Ok I hate ranking my favorite games I mean it's like picking children so I'm only going to do 10 and limit it to 1 per franchise or this list would probably be all Insomniac and Naughty Dog games. So here we go!
10. Jak 3: My favorite blend of the two styles of the first two games. It had the open world GTA vibe of the second with the feeling of wonder of the first and an epic story to boot. I loved how they expanded the dark Jak powers and added light Jak and I spent hours just fighting at the borders of each zone in the city seeing how much I could turn the tide (even though it never really effected anything lol)
9. Mario Kart 8: I love Mario Kart and this one just barely beats Mario Kart 64 for this franchise but damn do I love it. I played it a couple times with friends who grew up with MK64 and they just could not believe the awesomeness that was Rainbow Road and the other colorful tracks. It's a blast co-op and just BARELY gets beat out by a couple of other games on the list as far as co-op awesomeness goes.
8. Infamous: This game was a super-hero origin done right. I've never felt such a great sense of progression over a journey like this. The side-quests were fun (mostly) and the RPG elements were done FANTASTICALLY. I just love how you progress from just being a zappy guy who can barely move cars to having the agility and power of a true superhero. The second game was just BARELY beaten by the original but for some reason I find the first just slightly more magical mainly due to the amazing story and villain and MIND-BLOWING twist at the end.
7. Goldeneye 64: Holy CRAP was this game fantastic back in the day and I have one question for those of you who say it has dwindled in greatness over time. WHAT!? I played it with my little cousins who had NEVER HEARD of it before and we were all having a blast just recently with it. It's a timeless classic to me.
6. Batman Arkham City: I'm a big superhero fan and if Infamous is an origin done right this game is the PERFECT Batman game. The villains, boss-battles, gadgets, predator sequences, deeper combat, and simple refinement in movement put it over the original for me.
5. Uncharted 3: Yes 3. It was my favorite of a series I think has gotten better with each installment. While the train sequence in Uncharted 2 is my favorite set-piece of the series I have to give the complete set of set-pieces award to part 3. I also enjoyed the villains and story more. They shared many similarities in story (2 and 3) but I just felt that 3 had a better sense of theatricality and the combo of chateau, plane, dessert, horse caravan chase, bar fight, and city foot chase is just unbeatable as far as replay value goes.
4. God of War 3: This is the hardest decision on this list because 2 and 3 are SOOOO good for slightly different reasons. While I like the environments and was more impressed with GoW2's scale considering it was on PS2 I have to give the nod to 3 because of one word BOSSES. The second most epic set of bosses gaming has ever seen (see my #2 game for the best set). Hades was dark and took me by surprise, Zeus was epic scale beyond belief, Poseidon was...well...epic scale beyond belief, and CRONOS puts those last 2 to shame! Also it is beautiful and brings the world of Greek mythology to life like no other game I've seen. Nothing comes close in the hack-n-slash genre for me.
3. Super Smash Bros. Brawl: Remember how much I love Nintendo local MP? Well this game is the best of the bunch. It grabs you from the first match and still hasn't lost its sense of fun. Now I'm not into competitive Smash or anything so characters like Metanight don't bother me and the fighting seems the same in all 3 games to me so of course I'll pick Brawl with its gigantic character roster and crazy stages. I mean SNAAAAAKE! is in it for god's sake. Speaking of Snake...
2. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater: This game is video game storytelling. So many times it blends cinema with gaming and your interaction it's just unrivaled. Kojima's genius is on full display with sequences like having to pull the trigger at the end or finding the secret tricks to beat every boss. This is the best set of bosses in gaming history because each feels like a completely different game. And it feeds the story with their abilities and the way you have to beat them. You can feel Snake grow up with you until he is powerful enough to beat the boss because by the end you consider every possibility to beat an enemy instead of the traditional shoot the weakpoint way. This game had me in tears and just marveling at storytelling more than any I have played before or since. Also the End is the most epic boss battle in gaming history. When your hands are sweating and you finally manage to sneak up on that old bastard there's just nothing better.
1. Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time: Come on look at my profile pic! From the most epic and creative weaponry to the most hilarious sequences to the sheer feeling of joy I get when I correct the mistakes of the past and turn a depressing planet into a happy colorful one it just doesn't get any better than this. I was really debating between this and 3 but this game takes the best parts of 3 (like weapons only leveling 5 the perfect amount with a big upgrade at the end) and adds all the good parts of the other games. It has more exploration, platforming (love those moon levels), and a better story than any previous or more recent Ratchet and Clank. The game oozes with character at every turn and you can feel the love and passion Insomniac poored into it at every turn. I still remember the RYNOV description having me in stitches the first time I read it along with the plaques at the arena all having such cooky stories. Only Insomniac would have a gun that plays a symphony while spraying hundreds of rockets lol
Honorable mentions: Resistance 3, The Last of Us, Sly Cooper: Theives in Time, Skyrim, Puppeteer, Journey, Wind Waker HD, A Link to the Past
