Ahead of it's time

Starwing/Starfox on the SNES, set the path for 3D gaming, especially for a 16bit games console which was only doing 2D graphics for years.

Wouldn't say that Halo or Goldeneye was ahead of its time due to games such as Half-life, Quake, Unreal coming before them on the PC.
 
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ELITE, a game released in 1984 that really did give you a feeling of complete freedom. In a galaxy that really did feel alive, you could be a trader, a bounty hunter or a pirate or any mixture of the above. The simplistic graphics helped with your imagination filling tha gaps and the short novel "The Dark Wheel" filled in the back story.
 
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I'd have to say operation flashpoint made me gasp the first time i got into a helicopter and flew across the vast lands, it was simply amazing. It truely was epic.

Deux ex was the most awesome experience i have had from playing games, normally i would pick out negatives from a game after playing it, but i just couldnt think of any and just wanted to play more games like it.

Unfortunely i waited year after year and no game seems to have the same atmoshphere and cyberpunk style so i kind of gave up waiting.

Deus Ex was truely ahead of its time that no other game has been able to replicate it and i just hope dx3 lives upto it.

Edit: Forgot this was console section but still stand by my choices :)
 
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IMO some of you lot are confusing groundbreaking/revolutionary with ahead of its time.

Games like Mario 64 set the benchmark WRT graphic/level design, but they were not ahead of their time in terms of gameplay. Games like Shenmue were ahead of their time when it came to the plot, gameplay as well as graphics.
 
Mario 64 was ground breaking in terms of gameplay. It was pretty much the first 3D platformer, and certainly the first that worked well. It was also one of the first games to use a hub world and to have multiple paths and objectives in a single level. It's still one of the most non-linear games going.
 
To echo the Dreamcast comments above, don't forget about Phantasy Star Online, the first ever online RPG for a console.

But yes, Shenmue definately. It was the most and still is in my view, a very ambitious title that incorporates many other game genres into one, and from a game engine technology viewpoint, quite advanced and very detailed as well. e.g. realistic weather system that is accurate to the year period it was set in, the amount of voice work, the programming and routine of all the major NPCs.
 
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original Tomb Raider for me.

remember getting new ps and that. playing it had my sister and brother just sat around watching. they didn't even want to play, just sit and watch it....

goldeneye MP as well.
 
Halo was way ahead of its time.

You could directly pinpoint the start of a growing trend of two weapons/recharging health/inooor-outdoor vehicle action/melee & grenades as separate actions etc in one package right at the release of Halo. Sure, games all had them before, but never in one such accomplished package.

Halo Came out November 2001 (Yes that's nearly ten years ago :eek:). The FPS genre before that very date was a very formulaic and tired one. Health packs on the floor, ten weapons in your pocket, the vehicles were either scripted or you had an entire level dedicated to one, you couldn't segue between massive indoor and outdoor levels without loading, you had to manually select grenades and fists.... I could go on.

It even makes Half Life 2 seem ancient and stuck in the past, and that came out a couple of weeks after Halo 2.

Do not color me surprised when Half Life Episode 3 makes the eventual jump to the more dynamic and interesting FPS tropes that Halo kickstarted.
 
Quake 3 Arena.

Id had the vision that multiplayer was the future, and they were right. The only downside was that most people at the time only had 56k modems and it turned into a complete lag fest. Those who complain about COD:BO lagging now - you have NO idea :)

At a LAN party it was fantastic.
 
I can't really think of anything. Not ahead of its time. Final fantasy 7 was great but I don't feel it meets what the thread is asking for. Especially considering it was done several times again with 8, 9 and other games.

Shadow of collosus was fantastic. And I do believe it was released a generation too soon. But in saying that if it had come to ps3 or 360. Would we be as wowed by it because giant scale and beauty are common place now. So that's my answer!
 
ff7 is just a normal liniear rpg with lots of cgi movies. ff3 was way better, consider it introduced stuff like job changing.

most old sega games were well ahead of its time like virtua fighter on mega drive cd, pso and shenmue on dreamcast.

street fighter 2 was also ahead of its time. it single handedly saved the acrade.
 
Another World (Out of This World?)? I was gobsmacked. Think it originated on the Amiga but I played through it on the snes. Amazing little puzzle/shooter. Flashback came after it which I also loved.

A couple of others:

Magic Carpet
Quake
Half-Life
Shenmue for it's ambition
Mario 64
 
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