Here is a list of 101 games that I love, with a mini-review for each. These are just games I appreciate; not all of them are actually good mind you. Just some of the ones off the top of my head I can recall being important to me. For the sake of variety, I am only listing one game in a series if the game has sequels.

Adventures of Batman and Robin (Genesis)

A run and gun with fabulous animation and backgrounds, which is extremely unforgiving and unfortunately at times visually and mechanically repetitive. The soundtrack is quite good.

Aladdin (Genesis)

This game shows off the true power of the Genesis. Gorgeous, but not much else is special about this platformer.

Alien Soldier (Genesis)

Treasure nailed the fun this time, and presents an intense boss rush that demands skill and precision.

Alundra (PSX)

An engrossing story and challenging puzzles create a surprisingly deep action adventure. The addition of the jump allows for a wide variety of dungeon design and tactics. Some of the bosses can get a bit too repetitive and lack variety however.

Battletoads (NES)

Took me 12 years to beat this game. Worth it.

Bayonetta (Xbox360)

Platinum’s trademark insane, fast, and deep action.

Beyond Oasis (Genesis)

Stunning graphics, and an intuitive fighting system make this an excellent action RPG for the Genesis.

Beyond Two Souls (PS3)

The story is lacking, but the non binary nature of many of the choices is impressive.

Blackwell Epiphany (Mac/PC)

While all the Blackwell games are good (the first is still finding its footing), Epiphany is where the series shines with fun puzzles, wonderful (if not low resolution) art, and a story which wraps everything up in a very cool, satisfying way.

Broken Sword (Mac/PC)

While the game is a bit too linear at times, and contains a few perplexing puzzles, it is still an engrossing adventure with wonderful characters. The game does not give you an indication early on that you can die, and I lost two hours of progress because of this. Save often.

Civilization 4 (Mac/PC)

Just one more turn…

Contra Hard Corps (Genesis)

Legendary run and gun that will have you on your toes. Fast action and multiple level paths allow for replayability. Some characters and weapon combinations are unfortunately demonstrably better than others.

Crash Bandicoot (PSX)

The original plays well to the lack of Dual sticks on the Playstation at the time giving a challenging - at times brutal, set of obstacles to traverse. Wonderful, cartoonish graphics and animation make it a sight to behold in motion. The limitations imposed by the camera are unfortunate, but necessary at the time.

Curse of Monkey Island (PC)

A colorful, funny adventure game that delivers on all the things that matter. The ending is an unfortunate blemish on an otherwise stellar experience. If you know the cheat, the insult sword fighting is a lot less frustrating.

Day of the Tentacle (Mac/PC)

A perfect adventure game, combining hilarity with wonderful graphics and animation. The puzzles are set up to allow a lot of exploration and freedom, while at the same time moving the story forward at a decent pace. A masterpiece if there ever was one.

Deathsmiles (Arcade)

While the aesthetics are not quite up my alley, the challenge is definitely fun and engaging, with great control. Typical Cave.

Deponia (Mac/PC)

The main character may rub you the wrong way, but the first installment of the series is probably the best (and where Rufus is at his least offensive). The artwork is gorgeous, although some of the puzzles are either illogical, or trial and error.

Destiny (PS4)

Hidden under the rotten layers of a manipulative player investment system, and a weak story campaign, is some of the most satisfying FPS mechanics ever created. The raids are some of the best co-operative experiences I’ve had in a video game ever.

Destiny of an Emperor (NES)

By no means the best JRPG out there, but fascinating from a historical perspective and reasonably expansive in scope.

Deus Ex (Mac/PC)

Quite possibly the best RPG ever made. Even to this day, it features and unparalleled level of viable customization for your character. Each section is chock full of secrets, hidden areas, and alternate paths to give any type of player a way to complete the game. Exploration is rewarding for its own sake, and you have a huge amount of control over how the story progresses through your choices. Unfortunately neither the graphics nor the AI were up to standard - even at the time of release.

Diablo 2 (Mac/PC)

Wonderful lush 2D graphics bring the world to life. The different classes give the game a ton of replay value, and the story and voice acting are well done. The investment system only hampers players who wish to play at the highest levels. Unfortunately frequent patching rendered character builds obsolete, and the mechanics were repetitive once you found your skills of choice.

Dodonpachi (Arcade)

Refining all of the elements from its predecessor Donpachi, Dodonpachi basically nails them all with great chaining mechanics and some tough stages.

Dr. Robtnik's Mean Bean Machine (Genesis / Game Gear / Master System)

A simple, yet masterful little puzzle game. What the Game Gear version lacks in graphics and accessible 2 player mode, it makes up for it with its Puzzle Mode. The Genesis version lacks the Puzzle mode, but offers a great two player mode.

Dynamite Heady (Genesis)

The game uses the stage metaphor to its fullest, offering an aesthetic treat. There could be a little more strategy involved with head choice though, as it mostly ends up just giving you what you need at the time. Still, Treasure gets a lot of milage out of the mechanics.

Earthworm Jim (Genesis)

Wacky, Zany, and Gorgeous, the game nails almost everything you’d want in a platformer. Andy Asteroids can get a bit repetitive, but they are generally short minigames.

Ecco Tides of Time (Genesis)

Better looking and easier than its predecessor, it nevertheless manages to impress to those new to the series, and those returning.

Escape Velocity (Mac)

While simple by today’s standards, exploring the galaxy was definitely worth the shareware fee.

Final Fantasy 8 (PSX)

The story is engaging and mind bending. The game wisely does away with grinding, offering a system where being a lower level can be more beneficial. The junction system is a welcome change, however it can be time consuming to exploit by stocking magic to junction, and it emphasizes skills over magic usage. Wonderful graphics and tons of locations create a world larger than the sum of the parts.

Final Fight (Arcade)

While not as satisfying as Streets of Rage, it is definitely a great beat-em-up on its own merits. Cody does have the ability to break the game with an infinite combo, so play as Hagar and pile drive everyone.

Flashback (SNES / Genesis)

Clearly inspired by Another World and Prince of Persia, I simply love the animation and atmosphere.

Flight of the Amazon Queen (PC)

A hidden Gem of an adventure game. Clearly inspired by the efforts of Lucasarts, it gets everything right in its imitation.

Full Throttle (Mac/PC)

While stupidly easy and short, the game is a great ride while it lasts. One unfortunate puzzle necessarily involves trial and error, somewhat souring an otherwise great end.

Gears of War (Xbox360)

Perhaps the game of the decade, Gears makes you feel fully immersed in war. Not being an invincible badass pays off, as every fight is for your life and cover is precious.

Gemini Rue (Mac/PC)

A wonderful little adventure game that is full of surprises. Very easy, but the ride and atmosphere are why you will play.

Gex: Enter the Gecko (PSX)

While an early jump into 3D, and so necessarily unrefined, the humor and set pieces made the game stand out at the time, with a decent amount of alternate areas and secrets to explore.

Ghostbusters II (NES)

This game is shit, but hard as hell. Through sheer force of will I forced myself to beat it. Dark Souls people will understand.

Gitaroo Man (PS2)

The best Rhythm Action game in existence. Memorable song after memorable song, a brutal Masters Mode, and a zany story with great characters. It's like Wizard of Oz meets Rocky Horror.

Gizmos and Gadgets (Mac/PC)

Certainly the best educational game I played as a kid, it was my favorite installment in the Super Solvers series. Fiberglass body, shaped like a rocket!

Glider Pro (Mac)

A cool concept, made even cooler by the level editor.

Gran Turismo 3 (PS2)

Beautiful graphics, tons of cars, nice soundtrack, realistic physics, and great tracks make this the best racing game in a long time.

Grim Fandango (Mac/PC)

All the humor and fun you could expect from a Lucasarts game, with a cool concept in the story. Relying only on Manny’s head tilt to locate items is less than ideal (a problem Escape from Monkey Island solved by listing the hotspots as text when you look at them), it’s still very enjoyable.

Gunstar Heroes (Genesis)

An excellent boss rush hampered by unimaginative level design. Thankfully, the levels are generally short and the bosses sublime. Bested later by Alien Soldier.

Half Life 2 (Mac/PC)

A monumental step forward for first person shooters in terms of world building. Weak music and a huge drop in difficulty near the end can be forgiven because of said immersion.

Halo (Xbox)

Fantastic console first person shooter, with a great story, wonderful diversity to the AI and combat, and robust enough for a tremendous amount of experimentation within the mechanics. Multiplayer is a blast and the pistol rules.

Harry the Handsome Executive (Mac)

Quirky little game, blemished by a game breaking bug near the end, as well as inconsistent music with newer versions of Quicktime MIDI instruments.

Hellfire (Genesis)

Hellfire gets a lot of milage out of the simple idea of switching between different directions for your shot. Bosses take full advantage of this and are fun to fight, but the game is excruciatingly punishing with a single death wiping out your entire armament of ship upgrades.

Hot Shots Golf (PSX)

It’s the best golf game ever. Really.

Ikaruga (arcade)

Ikaruga reaches its peak pretty quickly, as full mastery of the game reveals a rather rigid scoring system that places memorization above decision making. Still, when just playing for survival the game is exclellent.

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (Mac/PC)

What should have been the 4th Indy movie is instead an awesome adventure game. Doug Lee is so convincing as Indy, going back to Harrison Ford is strange! The three paths are welcome, and each feature unique challenges and locations, but is very rudimentary in that you basically select your path from the beginning. An early puzzle has three clever solutions, but the rest of the game lacks this flexibility. A perfect blend of openness and linearity to push the story forward.

Jak and Daxter (PS2)

The logical extension of Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter cleverly hides loading to create a truly seamless world. There is a tendency toward being a collect-a-thon however.

Katamari Damacy (PS2)

Wonderful charm and insanity. Easy to control and understand. The game is on the easy side, and could have used challenge levels or a difficulty selector.

The Last of Us (PS4)

Everything about this game is incredible, from the characters and story to the tense nature of the survival mechanics on harder difficulty levels. An incredible milestone for video games.

Legend of Kyrandia (Mac/PC)

A nice little adventure game, which unfortunately suffers from some bad design here and there. Death from nowhere, pixel hunting, etc. If you can get past that, it’s a compelling tale.

Life is Strange (PS4)

While failing to follow through on the nature of choice and consequence, the game is nevertheless an important and affecting adventure game.

Lightening Force (Genesis)

Bigger, badder, and harder than Thunder Force 3, Lightening Force is perhaps the best misspelled game of all time.

Link's Awakening (Game Boy)

Don’t ask me why, but I prefer Link’s Awakening to the original. A much more linear and directed experience, that decision is probably for the best given that it is meant to be played on the game boy in small chunks. You always progress, no matter how short your session.

Lunar Silver Star Story Complete (PSX)

A fitting remake, which fixes many flaws in the original. A great story, characters, and music make up for the mind numbingly unsophisticated battle system.

Marathon (Mac)

Moody, intelligent, and Mac only, Marathon was perhaps the best FPS experience in the early 90s.

Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo64)

The high point in 4 player Kart racing in my opinion. Blemishes include some framerate dips in racing, and rainbow road being fucking stupid with rails so you can’t fall off.

Megaman 3 (NES)

Megaman 3 sports perfect control, speed, and challenge. The length may put some people off but for fans of the series it’s more of a good thing. While the music is not as good as that in Megaman 2, it is still top notch on the NES.

Megaman X4 (PSX)

The highlight of the X series for me, with great graphics, two separate story experiences for X and Zero, perfect difficulty, and lots of complexity with the special weapons and secrets.

Metal Gear Rising (PS3)

Typical awesome Platinum. Everything about the combat system is nearly flawless, however the ease with which you can regenerate health is a sore spot that makes the game much easier than it should be.

Metal Gear Solid 2 (PS2)

A sublime stealth action experience with an interesting, prophetic story. Play control is tight, but some people may prefer the more open approach in the later games in terms of the design. The entire game essentially takes place indoors.

Metal Slug 3 (Arcade)

Full of gorgeous 2D graphics and animation, a difficulty that is just right, and multiple paths this game is the perfect arcade run and gun. The massive and varied final stage will stop many 1CC attempts.

Mike Tyson's Punch Out (NES)

First on my block to beat Mike Tyson. True story.

Mirror's Edge (Xbox360)

A great game for what it is. Short, but with enough to do that mastery is very rewarding.

Mushihimesama Futari (Arcade)

With a simple to understand yet deep scoring system, it eschews the increasingly unnecessary complexity from other cave shooters like Espgaluda. The stages are wonderful, and the visuals a treat.

Myst (Mac/PC)

Fantastic Adventure game which utilized the technology, and limitations, at the time.

Myth (Mac/PC)

Myth dazzles with a camera system so intuitive it’s disgusting that it’s not the standard for every game. The lack of resource management is refreshing, and the explosives and resulting gore are very satisfying. The story, while not necessarily accessible, is presented wonderfully as read text.

NBA Jam TE (Genesis)

Oh my! He’s on fire!

Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysse (PSX)

Stellar puzzle platformer with the atmosphere, humor, challenge and play control to make it a classic. Makes Limbo look like Pong despite having been released over a decade earlier.

Oni (Mac/PC)

Oni has many flaws, but it manages to impress despite that. The balance is heavily weighted toward hand to hand combat, and every gun but the mercury bow is not really worth using over fists. Many moves are too complicated to execute to be of use in the thick of a fight.

Policenauts (PSX)

The spiritual sequel to Snatcher, Policenauts manages to be even easier, yet more complex in the story and presentation. It features a few genuinely heart pounding moments, and a psychological exploration of space colonization I haven't seen in sci-fi before or since.

Portal (Mac/PC)

Portal beats out Portal 2 because it allows you experiment and be ‘wrong’. The annoyingly long tutorial is unfortunate, as the advanced chambers do not cover the opening areas. Still, quite a creative game.

Rise of the Dragon (SegaCD)

A ‘mature’ adventure game for the Sega CD which is actually rather good. The small amounts of censorship don’t diminish the game that much. You are on the clock with a story related time limit, and will definitely have to play it multiple times to finish it.

Road Rash (Genesis)

A decent concept which works well in the early stages when the races are short, but quickly falls apart when races lengthen, and racers drift apart making combat much less frequent.

Rocket Knight Adventures (Genesis)

Star Wars references aside, Rocket Knight is bursting with creativity and charm. Mixing platforming, shmup, and fighting game elements, its does all of this surprisingly well.

Sam and Max Hit the Road (Mac/PC)

Completely zany, the banter is highly entertaining, quotable, and more importantly never gets old. Second perhaps only to Day of the Tentacle.

Sim City 2000 (Mac/PC)

Fun as a kid, the simulation proved to be simple and exploitable eventually. It was still the journey that was fun.

Simpsons (Arcade)

While a pretty standard Beat-em-up, the game manages to be the best Simpsons game by far and is a blast to play with 3 other friends.

Smash TV (Arcade)

Just pure chaos and carnage, with some cool alternate goals (pleasure dome). Not the most sophisticated game, but it’s a blast with two people.

Snatcher (SegaCD)

While very easy, the voice acting, presentation and atmosphere make the journey very worthwhile. Treat it like a visual novel with very light puzzles.

Sonic 2 (Genesis)

While not as large as Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Sonic 2 manages to nail the essential elements of Sonic in a way that is the perfect length. You could argue that the spin dash eliminates the need to manage momentum, but in practice it eliminates frustrations more than it bypasses challenge.

Sonic Spinball (Genesis)

Short and sweet, a surprisingly cool spinoff game. Just don’t go for score.

Soul Calibur 2 (Arcade)

While the 2G bug is regrettable, it ended up not being game breaking. The high point in the series, as later games relied on impractical stances and combos that could see no real use.

Starcraft: Brood War (Mac/PC)

The most exciting and skillful RTS games I have played. Tons of variety in play, and amazing balance. The single player campaign is likewise good, with a well delivered radio drama of a story.

Street Fighter 3 - Third Strike (Arcade)

Hard to say which street fighter was the best, but this is the one I played the most in the arcades.

Streets of Rage 3 (Genesis)

A bit controversial to put it above 2, but its faster pace and less exploitability make it more fun to play in my opinion. The timed final boss is so stupid though.

Sub Terrania (Genesis)

On hard, this game becomes as much of a puzzle game as it does a space sim. Fuel management is key, as well as planning and executing your objectives. There is a strange shift in tone on the final level which may annoy some.

Sunset Riders (Arcade)

Colorful and tough, it’s one of the best old school run and guns. You face exploitable patterns as often as you face unrelenting chaos.

Super Mario Bros 3 (NES)

Colorful with perfect play control, the game is littered with secrets and challenge. Takes the Mario mechanics about as far as they can reasonably go.

The Dig (Mac/PC)

Largely humorless, what few jokes there are tend not to land. Still, the adventure and uncovering of an Alien civilization far from earth provides some compelling puzzles and landscapes. Does commit the sin of prioritizing the character’s knowledge over the player’s, which created a situation that personally stumped me for a month.

The Sims (Mac/PC)

I did spend probably too much time building a career as an astronaut, winning friends, and getting cash only to be abducted by aliens and turned into a grumpy old man with PTSD.

TIE Fighter (Mac/PC)

Worth buying a joystick for. Tons of missions with varying degrees of challenge with secondary and secret objectives, and a cool look at the inner workings of the Empire.

Umihara Kawase (SNES)

Very creative puzzle platformer. The grappling hook is a surprisingly sophisticated physic object, leading to wonderfully challenging navigation puzzles.

Uncharted 4 (PS4)

Like with Last of Us, Uncharted 4 manages to bring elements of storytelling that only work when you have interactivity. The storyline is great, with complex characters. The grappling hook not being a physics object but rather fixing to hotspots is one of the only mistakes in this game.

Unreal Tournament (Mac/PC)

I always preferred this to Quake 3.

Until Dawn (PS4)

Horror was a perfect genre for this game, proving that it’s better suited for the Playstation than the big screen.

Vanquish (PS3)

High speed in your face combat that has tons of depth, this game is short enough that it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Poised to be the best game of the 2010s unless something amazing comes out.

Vectorman 2 (Genesis)

Very nice run and gun with platforming elements mixed in. A unique feel, and a wide variety of levels make it feel fresh throughout.

Warsong (Genesis)

A decent strategy game probably surpassed by others, but at the time it was quite something.

I'm seeing an alarming lack of Mass Effects, Jade Empire, KOTOR I & II, Splinter Cell, Portal, & System Shock. To name a few.

I'm seeing an alarming lack of Mass Effects, Jade Empire, KOTOR I & II, Splinter Cell, Portal, & System Shock. To name a few.

Check again.

Also Mass Effect is unbearable to play so I gave up after 30 minutes. The combat elements are terrible beyond belief.

I'm seeing an alarming lack of Mass Effects, Jade Empire, KOTOR I & II, Splinter Cell, Portal, & System Shock. To name a few.

Check again.

Also Mass Effect is unbearable to play so I gave up after 30 minutes. The combat elements are terrible beyond belief.

Mass Effect 2 and 3 are where it's at :)

I know the first ME game has a lot of fans, but it didn't click with me either. ME 2, on the other hand, is right up there with The Last of Us as one of my favorite single player games. The combat is significantly different and better than the first game. It's a proper 3rd-person shooter, with great RPG elements layered on top. ME3 isn't quite as good overall IMO, but still great. And it has a fantastic co-op horde mode.

I'm seeing an alarming lack of Mass Effects, Jade Empire, KOTOR I & II, Splinter Cell, Portal, & System Shock. To name a few.

Check again.

Also Mass Effect is unbearable to play so I gave up after 30 minutes. The combat elements are terrible beyond belief.

Mass Effect 2 and 3 are where it's at :)

I know the first ME game has a lot of fans, but it didn't click with me either. ME 2, on the other hand, is right up there with The Last of Us as one of my favorite single player games. The combat is significantly different and better than the first game. It's a proper 3rd-person shooter, with great RPG elements layered on top. ME3 isn't quite as good overall IMO, but still great. And it has a fantastic co-op horde mode.

Yep. I didn't make it very far in ME on my first try. Reading that they improved some things in ME2, knowing that your characters carried over, and finding the hard scifi irresistible was enough to get me to push through ME1, and after finishing ME 2 I was so blown away that I promptly started a femshep character in ME1.

Don't have that much to quibble with regarding the Bungie games, Deus Ex, Gears, Half Life 2, Last of Us, Myst, Mirror's Edge, Portal (although the writing in Portal 2 was even better, which is saying something), Uncharted 4, and Unreal Tournament.

You know, if your Sims review were straight biography it would explain a lot. ;)

Kerm

ME1:
Best overarching story
Worst gameplay
Worst character stories
Resource gathering was not required.

ME2:
Best character stories
2nd best gameplay
2nd best overarching story
Most abusive resource-gathering system

ME3:
Best gameplay
2nd best character stories
Worst overarching story
Second most abusive resource-gathering system

Are there other categories I should rank? Feel free to quibble with me.

- No text -

ME1:
Best overarching story
Worst gameplay
Worst character stories
Resource gathering was not required.

ME2:
Best character stories
2nd best gameplay
2nd best overarching story
Most abusive resource-gathering system

ME3:
Best gameplay
2nd best character stories
Worst overarching story
Second most abusive resource-gathering system

Are there other categories I should rank? Feel free to quibble with me.

I pretty much agree with all of that. At the time, I didn't mind the resource gathering in ME2... there was something kind of "zen" about it (plus I loved the music). Not sure I'd have the patience for it now, but I found it strangely soothing at the time :)

The only other thing I would say about ME2 in particular is that it is one of the best examples of a game where the story & character development mesh together with the mechanical gameplay experience to create something larger than the sum of its parts. The way you spend the entire game tracking down crew members, building relationships with them, fighting along side them, and then you push into the final suicide mission with the weight of responsibility on your shoulders. The last ~2 hours were especially powerful for me. The combat was so intense, and the stakes felt so high on a personal level. I worried about each decision I made along the way (which crew members to assign to each task), which made me fight that much harder, which made me more nervous for my crew because the combat was so stressful... It's a perfect feedback loop between gameplay and narrative that very few games come close to achieving.

Mass Effect 3 also did this to a degree, but not quite to the same level of perfection. Halo 1-3 had moments or segments that hit a similar nerve for me, but never sustained that feeling the whole way through like ME2 did for me. The only game I've played that matches it in that regard, IMO, is The Last of Us.

I thought I saw something about you playing it a few weeks ago.

I am curious why it didn't make your list.

I pretty much agree with all of that. At the time, I didn't mind the resource gathering in ME2... there was something kind of "zen" about it (plus I loved the music). Not sure I'd have the patience for it now, but I found it strangely soothing at the time :)

They were incredibly tedious, but I remember being able to get through a good chunk of the audiobook of "The Dragon Reborn" while scanning every single plant for resources. So, not a total waste of time, I guess.

-Disciple

I pretty much agree with all of that. At the time, I didn't mind the resource gathering in ME2... there was something kind of "zen" about it (plus I loved the music). Not sure I'd have the patience for it now, but I found it strangely soothing at the time :)

The only payoff for that mechanic in my mind was scanning Uranus. :-)

The only other thing I would say about ME2 in particular is that it is one of the best examples of a game where the story & character development mesh together with the mechanical gameplay experience to create something larger than the sum of its parts. The way you spend the entire game tracking down crew members, building relationships with them, fighting along side them, and then you push into the final suicide mission with the weight of responsibility on your shoulders. The last ~2 hours were especially powerful for me. The combat was so intense, and the stakes felt so high on a personal level. I worried about each decision I made along the way (which crew members to assign to each task), which made me fight that much harder, which made me more nervous for my crew because the combat was so stressful... It's a perfect feedback loop between gameplay and narrative that very few games come close to achieving.

Yeah, I think this is why it is my most played ME. The tension of losing these people you've developed relationships with and fought alongside really upped the ante.

While that was such a strength, I really think the plot suffered in this game. The Collector's mechanic seemed forced and the dossier of people to pick up for the suicide mission felt arbitrary. Surely there were other people who could've worked for the job? I wish that the characters had been added more organically like Legion. You find him while chasing down something integral to the main mission and it makes sense for him to join your quest. Every crew member in ME1 was added in an organic way and it just felt forced in ME2. Also, ME2 suffers from being the middle entry in a game where choices supposedly matter (I'm looking at you ME3 ending). Things like who is on the council, why allies don't trust you, etc all feel out of sync. They had to segment ME2 off from the first game's decisions a bit because it would be impossible to write ME3 if they didn't. The overarching plot was weaker as a result. On the other hand, the characters in ME2 were so well written that I didn't care that much. Mordin is one of my favorite NPCs of all time.

ME3's multiplayer was surprisingly good.

- No text -

ME3's multiplayer was surprisingly good.

The only other thing I would say about ME2 in particular is that it is one of the best examples of a game where the story & character development mesh together with the mechanical gameplay experience to create something larger than the sum of its parts. The way you spend the entire game tracking down crew members, building relationships with them, fighting along side them, and then you push into the final suicide mission with the weight of responsibility on your shoulders. The last ~2 hours were especially powerful for me. The combat was so intense, and the stakes felt so high on a personal level. I worried about each decision I made along the way (which crew members to assign to each task), which made me fight that much harder, which made me more nervous for my crew because the combat was so stressful... It's a perfect feedback loop between gameplay and narrative that very few games come close to achieving.

The last few hours of ME2 were amazing, in no small part because I was so worried about Thane, who I'd let down by failing his loyalty mission. If I'd had a perfect run, I don't think it would have been nearly as dramatic. One of the most ecstatic moments of my gaming life came when he and the rest of my crew lived.

- No text -

I am curious why it didn't make your list.

Because once you've played street fighter you realize that Mortal Kombat actually sucks and is a terrible fighting game.

I am curious why it didn't make your list.

Because once you've played street fighter you realize that Mortal Kombat actually sucks and is a terrible fighting game.

Since when did a game sucking disqualify it from your list? *cough* VANQUISH *cough cough*

;p

I am curious why it didn't make your list.

Because once you've played street fighter you realize that Mortal Kombat actually sucks and is a terrible fighting game.

Since when did a game sucking disqualify it from your list? *cough* VANQUISH *cough cough*

;p

Sometimes true genius isn't appreciated until some time passes!

Random comments on some of the ones I've played:

Adventures of Batman and Robin (Genesis)

A run and gun with fabulous animation and backgrounds, which is extremely unforgiving and unfortunately at times visually and mechanically repetitive. The soundtrack is quite good.

I remember playing this at a neighbor's house a little. I probably never saw more than the first couple of levels. I remember that, at the time, it seemed like the most impressive graphics I had seen.

Crash Bandicoot (PSX)

The original plays well to the lack of Dual sticks on the Playstation at the time giving a challenging - at times brutal, set of obstacles to traverse. Wonderful, cartoonish graphics and animation make it a sight to behold in motion. The limitations imposed by the camera are unfortunate, but necessary at the time.

Never played the original, unfortunately. The only one I really played was Warped, which I think was the third Crash Bandicoot game? I did love that game at the time. Not sure if it would hold up now.

Destiny (PS4)

Hidden under the rotten layers of a manipulative player investment system, and a weak story campaign, is some of the most satisfying FPS mechanics ever created. The raids are some of the best co-operative experiences I’ve had in a video game ever.

I heard it was a bad game.

Deus Ex (Mac/PC)

Quite possibly the best RPG ever made. Even to this day, it features and unparalleled level of viable customization for your character. Each section is chock full of secrets, hidden areas, and alternate paths to give any type of player a way to complete the game. Exploration is rewarding for its own sake, and you have a huge amount of control over how the story progresses through your choices. Unfortunately neither the graphics nor the AI were up to standard - even at the time of release.

So, uh... I've only played Invisible War. I really had no idea what it was when I got it, it was one of two used games I picked up alongside a new copy of Halo 1 when I bought my original XBox. I really enjoyed it at the time. Having so many ways to do everything was new to me, and it was the first game I had seen that cast fairly realistic shadows based on the shape of objects and where the light source was. But I'm not sure what dedicated Deus Ex players think of it. My guess is not much, since I never hear it mentioned anymore.

Diablo 2 (Mac/PC)

Wonderful lush 2D graphics bring the world to life. The different classes give the game a ton of replay value, and the story and voice acting are well done. The investment system only hampers players who wish to play at the highest levels. Unfortunately frequent patching rendered character builds obsolete, and the mechanics were repetitive once you found your skills of choice.

Again, did not play this one. But I did play Diablo 1. A lot. Like, a LOT. I had a legit Demonspike Coat. :)

Gears of War (Xbox360)

Perhaps the game of the decade, Gears makes you feel fully immersed in war. Not being an invincible badass pays off, as every fight is for your life and cover is precious.

Oh, Gears 1. I'm seriously thinking about going back and re-playing this one. I was trying to explain to my younger brother recently what a HUGE impact Gears had on the gaming landscape. I think we forget now how different and impressive it seemed when it first came out.

Gex: Enter the Gecko (PSX)

While an early jump into 3D, and so necessarily unrefined, the humor and set pieces made the game stand out at the time, with a decent amount of alternate areas and secrets to explore.

I had this on my PS1. I think I got it used at the rental store (remember those?) or something. This is another one that I'm not sure would hold up, but at the time, I thought it was fantastic.

Gran Turismo 3 (PS2)

Beautiful graphics, tons of cars, nice soundtrack, realistic physics, and great tracks make this the best racing game in a long time.

Interesting pick. I always thought racing sims might be something you could appreciate, but I haven't heard you mention one up until now.

I never played 3, since I didn't have a PS2, but Gran Turismo 1 was one of the most pivotal things in my life, as far as what my interests became.

Prior to playing it, I wasn't really a "car" person. People who know me now would probably find that surprising, but I wasn't. I don't think I would have considered myself a "gamer" either. We'd had an NES, and I certainly played some games on it, but we never bought any new games (which I now understand was probably due to having no money - the NES and games were hand-me-downs), and I was into other things. The NES games were just something I did when I was bored, not a primary interest.

At some point, my parents were finally able to buy a game console - a PS1, about the time the Dreamcast was coming out. :) And for reasons I still can't fathom, the first game I got with it was Gran Turismo - as I said, I really wasn't a car person back then. But for some reason, it really clicked, despite my previous lack of interest. I think it was the instruction manual. The people who made that game were so proud of what they'd done, but very aware that most players wouldn't have encountered anything like it before. So they made this wonderful manual, which was so much more than just "this button performs this action." It had explanations of basic concepts of vehicle dynamics, the layouts of all the tracks, and it went really in depth on driving techniques, and how to approach a racing circuit properly. I read it all, and when I was actually able to apply it, it was a revelation. To this day, driving games are what I love the most. And I'm pretty sure this was the game that turned me into someone who plays games a lot.

Halo (Xbox)

Fantastic console first person shooter, with a great story, wonderful diversity to the AI and combat, and robust enough for a tremendous amount of experimentation within the mechanics. Multiplayer is a blast and the pistol rules.

The reason I'm here reading this.

Katamari Damacy (PS2)

Wonderful charm and insanity. Easy to control and understand. The game is on the easy side, and could have used challenge levels or a difficulty selector.

Played it a bit. Thought it was super cool, but lost interest pretty quickly. Still glad I played it, though.

The Last of Us (PS4)

Everything about this game is incredible, from the characters and story to the tense nature of the survival mechanics on harder difficulty levels. An incredible milestone for video games.

One of these day's I'll finish it. For some reason, I seem to be incredibly bad at the particular stealth mechanics in this game. I'm convinced that I missed something in a tutorial, because I always seem to get encounters slightly wrong. This makes it just a pain to keep going, even though I like the story. I should probably go back and restart it.

Mirror's Edge (Xbox360)

A great game for what it is. Short, but with enough to do that mastery is very rewarding.

I would add that, at least among the games I've played, the mechanics and atmosphere are completely unique. Something that should absolutely be experienced, IMO.

Myst (Mac/PC)

Fantastic Adventure game which utilized the technology, and limitations, at the time.

Played it a bit on an old PC. Didn't really understand what it was at the time. I'd really like to go back and try it again.

Portal (Mac/PC)

Portal beats out Portal 2 because it allows you experiment and be ‘wrong’. The annoyingly long tutorial is unfortunate, as the advanced chambers do not cover the opening areas. Still, quite a creative game.

Another game that absolutely everyone needs to experience, IMO.

Sim City 2000 (Mac/PC)

Fun as a kid, the simulation proved to be simple and exploitable eventually. It was still the journey that was fun.

I wish I could explain just how bad I am at SimCity.

Smash TV (Arcade)

Just pure chaos and carnage, with some cool alternate goals (pleasure dome). Not the most sophisticated game, but it’s a blast with two people.

This is one of the oldest games I remember playing, on an NES or SNES (don't remember which) at a friend's house. Probably the first thing I ever played that wasn't intended for my age group.

Starcraft: Brood War (Mac/PC)

The most exciting and skillful RTS games I have played. Tons of variety in play, and amazing balance. The single player campaign is likewise good, with a well delivered radio drama of a story.

I'm absolutely terrible at StarCraft and cheated my way through most of this game. But it was still a blast.

Always preferred MK over Street Fighter. Heck, I preferred Killer Instinct over Street Fighter.

I'd go with Rollercoaster Tycoon over Sim City. But then I'm a rollercoaster nut.

- No text -

I now love you.

Yep. ME2's suicide mission is fantastic, especially the first time through. Starting with the jump through the Mu Relay really until the epilogue cutscenes you really have no idea if you did everything well enough or if you made the right decisions.

And then, like you said, the moment to moment gameplay, especially the part with the vent controls, changes it from "I have this chest high wall and am thus invincible" to "oh crap, I actually have to hurry and push up through these enemies!" Of course, it's not quite as amazing the next times through because you sorta figure out what does and doesn't work and what length of time you really have or don't have.

That said, just the fact that the whole suicide mission is as well paced and challenging as it is without being frustrating is an outstanding accomplishment. Just think if they'd done something like starting your squad out in a circular room with little cover, snipers aiming at you, and a powerful Krogan charging your position. Something like that would have been terrible! :p

Yeah. I really REALLY didn't like some of the plot choices they made for ME2:

[*]"Killing" Shepard at the beginning felt far more like a dumb PR stunt than something that should have been in the story.
[*]Having the Council be equally unfriendly and dismissive no matter your choice during Sovereign's attack felt like a betrayal.
[*]The focus on the Collectors... a group I don't believe you'd even heard of in ME1... instead of the Reapers did feel very forced and out of sync.
[*]Cerberus changing from that silly group of scattered crappy evil scientists who mostly died when their little evil experiments went terribly wrong to an obviously evil SUPER MEGA POWER that could go toe to toe with the major governments and their militaries was mind boggling;y wrong.
[*]Cerberus being able to build a new bigger and better Normandy completely ruined the fiction that the original was a top secret beyond cutting edge ship.
[*]And maybe worst of all, spreading my squadmates to the wind and sticking me with all these new people... even though each did end up having an interesting story... made me very unhappy. Me and my team were going to go back out there and save the galaxy. Uh... no... me and some different team will deal with some silly threat while most of my former squadmates tell me they are too busy to help. :/

Yeah. I really REALLY didn't like some of the plot choices they made for ME2:

[*]"Killing" Shepard at the beginning felt far more like a dumb PR stunt than something that should have been in the story.
[*]Having the Council be equally unfriendly and dismissive no matter your choice during Sovereign's attack felt like a betrayal.
[*]The focus on the Collectors... a group I don't believe you'd even heard of in ME1... instead of the Reapers did feel very forced and out of sync.
[*]Cerberus changing from that silly group of scattered crappy evil scientists who mostly died when their little evil experiments went terribly wrong to an obviously evil SUPER MEGA POWER that could go toe to toe with the major governments and their militaries was mind boggling;y wrong.
[*]Cerberus being able to build a new bigger and better Normandy completely ruined the fiction that the original was a top secret beyond cutting edge ship.
[*]And maybe worst of all, spreading my squadmates to the wind and sticking me with all these new people... even though each did end up having an interesting story... made me very unhappy. Me and my team were going to go back out there and save the galaxy. Uh... no... me and some different team will deal with some silly threat while most of my former squadmates tell me they are too busy to help. :/

My perspective on the plot of the whole franchise is a bit lopsided, because I actually started with ME2. So some of the points that bothered you didn't bother me at all (because I had no previous concepts or context for anything that was going on), while some of these issues didn't hit me until playing ME3 (for me, the ME2 characters were my "original cast"... moving away from them was tough).

How well are the cutscenes animated in terms of Shepard's lip sync and facial expressions?

I ask because I know you can pretty extensively customize the face.

How well are the cutscenes animated in terms of Shepard's lip sync and facial expressions?

I ask because I know you can pretty extensively customize the face.

Well for their time, but not on par with anything Naughty Dog has done. Still looks pretty good, but not great.

> [*]"Killing" Shepard at the beginning felt far more like a dumb PR stunt than something that should have been in the story.
I remember being completely amazed by this. I went in having no idea it was going to happen, and it completely subverted my expectations. I was impressed with how it was handled, and I thought it was a great story justification for being able to re-allocate points for an imported character.

> [*]Having the Council be equally unfriendly and dismissive no matter your choice during Sovereign's attack felt like a betrayal.
They're politicians, dude. It was a betrayal, but not in the sense that I think you mean. The whole point is that they serve themselves first. They've got their heads in the sand, while you and your team are out there actually getting things done. I think it worked into the story perfectly. It was another way of showing that it was up to you to save the day!

> [*]The focus on the Collectors... a group I don't believe you'd even heard of in ME1... instead of the Reapers did feel very forced and out of sync.
Fair enough.

> [*]Cerberus changing from that silly group of scattered crappy evil scientists who mostly died when their little evil experiments went terribly wrong to an obviously evil SUPER MEGA POWER that could go toe to toe with the major governments and their militaries was mind boggling;y wrong.
> [*]Cerberus being able to build a new bigger and better Normandy completely ruined the fiction that the original was a top secret beyond cutting edge ship.
I disagree with this as well. I think both of these things works with the fiction: they are a shadowy organization backed by ridiculous wealth. Just because you didn't know everything about them in the first game doesn't mean that they weren't doing the same things. They don't advertise how powerful they are, because they don't need to. Security through obscurity.

> [*]And maybe worst of all, spreading my squadmates to the wind and sticking me with all these new people... even though each did end up having an interesting story... made me very unhappy. Me and my team were going to go back out there and save the galaxy. Uh... no... me and some different team will deal with some silly threat while most of my former squadmates tell me they are too busy to help. :/
Meh. I thought the ME2 team was awesome, particularly Mordin and Miranda. I really liked how some of the ME1 cast was used in the story, doing their own things--especially Liara.

The spoiler tags are getting cumbersome. Just gonna go full open spoilers below this point.

On Shepard Dying: It was a major part of the game's marketing push. The teaser trailer listed out Shepard's accomplishment then put on screen front and center "Status: Killed In Action" while panning over badly damaged N7 armor. That you missed that is actually kinda neat. That opening must have been pretty awesome. But it wasn't intended to be a secret or anything.

Overall, I think it was a good opening, except it ties into so many other parts of the plot I hated. Mainly Separating me from my crew and Cerberus being a seemingly infinitely powerful organization that can even cure death. And not just any death. You didn't just freeze temporarily in space, you burnt up entering an atmosphere!

The point wasn't to give a good reason to switch up classes (didn't have to die in ME3 to do that) it was to separate Shepard from the Alliance and the Council because the story they wanted to tell was about Shepard again having no support. But that wasn't the story I wanted to hear.

The Council: I sacrificed the Shenyang, Emden, Jakarta, Cairo, Seoul, Cape Town, Warsaw, and Madrid to save them and that Turian councilor had the nerve to do his air quotes while talking about the Reapers. It was a complete switch from how grateful they were at the end of ME1. And it was, in my opinion, an insulting failure to base the story around the players' actions.

I was very much looking forward to having at least some official support in ME2. I'd been proven right about Saren and the Reapers and I did everything possible to uphold the council's philosophy of looking out for all the races instead of just looking out for humanity only to be told off, to have the entire Reaper attack disavowed, and to be ordered to do nothing but hunt down remaining Geth.

If they had kept the Reaper attack quiet but sent Shepard out in secret to try and figure out how to stop everyone in the galaxy from being killed I'd have loved it. I didn't expect to be leading a fleet. I did expect them to be nice about the whole thing. That they were written so dismissive and so naive was one of ME2's biggest sins. Everyone hates the ME3 endings, but I probably hate that first meeting with the Council in ME2 more.

The Collectors: I'm not really opposed to them. The Reapers keeping a few servants around in case something went wrong would have been fine. But what they were doing didn't make any sense. They were collecting specimens of other races in exchange for a bit of their technology? They were going to harvest Earth? In a ship that could be taken down by the tiny Normandy? Plus their end goal of building a new Reaper (shaped like a terminator??) was just very strange on so many levels.

Cerberus: Where they got their money was never explained. Who would actually invest so much in a anti-alien / Humans only group was never explained. But the money aspect is kinda beside the point. The thing that felt so wrong about them was that they were seemingly infinitely smart, infinitely informed, and infinitely capable. ME2 kicks off with nothing less than Cerberus curing death. It moves on to them somehow duplicating and enlarging the most advanced starship in the galaxy. The ship whose Mass Effect core alone could have paid for (was it 1,000 or 10,000?) Alliance fighters? They built a loyal, non-evil fully functioning AI. They alone knew what the Collectors were up to. They'd broken Turian military encryption. They had a standing army and navy capable of putting up a major fight against literally everyone from the Alliance to the Salarians and Turians. And, without outside help, they figured out how to control the Reapers.

I've always resisted labeling characters as Mary Sue's because people jump to that conclusion way too quickly, but Cerberus really was a Mary Sue. Or was close to it. Yeah, Shepard can kill their mooks one on one all day long, but the massive scope of capabilities and knowledge that Cerberus had so completely dwarfed that of all the other players in the galaxy that it was just crazy.

My Squad: I liked most of the new ME2 characters. I really liked Jack and Mordin and EDI and Samara (and Morinth). I liked Garrus becoming Archangel a lot because it fit with his ME1 personality of wanting to have the power to do things without C-SEC regulations getting in his way.

Miranda though... meh. Her "I'm so sad that I'm sooo pretty and powerful and perfect" thing got old fast. ME3 made it better by her dad being super evil but she never really stated that as a reason for wanting to get away from him. I just never found her compelling.

Now Liara... what they did to her was another thing I absolutely hated. The entire galaxy is one step away from being mind controlled and then murdered and she's too busy to get up out of her chair. Unless it's for a (legitimately awesome) side quest. Keep in mind I'm perfectly fine with what they did with Tali. Tali went back to the Quarian Fleet like we'd been told Quarians did after their pilgrimage. She'd gained a lot of respect and experience working with Shepard and was allowed to make use of that while working for (and with the support of) her people. She was still herself doing basically the things she had talked about wanting to do all along. But Liara? She went from being an archaeologist and researcher to being an information broker all justified with a single throw away line about something like: "digging up artifacts is a lot like digging up secrets." She was a core team member and they completely sidelined her. I think it was a terrible decision.

There was Wrex getting sidelined too, but again he went on to do what he had said he wanted to do. And he had an entire race to look after. And I cut the writers a little slack because you had to work really hard to save him in ME1 so they were in a tough spot having him be a part of ME2 or 3.

Conclusion: Ultimately though, I had wanted to go back out with the crew I'd fought for and bonded with and search for some crazy way to beat the Reapers with the support of a something resembling a united galaxy behind me. Instead I got killed. Then time skipped forward a couple of years. Then had several people from the Council to some of my closest friends refuse to help me. And then... fought a building sized terminator. Oh, and they introduced the dumb concept of Thermal Clips. ME2 had much better gameplay and some great writing and character moments and one of the best final missions of any game ever, but it also got so so much wrong, in my opinion. And the things it got wrong, it got wrong at the expense of my choices and decisions all so it could railroad me in a direction I didn't want to go.