Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

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Simonsloth
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by Simonsloth »

James wrote: July 7th, 2019, 9:33 am Started whittling down everything I've played into a list of 50. June 2016 was the last time I did this, and that time frame presents a specific problem.

I use a 'one game per series' rule, to avoid half the list being from a handful of series. I find this focuses me on what I like about a series. In some cases, I may feel that other games in a series do certain things better, but I go with the game most important to me and let it represent its siblings. I've not really had a problem, with Dark Souls, Hitman, or even Mario (which could make up a tenth of the 50 by itself), but...

A Link To The Past or Breath Of The Wild

I'm stuck. :mrgreen:
I think you can make an exception here as those two games are wildly different even though they are from the same series. I suspect there are other games on your list which have more in common but don’t share the same name.

Either that or you make a list of 51?
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by dezm0nd »

I've shied away from top lists but I need a project.

This could be it
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James
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by James »

Simonsloth wrote: July 7th, 2019, 9:44 am Either that or you make a list of 51?
Don't tempt me! ;)
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by James »

Fear not, clippa. This is largely about how the games hit me when I played them. Your Mario Kart DS reasoning is much the same as mine for why 6 Golden Coins is my Mario inclusion. I'd struggle to say it's 'better' than many other Mario games, but it means the most to me, and so is my favourite.

I've done ordered and non-ordered lists in the past. I'm not sure if I'll try to order these. Getting this list down to 50 will be a mammoth task as it is. I did really like Jobobonobo's list by generation, which allows for a chronological focus, and helps craft a personal gaming history.
dezm0nd wrote: July 7th, 2019, 10:06 am I've shied away from top lists but I need a project.

This could be it
I think this is the appeal for me, dez, to be able to put a pin in what I'm playing right now and take some time to look back at all the memories that are wrapped up in everything I've played over 30+ years. It's a nice project to sink as much or as little time as you want into. :)
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Combine Hunter
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by Combine Hunter »

I already hate my list, if that's a comfort
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by KSubzero1000 »

Well, I've been sneakily editing my list over the past few months whenever the need arose. I've always tried to keep nostalgia out of the process as much as possible and ranking them by what I believe to be the strength of their overall design combined with how much each individual title means to me (which one to save from a burning building?). No drastic changes nor violent bursts of remorse on my end, mostly moving some up or down a few pegs, skyrocketing DMC3 into the Top 15 during my series replay last October and adding Infinifactory plus various shmups.
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James
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by James »

Looks like you chose to treat Dark Souls and Bloodborne as the same series. I guess the only thing that keeps me from having a BOTW/ALTTP conundrum with those is that I treat them separately. Showing, I guess, that I'm willing to make distinctions when the mood takes me.

I guess ALTTP and BOTW are both going into my top 50 then. :D
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by duskvstweak »

Spoiler: show
1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
2. Super Mario World
3. Roller Coaster Tycoon
4. StarCraft
5. Baldur’s Gate
6. Half-Life
7. Civilization IV
8. Bioshock
9. Super Metroid
10. Metal Gear Solid
11. Guitar Hero II
12. Dance Dance Revolution
13. Age of Empires II
14. Super Smash Bros. Melee
15. Burnout 3: Takedown
16. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
17. Shadow of the Colossus
18. Final Fantasy VI
19. Spider-Man (2000)
20. Street Fighter II
21. Donkey Kong Country
22. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
23. Telltale’s The Walking Dead
24. X-Com: Enemy Unknown
25. Mark of the Ninja
26. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
27. Pokémon Red
28. Dynasty Warriors 3
29. Batman: Arkham Asylum
30. X-Men: Legends II
31. Final Fantasy X
32. Medal of Honor: Frontline
33. Super Mario Bros.
34. 007: Goldeneye
35. Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny
36. Alan Wake
37. Limbo
38. Freedom Force
39. Dr. Mario
40. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
41. F-Zero X
42. League of Legends
43. Grand Theft Auto III
44. Xenosaga
45. FTL: Faster Than Light
46. Timesplitters
47. Tomb Raider: Legend
48. Kingdom Hearts
49. Portal
50. Halo: Combat Evolved
I've played a bunch of games since I made this list and a few might make the the top 50 someday. I'm gonna have to replay them to decide, but the first two Max Payne games have really stuck with me since. And I was shocked by how much I got into Deus Ex once I got off Liberty Island.

Recent contenders...
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Deus Ex
Resident Evil Remaster
Resident Evil 2
DOOM (2016)
Shovel Knight
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by hazeredmist »

Alex79uk wrote: July 6th, 2019, 1:55 pm I was just thinking Spelunky would be at the top and then 49 shmups of varying silly names.
:lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by InsrtCoins »

Here's my current top 50, but this list changes all of the time:
Spoiler: show
1. Bloodborne
2. Banjo-Kazooie
3. Hitman 2
4. Hitman
5. Dark Souls
6. Super Mario Galaxy 2
7. Portal 2
8. Rock Band 4
9. Portal
10. Dark Souls II
11. Dark Souls III
12. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
13. NieR:Automata
14. Psychonauts
15. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
16. Rayman Legends
17. Shadow of the Colossus
18. Pokémon: Silver Version
19. Rhythm Heaven Fever
20. Pokémon: Blue Version
21. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
22. Rock Band 2
23. Astro Bot Rescue Mission
24. Conker's Bad Fur Day
25. Just Cause 2
26. Super Mario Odyssey
27. Vanquish
28. To the Moon
29. Rayman Origins
30. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
31. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
32. The Witness
33. PaRappa the Rapper
34. Hollow Knight
35. A Hat in Time
36. Kentucky Route Zero
37. Ori and the Blind Forest
38. Katamari Forever
39. Burnout Paradise
40. FRU
41. Pokémon SoulSilver
42. Pokémon LeafGreen
43. Tony Hawk's Underground
44. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
45. Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
46. Earth Defense Force 2017
47. Rock Band 3
48. Sleeping Dogs
49. Severed
50. DropMix
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by Stanshall »

Wot no Demon's? :O

I'd be genuinely interested to know why that one missed out from such a Souls fan.
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by InsrtCoins »

Yeah, to be completely honest, I don't actually care for Demon's Souls all that much. It was the last of the series that I came to, and there are some frustrating elements that feel like a step backwards to someone more accustomed to the latter Souls games formula.

That's deeeefinitely not to say it's a bad game, certainly -- it just didn't connect with me. There are a ton of brilliant and unique mechanics, and that Storm King fight is so cool :D

So much of our experience with games hinges upon the context in which they're played rather than the objective quality of the game. There have been lots of objective belters that I haven't been able to get into.
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by Stanshall »

That's really interesting, and I totally get your point about context. It was the first I played and I found it largely impenetrable but fascinating for about ten hours before picking up DS2. That's the one which really clicked and which I fell in love with, then Dark Souls 1 followed and my entire feeling about games changed. I can see how Demon's is really awkward to go back to, though. It's not only obtuse before you understand its intricacies, it's an ungenerous swine even when you do. Remarkable atmosphere for me, though, and Boletaria Palace will probably be imprinted on my mind's eye until I start to fade.
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James
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by James »

Still chipping away at my top 50. At the moment there are still 70 games on the list, and it's starting to get brutal.
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InsrtCoins
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by InsrtCoins »

Stanshall wrote: July 9th, 2019, 10:58 pm That's really interesting, and I totally get your point about context. It was the first I played and I found it largely impenetrable but fascinating for about ten hours before picking up DS2. That's the one which really clicked and which I fell in love with, then Dark Souls 1 followed and my entire feeling about games changed. I can see how Demon's is really awkward to go back to, though. It's not only obtuse before you understand its intricacies, it's an ungenerous swine even when you do. Remarkable atmosphere for me, though, and Boletaria Palace will probably be imprinted on my mind's eye until I start to fade.
Yeah, the sense of place in those games is wild. As much as I love Dark Souls, DS2 has some brilliant atmosphere. I just want to spend my life in those worlds. Demon's Souls definitely has a lot of that. It communicates well that these worlds play by their own rules, their rules are consistent, and they have no responsibility to teach you those rules.
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by Sinclair Gregstrum »

Looking back at mine there are a few suspect choices, and I also blatantly cheated by including Sonic Jam and The Orange Box as single listings!

I've written up a list of what I want add in since 2013 and have trimmed the overall list to 57, but can't get rid of those final 7! Will keep deliberating....

Will also be getting rid of my numbered order and just be doing alphabetical. How I actually managed to rank them before I have no idea!
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by James »

Sinclair Gregstrum wrote: July 12th, 2019, 11:49 am Looking back at mine there are a few suspect choices, and I also blatantly cheated by including Sonic Jam and The Orange Box as single listings!
It's your list. I think compilations are fine, personally. The Orange Box was the first time I played both Half-Life 2 and Episode 1, so it's kinda weird for me to think of them as separate from the rest of the package.
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by ratsoalbion »

Definitely a case of your list, your rules I think.
Although one might be cheating oneself by including 50+ game compilations like Megea Drive/Genesis Classics...
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by Sinclair Gregstrum »

Finally chipped mine down to 50 and included everything new since my 2013 list, along with a bit of general spring cleaning of dropping and including some older stuff.

All alphabetical, no ranking! Although if you asked me for a favourite it would still be Panzer Dragoon Saga...

Click to reveal!
Spoiler: show
Aladdin (Mega Drive)
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Bioshock
Championship Manager 99/00
Command & Conquer
Crazy Taxi
The Darkness
Dead Space
Dune 2
Earthworm Jim
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Forza Horizon 3
Gears of War
Golden Eye
Grim Fandango
Halo: Combat Evolved
Inside
Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Lemmings
Marvel’s Spider-Man (PS4)
Mass Effect
Metropolis Street Racer
Mirrors Edge
NBA 2K
Nights Into Dreams
The Orange Box
Panzer Dragoon Saga
PES 2008
Phantasy Star Online
Resident Evil: Code Veronica
Rock Band
Sega Rally
Shenmue
Shenmue 2
Sonic Adventure
Sonic The Hedgehog (Game Gear)
Sonic Jam
Star Wars – Knights Of The Old Republic
Street Fighter Alpha 2
Streets Of Rage 2
Super Mario Galaxy
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989 coin-op)
Tomb Raider (Saturn)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Virtua Fighter 2
Virtua Tennis
The Witcher 3
The Wolf Among Us
Wolfenstein: The New Order
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James
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Re: Your Top 50 Games of All Time Lists

Post by James »

Excellent list, Sinclair Gregstrum! A couple on there that sparked some pangs of regret as they only very narrowly missed my list. Speaking of which, I had another crack at my own list tonight and I have it down to 50.

Some heartbreaking decisions, and a lot of changes since my last list in 2016. As mentioned previously, I've tried to avoid choosing games from the same series in order to help with variety. Only The Legend Of Zelda and Hitman made it onto the list twice, both due to recent releases that I've absolutely adored.

Oh, I've put the games in order of release year. Though not necessarily the order I played them in, I felt this provided a sense of chronology.
Spoiler: show
Tetris (1989)
The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past (1991)
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (1992)
Street Fighter II (1993)
SimCity 2000 (1994)
Command & Conquer: Red Alert (1996)
Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night (1997)
Championship Manager 97/98 (1997)
Metal Gear Solid (1998)
Deus Ex (2000)
Rez (2001)
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin (2002)
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (2003)
Half-Life 2 (2004)
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (2005)
Okami (2006)
Shadow Of The Colossus (2006)
BioShock (2007)
Mass Effect (2007)
Burnout Paradise (2008)
Dear Esther (2008/2012)
Far Cry 2 (2008)
999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (2009)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009)
Demon's Souls (2009)
Plants Vs Zombies (2009)
Fallout: New Vegas (2010)
Halo: Reach (2010)
NIER (2010)
Dark Souls (2011)
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (2011)
Portal 2 (2011)
Rayman: Origins (2011)
The Binding Of Isaac (2011)
To The Moon (2011)
Hotline Miami (2012)
Mark Of The Ninja (2012)
Gone Home (2013)
80 Days (2014)
Threes! (2014)
Bloodborne (2015)
Everybody's Gone To The Rapture (2015)
Ori & The Blind Forest (2015)
The Beginner's Guide (2015)
Firewatch (2016)
Cuphead (2017)
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (2017)
Hollow Knight (2017)
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild (2017)
Hitman 2 (2018)
Phew! :D
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