Kirby

1. Metal Gear Solid (PSX) - My brother first got this game when he was sixteen (I was ten). I remember being so amazed and how fun the gameplay was. I had never been so into a game after MGS. I still play this game a couple times a year. I've never grown tired of it, and thus, from the years of wear and tear, and the love that I still have for this game, it EASILY takes my number one spot.


2.Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Genesis) - This was the first game that I had ever owned. I remember wasting hours with it, and my mom getting mad that I could beat it before she could. I still have cravings to play this game randomly. For starting my video game love, however, it gets the number 2 spot.


3.Kirby Super Star (SNES) - Kirby games are generally easy, that's a fact. But they're also slightly addictive. I've never not had fun playing a Kirby game. And this one is EIGHT GAMES IN ONE! I've spent many hours getting 100% on this game, and I've done it many times. It's still very fun to play.


4. Tales of the Abyss (PS2) - Terrific RPGs are somewhat hard to come by, with all of the shitty ones everywhere. But, if you're a fan of RPGs and have not played this, you're definitely missing out. This game has a pretty fun battle system, crude, but witty, humor/comedy, lots of level up room (you max out at 200, I believe), and while you battle you get Grade (+ or - depending on how you do each battle), and it builds and you pick perks at the end of the game for your next play through. The story line is a pretty good on, too. A few plot twists here and there, and tada! An all around terrific game.


5. Soul Calibur (Dreamcast) - This is the first fighting game that I ever liked. At all. I grew up hating fighting games, because my brother was always the best at them, and he constantly reigned supreme, and I never had a chance. Until Soul Calibur came along. I had the upper hand, because at the time, I got to play it more, and it pretty much caught me up with fighting games (when competing with my brother). I still have a memory of an epic "One Hit" match (set health to a one-hit kill) and it actually lasted for about fifteen minutes. Dodging, spinning. Kilik (him) vs. Siegfried. Ah, brotherly bonding.


6. Shenmue (Dreamcast) - How has this not been mentioned yet? This game has been one of my favorite for a long time, if not for anything else, because of how interactive everything was. I remember spending hours trying to get money to collect all of the capsule toys. I was so amazed at collecting capsule toys in a video game. Hell, when this game came out I remember being like "You can even cut the light off!!!" The action scenes are fun, too. It makes you pay attention, because you never know when you'll have to press a random button.


7. Pokemon Red/Blue (GameBoy) - This started my dabbling into the Pokemon video games. I was even lucky enough to meet someone who had gotten a legit Mew (from a Nintendo event) and he traded me Mew, and solidified my Original 151 Pokemon. At the time of playing this game the first time, Pokémon was for all the cool kids. I remember hustling cards at school. Even though I've outgrown the cards, and never liked the show, I still continue to play the video games. You can't deny that they're great.


8. Zelda: Link's Awakening/Link's Awakening DX (Gameboy/Gameboy Color) - One of the best (and first) Zelda games I'd ever had the pleasure of playing. I played through both of them (the original, and DX version) and they're both terrific. I'll talk about the DX version, because it's the same thing, with extra goodies. As with most Zelda games, the story is pretty good. You have to collect instruments to wake a Wind Fish so you can get back to Hyrule. The major difference in the DX version for GameBoy Color is the added color, obviously, and a "Color Dungeon" which deals with color based puzzles, and at the end you can get a Red or Blue tunic (your choice) for Attack or Defense. Overall, a terrific, and sometimes overlooked game, in the Zelda series.


9. Grand Theft Auto 3 (PS2/Xbox) - For the sake of the actual rating of the game, I had to put both consoles. But the Xbox wins by default, because of the custom soundtrack thing. Grand Theft Auto 3 was a defining moment in the history of Grand Theft Auto. It was a terrific conversion from the Overhead games (that I also loved, btw, and can be download legally here). The sandbox gaming made for hours of fun, while you search for every little thing, and find all the easter eggs, and hours of mindlessly killing everyone made for great times.


10. Dynamite Headdy (Genesis) - One of my favorite platformers of all time. Headdy is about a creature that uses it's face to attack things. The levels are set up like a play (curtain drops, your "health bar" is a spotlight that changes colors, etc.). He's always harassed by a cat, for whatever reason. It's really a hard thing to explain. But it was definitely fun. And that's all that mattered.


HONORABLE MENTION:

Puggsy (Genesis) - One of the hardest, but most fun puzzle platformers. Incorporated physcis on the Genesis. Aggravating game, though. 50+ Levels, and a 21 character password system.








Also, yes, I know my descriptions are lame.

__________________

mr dave

yeah but it's also by a company that used to use the word count in its titles as a selling point. Baldur's Gate 2 features over 800 000 words of audio dialog!

i'm curious but i think i burnt myself out on medieval fantasy in the recent past. my initial impressions are that they're 'borrowing' the world style from The Witcher and mashing it with a big budget production. although the unique intro / origin aspect for each of your characters is interesting. unfortunately the teaser videos seem to give the impression the player is railroaded into standing up to the 'oppressive' humans regardless of their 'origin'.

either way i'm gonna stick to Borderlands as my digital timekiller for now. i wouldn't mind a bit of a review once you get more playtime with the game. i hope my initial impression was incorrect but that's really what their press presented.

__________________
i am the universe

Fruitonica

I've been pondering for a while..

1- Deus Ex
I lent this to a guy at school and a few weeks later he moved to Portugal, I'm still gritting my teeth about that. It really is the perfect storm of gameplay mechanics. The RPG and stealth elements and sprawling maps imbue the game with an incredible amount of depth and freedom of choice for what is at it's core a FPS. All wrapped up in an engaging cyberpunk conspiracy theory.

It's a pity the sequel couldn't live up to the original, I hope one day they make a third one.

2- Thief 2
I've never played MGS so maybe this is a bit premature, but honestly this is the pinnacle of stealth gaming, especially when you crank up the difficulty to stop you killing from range. The sneaking is so finely honed, and it works perfectly with the size and intricacy of the levels, packed with different routes, secrets and loot.

3- X-Com: UFO Defense
This was actually one of the first games I can remember playing, of course at the time it went completely over my head and I found it impossible. The learning curve is steep, but it's also one of the most rewarding games to master. The base management is highly detailed and provides a very organic type of progress, but where it truly excels is the excruciating tension in the turn-based combat.

4- Half Life 2
I only wanted to include one of the series, so this was a difficult decision. The original has a much more frenetic pace, and the marines are better than their combine counterparts. (also assassins!)
But sequel takes the cinematic aspirations of the original and realises it in spectacular fashion. The storyline actually became something worth paying attention to, the variety of settings and set pieces constantly keeps thing fresh, brilliant level design. And finally the gravity gun is just awesome.

5- N
The best set of platforming mechanics I've ever come accross. Your little ninja is so agile and the physics engine so finely attuned that after playing this Mario and Sonic feel sluggish and unresponsive. I think this is one you should check out Boo Boo, after a pretty nice learning curve the difficulty really picks up, it has the old time hard core edge that you like. Plus it has a great level creator and heaps of user created content. Plus it's totally free.

6- Super Mario World Advance
The best Mario game I've played, perfectly balanced old school platforming. With some fiendish level design near the end, and so many things to do. Actually probably the only video game my sister ever really go into, she clocked up a 100% completion which is no mean feat for someone totally uninterested in games.

7- Chrono Trigger
This tussled with Golden Sun, but in the end the combat system on this is slightly more satisfying because of the blend between turnbased and real time. I don't know why more RPGs don't take this route. Also, the story is ridiculous in all the best ways.

8- Pokemon Gold
It's been a while since I played, so this might be chalked up to nostalgia - but I don't think so. But if any game defined my childhood it's probably this. God knows how many times I reloaded to catch Hoo-Ho? (the red legendary bird).

9- Warcraft 3
Just a perfectly balanced RTS. I still fire it up every now and then for a run in single player.

10- Advance Wars 2
It makes turnbased strategy so accessible and addictive. And I love the soundtrack.

Guybrush

I've played it some more and it's definetly much more entertaining some 6 hours in than it was at start. I think Mass Effect and the Knights of the old Republics which are quite similar were more immediately entertaining and interesting, but the last couple of quests I did in Dragon Age were actually really entertaining.

The world feels much less real than in RPGs like Fallout 3 and even less real than Mass effect I'd say. You can't really interact with the environment much. It's more generic and less immersive and playing in little areas and having to load between them makes me feel a bit like I'm playing out an act on a computerized stage .. It's like you know the back of that building probably doesn't even have textures because there's no way the game would let you see it anyways.

__________________
Something Completely Different

Scarlett O'Hara

You = legend. I love fallout, like beyond normal healthiness.

__________________

Kirby

Just thought I should say, if you play N on the computer, make sure you get the downloadable version. Terrific game.

__________________

+81

I started making a list a little while ago, just have to get on some ranking/reasons.

__________________
My Music on: Facebook Last.fm
My Last.fm
My Poor Ol' Neglected Journal

Violent & Funky

1. Halo 2 (Xbox) - I've spent more time playing this game than any other. It revolutionized online gaming for platform shooters. "Slayer!"

2. Super Smash Bros (N64) - My favorite "dorm game". I've played this game for hours in a row without getting bored. So much strategy packed into such a simple game.

3. Pokemon (GB) - A cultural phenomenon, Pokemon is a thinker of a game that I have gone back and enjoyed at several different ages. Trying to beat this game at a young age was nearly impossible without guides and my friends, and only rivaled in difficulty by Ocarina of Time.

4. 007: Goldeneye (N64) - It was my first FPS, not to mention the first rated Teen game I ever played. It's another great dorm game, though I personally don't feel it has held up as well as any of the other games on this list.

5. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) - It was oh so tempting to make this Modern Warfare 2, but I've got to go with the game that laid the foundation for the rest of the series. It's probably the best online FPS ever made.

6. Mario Kart 64 (N64) - The last of my three favorite dorm games, this was my first video game I ever owned. I remember spending all of Christmas Day playing it. Nowadays, I can still enjoy it as Beerio Kart.

7. Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) - This game was ****ing hard. Almost too hard for my age because sometimes it pissed me off. Thinking back now though, I'm so glad I can say I beat this game.

8. MVP Baseball 2005 (Xbox) - I'm a huge baseball fan and this is still the best MLB baseball game you can play. I still play a modded version on the computer with updated rosters.

9. Madden NFL 2006 (Xbox) - These days I only play the NCAA football series, but this is my favorite football game of all-time. It was perfectly balanced and I wish Madden still used the same features (bring back QB vision!).

10. Guitar Hero: World Tour (Xbox 360) - My top 9 came to my head right away but I wasn't sure what to put here. I went with World Tour because I've spent a ton of time playing it and because you finally get to play the bass in the Guitar Hero series!

Antonio

i haven't played many games in my life tbh, so my list may be a little wtf

by the way, it's going from 10-1 instead of 1-10


10.Burnout 3-i have only played this game once, 3 years ago in New York at my cousin's house for less than an hour. but in that short amount of time, i had more fun playing it than almost any other racing game that i've ever held a control to. the intensity and chaos in playing and the force of the crashes (with just the most hard hitting slomo i might add) made it much more fun for me than customizing my car with flashy paint and new tires. for me, this is the one racer to take out all your frustrations on, to unleash all hell with.

9.Mario Kart Double Dash-i know people have griped over the needlessness of two characters on the karts, at to a point i'd agree, but for me this game is one thing and one thing only, and that's the tracks. while much of the are revisited ones from previous games, there can't even be an arguement that they weren't perfected in this game. one can't deny the intensity of going through the cannon on DK Mountain, or the sense of wonder and beauty when traversing Rainbow Road, and deep down, nobody wants to. so embrace the double dash, scale the roads in your tiny cart and be in wonder of where it takes you.

8.The Simpson's Hit & Run-it may just be the fanboy in me, but this is THE Simpsons game. not only did it tie a story highly reminiscient of the show, but with the actual voices from it, the characters you both played and interacted with really made you feel like you were in the show itself. the entire story, from Bart skipping school to him getting abducted to the family finding out that the new Buzz cola is a mind control device by the aliens to having to destroy the alien spaceship in a post apocalyptic, Treehouse of horror type world seems like something straight from the writers' room. along with that, there's a slew of Simpsons nostalgia in the form of gags, characters and collectables that make you yearn for those episodes again. so in short, you may not see much in this game if you don't watch the show much/don't like it, but for all of you diehard fans, this is something you should definately sink your teeth into.

7.Viewtiful Joe-vividly fun and refreshingly challenging, this game provides some kickass visuals while keeping you on your feet actionwise. the art style and character design really intrigued me and brought a cool view into a sidescrolling beat-em up world.

6.Wario Land III-at first glance it may seem like a Mario type game but it's so much more than that. one major difference is that Wario is invincible and you don't lose lives. while that may make it sound like a breeze, that's not the case. this format makes it so that enemies are at every turn preventing you from progressing, and can also give you unintentional powerups from being a zombie to getting stung in the face, making your head into a makeshift balloon. alot of the levels and parts of the game is based on puzzles and using whatever powers or abilities to navigate through alot of these levels which i can definately say are well made and challenging. definately worth checking out. i picked this one specifically because it was one of my favorites for the GBC.

5.Tony Hawk's Underground-this game is what gave the series a makeover and really breathed new life into it. it was the first of the games to feature a storyline, which is simply about a kid in New Jersey who goes on to chase his dream of becoming a pro skateboarder, with some trials and tribulations along the way. while playing the story, you see some of the stuff that goes into becoming pro (sponsorships, amatuer and pro competitions) as well as customization and a feeling that you're the one skating. while some of the levels are a bit lacking (looking at you Vancouver) it's still a game that you can have fun with, whether you're BigSpinning on the Brooklyn Banks or jumping a helicopter in Hawaii.

4.Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4-this game really cemented it for me with the Tony Hawk series. what i really liked were how the challenges weren't so forced on earlier games and were in a more sanbox style, with little mini games in each level for added fun. the level designs i felt were realistic enough for someone wanting to experience skating, but had enough holy sh*t moments to keep you interested. plus it has what's still in the top 2 of favorite THPS levels (#1 being the Skate Ranch in Tony Hawk's American Wasteland), Alcatraz. i always used to finish playing the game each time doing the massive line from the top flagpole all the way down to the docks, and it was great each time. if there was one TH game that i still want back now, it's this one.

3.Metroid Prime-probably the only FPS that i actually like, this game is exciting, mysterious, and all while keeping you wanting more. exploring these vast (and i do mean VAST) environments keeps you interested in not only progressing but hell, just looking around. you really wonder how the hell these designers were able to put such a unique and varied landscape in the game with only so much data to work with. and while usually for me, the first person messes up my view and aim, with this game i just feel comfortable with it. it actually has done for me what any other FPS's failed to do; immerse me in the game, make me feel like i am Samus Aran, Bounty Hunter extraordinaire.

2.Super Smash Bros Brawl-this is the only game that i play regularly these days, and for good reason. the amount of levels, characters and items is through the roof, the fight system for each character is customized and fun enough that even with a character you're not good with it can be enjoyable, not to mention the levels-OH THE LEVELS! now, i could go high and low describing every bit that makes this game great, but really it's something that you have to play for yourself.

1.Super Mario 64-well, what can i say? by now everyone and their grandma has played this game and knows it's one of the best, if not the best platformer of all time. the levels are just fun, the music's top notch and very memorable, and much of what Mario can do from the sidescroller days are increased tenfold. really to try and add anything would be needless and stupid, so let's just bask in it's almighty glory.....BASK I SAY!!!!

__________________
Been making some new music lately, check it out

My MB Journal-I talk about music and stuff!

add me on Steam!
http://steamcommunity.com/id/commandercool

Guybrush

Thanks I've been a dedicated fan since the first. I remember I was so fascinated with the story and the setting. The black and white 50s stuff and of course "war .. war never changes". I was hooked even before the game had started. Purely by chance, I ended up playing both the first and the second game during christmases before me and my friends started our pub tradition so the games have a vague christmas-associated feel to me.

By the way, I don't know any girl gamers in real life. Nice to see you exist

__________________
Something Completely Different