Just out of curiosity (and who knows this might spawn a good discussion too), what's most important to you, when you play a game ???

Gameplay
The feel of the game, how entertaining it is, longevity, replay value etc. are all within this option.

multiplayer
Can it be done .... maybe even not in a network.
Close to the above I know, but still different enough to get it's on column in the vote

Graphics
Do you need lush graphics to enjoy a game, a killer framerate, no pop-ups etc. ??

Sound
Must be surround, killer soundtrack, etc.
Yet another one close to the 1st option.

A combination
... of the above

Other
Here coz I'd get a ton of crap from Roem if it wasn't ;) :lol:

Before everybody ticks of a combination and says well my game has to have this and that, take a deep breath and think .... Is there one factor more important than anu other for you to enjoy a game, and if so, please vote for that :)

Me ?? ... I voted gameplay. That's the single most important factor to me. I can live with crappy sounds, horrendous loading times & choppy graphics as long as I really enjoy myself and completely forget time and place (well almost). A good example would be Flashback for the Amiga. I just finished it for the fifth time, and I still think it's ace and a great game to play. This game is from 1993 and has a nice 16bit pixelated graphics look ... I love it all the same :thumb:

Gameplay most definitely....I still enjoy playing old NES games among others on emulation, so graphics isn't the most important. However graphics & sound are definitely a very close second...they lend immensely to how well I can really get into a game...especially sound...I'm a music freak, so it's gotta sound good to some extent.

I couldn't give a rats arse about multiplayer...I'm a solo gamer, so it don't really matter to me :p

Another factor for recent games is play control and camera angles....if these are flucked up, the game ends up sucking a bit...

I'd go for gameplay - no question about it! As the wise Dino Dini once said: "Gameplay does not require 600 mb of data. You can do a great game in less than 10 mb."

All the nice graphics in the world can't make up for poor gameplay, and that gameplay rules, well, just look at the popularity of MAME.

But that doesn't mean that I don't like great graphics and such - just that great gameplay is essential. It's as simple as that :cool:

Originally posted by 80sSmurf
A good example would be Flashback for the Amiga. I just finished it for the fifth time, and I still think it's ace and a great game to play. This game is from 1993 and has a nice 16bit pixelated graphics look ... I love it all the same :thumb:

That was a nice game. Also "Another World" were great. I was captivated by it back then - when I wasn't playing GOAL! that is :rolleyes:

Gameplay and multiplayer, they both add up to a long living, fun game. :p Like Half-life, without it's multiplayer, where would it be?

Originally posted by Harket
... Also "Another World" were great. I was captivated by it back then - when I wasn't playing GOAL! that is :rolleyes:

What was that ?? Did someone say SWOS ?? ;) :D

I'll take this argument into any forum you like Harket :lol: , and only Roem can stop me (since he holds the really really big eraser :eek: )

I voted for a combination of them.

Like Roem, I'm a solo game player, but a game has to be an all round one for me.

I can't stand crappy sound tracks, because there's nothing worse than hearing the same annoying piece of music being played over and over.

Some graphics, even modern games look awful and unrealistic. The better the graphics the more "wow factor" it has in my books.

But none of these are any good, if the game itself is crap. It's gotta have plenty of replay value and can't be too repetetive. For this reason, I'm not a great fan or arcade games.

Another thing I look for in a game is atmosphere. For this reason I think games like Resident Evil, Myst and Bad Mojo are great. Real atmosphere. They take you away to another place and do it well.

I voted for a combination - I don't play video games very much, but I like cool graphics and exciting gameplay! :)

Gameplay,graphics are nice but not the most important thing for me and like Roem I still like playing NES games.

It's a combo thing. Graphics are useless without good game play and good game play means nothing if it looks like I am playing with lego men ( I hate jaggies...).

Multi-player really means nothing to me. Sound is important, but not crucial.

Originally posted by Shakey
... and good game play means nothing if it looks like I am playing with lego men ( I hate jaggies...) ...

I can't agree with you on this one Shakey :p
Graphics to me is just another ad-on to the pile of good things about a game, but good graphics is definitely not essential. Example time; I can have more fun with say Spyhunter (for C64), than I can with Sega GT, E racer or even the new Spyhunter (for PS2). The orginal Spyhunter is simply more fun, it has great gameplay and can still keep me captivated for hours and hours .... But like Aaron always says;"To each his own...":D

Anyone ever play Pong anymore ??

I went with a combination. Gameplay is the main factor, followed by sound. Sound to me has to be pleasing or fitting to the ears, rather than the "quality" of the sound, say that you would find from a Star Wars game.

The game has to be thoroughly entertaining for me for me to buy it. The sound has to go with the game and have appeal (is it pleasing to the ears or does feedback from a microphone sound better? :lol:)

Graphics are not a big factor for me, as I can play my Atari 2600 games and have loads of fun with them as compared to playing a game on the N64 or Gamecube and be bored even though the graphics are top-notch. The only way I factor graphics into the games I play is accuracy. I like to know what I'm hitting and whether or not a hit out in left-field still counts as hit (or whether you hit the enemy dead-on and it still counts as a miss :p)

Overall, gameplay is my 1st choice followed by sound.

Definitely gameplay.

A game with state-of-the-art graphics and sound, but with horrible gameplay is not worth my money.

Gameplay! As much as I love nice graphics, good gameplay is essential if I am going to spend more than 10 mins on a game. I love Kuri Kuri on the GBA and it's a brilliant example. Guiding a stick through a maze is simply the most fun I have had on a handheld since playing Tetris for the first time. Tetris in itself is another good example of how important gameplay is.

For me it's gameplay. I don't care what it looks or sounds like, if it is addictive and can keep my mind working I'll like it :thumb:
There is nothing worse than a game that is all bells and whistles but can't deliver gameplay.