There are just too many to throw out there so Ive broken them down by generation. As you can see i'm am old school gamer who was rocking the classics while a lot of you were still swimming around in Daddy's sack. So here they are:
2nd Gen
Archon (Atari Computer)
Of all the dozens of Atari games I ever played this was the most addictive. It had the most amazing two player action of its time. It was like chess but with pieces you could duel your opponent with in realtime. The unicorns were my favorite. They actually had lasers they shot out of their head. Why this game never got rebooted later on I will never understand.
Honorable Mention: Pac-Man (Atari Computer)
3rd Gen
Super Mario Bros. (NES)
This game speaks for itself. The colors, the music the controls. Until then all I had played was atari games with the old school joystick so I was outright floored by what Nintendo had accomplished with this game. I mean this is the title that brought the industry back from the verge. Though not my best gaming experience , it stands without question as the best game ever made.
Honorable mention: Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
4th Gen
Phantasy Star II (Genesis)
Though I had already played Final Fantasy I before it, this is the first RPG that I could not get enough of. The final fight with Dark Force was so epic with all the transformations and cutscenes. It was my first real exposure to Anime style art and the reason I made my mom rent me Akira at the video store. I've been a Japanophile ever since.
Honorable mention: Zelda A Link to the Past (SNES)
Star Control II (PC)
I'm not sure what generation this game fits in to because it is a PC game. But this game ranks as my number one of all time. A true masterpiece that blew all other RPGs out of the water. It was the first I ever played that had a realtime fighting system. The combat involved over two dozen spacecraft with primary and secondary weapons. And you could play against a friend in melee mode. And the ending, oh how it was so damned satisfying. There was just this massively epic feel to the game. Though the mechanics differed dramatically from the following titles, SCII is the great grandaddy to games like Star Craft, Halo and Mass Effect. It set the standard for the space opera genre in gaming and still worth playing (Its now open sourced and will run for free on any PC)
Honorable Mention: Dune II (PC)
Street Fighter II (Arcade)
This one doesnt really fit in to the console realm either though it was released later on SNES/Genisis. But I wont count that since my first experience was at the arcade. So yeah, this was the game that had all the kids in my neighborhood hanging out at the 7-11 down the street. We would get so in to it. And I remember there is this one badass named, Colin. (Actually he was a big headed douche with bad acne and a geeky personality but we thought he was a God because of how well he played the game.) Aside form his unbeatable playing style he was the first of us who knew about Guile's handcuffs. The bastard would never tell us how he did it. And that was back when the internet was in its infancy so you couldnt find that shit out on youre own. Ill never forget that guy.
Honorable Mention: Rastan (Arcade)
5th Gen
Metal Gear Solid (PSOne)
I did play the original on the NES, but this one was still nothing like what I expected. The whole stealth concept, the cinematic cutscenes and the voicework were unlike anything I had seen before. The fight with Sniper Wolf was so damned thrilling I nearly pissed myself because I didnt want to get up and use the restroom until I beat her. This was also the first game I skipped school to stay home and play.
Honorable Mention: Zelda Ocarina of TIme (N64)
6th gen
Grand Theft Auto 3 (PS2)
A true benchmark in gaming. It's open world sandbox style of play and huge soundtrack made it feel bigger than any game before it. Plus the violence. Oh yes, the violence. It was just so fun carjacking a random stranger, capping them in the crotch, taking their money, then running them over with their own car. The fact that it was banned in Australia made me love it even more.
Honorable Mention: Halo (Xbox)
7th Gen
Mass Effect (Xbox360)
My second favorite game of all time, though I would also include the sequel in that assessment since I really cant decide which of the two I like more. This is what I consider the pinnacle of storytelling in a game. It is so far ahead of all the crappy b-movie dialogue and plot twists that give the gaming industry a bad wrap. Seriously, when I first played this game I felt I was Commander Shepard. All the choices, the reactions and the overall story were so engrossing that I could not stop thinking about the game for weeks, even after I finished it. Like Star Control II before it, Mass Effect accomplished something special for fans of gaming and sci-fi. It brought the two together and produced a masterpiece that will likely remain unmatched for another 15 years.
Honorable Mention: Portal (Xbox360)
There you have it. The list of games that truly awed me.
