I haven’t been a gamer for long, certainly when compared to those people my age who have playing since NES, Atari, Gameboy…
I bought my first console, an Xbox, about 8 years ago when, in the middle of my Buffy obsession, a Buffy game with most of the original cast made me need one. It was my first hit.
Now I’m an addict.
I play a lot. I moved on from the Xbox to the Xbox 360, then added a PS3, and finally a Wii. If there’s a day I don’t play anything, it’s worthy of mention.
In my defense, games are good. Like I said, I don’t have a childhood of games to compare current releases to, but these days we’ve got HD graphics, motion-captured performances, A-grade actors doing the voices, Hans-freaking-Zimmer writing music. It makes sense, games are now a bigger industry than movies and TV, so it seems I’ve gotten in at the right time.
Some of these games have been so good that I look back on the experiences as personal events. That sounds tragic, desperate and pitiful, but by actually being able to control the protagonist, and by spending so much time in such a vivid world, it gets inside you.
So, here, for my own benefit, I’ve listed the games that I’ve played in the order in which I’ve enjoyed them.
I’ve only included games with a narrative (so no Rock Band, no Burnout, no Guitar Hero), and I’ve only included games that I’ve finished (no Spiderman, no Overlord, no BioShock). Also, I’ve probably forgotten a few, but it’s safe to say they wouldn’t have been in the top 10.
Criteria is simply my enjoyment and my memories of the game. Some games have beaten technically superior buddies (Gears of War, for example, was robbed), but for whatever reasons, I liked things in this order:
Grand Theft Auto 4
Liberty City, a slight re-branding of New York City, in which you have free reign to misbehave, is my favourite game environment to date. There’s such life in the city- you can just stand and watch the people around you interacting, and it’s always unique. Plus, the acting is great, the swearing is intense and the sheer level of detail (a dozen radio stations you can listen to? Comedians you can go see in comedy club- one of which is a motion-captured Ricky Gervais? Brilliant!) make this my favourite world I’ve ever been in. Red Dead Redemption, Fallout 3, Oblivion and Assassin’s Creed 2 are very, very close, however.
Elder Scrolls: Oblivion
A well-made game sucks you right into the world. Oblivion invades your thoughts while you’re away from the xbox and lures you back into its fantasy world, replete with swords, magic, awesome monsters, alchemy, shopping and ghosts. So much to explore, so many options, such a massive game. You get absolutely lost in this game, and that’s an amazing achievement (unlocked…).
Red Dead Redemption
I’m hesitant to include brand new games this high on the list, but I’ve got no doubt this one will stand the test of time. Using the same engine as Grand Theft Auto 4, set in the ‘wild’ American west and setting a new benchmark in graphics, storytelling and immersion, this doesn’t just fulfill cowboy fantasies, it creates them.
Fallout 3
The people that made Oblivion took the engine and made a game set in a post-apocalyptic Washington. A perfectly created world where every bullet counts, and every decision you make has an impact somewhere else. You can spend dozens of hours playing in this world without even starting the story. Epic. Really, this and the three titles that precede it all deserve equal top billing.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
So, so many games promote themselves as being a ‘cinematic experience’. Generally, though, that means lots of cut-scenes and endlessly annoying ‘quicktime events’ (‘press X to catch the sword that’s hurtling towards you’). This, though, deserves the description. This game is spectacular, and the constant action is perfectly intercut with well-scripted, well-acted dialogue that combines into an epic film-like experience.
Assassin’s Creed 2
I hadn’t been to Florence, Venice, Sienna or any of the Italian locations painstakingly recreated within their renaissance context for this game. But after climbing up balconies, running along rooftops and exploring churches in this game, I made sure every one of the game locations (including the smallest of villages) was on our itinerary. And, having seen them in person, I am even more impressed by the game.
Halo: Combat Evolved
The first game in the still-going series, Halo supposedly invented the modern shooter. But for me, as the second game I ever bought, this was what created my love of multiplayer gaming with my friends. Link four Xboxs and four TVs together, grab four copies of Halo and destroy your weekend (and each other).
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
The problem with Star Wars games- and most licenses- is that while in theory the idea of playing through a movie you love is exciting, the reality is it’s neither identical to the film (otherwise, what would there be to do?) or a surprising, thrilling enough adventure (or it’d be too distant from the film). Knight of the Old Republic is set in the Star Wars universe- lightsabers, space transporters, the Force- but thousands of years before the movies. Awesome.
Fable 2
Get a group of girls drunk. Invite two of them up to your room (Achievement unlocked…). Marry someone of the same gender. Burp/fart on cue. Fable 2 is overly stylized, cartoony and light-on with its script, but the encouragement you are given to experiment, and the scope of actions available to you make this a very fun, very silly, very addictive experience.
Modern Warfare 2
This game includes the most controversial level I’ve ever played, and I frankly don’t agree that it should have been allowed. However, with its constant changes in gameplay, amazing animations and score by Hans Zimmer (Pirates of the Caribbean, The Lion King, etc.), it sucks you in and completely immerses you in the graphic world of contemporary war.
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2
The moment you’re starting to get even slightly bored with the action in this squad-based shooter, it flips itself around and gives you something completely different to do. The very fact that I liked this game surprised me, since I’ve never been ‘into’ ‘war’, but seeing it in this list alongside both modern Warfare games, I see that I clearly enjoy a bit of realistic shooting enemies in the face.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2
Better than number one in many respects, but one of the rare instances where a game sequel didn’t leave me with an overall better feeling than its parent.
Battle for Middle Earth 2
Even with Red Alert and Halo Wars commanding and conquering their way onto the Xbox, this is my favourite console Real-time Strategy game. Excellent handling of one of my favourite franchises, without interfering with the narrative or visual style of the films.
Halo 3
Said to be, at the time, the last Halo game (subsequently demonstrated to be untrue), this one ‘finished’ the story with a bang. Didn’t reach the originality heights of the first, but lots of action, a heap of multiplayer fun.
Mass Effect 2
In some ways, I’m surprised this isn’t higher. The story is immense. The characters are vivid and real, the writing is epic (and so much of it). I enjoyed both Mass Effect games but I feel like the balance between story and action is off. I don’t just need ‘more shooting’, but I want more to happen to me between gunfights than conversations.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
As mentioned, this game was the reason I bought a console. As a result of this being the first game I owned and played through, I had nothing to compare it to. Although, in hindsight, it wasn’t the greatest game, I loved being an interactive part of the Whedon world.
Mass Effect
Halo 2
Star Wars Battlefront
inFamous
The Simpsons Game
Halo Wars
Batman Arkham Asylum
Crackdown
Bully
Unchartered: Drake’s Fortune
Saints Row 2
Just Cause
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Harry Potter and the Pris. Of Azkaban
Ghostbusters: The game
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
God of War 3
Lego Indiana Jones
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Stranglehold
Red Faction: Guerilla
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Gears of War
Lord of the Rings Conquest
Tristan Lutze, 2010
