Owing to fellow GB user BigDo6, I've decided to make a list of the one hundred games I have enjoyed playing most. This list is not meant to be an objective analysis of the "best" games of all time, but merely a recital of those pristine specimens that really sum up why I chose this past-time.
This was the first video game I ever owned, and while it might not have been as groundbreaking as SMB3, it was nonetheless the best all-around platformer in existence at the time. Owing to responsive controls, tons of content, and timeless visuals, this one's still a keeper.
World of Warcraft was amazing, but it had its fair share of issues -- many of the class specs were worthless for raiding, the interface was still in an adolescent stage, and it was needlessly difficult to "jump up a tier" in raiding. Burning Crusade fixed lot of those problems, and also gave us an amazing new world in Outland. In my opinion, the company reached the pinnacle of its raid bosses with Kael'Thas Sunstrider and Illidan Stormrage.
If you could only use one word to sum up this game, it would have to be.......ambitious. While it could've just tried to copy games like Gal Civ II, this one did the whole "space empire" thing in REAL TIME. Add that to a sense of scale that has yet to be duplicated in the gaming world, and you've got yourself one hell of a winning formula.
I've probably experienced this game ten times, and am currently on my eleventh playthrough.
While it may not be the most original story, it nevertheless spun one of gaming's finest good-vs.-evil yarns. Need to know more? How 'bout the fact that the game actually lets the bad guy win.......only halfway through the storyline.
Toss in amazing characters, a beautiful world, and a phenomenal soundtrack, and it all adds up to the best JRPG of all time.
Blizzard's reputation is a bit more established than it was back in 1998, and I'd say this game was probably the first legitimate sign of the developer's greatness. While it might not have revolutionized the strategy space, its virtually perfect balance and execution still have many people convinced that it is the greatest RTS of all time.
When Blizzard unveils an expansion to one of their games, one might as well herald the release of an entirely new product. Such was the case with Lord of Destruction, which added two really sweet character classes, a gigantic new zone, bazillions of new items, and significant revamps of all the existing classes. And all of that was before Patch 1.7, which basically took all the skill trees and made the abilities synergize with one another, adding yet more strategic depth.
Rarely indeed can one expansion reinvent a game TWICE, for which reason it indisputably belongs on this list.
Recognized by quite a few outlets as the greatest video game of all time, Ocarina of Time was the first 3D game to get 3D right since Super Mario 64. And in the process of doing so, it blew Mario's showcase away, with a terrific story, revolutionary graphics/scale, and amounts of content not previously imagined in a fully 3D game.
There's no such thing as a truly perfect game, but Nintendo's Magnum Opus is about as close as you can get.
Nintendo developers have always had a reputation for creativity, and in the days of the N64, it didn't get much more innovative than Blast Corps.
Part puzzler, part vehicle racer, and part collectible-search, this game required the player to use a variety of outlandish demolition vehicles to clear a path between a runaway nuclear carrier and an isolated blast zone.
Ridiculous premise notwithstanding, the game felt great, and with its nearly limitless replay potential, Blast Corps was one of gaming's great values at the time.
I was always a fan of the old Shining Force games on the Genesis, but it wasn't until Shining the Holy Ark that I REALLY sunk my teeth into an RPG from that universe.
And MAN, I bit off more than I could chew -- the game world was huge, and especially in the beginning, it was a very hostile and confusing place. And all that shit was before the dungeons, which featured puzzles difficult enough to almost guarantee a little cheating.
Not for the faint of heart, this gem nonetheless enchants with appealing characters, exciting combat, and a robust world.
This was a side-scrolling take on the top-down shooter, and with things like customizable weapon loadouts, RPG-like advancement of planes, and gigantic bosses, the game was a good deal ahead of its time.
Great action sequences and appealing visuals seal the deal.
Don't listen to the conventional wisdom: the Final Fantasy Tactics Advance games suck. Anyone who's played this classic can tell you that REAL Final Fantasy titles have things like epic plotlines, profound characters, and a pervasive atmosphere of danger and mystery. This game had all of the above in spades (try counting all the plot twists), along with one of the most addictive leveling systems ever devised on any platform.
My best friend probably lost a good year of his life to its charms, and even nowadays, it remains relevant with ports to mobile platforms, as well as homages like FFTA and Disgaea.
For a while, space shooters were dominant on the PC, owing to such classics as X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter and the Freespace series. Sadly, a lack of innovation and declining interest in science fiction conspired to erode their popularity, and by the time this game came around, they were basically extinct. As such, I consider it the last great space shooter -- the story was very deep for this genre, and Bruce Campbell was priceless as the main character. The package was rounded out with tense dogfights, a gigantic "world", and a deep assortment of ship options.
While many people swear up-and-down that the original Zelda was the best, this game was better: it refined many key aspects of the series, and introduced players to many mind-bending puzzles with its Dark World mechanic. It was huge, too -- Link had to conquer five dungeons in the Light World, only to do another eight (!) after Zelda was kidnapped. All and all, it was a fitting standard-bearer in a legendary series.
