Eightest and Greatest Video Games

Soon enough (June 11th) G4’s X-Play will be airing a week long television event, 100 Greatest Video Games of All Time. Why wait eleven more days. This week I want to jump the gun and pick the top 8 right now. I can tell you right now, Ocarina of Time will be gracing the one spot on G4’s list. It is considered by most to be the best game of all time and has won this honor in several lists through out all of time. I won’t let it happen here. I love the game, but with so many new additions, with apps, minis, and all the different consoles and handhelds from the past to today, we have to let a new king reign.

8. Ocarina of Time. I said it wouldn’t take the one spot, not that it wouldn’t make the list. It is one of the best games ever because it is simply, ONE OF THE BEST GAMES EVER. It invented “Z targeting” for Christ’s sake. Every Zelda Game since it has really just been another attempt at it. I heard a 12 year old boy not that long ago say Skyward Sword was the best Zelda game and that he had never even played OoT. I nearly cried.

7. Final Fantasy VII. I know hardcore FF fans will contest this. But FF7 is the only one that ever enthralled me. The story is captivating, and if you ask me (and you will) story is what truly makes a serious game a good game.This story is so good it was able to spawn an animated sequel and several spin offs that explored different angles and other characters backstories. All of which were so amazing I want to explode just thinking about them.

6. N+. After I became a man I still wanted to play games, but no game could ever encompass that addictive gaming feeling that I had achieved as a child. I wanted sore thumbs and I wanted to feel like I was still a true gamer. All anyone seemed to be playing were Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, Halo. These are all good games, but they have one thing in common. They are the same game with a different skin over it. Sure each season they add new features and better graphics but what are you doing? You are respawning, tracking down people to kill before they kill you, rinse, repeat. I could never get the hook. Then came N+ on the PSP. I know this was released on LIVE first but it was the PSP version that got me. I could take it with me. I could share it with someone in the car and get them hooked. I could pass it back and forth, while a friend and I tried to beat a new level. I’m sure it’s great on LIVE, but I can’t stay in my house for every game. You’re a tiny little stick ninja running and jumping trying to collect gold with out dying. Simple levels and repetitive game play. But the physics and simplistic style of your little N make running and jumping as fun as Super Mario Bros made it.

5. Lego Star Wars. George Lucas will never give us what we really want. I saw a whole documentary on why people hate him for creating something we love and then changing it and not creating more of it. We still have to praise him for this great decision. Letting Travelers Tale and Lego work with his baby. LSW introduced my kids to Star Wars and if it weren’t for these cute little mini figs of my favorite characters acting out scenes as playable lego characters from the greatest saga of all time, Star Wars wouldn’t be what it is in my house (it’s a big deal in my house).

4. The Prince of Persia Series. I’m gonna exclude the PS3 revamp with the new non-prince, prince. It missed the mark. But going back to “story” being everything (sometimes), this trilogy rocked the mofo’ing casbah. The first game worked hard core, and practically invented the hack and slash adventure game and paved the way for future hits like God of War. Devil May Cry deserves an honorable mention here for really popularizing it and paving the way for Sands of Time, but PoP is better. Stylistically, with solid voice acting and a fun use of supporting characters it is a all round great game. It’s fun use of time-play, in both story and action, mingled with the artistic layout make parts of it feel more like dancing or poetry.

3. Angry Birds. The whole series thus far is great. Rio, seemed a tad… lacking to me. It came across as more of the same. Then along came Angry Birds Space to save the day. The gravity wells in AB Space can make you feel like a genius, as you whip a bomb bird around a moons gravity to explode near a meteor which then falls to the planet. “The trap is set, here comes the net”, this game is the craziest game you’ve ever seen. For you older chaps still rocking a commodore64, this is the grandchild of Gorilla. Much like every Final Fantasy shares a common gene with Oregon Trail.

2. Words With Friends/Draw Something/Hanging With Friends. I’m tossing out a 3-way tie here. I know it’s never been done, but I’m doing it. These three games seem to be on the finger tips of every person with a phone. When I first sojourned into smart phone gaming and apps, these were some of my first stops. At times they took up every waking moment that wasn’t filled with something I had to do (like feed my kids and go to my day job). If there is a show out now, or a movie in theatres that isn’t an EPIC out of time feature, they drop a reference to one of these.

1. Batman: Arkham City. It’s new(er). But, it is one of the most playable games of all time. In a head to head face of against the previous champ, Ocarina of Time, Bats would win. Not just because he has bigger muscles than link and is more frightening then Ganon. But because it is ground breaking, complex yet simple. It’s nostalgic and modern. It wraps up everything we love as nerds and tells it in a beautiful story that is well timed, amazingly voice acted (Mark Freaking Hamil as Joker), brilliant as a story, amazing in graphics, EPIC in size, and still fun. You can explore for hours doing nothing GTA style, or chase missions and follow plot lines. Side missions, mini games, and pointless details make this more than Zelda could ever be. I salute you Batman, for just being in my life.

That’s the list. I know, I left off MMO’s and MMORPG’s and 92 other brilliant things. But I could only pick 8 and these are it. We’ve got a lifetime to decide which ones are the best and more games come out all the time, while old one resurface. This won’t be the last list. It wasn’t even the first. But I stand by my ruling. Feel free to disagree with me @werewolforigin on twitter. The End.

About Eric bookout

Writer/Artist for X amount of years. Recently worked with people from IGN on a comic and studied writing under Victor Gischler of Marvel Comics at RSU in Oklahoma more X amount of years ago. Follow me @WerewolfOrigin on twitter
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2 Comments

  1. No Mario 3?

    Also, on a side note, sitting down with the biggest gamers I know we figured out that FF7 is NOT the best one, it had so many issues, and the story was easily the weakest. Story wise it has to go to 6 or 10, and gameplay would be 6. So FF6 or 3 to SNES fans is the best. Sadly, my favorite is 8.

    I was happy to see no FPS games on the list.

  2. FF6 and others didn’t meet the criteria I was using to judge. It was a very complex system comprised of algorithms, dice rolls, and one player rock, paper, scissor matches. I did however mention that best games lists would have to be done again in the distant future. There are just too many good games out there to be covered in one list and too many criteria too judge by, The hundred greatest list won’t be fair. If you went by commercial success you’d get one answer, and hours logged you’d get another. Polling would give you a third, and so on.

    oh,FF7 story being the weakest can only be supported by a narrow group of FF fans. The broader game base would agree that it is the best, hence it’s success. But in a more exploratory best in gaming list I might factor that into my algorithms and dice rolls. FPS will have to grace the pages at some point. Golden Eye deserves its recognition.

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