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Favorite Video Games

I've been playing video games since the early 1980s. I remember unpacking my first Nintendo Entertainment System, after saving for months.

m : Multiplayer goodness. Some multiplayer games aren't marked because I never played or enjoyed their multiplayer.

Rating	Title	m?	Platform	Developer	Publisher	Year	Notes
	Advance Wars		Game Boy Advance	Intelligent Systems	Nintendo	2001
	Aliens vs. Predator 2	m	Windows	Monolith Productions	Fox Interactive, Sierra On-Line	2001
	Beyond Good & Evil		GameCube	UbiSoft Entertainment	UbiSoft Entertainment	2003
	Bionic Commando		NES	Capcom	Capcom	1988	a brilliant platformer without jumping
	Blast Corps		Nintendo 64	Rare	Nintendo	1997
	Blaster Master		NES	Sunsoft	Sunsoft	1988	the GameBoy and PS1 versions weren't as novel
	Civilization, Sid Meier's		Macintosh	Microprose Software	Microprose Software	1993	"I'll play just one more turn."
	Civilization 2, Sid Meier's		Windows	Microprose Software	Microprose Software	1996	better in every way
	Civilization 3: Conquests, Sid Meier's	m	Windows	Firaxis Games	Infogrames	2004	Civ the way it was meant to be played -- multiplayer
	Culdcept		PS2	Omiya	NEC Interchannel	2003	Magic + Monopoly = brilliant & addictive
	Diddy Kong Racing	m	Nintendo 64	Rare	Nintendo	1997	kart racing perfection
	Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem		GameCube	Silicon Knights	Nintendo	2002	great stuff for a Lovecraft fan like me
	Etherlords 2		Windows	Nival Interactive	Fishtank Interactive	2003	Magic the way it should be
	Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel		Windows	14° East, Micro Forte	Interplay	2001	brilliant realization of setting
	Grim Fandango		Windows	LucasArts	LucasArts	1998	outstanding characters, dialog, story, and artwork
	Katamari Damacy	m	PlayStation 2	Namco	Namco Hometek	2004	nearly impossible to describe; crazy-fun to play
	Kohan: Ahriman's Gift	m	Windows	TimeGate Studios	Strategy First		outstanding multiplayer
	Kohan 2: Kings of War	m	Windows	TimeGate Studios	Gathering of Developers, Global Star Software	2004	better in every way
	Legend of Zelda, The		NES	Nintendo	Nintendo	2001	the first great game I played
	Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The		Nintendo 64	Nintendo	Nintendo	1998
	Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, The		GameBoy Player	Nintendo	Flagship	2004	one of the best Zeldas
	Legend of Zelda, The: Twilight Princess (GC)		GameCube
	Mario Kart: Double Dash!!	m	GameCube	Nintendo	Nintendo	2003	excellent cooperative play
	Metroid Prime 2: Echoes		GameCube	Retro Studios	Nintendo	2004	the first Prime is also good
	MindRover		Windows	CogniToy	CogniToy	2000
	Neverwinter Nights	m	Windows	BioWare	Infogrames	2002	fantastic potential
	Paper Mario		Nintendo 64	Intelligent Systems	Nintendo		a light-hearted romp, with a clever artistic style
	Resident Evil 4		GameCube	Capcom
	Rune		Windows	Human Head Studios	Gathering of Developers		when MMORPGs have this kind of combat, I'll buy in
	Super Mario Brothers		NES	Nintendo	Nintendo		of course
	Super Mario 64		Nintendo 64	Nintendo	Nintendo		like many people, I bought a Nintendo 64 for this game
	Super Metroid		SNES	Intelligent Systems	Nintendo		almost perfect, yet years passed before a sequel
	Super Smash Brothers	m	Nintendo 64	HAL Laboratory	Nintendo		crazy-wonderful multiplayer
	Super Smash Brothers: Melee	m	GameCube	HAL Laboratory	Nintendo		the most gameplay per dollar I've ever gotten
	System Shock		Macintosh	Looking Glass	Electronic Arts, ORIGIN Systems		game ahead of its time, in all the right ways
	System Shock 2	m	Windows	Irrational Games, Looking Glass Studios	Electronic Arts		an almost perfect game
	WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$		Game Boy Advance	Nintendo	Nintendo		can't talk, making noodles
	Wizards and Warriors		NES	Rare	Acclaim Entertainment		my first Rare game
	Zelda II: The Adventure of Link		NES	Nintendo	Nintendo	1987	a hint of things to come

Honorable Mentions

Rating	Title	m?	Platform	Developer	Publisher	Year	Notes
	American McGee's Alice		Windows	Rogue Entertainment	Electronic Arts	2000
	BloodRayne		GameCube	Terminal Reality	Majesco Sales	2002	once you get past the gratuitous violence & eroticism -- oh, wait, that's what the game is all about
	Deus Ex		Windows	Ion Storm	Eidos Interactive	2000	not System Shock 3, but much better than nothing
	Duke Nukem 3D	m	Nintendo 64	3D Realms	GT Interactive	1997	fun multiplayer
	Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project		Windows	Sunstorm Interactive	Greenleaf	2002	retro-modern platformer goodness; the homage to Mimic makes me love it
	Dungeon Siege	m	Windows	Gas Powered Games	Microsoft	2002	with multiplayer, essentially Super Gauntlet; without multiplayer, too repetitive
	Extermination
	Fable: The Lost Chapters		Windows	Lionhead Studios Ltd.	Microsoft Game Studios	2005	Excellent reviews; waited for price to come down; Doesn't deliver on it's initial potential; Areas are very linear; Strange empty feeling to world -- like a MMOG without other players
	Gauntlet: Legends	m	Nintendo 64	Atari	Midway Games	1999
	Grand Theft Auto: Vice City		Windows	Rockstar North	Rockstar Games	2003	amazing depth & open-ended play; unfortunately I have little interest in playing an unlikable anti-hero
	EyeToy: Play	m	PlayStation 2	SCEE Studio London	SCEE	2003	a hint of things to come
	Half-Life 2		Windows	Valve	Valve	2004	riveting graphics, innovative gameplay, intriguing story, still tied to FPS conventions
	Heroes of Might & Magic 2	m	Windows	New World Computing	The 3DO Company	1996	my wife and I played a lot of hot seat games
	Hostile Waters: Antaeus Rising		Windows	Rage Software Limited	Interplay	2001	excellent NPC personalities
	Icewind Dale		Windows	Black Isle Studios	Interplay	2000	great artwork
	Jak 2
	Jak 3
	Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast		Windows	Raven Software	LucasArts	2002	shows how cool Jedi are, but lousy level design
	Jet Force Gemini		Nintendo 64	Rare	Nintendo	1999
	Legend of Kay, The
	Lemmings		Windows	Visual Sciences	Psygnosis	1994	insane, fun
	Marathon		Macintosh	Bungie Studios	Bungie Studios	1994	the first premium FPS I played
	Mario vs. Donkey Kong
	MDK2		Windows	BioWare	Interplay	2000	very cool
	Mega Man 2		NES	Capcom Entertainment	Capcom Entertainment	1988	sequels galore, with few changes - remarkable
	Metal Gear		NES	Konami	Konami	1987	but not Metal Gear Solid nor Metal Gear Solid 2
	Norse By Norse West: The Return of the Lost Vikings	m	SNES	Blizzard Entertainment	Interplay		for the multiplayer
	Populous 2		Amiga	Bullfrog Productions	Electronic Arts		far better than 1
	Project Eden		Windows	Core Design	Eidos Interactive		team-based survival horror in a sci-fi setting: that's a winning formula for me
	Resident Evil		GameCube	Capcom Entertainment	Capcom Entertainment		major design flaws, strong mood, excellent sequences
	Serious Sam	m	Windows	Croteam	Gathering of Developers		for the scaling multiplayer
	Sonic the Hedgehog 2		Windows	Sega	Sega		good on the console, Windows added easy saves
	Super Monkey Ball 2	m	GameCube	Amusement Vision	Sega
	Spy Hunter		NES	Midway	Midway		the remake is also good
	Tales of Symphonia		GameCube	Namco Tales Studio Ltd.	Namco Limited
	Typing of the Dead, The		Windows	Smilebit	Sega		creative, funny, educational
	Undying, Cliver Barker's		Windows	Dreamworks Interactive	Electronic Arts		RPG-lite character development, strong mood, lousy level design
	Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness	m	Macintosh	Blizzard Entertainment	Blizzard Entertainment		strong theme, solid multiplayer
	Worms World Party	m	Windows	Team 17	Titus Interactive

• Alpha Centauri
• Animal Crossing
• Deus Ex: Invisible War
• Dino Crisis 2
• Enter the Matrix
• Extermination
• EyeToy: Groove
• Indigo Prophecy
• Kingdom Hearts
• Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, The
• Lego Star Wars
• Luigi's Mansion
• Mario Party 7
• Mechwarrior 2
• Outcast
• Nox
• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
• Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
• Psychonauts
• Red Faction
• Resident Evil 0
• Resident Evil 2
• Resident Evil 3
• Resident Evil: Code Veronica X
• Rise of Nations
• Savage: The Battle for Newerth
• Shadow of the Colossus
• Soldier of Fortune
• Soldier of Fortune 2
• Spiderman 2
• Star Fox Adventures
• Star Trek: Elite Forces
• Transformers
• Treasure Planet: Battle at Procyon
• TRON 2.0
• True Crime: Streets of LA
• Viewtiful Joe
• Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos
• We Love Katamari
• X-Men Legends

Other

• DDR Mario Mix
• Devil May Cry
• Donkey Konga
• Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
• Dragonshard
• Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel
• Getaway, The
• Mario vs. Donkey Kong
• Resident Evil: Code Veronica X
• Rygar: The Legendary Adventure
• Scrapland
• Space Channel 5: Special Edition
• Zone of the Enders

Exceptions: "game_boy.jpg" by David Wong used by permission; developers and publishers researched using Moby Games.