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amok: Chess?
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dgnuff: I'd stack Go against Chess for this award, since it's about 1000 years older.
Go might be older, but i would argue that Chess surpasses Go in gameplay.

If we are going for oldest game, then it need to be something like or [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backgammon]Backgammon
Indiana Jones and the fate of Atlantis

Tie-fighter

Midwinter II

Age of sails

Red Baron II

Morrowind
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Zookie: Occasionally a great game comes along that totally redefines the benchmarks of a genre or a particular style of game within a genre. After that it becomes the game that subsequent titles try to emulate or out do. So my question is what is the oldest game that you can think of that has never been out down by a later title?
Master of Orion II.

It stands the test of time and no game in the genre has ever come close to being as good as it.
Well I've been reading a bit of history about


EVE Online

There appears to be nothing else like it still. Sure there is X2/X3 but for what EVE Online does, it's ahead of anything else.

I will see if this is true after I install the Bounty Hunter starter pack sometime this year.

Oh to fly among the stars!
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dgnuff: Have to disagree.

City of Heroes released six months or so before WoW, and while it wasn't a wow killer by any stretch, it did very well in its early days. And it most certainly wasn't a "swords and sorcery" WoW clone.

And then there's EvE online.
CoH and EvE were in production for years before WoW. What did MMOs look like after WoW? Sword and sorcery hotbutton mashers with a level of difficulty akin to something you'd find on the Sesame Street website.
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Robbeasy: True that X-Wing / Tie-Fighter had the mechanics, but Freespace 2 single-handedly killed the single-player space sim genre stone dead, as it just couldn't really be bettered
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jamotide: Spacesims are dead because nobody buys the Spacesims or cares about them, just like nobody bought Freespace 2. There have been some good X and Evochron games,as well as various mediocre ones, nobody knows about em, but still complain that no Spacesims exist. Not even the recent two well publicized Spacesim kickstarters acknowledged the existance of any spacesim after Freelancer.
I backed one of em and wouldnt be surprised if they end up really good, but sell very badly.
I bought Freespace 2
Nobody's mentioned Myst?
Counter-Strike will always hold a spot in my heart as one of my favorite FPS games. I spent 6+ years of my life on that game and went to LAN tournaments.. Definitely better than COD, and I've played both franchises. Then again, it is all a matter of opinion.
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Faenrir: Master of Orion II.

It stands the test of time and no game in the genre has ever come close to being as good as it.
That one I can agree on. There have been some that came close to it, but for some reason I always end up with Moo2. Hopefully some russian genius will appear out of nowhere and make something like Eador:Orion...
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TwoHandedSword: Nobody's mentioned Myst?
Myst was instrumental in the point and click genre and deserves high honor for what it accomplished in its time (its even still fun today)... but IMHO, its not even in the top 10 when talking about games that reign in the genre.

If the topic were, what games defined their genre?... I would be inclined to pick Myst. But we are specifically talking about games that have not been surpassed by other games. I can't claim that a game without an inventory system or even the ability to move around in the game world outside of hotspot clicking can contend with the tech that has come after.
Portal - for whatever genre it is, not a FPS (sneaker or shooter), First Person Puzzle?

Thief - Sneaker. Totally agree nothing has come close first or third person

Super Mario World - 2D Platformer. I'll put my vote in for this one, though I can totally see the SMB3 angle. Being able to revisit any level whenever I want gives it an edge for me.

Baldur's Gate 2 - Tactical Party-based RPG. Someone mentioned NWN2 surpassed this one, I'm playing through NWN2 now so we'll see.

King of Dragon Pass - Tribal Management Sim?

Quest for Glory series - Point and Click Adventure/RPG Hybrid

Grim Fandango - Someone mentioned its not a point and click adventure which is true. It is however the best whatever it is.

If anyone has played a game that has surpassed these ones in their genre, please let me know because I have been missing out.
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cnquist: Super Mario World - 2D Platformer. I'll put my vote in for this one, though I can totally see the SMB3 angle. Being able to revisit any level whenever I want gives it an edge for me.

Baldur's Gate 2 - Tactical Party-based RPG. Someone mentioned NWN2 surpassed this one, I'm playing through NWN2 now so we'll see.
I don't get those...
There has been a lot of much better platformers, especially with all the recent indie games.
Same goes for RPGs, imo BG2 is vastly overrated. It was pretty slow paced and not everyone loved it.
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Faenrir: I don't get those...
There has been a lot of much better platformers, especially with all the recent indie games.
Same goes for RPGs, imo BG2 is vastly overrated. It was pretty slow paced and not everyone loved it.
Fair enough. Nostalgia plays a huge roll in my selection of SMW. I haven't played many of the newer platformers, maybe you could suggest one you feel is better.

BG2 however I have looked for a Tactical Party-based RPG with a decent story that is better and have not found one. Planescape: Torment was probably the closest but it always seemed to lose its appeal once you leave Sigil and the combat started picking up more. I also really enjoyed Dragon Age:Origins I though it got rid of a lot of the minor annoyances of BG2 while adding others in. Maybe you think another game is top dog, I'd love to hear it, there might be a gem I'm missing out on playing.
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Faenrir: I don't get those...
There has been a lot of much better platformers, especially with all the recent indie games.
Same goes for RPGs, imo BG2 is vastly overrated. It was pretty slow paced and not everyone loved it.
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cnquist: Fair enough. Nostalgia plays a huge roll in my selection of SMW. I haven't played many of the newer platformers, maybe you could suggest one you feel is better.

BG2 however I have looked for a Tactical Party-based RPG with a decent story that is better and have not found one. Planescape: Torment was probably the closest but it always seemed to lose its appeal once you leave Sigil and the combat started picking up more. I also really enjoyed Dragon Age:Origins I though it got rid of a lot of the minor annoyances of BG2 while adding others in. Maybe you think another game is top dog, I'd love to hear it, there might be a gem I'm missing out on playing.
So basically you're creating a niche genre just to qualify BG2 to be unbeatable. BG2 is a RPG and there has been better RPGs as well.
Good platformers ? Outland, shadow complex, rayman origins, splosion man, super meat boy and many more.
Good RPGs ? Morrowind, oblivion, skyrim, dragon age: origins, mass effect series, kotor games, arx fatalis, the witcher, and again, many others.
The games you suggested have been, in my opinion, vastly outdone now. But maybe this is because we don't have the same definition for the genres, for instance for me a role playing game is much more about immersion than thre rest. And newer games have been much more immersive than old very pixelated slow paced 2D games.
I think MGS is one of the best Stealth Action Adventure franchises out there. It even has RPG and open wolrd elements , multiple endings and loads of different easter eggs or game interactions. The franchises that came close to it are probably Thief & Splinter Cell.