Not in, because I happened to be a girl :)

Q1. What are you top 3 favourite game genres and why?
I already answered in the other thread: RPG, Stealth, Craft-Survival, Adventure (ok it's 4 :P )

Q2. What are you top 3 worst game genres and why? (I'm interested to hear the ladies answer to this as well.)
Platformer
I am the WORST platformer player in the universe and beyond. There are some games in this genre that I like (eg.: Trine and Dust which are one of my favourite games), but I would never even poke the majority of them with a stick.

Sport/Racing
I find these games to be very boring.

Shooters
I don't find them appealing at all. Can'T explain, maybe it has something to do with the fact that I don't really like "modern" setting in games/movies/books. I'm a "fantasy" person.

Horror - I'm not sure if this is a game genre, or a game "theme", so it's just a +1 answer
I. Hate. Horror. Period.

Ugh...simply have to add one more, even if it makes 5:
Music games
My musical-hearing and rythm-feeling skills are nonexistant. These games are unplayeable for me.

Q3. If you enjoy playing as a woman in games, what is it about playing as a woman that appeals to you?
If it's an RPG, then I can only role-play as my own gender. I can't treat games as role-playing games, if I can't play as a girl. I can't role-play as a dude, no matter how hard I try.
I really liked the Witcher, but for me it was not an RPG. I tried to "become" Geralt, and actually immerse myself, and fully role-play as him..... for about 10 minutes. Then I gave up. It was impossible.

When I prefer playing as a guy?
Only when the game gives me no other option.
Or when it's a party-based game, and I can have multiple characters.

Especially not if there's popcorn.

To be nice and answer the questions that the young lass has raised. Ummm let me be readin em cause I didn't the first time...

Q1. What are you top 3 favourite game genres and why?
RPG I have loved RPGs since the pen N paper days. Back when I was a wee lad.

RTS I love building a big fleet.empire. etc and laying waste to the enemies. Arrr you kidding me, I aim to misbehave...wait I aim to dominate.

FPS I like killing things and people. I prefer games with the option for stealth and actually I like magic as well.

Q2. What are you top 3 worst game genres and why? (I'm interested to hear the ladies answer to this as well.)
I be disikin side scrollers...because I growed up now. heh, well sort of. But I be hatin 8 bit games as I paid a lotta pieces o' eight for this here vid card and I ain't trying to see some 80s graphics come outta it!

I am not a fan of FF and those anime games much either, though occaisionly anime porn is acceptable, but no tentacles or wierd shit. I gots morals, no matter how low they may be,

Minecraft. Hate it and all of its clones. Sorry I be not meanin to offend, but the graphics disappoint me to a level that prohibits me from its simpliistic childish ease.

Q3. If you enjoy playing as a woman in games, what is it about playing as a woman that appeals to you?
A. I'd rather look at a woman's ass while I play than a man's.
B. I like looking at Women in general.
C. I hate to be stereotypical, but I like to RP the ladies as God's gifts to men, and manizers...I refrain from usin the words slutty and such, but I mean like a female version of a stud.

I play games as women 60-70% of the time. I also like to be a stud sometimes as well. Good games get replayed a few times as dudes, but mostly Hotties.

Not in, although I'm physically entitled. :)

Q1 favorite genres: Adventures. Don't have a 2nd or 3rd I'm afraid. For me they are the most satisfying way of getting ingrossed in a story and I like the aha-moment when I solve some problem better then when I just shot something. Within the genre I'm not so picky though, I like story oriented and puzzle oriented games, 1st or 3rd person, I didn't expect so much mention of adventures in the male giveaway btw. Shows how prejudiced I am.

Q2 worst genres: I pretty much ignore the other genres so can't say any one is bad, but I'll make an exception for casual games. Those negate everything I value in games, but still they always get mixed up with adventures. Adventuregame sites review them and in many databases/sites the 'adventure' label is polluted with all those casuals. :(

Q3 playing as man or woman: doesn't apply to adventures much I think, at least you rarely get to choose. My favorites have a male protagonist (Tex Murphy, Gabriel Knight, Broken Sword) but I write that off to coincidence.

I never played the first Diablo, but I have played Diablo II. I used to prefer the Paladin and Necromancer a few years ago, but when I got into it again recently I really liked playing the sorceress. In that game it's not such a big deal for me, though, as I personally don't feel that deeply connected with the story, and gender has no effect on anything.

I do also play games that don't offer a female option, but I'm super happy when there is the option to play as a woman, because that indeed allows me to identify with them more. You have a valid point about stereotypes, though.

First and most important thing - thanks for the giveaways! And thanks for bringing up these interesting topics.
As a guy, I qualify, but I've been very fortunate recently thanks to a generous user, and I don't want to take away someone else's chance at a free game, so I'm not in. But thanks anyway!

I do want to discuss though. Long post incoming...

My three favorite genres -
1 - First-Person Shooter
My favorite genre since I played No One Lives Forever 13 years ago. I just love being able to play games in the first-person perspective. It doesn't even have to be shooter. The immersion that FPP gives me feels great. It is the only perspective where I can forget that I'm playing a game, and feel like I am actually having an insane adventure.
I'm not a big fan of all the Call of Duty, Halo, and Battlefield type games (with a few exceptions here and there.) I love FPSs most in an open world, and/or with RPG elements. I love being able to explore at my own pace.
Another reason I like the genre - I'm agoraphobic. This might sound silly, but a nice open-world FPS is a fun and immersive way to explore without the panic that comes with it.

2 - Real-Time Tactics
I used to prefer traditional RTS games like Westwood, Blizzard, and Relic's old stuff. But I got bored with all the base building and resource gathering.
I have had a fascination with the American Civil War since I was a kid, and eventually, I stumbled upon Sid Meier's Gettysburg!, and it was perfect. No bases, no resources, no building units, no rushes (unless you wanted to lose instantly.) Since playing it, I've been addicted to RTT. I love the focus on unit tactics, rather than trying to build and maintain an entire army. I love it when line of sight, terrain, suppression, morale, and flanking actually matter.
When I put together and execute a well thought-out plan, time everything just right, and take out a force three times my size... Few things are more satisfying in a game to me.

3 - Adventure
Point and click or text parser, I love them all. Though admittedly, I haven't played that many. I love a good story, and no other genre has delivered better stories to me than adventures. The more interactive, the better. I want to attempt a conversation with a bookshelf - something that I couldn't do anymore after the '90s (until some indies - like Wadjet Eye games came around.)
And I like a good logic puzzle. I love trying to figure out how to get into a room with an inventory of seemingly random items.
Adventures were the first PC games I played about 20 years ago, so there is some sentimental value there.

(Honorable Mention) - Stealth/Espionage
I classify it as a theme, rather than a genre. And it spans all genres. I love stealth and spy games. I love sneaking around, using gadgets, knocking people unconscious. There is something satisfying about being unseen and wreaking havoc. And of course, it makes me feel like some of my favorite movie and TV characters (Especially the three JBs.)

My worst genres -
1 - Rhythm Games
Guitar Hero, Rock Band, DDR... But it also extends to "play your own music library" games like Audiosurf, Beat Hazard, and Ugly Baby. I've played plenty, usually with friends, and it always ends up the same for me - fun for a while, but I just get bored really quickly. There just isn't enough to keep me entertained. The gameplay is so simple, and the only thing that changes is different music tracks.
Also, I usually don't like combining my favorite songs with my games. Sometimes I will hear one of my favorite songs, and I'm reminded of Guitar Hero, and it pisses me off. I like to keep my music and games separate.

2 - Fighting Games
They hurt my fingers. I just end up mashing buttons until someone falls down. I never have any idea what I'm doing. I don't really know what else to say, fighting games just aren't my thing.

3 - Platformers
I think this is mostly due to over-saturation of (mostly indie) platformers. It is rare that a unique one with interesting mechanics comes along, and even then, I often just get bored and frustrated by it.
Most of them just feel like the same game to me - there is not much variety going on.
Frustration is probably the biggest problem for me. Too often they require a lot of trial and error, and I just don't have the patience for that.

Playing as a woman in games...
I like playing as a woman in games. If I have the option to play as a male or female, I tend to play as a female more often. I think the biggest reason is just that it is a refreshing change from the generic muscly super-stud. It is nice to see girls kicking ass for a change.
I grew up in a religion that taught me that men should go out and do all the "important" work and provide for their family, while the women should stay home in a supporting role. I started having a big problem with this early on, and since then I have always appreciated seeing movies, TV shows, and video games with female leads that crush those ideas.
So playing as a girl that bursts through a door and mows down a bunch of bad guys with a minigun... just feels more badass than when I'm playing as a guy. I guess because that kind of behavior from a female is not "the norm."

There are some fantasy shooters out there. Heretic, Hexen, Hexen II, the Witchhaven games and the recent Ziggurat. Hexen is really awesome. There is a weapon in the game that unleashes evil spirits that roam the map and kill all your enemies for you. :)

Thanks for the giveaway! I'm in for the $9.99 prize.

Q1: What are you top 3 favourite game genres and why?
FPS,horror and action games.

I've been fascinated with horror in video games since playing Silent Hill 2.Dealing with anxiety,terror and tension once you require an active participation from the person engaging themselves in a piece of interactive media is something new-not offered before from books or movies of the same genre.
As far as FPS games go the words "instant gratification" spring to mind.It's just immensely satisfying mastering your movement,aiming,environment and the arsenal at your disposal feeling completely in control of your character unlike in any other genre I've experienced.

Q2. What are you top 3 worst game genres and why?

Sports-it's a genre drowning in blandness.Realism is not escapism or art.It's just a lesser version or a real life activity.
MMORPG-endless grinding,non existent story and uninteresting world are too often the symptoms of a game from this genre.
Moba's-home to the most toxic gamers of the world.The gameplay is not good enough to overlook that point.

Q3. If you enjoy playing as a woman in games, what is it about playing as a woman that appeals to you?
I generally don't care about the gender of the protagonist.If the character is well written his gender will not come into question.

Not in, but I'd join in on the questions!

1.

I'd say my favorite genre is RPG. I think this is the genre that utilizes the video game as a medium the most. You have choices, you can decide what to do then you can see the outcome of your choices - and then play again and see what happens if you make a different choice. You cannot do this in any other medium, and I think this is the RPG genre's biggest strenght. Even in games where people cry that your choices doesn't matter, the different dialogue you get from NPCs is a consequence and it matters. I'd even say that even if there's no in game consequence, when you have to make a choice, how you feel afterwards is a meaningful consqeuence as well, but that's another discussion :). Many other genres can incorporate moments like this, but I think this is most pronounced in RPGs.

And that's it. :) I can't really pick any other genre, because my taste follows Sturgeon's Law to the letter - 90% of everything is crap. I could pick a genre that I think I like, and then immediately think about a ton of games in it that I don't like. :)

2.

Well, that's easy. Sports games, including car racing games do nothing for me. I'm not interested in them IRL either. I'm not into multtiplayer too, so most MP games, including MMOs and MOBAs are out. I'm not into strategy games either, I guess they're just too impersonal. I played a lot back then, but now I'm no longer into them.

3.

Well, this is interesting. I almost always play female characters, but haven't really thought about it, until now. Let's state first, that I almost never identify myself with the characters I play. I'm NOT the character on screen. That said, the connection with RPG characters (where you customize you character) is much stronger than with pre-determined ones. You put some of your own self into an RPG character, regardless of who or what she/he is.

So about the female character thing. I'm not very good at expressing myself, but let's try anyway: I though about this and I realized something. You know how video game main characters are, right? They win their battles. They get shit done. They save the world. They're awesome. I'm not. So there's a problem. I said before that I don't identify with characters and that would be the logical thing to do when I play a male character. Sort of power fantasy, or having a role model. But that just doesn't work for me. However with female characters, this conflict doesn't arise, because I simply get to watch an awesome lady being awesome. I can't find any problems with that. :)
This also isn't a problem with pre-set characters, because with those, I'm not connected to them - it's like watching a movie, except you get to control it a little, but as I said, with RPGs with customizable characters, the connection is more meaningful.

So if I want to keep it simple, I guess I could say that if I get to choose, I don't want someone to identify with (it wouldn't work anyway), I want someone to admire. And I find that female main characters work much better for that. For me at least.

I'm in for the $5.99 prize and I nominate RWarehall as my second for bringing some sense into the Hatred thread. 1. RPG. But not exclusively. For me these are the ultimate exploration games - explore another world, explore a (hopefully) deep story, explore your choices and how they impact.

2. FPS. Though I don't play on the hardest setting anymore. It doesn't matter if it's a plain old "kill everything that moves" like Quake or something with actual story and RPG elements (Bioshock). I don't know why. I've been addicted to this kind of games since Doom.

3. Almost anything else, be it adventure, 4xTBS, racing or a nice space battle like Freespace. 1. RTS. I suck at them. They require too much multitasking. A few of those are okay (with pause command mode, or running really slow). But I prefer turn-based games when it comes to strategy.

2. Economical simulations. Seems I'm just not good with money. Thankfully I have a wife that is :-). Games that are not about money but resources (like Settlers) are okay, though.

3. Sports games. I think California Games on the C64 was the last game of that type I had fun with. They just don't spark my interest. I also don't watch sports on TV. Just see the other thread. ;-)
That is definitely true. And holds true for other media too. I like seeing (movies, tv shows) or reading about strong women, too.

I'm in for a 5.99 game, and I'd like to nominate kmonster for a 5.99 game (I'm assuming he'll enter, if not I'll change this later)

Q1. First RPG, then Strategies and (F/T)PS
Because I enjoy them. I honestly can't elaborate any more; I just enjoy them. I guess with RPGs it's character creation and development. For the others, I just like playing them

Q2. Sports and car racing. I play a few game sometimes, but nor really my cup of tea. Car racing is fun multiplayer on a split screen though.

Q3. I don't. Though I play females if I've completed several games with a male character, just for trying something different and to see any quests/dialogues.. etc that aren't available for males. For a game where you create a party, I go with a male-female mix, with usually more males, again just for having a different variety of characters.

Hmmm I checked those games, and they don't seem like very appealing to me =/
I guess it's not just the modern setting then. The walk-and-shoot gameplay is too..... monotone? No thinking involved? I can't really explain, there is just something in those games that don't capture me at all =/
Guess I'm just not a shooter-person.

No worries, sir! I actually started writing my post when only four posts were in this thread. I thought, "Man, I'd love to nominate BillyMaysFan59 from our fun times in the Weird Al thread and his Pipboy contest." Alas, you hadn't posted yet and I wasn't sure if you were going to.

However, as is my penchant, I wrote a novella, so there were many more posts by the time I was ready to submit mine. Upon refreshing the page to check, I saw you had indeed entered, so I was quite pleased to be able to nominate you. Us close personal friends of Al need to stick together! ^_^

I'm male (last time I've check), in for the 5.99$ prize, I nominate toxicTom as my co-winner.

top game genres:

1. Adventure games - usually of the p&c kind, I just love the kind of game with good plot that you could immerse yourself in and with good humor, I must have replay my favorites quest games dozens of times (mainly Simon the Sorcerer, Monkey Island, Gobliiins and Discworld).

2. FPS - The old school kind, when you could just stroll the levels with total freedom to kick ass, it never got old and I could replay a game several time and it still be fun.

3. Strategy - Prefer the turn base kind where you need plan your moves ahead, I also find a turn base combats more fun.

worst game genres:

1. Tower Defense - Usually find them very boring and repetitive.

2. One on one fighting games - Mainly from the same reason as above.

3. RPG - That in your of a though choice for me, did play several famous games that suppose to be top the genre (Ultima, System Shock 2 and Torchlight) and find them un-appealing, mainly due to me having a hard time with the system of combat and improvement. I should however mention I did play and beat The Witcher games (even replay them), Driftmoon and Shadowrun Returns, I think mainly due to the fact the story is more prominent in those games.

I do tend to play as a woman, I think usually because the game developers have a gender stereotype approach - men usually will be adept to fighting and using brute force while females will be more incline to use cunning, stealth etc. I usually prefer the second approach as its make the game far more interesting.

Since ZFR has nominated me, I'm in for a 5.99 game with him. And yes, I'm male.

Q1: rpg, strategy and co-op action
Q2: games you cannot win
Q3: They usually look better