lucifer_sam

alright...it's high time i at least attempt this. most of my video game experiences are different than other people here, since i never had access to an S/NES, Sega, N64 or anything from the most recent generation console. in fact, these aren't what i would consider the "best" video games at all, since i never really had the necessary void in my life to spend on video games. it's just what i can remember from my childhood.

1. Final Fantasy X

The tragic coming-of-age story that blatantly ripped off Chrono Cross came out sometime before my formative high school years and altered my perspective considerably on what made a video game "good". I think I spent that summer in near isolation, trying to get all the legendary weapons before I beat the game. Incidentally I think I may have developed a fondness for women who resemble Yuna.

2. Sim City 2000

Probably the first "real" game I ever played, my father bought it for me when I was still rather young. To me it seems like the natural predecessor to all design games -- and this certainly afforded me the opportunity to enjoy myself.

3. Pokemon Yellow

Yes, I was part of this generation. While this may have missed the boat for the social circles I was part of (by the time it came out I think we moved on a bit), it was most definitely the version of Pokemon I remember most fondly. I can also remember waking up at 6:30 to watch the show (first season, mind you) & seeing the movie and being incredibly disappointed at the same time, neither were nearly as good as the video game. You get all THREE badass starters and Pikachu. How groovy is that?

4. TimeSplitters 2

Like I said earlier, I never had access to N64 (and GoldenEye with it), but this FPS I will acknowledge as my absolute favorite. The physics were somewhat elephantine and the mechanics were sometimes aggravating, but the gameplay was enormous fun, integrating numerous favorites from years past (CTF, assault, deathmatch, etc).

5. Worms Armageddon

This, THIS was the cult favorite back in middle school. Not GoldenEye or any of those acrimonious fucking games that catch on like the plague. A game about worms. You get to control them in their natural environment (you know, cheese, bricks, graveyards, artillery dumps...), make them run, jump, rappel, and most notably, beat the shit out of one another. The weapons were anything but sinister and when you finally beat the incredibly difficult single player mode you were awarded Full Wormage and the honor of the Concrete Donkey.

6. Final Fantasy VII

Yes, I'm one of those people. I count Final Fantasy VII among one of my favorite games not for the gameplay or the replay value (it has none) but for pure nostalgia. I never played it when it first came out and it was probably 2001 or 2002 before I first beat it, but the timing was right, and despite the clearly outdated graphics I latched onto the characters unrepentantly. Even today, when I feel like digging out my childhood I'll play through a few scenes in the game to make sure I still have some attachment to years past.

7. Star Wars Jedi Knights 2: Jedi Outcast

Deep within the musty folds of my room somewhere this beast waits for me. It was my first MMORPG love -- I don't think I ever played the single player campaign but I spent hours acclimatizing myself to the agonizing effects of lag and poor servers. It might possibly have been one of the worst FPS games in history, but the lightsaber duels more than made up for its shortfalls.

8. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

Perhaps my first introduction to a Mario Brothers game and one that I consider to be severely underrated in that universe. While it has a much more linear structure than most, there's still plenty of hidden levels and a good deal of work before you can get to the (only) Wario castle. I wish I could expound upon this more but I think the last time I may have played it was in the late '90s.

9. StarCraft

One of the many games I inherited from my brother, this one occupied a significant portion of my time from grades 6-12. This would be significantly higher on the list, but I tried reliving the nostalgia a few short weeks ago and I seem to have lost my taste for any of the game mechanics I once loved.

10. FIFA 09

The one and only game from this generation (and incidentally the only one I've never owned). I'm not really a fan of playing video games in social circles but I fancy myself quite the skillful shot at FIFA. It isn't the first sports game I've played with regularity, but it is far and above my favorite. Perhaps technology finally caught up with real-life gameplay mechanics.

Notable (But Otherwise Dishonorable) Mention: Halo 2

I invested way too much time, energy, and anger into this shitpile of a game and have no desire to repeat it again. End of story.

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Kirby

I loved these three games.

I remember being low on money in Sim City, so I would just leave my game on to gather money through taxes and whatnot.

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boo boo

I thought it was a neat idea, the two player co op can be surprisingly fun.

And yes it has the best tracks in the series, DK Mountain is awesome and it's exhilarating every time I get shot out of that barrell.

And lets not forget Daisy Cruiser, Wario Colosseum and Dino Dino Jungle.

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WolfAtTheDoor

1. Super Mario Bros. 3 A hugely imaginative addition to the Mario Bros. series, the third of the portly plumbers outings ticked all of the necessary boxes and cemented Mario's status as a gaming icon. Whether it was venturing through the land of impossibly oversized koopas, hopping around in Kuribo's shoe for the first time or even taking part in one of Toad's minigames, Super Mario Bros. 3 was the pinnacle of gaming excellence at the time and still shines as the crown jewel of retro platforming.

2. Halo 2 Though it has its fair share of detractors, it cannot be denied that as a multiplayer experience Halo 2 was second to none. When it first came onto the scene I spent an unruly amount of time hooked up to Live, mucking around with friends and desperately trying (and failing) to level up. Although I am not a fan of developers shunning the single-player campaign in favour of the multiplayer experience, Halo 2 was so incredibly fun to play online that it barely mattered.

3. Super Smash Bros. Melee Brawl is undoubtedly the greatest game in the franchise, with its superb collection of characters, fantastic selection of arenas and unadulterated chaos. However, Melee was the game that made me rush out, buy a Gamecube, gather a bunch of friends and finish lengthy drinking sessions with some good ol' fashioned Kirby head-bashing. Sublime.

I'll post more later.

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mr dave

i think it's because i beat FF12 first but i couldn't even bring myself to finish FFX. it was just too flamboyant and poorly paced for me. here's a half dozen save points within 10 minutes - the next one is an hour away down this long ass road.

oh! did you forget to hunt down your black mage inside the maze jail? shucks. reload that save or try finishing without her... and... done.

i actually liked halo2, the only one i beat in the series.

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Yon Troper

1. Chrono Trigger
What an entry to the world of retrogaming, eh? A deep and involved storyline, replay value up the wazoo, smooth gameplay structure, fantastic graphics - this is a must-have for anyone interested in the SNES. An all-time classic of the RPG genre.

2. The Orange Box
The best seventh-generation game I can recall. Half-Life 2 is definitely the best FPS of 2004, with its fantastic and innovative physics engine and varied gameplay, and its expansion packs continue the experience admirably, not just as cash-ins like (for example) the Sims expansion packs. Combine that with Team Fortress 2, my favourite online FPS (hilarious dialogue, great graphical style, gameplay balance few can manage) and Portal (more on which below), and you've got five classics for the price of one.

3. Pokemon Red/Blue
I don't know what I can say about the first video game I ever owned (when I was five). I got obsessed with it and never stopped playing it, and I still whip it out from time to time today. Pokemon's always had great replay value, and I am obsessed with trying to get everything in this game still. Add a surprisingly sophisticated RPG structure, and I couldn't have had a better introduction to the video game world.

4. Portal
I know I've already mentioned the Orange Box, but Portal deserves a mention of its own. Portal's blend of the same fluid and innovative physics that define Half-Life 2 and its expansions is the main draw, but Valve shows off their flair for comedy admirably in the dialogue, and really, not much more needs to be said about "Still Alive". I generally don't like puzzle games, but it says something about Portal that a puzzle game can make this list.

5. Soulcalibur
Fighting game legends. If you can look past the stripper-tastic character design, there's great stuff here. The series as a whole deserves immense praise, but I'll pick Soulcalibur (the second in the series) for its fighting game innovations - the feeling of utter control for the characters, its smooth presentation, and its unique fighting system. Really, the whole series gets love from me for the fantastic art design (stripper-tastic costumes notwithstanding), slick presentation, incredible music and ease of control. Plus, there's the fact that Namco are commendably restrained as regards cashing in. I like that.

More to come later, probably.

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Unknown Soldier

A great thread and as an avid if somewhat old-game player this is a list off the top of my head.

1.Final Fantasy VII (PS1) What a game, its huge with a witty and at times very relevant storyline (the planet being destroyed) with some great villains such as Sephiroth and the Shinra Corporation. FF has never in my opinion ever reached these heights again.

2.Zelda Windwaker (GC) Not most peoples favourite Zelda game, but I loved the graphics and the concept of sailing to different Islands. I`m a huge fan of Ocarina and the darker Majora`s Mask too along with the SNES releases. Didn`t enjoy the most recent instalment though as it seemed to mix the Zelda magic with the excesses of Lord of the Rings.

3. GTA IV (XBOX 360) Up until this game came out, I thought GTA Vice City was the definitive GTA game with its Miami setting and 80`s soundtrack. I didn`t enjoy San Andreas that much (3 cities made it too big) but when this instalment came out, GTA reached a superb technical level and had its most abosrbing storyline to date.

4.Resident Evil 3 (PS1) One of my all time fav series and love all the games except for the shoot-em-ups, but Resident Evil 3 which came out between the Classic Res.Evil 2 and Codename Veronica is the one that just sticks out.

5.Mario 64 (N64)[/B] The Mario game I most remember and I can remember the timeless hours and early morning sessions spent trying to get these goddamn stars. Getting one of these hard stars was like winning the lottery

6.Goldeneye (N64) The game that got me into shoot-em-ups and the game that I still measure them by.

7.Metal Gear Solid (PS1) One of my all time favs and still my favourite of the series even though MGS 3-Snake Eater (runs it close) It doesn`t have the spectacular effects of the second and most recent game but the story is far more basic and believable and the simplicity of the controls and scenarios makes it so absorbing.

8.Shadowrun (SNES) One of the great but long forgotten adventure games and pre-dated FF VII, You woke up in a morgue and had to piece togeather the story as it unfolded. The city was superb, as were the characters that you interacted with, certainly a long forgotten gem. Would love to play it again one day.

9.Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 (Xbox360) I`ve always been a huge fan of the Pro Evolution series going way back to its early nintendo and then playstation days but over the last several years, the series has stagated and lost a lot of ground to FIFA. Also I`m a pretty crap at footy games and found recent releases too difficult to have really good footy games, despite its criticism, this is just like the old games of the past where I can put it on and have a great game of football game without getting stressed.

10. Call of Duty-Modern Warfare (PS3) Since Medal of Honour series fell by the wayside COD took over the classic WW2 shoot-em-up scenarios but I loved this release of the game as it finally moved out of the WW2 set up to as the name suggests a moden warfare scenario, especially loved the Russian based missions. Currently playing Modern Warfare 2 at the moment!

Unknown Soldier

I`m actually playing the Lost and Damned and Ballard of *** Tony games at the moment, its early days yet and have done just two missions of the Lost and Damned but being part of a biker gang is a novelty and love the hard rock and metal radio station selection choices.

Guybrush

Hah! Interesting mention I've played through this game about 3 or 4 times. I've started on it even more of course and each time I do, I'm sort of reminded how aged it looks and how awkward it is. But then I remember how awesome it is as well! Easily underestimated, but damn fun game. I just wish it was bigger or that there was an equally good sequel out there.

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Unknown Soldier

If you know Shadowrun you`re certainly showing your age here What machine are you playing it on? It was so long ago that I played it and I`ve forgotten a lot of the details of the game, but always thought it was a unique game. I`ve looked it up on Wiki where its classified as "Cyberpunk Fantasy" and I know a shooter was released in 2007 but that got poor reviews but was surprised to see that the series has a roleplaying table game and about 50 novels!!!