Good gameplay.

No matter what the genre is, if what you're doing is boring or if what the game wants you to do is not handled well, then it's a problem for me.

1. Gameplay

1. Story (If the story is bad, the game is bad)
2. Gameplay (Same with #1)
3. Music (Important for setting atmosphere)

I primarily play RPGs.

1. Story/Atmosphere
2. Gameplay
3. Graphics

Gameplay. The more robust and solid it is, the better. While a good story is imperative, it won't save a game with a crappy gameplay. While I care and like to boast a game with good graphics, in the end I don't care much about it. If it has an addicting gameplay, I will come back to it.

Enjoyment

Story, gameplay and replayability.

I've said it once, but I'll continue saying it:

A shitty looking game that plays great can still be a great game.

A great looking game that plays like shit, has basically no chance to be anything else but a shitty game. Period.


Having said that, the things I value most in a game, in order:

1. Gameplay: How does it play? Are the controls good? Is it easy/not frustrating to play? Are there mechanics to the game that make it interesting to play through? etc.

2. "Fun Factor": This term doesn't get thrown around too much since the 90s, I guess it's "too cheesy" for the super-serious gaming generation these days. But that doesn't stop it from still being important. It isn't just about replay value, which is also important. Does the game keep you coming back for more? It's also about "was the game fun to play through the FIRST time?" Is the game fun enough to play, outright, that you're going to feel like playing it again on return visits? That, to me, is the sign of a great game, over a good or okay one.

3. Music: In some ways, game music isn't THAT important to me, but on the other hand, it kind of is. The reason why is simple. A great soundtrack can take a decent game and help make it great. And a horrible game soundtrack (see: Tekken Tag Tournament 2), can take an otherwise decent game and make you not want to play it as much. It also helps that some of my top favorite games of all time (SMB2, Mega Man 2, Kirby's Adventure, Castlevania IV, FFIV, Chrono Trigger, Street Fighter II, etc.), ALL happen to have great soundtracks. So there must be some kind of correlation.

4. Story: Story IS important to me, in the sense that I certainly would rather a game have a GOOD story than a mundane or even shitty one. Of course. But I'm also just fine having a game that has more or less no story. I come from a generation that grew up with Atari 2600 and old arcade games and NES and classic PC games. If you wanted story for anything outside of an RPG or adventure game, you read the booklet. As games went on, even on NES, many of them got more "story heavy", such as Battletoads, Ninja Gaiden, Mega Man, Star Tropics, etc. But the point is, I'm perfectly fine playing a game that has all the elements listed above, but is light on story. But at the SAME time, I DO prefer a game have a good story. I'm just REALLY not a fan of these more modern games, even "action" games, where the story they're trying to tell (usually on par or worse than direct-to-dvd movies), is the whole focus of the game, at the expense of the gameplay.

5. Graphics: Not to put to fine a point on it, or make TOO much of a point of "not caring about graphics", because honestly, I do care about graphics. It's just the least important element of a game to me. Ideally, you get a game with ALL 5 things being top notch (if that fits the type of game it is). I like great graphics as much as the next guy, and for example, I really want the next Wii U Zelda to be epic and really impressive visually. BUT, going back to the games I grew up on and my current tastes, I still to this day prefer sprites over polygons, and don't care so much about what the HD resolution is, and all these other tech buzz words that gamers on the internet like to throw around. If a game looks great, great. But like I said, if it PLAYS like shit, then who cares how good it looks? It could literally be the best looking game ever crafted, but play like absolute ass (I'm sure there's been a few of those along the way, in fact).


So bottom line, yeah, those are my thoughts on the subject. I like great graphics. I'm stoked that for example, Nintendo actually tried to make a gorgeous game with MK8. Good for them. But all the same, I'd rather have a Mario Kart that PLAYS great, than merely LOOKS great. Same goes for pretty much anything else.

So many saying "story".

I say controls.

I'd take an Uncharted 3 with satisfying shooting instead of overly-emphasized story any day over what it was. Just in case you're wondering; Yes, I'm a Sony supporter who thinks Gears was very superior in terms of controls compared to Uncharted.

Gameplay and performance. If a game isn't intuitive and doesn't run at a smooth framerate, I won't enjoy it.