 1) Tetris Year of Release: 1985 Developed By: Alexey Pajitnov & Vladimir Pokhilko Published By: Bullet Proof Software, Infogrames, Mirrorsoft, Nintendo, Sega, Philips Platforms: Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Arcade, Commodore 64, Mac OS, MSX, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Nintendo Game Boy, PC-FX, Philips CD-i, Sega Mega Drive, Sharp X68000, Sinclair ZX Spectrum, WonderSwan Color "It's the puzzle game. Not a puzzle game, THE puzzle game; the most-played, most-imitated, most influential puzzler of all time. Nothing else comes even remotely close. It all goes back to Tetris, though -- little chunks of four blocks falling down into pits. It embodies the neat mixture of simplicity and depth that's the mark of any classic puzzler, and even more importantly, a game of any genre." - IGN, 2007 |  2) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Year of Release: 1998 Developed By: Nintendo EAD Published By: Nintendo Platforms: Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 64 "There's a reason that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is widely regarded as one of the greatest video games ever created and it won't take you long to find out why that is. The game takes everything that was great about the Zelda series and somehow manages to bring it all into the world of 3-D graphics without a single hitch. Not only that, but the developers have also managed to add enough new elements to make the game truly stand out from the previous releases in the series. Ocarina of Time is honestly as close to video game perfection as you can get and an absolute must-play for any video game fan." - Nintendo Life, 2007 |
 3) Super Mario 64 Year of Release: 1996 Developed By: Nintendo EAD Published By: Nintendo Platforms: Nintendo 64, Nintendo DS "Mario made the jump to 3-D in this delightful gem that Nintendo smartly released alongside its N64 console. Gamers explored the Mushroom Kingdom like never before, taking leisurely strolls around the castle, sailing through air and fighting Bowser's minions across multiple worlds. Not only is this a sweet game, but it defined the 3-D platform experience, influencing numerous designers to create their own, original offerings." - Gamedaily, 2008 |  4) Half-Life 2 Year of Release: 2004 Developed By: Valve Corporation Published By: Valve Corporation Platforms: Microsoft Xbox, Microsoft Xbox 360, PC, Sony Playstation 3 "Half-Life 2 is the game of the decade, not just because it's good, but because it encapsulates so much of what mainstream gaming has been trying to do for the last ten years; the aspiration to create believable, physically accurate worlds, then to make us a part of them. The narrative and technical achievements of this game and its episodic follow-ups have been equaled, perhaps, but not significantly bettered. We may see Half-Life's usurper in the coming decade - we may witness the next quantum shift in the medium. It will be fun getting there." - The Guardian, 2009 |
 5) Resident Evil 4 Year of Release: 2005 Developed By: Capcom Production Published By: Capcom Platforms: Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo Wii, PC, Sony Playstation 2 "Resident Evil 4 is a reminder of the days before the madness of San Andreas was replaced by the sobriety of GTAIV, when Lara Croft was fighting dinosaurs rather than rapists. It's a game filled with nonsensical flights of fantasy and heavy with indulgences the likes of which only a Shinji Mikami could get away with in a company as large as Capcom. There are cutscenes most players will never see, Easter eggs few will ever discover and entire systems built for fleeting moments then discarded forever - movable bookcases for a siege, a boat for a three-minute boss fight, weaponised lanterns for Ashley's brief interlude, a jet ski for the final escape - and all of them are executed flawlessly." - Edge, 2013 |  6) BioShock Year of Release: 2007 Developed By: Irrational Games Published By: 2K Games Platforms: Microsoft Xbox 360, PC, Sony Playstation 3 "In a time when contemporary urban landscapes, fantasy-themed townships, and shiny futuristic cities were so prevalent that one seemed to blur into the next, Bioshock introduced me to Rapture, a world completely unlike anything I had ever seen in a game, or just about anywhere else. Mechanically, it was a competent successor to System Shock 2, but it was the pervasive, palpable presence of Rapture and its creators that make the game one of the greatest of all time." - IGN, 2015 |
 7) Final Fantasy VII Year of Release: 1997 Developed By: Square Published By: Square, Eidos Interactive, Sony Computer Entertainment Platforms: iOS, PC, Sony Playstation "Perhaps the most influential game of all time, Final Fantasy VII changed the video games industry in a profound way. Before Final Fantasy VII, video games were pretty much straight, simple, objective-oriented games. Go through this level, collect this many items, and so on. Final Fantasy VII brought a deep (at the time anyway) story, the likes of which most gamers had never seen. Although many games before it had been story-oriented, Final Fantasy VII was the first one to have a true cinematic feel. The game also revolutionized the way graphics enhanced a game's experience, with CG sequences and richly detailed prerendered backgrounds that had not been equaled at the time." - Gamespot, 2002 |  8) World of Warcraft Year of Release: 2004 Developed By: Blizzard Entertainment Published By: Blizzard Entertainment Platform: PC "World of Warcraft's biggest revelation is that the 12 million people who subscribe to Blizzard's mega-hit MMO aren't that different than non-players. Sitting down for a few hours with an Alliance instance or a Horde raid may not be all that different from watching a day's worth of football on a Sunday. Except in World of Warcraft, you get to slay a giant freaking ogre, which is more than an armchair quarterback can say." - TIME, 2012 |
 9) Metal Gear Solid Year of Release: 1998 Developed By: Konami Computer Entertainment Japan Published By: Konami Platforms: Nintendo Game Boy Color, PC, Sony Playstation "I'm in awe. An admittedly ambitious project from the very beginning, Metal Gear Solid has managed to deliver dutifully on all of its promises. From beginning to end, it comes closer to perfection than any other game in PlayStation's action genre. Beautiful, engrossing, and innovative, it excels in every conceivable category." - IGN, 1998 |  10) Doom Year of Release: 1993 Developed By: id Software Published By: GT Interactive Platforms: 3DO, Atari Jaguar, Nintendo Game Boy Advance, PC, Sega 32X, Sega Saturn, Sony Playstation, Super Nintendo (SNES) "The contributions Doom has made to the video game world are legion. It busted the first-person shooter genre wide open. It proved shareware and game demos could be a viable marketing tool. It showed how visceral the online head-to-head experience could be. It opened the doors for player-created game expansions. Perhaps more important than all these landmarks, however, is the fact that Doom is just plain fun. No matter what system it's running on, exploring, finding secrets, and killing everything in sight within the smooth first-person engine is as fresh now as when Doom was first introduced." - Game Informer, 2009 |
 11) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Year of Release: 2011 Developed By: Bethesda Game Studios Published By: Bethesda Softworks Platforms: Microsoft Xbox 360, PC, Sony Playstation 3 "In weaving together the extraordinary craftsmanship evident in the music, storytelling, adventure and world design of Skyrim, Bethesda has created a very special game indeed - one that's likely to remain in the affections of gamers for many years to come. It evokes a word that's overused in reviewing of all kinds: one that's best kept in the cellar in a plainly marked box and reserved only for the most special of occasions. For Skyrim though, I'd like to blow the dust off it, open up the lid, and enjoy a masterpiece with you." - Eurogamer, 2011 |  12) Mass Effect 2 Year of Release: 2010 Developed By: BioWare Published By: Electronic Arts Platforms: Microsoft Xbox 360, PC, Sony Playstation 3 "The first Mass Effect introduced players to the sci-fi universe that Commander Shepard and the crew of the Normandy could explore. With Mass Effect 2, the series streamlined its combat mechanics to feel more like a shooter while maintaining the RPG-inspired mechanics (earning experience points to level up, choosing and training skills, coordinating tactics with teammates) that appealed to fans of the first game. The result is one of the best gaming experiences in recent memory." - Paste, 2014 |
 13) The Last of Us Year of Release: 2013 Developed By: Naughty Dog Published By: Sony Computer Entertainment Platforms: Sony Playstation 3, Sony Playstation 4 "At a time when blockbuster action games are sinking into a mire of desperate overproduction, shallow gameplay and broken narrative logic, The Last of Us is a deeply impressive demonstration of how it can and should be done. It starts out safe but ends brave; it has heart and grit, and it hangs together beautifully. And it's a real video game, too. An elegy for a dying world, The Last of Us is also a beacon of hope for its genre." - Eurogamer, 2014 |  14) Super Mario World Year of Release: 1991 Developed By: Nintendo EAD Published By: Nintendo Platform: Super Nintendo (SNES) "It's hard to put into words just what exactly it is that makes Super Mario World so amazing. Is it the clever, challenging level design? The careful pacing and wealth of layered secrets? The fact that it gave us Yoshi? For a character who originated on the arcade and became a star in the 8-bit era, Super Mario World marked a remarkable next-gen debut for the mustachioed plumber. To this day, Super Mario World remains one of the most critically acclaimed, commercially successful, and widely beloved games of all time." - Popular Mechanics, 2014 |
 15) Chrono Trigger Year of Release: 1995 Developed By: Square Published By: Square Platforms: Android, Nintendo DS, Sony Playstation, Super Nintendo (SNES) "Chrono Trigger is a masterclass in RPG design, its execution so far beyond the quality and poise of contemporary JRPGs it's embarrassing. It represents the work of a company at the very top of its field, a team of designers so confident with the rules that they helped establish that they felt free to subvert and invert them to glorious effect. While this is a game presented in simple 2D sprites and count-the-frames animations, its underlying maturity and creativity is somehow all the more potent for it." - Eurogamer, 2008 |  16) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Year of Release: 1991 Developed By: Nintendo EAD Published By: Nintendo Platforms: Nintendo Game Boy Advance, Super Nintendo (SNES) "It's rare that a prequel should be better than the original but Link To The Past turned Link into Nintendo's second superstar. This is a great adventure and seeing as it introduced multi-level dungeons, heart containers, the hookshot, the master sword and parallel worlds, it's importance in the Zelda legacy can't be overlooked. Yet even if you ignore all that, Link's journey to rescue Princess Zelda from the dungeon of Hyrule Castle is still gripping now." - Official Nintendo Magazine, 2011 |
 17) Red Dead Redemption Year of Release: 2010 Developed By: Rockstar San Diego Published By: Rockstar Games Platforms: Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony Playstation 3 "A true western can't be afraid to back down from its gritty substance, and Red Dead Redemption's final, unwinnable mission lives up to consequences often promised by the grim story. But that semi-tragic ending is earned by the plausibility of its rich open world, which is filled not just with outlaws to shoot, but also with cattle to herd and tame, animals to hunt, trains to rob (or protect), and townsfolk with whom you fight, drink, and gamble. But perhaps the grandest accomplishment was the sheer beauty of the territory, such that stumbling upon a rare sunset-lit vista while hunting for buried treasure was often reward enough." - Slant, 2014 |  18) GoldenEye 007 Year of Release: 1997 Developed By: Rare Published By: Nintendo,Activision Platform: Nintendo 64 "Until 1997, home consoles were a bit of a wasteland when it came to shooters. Aside from a handful of relatively shoddy ports, gamers seeking a quality FPS needed to saddle up to a PC. But all of that changed when Rare's Nintendo 64 hit proved that you didn't need a mouse and keyboard to experience a phenomenal shooter. A diverse, cinematic campaign lured us in, but it was the impeccable multiplayer that kept this cartridge locked into our consoles for years after its release." - IGN, 2015 |
 19) Halo: Combat Evolved Year of Release: 2001 Developed By: Bungie Published By: Microsoft Game Studios Platforms: Microsoft Xbox, PC "Halo: Combat Evolved set the standard for quality, action, and execution on Microsoft's consoles; it defined Xbox gaming as we know it. Until the release of Halo, first-person shooters always felt clunky on consoles; Bungie proved they were absolutely at home here, and opened up the doors for the genre. Halo gave gamers everywhere a compelling reason to buy an Xbox. For just a second, let's put aside everything that Halo delivered as a game and face one sobering fact: If not for the triumph of Halo in the face of the PS2's incredible success, the Xbox never would have survived. It's the reason we have everything else." - Official Xbox Magazine, 2009 |  20) Portal 2 Year of Release: 2011 Developed By: Valve Corporation Published By: Valve Corporation Platforms: Mac OS, Microsoft Xbox 360, PC, Sony Playstation 3 "It's one thing to outthink a psychopathic computer program, as players did in the original Portal. But this brilliant sequel took things leaps and bounds beyond by asking players to outthink one another. In a co-op mode to rival all others, players were forced to work together, but never punished for betraying each other instead. In a meta move, the real cleverness wasn't in the exponentially more complex puzzles, but in the way it asked players to trust in that Charlie Brown-like way that their friends wouldn't infuriatingly, comically sabotage them at the last second. Shooting your friends was simple; trapping them in an infinite, head-spinning loop was impressive." - Slant, 2014 |
 21) Minecraft Year of Release: 2011 Developed By: Mojang Published By: Mojang Platform: PC "Minecraft is a sandbox building video game which allows players to build constructions out of textured cubes in a 3D world. The gameplay is inspired by Dwarf Fortress, Roller Coaster Tycoon, Dungeon Keeper, and Infiniminer.I once described Minecraft as the greatest game I have no desire to play. Which isn't quite fair, because I do want to play it. A lot. I just know that a single taste will have me hooked on its pixelated blocky world-building and I'll never get anything done again. Minecraft's simplistic, rudimentary graphics are part of what makes the game so special. It's like the video game version of giving a creative seven-year-old a gigantic tub of Legos." - Popular Mechanics, 2014 |  22) Street Fighter II Year of Release: 1991 Developed By: Capcom Published By: Capcom Platforms: Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Arcade, Commodore 64, Nintendo Game Boy, PC, Sega Master System, Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Super Nintendo (SNES) "Proof that the beat 'em up is one genre that hasn't necessarily benefited from advances in technology, Super Street Fighter II is still the best fighting game of all time some 15 years after its original release. Unbelievably this was the fourth Street Fighter II game but it improved upon previous versions with more characters and better visuals. Pitch perfect fighting action." - Official Nintendo Magazine, 2011 |
 23) Portal Year of Release: 2007 Developed By: Valve Corporation Published By: Valve Corporation Platforms: Microsoft Xbox 360, PC, Sony Playstation 3 "Released in 2007, Portal was met with unanimous, sustained praise and yet its influence has been almost non-existent. There have been no imitators, no cover versions, no respectful nods from other studios hoping to build upon its lessons and approach. That is, arguably, because it is a complete game, in which story and mechanics elegantly entwine and unfurl towards their natural conclusion. Like a short story that is too rounded to expand into a novel, and too idiosyncratic to birth a genre, Portal sits alone, majestic." - Eurogamer, 2013 |  24) The Witcher 3 Year of Release: 2015 Developed By: CD Projekt RED Published By: CD Projekt Platforms: Microsoft Xbox One, PC, Sony Playstation 4 "This series has come a long way since the first game released in 2007, going from a somewhat clunky RPG produced by a small studio to a hugely popular, polished open-world title that much of the gaming world was anticipating. The Witcher 3 tells a compelling story, and populates its world with believable characters that serve to draw you in and make you feel like you're living it. This is the best storytelling we've seen in RPGs, and it has set the standard that games should be judged by in the future." - The Escapist, 2015 |
 25) Super Metroid Year of Release: 1994 Developed By: Intelligent Systems Published By: Nintendo Platform: Super Nintendo (SNES) "The Metroid series differed from most other platforming games via its non-linear level design, large explorable world, and weapon-based combat. Samus Aran's 1994 Super Nintendo outing built on these elements with sharper graphics, cinematic elements, and even more refined gameplay, setting the standard for the side-scrolling action-adventure platformer genre that would come to be known as "Metroid-vania." Its influence can be seen in everything from the classic Castlevania: Symphony of the Night to modern indies such as Cave Story and Shadow Complex." - Popular Mechanics, 2014 |  26) Super Mario Bros. Year of Release: 1985 Developed By: Nintendo R&D4 Published By: Nintendo Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) "Super Mario Brothers might as well have come down from another planet. In an age where Pitfall was the standard of console game sophistication, showing a kid Mario was like buzzing Kitty Hawk with the Space Shuttle while the Wright Brothers were taking their first flight. Thirty-two scrolling levels, eight bosses, undersea adventures, power-ups, warp zones, coin heaven, dozens of secrets, and an unforgettable musical score were almost too much to get our minds around. Fortunately, Nintendo's ingenious and instructive World 1 level design taught us everything we needed to know to begin our quest across the enormous Mushroom Kingdom." - IGN, 2015 |
 27) Shadow of the Colossus Year of Release: 2005 Developed By: Team Ico Published By: Sony Computer Entertainment Platforms: Sony Playstation 2, Sony Playstation 3 "Shadow of the Colossus weaves its own strange, fascinating mythology. A lone warrior on horseback arrives at an ancient temple with a body wrapped in a cloak; after hoisting his burden up on the stone alter, our hero, Wander, removes the cloak to reveal a lovely maiden, serene in death. A booming voice tells Wander he can return the soul to her lifeless body by defeating 16 fearsome colossi scattered around the land. Each colossus on your quest inspires awe, towering high above your head, sending earthquakes through the ground with each lumbering footstep. Few games in history can claim such taut atmosphere and dramatic scale." - Paste, 2009 |  28) Deus Ex Year of Release: 2000 Developed By: Ion Storm Published By: Eidos Interactive Platforms: Mac OS, PC, Sony Playstation 2 "While today it may offer a hilariously cartwheeling narrative, hideous voice-acting and far too much 'We've seen the Matrix 20 times!' it still carries that unmistakable air of wanting videogames to be so much more than they'd been before. It's a protest, a call to arms, an uprising against what games were in danger of becoming. A world that explores you as you explore it, the constant choice of how to behave and how to fight and the still-rare sense of wanting to educate you while taking your own intelligence entirely seriously. That, and reminding men that it really is not cool to walk into the women's toilets." - Rock, Paper, Shotgun, 2011 |
 29) Super Mario Bros. 3 Year of Release: 1990 Developed By: Nintendo R&D4 Published By: Nintendo Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Fight monsters and mini-bosses, avoid ghosts and the burning sun. Make your way through water and quicksand. Dodge cannon balls and bullets and rescue the King's wand! In Super Mario Bros. 3 there are more warps, more chances at extra lives, and new special suits! The raccoon suit lets you fly and knock out blocks. The frog suit helps you out-swim the deadly fish. There are suits for every occasion! Store up flowers and mushrooms to use later on. Play game-show type bonus rounds! Go back to that last screen and get a mushroom! Pause to take a break, then continue where you left off! Super Mario Bros. 3 is fun to play alone, or team up with a buddy to prolong the adventure!" - Popular Mechanics, 2014 |  30) Grand Theft Auto V Year of Release: 2013 Developed By: Rockstar North Published By: Rockstar Games Platforms: Microsoft Xbox 360, Microsoft Xbox One, PC, Sony Playstation 3, Sony Playstation 4 "There's something of an East Coast/West Coast rivalry internalised by the Grand Theft Auto games. After dominating a pseudo-New York in GTA IV, the fifth entry hopped back across 'Murca for a sun-soaked tale of criminal fraternity in Los Santos. One of the most painstakingly realised virtual cities ever seen, it's perfectly possible to spend days blissfully exploring, enjoying bitingly satirical radio stations. Not enough? The complex relationships between three leads - a series first - whose lives are spiralling out of control leads to one of the series' most engrossing stories, capped off by Oscar-worthy performances from its voice cast. Impeccable." - Empire, 2015 |
 31) Half-Life Year of Release: 1998 Developed By: Valve Corporation Published By: Sierra Studios Platforms: PC, Sony Playstation 2 "If the industry were a crime scene, the guy with blue light would be seeing Half-Life's DNA all over the place. And yet, despite its host of imitators and disciples, Half-Life did that seamless style of play better than just about anything that's followed. It had more going for it than mere freshness; freed of expectation or example, Valve created something pure and unique that even the game's own sequels haven't quite captured. Sure, it's dated in places, and the low-gravity Xen levels that comprise the endgame represent one of the steepest drop-offs in quality the medium has ever seen -- but despite its age and flaws, Half-Life remains a masterpiece whose influence seems unlikely to fade with time." - 1up, 2012 |  32) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Year of Release: 2007 Developed By: Infinity Ward Published By: Activision Platforms: Microsoft Xbox 360, PC, Sony Playstation 3 "Until this mega-blockbuster, first-person shooters aiming for realism tended to focus on the events of World War II. And why not? Shooting at Nazis seemed to pose a less thorny moral dilemma than recreating a battle from, say, the Vietnam War. But by staging its conflict in a Middle Eastern locale, Call of Duty 4 brought a harrowingly familiar intensity to its campaign. Moral issues aside, it's not every day you get to narrowly avert a worldwide nuclear holocaust." - Paste, 2009 |
 33) Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Year of Release: 2009 Developed By: Naughty Dog Published By: Sony Computer Entertainment Platforms: Sony Playstation 3, Sony Playstation 4 "The first Uncharted game gave the PlayStation 3 something it sorely needed: an exclusive, killer franchise. But while the game had an interesting story, its frustrating and sometimes-buggy controls held it back from true greatness. Uncharted 2 fixed that. Better controls made traversing ruins and jungle landscapes exciting instead of frustrating, while an improved combat system transformed gunfights from chore to treat. Nathan Drake's second treasure-hunting outing is nothing short of delightful-aside from all the henchmen trying to kill him." - Popular Mechanics, 2014 |  34) Grand Theft Auto III Year of Release: 2001 Developed By: DMA Design Published By: Rockstar Games Platforms: Microsoft Xbox, PC, Sony Playstation 2 "Grand Theft Auto III turned PlayStation 2s everywhere into roiling vistas of possibility where the id could run free and even the drudgery of getting around was a thrill. It's almost laughable that its cartoonish violence was ever deemed controversial, because Rockstar arguably didn't get serious about its narratives until later. The punky scrappiness of Grand Theft Auto III harbored a rock-solid intuition about the new shape of fun, a hunch that continues to pay off very handsomely for Rockstar, its fans and video games in general." - TIME, 2013 |
 35) Metroid Prime Year of Release: 2002 Developed By: Retro Studios Published By: Nintendo Platforms: Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo Wii "Gamers who bemoaned Metroid's rebirth as an FPS took cold comfort in Nintendo's assertion that the game was a first-person adventure, not a shooter. We didn't know what this meant until Metroid Prime dropped. Then it all became clear: It wasn't about gunplay but exploration, puzzle-solving, platforming and story. By breaking the genre free from the clutches of Doom, this GameCube title took one massive stride forward for first-person games." - Wired, 2009 |  36) Starcraft Year of Release: 1998 Developed By: Blizzard Entertainment Published By: Blizzard Entertainment Platform: PC "StarCraft's legacy as one of the most important PC games ever made is secure. It revolutionized competitive gaming as we know, and is one of the only video games that could be rightfully called a true national sport. Part of its legacy is owed to the fact that it was in the right place at the right time. But its raw depth has helped it remain relevant even in the face of more advanced competition." - 1up, 2012 |
 37) Dark Souls Year of Release: 2011 Developed By: FromSoftware Published By: Namco Bandai Partners Platforms: Microsoft Xbox 360, PC, Sony Playstation 3 "Dark Souls' main claim to fame is how brutally difficult it is. That's deliberate though; director Hidetaka Miyazaki's pushback against the softening of modern games. With ferocious enemies, unforgiving terrain, and fatal traps, every step taken through the cursed land of Lordran is potentially your last. Yet your fate is ultimately in your own hands, failures frustrating but fair. Traps can be avoided, enemies out-manoeuvred, terrain navigated. Each death makes you a little wiser, and you'll soon wade back in with masochistic delight in hopes of uncovering more of the world's hidden, horrifying secrets." - Empire, 2015 |  38) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Year of Release: 1997 Developed By: Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo Published By: Konami Platforms: Sega Saturn, Sony Playstation "Symphony of the Night is much more than just a fun side-scroller with an awesome twist, though. Dracula's castle has never been more varied, filled with gorgeous gothic pixel art and backed up by a fantastic soundtrack. Alucard and all of his monstrous foes are lusciously animated. It's basically the entire package. Art, animation, sound, gameplay, design... even replay value, thanks to multiple playable characters. It all comes together perfectly." - IGN, 2015 |
 39) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Year of Release: 2017 Developed By: Nintendo Published By: Nintendo Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii U "Breath Of The Wild feels like a cultural moment, one of those rare occasions when a new artwork is immediately and almost unanimously agreed upon as an all-time great. I'm thinking of albums like My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and movies like There Will Be Blood - releases that feel like seismic events." - The AV Club, 2017 |  40) The Legend of Zelda Year of Release: 1986 Developed By: Nintendo Research & Development 4 Published By: Nintendo Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) "One of the most beloved games of all time, Legend of Zelda is a bonafide classic, and with good reason. Zelda was the first "action-adventure" title that most people had ever come across, and its mix of action, interesting puzzles, fantastic (for the time) graphics, slowly expanding story, and hidden areas kept gamers glued to the screen. Then... just when you thought you had it beat, the game throws you a curveball and sets you back down in a world that's not only completely scrambled from when last you saw it, but is twice as hard on the hero as the first time." - Gamespy, 2004 |
 41) Pokemon Red/Blue Year of Release: 1998 Developed By: Game Freak Published By: Nintendo Platform: Nintendo Game Boy "In both Japan and America, it's hard to think of a children's franchise more culturally ubiquitous than Pokemon. There were TV shows, card games, movies, and, of course, the best selling videogame franchise. Beneath all the cutesy creatures and the feel-good coming-of-age story, the Pokemon franchise is a well-designed and engaging turn-based RPG that continues to stand the test of time. Fifteen years later, its formula has barely changed." - Popular Mechanics, 2014 |  42) Super Mario Kart Year of Release: 1992 Developed By: Nintendo EAD Published By: Nintendo Platform: Super Nintendo (SNES) "You always remember your first car - or kart, in Mario's case. This opening lap around the Mushroom Kingdom effectively created the kart racer, providing a blueprint of super-deformed vehicles, deranged tracks, and outlandish power-ups that all latecomers would follow. It made incredible use of the Mode-7 graphical abilities of the SNES, producing a startling near-3D look - it appears quaint now, but at the time the visuals were unmatched. However, Super Mario Kart's greatest accolade was in proving that humanity had never truly known rage before experiencing the ignominy of being smashed out of first place by an unseen red shell." - Empire, 2015 |
 43) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Year of Release: 2003 Developed By: BioWare Published By: LucasArts,Lucasarts Platforms: Microsoft Xbox, PC "Given how Manicheistic the worldview is in George Lucas' oeuvre, it surprised gamers when it was a Star Wars game that added shades of morality to a gameplay experience. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic took the consequences and branching story paths pioneered in games like Deus Ex and augmented them exponentially. You acted out every choice that made your character into a Jedi master or a Sith lord, giving the game a verve and believability that the latter-day Star Wars films lacked." - TIME, 2012 |  44) Super Mario Galaxy Year of Release: 2007 Developed By: Nintendo EAD Tokyo Published By: Nintendo Platform: Nintendo Wii "We should be tired of bailing out the hapless, girly-girl Princess Peach by now. If she hasn't yet learned how to keep herself out of Bowser's clutches, she probably doesn't deserve to be saved. But how can you possibly resist coming to her rescue yet again, especially when the journey offers so many giddy surprises. The designers at Nintendo who work on the Mario franchise have mastered the art of creating fresh, whimsical gameplay twists and Super Mario Galaxy is so well executed, it looks positively effortless." - Paste, 2009 |
 45) Final Fantasy VI Year of Release: 1994 Developed By: Square Published By: Square Platforms: Sony Playstation, Super Nintendo (SNES) "Mechs, firearms, and a variety of technologies that ride the line between science-fiction and steampunk all make their Final Fantasy debuts here. This is also one of the series' darkest entries with characters who contemplate suicide, several major deaths, and an insanely malicious villain who actually succeeds completely in his horrifying plan by the games halfway point. With the largest and most diverse cast of the entire Final Fantasy franchise, some haunting and emotional music from long time composer Nobuo Uematsu, the best set of side-quests ever delivered, and a wildly intense final battle, Final Fantasy VI is, without question, a series standout" - Popoptiq, 2015 |  46) Fallout 3 Year of Release: 2008 Developed By: Bethesda Game Studios Published By: Bethesda Softworks Platforms: Microsoft Xbox 360, PC, Sony Playstation 3 "The idea of walking around a nuclear wasteland in 2077 is as much of a fantasy as anything else in a modern role-playing games, but the attention to details lavished by Betheseda upon their devastated, mutant-overrun version of Washington D.C. made Fallout 3 feel all too real. That's because the game allowed you to literally choose your own adventure. Because if you didn't feel like exploring the various ruined landmarks, subways, and museums that loosely connected the main plot, you could simply scavenge the surrounding, fully rendered areas, stumbling over old military bunkers and warehouses in the mountains, or picking through suburban homes, supplying your own grim stories and making your own brand of morality." - Slant, 2014 |
 47) The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Year of Release: 2002 Developed By: Nintendo EAD Published By: Nintendo Platforms: Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo Wii U "Wind Waker was the bravest Zelda game Nintendo ever made. After Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask proved hits, fans demanded more of the same. Instead, director Eiji Aonuma dared to embrace change, delivering a cute, animated interpretation, with a younger Link searching for his kidnapped sister, not Zelda. Yet naysayers were silenced by ingenious dungeon designs providing memorable challenges, while the same cel-shaded style that drove some to apoplexy yielded stunning visuals, flawlessly capturing the imaginative sea-faring, pirate-filled journey at hand. In hindsight, Wind Waker is an undeniable work of art." - Empire, 2015 |  48) Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater Year of Release: 2004 Developed By: Konami Computer Entertainment Japan Published By: Konami Corporation Platform: Sony Playstation 2 "The prequel to the entire Metal Gear series, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is set in 1964, setting up much of what was to come later - notably Portable Ops, Peace Walker and the recent Ground Zeroes - making it a must-play entry in the franchise if only to help untangle the ever-expanding rubber band ball that is MGS. Helping its must-play status is the novel jungle setting, the natty camouflage mechanic and the best story in the series - a tale so slippery that a snake analogy would seem appropriate. The trademark cardboard box, overlong cutscenes, ropey dialogue and fourth wall-breaking humour are all in full effect, and coming at the tail-end of the console's lifetime, it's easily one of the best games released on PS2." - Empire, 2015 |
 49) Resident Evil Year of Release: 1996 Developed By: Capcom Published By: Capcom Platforms: PC, Sega Saturn, Sony Playstation "Perhaps Resident Evil will always be remembered for its B movie fare -- a horrible consequence of low quality production values in the early dawn of 3D games -- but its deceptively brilliant take on terror and suspense distilled some of the best elements of the horror film genre into a digital and playable form. Much like Sweet Home, Resident Evil focused on the horror movie trope of survival and forced players to carefully (and quickly!) weigh their options during an encounter. It's directed camera angles hid offscreen enemies and created a form of suspense around every corner. It's true that Resident Evil has changed significantly since its original incarnation, but Capcom's original ultimately refined a promising concept of the 8-bit era into a masterpiece. In the process, it gave the industry a brand new genre of video games." - 1up, 2012 |  50) Silent Hill 2 Year of Release: 2001 Developed By: Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo Published By: Konami Platform: Sony Playstation 2 "Separating itself from the formulaic, zombie-laden schlock that was beginning to define the horror-game genre, this PlayStation 2 game was grounded in a certain kind of horrific reality. Following the story of the troubled and lost James Sunderland, this psychological horror game exposed the truth behind his relationship with his deceased wife. Silent Hill 2's story tackled taboo subjects like domestic abuse and incest, setting the bar for horror games to come by scaring the player not with hallways full of dessicated monsters but with the horrors found in the hearts of men." - Wired, 2009 |
