My top 10 favorite video games of all time

[Spaulding]

Below is my 10 favorite games of all time. Each game has a video I linked that are a sample of great moments in the game I experienced.

Feel free to share your top 10 also.

Zelda: Orcarina of Time - Game introduced me to the open world fantasy I always longed for, a true adventure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq8pAK5tlUc

Dark Age of Camelot - First encounter with a full 3D Fantasy MMORPG. Meeting people here alone has memories. So many realms to explore you could easily get lost.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P-YyOINJdI

Elder Scroll Series - It amazes me that a series could be so consistent in delivering a quality RPG experience. Truly captivating with the music and environments.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPXNaSXlLo4

Mass Effect Series - The emotions from playing this game still stay with me today. A SCI-FI RPG that caught me off guard and I fell in love with its characters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZO-B_Q12Io

Diablo 1&2 - Dark medieval RPG that you could put countless hours into. The challenge and buildup of your character as you faced Diablo alone is unprecedented.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU9TN4CTAJ0

Fallout 3 & New Vegas - Post apocalyptic fantasy that caught me with surprise. The world made you feel like you had to do everything in your power to survive. Upon leaving the vault you realize what you got yourself into.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L4HTUS1RYE


Kings Quest: Mask of Eternity - I credit this game as the reason I love Fantasy RPGs. It is lower on the list that is only due to the game play hours I got out of it. Traveling the realms on a crucial Quest keeps you playing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQvDIwzt79Q

Rome: Total War - Micro management, huge epic battles all in a Roman theme really got me into this game and it was epic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvZWOG8QkOg

Dragon Age 1 - Like Mass Effect this created an awesome emotional attachment to the characters. Who knew spending hours in a camp talking with NPCs would be so fun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZuj6Io0ULM

Day of Defeat - Before there was Call of Duty there was DoD. Spent countless hours living in WW2 battles fighting real opponents.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aiq5DgGyc9E


Honorable Mentions: Dark Souls, World of Warcraft, Grand Theft Auto Series and Runescape 2D.

[rhythmic]

Uncharted 2
Uncharted 3
The Last Of Us
Max Payne 1 & 2
San Andreas
Mario Kart Racing
Super Mario 3
Red Dead Redemption
Golden Eye 007
God of War Trilogy

I also am a big fan of Black Ops (story mode), Modern Warfare trilogy (story mode), GTA 5, GTA 3, Halo 1, 3 and Reach.

My top 5:

1) The Last of Us
2) Uncharted 3
3) Uncharted 2
4) San Andreas
5) Red Dead Redemption

Carved in stone.

[DukeDelonte13]

[QUOTE=rhythmic

[BuffaloBill]

good taste in games op. good to see mass effect and dragon age origins on other peoples top 10

[macmac]

Some young ass people in here if there's no games before 64.

SNES is a top 3 console of all time easy

[Qwyjibo]

Some good picks already.

- Games like GTA San Andreas and Dragon Age: Origins would both be in my top 25 or so but there were games in those genres that just worked better for me.

- I remember hating that King's Quest game. Much like Ultima 9, when those games initially went 3D it seemed like sacrifices were made to the story and characters. But I guess I haven't played that in a long time.

- I can't decide which Mario Kart game I liked most. I think it's between SNES and N64. I own Mario Kart 7 for 3DS but it's not quite the experience those games were. The Wii one was meh. Never played the Gamecube version.

I had to do 15 because I couldn't leave any of these games off:

1. Planescape: Torment
- Whenever I think of "best game ever", this is the first game that always comes to mind. A very story-heavy game with a lot of text reading but holy crap, what a story. A rare game that I replay every couple years and enjoy every single time. The best part of Torment is its unique world and characters. It's Baldur's Gate with a demented twist.

"What can change the nature of a man?"

2. Civilization series
- The biggest time sink in video games. No other games will make 3-4 hours just go by like this. Civ 4 and 5 were both excellent once their expansions came out and with a little tweaking thanks to online community mods.

3. Fallout 2
- The best thing in Fallout 2 is the sense of freedom. You can travel wherever you want and complete things in a number of ways. Want to slaughter an entire city of men, women, and children? Go for it and try. It will never hold your hand either so if you enter a tough zone, prepare to get reamed.

4. Mass Effect Series
- I never have and probably never again will anticipate a game like I did Mass Effect 3. That's a testament to how good ME and, especially, ME2 were. 3 was a bit of a disappointment but only relative to the first two games. Near prefect sci-fi storytelling. Even with the dumbing down of the ending by basically ignoring all previous choices made.

5. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
- A timeless experience. Perfect and innovative gameplay. Still the most heartfelt story in a Zelda game.

6. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
- The blueprint for pretty much every Zelda game that came after. Great dark tone and challenging dungeons (particularly in the Dark World).

7. Bastion
- For "just" an indie game, one of the most overall polished games in recent memory. Great gameplay progression when it came to weapons and upgrades. Wonderful presentation of the story through the narration and the best video game soundtrack ever.

Do you leave Zulf to die or save him from his own people? A perfect video game moment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JvNhc13oKI

8. No One Lives Forever 2
- While Half Life 2 might be the standard for FPS, NOLF 2 is the most underrated FPS ever. It had everything. Varied locations, great enemy AI for the time, a likable and interesting protagonist in Cate Archer, it was genuinely funny and a battle with ninjas in a trailer park during a tornado: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODeEuPokFRk

9. Freespace 2
- I still haven't played a space sim better than this. Giant battles where you're flying around the beam weapons of capital ships was the highlight.

10. Red Dead Redemption
- The only game where I could just ride a horse across the map for 10 minutes and be amazed. Rockstar still hasn't topped RDR in terms of story and characters.

11. The Witcher 2
- The Game of Thrones of video games. Violence and sex wrapped in an engrossing political story in a fantasy world. A game where your choices matter a lot and an entire chapter of the game can be completely different depending on which faction you side with.

12. Dark Souls
- Very challenging but almost never unfair gameplay. Almost (**** you Tomb of Giants and Anor Londo archers!). Love the scope of it all from the locations to the epic boss fights.

13. Bioshock Infinite
- Some of the best presentation ever in terms of art design and sound/music. This and Bastion are the only video game soundtracks I will go back and listen to. I forgive the sometimes out of place mindless shooting gameplay for how well everything else is put together and several moments of narrative perfection.

14. Batman: Arkham City
- The best example of how to properly use a big license.

15. Street Fighter 4 (all versions of it)
- Say what you want about Capcom's love for expansions, this is the best fighting game ever. Even though I suck at it, I appreciate the depth of strategy behind a seemingly basic 1 vs 1 fight. I can't wait for the Ultra iteration.

[rhythmic]

I need to check out uncharted and red dead redemption..


My top 10

1. Ocarina of Time
2. Super Mario Galaxy 2
3. Skyward Sword
4. Mario Kart Wii (IMO the best version)
5. Super Mario 64
6. Goldeneye
7. SSB Brawl
8. Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
9. Mario 3d world
10. Borderlands 2


other notables: Star Fox 64, WindWaker, ACII, Bioshock II, Monster Hunter 3U, Pikmin 3, Donkey Kong Country Returns

Definitely bro, especially considering I'm a big fan of a lot of the games in your top 10.

One thing that almost every poster names on this forum are RPGs, unfortunately, as some of you already know, I really don't like then. My least favorite genre of games. Besides Mass Effect 2, I've never actually beaten an RPG. I get bored so easily. For instance, I played Skyrim for about 15 hours and never touched it again. Collecting dust now...

[Levity]

my top 7 most played (most will be from my childhood)

1. final fantasy VII (my first real RPG. changed gaming for me entirely
2. starcraft: broodwar (if ff7 wasnt so nostalgic for me, this would be my number one game. played this game consistently from 01 to about 3 years ago when the channels finally died down)
3. diablo 2
4. counter-strike
5. ocarina of time
6. super mario bro (snes) and mario 64
7. pokemon blue and red

those are the games that had the most significant and lasting impact on me.

[nightprowler10]

9. Freespace 2
- I still haven't played a space sim better than this. Giant battles where you're flying around the beam weapons of capital ships was the highlight.


:applause:

[Burgz V2]

I need to check out uncharted and red dead redemption..


My top 10

1. Ocarina of Time
2. Super Mario Galaxy 2
3. Skyward Sword
4. Mario Kart Wii (IMO the best version)
5. Super Mario 64
6. Goldeneye
7. SSB Brawl
8. Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
9. Mario 3d world
10. Borderlands 2


other notables: Star Fox 64, WindWaker, ACII, Bioshock II, Monster Hunter 3U, Pikmin 3, Donkey Kong Country Returns

I loved that game. One of the most immersive Star Wars experiences to date.

[Ai2death]

This is more of a "Notable games" list, it would be way to hard for me to make a top 10, so take it as it is:

GUNSTAR HEROES - SEGA

I remember playing this game for what felt like years, being able to co-op with my bro on the Sega was great. Killed so much time during the school holidays.

DIDDY KONG RACING - N64

Still one of the most amazing racing games I have ever played, especially to "Cove" race track, many memories. Must buy that again.

AGE OF EMPIRES - PC

A lot of people were into Command & Conquer but I was always in the Age of Empires series. Been playing them ever since the first, I should really look at upgrading my computer and seeing what the last release was like.

POKEMON - GAMEBOY

Pretty self explanatory really, I had Blue, my bro had Red, and we had a link cable. None of the wifi stuff. Spent a lot of time holding the Gameboy in the light of a lamp so you could see what the hell you were doing. No playing at night back in those days.

CONKERS BAD FUR DAY - N64

Another amazing title, co-op playing the different multiplayer modes, especially the one with beach storming the fort. I remember sprinting along the beach as the gatling gun rained down.

PERFECT DARK - N64

The first one, and how they've slipped since. I know it was just a Golden Eye clone, but the inclusion of having bots in multiplayer was great.

THE SIMS - PC

Everyone knows The Sims, Many mornings were spent, waking up super early and sneaking into the study and playing this game. Only to open the door and realize my bro beat me to it.

UNCHARTED 2 & 3 - PS3

Amazing, yes, they're linear. But I had never experienced gaming like this before. Having never played the first, I have watched a complete walkthrough online, still the 2 & 3 get the odd play through on rainy days.

LAST OF US - PS3

Never has a game shook me like this, the moments that happen in the game left me speechless & wanting more. I have also never felt so scared with out my NPC buddy following me when you get split up.

SUIKODEN 2 - PS1

This has the greatest case for my number 1. So many characters to use, you never knew when the next one was going to fall into the story line. Also the first time I've really ever felt sad with the loss of a character. The storyline to me was one of the greatest ever. I only ever failed at unlocking one character. You had to speed run through and only save a limited number of times, I really thought I accomplished it but when I got to the moment and it didn't happen, I was lost for words.

ZELDA OCARINA OF TIME & MAJORA'S MASK - N64

Completely self explanatory.

FINAL FANATASY 9 - PS1

Came in at the moments before PS2's release, and it was/is my favourite one to date. Lovable characters and excellent story line. Downloaded it from the PS Store on ps3, And I will do again if it releases on PS4.

LEGEND OF LEGAIA - PS1

One up on Final Fantasy 9 to me, Never really finished it either which is a bit disheartening, just so much and so long. But I remember there always being something new to discover, or a new unlock. Something would always happen every time I picked up the controller. Can't wait to get my own place and I can set all my old systems up and relive some childhood memories.

[Bosnian Sajo]

I wont mention any console games, but old classics like the Monkey Island series, day of the tentacle, sam & max etc. deserve shout outs for being by far some of the funnest games I've ever played.

[Jackass18]

In no particular order:

Tony Hawk series - I think I'd go with either THPS 1 or Underground. I remember playing THPS 1 against friends where we'd tried to beat each other's high scores, but I think I have to go with Underground. It had much more music, more locations, a storyline, the ability to build things, many more gaps to find, of course better graphics, more things to do, more tricks, etc...

Civilization series - The last one I played was Civilization Revolution, so I gotta go with that one. I still play it from time-to-time.

Halo series - I wasn't a big fan of the Flood, so I might have to go with Reach or 4.

Final Fantasy series - It's been a long time since I played one (I think the last one I played was FF X), so I'm not sure which one I'd pick.

Madden series - Not sure which one I'd single out.

Elder Scrolls series - Fav would certainly be Skyrim.

GTA series - I haven't gotten around to part V yet, so gotta go with IV for now.

Diablo II - With the LOD expansion.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - Thanks to the XBLA I was able to relive some nostalgia from the old Playstation.

Not sure for the 10th spot, but thinking something like Super Metroid, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (never played Ocarina of Time) or a fighting game like Tekken 3.

[Dictator]

In no order

1.Mario 64
2.Star Fox Adventure
3.Rocket Power: Beach Bandits
4.GTA: SA
5.Uncharted 3
6.Skyrim
7.Mystic Heroes
8.Modern Warfare 2: (Story Mode Only)
9.Super Mario Sunshine
10.???

[Heavincent]

4. Mass Effect Series
- I never have and probably never again will anticipate a game like I did Mass Effect 3. That's a testament to how good ME and, especially, ME2 were. 3 was a bit of a disappointment but only relative to the first two games. Near prefect sci-fi storytelling. Even with the dumbing down of the ending by basically ignoring all previous choices made.


Mass Effect 3 was a massive disappointment in terms of the story. It's like 1 and 2 were written by different people.

[Qwyjibo]

Mass Effect 3 was a massive disappointment in terms of the story. It's like 1 and 2 were written by different people.
It at least got all the characters right, which I appreciated. But yeah, it's like most of the plot points in 1 and 2 never happened.

[Heavincent]

It at least got all the characters right, which I appreciated.

Kai Leng was a horribly weak villain though. Dude was like a cartoon villain. How did we go from Saren to that guy?

EA must have rushed the development cycle. Scumbags.

[Kungfro]

Persona 3
Super Mario World
Homeworld
GTA San Andreas
COD4
Half-life
Tony Hawk 4
Chrono Trigger
Diablo 2
KOTOR

[Qwyjibo]

The Tony Hawk series is another I couldn't fit in on my list. I loved 2 and 3. But it started to get a bit too silly after that, for me. If 2 had the reverts that were added in 3, it would've been the perfect game in that series.

[LJJ]

A Link to the Past
Metroid Prime
Monkey Island 2-3
Mass Effect 1
Pokemon
Skies of Arcadia
Lunar Silver Star Story and Eternal Blue
Prince of Persia the Sands of Time
Super Mario All Stars
Unreal Tournament

[Derka]

In no real order...
World of Warcraft
Diablo 2
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Batman: Arkham Asylum/City/Origins
Super Mario Bros. 3
Half Life 2
Tecmo Super Bowl
Killer Instinct
Final Fantasy VIII
Metal Gear Solid

Honorable Mentions
Dragon Age: Origins
Hitman series
Thief series
Max Payne 1 & 2
The Lord of the Rings Online

[pauk]

1. Sunset Riders (Arcade/SNES), a vertical scrolling cowboy shoot-em-up of epic proportions, up to 4 players at once, spent countless hours playing this alone or with friends and i still play it.

2. Gradius / Life Force / Parodius series (NES/SNES/PS1). I always was into spaceshooters and it didnt get any better than this.

3. Contra & Contra III (NES/SNES shoot-em-up), like Sunset Riders kindof, had the same impact on me.

4. Super Mario Kart (SNES), just great coop/1vs1 fun with friends.

5. Super Mario Bros 1-3 (NES), pure childhood nostalgia.

6. Counter-Strike (PC) including Doom 1, Quake 1, Half Life 1, the FPS that set it all of, any FPS online you see today (Call of Duty etc) are emulated after these ones, especially Counter-Strike.

7. Battlefield 1942 & Battlefield 2 (PC), HUGE innovative/groundbreaking FPS online games that features tanks, apcs, battleships, submarines, airplanes, choppers and so on and so on..... and now Battlefield 3-4 are by far the best FPS games out there today.

8. Mass Effect series (PC), maybe the best singleplayer story based game i ever played.

9. StarCraft : Broodwar (PC), best strategy game i ever played, this game is a sport today in Korea you can make a living of, StarCraft 2 but ok.

10. Elder Scrolls series (PC), a MASSIVE game, soooo much to do so little time.

[Spaulding]

Seeing some good lists here guys. Here are a few games that stood out to me on lists.

The Sims 1 - Holy crap...I remember playing this for the first time and being sucked into the game so easily. Building a house, keeping your job so you can buy nice things. But of course in the beginning I sucked and struggled keeping my guy awake haha he would pass out in the lawn after work and piss himself all the time. I played Sims 2 and 3, of course I figured out like everyone else how to play eventually. That's when it got too easy and boring once you get max position for your work and your house has everything you want. Classic game.

Half Life - I would have added this to my list but I gave the spot to Day of Defeat (half life mod). Probably the best single player FPS I have played. Not just Half Life but Half Life 2 was game breaking as well. Terrific engines that allowed most people to enjoy the game with good graphics. That game had to many mods...Pirates, Vikings and Knights...anyone remember that? Endless fun. Plus a soccer mod and Natural Selection...I played the new NS 2 that's out but its engine is totally different and does run smoothly for me. Plus I spent so much time playing NS already. I use to mod the game so all the Aliens would look like the ones in the movies (Onos = Queen, Fade = Xenomorph, etc.) Plus marines looked like the ones in the movie and had all the same weapons. Great mod community Half Life has.

Sunset Riders (standard nintendo version)- Well Pauk...I did not expect anyone to mention this. I made my older brother (30) make a list and he put this on there. Him and I played the heck out this game as kids and could never beat the final boss on the hardest difficulty. Even for a side scroll the game was very fun and took you to multiple areas with challenging bosses. My brother was the commando and I was the blonde guy. "Thank you nice boys!"

Battlefield 1942 - I play Battlefield 1943 a little bit each night which scratches the itch 1942 did back in the day. I really enjoyed using the submarines and driving the Carriers. 1943 doesnt have all the features but it's cheap fun on Xbox Arcade, always people playing. I was blown away at the battles that involved land, sea and air. Spent a lot of hours playing this game and feeling like I really was in a war. Tank battles were epic too.

Tribes 2 - Didn't see this on anyones list but my brother and I played this game for a bit. We would go for the huge bomber each time and just hit the enemies base a few times. Even though really that's all we did besides going 1 on 1 the game really was well done.

[Spaulding]

Kai Leng was a horribly weak villain though. Dude was like a cartoon villain. How did we go from Saren to that guy?

EA must have rushed the development cycle. Scumbags.

Well that's exactly what happened. Bioware had endless time to create Mass Effect. Then EA actually game them 3 years to do Mass Effect 2, which I argue is one of the best video game sequels of all time.

EA told Bioware after the huge success of Mass Effect 2 that they only had 2 years to make the game, taking out that crucial 1 year.

So you see how the story could have been tons better if Bioware had that extra time. EA doesnt care about game longetivity, they have the sports game mentality. Release a slightly different one each year and trash the old.

Obviously for some reason Bioware needed EA for Mass Effect 2 & 3 due to money issues im sure. EA has a very bad rep among game developers. They took hand in ruining Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age 2.

All they wanted was a quick large profit out of Mass Effect 3. It is easily the weakest of the games due to story and lack of innovation that 1 and 2 had. If they had another year im sure the ending would have been top notch along with the story in general.

Ive beat Mass Effect 1 and 2 three seperate times each. But only have beat Mass Effect 3 once. Ive gotten far on a second playthrough, Levithan and Citadel DLC was awesome but not enough to keep my interest to beat it again. Sure they gave a new ending but true fans wont forget the old one and its hard to erase that from your mind.

Note: Don't get me wrong Mass Effect 3 was still a good game but as a fan after playing 1 and 2 you expected 3 to close everything up but still keep you hooked. Did not happen.

[pauk]

@Spaulding, Natural Selection!! Oh man, that is my favorite MOD ever next to CS.... i was an expert Lerk (bat thingy) :D

Have you tried Natural Selection 2? I play that alot.

[Spaulding]

@Spaulding, Natural Selection!! Oh man, that is my favorite MOD ever next to CS.... i was an expert Lerk (bat thingy) :D

Have you tried Natural Selection 2? I play that alot.

Ya I played NS2 beta for a bit. My computer just hates that engine their using. Could never get it to work smoothly as I wanted.

Haha a good Lerk player was annoying! I probably played with you and didn't even know it. I was a pretty good commander too but it was entirely too stressful.

[macmac]

Chrono Trigger
Baldurs Gate 2
Shining Force 2
Civilization Series
Skyrim
The Last of Us
Dragon Quest 8
A Link to the Past
Heroes of might and magic 3
Metal gear solid series

[Spaulding]

Chrono Trigger
Baldurs Gate 2
Shining Force 2
Civilization Series
Skyrim
The Last of Us
Dragon Quest 8
A Link to the Past
Heroes of might and magic 3
Metal gear solid series

I have two regrets in gaming growing up. I wished I would have gotten into Everquest (I probably was too young) and Balder's Gate. I did my best to get into Balder's but because I did not play it when released it's simply just too outdated now. I know for a fact I would have loved it and beat it. Probably would be beating the whole series again.

Did you see the HD version they put out? Pretty cool. Wish I could get into it.

[macmac]

I have two regrets in gaming growing up. I wished I would have gotten into Everquest (I probably was too young) and Balder's Gate. I did my best to get into Balder's but because I did not play it when released it's simply just too outdated now. I know for a fact I would have loved it and beat it. Probably would be beating the whole series again.

Did you see the HD version they put out? Pretty cool. Wish I could get into it.

Ya I saw it but heard the changes are minor. I don't have time to delve into that game with all the upcoming RPGs this year.

Keep an eye out for Pillars of Eternity, a kick starter project that's the spiritual successor to the Black Isle classics like BG and Planescape Torment. A lot of the same guys working on it and it's got a nice 4million budget which is huge for an indie

[Jailblazers7]

I've done the same thing with replaying ME1 and 2 but not 3. I have no desire to ever touch it again really. I've prob played ME1 five times.

[Qwyjibo]

Every time a new ME game came out, I would replay the previous one(s). So ME1 3 times, ME2 twice and ME3 once so far for me. The only thing is that every time, I'm pretty sure I end up making the same choices and I still love the experience. I'm not one of those people that does a "good" then an "evil" playthrough. However I play it, that's what my story is for these characters and that's what I want to experience.

[Jailblazers7]

Every time a new ME game came out, I would replay the previous one(s). So ME1 3 times, ME2 twice and ME3 once so far for me. The only thing is that every time, I'm pretty sure I end up making the same choices and I still love the experience. I'm not one of those people that does a "good" then an "evil" playthrough. However I play it, that's what my story is for these characters and that's what I want to experience.

Yeah, same. To me it's like re watching a TV show or a movie.

[LJJ]

The way some of you guys feel about Mass Effect 3, I also feel about Mass Effect 2.

I don't know if it's necessarily pressure from EA, but Bioware certainly toned down their ambition in favor of a more smooth experience. They took away the entire planet exploration mechanic, took out the inventory, simplified character customization from the skill-trees, to the weapons and armor, simplified the skill use in combat, more linear corridor shooting levels, ammo, more traditional shooting feel, more focus on combat in general, different and "less boring" aesthetics . Even the storytelling and characters felt more like your standard action game.

And I'm not saying all that stuff worked particularly well in the first game, but on the whole it made a much bigger impact on me.

[Heavincent]

I played through the first Mass Effect 6 or 7 times. Did the same thing with the second one. Only played 3 once.

[treadster]

In no order

-Shadow Of Colossus
-Dragon Age: Origins
-Sly Series
-Fallout 3 & New Vegas
-Monster Hunter Series
-The Legend Of Heroes: Trail In The Sky
-Dark Souls
-Persona 4
-Kingdom Hearts Series
-Sam & Max (Telltale Games)

[ShannonElements]

OK, I'm going to try. I know I'm going to end up feeling like I left something out, and probably change my mind 73 times by next week, but oh well. Impact plays a big role in my criteria, so I might choose the first game in a series over superior game later in the series, but there are lots of other factors.

Mario Bros. NES

I had played video games occasionally but they didn't really do anything for me. Then I played this and something clicked in my brain and I haven't looked back. The game that made me a gamer.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic X-box/PC (played on both)

My favorite RPG ever. I hope they make a third one some day so we can get some answers regarding what happened when the protagonist from the second game goes after Revan(one of the coolest Star Wars characters ever BTW) from the first game.

Advance Wars GBA

Easy to learn, difficult to master turn-based strategy game. Had so much fun taking on friends, and hatching plans to win. There was always a lot of anticipation waiting for your next turn to see what everyone else had done, how many units you may or may not have lost, etc. Fog of war, bitches!

Goldeneye 007 N64

I hadn't really cared for first-person shooters when I saw some friends playing this, so I passed on joining them. But the graphics were sick and my friends insisted, so I tried it. Fell in love with that damn game. As far as split-screen multiplayer goes it doesn't get much better.

Resident Evil 4 GC/PC/PS2

This shit kept me on the edge of my seat the entire damn time. I've owned it on the GC, PC, and PS2 now.

Gran Turismo PS1

I was so into this game I used to take the manual to work with me to read during breaks. The game that turned me into a racing game fiend. Graphics were mind-blowing at the time. The only flaw was how the cars didn't take damage but that didn't matter to me since I approached it like a "pure" racer where you're trying to avoid bashing into people and shit anyway.

Metroid Prime GC

One of the most immersive games I've ever experienced. Part platformer, part FPS, with some of the best art design ever, an awesome soundtrack, and tons of cool places to explore. This game gave me "feels"...hard to describe.

Grand Theft Auto 4 PC

I've always liked the GTA games for just dicking around, but this is the first one where I wanted to do more than just that. Now I gotta go back and play San Andreas since that's just sitting in my closet.

Half Life 2 PC

Best single-player pure FPS ever? I think so. I can still play this game today and be wowed by it. The dystopian future, the graphics, the narrative, the characters, the sound...everything. When you're running around waging guerrilla warfare against those big ass tripod robots, launching laser-guided missiles at them before ducking back down behind cover...got damn.

Madden 2004 PS2

This was the last Madden before they introduced the "hit stick." Part of the reason why this makes my list is because, well, it's Madden, and because I poured more hours into this one than any of the others. Actually played through 20 years in the franchise mode, playing every single game and managing my team with a level of OCD that probably should have put me on medication.

[Josh]

You guys have some decent selections but nothing near what should be an accurate list.

Let me enlighten what you numskulls should be putting down, iight? Here you go, you can thank me later for keeping shit real.

Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past (SNES)

Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (GameCube)

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)

Metroid: Prime (GameCube)

SimCity (SNES)

Street Fighter 2 (Arcade, SNES)

Street Fighter 4 (Arcade, XBOX 360)

Blue Dragon (XBOX 360)

Super Mario 3 (NES)

Civilization (SNES)

All the above in no particular order, and if any of you disagree I dare you to step into my back yard I will stab you with a knife, I will piss in your snow into a cooper yellow.

Yeah, yes yes yaw.

:rockon:

[Josh]

I forgot to put Shining Force 2 - perhaps the single greatest game of all time. macmac beat me to it listening it first.

[Kungfro]

I totally forgot about roller coaster tycoon, that game is without question top 10 for me.

[Spaulding]

I totally forgot about roller coaster tycoon, that game is without question top 10 for me.

Haha ya that was a great game. I only enjoyed the first one to be honest, played that as much as Banished.

Spent a lot of time on Banished but taking a break. It's not a bad game at all but its limited on gameplay due to 1 guy actually making the game himself.

[nightprowler10]

I'm not a huge gamer like some of you, but here are my humble 10 in no order (in most cases I'm picking my favs out of each of my fav franchises):

-FreeSpace 2
-Starcraft
-Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
-Assassin's Creed 2
-Mass Effect 2
-Metal Gear Solid 4: Sons of Patriots
-Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
-Batman: Arkham City
-NBA 2K11
-Brian Lara Cricket '96

Honorable mentions: NBA Live 2000, Street Fighters 2,

[Dragonyeuw]

Man, I been gaming for so long it's all but impossible for me to pick a top ten. Here goes, in no particular order:

Metal Gear Solid(Ps1)
Final Fantasy III(SNES)
Chrono Trigger(SNES)
Mike Tyson's Punchout(NES)
Super Mario Bros 3(NES)
Earthworm Jim(SNES/Genesis)
Star Wars Knights of Old republic(xbox)
Street Fighter II turbo(SNES)
Suikoden( Ps1)
Castlevania Symphony of the night(Ps1)

Shout outs to:

Uncharted 2(ps3)
NBA Jam(Genesis)
Resident Evil remake(gamecube)
Super Metroid(SNES)
Halo(xbox)
Halo 2(xbox)
Super Mario Kart(SNES)
Mario 64(N64)
Mario Kart(n64)
Resident evil 2(Ps1)
Metal Gear Solid 3(ps2)
Mortal Kombat 2(snes)
Batman Arkham Asylum(PS3)
Contra Hard Corps(genesis)
Donkey Kong country(SNES)
WWF no mercy(n64)
Contra III alien wars(SNES)
Sonic the hedgehog 2(genesis)
Soul Caliber(Dreamcast)
Zelda Ocarina of time(n64)
Goldeneye 007(n64)
Street Fighter Alpha 3(dreamcast)
Super Empire Strikes Back(SNES)


Damn, I can do this all day....

[Spaulding]

Man, I been gaming for so long it's all but impossible for me to pick a top ten. Here goes, in no particular order:

Metal Gear Solid(Ps1)
Final Fantasy III(SNES)
Chrono Trigger(SNES)
Mike Tyson's Punchout(NES)
Super Mario Bros 3(NES)
Earthworm Jim(SNES/Genesis)
Star Wars Knights of Old republic(xbox)
Street Fighter II turbo(SNES)
Suikoden( Ps1)
Castlevania Symphony of the night(Ps1)

Shout outs to:

Uncharted 2(ps3)
NBA Jam(Genesis)
Resident Evil remake(gamecube)
Super Metroid(SNES)
Halo(xbox)
Halo 2(xbox)
Super Mario Kart(SNES)
Mario 64(N64)
Mario Kart(n64)
Resident evil 2(Ps1)
Metal Gear Solid 3(ps2)
Mortal Kombat 2(snes)
Batman Arkham Asylum(PS3)
Contra Hard Corps(genesis)
Donkey Kong country(SNES)
WWF no mercy(n64)
Contra III alien wars(SNES)
Sonic the hedgehog 2(genesis)
Soul Caliber(Dreamcast)
Zelda Ocarina of time(n64)
Goldeneye 007(n64)
Street Fighter Alpha 3(dreamcast)
Super Empire Strikes Back(SNES)


Damn, I can do this all day....

Wow big console gamer. I got my list down to 10 easily just by remembering what games you got most gameplay hours of and how many menorable moments you have. also another criteria was "are you able to pickup this game now and beat it" if the answer is "yes" you go from there.

Having an honorable mentions list was nice. Few games I wanted there.

Seems you're a big console fan! Only console I never owned was an SNES so I missed a lot of those. But I eventually leaned towards PC gaming, now that I am older I lean towards console, weird huh.

Man, KOTOR...wish I played that game when it came out...hear so much praise, alas the game is too old now for me to enjoy it due to having not played it long ago.

[Dragonyeuw]

Wow big console gamer. I got my list down to 10 easily just by remembering what games you got most gameplay hours of and how many menorable moments you have. also another criteria was "are you able to pickup this game now and beat it" if the answer is "yes" you go from there.

Having an honorable mentions list was nice. Few games I wanted there.

Seems you're a big console fan! Only console I never owned was an SNES so I missed a lot of those. But I eventually leaned towards PC gaming, now that I am older I lean towards console, weird huh.

Man, KOTOR...wish I played that game when it came out...hear so much praise, alas the game is too old now for me to enjoy it due to having not played it long ago.

That's how I arrived at the games that were on my list. Some of them I haven't played in years, but the joy of playing those titles for countless hours and hours is still fresh. I can still pick up 'most' of those titles right now and enjoy them just as I did then. Others haven't withstood the test of time so well, mainly the early 3d era games(n64,saturn,ps1) who are hampered by shoddy 3d analog controls, bad camera, and muddly, blocky polygonal graphics( of course, I'm saying this in retrospect). I'm a huge fan of 2d games, which IMO have held up really well over the years, which is why the majority of rpgs,fighters and platformers from the 16 bit era are still immensely enjoyable for me. I can pick up Street Fighter II turbo or Alpha and have an enjoyable romp right now, but a more 'technically' advanced and newer game like the original Tekken is simply a chore to play and an eyesore.

You owe yourself a playthrough of Star Wars KOTOR if you're even a moderate fan of the source material, or rpgs. Fantastic game from start to finish...if you have a 360 pick up a cheap copy off amazon( it's also available on i-devices and from what I've heard, it's a decent port even with touch screen controls)....

[Qwyjibo]

KOTOR is the best Star Wars licensed thing in the last 20 years. It does a great job of presenting that universe and I'll sooner revisit its story than any other recent Star Wars game, movie or show.