For me, character and weapon/item experimentation is what drives me to play through the games. Unfortunately, that doesn't start to happen until either late into the game or on the next play through. Case in point: Fallout 1 started off as a very boring game. I got as far as the Hub about 3 or 4 times before quitting and playing something else. Spending a chunk of time searching a big unfamiliar town and talking to lots of new characters really kills the entertainment for me. Then one time, I decided to tough it out and actually made it through to the end of the game. Every play through beyond that was completely addicting. I got to spend more time trying different skills and completing quests in different ways and less time solving puzzles and being fed too much information. I had a similar experience with Planescape: Torment, The Witcher, and Vampire Bloodlines. And I play Morrowind and Oblivion for similar reasons.

That is not to say that I don't care about story. I definitely do. But I'm more concerned about the big picture than the nitty gritty details. I can't be bothered to read most of the in-game books in the TES series, and listening to NPCs go on and on about all the local affairs of the village that I'm passing through doesn't suit me. On the other hand, I need to look everywhere and do all the quests I can find for the experience and other rewards because otherwise, the game can become stupidly hard.

I like not having to follow a strictly set path. I like variety in weapons and armor. I like not being a set character. This is one of the reasons I am hesitant to play Dragon Age 2.

That's a good question. Different character build possibilites and quests and enemy encounters to exploit them, interesting setting and locations, preferrably not completely stupid storyline and great music :hehe: (Modern) Fallouts and TES score quite highly for me with those requirements

Likable characters with varied personalities. Deep character and item customization. Varied skills that allow for both different styles of play, but can also affect things like dialogue choices, Fallout series for example. Basically I appreciate anything that give me a richer character driven experience. The more impact that I can leave through choices and gameplay, the better. This coupled with more things I can do to flesh out the character themselves, that gives a great game experience as far as I am concerned.

Ghoul Strippers and Annoying fans

Thats all I need from any game.

Open, explorable, and expandable (readily moddable) worlds; lack of linearity; beautiful world and character art (that is, beautiful art that can portray ugliness and beauty as required); great character customisation potential; simple but flexible combat system that remains fun despite repetition; highly fantastical worlds (in moderation, but I dislike overly "realistic" medieval settings) and larger-than-life characters and fauna (gods, heroes, demons and monsters); huge and beautiful natural environments; layers of detail.

Conversely I detest moralism, a pretentious focus on "gritty realism," restrictive (class-based) character progression, fixed player characters (with a few rare exceptions - eg, Geralt is ok), voiced player characters, and peasants.

Especially peasants.

A good story and characters are a must.

I am too lazy to list my nearly same reasons, so I'll just say this. :thumbsup:

a good story and good controls

I'm pretty flexible when it comes to the amount of customization available. As long as there is a lot of variety in the gameplay, I don't mind if customization is limited. I mean, what's the point of lots of skills, attributes, etc. if they don't make much impact? So, I'd rather have a few things that greatly affect gameplay than a zillion meaningless skills or weapons, or whatever.

I tend to not play hack-and-slash games, unless they also have a good/compelling story. I'm pretty picky about my "hack-n-slash" rpgs, the only ones I've taken to so far are Titan Quest and Hellgate: London. In both cases, I'm also draw to the setting: TQ is in the ancient world and mythology, and HG:L is a futuristic blend of magic and technology that I really enjoy. TQ's story is marginal; I felt HG:L's story was a bit more compelling, and the characters definitely more memorable (who could forget Holloway? And Lucious Aldin is a hoot.).

3rd Person camer is a must- hate those first person games, they make me vomit!

Good story and writing. Or at least decent. Almost as much I grave for good RPG mechanics and gameplay. Fallout 1 and 2 had both (not up to perfection, but they were good enough). What I don't look for is obviously the opposite, shallow and general bad writing and story and redundant and nigh useless RPG system.

Story, mostly. I can put up with some pretty awful gameplay if there's a good enough story attached, though luckily for me that doesn't happen very often. Memorable characters are also important. I have a hard time getting into a game when the main characters are about as boring and ordinary as regular NPCs that have all but two lines of dialogue.

I tend to avoid open world RPGs and "blank slate" main characters that are poorly integrated into the main story. Mass Effect and Knights of the Old Republic are prime examples of doing it right in my opinion.

Second this.

Character customization of some kind. Whether just through stats / skills, or being able to create what they look like.

Character Customization

Free Roam

Lots of Weapons and Armor Choices

A Good Story Line

Good Voice Acting

Lots of Different Enemies to Fight

Being Able to Kill Anything/Anyone You Want (none of the "this character went un-conscience crap)

Gorgeous World Made by the Developers, No Cruddy Graphics

Fast Loading Times

I Prefer a Destructible Environment, but I Don't Need it.

Lots of Ammo if it is a Shooter Game. I Hate Trying to Find a Lot of Ammo. I Just Want To Shoot Something!!!

My do's and dont's of RPGS

+'s

Good character customization.
Sharable character customization (Mass Effect 2)
Loot
Great art direction
Long play time or a great replay value

-'s

No character customization
Stat varied loot only.
Every item looks epic
No replay value

In order of priority.

Numbers that matter, good combat system, characters and story, choice, replay value.

Hmm...it's hard to pin down an explanation for it, but it boils down to whether or not it feels epic. Not just in terms of storyline, or gameplay, or exploration, but everything rolled up together.

Fable: TLC, the first Mass Effect, TES: Oblivion, and FO3 all had possessed this quality, IMO.

Likes:
Good character customisation - physical
Good re-playability
A well thought out universe
A compelling story
Genuine feeling relationships between characters


Dislikes:
Slow loads
Over detailed levelling (it shouldn't be difficult to understand...)
Bad voice acting (this is a real 'world breaker' for me....)
Awkward combat system

What Bethesda already do. :fallout: :tes:

Most importantly I look for a good story and memorable characters. I can't even recall the names of any of the FO3 characters, but people like Smiling Jack, Jolee Bindo, Dandelion and Urdnot Wrex I shall fondly remember for years to come.

What I strongly dislike is when I game pretends to give me great customizability in my character's looks and then does not allow me to have long hair and a beard.

Story, music and characters that I can warm up to.

I love games that have greatly in-depth crafting systems that are neither under-powered or over-powered(sure, you can create the best weapon in the game, but you can't craft it until it's at an appropriate time, or after dozens of hours of grinding). More then one type of crafting as well(armor, weapons, accessories, items, etc). I love games that don't just end with the final boss. Bonus Dungeons that are challenging with a great reward at the end(after beating a super mega hard boss) is great. Other things to do as well, like a gambling system are always appreciated, or bounty hunting system. Oh, and of course, a wide variety of weapons/armor/items to begin with. None of that "Here are two choices per level range, have fun". I want there to be half a dozen equipment choices for a specific level range. Ability to further customize those weapons/armor is also nice

Dislikes: Poor or Cliche Storylines(Honestly, they can be Cliche to an extent, but at least try to make it different from the other dozen RPGs that were released at the same time as you). Lack of options. Over-use of re-skinned monsters(Ok, yeah, the initial monster is a wolf. Then, 8 levels later, I'm fighting an angry wolf, then a Raging wolf, then a Super Wolf, then an Omega wolf, followed by the "super Ultimate majorly angry wolf"). I hate that, drives me nuts. Why would the strongest monsters just be the same type of monster you were able to fight and kill at level 1? There is no logical way the same type of creature, of same shape and size, is going to be vastly more powerful then another just because it lives in a different area.

immersion, gameplay, story, in that order

story, in that order, immersion, gameplay



:P