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[Patrick Young]

A few years ago I decided to make a Top 100 list of everything I've played. Every now and again I update it. A thing I'm torn on is putting newer games on this list; sometimes right near the top and it's happening more often.

I looking at my list now and I feel like I should second-guess my opinions, but I don't really have a reason to.

Now obviously opinions are subjective, but c'mon. Tell me why I'm wrong, because I think I'm wrong but can't prove it.

For the record, here's my list as of today. I have a feeling I'll be changing it after reading this thread.

1 Super Mario Galaxy 2
2 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
3 Super Mario 64
4 Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
5 The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
6 Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
7 GoldenEye 007
8 Tetris
9 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
10 Super Mario Bros.
11 Super Smash Bros. Melee
12 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
13 Batman: Arkham Asylum
14 Grand Theft Auto IV
15 Pokémon Red
16 Super Mario World
17 Tony Hawk's Skateboarding
18 Grand Theft Auto III
19 Half-Life 2
20 Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
21 Gears Of War 3
22 Mario Kart 64
23 Fallout 3
24 Heavy Rain
25 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
26 BioShock
27 Super Mario Kart
28 Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
29 Super Mario Galaxy
30 Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition
31 Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
32 Grand Theft Auto V
33 Team Fortress 2
34 Gears Of War
35 Conker's Bad Fur Day
36 Pokémon Snap
37 Mass Effect 3
38 Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock
39 Half-Life 2: Episode Two
40 The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess
41 Banjo-Kazooie
42 Forza Horizon 3
43 Tetrisphere
44 Half-Life 2: Episode One
45 Assassin's Creed II
46 The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker
47 Star Fox 64
48 Rock Band 2
49 WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role
50 The Sims 2
51 Burnout Paradise
52 Super Smash Bros. For Wii U
53 Call of Duty 2
54 Mass Effect 2
55 Super Mario 3D World
56 Battlefield: Bad Company
57 Borderlands
58 Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City
59 Minecraft
60 Turok 2: Seeds Of Evil
61 New Super Mario Bros. Wii
62 Portal 2
63 Rock Band
64 Gran Turismo
65 Portal
66 Super Smash Bros.
67 Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
68 Half-Life: Counter-Strike
69 Diddy Kong Racing
70 Braid
71 Halo 3
72 WWF SmackDown!
73 Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist
74 Super Smash Bros. Brawl
75 Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit
76 Far Cry 3
77 Final Fantasy X
78 Battlefield 1943
79 Forza Horizon
80 Super Paper Mario
81 Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction
82 Forza Horizon 2
83 Donkey Kong Country
84 WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth
85 Alan Wake
86 Journey
87 Defense Grid: The Awakening
88 Sonic CD
89 Super Mario Sunshine
90 Super Mario Maker
91 Mario Party
92 Halo: Combat Evolved
93 Borderlands 2
94 Need For Speed: Most Wanted
95 Mario Golf
96 Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
97 GoldenEye 007 (Wii)
98 Guitar Hero: Metallica
99 Battlefield: Bad Company 2
100 Mass Effect
11/10/2017 Changelog:
Added The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild.

 

[Enzo88]

Obviously it`s hard to innovate at this point, but on average? Yes, games are better than they have ever been.

Edit: I have been playing for 25 years, just for reference.

 

[robotrock]

I truly believe that now is the best time to be playing video games.

 

[Iriscomeback]

We are absolutely in a golden age of gaming. 2017 has been AMAZING.

Persona 5 and Nier Automata are missing from your list though

 

[ryushe]

There's no better time to be playing video games.

 

[DJIzana]

I would say so. I mean... I'd like to see some older IP's that are now considered dead to be revived but story wise, world building and characters, art direction and music... I certainly think so.

The only other thing I'd also like to see some AAA company *cough* Square Enix *cough* try to do a PS1 style JRPG again (in the sense of pre-rendered backgrounds... I miss that!)

 

[Neo-Ryudo]

Damn can't believe Witcher 3 isn't there, is that cause you haven't played it? (if so you need to!) or cause you didn't like it?

 

[Raiden]

Man im sorry to be that guy and i know opinions and all but that is an terrible list.

What is GTA 4 doing up there? And Batman Arkham and .. well i could go on.


But yeah sure, games are getting better.

 

[CecilRousso]

Depends on genre, and which of those you feel are the most important.

Point&Click adventures? Not really.

RPG? I would say yes, on the basis that you now have AAA action focused RPG's, AAA open world RPG's, and a renaissance of more classic ones. (can't speak for JRPG's, don't play them)

RTS? Don't think so.

Strategy games in general? Yes, better then ever.

Online shooters? Too much focus on progression and everything tied to that, so I'm inclined to say no.

Immersive Sims (Deus Ex and similiar) - it's not terrible now, but far from a golden age for them.

 

[lensoftruth]

We are absolutely in a golden age of gaming. 2017 has been AMAZING.

Other than switch software it's completely passed me by.

 

[Theblackrain]

The games are. The business practises are not.

 

[Patrick Young]

Damn can't believe Witcher 3 isn't there, is that cause you haven't played it? (if so you need to!) or cause you didn't like it?

I haven't played it. I didn't want to because I haven't played the others.

 

[J@hranimo]

The games are. The business practises are not.

.

 

[takriel]

We truly are spoiled by all these great games this year.

 

[ChaosSmurf]

You could make a defendable top 10 list out of just games from the last two years, so yeah, I think so.

 

[Shazz_rulez19]

A few years ago I decided to make a Top 100 list of everything I've played. Every now and again I update it. A thing I'm torn on is putting newer games on this list; sometimes right near the top and it's happening more often.

I looking at my list now and I feel like I should second-guess my opinions, but I don't really have a reason to.

Now obviously opinions are subjective, but c'mon. Tell me why I'm wrong, because I think I'm wrong but can't prove it.

For the record, here's my list as of today. I have a feeling I'll be changing it after reading this thread.

No last of us in the list, not even in top 50? i know its your opinion but damn.....

 

[Patrick Young]

No last of us in the list, not even in top 50? i know its your opinion but damn.....

I gave that game a chance on both PS3 and PS4 and got bored. I actually fell asleep on the second attempt with the remaster. I played for maybe two or three hours.

 

[Stygr]

i don't think so, especially because some series, franchise and even genres died in the last couple of years. Thief was a blast in 1998 and after 20 years we didn't get a proper sequel to the series, the whole survival horror genre was fluent between 1995 to early 2000, and now what we got? Pointless, run and hide horro games, if we are not counting RE7 and The Evil Within. There isn't a market for the immersive sims like Deus Ex and System Shock, the whole concept of "multiplayer fps" is way worse than before.

And the focus on multiplayer only games is killing some studios and games as well. We really got some good games, and that's true, but the whole state of the industry is basically shit when it comes to business model, pricing, DLCs, Expansions and the Microtransactions.

 

[hotcyder]

There's a few titles this year alone that could break the Top 10 of all time, and plenty that slide right into the 100. I guess it's hard to appreciate that with them being so new.

 

[robotrock]

I gave that game a chance on both PS3 and PS4 and got bored. I actually fell asleep on the second attempt with the remaster. I played for maybe two or three hours.

While the first 30 minutes are pretty good, the following 4 or so hours sure aren’t. Game starts to get good at Bill’s Town, I’d say.

 

[Feral Gingy]

Sure, if you can look past the loot boxes/microtransactions which are seemingly getting worse and worse.

2017 has been great so far.

 

[bennibop]

Have been gaming for 35 years, gaming has had many highlights over the years and I wouldnt say any were better than the other as they were different times, 2017 has been a great year though.

 

[texhnolyze]

It's always hard to make a list like that for me, because gaming has been changing since then. Some games just don't age well.

 

[120v]

in my day we walked 5 miles to play the galaga. none of your installation and frame per minute nonsense

 

[eXistor]

Not sure. There's definitely some AAA games that go above and beyond what was possible in the old days. I mean look at Mario Odyssey, that shit looks amazing, but overall? I'm really not sure. In the end what matters is controls and good game-design and it's the latter where a lot of games just don't live up to the late 80's and especially 90's imo.

This year has been exceptional though, no doubt about that.

 

[JustSomeone]

Depends on the genres you play I guess.
As someone who mainly playes WRPGS , FPSs and strategy games, the 90s were certainly better


If you are looking for errors in your list,then SMG2 isn't even the best mario galaxy game,let alone best mario game and best game of all time.

 

[mnemonicj]

Games are better than they've ever been.
Rainbow Six Siege is on my list; I have not had so much fun in a FPS game every I first played this genre.

 

[Egida]

Just this year I've been playing so many dream-come-true games like Gravity Rush 2, Breath of the Wild, Horizon, Persona 5, Nier 2, Dishonored 2 (I know, lttp). Metroid came back, we are expecting a whole new 3D Mario, Cuphead is a reality and I have a backlog the size of a mountain.

But

The games are. The business practises are not.

This. I was supposed to be playing a driving game by now, but due to MTs F7 and GaaS GTS (and buggy PC2) I'm left playing Mario Kart. I can't help having a feeling of unease watching how things turn slow but inexorably that way.

 

[Heartskips]

Not for me at least.

 

[robotrock]

Just this year I've been playing so many dream-come-true games like Gravity Rush 2, Breath of the Wild, Horizon, Persona 5, Nier 2, Dishonored 2 (I know, lttp). Metroid came back, we are expecting a whole new 3D Mario, Cuphead is a reality and I have a backlog the size of a mountain.

But

This. I was supposed to be playing a driving game by now, but due to MTs F7 and GaaS GTS (and buggy PC2) I'm left playing Mario Kart. I can't help having a feeling of unease watching how things turn slow but inexorably that way.

GaaS?

 

[Rmagnus]

Hmm tough to say. Kids are easily impressed so what I loved as a kid might not be as good as I remembered. This year it self has a ton of games that can easily go on my so called top 10 list.

 

[Shari]

GaaS?

Games as a Service.

 

[robotrock]

Games as a Service.

Ah okay. Doesn’t that fall into the same thing as micro transactions?

Also is Gran Turismo Sport one of those? Haven’t heard but that would be a bummer

 

[ZanDatsu]

I got the SNES mini and started going through the games in it and my reaction to almost all of them was: "how did I put up with this shit?"

I think this would be my reaction to every collection of the best games of each generation up until 360/PS3, and eventually it'll become the same with them and beyond. I do think every generation makes improvements that makes it harder to go back. I've never been a retro gamer because of this, I just don't like going back to lesser experiences after being spoiled by the refinements more modern games have brought.

 

[NullPointer]

I truly believe that now is the best time to be playing video games.

Yep. A lot more seems possible these days, across the spectrum of budget and ambition.

 

[AgentLampshade]

I wouldn't know. I play so little new games these days due to lack of interest/business practices pushing me away. Some of the ones I do play are on par with some of the greats of old, but I don't think they're better.

 

[CouchMaster]

As a fan of arcade racers and pure hack n slash games, I'd say not really.

 

[Monocle]

No Bayonetta, Metal Gear Rising, or The Witcher 3? Halo entries buried in the 70s and 90s?

Hmm.

Honestly, ever since the SNES era, gaming has been a bottomless cornucopia of great entertainment. That list reflects limited taste.

Edit: No Morrowind or Portal 1 either? Inconceivable.

 

[Magic Mushroom]

Yes. We have it all now. The diversity and quality is staggering. Look at this year alone where we have games like Breath of the Wild, Mario + Rabbids, Resident Evil 7, What Remains of Edith Finch, Nioh, Nier Automata, Arms, Persona 5, Nex Machina, Divinity Original Sin 2, Prey, Hollow Knight, Horizon Zero Dawn, Polybius, Yakuza 0, Uncharted The Lost Legacy, Cuphead and more.
Mario Odyssey, The Evil Within 2, PUBG and Wolfenstein II are on the way. Heck, even AC might deliver.

Almost all of these games represent a different genre and they're all quality.

On top of that, this gen gave me my new GOAT in Bloodborne and I've been gaming since the C64 days.

 

[Stygr]

No Bayonetta, Metal Gear Rising, or The Witcher 3? Halo entries buried in the 70s and 90s?

Hmm.

That list is full of titles that are decent and not top 100 worthty and there's Fallout 3 but not New Vegas lol

 

[Egida]

Ah okay. Doesn’t that fall into the same thing as micro transactions?

Also is Gran Turismo Sport one of those? Haven’t heard but that would be a bummer

No MTs. What I mean is the game is online focused and light in content and it's expected to be receiving updates at a regular pace to pad the car and circuit list.

 

[Zafir]

Sure, this year has been fantastic for games.

Just a shame about some of the practices.

 

[spineduke]

Indies have made a lot of underserved genres shine again - games like Hollow Knight and City Skylines are strong enough to be on any Top 100's list.

 

[Danneee]

I feel the early to mid 90s had the best, most innovative and diverse games.

 

[BanjoLayleeYookaKazooie]

My 100 favourite games ever share a *lot* of commonalities with yours so I like your taste OP

But I think it's always hyperbole to say things are "better than ever", especially as I wasn't even alive when several game systems were released. I'll leave that for other people to judge and I'll just keep enjoying the many great games that release on a frequent basis, marred unfortunately by scummy business practices, poor working conditions for devs and some toxic fanbases.

Things are not perfect of course, but then again they never have been, at least we're making strides in the right direction thanks to some great people.

 

[Patrick Young]

That list is full of titles that are decent and not top 100 worthty and there's Fallout 3 but not New Vegas lol

Fallout 3 was a fresh take on the series. New Vegas was just another one of those with no improvements. When New Vegas came out it was so close to the release of the previous game that I couldn't stand to play it until much later.

Also Mass Effect is at the bottom of the list and it's better.

 

[sephiroth7x]

Modern games are undoubtedly 'better'.

But truly brilliant games are timeless. Yes, they might not have as many features or may have done them in different ways, better or worse but the truly brilliant timeless games transcend all that.

Good list OP... I don't agree with it all but that's the beauty of opinions

 

[Currygan]

very hard to answer. Some genres have definitely improved over what we were offered in the 80s and 90s, while others either disappeared completely or are just laughably inferior to the landmarks of old, and we're talking about comparing thousands and thousands of videogames. So I'm not sure

 

[ScientificPizza]

they’re more consistently good than ever

it used to be that games were average and then something phenomenal would come out and blow everyone away

now games have reached a level of quality where stuff that would have been mind blowing just a decade ago is the expectation

it’s very rare that you get a *truly* bad game from a major publisher. at worst they’re uninspired or the performance is bad

 

[robotrock]

No MTs. What I mean is the game is online focused and light in content and it's expected to be receiving updates at a regular pace to pad the car and circuit list.

Ahhh, got you. Sounds like the Splatoon model.