The best of the best of the masterpieces of awesome

[Erik_Twice]

Given that Time magazine isn't exactly well versed, what do you consider the best of the best, those games that are beyond amazing and which crush even the most tense titles you can think of under their boot?

I've been thinking of making a list for the blog and covering them with great detail, but I don't have the time for it right now, so why not share our lists here? For a game to qualify it must be significantly better than stuff like Robotron or Cosmic Encounter, which is quite a task!

Here's my list so far. It's....quite tense.

Chess (????, XV century) (Boardgame)
Quake III Arena (Graeme Devine, 1999) (PC)
Magic: The Gathering (Richard Garfield, 1993) (Boardgame)
Starcraft (Chris Metzen and James Phinney, 1998) (PC)
Tetris The Grandmaster 3: Terror Instict (?????, 2005) (Arcade)
Team Fortress 2 (John Cook and Robin Walker, 2007) (PC)


Possible additions:

Civilization V+Expansion (Sid Meier, Jon Shafer, Ed Beach and others, 2010&2012) (PC)
UFO: Enemy Unknown (Julian Gollop, 1994) (PC)
OutRun 2 SP (Yu Suzuki, 2004) (Arcade)


What games would be in yours?

[Menegrothx]

It's more important to include the most influental games of all times than just the "best games of all time" since it's so hard to decide the latter. That list for example had Mega Man instead of Mega Man 2 or 7 and Thief the Dark Project rather than Thief II: The Metal Age, even though pretty much every one agrees that Mega Man 2>Mega Man and Thief 2>Thief. I think majority of people would rather play Monkey Island 3 (even 1 or 2 for that matter) than Leisuire Suit Larry 1 because as a newer game it's so much more polished. It's always the first game in the genre that matters the most, even if later on many games improve the concept in different ways (like how MM2 and MM3 improved the Mega Man concept and Thief 2&3 improved the Thief concept)

There are plenty of awesome games that simply didn't do anything new or innovative.

[Erik_Twice]

There are plenty of awesome games that simply didn't do anything new or innovative.

Oh, indeed. But I think it's fun to consider what games are the "best", however silly the concept may be it can kickstart some nice discussions. It's not like you have to choose one or the other.

[J T]

It's always the first game in the genre that matters the most, even if later on many games improve the concept in different ways

Not always...

[SamuraiMegas]

Metal Gear solid 4 is best
it made me cry

[ninjainspandex]

Metal Gear solid 4 is best
it made me cry

metal gear solid 3 made me cry

[Gamerforlife]

For me, best of the best = most polished and refined. That's taking innovation and influence right out of the equation and focusing solely on execution of a game's ideas.

A lot of games are great but have notable flaws. Going by 2012 releases, I'd name Journey and Dust: An Elysian Tale, as being among the best of the best simply because of how completely refined every aspect of those games' design is. Nothing fell through the cracks. They are PERFECTLY designed.

Both Batman games from Rocksteady I would also call best of the best. Every single aspect of those games is perfectly designed. There are no flaws in their gameplay AT ALL. You can nitpick about things like Arkham Asylum not having the most epic boss fights, but nothing about those boss battles was poorly designed.

Resident Evil 4 would be on my list too. Perfectly designed in every way and I should know. I did EVERYTHING in the original Gamecube version and there really wasn't a single part of that game that wasn't well designed

Also, The Red Star. There's a fluidity to that game once you've become one with the controls and understand the various patterns of your enemies as well the streams of bullets coming your way.

[Violent By Design]

It's more important to include the most influental games of all times than just the "best games of all time" since it's so hard to decide the latter. That list for example had Mega Man instead of Mega Man 2 or 7 and Thief the Dark Project rather than Thief II: The Metal Age, even though pretty much every one agrees that Mega Man 2>Mega Man and Thief 2>Thief. I think majority of people would rather play Monkey Island 3 (even 1 or 2 for that matter) than Leisuire Suit Larry 1 because as a newer game it's so much more polished. It's always the first game in the genre that matters the most, even if later on many games improve the concept in different ways (like how MM2 and MM3 improved the Mega Man concept and Thief 2&3 improved the Thief concept)

There are plenty of awesome games that simply didn't do anything new or innovative.

Actually, I think it is a lot harder to decide what game is more influential rather than what game you think is better (better as in more fun).

Given that Time magazine isn't exactly well versed, what do you consider the best of the best, those games that are beyond amazing and which crush even the most tense titles you can think of under their boot?

I've been thinking of making a list for the blog and covering them with great detail, but I don't have the time for it right now, so why not share our lists here? For a game to qualify it must be significantly better than stuff like Robotron or Cosmic Encounter, which is quite a task!

Here's my list so far. It's....quite tense.

Chess (????, XV century) (Boardgame)
Quake III Arena (Graeme Devine, 1999) (PC)
Magic: The Gathering (Richard Garfield, 1993) (Boardgame)
Starcraft (Chris Metzen and James Phinney, 1998) (PC)
Tetris The Grandmaster 3: Terror Instict (?????, 2005) (Arcade)
Team Fortress 2 (John Cook and Robin Walker, 2007) (PC)


Possible additions:

Civilization V+Expansion (Sid Meier, Jon Shafer, Ed Beach and others, 2010&2012) (PC)
UFO: Enemy Unknown (Julian Gollop, 1994) (PC)
OutRun 2 SP (Yu Suzuki, 2004) (Arcade)


What games would be in yours?

Hmm..I'm a little confused with the addition of boardgames. Are you actually referring to Chess and Magic as the boardgame and card game versions exclusively, or are you talking about any digitized versions of them. If it's the former, you would have to take into account sports which is why I am asking.

[Erik_Twice]

Well, I just find the distinction between cardboard and digital games to be kind of silly they are both games. Magic is Magic, no matter if the card is a picture on a screen or piece of paper.

The definition of sport varies so much depending on who you ask and there's so little cultural overlap I think I would prefer to leave them out.

[Menegrothx]

Why Quake 3 and not the original? If you're going for competitive games that are extremely well designed, why not mention Counter Strike?

For me, best of the best = most polished and refined. That's taking innovation and influence right out of the equation and focusing solely on execution of a game's ideas.

The problem is that there are so much polished and refined games that it's impossible to make a list out of just 100 of them. Not to mention the fact that it's almost impossible for an individual to have a diverse and enlightened view of video games as a whole because there are so many different platforms and a huge amount of good games that not many people know of.
Naturally there is a difference between just a really well done game and one that is pretty much flawless and perfectly designed.