Top 50 Video Games of All-Time...
30. Roller Coaster Tycoon 2
Platform: PC
Year Released: 2002
Publisher: Atari
Est. Hours Played: 60-75
Why It Made The List: This was the first game that I truly felt "addicted" to. Playing this in a dark basement for what feels like a couple hours, only to realize it's morning and you've pulled an all-nighter. Happened a number of times to me. Many expansion packs and re-vamps make it a game that you can still play today.
Year Released: 2002
Publisher: Atari
Est. Hours Played: 60-75
Why It Made The List: This was the first game that I truly felt "addicted" to. Playing this in a dark basement for what feels like a couple hours, only to realize it's morning and you've pulled an all-nighter. Happened a number of times to me. Many expansion packs and re-vamps make it a game that you can still play today.
29. Grand Theft Auto IV
Platform: PS3
Year Released: 2008
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Est. Hours Played: 75-80
Why It Made The List: Another game I played completely through before the trophy patch became available. Once trophies were up, played the single player through to 100% again(damn pigeons, had to kill them all twice!). It was a great story line, but the "friends" system got wayyyy too annoying. "Oh, I'm sorry I haven't called you in 10 hours tough-gangster-dude, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Sure we can go play shitty darts." Graphical updates to the franchise made for a great playthrough, but it didn't quite feel as open-worldly or free-roaming as previous titles, but we'll discuss some of that later...
Year Released: 2008
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Est. Hours Played: 75-80
Why It Made The List: Another game I played completely through before the trophy patch became available. Once trophies were up, played the single player through to 100% again(damn pigeons, had to kill them all twice!). It was a great story line, but the "friends" system got wayyyy too annoying. "Oh, I'm sorry I haven't called you in 10 hours tough-gangster-dude, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Sure we can go play shitty darts." Graphical updates to the franchise made for a great playthrough, but it didn't quite feel as open-worldly or free-roaming as previous titles, but we'll discuss some of that later...
28. Resistance: Fall of Man
Platform: PS3
Year Released: 2006
Publisher: SCE
Est. Hours Played: 40-50
Why It Made The List: Man did I play me some Resistance online. Another sentimental game, as it was the first PS3 game I owned. I had done some online MP before R:FOM on consoles, but the new graphics and weapons made me realize just how special "next-gen" was. Single player story was also stronger for me in Fall of Man than in Resistance 2.
Year Released: 2006
Publisher: SCE
Est. Hours Played: 40-50
Why It Made The List: Man did I play me some Resistance online. Another sentimental game, as it was the first PS3 game I owned. I had done some online MP before R:FOM on consoles, but the new graphics and weapons made me realize just how special "next-gen" was. Single player story was also stronger for me in Fall of Man than in Resistance 2.
27. Red Faction
Platform: PS2
Year Released: 2001
Publisher: THQ
Est. Hours Played: 50-60
Why It Made The List: Two words: Bot Battles. Being able to play an intense game of multi-player by yourself against AI bots was simply fantastic. The GeoMod technology in single player created a new type of gaming on consoles that had been talked about for years, but before Red Faction, had never fully come to light. The story was also great: think Total Recall meets Half-Life. And just looking at the classic Rocket Launcher just makes me so happy.
Year Released: 2001
Publisher: THQ
Est. Hours Played: 50-60
Why It Made The List: Two words: Bot Battles. Being able to play an intense game of multi-player by yourself against AI bots was simply fantastic. The GeoMod technology in single player created a new type of gaming on consoles that had been talked about for years, but before Red Faction, had never fully come to light. The story was also great: think Total Recall meets Half-Life. And just looking at the classic Rocket Launcher just makes me so happy.
26. Super Mario Bros. 3
Platform: NES
Year Released: 1990
Publisher: Nintendo
Est. Hours Played: 30-45
Why It Made The List: Ok, so I was one of those kids who saw The Wizard and immediately thought SMB3 was the coolest thing and I HAD to have it. Obviously, once I actually got it and started playing, I realized it was totally worth the hype. There's really no reason to explain why it's here. Tanooki. Super Leaf. Magic Whistle. You get the idea.
Year Released: 1990
Publisher: Nintendo
Est. Hours Played: 30-45
Why It Made The List: Ok, so I was one of those kids who saw The Wizard and immediately thought SMB3 was the coolest thing and I HAD to have it. Obviously, once I actually got it and started playing, I realized it was totally worth the hype. There's really no reason to explain why it's here. Tanooki. Super Leaf. Magic Whistle. You get the idea.
25. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Platform: PS2
Year Released: 2001
Publisher: Konami
Est. Hours Played: 25-30
Why It Made The List: Of all the Metal Gear games, Sons of Liberty had the best individual story. It's the part of the story that really ties everything together (both for previous titles, and for future games). Harnessing the new power of the PS2, the cutscenes were even more in-depth and graphics had received a major overhaul. There wasn't much change to the gameplay, but everything seemed so much smoother.
Year Released: 2001
Publisher: Konami
Est. Hours Played: 25-30
Why It Made The List: Of all the Metal Gear games, Sons of Liberty had the best individual story. It's the part of the story that really ties everything together (both for previous titles, and for future games). Harnessing the new power of the PS2, the cutscenes were even more in-depth and graphics had received a major overhaul. There wasn't much change to the gameplay, but everything seemed so much smoother.
24. Punch-Out!
Platform: NES
Year Released: 1987
Publisher: Nintendo
Est. Hours Played: 30-40
Why It Made The List: Another classic NES game that you could play at any given time and still have a blast. I estimate that I had an overall record of 150-0 against poor Glass Joe with the number of times I loaded up the cartridge trying to get as high up the ranks as possible (level codes were for pussies). Since I had "Punch-Out!", not "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!", the ultimate goal was Mr. Dream. I was only able to beat him a handful of times, but each time led to me jumping up and down screaming like I had really won the championship belt.
Year Released: 1987
Publisher: Nintendo
Est. Hours Played: 30-40
Why It Made The List: Another classic NES game that you could play at any given time and still have a blast. I estimate that I had an overall record of 150-0 against poor Glass Joe with the number of times I loaded up the cartridge trying to get as high up the ranks as possible (level codes were for pussies). Since I had "Punch-Out!", not "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!", the ultimate goal was Mr. Dream. I was only able to beat him a handful of times, but each time led to me jumping up and down screaming like I had really won the championship belt.
23. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Platform: PS2
Year Released: 2002
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Est. Hours Played: 35-40
Why It Made The List: It was tough to figure out if this or GTAIV got the higher rank, but ultimately, VC won out for two reasons: soundtrack, and story. The soundtrack from top to bottom was amazing, and introduced me to ELO's "Four Little Diamonds", now one of my favorite songs of all-time. With the storyline closely resembling Scarface, it made it more recognizable. "Vice City" (aka Miami) gangland wars, taking over the porn industry, and purchasing safe-houses (new to GTA franchise) all made GTA:VC a memorable game.
Year Released: 2002
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Est. Hours Played: 35-40
Why It Made The List: It was tough to figure out if this or GTAIV got the higher rank, but ultimately, VC won out for two reasons: soundtrack, and story. The soundtrack from top to bottom was amazing, and introduced me to ELO's "Four Little Diamonds", now one of my favorite songs of all-time. With the storyline closely resembling Scarface, it made it more recognizable. "Vice City" (aka Miami) gangland wars, taking over the porn industry, and purchasing safe-houses (new to GTA franchise) all made GTA:VC a memorable game.
22. NCAA Football 09
Platform: PS3
Year Released: 2008
Publisher: EA Sports
Est. Hours Played: 50-75
Why It Made The List: I had been disappointed by previous Madden installments, so when NCAA 09 came out with a deep Dynasty Mode and new Online Dynasties, I was hooked. At one point I was involved in 3 online dynasties and 2 offline ones. Being able to recruit against other users online, and battle for the BCS Championship using those recruits brought a new level of competition to online sports games for me. No longer can I be satisfied with head-to-head play, as NCAA 09 has ruined everything.
Year Released: 2008
Publisher: EA Sports
Est. Hours Played: 50-75
Why It Made The List: I had been disappointed by previous Madden installments, so when NCAA 09 came out with a deep Dynasty Mode and new Online Dynasties, I was hooked. At one point I was involved in 3 online dynasties and 2 offline ones. Being able to recruit against other users online, and battle for the BCS Championship using those recruits brought a new level of competition to online sports games for me. No longer can I be satisfied with head-to-head play, as NCAA 09 has ruined everything.
21. God of War
Platform: PS2
Year Released: 2005
Publisher: SCE
Est. Hours Played: 25-30
Why It Made The List: It's so hard for me to believe this game hasn't even been out for 5 years. One of the first games I played through 3 or more times, the story was so rich and the combo-attack system so perfect that it's easy to see why this slasher title helped define the PS2.
Year Released: 2005
Publisher: SCE
Est. Hours Played: 25-30
Why It Made The List: It's so hard for me to believe this game hasn't even been out for 5 years. One of the first games I played through 3 or more times, the story was so rich and the combo-attack system so perfect that it's easy to see why this slasher title helped define the PS2.