14. Resident Evil 4 (GCN/Wii)

Resident Evil 4 is one of my most played-through games. Not in the most play-hours (that'll actually be my next game!), but in the number of times I've played, beaten, and played it all over again. I've beaten this game thirteen times between the original GameCube version and the updated Wii Edition, and all just because everything in this game is just so wonderful. The game is very different from previous Resident Evils. No longer will you find fixed camera angles and zombies waiting to munch on your brains, but instead you'll control Leon Kennedy as he searches for the President's daughter. The game has a much larger focus on gunplay and action, as you'll be traversing a fully 3D world filled with cursed villagers and other monsters that roam the area. Still, even with the bigger focus on action, Resident Evil 4 still scared the heck out of me. Whether it be the chanting monks you could never find (until they were right behind you), the Novistadors that were invisible (and the incredibly tense music every time they attacked), and of course, I couldn't forget the Oven Man. Gets me every time!

Also, the games boasts some gorgeous graphics (there's that one area in the castle, right before you give the king and queen statues their grails, where the curtains are blowing in the wind. I love that area.), a Scottish/pirate merchant (what're ya buyin'?) awesome characters (I <3 Jack Krauser), super awesome (and with a hint of cheese) dialogue, and a sea-doo escape sequence. This game really has it all.

14. Chrono Trigger (SNES)

Chrono Trigger is a touchstone for many gamers, and with good reason. It came late in the SNES's life cycle at a time when Square seemed able to do no wrong and were thus able to strike a near perfect balance between old and new, creating something fresh and yet instantly familiar. A prime example of this is the game's battle system, a modified version of Square's well-worn Active Time Battle system which allows enemies to change their positions on the battlefield, adding an improved sense of dynamism and giving the player opportunities to use the characters' many Tech abilities to maximum effect. Chrono Trigger's bright, colorful visuals lend the game an appropriately Dragon Questish charm given that Akira Toriyama was the game's art designer. Legend has it that Yasunori Mitsuda, then a young upstart, threw a fit and threatened to quit the company if he wasn't allowed to score the game. We should all be glad that he did, as he turned in a career performance in composing (with an assist by the legendary Nobuo Uematsu) a pitch perfect soundtrack for such a grand yet whimsical adventure. Chrono Trigger's plot is equally well done and packs enough twists to keep things interesting while remaining very easy to follow, a remarkable achievement in light of the game's relative lack of linearality and multiple possible endings. The time travel aspect creates huge sense of scope, and it's pretty heartwarming to see the game's diverse cast of characters from across the ages - the cavewoman, the frog knight, the robot - band together and fight to save their world. Especially the robot! Robo steals both the show and my heart. (I am convinced that no matter how many times I beat Chrono Trigger, I am destined always to fight back tears when that heroic metal man leaves at the end.)

14. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)

With Mario blasting off into space it was fair to wonder if they've finally stretched things a little thin but the result was wonderful.  The solid platforming experiences of Mario continued and there were plenty of levels to keep you busy, happy, frustrated, and coming back for more.  The jump to space means the addition of selectively working gravity, but since it is consistent in its behavior and a lot of fun, the lack of realism does nothing to hurt the game.  The powerups in the game were well crafted and used as a requirement rather than an aid.  Aside from the bee powerup I found the rest to be fun to play with and having a lot to add to the gameplay.  The levels were good and the goals in each would tend to vary from standard platforming to more minigame type levels (perhaps this is my frustration with the rolling ball speaking out).  Add in the prankster comments which force you to repeat a level with no conditions thrown in and you get another layer of depth.  After beating the game you can play as Luigi who slides around a little more.  In many ways Luigi's gameplay feels like what I wanted the whole game to be.  Truly, I had fun in this game just from the chances to use planet gravity to hop around.

13. Pro Evolution Soccer 5 (PC)

Ahhh the glory days of PES. I could have included all of them from 2-6 (and the Wii games) in this list, but I figured as they are all fairly similar in reality, that I would just pick one, and 5 is the one I went for. I put countless hours into the Master League, which is quite possibly my favourite game mode ever created. Hell, the Master League still keeps me coming back to PES now even though the series has declined somewhat, because its main competitor has not found anything close to competing with the simplistic brilliance of the ML. For those who don't know what it is, you select a team, start out in the 2nd Division, and try and get to the top (you could edit the league setup as well, so I'd always create a league with the worlds best teams in to up the challenge a little). You buy/sell players along the way, but I liked to challenge myself and not spend a penny on transfer fees no matter who I was. Over time, you could build up a world class team by picking up young players for free and developing them, and this gave a sense of accomplishment rather than just buying Ronaldinho, Kaka et al. PES at its peak truly was the beautiful game...

13. Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen (GBA)

The remake of Red/Blue was IMO even better than the original. It brought back all those memories, but it was also improved. Nice little additions like the 9 isles after you beat the game were absolutely great.

19.Final Fantasy XII/Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System(PS2)

Final Fantasy XII is an awesome Role Playing Game by SQUARE-ENIX PDD4 Team headed by Matsuno Yasumi of Tactics and Vagrant Story Fame released in March 2006 in Japan and October 2006 in the US. Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System was released in Japan in August 2007 as part of both Final Fantasy 20th anniversary and Ivalice Alliance.

Final Fantasy XII is Very polarizing Game in the series because it dramatically changed up the traditional Final Fantasy Formula But Final Fantasy XII is still Final Fantasy. Outstanding art direction, a awesome cast of characters, a epic quest, and plenty of challenging battles all await.

Final Fantasy XII takes place in the vast land of Ivalice, where the empires of Archadia and Rozarria are waging an endless war. Dalmasca, a small kingdom, is caught between the warring nations. When Dalmasca becomes annexed by Archadia, its princess, Ashe, creates a resistance movement. During the struggle, she meets Vaan, a young adventurer who dreams of commanding an airship. They are quickly joined by a band of allies; together, they rally against the tyranny of the Archadian Empire.

Unlike the previous Final Fantasy games which used the Active Time Battle System (ATB) from FFIV on ecept for Final Fantasy X which used the Conditional Turn Based Battle system(CTB) battles in Final Fantasy XII Battles take place in Real Time using a new system called Active Dimension Battle(ADB), with battles in the overworld instead of in a separate battle screen.

Another new feature in Final Fantasy XII is the Gambit system, which the the on player controlled are character to perform certain commands in battle in response to specified conditions. the ironically, the nature of the underlying combat is the same as ever.

In Final Fantasy XII, a mysterious phenomenon known as "Mist" is the key energy which allows the player to cast summoning magic and perform Quickenings. After defeating one in combat, the player will be able to summon an "Esper" to the battlefield. Similar to Final Fantasy X, the summoned creatures become active participants in battle.

the License Board. Built on the same concept as FFX's Sphere Grid system, the License Board allows users to customize their characters as they level up in the exact way they see fit. The difference between the two systems, though, is that there aren't any real affinities here. FFX would start each character in specific areas of the grid and leave it up to the user to go from there; whereas FF12 puts every character starting point at pretty much the same spot. Final Fantasy XII caters to the series' dedicated fans with numerous references to past installments and with plenty of tough battles. Even once you're comfortable that your characters can all operate like a well-oiled machine thanks to the gambits system, you'll still need to spend a good amount of time going out of your way to level them up, earning enough license points to purchase some important upgrades for all of them.

The characters are cool with Ashe, Balthier and Fran standing out the most. I wish Ashe had been made the main character like Terra was in Final Fantasy VI

The music of the video game Final Fantasy XII was composed primarily by Sakimoto Hitoshi Additional music was provided by Iwata Masaharu and  Matsuo Hayato Former regular series composer Uematsu Nobuo only work for this game was "Kiss Me Good-Bye", the theme song sung by Angela Aki.

Final Fantasy XII's Main Character design and background design was Yoshida Akihiko art style is different from that of Vagrant Story. In fact, Final Fantasy XII borrows not only the visual style but also some of the sound design from that game

Final Fantasy XII Intro

Final Fantasy XII KISS ME GOODBYE

Final Fantasy XII Kiss Me Goodbye Japanese

No. 14 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2 & PC, also on X-box)

The only GTA game on my list as it's quite simply brilliant. For me, the content in this game alone was enough to push this game up to 14th. All the aspects that made GTAIII and Vice City great were thrown into this game and then the content was doubled to create a gloriously fun package. Great missions, lots of cars, diverse environments (3 different cities, countryside, dessert) and flying jets! I preffered the mafia story of Vice City, but the sheer volume of the game world and the variety of things to do make this game the best GTA game ever created!

No. 13 Half-Life (PC also on PS2)

I think this game really needs to be put into perspective to truly appreciate the revolution it brough to the FPS genre and general single-player storytelling in video games. It came out in a time where FPS' were all arcade shooters like Quake, Doom or Unreal, had little to no narrative, poor AI, unrealistic damage models (didn't matter where you hit someone, the damage was the same) and where everyone was a beefed up generic soldier (actually, not much has changed in that respect). Half-Life broke the mold. You played a geeky scientist, headshots would actually kill, the AI actually flanked you and flushed you out with grenades rather than running into walls and the narrative was excellent and told throughout the game world.

Quite simply, it was the first game to truly combine all these aspects into one revolutionary package. The narrative especially; for the first level you didn't even get a gun as it just built-up tension and set the scene for the rest of the game. The lack of cut-scenes and the fact that everything was seen in first-person also meant that a greater level of immersion could be maintained making you actually feel like you were Gordon Freeman. It also balanced the action with superb level design and puzzle elements requiring you to actually use a modicum of thought as opposed to the pure gibb-fest of previous FPS titles.

It's also worth remembering that the mods that sprung from this game (namely Counterstrike, but others like Day of Defeat as well) have gone on to become some of the greatest and most popular multiplayer FPS' in the world, many still being played today. Basically, nearly every FPS on the market today has been influenced in one way or another by Half-Life.

Number 22

Chrono Trigger

Chrono Trigger is awesome, a kind of melding together of all the things that JRPG fans really love. Fun art, an excellent soundtrack, an engaging battle system, and a sense of pervasive whimsy that lets you know that, in spite of everything, this game never takes itself too seriously. Chrono Trigger is immensely self-aware, which is something that's not true of many games in its genre, and this is part of what makes moments like the first confrontation with Magus or the Apocalyptic initial fight with Lavos more affecting. The game's world feels like a time-traveling fairy tale, and when menace or tragedy strike in a fairy tale it tugs at special places in the leaden hearts of any gamer.

I found this game absurdly fun, but my wife played through it about four times in as many weeks - quite a testament to how appealing it is.

There is a banner crisis on this site, you guys. A crisis.

14. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - PS2

More often that not, when a game tries to do a million different things, it ends up being an overambitious hodgepodge, whose different elements fail to work together. Luckily, that couldn't further from the case with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

San Andreas has hundreds of different gameplay elements, and astonishingly, it manages to pull most of them off greatly. The voice acting and dialogue are terrific, and the graphics and the frame-rate are impressive, given how massive this game is.

All in all, San Andreas is the definitive sandbox game, and one of the best games released in the last ten years.