boo boo

Ok, I'm known for being an obsessive listmaker. But here's an idea I have.

I think MB should have an official video games list, but instead of making it myself, I think it would be a great idea to make a group effort out of it. And here's how it will be done.

Pretty simple really. Each member makes a list of their top 10 favorite games of all time. And the rules are as follows.

1. It HAS to be a top 10, nothing more nothing less.
2. They have to be ranked in order.
3. Some games have similar or indentical titles to others, in these cases it's required that you be specific about which version you're talking about.
4. It's only acceptable to have two games sharing one position if they are brother and sister games, for example the Pokemon games, or the Zelda Oracle games.
5. Each member can only submit one list obviously, but they can change their lists if they see fit.
6. There is no restriction on how many games from a certain series or genre you can add to your list, make it however you see fit.
7. Add a sum up of why each game is among your favorites. They can be just minor sum ups or long and detailed descriptions of why each game means so much to you.

The reason I want you to rank the games in order is because they will become part of a point system to determine how high a game will end up on the official list. #1 is worth ten points, #2 is worth nine and so on. The amount of points by each member and the total of votes will determine a games placing in the list, whichever game gets the most rankings as #1 will become MB's official choice for greatest video game ever made.

The voting will continue until a top 100 list is completed. There may be tie breakers along the way for those that have the same amount of talied points. If there are not enough votes to help complete the list, I will ask every member who has already submitted a top 10 to expand their lists to a top 20, the points will be counted and these will be added to the list.

When the list is completed I will have a mod close this thread, and then start a thread with the final results.

__________________
It's only knock n' knowall, but I like it

http://www.last.fm/user/kingboobs

boo boo

Anyway. Here's mine to start things off.

1. Super Mario Bros 3: Very rarely do games live up to their massive hype, but this one did, in fact this game was so huge that they made a whole movie (The Wizard) that devoted it's entire climax to advertising this game, and rest assured that was the only reason people went to see it. It took the formula of the original SMB but not only did it upgrade it in every single way, it added tons of variety and content in it's challenges, level design and awesome power ups, that til this day none of the Mario games feel as "complete" as Super Mario Bros 3. The levels may be short, but they offer so much satisfaction in such a short amount of time, Super Mario Bros 3 is the video game equivalent of multiple orgasms, everyone should play this game right now, and then have a cigarette afterwards. Then we may finally achieve world peace.

2. Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past: I might get killed for thinking this, but I do in fact consider LTTP to be slightly better than OOT. Almost every game has a few flaws, but LTTP probably comes the closest to having none whatsoever. While the original gave the blueprints for exploring a massive free roam environment, LTTP perfected it, with more dungeons, a greater variety of obstacles, cool new items like the Hookshot, more sidequests, a huge cast of NPCs and instead of one massive, wonderfully detailed overworld, you had two. SWEET. Great graphics, beautiful music and a cool backstory just add to the emmersive effect of what is easly the best SNES game ever.

3. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: While this isn't on the top of my list, it will certainly make the top of many lists to come and I can't argue against that, as great as the other 3D Zelda games are, none of them have made as huge of a leap as OOT did, nobody expected a Zelda that wasn't a 2D overhead to work, but Nintendo made it happen. Zelda kept all the tried and true classic elements of the Zelda series but took them into 3 dimensions. Everything about this game captivated me. The revolutionary graphics, a compelling story with a huge cast of memorable characters and one of the greatest video game soundtracks of all time. I gotta tell ya, exploring the massive hyrule field for the first time, and watching the sun set was truly unlike anything I have ever seen before, never before did a game feel so amazingly real and so incredibly vast in it's possibilities. Even after you beat it, there's still tons of stuff that's just waiting to be explored, and like every Zelda before and after, you'll find some new surprises even after years and years of playing it.

4. Super Smash Bros Brawl: OMFG THIS GAME IS A TRAVESTY LOL THIS GAME IS FOR N00BS WITH NO SKILLZ STICK WITH MELEE. Yeah, I've heard it all before, and you know what? F*ck Melee, looking back on it that game was a total failure, Sakurai never wanted Super Smash Bros to be a tourney game or even a competitive fighting game, it was meant to be a fighting game for people who don't even have to like fighting games to enjoy it, and that was exactly what the original SSB achieved, when Melee (the most overrated competitive fighting game of all time) became a staple among tourney tards people seemed to have forgotten what made the series unique from other fighting games, I can't blame Sakurai for wanting to bring the series back to it's roots, and that's exactly what he did here. It felt much more like the original, but at the same time added tons of awesome new content like a stage builder, new items like final smashes and many more new characters to choose from, everyone from underdogs like Pit and Captain Olimar to third party superstars like Sonic and Solid Snake. The stages are fantastic too, you'll find yourself visiting one famous Nintendo universe to the next. Never has a game offered so much nostalgia overload and complete random chaos like this game has, and that in my eyes is the beauty of the Smash series, not some boring ass matches on Final Destination where Captain Falcon and Shiek do nothing but wavedash and chain grab for 5 minutes.

5. Sonic 3 & Knuckles: For those stupid assh*les who say Sonic 2 was the last good Sonic game, WHAT THE F*CK IS WRONG WITH YOU? Hell, I thought the Adventure and Advance games were fantastic and very worthy additions to the franchise, yeah, I said it. sue me. So much for that Sonic hasn't had a good game since Sonic 2 theory, eh? But one thing that can't be denied, the Genesis games will always be on top, and IMO this is Sonic's finest game to date. This game took all the best elements of the last three 16 bit games and put them into a big blender, as well as adding some other things. This was the largest Sonic game yet, so large that it took two cartridges with a lock on feature to contain it. Some purist idiots seem to hate this game for all the same reasons I consider it the best, the levels were bigger and there were more of them, there were more multiple paths and more exploration involved, more varied levels each with their own unique challenges, a funky Michael Jackson inspired soundtrack and 3 different characters (Sonic, Tails and Knuckles) with their own unique abilities that not only altered the difficulty level but allowed you to explore different areas and take different routes than before, making this feel like 3 games in one. This truly was the most complete Sonic game of it's time and as a matter of fact, it still is.

6. Star Fox 64: My favorite shoot em up of all time. I've replayed this game more than any other game, ever. Everything about this game clicks, incredibly varied level design that ranges from being on rails to free roam environments, the then revolutionary use of force feedback with Nintendo's handy Rumble Pak add on, a multiple route system that added much of the replay value because there were so many different ways to play the game and some of the most quoted video game dialogue of all time. While it annoyed some people I always loved how your teammates talked to you in game, it was like being immersed into an interactive movie, and while it's something games take for granted today, it was something totally groundbreaking at the time. While the game is easy enough for pretty much anyone to beat on a first playthrough, the real challenge is getting a high score in every level, which then unlocks a hard mode in which you can complete the task once again. If there's any game that is truly worthy of the title "Galaga 3D" it's this gem.

7. Street Fighter II: Can you name another game that is so incredibly popular that it has spawned more countless rereleases, ports and remakes than probably any other game in history? Well it's that popular for a reason, it's the quintessential fighting game, it wasn't the first, but it perfected the formula. A large cast of classic, unique and well balanced characters, incredibly tight controls and fast paced action throughout. There's a large amount of debate over which version is the definitive one. But for my money it's Super Street Fighter II Turbo. Why? You ask? Is it because of the better graphics and sound? The expanded cast of playable characters? The introduction of super combos? A new scoring system that kept track of combos and other accomplishments? The adjustable play speed? The tournament battle mode? Well, it's really just because I like looking at Cammy's victory poses, but whatever, this game rules.

8. NBA Jam: I gotta confess, I'm not a fan of sports games... well, at least the ones that strive for realism, which is why I consider this the best Basketball game ever made, as it throws any hint of realism completely out the window. You want to push your opponent without getting disqualified? Go right ahead. You want to do a 360 mid air as your basketball catches fire? Go ahead and do that too. Why it may not seem like much in the aesthetics department, it's the super smooth controls, variety of special moves, the awesome announcer (BOOM SHAKALAKA) and the incredible multiplayer that makes this a classic.

9. Super Mario Galaxy: Some say the planet hopping and Wiimote controls are just lame gimmicks, some say this is just a tired rehash of Super Mario 64 with overly linear level design, I say that this game is a great example of how to keep a 25 year old franchise fresh and exciting. Granted the replay value isn't incredibly high when compared to other Mario adventures. But no Mario game ever WOWED me on it's first playthrough like this game has. Mario's universe feels so massive and jumping from one planet to the next always makes me feel tingly inside. I don't think I've ever seen a 3D platformer with such creative level design and the Wiimote truly opens up a new interactive experience for games like this, and for a Mario game, it has a surprisingly cinematic feel, with the most epic soundtrack in Mario history and some mind blowing visuals, whenever people say the Wii has sh*tty graphics, I like to rub this game in their face.

10. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time: This is a perfect example of how a game can do a popular license justice. It's the best beat em up of all time. In fact as soon as I finish writing this up I'm gonna play it, it's one of those games I can't even think about without wanting to play it, that's how good it is. Sure there's more challenging beat em ups out there if you want something more hardcore, but it's not just the novelty of it being The Turtles that makes this a beloved classic, nobody knows beat em ups better than Konami, and this game does everything right. But the presentation that makes the game feel like an interactive version of the classic cartoon is what seals the deal if you're a TMNT fan like yours truly, if you have an SNES and a friend to play with, there's no excuse not to pick this one up.

__________________
It's only knock n' knowall, but I like it

http://www.last.fm/user/kingboobs

wickedlk

1. Grand Theft Auto III
A genre defining moment that just blew the industry apart. I love the game and series, from the mindless violence to pass quiet moments to the often comical story lines. Can't wait for the next installment

2. Super Mario Kart (SNES)
Amazing fun and the daddy of the genre. Even better as a multiplayer despite the fact that spinning off on the last lap at rainbow road is one of the most frustrating things known to man.

3. Goldeneye 007
Amazing playability that left a legacy for all that followed. Used to love pissing my mates off with remote mines in the facility (I knew all the spawn points lol) and who can forget the 'No Oddjob' rule?

4. Championship Manager 2
The greatest management sim of them all! Wonderfully addictive and whoever says they haven't messed with the database of one of it's incarnations is a liar. Who can forget those wonder kids too? Gifton Noel-Williams anyone?

5. Pro Evolution Soccer 4 or 5
Brought football simulations to the next level and left EA's Fifa series on it's knees for many a season. Actually spent a remarkable amount of my time playing Pro over the years but it was all worth it

6. Wii Sports
Possibly the first truly 'family' game and it's importance cannot be underestimated in getting gamers active (first real steps towards vr). Plus who can forget those hilarious images of grand parents going hell for leather in the boxing lol

7. Formula One Championship Edition
Visually stunning, ridiculously realistic and probably the main reason why us F1 fans haven't seen a game for a while How do you top this game? Not sure that you can. Great online fun too even after like 3 years after release, the sign of a great game.

8. World of Warcraft
Can't have a top ten list of games without this bad boy in there. Remarkably addictive and challenging, brought MMOs into the mainstream and no collection is complete without at least one level 80.

9. Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Can't disagree with that. Awesome fun!

10. Star Wars Battlefront 2
I don't know why but this game ticks boxes for me. Fun but not too serious, the best players still shine but a noob can still pick up, play and cheekily kill the best. Looking forward to the ridiculous battles of the new installment next year!

__________________

LoathsomePete

01. Half-Life

For the longest while I was endless addicted to First-Person-Shooters like Duke Nukem, Doom, Shadow Warrior, and Redneck Rampage which all were fun in their own little ways but really failed to tell a story. In 1998 I was starting to get into the Adventure Game genre which placed story in the drivers seat while gameplay took the passengers seat. It was my mum that actually was interested in Half-Life because of the platforming/ puzzle element and as I watched her mow down wave after wave of Marines I wanted to have a go at it. I remember coming home from school and starting my own game and just being totally enthralled by the opening sequence, also trying to get use to the control scheme because it was the first one that really incorporated the WASD and mouse controls. It was before long that I was hopeless addicted to the action, the mystery, the puzzles, and the length.

02. Grim Fandango

I never played the first two Monkey Island games, but I did really enjoy The Curse of Monkey Island, however it was Grim Fandango that really sold me on the whole Adventure Genre. The puzzles were incredibly challenging in this game, but the fact that I couldn't die or get to an area that you couldn't get beyond because you forgot to pick up some item in a previous area that was now off limits. The game features LucasArts incredibly funny and witty humor, characters that all feel important, and some of the best voice acting I had ever heard in a game. Grim Fandango is one of those games that I can play over and over again, never getting dull or boring, even if I know how to solve all the puzzles and know what's going to happen next, it just presents itself in such a way that that is what you're playing it for, the presentation.

03. The Pandora Directive

In 1996 my mum and I played Under A Killing Moon which was the 3rd game in the Tex Murphy series. We did what we normally did with games, solve the first level together so we both get a feel of what the rest of the game will be like, then go our separate ways and play our own game files. I remember that it took us almost a week to figure out exactly what we were doing in the game and how to go about it and that's what sold me on the game. Later in 1997 we found out that The Pandora Directive was released and went out to the mall just before closing so we could get it. The game was vastly improved compared to Under a Killing Moon, but it was also a lot more challenging. It was also one of the games that really truly terrified me. For the longest while I wanted to be a Private Eye because of this game.

04. Age of Empires

It's hard for me to choose between this game and Starcraft because they were pretty much the only Real-Time Strategy games I played until 2003 when Warcraft III came out. While my mum was more into the First-Person Shooter and puzzle games, it was my dad that loved the Real-Time Strategy games. He did his best to teach me how to manage units (something which I always laughed at) but I never really took well to it because I would always feel bad when they died, mostly because of my time playing FPS' where you yourself were in the action and not just controlling the outcome. In all truth, the only thing that puts Age of Empires over Stracraft is the cheat where you can get a pink lowrider car that shoots rockets. Nothing is more cathartic then watching some overpowered piece of modern technology blast cavemen to pieces.

05. Starcraft

More or less like with Age of Empires, except my dad never really took to it the same way he took to Age of Empires. It's because of this that I started playing online which was fun, but because of the sympathy I felt to all my fallen soldiers I was never very good at it. Still the game is a lot of fun and is one of the most respected RTS' on the planet.

06. Legend of Zelda: Orcarina of Time

Pretty much one of the only reasons to have owned a Nintendo 64. For myself and a lot of other gamers it was one of the first real true adventures in full 3D. It had an incredibly engrossing story and a lot of fun shit to do in the mean time.

07. WWF: No Mercy

Pretty much the best wrestling game ever made. I really liked their way of being able to use special moves and their presentation was really well done. Not only that but their create-a-wrestler left you with a number of new wrestlers to create. Not only that, but they included a lot of moves from some of the wrestlers who were left off the roster so you could create them if you were so inclined. This game offered a lot of fun for my friend and I over the summer of 2000 and 2001. A lot of people hold the Smackdown games in high regards but after playing Shut Your Mouth (my first PS2 game) I was incredibly let down. Sure the graphics were a lot better, but the story was incredibly short and it was such a departure from No Mercy that it really took awhile to get use to it. Wrestling games in general are really only for fans, but WWF No Mercy was a really fun way for you and your friends to beat the crap out of each other.

08. Battlefield 1942

Pretty much the only online game I'll willingly play anymore. It did so much right for it's time when games like Counter-Strike and Team Fortress 2 were dominating the online market. What I think a lot of people loved about BF1942 was the large maps that encouraged exploration. Also the fact that you could pilot a plane while your friend took the gun turret was absolutely amazing for the time. I remember the first time I ever played BF1942 at an Internet Cafe on a LAN server with my jaw dropped in awe at the fact that my friend next to me was driving a Jeep and I was riding shotgun. This game felt like there was a lot more strategy involved rather than just random bunny hops and mastering an overpowered/ overcompensating rifle. Not only that but the mods that came out for this game were a lot of fun as well. I have yet to play Battlefield 2, Battlefield 1943, or Battlefield: Bad Company, or Battlefiled 2142 however I will eventually get to all of them.

09. Grand Theft Auto III

Yep... pretty much the game that inspired the largest amount of clones since Doom came out. It was truly a revolutionary came at it's time that is still widely regarded as one of the best games of all time. Sure parts of the game were overhyped but this was pretty much one of the first times you could play as the bad guy, causing as much death and destruction as you could. The game featured some incredibly solid voice acting, fun side missions, hilarious commercials, and most importantly the freedom to do what you want at your own convenience. While I think GTA4 is still the best of the series, this is the one that really sparked a whole new generation of thinking, and while that does entail a lot of shit games you can't be mad at GTAIII for that.

10. Dues Ex

This was my first look at RPG's that didn't involve turn-based combat. I wasn't aware that such a thing even existed. I had been playing the first two Pokemon for about two years by the time Dues Ex came out and I had seen friends play Final Fantasy VII a few years earlier on their Playstations, but I was always a little turned off by turn-based combat. Pokemon was an exception because of the cartoon that portrayed it that way so I just learned to accept it, but I never really could get into it. Well in 2000 Dues Ex came out and completely changed my idea of what an RPG entails. It took me awhile to get use to the points system and steep difficulty, but after I died about 20 times on the first level I learned that I couldn't play this game the same way I would play Half-Life. The story was also incredibly engrossing, featuring conspiracy theories galore and at that time I was huge into The X-Files so the two went hand-in-hand quite well.


Well there you have it. While I took a more personal approach to my choices, I feel that a lot of people had similar experiences and thus I am speaking for a larger majority.

__________________
Last.FM
101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too

right-track

1. IL2 Sturmovik 1946
Combat flight sim.

2. rFactor (F1 2009 mod)
Racing sim.

Forget the rest!

music_phantom13

Ok, sounds fun to me. My top 10:

1. Super Metroid: The first Metroid was just far too basic, and I never played the second one. But This game was absolutely perfect. As a kid I could get lost in time searching for more bombs, super bombs, energy packs and everything. And something I really enjoyed about this game the first time through was that you could just stumble upon a boss without any idea it was coming, which made it interesting. Even after playing through the game, you knew you'd never find all of the secret rooms and passageways to get more stuff, which kept it interesting. The story line was interesting too, and this was one of the first games I ever got.

2. The Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time: Do I really need to say anything? Add to the complete awesomeness of this game that it was the first N64 game I ever owned, and this is pretty much tied for that top spot.

3. Super Smash Bros. - Well Melee was completely different than either of the other two, and I don't like the Wiimote, so I'll go old school and pick the first Smash Bros. I played this game a lot when it first came out and I was like 10 years old, I loved kicking ass with Pikachu. Like Booboo said, these games were meant for people that don't like fighting games, and it captured that perfectly.

4. Earthbound Earthbound was unbelievably fun. What other RPG let you fight with a frying pan or a yo-yo, among various other objects? I think the point of the game was to make fun of American culture, it was pretty much a parody, and they were spot on. The story line is pretty good too, and the battles were a lot of fun.

5. Chrono Trigger I think maybe this should be higher on my list, but I'm not sure where else to put it. This game kicked ass, you get to travel around through time attempting to save the future world you see by beating the boss in the past. Along the way you fight a whole host of enemies from the different times and use techs to battle in Final Fantasy style active battle.

6. Sonic 3 & Knuckles Why would this not be the best Sonic game? It takes everything that people loved about 2, and adds in the ability to play as Tails or Knuckles. Plus, in this one you can be Tails and fly, which is pretty cool. The levels are bigger and less straight forward. The story line is actually pretty cool and a lot more important than the other games. I liked the Genesis a lot too, but this is probably the only game I'm putting in my top 10.

7. Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare This game pretty much dominates any other FPS I can think of. The main game is a lot of fun, but the online and multiplayer is what pushes it over the top. It's definitely my favorite game for the new systems, and the best to play when you're just hanging out with a few friends. I hope the second one is better, but I'm a bit skeptical. And World at War couldn't compare, they made it a lot less realistic and a lot less fun.

8. Gran Turismo 4 Best racing game ever created. It has tons of tracks, including some real world ones. There's cars from back in the 1800s and up through the future. The controls are great, and you have the option of playing b-spec. That mode puts you as a crew chief, so you control how fast and aggressively the driver of the car goes and when he has to stop for pit stops and so on.

9. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Grand Theft Auto 3 revolutionized the series by taking it to the PS2 with better graphics and so on, but San Andreas was better as far as I'm concerned. It had a better story, and they added a lot to the game. Plus, it was set in the 80s, which added much more of a comedic factor to the game. And who doesn't enjoy running around blowing **** up until you have 6 stars and trying to evade the cops? Or stealing fast cars and launching them off huge jumps?

10. Starcraft The only RTS game, besides Warcraft 3, that I was ever able to really get into. This is a very old PC game, but aged unbelievably well. Blizzard did an excellent job of balancing the 3 races, and the concept of a game in space is really fun as well; you can kind of have space battles with battleships and carriers and other flying vehicles. Rushing in with 100000 zergs was always fun to, and you could take over enemy command centers which was always entertaining. Definitely the best PC game ever created.

boo boo

I don't think that's true, it's only basic in the sense that it's an NES game, that being said I think it was one of the most deep games to ever grace the console, along with Zelda it was one of the first action adventure type games, it was a game that put you in this huge free roam alien world, it made you feel lost, but that was part of the fun.

While Super Metroid is undeniably better, I still consider the original a great game that isn't as dated as people say.

A lot of the so called flaws of the first Metroid were actually the best things about it. IMO only pussies bitch about the lack of a map, that to me just added to the suspense because you truly never knew where you were gonna end up next, which is the whole premise of the series. Besides, if you're super hardcore you'd make your own map.

That's a bit harsh isn't it? I thought the N64 had an excellent if modest library of games, I can think of at least 30 great games for the system. Pretty much all the Nintendo published games are quality, in fact it's 1st party library is in my opinion the most consistant of any Nintendo console. However I'll admit that aside from those the system only boasted a few good 3rd party published games.

__________________
It's only knock n' knowall, but I like it

http://www.last.fm/user/kingboobs

music_phantom13

I was too young to be making my own map when I played Metroid. And I only meant basic in the sense that it's an NES game, I know there are a lot of great games for NES but I was never able to get into it because there were so many better ones for the SNES. Plus, a lot of the games worth playing (but not all) had sequels or were ported to the SNES, so I just played those instead.

boo boo

I guess it helped that I always played the originals first, even if they were 4 bits less than their 16 bit sequels I still enjoy the NES originals, sometimes more than the SNES versions. My philosophy as a retrogamer is to never judge older games by today's standards (because they're not meant to be) but by what they managed to achieve in their era, and a lot of times the "datedness" of video games just makes them more appealing to me, I'm the same way with movies too I guess.

I dont think all the SNES sequels are better than the NES originals. I'll give you Super Metroid over Metroid, LTTP over Zelda 1 and 2, FFVI over FFI and Super Castlevania over Castlevania. But I still think the first Contra is on par with Contra III, the best Mega Mans are still the first 3 NES games (though the Mega Man X series is also pretty sweet), Kirbys Adventure is still just as good as the SNES games (well maybe Superstar is better, but only slightly) and SMB3 as I stated earlier is still the best Mario.

I love the SNES, but I still think the NES will always be Nintendo's greatest triumph. It's still my favorite old school console.

__________________
It's only knock n' knowall, but I like it

http://www.last.fm/user/kingboobs

LoathsomePete

Eh I was never really into the Nintendo first party games because well... I never owned a Nintendo or any console up until that point. My friend got one back in 1996 and it was fun to play on, we messed around with Goldeneye and Mario Kart which provided us with many hours of entertainment. We even took turns with Super Mario 64 but that was more his bag than mine. It wasn't really until he got Zelda in 1998 that I really took a big interest in the console. I had just started getting into fantasy at this point so it really helped in grabbing my attention, but it was the first game I ever really saw that seemed like I was on some epic adventure, like in the books I had been reading. After I got my beat Zelda and Super Mario 64 I pretty much started playing games like Starcraft, Half-Life, and Grim Fandango. I really didn't even pick up my N64 controller till 2000 when Spider-Man, Perfect Dark, and WWF No Mercy came out.

I'm a PC gamer at heart and besides Zelda, none of the other Nintendo games intrigued me all that much.

__________________
Last.FM
101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too