Number 33

Half-Life 2

This is one of the few games that I have trouble describing, at least in terms of what makes it so fantastic. It is certainly true that the action is well-integrated into the narrative, and that walking through any part of this game gives the sense of being removed and thrust into an alien world that you may have known once, long ago, before a corrupting hand shaped it into something horrible. It is a game that knows how to press the buttons of the brain, to illicit fear and courage and a sense of strangeness as well as any game, or even any piece of media.

Is it enough to sya that the game feels real, even though you have a gun that manipulates gravity? I think so. I think that sums up everything very nicely.

Yes of cores but I don't think the second one I am thinking of is liked by some XD 

Number 32

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

2003 was an immensely good year. It can be argued that the highlight of it was this game right here: the revival of a long-dead franchise, invested with some of the most magical platforming in the history of the business. The time control powers were amazingly useful but limited enough that you could not use them all willy-nilly, creating a very nice balance and allowing for platforming design that did not hesitate to throw very difficult obstacles in front of you. The world of the game, one of the greatest palaces in the fairy tale version of the Persian empire, felt immensely cohesive, even in the segments where one needed to arrange mirrors in order to progress. Running and jumping along it felt good, felt perfect, and there was little more that could have been asked from this team.

But more did they deliver. Sands of Time has an effective cast of three people, and only two of them get any real screentime, but those two characters have some of the best-acted and best-written dialogue and chemistry in the medium. This was one of the very few video game relationships that I was able to believe wholeheartedly without having to suspend disbelief too far, and the quality of both script and acting was very refreshing.

And yes, the combat was kinda pooey and repetitive, but do I care? No. The platforming is so perfect that complaining about the combat feels rather beside the point. This was maybe the best platformer of its generation.

Number 31

Halo Reach

Do you remember Reach? I do.

Halo is a series that my brother and I have played for as long as it has existed. Some of our earliest gaming sessions that we seriously had together were him, me, and a few friends hooking up Xboxes and having Halo LAN parties. It was inevitable that we would get Reach, and play it together. Remember what I said about loving co-op shooters? Halo is the apotheosis of this idea. But it's more than that, too. It's a game whose mechanics lend themselves to being played online, being played in many ways.

My brother and I still play Reach together online from time to time. We love each of the game modes very much. Halo is perhaps the most fun shooter in the whole universe.

That's it. That's all. I kind of want to go play it now.

Number 30

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Let's not kid ourselves: running and jumping is fun. In terms of mechanics, few things are inherently more enjoyable than simply leaping past obstacles, making them a non-factor through a combination of agility and wit. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is all about running and jumping, and because of that New Super Mario Bros. Wii is inherently fun.

I have said this before but it bears repeating: World 8 in this game may be the best and most pleasant collection of platforming levels I have ever played, a perfect balance of frantic difficulty, adequate visuals, and near-death moments that can only be gotten past with courage, speed, and a keen eye. As a platformer, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is almost entirely without peer, and this alone would earn it a spot on this list.

But it's also co-op, and I am a co-op junkie. It's wonderful in that it allows players to support each other as needed, but does not too greatly punish attempts to sabotage one another. The fun factor of running through the game is increased almost exponentially by playing through together, and with a game as fun as this one that is saying an incredible amount.

Khuutra, you're a man after my own heart.

Number 29

Vanquish

If any single action can compare to jumping as a means to have fun, then it is shooting. Mechanically, Vanquish is the very best third-person shooter in the entire universe.

Vanquish is made by Shinji Mikami, the same guy who brought us God Hand and RE1 and RE4. This guy is pretty much the pre-eminent action director in the business, and Vanquish is his first foray into straight-up third person shooter territory.

Vanquish is hard. Vanquish is fair. Vanquish is fast. Vanquish is chock full of weapons that all fill particular niches, enemies that can be fought in dozens of ways, melee attacks that change according to what weapon you're holding, and meaningful difficulty levels that give you exactly what you want out of them. Are you a total noob who doesn't know his way around a shooter? Very Easy is for you. Are you such a bad-ass that you fart in the general direction of Non-Stop Infinite Climax or Master Ninja mode? Then God Hard is going to kick you square between the legs until you remember what it's like to be challenged.

It's a brutally short campaign with stylistic, weird cutscenes, a serviceable parody and homage of a story, and characters who fulfill their role of being characters rather admirably. But none of that matters. THe game's fights are incredible, the boss fights are sublime, and there are no boring parts. Not one. Every single part of the game is novel, extremely well-made, and designed for sheer speedy insanity.

Vanquish, in terms of mechanics, is peerless. You cannot name a shooter that is more fun to play, deeper, or more satisfying. I will never stop playing it because there is no limit to how good one can be at it. In some ways it is Mikami's best work, and makes me eagerly anticipate his final game.

Number 28

Super Mario 64

Ever been enchanted by the ability to climb a tree? No? Then you didn't play Super Mario 64 back when it came out. As much as it was about fun platforming, Mario 64 was also about freedom, separating itself from its 2D brethren by sheer virtue of the number of things you could do. 2-D Mario was always about walking to the right, but in SUper Mario 64 you could walk anywhere, do anything, all at your pace. It was a completely different game with a completely different aim, and it pulled that off beautifully.

Super Mario 64 has a balance of exploration and platforming that was never again really hit in the series, which made it unique to the point of timelessness. The game is still lots of fun to play, and there's nothing that's wrong with it. A huge world filled with other, even larger worlds, great platforming segments, music that set the tone for an entire generation... on and on.

Fun fact 1: This is the first game I ever beat 100%. Odd but true!

Fun fact 2: I will still boot this game up just to go to Bob-Omb Battlefield and surf on a Koopa Shell. How about some more of that in the next 3D Mario, Nintendo?

Number 27

Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition

More Mikami. Resident Evil 4 was somehting of a stylistic reboot for the series, a game that would end up shaping the entire genre of 3rd person shooters for years to come.

2005 was a strong year, and Resident Evil 4 made an impression in standing out from the rest of the pack. And why not? It was scary, thrilling, difficult in spots, and made probably the least-obnoxious use of Quick Time Events of any game in the industry. It was pure enjoyment from start to finish, a game that remembered to never take itself seriously (because let's face it, games are at their best when they know that they are being silly) but treated the player as seriously as possible. It featured a subtle adjustment of difficulty over time according to how well the player was doing. It was just one of the best-designed games of the age.

And the Wii version made it better, including all the modes that made the first two versions so great (including the PS2's extra content and the Mercenaries mode that both versions shared) and tacking onto them controls that added on a whole new level of playability and fun. Resident Evil 4 is a game that will wink at you even as you shoot it in the face with a shotgun. Who could ask for more? Nobody.

Awesome Game but Code Veronica will always be my favorite Biohazard(RE) Game.