Well you don't specify that this has to include COMPUTER games, so I'll answer that my fav is the d10 system from WotC followed by the d20 system. The d10 system was revolutionary in its simplicity and expandability it made older systems like AD&D;look ridiculously and unnecessarily complex. It was a good beginner as well as advanced system that worked well with any ideas even GURPs.

I've never been that big into RPGs myself. I never get immersed into them in the way that I really wish I would be. There is, however, one exception to this; and no suprises for guessing what it is.

My favourite RPG, and the only one that I have been able to get fully immersed into, is World of Warcraft.

The world itself is absolutely huge. The gameplay (whilst, like all RPGs, repetative) keeps you immersed. There is soo much to do. It's easy to get in to but very hard to master. I'm kind of hooked.

If we're including tactical RPGs, I've gotta say Final Fantasy Tactics is #1 for me.

Best ever pen/paper? Ysgarth with the d10/d12 rule mods. Simple, sweet, expandable to any world and any genre and (since the rules were so simple as to be literally child's play) very little of the rules lawyering that goes on with the more complex systems. GURPS was also good. AD&D;spawned lawyers, not players.

Best online/computer: RuneScape. While simple and straightforward in many ways (and while skills are capped at lvl 99, sorry), it is constantly undergoing revisions, upgrades and additions. An incredible fanbase helps this one out. WoW, while larger in terms of players and unlimited in terms of certain skills, loses out in my mind by its overreliance on groups/clans; it provides very little opportunity for the loner. Plus, it runs under Java in a browser, no downloads necessary. And from a personal programmer viewpoint, I honestly didn't think it was possible to push Java to that level!

The Final Fantasy series before it got its glitzy polygon make over was easily my favourite among RPGs. Final Fantasy IV & VI showered upon the SNES engaging stories, simple turn based game play and memorable soundtracks. They stand today as easily the best in the Final Fantasy series, and two of the best games of all time.

It's got to be D&D;for me. I tried WoW a while back, and it was fun for a while. I certainly enjoy final fantasy: 9 was my first, and I've played most of them through (Never done 1 or 2), and many other less well-known RPGs, but the d20 system does it for me. I'm not a huge fan of the recent 4th edition, and will probably stick with D&D3;.5 for quite a while to come.

What tips it towards pencil and paper for me is a good balance between combat mechanics and noncombat roleplaying: free-form tends to lack good combat management, but a pre-programmed game cannot allow players to do things not programmed in by the game's creators.

Reminiscing about all the wonderful RPGs that I’ve lived in is quite a trip down memory lane, even if I never got around to some of the most popular titles.

One of my all time favs is years old now, but still deserves one of the highest ratings for an overall gaming experience: excellent gameplay, an unlimited universe to explore, a fantastic, immersive story line with intriguing characters, themes and plots and breathtaking challenges. But maybe one of the best things about it was the soundtrack, as I remember the thrill of flying low over the parched desert sands on my dragon as the beats to some strange outlandish music colored the drama that eventually unfolded.

Drakan: the ancient gates takes my top spot.

I've never been an RPG kind of person, but I have to say, Oblivion is an awesome game.

In close second is KOTOR because I'm a bitch for star wars.

Okay, I confess. While always having been a big fan of story telling games, I never really got around to the sophisticated industry-standards - homebrew was always good enough. When I was making this debate, I was really thinking about the wonderful third person action adventure / shooter games I’ve played on my PC and on various consoles.

While this includes the more RPG-oriented Vampire: the masquerade type games, I wouldn’t mind it one bit if the lot of you tell me all the juicy details about why you love GTA. I dunno, 3, or RE4 for example, or in my case how I just can’t get enough of action-packed GOW2. Tell you what: Blood Omen 2 is still one of my favs, though playing it several years later and sober just wasn’t the same, though the camera angles that you can maneuver for the perfect perspective of some very romantic vampyric imagery is still hard to compare.

CS. Purely because you can log on for a game, play for 10 mins, and then get back to homework before you're hooked.

I would have to say RPG and Shooters because there fun and addictive and are really advancing in the technology. RPG like WoW and fable are two or the best RPG games you will ever find with a mixture of picking your destiny to kicking dragons buts LOL, Shooter like COD MW2 and Halo are 2 if the best Shooter around and everyone will agree millions of people around the planet play these games everyday