For me, for example, Story is the most important element in a videogame. That´s why my favorite games are games like Shenmue, Resident evil code veronica, Halo, Metal Gear Solid.

How about your favorite element in games?

Nah not a story. Games like super monkey ball dont have a story and yet theyre adictive as all hell. For me it got to be gameplay.

without doubt its gameplay.

Tetris, the quake 3' s, CS,s, Virtua fighters, Burnouts, monkey balls, Mario karts, Gradius, great gamplay drives most classic games,

Gameplay is definitly a major element in a game but games with great story like shenmue, halo or metal gear solid are the ones that are remembered forever. I have never seen a game like super monkey ball being that strong on gamers memories. For example, i loved jet set radio. It has many great elements like sound, graphics but without the funny story i would have never played it more than twice.

Yeah i think THE most important aspect HAS to be gameplay but more games are focusing on film like experiences with strong narratives, and that aids immersion and thus heightens the overall experience.

A good control scheme works wonders too.

As f3 said, the Burnout games are a perfect example of great gameplay without a story, ...though Outrun is an EVEN better example...

Hey Sulphur!!!

Shenmue, Halo and MGS were great because of great gameplay as well, not just their stories. Without the gameplay those games wouldn' t have been as good.
I don' t think the purpose of playing a game is to get something you remember for the rest of your life. It' s supposed to be fun at the moment. But a story worth remembering is a plus of course.
Or does anyone disagree that Shenmue, Halo and MGS has great gameplay?

Hey Majik!

Those games had wicked gameplay especially Halo and Metal Gear!

I also enjoy series like outrun ( which i played a lot as kid in arcades) that have good gameplay as well as burnout but to be honest i look up for great story telling. Games are a unique way to take us to great new worlds. That´s why i can play Final Fantasy 7 many times. It is a long game with a lot to explore but the game´s world and story makes wanna play it again and again.

Even though i like story games i have been playing quicker games more often ( like Cannon spike or virtua tennis ) but only because i have few time to play games ( this doesnt mean that cannon spike or virtua tennis arent good games)

yes those games had great gameplay

We need to bear in mind that there' s no right or wrong answer to this question though because different people like different types of games

i completly agree with that. majik...but anyway...besides gameplay which other element are important to you?´I mean...good gameplay is such an obvious element so let´s say that you already have great gameplay what else would you add to a game?

My pick Easily goes to Gameplay.

GAMEPLAY is KING... I' ve always loved that quote since it rings true through and through.

Regardless of how wonderful the soundtrack of a game is, how awesome the graphics are, and how amazing the storyline is, if the gameplay is $hit then there' s no real motivation to complete the game.

In addition to good gameplay and controls, I always want GOOD music. That' s also more important to me than awesome graphics and superb storylines.

I' m a sucker for great art direction. Especially in story driven games, ...thinks like sound effects, music, the story obviously and art direction are especially important to me.

Dialogue, fluid animation and good use of colour rate highly too. It all adds to the immersion.

I like a well thought out control method but also appreciate the ability to re-map controls to different buttons.

It all adds to the immersion.

I knew you would mentio that sooner or later!

Gameplay is the thing that any game cant do without because if the gameplays crap then you wont play it and it doesnt matter how stunning it looks. But saying that, for story driven games lots of stuff have to be used in conjunction to immerse the player and imersion helps the gameplay experience.

well...your comments gave me an idea...similar to one topic i have seen here...What´s your favorite game for each game element?

To me:

Gameplay: Halo
Story: Shenmue
Graphics: Otogi ( i loved the visuals...it made me cry)
Sound: Jet Set Radio ( i always sing all the songs in its soundtrack while playing it)

for me it has to be gameplay, like everyone in the world. After that, even if there is no story but good music, ill play the game to the end, cuz good music, will immerse you anyway. And if you have the story, well that' s a plus. I think we can all agree that the games mentioned in the beginning of this topic have gameplay, music and story (besides graphics as well). The halo music for example, man do I love that soundtrack and all the other tones used during gameplay.

NFS Underground for example had sick soundtracks. Most of the songs there I wouldn' t have listened to, but implemented in the game, it added so much more to the experience, which is why out of the new nfs series (with the whole tricked out rides) I still like underground. underground 2 and most wanted aren' t the same.

One of the main reasons for liking ninja gaiden 2 was and is because I think it has some of the best tunes ever put on a game, during gameplay and during the cutscenes (which are awsome btw). That' s why I played that game 3 times through.

For me good storytelling is a big plus, not a big must.

Hahahaha.... That' s a great idea

Gameplay: Super Monkey Ball 2
Story: Metal Gear Solid
Graphics: Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory/Kameo
Sound: Call of Duty 2
Music: Halo (adds to a cinematic experience)
Art Direction: Killzone (although i don' t actually rate the game whatsoever )

Wow...i totally forgot about Kameo visuals...when i first saw them i was amazed ( sadness embraces hidemoto) but i never played it though.

Nice idea. It' s pretty hard to choose in some catagories though since eg there are different types of gameplay, styles of music, that I like equally but are different if you see what I mean. But these are my elements in no order of importance:

Gameplay: Street Fighter 2, Devil May Cry 3
Story: Final Fantasy 7, Fahrenheit (interesting characters are the key here)
Graphics: Zone of the Enders 2 (stylised and slick, not just photorealistic etc.)
Atmospheric Sound: Silent Hill, Manhunt
Immersion Factor/Believability/Attention to detail: GT Legends
Music: Streets of Rage 2
Memories/Originality: Tenchu, UFO: Enemy Unknown, Syndicate etc (the list is long!)

All rounder: Metal Gear Solid

I' d say gameplay is the main element since these are ' games' , but I would want an intelligent story next in games that aren' t gameplay focused like mp or driving games.

I can' t settle on a single game for each category but here are some picks

Gameplay: Klonoa 2, Gradius V, Viewtiful Joe series, Salamander 2, Space Harrier, Super Hang-On, Super Mario World, Castle of Illusion, F-Zero GX, Blazing Star, Ikaruga, Virtua Fighter 3, Super Street Fighter II: Turbo, Magician Lord

Story: Shenmue series, Metal Gear Solid series, Blood Will Tell, Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly

Graphics: Otogi 2, Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alive 2 & up, Astal, Klonoa 2, Viewtiful Joe series, Magician Lord

Music: Salamander 2, Astal, Panzer Dragoon, Gradius 3, Ys 1 - 4, Headhunter, Super Turrican, Ecco the Dolphin (Sega CD), Ecco the Dolphin: The Tides of Time (Sega CD), Dragon Saber, Act Raiser, Magician Lord, Jim Power (both SNES and PC Engine versions), Batman (Sunsoft Sega Genesis version), Sonic CD (both Japanese and U.S. soundtrack), Super Hang-On, Microcosm, Batman Returns (Sega CD), The Amazing Spiderman (Sega CD), Virtua Quest, Star Soldier (PSP remake), Dracula X: Rondo of Blood, Android Assault (Best damn saxophone I' ve ever heard in a game soundtrack!)