or put another way, what do you look for in a good game?

graphics? gameplay? story? innovation? artistic-ness?

I look for a combination of those elements. In my opinion, the best kind of game has a great storyline, fun and innovative gameplay, and isn't half bad to look at, either.

I realize it's rare to get all of these in one, though. I usually favor fun gameplay over anything else. Heck, I even enjoyed Enter the Matrix because I found it's combat system so much fun.

Gmeplay and story to me are important than graphcis. (although I don't mind awesome graphics and gameplay)

A gripping stroy that doesn't leave gaps (times when you're all too conscious of the fact that aeverything you're seeing has never happened and never will), graphics suficient to off er at least 1 wow moment, comfortable and easy controls, gentle difficulty curve, variation in gameplay, some sort of coop and head-to-head aspect, online play of some sort and, lets not forget that key ingredient that games like Smash bros. Brawl are working so hard to revive, FUN!

Cheesus333:
A gripping stroy that doesn't leave gaps (times when you're all too conscious of the fact that aeverything you're seeing has never happened and never will), graphics suficient to off er at least 1 wow moment, comfortable and easy controls, gentle difficulty curve, variation in gameplay...

My sentiments exactly.

I judge everything by their cover.

In order, from most important to least

Gameplay (Hey, it's a game. I want it to be fun)
Story/characters
Originality
Lasting value
Art direction
Controls
Sound/music
Graphical shinyness

meatloaf231:
In order, from most important to least

Gameplay (Hey, it's a game. I want it to be fun)
Story/characters
Originality
Lasting value
Art direction
Controls
Sound/music
Graphical shinyness

Pretty much this.

Primarily the mysterious "fun" factor but I'm such an aesthetic whore that bad art design can annoy me enough to not enjoy the fun.

meatloaf231:
In order, from most important to least

Gameplay (Hey, it's a game. I want it to be fun)
Story/characters
Originality
Lasting value
Art direction
Controls
Sound/music
Graphical shinyness

I look for the same things...just not in that exact order. Although Ultimately if its a fun and enjoyable game, it's got my money.

Space Spoons:
I look for a combination of those elements. In my opinion, the best kind of game has a great storyline, fun and innovative gameplay, and isn't half bad to look at, either.

Thus, buy Fable 2.

Gameplay, story, graphics, immersion, and replay value.

Very hard to quantify, but to me, the only measure of a game is how much I enjoy playing it. There are games for the NES which today still entice me more than Gears of War or Assassin's Creed. The graphics are abysmal, the sound is a cacophany of pain, and the game mechanics are restricted to a DPad and two buttons, but if it's FUN, I don't care.

My most favorite games...
X-Com UFO Defense
Worms (the original)
Star Control 2
Master of Orion 2
Earthsiege 1, 2, and Starsiege
and Battlefield 1942.

Of eight games, only one of them is even advanced enough to use a 3DFX card, five of them predate Windows. But all eight of them can entertain me for hours on end, whereas the newest games I bought were boring within a month.

In this order:

Gameplay, Innovation, Story, Graphics, Artistic-ness

Graphics have to be up to date for the system I'm playing on. If I'm playing on a SNES, I want to see good SNES generation graphics, if I'm playing on a 360, I expect the graphics to be higher then the PS2, and usually, they are.

Storywise, it only matters if the designers make it matter. I'm more then happy to take a stroll through a game who's story is basically "Heres some dudes, here's a gun, have some fun." However, as soon as a game introduces a story, then I start judging that story. Do I care about the protagonist? Does it make sense? Is it shown in a pleasing manner? All these things factor in.

I like gameplay that's intuitive and responsive. Left Stick Move, Right Stick Move Camera. Trigger buttons to attack, bumpers/D-pad for changing weapons main buttons for context stuff. This is a proven formula, and there is no reason to change it, and when games do, it bothers me because it's usually unnecessary, and almost always a bad idea. I like games with a clear difficulty curve that's tied to its learning curve. I like games where choices you make have actual effects, even if it's only in your appearance.

I like..

Achievements. Make it relatively easy to get half the gamer points out of a game. Makes the other half as hard as you'd like, but for me, completing a full game with 90 Gamerpoints (cough Blue Dragon) isn't what it's supposed to be about. Maybe I'm the only one who cares about that.

Story.
Fun factor.
Intuitive controls.
Decent Writing.
Decent voice acting.

In short, everything BUT graphics.

things I go by for a good game

1)Is the game fun to play (duh)

2)Are the controls appropriate and responsive (when I press jump, is the jump button in a good location and do i jump instantly w/o input lag)

3)Is the art style consistent, and look appropriate for the system it was ment to run on, if it is a FPS do the gfx look better then other FPS released at the same time (FPS are one genre that better gfx do improve gameplay (I define gameplay as how much fun I have playing it))

4) How long is it compared to the cost; how much replayability does it have (I don't consider portal and its 1 hour of no replay value gameplay to be a good game on its own; as part of the orange box its fine)

Good game qualities.... I'd say a good game would have to have a really good story, great gameplay, several jaw-dropping moments, and at least decent graphics.

Replay value is a plus

All the stuff you guys said certainly matters alot but...

Music, I love a game with a good soundtrack.

I love a game with good story and gameplay, but most of all the games I always like are the ones set with philosophical questions

I judge games based on how many crabs are involved. (example: Oblivion has tonnes of Crabs, therefore it is a good game. Assasins Creed has zero Crabs, therefore it is a crappy game that must be purged from the ranks of video games.)

I like Crabs

Gameplay and Graphics are the highest to me, a game doesn't necessarily need a story to be a good game.

I also like a good atmosphere such as music that goes well with the surroundings and events.

And I personally love really difficult boss fights.

The Iron Ninja:
I judge games based on how many crabs are involved. (example: Oblivion has tonnes of Crabs, therefore it is a good game. Assasins Creed has zero Crabs, therefore it is a crappy game that must be purged from the ranks of video games.)

I like Crabs

I'll assume that you simply forgot to mention Crab Ball.

Me, I care about (surprisingly in order) gameplay, controls, and story. How it looks doesn't matter unless my computer can't run it, although that's not very likely these days.

The Iron Ninja:
I judge games based on how many crabs are involved. (example: Oblivion has tonnes of Crabs, therefore it is a good game. Assasins Creed has zero Crabs, therefore it is a crappy game that must be purged from the ranks of video games.)

I like Crabs

Seriously.

Every time I turn around you are talking about crabs again. It's unsettling.

meatloaf231:

The Iron Ninja:
I like Crabs

Seriously.

Every time I turn around you are talking about crabs again. It's unsettling.

I should just rename myself the Iron Crab Ninja and be done with it.

Iamnotincompliance? I can't beleive I have never seen that game before, all the wasted years...

Controls, the controls have to make sense or the game falls apart on me. Not asking for the controls to be perfect and smooth but it has make the game playable without making things needlessly complicated. Sonic and the Secret Rings is a good example of bad controls because the motion on the wii mote and how quick you can jump makes the game difficult to the point of breaking the wiimote in two. It was not difficult because the level was hard but because the controls interfered with the gamplay.

Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire was a great example of controls. Although movement was stiff, the controls were all within reach and quick to use. Dragon powers were one touch and combos were easy to pull off. The targetting system served well in 1v1 combat but combat was just as good without the system when fighting multiple mobs. The game was still difficult but I never was able to blame the controls to why I failed.

Replayability and Story.

The Iron Ninja:
I judge games based on how many crabs are involved. (example: Oblivion has tonnes of Crabs, therefore it is a good game. Assasins Creed has zero Crabs, therefore it is a crappy game that must be purged from the ranks of video games.)

I like Crabs

You must be obsessive about the Half-Life series, then XD

Anyhow, I typically look for games that are either fairly well recommended by fairly intelligent people (ie- anyone who isn't a Halo fan, them being the rabid fanatics that they are, which baffles me to no end...) or off the beaten path a little. I also find some of the older crowd of games still attractive; ie- SNES, Genesis, Saturn, PS1, Older comp games, ect...

I don't really have a specific order, but in short: Controls, story, acting, intuitiveness, originality, and, if possible, a little mind fuckery ^-^

Story, Gameplay, Sound and Fun Factor. That is all I care about really.

Usually by how much of my time it takes up. If it hooks me in its a good game. But story is important as well. Sound design is good to.

Gameplay and story are the major factors. Games that have something excellent gameplay but mediocre stories will still get bought, though I'd be a bit hesitant on great story and mediocre gameplay. Graphics counts for shit, and art style comes in a close third, tying with music.

First thing's first. I ask myself "did I have fun?" depending on the answer, I will try to find out why I felt that way. Sometimes I'll like or hate a game and not know why.

Graphics and sound don't have to be amazing but they have to be neat. One thing I have noticed is that I like good artwork better than realistic graphics. My suspension of disbelief, balance, and how intuitive and creative a game is definitely helps.

I also want lot's of blood an gore and explosions, lots of brutal earth shattering explosions.
ooh and scarsely clad women with big boobs. and big swords are good too.
and maybe some bunnies