Same to all and I would add to that

• MGS3
• MGS4

Now that we're in the top 25, the real fun begins.

25. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES)

Topping the second half of my top 50 games is Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. Oddly enough, this was my first Donkey Kong Country experience, and it's one game that's I've enjoyed in both my youth and even now. See, I never owned a Super Nintendo, so I never gave the system and its games the dedication and playtime that it deserved. Still, I managed to get my hands on this game from time to time, and it would be a blast playing it. Of course, these great memories playing this game tranlated to me downloading it on the Virtual Console years later... and my roommate and I would play this game day after day, finally getting to and defeating Captain K. Rool (I chose to be Dixie, while my roommate played as Diddy. Helicopter hair for the win!) This game is really the total package though: gorgeous graphics (I was totally jealous during my Genesis days haha), an incredible soundtrack, awesome platforming gameplay (tough as nails too... yet so satisfying!), and a fun atmosphere were all that I needed.

I haven't tried out Returns yet, but as it stands, Diddy's Kong Quest is my favorite Donkey Kong game ever!

no and no! :P

Number 26

Psychonauts

There are four writers in gaming who I consider to be really great, and Tim Schafer is one of them. Psychonauts, sad to say, remains the only Schafer game which I've played all the way through - my Windows registration threw up on itself not long ago and I never picked up Brutal Legend. But that's really not the point.

Psychonauts is clever, pretty, witty, rude, and deeply introspective. As much as it is a fun game full of fun environments and fun scenarios (Waterloo alone), it is also a thoughtful meditation on the mind in general and mental illness in particular. It's uproariously funny in places and downright terrifying in others, full of characters and concepts you will unquestionably care about because you cannot help but care about the subjects that they are dealing with. There is a particular style to the humor of Psychonauts, which may make you question exactly what it is that you've heard, and it's one of the most endlessly quotable pieces of media outside of Monty Python. Great stuff from beginning to end.

Now, the game's primary mechanics are solid, but near the end they often leave a bit to desire. Why, then, does the game place so high on my list? I'm a sucker for solid writing and Psychonauts has it in spades. Funny and sincere and to-the-point, Psychonauts is unique among games in that it does not make me reconsider how I look at games or the world around me, it made me reconsider how I look at myself. That's something that no other game can lay claim to.

Number 25

Super Mario Bros.

Of all the games I have played, Super Mario Bros. is the most perfect.

That is all there is: from level design to in-game physics, enemy placement to game length, secrets to mundane running through, replayability and difficulty, Super Mario Bros. is perfect. It is the ultimate example of craft as art, and when viewed on its own merits may very well be the best game ever made. I can only think of perhaps two other games that even approach this one in terms of design, and they are no where near as old as this one.

Why is it only Number 25 on my list, then? Well, this is about favorite, and Super Mario Bros. is not my favorite game of all time. If this were a list about the best games of all time, it would all look a bit different and this game would finish in the top 3, minimum. Still, this game right here is my favorite 2D platformer of all time, and no matter how long I stare at it I can find no fault in it.

Think nostalgia blinds me? Not so. I only beat this game, for the very first time, in the winter of 2009. Over two decades of my life were spent with this game's shadow hanging over my head, and when I finally sat down to beat it I was treated to the tightest, most cohesive gameplay package in my experience as a gamer. It is superb, and if you think otherwise then - well I can't imagine disagreeing more with someone about a video game.

THere! All caught up.

With luck I won't fall behind again.

you'll get abducted by an alien

then you're screwed!

Don't worry. I'll spam your wall when you do.

I think we should nominate BadGenome as the official top 50 ever. And Fab_GS 50 top worse. And Darth's Top 50 non-existant... granted theres probably some overlap :-/

*ahem*