Starflight

The Good
This game opened many doors in the industry, including the epic space exploration game (see Star Control 2 for the latest and best iteration of this concept) and the "man-years" required to make such a game. The ending is also one of the most impressive and influential story devices in the genre.

The Bad
The artifacts were too hard to figure out what the heck they did, and the timelimit to finish the game seems cruel (but justified in hindsight.) Also, the "yes/no" ending choice really bothers me from a design aspect, since there is only one real choice.

The Bottom Line
Anyone interested in game history must play this game.