i'm in no position to say what the 10 best video games are, as i've only played a small subset of them. however, i will list the top 10 video games that i have enjoyed the most, that i have spent the most time on, that i view as having outstanding design, or that have influenced my life in the most profound way.
these are ten of the best video games ever created:
1. super mario 64: my first video game and likely the reason i play so many video games today. possibly the most influential game ever created. single-handedly began and mastered 3d platform gaming, free-roaming style game design, and many other standards of the industry
2. super smash bros. melee: the best fighting game ever created and one of the most technically demanding games ever. i have traveled to competitive melee tournaments for a number of years now. won money, lost money, made friends, had great times
3. rollercoaster tycoon: the single greatest achievement by an individual person in the history of video games. chris sawyer wrote this entire game by himself IN FUCKING ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE. it went on to sell many millions of copies and sucked up countless hours of my childhood
4. league of legends: i've put at least 500 hours into this game over the past year or so. it's just really fucking fun, i dunno. amazing replay value, great design, and it pioneered a unique payment model that proved extremely successful
5. minecraft: probably the second greatest individual achievement in the history of video games. the simplest and possibly most brilliant game ever made. took sandbox gaming to its extreme, and gave more power to the player than any game had before. also impressive due to selling millions of copies purely by word of mouth and an extremely loyal fanbase
6. animal crossing: this game redefined for me what video games were about. this was the only video game that i played with my sister (and only sibling) on a regular basis. it required little skill or coordination. it was about socialization, creation, and immersion. a complete paradigm shift which was extremely addicting
7. pokemon silver: the pokemon series took the standard RPG gameplay of the day, and gave it twice as much depth while making it twice as fun and easy to enjoy. there's a reason every single kid in america knew about it. you really have to play it to appreciate it. i put silver here because i put the most time into it and it was better than blue
8. runescape: very large and immersive mmorpg for its day. mostly here because of the immense amount of time i played this game as a kid
9: the sims: another simulation game that was ridiculously popular due to its replay value and addictiveness. DANCE MY PUPPETS DANCE
10: legend of zelda ocarina of time: another one of my favorites as a kid. considered by critics to be the greatest video game ever made
i look forward to seeing the rest of you explain why your generic first-person shooters and RPG's meet higher standards of the art form than these games do
