A more sour taste than either of those.

#13: Final Fantasy II (IV) (SNES)

I've discovered Final Fantasy IV as Final Fantasy II like many others. It was such a huge step up from the Final Fantasy on the NES. You no longer chose your class but instead you had a fascinating cast of characters and an incredible story juggling with the theme of redemption. The game is filled with strong moments and characters seem to have a thing dramatic exits and self sacrifice (Rydia, Kain, Palom, Parom, Tellah, Cid, Yang all have a go). The combat is great and it was my first contact with the summoner class which has since always been a favorite of mine in Final Fantasy games. The soundtrack while not reaching the heights of those of VI and VII is still incredible. The most memorable pieces being the Theme of Love, the main theme (overworld music), Into The Darkness, The Dreadful Fight (Battle against the Four Fiends), the heartbreaking Cry In Sorrow and my favorite Boss Battle music ever).

50. Portal
49. Demon's Crest
48. Tekken 3
47. 'Splosion Man
46. Street of Rage 2
45. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
44. The Walking Dead
43. Super Mario Sunshine
42. Punch Out!! (Wii)
41. Dance Central
40. Conker's Bad Fur Day
39. Resident Evil (Gamecube)
38. Burnout 3
37. Wave Race 64
36. World of Keflings
35. Bayonetta
34. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
33. Angry Birds
32. Grandia II
31. Super Mario RPG
30. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
29. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
28. Braid
27. SSX 3
26. Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition
25. Chrono Trigger
24. Soul Calibur II
23. Skies of Arcadia: Legends
22. Batman: Arkham Asylum
21. Super Mario World
20. Advance Wars: Dual Strike
19. Valkyria Chronicles
18. Halo 3
17. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
16. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
15. Mario Kart 7
14. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
13. Tetris
12. Red Dead Redemption
11. Tetris Attack
10. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
9. Mass Effect 2
8. Metroid Fusion
7. Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition
6. Metroid Zero Mission
5. Final Fantasy Tactics
4. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
3. Metal Gear Solid 3; Snake Eater
2. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
1. Super Mario Galaxy

My tastes have changed a lot. There were a lot of games that used to wow me based on their graphical prowess or their story. Those games became outdated. Gears of War, Uncharted--not what they used to be graphically and their gameplay has become unimpressive. They're games that just seem to push me to the end while I marvel at their tech. Not my idea of a good time, anymore.

Other games had great gameplay of their day but I've played them again, recently. SMB3 or Mario World--marvels of their time, but playing them now, I realize that the newer games just manage to build on the classics. No nostalgia goggles.

Still, other games which were great just suffer from control issues. My beloved Time Splitters 2 and Metroid Prime feature archaic control schemes that detract from the overall experience. Couldn't count them as the greatest of all time, anymore.

I still missed a lot of great games because fifty really isn't enough. The order for some of them is off, too. It wasn't easy to decide and I didn't actually have my games in front of me. I'll think of something and regret not adding them to the list. What I have is the list of games that, after multiple playthroughs, can still get me emotional, still get my adrenaline pumping, still engross me for hours, still challenge me, and still make me smile.

You did it D21Lewis! Yee haw!

Once again, another great list by a great user. Any chance we'll see a certain 3D World next year?

(Also props for Conker's Bad Fur Day. This place needs some more Conker love)

14. ICO (22)

This is a truly unique and beautiful game and I was so happy to see it get a high definition 3D remake.  Perhaps one of the best things about ICO is how much story it can tell with so little.  The team for this game did an excellent job of telling story without resorting to a mess of dialogue.  The solitary flaw for this game is the fact that the combat seems nothing more than an annoyance.  The idea of having to save another person from being captured is solid but the lack of variety in weapons (not as bad) and enemies (worse) led to most of the excitement being taken a short while into the game.  On the other hand the game's final combat felt like a wonderfully crafted battle that I would love more of.  The platform puzzling in this game is what ultimately shines through.  Unlike many platformers, the next move is usually less than obvious and requires a little thinking to puzzle out where you're going.  Somehow the developers made the destination always seem so far away, even though the entire game world is decently small.  A lot of this could come from the fact that the game flows freely between areas without any sort of modular level scheme.  The castle is beautifully crafted and I wished I could have wandered away from the game and explored the whole building.  This game exceeded all of my expectations, even knowing what other people had thought of it.

13. Portal 2 (10)

Not much regressed in this addition, as I only had a slight preference for the predecessor's story.  The game is much longer and does so without wearing out its welcome.  They managed to keep GLaDOS' murderous personality and add the Wheatley and Cave Johnson characters.  The addition of all the different goo's provides a plethora of puzzle solving options, especially when combined. Sadly, the portal goo can rapidly degenerate into being slung everywhere to try to solve puzzles (although this can be fun). This was thankfully subverted on a few occasions where other gels had to be placed more carefully. The addition of co-op and extra levels allows for even more play opportunities.  The experience lived up to to everything I could have expected and I'd still be delighted to play more.

Nope.

#15 - Uncharted 2

#13 - Grand Theft Auto V?

15 was guessed earlier (but you're correct) and you're also correct on 13.

Clues
12: The second best NES game of all time and a part of one of the most popular series ever made.  Was considered by many to be the best game in the entire large series' catalog but a more recent entry has won over many of those people.

11. The 3rd entry in a series by my favorite game dev company and person. Many consider him to be the most prolific programmer in gaming history and my top 11 features 4 of his games. It featured unique launchpads that added a new element to gameplay and would launch you sometimes great distances to a new platform.  Is still a quite popular game today.  While the first 2 games were also amazing and well received by critics and fans, the 4th entry was widely considered the weakset of the series.  As with the first 2 games, this game's engine went on to be utilized in many other successful games.