Games that have been changing the course of gamers for years. Games I have played and loved..

Minecraft

PC gaming is home to many, many potent blends of crack, so Minecraft’s life-crippling level of just-one-more-block addictiveness alone wouldn’t be enough to land it on this list. What sets Minecraft apart is its scope and sense of unlimited possibility. Created by a tiny development team and set in random, resource-filled worlds, Minecraft forces players to improvise tools, to build and – mostly – to endlessly dig, creating civilization out of wilderness and hiding from monsters until you figure out how to build weapons and defenses. It can be played casually, but its crafting system is deep enough to reward dedicated players with endlessly evolving, creative gameplay. It’s fun to play alone, but shines when you’re collaborating with others. It’s still relatively new and not quite finished, but Minecraft is already one of the best experiences on any platform.


 

 Portal

For us, Portal is the most perfectly-distilled modern game in existence. It was refined, cut with laser-precision, and polished into a gemstone that’s precious to both the snootiest of connoisseurs and the most casual of dabblers. Portal is modern, but not at all in an “ugh, a modern game” sense – it’s first-person, but it’s not a shooter; it doesn’t feature any hulking, cursing man-beasts; and it doesn’t rely solely on rehashed mechanics. Everything it does is either unique to it or to the medium of games.
Portal’s story emerges as if by magic. In the beginning, it isn’t apparent that the game is anything other than the trials of a lab rat, but you progress, the fantastically-written chatter of GLaDOS (who is now one of our all-time favorite game villains) gives way to literal writing on the wall and the story congeals into a minimalistic but surprisingly compelling saga.
How is it surprising? When the suffocating structure of the Test Chambers gives way to the intricate behind-the-scenes scaffolding, the effect is exhilarating and terrifying. We knew where to go, but after being so confined, we felt a little uncomfortable going there (in a good way). No other medium could have made us feel that. And nothing has ever made us so deeply sympathize with an inanimate cube.
Likewise, nothing but Portal has twisted our perceptions in quite the same way. Physics-based puzzles aren’t unique, of course, but Portal’s expertly-designed challenges put distraught, quizzical looks on our faces, then wrapped us up in a warm genius-like feeling when we solved them. “Now you're thinking with portals” wasn’t just a catch phrase, it’s what we felt.
Portal contains only what it needs to contain. Nothing is extraneous and nothing is wasted. It’s not necessarily the most important game ever made, but it is the most universally appealing and tightly refined modern game we’ve played.


 

 Tetris

Tetris doesn’t look like much. There are no lavishly designed characters or movie-quality cut scenes. In fact, there’s no plot at all – not even a single syllable of dialogue. The graphics and sound couldn’t be more plain: just a few falling blocks and, if you’re lucky, a handful of musical notes jingling along in the background. Even its title is understated; six tiny letters, adding up to a single not-really-a-word. No, Tetris doesn’t seem like much of anything at first glance. Yet, if you had to choose a single game that represents all that videogames are, have been, and can be, there’s only one game you could choose. And that game is Tetris. Invented in 1984 by a Russian programmer named Alexey Pajitnov, Tetris is, simply put, the prototypical, archetypical videogame. It has appeared on more platforms than any other game – at least 60, including graphing calculators, a medical oscilloscope, and on at least one occasion a 15-story building. There are more than 40 official variants and more knock-offs than you can count. It’s impossibly playable; your grandmother can learn how to play it in 30 seconds even if she’s never seen a video screen before – but even the hardest-core gamer couldn’t master it in 30 years. And it practically invented the "one more game" thing – it’s so tough to put down, it should be classified as a banned substance. Tetris is, plainly and simply, the perfect definition of the word “videogame.” It has been for more than 25 years – and it always will be.




 Chrono Trigger
Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of Final Fantasy, somehow succeeded in topping his previous masterpieces with small yet significant changes like an improved battle system and the merciful removal of random monster encounters. Yuji Horii, the creator of Dragon Quest, contributed a story of life, death, love, friendship, courage, hope, free will, redemption and, of course, time travel that continues to resonate and give gamers the chills even today. Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball, designed some of the most lovable characters, hauntingly beautiful settings and memorable setpieces seen before or since.
Perhaps you prefer the emo cyberpunk of later Square titles? Us, we’ll take the pure-hearted frog knight who values honor above revenge and remorse, or the selflessly patient robot willing to sacrifice 400 years of his existence to plant a forest, or the central hero who’d defy the player’s expectations and die before he allowed any of his supporting teammates to take the fall. Maybe you prefer the choice and customization of BioWare and Bethesda? Chrono Trigger offered 13 different endings and nearly a dozen optional side quests – each of which transformed depending upon the characters you decided to bring along in your party – more than 15 years ago. Like we said, and will probably continue saying for another 15 years, Chrono Trigger is the best.

 

 Super Mario Bros 3

Well, yeah. This is a given, as it’s more or less the blueprint for “good video game” that everyone’s followed for years. It’s also the very basis of what a sequel should be – better graphics, larger worlds, more power-ups, cooler bosses and secrets stacked to (and over) the ceiling. Defending Mario 3’s placement on this list is unnecessary; it earns its slot simply by being the default 2D action game, one that nails every single aspect of game design you can name. And considering more than 18 million copies have been sold worldwide, odds are you agree. But why not Super Mario World? For all its inventiveness, World basically copies the best elements of SMB3 but doesn’t quite reach the same heights; SMW spends a ton of time in forests and caves, while each new world in Mario 3 is bursting with creativity. Many of the thematic tropes we giggle at today (ice world, fire world, hit a boss three times etc) are handled with care and precision instead of acting as filler for rote game design.
This list is about what’s fun today, not the most important games in history. Mario 3 would soar to the top of either list, the rare exception that was mind-blowing in its day and every bit as playable today. The top 10 games of all time will always be in flux, but rest assured, this will always be near the top.

 

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Early on, Wind Waker earned the nickname “Celda,” a derogatory moniker that has haunted the game to this day. The term poked fun at Waker’s cartoon-like visuals, which looked more like a candy-coated storybook than a legendary medieval realm. The style understandably turned some people away (especially those looking for another “serious” Ocarina game), but we maintain this unique approach makes Wind Waker timeless. Even Twilight Princess will one day show its age, while Waker will never suffer from angular polygons or outdated textures. This wasn’t half-assed cel-shading, either. Everything in Wind Waker bears some kind of cartoonish element, from wisps of purple smoke to oddly proportioned enemies that walk with the swagger of a six-foot Yosemite Sam. It all blends together to create the most lush, lively and animated Zelda adventure of all time, one we wholeheartedly agree is the most charming entry in the series.
Yes, you spend a lot of time sailing the open sea. Yes, there’s a painful fetch quest at the end. But if those are the biggest complaints in a game of this scope, so be it. They represent small parts of a fantastic whole that has more exciting combat than Ocarina and a stronger sense of style than Twilight Princess. We expected a shouting match to erupt over which Zelda should rank highest, but strangely we agreed, near-unanimously, Wind Waker belongs on top. Plus it’s kinda nice to vindicate a game that was ridiculed right up until launch…



Grand Theft Auto IV

When the dust finally settles on the current generation of games, Grand Theft Auto IV may stand as one of the most divisive. It’s been widely praised for everything from its characters and fully realized city to its improved combat and ample opportunities for creative mayhem – but seemingly everywhere we look, there’s some GTA fan lambasting it as being joyless, gray and filled with idiots who expect you to drop everything and play darts with them right this second. It wasn’t even selected as our 2008 Game of the Year. So why’s it so high up on this list? The biggest reason is that, while it certainly has its faults, GTA IV – and we’re including its two add-on episodes in our assessment – still shines through as a staggering creative and technical achievement. It brought realism and solemnity to the essentially silly open-world crime genre, without losing that essential silliness (you had to look a little harder for it, but it was there).
It had an exceptionally deep plotline that brought us into the lives of three outlaws – a Serbian mercenary trying to start a new life, a biker chieftain trying to keep his gang together, and a bodyguard trying to keep his boss alive – but it still left plenty of room for ramping cars into bridge supports, skydiving from stolen police choppers and racing your friends off cliffs. Its characters might have been needy, but they were also endearing and memorable, and so long as you can forgive its aging graphics, its version of Liberty City remains a breathtakingly fun place to explore. And while the experience it offers is similar to GTA: San Andreas (which wound up much lower on this list), it’s different enough to be judged separately from what came before.
Other sandbox games might be goofier, or more realistic, or even more fun. Taken as a whole, however, GTA IV stands at the top of its field. No experience on modern consoles is quite as big, quite as involving or quite as welcoming to sudden fits of wanting to go completely off the rails, and no game is quite as qualified to represent the genre as this.



Super Metroid

When it comes to 2D adventures, Super Metroid has no equal. From its rain swept opening to the climactic final battle against Mother Brain, it packs in more memorable moments and tangible atmosphere than the majority of games today. The explorative, power-up-hoarding gameplay inspired not just Symphony of the Night but also recent hits like Shadow Complex, proving this was an idea worth replicating into the modern day. The fundamentals are all flawless – control, level design, animation, music, sound effects and difficulty are each perfect. But it really is the atmosphere, the claustrophobic mystery that makes Super Metroid stand so high above everything else; all those aforementioned 2D basics were used to create an oppressive planet and subtle story that was scary before zombies shambled out of Resident Evil and impactful before Sephiroth killed Aerith. So much to see, hear and feel, all tucked inside a tiny grey cartridge.
In a sense, Super Metroid is merely a prettier, more functional take on the original Metroid. But this is a case where the result is more than the sum of its parts, combining to form a stirring 2D quest that may never be toppled.



Mass Effect 2

As we enter the top 10, a different sense of gravity is necessary. These next 10 games exemplify the best experiences, the best storytelling or the best raw gameplay of the entire list, and the best way to enter this heightened sense of importance is Mass Effect 2, a galaxy-spanning adventure that contains a little bit of everything we’ve come to expect out of modern gaming. And in a rare exception, it actually handles each aspect universally well. You want cutting-edge visuals? Cover-based shooting? Jedi-like powers that toss enemies across the room? Meaningful character development and dialog? It’s all here, wrapped in an ambitious package containing fewer bugs than similar games in this field. The journey is so well executed we actively look forward to playing through a second or third time, just to witness the different outcomes that stem from key decisions. No small feat considering each trip through can last a good 30 hours.
On top of these gameplay achievements, the Mass Effect universe itself is worthy of celebration. There’s so much meat to the peripheral content, let alone the primary story, that you could launch a TV series tomorrow and have enough ideas to sustain it for years. Several franchises today rely on tie-ins to fill in the backstory; Mass Effect gets everything done in-game (though books do exist for die-hards) plus provides a cornucopia of varied, polished gameplay that has helped make “Western RPG” a respectable phrase.



Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

It’s pretty unusual for a new series to completely unthrone a gaming icon on its first try, but the second we got our hands on Uncharted, raiding tombs as Lara Croft suddenly seemed passé. As great as the first game was, though, it didn’t hold a candle to its sequel. Uncharted 2 looked amazing, played even better and balanced meticulous platforming and puzzle-solving with explosive, breathless action set-pieces. Focusing once again on the misadventures of international treasure-hunter Nathan Drake, it introduced a handful of fantastic characters, better fleshed out the ones who were already there, and drenched its globe-trotting story with an irresistibly snarky charm. Of course, none of that would be quite so impressive if Uncharted 2 wasn’t so endlessly goddamn fun. The video below encapsulates what made it amazing, as careful shimmying suddenly gives way to crumbling environments that rapidly yield cover for Gears of War-style shooting, all with a constant sense of danger enhanced by Drake’s running, beleaguered commentary. When you hear about games becoming “cinematic experiences,” this is the kind of thing they need to shoot for: dynamic craziness integrated into stellar gameplay with relatably human characters. (Although even without that stuff, the multiplayer was still pretty great.)
Also, some of you may have noticed that this (like several other games on this list) is ranked higher than the game it lost to for GamesRadar’s Game of the Year, in this case Batman: Arkham Asylum. There’s a reason for that, however: when we call out a game as Game of the Year, we’re taking into account not just its quality, but also its importance to gaming, and what it achieved. In Arkham Asylum’s case, it did something that we thought was impossible: it gave us an incredible Batman game that felt truer to the character and his M.O. than any other attempt in the past 20 years. Uncharted 2, meanwhile, built on the success of the first game; we knew it was going to be excellent, and it was.



Half-Life 2

Hitting in 2004, Half-Life 2 instantly made every previous advancement in the rapidly accelerating FPS genre look like a total joke. The Source Engine brought stunning graphic and lighting effects which, combined with H-L 2’s gorgeously idiosyncratic production design and amazing facial animation, created a living world generations ahead of anything we’d experienced before. And then there was the physics model. With a heavily modified version of Havok running within Source, Half-Life 2 didn’t simply look like no game before it, it felt completely different too. The groundbreaking interactive design of the first Half-Life suddenly looked stiff and lifeless compared to H-L 2’s free-flowing, organic environmental manipulation. And of course, that led to the Gravity Gun, the most inspired and important weapon and tool yet to hit FPS.
But all this talk of technical achievement misses what really makes Half-Life 2 so special. The narrative journey, characters and sense of attachment to its world are what really stick with you. Here, we’re talking about the best written, best acted and most wonderfully human characters and story in all of games. Nuanced, layered, immaculately paced, and with the ability to fire up the emotions just as much, if not more, than the pulse rate, Valve’s clever decision to eschew cut-scenes in favor of constant first-person exploration and playable narrative means that you’re never pulled out of it for a second.



Super Street Fighter IV

Street Fighter II was an iconic, world-famous fighting game that dominated arcades and inspired countless copycats. So why would we choose this most recent edition over the cultural touchstone that launched a media empire? Because Street Fighter IV shamelessly feasts on its predecessor’s corpse to provide a smoother, faster, modern-day version of the classic original. The rush of executing flawless combos, or faking out your opponent, or successfully reading a move and counterattacking before they even have a chance to react is something few other games can offer, much less top. Interrupting one move with another, juggling specials into Ultras… it’s all so deep and so constantly rewarding we feel this is the pinnacle of today’s fighting game scene. And if you want to mash buttons, that’s cool too.
Is SFII still a great game? Of course. But if we were going to fire one up right now, it’d be Super SFIV, which added 10 more characters and fresh online options to the already impressive SFIV (which itself ignited the recent rebirth of fighting games). If you want the end-all be-all fighting experience, one that summarizes an entire franchise’s legacy into one expertly balanced game, you simply cannot go wrong with Super SFIV.



Final Fantasy VI

From the moment the thunderously dark, threateningly ominous title theme and densely atmospheric intro give way to the fragile, lilting notes of the stunning opening credits, it’s clear that this is a landmark in video games. It has the darkest, most emotional, but most tonally eclectic Final Fantasy plot, which fully explores every note of its potential without ever slipping over into melodrama or soap opera angst. And it simultaneously has the warmest, most layered characters, who maintain humanity and humor as they pass through Final Fantasy VI’s vast story. These are real people realistically dealing with the things that are happening to them, not mere brooding archetypes designed to fulfill mechanical roles in a plot.
VI has fourteen unique and disparate playable characters, all with their own completely individual back-stories, personalities and approaches to combat. Specialist sword techniques, chainsaws, martial arts requiring Street Fighter button-inputs… FFVI has an insanely imaginative and deep approach to RPG combat, giving its battle mechanics as much character as its story and world.
That world is one of the deepest and most nuanced the series has ever seen. Hidden plots, hidden characters, hidden plots for those hidden characters, important narrative beats and emotional resolutions you may never even see… The layering here is insane, making this the most real, unique and live-inable in all of JRPGs.



Super Mario Galaxy 2

After Mario 64 forever defined what a 3D platformer is, it was some time before Nintendo or anyone else altered the formula in any lasting way, but that's exactly what Super Mario Galaxy did. Instead of dropping players into a giant world and asking them to complete multiple missions within it, SMG had renewed focus by simultaneously thinking smaller and expanding their scope. Galaxy's concept of flinging Mario to multiple small planetoids within a stage removed some of the annoyance of navigating three dimensional gaming and its tricky camera. It also allowed for much more variety in the stages, with a seemingly endless stream of new, innovative concepts being thrown at the players. SMG was further proof that Mario's devs are at their best the more they're allowed to be creative.
Though the original is can't miss as well, it's the sequel that's the culmination of the series. The streamlined interface gets you to the mountain of new ideas faster, and even the previous game's concepts are repurposed in epic fashion. SMG2 is truly the ultimate expression of the 3D platformer invented by Mario 64, and we can't wait to see how Nintendo can top this one.



The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

A Link to the Past represents the open-world action-RPG epic distilled to its purest form. In every respect, it epitomizes one of the most important qualities of many games on this list: timelessness. Not only has it stood the test of time visually (as 16-bit graphics often do), but the gameplay itself – a mix of exploration, puzzles and combat – strikes a perfect balance between rich complexity and elegant simplicity, all across the backdrop of two impressively expansive overworlds. Looking at LTTP today, it's almost seems like a modern game that's been given a 16-bit treatment. Its dungeon-puzzle format has influenced countless games since, but even nearly 20 years later, none have reached LTTP's level of perfection. Its dungeons are challenging without being tedious, and every puzzle's difficulty is carefully crafted within clear parameters, rather than deriving false difficulty from unclear mechanics (as Zelda clones are sometimes wont to do). And while the story is basically one giant fetch/rescue quest, it's completely devoid of filler.
To truly understand what makes it great though, you need to just play it (and in all honesty, if you haven't already, you should be disgusted with yourself). And with excellent ports on both GBA and Virtual Console, there's no excuse not to.



Resident Evil 4

This is one of very few games where everyone who finishes it immediately starts it again from the beginning. Everything is done right, from the sense of fear as you defend a shack from an infected lynch mob to the AI of your companion, Ashley. The inability to aim and move at the same time is integral to the game's sense of danger – you have to feel vulnerable for the atmosphere to remain intact. The departure from proper zombies is a controversial point as it's arguably the turning point for the series away from its roots. But in terms of gameplay, it was a monumental leap forward, switching to an over-the shoulder camera that would be copied in everything from Uncharted to Gears of War. It still plays perfectly, too, although we wish we could forget all about it and experience it again from scratch.
From a technical standpoint, it showed absolute mastery of the GameCube hardware and was even a Nintendo exclusive for a time. The quality and pacing never drops (although some would disagree and point to the castle section), and while the last boss is too easy… who says this has to be videogamey? I'm sure a rocket launcher would sort anyone out.



StarCraft II

If you’re good enough, you can actually make a damn good living playing StarCraft II. With a salary nearing $400,000 from sponsorships and winnings, Lim Yo-Hwan is one of the highest paid pro-gamers in history – and he did it by mastering StarCraft II, the best real-time strategy game ever made. Yo-Hwan’s story is possible because no other game can boast multiplayer matches that are so fun, so balanced, and so compelling to watch. Excitement, drama, action, and surprises: it’s all there. If you’ve never seen a StarCraft II match between pro-level players you haven’t truly lived. But even if you’re not a top-notch player, StarCraft II’s matchmaking and ranking system still keeps multiplayer challenging and fun.
Combine the multiplayer fun factor with the epic singleplayer campaign, and you’ve got the best RTS since… well, since the release of the original StarCraft. Years from now, long after you’ve forgotten about your favorite games of this year, players around the world will continue to mine minerals and vespene gas to fund the never ending war between the Terran, Protoss, and Zerg. Trust us. StarCraft II has what it takes to withstand the test of time, which is something that a game can only do if it’s truly exceptional.



Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Even if you're one of those gamers (i.e. a gamer) that has a violent dislike for Activision and its greedy corporate way of doing things, it's hard to argue that the first Modern Warfare is anything other than completely bloody amazing. Not only did it instantly elevate Call of Duty - which had previously been tootling along doing nothing very much extraordinary at all - to the status of Mega Franchise, it also took the bar for first-person shooters, strapped it to a nuclear device and launched it into the stratosphere. BOOM. From the brutal intro sequence through to the dramatic last chance slow-mo climax, Modern Warfare was one unforgettable moment after another.
In no particular order: Sniping a helicopter and watching it come tumbling out of the sky towards you. Lying prone as enemy soldiers walk by only inches from your position. Reigning down death on tiny thermal-imaged enemies from the airborne safety of a gunship. Witnessing the immediate devastation of a nuclear explosion before... oops, you're dead.
We've not even mentioned Captain Price's intimidating facial hair or the benchmark-setting multiplayer. Let's just say that both these aspects contributed quite considerably to making COD4 very awesome.



Batman: Arkham City

The. Greatest. Superhero. Game. Ever. That’s what we thought after beating Batman: Arkham Asylum, and yet, when its sequel rolled around, it was topped in every conceivable way. Once again Rocksteady succeeded in adapting every element of Batman perfectly, not just the brawler we’d seen in countless attempts before. Batman the detective is here, solving riddles and outsmarting villains as often as he punches them. Batman the scientist is here, unlocking the secrets of his environment with an arsenal of gadgets. Batman the television star is here, with voice acting and writing from the fan-favorite Animated Series. Even Batman the damaged child is here, in masterfully constructed story sequences that we never expected from an action-adventure videogame. However, Arkham City didn’t just improve on Asylum by giving players more of that, they finally added the biggest missing piece: A city for Batman to patrol and protect. The chunk of Gotham may have been transformed into a prison, but you still get to experience Batman leaping from rooftops, saving people in alleyways, and all the other elements that make Batman the apex predator of the urban jungle. Like no game before it, B:AC turns you into the god damn Batman and we’ll always love it for that.

Final Fantasy X

We fought about this one. Choosing the best Final Fantasy is very much like the RPG geek’s version of “blonde vs brunette vs redhead” – there is no correct answer because they’re all beautiful in different ways. And beautiful is the first thing we think of when we see FFX. Everything in its universe, from the enemies to the summons to the characters themselves – is exotic, lavish, saturated with color and absolutely gorgeous. The characters were interesting and compelling and were deeply customizable without making them interchangeable, and the turn-based battle system enabled deep strategy. Plus, though the whole “sorry, you’re a dream” thing was a bit much, the doomed love story between Tidus and Yuna was among the sweetest and most memorable in series history.

Other MMOs have tried to reproduce World of Warcraft’s special blend of digital crack and 24-7 fun. But even though WoW isn’t the only fantasy MMO with a huge world to explore, great PvP, and challenging end-game instances, it’s the only one that regularly keeps me coming back for more. That’s because Blizzard’s high level of polish touches every corner of the game’s expansive world. Even if you’ve played WoW for years, there are always new areas to check out, special events to attend, new friendships to forge, and new rivals to best in combat. Every time we find ourselves lured away by a new MMO, it’s never long before we’re back in Orgrimmar.

 

Civilization V

Civilization V is a history lesson wrapped in a strategy game. Not your traditional, “learn how and when things happened” history lesson, either – it’s a game that teaches you the motives of human history by letting you experience. Don’t understand why the British expanded into foreign lands and took over? Play Civ V as an island nation and you’ll be doing the same within 400 years. Don’t get why early America decided it needed to take over the entire continent? Start a game of Civ next to another nation and see how long goes by before you’re trying to kick them off the map. It’s simply an enlightening experience, with smooth gameplay that builds on the back of previous Civ games exceptionally well. Small changes, like the switch from a square to a hexagonal grid, add incredible strategic choices, as does the modifications to combat that make it so units can’t be stacked to create gigantic, overpowered armies. It’s simply a refined version of the games before it, and one that can be replayed for literally hundreds of hours without ever seeing the same results.



Pokemon Black/White stands on the shoulders of the Pokemon games that came before it, but there's something to be said for the kind of refinement and depth that you get when a series has had over a decade to evolve. The Pokemon series continues to be one of the deepest, most hardcore RPG experiences available, while still being completely accessible to newcomers. With Black/White, the technology has finally caught up to allow for the rich multiplayer experience that the series had advertised in the past but didn't really support, so now you can battle and trade with friends (or strangers, if you have no Pokepals) more easily than ever.



Super Mario 64

Super Mario 64 was the N64’s first game, and we hold it’s also the system’s best. After years of dominating 2D side-scrollers, Nintendo (in one try, mind) perfectly translated Mario’s silly, colorful levels into then-bleeding-edge virtual worlds that begged to be explored, leapfrogging the competition and ushering a new age of analog controls. Each world had so many things to see and do it was easy to completely lose sight of the main goal (collecting stars to progress farther into Peach’s overrun castle). Even said castle offered hours of hidden areas and Easter eggs tucked away in its many rooms. It still blows us away that Nintendo, in ONE game, could make a brilliant 3D adventure when so many still have trouble getting it right. Granted, the early-3D visuals are getting on, but the controls, level design and open-endedness of each area makes it a must-play even in 2012.



The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Move over, Oblivion, there’s a new Elder Scrolls in town. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is buggy, messy, and sometimes a bit guideless – and we don’t care. The massive, sprawling action RPG is one of the best of all time, with a gigantic, immersive world utterly filled with content. And we’ll be honest: the core game isn’t much different from Oblivion, but the addition of dragons, and dragon shouts, change the game completely. Fighting gigantic dragons and stealing their soul is one of the greatest gaming moments ever, and the fact that it happens dynamically makes it wonderfully personal. And the feeling we get when we hear the Dovahkiin chant after entering a dungeon? Seriously. One of the coolest things in any game – ever.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

You probably expect to see Ocarina of Time somewhere on here. After all, it routinely appears in lists just like this, usually near the top. But if we’re talking about what’s best today, we’d much rather point people toward 2006’s epically huge Twilight Princess. In our eyes it replaces Ocarina as the “serious” Zelda experience, offering everything its N64 predecessor had, just with cleaner graphics, more interesting combat and streamlined controls (Wii has copious waggle, but the GameCube version is A-OK). Think about it: a teenage Link, a dramatic showdown with Ganon, massive labyrinths with huge bosses, a sprawling overworld traversed on horseback, a story spanning two disparate realms, a pain in the ass water temple… both Ocarina and Twilight fit this description, but only the latter looks and plays great by today’s standards (plus co-stars Midna, one of the series’ most interesting characters). Remember, we’re not saying Ocarina is bad, just aging poorly, and Twilight is a grand replacement. And don’t worry, there’s more Zelda to be had in this list…

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Before it veered off into a more serious direction, Grand Theft Auto was all about over-the-top, ultraviolent, rags-to-riches excess – and no game embodied that ideal better than San Andreas. While it’s not that pretty to look at now (and wasn’t back in 2004, really), San Andreas didn’t just offer up a city in which to go nuts – it gave players an entire fictitious state, with three distinct cities and miles of open countryside and small towns in between. (And yeah, it caught flak for “forcing” players to eat and exercise, although those weren’t really issues so long as you ran around a lot and grabbed health pickups instead of eating.) It also featured a compelling story that started small, with gangs fighting over crappy neighborhoods in Los Santos, but soon ramped up to become a ridiculous crime epic with jetpacks, VTOL jets and multimillion-dollar properties to buy. It was (and still is) one of the best games imaginable for creating insane stunts and just going completely berserk, and was an ideal way to get that out of our collective system before moving on to the more “adult” GTA IV.



Left 4 Dead 2

After Left 4 Dead, ‘co-op’ finally meant something. The frenetic zombie shooter isn’t about charging in to get the most kills; it’s about sticking together with your group, calling out for help when you’re trapped, and doing whatever it takes to make sure your fellow survivors make it to the next safe room. It’s about teamwork, communication, and remaining calm in the face of absurdity as hordes of zombies and special infected descend upon your group from every direction. The experience only got better in Left 4 Dead 2. The Scavange, Mutation, and Realism modes gave players more ways to enjoy the game’s multiplayer. New special infected, like the Charger and Spitter, also made Left 4 Dead 2’s Versus mode even more exciting.



Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Since its 1997 release, SOTN has inspired six sequels that copy its formula. Each now ranks among the highest-scoring games on their platform, but none are quite as powerful as the PlayStation original, which itself took elements from Metroid and draped them with vampires, whips and more horrific, blood-soaked bosses. The Metroidvania approach means lots of backtracking, but acquiring new powers and using them to explore previously inaccessible areas of the map is a sensation worth repeating. We’re also quite fond of the beautifully drawn sprite graphics, which blend well with early 3D visuals (not to mention a stunning CD soundtrack) to create a decidedly mid-‘90s experience.



Diablo II

Its graphics were dated when it launched, and it’ll look even sillier when Diablo III releases, but until then (maybe?), Diablo II is still the hack-and-slash to beat. It’s a skeleton-murderin’ loot-collectin’ romp through the evilest of dungeons. OK, it’s arguably a little repetitive (a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMAbNFptzAA">Stay awhile and listen…), but there’s got to be a reason we buried our noses in our monitors and played it for ungodly lengths of time… Oh yeah, because killing stuff and collecting stuff is awesome! And, of course, it’s more complex that, and it’s all swimming in Blizzard’s potent creative juices, which tell an effective story and give its four acts a rich horror atmosphere (due in part to its fantastic score).

The Sims 3

Don’t dismiss The Sims as “dolls” – the word is way too limited to describe the degree of power this series provides for players. Yes, you choose your pet computer people’s wardrobe, but you also customize the architecture of their homes, the layout of their neighborhoods, the politics of their social circles, the DNA of their genetics and the contents of their hearts. Yes, you can tell them exactly when to flush the toilet, but you can also tell them when to fall in love or when to murder their enemies. You can even relinquish all control of your miniature universe and simply watch life unfold. The Sims is whatever you want The Sims to be, and The Sims 3 is currently the most generous and expansive version of that freedom.



Halo 3

Combat Evolved has the most satisfying single player, and Halo 2 is the entry that revolutionized console multiplayer, but Halo 3 is the best of both worlds… as well as quite a few others that only a developer as fan-devoted as Bungie would think to attempt. In addition to a truly epic, trilogy-capping campaign and the perfection of the franchise’s famous multiplayer, Halo 3 arrived absolutely stuffed with extras, some of which provide even more value and entertainment than the game proper. Forge, Saved Films, Custom Games (Rocket Races! Pirate Ships!) and the creativity these modes inspired in the community are the real reason Halo 3 deserves a spot on our list.

God of War

As a huge, bald, perpetually angry Greek godslayer, Kratos is about as far as you can get from a traditional console mascot – and yet, unlike the cuter heroes who’ve preceded him, he’s emerged as the current face of the PlayStation brand. This, if you weren’t aware, is because his games are some of the greatest, most elegantly ultraviolent hack-and-slash adventures ever produced. And while the original isn’t the prettiest or the most varied, it’s still easily the best. Its gameplay and plot hide depth that their brutal trappings don’t even hint at, and while later games largely boiled the story down to “Kill the gods, rarrgh” this was the one to really establish Kratos as a character and prove that, yes, even hateful psychotics can be likable.



WarCraft III: Reign of Chaos

Few games can pass the test of time. Warcraft III is one of those rare games. The single player campaigns for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and The Frozen Throne expansion are still worth playing today. With compelling characters and an intriguing plot, Warcraft III’s chapters feel more like a solid RPG than your usual point-and-click campaign. In terms of strategy, the upkeep system fixed it so players had to consider the diversity of unit types in their army more than ever. But it was the Hero units that really made Warcraft III special. These extra powerful characters could change the tide of battle at any moment and gave each match a taste of Diablo as you leveled-up your Hero, granting him new skills, gear, and items to use.

Assassin’s Creed II

2007’s Assassin’s Creed was pretty good, but it felt like a tech demo next to its sequel. Hugely expanded and intently focused on character, it gave us the story of Ezio Auditore, a young Florentine noble bent on revenge after his family is nearly wiped out by a conspiracy. In his search for revenge, he gradually goes from impetuous kid to master assassin, and begins to fight for much more than vengeance. He also spends a lot of time climbing around on Renaissance architecture and killing dudes, which was hugely fun, but ACII also deserves serious credit for making a previously untapped-for-games historical period feel vivid and alive – something we hope sandbox games will continue to do even better down the road.



SimCity 2000

SimCity 2000 kept what was awesome about the original SimCity and made it even better. An extension of what the original game was, SimCity 2000 introduced a new view and new things to consider, like land elevations and underground water pipes. New facilities let you build (at the time) an incredibly diverse city, and it was a thrill to see your city come to life with the push of the fast forward button. It wouldn’t be a real sim experience without natural disasters, and SimCity 2000 had plenty of those as well, whether they were random or for some reason you decided to terrorize the city you just painstakingly built. The game added just the right amount of complexity so you’re not bogged down with everything you have to keep track of. Those who played SimCity 2000 understand just how many hours can magically disappear…



Final Fantasy Tactics

Turn-based strategy RPGs had existed before Final Fantasy Tactics, but developer Square made the genre appeal to the masses while maintaining the customary hardcore challenge. The grid-based maps were firmly set in the FF mythos and were home to calculated battles where one poorly planned move could end it all. Taking the job system from Final Fantasy V and spiffing it up real nice, players already enthralled by the multifaceted combat were feverishly committed to mastering every possible skill-set to fashion the ultimate team. Battling never got old, and even if the localization was slightly lacking, it’s just as addicting today as it was over a decade ago.



Doom II: Hell on Earth

With so many modern first-person shooters to choose, how could one of the oldest still make the cut as one of today’s best? By brilliantly blending gameplay aspects developers still haven’t stolen or figured out how to use in a post-Duty world. Contrary to popular belief, Doom isn’t mindless shooting; there’s a fair amount of platforming and light puzzle solving is required to clear each level, something most action-heavy FPSes of today completely ignore. Tripwires, keys and hidden exits make it an engaging experience to this day, and the iconic enemy designs are some of the best gaming has ever seen. Doom 3 is a great atmospheric entry too, but for sheer gameplay, Doom II can’t be beat.



Burnout Paradise

Burnout Paradise is undoubtedly the most divisive game in the long line of popular Burnout games. Many saw the departure from the traditional formula and the addition of an open-world to be sacrilegious to the Burnout formula, while others welcomed the change with open arms. We loved the new style, and thought it breathed some new life into the series. The traditional Burnout formula had more or less been perfected with Burnout 3, and Paradise’s changes, while controversial, created a unique racer. Hunting down different cars throughout the world was fantastic, and being able to choose our own path in races was a great addition. Sure, we missed the traditional “cause a big explosion” mode, but the robust online features (and support post-launch) more than made up for it. They added a freaking DeLorean. A DELOREAN. IT HOVERS FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.



Advance Wars

Not only is Advance Wars easily one of the best tactical RPGs of all time, but its bright, cheery style belies a more realistic take on combat in contrast to the genre's usual fantasy-centric fare. Despite the array of weaponry at your disposal though, the CO characters are really what set Advance Wars apart. Not only is each CO endearing and memorable as a character, but each wields special powers to suit your personal play style. The difficulty level is spot on, too – Advance Wars manages to be nails-tough without being punishing, which is a rare feat among its peers.



Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time

Prince of Persia hadn’t been big since the early PC/Mac days, but PoP got a magnificent update in The Sands of Time. The title kept the core mechanics of one heroic prince dodging obstacles in a perilous castle, while simultaneously redefining 3D platforming. Never before had jumping from wall to banister, to lever, to wall been so smooth, fun, and well-balanced. Each new area was a new puzzle that not only involved quick thinking, but precise movements as well. And the titular Sands of Time encouraged taking risks, as they could undo any unfortunately planned, deathly move. Despite later adventures, Sands remains the highest peak the Prince has ever climbed.



Secret of Mana

The best action-JRPG ever? Yes, yes it is. Secret of Mana is an absolute masterpiece, an aural and visual wonder which has something for everyone, whatever their preferred style of role-playing. Immediate, real-time weapon and magic combat is mixed with traditional leveling and a super-slick menu system which adds fathoms of depth without ever slowing down the pace. It also has one of the most genuinely stunning soundtracks ever to grace a machine famed for its stunning soundtracks, which it uses to bring one of the most vibrantly beautiful of all 16-bit worlds to vivid life. Throw in three-player co-op and a deeply affecting, expansive saga of a plot, and you have an RPG that’s genuinely unmissable.



Super Smash Bros - Melee

Many hardcore gamers are quick to dismiss Smash Bros Melee as a combination of fanservice and dumbed down mechanics. They’re wrong. Melee manages the rare feat of being almost immediately playable while masking a technical core for gamers who stick with it. Aside from being the best looking game on the system, Melee built on every aspect of the N64 original and made it better. Faster gameplay, more characters and multiplayer options, all new weapons and items, made Melee a huge step forward. Plus the fun trophies, Adventure and All-Stars mode gave Melee almost unlimited replayability. It’s also one of the rare fighting games that doesn’t ape 90% of Street Fighter.



Donkey Kong Country

While its graphics, which were jaw-dropping at the time, don't quite look as stunning by today's standards, Donkey Kong Country's gameplay still holds up beautifully. Donkey and Diddy each handle differently, but both exemplify what a great platformer is all about – running, jumping, jumping on things (or cartwheeling over things), jumping over things, and precision timing. To sweeten the deal, DKC also features the best in swinging on things, riding in things, riding on things, and collecting things (sometimes secret things!). Plus, DKC's water levels are easily the best of the genre.



Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

While other JRPG heavy-hitters like the Final Fantasy series have evolved their gameplay and are far cries from their original stakes in the genre, Dragon Quest has defiantly and successfully stayed true to their menu-based combat, grinding-for-experience and random battle roots. Journey of the Cursed King easily made our list with its beautiful, 3D cel-shaded graphics and lush symphonic soundtrack while still wrapping us up in the familiar comfort of all that we had grown up within the genre. And, while Dragon Quest VIII could have easily adapted itself with sleeves and become a Snuggie in the realm of JRPGs, it instead kept it real... as just a blanket. A wonderfully charming, Slime-filled blanket.



Kingdom Hearts II

Set a year after the events of the first Kingdom Hearts, the sequel expanded on the Square Enix Disney mashup by adding more fun elements to the real-time combat and streamlining the Gummi Ship portions of the game, which were tedious at best in the original. While much has happened story wise during the year everyone was asleep, (which are explained in Chain of Memories) the story is still as confusing as ever, but we don't really care. As Disney / Square Enix fans, we'll take this fan service and keep clamoring for the next one until we get it. We love being able to talk to Final Fantasy characters that we’ll never see again in a game, and explore gorgeous Disney-themed locales. It’s what makes Kingdom Hearts special. Sure, there’s Sora’s quest with his keyblade and all that, but come on, we can summon Stitch!



Tomb Raider Anniversary

Plenty of arguments work for other entries in the Tomb Raider series, and we love those games, but none of them capture the isolation - the lonely, quiet feeling of unearthing an ancient underground city that hasn’t been touched in centuries - like the original Tomb Raider. Yet the true original looks dated and has horrible controls by modern standards, so Anniversary it is all the way – if you want to see everything that made Tomb Raider great (sense of wondrous discovery, devious puzzles, a Tyrannosaurus), play this game NOW. Forget about the media fascination with Lara Croft – she’s a distraction from an absolutely amazing gaming experience.



Contra III: The Alien Wars

You knew there had to be a Contra on this list, but which one? Surely the newer Contras are prettier and have more refined gameplay, and they’re soooooo hardcore! Puh-lease. Any Contra that came after Contra III has introduced nothing significant gameplay-wise to improve the formula – just minor tweaks here and there. And we hate to say it, but the increasing difficulty is a detriment to the series. Think about it: how easy was it to get your friends to play Contra III with you? Even casual SNES owners would play this game. Its crisp art style still looks great, its levels are super-epic without being annoyingly difficult, and it’s endlessly inventive with the enemies and situations it throws at you.



Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3

Don’t get us wrong: MvC2 holds a special place in our hearts, but this is, by far, the best installment in Capcom’s renowned crossover franchise. It managed to take 50 beloved heroes and villains and transform them into wildly diverse fighters, each with their own unique playstyle, before tossing them into a 3v3 fray to determine the fate of two worlds. With its simplified control scheme and swingy, comeback-centric X Factor power-up, fights are always fast and furious, with pros and newcomers alike getting hyped over the game’s flashy combos and bountiful fan service. You might think that Wesker rears his handsome mug a bit too often in high-level play, but he’s nothing compared to MvC2’s Storm or Sentinel. From the win quotes to the special abilities, great care’s been taken to appease the pickiest of Marvel buffs and Capcom fans. It’s the kind of first-rate fighting game that only happens once a decade.



Suikoden II

If you’ve never played or heard of Suikoden II, it was probably because you just couldn’t get your hands on a copy. Despite high review scores a passionate following (that perhaps formed too late), Suikoden 2 was never reprinted after its initial limited run. Which is a real shame, because that forced one of the greatest PlayStation RPGs to fade into relative obscurity. Story was the standout component here, and not just the one involving the game’s protagonist. You spent much of the game recruiting up to 108 allies to fight alongside you. It was a bit like Pokémon, only these allies could speak, kill, and were never constrained by magical ball-prisons. Hmm, ok, maybe it was nothing like Pokémon...



WWF No Mercy

No game before or since “got” wrestling better than the AKI games on N64, and WWF: No Mercy was the series’ pinnacle. You may think the graphics look like ass now, but it doesn’t matter what you think! The deceptively simple weak/strong grapple and strike system created matches dense with strategy, as a well-timed reversal could turn the tide at any moment. Whether building momentum for a powerful finisher, or working over a limb for a submission, No Mercy understood the logic and drama of wrestling, and put it right there on the screen. With all that and one of the deepest character creators ever, and it’s easy to see why many diehards are still playing it today.

Conduit 1 and 2

By Barry Freckleton

Conduit was the first of the conduit series. It tells a story of an agent going into a secret organization to take out aliens that try to invade Earth. The secrets and weapons in the game brought smiles to many faces. Even when they could play online with other people around the world. Players also found out how to mix a rocket launcher with a machine gun so it would cause havoc to the other team and bring anger to many of the players. Many people didn’t like the things people found out to do or to hack the game. They could turn themselves invisible or go outside the map itself and kill you. It angered many people. Then the creators brought you Conduit 2 to keep going onto this awesome story. Many of you were surprised on how the levels went and how it ended. (This is a spoiler alert. You may stop reading this so you don’t know how it ends.) Well how it ended was a big ship came with other warriors with the battle suit armor and two of them were George Washington and Abe Lincoln. They are here to help. That how it ends. They are here to help. Now many of you don’t like the ending, but some of you do. Others just bought the game to play the multiplayer. You could get enough credits to buy new looks, weapons, and upgrades you can give to yourself. A sniper rifle that could shoot through walls and turrets that shot by themselves. Many other weapons that blew peoples minds in the game. Will they make a 3^rd one? Who knows. It all depends on what the players think.

Note from blogger: Brian.

All rights reserved to gamesradar.com for the images and reviews.

All rights reserved to article writer and author: Barry
Freckleton for Conduit's Review and image.