Disclaimer: This is not a greatest games of all-time list. These games are not judged on their closeness to perfection, but rather how much fun I have playing them. They're not judged on graphics, gameplay, or story. They are judged on how much fun I have while playing them.
Rules: One entry per franchise. Otherwise, certain franchises would overtake the list.
Let's get started.
Metal Gear Solid 3 is a game that blew me away the first time I played it. Even ten years after its release, it still manages to create a fun, suspenseful experience with tons of replay value. This was the first game I ever beat on a difficulty higher than normal and those harder playthroughs led me to discovering new ways of sneaking. Did you know that you can poison the guards with rotten food? Or get caught by a guard to sneak into the lab. I certainly didn't. This game has an insane amount of depth that is unparalleled in gaming.
"Just shut up and enjoy the best game ever made"
-Pat of Two Best Friends Play
Easter eggs on top of easter eggs. Secrets on top of secrets. And so many unlockables. The gameplay was addicting, the enemy designs were creative and scary, and the controls were just perfect. What more could you ask for?
It always frustrates me when developers always strive for "story-based" games and we end up with stuff like Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls. It's not that games like that are not capable of being brilliant (Walking Dead, anyone?), it's just that it seems like David Cage looks down on developers who use gameplay to tell stories. This game is proof that you can have gameplay and still have a story unlike any other.
This game has no English dialogue, no true protagonist, and no true villain. If anything you yourself are the villain. My only real problem with this game is how easy the game is on repeat playthroughs, even on higher difficulties. However, there is simply nothing like the experience of taking down a colossus for the first time.
