TechReaction

This post was inspired by Warren Spector’s Wikipedia entry that lists his top 12 games. Here is my top 10 of all time (with one additional current contender). The criteria is the games that have had the most impact on me. I took a shot at putting them in order.

1. Final Fantasy (I)
2. Super Mario Brothers (I)
3. Diablo II
4. Under a Killing Moon
5. Quake
6. Civilization
7. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
8. Super Mario 64
9. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
10. God of War

Most likely to break into the top 10: Bioshock

Honorable Mention: Gex: Enter The Gecko

1) Final Fantasy - I can remember calling my local EB Games daily to find out if this game was in-stock yet. The expectations that I built up around it were staggering. It is one of the single cases I can point to where the actual game was better than what I built it up to be. This game created much of what became the RPG genre. The idea of traveling off to a vast land and exploring around was just amazing. I stuck with the series through much of the next few installments. Square lost me a bit when they started to move from Lord of the Rings style to quasi-futuristic steam punk.

2) Super Mario Brothers - Not sure what to say here other than that the game was a huge step forward. Mario Brothers became the premier franchise in gaming and with good reason. Anyone who owned an NES back in the day probably put more time into this game than any other. It was so much better than everything else that you found yourself replaying it over and over. Nintendo still releases 2D side-scrolling Mario games more than 20 years later. That’s longevity.

3) Diablo II – The Diablo series clearly set the standard for action/rpg hybrid games. I logged a ridiculous number of hours playing Diablo II online and had an absolute blast. The deceptively straightforward gameplay masked substantial depth. My top wishlist game right now is Diablo III.

4) Under a Killing Moon – This may be a surprising pick to some people, but UAKM and the rest of the Tex Murphy series (The Pandora Directive and Overseer) were definite favorites for me. The combination of a 3D world, actual acting, and witty dialog have influences that are only just being felt now. The games were way ahead of their time, probably too far ahead in some ways. The highly revered summary dialog system from Mass Effect has influences from UAKM. Plus, it was my kind of humor. I can also see some parallels in Naughty Dog’s Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. The heavy acting component and sarcastic humor are both reminiscent of UAKM.

5) Quake – My first real experience with online gaming was Quake. I spent lots of time playing it. The game was incredible. Coming on the heels of the ground-braking Doom, Quake was another level entirely. The graphics were amazing for the time. All of today’s online first person shooters can draw a direct lineage back to Quake.

6) Civilization – Scary as it might sound, much of my ability to remember the seven wonders of the world comes directly from too much time playing Civilization. Sid Meier is a genius and the Civilization series demonstrates what games are capable of. The series is both addictive and at least mildly educational. There is a lot to be learned from Civilization about how people can be taught through games. As I learned in Civilization, when a Democracy is at war for too long, the populous will begin to rebel.

7) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night – Symphony of the Night was Castlevania does Action/RPG. As mentioned before, this is my favorite genre. I’ve proceeded to purchase and play all of the subsequent iterations offered for handheld systems. Every 2D Castlevania game since Symphony of the Night has maintained that same great action/rpg balance. My entire reason for purchasing the Gameboy Advance and Nintendo DS was to play the new Castlevania offering for each system.

Super Mario 64 - The game is often lauded in any top list of games. It essentially created the 3D platforming genre. Mario 64 was such a marvelous step forward from prior 2D games. The game was fun and avoided completely confusing players with the new 3rd dimension that they had to worry about.

9) Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - As has been well established by this point in the list, I am a huge fan of Acton/RPG hybrids. In a lot of ways Zelda was groundbreaking in this genre. It wasn’t until the series hit the SNES that I really got into it in a big way. I wouldn’t consider myself a committed fan of the series, since I’ve not really followed every installment. Still, I can appreciate the impact that the series has had on other games and I really liked this particular installment.

10) God of War - The God of War series was a late addition to the list, probably because I’ve just completed Chains of Olympus. In future lists Bioshock will likely replace it (see the next entry). I really enjoy the Kratos character and the finely tuned action/rpg fighting system. The first thing that comes to any God of War player’s mind is “fun”. From the very start, the game is just a lot of fun to play.

Most likely to break into the top: Bioshock - For the moment this is a tentative inclusion. It is the first game that I’ve played which extends the Action/rpg genre to include a first person shooter. It is easily the most intense and immersive game that I’ve ever played. The real test of a game is how its impact is felt and how it holds up over time. I expect that Bioshock will mark a turning point in gaming where the level of sophistication and immersion take a great step forward. Only time will tell.

Honorable Mention: Gex: Enter The Gecko - This pick could probably be construed as the guilty pleasure on the list. In many ways the game’s mechanics were standard character platformer fare. The game’s hook was humor. The thing is, it was my kind of humor. I really got a kick out of the one-liners and levels that lampooned pop culture. I was disappointed to see the series die, but sales were never particularly impressive. Still, I think there is an opportunity for humorous games that isn’t being taken advantage of.