't change my mind.

Well, if you're asking my favorite game for all time, it has to be Mario World 3. Now that was the best game. And imagine those graphics! I got a full ten frames per second with excellent two-dimentional, side-scrolling graphics. My 19-inch TV was the best monitor I've ever had!

[This message has been edited by seanyepez (edited 10-29-2000).]

hehe, I never got a chance to play Mario world 3, but I'll take your word on its greatness :-)

I'm about to buy a new PC for gaming; right now I've got my G4, an old POS PC, and a PC that's only 533 MHz (celeron). I'm looking at a machine that has..

•AMD Thunderbird 1Ghz
•256 MB RAM
•30 GB HD
•ATI Rage Fury Maxx 64MB
•19" SVGA
•6X DVD ROM
•Floppy
•SoundBlaster Live Valve
•Monsoon Flat-Panel Speakers (i've got them now, they ROCK)
•USB Intellimouse
•Win 98 ME
•32 Bit PCI 10/100 Fast Ethernet

For a total of $1462.

I hope to be getting that within a couple weeks; it should rock for MORE AQ2!

--Nate

[seanyepez]

For the money you spend on a USB IntelliMouse, get about four regular IntelliMouse rodents. In my opinion, optical sucks for everything but railing in Quake III: Arena. Also, USB has a 100-hertz polling rate which can't be changed. However, "ps2rate" can overclock non-USB/serial mice to sample as high as 200 hertz. It's way better for gaming.

I wouldn't go for the 1-gigahertz AMD Athlon Thunderbird if I were you. Save your money and get a 933-megahertz chip. They're basically the same speed, and with the money you save now, you can upgrade to a 1.4-gigahertz (or whatever) in a year or so.

I'll have to take your advice on that one Do you think the video card will be pumpin out the frames?? I'm trying to get as high as I can with FPS. In my opinion, the trackball is PERFECT for FPS gaming. I love just using my fingertips to look around, with the other hand on the arrows to move. I only strafe with the side arrows, never move with anything else. Just my opinion

--Nate

[blizzard]

Any particular reason you're getting the MAXX when you could get a Radeon, GeForce 2, or VooDoo5? It may have two cores, but they're still RAGE 128s, and, as far as I know, not as fast as any of the new video cards. Don't have any benchmarks to back it up, I'm afraid, it just kinda would make sense that it be a little slower than other cards you can buy. Personally, I'd say sean has the right idea with the GeForce 2, although I'd go with an MX just because it's a little bit cheaper. OK, a hell of a lot cheaper. But that's just me, and I don't have a lot of money.

I really haven't had much experience with playing with vid cards; I use my Rage 128 right now in my G4, and a POS in my old PC. I was thinking about getting a radeon ASAP, but haven't had the chance yet... What would you suggest putting into my G4?

--Nate

[pikachu]

1. Best game ever. Metal Gear Solid. Easy. This game was better than most movies I've seen, most books I've read, and .... just incredible. I wish I had amnesia so I could play it again without knowing what was going to happen.

2. Favorite computer? Oh. Um, that would be the iMac gamers edition with a 2 gigahertz G4 with 512 megs DDR ram, the system bus cranked to 500mhz, and a one terabyte harddrive. It also only weighs 20 lbs, and has a wireless T3 built into it. Its pretty sweet.

3. The organic video card in the iMac Gamers edition. Its organic, and it reprograms and grows and gets more intelligent, so it will never need to be updated.

Ca$h

PS: can the admins please quit deleting my aliases? its annoying.

[Adam Silver]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Final Fantasy IV (released as Final Fantasy II in the United States) is the best game ever. No game had a more involving plot. The music is still the best I have ever heard from a game.

Unfortunately, the game Americans got was not the true Final Fantasy IV. Our game was severely cut and censored.

Yo
One of the best game ever, to me, was civilization
The first edition was incredible. Basically, with tose kind of gams, U never have two games that are the same.

I love Diablo2, but doing al over the same quests in nightmare and in hell gets a bit boring in the long run.

My fave computer at the moment is mine. A simple G4/400, with Voodoo 5, Ultra-wide 2 HD, 512Mb RAM. Of course, a cinema Dispaly would make it even better.

At the moment, I'm perfectly happy with my Voodoo 5, although I'm looking forward to play a bit with the RADEON to compare

Cheers,

I'd have to agree with all of you on your game choices. They are all very enveloping, and, of course a lot of fun. Metal Gear Solid... I TOTALLY forgot about it! It was a VERY fun game.

--Nate

In my humble opinion, Starcraft is one of the best games going.

Nothing else really has the balance of reflex/strategy/tactics that SC does. Best network game ever.

Mr.F

[mike one]

best game: Unreal Tourney. graphics are head above shoulders over any other FPS, yes even Q3A. game play is wicked. infiltration mod is a thing of beauty.
second runner up: myth II. of all the games i've played in my life that has to be the one I played the most (online of course). i don't think anything will ever compare to it. simply insane strategy.
no game will ever keep my attention like that one did.

best comp: tough question. i like what i have now, G3 350, 256, 20GB, cdrw, zip100, sony 17" 200ES. g4's i use at work aren't any faster. i would have to say though that i'd buy a PC to play games if i had the dough laying around(even though windoze is crap). Frames/sec is so much better than on any mac i've used. graphic card options are insane, and the hardware allows you to take full advantage of the graphics cards, unlike current macs.

i'd love to buy a voodoo 4 or radeon, unfortunately i'm not sure which to get, and since radeon isn't out on PCI yet i'll have to wait.
voodoo 5 is overkill i think since macs can't even saturate the card. from what i've read... just my opinions.

peace,
michael

[blizzard]

Nate - for the G4, I'd say go with a Radeon if you felt you had the money to spare. Keep in mind that because it's going into a Mac, you won't notice a significant rise in frames per second, but you will be able to play at much higher resolutions with minimal impact on performance. When I answered the previous question, I thought you were looking for a video card for your new PC. For that, I'd say go with a GeForce 2 GTS or MX. I don't see much point in both upgrading the Mac and buying the new PC though. Might as well use the savings from one and go all-out with the other.

Ca$h/pikachu - I'll try to resist the temptation to randomly delete your posts in the future =).

Thanks for your advice; I'll probably be nabbing that new PC in a couple of weeks Hope everyone is enjoying GMC (games.macnn.com) as much as I am in helping with it. Please keep visiting, the site rocks!

--Nate

[BritneySpears]

Actually, you havent been deleting posts. People just keep banning my name. Give it up! I can always get new ones, but its annoying. I'm not breaking any rules with these names....

Ca$h

PS: This name in particular RULES

Well everyone, thanks for outpouring of comments on the subject. Let's do this one final thing..

Pick your FAVORITE genre of game..

• FPS (First Person Shooter)
• Adventure
• 3D Action
• RPG
• Fantasy

Feel free to post comments along with it; especially about which video card I should buy!

--Nate

Okie, this is my last reply on this topic 'cause it can go on and on for years, as we all love games and have our preferences.

I choose RPG

And I don't really HAVE to chose a graphic card, cause these kind of gams run with just about anything, which is another erason why I vote for them (I'm running some of these games on a 6100/66 and it works just fine)

Cheers

Someone further up noted FFIV as the best game ever; I'd have to say that both ff6 and ff8 are far, far better, especially no. 6. It had the best game soundtrack ever, an excellent, compelling story, Kefka was the GREATEST villain in the history of gaming, and wonderful old 16-bit graphics, along with innovative gaming style and millions of side quests. I have been playing it since its release and have not tired of it yet.

Mmm, favourite genre, eh? Can't say I have one.

I guess if there's a common theme running through my choice in games, it'd have to be space. My favourite FPS title is Marathon (the entire series), my favourite flightsim is Freespace (PC only). I used to like Starcraft a lot until I discovered Homeworld (PC only, again!). I used to like those crusty old Spacequest adventures. I want to try Terminus, but I don't have a fast enough machine.

But then again, I'm just as likely to spend a few hours in Quake as I am to sit and play puzzle games or even some card solitaire.

Maybe I'm just wierd :-)


Geoffrey

Ultima V on the Commodore 64.

Yoshi's Island (Super Mario World 2) on Super NES - very innovative use of the SNES's graphics capabilities.

And my current faves:
SimCity 3000 (although I wish the Mac had the 'Unlimited' version),
The Sims,
X-Plane 5.4x

And I love my iMac DV SE (400mhz). Its abilities are more than capable for what I currently use it for (gaming and music-wise), and its small physical footprint actually works out perfectly for my new desk\den, which makes looong sessions of Sims or X-Plane very enjoyable. I want more, but I'm surprisingly content for now.

oo, and as a Jeffrey P, i have to add in love of space too. i haven't played the marathon series for years (i'm not much of a firstperson shooter fan), but my favorite feature of X-Plane (expanded in 5.42) is trans-atmospheric flight, and the mars flight feature (using real atmospheric and topographical data from mars. Which means - no, you really can't fly a concorde on Mars! And you can't fly a Mars plane on earth (except up in the thin atmospheres, like 80,000 feet)).

A game that I loved on the Commodore 64, whose name I can't remember (I've been hunting some emulation sites for it, but not knowing what its name was it's kindof hard), was a sim-space-station game. You had to fly the shuttle up to the new space station being built (if you didn't stay in your launch window, you could end up too far away to do effective work). You had to put modules together and get some crew up there and stay in budget and have enough resources (oxygen, food, etc) to keep the crew alive. It was actually very hard to build a successful station.

Building and Flight Sims definitely dominate my gaming right now.

(I really wish Roller Coaster Tycoon was avail. on the Mac).

eucci, the other jeffrey p.