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[Goron]

Hearts of Iron <- for hardcore historical-minded war-simulationists. (RECOMMENDED!!)
Europa Universalis <- Less hardcore, civilization building

Oh, HoI 3 will be awesome, I knew it.

Also:

Majesty (Sequel is under development)

While I agree paradox's games are amazing, I don't think I can agree they should be on a list of games everyone must play. Unique, but not foundation building... IMHO.  I'd like to hear your thoughts on my disagreement

Hey! Even Barbie makes it here! Of course grand strategical awesomeness needs to be in!

Kidding aside, HoI and EU are the chosen from the Grand Strategy genre, they need to be played!

Well... barbie never made my list
Again, don't get me wrong, HOI2 has something like the 3rd most hours on my xfire playtime list, and UE2 got plenty of time back int he day, and Crusader Kings is still prolly one of my favorite games of all time, but honestly, I don't think Paradox added enough to the world of gaming to merit those games on a must play list. pretty much no other games have been influenced by HOI or EU... they are in a little world of their own, ya know? As such, I sadly must declare EU did not have a changing/groundbreaking effect on a genre.

Many people are just listing their favorite games in this thread, but that is not grounds for a must play list. I consider only games that were influential to a genre (ground breaking, widely copied and emulated, revolutionary, etc.) should be listed. And since EU and HOI are pretty much just sitting by themselves in their own little grand strategy sub-genre, with little effect on the rest of 'gaming', I don't think they merit being a 'must play'. Unlike a game like Civilization 2 (I say civ 2 over civ 1, for various reasons) which ultimately morphed the strategy genre and realistically is a distant grandparent to EU and/or HOI.

[IndonesiaWarMinister]

Ah...
But, the OP said "[...]to Play Before You Die!"

This means, of course (to me ), as many as different game that hold their own in their diverse genres. Like Space Station 13 (2D Round Based Multiplayer RP) to SimAnt (Mundane things simulatized to GREATNESS!) to Counter-Strike (easily the Game that converts many addicts worldwide, since 1999)

[Errol]

Master of Magic
Super Mario Bros. (duh!)
One game of the Civilization series
Chess
The Sims, probably (one of the series)
I Wanna Be The Guy is a must, completing is not mandatory, at least not if it comes with side effects (such as smashed keyboards)
Progress Quest
And because I'm biased towards my favorites: Heroes of Might&Magic 3
and Mega Man 2 (and/or Mega Man X, and perhaps Mega Man Zero 4, and the large rest of the series too)

[Puck]

Sometimes I have to think about the moment that I die, and whether or not I'm gonna regret any wasted time.

I don't think I'll regret all those nights spent playing videogames.

But I might regret not having listened to the last concert of that once certain band, I might as well regret never having fucked this certain girl, but I sure as heck won't regret not having played that one certain game.

And yeah, I'm a gamer with heart and soul.

And if you manage to make it to the hour of your death without ever having known the concept of videogaming, and still are happy, I say fuck it, it's alright too! It's just games, and one thing that's important for games is... you totally don't have to.

[Yolan]

U8... I know, I know, sucks balls compared to the earlier Ultimas, but:
- it was *gorgeous*
- had simply one of the best musical scores ever in a game, really captured the feel of pagan
- three magical systems!

Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Isle + Martian Dreams
Brilliant extensions on the U6 Engine. Good stories, good art.

Silent Hunter III + Good Mods = Excellent gaming experience. Extra points for playing after watching Das Boot.

I saw Monkey Island up there somewhere. So I would add Monkey Island 3. How old is that game now? 12 years? Just simply fantastic. The voice acting in number 3 was well done on the whole, and the art just blew me away. I was at a Tiki bar on friday night, filled with shrunken heads etc. Made me think of this game.

Civilization IV.

Modded out Oblivion.
Don't get me wrong, it was a major disappointment. Repetitive quests, monotonous game world, terribly limited voice acting, etc. etc. But nevertheless there's no denying its place in computer game history. Pretty much for the first time you could see a _vista_, unobscured by some fog of war memory saver. Draw droppingly amazing for its time. +, with some _heavy_ modification, like Obscuros Oblivion Overhaul, it's a half decent RPG. No Baldurs Gate II, but at least it offers a challenge.

[Jack A T]

Arcanum and the first two Monkey Island games.

And Sid Meier's Pirates.

[Goron]

I feel like I have to add Arcanum to the list.

It's buggy, but fun.

yes but having played say... Fallout... or... Lionheart... or [insert the 100,000 games that try to emulate Fallout] is there any real reason to play Arcanum other than to continue experiencing a genre? The game added nothing new that Fallout didn't already do.

I enjoyed the game, yes, but it is by no means special in any way.

[Labs]

Tribes. Or Tribes 2.

Really,the original game has probably the best FPS gameplay I've ever experienced,period.

Seconded.

[Sean Mirrsen]

I feel like I have to add Arcanum to the list.

It's buggy, but fun.

yes but having played say... Fallout... or... Lionheart... or [insert the 100,000 games that try to emulate Fallout] is there any real reason to play Arcanum other than to continue experiencing a genre? The game added nothing new that Fallout didn't already do.

I enjoyed the game, yes, but it is by no means special in any way.

Heh, "not special". I can hardly think of any other steampunk game that made the "technology versus magic" conflict into a remarkably sound game mechanic. It's a whole different setting with a different emphasis, and it at least seems more detailed than even Fallout. It also has multiplayer with a whole different world - did Fallout have that?

[Sowelu]

Worms Armageddon.  The best and most finely polished artillery game of all time, and (IMO) the best in the series.  If you've played any game in the Scorched Earth genre, you'll almost certainly have way more fun with Worms.

[Goron]

I feel like I have to add Arcanum to the list.

It's buggy, but fun.

yes but having played say... Fallout... or... Lionheart... or [insert the 100,000 games that try to emulate Fallout] is there any real reason to play Arcanum other than to continue experiencing a genre? The game added nothing new that Fallout didn't already do.

I enjoyed the game, yes, but it is by no means special in any way.

Heh, "not special". I can hardly think of any other steampunk game that made the "technology versus magic" conflict into a remarkably sound game mechanic. It's a whole different setting with a different emphasis, and it at least seems more detailed than even Fallout. It also has multiplayer with a whole different world - did Fallout have that?

yeah well world of warcraft has steampunk elements with technology and magic, a huge detailed world with storylines and massively multiplayer capability. Does that mean it should be higher on the list than Arcanum? No.. It doesn't. WoW did nothing more than many other MMOGs on a core concept level. THats why my list has Ultima Online on it and only UO for an MMOG (since UO set the foundation for that style game). Just because a game adds a new 'color' -oooo, steam punk!- doesn't make it's core concept any different than the original game it is emulating. Sure, Arcanum added multiplayer, which Fallout lacked completely, but its not like that was a big move that changed the face of gaming in any way. Multiplayer games (even tactical rpgs, at that) existed long before arcanum. And 'colorful' elements like steampunk, magic vs tech, etc., are not core concepts at all, they are simply a part of the story that can fit on any game.
To say Arcanum is a developmental step beyond Fallout is like claiming Sims 2: Pets is a developmental step beyond Sims 2... its not. its just more of the same core concept, with some extra features and colors thrown in.

[Okenido]

The story and atmosphere is better in some people's opinions.

Also I have quite a difficult time seeing how people relate Arcanum to Fallout.

The combat system is different and as the form of Baldur's Gate/Planescape Tournament where the NPC characters have the intelligence to attack without being told to, there's a crafting system that did not exist in Fallout, the inventory system is more like Diablo, the dialogue is somewhat similar yet has affection system more similar to the Elder Scrolls series, the game doesn't use the S.P.E.C.I.A.L system, hell the only thing I can even relate Arcanum to Fallout is their graphics styles.

[Sean Mirrsen]

WoW did it all later than Arcanum. It's just a mainstream MMO that added nothing to the industry.

Arcanum is wildly different from Fallout because it greatly expanded its gameplay, using story and setting. You can only branch out so much in Fallout, and neither branch has any great disadvantages compared to advantages. In Arcanum, you usually follow the path of magic or technology - meaning that eventually you see the impact your choice makes on you. Technologists can't wield magic items, and the party healer won't be able to help them. In turn, mages have to rely on only themselves, and cannot make much use of the handy items the technologists craft from various useless trash. "Magic Versus Technology" got turned into a powerful gameplay element, and that's no small feat. Speaking of which, Shadowrun should also be on the list. Nobody said the list is just for COMPUTER games.

Finally, there's also complexity. Diablo 1 and 2 are both great games - but D2 added very little to the concept, was even in the same setting, and yet it is still a must-play game. Even I can acknowledge that, what with my dislike of Blizzard and all. It was simply bigger and more detailed, and by that it earned the respect it deserves. Arcanum relates similarly to Fallout 1&2 - it's more complex and more detailed. Though I haven't explored every corner of the map in Fallout, my expeditions around the various places of Arcanum were nothing short of mindboggling.

ninja-edit: Fallout is similar in many ways. SPECIAL, unless my memory completely fails me, was still used. The overland travel map was largely similar. And, of course, the developers, the legendary Troika Games, have made them both. They also share the greatest feature of all - after you complete the game, you are told of the aftermath of the choices you made throughout the game, sometimes even those you might have considered absolutely insignificant.

ninja-edit-edit: Oi, the combat system was also the same - you just had the option of going realtime.

[Goron]

The story and atmosphere is better in some people's opinions.

I try not to let 'story' affect my judgment of gameplay and core mechanics/concepts. any story can be applied to any game. Period. Therefore I attempt to analyze gameplay when considering must play games and such. Otherwise I will just read a book.

Again, just because a game has more does not mean it is fundamentally improved or changed or different from an original concept. I list the original Command and Conquer on my must play list- not any of the other generic rts's that followed (empire earth, age of empires, company of heroes etc.)  simply because the core concept has not changed, at all. Sure, there is more choices, more units, better AI, more multiplayer choices, better graphics, blah blah blah, but in the end its the same game. Now you could argue I should list warcraft and not C&C but that's a whole 'nother argument- but there is no way in hell you could get me to list company of heroes when in essence, it is just a prettier command and conquer.

It is of my opinion that arcanum is just an extension of what Fallout already did.

[Okenido]

It did not use the SPECIAL system.

Fallout's stats: Strength Perception Endurance Charisma Intelligence Agility Luck.

Arcanum's Stats: Strength Constitution Dexterity Beauty Intelligence Willpower Perception Charisma.

Skills level up in different styles, and aren't tied to percentages in Arcanum.