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GAF Games o' Gen 7 (360/PS3/Wii/DS/PSP and more) Voting Over

AniHawk

Member
KEY RULE: You MUST put a comment for one of the choices in your ballot, or your ballot will not be counted. Ideally you will put a comment for each game, but it is not necessary. But keep in mind that these are not meant to be list threads, but threads for discussion.

this is also a companion to the NeoGAF's Soundtracks of the 7th Generation Voting Thread, so be sure to check that out too!

a special request: please don't make preliminary lists or reserve spots. i do not have parser and i will not comb this thread a second time for updated posts unless they're pointed out to me.

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GAF Games o' Gen 7 (360/PS3/Wii/DS/PSP and more) Voting Thread

oh boy, here we go

  • List up to 10 games, in order from 1 to 10.
  • Your list must have a minimum of three games to be counted.
  • Add your thoughts! As with timetokill's threads, and the updated GOTY threads, I'll be using these in the awards thread. Plus, it's good reading.
  • At least one of the games in your list must have a comment by you, or your entire ballot will be disqualified.
  • You may list Honorable Mentions. These must be indicated by a ”x." in your ballot. You may have as many of these as you want.
  • Non-numbered lists will assume the top vote is first place, then second, etc.
  • Multiple votes for the same title will disqualify your entire ballot.
  • Each user may only vote once, but you may edit your ballot as often as you like until the deadline. If you do make an edit, please PM me with your original list and your changed one.
  • Games must have been first released in your region in this generation for them to count. You may also include imported titles.
  • Ports, compilations, and remakes of games from previous generations may be included. This comes with the stipulation that ports in particular must have an explanation as to why they made your list beyond being a game you liked in a previous generation.
  • Remakes of games from this generation cannot be the basis for a vote either (so no voting for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess if your only experience with it is The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD).

Voting Ends June 17 at 11:59:59 PM, PDT


Sample Ballot
1. Game A ; Your thoughts on Game A.
2. Game B ; Your thoughts on Game B.
3. Game C ; Your thoughts on Game C.
4. Game D ; Your thoughts on Game D.
5. Game E ; Your thoughts on Game E.
6. Game F ; Your thoughts on Game F.
7. Game G ; Your thoughts on Game G.
8. Game H ; Your thoughts on Game H.
9. Game I ; Your thoughts on Game I.
10. Game J ; Your thoughts on Game J.
x. Game K ; Your thoughts on Honorable Mention Game K.
x. Game L ; Your thoughts on Honorable Mention Game L.


Game Selection
Avoid ambiguous abbreviations if you want your votes to count.

  • Cool: Final Fantasy, God of War, Gears of War
  • Not Cool: FF, GOW, GoW


Scoring

1. Game A ; 4 points
2. Game B ; 3 points
3. Game C ; 3 points
4. Game D ; 2 points
5. Game E ; 2 points
6. Game F ; 2 points
7. Game G ; 1 point
8. Game H ; 1 point
9. Game I ; 1 point
10. Game J ; 1 point
x. Game K ; 0 points
x. Game L ; 0 points

Honorable mentions will not receive points, but they will be tracked, assuming you list them appropriately.

What Platforms Count?
Wii
PlayStation 3
Xbox 360
Nintendo DS
PSP
Gizmondo
N-Gage 2.0
GP2X
Mobile 2006-2011
PC 2006-2011
Arcades 2006-2011

What Games Count?
  • Voting for imported titles is allowed. If you list an import game, please mention which country you are from. Otherwise I will assume you didn't read the rules and the vote will not count.
  • If you're unsure about a game or platform, just ask!
  • Asked about games that are allowed: world of warcraft expansions, the orange box, final fantasy xiv a realm reborn
  • Asked about games that are not allowed: world of warcraft

here are a list of notable releases from this generation:
games voted on in this thread so far
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_in_video_gaming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_in_video_gaming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_in_video_gaming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_in_video_gaming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_in_video_gaming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_in_video_gaming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_in_video_gaming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_in_video_gaming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_in_video_gaming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_in_video_gaming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_in_video_gaming
 
1) Fallout: New Vegas, my go-to whenever I wanna dive into a hundred hours or more of solid roleplaying. My favorite RPG and probably my pick for best 3D RPG ever made.
2) Super Mario Galaxy 2, the platformer that took Galaxy's commitment to creativity and surprise and layered on some much-needed challenge.
3) Sid Meier's Civilization V, the game that just kept giving. What a turnaround. I can only hope that Civilization VI matures into as strong a game as its predecessor.
4) Deus Ex: Human Revolution. It's been a long time since I played a game with such a strong atmosphere and commitment to using sci-fi to tell human stories.
5) Wipeout HD, the tightest and most goddamn intense racing game ever made
6) Portal 2, the best co-op game I've ever played, as well as the most addictive single-player campaign of its kind. I must have binged this game in two days.
7) Super Mario Galaxy, the most magical damn platformer ever designed. It's an easy game, but your first playthrough will constantly have you seeing and doing shit you'd never have imagined.
8) Street Fighter IV. God damn did this one get good. I wish all my friends kept playing SFIV instead of moving onto other games, because I could keep playing it forever.
9) God of War 3, the game that blew the lid off of my expectations for cinematic presentation in HD gaming. DOOM 2016 is the only other game I've ever felt so much hype playing.
 
Going to take me awhile to make a list I'm satisfied with. The DS was easily my favorite console last gen (and maybe my favorite console ever). Puzzle games are one of my favorite genres so the DS was incredible for me.
 
So many great games this gen. Though I'm not sure if I'd include games I liked at the time, but have since been upgraded on current gen systems (eg. EDF4, DMC4, Devil Survivor, Radiant Historia). The old versions are kinda obsolete now.
 
1. Super Mario Galaxy - A Transcendental Platforming Experience. It is pure joy embodied.
2. Xenoblade Chronicles - The Best JRPG of the Generation bringing with it one of the most imaginative and awe-inspiring settings in the whole medium in addition to a mature cast of characters brimming with charm and classic Takahashi metaphysical world building.
3. Fallout: New Vegas - The Definitive Role Playing experience of the Generation with some truly awesome quest design and room for replay value and laughter abound.
4. XCOM: Enemy Unknown - The Return of the Classic Strategy game was no slouch and was a truly enthralling experience piecing together, few strategy series bind the macro and micro game as tightly as XCOM.
5. Dark Souls - While Uneven overall, it perhaps features some of the strongest Core mechanics in the generation, building on the concepts in Demon's Souls and crafting some truly excellent level design classics like Undead Burg.
6. Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem - Fire Emblem as a puzzle game at its absolute tightest design, perhaps one of the most tightly designed SRPGs ever made. Like nothing comes close aside for Ranked playthroughs of some other games.
7. Ninja Gaiden 2 - Holy Hell is this one of the coolest Action Game combat systems ever put together, so many cool variables, so many fun weapons, so many awesome animations, so much hellish lol design and the best goddamn Survival mode ever made with its DLC.
8. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey - And indeed what a Strange Journey it was. Such a brutal experience but dammit was it some satisfying stuff.
9. Steins;Gate - One of my Favorite Contemporary Time Travel Stories featuring one of my favorite protagonists of the Generation.
10. Bayonetta - Goddamn what an awesome action game. Some set pieces suck but that core and some really great enemy design and infinite Climax being super ultra tight and tense and it's so joyful to play. This game put Ex-Clover Devs (Platinum) back into the spotlight and that's something we should be all grateful for.

Honorable Mention:

Portal 2 - More Ideas, More Jokes and more modability, perhaps not as well written as the original. Nonetheless, it's still an incredible experience with refreshing core mechanics.
 
1. Valkyria Chronicles ; A refreshing mesh of genres with a beautiful, inspiring take on war and all it entails. A masterpiece.
2. Trails in the Sky ; The spirit of a classic styled rpg lives on through this. It's comforting to know that games like this which focus on immersion and creation rather than conflict and action can still exist. Never have I felt so relaxed and at ease in an rpg world.
3. Catherine ; A fascinating take on many rarely touched upon topics in gaming including marriage, depression and settling into adulthood.
4. The World Ends With You ; A busy, frantic and thoroughly exciting battle system. Also an excellent soundtrack.
5. 999 ; Shocking, thrilling and mysterious. I never considered myself a fan of visual novels until I played this.
6. Xenoblade Chronicles ; A world that was on an unparalleled scale at the time, an excellent cast and a fascinating battle system involving future sight.
7. Super Mario Galaxy ; A welcome return to form for the series.
8. Pokemon Diamond/Pearl ; Online functionality was a real game changer. Allowing me to connect with friends all over the world changed Pokemon forever, for the better.
9. The Last of us ; Emotional, engaging and at times horrifying. I never expected Naughty Dog were capable of such depth and intrigue.
10. Sonic Generations ; A healthy mix of nostalgia and clever ideas which push the series forward.
 
This was the generation where I finally discovered and accepted my tastes in games. I'm pretty curious what my list will end up looking like. Just off the top of my head I already thought of six games I need to put in there. I just know however that reading this thread in 24 hours will get me 10 more must-have games in addition to the ones I already was thinking of.
 
1. Portal ; Just amazing.
2. Portal 2 ; even more amazing but it comes second because of Still Alive.
3. Super Mario Galaxy 2 ; I preferred SMG2 of the first game SMG2 was a rare game that often frustrated me but I was prepared to come back to in order to finish it.
4. Fallout New Vegas ; Was just great. I liked 3 and to a lesser extent 4, nut this was the best by far. Aiming to replay over summer.
5. Halo 3 ; The last great Halo game with Masterchief.
6. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare ; Easily the game I sunk the most time into of this gen. I don't love everything about the game (Killstreaks I think really ruined CoD Multi in some ways), it holds up incredibly well. Remaster sucked me into multi again for longer than IW, TF2 and BF1.
7. Mass Effect 2 ; It's a little too streamlined, insanely polished in some ways, yet janky in others, it has the best story and set up of any ME game. It's probably held up the best of the original trilogy.
8. Uncharted 2 ; for me was really the best game on PS3 by far.
9. Crackdown ; This snuck up on me since at the time, I bought it for the Halo 3 demo and it turned out to be one of the most fun games of 2007 and the game that got me enjoying open world games.
10. Red Faction Guerrilla ; One of the few games that I bought based on word of mouth. Insanely fun to blow shit up.
x. Bioshock ; I love all three Bioshock games but I have to go with the first one since it kicked everything off with such style..
x. Assassin's Creed 2 ; It may feel played out to some, but AC2 was the game that made Ubi's formula sing.

yeah, I left off Last of Us, GTAV, Just Cause 2, Arkham Asylum/City, Twilight Princess, Burnout Paradise, Battlefield Bad Company 1 & 2, CoD 2, CoD Black Ops, Alan Wake, Infamous 2, Far Cry Blood Dragon, etc. All games I loved but you gotta stop a list somewhere. Gen 7 was such a great collection of games.
 

AniHawk

Member
This was the generation where I finally discovered and accepted my tastes in games. I'm pretty curious what my list will end up looking like. Just off the top of my head I already thought of six games I need to put in there. I just know however that reading this thread in 24 hours will get me 10 more must-have games in addition to the ones I already was thinking of.

the same here. i started college right at the beginning of the generation (with the ds/psp), and had found a full-time job at the time it had ended. learned a lot about design and my own tastes in the process.

as for the generation itself, i think it might be second only to the fifth (n64) generation for me in terms of memorable titles. the stretch from 2007 to 2010 in particular was pretty amazing.
 

theaface

Member
1. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves ; A masterclass in cinematic spectacle. Stunning to look at, expertly paced and peppered with unsurpassed set piece design.
2. Demon's Souls ; The poster-child for 'gameplay is king'. I adore how every step, every swing of a weapon felt like it had real consequence.
3. Ghost Trick ; Exquisite animation and fantastic characters make this unique puzzle-oriented adventure almost impossible to fault. There's nothing I don't love about this game.
4. The Last of Us ; One of the extremely rare examples of video game storytelling being on a par (and often surpassing) other media. Mature, believable, gut-wretching, brilliant.
5. Super Mario Galaxy 2 ; One of gaming's finest examples of what 'Nintendo magic' is.
6. Rayman Origins ; 2D platforming perfection. The art style and music is the best I've seen in a 2D platformer and whilst the level design is great when played normally, it really shines when speedrun.
7. Portal 2 ; Phenomenal OST, great writing, clever puzzles which seem to be pitch-perfect in terms of difficulty and an excellent new co-op mode.
8. Dead Space ; My favourite horror game to date and certainly not bettered by its sequels. Great sound design.
9. Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney - Trials & Tribulations ; The best entry in one of my most beloved series.
10. Trauma Center: Under the Knife ; A perfect example of what the DS's dual screens and stylus controls could do. Remarkable tense and challenging in its latter stages.

I could easily change up the order of the top 5 or 6.
 

Coxy100

Banned
1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim ; Simply incredible. I will never forget the first time I played this game - the feeling on the horse cart and then when we were free and able to walk off wherever we wanted. Every single city is etched into my brain. The freedom and quests were amazing. Love this game.
2. Read Dead Redemption ; I never realised how much I loved the wild west until I played this - amazing atmosphere, tight gunplay and just a great fun game.
3. The Last of Us ; The story and gameplay were incredible for me. Joel and Ellie were amazing and out of all the games I've ever played this perhaps touched me the most.
4. Mass Effect 2 ; A massive step up from the first (which was amazing in it's own right) and this made Mass Effect my favourite series of this generation. More action oriented than the original, but 2 was perfection.
5. Grand Theft Auto V ; Wow what a step up from IV. I loved playing as all 3 characters and the amount of stuff you can do is mind boggling.
6. Fallout 3 ; New Vegas was good. But for me Fallout 3 was a touch above. Loved the VATS system and the RPG aspect was just enough for me.
7. Mass Effect ; I love space games. And I love RPGs. As soon as I booted this up and heard the music on the Main Menu - I knew I was in for a special time.
8. Bioshock ; This game has a special place in my heart due to playing it when I was recovering from surgery - lying on my bed (couldn't sit at this point) I was obsessed. The first Big Daddy gave me the chills and I just loved every aspect of the game.
9. Call of Duty 2 ; This is here for the multiplayer. The only multiplayer game of this generation for me. I was one of the best - was rare for me to meet anyone who finished above me in the rankings and I was obsessed with this. My first 360 game.
10. Dragon Age: Origins ; I love fantasy and RPGs so this was right up my street. I loved the companions and using magic.
 

Bishop89

Member
So games which have iterations like street fighter 4, SSF4, USF4 etc.. Do they count as 1 title or are these separate?
 

Sid

Member
The best fucking generation of all time, several franchises hit their peak and a lot of great new IPs were introduced.

1. God of War III - Absolutely my favourite game of all time,the game which came closest to perfection.
2. Infamous
3. Uncharted 2
4. Castlevania : Lords of Shadow
5. Demon's Souls
6. Gears of War
7. Heavy Rain
8. Ratchet and Clank Future : A Crack In Time
9. Killzone 2
10. Alan Wake
 

Ventara

Member
Oh man, 10 games from the entirety of last gen? Only the best of the best is gonna make it. My honourable mentions list is gonna be a mile long.
 
1. World of Wacraft: Burning Crusade (PC) - for better or worse it's the game which defined a generation for me. Fantastic lore and environments; a nuanced and interesting class system and just an incredibly addictive, fun time to play. The franchise was never this good again.

2. LittleBigPlanet (PS3) - a complete revelation for me, even if looking back it was just a simplistic 2D platformer with a level editor. Fantastic fun with friends; beautiful soundtrack; a cutesy story and incredibly addictive to make levels on. No surprised to me that the IP grew as quickly as it did after this.

3. Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time (PS3) - the ultimate culmination of Insomniac's longest-running franchise. To be honest, I wasn't a massive fan prior to this but the game's finely-tuned gameplay; emotional plot and beautiful graphics really won me over,

4. SSX (PS3) - A massively overlooked title that honestly I feel like SSX fans didn't give a proper chance to. Yes, it's worlds apart from the prior games and the deadly descents suck, but underneath that it's still the same fantastic gameplay and beautiful locations the series was known for. I spent literal days doing Global Events chasing high scores - the first online mode in a game like this I've ever enjoyed.

5. Team Fortress 2 (PC) - The best online shooter... ever? I've never been so addicted to a game in this genre. The fantastic blending of classes means the variety is constantly there; the maps are fantastically designed and the constant stream of new content was just brilliant.

6. WipEout HD Fury (PS3) - A slightly disappointing collection of PSP games that nevertheless was the fast-paced fun WipEout has always been known for. Probably the best entry since the PS1 days and achingly gorgeous.

7. Atelier Totori (PS3) - The high point of this franchise and the first RPG I enjoyed on PS3 (and I'd played a lot prior to this). The turn-based combat is fun and the alchemy gives you a reason to keep pushing forward; the emotional story is great and it was fun exploring all the relationships between the characters. A massive step up over Rorona too.

8. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - Just a fantastic 3D platformer that reminded me of the old classics from the PS1 era, except with a fantastic gravity-based twist. I honestly preferred it over the sequel for reasons I can't quite nail down - I found it more accessible and much sweeter thanks to the little character you encounter throughout.

9. Ys: The Oath in Felghana (PSP) - My introduction to the Ys series and what an introduction it was. An action RPG unlike any I've played, the skill-switching; fast-paced; boss-heavy combat is some of the best I've ever played.

10. Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3) - The best entry since the PS1 days for me. After being massively disappointed by XIII, XIII-2 did everything better for me - better characters; better combat; better locations and most of all, a much improved story which I really loved experiencing.
 
You should probably bold this:

a special request: please don't make preliminary lists or reserve spots. i do not have parser and i will not comb this thread a second time for updated posts unless they're pointed out to me.

I'll make a list but I have a lot of Gen 7 on backlog still so it will definitely change for me in the future when I get to them
in 2030
.

Is Twilight Princess actually considered Gen 7?
 
This is way too tough. Luckily for me it's only DS and Wii. This list is in no way accurate in the sense that if I done it tomorrow the results will probably be completely different! Oh well here goes.

1. Pokemon White 2
2. Super Mario Galaxy
3. Super Mario Galaxy 2
4. Pokemon Soul Silver
5. 42 All Time Classics (Clubhouse Games)
6. Picross DS
7. Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow
8. Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney
9. Mario Kart Wii
10. Super Smash Bros. Brawl

6,7 and 8 are very special to me as they each got me into their series. I'd kill to have 5 on the Switch! How could I not put the best Pokemon game ever into #1?
 

AniHawk

Member
You should probably bold this:



I'll make a list but I have a lot of Gen 7 on backlog still so it will definitely change for me in the future when I get to them
in 2030
.

Is Twilight Princess actually considered Gen 7?

twilight princess was on wii, so yes.

i have metal gear solid v: the phantom pain on my honorable mentions list because i played it on ps3.
 

Neifirst

Member
1. Xenoblade Chronicles; right up there with Phantasy Star series, Skies of Arcadia, and Dragon Quest VIII as my favorite JRPGs of all time as it emphasized overworld exploration instead of selecting travel points from a menu, and featured an amazing soundtrack
2. Batman: Arkham Asylum; I much preferred the Metroid Prime-like progression in Asylum to the open world nature of the sequels; very well acted and ridiculously good graphics for the time
3. Fallout 3; I lived near DC for a time, so Fallout 3's setting was instantly interesting to me and VATS combat system was really engaging
4. Burnout Revenge; wasn't sure this should count, but it came out on 360 within a few months of the PS2/Xbox release and it's the only HD Burnout that has the closed tracks and crash mode that I prefer to the open world of Paradise
5. Kirby: Canvas Curse
6. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
7. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
8. Ouendan
9. Trauma Center: Under the Knife
10. Mario Kart DS

For #5-10, they bring back memories of my favorite time during the 7th generation when I imported a Navy Blue Nintendo DS from Japan, along with Ouendan & Daigasso. There were so many new, interesting games to play in entirely different ways on one of the nicest pieces of hardware ever designed.
 

redcrayon

Member
1. Monster Hunter Tri ; The water hunts are widely disliked, but I loved this- I found the arenas beautiful and the sense of taking on a powerful wyvern underwater with only a lance to be one of my favourite memories last gen. my first encounter with Lagiacruz was while doing a standard fetch quest, and we noticed each other at the same time. I ran for shore, got lightning bolted, was terrified again as it leaped out of the water after me, and I shook my fist swearing vengeance. 50 hours later I was skinning it, and 200 hours later still playing the tougher quests with my new online pals.
2. Valkyria Chronicles ; Its sometimes hard for games to step out of the shadow of the bigger titles in a genre, but VC did so with a beautiful painterly art style that matches the fantastical 1940s Europe setting.
3. Etrian Odyssey III ; So many options for party synergies, paired with a mini game of sea exploration that acts as the perfect change of pace between dungeons.
4. Shin Megami Tensai: Strange Journey ; The general sense of weirdness and being isolated matched my sense of curiosity as it was my first SMT game- as the characters were first scared and then learned to defeat and negotiate with demons, so did I. Great game.
5. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim ; My go-to sandbox rpg playground. Sometimes I just want to be a trader, a hunter or a blacksmith, and Skyrim lets me do just that, with some relaxing music and beautiful landscapes.
6. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn ; The depiction of the consequences of the previous games just victory, combined with factions placed into conflict with the best of intentions, brings the characters to life.
7. Xcom: Enemy Unknown ; Mechanically a fantastic skirmish game, but the sense of marshalling your scant resources against severe opposition is something I really enjoy and is a bit of a trend as I look back through this list.
8. Dead Space ; The weaponised mining gear was a fresh change of pace from the usual assault rifle/shotgun/sniper rifle loadout, and helped give a sense of place to the ship and Isaac. Use of the suit to give HUD information was a nice touch.
9. Fallout: New Vegas.
10. Plants vs Zombies

Honourable mentions: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, Mass Effect 2, Binary Domain, Jeanne D'arc, Trails in the Sky, Radiant Historia, Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes
 

Elephant

Neo Member
1. The Last Of Us - This game was the complete package. One of gaming's rare masterpeieces.

2. Red Dead Redemption - One of my favourite moments ever in gaming is riding on your horse to Mexico with "Far Away" by Jose Gonzalez playing over the top of it. Beautiful.

3. The Walking Dead - The first game to make me cry. Say what you want about Telltale, but I've never been so attached to a couple of characters like Lee & Clem.

4. Skyrim - I've still not completed the main story of this game, and I don't care. 100+ hours of being absorbed by the games world.

5. Mass Effect 2 - Took everything from ME1 and improved on it in almost every way.

6. GTA V - Being able to play GTA online with my friends (Despite the awful connection issues) was some of the most fun i've ever had.

7. Arkham City - Building on the excellent Arkham Asylum, City became the best superhero game ever made.

8. Lost Odyssey - Remember that i said that Final fantasy got a bit shit? Lost Odyssey was MY and a lot of other people's true FFXIII. The only time I've been truly captivated by short text stories in my games, with the "thousand years of dreams"

9. Life is Strange - When this was released I thought "Oh good, everyone's doing episodic now". I had every intention of leaving it alone until I saw that the first episode was being offered for free. Amazing game with one of my favourite soundtracks.

10. Saints Row the Third - Just pure fun. Saints Row stopped taking itself seriously and embraced the silliness. But it's the little things like singing along to Sublime in the car, or "I need a hero" kicking in on the last mission that truly won it over for me.

*Uncharted Trilogy
*Alan Wake
*Journey
*Limbo
*Arkham Asylum
*Bravely Default
*Saints Row the Third
*Oblivion
*Dragon Age Origin
 
1. Demon's Souls ; The first Souls game and still the best one. This is the series at its most atmospheric. Everything in this world seems slightly off. The NPCs speak in accents you can't quite place. The songs in the soundtrack are weirdly incomplete, as if the composer forgot to write the parts for a third of the instruments. It all contributes to give the game the feeling of a nightmare. You can't quite keep everything together, and you are probably going insane. Going through levels like 3-1 or 5-2 for the first time will bring you exactly the kind of fear of death your character would feel in those situations. Every boss battle does something interesting with the arena, or brings a new interesting mechanic to the table. Its online features were hugely influential.
2. Dark Souls II ; This game was not quite as fresh and original as Demon's Souls. But it improved the formula in so many ways. It streamlined weapons upgrading, making it a process one could reasonably figure out without a wiki. Its covenants eased players into PVP in a way the earlier games failed to do. Improved dual-wielding and spell mechanics brought great build variety to multi-player. Its DLC brought some of the best level design and bosses in the business
3. Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together ; One of the best stories in games was improved further with an excellent new translation. The battle system and character leveling got huge quality-of-life improvements, complementing the tactically interesting battles with more user friendly systems for the meta-strategic game of developing a balanced and effective squad.
4. Portal 2 ; Introduced lots of interesting new mechanics that allowed the game to feel fresh throughout its long campaign. The script is amazingly funny and the co-op campaign is excellent
5. Portal ; A true classic. GLaDOS is an amazing character and the portal mechanic genius. I do feel that the less structured second half outstays its welcome though. I prefer the more well-defined test chamber puzzles
6. Dark Souls ; This game was a disappointment to me in many ways. I found it to have the worst boss line-up of the series and the last third of the game is overall very forgettable. The online implementation is a complete disgrace compared to the other games in the meta-series. The game was completely broken in terms of balance at launch. Yet, the worst Souls game is still one of the best games of all time. And the game has lots of great moments in its first half.
7. Patapon ; I wish more games had rhythm combat. The sequels kept you playing for longer with their greater focus on upgrading your troops, but the first game remains the most elegantly designed thanks to lacking that skinner box fluff
8. Half-Minute Hero ; The old-school RPG mechanics, where each individual battle is uninteresting, and it's all about the long game of improving your stats enough to have a chance at the bosses, don't have anything to offer anymore. Is what I thought before playing this game. But speed up the game by 3-4 orders of magnitude and turn these traditional mechanics into an arcade puzzle and it turns out that the problem with old-school RPGs is not their mechanics, but the fact that they are way too time consuming. The fun to time ratio is way too low. This game surgically addressed this issue.
9. Valkyria Chronicles ; This game is what convinced me to buy a PS3. The story may be filled with anime clichés, but the art style is beautiful, its potential system gives your squad mates a lot of personality (unabashedly gay lancer Jann was my favourite). You level up classes instead of individual units, which means that the effectiveness of your squad will not be affected by losing characters to perma-death, but the personality of each nominally expendable character makes every casualty hurt. The battle system is simultaneously tactical and user friendly, and a couple of battles brought some really good challenge
10. Final Fantasy XIII ; The story is an incomprehensible mess. The game is entirely too linear. I hate all the characters. But it has the best battle system of the series and lots of challenging optional bosses that allow it to shine. As long as I could turn off my brain for the story, dialogue and characters, I had a great time with the moment-to-moment gameplay.

Honorable mentions (in no particular order):

Spelunky (PC freeware version)
I Wanna be The Guy
VVVVVV
Norrland
Resonance of Fate
Nier
Red Dead Redemption
Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time
Metal Gear Rising
 

Zalman

Member
1. Super Mario Galaxy 2 ; The pinnacle of 3D platforming. The way Mario games introduce gameplay mechanics and build entire levels around them is incredible to me. Everything is so masterfully created and well thought-out. At the same time, it has one of the most memorable soundtracks in all of gaming. While people go back and forth on this, I believe the streamlined structure compared to the first game benefitted the sequel.

2. Super Mario Galaxy ; To be honest, I have a hard time choosing between the first and the second. They're so good I had to include them both. Everything I said about the sequel applies to this one as well. Naturally, the first game was a bigger deal at the time, and it was a huge step up from GameCube's Super Mario Sunshine.

3. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney ; While technically a Game Boy Advance game, the West didn't see this series until the Nintendo DS came around. Ace Attorney has become one of my favorite franchises, and I always look forward to each game. The characters are extremely likeable and the tunes are catchy. When I first played this in the late 2000s, I was hooked immediately, and I still am.

4. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective ; From Ace Attorney mastermind Shu Takumi comes Ghost Trick, one of the most memorable games I've ever played. It combines the excellent storytelling of Ace Attorney with brand new and unique gameplay not really found anywhere else. An incredible hidden gem on the system.

5. The World Ends With You ; This is a game I didn't play until much later, but I gained a lot of appreciation for it immediately. It's a game that fully takes advantage of the Nintendo DS' touch screen. The battle system is unconventional, but it works so well. The story is also captivating in an almost visual novel-like way. Despite not getting as much attention as Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, The World Ends With You is actually my favorite Square Enix game.

6. Xenoblade Chronicles ; Originally called Monado: Beginning of the World, Xenoblade Chronicles was Monolith Soft's first console JRPG since becoming a Nintendo first-party studio. They ended up delivering one of the best JRPGs ever made in a generation where people were starting to lose faith in the genre. The satisfying sense of exploration combined with an excellent soundtrack turned this game into a Wii classic.

7. Pokémon Black/White ; While I don't think there has ever been bad mainline Pokémon games, I felt slightly disappointed by Ruby and Sapphire while Diamond and Pearl was a slight improvement. However, Black and White did some neat things to change up the formula that surprised even a long-time fan like me. I believe this is one of the high points of the entire franchise.

8. Portal 2 ; The first Portal was a unique take on the first-person shooter and implemented clever puzzle elements. However, it wasn't until Portal 2 the concept got fledged out into a full game. I was constantly amazed by the smart level design, and the humor was top-notch as well.

9. Professor Layton and the Unwound Future ; When I played the first Professor Layton game, I thought it was a simple and charming puzzle game. Then I played the sequel, which I liked a little less. However, the third game in the series, Unwound Future (or Lost Future in Europe) blew me away. It was such a big improvement over the previous two, and it told a surprisingly emotional story. This is the game that elevated the entire franchise to greatness in my eyes.

10. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves ; Naughty Dog has always been a special studio in PlayStation history, but it wasn't until Uncharted 2 that they really stated to shine on the PS3. It refined just about everything from its predecessor and set the bar for its genre.
 

Atlas157

Member
1. Dark Souls: Coming from loving Demon's Souls, this game blew me away. Still the best in the Dark Souls series, and best DLC in the series. The days when Giant Dad and Havel Mom dominated everything were the best. (I ran both lol)

2. Mass Effect 2: My favorite in the series. Best missions, best worlds, best gameplay, and best squad mates.

3. Pokemon Platinum: My favorite Pokemon game of them all. I love the music, region, Pokedex, Elite 4/Champion, everything. Best generation and I can't wait for the remakes.

4. Halo 3: I remember back when I was a freshman in High School, I was hyped as fuck for this to come out, and was the hype worth it. No other Halo game beats this one. Best of everything out of every Halo game.

5. Demon's Souls: This game is what triggered my love for the Souls series. Back then I was complete shit at the game, but I loved the formula and I kept coming back to it.

6. Resident Evil 5: My favorite Resident Evil (before VII) and yes I know this game is hated by hardcore Resident Evil fans. But I really, really loved this one. Speed running through this game is so much fun in my opinion, especially with infinite ammo Magnums and Rocket Launcher.

7. Forza Horizon: I've always loved racing games, so it's no surprise that this game is in my top ten from last generation. Unfortunately I became of fan of this series during this generation before I bought an Xbox One, and I was really itching to play a racing game, so I picked this up and it became one of my favorite racers of all time.

8. Gran Turismo 5: This used to be my favorite racing game of last generation until I played Forza Horizon, but they're almost tied. I bought this game along with a Driving Force GT and it was well worth it. I remember tearing through the Nurburgring with a GTR for hours, it was so good and I can't wait for GT Sport.

9. Metal Gear Solid 4: The only game I bought the same day I got my PS3 and my first HDTV. I was blown away by the graphics at the time, and this game was such a goddamn ride. I binged the shit out of this for days until I beat it, and I still have fond memories of my reactions during the ending sequence of the game. So good.

10. Dark Souls II: Yeah, it's my least favorite in the series, but it doesn't stop it from being in my top ten. It may have poor design decisions, and the worst level design and world connectivity in the series, but it's still a damn good game. It did some different things compared to the others in the series, some good, some interesting, and some bad.

x. Red Dead Redemption: Unfortunately just not enough to be in my top ten, but it's still an amazing game. It kinda dragged during the Mexico part of the game in my opinion, but everything else is damn good. The gunplay, the beautiful world, the story, all great.

x. Rock Band 2: Way back when this game came out, I used to have so much fun playing with friends. I would play non stop and I actually got really good at this game, being able to Gold star a lot of songs on Expert drums.

x. Uncharted 2: The best game out of all the Uncharted games in my opinion. Graphics were amazing on PS3 back in the day, the setpieces were mind blowing, and the levels are the best in the series.
 

AniHawk

Member
1. The Last Of Us - This game was the complete package. One of gaming's rare masterpeieces.
2. Persona 4 Golden - When Final Fantasy got a bit shit (All after IX), I was constantly on the lookout for something to fill that gap in my life. P4G was my first Persona game and it blew me away.
3. Red Dead Redemption - One of my favourite moments ever in gaming, is riding on your horse to Mexico with "Far Away" by Jose Gonzalez playing over the top of it. Beautiful.
4. The Walking Dead - The first game to make me cry. Say what you want about Telltale, but I've never been so attached to a couple of characters like Lee & Clem.
5. Skyrim - I've still not completed the main story of this game, and I don't care. 100+ hours of being absorbed by the games world.
6. Mass Effect 2 - Took everything from ME1 and improved on it in almost every way.
7. GTA V - Being able to play GTA online with my friends (Despite the awful connection issues) was some of the most fun i've ever had.
8. Arkham City - Building on the excellent Arkham Asylum, City became the best superhero game ever made.
9. Lost Odyssey - Remember that i said that Final fantasy got a bit shit? Lost Odyssey was MY and a lot of other people's true FFXIII. The only time I've been truly captivated by short text stories in my games, with the "thousand years of dreams"
10. Life is Strange - When this was released I thought "Oh good, everyone's doing episodic now". I had every intention of leaving it alone until I saw that the first episode was being offered for free. Amazing game with one of my favourite soundtracks.

*Uncharted Trilogy
*Alan Wake
*Journey
*Limbo
*Arkham Asylum
*Bravely Default
*Daganronpa
*Saints Row the Third
*Oblivion
*Dragon Age Origins

Remakes of games from this generation cannot be the basis for a vote either (so no voting for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess if your only experience with it is The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD).

persona 4 golden is the basis for your persona 4 vote? then it wouldn't be allowed. i assume that you played danganronpa on psp and life is strange and the original three uncharted games on ps3 too, right?
 

T.O.P

Banned
1. Super Mario Galaxy 2 ; The icon for the seventh generation of gaming, Nintendo keeps blowing my mind still today
2. Forza Horizon ;
3. Super Mario Galaxy ;
4. Portal 2 ;
5. Halo 3 ;
6. Bayonetta ;
7. Alan Wake ;
8. Dark Souls ;
9. Mass Effect 2 ;
10. Blazblue Calamity Trigger ;

To be edited
 

Endo Punk

Member
1. Valkyria Chronicles ; A pleasant and highly addictive experience all round. Fantastic gameplay and characters that really draw you into the the story, still looks amazing due to its water colour art style.

2. Demon Souls ; A game I played right until the end of the gen. Innovative online integration and breathtaking world's and lore, a true trend-setter.

3. Yakuza 4 ; Packed with content, first Yakuza franchise experience and a really memorable one at that. A very enjoyable game which never gets boring.

4. Metal Gear Rising ; I couldn't put this game down, I just couldn't. My fastest platinum in just over a month. I was mesmerised, a game that came just at the right time, twas the rule of nature.

5. Batman Arkham City ; The quintessential batman game as far as I'm concerned, and the city was a character of its own, so much detail it's amazing.

6. Dragons Crown ; The best game to play with friends and the art style is incredibly! So much joy to be had.

7. Guacamalee ; Fantastic day of the dead aesthetic, enough personality in the world and characters that the use of memes and popculture references did not bother me, some were quite funny.

8. Outrun Online Arcade ; Amazing controls and music, it's outrun what more can I say, as good as ever.

9. The Last of us ; The best cinematic action game of last gen. A fantastic achievement with great and human characters.

10. LA Noire ; I felt like I was living in 47 LA. The game was utterly absorbing and a refreshing experience. Just driving around listening to music was a pleasant feel.
 
1. Mass Effect 1; Became a Bioware fan after playing KoToR and this was the kind of game I wanted them to make since. At least 6 play-throughs.

2. Gears of War; Was holding off buying a 360 until Halo 3 released, but as soon as I saw this game I crumbled.

3. Halo 3; Damn near perfect end to the original trilogy.

4. Grand Theft Auto IV; Was kind of disappointed when it was revealed to be set in LC, but I needn't have worried, cruising around LC with the awesome music will never get old.

5. Red Dead Redemption; Not really big on Westerns, Cowboys, etc. this game got me though, despite the boring Mexico segment.

6. Alan Wake; Loved the setting and Alan remains one of my favourite MC's, due to his character flaws. Plus Barry.

7. Ninja Gaiden 2; Still my favourite game in this genre, makes you feel like a badass when you've mastered the controls.

8. CoD Modern Warfare; SP campaign really had some of the best Hollywood moments in gaming.

9. Fable 2; The humour, music and graphics style were great.

10. Forza Horizon; Brought the freshness the driving genre needed.

x.Crackdown; I was one of the few who bought this on its own merits, rather than the H3 beta.

x. State of Decay; Just the kind of Zombie game I wanted

x The Last of Us; Took its time to get going, but when it did...

x GTA V; Improved upon IV in almost every way, other than driving physics, but as a fan of IV´s direction, not as big a leap I wanted in terms of gameplay.

x Mass Effect 2; Superb intro, Omega, Suicide mission, Legion, LoTSB DLC and less jank, but they cut the Mako, introduced scanning and The Collectors were shit.

x Journey; I didn't "get it" during the first hour and left it for a few years, forced myself to go back to it and glad I did. Very unigue experience.
 

Playsage

Member
Do I have to specify for which platform is a game I nominate or does it count towards all the eligible versions?
Tekken Dark Ressurection can be Arcade (US launch is listed as 2006), PSP and PS3 and all versions differ in terms of content
 

AniHawk

Member
Do I have to specify for which platform is a game I nominate or does it count towards all the eligible versions?
Tekken Dark Ressurection can be Arcade (US launch is listed as 2006), PSP and PS3 and all versions differ in terms of content

i'm grouping stuff like that under one multiplatform banner.
 

Elephant

Neo Member
persona 4 golden is the basis for your persona 4 vote? then it wouldn't be allowed. i assume that you played danganronpa on psp and life is strange and the original three uncharted games on ps3 too, right?

Sorry, I assumed Vita was included on the list, my bad!

Yes I played Uncharted on PS3. Life is Strange on 360.
 
1. Mass Effect (360) ; Never before had a game created such a rich universe. Mass Effect is a flawed game with a lot of technical issues, but it's ambition more than makes up for it. I've played it god knows how many times, and I still play it thanks to backwards compatibility on Xbox One.

2. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) ; I remember being blown away when I first saw this game. The release didn't disappoint.

3. Halo 3 (360) ; The complete package. My favourite FPS campaign and some of the most fun I have had online in multiplayer and Co-Op.

4. Fallout New Vegas (PC) ; The ultimate RPG.

5. Gears of War (360) ; This game practically defined the generation.

6. GTA IV (360) ; Yes, IV not V. This was the first time an open world felt like a living place. I loved the story and characters in it.

7. Red Dead Redemption (360) ;

8. Donkey Kong Country Returns (360) ;

9. Dark Souls (360) ;

10. Rock Band 3 (360) ;

X. Uncharted 2 ;
X. Alan Wake ;
X. Crackdown ;
X. Kameo: Elements of Power ;
X. Viva Pinata TiP ;
X. The Sims 3 ;
X. New Super Mario Bros. ;
X. Wii Sports Resort ;
X. The Witcher 2 ;

There's probably a lot more that I'm forgetting.
As a side note, I'm currently playing through The Last of Us right now and I'm really enjoying it.
 

Lumine

Member
I might edit this later, if that's OK. I probably forgot a game or two.

1. Dark Souls ; It's hard to choose between this and Demon's Souls actually, but I'm currently giving Dark Souls the nudge. Perhaps it's the addition of an interconnected world; I've always been a Zelda and Metroidvania fan after all. The Souls games managed to hit so many right notes for me. The excitement and horror of slowly pacing myself through a new area. The many towering and diffcult bosses. The dark, opressive atmosphere. Trying to master its many systems. A completely new method of online multiplayer. And so much more. I loved (almost) all of it.
2. The Last of Us ; I wasn't that big on the Uncharted series in all honestly. They had great presentation, but the story was just too silly and there was too much focus on just shooting with little else to mix it up with. However TLoU's move to a stealth horror game with slightly more open ended levels made the game an absolute thrill to play. Extremely well paced between action sequences, stealth, exploration and story bits. In fact it was perhaps the story that surprised me the most. Game managed to grab me from beginning until the end. The ending was perhaps a little anti-climatic at first, but I think it fit well in hindsight. Great soundtrack too.
3. Civilization 5 ; It took perhaps two expansions to match CIV4 in terms of content, but I loved the move to hexagons and no more stacking of units right away. The new interface (at the time) was great too. Spent many hours on this one and will undoubtedly return for more in the future. Too bad they never managed to improve the AI/diplomacy though.
4. Portal 2 ; An excellent sequel. Great puzzles, great atmosphere and highly entertaining dialogue (monologue?) from the main characters Wheatley and GLADOS. However it's the co-op mode that really surprised me. It was actually even better than the main game. Excellent puzzles and probably the best co-op game I've played 'till this day.
5. Wipeout HD; At the time I would not have thought that this $15 arcade racer would end up being my favourite racing game of the generation and a top 10 game at that. It looked gorgeous and actually ran at 1080p at 60fps. Came with quite a bit of content for such a cheap game and the Fury expansion literally doubled it. I'm almost contemplating finally buying a PS4 for the version of this game (and Bloodborne.)
6. XCOM ; Finally! I always thought this genre had plenty more potential and I'm very happy Firaxis gave it a shot as it turned out pretty good too.
7. Bioshock ; Loved traversing through the ruins of Rapture (and Columbia.) Despite some flaws and the games not completely living up to their potential I still very much enjoyed my time with them.
8. Super Mario Galaxy ; I suppose there wasn't much competition when it comes to platformers, but that shouldn't detract from how good Mario Galaxy is. Highly entertaining and innovative.
9. Darksiders 2 ; Yes it did some things worse than the first game. It also had some pacing issues. It gave a false sense about its actual size (though it was still very big). Had one notoriously bad area. And just too much loot for its own good. Everything else though was absolutely great.
10. Dishonored ; It took perhaps a level or two to get really into this and appreciate how great it is. Great atmosphere, excellent controls and abilities and just an absolute blast to play once you master them.
------
11. The Walking Dead ;
I miss Lee. :(
12. Deus Ex Human Revolution ; Not quite as groundbreaking as the first Deus Ex. In fact it's in some ways a step back. I still loved my time with it though. Great stuff.
13. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess ; I actually played the Gamecube version so I'm not sure if it counts so I put it here.
14. Grand Theft Auto 5 ; Same as above except I played the (next-gen) PC version of this.
15. Witcher 2

EDIT: VOTE WITHDRAWN
 

MTC100

Banned
Are Addons allowed? I'd like to add the best expansion in game history(besides Witcher 3 Blood and Wine), World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King to the list.

Edit: I see, someone already posted Burning Crusade(for whatever reason) so I guess it's fine ^^
 

Crayolan

Member
Sorry, but I have laid it out correctly and added a comment to one, so it should qualify? I can delete & re-post later if you would prefer?

a special request: please don't make preliminary lists or reserve spots. i do not have parser and i will not comb this thread a second time for updated posts unless they're pointed out to me.

Third line in the OP.
 

bennibop

Member
1. Uncharted 2: - Loved it, like playing a film
2. Portal 2 - cleverest puzzles ever and fantastic humour.
3. Dark Souls - Now my favourite series of games of all time
4. Halo 3 - Spent so much time ranking up in mp and campaign was excellent. Peak of the series
5. Wipeout HD /Fury - became obsessed with beating Zico
6. The Last of Us - The ending and atmosphere just made the game
7. LittleBigPlanet - Just amazing given the right tools what members of public could create.
8. Metal Gear IV - best in the series imo.
9. COD 4 - Best in the series and took mp gaming to a new high.
10. Wii Sports - introduce a new audience to gaming
x. Mario Galaxy - was a great game but never surpassed older games in the series
x. Zelda Skyward Sword - great but no OoT
 

*Splinter

Member
1. Motorstorm
I'm not usually a big fan of racing games, but this is a surprisingly easy first choice for me. The track design, the vehicle variety, the soundtrack, everything about this game was perfect, and if only it had split screen I would say it couldn't be improved. It was also the first game I played on PS3. I vividly remember PS3 launch day, picking up my PS3 in the morning before college, taking it home for a quick go, firing up Motorstorm for the first time and being completely blown away.

2. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
I don't think I could justify not including this given how much time I sunk into it (>1000 hours). This is the game that introduced me to competitive gaming, and is in my opinion still the best CoD by a wide margin.

3. Guitar Hero: World Tour
I think this is the one that introduced the full band? I put a lot of time into guitar hero, and loved every installment. This series was extremely influential on my musical tastes.

4. Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket Powered Battle Cars
I can't believe I almost forgot to include this! THE BEST split screen multiplayer game. This version also had better single player content than Rocket League.

5. Mirror's Edge
Great combination of platformer racing and AAA visuals. The more abstract DLC was also good.

6. Heavy Rain
I finished this in one sitting and immediately wanted to watch someone else do the same. Never could convince anyone to play it though ><

7. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
I don't remember it as well as the other entries on this list but my gut tells me it deserves to be included.

I don't want to go any further than that, there were so many great games that gen that it becomes fairly arbitrary which ones I pick next.

Honourable mentions:

X. The Last of Us
Probably deserves to be top 5 at least, but I only played it on PS4 so I think it's disqualified.

X. Locoroco
Debated including this, but I think it's got an unfair advantage since I'm playing the remaster right now. Fantastic game anyway, this and Patapon were my portable favourites.

X. Little Big Planet
Underrated as a platformer, the creation tools were also impressive.


The "I can't believe this was PS2?!" category:
Resi 4, GTA San Andreas, Katamari Damarcy ¯\_(&#12484;)_/¯
 

MTC100

Banned
This was pretty hard as the NDS also had some of the best games I've played.


  1. Valkyria Chronicles, one of the best games I've ever played
  2. Resonance of Fate, I really adored it, great and unique combat system and interesting story
  3. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor, the best RPG on the NDS.
  4. Meteos, the best, most creative puzzle game I've ever played.
  5. Advance Wars: Dual Strike, too bad they no longer make Advance Wars games :(
  6. Heavy Rain, the best game of its kind that I've ever played.
  7. Trauma Center: Under the Knife, such unique gameplay and such a great game
  8. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, Ice Crown Citadell was the best raid ever
  9. 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, such a thrilling experience
  10. The World ends with You, fun, creative and different, it was a blast and the conclusion quite interesting


Other games that didn't make it into the top 10 but would deserve it, especially the first four that I mention:
The Last of Us,
Alan Wake,
Mass Effect 2,
BioShock,
Mario&Luigi Bowsers Inside Story,
Xenoblade Chronicles,
Zelda: Twilight Princess,
Mario Galaxy,
Red Dead Redemption,
The Witcher 2,
Telltales The Walking Dead,
Beyond Two Souls,
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney,
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow,
Catherine,
Persona 5(I played it on the PS3 but it feels wrong to include it in the top 10, if I were it would be ranked in around the top 3 I guess)
 
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