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[Gekkonidae]

Every few weeks someone posts one of these damn lists, leading to a shitstorm of whining and complaining.

GAF needs to organize a vote for the Greatest Game of all Time, like we do with Game of the Year, so people will stop complaining and put their money where their mouth is
(so to speak).

 

[perryfarrell]

GREAT LIST. Better than most, at least.

 

[Hunter D]

It's not even in the top 5, but I love how you come to the conclusion that just because people dislike its place on this list means they haven't played it. :lol

What makes a game great then? The game has tons of critical acclaim, won a lot of awards, and has a huge fan base. What else does halo need to be considered great?

 

[Walter Matthau]

That list pretty much nailed it. While I personally would have chosen some different titles, every gamer is sure to like 8 out of 10 of those games which puts it far ahead of other lists.

 

[TheGreatDave]

The only problem with the list is it's "I loved that game I got 6 months ago!" voters. I've never played Final Fantasy 12 but I'm sure it won't ever rank that high in a top 100 games list again. RE:4 I think is probably a bit too high as well.

 

[Mad Max]

What makes a game great then? The game has tons of critical acclaim, won a lot of awards, and has a huge fan base. What else does halo need to be considered great?

It's not a bad game or anything. Actually I thought it was pretty good, but IMO it isn't nearly good enough to be in such a list. I mean what did halo have what other FPS' dindn't have? It had a pretty decent story but nothing spectacular, the graphics where good but that doesn't make a game a all time classic + the indoor environment where really monotone.. It dindn't have any new gameplay mechanics, and the enemies wheren't that interesting. (especialy the flood where pretty stupid)

So what makes this game better than any other shooter?

@TheGreatDave

FFXII is a great game, and in my opinion it deserves to be in that top 10. But I agree with you that a lot of people just vote for the most recent games the liked, on the other hand, It's the only really new game that's in the list.

 

[TheGreatDave]

FFXII is a great game, and in my opinion it deserves to be in that top 10. But I agree with you that a lot of people just vote for the most recent games the liked, on the other hand, It's the only really new game that's in the list.

Like I said, I haven't played it. I'm just using that as an example, there's quite a few games in the top 100 that are probably a year or so old. It's like people were just voting for what they liked at the minute, which is understandable I guess. But as much as I like Crackdown I don't think it's one of the top 100 games of all time, same for things like Okami. They just seem a bit too recent to be able to judge properly.

 

[Graphics Horse]

Oh well, at least the cover is great.

Something everyone can agree on!

 

[danwarb]

It's not a bad game or anything. Actually I thought it was pretty good, but IMO it isn't nearly good enough to be in such a list. I mean what did halo have what other FPS' dindn't have? It had a pretty decent story but nothing spectacular, the graphics where good but that doesn't make a game a all time classic + the indoor environment where really monotone.. It dindn't have any new gameplay mechanics, and the enemies wheren't that interesting. (especialy the flood where pretty stupid)

So what makes this game better than any other shooter?

I'll give it a go. Halo: CE is one of the best shooters ever because:

It's still fun to play though Legendary co-op
Recharging shields
Grenades (sticky)
Epic Halo universe and back-story
Memorable weapons, maps and vehicles
Legendary AI
First decent FPS controls on a console.

Aside from Tetris, none of the games in this top 10 were particularly innovative.

 

[TheGreatDave]

Halo obviously deserves it's spot. I'm not a fan but very few games come close to having it's impact or popularity.

 

[Barnolde]

I'll give it a go. Halo: CE is one of the best shooters ever because:

It's still fun to play though Legendary co-op
Recharging shields
Grenades (sticky)
Epic Halo universe and back-story
Memorable weapons, maps and vehicles
Legendary AI
First decent FPS controls on a console.

Aside from Tetris, none of the games in this top 10 were particularly innovative.

Super Mario 64 is not innovative, you heard it here first, folks.

Recharging shields were good at the time, that and two weapons. Now every other game just copies and it makes things way too easy.

 

[Mad Max]

I'll give it a go. Halo: CE is one of the best shooters ever because:

It's still fun to play though Legendary co-op
Recharging shields
Grenades (sticky)
Epic Halo universe and back-story
Memorable weapons, maps and vehicles
Legendary AI
First decent FPS controls on a console.

Aside from Tetris, none of the games in this top 10 were particularly innovative.

Lots of games are still fun to play, also games that are much older than halo.

What's so great about the shields?

Yeah that was fun, forgot that you could do that. (but it doesn't make the game super awsome or anything)

Maybe it's just me, but I don't find the story that great, it's better than 'kill all ememies' but in the end it's just another generic sci fi story.

The weapons where pretty standard imo, I don't remember one single multiplayer map, only a couple of SP moments (dindn't play the MP often though, since other games had better MP) and the vehicles where also pretty standard..

The AI was very good back then yes, but I wouldn't go so far as calling it legendary..

But that doesn't make it better than other FPS games on the PC, since mouse + keyboard is still better for a shooter imo.

 

[Atilac]

No Deus Ex, or fallout. Not a real top-ten list.

 

[proposition]

There seem to be some odd omissions; no Baldur's Gate 2? StarCraft? Alpha Centauri?

Very heavily console-weighted if you ask me.

 

[OmegaDragon]

What's so great about the shields?

Due to the recharging shields you can take some hits, thus giving you more options. Also you can afford to get hurt badly without being complety screwed (you are still penalized by having low health). You are way less dependant on health packs etc, which enchances the fun.

And I guess he refers to Halo's grenade system with his grenades comment, where grenades were mapped to a trigger instead of being a seperate weapon.

I'd also like to add the very good checkpoint system to the list of why Halo is so great.

 

[Barkley's Justice]

no street fighter = girlieman compendium

 

[Parch]

How many on that list were GOTY?

Should be a prerequisite to even start creating a top 10.

 

[Harmonica]

I actually came away from the list a bit impressed. I'm surprised so many people think the 10 games listed aren't worthy (save for FF12, which time has yet to test as fully as the others).

Also, earlier in the thread people talked about Super Metroid not being able to be in the list. To that I say "Super Metroid deserves to be in the list".

 

[Mad Max]

Due to the recharging shields you can take some hits, thus giving you more options. Also you can afford to get hurt badly without being complety screwed (you are still penalized by having low health). You are way less dependant on health packs etc, which enchances the fun.

And I guess he refers to Halo's grenade system with his grenades comment, where grenades were mapped to a trigger instead of being a seperate weapon.

I'd also like to add the very good checkpoint system to the list of why Halo is so great.

Yeah but those things don't make a game an all time classic. I'm mean the game was a good shooter, but imo it doesn't deserve to be in the top 10 of best videogames.

 

[NovemberMike]

Anyone who doesn't think RE4 deserves a spot in the top 10 has terrible taste and I hope none of you ever become professional reviewers who have a say in GameRankings and Metacritic.

(Okay, my opinion's truly not that drastic. But the wise have voted RE4 into #2! )

I seriously think it should be in the top 10, but #2? That's fallout territory, man...

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Yeah but those things don't make a game an all time classic. I'm mean the game was a good shooter, but imo it doesn't deserve to be in the top 10 of best videogames.

So what makes FFXII an all-time classic if Halo isn't?

The recharging health scheme has been copied in nearly every console shooter since as the genre has moved away from the 'health counter and health pack' meme, and it gives game designers a way to allow enemies to be effective in combat without making things frustrating for the player by punishing you for making minor mistakes or getting hit by a 'lucky' or 'cheap' round of fire. Gears of War, Resistance, Riddick, Rainbow Six Vegas, Call of Duty 3/4, Crackdown...they all use this system now.

When someone speaks of "Legendary AI" they're speaking of the AI on the Legendary difficulty level, which I imagine few gamers here have a) tried or b) beaten solo. It's that hard.

The two weapon system is again something that's been copied by many console (and some PC) shooters since. It adds a layer of strategy knowing that you can't walk into a battle with an entire arsenal at your disposal, forcing you to plan ahead on the kind of enemy you're facing and think on your feet by scavenging for new weapons. For example, walking into a large firefight with the two of the stronger short-range weapons (Shotgun and Plasma Sword) is actually a bad idea because you'll be killed before you can get close enough to use either, while trying to do some close-quarters battle with the Rocket Launcher and the Beam Rifle will end up with you blowing yourself up or getting shot in the face while someone dodges your slow bullets.

Blood Gulch is one of the most well-known multiplayer maps in console gaming, it's up there with Temple and Facility from GE. Halo basically brought LAN console gaming to the mainstream.

The preferred control scheme doesn't automatically make every other area of a game good. People don't walk around arguing that Tron 2.0 > Halo 2, or that Doom 3 > Gears of War, just because of the mouse and keyboard, because that's just crazy talk. The fact is, people always talk about all of the FPS that are "so much better" than Halo, but if you sat down an unbiased person in front of both games, 9x out of 10 they pick Halo. 8 million in sales doesn't lie.

 

[angelcage87]

No sotc or ico in the top ten make this list look like a joke.

 

[KingGondo]

Waaah, my favorite game isn't in the top ten, let me go bitch about it on a forum with 1,000 other people even though it makes absolutely no difference and it's purely a matter of critical opinion from a magazine I may or may not read, waaah!!!

All these top ten lists are really meant to do is provoke discussion. Which this one did. Therefore, Edge ultimately wins.

 

[-COOLIO-]

re4 is the best single player game ever.

 

[Mad Max]

So what makes FFXII an all-time classic if Halo isn't?

Because it's better than other rpg's imo (on a lot of fronts) Halo isn't better than other good shooters.

The recharging health scheme has been copied in nearly every console shooter since as the genre has moved away from the 'health counter and health pack' meme, and it gives game designers a way to allow enemies to be effective in combat without making things frustrating for the player by punishing you for making minor mistakes or getting hit by a 'lucky' or 'cheap' round of fire. Gears of War, Resistance, Riddick, Rainbow Six Vegas, Call of Duty 3/4, Crackdown...they all use this system now.

MGS had such a system I believe (the auto recharging health), and that game is 3 years older than halo..

When someone speaks of "Legendary AI" they're speaking of the AI on the Legendary difficulty level, which I imagine few gamers here have a) tried or b) beaten solo. It's that hard.

I played the PC version and beat the game at hard or something (legendary is higher than that right?) like that. But with a mouse + keyboard the game is much easier so I didn't find the game very difficult, but I can immagine that with a controller, and with a even higher diffuculty the game must be pretty hard to beat.

The two weapon system is again something that's been copied by many console (and some PC) shooters since. It adds a layer of strategy knowing that you can't walk into a battle with an entire arsenal at your disposal, forcing you to plan ahead on the kind of enemy you're facing and think on your feet by scavenging for new weapons. For example, walking into a large firefight with the two of the stronger short-range weapons (Shotgun and Plasma Sword) is actually a bad idea because you'll be killed before you can get close enough to use either, while trying to do some close-quarters battle with the Rocket Launcher and the Beam Rifle will end up with you blowing yourself up or getting shot in the face while someone dodges your slow bullets.

Yeah but I believe there were games before halo that had that..

Blood Gulch is one of the most well-known multiplayer maps in console gaming, it's up there with Temple and Facility from GE. Halo basically brought LAN console gaming to the mainstream.

But there aren't many good console shooters that are old enought to have multiplayer maps that are classics, so that doesn't say that much.

The preferred control scheme doesn't automatically make every other area of a game good. People don't walk around arguing that Tron 2.0 > Halo 2, or that Doom 3 > Gears of War, just because of the mouse and keyboard, because that's just crazy talk. The fact is, people always talk about all of the FPS that are "so much better" than Halo, but if you sat down an unbiased person in front of both games, 9x out of 10 they pick Halo. 8 million in sales doesn't lie.

I'm just saying that the control sceme on the xbox still isn't as good as playing with a mouse + keyboard. But I don't say it makes the game worse than a PC game..

And I also didn't say that any PC game is better than halo or anything like that, it's just that there are better shooters out there than halo imo. And that there are other games in other genres that deserve to be in that top 10 more then halo..

 

[danwarb]

...

 

[RSTEIN]

How many on that list were GOTY?

Should be a prerequisite to even start creating a top 10.

I disagree. GOTY awards reflect that specific year's gaming environment. For example, take Gears of War. It received several GOTY awards yet do you think that in 10 years from now it will be included amongst the 10 best games of all time?

In some cases you're right - there are games that receive GOTY awards and do stand the test of time. On the other hand, because of sales, or many other factors, games that were totally missed or not critically appreciated can go on to legendary status. Only after several years can we see where all the pieces fit.

 

[revolverjgw]

MGS had such a system I believe (the auto recharging health), and that game is 3 years older than halo..

Huh? The health system in MGS wasn't remotely similar to Halo.

Halo definitely started this very popular trend.

 

[LukeSmith]

Is there a place to buy this online?

 

[TheGreatDave]

Is there a place to buy this online?

Here. I'm not sure how that translates in to dollars with shipping, probably rape time.

 

[saelz8]

Please tell me COD4 doesn't really have recharging health!

 

[LukeSmith]

Here. I'm not sure how that translates in to dollars with shipping, probably rape time.

Thanks. Ordering.

 

[Shpeshal Nick]

While pretty much all the games on that list are good/great/classics, the inclusion of a few of them are questinable to say the least. But that's what happens when you let people vote.

FF12? Super Metroid? Super Mario World?

No God of War is a massive failure. If they ARE going ot put a Final Fantasy game in, shouldn't it be 7? (correct me if I'm wrong, I dont like FF games, but even I know FF7 is generally considered the pinnacle of the series isn't it?).

 

[SealSqueal]

READERS VOTED.

Interesting...well that is certainly a sad thing to know. Worst list ever.

 

[Bluemercury]

FAllout is probably in the first 20 positions, i've ordered the issue......

 

[TheGreatDave]

While pretty much all the games on that list are good/great/classics, the inclusion of a few of them are questinable to say the least. But that's what happens when you let people vote.

FF12? Super Metroid? Super Mario World?

No God of War is a massive failure. If they ARE going ot put a Final Fantasy game in, shouldn't it be 7? (correct me if I'm wrong, I dont like FF games, but even I know FF7 is generally considered the pinnacle of the series isn't it?).

FF7 is in the top 100. Number 18.

By the way, this isn't voted for purely by readers. Edge readers submitted votes. That list was then narrowed by Edge and went through more voting by "industry types and Edge writers".

FAllout is probably in the first 20 positions, i've ordered the issue......

It's not in the list at all.

 

[cvxfreak]

Any other REs besides RE4 in the top 100?

 

[TheGreatDave]

Any other REs besides RE4 in the top 100?

Yeah, the first one. 92nd best game EVER.

 

[cvxfreak]

Yeah, the first one. 92nd best game EVER.

Thanks.

Good choice I've gotta admit. I've taken a liking to the original game ever since the DS version came out.

 

[TheGreatDave]

Thanks.

Good choice I've gotta admit. I've taken a liking to the original game ever since the DS version came out.

Just noticed that they're apparently talking about the Gamecube version. Which I suppose makes sense.

 

[Oblivion]

FF12? Super Metroid? Super Mario World?

No God of War is a massive failure. If they ARE going ot put a Final Fantasy game in, shouldn't it be 7? (correct me if I'm wrong, I dont like FF games, but even I know FF7 is generally considered the pinnacle of the series isn't it?).

I dunno if God of War deserves any place up there either.

 

[cvxfreak]

Just noticed that they're apparently talking about the Gamecube version. Which I suppose makes sense.

Oh, that too. Either one's cool.

 

[TheGreatDave]

God of War is just behind Gitaroo Man. Seems fair to me.

 

[Melchiah]

The two weapon system is again something that's been copied by many console (and some PC) shooters since.

Unreal Tournament featured dual Enforcers, and it was released in 1999

The fact is, people always talk about all of the FPS that are "so much better" than Halo, but if you sat down an unbiased person in front of both games, 9x out of 10 they pick Halo. 8 million in sales doesn't lie.

The fact is, there are about 20 million people who own Xbox, whereas there are far more people with a PC or PS2. Given the numbers, it's safe to say far more people would choose some other shooter than Halo. And I think it's safe to say the sales and the fanbase of Half-Life/Counterstrike, Unreal Tournament, Quake, and Call of Duty series exceed those of Halo series.

 

[Barnolde]

Unreal Tournament featured dual Enforcers, and it was released in 1999

That's dual weapon, something Marathon 2 had way back in the mid 90s.

Halo introduced only being able to carry two weapons, which stinks in most other games.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Unreal Tournament featured dual Enforcers, and it was released in 1999

Already answered above, I was talking about the two weapon limit. Dual weilding has been around since the mid-90's, and we're not talking about Halo 2, we're discussing Halo: CE.

The fact is, there are about 20 million people who own Xbox, whereas there are far more people with a PC or PS2. Given the numbers, it's safe to say far more people would choose some other shooter than Halo. And I think it's safe to say the sales and the fanbase of Half-Life/Counterstrike, Unreal Tournament, Quake, and Call of Duty series exceed those of Halo series.

All of these games are on Xbox and 360 though, and people still choose Halo. Despite the PS2 and PC having a much larger fanbase combined, Half Life is the only shooter that approaches Halo's popularity.

 

[kylej]

Just picked this issue up last night from Barnes & Noble. Fantastic list all around.

Manhunt? Silent Hill 2? Lumines? Vice City over SA or GTA3? Katamari Damacy? Edge is after my own heart.

 

[Danne-Danger]

The two weapon system is again something that's been copied by many console (and some PC) shooters since. It adds a layer of strategy knowing that you can't walk into a battle with an entire arsenal at your disposal, forcing you to plan ahead on the kind of enemy you're facing and think on your feet by scavenging for new weapons. For example, walking into a large firefight with the two of the stronger short-range weapons (Shotgun and Plasma Sword) is actually a bad idea because you'll be killed before you can get close enough to use either, while trying to do some close-quarters battle with the Rocket Launcher and the Beam Rifle will end up with you blowing yourself up or getting shot in the face while someone dodges your slow bullets.

Wait wait wait.

Are you saying that Halo was first with using a weapon limit?

 

[saelz8]

Counterstrike

CS is like a FPS WoW, it's unfair comparing it to any other FPS as far as player base is concerned. CS will always be played by millions of people mainly due to the fact that it's a cheap low resource PC game, and everyone has a PC or access to a PC in one form or another due to non-game related necessity. (Cafes in Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, China, etc). Cafe's are the main mode of internet access outside of Europe and NA and all of them most likely have CS on the computers. When I went to Turkey it was the only game people played, and the funny thing is none of the computers were connected to Steam, it was all LAN, so you can imagine how much CS play isn't even tracked. That coupled with 94,964 Steam connected servers right now, I don't think any shooter will ever pass CS levels, not even CS:S (Not for a long time). It is it's own phenomenon.

Number shot up to 121,896 servers since I posted.

 

[mcgarrett]

Is it just me, or is X-COM nowhere to be found on this list? Manhunt over X-COM? *shudders*