My Top 25 Games of All Time (Part 3/4)

(15) Super Smash Bros. Melee(GC):  Super Smash Bros. Melee is probably one of the best party games during the Gamecube/Xbox/PS2 generation.  I remember that the very first time I pulled all nighters with friends was to play this game.  There is so much simple fun and pleasure to be had from SSBM.  The combat was hectic and not very complex, the graphics were top notch for the time, and the variety of Nintendo characters can be compared to a child walking into a candy store.  There was plenty of fun to be had in single player as well, collecting trophies and new characters in whatnot.  Even though the single player could last you hours upon hours, the multiplayer really made the game shine and standout from other titles.  This game will be in my memories as the very first game where I would get 3-6 friends to come over and pull all nighters playing this gem.

 

"Almost any Nintendo character you can think of is in this game."

 

(14)Duck Hunt(NES): Ever wanted to go hunting, but you didn’t have a rifle or a license.  Nowadays you have a choice of many hunting simulators with updated graphics.  Back in Belarus in 1998, you didn’t have those kind of options.  What you did have is a friend with a NES with Super Mario. Bros and Duck Hunt, along with a VHS with hours upon hours of Tom and Jerry tapes.  But hey, I never complained.  In fact… I got addicted to gaming!  Duck Hunt was the first game I ever picked up and played, and it was such a simple and easy concept… but at the time it blew my mind.  I would spend hours shooting that orange rifle, not for high scores, but for a reason I didn’t quite understand myself.  The game was just plain fun to play, and that kind of fun stands the test of time.

 

"The worst part of the game is that it wouldn't let me shoot the dog."

 

(13)World of Warcraft(PC): This isn’t the game that got me addicted to online MMORPGs and chewed out a chunk of my life (that game is coming up soon).  This is the game that introduced me to MMORPGs.  When I started playing World of Warcraft, there was about 3 months to go before the release of the Burning Crusade expansion pack. I leveled up to 60, and began my short 2 or so weeks of raiding.  I am really disappointed that I didn’t pick up this game before, so I could experience the truly hardcore raids such as Ahn’Qiraj and Naxxaramas (since Blizzard *cough* Activision *cough* really started dropping the ball on raid difficulty, especially in Wrath of the Lich King) If I had begun playing this game a year earlier, it would probably be in my top 5, but sadly I didn’t have much time to raid.   I was however introduced to raiding through 5 mans and easy 40 man raids such as Onyxia’s Lair.

 

"This is where it all began..."

 

 

(12)Mario 64(N64): Mario 64 is the only game on my list that I didn’t own.  Even though I never had a copy of the game, I remember going down to my grandparent’s house over the summer and playing this game, day and night, with three of my cousins.  We did this mostly in 2004… eight years after the game came out.  This should hint at the quality of the game.  The graphics weren’t amazing for 2004, but were the best on the N64. The gameplay however, was simply astounding .  The quest to collect all of the stars and complete all of the levels was motive enough to play the game, but the different and creative environments really sealed the deal. I can’t speak too much about the game since I never owned it, but the enjoyment this game brought just from watching my cousins play it (and taking turns playing it of course) land it in the number 12 spot on my list.

 

"Screw Pokemon, this is where Gotta Catch Em All originated."

 

(11)Fable II(Xbox 360): It’s a little funny, because I bought this game about a month ago and finished playing it about two weeks ago.  I literally had to go in and edit my list at the last second due to Fable II.  The first thing you will notice is that the game’s visual style and “old English” feel create a special atmosphere.  As soon as you begin playing, you will feel like you were plucked into the story of Oliver Twist.  Fable II does a very good job in letting you chose if you were good or evil.  If you chose between good and evil decisions, you will easily see the world around you change according to your actions… which is something very few games have incorporated so well in their games.  The story is exciting and interesting as long as it lasts, but the real meat of the game was in the things you can do outside of the main storyline.  You can decide to buy stores or businesses, or whether you want to work to make money.  You can marry a villager, start a family, or have protected sex.  Fable II offers thousands of choices, and it feels rewarding when Albion’s landscape reflects on your decisions.

"The only part when the game doesn't offer you a choice is when you confront trolls."

 

(10)Command and Conquer: Red Alert II(PC): The Command and Conquer series has always been incredible, but none of their games I have played have grasped me like Red Alert II.  When you can play scrimmage games against the computer for 15 hours straight, you know you have a quality strategy game.  Red Alert II doesn’t reinvent the RTS genre, but simply offers a fun alternative/competitor to Star Craft.  Naturally, simulated conflicts between countries in the future are always fun to play out.  The campaign was pretty good, but to be honest I spent 90% of my time playing the game in matches against friends or the computer.  Simply put, a fun RTS to play.

 

"Save us Red October!"

 

All right… time for serious business…

 

 

(9)Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2(PS,PC,GBA,N64): Another one of those games where I would sit down and play with some friends throughout the night, emptying out one soda after another.  Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 is my favorite game on the Playstation hands down (note: I have yet to play Metal Gear Solid, so please don’t yell at me:(). This game was a nice change of pace, and something new… a successful skating game (not counting the first Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater). This game has the uncanny ability to make competing with your friends for the higher score fun.  Not much to be sad for this one either, it’s the best skater of the PS/N64 generation and will always have a place in my heart for the innovation it offered.

 

"My only problem is that some of the levels felt really small, like Hangar."

 

 

(8)Star Craft(PC):  So… who’s psyched for Star Craft II?  Back on subject... Star Craft will be remembered as the best Real Time Strategy game of all time, and rightfully so.  The campaigns for all three factions offered a lot of fun.  Each mission/level was unique, meaning each different mission had some kind of different objective.  One mission would have you playing a full out scrimmage to eliminate the opposing faction.  Another mission would be to destroy all of the enemies defenses with a certain amount of troops at your disposal.  This is the first RTS game to feature these changes in the campaign modes.  The three factions included the Terran (humans), and two very cool looking interstellar races… the advanced Protoss and the savage Zerg.  The amount of creativity put into the lore and races of this game astounds me to this very date.  Not only is the campaign and lore amazing, but the action is kickass.  Nothing beats going head to head with your friends, and hearing them nerdrage as you turtle :).

 

"You can't tell me your not psyched for Starcraft II!"

 

(7)Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots(PS3): Ohh my God… the cut scenes in this game are incredible.  But that’s not the incredible thing about it though… the fact that the cut scenes transitioned to gameplay and vice versa to tell the story made this game special.  The shooting felt solid, and the variety of weapons was mind boggling.  A special note goes out to the boss fight since they were the best damn boss fights I have experienced.  The area where this game shines is the gritty and slightly depressing story line.  This game doesn’t have the full happy ending, but instead gives you a sense of closure with Snake. Every cut scene and event makes the situation seem very dramatic and tense, but at the same time the soothing and depressing guitar theme of “Old Snake” makes the situation seem grim.  All of these little factors come together, along with a great story, to create not only a great game, but a great piece of art in its own respect.

 

"Snake: Hes old."

Selecting the next six games was truly difficult since it felt that all of these games where in a six way tie.  After thinking a lot over which games I enjoyed the most I managed to arrange them, but all of the upcoming titles are sacred to me. All of these games have left their own mark on me, and include my fondest memory as a gamer.

 

(6)The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion(Xbox 360, PS3, PC): The amazing world of Oblivion is something that I haven’t seen in any game before it, or any game after it.  First of all, the game looks amazing.  The world looks real and manages to look highly detailed and precise whether it be in sunny fields or dark, sky-scorched Oblivion gates. Now, the game is dated so the graphics aren’t up to par with games like Killzone 2 and God of War 3, but the artistic style of Oblivion make the game beautiful in its own way. The graphics and the amazing soundtrack really make you feel like you are in a whole different universe when you are playing Oblivion… a universe where anything is possible.  You can play the game in third person view or first person view, although it was clearly meant to be played in first person view.  As far as the mechanics go, it’s your typical RPG.  You gain new items, fight monsters, and level up.  One mechanic that is unique is the leveling system.  How it works is that there are several categories of levels.  As you perform and action under a category, that category of level goes up.  For example, if I jump around a lot, my acrobatic level will increase.  When you have leveled enough of your categories, you can sleep to “reflect” on what you learned and gain an overall level.  In Oblivion you have three different approaches to combat: magic, stealth, and your basic sword and shield combat. All three aspects are fun and effective to use.  The thing that really makes this game more than your average RPG is the incredible story and the characters you meet along the way.  Once you are finished with the story, there are hundreds of quests you could be doing.  This game has the best replay ability for any single player RPG.  You can easily sink in 200+ hours into Oblivion, just playing one character.  No other game really delivers as much bang for the buck, and no other game is quite like Oblivion.

 

"This game is something else."