My Top 10 Video Games of All Time

[Thar]

If there's already a topic related to this that would not be necrobumped by doing so, feel free to merge this with it.

 

[spoiler=10]

Lego Island

 

I put COUNTLESS hours into this game as a kid. I’ll admit, though, the only reason it’s on this list is because of nostalgia, but a sickening amount of it. Looking back at it, the game looks like a downgrade from a shitty N64 game with controls as wonky and spastic as a spooked bird. Not to mention, the only creative freedom you had with the entire game - despite it being, you know, LEGO - was changing the color of whatever parts you assembled to make a pre-determined vehicle.

 

Nonetheless, back then it was hard to notice these things back in the day, let alone as a kid. I never grew old of the activities. In the game, the activities you take part in have a ranking system: red for first, blue for second, and yellow for third. In the log book, it would always be a satisfying feeling to see red all across the board, especially with every one of 5 characters you can play as. My favorite activity is pizza delivery, where each character has a different customer, but the cream on top was the mission of catching the Brickster after he escapes, which was always a rush and possibly the best feeling ever upon succeeding.

 

So as broken and limited as this game was, I give it credit for how much I enjoyed it as a kid.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=9]

Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls

 

I never thought that an extension of a game whose genre I’ve never cared for would turn out to be one of my all-time favorites. Having been sceptical of it upon buying it, I was absolutely shocked by how much fun I was having playing it. I think it was because I was controlling the character with a controller, since I always grew tired of clicking in different spots all the time, which grew tedious and frustrating. However, the fluency of using a controller seemed to have knocked that burden off, and it really opened my eyes.

 

I may have played this on the easiest difficulty, but I could’ve easily played it again on a different level. Yes, I enjoyed it THAT much. Hacking at enemies, leveling up and gaining different abilities depending on your character gave the game the replayability that today makes me wanna buy it again for full price. The best part about it for me, though, was the boss battles. Surprise, right? Well, considering I’ve always loved bosses in games, these ones were incredibly satisfying to fight and beat even on the easiest difficulty. Their monologues are badass and memorable and make you feel like SUCH a boss... and don’t even get me STARTED on the cutscenes. HOLY SHIT, they’re good.

 

But I think if there was one thing about the game that confirms it a spot on my all-time top ten, it’s the extension. While I was having a blast playing it, the moment I reached the apparent final boss of the game made me feel like there wasn’t enough of it. I would’ve been satisfied upon finishing it, but after what I thought was the climax, a cutscene played afterwards that, after completely forgetting, was the one from the commercial for this game. I had the biggest wave of happiness flow through me upon realizing that there was more game to play, and I appreciated it that much more.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=8]

Red Dead Redemption

 

Rockstar has never disappointed in terms of open-world games, but Red Dead Redemption stands out amongst the lot. It has all the controls and mechanics of pretty much any third-person open-world shooter, but what makes RDR so unique is its barren western setting. Horseback riding, bounty hunting, pistol-whipping duels… Rockstar sure knew how to make a good western-style game if anything.

 

Having been used to modern-style Rockstar my whole life up to this point, the leap back in time gave it so much charm that I found myself buying it for keepsakes after renting it. After cancelling my Gamefly subscription, RDR was the only game that I ended up doing so with.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=7]

Tony Hawk's Underground 2: World Destruction Tour

 

I absolutely LOVED the Tony Hawk games, especially the early ones. I always love looking back and seeing how much I genuinely enjoyed controlling such a low-poly character in a low-poly environment, but I didn’t care. However, while I ended up playing more of the classics, Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 was the one game that stood out of all the ones I played. Not only did it have a kickass story mode, but it had SO much more to offer. More levels, more goals, more characters. EVERYTHING. I mean, what other game lets you manual up a hill on a chainsaw-powered board as fucking BIGFOOT?

 

That aside, the story mode gave everything this game had just that much more spunk. It was practically another Jackass movie, but in the form of a world-wide competition and MUCH more badass. Challenges like blowing up a construction site, grinding power lines to make seagulls shit all over beach-goers, and resurrecting the dead by grinding on the tombstones was so over-the-top for a skateboarding game and yet somehow managed to make it that much more fun.

 

Rest in peace, Tony Hawk games.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=6]

Dynasty Warriors 5

 

Of all the Dynasty Warriors games I’ve played, this one set the standards. The first time I played this franchise, I didn’t know what I was getting into. All I know was that a friend from a long time ago handed it to me and asked if I wanted to play it. I had no idea what it was, but after putting it in and putting a few hours of play time on the first day, it blew my mind. Hacking and slashing enemies was satisfying, and fighting other warriors was one of the best boss-battle experiences I’ve ever had.

 

The real charm of this game was the lore. Every game has the same general storyline, and upon completing the fifth game, I noticed just how epic the entire saga was through and through, and having the option of playing through every character’s point of view made it unbelievably more so. To make it even better, the combat system was amazing! With each character having a different, unique weapon with exclusive movesets and fighting styles, the possibilities were practically endless. I think if any game I’ve played had the right kind of replayability, it would be this.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=5]

Super Mario 64

 

Mario has always been a staple for me (as well as pretty much every other Nintendo fan), but this game is a living example of everything I love about 3D platforming: 8 degrees of freedom of movement and camera adjustment, simple but challenging level design, solid controls (if not a tad wonky due to age), and a wide variety of stages to complete. I’ll be honest; as a kid, this game would’ve sold me if it just had the Peach’s Castle overworld and no levels, but had I been just a little older at the time, I would’ve been disappointed even after NOT buying it. Either way, this semi-open world where stages were threw paintings on the walls broke new grounds for me.

 

Granted, I never actually owned this game for its exclusive console let alone the console itself. I’ve only ever played this game for said console at a friend’s house. Having never actually beaten it, I finally managed to after getting it on the Wii Virtual Console (with no less frustration or rage, for the record) and all that unfelt satisfaction for it paid off, confirming it to me one of the best games of my childhood.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=4]

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

 

As a kid, I was oblivious to a lot of good media, let alone games. In my oblivion, I had no idea what the Legend of Zelda was, so I managed to miss major titles like Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, and Majora’s Mask. I think it wasn’t until a couple years later after Twilight Princess was released when I first saw it, in other words seeing the first Zelda game that I have ever seen outside of just hearing the name of the franchise. At first it was just a glimpse of someone else playing it at a table-top gaming store, which caught my interest. However, I never actually played it until a year later when I asked my friend to borrow his copy.

 

Right off the bat, I was engrossed. The atmosphere, the environment, the music… everything about it just felt right. Shortly after my first play session, I realized that there were several other games before it, and at that moment I figured out what the Legend of Zelda was and just how large it is as a franchise. Several sessions later, I managed to complete the game, looking back like I had just returned from a life-changing journey. Every puzzle, every quest, every point in the story was worth the time taken and frustration excelled to push through. All in all, it was just an amazing experience that I came to appreciate and it later became my favorite Nintendo franchise ever.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=3]

Rollercoaster Tycoon 2

 

Lego Island was the only other PC game on this list, but what that game didn’t have was lasting appeal into other games. Rollercoaster Tycoon had just that and MUCH more. RT was one of the first PC games I’ve played practically non-stop that was remotely realistic. Plus I’ve always loved amusement parks, and I’ve always loved designing them in my head. So what better game to play besides RT?

 

While I spent more time playing the first game, the one I found myself appreciating the most was the second. The interface was much more pleasant. There were more ride and attraction options as well as more decorations and interaction as a whole. But there was one thing that justified my decision, and that’s the scenario called “Rollercoaster Heaven.” As the name implies, the goal was to design 5 rollercoasters each with excitement ratings of at least 9.8/10 (I think.) The kicker? You have infinite funds to do it with. There is a similar scenario in the first game’s extensions where you have unlimited funds, but you had to keep the park rating above 700, which was not easy. In Rollercoaster Heaven, there was no failure factor. If you build a rollercoaster and it does not meet the requirements, you could just trash it and make a new one.

 

The entire franchise is just amazing and it provided some quality killtime for me as a kid. I also played a bunch of other tycoon games, but the feel of the first two RT games were what I got used to and came to love the most.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=2]

Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped

 

While the original Crash Bandicoot was the first video game I have ever played, the third game had everything that the previous two nailed. What made the first game different was that the levels all made one long path to the goal. Starting with the second game was when the warp room was introduced, which turned it into a time-traveling adventure. While the second game was a great introduction to this concept, the third game took it to the next level with the use of floating wormholes instead of doorways to portals, and it actually showed you a glimpse of the level instead of just a colorful spiral.

 

While I have nothing against the second game, the third game also had a lot of fun gimmicks like scuba diving, tiger riding, motorcycle racing, and plane-flying. The second game had similar gimmicks, but the third game pulled it off better. Plus the game came with a demo of Spyro the Dragon by putting in a code at the starting menu, which was pretty awesome.

 

Now how has this game gotten so far up the list with all these “negative” aspects? Because despite all that, this game franchise (meaning the first three games) is one of my most replayed franchises of my life. This applies to all gaming companies. I found myself replaying all three games at least a dozen times, and I’m not even exaggerating. This game set the foundation of my gaming life as well as set in stone my passion for 3D platformers in general. Even today, I’m still playing these games and enjoying every ounce of struggle and rage.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=1]

Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc

 

I’ve only played two games in this series, and this one stood out from the former (Rayman 2) like a treefrog to a toad. The first time I played a Rayman game, it was Rayman 2. I was attending sessions at a YMCA, where between activities, we’d have a free period. I would always go to the station where two arcade-esque boxes boxed in a pair of TV screens and a console. The one with the PS2 had Rayman 2 in it, and I would always play that.

 

After wanting to play it again, I asked to be taken out shopping, and I managed to get the third game instead. It turned out to be the better choice, and the feel of it was like nothing I’ve ever experienced with any other game. It was colorful, comic, goofy, and solid. The story was wacky yet interesting enough to keep me engrossed. I often found myself thrown off by certain gameplay segments like carrying plums across haunted cellars, chasing one of my shoes while driving the other, and surfing through a pocket dimension with funky beats playing in the background. The enemies were creepy, and the bosses were intimidating, but it was the perfect balance that made the game awesome.

 

I could break down the molecules of the chemicals that are this game, but there’s really no reason to as long as I love it. It turned out to be the one game that throws all of my gaming desires into one package.[/spoiler]

 

[spoiler=Honorable Mentions]

Shadow of Mordor

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin

Metroid Prime

Crash Bandicoot 1

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Donkey Kong 64

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Pokemon Platinum

Pokemon Crystal

Pokemon Stadium[/spoiler]

 

Feel free to post and discuss your top ten as well, and give an explanation for each on why you put it there.

[Toffee.]

>Lego Island

>Rollercoaster Tycoon 2

>Crash 3 Warped

 

Fucking. Yes.