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 On 12/19/2013 at 11:58 AM by Blake Turner See More From This User » |
Firstly, anyone wondering about my past two blogs, I deleted them. I had an argument with someone that got out of hand and got the attention of the staff. Honestly, I acted like an idiot and shouldn't have done what I did anyway, and we were just two people who believed different things, and were passionate about it. I don't resent him or anything.
With that out of the road, here are my top 10 favourite games of all time!
10. Half Life 2
The main reason I love this game is pacing. It feels damn near perfect. The fact that there is no violence in the first 10-20 minutes is brilliant, as it allows for world building. It allows you to get a sense of why you need to fight, and gives you a reason to care. When you are being chased by enemies with no weapons, you get a sense of the danger. You get a sense of the oppression these people face, so that when you finally get a gun, you know what you have to do, and you know why you have to do it.
This is all done through gameplay. There's no forced exposition as you sit through nine hours of cutscenes, and you never break away from first person view. The story is all told through gameplay, and very little of it is forced upon you. You can just run through the first area without learning about the war, or the fact that our rulers have stopped us from being able to bear children because they don't feel we are responsible. You can skip the information about our protagonist, and completely miss why he's actually sympathetic, and why, put in his position, you or I would probably do the same thing. You can skip that and still have fun with the game.
Another thing that truly makes Half Life 2 stand out is variety. One moment, you're shooting everything that moves. The next second you're solving a puzzle. It's paced well so you never get bored of one particular activity. All of the areas are tied together as well, bringing cohesion to the world. Honestly, this game is just so well made.
Is it the best shooter of all time? No. However, we have spent most of this generation watching other games trying to catch up to the advancements of Half Life 2, and that's an accomplishment in and of itself.
9. Fallout: New Vegas
What do you get when you take the amazing Fallout 3 and add better characters, a better story, and a darker tone? You get one of the best games ever made.
What is there to say, really? The world is amazing. It's fun to explore. The characters are great to talk to, and everything in the world seems so finely placed so that it adds to the story. Combining the time I played this on Xbox 360 with the time I played it on steam, you'll get close to 500 hours. Yeah, it's that good.
8. Skate 3
I fucking love this series. Seriously, I adore it. It's not so much the missions, but what happens outside the missions. It's one of the best sandbox games I've ever played, and I spend hours just trying to make epic skate videos, recreate jackass stunts, and do hilarious shit with friends. The sense of flow, speed, and movement in this game are second to none for me, and I can spend hours just getting lost in it's world. This game is the reason I still have an Xbox 360.
Oh, and the soundtrack is BADASS!!!! Skating to Pixies is a dream come true.
7. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
Dear god I'm sick of traditional fantasy dominating my RPGs. Tolkein, I love you, but if I could go back in time and slap elves and dwarves out of you, I fucking would. This gives us a fresh setting for an RPG: Modern Day. I know right? That shit should be easy to create, since, you know, WE LIVE THERE!
The game is about Vampires, and not the pussies/pedophiles from Twilight. This is real stuff, and it is fucking grim. I mean there's stuff about child abuse, schiszophrenia, torture, stealing limbs, and other awesome stuff like that. The characters are diverse, insane, and most of all, INTERESTING! They have a personality, and they are insanely memorable.
The game gives you choices, and plays a lot like Deus Ex. You can be non violent. You can kill every mother fucker you see. You can be sneaky, talk your way out of situations, posess people, seduce them, and all sorts of other things like that.
The game adheres to it's theme perfectly, and you regularly need to drink blood. This can be achieved either by preying on people, or heading down to the bloodbank and dealing with some insanely shady bastards. The world has this sort of Gothic/Punk aesthetic that makes it stand out.
Oh, and depending on your clan, this can be an entirely different game. Play as a Malkavian, and you'll talk back to the radio, say some really bizarre shit, and just in general be insane. Play as a Nosferatu, and you can't be seen, because you're so hideous that there's no hiding from people. It makes the game harder, and arguably less fun, but it's cool that it's there.
6. Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2
In case you hadn't noticed by now, I have a thing for skating sims. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 is my favourite. The introduction of manuals completely changed the way the game was played. The levels, the secrets, THE MUSIC! This game just stands out for me, and I still play it to this day.
5. Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill 2 is more depressing than it is scary. It's oppressive in it's dark, twisted world, and it makes you afraid to press on, not because it's scary, but because you're afraid that if you make any more progress you might just kill yourself out of the depression this game has given you. It is fucking bleak.
This was one of the first MAINSTREAM titles to tackle the themes that it did. Sure, games like I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream had tackled rape, abuse, and dark topics before this, but it was pretty unheard of at the time. I mean the ending... holy shit that ending. The world of silent hill is phenomenal, and the atmosphere is so brutally oppressive that I can't help but adore it.
IV: The Elders Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Skyrim and Morrowind are SOOOOOO much better. In fact, Oblivion is probably the worst in the series, because fuck level scaling, and fuck oblivion gates. However it was the first one I played. It was the first game that made me sneak out of my room to play. I had it on my laptop, and I'd play it under my sheets at night. I played this instead of studying, and I must have put upwards of 400 hours into this game. Seriously, I've finished every single quest in the game.
Oh, and Bethesda: Please, PLEASE put the acrobatics skill back in the game. I want to jump over mountains again.
3. Resident Evil 4
I grew up on Resident Evil. The first game I played on PS1 was the original Resident Evil, even though I was like 8. I adored it! I've played just about every game in the series, and I must say RE:4 is still the best. Well, either 4 or 2. I think 4 just wins out though on the basis of fun, and having a midget Napolean as the antagonist.
What I forgot until booting this up recently, is the the atmosphere and tension of this game. Playing 5 and 6 made me forget that Resident Evil 4 actually tried to be a horror game, and has a myriad of tense moments. The game is so good you forget that half the game is an escort mission.
Also, holy shit that lake monster....
II: Doom II (With Brutal Doom Mod)
Doom 2 is horrifying. Put a fresh coat of paint on it, beef up the sound, add mouselook, reloading, and a fuckton of enemies, and it holds up remarkably well. It's scary, tense, and the best adrenaline rush you can get from gaming. Seriously I have to calm myself after playing this if I want to sleep.
Doom 2 is just so intense, and so damn satisfying. Seriously, I believe it is still one of the best games ever made, and I lament the fact that modern fps has turned to shit, because I FUCKING WANT THIS! I want enemies who hate each other. I want thrash metal in my games. I want a challenge. I want to forget Doom 3 ever happened. For the love of god, someone make a doom clone!
1. Dark Souls
I've said everything I need to about this game here: http://plus10damage.com/blog/2013/7/12/dark-souls-a-work-of-art
There you go. Those are my top 10 favourite games of all time. What do you think?
Very, very solid Top 10, dude! It's always interesting seeing people's choices for their favorite titles, and this list has some really awesome stuff on it. I loved Fallout 3 and have yet to play New Vegas, so I think I need to pick that up. I actually haven't played Oblivion, but I've been thinking of picking that up, too because Skyrim is my shit. Would it be worth it?
I think you've inspired me to narrow down my own top ten and do a feature on here!
Do it! I'd love to see it!
Also thanks man. Honestly, I'd recommend all of the Elder's Scrolls games, althought they might be a bti harder to get into if Skyrim was your first, simply due to aging mechanics. However, if you play on PC, there are mods that will fix them. If not... well, Oblivion is probably still worth playing just so you can explore a different world.
Thanks man! I think I will - narrowing everything down to a top ten will be a bitch, but it will be worth it. And Oblivion/New Vegas will be next up to tackle after Dark Souls, which I will finally be able to get back too now that I may have a minute to breath after climbing out of a damn mountain of freelance.
Where are you up to in Dark Souls btw?
I think that I would be torn between having New Vegas on my list, or swapping it out for The Witcher 2.
I absolutely love Half Life 2, but have a strange feeling that it would end up being 11 on my list of 10. There are just too many Nintendo and Sony games that I love even more than Half Life 2.
That's fair enough. The Witcher 2 is very high up on my list, definitely in my top 20. And yeah, Half Life 2 just made it in lol, it was either that or Ratchet and Clank 3. Half Life JUST won out.
I would definitely have to sit down and think about it, but I know that A Link to the Past and either Super Metroid or Metroid Fusion would be on my top 10 list. They are games that I come back to on a yearly basis, they must be some of my favourites.
You should make a top 10 list. I'd love to see it man! A link to the past is my favourite Zelda Game. Haven't played metroid fusion.
The only game I had played on this list is THPS 2, and I concur that it is freaking awesome. Because I never had a PS1, I played the game everytime someone had the console and game. I seriously loved the level creator and even if I wasn't that good with tricks, I still enjoyed doing every single basic thing on any ramp.
I have Half-Life 2 on Steam and now that I have a laptop that does PC gaming better, I might play the game. But first, I need to get a mouse.
As for the Elder Scrolls games, should I delve first into Morrowind before Oblivion and Skyrim?
My favorite game of all time is Super Mario Galaxy (both the first and the sequel together). Holy shit, is that game inmersive, well done in every aspect and epic. Simply the best plataformer there is.
That level editor! I spent so much damn time on that creating obstacle courses for my friends and brothers to try and beat lol!
I don't think you need to play morrowind first, and it may even turn you away because of how oldschool it is. I'd start at Oblivion tbh. It's cheap and a hell of a lot of fun!
I still haven't played those. I haven't played many games on a Nintendo system since the Gamecube tbh.
Hooray for Doom 2! Hooray for Brutal Doom!!! Sometimes I can't decide whether I like RE 4 or RE 2 more. There's a couple games on here that I haven't played. I saw that Vampire Bloodlines is on Steam though and it looks awesome! I wonder if my laptop can handle it. 
Which do you prefer? Doom 1 or 2? Also, fuck Archviles. I'm up to the suburbs now, and I just adore the game.
Can you run Half Life 2? It's less intensive than half life 2, but it runs on the same engine, so that's why I ask.
Doom is my favorite FPS of all time. I like Doom 2 a lot, but it's insanely difficult compared to the original. Don't even get me started on those damn Archviles lol.
I think I have Half Life 2 laying around here somewhere. I'll have to install it and see.
Wtf? I posted a reply to you yesterday? Pixlbit, this is happening way too often. I'll post a reply to someone and then it's just not there!
You see, after the first few levels, I feel like they're the same in terms of difficulty, mainly because of how open the levels are, giving you more room to avoid attacks. In the fist one I felt like I died more because I got cornered more, but there's less room for this now. I feel the level design and new enemies really do elevate it.
Also, if you haven't watched it yet, check this out. I nerdgasmed!
I have played Doom and Doom 2 enough times in my life to know that the second one is harder. Trust me lol. I don't ever die in the original Doom. Doom 2 kicks my ass a lot. Doom 2 is awesome, but I just prefer the original. I had written a really long review of Doom 2 way back when on 1up that explained all of this in elaborate detail. It's gone now though because of my idiocy. 
PS. I couldn't help but notice you bought Hexen on Steam lol. 
Yeah it sucks that you deleted your stuff. You keep telling me about stuff I want to read. Idk, Doom 2 kicked my ass to begin with, but after a while I just stopped dying. Maybe I just got better at it or something. All I know is that I ADORE Doom 2.
Also, yeah I did. I kinda dug heretic, and brutal hexen is coming out soon, so it was an obvious buy. That and it was 2 bucks lol.
I still don't get how there are people who dislike Resident Evil 4.
Neither do I...
I use to love THPS until I found Skate. Skate ruined THPS for me.
I own Fallout: New Vegas, Oblivion, and Half Life 2 and I hadn't put more than a few minutes in any of them. I plan to fix that next year.
Yeah, Skate is phenomenally good. The only reason THPS is higher is nostalgia.
Play them! All great games!
Dark Souls. Nuff' said, haha
Damn straight!
I don't have an official top ten list, but I do have a definitive top five favorite games of all time:
1. Pac-Man (Arcade)
2. Final Fantasy 6 (SNES)
3. Animal Crossing (GameCube)
4. Super Mario Kart (SNES)
5. Namco Museums vol. 1 to 5 (PSOne)
Nice list. Quite different to the norm lol. Well... except Mario Kart and FF6.
I just spooged on your blog. LOL. I love all those games.
That would explain the white background...
LOL. Blake, you are the man!
I felt the Mass Effect or Star Wars KOTOR games were classics at the time I was playing them. Ocarina of Time, and A Link to the Past are my top 2 games still. Maybe Super Mario World is 3. I don't know about a definitive list. Good on you for sitting down and working out your favorites, I don't think I can, but they are
1. Ocarina of Time
2. A Link To The Past
3. Super Mario World
Mass Effect left an impression, as did KOTOR.
Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 change my taste in music, as did skateboarding. Half-Life 2 was pretty great in terms of pacing but I just wish it didn't feel like I was on ice skaters sometimes.
Silent Hill 2 however is something near and dear to my heart.
My favorite moment in Half-Life 2 was playing for The One Free Bullet achievement on 360. You could only use the gravgun, crowbar, grenades, and rockets (you don't get many and you have to use them against those flying things). I became an expert at improvising with the gravgun. It was really a much better experience without bullets. Well, you had to use one bullet to shoot off a lock at the beginning of the game, but none after that.
That sure is one cute and cuddly list. Tony Hawk's games had such great music back in the day.
I'd like to play the Skate, Silent Hill, or Resident 4 series some time, and I'd probably do so with games you mentioned.
Play all three of those games immediately. Can't believe you haven't yet lol! Well, Skate I understand because you didn't have current gen consoles... but the other ones? How did you miss those puppies?
Well, my brother owned the Playstations in the house, and I wasn't allowed to play M-rated games at the time the first Silent Hills were released. As for Resident Evil 4, I honestly can't tell you, but I have looked into getting it for my Gamecube.
Respectable list. THPS games were a revelation to me. I was late to the party on those,but the first 3 games lived up to the hype. Just goes to show, you often don't know what you like until you actually try it. Props for the New Vegas add. The most RPG mainstream RPG of the gen, if that makes sense. It really does offer different experiences for different character builds. Dark Souls is the best of the generation to me, although I prefer Demon's atmosphere and music. And Doom 2 -nuff said.
Oblivion is the only 'misfire' on this list. Absolutely think it is one of the dumbest games ever made on such a budget. I mean literally dumb. It insults my intelligence at times. And we need more Daggerfall recommendations around here. It's dated as hell, but it's starting to edge out Morrowind as my favorite and most interesting game in the series. There are cool things in that game that have never been done in the series again.
For my own list, Deus Ex would probably be at the top. After that, probably System Shock 2, Metroid Prime, X-Com, Super Metroid, Symphony of the Night. Haven't worked out the order though. Maybe some time in the near future, once I get my literary brain in order and can write something coherent.
Decent half list lol. As I said, Oblivion is the worst game in the series, but it kinda came at a rough time in my life and has more of a personal importance than anything. Morrowind is DEFINITELY the best in the series, at least the three I've played.
ANd yeah, I get what you mean about New Vegas. Took me a couple of reads to work it out though lol.
Nice list. If I came up with a top 10, I think I wouldn't be able to. I like alot of games and just choosing 10 of them would be too hard for me. On NV, I like it, I liked the setting of Fallout 3 more because of DC, but NV had better gameplay mechanics. I love em both, just love the sense of exploring and discovery when you find a new place to explore.
Thanks! They are both great games!
Your list is very similar to my would be list (minus Skate and Tony Hawk). Planescape Torment was my number one until Dark Souls came along. Dark Souls was the first game to make me feel like it was the first time I'd ever played a game. I wish I could play it again with my memory wiped. Magical
I replay Dark Souls every couple of months lol. I friggin adore it! I know what you mean though, I wish I had that sense of discovery still...
Let's see here. I've played SH2 and RE4. Both great games, definitely. I'm intrigued by that vampire RPG though. I don't play a lot of Western RPGs because, in part, I find the typical fantasy setting so very dull. And hey, anything that plays like Deus Ex is a win in my book.
Oh yeah, give VTM a try. It is a bit buggy though, and is very much a flawed gem, but what it does well, it does better than anyone else IMO.
Good to see Half Life 2, Blood-lines,and RE 4 on here! I feel the same about RE 4. It's tied with RE 2 as the all time best game in the franchise for me. (RE REvelations is pretty good too by the way. At least better than RE6 if you prefer more of the scarier elements.) Blood-lines simply makes me wonder why Rock-star has not made their own supernatural modern day drama. That would be sitting on piles of infinite money!
All they have to do is make a Twilight joke in the trailer and they'd sell more than GTA V.
Yeah, Revelations is by far the best RE game since 4. I quite liked it.
Exactly. lol. And you know Rockstar has enough writers and resources they could probably create a rich mythos of their own when it comes to hunters,werewolves,and vampires. Put it in a fictional city rife with Lovecraftian conspiracies and it would be goldy!
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