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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Game Informer’s top 200 games of all time

Solid_Raiden on 22 November 2009
Onyxmeth said:
Solid_Raiden said:

For the record. I agree with you. But at the same time, your logic is slightly flawed because the first Zelda and Mario have been approved apon time and time again and yet the originals still ranked higher because of the impact they had when they first released. Even if Uncharted 3 is better then Uncharted 2, which it should be, it won't have the same impact. No one expected Uncharted 2 to be as good as it is. Uncharted was amazing, sure. Uncharted 2 is as close as a game can come to perfection within the constraints of the genre at this point in time (imo). Just looking at metacritic and how it's ranked against other incredible titles when they also had the "new game stink" just shows how amazing Uncharted 2 is. Even if Uncharted 3 is superior, it won't  have the same impact and Uncharted 2 should top it on any list, just like Bioshock 2 "might" be better then Bioshock. But it won't matter if it is. Once a game blows everyone away, it's expected from the games that follow it so much so that it's almost impossible for them to surpass them. Almost. Obvious exceptions to the rule exist. And it of course only applys to games who blew people away to begin with.

Scroll back up to the earlier post I made about why Tetris should be #1. I addressed that Mario and Zelda shouldn't have been above it and mentioned it had to do with design improvements to the formula. I firmly believe that SMB3 and A Link to the Past should be the games to represent the franchises first because they created the true formula that Mario and Zelda have become. The originals were unfinished blueprints.

These are the kinds of things that take years to realize though. This is why it's stupid to have games that have been out for a month on the list. Remember that it takes a few weeks to publish this magazine past when the articles get written, so minus a few weeks and a few of these newer games might not even have been released yet. It's just very premature. Allowing yourself to look back, even for an instant is important when compiling the greatest of anything all time. I wouldn't expect a brand new movie or CD released a week prior to make this type of list in their respective fields. I hold gaming up to the same standard. Most publications that do this Top 200 games list will purposely use a cut off date of about a year or two for this very reason, and they state as such. 


That's why I agree that tetris should be number 1. However, I believe that games should be judged for their quality for when they released rather then comparing it to newer games. Zelda was far more revolutionary and a much better game then the games that were available at the time. Much more so then say, a link to the past even though A link to the past is an evolution of Zelda and obviously because of it the better game. We are talking about games that inspired entire genres, hell the entire way games have been made. To go with another game because technology improved so vastly and because they had those legendary games to build off of entirely misses the point. A link to the past is my favorite zelda game. But I know that The Legend of Zelda was the better game for gaming. It did more then just make a blueprint for the zelda series. It made a blueprint that is used still today for a large portion of games.




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twesterm on 23 November 2009
Onyxmeth said:
twesterm said:
Onyxmeth said:
Sambo2612 said:
Even though it's a pretty crappy list overall, good to see Doom get some lovin' at 6 and Goldeneye at 32. One thing I've never understood, what's the big deal with tetris? You play it once then you move on. How can you say it's got more 'lasting appeal' than all those other games?

1. The big deal with Tetris is that it popularized the puzzle genre. There's puzzle games after Tetris, and there's...what before it?

2. You may have somehow played Tetris once and moved on. I've played Tetris off and on for 20 years and still haven't figured out how to move on for good. Care to tell me your secret?

3. Tetris has more lasting appeal because it doesn't end...ever. It only ends if you happen to lose. If you never lose, it never ends. It's the game that mimics real life the most. You're given one chance and you ride it until you die. Other games will coddle you with endings that show your success. The ending of Tetris is your failure. It's negative reinforcement is how people have come back to it again and again.

Tetris is easily my third favorite game of all time (behind FFVI and Chrono Trigger) and that is a game I can easily waste hours on without even realizing it. 

I probably have dozens of flash versions of Tetris bookmarked across several computers, the orifinal Game Boy version (2 actually), the NES version, the DS version (my favorite), the XBL version, Tetris Worlds, and even a disc based one for the 360. 

Tetris is a *fantastic* and without a doubt deserves to be that high on the list.  It's really just a perfect game and one of the rare games that they've tweaked in the past 20 odd years and actually made better (Tetris DS).

I'm of the opinion that Tetris should be #1 on the list. Regardless of personal opinion (Tetris is not my favorite game), it's got to be by far the most accessible console/handheld game of all time. It's design is perfect. 25 years later and you still play Tetris exactly the same as you always have. 100 years from now I'm sure we'll still be playing Tetris exactly the same still. Unlike other games that advance in design or fade away over time, I feel Tetris is the videogame equivalent of a classic designed game like Checkers or Chess. It doesn't require change and will always find a sizable audience as long as videogames continue to exist. 

The reason why I feel it deserves it over Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, is that the design of the two aforementioned games have been improved upon time and time again. Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World are everything SMB is and much much more. A Link to the Past is obviously everything LoZ is and so much more also. The originals feel like test drives compared to the improved design changes brought along later on in the series. I'm not sure if anyone would want to revert to the design of the original games of those series anymore, but anyone that likes Tetris wouldn't mind reverting back to the original game.

But Tetris has been improved beyond just play control.

  • You can now hold blocks
  • Some modes have items
  • T-spins
  • Ghosting
  • Sliding
  • Multiplayer
  • different game modes (push on DS is genius)


 

Thechalkblock on 23 November 2009

There're things I like about this list, and then there're things I don't like about this list. One thing I like is Mega Man X being on the list. One thing I don't like is Ocarina of Time being #20. Everyone knows it's the best game of all time. :P



Onyxmeth on 23 November 2009
twesterm said:
Onyxmeth said:
twesterm said:
Onyxmeth said:
Sambo2612 said:
Even though it's a pretty crappy list overall, good to see Doom get some lovin' at 6 and Goldeneye at 32. One thing I've never understood, what's the big deal with tetris? You play it once then you move on. How can you say it's got more 'lasting appeal' than all those other games?

1. The big deal with Tetris is that it popularized the puzzle genre. There's puzzle games after Tetris, and there's...what before it?

2. You may have somehow played Tetris once and moved on. I've played Tetris off and on for 20 years and still haven't figured out how to move on for good. Care to tell me your secret?

3. Tetris has more lasting appeal because it doesn't end...ever. It only ends if you happen to lose. If you never lose, it never ends. It's the game that mimics real life the most. You're given one chance and you ride it until you die. Other games will coddle you with endings that show your success. The ending of Tetris is your failure. It's negative reinforcement is how people have come back to it again and again.

Tetris is easily my third favorite game of all time (behind FFVI and Chrono Trigger) and that is a game I can easily waste hours on without even realizing it. 

I probably have dozens of flash versions of Tetris bookmarked across several computers, the orifinal Game Boy version (2 actually), the NES version, the DS version (my favorite), the XBL version, Tetris Worlds, and even a disc based one for the 360. 

Tetris is a *fantastic* and without a doubt deserves to be that high on the list.  It's really just a perfect game and one of the rare games that they've tweaked in the past 20 odd years and actually made better (Tetris DS).

I'm of the opinion that Tetris should be #1 on the list. Regardless of personal opinion (Tetris is not my favorite game), it's got to be by far the most accessible console/handheld game of all time. It's design is perfect. 25 years later and you still play Tetris exactly the same as you always have. 100 years from now I'm sure we'll still be playing Tetris exactly the same still. Unlike other games that advance in design or fade away over time, I feel Tetris is the videogame equivalent of a classic designed game like Checkers or Chess. It doesn't require change and will always find a sizable audience as long as videogames continue to exist. 

The reason why I feel it deserves it over Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, is that the design of the two aforementioned games have been improved upon time and time again. Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World are everything SMB is and much much more. A Link to the Past is obviously everything LoZ is and so much more also. The originals feel like test drives compared to the improved design changes brought along later on in the series. I'm not sure if anyone would want to revert to the design of the original games of those series anymore, but anyone that likes Tetris wouldn't mind reverting back to the original game.

But Tetris has been improved beyond just play control.

  • You can now hold blocks
  • Some modes have items
  • T-spins
  • Ghosting
  • Sliding
  • Multiplayer
  • different game modes (push on DS is genius)

I don't find most of those things to be improvements at all. Some of them have had major criticisms attached claiming they made the game too easy. Also, their appearances are scattered across various games, so if you pulled them all together and minused the flaws Tetris has picked up along the way, like infinite spin, you'd get the definitive version I suppose, however that game does not actually exist. Push is just a different mode. I don't think it's an improvement on the Tetris design, merely a different way to play it. It's cool, as are other modes in Tetris DS, but if I were forced to choose one mode to live with forever, it would be standard Tetris. 

The only one that is a definite improvement is multiplayer, I'll give you that. However, it was introduced in an inferior Tetris game full of exploding bombs and crap.



Tag: Became a freaking mod and a complete douche, coincidentally, at the same time.



ctalkeb on 23 November 2009
twesterm said:

But Tetris has been improved beyond just play control.

  • You can now hold blocks
  • Some modes have items
  • T-spins
  • Ghosting
  • Sliding
  • Multiplayer
  • different game modes (push on DS is genius)

But are those really improvements, or are they like adding machine guns to chess?



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forest-spirit on 23 November 2009

Lack of Xenogears, Parasite Eve, Chrono Cross and Metroid Prime 3 among a dozen of other titles I would easily rank in a Top 200 is disturbing...to me atleast. T_T



Onyxmeth on 23 November 2009
ctalkeb said:
twesterm said:

But Tetris has been improved beyond just play control.

  • You can now hold blocks
  • Some modes have items
  • T-spins
  • Ghosting
  • Sliding
  • Multiplayer
  • different game modes (push on DS is genius)

But are those really improvements, or are they like adding machine guns to chess?

Some of these are just ways to make the game easier. Essentially they're no more of an improvement than a health bar in Contra would be.



Tag: Became a freaking mod and a complete douche, coincidentally, at the same time.



starcraft on 23 November 2009
Wass said:
Metal Gear Solid 4 at 108. Laughable.

Don't hate.  Just because you don't believe the game is good enough to be so high up the all-time list doesn't mean GI has to feel the same way.



starcraft - Playing Games = FUN, Talking about Games = SERIOUS

Ronster316 on 23 November 2009

Shenmue not even in the top 200?

Game informer are offficially ill informed, tut tut tut.



Mummelmann on 23 November 2009

Where are all the classic PC hits from the golden age? Son, I am disappoint.