8-

Hint- Silent protagonist, Stubby King, Sailor with an Australian accent.

8. Mario Tennis, N64 (2000) Nintendo/Camelot

A few of the games in my top 10 were simply the right game at the right time. This was one of them, right for a time before the gaming tastes of my friends and i diverged, right for a time when i was content to play basically the same thing over and over again, right for a time when i was obsessed with cheat codes (so the special tourneys really grabbed my attention). This game had a lot going on, between crossover compatibility with the Game Boy game, allowing you to bring on your character, plus all the modes of gameplay, an engaging tournament, murderous difficulty on the high end of the star tourneys, and introductions to many notable Mario characters for newer gamers like me, such as Baby Mario, Daisy, and Birdo (really, this game is responsible for bringing Birdo back. And for pairing "her" with Yoshi for whatever reason).

Number 7 had a few unique elements. First, enemy damage could not kill you. Secondly, doing absolutely nothing at the very beginning of the first stage was the only way to discover one of the story-paths.

That Metroid game by Ninja Theory.

lol. Way off, as that game doesn't exist (you're thinking Team Ninja), but Other M isn't on my list.

This game is sort of obscure, as handheld-exclusives often are.

I have so much to catch up, I'll just try to keep these brief.

13) Age of Mythology

Nothing quite beats the feeling of calling down the wrath of the Olympian gods upon your enemies. It had the great strategy mechanics of AoE2 and added in those excellent lore and gameplay elements brought in by Greek mythology. I must have finished that 30-chapter campaign at least six times.

12) Assassin's Creed II

The pinnacle of the series and one of the most beautiful and stunning games I have ever played. Ezio had depth and history comparable only to the greatest characters ever. He was supported by a range of personalities. The world was beautifully designed and fascinating. Renaissance Italy is an amazing setting, and they really did justice to it. No other AC game has quite captured that feeling for me - AC1 was too much of a chore, Brotherhood and Revelations felt too cashed-in, AC3 was too familiar and unsurprising.

11) God of War III

I had been waiting for this game for three years, and it did not disappoint in the slightest. It looked incredible, and it played incredibly well. It was as visceral as ever, and even more epic - scaling mountains, slaying titans, the final battle... epic from start to finish.

10) Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

I liked the original Uncharted more than most people, but it doesn't earn a place in this top 50. Uncharted 2, however, manages to scrape the top ten. It took all of the joy and creativity of Uncharted, tightened the controls, added more characters and more settings with a better-told story, and even managed to fit in an incredibly enjoyable multiplayer segment that didn't feel tacked on at all. Certainly my favourite PS3 exclusive, even in the company of the game directly below it in my list.

9) Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos

One of the greatest fantasy universes ever constructed. It wasn't built by this game, but this game did expand upon it enormously, and despite its simplicity it is undoubtedly one of the greatest strategy games ever made (and the highest on my list). Once again, I have finished the campaign at least five times despite its relative length. Unusually, though, I'm not much of a fan of the multiplayer, and I can't stand DoTA.

8) Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

Hands down the greatest stealth game ever made. Absolution tries to emulate it and fails miserably. Recent Splinter Cell games stray too far and fall completely flat. It didn't need enormously complicated mechanics or flashy graphics. It was just one man with a handful of gadgets trying to save the world one choked guard and shot-out light at a time.

7) Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal

This game really does hold a special place in my heart. It's still my favourite R&C game, and it's received some very tough competition for that title. Dr Nefarious is simply outstanding, as are Qwark, Lawrence, Clank and all of the other supporting characters. The Starship Phoenix has never really been matched in any other game as a home location, and Annihilation Nation provided an excellent challenge. The game was long, and I played it over and over and over again. I just got the Collection for PS3, so I'm looking forward to playing it again for the first time in years.

Continuing on from yesterday:

6. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

"In their tongue they called him Dovahkiin! Dragonborn!"

My sixth favourite game and Bethesda's fifth entry in the Elder Scrolls series took the player to the harsh Nordic lands of Skyrim. Taking what they learnt from Fallout 3 and the previous Elder Scrolls games, Bethesda managed to produce a game world filled to the brim with content. The main core of story and guild quests were present, but supplemented with a wide array of creation skills, the new "Shout" powers and of course, Dragons! The story was your basic fantasy storyline, but Elder Scrolls games are known for their world and freedom which is where Skyrim excels. The different Holds each had their own style, the civil war portrayed a land of deadly politics and the sheer variety of NPCs trying to go about their daily business simply immerse you into the world. The new conversations/animation system was also a welcome addition to help with immersion whereby characters didn't stop working when you struck up a conversation.

The gameplay also saw some significant improvements over previous editions. The new two-hand system gave a new level of freedom and customisation to a series that already provided far more freedom than most video games. Playing a magic wielding, battle-ready, werewolf assassin has never been so much fun! The Shouts also gave new list of abilities to add to your play style which were needed for the dragon fights. Within the first 10 minutes you encounter a dragon and that sets the tone for the rest of the story. The first time you fight a dragon in the game is quite a experience as you desperately try to survive an onslaught of dragon breath on your low level character.

My only major criticism (with the exception of the bugs which plague any game of this scale) is that the guild quests aren't quite as interesting as in previous games. The Companion quest-line is fairly short although has a nice perk/twist in the story, the civil war quests are fairly generic and the Mages guild quest-line is criminally short. The Dark Brotherhood and thieves guild quests are still quite fun, but in general, the side-quests don't seem to have the imagination that they did in Morrowind and Oblivion. That said, the gameplay, game world and simply the sheer amount of content in the game more than make up for this.

That's exactly how I feel about the series. After completing ACIII, ACII really did feel like the pinacle of the series.

8 - PaRappa the Rapper.

#9 - Super Mario Bros. 3 comes out on top as the best main-line 2D Mario game ever created. It's gameplay is the pinnacle of perfection. Jumping precision has never been better. Graphically the game pushes the NES to it's limits, right into early 16-bit territory. One can really see the love for this game the developers had when making it, fantastic, imaginative levels and creative items and power-ups are all more than well represented in this game. Personally, I was always weary of sequels. Still am. More often than not, the 'first' is the best. So it was in my early gaming career. Though I hadn't played this until a couple years after release (was 3 years old at the time of release), this game came along to remind me that sequels to good things can be good things!



#8 - Mario Kart 64 is the best racing game ever made. In fact, it is one of only two racing games to make it into the top 50. And this one even reaches the top 10! For a genre I usually do not really care for, Mario Kart has always been a solid choice. The Nintendo 64 entry however, is the greatest of the seven. The games are all dependent on their individual tracks, and this is where Mario Kart 64 beats the others. It has too many classic tracks that remain being good. The most balanced roster of items completes that. Mario Kart 64 is probably my most played multiplayer console game. It is at it's best when playing with friends and family. The quality as I described it, and the high nostalgia I feel towards this game and to it in the context of playing it with a particular family-member ensure this game will forever have a place with me. It reminds me that friends and family (which I don't have a lot of anymore) are the most important things to have.

#7 - ?
This game defined a certain genre popular today, on home consoles.