I look back and find I really enjoyed playing through it with all my characters. My only worry is that it's the last of a dying breed. I think there's a significant gap in the market for old-school WRPGs like this and Baldurs Gate as this is really the only RPG this gen that's like it (possibly NeverWinter Nights 2, can't remember when it was released).

8. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64,3DS)

My favourite Nintendo game of all time and the biggest reason why the N64 is my favourite Nintendo console.
The level/dungeon design is superb, the gameplay is excellent, the boss battles are great and travelling through Hyrule and discovering secrets was extremely addictive.

This, its sequel and Planescape Torment are on my list of shame (as in games yet to complete). I got into WRPGs with Neverwinter Nights and have never had the time to devote to the older RPGs like I should have. Doubly annoying is how my PC always seems to pack up when I'm a decent chunk through any of them.

9. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)

The original was good, but didn't even make it onto my list. The sequel on the other hand took everything that made the original good, subtracted the crap and added an extra layer of awesome! Everything in this game just clicked and it acheived everything I want from a story-driven third-person action adventure game. It combined the platforming and puzzles elements of Tomb Raider with the shooting and cover system of Gears but also added a more strategic stealth element to the game rather than relying on the constant spawning of enemies in the original. Not particularly original you might say, but extremely ambitious and very difficult to pull off with the amount of polish they acheived. 

I haven't even mentioned the amazing set-pieces that are quite simply mind-blowing. Gun-fights in a collapsing building, platforming on bombarded debris and an amazing combination of platforming and shooting for the train section. These were all aided with some clever physics, amazing visuals and some of the most beautiful vistas I've ever seen in video games. The views on the mountains and at the top of the hotel are truly amazing. The co-op and multiplayer are also very good fun and works very well, although the single-player is really what makes it for me.

 Uncharted 3 came out this year a little too late to be included, but to be honest, I'm not sure it would have made it into the top 25. Uncharted 2 is where I felt they got the balance, story and polish just right. Lastly, it's set in Nepal for a large portion of the game, and as I'm Nepali by descent, it holds a special place in my heart :P

8. Final Fantasy VII (PS, PC, PSN)

Yes I'm part of the Final Fantasy VII "crew". The first 3D final fantasy, my first RPG and my favourite in the series. I had avoided most RPGs prior to this as I wasn't much into fantasy (oh how times change!) and they all seemed to revolve around fantasy settings. FF7 completely changed all that. A fresh new cyber punk world, an eclectic mix of characters, a combo of bizzare science & magic and ridiculously gigantic swords! The first 3-4 hours spent in Midgar & Kalm drew me into the story (and is probably the best intro to a JRPG I can think of) and then the apparent freedom of the world map completely astounded me.

Looking back this had nearly everything I wanted in a JRPG. The story was intense and emotional but it also had a great degree of freedom and player choice in the game world. I'll admit, the materia system isn't the best system in a JRPG as it didn't give a huge amount of customisation, and many characters seemed to be very similar no matter what materia you added. However, the plot, the world, the towns and hidden extras all made up for it.

I've now played it on PS, PC and PSP/PS3. Like a lot of games of that gen it hasn't aged well yet I still find myself playing through it when a new release is available. I can understand the hype/demand for a sequel, but to be honest, I'm not sure I'd trust SE with a modern remake. Part of FFVII and all earlier FF games was their ability to ignite your imagination. With voice acting and modern day visuals, much of that charm would be lost. Can you imagine this in HD with voice acting (Yuk!):

Anyway, back to my description I think the optional quests were some of the best in a Final Fantasy game: Chocobo breeding and racing, two optional characters with backstory, the Weapon bosses, the mini-games (Submarine, snowboarding, motorbike), the range of vehicles, the hidden locations and the little tit-bits of backstory. All added to an utterly amazing game.

:08 flOwer PSN3

Amazingly beautiful game, very soothing, relaxing and a brilliant experience that needs to be had.

I have to admit Baldur's gate 2 and Planescape torment are on my list of shame too. I started them but I was too busy with Everquest to devote enough time to them to complete them. I need to do some digging in my old moving boxes, see if they still run.

Baldur's gate 2 is only 4.99 on gog.com with expansion. Fit for win7 :)

Oh I own all of them, lol. In fact, I can still see the box for Baldurs Gate 2 sitting in my shelf of games to play

8.

No other single player game has near the amount of time I have in this. Everytime I play this game it is different. Battles, strategy, just everything about this game was done perfectly.

Mario Tennis at number 8. I made a rather rambling post trying to figure out why the game had such a strong hold over me and couldn't derive much out of that process, but there was definitely something exceptional there.