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[QFNS]

There is a lot on here that I think makes sense in light of their criteria. Excluding some of the all time classics (SMB1, Half-Life, MGS) makes sense with the "holds up today" criteria.

I really disagree with their choice of some of the sequels though. Civ IV now feels completely inferior to me when compared to Civ V. If you included all the expansions to both games, V just feels better.

I am also disappointed in the lack of CRPG(s) on the list, as I feel that games like BGII or Planscape: Torment do hold up today. Especially when you consider that the writing in them is so much better than most modern games. The gameplay systems are obtuse, of course, but so are the systems in the Souls games which means that the systems being hard to understand isn't a disbarring factor. Perhaps there just wasn't anyone on the Edge team who were into those games at the time (or since). A bit of a shame since Pillars of Eternity and Shadowrun have been creating a nice little renaissance for these kinds of games.

It also looks like a lot of the much older games have been given short shrift. Games that still play fantastically today are cut in favor of newer versions. Does Pac Man:CE really play "better" than Pac Man the original arcade game (or better than CE DX)? I don't know how to compare those two they are fundamentally different things. It really seems like the default opinion was to take old franchises and find the most popular recent adaptation of them, rather than actually compare anything to the original. Especially in the case of things like, Asteroids or Missile Command. Both of which are excellently playing arcade games and IMO haven't been done well in "home" versions. They happen to be historically significant, but the gameplay in them is more interesting (trackballs are novel when you've never used one before) than another FPS shooter.

 

[Walter Matthau]

Glad that Tetris is high on the list. Always oddly overlooked when nearly everyone has been hooked on one iteration at some point or another. People seem to take it for granted.

 

[Nose Master]

Arguing about the validity of top ___ lists is absurd, but this is a particularly strange one. I can't decide whether zero thought went into this list or way too much. I like the idea that they try to separate their historical significance and ranked them purely on today's standards, though.

I'm not sure why they bothered to include the line about direct sequels. You can include five Mario and five Zelda games because they didn't explicitly name them Mario/Zelda 5? Okay.

 

[GrotesqueBeauty]

I went ahead and bolded only games released during this (only partial) generation and last generation to satisfy my own curiosity. And of those bolded a vast majority are just in the past 5 years. I don't feel any hesitation calling this a horribly ahistorical look at gaming's greatest achievements. Embarrassing.

100 - WarioWare Inc - GBA
99 - Spec Ops: The Line
98 - Papers, Please
97 - DriveClub
96 - Braid
95 - Super Hexagon
94 - Her Story
93 - Super Monkey Ball
92 - Final Fantasy XII
91 - Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
90 - Katamari Damacy
89 - Animal Crossing: New Leaf
88 - Resogun
87 - Puzzle Bobble
86 - F-Zero GX
85 - The Sims 3
84 - R-Type Final
83 - Elite: Dangerous
82 - Bomberman
81 - Starcraft II
80 - Pac-Man Championship Edition
79 - BioShock
78 - CoD 4: Modern Warfare
77 - Puzzle & Dragons
76 - Tearaway
75 - League of Legends
74 - Super Meat Boy
73 - Xenoblade Chronicles
72 - Titanfall
71 - Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast
70 - Left 4 Dead 2
69 - Counter-Strike Global Offensive
68 - Civilization IV
67 - Rez
66 - Battlefield 4
65 - Metroid Prime
64 - Hearthstone
63 - Castlevania SotN
62 - Limbo
61 - Towerfall: Ascension
60 - Earthbound
59 - Batman: Arkham Knight
58 - Transistor
57 - Puyo Puyo
56 - FTL Advanced Edition
55 - Persona 4 Golden
54 - Mass Effect 2
53 - Okami
52 - The Stanley Parable
51 - XCOM: Enemy Unknown
50 - Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
49 - The Witcher III
48 - Far Cry 4
47 - LittleBigPlanet 3
46 - Trials Fusion
45 - Nidhogg
44 - Fez
43 - Super Mario 3D World
42 - Journey
41 - Fire Emblem: Awakening
40 - Dead Space
39 - Dota 2
38 - Vanquish
37 - Super Mario Maker
36 - Shadow of the Colossus
35 - Halo 3
34 - Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
33 - Spelunky HD
32 - Destiny
31 - Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
30 - Kerbal Space Program
29 - Dishonored
28 - Splatoon
27 - Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
26 - Rock Band 3
25 - Skyrim
24 - Drop7
23 - Uncharted 2
22 - Ico
21 - Super Metroid
20 - Demon's Souls
19 - Advance Wars
18 - Mario Kart 8
17 - Ultra Street Fighter IV
16 - MGS V: The Phantom Pain
15 - Super Mario World
14 - Red Dead Redemption
13 - Super Mario 64
12 - Portal
11 - Bayonetta 2
10 - Minecraft
9 - Resident Evil 4
8 - Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
7 - Super Mario Galaxy 2
6 - Tetris
5 - Half-Life 2
4 - Bloodborne
3 - The Last of Us
2 - GTA V
1 - Dark Souls
.

 

[Gozert]

I went ahead and bolded only games released during this (only partial) generation and last generation to satisfy my own curiosity. And of those bolded a vast majority are just in the past 5 years. I don't feel any hesitation calling this a horribly ahistorical look at gaming's greatest achievements. Embarrassing.

Well they never pretended it was going to be a historical look at gaming's greatest achievements.

In compiling the list, we worked to simple criteria: all formats – console, PC, portable, coin-op, touchscreen – were eligible; we could include only a single entry from any series that features straight-up sequels; and each game had to stand up today rather than making the cut for reasons of nostalgia or historic significance. The result is a collection of modern classics that must not be missed.

But with these criteria, the list has some baffling choices and omissions.

 

[krYlon]

I am also disappointed in the lack of CRPG(s) on the list, as I feel that games like BGII or Planscape: Torment do hold up today. Especially when you consider that the writing in them is so much better than most modern games. The gameplay systems are obtuse, of course, but so are the systems in the Souls games which means that the systems being hard to understand isn't a disbarring factor. Perhaps there just wasn't anyone on the Edge team who were into those games at the time (or since). A bit of a shame since Pillars of Eternity and Shadowrun have been creating a nice little renaissance for these kinds of games.

CRPGs haven't scored great on Edge:

Dragon Age - 5/10
Mass Effect - 7/10
Jade Empire - 7/10
KotOR - 9/10
Neverwinter Nights - 9/10
Baldur's Gate 2 - 8/10
Fallout 3 - 7/10
Oblivion - 8/10
Morrowind - 6/10
Fallout - 7/10
The Witcher - 5/10
Arcanum - 5/10
Temple of Elemental Evil - 4/10
Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines - 6/10
KotOR 2 - 7/10
Neverwinter Nights 2 - 8/10
Diablo - 7/10
Diablo 2 - 6/10

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost...&postcount=148

Some others:

Fallout 3 - 7/10
Fallout: New Vegas - 6/10
Witcher 2 - 6/10
Mass Effect 2 - 9/10
Mass Effect 3 - 8/10
Pillars of Eternity - 8/10
Divinity - 8/10
Wasteland 2 - 7/10

So they were never going to stand a chance here unless they were more recent multi-platform releases

 

[Dennis]

CRPGs haven't scored great on Edge:

Dragon Age - 5/10
Mass Effect - 7/10
Baldur's Gate 2 - 8/10
Fallout 3 - 7/10
Morrowind - 6/10
Fallout - 7/10
The Witcher - 5/10
Arcanum - 5/10
Temple of Elemental Evil - 4/10
Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines - 6/10

 

[Gozert]

CRPGs haven't scored great on Edge:

Dragon Age - 5/10
Mass Effect - 7/10
Jade Empire - 7/10
KotOR - 9/10
Neverwinter Nights - 9/10
Baldur's Gate 2 - 8/10
Fallout 3 - 7/10
Oblivion - 8/10
Morrowind - 6/10
Fallout - 7/10
The Witcher - 5/10
Arcanum - 5/10
Temple of Elemental Evil - 4/10
Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines - 6/10
KotOR 2 - 7/10
Neverwinter Nights 2 - 8/10
Diablo - 7/10
Diablo 2 - 6/10

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost...&postcount=148

More recently:

Pillars of Eternity - 8/10
Divinity - 8/10
Wasteland 2 - 7/10

So they were never going to stand a chance here unless they were more recent multi-platform releases

Planescape: Torment was included in their 2009 version of this list (Top 100 Games to Play Today), though. I think Fallout 3 and Oblivion also made that list.

 

[zackmorris]

Driveclub? Top 100 of all time??

 

[KaoteK]

No Elite? In fact nothing from the halcyon years of UK gaming? Very odd given Edge is UK based, moreso when you have by the numbers guff like Far Cry4 on that list.

 

[The_Lump]

HL2, Galaxy 2 and OoT still top my poll. I'm taking into account "inflation"; ie what the game meant, what it changed, what it achieved and how it played in its day.

 

[royox]

CRPGs haven't scored great on Edge:

Dragon Age - 5/10
Mass Effect - 7/10
Fallout 3 - 7/10
Morrowind - 6/10
KotOR 2 - 7/10
Diablo 2 - 6/10

 

[TAFK]

I don't know if I'm alone in this but I think it is ridiculous to imagine a game that came out 1 month ago can be the 16th best game of all time. I feel like lists like these should have a limit that the game needs to be out a year so we don't put so many newer games on there just due to hype.

 

[Odrion]

Battlefield 4 at #66.

 

[Krappadizzle]

I'm not sure if the publication itself specifies this, but if I recall correctly Edge's Facebook and Twitter posts about this issue state it's specifically a modern classics issue.

EDIT: The cover of the issue states "The Ultimate Collection of Modern Classics".

Thanks for this. I was wondering why the lack of 8/16-Bit era as there are some amazing classics in that library.

 

[OEM]

Hollyshit this list, hilarious.

 

[Rain City Gamer]

Rocket League should be on this list.

 

[The Xtortionist]

Resident Evil 4 is about 8 spots too low imo.

 

[~Kinggi~]

This is a fairly terrible list i must say. But i guess that is the point. If everyone agreed, no clicks to be had. And yeah, opinions and stuff ftw i guess. But really there are some glaring omissions.

 

[tuxfool]

Top ten games missing from this list:

10. GoldenEye 007
9. Batman: Arkham City
8. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
7. Half-Life
6. Halo: Combat Evolved
5. Perfect Dark
4. Super Mario Galaxy
3. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
2. SoulCalibur
1. GTA IV

Some of those have sequels in the list. They stated that they're only including one exemplar from a particular series. They had no problem breaking that rule for Souls games.

 

[Gozert]

Or Zelda and Mario.

 

[CaviarMeths]

List seems wildly skewed towards games of the last 5 years.

Far Cry 4 makes the top 50 of all-time, suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure.

Sure, but even in a top 100 where 95 of the games were released in the last year alone, Chrono Trigger should still be on that list.

 

[antitrop]

Sure, but even in a top 100 where 95 of the games were released in the last year alone, Chrono Trigger should still be on that list.

You don't need to tell me, it's my personal #2.

 

[Yarbskoo]

Some of those have sequels in the list. They stated that they're only including one exemplar from a particular series. They had no problem breaking that rule for Souls games.

Sure. I'm just not sure I agree with the sequels they picked.

It's kind of a dumb criterion anyway.

 

[Game4life]

TLOU and GTA5 before HL2

Wtf is wrong with gaming press

TLOU is much better than HL2. GTA5 should not be in the list though - Poor controls.

 

[Lion Heart]

Driveclub? Top 100 of all time??

Yeah man, of allllll timmmmee... (read the op).

 

[neurosisxeno]

TLOU is much better than HL2.

HL2 pretty much started the ball rolling for games like TLOU. If it weren't for HL2 odds are modern shooters would be quite a bit different.

 

[Game4life]

HL2 pretty much started the ball rolling for games like TLOU. If it weren't for HL2 odds are modern shooters would be quite a bit different.

That does not mean it is a better game though.

 

[Fasty]

No Elite? In fact nothing from the halcyon years of UK gaming? Very odd given Edge is UK based, moreso when you have by the numbers guff like Far Cry4 on that list.

Elite: Dangerous is on there

 

[MidnightCowboy]

Odd list. I agree with some stuff, but all in all it's fucking strange.

 

[Sojgat]

5 - Half-Life 2
4 - Bloodborne
3 - The Last of Us
2 - GTA V
1 - Dark Souls

 

[orthodoxy1095]

In fairness to Edge, I've been sitting here throughout the day trying to imagine my own Top 100, and I'm still only on like 52.

 

[neurosisxeno]

I just realized there isn't a single Warcraft game on that list. God help us.

 

[Jotamide]

As opposed to the MGS,Zelda,Mario,Final Fantasy,GTA circle jerks?

People like good games , and good games make it to the top of these lists often.

Those series have been around for decades and deserve top marks rightfully so. Two Souls games being in the top 5 is complete overkill. The franchises you just mentioned could have their best game be part of the top 5 of any "best games ever" list and no one would bat an eye. Stuff like GTA III / MGS / ALttP / SMW / FF VII was revolutionary for the entire industry.

I adore Demon's Souls and like Dark Souls, but cannot agree on any game not called "Minecraft" being called significant or best of all time that was released in the past 5 years.

 

[Lion Heart]

This is very similar to this thread from GAF. Lots of the same choices, no outrage.

 

[Richard the Lionheart]

CRPGs haven't scored great on Edge:

Dragon Age - 5/10
Mass Effect - 7/10
Jade Empire - 7/10
KotOR - 9/10
Neverwinter Nights - 9/10
Baldur's Gate 2 - 8/10
Fallout 3 - 7/10
Oblivion - 8/10
Morrowind - 6/10
Fallout - 7/10
The Witcher - 5/10
Arcanum - 5/10
Temple of Elemental Evil - 4/10
Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines - 6/10
KotOR 2 - 7/10
Neverwinter Nights 2 - 8/10
Diablo - 7/10
Diablo 2 - 6/10

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost...&postcount=148

Some others:

Fallout 3 - 7/10
Fallout: New Vegas - 6/10
Witcher 2 - 6/10
Mass Effect 2 - 9/10
Mass Effect 3 - 8/10
Pillars of Eternity - 8/10
Divinity - 8/10
Wasteland 2 - 7/10

So they were never going to stand a chance here unless they were more recent multi-platform releases

Lol, that's an immediate red flag for this list. And if KOTOR got a 9, why wasn't that on the list? It's been the greatest Star Wars game to date.

Also, no Halo 2 but include Destiny? Wtf?

 

[orthodoxy1095]

Still working on a list and the more I look at it the more I realize that we should just be honest with ourselves. These lists aren't about the "Top 100" but about "My Favorite 100."

 

[Vital Tundra]

I will never understand how someone goes about listing a top 100. I have trouble making a top 10.

 

[Gozert]

Still working on a list and the more I look at it the more I realize that we should just be honest with ourselves. These lists aren't about the "Top 100" but about "My Favorite 100."

And there is nothing wrong with that. Just keep it in mind.

 

[Scientist Supreme!]

Still working on a list and the more I look at it the more I realize that we should just be honest with ourselves. These lists aren't about the "Top 100" but about "My Favorite 100."

What else could they be about? That's why I'm so confused by the reaction in these threads.

 

[Yarbskoo]

Still working on a list and the more I look at it the more I realize that we should just be honest with ourselves. These lists aren't about the "Top 100" but about "My Favorite 100."

That's because quality is subjective. As long as there is no scientific basis to build the list on, it will always be based on opinion, which means there will no doubt be someone who will disagree.

 

[ForsakenLotus]

On one hand, I understand that it's basically impossible to make a top 100 list that almost everyone agrees with. That being said, I don't think this list is very good at all. For one, there are way to many smaller, niche games on the list (and I loooove me small smaller niche games). Secondly, there seems to be way too much focus on newer games - are games like Splatoon and Mario Kart 8 really among the best 50 games of all time? And they have one Final Fantasy game, XII (which I love).

I mean, I'm sure plenty of GAFers would have issue with my top 100, but I feel I could do a much better job than this.

 

[Robert at Zeboyd Games]

I am also disappointed in the lack of CRPG(s) on the list, as I feel that games like BGII or Planscape: Torment do hold up today. Especially when you consider that the writing in them is so much better than most modern games. The gameplay systems are obtuse, of course, but so are the systems in the Souls games which means that the systems being hard to understand isn't a disbarring factor. Perhaps there just wasn't anyone on the Edge team who were into those games at the time (or since). A bit of a shame since Pillars of Eternity and Shadowrun have been creating a nice little renaissance for these kinds of games.

Something like Planescape: Torment is very niche. In order to like it these days, you need to...

1) Like text-heavy games.
2) Enjoy fantasy stories in atypical fantasy settings.
3) Like digital games based on old-school D&D rulesets.
4) Be okay with 90's UI, controls, and graphics.

That's a pretty specific list of criteria to meet. Not only that, but half the criteria are much more likely to be true if you played the game back when it was new.

What else could they be about? That's why I'm so confused by the reaction in these threads.

Yeah, it's pretty amusing. Lots of people thinking this list is horrible, but any list is going to get complaints. I don't think you could get any two people on this forum to agree on a Top 100 Video Games list.

 

[billy beane]

Top 5 is all kinds of fuckery, and I love most of the games in it.

 

[Love Deterrence]

The Phantom Pain isn't even the best Metal Gear Solid V game.

 

[The Strokes]

Oh boy. I hope the author of that list was born on at least 2001, otherwise, I wouldn't comprehend his thoughts when making that list. Dark Souls #1, Bloodborne, TLoU and GTA V on the top 5, how cute.

 

[yami4ct]

A lot of recency bias going on, but Persona 4 almost making the top half and PAD even being on the list makes me real happy.

 

[Booker.DeWitt]

Horrible list, lol

 

[j_k_redtail]

You have The Sims 3, but no SimCity 2000?

 

[ForsakenLotus]

Something like Planescape: Torment is very niche. In order to like it these days, you need to...

1) Like text-heavy games.
2) Enjoy fantasy stories in atypical fantasy settings.
3) Like digital games based on old-school D&D rulesets.
4) Be okay with 90's UI, controls, and graphics.

That's a pretty specific list of criteria to meet. Not only that, but half the criteria are much more likely to be true if you played the game back when it was new.



Yeah, it's pretty amusing. Lots of people thinking this list is horrible, but any list is going to get complaints. I don't think you could get any two people on this forum to agree on a Top 100 Video Games list.

Two things: One, many games that were considered fantastic upon release (or still are) haven't aged particularly well, especially compared to modern games. While it's fine to judge a game based off of how it compares to modern games, I don't think it's fair because then most historically great and important games would either not be on a list or would be pretty far down. If somebody wants to make a list with that mindset, it's their prerogative though.

As for the list, you are right in that no list will get universal praise. What differentiates a good list and a bad one is how many issues people have with it and how much importance they place on it. If people were complaining about the same 4 or 5 games, or were saying there are only a few games they missed or disagree with, that's pretty great. But with this list, it's like people are complaining about 80% of it. Not to mention it is supposedly a "modern" list but has Tetris on it (just as an example of the quality of the list).