#36 Colin McRae Rally 3 played on PS2, released 2004

Colin McRae used to be my favorite rally franchise until it was transformed into Dirt. All of the psx and ps2 games were great but the first one on ps2 is my most memorable one. The graphics obviously made a big leap which made a big impact on the immersion level of the game.
The feel of the cars was great, digging into the dirt in corners, or grabbing the slight ditch on the inside to get that extra grip to get through the corner fast. It was truly racing at the edge of your seat, just you and the car, drifting through corners, nearly missing rocks on the inside and sticking the back end through the bushes on the outside. Sometimes you screw up but with quick reflexes manage to miss all the trees and swerve back on the road with only a little time lost.
8 different locales provided plenty of variety in racing surfaces and conditions. Snow, rain, gravel, dirt and asphalt roads, each provided their own set of challenges. The tracks were all well laid out with plenty of memorable things along the way to make it easier to learn the tracks. Not that that was neccesary since the pace notes were excellent. "After 600 over crest, into left 5, don't cut rocks inside, tightens, into left 3"
Finland was my favorite country to race in with beautiful forests and some wide open spaces along lakes in between.
I miss proper rally games, you, a co-driver, a car, and a narrow unpredictable track in lots of hugely different environments, that's what I want out of a rally game.

List

36. Super Street Fighter II (SNES)

There were dozens of different versions of Street Fighter II released, but this is the one that makes my list, purely because it was the one me and my friends at the time all owned, and was thus the one we played. There were many great moments when playing the two player mode, and there were also many arguments, but for a fairly brief time it was all we played.

36. Bioshock (PS3)

This is probably my favourite singleplayer FPS game of all time. The story and gameplay is excellent, and Rapture is one of the most atmospheric places in videogame history for me.

Yoshi's Story at number 36

I won't update again until rather late tomorrow night, because i forgot to bring the list i had written up on a sheet of paper home with me for Thanksgiving. Indeed, it was very fortunate that i managed to remember numbers 39-36

36.

Amazing game all the way around

Hm. I was supposed to place this game as my #37, but I just recently got an urge to play it again, and it turns out I don't like it so much anymore. Bummer.

So I guess I'll be posting my #47 today instead. (Also bumping Snake II to #40. If anybody cares.)

#47) Ratchet & Clank (PS2)

In comparison to its two sequels, (which I still enjoy more than most other games) the original Ratchet & Clank has boring weapons, unmemorable boss fights and slow pacing. Though I'll grant that in comparison to Going Commando and Up Your Arsenal, most games have boring weapons, unmemorable boss fights and slow pacing.

But despite those facts, (AND the fact that until you hit planet Rilgar, the game is easy enough for stupid babies with motor problems) the second half of the game still manages to be flat-out fun enough to earn this game a spot on the list. (That might just be the nostalgia talking, but whatever)

I loved Yoshi Story. Black Yoshi was awesome. It's a shame Nintendo hasn't continued the Yoshi stand alone franchise (except for some crap DS launch titles). I played the hell out of this game as a kid, and it ranks just outside my top 50.

GASP!  How dare you disagree with my infallible opinions!  

Now we're getting to games I truly love!  Not to say I haven't been a fan of the previous games, but now we're getting to golden territory. Just wait till we get to the top 10!  pages of glowing praise abounds! 

38 - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GCN) 

I still can't understand why there was so much controversy over the cellshaded graphics here.  the game's aesthetics were far and away better than basically anything else on the Gamecube (and would still be at home on the Wii), and it leant The Wind Waker a charm all its own.  Personally, I absolutely loved basically everything about this game, including the story, controls, gameplay, content, level design, and even the large amounts of sailing you had to do!  Nothing quite like kicking back and enjoying a moment as you go from one place to another, listening to the gorgeous score as a group of seagulls follow you.  Pure atmospheric goodness.  Aside from one part of the game I didn't care for (finding the Triforce Shards), I can't think of any one thing I  personally didn't enjoy.  This is my #3 zelda title.  

37 - Pokemon Black/White (DS)

If nothing else, the sheer amount of time I spent on Pokemon Black/White when I should have been playing other games (for review or just for fun) should be a testament to how much I love this series.  Furthermore, Black/White were, in my opinion, the pinnacle of the series thus far.  with something like 600 pokemon to collect, a massive world with TWO singleplayer campaigns, and all the trading and battling to be had...well, I can't imagine a much better time sink.  Hell, I probably spent more time just staring at Base-Stat charts on Bulbapedia than I do with most modern games, and that alone shows that Pokemon should earn the liftime achievement award of "Easiest to learn, toughest to master", because anyone can play it but there's just so damn much to it that even the most hardcore players will never master it.  I truly mean that, too.  Simple but deep. 

36 - Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (PS3/360)

yeah, I know that 'yearly iterations' are ruining the industry (my review of Assassin's Creed: Revelations helps to further this point), but as long as the content and quality are there, I have no problem paying for annual sequels.  Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is one such sequel.  A whole new town, new characters, new gameplay mechanics, a great story, and some of the best art design I've ever seen in a video game; this all makes for a truly great game in its own right, and yet it continued the story of the beloved Ezio in such a way that it's almost infectious. I do still think some of the climbing mechanics could use some work, but the full/partial synch mechanic really gave the game some replay value, and the property management subquest was a perfect way to keep yourself busy in between missions.  also: Assassin's Creed multiplayer.  Nuff said. 

36: Dracula Undead Awakening psp/3/n/minis