Modern games that 'restore your faith'

[The Penultimate Ninja]

Prince of Persia:Sands of Time, and to a lesser extent it's sequels, it's just so fluid and well paced.

Lego Star Wars, I just had a big smile on my face from beginning to end.

Along with those the usual suspects have been mentioned:RESI 4, Outrun 2,ICO. Played the demo of SOTC on the OPSM2 disc and it is awesome. I was a little unsure if I would like it but no doubts now.

The Sands of Time was so fun until I got to the part with the prince's father and guards. The difficulty seemed to spike to such an extent that I just got too frustrated to keep at it. A shame because the puzzle/exploration elements were brilliant.

Also from Ubisoft the same year: Beyond Good and Evil. I like this game a lot for the characters and storytelling.

[ToxieDogg]

Have any of you guys who liked the original Resi Evil but didn't get on with the subsequent games (until Resi 4 came along) ever tried Eternal Darkness on the Gamecube? Better than most Resi games IMO.

Also, Pikmin 2 a game which I've had since it was released back in October 2004 but only got around to playing over the New Year (shame on me!!) has restored my faith in games too...it's a much more challenging game than the original too.

And I agree about Half Life 2, I played through the Xbox version over Xmas and haven't had so much fun with an FPS since.....Half Life 1.

[The Last Ginja]

Prince of Persia:Sands of Time, and to a lesser extent it's sequels, it's just so fluid and well paced.

Lego Star Wars, I just had a big smile on my face from beginning to end.

Along with those the usual suspects have been mentioned:RESI 4, Outrun 2,ICO. Played the demo of SOTC on the OPSM2 disc and it is awesome. I was a little unsure if I would like it but no doubts now.

The Sands of Time was so fun until I got to the part with the prince's father and guards. The difficulty seemed to spike to such an extent that I just got too frustrated to keep at it. A shame because the puzzle/exploration elements were brilliant.

Also from Ubisoft the same year: Beyond Good and Evil. I like this game a lot for the characters and storytelling.

How on earth did I forget this game, it was the next game after Sands of Time that I completed. Somebody Shoot me!

Sphinx and The Cursed Mummy is an excellent game as you mentioned but I got horrendously stuck(on a beach if I remember) and I never went back to it.

[Hungry Horace]

I hadn't heard of Klonoa before, it definitely looks like something I should try to get hold of.

One of the wisest gaming decisions you'll ever make...

[Get_in_Gear]

Star Wars Battlefront and Battlefront II were great fun...
I always look forward to a new game in the Final Fantasy series...

Other than that, it's pretty bleak as far as I'm concerned.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a lot of contemporary games, but they do quickly become a chore once the wow factor has worn off.

[Morkin]

I hadn't heard of Klonoa before, it definitely looks like something I should try to get hold of.

You need Klonoa in your life.

As for Prince of Persia Sands of Time, I just couldn't get into it. For one, I had trouble making anything out on the screen & two, respawning baddies. AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH

[Spiff]

I've played Klonoa games on PSone and GBA; good stuff.

[James A]

Killer 7. Refreshing to see that something so different could be so good as opposed to your Fifa 2006 MK7 shameless cash ins.

[stigodump]

Beyond Good & Evil restored my faith.

Ico and Resi Evil 4 also.

Oh and Halo.

I'd go with Prince of Persia also.

[Dark Reaper]

Recently, We Love Katamari has made me fall in love with games all over again. The simplicity of the idea reminds me of the days of old.

[paranoid marvin]

Although not new ,but still from not retro

Grand Theft Auto (original)
Planescape Torment
Baldur's Gate 1 + 2
Armed & Dangerous

I played for hours/days on these 3 games until completed
Still play them now,still just as good

[The Last Ginja]

Recently, We Love Katamari has made me fall in love with games all over again. The simplicity of the idea reminds me of the days of old.

Is this really that good, I got A Game Gift Card for Christmas and was thinking of getting this,(or I would if any of the stores I'd been into had it in stock) and then trading it in next week for Shadow of The Colossus(sp?)

So, Is it a keeper or a trader?

[Dudley]

I don't think I lost my faith. When I've got an hour I still enjoy a lot of modern games.

What is a shame is the lack of 5 minute playables, which is where I turn to older stuff.

Vaguely recently Rez, Ikaruga and any number of 360-XBLA titles come to mind.

[Quo Vadis]

GTA Vice City. I absolutely loved that and played it pretty exclusively for months on end.

[NorthWay]

POP:SOT _really_ hit me hard in the "that's how it should be done" region.

Except... it took me 20-30 minutes before I "got" it, but boy did it hit then.
Ok, the fighting wasn't very interesting and I wish they had dropped it, but still.

The controls (other devs could learn something about being forgiving!) and the movement was just beautiful and the level design was literally thinking in multiple dimensions that made you go "can you do that in a game? but of course".

And as a forever-wannabe games programmer I can't mentally stop hitting myself over the head for not coming up with Lumines myself. It feels like the logical next step from Tetris.