#21 - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a very impressive game. The sad thing is though, I haven't even finished it. For it to earn a place on this list, fairly high even, while I've not finished the game (every other game on the list has been completed at least once) is a testament to how great it is. When it was released, I'd never seen a console game that looked this good. Better yet, it also actually turned out to be great to play too! The game offers a classic adventure / treasure hunting feel with some genuinely challenging parts. You really feel like you're on an adventure. Gotta finish this game I guess (and get Uncharted 3)!

#20 - ?
Now we've finally arrived at the top 20. The previous 30 games are still debatable; #43 could also have been #40, but the 20 games in this last part are rock solid. Each of them represent what I consider the pinnacle of gaming and the #20 is the #20 while the #1 is the #1. It would be highly difficult and unlikely to ever happen for a new game to ever enter this exclusive company of games.

Anyways, the #20 game hint:

The best units, are elephants.

S.Peelman said: #21 - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a very impressive game. The sad thing is though, I haven't even finished it. For it to earn a place on this list, fairly high even, while I've not finished the game (every other game on the list has been completed at least once) is a testament to how great it is. When it was released, I'd never seen a console game that looked this good. Better yet, it also actually turned out to be great to play too! The game offers a classic adventure / treasure hunting feel with some genuinely challenging parts. You really feel like you're on an adventure. Gotta finish this game I guess (and get Uncharted 3)! #20 - ? Now we've finally arrived at the top 20. The previous 30 games are still debatable; #43 could also have been #40, but the 20 games in this last part are rock solid. Each of them represent what I consider the pinnacle of gaming and the #20 is the #20 while the #1 is the #1. It would be highly difficult and unlikely to ever happen for a new game to ever enter this exclusive company of games. Anyways, the #20 game hint: The best units, are elephants.

One of the Civilization games? I'll go with Civilization II.

Age of Empires 2!?

You two are thinking of the correct genre (RTS), and thus the correct platform (PC), but what else could they be when I'm speaking of units? I'm thinking of a different RTS franchise though!

Supplemental hint: While these units are indeed powerful against every other, they are most effective in scaring others.

Super Mario Bros 3?

21. Final Fantasy X (2001)

Down from 16th, in many ways this feels like the last of the more traditional Final Fantasy games but if that's the case it will end up being a wonderful one.  With only two equip slots the game remained a surprisingly customizable experience.  Level ups on the sphere grid let you do whatever you wanted with your characters and the ability to control what charged overdrives turned them into more of a strategic choice.  The new summon mechanics turned them into a more fluid battle experience with the ability to use them in multiple ways.  The interesting addition of moves having a visible effect on the turn order in battle allowed you to plan for your opponents actions (and let enemies be a little stronger).  It would be difficult not to fall in love with the story and characters as they wind through the world looking for a way to bring peace to its shores.  The change in setting from traditional games also causes this to be what I believe is the most elegant of the  Final Fantasy worlds to date.

20. Epic Mickey (Wii)

Epic Mickey is one of those games that has lots of potential to be critically acclaimed as a true classic, but doesn't quite make it because of a few problems. It has a poor camera system. There's a lot of backtracking, and playing those 2D sections over and over and over again can become tiresome. Some were turned off completely by these problems, but I found myself able to forgive them and really enjoy the game. I truly felt for the citizens of wasteland when it was revealed what Mickey had done to their home, and set about fixing it with the paint. Of course it's possible to playthrough the game the opposite way by using the thinner, but I don't think I could ever do that, and because of that, I think the developers achieved one of their main objectives. A moral choice system is always used to try and make the player feel something, and I most certainly did here.

Clue for 19. I feel the need, the need for speed. (It's not Need for Speed, or Top Gun)

20. New Super Mario Bros Wii, Wii (2009) Nintendo (last year 17)

Anticipation for NSMBU (look for it on this list next year) pushed this one down the rankings a little, realizing how relatively samey it was compared to the other NSMB games. Samey or no, however, the game really showed the art of 2D platforming refined down to a science, and that kind of polished-to-a-T refinement that often make Nintendo games as great as they are.

#20

Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence

It’s getting harder and harder to reconcile Hideo Kojima’s reluctance to identify his own games as art with the cold, hard fact that his games, especially Metal Gear Solid 3, are some of the most captivating, seamlessly constructed, and emotionally powerful video games ever made. In MGS3, Kojima traveled backward in time to give fans an origin story for the Metal Gear franchise and, in the process, gave the world a terrific game with diverse, deeply layered, perfect gameplay. Players control "Naked Snake" as he infiltrates the Russian jungle at the height of the Cold War to rescue a captured Russian scientist. He must elude patrols, raid supply depots, and survive by any means necessary. MGS3 features a great story, amazing voice acting, production design second-to-none, and the best collection of boss battles in any video game, ever.

Number 19 arrived near the end of its console's life and was a prequel for its entire franchise