Keep it secret, keep it safe. 

some good reads why people liek their picks,good stuff

i've only read the end of the thread though

i seemed to have missed all the end of the year threads

Dammit I need to catch up stupid hotel with it's 1 MB Internet...

#11 Half-life 2 played on PC, released 2004

For me Half-life 2 has the perfect balance of Exploration, Experimentation and Extermination. The atmosphere is amazing right from the start. Arriving at the station with Dr Breens propaganda was brilliantly executed. The oppresive nature and the realistic setting immediately set the tone for the rest of the game.

Not long after you get to leave the station you get a chance to experiment with the physics. At the time the game released, realistic physics were still very new. I spend half an hour in the little playground right at the start. It was fun playing with bricks and putting stuff on the merry-go-round to watch it fly off realistically as you spin it up. Weight, friction, momentum all beautifully working as they should.

Valve are masters at story telling without using cut scenes and it really shows in HL2. Facial animation can still easily compete with todays titles and all the little body gestures are still done better then in todays titles which gives the characters a lifelike human nature.

Exploration is best catered for during the vehicle sections. I stopped everywhere during the boat and buggy sequences. Checking out all the beautifully lit locations. The structures and houses along the way felt real and offered plenty of opportunities to play with the physics. For example stacking up tires, or stuffing furniture down the fireplace and blow it all up with a grenade. I spend another hour playing with the crane later on in the game. After killing everyone by dropping or launching containers at them, I started stuffing things inside the container and watch it all fly out realistically while swinging the crane around.

The action side of the games is well catered for too. The epic fight under the big bridge for example, trying to defend your position in the prison and the whole end sequence of the game. Ravenholm is the chapter where all 3 elements come together the best. An awesome playground to explore and experiment with all different kinds of ways to kill. The gravity gun is at its best in this chapter.

The 2 follow up episodes are excellent as well. HL2 deathmatch was fun too although it suffered from lag. Shooting toilets and radiators at eachother provided a lot of good laughs.

HL2 has so many great moments, no wonder Valve feels intimidated by it. Topping this is going to be hard.

List

11. Pokemon Blue/Red/Yellow/FireRed/LeafGreen (GB,GBA)

Brilliant games. In my childhood I spent hours playing Pokemon every day after school, I simply couldn't stop playing. And the 1st gen is actually the only gen where I got all the Pokemon. I'm still happy about that, although catching 150 Pokemon isn't really as hard as catching 649. And honestly, I still prefer to play these games instead of newer Pokemon games.

High five! Same game(s) on #11. :D
And I guess nostalgia is also a reason for me why I still love it way more than Black/White for example. But of course it's not the only one, I also like the design of the Pokemon more, etc.

11. Super Mario Bros (NES)

Super Mario Bros is the first game I ever played. It started it all for me, and thus it will always be special. The fact that it remains as playable today as it ever was, with tight, pixel perfect platforming that some modern developers still cannot match just adds to its legacy. I don't really need to say much else about it, as it's a game that everybody should know about. If you don't, give your head a shake and ask yourself if gaming is for you.

Tweaking my list a little.

#37) Zeus: Master of Olympus (PC)

I played this game as if there were no tomorrow as a kid. Which is probably why it's not higher up on the list. I memorized every building, every building's corresponding function, hell, even almost every music track in the game. (And the music isn't even that memorable) I played the game so much that I eventually couldn't stand it anymore. Years later, I still haven't quite recovered. Maybe if I could track down that fucking expansion pack...

:O

I knew you played it, but I didn't know you were such a big fan of Epic Mickey! Glad to see another who enjoyed this wonderful game. ^_^

Did you ever get the art book? I bought it for half off on Amazon, and it's worth every penny. Great read.

Ocarina of Time at number 11.

I'll have to start getting more elaborate for my top 10