Top Ten Games of All Time

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UK videogame magazine - EDGE - is producing a special issue featuring the top 100 games of all time and they're inviting readers to submit their own top ten.

Here for you to criticise is my own top ten:

10. Broken Sword 2 (PC)

At a time when I was strapped for cash, and usually relied on purchasing second-hand and budget games, it is a testament to my eagerness to play Broken Sword 2 that I was willing to pay 35 pounds for the privilege. I played it through again recently and, although the graphics have dated slightly, the exciting story and amusing dialogue shines through.

9. Skies of Arcadia (DC)

I came into Skies of Arcadia as something of a novice to RPG’s. And, while I will never be a huge fan of the genre, the characters, the mind-expanding visuals and the epic scope of this game kept me hooked for weeks. Most of all, it is the narrative, constantly throwing up new surprises, that make this game memorable and special.

8. Super Mario Kart (SNES)

Endless hours of two-player battle mode. Nuff said.

7. Super Mario Kart (N64)

Endless hours of four-player battle mode. Nuff said.

6. Super Mario 64 (N64)

You could take out every single entertaining feature of Super Mario 64 and just leave the flying, and it would still make my top ten. This is the kind of flying that I have only previously experienced in my dreams.

Getting to the final Bowser level only took about a week. But getting all 120 stars took a pleasant six months of casual play. A big chunk of which must be dedicated to the challenge of getting 100 coins on the Rainbow Ride.

5. Legend of Zelda – Ocarina of Time (N64)

I found the non-cartoony visuals somewhat creepy after the SNES version, but even the Water Temple couldn’t stop me playing this game from start to finish. Replaying the game on the GC was jarring after the gorgeous visuals of the Wind Waker, but it is still effortlessly charming.

4. Legend of Zelda – The Wind Waker (GC)

I still feel the frustration of having to resort to a walk-through to get the last couple of pieces of that stupid map. But even that couldn’t detract from playing, what is essentially, a high quality cartoon.

The first time you take to the open sea, the frozen, black and white underworld, and the rain-soaked, final encounter with Ganon will never be forgotten.

3. Beyond Good & Evil (GC)

I’m not sure I find the characters as emotionally resonant as some have claimed, but there is no question that they are all entertaining and add to a game that kept me mesmorised like no other game on the GC.

The length and difficulty level of the game feels perfect and the variety of challenges prevented the game from ever becoming boring. It is a tribute to the creators of this game that they didn’t resort to mindless collect-a-thons in a thin attempt to, unnecessarily, extend the games life (a trap that Super Mario Sunshine and Wind Waker fell into).

They even managed to make me enjoy the stealth sections (a videogame feature I generally loathe).

The concluding section of the game is spectacular, but the stand out moment has to be the chase-scene over the rooftops of downtown Hillys, after sneakily stealing a handful of pearls.

2. Shenmue (DC)

I appreciate the irony of coming home after a hard days work, switching on the DC and starting a virtual days work at the docks.

Games like Tetris, Advance Wars and Super Mario Kart, don’t need stories to be great games. But that doesn’t mean that a game can’t be great because of its story. I could fill a page explaining everything that is wrong with Shenmue and it would still be, in my opinion, one of the greatest games of all time.

My desire to further the story and the characters relationship kept me gripped and the gorgeous visuals made this an essential experience. It still dismays me that so many fell for Sony’s false claims of the PS2’s graphical abilities and missed out on such a beautiful game. How long was it before a PS2 game came along that could match what Shenmue had to offer?

Such was my appreciation for Shenmue that I delayed buying the sequel until I had replayed this game through from scratch (something I hardly ever do). Partly to remind myself of the events of the game and partly to build up an epic save file to carry across.

1. Shenmue 2 (DC)

It was moments before playing Wind Waker that I had a moment of epiphany. Wind Waker was purchased on launch day and then kept on ice (not literally) for an entire week until I had a clear uninterrupted day to sit down and enjoy it.

As I removed the disc from the case with trembling fingers I was struck by the realisation that I would trade, in a heart-beat, ever playing another Zelda game in exchange for having Shenmue 3, right here, right now.

Shenmue 2 is the Godfather Part II of videogames. Taking everything that made the first Shenmue great and expanding on it to the point of ecstasy. Stepping off the boat into such a vast game area was exciting and daunting all at once. I could feel the fear and anxiety of my character only held in check by the burning desire to catch my Father’s murderer. The decision to keep the game in the original language only added to the feeling of immersion and the sense of playing in an unknown land.

Shenmue 2 took over my life for weeks and the fact that no sequel to this story is forthcoming is desperately disappointing.

It must be over four years since I played Shenmue 2, but I can remember so much of the game as vividly as if I played it yesterday.

There should be more games like this.

Imagine a game with Shenmue’s engine and interface, with modern-day visuals, set in a different story. Imagine playing this game in Star Trek, Star Wars or Matrix flavours. Imagine prequels and sequels to popular films, original stories given the epic treatment lavishly expended on Shenmue 2.

Those are games I would love to play, but probably never will…