10)  Starcraft  (PC, 1998, Blizzard)

Starcraft is the kind of game that demands your attention.  The story is relentlessly gripping and what Blizzard managed to do with its narrative with such limited graphical architecture is outstanding.  The characters are a small pile of pixels, yet the stellar voice acting and character development manages to assemble one of the most memorable casts in all of gaming.  Players will be emotionally attached to the characters, and when shit goes down, you feel invested just as much as the characters themselves.  Starcraft 2 has enormous shoes to fill in terms of narrative.

Potential #10 for next year?Aside from the phenomenal storytelling, Starcraft also managed to squeeze in what is arguably the most balanced, addictive, and fun real-time strategy engine of all time.  The three races, Zerg, Terran, and Protoss, are all 100% unique and differentiated from one-another, but none manage to gain an obvious upper-hand on the others thanks to the game’s simple (yet deep) rock-paper-scissors gameplay system.  Zealots assaulting your marines?  Build Firebats.  Firebats got you down?  Get Dragoons, etc.  Such a simple concept, yet most games fumble it completely… but Starcraft not only perfects the equation, it pretty much wrote the book on modern RTS games.  There’s a reason it’s a national sport in Korea.

9)  Tetris  (Everything, 1986, Everyone)

Tetris is available on illegally-released cartridges, graphing calculators, key chains, and on the side of skyscrapers.  Everyone knows what Tetris is, and when I mean everyone, I literally mean everyone.  Finding a person who doesn’t know what Tetris is would be the mathematical equivalent to winning the lottery, and there’s  a reason for that: the game is so simple, yet so challenging and rewarding, that there is absolutely nothing that you can’t like about it (new editions aside).  The gameplay rewards forward-thinking and quick reflexes in a way that other puzzle games can’t, and likely never will.

Who's this guy?Whenever you’re trying to pack up a U-Haul with your junk or cram an extra Costco-sized bag of toilet paper into your trunk, what game are you thinking of?  What song do you immediately start humming afterwards?  When all is said and done, and the human race is on the brink of extinction, I am 100% sure that the last person alive will spend his nights playing Tetris.

8)  God of War  (PS, 2005, SCE)

Guess what game made the ESRB consider adding a new level after Mature and below Adults Only?  I’ll give you hint; it’s not Tetris or Starcraft.  If you guessed God of War, then your powers of deduction are outstanding.  Yes, God of War took the average, ho-hum everyday act of slaying mythological deities and made it exciting again by giving the player a protagonist that murders innocents, bones saucy wenches, and literally climbs his way out of Hades just because he’s uber pissed off.  If anyone ever wanted a definition of anti-hero, you only need to show them Kratos and they would get the picture.  You really shouldn’t like this guy, but it’s impossible not to.  Whether he’s tearing off Medusa’s head or sending a villager to hell (twice), you just know that Kratos means business.

Kratos isn’t the only bad ass in the game, however.  Another potential winner of the awesome award go to God of War’s outstanding gameplay.  Never before God of War has a beat-em-up’s combat felt so fluid and intuitive and going back to play it today you realize that it feels as it hasn’t aged a day.  Combos feel devastating and impactful and responsive character movement give you a feeling that you are truly a wrecking machine.  The only games that were able to successfully emulate God of War’s dynamic combat system were God of War 2 and God of War: Chains of Olympus.  Oh, and the God of War 3 demo.

7)  Bioshock  (Multi, 2007, 2K)

If Bioshock were a drink, it would be an AMF.  It has a kick that will put you on the floor, stays with you forever, and gives you the feeling that you’re not entirely yourself.  Yes, Bioshock is well-known for its explosive plot twists (one in particular), and gives a whole new meaning to the word “narrative” in relation to video games.  The story itself is worthy of the great literature of our time, but the real draw to the game is the unprecedented depth of the world itself; in fact, the world of Rapture is so rich with life that it is easily the most important character in Bioshock.  Yes, Andrew Ryan, Atlas, and yourself are important, but none of the them would yield such weight as they do if it weren’t for Rapture.  Everywhere you look you will see evidence of the life before splicers took over, and the dialogue given through discoverable audio logs lends an involving backstory to already-rich world.

Bioshock is also one of the games to best implement a sense of morality via its Little Sisters.  Choosing between harvesting and rescuing these characters remains at the top of the list of tough choices you will have to make in gaming.  The emotional weight you feel by these questions of morality are accentuated by the still-innocent Little Sisters you will encounter, giving the player a true sense of righteousness, or in my case, resounding guilt.  This is one of the best arguments to be made in the “are games art?” debate.

6)  Half-Life 2  (PC, 2004, Valve)

Valve can tell a story without words like none other.  From the outset of Half-Life 2, you are put in Gordon Freeman’s shoes, and you know exactly what he knows, learn exactly what he learns, and feel exactly what he feels without him saying a single word.  The ‘silent hero’ is often done in a way that is offensive to even the most intellectually challenged of people, but Half-Life 2 manages to cater a brilliant story using this strategy that none other have.  The oppression you feel from the Combine is a very real sensation as are the countless other emotions and mental states you will be put in during the course of the campaign.  You grow to legitimately care for your partners-in-crime Alyx, Eli, the professor, and fellow Resistance members as the game progresses.  I don’t care how pathetic this makes me sound, but I cared more about Alyx throughout the game and its episodic content than I did about half of the people I went to school with.  Its narrative is that powerful.

Chicks dig the strong, silent typeFrom a technical side of things, Half-Life 2 managed to open up a whole new can of gigantic, Godzilla-esque possibilities in the gaming world with its as-of-then brand new Source Engine.  The engine did so many things right and so efficiently that it was considered a generational leap in technology, and is still being used and modified today for pretty much all of Valve’s games… and Valve’s games are always considered to be the best in the business.  Not only that, but at the time the physics simulation that the Source engine was able to produce was so sensationally accurate and realistic that for a time, some people (albeit gullible people) thought that Valve had discovered the Unified Equation.

5)  X-Wing / TIE Fighter  (PC, 1993/1994, Totally Games)

I couldn’t choose just one of these titles as they are both worthy of the highest regards, so I had to include both.  X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter is also a top contender, as well as X-Wing Alliance to some degree, but the original games had such a “wow” factor that propels them into the “lord of all creation” category as opposed to “plain vanilla deity.”

Let me start by saying these are some of the best games you will ever play, period.  I don’t care how long you play video games; you will rarely, if ever, play a game that is as absorbing as X-Wing or TIE Fighter.  I don’t care if you love or hate Star Wars; you will love these games.  The gameplay is some of the best in any game ever and is so simple and satisfying that you will never get sick of the dogfights.  The variety of ships available also creates subtle variety that heavily influences how you will approach the game.  If you choose to play as a TIE Fighter, chances are you will be constantly barrel rolling and weaving as you have no shields, lending itself to a more strategic play experience.  On the other hand, playing as an X-Wing will lead you to more direct approach, as your shields and firepower are superior yet you are not quite as agile.  These subtle differences, while they don’t sound like much, create an experience unlike any other.  Just make sure you buy a flight stick.

4)  Portal  (Multi, 2007, Valve)

Everyone knows what Portal is.  Even though the game itself is a short, fairly esoteric first-person puzzle game, its influences reach far and wide.  Its unofficial tagline, “the cake is a lie,” practically took over pop culture for a short time and the lifeless weighted Companion Cube has become one of the most treasured characters in all of video games, simply because of the superb presentation and narrative that Portal delivers.  You are hard-pressed to find reasons to dislike this game.

Interestingly enough, Portal ended up being probably the biggest selling point to The Orange Box, which consists of 4 of the best games ever made (2 of which made it onto this list).  This kind of power out of a 3-hour long puzzle game is extremely rare, but Portal managed to do it with flying colors.  Now Portal sequels are more often talked about than enormous mega-hit franchises like Halo, which is saying quite a bit.

3)  LittleBigPlanet  (PS3, 2008, Media Molecule)

Boy, am I gonna get flak for this one, but I don’t fear the reaper.  Yes, LittleBigPlanet is a fairly new IP that is still relatively unfamiliar with the general gaming public, but arguments against its quality hold no credence, especially considering that once you actually do experience the game, your expectations for gaming experiences change forever.  I can’t even begin to describe the level of joy you feel when playing this game.  It is really quite amazing what developers can do to your emotional state with simply adorable characters, wacky going-ons, and a powerfully uplifting soundtrack.  LittleBigPlanet is an experience that really must be felt first-hand.  If you don’t feel the overwhelming charm of this game, then God be with you, as you probably have no soul.

2)  Shadow of the Colossus  (PS2, 2005, Team Ico)

The game that basically brought the “are games art?” debate into the limelight of the entertainment industry, Shadow of the Colossus is a prime example of just how far video games have come from their ‘bleep, boop’ beginnings to full-blown cinematic masterpieces as we see today.  Not only does the game spur emotions that grown men are in complete denial of possessing but the fantastic feeling of ‘loneliness’ you get while playing truly is a thing to behold.

The most incredible thing about the game, to me, is the emotional weight and truly powerful tone of sacrifice that it delivers to the player without venturing into the dreaded ‘preachy’ territory.  This game is truly a work of art.  Sure, the gameplay may not exactly be AAA-caliber at times, but that really doesn’t matter when the impact the game has on your psyche is so significant.

1)  Metal Gear Solid  (PS, 1998, Konami)

Metal Gear Solid’s character models haven’t exactly held up well, the controls are a little archaic, and the enemy AI seems just a bit too dumb.  However, aside from those minor setbacks, Metal Gear Solid remains one of the most well put-together video games of all time, combining adrenaline-pumping action sequences with heart-stopping intensity to create a brilliant masterpiece of technical wizardry and spellbinding storytelling.  Never before was there a game executed as soundly as MGS, and never since has there been.

The game manages to succeed on every level of an entertainment medium: aesthetically, aside from the aforementioned character models, the game was stunning for its time and holds up very well, from the bleak interiors to the vibrant snow-covered fields.  The audio in the game is particularly outstanding, blending a creative use of sound effects and music to fulfill even the most jaded audiophile’s wildest expectations.  Also, the voice acting remains some of the best of all time, and David Hayter’s portrayal of Solid Snake is still considered the most memorable of all voice acting roles, both in film and digital entertainment.

Most notably, however, are the game’s fearless endeavors to break down the fourth wall.  Metal Gear Solid was the first game to use Dual Shock technology in a memorable fashion.  An intense heart attack sequence stimulates both the player’s body as well as brain, creating one of most visceral experiences ever to grace gaming.  Combine this with brilliant integration of the game’s packaging and the console’s hardware and you have the single most creative use of player-to-game conversation of all time.

Metal Gear Solid is an absolute masterpiece in every sense of the word. 

http://www.nomoregameblogs.com/main/100-games-to-play-before-you-die-5-1.html

Yeah a decent list, i only want to get Half-life 2.

Someone might have an ever so slight lean on PC and Playstation gaming. Just a little.

This isn't my list.

Yea, there is no need to play any Mario or Zelda games before you die.

they were on the list but not the top ten.

I never said it was. Note I said "someone". Then again, you haven't given an opinion on it either, so you've left the rest of us to guess whether you agree or disagree with the list and decide on our own.

Onyxmeth is cool.

I've played 9 of the 10 games and none of them would be in my top 100!!

No Shenmue?

I'm not pleased.......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!