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Your Top Ten Games

post #1 of 79
6/23/10 at 2:36pm
Thread Starter 
Just thought it'd be interesting to see what Chewers held as their own personal top ten in regards to games. I couldn't find this thread through a regular search so I guess it's okay to start. It might be fun to give a little background to each choice, just to stop it being a list thread and to discuss the choices.

Anyways

Team Fortress 2

Probably my favourite multiplayer game ever. I had a few dalliances with the original Team Fortress, but it was the sequel which drew me in with it's Pixarish art style, awesome sense of humour, focus on strategy and insane ultra violence. Despite the 360 version getting screwed over in terms of updates, it's the version I still go back to.

Grandia

Just a fantastic little JRPG. I remember playing this initially on the Sega Saturn and just being enraptured by it. It's still my favourite JRPG and that's because it's got a style and tone to it which doesn't feel like a JRPG. It's just a massive, grand, adventure.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

I'm in the camp which love GTA 4, but it's still a close second to this in terms of my affections. It's a fantastic medley of design, style, mission structure and it's topped off with an amazing soundtrack. I love the way you can buy and build up property in the game and it's something I wish would be intergrated into next iterations of the series. It's also the last time Rockstar would really pursue a genuinely, recklessly, sociopathic lead character. Tommy Vercetti is just a charismatic son of a bitch, CJ and Niko Bellic would be far more layered and ultimately there style woul;d change the nature of the game.

Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect was a game that I loved despite itself. I found the story, the characters and universe of the first game to be amazing but I always felt the technical limitations of the game and some really quite boring main missions (to me Feros is the most boring part of any videogame ever) did it a disservice. Mass Effect 2 stripped back on the RPG elements and polished it's mission elements to perfection. It's a blockbuster of a game, with varied missions, fantastic graphics, and some great characters and dialogue.

Diablo 2

Click on the goblin, the goblin is dead. Click the corpse, oh a new helm. Click on the goblin, the goblin is dead. Click the corpse, oh money.

Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Ocarina of Time is the blockbuster, but I always had a soft spot for it's scrappy, oddball, sequel. Using the same assets of Ocarina of Time the game built a new game world and structured the entire game around miniquests and helping people in the gameworld. The main component of a three day game world was at times frustrating but in terms of design and tone it was a fantastic sequel bristling with ideas.

Rock Band 2

If you have friends this is probably the most fun you'll ever have whilst holding plastic instruments. In an age of anonymous online gaming, Rock Band is an amazing communal experience and even on your own it's such a feel good game it's amazing.

Total Annihilation

Thousands of robots, all exploding, all the time. This is one of the few games where I heavily invested in the modding scene and as such the vanilla version of the game was eventually bolstered with boats, gigantic mechas, airships, you name it. Just an amazing experience.

Halo:Combat Evolved

People hate Halo. I love Halo, and I loved playing through the campaign in co-op. Aside from a few hitches I still think this one of the better FPS campaigns on a console and playing it in co-op was amazing.

Resident Evil 4

I love the Resident Evil series, even loved Code Veronica, but even I was finding the series a little stale and lacklustre. As such Resident Evil 4 wasn't just an outstanding game, but it felt like a triumphant return for a game series which had gotten me into gaming in the first place.
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post #2 of 79
6/23/10 at 2:53pm
Deus Ex

Best game of all time ever. There's no game with levels as well designed as this one. Perfectly layered, immersive, written.

Peggle

Hits every stupid sweet spot I like. Physics, bouncing shit, combos, all sorts of amazing shit.

Team Fortress 2

I'm no good at it, but it's still fun after 200 hours of play (by the way, if you're on CHUD and have a Steam account, give me a PM.) Brilliantly balanced and so many styles of play.

Half-Life 2

Great level design, immersive, lot of fun. Also, it was actual characters.

Perfect Dark

People who prefer Goldeneye to this are sentimental schmucks. Everything about 007 but better. Still have never had this much fun playing offline multi-player.

Portal

The absolute greatest example of storytelling in video games. Perfect in every way.

Starcraft

I find something very calming about the systematic building of forces and eventual annihilation of my enemies. Great balance, lots of fun. Too bad I'm fucking terrible of it.

Day of the Tentacle

Most I ever laughed playing a game.

GTA: San Andreas

Everything I like about GTA in my favorite setting of any of the games. Too bad the main character's so boring.

Super Mario World

Best platformer ever.
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post #3 of 79
6/23/10 at 2:58pm
Spike Marshall, My favorite games are as follows...
1) Metal Slug Anthology-Wii-My favorite Run n' Gun series ever, side scrolling 2d action, power ups, in and out of cool yet humorous super deformed vehicles. Also, 2 people can play, and it has...Unlimited Continues. Also, the...Ikari Warriors are playable in Metal Slug 6, and that was the SNK series I played constantly before Metal Slug.I would rather play a game over and over again in an...1 1/2 hours or less, than play a 10-20 hr game once.
2) Tatsunoko Vs Capcom-Wii-is my favorite of the current 2D Capcom fighters. Not only does it include some of my fave Capcom fighters...Chun Li, and Ryu, but it is the first time I have been able to have a fighting game with characters from...Science Ninja Team Gatchaman...Ken The Eagle, Jun The Swan, and Joe The Condor. Gatchaman is one of my favorite anime series ever. Also, I have watched shows featuring...Tekkaman, and Tekkaman Blade, which are also in the game.
3 and 4) Street Fighter IV and Super Street Fighter IV-360-...Nuff Said.
5) Samurai Shodown Anthology-Wii- My 2nd favorite SNK fighting series, with SNK Vs Capcom 1 and 2, just barely beating it. Samurai Shodown 6 is my favorite game of the collection. You can even fight as...President George Washington.
6) Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection-360-I bought this classics compilation for...Streets Of Rage 1-3 and Golden Axe 1-3 alone. There are a few other good games too.
7) Data East Arcade Collection-Wii- I love playing...Bad Dudes Vs Dragon Ninja and Heavy Barrel. They are some of my fave games ever. Secret Agent is another good game. James Bond in...2D. Odd Job, and Jaws are some of your foes.

I only have a...Top 7. I suspect that the other 3 games could very well become...Marvel Vs Capcom 3, Fist Of The North Star: Ken's Rage, and My fave 90's Game...Gunblade NY paired with, LA Machine Guns in a 2 game Action Pack.
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post #4 of 79
6/23/10 at 3:13pm
Great thread. As you can see, Nintendo has been good to me.

Resident Evil 4
I loved the idea of the RE series prior to Resident Evil 4, but the games didn't amaze me with their actual mechanics. RE 4 changed all of that. It was fun, intense and non-stop. It made all the previous Resident Evil games feel stale while completely changing the franchise. Brilliant.

Fallout 3
Maybe it's the setting but this might be the perfect game for me. Massive, unrestricted with great writing and voice acting. It's the first game I truly got lost in, spending hours on minor tasks or leveling, wasting days just wandering around exploring the world. Plus, that soundtrack.

Half-Life 2
It was the best action film of 2004 and it wasn't even a movie. Some of the most enthralling, fast-paced gaming in history.

Super Mario 64
This was my first taste of the next generation of gaming. The first time I played this, I thought, "Wow, this is the future of video games."

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Another game to transform a series while still staying true to its origins. Again, a huge step forward.

Mario Kart 64 & Goldeneye
These two go together for me because they were both about the multi-player. Before these, playing with friends was about trading controllers and waiting turns. Goldeneye and Mario Kart made things fresh and competitive. They created a monster.

Dr. Mario (NES)
I played this for hours with my mom. I mean, seriously hours. Whenever I was home sick, this was my go-to.

Diablo
My first solo computer adventure. Also my first experience with the whole idea of leveling up. Once I learned about that, once I had special items I wanted and goals to exceed, I quickly became obsessed with this game.

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
My brother, father and I would sit down at the end of the day and work our way through this. It took us a long time (no walkthroughs or cheats) but we loved every minute of it. I have fond memories of playing this for an hour before heading to bed each night.
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post #5 of 79
6/23/10 at 3:15pm
I don't have time to pontificate, so I'll edit my remarks later.

1. Final Fantasy VI

2. Chrono Trigger

3. Xenogears

...in no specific order

Metal Gear Solid

Resident Evil

Final Fantasy Tactics

Fallout 3

World of Warcraft

The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past

Goldeneye 007
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post #6 of 79
6/23/10 at 3:31pm
God dammit, this is going to be hard:

-Deus Ex:
Probably the finest Cyberpunk Sci-Fi game ever made; the amount of detail and background to the gameworld is to this days mesmerizing, and few games have managed to equal DE in its innovative, "do as you please" approach to gameplay.

-Fallout 2:
The first Fallout was great and a breath of fresh, dusty radioactive air in the RPG genre; like Mass Effect 2, this title takes everything that was great about its predecesor, and improves upon it to perfection.

-Final Fantasy VI:
The finest 16 bit RPG ever made; the scope and development of both story and characters was complimented by fantastic gameplay and one of the most memorable soundtracks of all time. Also, as far as RPG's go, you can beat this game's cruel, almost unbelievable twist moment; FFVII and beyond pales in comparison (except FFIX, of course)

-Planescape:Torment
A philosophical rpg game? That's exactly what this game is, with one of the most stunning, creative gameworlds so far, and an amount of plot and dialogue that borders on insanity. The game using analogues of real world belief systems and philosophy only enhances what has to be the most complex, spiritual plot in gaming history.

-Half Life
Sure, FPS masterpieces had been done before, and the concept of inmersion wasnt new to hardcore gamers...but from start to finsih, Half Life remains a riveting experience; I once read that a game needs 15 minutes to get you hooked or bore you, and Half Life used 10 of those minutes to settle you in and introduce you with uneasiness into its gameworld...then it all blows to hell in 5 minutes, which begin a fight for survival and safety you can put down. Also, the first game to introduce enemies who werent cannon fodder, but intelligent, relentless bastards who would hunt you down and adapt to your old school FPS tactics.

-Castlevania: Symphony of the Night:
2d gaming at its best, and remains replayable to this day (i own 3 different versions on 3 different systems of this game). The start of the Metroidvania style for the series, and a staple since then. No wonder it gets rereleased for newer systems.

-Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
The first one was great, the second was just good...but the third one was the charm for this series.
The jump to the Cold War setting was genious, and Kojima perfected the gameplay staples of the series here; story and dialogue wise its the sole game of the series that balances kojima's deranged ideas (never change, you crazy bastard) and a damn fine story. Easily contains some of the best boss battles in gaming.

-Mass Effect 2:
Like Fallout 2, it trims the previous game's fat and worse bits, and improves in everything else; the "suicide mission" idea was genious, and the level of character development and the change to a simpler, more action based gameplay was rewarded with massive public appeal while never straying away from its roots.

-The Longest Journey
Easily my favorite adventure game; its stars what has to eb one of the best, most realistic female characters in gaming in April Ryan, and her journey through 2 mirror worlds and her role in the fate of them both made for a fantastic story.

-Resident Evil 2:
Easily my favorite survival/horror game; while the fourth game was a triumphant return, its RE2 the game that remains the hallmark of the series for me; the different story sides, the gameplay and the overall progression through diverse enviroments and constant, balanced introduction of new enemies and weapons make it a perfect experience.

Runner Up (that will humilliate me, because i was passionate as hell about this back in the day; spoilers ahoy)

-Zone of the Enders
Few people played this game, seeing it as an afterthought to its bundled Metal gear Solid 2 demo.
It was the first game to nail the feeling of anime styles mech battles and the action and different set pieces were well made and the story/level progression was perfect.
However, what makes it my 11th pick is the fact that it features my favorite Boss/villian in gaming, Viola.
To my young self, Viola wasnt just a character, she was a goddamn nightmare; she was willing to kill her fellow wingmen, the soldiers under her command and even millions of people in order to defeat your player character; she shoots an unarmed little girl in the back and just refused to admit defeat...Kojima had pretty much made her character someone to be hated and despised by the player.
And then everything changed...as she's defeated and is about to die an absolutly horrible death, Viola relents and reveals her past and the reasons for being the monster that has plagued you through the game...and her character suddenly becomes someone to be pitied, to feel bad and empathize with. Its melodrama at its best, but I floored me when i was younger.

Damn you, spike, for making me think this much!
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post #7 of 79
6/23/10 at 3:50pm
Quake - it came at just the right time. College. The spread of the Internet. My first self-built PC. I wasted untold hours on the multiplayer demo alone. Then the Threewave CTF mod came out, and I was utterly sucked in.

Star Control (Sega Genesis) - while the main game was a great mix of exploration, strategy, and combat, 2-player melée was fucking amazing.

Sonic The Hedgehog - still my favorite platformer.

HALO - I'm with Spike, and playing the whole game in co-op with my wife is one of my best gaming memories.

HALO 2 - speaking of fond memories, those early chewer-filled multiplayer matches were some of the most fun I've ever had in a game.

(tie)Modern Warfare/Modern Warfare 2 - the most addictive multiplayer experience I've ever had. Though the asshole quotient seems to have tripled on MW 2, I still can't tear myself away.

Bioshock - this *might* be my favorite game of all time. It's a close battle with...

(tie)Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic/Jade Empire - my two favorite Bioware games. I know it's heresy, but I like these equally, and like them better than any subsequent Bioware game. I didn't finish Mass Effect, haven't played Mass Effect 2, and couldn't get into Dragon Age. Yet KOTOR and Jade Empire were each beaten multiple times. I just love them.

Streets of Rage - my favorite home console beat-'em-up. Great control, music, graphics. Love it.

Fable - superior to Fable 2 where it counts, and its shortcomings are easily overshadowed by the charm, fun, humor, and art direction. Here's another of the very small number of games that I've played through multiple times.

Hard to narrow it down to 10, and I had to cheat it a bit as it was. I'm sure I'm leaving TONS off that I'll kick myself for later.
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post #8 of 79
6/23/10 at 4:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ryoken View Post
God dammit, this is going to be hard
Truer words were never spoken....er....typed. I could think for a long time and come up with a well-reasoned list, but it would probably change after giving it more thought. It seems like I always forget something every time I try to come up with one of these lists, but I will try nonetheless because it's fun.

Anyway, on to thinking about my actual list....
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post #9 of 79
6/23/10 at 4:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Polygon_Wizard View Post
Truer words were never spoken....er....typed. I could think for a long time and come up with a well-reasoned list, but it would probably change after giving it more thought. It seems like I always forget something every time I try to come up with one of these lists, but I will try nonetheless because it's fun.

Anyway, on to thinking about my actual list....
I made a concious choice to not include games based on movies/series, etc, to keep my list to be about sole gaming originality, while given a pass at games that use pen and paper rpg systems.
It did not made the task any easier, oddly.
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post #10 of 79
6/23/10 at 4:12pm
1. DELTA (Commodore 64) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02YBWKxDXPI
Just a spartan version of the classic L-to-R shoot'em up, but beautiful in its sparsity. Plus, it's got the most mesmerizing Rob Hubbard soundtrack of all time, just 10 minutes of Philip Glass-esque mindfuck. Shooters don't come more hypnotic than this.

2. H.E.R.O. (VCS 2600) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HjJXJbMvzs
Again, the beauty of simplistic gameplay. One of those 'one more go' games where you wanna keep on getting just a little bit further.

3. Rainbow Islands (Arcade/Amiga) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_nxx-lCO9I
You shoot fucking rainbows. Let me repeat that: SHOOTING FUCKING RAINBOWS. At bees, butterflies, toy tanks, and cutesy vampires and Frankensteins. It's like overdosing on cotton candy and Snapple, only good.

4. Yoshi's Island (SNES)
Okay after this no more cutesy games I promise! It's just that this is the most perfect unique platformer ever made. Other Mario games may be better, but they all have similar gameplay. This one stood out from the pack, and I really have never played anything like it since. Also one of the few games where I was really compelled to get 100% completion, somehow.

5. Duke Nukem (PC)
My introduction to 3D gaming and FPS. How pathetic did it get? At one point I bought one of those shady bootleg 'extra levels' cd-roms (hey, it was before I got a decent internet connection). I still enjoy playing this. Most modern day fps I finish the campaign, & then be done with it.

6. GTA San Andreas (PS2)
I've explained my preference of this over VC several times elsewhere. So let's just say: the soundtrack, the culture, the humour and the setting just resonates more with me than that of VC. We have open world games nowadays that are many times bigger than SA I think, but still none feels quite so expansive.

7. Jak 3 (PS2)
Just a great sci-fi fantasy adventure. I just love '70s European scifi comics, and this has exactly that style and feel. It's also one of the rare games (esp. that generation) where the writers get the humor just right. And it's a beefy challenge without becoming controller-bitingly difficult like Jak 2 (that actually happened). There's a ludicrous variety in gameplay, and every mission controls like a dream.

8. Metroid Prime (Gamecube)
How difficult is it to do a First person platform shooter? This is about the only one I've ever known to do it right. Luckily, this and the sequel are the only ones I'll ever need. Immensely replayable, and again: a gameworld to get blissfully lost in.

9. Midnight Club 3 Dub Edition (PS2)
God help me, I'm really crap at straight driving games. So arcade racers are the only ones I enjoy, and this is just the one I prefer to all the rest. Yes, that includes Burnout series. There's something about the feel of reckless speed here that does the trick for me. Plus, it has the best soundtrack- loads of great hiphop & oldschool techno (Underground Resistance!)

10. Skate 2 (PS3)
I love skateboarding but I have one problem: I eternally suck at it. Which is why I always settled for the videogame form, from '720degree' onwards. And the genre doesn't come better than this: The beautiful mechanics of the first one, and an expansive world to roll around in. It's just virtual wish fulfillment.
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post #11 of 79
6/23/10 at 4:26pm
Just off the top of my head:

TIE Fighter - Man, I miss this game. So many memories of playing this until the wee hours. The first time through it took me flying and my friend running the million keyboard commands. Later, I purchased a decent flight stick with a fair amount of mapped buttons. Felt like a one-man wrecking crew in that TIE Defender.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - Easily the most cinematic game that I've played.

Jedi Knight II: Outcast - To me, the best of the FPS Jedi games

Aliens vs Predator (PC) - Many, many creepy nights trolling through dark corridors with only the sound of hissing vents on the clicking of the motion tracker... and my friend and I screaming like little girls.

Aliens vs Predator (arcade) - My favorite of the Final Fight-style brawlers and possibly my favorite arcade game, period.

Crimson Skies - It's tough to find flight sims to begin with, but the pulpy feel to this one really makes it stand out.

Wolfenstein 3D - I can still remember the first time a strolled down a 3D hallway and into a room of 15 SS agents and a discarded turkey dinner.

Half-Life 2 - The pacing, settings and plot of this one continues to set the bar pretty high for a lot of FPS.

Portal - My favorite of the non-violent / puzzle based games.

SimAnt - Partially for nostalgic reasons, but this game brought something "otherworldly" to the SimCity genera. Also started a fascination in entomology that still continues.
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post #12 of 79
6/23/10 at 4:29pm
Is this a "my favorite ten games" or a "ten games I think are the best" thread?

There a huge difference between the two.
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post #13 of 79
6/23/10 at 4:31pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jcassady View Post
Is this a "my favorite ten games" or a "ten games I think are the best" thread?

There a huge difference between the two.
Ten favourite games.
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post #14 of 79
6/23/10 at 4:32pm
Knights of the Old Republic. It's pretty much the best game out there based directly on an existing property, it's in the running for best RPG ever, it's a great adventure and fighting game to boot, and it has a story and cast of characters that are actually much better than any found in the recent films. I have no idea how a person can not love this game.

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. This is my favorite adventure/fantasy game of all time.

Tetris (Gameboy). You have to admit that this is probably the most addicting game ever. And it's basically a digital version of building blocks.

Genghis Khan (NES). This is what I'd nominate as the best straight-up RPG.

Super Mario 64. You can't make a game that is more batshit insane or fun than this. You just can't.

Freedom Fighters. This game works on so many different levels for me. It's a parody of both rightwing nutjob fantasies and Super Mario Bros. It has great gameplay. You actually have to think your strategy and tactics through. And you can order groups of people to certain death.

GTA: Vice City. This is the only game I've encountered where you can have fun with game months and years after beating it. It's a great value for a game.

Superman (NES). This is my favorite game from childhood and I'm still willing to say it's the best Superman videogame produced.

Starfox 64 Do I have to make a case for this one?

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. This was the biggest surprise for me this decade. I think this is only in competition with KOTOR for the title of the closest thing to a perfect game made in the last ten years.
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post #15 of 79
6/23/10 at 4:41pm
1. Half-life - A totally immersive shooter that changed the way I looked at video games. An all around experience that no other game has been able to equal. Expansive outdoor environments, mixed with tense close quarters combat, amazing level design, I could go on and on... So much imagination on display in this one. And this is before you take into consideration the online community and the hundreds of free quality modifications (both single and multiplayer) that came into play after the game's release.

2. Half-life 2 - Everything I loved about the first game, played out to perfection a second time.

3. Deus Ex - My favorite RPG. The ridiculous neo-noir cyberpunk plot is good pulpy fun and the game mixes action with roleplaying elements to great effect.

4. Company of Heroes - My favorite RTS, hands down. Its a visual treat, but the gameplay is so dynamic. Also happens to be one of the best WWII games in existence.

5. Battlefield 2 - In terms of online team oriented shooters, this was tops for me. One of those games where you and your buddies can sit around afterwards and swap war stories over a couple of beers.

6. Stalker - The scariest game I've ever played. Its relentlessly bizarre and unparalleled in terms of atmosphere. This game uses its monsters and mutants so sparingly (theres only a handful of actual monster fights), but the dread and tension just build and build and build.

7. M.U.L.E. - Oldie but a goodie. The original RTS. My buddies and I get together to play this every few months and its dated, but always great fun. I like to think of it as 'There Will Be Blood' in space.

8. Super Smash Brothers (n64) - Another classic. Will always be my favorite fighting game. This was a college dorm room staple.

9. Team Fortress 2 - Love the look of this one. Of course it doesn't hurt that its one of the most insane (in the best possible way) multiplayer FPS experiences available.

10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - I hate that this is on my list. I have such a love/hate relationship with this game. The single player is like the ultimate Michael Bay movie, but the multiplayer is why I keep coming back. On a good day, its an addicting adrenaline fueled brawl that looks and plays better than most FPS out there. On a bad day, it makes me want to punch things. Hard.
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post #16 of 79
6/23/10 at 5:15pm
Half-Life 2

HL2 is an epic road trip of a game that I never tire of replaying. It does a great job of immersing you in Gordon Freeman's world and never breaking you out of it until the credits roll. I think the thing I like the most about HL2 is that it still has all the "fat" on its bones, meaning there are slow moments in between all the setpieces that most modern games would skip right over. It makes the game feel like an epic journey where you took every single step.


Thief: The Dark Project

When done right, I love stealth in video games. There's something enjoyable about sneaking into a mansion or dilapidated prison and getting out again without the guards ever realizing you are there, other than the headache they'll have after getting whacked over the head. Thief has an interesting story, a charismatic main character, and a fun sense of style to the cutscenes between levels. I also love the sandbox level design that lets you take multiple paths to your goals and the tiered difficulty structure that adds more objectives rather than just making enemies tougher.


Metroid Prime

Metroid Prime is yet another game that really immerses the player in its world (are you seeing a trend here?). Everything from the sound design to the run-down environments to the small details like seeing Samus' face reflected in her visor keep you firmly rooted in world. Every single area looks and feels unique, and the game still looks gorgeous to this day. For my money, Prime is the best Metroid game ever made, and that's saying something. It perfectly translated the Metroid formula into a 3D environment while still standing on its own merits.


Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

This is like playing a beautiful Zelda cartoon. Link is the most expressive he has ever been, and the watery world is creatively imagined. I think this is the 3D Zelda game that has the most charming personality, and I love it.


Mass Effect

while sequel made many improvements, one place where it stepped backwards in my opinion is in immersion, arguably one of the major selling points for any great RPG. The inventory system may be a chore and the side quests may feel cookie-cuttered, but I will take the immersion of the original any day. I love how the first Mass Effect feels a lot more "sci fi" than the action movie sequel did. I love how ME1 made you drive around on planets and walk out the front door. Don't get me wrong, I love ME2 as well, but the original game edges it out for me because I will take elevators that keep me "in the game" over loading screens (no matter how pretty they are) any day.


Super Smash Bros Melee

I can't tell you how many hours I wasted playing this game with my roommates in college. We literally purchased a GameCube just for this game because we loved the original game so much. Melee sped things up, added characters, and a hundred extra layers of polish to the experience. We would start playing this game at six in the evening and be genuinely surprised when it suddenly turned out to be three in the morning. We played this game so much that one of us could take on three opponents in a 100-life match and end up with more than 50 lives when it was over. Melee is a game that is easy to pick up and play, but it has quite a bit of depth and strategy to master. And who doesn't want to pit various Nintendo characters against each other? Where else can you find out who would win in a fight between Kirby, Link, Fox McCloud, and Captain Falcon?


Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Sand of Time has great puzzles, acrobatic character movement, and a beautiful environment in which to implement said acrobatics. I also like the fairy tale tone of the story and the rewind mechanic.


Assassin's Creed

This is one of the first "next gen" games that I played on my 360, and I pretty much drowned in it's visual presentation and freedom of movement. AC2 made many improvements on the original, but this game will always hold a special place in my gaming heart for how much it immersed me in its story and environments. In fact, I love messing around in the world of Assassin's Creed so much that I actually bothered to find all of the useless flags strewn about.


SSX 3

While not quite as madcap as its predecessors, the "Conquer the Mountain" setup offered plenty of incentives to master every single track and half-pipe. I love the game's sense of speed and pulling insane tricks over crazy heights. I continue to hold out hope that we'll get an SSX game in HD at some point.


ZZT

I'm going a little old school with this one. ZZT was a DOS-based top-down adventure game that ran off a single floppy disk. The graphics were made completely of ANSI characters, and you played as a little smiley face guy. The game was split into four main adventures, and they each had many fiendish puzzles, some of which took quite a bit of thought to complete. However, the thing that really pushes ZZT over the top for me is its fairly deep level editor that included its own programming language called ZZT-OOP. It was pretty robust for its day, and I spent quite a bit of time building different levels, rooms, and puzzles of my own.
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post #17 of 79
6/23/10 at 5:25pm
Man, there were so many games that didn't quite make my list for one reason or another. Is it cheating to quickly list off a few that were really close? Whether it is or not, I'm gonna do it. I'll just leave out the descriptions to keep it relatively short.

These are some of the games that I was also considering:

Eternal Darkness, Resident Evil 4, Pikmin 2, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy text adventure, Myst, Age of Empires 2, Starcraft, Beyond Good & Evil, Burnout Paradise, Oblivion, Fallout 3, Neverwinter Nights, Space Quest, Okami, Shadow of the Colossus, Red Faction Guerrilla, System Shock 2, Uncharted 2

Ask me to make this list on any other day and one or more of these would have made it on my list.
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post #18 of 79
6/23/10 at 6:11pm
Spike Marshall, Ooops! I thought it was my top 10, I have, now.
My top 10 all time...
1) Metal Slug 3, My favorite Run N' Gun game all time. Camel Slugs, cool tanks, jets, etc.
2) The Punisher- Frank Castle and Nick Fury battle...The Kingpin of crime, Jigsaw, hookers, b level supervillains in a 2D run n' gun spectacular using the engine of...Final Fight. Power ups include...heavy machine guns, swords, pistols etc.
3) Marvel Vs Capcom 2- Some of the greatest characters of Marvel and Capcom fight! Nuff Said.
4) Snk Vs Capcom 2, A great fighting game, between the 2 best rosters of all fighters, Capcom and SNK.
5) Gauntlet-The first 4 player fantasy game.
6) X-Men The Arcade Game- A 6 player arcade game based on, The X-Men pilot...Pryde Of The X-Men. Several of the most...X-Traordinary villains...Blob, Sentinels, Pyro, Sabretooth, everyone you wanted to fight in there.
7) Spider-Man Maximum Carnage-The Greatest Spider-Man arcade game yet.
8) Captain American And The Avengers- Iron Man, Captain America, Hawkeye and Vision vs several major foes of...Earths Mightiest Heroes. I still do not know why...Thor is not playable.
9) Street Fighter II-One of the coolest fighters ever, until, better sequels and Vs games arrived.
10) Dungeons and Dragons- a 2D sidescroller in the D&D universe. Too Cool!
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post #19 of 79
6/23/10 at 7:22pm
Unreal Tournament
World of Warcraft
Half-Life 2
Mario 64
A Link to the Past
Final Fantasy 7
Street Fighter 2: Championship Edition
Secret of Monkey Island 2
Tetris
Metal Gear Solid
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post #20 of 79
6/23/10 at 7:26pm
Thread Starter 
That's a surprisingly uncynical list.

It's heartening to see the love for Half Life 2. It's an amazing game, although I got to it a bit late and as such I always found the 'OMFG PHYSICS!' puzzles to be a bit of a chore.
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post #21 of 79
6/23/10 at 7:32pm
Ocarina of Time - 'Nuff Said.

Super Marios Bros. 3 - Best 2-D sidescroller ever.

Fallout 3 - Addictive.

Mass Effect 2 - Epic.

GTA: Vice City - Best soundtrack and setting of any GTA. And more importantly, RAY LIOTTA.

Metal Gear Solid 3 - Best story and Big Boss > Solid Snake.

Goldeneye 007 - Cuz I played it for literally years of my life.

Shadow of the Colossus - Not just a game, but an experience.

Resident Evil 4 - Just about every third person game this generation has used this as it's blueprint.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - Cuz Zelda is an awesome enough franchise to get two entries on the list.
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post #22 of 79
6/23/10 at 7:46pm
Half-Life 2 is the very definition of a game that is ahead of the curve.
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post #23 of 79
6/23/10 at 9:16pm
Comments coming:

Silent Hill 2

It's a game where everything works--The music, the atmosphere, the storytelling, the creature design, the expansion of ideas from its predecessor. It's a game where everything is amazing, EXCEPT the gameplay. But the game rewards your soldiering on better than, oh, 95% of games?


Super Metroid

The opening screen is a synthetic pulse over shots of dead scientists on the floor of a orphaned space station. The text just says "Nintendo, 1994". I dont even know how someone wouldn't want to fall in love with that game based solely on that. And then an 6-8 hour game unfolds that delivers on every promise it makes.


Ninja Gaiden (NES)

Oh yeah, it's a fucking bitch. But its that special kind of bitch that makes me want to keep playing, compulsively, until this paper thin story can play out in full.


Streets of Rage 2

Even with the recent resurge of beat-'em-ups, there's always been the one element in them that doesnt work: It's too short, too long, the attacks get old, not enough to do, the enemies get generic, the stages are samey, the music/sound is weak. This is the only one that dodges every one of those traps. I've played through it *at least* once a year since 1992. At least. Thats how perfect this game is.


Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Another game thats damn near flawless, but so rich, detailed, and full of gameplay/weapon styles that 13 years later, I'm STILL finding weapons and spells and items I havent found in any playthrough prior. It's also one of the few games that manages to bring out the explorer in me, without feeling like I'm on a neverending fetch quest. When i play this, I wANT to explore this castle. I'm not going anywhere on the map out of obligation.


Snatcher

The only time where Hideo Kojima's batshit insane ideas were put into a package that absolutely works from beginning to end. Quirky, while still remaining charming. Complex, without going incoherent (the Kojima trademark Ending of Exposition comes close, but never reaches a breaking point). And most importantly, unlike everything else Kojima's made after the 16 bit era, it manages to never forget its still a game.


Amplitude

I love Rock Band, I love Guitar Hero, but the crucial difference here is that you really feel like you're crafting a song from the ground up, and come to feel personally responsible when an element is missing. Its also a more interesting and diverse and almost irritatingly addictive collection of music, even with the mile-long list of Rock Band DLC. RB and GH let you feel like a rock star, Amplitude shows you why music rocks in the first place.


Phantasy Star IV

ryoken nails it below. There are things here that are RPG convention now that I never saw prior to this, and even the best in the genre has to give a tip of the hat to (I'm looking at you, Chrono Trigger, and your combo spells). On top of that, though, it's just an remarkably well told story. It's got the whole "It's futuristic! But it's magical!" thing going on, yes, but instead of using it as an excuse, the fact that the world is the way it is is crucial, and full taken advantage of. Yes, it'a definitive ending to the four game original PS arc, but it doesn't make the fact that the series went online after this any less of a pisser.


Rocket Knight Adventures

More I've had time to think about it, especially in the wake of the new version, this may very well be my favorite platformer. Not the best--Mario 3 and Mario World own that mountaintop without breaking a sweat--but my favorite. Everything about it is right up my alley--the steampunk, the cartoony humor, the diverse score, the hilarious and varied gameplay types (how many games have their big climactic showdown with giant steampunk Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, for fuck's sake??), the perfect ramping of difficulty, the very fact that IT'S A POSSUM IN A JET PACK--And as good as it sounds on paper, if I end up thinking about the game randomly one day, within 4 hours, its getting at least 2 hours of my day being played.


Killer 7

Attention Hideo Kojima: If you're going to be batshit insane, be THIS batshit insane. I've played through this sucker at least once a year since it released, trying to figure out what the fuck is going on, the point Suda 54 is going for with this, and although I seriously try to explore it, I frankly don't really care. I get a perverse amount of joy just being immersed in this headtrip of a game, letting its alien, off-kilter, yet often beautiful nature just kinda wash over me. It's like an orgy in my brain, and Quentin Tarantino, Salvador Dali, and David Lynch are the only ones invited.
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post #24 of 79
6/23/10 at 9:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin Clark View Post
Phantasy Star IV
I salute you, sir. Because that game gets neglected a lot when it comes to these kind of lists (Ever try to convince rabid FFVII fans that "PSIV did THAT thing first?).
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post #25 of 79
6/23/10 at 11:32pm
I don't know about 10:
the Half-Life games - particularly 2, but everything in the series is head and shoulders above its peers. Valve has basically perfected the FPS. Even though Half-Life 1 more or less invented the scripted event in its modern form, it and its successor were still willing to throw the player in a room with a bunch of toys (physics, great AI, strange weapons) and trust you to make your own fun. It's the ideal melding of linear, narratively driven shooters (Modern Warfare, anyone?) and more creative, open-ended shooters (see below). I will buy every installment of this series forever.

Deus Ex - it makes me sad that there are no games like this anymore. Shooting Russians gets old fast, no matter how pretty it looks (hello again, Modern Warfare). Finding a secret passage that lets you circumvent a platoon of soldiers doesn't. Discovering a secret research lab in the NYC sewer system on my third playthrough doesn't. Assassinating a film star by turning her own security guns against her doesn't.

GTA: San Andreas - I like Rockstar's move away from broad comic writing into more serious storytelling, and particularly like their recent attempts to shake up the "lowly criminal works his way up through the underworld" formula that dominates all their games prior to the Lost and the Damned, but Liberty City in GTA IV never felt half as alive as San Andreas. I think I'm a bit odd, because I got tired of killing cops in GTAIII and never really looked back. When I fire up a GTA game, I take a car or a plane, and I start exploring. I've never had a gaming sensation quite like the first time I drove out of the city into the country, passed through a few little hick towns and trailer parks, and then on through to the desert, with canyons, dams, and tourist motels. San Andreas really seemed to understand that the point of having an open world is to let you explore it, and there's no point in exploring if there's nothing to find. Liberty City is gorgeous and detailed, but there's just not much to look for, except slightly nicer sports cars and more hot dog stands. The huge amount of variety in San Andreas' locales, and the number of minigames (I even liked the shopping, real estate, and gang warfare games, although apparently I was the only one) and vehicles and little interesting oddities gave the game a life beyond running missions and killing pedestrians.
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post #26 of 79
6/24/10 at 1:55am
Space Invaders
Super Mario World
The Legend of Zelda
Shining Force II
Perfect Dark
GTA: Vice City
Captain America and the Avengers
Star Wars Trilogy Arcade
NHL '95
Rock Band 2


Honorable Mention:

The Addams Family Pinball

(the only pinball machine that I've spent years busting ass to find in pristine working order)

the quest continues....
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post #27 of 79
6/24/10 at 2:38am
In no particular order...


Red Dead Redemption - yes I've only just finished it and probably need some time to gain some perspective, but fuck it, as a lover of open world gameplay, a western nut and someone that's been bitching about the need for good story-telling in gaming for years now, RDR was about as much fun as I've had with my pants on.

Dragon Age: Origins - simply amazing, a game that rose above it's natural fantasy RPG trappings to become one of the most immersive, enjoyable and affecting games I've played. The fact that you have so much unprecedented freedom to effect the story thanks to your own personal choices suggests to me a real stepping stone on the road to what these kinds of games can and will become next

Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion - huge, just huge, yet never over-whelming. Beautiful, immersive and the best kind of time sink, this game was my introduction to playing on a 360 and will always have a special place in my heart.

GTA:Vice City - I was torn between picking this or GTA3, 3 I hold dear because it was such an epic game changer, essentially inventing it's own game genre, but Vice City took the essentially ridiculous concept of running around a city with a bazooka at your disposal and ratcheted it up to eleven, turning it into an eighties action extravaganza. Sublime.

The Secret Of Monkey Island - this is often the game that springs to mind when I think of my favourite game ever, it's simply adventure gaming done as well as it can be, funny, delightful, with enough puzzles to keep you entertained and occasionally slow you down, this is just about the most fun I've had with an adventure game, perhaps with the exception of...

Full Throttle - again, adventure gaming that's about as fun as it can be. The game itself is too short and not that difficult, but when your lost in a world of bikers, hovercars, a great sense of humour and a story that's so much fun to follow I've played this game quite a few times over the years just because of how much I enjoy the experience.

Rome: Total War - this game is the closest I'll ever get to being an ancient Roman general and commanding vast armies on an ancient battlefield. Being a nut of that era in history, this game has a very special place in my heart. Laying siege to massive cities and employing actual historical battlefield tactics and strategies simply never grows old for me.

Double Dragon - long before Street Fighter 2 arrived on the arcade scene, this game was simply an utterly iconic part of my game playing childhood. Every time you entered an arcade in the mid eighties, this simply had to be played - if you could get near the thing of course.

Dune 2 - the game that essentially invented the RTS and gave birth to the C&C franchise, I must have lost hundreds of hours on this game back in 1992.

Defender Of The Crown - What I loved about this was it was so many mingames in one based around a great rosk-style map setting. Save the princess, win the joust, attack the castle, defend with your armies, I used to love the crap out of this game.


Special mentions:

Dungeon Keeper

Leisure Suit Larry In The Land Of The Lounge Lizards

Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father

Galaga

Syndicate

Prince Of Persia (original)

Sid Meirs Pirates

Civilisation (original)

Elevator Action

Company of Heroes
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post #28 of 79
6/24/10 at 6:36am
Duke, I know you're not a fan of online gaming, but if you have a 360 and it's connected to the internet, you owe it to yourself to get Castle Crashers. It's like a weird mix of River City Ransom(think the humor and light RPG elements) and fantasy fighting games(think Golden Axe), but way more insane(and 4 player on and offline).

And while you're there, Alien Hominid is the best Metal Slug-type game I've ever played that wasn't Metal Slug(and I love Metal Slug), but a bit more brutal. Made by the same people as CC.

I have to say it's interesting to see so many people who prefer either San Andreas or Vice City for their GTA needs. Vice city is a fantastic game, but they just fixed too many mechanics and made the world too large and amazing with SA. Not to mention the vehicles! I hope they go insane with the GTA IV engine(which is great. Car handling could use tweaks though) for the next one and go similar to SA, with a huge world and hidden joys.
Had to go with San Andreas.

My top 3 for now...
Half-Life 2
Resident Evil 4
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Will write more soon, 'cause I know you care.
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post #29 of 79
6/24/10 at 6:55am
Super Mario Kart - N64
Goldeneye - N64
Street Fighter 2 - SNES
Die Hard Trilogy - PSOne
Resident Evil - PSOne
Grand Theft Auto 3 - PS2
Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3 - PS2
Call Of Duty - Modern Warfare - PS3
Prototype - Ps3
Killzone 2 - Ps3
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post #30 of 79
6/24/10 at 9:20am
Nexus-7, Neither My...360 or Wii, will be connected to the net, now or in the future, unless,...All, games are downloadable. The money for the internet, would be better used for another game, and a cheaply priced classics compilation. I did play, but did not like...Alien Hominid.
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post #31 of 79
6/24/10 at 3:27pm
Day Of The Tentacle (PC, 1993)
Final Fantasy VII (Playstation, 1997)
Full Throttle (PC, 1995)
The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past (Super Nintendo, 1991)
The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time (Nintendo 64, 1998)
Max Payne (PC, 2001)
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (Nintendo, 1987)
Out Of This World (Amiga, 1991)
Super Mario World (Super Nintendo, 1990)
Super Metroid (Super Nintendo, 1994)
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post #32 of 79
6/24/10 at 3:51pm
1. Goldeneye - not only is the main game amazing but this was my first steps into the world of mutli player mayhem.

2. Burnout 3 In my opinion the Burnout Series peaked with this game, much I still love it and have yet to find a driving game I enjoy more.

3. Tetris And old school pick but it's addictive and so much fun.

4. Grand Theft Auto San Andrias As Patrick said, everything that is awesome about GTA is in this game. A great set of supporting characters, fun missions and a great soundtrack.

5. The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time I both loved and hated this game trying to complete it. Good times.

6. Baulders Gate (ps2) My first RPG, sure it's nothing more than one long dungeon crawl but it was a blast to play.

7. Fable 2 I love sandbox games and I love playing the good guy, this game was perfect for me. I don't have time for an RPG where you have to put in hours of work to level up so the pick up and put down aspect of this suits me fine.

8. Smackdown Shut your Mouth. Still my favourite wrestling game. I loved that you could customise the roster, loved the 2 year storyline and I loved that you could win each belt but had to defend them all. Nothing beat taking The Hurricane all the way through to be WWE champion.

9. Halo 2 When I shared a house in Bristol all 5 of us owned xboxs. I got given some network cable and an old printer hub from work and much fun was had playing anything up to 20 player death matches.

10. Red Dead Redemption I though about it long and hard and I think this has to be one of the best games I have ever played and well deserving of a top 10 spot.


Edited to add Civ 2 Damn it!
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post #33 of 79
6/24/10 at 3:58pm
This is tough. I'm going to try to go with games I replay every so often as opposed to the stuff that's knocked my socks off in the last 1-2 years (RDR, ME2, etc). Games with major staying power, in other words.

In no particular order:

Final Fantasy Tactics
-Best TRPG ever made, often copied but never improved upon though it is itself a loose riff on Tactics Ogre.
-Storywise, probably one of the most complex and morally ambiguous tales ever told in a mainstream game... totally unheard of in games of its type when I was 13 or 14.

Final Fantasy 3/6
-Still my favorite JRPG and FF game of all time. One of the few games that has a fully
realized ensemble cast and works it well without reverting to one main character.
-See above for additional reasons why this game just rocks. Everybody should play it.

Chrono Trigger
-Second only to FF3/6 and a game I have to replay once a year. It's the rock and roll to FF's tendency toward the operatic. Fast-paced and original, they just don't make them like this anymore.

Shadow of the Colossus
-This game is an interactive work of art and one of the great minimalist gaming experiences.

Pyschonauts
-One of the best platform games out there if not for its mechanics than for its setting, characters, and art design.

Killzone
-Still my favorite campaign-based FPS with a great story, characters, and cinematic style. The production detail is incredibly rich even by current standards.
-The guns are fucking cool, maybe the coolest FPS guns ever.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare/Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2
-These games are touted for their multiplayer, but I revisit the campaigns like I revisit a good war/action movie like Blackhawk Down and consider them near-perfect cinematic gaming experiences.
-The online is also good. Duh.

Suikoden
-One of the most original series of rpgs in ever, the second is arguably the better game due to many gameplay improvements but the first is my favorite.

GTA4
-The best in the series, easily.

Civilization 4
-One of the best games ever made no matter how you cut it and probably the source of my favorite multiplayer experiences.

ETA:

I'm sure in a year or two I'll look back and be adding RDR, ME/ME2, Dragon Age, etc to this list.
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post #34 of 79
6/24/10 at 5:46pm
I'm pretty old school, so here are mine. I can't tell you how many times I've replayed the top 3, and I still have working original versions of them.

1. Super Mario World - A lot of people prefer SMB3, but I prefer the powerups, jumping and level design in this one. Plus, I think it had the best flying mechanic in any Mario game yet or since.

2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - Once again, a lot of people prefer Ocarina of Time, but I dig the isometric view. This one just took the original game, updated the graphics and came up with some of the best items the series has had. I still think it's the most "fun" Zelda game, which is what tops my list when judging a video game.

3. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - For some reason I never got into Super Metroid when I was younger. This is the game that introduced me to the Metroidvania style of game play and RPG elements in an action game. I've bought every remake & rip-off since. I've still got my original PS1 disc sitting by my TV.

4. GTA: Vice City - This one was a tough choice between it, GTA3, and San Andreas. 3 changed video games forever by being so immersive, and San Andreas expanded the world immensely, but I think the setting and soundtrack came together to make Vice City the perfect GTA game. Fun, and not as bogged down with the realism that plagues 4. Glad we have Saint's Row to continue this.

5. Sam and Max Hit The Road
6. Day of the Tentacle
7. Full Throttle
These 3 are my favorite adventure games of all time, during a period where LucasArts was really hitting it out of the park. The first two really shaped my sense of humor, and the last one was one of the most awesome stories a 14-year-old boy could play.

8. Jedi Knight II - The game that finally gave us lightsaber battles and let me fight alongside Luke Skywalker. Plus, it had a cheat code that allowed you to use the lightsaber as it actually would be in the movies, chopping off limbs left and right.

9. Fallout 3 - This or Saint's Row 2 is my favorite modern gen game. It's just so immense, and the freedom to complete it how you see fit is great.

10. Diablo II - This game was an addiction for me. The first game where filling up experience bars and earning new treasure just for the sake of being able to better fill up experience bars and earn more treasure excited me. I maintain that Borderlands is just a FPS version of this with a skin.
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post #35 of 79
6/24/10 at 6:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nexus-7 View Post
I have to say it's interesting to see so many people who prefer either San Andreas or Vice City for their GTA needs. Vice city is a fantastic game, but they just fixed too many mechanics and made the world too large and amazing with SA. Not to mention the vehicles! I hope they go insane with the GTA IV engine(which is great. Car handling could use tweaks though) for the next one and go similar to SA, with a huge world and hidden joys.
Had to go with San Andreas.
San Andreas is easily better... but this is the favorite games thread.
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post #36 of 79
6/26/10 at 10:22pm
Ms. Pac Man (Arcade) - I'm a Pac Man nut but this is probably my favorite version of the game (Pac Man CE would be a close 2nd).

Super Mario Bros. (NES)

Tron/Discs of Tron (Arcade) - I'm including them together even though they're seperate games.

Knights of the Old Republic (PC)

Madden '92 (Sega Genesis) - Probably an odd choice but I loved this game so much when it came out I just have to include it. There are few games I spent more time playing than this one.

MLB 09: The Show (PS3)

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (XBOX 360) - I prefer the first one over the second. The multi-player feels more balanced to me and the single player campaign is better.

Grand Theft Auto 4: Vice City (PS2) - I've still yet to play San Andreas. Is the PC version still available that has the hacks enabled?

Galaga (Arcade)

Mortal Kombat 2 (Arcade)
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post #37 of 79
6/27/10 at 12:26am
In no particular order:

Fallout 3 (360)
Mass Effect (360)
Rock Band (360)
Final Fantasy X (PS2)
Team Fortress 2 (360)
Super Mario Kart (SNES)
God of War (PS2)
Civilization IV (PC)
Super Mario World (SNES)
Half-Life 2 (PC)
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post #38 of 79
6/27/10 at 12:39am
MGS3 - A glorious game with a fantastic toolbox of options, brilliant boss battles and excellent production (particularly the soundtrack).

Zelda 3 - My favourite zelda game (Just beating Majora's Mask)

Diablo II - I got addicted to this. I love talent trees and the way tweaking it one way or another gets different results from the same basic character skillset. I spent just as much time reading about character 'builds' as playing the thing.

WoW - Has many aspects similar to DII to draw me in. However, the world building is probably what really hooked me and kept me playing for days and days of gametime. Being a game + social chat engine helps.

Starcraft - The third Blizzard title and probably the only RTS I can stand (aside from Brutal Legend!). Setting up a wall of seige tanks and pounding an enemy base from a distance is a delight.

Street Fighter II - Another formative game from my youth.

Super Metroid - The Metroidvania genre appeals to me a lot and this is probably my favourite (just beating Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow). I got emotional at the end when the baby turns up.

Resident Evil 4 - This game works on a number of fronts. Crazy horror. Vast weapon types and upgrades. Tense action. I'm playing RE5 right now which is slightly disappoinging, but reminds me of how much I love RE4.

UN Squadron (aka Area 88) - An odd choice perhaps, but one of my most played SNES games. Multiple planes, characters and weapon types. Also an interesting level progression that is not seen much these days (It had incoming attack planes/ships that would 'force' you to play a level when it traversed the map). Ace soundtrack too.

Final Fantasy VII - I do understand the backlash to this game, but it arrived at just the right time (my second game for the PS1) and opened up a type of gaming I hadn't seen before.

Runners up:
Super Mario Kart, Super Mario Bros, Sim City, Secret of Monkey Island, Super Mario Galaxy, Shadow of the Colossus, Brutal Legend, Advance Wars, Guitar Hero II
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post #39 of 79
6/27/10 at 1:04am
10.) Halo 3 - I loved every second of the Halo trilogy. 3 gets a ton of flak for having a bad single campaign, blah blah blah, but it is nonsense. It took every good part of the first two and perfected it. And the multiplayer, that glorious multiplayer, was better than ever.

9.) System Shock 2 - This is a shooter that, whether people realize it or not, had an enormous impact on the genre. Every FPS since has possibly been affected by it.

8.) Grand Theft Auto IV (with Lost & Damned included) - One of the only games to make me really, really care about its characters. It took a lot of time for me to get pulled away from this one.

7.) Super Mario Bros. 3 - The best of the great one.

6.) Shadow of the Colossus - Pure, beautiful art. Unlike anything the world had seen and will ever see again. An experience that every gamer needs.

5.) L4D/L4D2 (2 is a better game and definitely a needed sequel, but still.) - Zombies, damn it. Done better than ever before. And an amazing co-op experience.

4.) Rock Band 2 (for sheer replayability. Unlike any other game in that aspect.) - I can beat everything but vocals on expert and play nearly every day. That is something that is rare for me.

3.) Red Dead Redemption - A Rockstar Western. An incredible story. Addicting multiplayer. Brilliant writing. Better voice acting. One of the most beautiful open world environments ever
created. I'm addicted to this game. Addicted hard. And also, Jose Gonzalez.

2.) Psychonauts - This needs no explanation.

1.) Bioshock - As far as I'm concerned, the best told story in the history of the medium. And what a world they created!


Some games that are damn close: Mass Effect (and Mass Effect 2), Dragon Age: Origins, Team Fortress 2, the whole Half-Life series, Starcraft, Diablo II, F.E.A.R., Batman: Arkham Asylum.
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post #40 of 79
6/27/10 at 1:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Xion View Post
ETA:

I'm sure in a year or two I'll look back and be adding RDR, ME/ME2, Dragon Age, etc to this list.
Tee hee, my extreme game addiction has assured me that these are needed parts of my list already. So there they are.
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post #41 of 79
6/27/10 at 12:15pm
(unranked)

1 - Unreal Tournament. Gotta be. Has easily sucked up more of my life than any other game ever (also got me to drive several hundred miles to a lan party, which I haven't come close to doing since).

2 - Grim Fandango. My early PC years consisted of 90% adventure games. Beautiful artwork, unique world, a great story, awesome voice acting, clever puzzles. I didn't want it to end

3 - Fallout 2. Buggy as hell, but took the original and expanded it in several different ways without breaking anything that made it unique.

4 - MVP Baseball '05. Best sports game ever imo. Acessible to people who aren't even fans of baseball.

5 - Deus Ex

6 - The Pandora Directive

7 - Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers

8 - Final Fantasy Tactics - Some of the battles were brutal

9 - Noone Lives Forever

10 - GTA: SA
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post #42 of 79
6/27/10 at 6:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anderson View Post
The Addams Family Pinball

(the only pinball machine that I've spent years busting ass to find in pristine working order)

the quest continues....
"HIT COUSIN IT!!!"

One of pinball's finest, but I put in second place to the gloriousness that is...

"Sorry, Skipper..."
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post #43 of 79
6/28/10 at 3:22am
The Secret of Monkey Island (original) - funniest, quirkiest game ever, I quote it to the day. Close follower: Day of the Tentacle. And fuck the remake.
Outcast - such a wonderful action adventure with an amazing soundtrack, epic
Out of this World - old, but gold. A weird fascination. They should adapt this into a movie
Quake III Arena - I probably spent houndreds of hours killing both bots and online adversaries. So much fun
Saints Row II - the best GTA game around because you can focus on the best aspect of the concept: the goofing around. The uptight cops in GTA IV kill the fun (the main storyline is grand, but beyond it's terrible)
Sid Meyers Pirates! - so much to plunder, and that was 17 years before POTC
Pinball Fantasies - best arcade game to reach homes

already named

Thief: The Dark Project - greatest atmosphere, so thrilling, also: the sequels. Strong second place: the Hitman series
Half-Life II - probably the most immersive fps experience I had so far. I'd name Portal but Portal is a bit to short
Diablo II - hack and slay in perfection, stupid, but so addicting. D3 = most wanted game
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post #44 of 79
6/28/10 at 8:34am
Chris - would outcast hold up today? I see it on GOG and have always wanted to try it
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post #45 of 79
6/28/10 at 9:54am
Half-Life 2 + Episodes.

The absolute, unsurpassed pinnacle of FPS games. For a game starring a mute, blank slate of a character it's funny how engaging, well written and emotionally satisfying the single player story is. Alyx is one of the biggest achievements in gaming in concept, execution and for what she adds to the game. There is a part in Episode 1 where you're as always going down in an elevator to do something heroic and dangerous. The way she sends you off, with touching the glass of the door and her concerned expression caused one of the biggest epiphanies I've ever had in gaming. For the first time in my life I realized that I actually cared what would happen to an NPC.

Tie Fighter.

The pacing of the story. The seamless way the multitude of control and gameplay options were introduced during the campaign. The stellar graphics (Gouraud shading bitches!). The secret missions. The twists and turns of the story. So good.

Doom.

Anyone who played the first level of the shareware version when it was new knows what I'm talking about. Enough said.

Tetris.

The simplest, most addictive thing anyone can do next to masturbation. One of the few absolutely perfect games.

Planescape: Torment.

Deep down more an interactive work of fiction than a simple game. Still the best writing of every game ever. And that ending with you accepting that you're actually not worth redemption and embracing your punishment messed me up good.

Half-Life.

I'm playing the demo. So far so standard FPS. I'm fighting the marines. I pop out of a corner and see three of them waiting for me. No problem, I'll just bounce a grenade off the wall and take them out. Just as I'm getting ready the unexpected happens. They bounce a grenade off the wall and take me out. Followed by me jumping around in my room like an overstimulated 5 year old yelling "What the fuck?" repeatedly and running out to buy it.

Diablo 2.

Makes crack look like Tylenol.

Baldur's Gate 2.

Still the most epic as fuck RPG. I'm fighting a black fucking dragon so I can't be far from the ending, right? I'll just play to the end then. Twenty two hours later I finally finish it, drag myself to my bed and pass out.

Portal.

Fucking flawless victory. Again one of the few games I can say are perfect without any hesitation. A bona fide classic from the day it came out.

World Of Warcraft.

It's getting kind of 'cool' lately to disparage WOW. I guess it's too big to support anymore or not hardcore enough or something like that. Bullshit. It's without a doubt the best MMO game and one of the best games in the history of the medium in both design and execution. It deserves every single one of its eleven and a half million players and then some.
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post #46 of 79
6/28/10 at 11:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anderson View Post

Honorable Mention:

The Addams Family Pinball

(the only pinball machine that I've spent years busting ass to find in pristine working order)

the quest continues....
You and me both! Even the one at Funspot has a slightly rusty right flipper.
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post #47 of 79
6/29/10 at 11:00am
Good choices thus far, folks, and good explanations (those of you who did explain). Christ, I've missed video games in recent months. Anyways, plumbing the depths of my mind, let's see what I can come up with...

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - easily one of the top 10 games of the last decade. Effortless. It is a perfect combination of puzzling, combat, design and writing. I've played this so many times, sometimes all in one sitting (10ish hours) and it still brings a smile to my face. (Have not seen the movie)

Super Mario World - definitely a toss up between this and SMB3, but this is the one that never fails to bring a smile to my face. Among one of the most perfect platformers ever created, I think I've played and beaten it on every system it's ever been released on.

Golvellius: Valley of Doom - a little gem from the Sega Master System. It was its answer to Zelda, and while it is not nearly as polished as Zelda on the NES, it has charm all over the place. The combat is fast paced, if a bit repetitive at times, the story is a well told D&D yarn about a demon ruling over a valley and the hero sent to stop him and rescue a princess, but what really makes this stand out is the music. It's 8 bit MIDI stuff, but it's so memorable and adds atmosphere and shine, and makes a really good game that much better. I've beaten it half a dozen times by now, still one of my favorites.

World of Warcraft - it's certainly the game that has taken up the most time in my gaming career. 80 some odd days for my main character. The best MMO ever made, it has everything you need: balance, combat, visual flair, an amazing world and an epic storyline. And that doesn't even include the stuff you bring to it, like social gathering. Every Wednesday a bunch of us from all over the country get together and, since we can't drink due to distance, we run dungeons. After 4 years of playing, I think I might love it even more than at the beginning. It's finally, finally the game it was always meant to be.

DOOM - we got this the day it came out and I think it was right then and there that I knew video games were for me. Sure it seems tame by today's standards, but blowing away demons and seeing blood was the best thing for my younger self.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - Ocarina gets the gold star for best, but ALttP is my first date with Zelda, and it was a good one. I played long into the night. The story, the combat, everything about this game was precisely what I wanted it to be. It still holds up to this day.

Starcraft - how many hours did I lose to this game? Too many to count. I suck at multiplayer, but that doesn't stop me from trying. Still one of the most perfectly balanced RTS games to come out. The campaign is suitably epic and the carnage you can inflict can make anyone shout for glee. And who doesn't get pissed off when to this day when they hear the words 'Nuclear launch detected'?

Shadow of the Colossus - no better cure for a flu than this game. One of the few games to get a genuine emotional response out of me. Beautiful, "artistic" and actually a lot of fun. It's a puzzle game cleverly disguised as an adventure/fighter. It shows what the medium is capable of story wise.

Uncharted: Among Thieves - how good is this game? I didn't even play it, and it's one of my favorites. As far as storytelling in the medium, others may have done it better or more artistically, but none have ever captured the cinematic wonder I experienced when I first saw Indiana Jones. This is the (rather violent) embodiment of my 8 year old self, and all that I wanted to be and do in this world.

Rock Band / Rock Band 2 - along with beer and chips, it's the new 'gotta have it' mainstay at any party. The depth of songs is great, the learning curve skewed more towards, well, parties than GH's blitzkrieg of notes and it's just so much fucking fun. Singing, drumming, rocking out, it let's me live out some portion of my rock n roll fantasies.
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post #48 of 79
6/29/10 at 1:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jameson View Post
(unranked)

1 - Unreal Tournament. Gotta be. Has easily sucked up more of my life than any other game ever (also got me to drive several hundred miles to a lan party, which I haven't come close to doing since).
Was the LAN in Ohio?
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post #49 of 79
6/29/10 at 6:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheCynic View Post
Was the LAN in Ohio?
Yep. Columbus. First UU
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post #50 of 79
6/29/10 at 8:06pm
In no particular order

Syndicate
Populous 2
Speedball 2
Championship Manager 2
Super Bomberman 3
SystemShock 2 - This game shat me up something rotten.
Maniac Mansion - Day of the Tentacle
CounterStrike
Sensible Soccer
Spyhunter
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