To make it to this list, the game would have had to given me some sort of memorable experience that left a hole in me after I had finished it. That, or just being really awesome.
Honorable Mentions:
Persona 4: I watched the entire ER, so I can't say that I've played it. But I think it might be better than Persona 3.
I love JPRGs, but its a rarity that I actually finish them. After playing it on and off for almost half a year and over 70 hours of play time, I finally beat Persona 3. Fun gameplay, memorable characters, and a fantastic story made Persona 3 a game I will always remember, and my #1 PS2 game of all time.
The first Devil May Cry game I ever played, and still my favorite. I spent over 50 hours playing though the story mode multiple times, leveling up all my weapons, and going though it all again with Virgil. Even though DMC4 was a good game, it still doesn't match how good I felt when the credits rolled. My second favorite PS2 game of all time.
The MGS games remain the only stealth games I enjoy. Probably due to the extremely likable protag or the anime influenced crazy story.This version seems to get flak for some reason. I've never actually played through the original PS1 version (though I do have it) but I think this version is just fine.
I don't like Grand Theft Auto. I've played all of them, couldn't get into any of them. Which makes it all the more strange or even moronic that I decided to go out and buy GTAIV day 1. Needless to say, I wound up loving it. I even put in an unhealthy amount of hours into the online mode with a friend over a summer. Good times. Goooood times....
Wheatly alone sold me on Portal 2, even all the way up to the end when he became a jerk. Portal 2 had better puzzles, better dialog, and better characters.
I remember really enjoying Indigo Prophecy, then really not liking it's ending. The weird sci-fi stuff (and those extremely dumb Simon puzzly parts)really left an ugly scar on an otherwise enjoyable game. Heavy Rain doesn't do that. It's the ultimate choose your own adventure game, and the game I wanted Indigo Prophecy to be. Plot holes aside, I love this game.
I don't think any game has immersed me in the way HL2 did. The best part of this game was the sense of how alone you were though the game. You get a car one point in the game and you drive for what seems like half the world. Only stopping to kill those vicious combine and solve puzzles.
Arkham Asylum might have the most well designed single player experience since Half-Life 2. Everything from enemy placement to new story segments is paced in such a way that it literally becomes impossible to put down, even on a second playthrough. Also, Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill might be my favorite Batman/Joker team. I've beaten this game on all XBox,PS3, and PC. Something I have never done.
When my brother bought The Orange Box I already knew which game I was most interested in. This highly original, incredibly fun puzzle game drew me in in a way not too many games do. I even beat it on my first time though.
Let's be honest with ourselves. Super Mario World is a much better game than Super Mario Bros. It's got better music, level design, and graphics. This is probably the first game that I ever remember playing. I don't think I've ever beaten it, but I do remember watching my brother play through most of the game, if not all of it. Very fond childhood memory for me, and it's still an awesome game.
I suppose if Guitar Hero is on here then Rock Band 2 should be as well. Me and my brother combined our Christmas money to buy this game, and it was totally worth it. Dozens and dozens of hours sunk into this game, and I got really good at the drums too.
Looking back, I dangerously over hyped this game for myself. Even though I have seen all of Kingdom Hearts, I have not actually beaten the game, or even got near the end for that matter. All the same, I effing loved Kingdom Hearts 2. Every moment was drenched in awesome as I soaked up everything I could to do in this thrilling adventure. I even got super close to 100%-ing the game. Stupid pot breaking game at the Colosseum...
Back when I was more of an anime fan than a core gamer, I received Budokai 3 for Christmas. I cant fathom the countless hours I spent along and with a buddy in this fast paced frantic fighter. One of my top fighting games of all time and still the best anime game ever made.
I saved up for Guitar Hero over a summer of hot days mowing grass and it was all totally worth it. Looking back, it is definitely the weakest in what it has to offer but the great songs make it still worth a play. I wasn't a huge music listener until this game came out. It introduced me to a lot of great music.
My favorite Wii game of all time. Anime and wrestling loving Travis Touchdown buys a light sab-...I mean beam katana on the internet then sets off on a mission to become the #1 assassin just to get with a girl. The story is insane and the gameplay fantastic.
I never wanted to play Psychonauts. I saw it in magazines, but the strange art didn't appeal to me at all and I had no interest in playing it ever. My brother was the one who really wanted to play it, and when I received it one Christmas, I came to love what was truly a great, humor filled, unique game. Remains the only Tim Schafer game I have ever played. There NEEDS to be a sequel.
I don't remember what about Bully drew me to it. I don't like any GTA game (except GTA4) and the thought that they were making a light version of it taking place at school seems like something I would avoid. Whatever the reason, I wound up loving Bully. The story was great and the characters were too. The school setting was fun to explore while I tried to hunt down every collectible, something that I don't tend to do with games. I would love it if they made a sequel.
I don't remember when my brother got this game. I don't even remember if this belonged to my brother. All I do remember is coming back to play this game once every few years. I got all the treasure and had Wario living in a massive castle. I remember it had some bizarre genie plot. It was great.
One of a very short list of games that I would define as "Book Like", Phoenix Wright presents five cases set around a lovable lawyer and his lovely assistant. Phoenix Wright has very little gameplay and if a game is going to do that, then the story better be hella good and its just that. Although its a game I wouldn't play though multiple times, it is a fantastic first play though experience.
I had Pokemon Silver, the better version. Why? Because my brother had the gold version. This was the first Pokemon game I had. I got it for Christmas one year. I wish I could remember where my last save was. I do remember beating it though.
This is, like Super Mario World, a game from my childhood. My uncle had a Sega, which my family did not, and every time me and my brother went over to his house we would play this. I have pretty much memorized the first level. And the music... well that's just a nostalgia-gasm in my book.
I don't think I'll add Sonic 2 to this list (the other game my uncle had that we played a lot). I don't really know why, but it's this game in particular that I have fonder memories of.
