I agree with you that the two Rare FPS on the N64 still hold up quite well.  Sure, like all early 3D games, the graphics are pretty rough, but the gameplay!  I still prefer the mission based levels over what we get right now.  Which is basically just walk forward and kill everything in your path.

That sounds a lot like the Conquest multiplayer mode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

"Conquest divides up to four players on to two teams: the CIS and the Republic. Each team attempts to control as many outposts as possible until they have enough strength to destroy the opposing team's home base. Each outpost is capable of constructing four turrets and two Armored Assault Tanks or All Terrain Experimental Transports (depending on the team)."

That multiplayer mode is one of the reasons that game made it into my top 50.

Until I made my top 50 list, I always thought that this game was called Diddy Kong's Quest.  But it is actually Diddy's Kong Quest!?!?

With haitus finishied, I shall be presenting my top 5 soon. Btw, here's my other 45:

6. Chrono Trigger

7. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX

8. Okami

9. Super Mario Galaxy 2

10. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

11. Shadow of the Colossus 

12. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

13. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations

14. Fire Emblem: Awakening

15. Batman: Arkham Asylum

16. Super Smash Bros. Melee

17. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

18. Xenogears

19. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

20. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

21. The World Ends With You

22. Batman: Arkham City

23. Super Mario Bros. 3

24. Donkey Kong Country Returns

25. Pokemon Crystal

26. Sid Meier’s Civilization V

27. Secret of Mana

28. Advance Wars

29. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island

30. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

31. F-Zero GX

32. Paper Mario

33. Super Mario 3D Land

34. Golden Sun

35. Portal

36. Final Fantasy VI

37. Super Metroid

38. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

39. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance 

40. Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story

41. Ratchet and Clack: Up Your Arsenal

42. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

43. XCOM: Enemy Unknown

44. Donkey Kong Country

45. Earthbound

46. Goldeneye 007

47. Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride

48. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

49. Mario Kart 7

50. The Walking Dead

I can't wait either.  I really liked Skyward Sword and don't really understand so much of the hate.  I fear that it will not go away like it has for the other games though.  Some people just really, really hate motion controls.

Number Four

Metroid Prime
GameCube(2002)/Wii(2009)
Retro Studios
First-Person Adventure/Shooter

With all the great games on the N64, I didn't really miss the Metroid franchise.  I had only played Super Metroid, and while I really liked it at the time, it did not immediately click with me.  It was more of a slow burn.  So when this game came out after an 8 year hiatus in the series, I wasn't super excited, but I knew I wanted it anyway.

The first time I touched down on Tallon IV the game took my breath away.  It immediately brought back all the feeling from Super Metroid, while maintaining a first-person perspective in a full 3D environment.  I probably spent 10 minutes just exploring that first room where your ship lands.  Pretty much the same thing I did in Super Metroid.  Same thing happened when I booted up the Metroid Prime Trilogy version on the Wii too.

Retro did such a fantastic job moving this series into 3D.  The sense of loneliness, exploration, how the enviroment around you feels alive, almost as if it was a character...

Needless to say, they also nailed the gameplay.  It just felt like Metroid.  The shooting felt right.  The power-ups felt right.  The hidden secrets felt right.  The exploration felt right.  And the bosses. Oh, the bosses.  Thardus will get your heart pumping.  Especially once the room clouds up and it becomes difficult to see.  But then, that is what your thermal visor is for.

For those really interested, Retro left little treats around the game in the form of short texts you could pick up by scanning certain objects.  They really fleshed out the world with that information.  The Space Pirates experimentations, and their fear of you.  The Chozo Lore gleaned from the ruins of the Chozo civilization.  There is so much there for the dedicated player, but if you don't care, you don't have to see any of it.

This is a fantastic game that is still amazing over a decade later.  Some people find the original lock on system a little wonky, but it does allow for effective strafing.  The Wii version adds IR Pointer controls, and I would consider it the definitive version.  Good luck finding Metroid Prime Trilogy if you don't already have it.  I hear it is quite expensive.

Haven't posted for a whil:

11. Grand Theft Auto 5 (PS3, also on 360)

Ah, to re-visit the sunny shores of San Andreas... driving a 'jacked' Buffalo before promptly parking in a T-junction, getting out a grenade launcher and destroying all the cars waiting at the red light. Then grabbing a random moterbike, driving to the airport whilst shooting the chasing cops and stealing a jet into the air and to the desert leaving the fuming virtual police to skid around the runway. I decide to forgo the desert airport and decide to ditch the jet and parachute onto the top of Mount Chiliad instead where I take a mountain bike and race to the bottom. Then I switch to Michael, invest in some shares, play a spot of Tennis and go out drinking with Franklin.

This is the sort of diversity I love in a GTA game that was sadly lacking in GTA IV's rather limited urban environment. GTA V on the other hand had everything I wanted in a GTA game since San Andreas. What I wasn't counting on however, was the intricately weaved narrative told through three different perspectives, the superbly organised heists and some of the most entertaining main characters in the series. Each character was seemingly a bizarre alter ego of the previous characters in GTA; the complete psychopath; the get-rich-quick apprentice that actually makes it; and the man with a dysfunctional background. Each character had an incredible dysfunctional depth to them that gave the three of them a weird chemistry that made the missions all the more entertaining. The missions themselves were carefully designed and showcased some of the best in the series.

Originally, I was disappointed that there was only one city compared to the three in San Andreas, but when you take into account the size of the world, the diversity of it, the missions and the characters, this really is the best GTA game ever made. The only thing left is to polish some of their gunplay mechanics which feel a little dated, but hopefully the upcoming PC version will have improved on that (or a mod will!).

OK, GTA V was the last new entry to my list. Clues for the Top 10:

10. This game was considered controversial by its fans (although I loved it) and an incredibly vocal and emotional fanbase took to forums to let the devs know it. The devs listened, although some still hate it.

9. I hurt my knee whilst playing this game.

8. The main character is a coward who pretends he's not (even to himself). He only realises the truth in the last third of the game.

7. Introduced a hungry character to an incredibly popular franchise.

6. Features two famous British actors. The rest of the voice cast is pretty wooden and crap.

5. This dev is known for their great RPGs but this was one of the first times they tried to make their own IP/franchise. It's been relatively successful.

4. Same dev as 5. The second game in their "other" popular franchise.

3. A game that revisited an old franchise and could have been a disaster. The publisher looked ready to go under before this game released but were saved at the eleventh hour.

2. This game popularised physics in FPS.

1. Anyone that knows my posts over the years should get this. It's the sort of game that any time you mention it, someone will re-install it.

10. Final Fantasy XIII?

9. Wii Sports

8. Final Fantasy VII

#6

Half-Life 2 (PC, Xbox/2004) Guessed by Adriane23

Nine years later, Half-Life 2 still feels next-gen. The amazing graphics, the sophisticated physics engine, the superior artificial intelligence, the vastness of the game environments -- all are spectacular. But even if you strip away all the technical achievements, Half-Life remains a remarkable achievement. From beginning to end, the game is a thrill ride, filled with diverse and interesting chapters, some heavy on horror, some heavy on problem-solving. It's also one of the more involving and immersive games ever made, thanks in large part to Valve's mastery of narrative logic.