I deliberately haven't mentioned fighting or shooting. Can't really explain why.

Yoshi's Island is a HELL of good call too - but I already had Super Mario World on my list..

davyK wrote:

Yoshi's Island is a HELL of good call too - but I already had Super Mario World on my list..

I thought it was a better game. A lot more challenging than SMW, iirc. 

I'm tempted to do another list of favourite games. Over 3 decades of games into a list of 10?! Very hard.

hylian_elf wrote:

davyK wrote:

Yoshi's Island is a HELL of good call too - but I already had Super Mario World on my list..

I thought it was a better game. A lot more challenging than SMW, iirc. 

I'm tempted to do another list of favourite games. Over 3 decades of games into a list of 10?! Very hard.

It was harder getting 100pts in the levels but not sure the levels themselves were harder. The YI extra levels were tougher - though SMW Special world was too.

Liveinadive wrote:

kollarn wrote:

Liveinadive wrote:

4. Sonic 3 w Sonic & Knuckles (Designed as one game so it goes in as one)

Have you (or anyone else, for that matter) played this in the Sonic Classic Collection on DS? Is it a good way to play those titles? I was a stupid anti-Sega Nintendo fanboy back in those days, and completely missed out on Sonic.

Never played the DS version. IIRC the Xbox Mega Drive Collection didn't really work right, you could unlock knuckles in Sonic 2 or 3 but I couldn't work out a way to play it as one big game. Needs to be done on a Mega Drive really.

Probably not much help - but Sonic Jam on Sega Saturn lets you play the Sonic Games as on the MD - with cartridge lock on options. It also gives you the option for spin dash on Sonic 1 , AND gives you TT modes for each level too - really nice compilation that was.

davyK wrote:

Liveinadive wrote:

kollarn wrote:

Liveinadive wrote:

4. Sonic 3 w Sonic & Knuckles (Designed as one game so it goes in as one)

Have you (or anyone else, for that matter) played this in the Sonic Classic Collection on DS? Is it a good way to play those titles? I was a stupid anti-Sega Nintendo fanboy back in those days, and completely missed out on Sonic.

Never played the DS version. IIRC the Xbox Mega Drive Collection didn't really work right, you could unlock knuckles in Sonic 2 or 3 but I couldn't work out a way to play it as one big game. Needs to be done on a Mega Drive really.

Probably not much help - but Sonic Jam on Sega Saturn lets you play the Sonic Games as on the MD - with cartridge lock on options. It also gives you the option for spin dash on Sonic 1 , AND gives you TT modes for each level too - really nice compilation that was.

And in my top ten

1. Battlefield Bad Company 2
2. Galaxian
3. Lords Of Midnight
4. PGR4
5. Elite
6. Goldeneye
7. Sega Rally
8. Flashback
9. GTA Vice City
10. 1080 Snowboarding

I know a lot of people here like their collections and their retro games, I honestly don't. San Andreas is probably a better game than GTAIV, but if there's a choice of playing one now, GTAIV wins every time. Scale, textures, lighting and sound win every time for me. I can admire ten year old games, there's not many I'd actually play. With that in mind, here's a list of games I enjoyed at the time.

1. Battlefield Bad Company 2 - 360 - Multi-player designed within an inch of its life for fun.

2. Galaxian - Arcade - It was there every day, in colour, faster than Space Invaders. Amazing.

3. Lords Of Midnight - Spectrum - First time I can remember believing in a game world, quite an achievement back then.

4. PGR4 - 360 - This is why these things are tricky. Bob's convinced me that PGR2 was better and I've certainly got some great memories, likewise MSR was astonishing on the Dreamcast. I wouldn't swap either of them for the fairly flawed 4 though.

5. Elite - Spectrum - Was even more amazing on the BBC, that sort of scale combined with 3D was astounding at the time. I miss the space flight genre, but I'd guess going back would disappoint me badly.

6. Goldeneye - N64 - Best local multi-player, best game of based on a film (and we spent a lot of time playing bad ones back in the day).

7. Sega Rally - Saturn - An arcade game, in your home!

8. Flashback - Megadrive - Didn't know anything about it before I played it, that has to make it the biggest pleasant surprise in gaming.

9. GTA Vice City - Xbox - It's the best one.

10. 1080 Snowboarding - N64 - That Nintendo magic worked on me for once.

1. Demon's Souls

Changed my perception of what a modern console game can be. Tightest 3rd person fighting mechanics of any game, the most interesting online features, one of the most atmospheric, scary and well realised as well as designed worlds ever committed to disk. Endlessly replayable. A huge gamble for all involved, but one that changed the industry.

2. Super SF2 Turbo

The perfect iteration of the perfect fighter. 14 years later, the tier lists of the most powerful characters are still changing, because players are still discovering techniques (who knew T Hawk had some serious fight in him). The music, the perfectly drawn sprites, the friendship and rivalry it inspires, and the non-existent skill level cap make it just as good today.

3. Dark Souls

They took what made Demon's so good and just built on it. It's a far huger game, with more options of customisation and even cleverer online features. Every person that this game gets to, it stays with.

4. Silent Hill 2

The best story in a videogame ever. Maybe even for me just 'the best story'. Terrifying psychological horror, an incredible score, an art style that looks perfect on PS2 to this day, and just a deeply affecting character study. Once you've beaten it, you just know.

5. Lone Survivor

Indie success story, very much inspired by number 4. it means a great deal to me personally because my brother made it, but I've seen some of the emails fans have sent him, and it seems to do for some people what SH2 did for me during a time of distress - provide hope. I've spent countless hours testing and playing the iterations of the years, and it's never felt like a chore. There's always something new to see, a hidden bit of dialogue to hear, or a chance encounter you missed. The game is wide, not long, and trusts it's audience to peel at the wallpaper and see what's crumbling behind. Common theme with all my favourites, but the soundtrack is a permanent fixture on ipod.

6. A Link to the Past

It blew my mind at the time even more than Ocarina's release would do later. So tightly put together and joyfully playable. Perfect difficulty curve of making you feel clever and not holding your hand, whilst still giving you enough options to try things more than one way.

7. SFIV

It has issues that mean it wouldn't be on this list if it hadn't been more than just a game to me. Without it, 2D fighters would still be stuck 14 years ago with no real iteration. I've made friends though it, and held tournaments which are a highlight of my year.

8. Ocarina of Time

Replaying on 3DS at the moment, it would have been rude not to include it, even if Link to the Past is my desert island Zelda. It still plays/looks/sounds a dream and has so much charm, with just a hint of darkness that makes you care about the characters.

9. Super Mario World

What others have said, had to have one Mario and this is super entertaining. Still plays perfect today.

10. Final Fight

The game that made me love games. It's simplistic, and big men break lead pipes over each others head. he sprites were so big and impressive when I saw it in the arcade as an 11 year old (I think), that it made me think 'yup, this is pretty much all I care about now'. little did I know it was just the warm up for SF2 : )

Happy now Tempy? : )

Get it on your 3DS and give it another run out man, it's lovely.

Sas's turn to take a joke seriously!

I tried Nick, it just doesn't do it for me and never really did. Wind Waker ruined it for me.

Tempy wrote:

Sas's turn to take a joke seriously! I tried Nick, it just doesn't do it for me and never really did. Wind Waker ruined it for me.

I wasn't being serious.

Sasukekun wrote:

Tempy wrote:

Sas's turn to take a joke seriously! I tried Nick, it just doesn't do it for me and never really did. Wind Waker ruined it for me.

I wasn't being serious.

THIS WILL NEVER END

This was really, really tough.  For example, I've swapped Kessen and Ring of Red in and out of the list I don't know how many times.  Trying to whittle down the final thirty to just ten was a fairly arbitrary process.  I do wonder if I should've kept the ten to twenty games that didn't make the cut in a separate list, rather than mixing them up with the other also-rans but, to be honest, on any given day there are a few of these that could've easily ended up anywhere else.  I think the top five would probably stay top five, but perhaps swapping about a bit.  Maybe.  And to think that I'm the negative one who hates all games!

1.  Ico (PS2)
This game is pretty much perfect.  It looks beautiful, the puzzles are pitched brilliantly, and it surpasses all games in getting you to emotionally invest in the lead characters.  Love it.

2.  Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
Again, the emotional investment, this time with a gradually building sense of dread.  Working out the solutions is a little bit more frustrating, but this fits well, I think, with the more intense action.

3.  Bushido Blade (PS1)
The atmosphere of this game changes as the balance and intensity of each fight shifts.  I've played fights in near silence, with just the sound of the characters' feet on the gritty snow as each shifts their position, looking for a chance to attack without leaving themselves open, before one dives in delivering a fatal blow, the only strike of the encounter.  I've also seen epic fights spanning the whole game area, both fighters badly injured, struggling to find the energy to finish the other.  Cracking.

4.  Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (PS3)
Takes the vertiginous gameplay of the previous games, and adds to the convincing physicality they set in place.  I can't think of a game that more convinces me that the character I'm controlling physically exists in the environment I'm moving him around.

5.  Colony Wars (PS1)
Along with Bushido Blade, this is a game I read about religiously in Play magazine, reading every preview over and over, never able to get enough, and, like Bushido Blade, the final product delivering everything I had hoped for and more.

6.  Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe (Atari ST)
The title music and controls mean that this version remains superior to subsequent tweaks and polishes.

7.  Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (PS2)
I've never played any other Baldur's Gate games, so I don't know where this sits with them, but it's the most involving hack'n'slash I've enjoyed.  Great atmosphere, involving gameplay, convincing environment.  A joy.

8.  Kessen (PS2)
Because who wouldn't want to be a kick-ass Japanese warlord in a camp/magical version of history?

9.  Gears of War 2 (360)
This defines online multiplayer for me, both co-op and versus.  I know that a lot of those who were in on the act with the first game had complaints about the balance of this, but I was too busy having fun to care.

10. Grand Theft Auto (PS1)
Now here's a game that has never been improved on.  The London instalment seemed rushed, the sequel handled awfully, and since then it's gone 3D and, while some of them are good, they've rather changed from the original.


Honourable mentions (in no order whatsoever):
FIFA, ISS-Pro Evo, Madden, Tekken 3 (PS1), X-Blades (360), Batman The Movie (Atari ST), The Untouchables (ZX Spectrum), UFC 2009: Undisputed (360), Tenchu (PS1), Road Rash (PS1), Project Overkill (PS1), Star Gladiator (PS1), Cannon Fodder (Atari ST), Kilzone Liberation (PSP), Spider-man (PS1), Spider-man 2 (PS2), Full Spectrum Warrior (Xbox), Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3), Uncharted 2: Amongst Thieves (PS3), Uncharted: Golden Abyss (Vita), Rayman Origins (360 & Vita), Tomb Raider (PS1), Rez (PS2), Worms (PS1), Timesplitters (PS2), Burnout (PS2), Medal of Honour (PS1), Medal of Honor (360), Nitro (Atari ST), Supercars II (Atari ST), Freedom Fighters (Xbox), Portal (360), Metal Gear Solid (PS1), Rally Cross (PS1), GTA: Vice City (Xbox), Ring of Red (PS2), Dropship: United Peace Force (PS2), SSX (PS2), Prototype (360), Sky Odyssey (PS2), Urban Chaos (PS1), Gran Turismo (PS1), Forza Motorsport 2 (360), Barbarian (ZX Spectrum), Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox), Resident Evil (PS2), Left 4 Dead (360), Chequered Flag (ZX Spectrum), Hostages (Atari ST), Target Renegade (ZX Spectrum), Double Dragon (NES), Turrican 2 (Atari ST), Crackdown (360), Hard Drivin' (Atari ST), other games that people mention that I'd somehow forgotten about.

Shit forgot Arkham Asylum too, though that maybe one for a top 20.

Had a good hard think about Arkham games. Both a bit too patchy for me for a 'best eva' list. Bits of both games felt like real slogs.

Edit: Although its obviously a bit of rose-tinting that's keeping some of my entries on there. More recent games have been handicapped by the fact I've played them recently and not had time to forget the rubbish bits.