And the sound too, the rest is important but not that much

Gameplay makes all the difference. If a game has great graphics but plays like crap, then it's just not fun anymore. I think that's why I like playing on the DS so much. The graphics might not be the best, but the innovation in gameplay is awesome.

but without a great story there is not much motivation

Well that depends on what type of game you prefer too... I mean where's the story line and characters in Roller Coaster Tycoon? There is none, yet the gameplay is fabulous.

mixture between graphics and gameplay

Characters are important too though, and a good storyline

They're all equally important to me.

yeah you're right petronis, the best games are really a combination of these four things, and yeah it depends on what type of games you like, you're right DrDevience, I myself prefer R.P.G.s and I like some action/adventure games...

Every game should have good graphics, gameplay and characters just like resident evil 4!

storylines also very important. graphics are much less important to me. my fav game ever is ff7 like hehe

Storyline, Characters and gameplay make a great game.

Here's a bunch of good games which were made great by those three factors:

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is considered one of the best games of all time. And the graphics were.... to be honest, crap. The thing that made it great were the storyline, the gameplay and the characters. The sound was awesome, but to be honest I don't really think sound matters.

Fable, The Lost Chapters. Yet another game with amazing gameplay, but rubbish graphics. The sound was ok, but nothing special, but yet again did not contribute to the game being good or bad.

Resident Evil 4. Oh my gosh the story was incredible, and surprisingly epic. When I bought the game I thought it was going to be another short zombie game which would take me a few days. At the point I thought it was going to end, I had only completed 20% of the main story! It was an amazing story and on top of that, the controls for the Wii version were perfect. the graphics are nowhere near as good as some of today's games but I doubt Resident Evil 5 will top RE4.

And now I bring up the Sonic series, which is a slight exception the rule. Sega has been trying to focus on story recently and because of that the series has been brutally murdered; it was best when they focused on the gameplay.

Oh, and do I have to mention World of Warcraft? THE most addictive game in existence? The graphics aren't even Gamecube worthy, but still there are over 9 million players.

all!

very imporant things most be remembered

I personally don't care if a XboX 360 game or a Ps3 game have Ps2 graphics, well maybe a little. What I expect most from games are the storylines, yep that's probably the most important thing to me. Character Development is also a pro.

I also have to agree with johnminh. Like the game 'Sonic Heroes', the graphics are great, but the gameplay screws it up. Same as with 'Spider-Man'(ps2).

It's all important to me- the graphics and gameplay have to be balanced to get the strongest review from me!

this should be a no brainer..... whats the point of any of the others if the gameplay sux

CHARACTERS!!!

Gameplay is my number #1 pick, with Story and Characters at #2, and Sound at #3.

It matters a lot, A game with stupid characters and storyline is a stupid game

The most important aspect of any game in my opinion is the gameplay. While I'll admit that the storyline plays an important role in the game development, there are some games that I still enjoy playing that have no kind of storyline what's so ever. I don't really pay much attention to the graphics at all.

and then comes gameplay and after that comes graphics

I'm sorry, but I can't stand boring video games or the ones that only last a day or two on the first time playing. If I feel like stopping and don't feel the desire to go back to play the game, it's no good. On the other hand, if it's hard to stop and take a break, and I'm itching to go back and play it most of the time, that's the kind of game I love.

i will never keep a game that is boring (like call of duty 1)esh

i will never keep a game that is boring (like call of duty 1 esh)

why did it post two times?

Absolutely!

The Graphics could be amazing, but without everythinng else, the game will suck ballz.

no charicters no game

example: Sly4 Sly,Bentley,Murray,Bad Guys

You need good gameplay.

The Gameplay could be amazing, but if the characters are not interesting and the story is a bored I won't continue playing the game or play it in the first place. The story and characters are key in a video game, and the game has to have them both to earn my reasoning to play it or even appreciate or acknowledge its existence.

Mainly the story/plot i take into consideration, but the gameplay is just as important XP

It depends on the game for me,I look for different things in different games like graphics matter more to me in a Baseball game more than say a Pokemon game,but aside from that one thing doesn't change for me in a game definitely has to be the gameplay itself.

Along with characters. Sometimes story, depending on the genre (e.g. I think story is important in adventure games and RPGs, not so much in action and platformers).

Mostly though I want it to be good enough for me to play from beginning to end, and hopefully replay someday too.