Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

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Flabyo
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by Flabyo »

Trying to put a list together now and I’m not sure I can, I keep remembering things I like. Sword of Vermillion! Point Blank! Typing of the Dead

I will do this, I can do this... I can...
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ThirdDrawing
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by ThirdDrawing »

I forgot Doom. Dammit.

And Typing of the Dead as well.....
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Flabyo
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by Flabyo »

Well I’ve managed it. I’ve tried to mostly discard my nostalgia filter and pick stuff that I think is still fun to play in the here and now. I’m always conscious that there’s a certain amount of ‘recent’ bias when making lists like this as well.

But for what it’s worth, here you go, in alphabetical order...
Spoiler: show
Alpha Protocol
Asheron's Call
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Burnout Paradise
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Chrono Trigger
Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight
DDRMAX2: 7th Mix
Deus Ex
Dragon's Dogma
Dynasty Warriors 7
The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion
Elite Beat Agents
Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
F.E.A.R
Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Grand Theft Auto 5
Half Life 2
Halo: Combat Evolved
Head Over Heels
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Horizon: Zero Dawn
ICO
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Overwatch
Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations
Power Drift
Quake 2
Rock Band 3
Sensible World of Soccer '98
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
Skies of Arcadia
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Soul Calibur
Splatoon
Streets of Rage 2
Sunset Overdrive
Super Mario World
Tales from the Borderlands
Titanfall
Turrican 2: The Final Fight
Vandal Hearts
Valkyria Chronicles
WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames!
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Xenogears
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Simonsloth
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by Simonsloth »

Great list! I can’t believe I forgot Indiana Jones!
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DomsBeard
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by DomsBeard »

DomsBeard wrote: April 1st, 2013, 1:22 pm Here's mine

http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/domsbe ... ames/83997
Going to reread mine and see how close I am too now.....
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by DomsBeard »

To be fair that is a great list.

I would have included since then Alien Isolation in the top 10.
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Chopper
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by Chopper »

DomsBeard wrote: May 29th, 2018, 9:20 pm To be fair that is a great list.
:lol:


Totally unrelated though: do you stand by Bioshock infinite? :)
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by Spacefarer »

I'm saving Indy for when I can play it through with my brother. The lack of Harrison Ford puts me off just a little though...
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Flabyo
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by Flabyo »

Spacefarer wrote: May 29th, 2018, 9:55 pm I'm saving Indy for when I can play it through with my brother. The lack of Harrison Ford puts me off just a little though...
I think I played it on the Amiga, so no voice acting for me.

It’s my favourite of the SCUMM games by some margin. A combination of the characters and puzzle design. I still dearly wish we’d got to see Sophia on the big screen, she’s definitely my favourite of Doctor Jones’ foils.

The whole middle section of the game changing based on one decision was insane though, the locations and general plot stayed the same, but the puzzles changed completely. (It does make it pretty clear it’s about to do this, it’s not like it’s something subtle you can miss that makes the choice.)
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by Tleprie »

TOP 50:
Spoiler: show
  1. Spelunky
  2. Super Mario Strikers
  3. Life is Strange: Before the Storm
  4. Super Smash Bros. Melee
  5. Bloodborne
  6. Thomas Was Alone
  7. The Talos Principle
  8. The Beginner's Guide
  9. Binding of Isaac Rebirth
  10. Rockband
  11. Donkey Kong Junior
  12. Doki Doki Literature Club
  13. Rainbow 6 Vegas 2
  14. Luigi's Mansion
  15. Star Wars Battlefront 2 (2005)
  16. Jamestown
  17. Minecraft
  18. Life Is Strange
  19. NightSky
  20. Overcooked
  21. Salt & Sanctuary
  22. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
  23. Mario Kart 8
  24. Gears of War 2
  25. Hatoful Boyfriend
  26. Halo Reach
  27. Civilization V
  28. Call of Duty: Black Ops
  29. Sins of a Solar Empire
  30. Mario Golf Toadstool Tour
  31. Lego Star Wars The Complete Saga
  32. New Super Mario Bros. Wii
  33. Soul Calibur 2
  34. Halo 3
  35. Super Hexagon
  36. Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II
  37. VVVVVV
  38. Super Meat Boy
  39. Transistor
  40. Dark Souls 2 Scholar of the First Sin
  41. Super Crate Box
  42. Flower
  43. Tearaway
  44. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number
  45. Risk of Rain
  46. Hotline Miami
  47. On The Rainslick Precipice of Darkness Episodes 1 & 2
  48. Kirby Pinball Land
  49. Grand Theft Auto V
  50. Puzzle Quest 2
PROCESS

My process for making the list was first to consult my larger 100+ list, which is ranked (S through C), but not ordered individually. I took the top 50 or so of those, then added another 15-20 that I have been too lazy to add to the master list.

I started just trying to order the whole thing, but quickly ran into a problem with gameplay focused games versus narrative or experiential games. I love both categories for very distinct reasons, and pitting one against the other was too difficult to start with. So I removed the following games and set them aside:

Life Is Strange: BtS
Thomas Was Alone
The Beginner's Guide
Doki Doki Literature Club
Life Is Strange
Hatoful Boyfriend
Flower

There were a couple games, Talos Principle, for instance, that fit into both categories, but I erred on whether or not I would have gotten the impact of the story without being directly involved in the gameplay. Or something.

After this I organized the top 15 or so games, and got them into a fairly definitive order, they would still get switched up a bit more before the end, but it was a good place to start.

Next I tried organizing the everything else, but found it too daunting, so I created another small group, this time of multiplayer shooters. I would rank the following games against each other, then find where other games fit in between, above, or below them:

Star Wars Battlefront 2
CoD 4: Modern Warfare
Gears of War 2
Halo Reach
CoD: Black Ops
Halo 3

At this point I still had over 50 games total. around 57 including the story games I had pulled early on. I went through the list and found roughly 12 games that I decided could be cut. More on that later.

I got most of the games that come between and above the shooters pretty quickly, then took a bit longer sorting through what was left over below them. After this I took the 7 story/experience games that I pulled earlier, and placed them where I felt they belonged in the list.

INSIGHTS & STUFF

As with everyone else, this got difficult to cut and organize. I tried not to focus too much on nostalgia. Games that I haven't played in forever, or have and have had less of a fun time with, were not considered; games like Sonic Adventure 2 and Timesplitters 2.

I was extremely surprised how low the Hotline Miami games ended up being. These are games that I platinum'd, and bought the vinyl soundtracks for, as well as the collectors edition. I still certainly love them, but it has probably been at least a year, if not two, since I sat down and really connected with them. I'm sure in a few years they could be back among the top 25, or maybe won't be on the list at all.

Similarly, I cut Bastion and Arkham Asylum from my list. Two games that at one point I would have easily put in my top 10. Bastion I had played twice right after I bought it. What "ruined" it for me, I think, was going back and playing again when it was released on the Vita. I resonated less with the story, probably because I had already experienced it twice, and also didn't get along with the controls.
With Arkham, I think I have since tried going back to it, but again, the experience is no longer fresh, I've played other games that do what it does better mechanically, and as such I think the story has lost some of its luster.

There is another category of game that I had a hard time cutting, which are games that have been more inspirational to me than I enjoy playing. World of Goo and Viva Pinata are the highlights of this category. They have been very influential on my art and thoughts on games and gardening, but just couldn't make the cut in terms of fun and engagement that I have with them now.

I think the biggest factor in how things got ordered overall wasn't necessarily what games I think are objectively better, but what I am mostly to want to play now. For example, I don't really enjoy Civilization V that much on its own, but I have great memories, and still greatly enjoy playing it with my brother and friends. It is a very relaxed, extended experience that I don't get with any other game on this list.

With some exceptional exceptions, I found that I favor multiplayer experiences over singleplayer.
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ColinAlonso
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by ColinAlonso »

Nice write-up Tleprie.

I've actually prepared my list but then my laptop crashed (I probably have to reinstall the OS) before I uploaded it. I'm actually taking an opposite approach on nostalgia, games that I really enjoyed at the time will be included on that basis. So yeah, Timesplitters 2 is on my list :) .
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by Stanshall »

Banging list and interesting process.

Interesting also how many have actively tried to quell the effects of nostalgia. I couldn't boil a list down to any objective or subjective criteria beyond 'which games meant most to me, as I remember them'. You'd think that would lead to significant recency bias but it turned out not to be the case, or at least less than I might have expected.

I have very very fond memories of playing Pinball Dreams on the Amiga and Gobliiins and Skidmarks. They're some of my formative gaming experiences and I played them for hours and hours, but they don't resonate with me emotionally and I can't remember them ever doing so. They were 'just' good fun, whereas Castle Quest on the BBC Micro was not much fun at all, but it utterly captivated me and the sounds and sights of the duelling toothbrush enemies still give me chills. It felt like an insurmountably challenging adventure, and indeed it has been, for me.

Anyway, just interested that a number of people have tried to strip away the nostalgia to approach this with a little more emotional distance and critical consideration.
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by Simonsloth »

Stanshall wrote: May 30th, 2018, 9:59 pm Banging list and interesting process.

Interesting also how many have actively tried to quell the effects of nostalgia. I couldn't boil a list down to any objective or subjective criteria beyond 'which games meant most to me, as I remember them'. You'd think that would lead to significant recency bias but it turned out not to be the case, or at least less than I might have expected.

I have very very fond memories of playing Pinball Dreams on the Amiga and Gobliiins and Skidmarks. They're some of my formative gaming experiences and I played them for hours and hours, but they don't resonate with me emotionally and I can't remember them ever doing so. They were 'just' good fun, whereas Castle Quest on the BBC Micro was not much fun at all, but it utterly captivated me and the sounds and sights of the duelling toothbrush enemies still give me chills. It felt like an insurmountably challenging adventure, and indeed it has been, for me.

Anyway, just interested that a number of people have tried to strip away the nostalgia to approach this with a little more emotional distance and critical consideration.
I took the list as meaning “best games” rather than the most important 50 games to me. It probably would be a completely different list if I factored in impact. It would however end up being full of games I wouldn’t want to play anymore and couldn’t recommend to anyone.
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by DomsBeard »

Chopper wrote: May 29th, 2018, 9:40 pm
DomsBeard wrote: May 29th, 2018, 9:20 pm To be fair that is a great list.
:lol:


Totally unrelated though: do you stand by Bioshock infinite? :)
Yes though my top 12 seems to be jumbled up. Aliens arcade isn't my number 1 :lol:
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by ratsoalbion »

So I'm not quite the only person who still likes BioShock Infinite then.
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Flabyo
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by Flabyo »

I enjoyed it enough when I played it. And the art and audio direction is still great. But it doesn’t trouble my top 50 at all.
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by Tleprie »

I loved Bioshock Infinite, certainly more than what I've played of the other two Bioshocks, but not quite enough to make it into the top 50.
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by AndrewBrown »

At first I thought this list would be plainly impossible, but after I saw Flabyo just post his fifty games in alphabetical order, it seemed like a much less daunting task. So here's mine. It has very few surprises.
Spoiler: show
Advance Wars: Dual Strike
Banjo-Kazooie
Batman: Arkham City
The Binding of Isaac
BioShock
Borderlands 2
Chrono Trigger
Crazy Taxi
Darkest Dungeon
Demon's Crest
Diablo II: Lord of Destruction
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls
DOOM II
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy V
Guitar Hero II
Hyrule Warriors
L.A. Noire
The Last of Us
Left 4 Dead 2
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Mass Effect 2
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Metroid Prime Wii
Minecraft
Pokémon Generation 1
Portal 2
Rampage
Red Dead Redemption
Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 4
Rock Band 3
Shadow of the Colossus
Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty
Super Mario 64
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Super Mario World
Super Smash Bros.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
The Walking Dead: Season 1
Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
Zombies Ate My Neighbors
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by ColinAlonso »

ColinAlonso wrote: May 30th, 2018, 9:06 pm I've actually prepared my list but then my laptop crashed (I probably have to reinstall the OS)
Well I reinstalled Windows and now here's my list, with its excessive number of JRPG's and platformers. And they're ranked, which means I will hate the list in an hour.
Spoiler: show
1. Persona 4
2. Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions
3. Ristar
4. Final Fantasy VII
5. Sonic 3 & Knuckles
6. Grand Theft Auto 3
7. Streets of Rage 2
8. Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
9. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
10. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
11. Persona 3
12. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
13. Pro Evolution Soccer 5
14. Football Manager 2008
15. Rayman Legends
16. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
17. Suikoden II
18. Shadow of the Colossus
19. Journey
20. Chrono Trigger
21. Sonic the Hedgehog
22. Everybody's Golf (Vita)
23. Rocket League
24. Final Fantasy IX
25. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
26. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations
27. Valkyria Chronicles
28. Red Dead Redemption
29. Super Mario Galaxy
30. The World Ends With You
31. Metal Gear Solid
32. Super Mario Bros 3
33. Yakuza 0
34. Advance Wars
35. Portal 2
36. Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
37. Bust A Move 2: Arcade Edition
38. Timesplitters 2
39. We Love Katamari
40. Medieval 2: Total War
41. SSX Tricky
42. Gravity Rush
43. Splatoon 2
44. Psychonauts
45. Phantasy Star IV
46. X-COM: Enemy Unknown
47. Elite Beat Agents
48. Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed
49. Ico
50. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
I knew it already, but this list just confirms that I prefer slower paced games rather than twitch based gameplay. I think I just try to relax a bit more when playing games.

To make the list I came up with about 100 games and tried to sort through them in order from top to bottom. I did that 4 times or so to smooth out the list. Sonic 2 was actually number 35 after I did that but I really didn't want to put 3 Mega Drive Sonics on the list and it was the lowest of the three so I snuck GTA:VC onto the list (so cheating a bit).
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by ColinAlonso »

ColinAlonso wrote: June 4th, 2018, 9:53 pm And they're ranked, which means I will hate the list in an hour.
Yup, forgot 80 Days in my process :cry:. Possibly wouldn't have made the list anyway
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