UC2 and TLOU are both better imo.

OOT isn't the best game ever. it has value because it was the first to show how a 3d action game should be done. however, many games have surpassed it by following it's steps.

On a technical level, tens of thousands have dethroned it.
If you want to take into account opinions, most games to be launched have a shot at the greatest game of all time because most games have a loyal fanbase even if its extremely small.

Personally I find a better game every year or two to what I previously thought was the best. At the moment its uncharted 3, but I do have a lot of games I havent played yet, so it could change at any time.

Some people will think their vintage cars are better than modern supercars, and its ok to have an opinion, but if they opened a thread stating which car will dethrone their old piece of trash, it would sound silly.

Jet Set Radio dethroned OOT like 14 years ago...

Such fail. Wow.

it's quite lucky 'quarter to three' did not exist then. it would have dropped from 99

The problem with arguing about "The best game ever" is that often people aren't even arguing about the same thing.

One camp is entrenched on the idea of the game with the overall highest quality, the other camp is sure that it must be the most revolutionary game, and the problem is that there is no right answer. Even if you can decide on a particular definition there is still never going to be this 100% consensus that some people seem to think you need.

By the former definition I think you are looking at games from the 7th generation because the extreme refinement of gameplay norms long ago established, the technical capabilities of modern systems etc allow for a more polished experience than was possible in any previous generation. Galaxy, Uncharted 2 etc., pick your favourite.

By the latter definition i.e. games that stood head and shoulders above their peers, I think Ocarina has fair claim. It simply was so much better than everything else at the time. Fanboy wars aside, MGS on PSX might claim a few votes there as well, among several others. I'll happily concede that there are now better games than OOT, but there are very few that have separated themselves from their peers to such an extent.

The problem is that using the former definition there are more contenders, games that refine a particular genre or gameplay style a little more by increasingly smaller differences so in the end it really comes down to, often heavily divided, opinion which of these small refinements are the most valuable.

The problem with the latter definition is that as we get further and further away from a game's release there are fewer and fewer people who played the game in context and so many can't possibly appreciate how revolutionary a particular game might or might not have been at the time of its release.

This

/thread 

Much salt. Wow.

I kind of feel Super Mario Galaxy did that.