Even though i and my girl bought a PS3 about six months ago, since we wanted to have some entertainment-machine which we could play with our buddies when they're here, i recently bought a new video card for the old PC as well and tried out a few games i never even were interested to read about before since i knew my PC couldn't handle them anyway. This has opened my eyes to how much i actually have been missing, but also made the old games i've played for years in some genres even better in contrast since some they just haven't been beaten by far by the new stuff. The thing is, that i only play games when i have nothing better to do, which is rather rarely since i'm studying full-time and have this place to take care of! So, i thought it might be interesting to make a special kind of list; a list a games which are easy (relatively for the respective genre) for the casual player to get into and enjoy. Since there is no thread like this here yet i thought it was about time we started one. Let's try and make a real good list here, shall we?

Post a short little something about every game that You think every NON-hardcore gamer simply must play some time as well as why You think those games must be spent time and money on.

I'll update the list in this thread header with the title, genre, available platforms and so on when i got the time, although it would be nice if You provided this info Yourself! ;) Let's make the best darn list of games worth spending the money on on the net!

The Essential Games List
for the casual player

Use the colours!

This colour means GREAT
This colour means GOOD
This colour means BAD
This colour means HORRIBLE

Legend:

WS, NWS, ?WS
WS = Confirmed wide-screen support
NWS = Confirmed no wide-screen support
?WS = Unknown wide-screen support

Difficulty
"Difficulty" = variable from easy to hard
"Difficulty" = invariable but still manageable
"Difficulty" = variable but still a bit hard
"Difficulty" = invariable and tough

Ox(x), WFx(x), SSx(x)
If a parenthesis is present next to any of these, the feature is only available for the console(s) within it.
Ox = Online playability and max number of players per server.
WFx = WiFi wireless network playability and number of players per session (for hand-held platforms)
SSx = Split-Screen playability and number of players per screen

Campaign
Length of the single-player campaign
>> The play time of the hand-held only games is RELATIVE to the platform average! <<
"Campaign" = Very long single-player game mode(s)
"Campaign" = Long single-player game mode(s)
"Campaign" = Rather short single-player game mode(s)
"Campaign" = Very short single-player game mode(s)

¤(Platform)
Amongst the very best of a certain platform. HIGHLY recommended to anyone owning that system!

*x
(Next to an attribute)
Reading some additional info about this attribute is suggested
Find it at the end of the genre that the game is in

Alphabetical order! Titles link to more info like system requirements, ESBR rating and more.
Click on the "Images" and "Videos" tabs above to check the games out as well!
>> If You click the title of a games available for multiple platforms, don't forget to choose platform
to the right next to "Also on:" and then on "Game Details" on the upcoming page! <<

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

the God of War series: every single one has been excellent, especially the recently released PSP version. Action/Puzzle (PS2, PSP)

the Burnout series: excellent bunch of racing games. Some racers pride are made with realism and attention to technical detail in mind; Burnout is made for quick, arcade-style fun. Racer (PS2, PS3, XBox/360)

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: a strategy game. It may not be for the most casual player, but still highly recommended. Made by the same guys who released Company of Heroes (another excellent strategy game), the gameplay has been tweaked and perfected with the release of several expansion packs. Strategy (PC)

Half-Life 2: because you just should... Shooter (PC)

Hey, look at that! Thanks, Blak! That's just the kind of posts i were expecting. =) I'll fill 'em in as soon as i can, promise!

Mario Kart DS: Just a fun quick racing game that anyone can have fun with, and since it's on a hand held you can play it anywhere plus it's online as long as you have wifi around you(Racing DS)

New Super Mario Brothers: Another game that anyone can have fun with, it's basically just like the old super mario games so if you played any of them then you'll like this too (Platforming DS)

Bioshock: This game is great, very dark and creepy at times has a wonderful story and game play that will keep you coming back it's won a whole bunch of awards and rightfully so (Shooter PC, Xbox 360)

And yea half life 2 is good too

Those are great suggestions, NM! Thanks alot! =)

I gotta hit the sack now but i'll continue tomorrow. See You then!

Mario Kart DS: Just a fun quick racing game that anyone can have fun with, and since it's on a hand held you can play it anywhere plus it's online as long as you have wifi around you(Racing DS)

Oh God, I totally forgot about that game. I LOVE Mario Kart DS. *sigh* I miss my Nintendo DS...

I recommend a number of games:

Beyond Good and Evil (PC, Xbox360?, PS2/PS3?)
This game has a good story and a fun immersive environment. It kind of takes an interesting big brother approach to what happens in the story. It's a fun game, trust me. Good soundtrack.

Portal (PC, Xbox360?, PS3?)
Portal is a game made by a team at Valve whom originally brought the idea to them after making a similar game at a school called DigiPen. It's sarcastic and eerie and well fun.

Crisis Core (PSP)
This game was very appealing to me because it followed a pre-story to a game I regard as being on of the most immersive RPG I've ever played (Final Fantasy 7). This is pretty much an action game with emphasis on using materia from FF7. It's fun. Good soundtrack.

Final Fantasy 7 (PS1)
A good RPG. The story is good. The soundtrack is good. And the detailed two-dimensional backgrounds are good. All of these three things fit each other very well throughout the different parts of the game.

Mario Party (N64)
This game is really funny to play with other people. You have to play the game to know what I mean.

Wait, do these games have to be new games?

If you have a PS3 I recommend these two.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - I've completed this game twice and I'm currently on my third round. If you own a PS3 and have been following the MGS series ever since MGS1 than you NEED to own this game. It just an awe inspiring video game. Definitely in my top 5 games of all time. The bar has been raised so high now I don't think game developers will ever reach the same greatness that this game contains for a long time.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune - This game is probably your best choice to show off your PS3 if you have it hooked up with an HDMI cable. It only takes around ten hours to beat but the gameplay and story are fun. A true gem.

also if you like the final fantasy games, you should try kingdom hearts one and two,

and i would also recomend resident evil 4- 3rd person shooter, about modeate difficulty, i thought that was really fun.

Also if anyone has an xbox, Fable and Starwars kotor are some great rpgs for that system

and i agree God of War that game kicks ass