50. Portal
49. Demon's Crest
48. Tekken 3
47. 'Splosion Man
46. Street of Rage 2
45. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
44. The Walking Dead
43. Super Mario Sunshine
42. Punch Out!! (Wii)
41. Dance Central
40. Conker's Bad Fur Day
39. Resident Evil (Gamecube)
38. Burnout 3
37. Wave Race 64
36. World of Keflings
35. Bayonetta
34. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
33. Angry Birds
32. Grandia II
31. Super Mario RPG
30. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
29. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
28. Braid
27. SSX 3
26. Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition
25. Chrono Trigger
24. Soul Calibur II
23. Skies of Arcadia: Legends
22. Batman: Arkham Asylum
21. Super Mario World
20. Advance Wars: Dual Strike
19. Valkyria Chronicles
18. Halo 3
17. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
16. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
15. Mario Kart 7
14. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
13. Tetris
12. Red Dead Redemption
11. Tetris Attack
10. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
9. Mass Effect 2
8. Metroid Fusion
7. Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition
6. Metroid Zero Mission
5. Final Fantasy Tactics
4. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
3. Metal Gear Solid 3; Snake Eater
2. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
1. Super Mario Galaxy
My tastes have changed a lot. There were a lot of games that used to wow me based on their graphical prowess or their story. Those games became outdated. Gears of War, Uncharted--not what they used to be graphically and their gameplay has become unimpressive. They're games that just seem to push me to the end while I marvel at their tech. Not my idea of a good time, anymore.
Other games had great gameplay of their day but I've played them again, recently. SMB3 or Mario World--marvels of their time, but playing them now, I realize that the newer games just manage to build on the classics. No nostalgia goggles.
Still, other games which were great just suffer from control issues. My beloved Time Splitters 2 and Metroid Prime feature archaic control schemes that detract from the overall experience. Couldn't count them as the greatest of all time, anymore.
I still missed a lot of great games because fifty really isn't enough. The order for some of them is off, too. It wasn't easy to decide and I didn't actually have my games in front of me. I'll think of something and regret not adding them to the list. What I have is the list of games that, after multiple playthroughs, can still get me emotional, still get my adrenaline pumping, still engross me for hours, still challenge me, and still make me smile.
