100. Valkyria Chronicles
The Good: The story is simple but effective and doesn't go overboard on the 'anime' stuff that plagued the next two games in the series. The gameplay is fun and emphasizes good positioning and strategic movements. The music really adds to everything too - for some reason Japanese composers just 'get' how music should be in a game, way more than their western counterparts. It's just a solid, all-around good game and I'm glad it sold a ton on Steam.

The Bad: The gameplay/animations are slow, which means that large-scale battles can end up taking a looong time as they get more big and complex. This is a common problem with the strategy game genre as a whole, I think. Because of that, when I tried replaying the Steam version I didn't get very far. While the writing is overall pretty good, none of the characters end up being very memorable. Well, except for once...

The Best: Playable Vyse. Pretty much the reason I looked at the game!


99. Half-Life 2 (and its episodes)
The Good: Half-Life 2 has a fantastic atmosphere for an FPS, one of the best ever done. The storyline creates a compelling character out of your silent protagonist, the world you explore is full of details and the way the appearences of the G-man hint at a grander design just make it all the more compelling. FPS games still struggle to copy the sense of immersion that the Half-Life series can give you.

The Bad: Half-Life 2 honestly doesn't age well, for several reasons. It was a groundbreaking game at the time, technically speaking, but since then the shooting mechanics and physics engine that made it such a big deal back then has been iterated on a million times. The weapons aren't too interesting, and some of the vehicle sections (especially the boat) can drag on. And most importantly, the wait for Half-Life 3 just makes the game shine so much less. It's hard to keep caring about an amazing cliffhanger more than 10 years after it happened.

The Best: There's one sequence at the end of Episode 2 where you have to drive around in a car frantically shooting at giant killer robots before they blow up key structures. On paper it's has a lot of things that can go wrong in a game - forced vehicle section, protecting other things instead of protecting yourself, ect. Instead it's just really fun and tense and is the strongest memory I have of the game. Valve's games are (mostly) incredibly well-designed in what they do, it's a real damn shame they stopped making games entirely.


98. Radiant Historia
The Good: I love me some good time travel shenanigans! The way Radiant Historia explores multiple timelines is fun, the battle system has a positioning gimmick that makes for a much better time than the traditional JRPG fare, the music is great, the writing is solid, the main character Stocke is a badass. This game has a lot of positive qualities going for it.

The Bad: I've never played a more solid game that is harder to remember. Pretty much nothing about Radiant Historia sticks out as being truly great. It's lesser than the sum of its parts, which is a shame because it's pretty fun to actually play. It just lacks that spark to make it one of the greats.

The Best: Exploring BAD END timelines was always great, even if they were short. The situations that happen were always so ridiculous. Stocke just tries everything possible to achieve the best ending for everyone involved, including defecting to the enemy team. There's also one where a small event snowballs out of control and causes the most unassuming member of the party to go crazy and kill everyone. Fun times.


97. Bioshock
The Good: Bioshock's atmosphere is otherworldly. From the moment you step into Rapture, the story of the doomed city slowly unfolds before you through audiotapes, visual cues, the scenery, the manic sputtering that comes out of the enemies' mouths...it's truly what makes the game. The writing is exceptional, too, with my favorite being the audiotapes of Andrew Ryan which paint a villain that is simultaneously deplorable and understandable.

The Bad: Bioshock's gameplay is crap. The shooting controls are wonky, the powers are unsatisfying, and most importantly, the gameplay goes contrary to the atmosphers the game is trying to create. It's hard for the game to stay tense, gripping, and mysterious when you're mowing down enemies - not even setting the game on the hardest difficulty can make it a challenge. I think Bioshock would've worked infinitely better if it leaned much, much heavier on the stealth elements as opposed to the FPS elements. If it had done something like that, this game is waaaaay higher up on my list.

The Best: One of the best-executed and most memorable twists in gaming, bar none. A lot of games these days try to play on the medium of video games itself, but few are able to match what Bioshock did here. Unfortunately, THE TWIST was so good that the parts of the game that came afterwards just felt lackluster in comparison!


96. Goldeneye 007
The Good: Total nostalgia pick here. I tried to avoid those in general but it's hard to entirely avoid Goldeneye. This game shaped the console FPS scene more than any other game except Halo. I went through each level a million times trying to do them perfectly, it was just so fun to try and get it down to a science. I never was able to do the toughest missions on the hardest difficulty, though, or even most missions within the time required to get the cheats. I love those cheats, though. Big Head mode is the funniest thing.

The Bad: With a lot of games, I watched youtube videos to refresh my memory on things (not nearly enough time to play everything here). With Goldeneye, I didn't bother. I already know it hasn't held up well, like, at all. No sense ruining those memories at this point!

The Best: Multiplayer with your friends was just such a good time, every time. Normal, Slappers Only, Man with the Golden Gun - you name it, we played it and loved it. Except for that one lame friend who always tried to pick Oddjob. If you're reading this, and you were that guy in your own group of friends, then kid me hates you kid you.


95. The Walking Dead Season 1
The Good: The first time you play this game, it's downright gripping. Each choice feels like the weight of the world being put on your shoulders. Things happen, and you feel terrible about it, and wonder how it all could have been difference. It helps that the writing is overall very strong, and to date is probably Telltale's best outing in that department.

The Bad: The moment when you realize that none of your choices mattered in the slightest woooooo. Oh well, at least the first playthrough was a fun ride. The gameplay isn't great, but it's a point-and-click adventure game. Comes with the territory.

The Best: Lee and Clementine. They're the soul of the game and the experience would be much worse off without them. Both of them grow through different ways throughout the course of the game, and the payoff at the very end is worth the entire trip - including the one choice in the game that still manages to feel meaningful after all is said and done.


94. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
The Good: This game definitely became a zetgeist moment when it came out. It won a million game of the year awards for good reason! All the characters are likable, the tone has a nice Indiana Jones feel to it, and the setpieces are some of the best in any game. It's just a fun game to play, hard to see someone flat-out disliking it.

The Bad: Uncharted 2 feels less 'special' as games get more cinematic in general. I doubt it ages well. But the real issue with Uncharted 2 (and the series in general) is what happens anytime you try to go slightly against the path that Naughty Dog has set for you. Things are fine and dandy when you know what to do, but if you get stuck even for a moment then the game grinds to a screeching halt. Have never been a fun of the shooting elements of the game, either.

The Best: Uncharted 2 has one of the best openings to a game I've ever played, and that momentum carries through the entire experience. There's the train section too, but my personal favorite moment is when you're caught on the second floor of a building as it crumbles around you. Good stuff. Might have ranked this one too low, actually.


93. Metroid Fusion
The Good: It boggles my mind that we haven't gotten another 2-D Metroid (that wasn't a remake). It's a good formula! Start out weak. Explore. Collect shit. Get stronger. Fill out the map. Get upgrades. Explore more. Repeat. It's just a good feedback loop placed in atmospheric settings.

The Bad: The story segments. Not because they were bad in this game, but because of what it did to the series afterwards. The Federation stuff and ADAM all spawned from this game. I was really looking forward to where the series was going to go after the ending, too.

The Best: The SA-X sections give this game a survival horror feel that I really enjoy. It's an "OH SHIT" moment every time it appears. This all leads up to the final boss fight against it, which is kind of a mess but really fun at the same time. Dark Samus has got nothing on this.


92. Starcraft
The Good: Starcraft is one of the most flawless games ever made. The storyline is tight and well-written, the gameplay balance is amazing, the sound effects and unit quotes are memorable and fun to listen to a million times. I have very little negative things to say about Starcraft. I guess the graphics are getting kind of shitty by modern-day standards.

The Bad: Starcraft 2 retroactively makes the story worse, but really the issue with the game is that it just isn't my genre. I'm generally terrible at it and it just doesn't click with me like other games do. The fact that I like the game so much in spite of all that shows how damn good of a game it is.

The Best: Kerrigan's arc in Brood War is pretty much impeccable. From the way it builds upon itself with subterfuge and betrayal, followed by the way the entire universe turns against her. culminating in the "queen bitch of the universe" line and her taking on every faction at the same time and winning...it's hard to top that. Helps that I always liked playing Zerg the most.


91. F-Zero GX
The Good: As far as I'm considered, this is Racing: The Game. It's not going to get better than this. The exprience G-Zero GX presents pure adrenaline and precision combined and its great. I don't even have many words to say about this game, it's just a freaking good racing game and that's all it needs to be.

The Bad: Like Starcraft, this is not even close to being my genre. Some games just have a negative KP bias from the start and have earned their spot on the list through blood, sweat, and tears.

The Best: My favorite stage was the one that consisted largely (maybe entirely?) of a long cylinder that you would just go around and around, completely defying gravity. It was just a blast to play every time.


90. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
The Good: I don't care at all about LTTP. I've played it twice to completion and I was bored each time. No 2-D Zelda before this one really clicked with me - I didn't get far in Link's Awakening, Minish Cap was really average, and Oracle of Ages/Seasons just weren't memorable to me. ALBW surprised the hell out of me. All the chaff has been cut out and the dungeon design was improved significantly, leaving a tight game with barely any flaws to name. The story was even half-decent! It's really fun and it's difficult for me to imagine a better 2-D Zelda than it.

The Bad: This game leans heavily on LTTP at times, especially with the map design (being a sequel and all) so for someone who loves that game and has played it a million times, ALBW might seem kind of derivative. Fortunately for me, I didn't quite have that problem!

The Best: I played through ALBW in maybe two sittings. It was hard to put it down once I started!


89. Metroid Prime
The Good: Probably one of the most influential 3D games of all time, and definitely a canditate for best-ever 2-D to 3D transition. Wasn't this, like, Retro Studio's first game? It's ridiculous. Everything that makes Metroid, Metroid, is here and in spades.

The Bad: Fighting enemies is actually kind of boring. It's just a bunch of locking on, shooting, and strafing repeatedly. Occasionally you exploit a weakness but it's rarely in an interesting way. Some bosses are interesting but not very many. The Chozo Ghosts later on are kind of obnoxious too.

The Best: The progression in this game is paced absolutely perfectly. Out of all the Metroid games, it probably does the 'start weak->explore->get stronger' feedback loop better than any of them. It also includes a lot of different environments with different tones and visuals, and nails pretty the atmosphere in all of them.


88. Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
The Good: I'm a fan of visual novel-type stuff. They can create some gripping experiences, and 999 definitely fits that bill. I also love the specific genre of 'people trapped in a place' so this one was right up my alley. Good story, good characters, fun puzzles - I'm glad this game ended up finding a market.

The Bad: The replay system sucks and makes you re-do a bunch of dialogue and puzzles every time. I also got the Safe ending first which sucked. A much bigger issue is that the ending completely falls flat on its face. I'm all for big out-there plot twists, but it goes contrary to the atmosphere and tone of the game up until that point and the game doesn't properly prepare the player for it. The buildup doesn't have an effective payoff and it ends up cheapening the rest of the game as a result.

The Best: The first time you go through it, this game is absolutely filled with dread. You're trapped, people are dying in horrific ways, and you barely understand what or why is happening to you. The fantastic, dark, moody soundtrack helps emphasize this. You really have no idea what's going to happen at any given moment and that atmosphere is what makes 999. I really hope that Zero Escape 3 captures the feel that this game had.


87. Braid
The Good: This is essentially the game that made people realize that indie games could be a legitimate thing. Take a strange little man in a tie, give him fully controllable time powers, and you get Braid. The puzzles in this game are great to this day, containing just the right amount of "how do I do this?" so you feel clever for figuring it out while still never getting truly stuck.

Side note: I actually remember people complaining when Braid came out, because it cost $15 while every other Xbox indie game up to that point was $10. It seemed like a dumb conversation back then and it's even more dumb now!

The Bad: Not really many issues with Braid, but the super secret ending is kind of dumb I guess. The overall story is pretty much nonsense, actually.

The Best: That soundtrack. Man, is it completely perfect for the tone this game tries to create. The art style is great too and I love all the puzzles in this game. It's just a really solid experience from start to finish, culminating in an ending level that is perfect for the game.


86. Bastion
The Good: Bastion is a very atmospheric game. I love the western feel to the music, the way the ground rises up to meet you as you walk, the way the story unfolds through tiny nuggets of information as you slowly piece together just what went wrong. The combat is simplistic but fun, with a variety of weapons to test out and experiment with. And despite being minimalistic by design, the story has some some surprisingly powerful emotional moments.

The Bad: I noticed this happening again while playing the sequel, Transistor, and it bugs me equally in both games. You get railroaded hardcore at every turn. You can never go back to a level once you've beaten it, and there aren't enough side challenges to make up for the fact that eventually you just...run out of gameplay and are forced to progress. It's weird and annoying. The art style isn't that great either.

The Best: The narrator makes or break this game for people. For me, it made it. Commenting on all your actions in that gravel-y tone was just so entertaining for some reason and gave the game a storybook feel to it. I also really, really like the music, especially the ending theme which I still listen to every now and then.


85. Fate/Stay Night
The Good: I think I played this because of the Most Powerful Character contests on B8 where random FSN characters kept getting in and doing bullshit things. I wanted to see what the big deal is. I was very surprised by what I got - this was my first visual novel and it's an experience that's stayed with me since then. It's not one that ages well, but it's one that stays with you regardless. It's got a pretty good premise - 7 magicians in modern time summon people form myths and history (that somehow have crazy powers) to fight each other, last survivor gets a wish. And FSN runs away with that premise, big time.

The Bad: There's many issues with FSN. The pacing is really bad, the main character is stupid, the prose is indecipherable at times, it's too long for it's own good, and it has some...questionable Japanese elements at some parts. I wouldn't recommend it to most people, and if I did, I would recommended a patched version. For what is mostly a text-based medium, those flaws can be really bad.

The Best: ...And it somehow produces a ton of amazing moments regardless. While the buildup can be way too long, the payoff is always worth it in an explosive manner. The animations and text make you feel the intensity of combat more than most games with combat do, the story is insane in a good way and constantly subverts your expectations, and a lot of stuff is just plain badass. The Archer stuff in Route 2, and how it relates to the protagonist is especially well-written and is by far my favorite part of the game. I will never replay/reread FSN, but I'll remember it for a long time.


84. Elite Beat Agents
The Good: Kudos to ZenOfThunder for making me play this. What a fun game. Everything about it puts a smile on your face. From the goofy plots, to the remixed music of well-known songs, to the charming character designs, to the fun timing-based rhythm gameplay that utilizes the DS stylus perfectly...everything comes together to form something that could make the grumpiest person in the world smile. It's a very simple experience, but I think that adding else to this game would just make it worse.

The Bad: It didn't get a sequel.

The Best: "You're the Inspiration" almost* made me tear up. Was not quite expecting that from a game this silly.

*Okay, fine, you can remove the 'almost'.


83. Shadow of the Colossus
The Good: Shadow of the Colossus is a game carefully built on highs and lows. You have the lows of exploring the land, slowly finding your way to the next boss battle. While some thought those sections were boring, I liked riding Agro around and was glad that there weren't any enemies around to spoil the mood. Then you have the high of feeling like an ant while fighting a giant, hulking colossus and trying to figure out how in the world you're supposed to take it down, a feeling very much emphasized by Wander not being suited for combat in the slightest. Not every colossus nails this, but the ones that do make everything worth it. Then you finally slay the creature, and you're treated to haunting, somber music as evil black stuff invades your body. It all creates an experience that no game has really replicated since.

The Bad: The controls are just not very good! It's a good thing that the gameplay doesn't really require precise control, because if it did this game would be a disaster. Also, one time I glitched through the giant turtle colossus and fell inside of him. I couldn't get out for like 20 minutes. Kinda ruined the atmosphere of that fight for me - and then it turns out that that fight is the ONE TIME in the game where you actually have to swing your sword, which I had completely forgotten about. Screw that turtle.

The Best: At one point, a sand worm colossus is chasing you. In perhaps the coolest moment in a game full of cool moments, the way to take it down is to let your horse go on autopilot (at serious risk of it crashing into something, Agro isn't very smart), turn around, notch your bow, aim carefully, and somehow nail the colossus in the only weak spot it has - its eye. Nothing ever surpassed that for me, although some moments came close.


82. Dishonored
The Good: Dishonored is a strange game. It has a strange cartoony-but-not-really art style, a strangely bleak tone, a strange out-there story that combines assassinations and godlike whales, and strange stealth abilities to use. It produces a very unique experience that ends up being pretty fun to play through. I like the Victorian trappings, too, everything has a cool design to it.

The Bad: This game was clearly not built around the merciful option, and it shows. There's infinitely more abilities related to killing things - fun abilities, too, which makes it so damn tempting. The developers openly admitted this and said that they didn't even know people would want to go for a no-kill run until they demo'd the game and people started asking about it (which is weird because the endings on a merciful run are infinitely better). The protagonist being silent also works against the game, as a lot of scenes would really be improved by him...you know...having a personality. It's also somehow one of the few games that gave me motion sickness at times.

The Best: I mean, I'm just a complete sucker for a good stealth game. Have always loved the genre. The atmosphere and art style and such is just icing on the cake. Dishonored had a lot of issues but it had enough potential that I'm really looking forward to the sequel. I also loved that, early on in the game, you get the ability to understand a person's inner thoughts/true nature by using an item. It changes how you view...basically everyone.


81. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
The Good: XCOM is a cruel game. You don't get units back after permadeath, the game autosaves constantly if you're on Ironman to prevent save scumming (and you should be on Ironman), and stuff can just completely mess you up out of nowhere. The developers stated outright that 90% of finished XCOM runs ended in failure. It's that brutal aspect to the game that makes it so engrossing. You're forced to plan for the RNG screwing you over, for when you get critted, for when you miss the 90% shot. And you will get unlucky, oh so unlucky. But that's just what XCOM is, and when you embrace that gambling mindset and get a hold of its strategy elements, it becomes a blast.

The Bad: I played the console version and it was a bad, bad port. Slowdown and glitches everywhere. That I liked the game so much when my first experience with it was this catastrophe shows how cool of a game it is. I actually appreciate that the sequel didn't even bother to include console versions, don't subject people to that again. Also, I need to play the sequel.

The Best: The first mission I ever played in XCOM, I tossed a grenade at an alien hiding behind a car. It blew up the car, which then blew up the soldier I had on the other side of the car. The soldier who threw the grenade, panicked, ran out into the open and was immediately gunned down by other aliens. That sequence of events set the tone of the game for me.


80. Kingdom Hearts
The Good: Kingdom Hearts is the perfect game to play when you're a kid. It's got Disney characters, Final Fantasy characters, spikey hair, magic, LIGHT and DARKNESS, all that good stuff. It loses its luster as you get older but its still a really fun adventure at heart and has a lot of charm that will never fade. KH1 is back before the series went off the deep end with the plot, too, which is nice. The Disney characters actually matter in this one.

The Bad: I replayed some of KH1 recently using the HD collection, and its gameplay simply doesn't hold up well. There's a lot of awkward movements, mashing buttons, and weird hitboxes. It wasn't even that great when it came out and it's only gotten worse over time. Standards have simple evolved too far - a sub-par action game in 2016 will still probably have better gameplay than Kingdom Hearts 1 does.

The Best: I'm of the firm belief that the soundtrack for the KH series is the biggest reason for why it connected with so many people. Shimomura knocked it out of the park for these games and created a lot of memorable melodies that can easily conjure up memories of the game if you listen to them. The soundtrack elevates the adventure and makes everything seem grander than it really is.


79. Paper Mario
The Good: There's three games that Nintendo refuses to make for whatever reason. A new 2-D Metroid, a new F-Zero, and a new proper Paper Mario game. One with RPG mechanics, and endearing party members, and funny dialogue, and neat areas to explore. It's been over a decade since TTYD! Come on!

The Bad: I feel like, while the battle system is overall good, it has a lot of room for improvement. The Mario and Luigi series did the timed hits thing a lot better, letting you completely avoid damage if you get the timing down right. In Paper Mario, if you time your hit against an enemy correctly, it usually reduces 1 damage. Who cares. In general the battle system is kind of overly simplistic, but I guess it is a Mario game.

The Best: The art style and charm for this game is fantastic. I don't know who thought that making Mario a piece of paper was a good idea, but apparently it turns out pretty well! It gives the game a unique feel that people still want more of. The writing in the Paper Mario series as a whole is also by far the best in the Mario series, and maybe the best out of any Nintendo game period. Bowser's personality in these games is amazing.


78. Golden Sun: The Lost Age
77. Golden Sun
The Good: No point in seperating these writeups, the games are really closely connected and the differences between them aren't very big. I've always been surprised by how it's 'cool' to hate Golden Sun these days, because the games are pretty solid. They've got good puzzles, good dungeon design, the best graphics and music on the GBA, and a fun battle system. I've got a ridiculous amount of nostalgia for these games though. Golden Sun 2 is actually the better game but I played Golden Sun 1 three times as much. I pretty much know it by heart. Good times.

The Bad: The writing is pretty dumb. People say a lot of words that don't mean anything, the story is cookie-cutter as all hell and nothing interesting ever happens. It's still a lot more tolerable than a lot of other JRPGs though. There's no hot spring scene, or scene where people discuss a party member's boobs, pointless melodrama, horrible character designs, or awkward romance. I'll take bland writing over bad writing, personally.

The Best: The Djinn system is really cool. It makes the boss battles really interesting because you have a ton of different effects you can use at any given time, its strong but has significant drawbacks which forces you to plan ahead, it ends in badass summon animations, and it encourages you to explore the game world to find them. Always liked it a lot.


76. Shadow Hearts
The Good: Shadow Hearts has by far the best atmosphere in the series. It combines humor with dark, moody areas in a strangely weird way. You have to go to a graveyard within your mind every now and then and clear out your inner demons or else a curse overtakes you and you die! The story also intersects with history in a really goofy way that makes it even more memorable. Each Shadow Hearts game has a progressively worse atmosphere, but SH1 nailed it.

The Bad: While I like the judgement ring system the battle speed is pretty slow. Common issue with old JRPGs. Random encounters can be a bit high too. Some of the writing can be a bit awkward at times, although sometimes that ends up being the charm.

The Best: Yuri Hyuga is a huge part of the first two games being good. He's one of the best game protagonists out there and has really strong characters arcs that arrive to satisfying conclusions. It gets to the point where Yuri is almost too good - he overshadows basically everyone else in the game except Alice at some times. Worth it, though!


75. Ever17
The Good: More Visual Novels! This one also follows the 'people trapped in a place' idea that I like so much, although it has a significantly different tone than 999. Things are a lot more lighthearted, but that doesn't end up being a bad thing. You get pretty attached to the characters, wonder a lot about the scenario that piiles upon mystery after mystery, and there's a lot of moments and endings that tug at the heartstrings. It has some dumb moments but overall it's a good ride.

The Bad: Like a lot of other Visual Novels, it's just too long, has too much purple prose and weird writing. There's also a lot of repetition in scenes - you see people play Kick the Can way, way, way too much. Some routes are weaker than others, too.

The Best: Ever17 has one of the best plot twists I've ever seen. The final route (and the slow buildup to it) is phenomenal and has not diminished in my mind in the decade or so since I read it. All that repetition and all those slow moments were worth it for the ending, which is batshit crazy insane as 999's but executed a million times better and properly prepared for.


74. Until Dawn
The Good: You know how in B-grade horror movies you're always frustrated with the dumb decisions of the stereotyped one-dimensional characters? Yeah apparently it's a lot more understandable when you're the one making the dumb decisions for them! This game is way more fun and engrossing than it should be. Anyone can die at any moment, the cast start out as stereotypes and then move past those and end up as good well-rounded characters, the graphics look amazing and do a good job at immersing you in the situation, and the game's sense of timing is perfect. You can have a run where everyone dies, and one where everyone lives, and everything in between. I've seen all sorts of combinations happen naturally.

The Bad: The beginning of the game is kind of slow and has some weird writing at times that comes off as college teenagers being written by people three times their age. Doesn't happen often, thankfully, but it's offputting when it does. It's still paced pretty well overall though. There's also the issue that the main storyline barely changes based on your decisions (outside of who lives and who dies), although these kinds of games will probably always be like that.

The Best: Playing it with family and forcing them to make the life-or-death decisions. Then watching them scream when they choose wrong. Simply the best.


73. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Good: It's barely possible to take a view of OoT that hasn't been influenced by outside sources.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/10/arts/video-games/q-and-a-rockstars-dan-houser-on-grand-theft-auto-v.html?_r=1
Q. Are there games you play in which you think, “Oh, I’m going to steal that,” or, “I’m going to do that but do it better, do it right”?

A. Anyone who makes 3-D games who says they’ve not borrowed something from Mario or Zelda is lying — from the games on Nintendo 64, not necessarily the ones from today. But I would argue in that regard we’ve certainly been more sinned against than sinning.

OoT has influenced basically everything. It's the template for so much, and a lot of it still holds up incredibly well too. I personally don't think anything it does is amazing, but it does a lot of stuff very well and it creates an experience that is consistently enjoyable,

The Bad: At the same time, because it's the template for everything, nothing it does is original anymore. It's still a good game because of the great dungeon and world design, but it's hard for me to summon up strong feelings for the game sometimes. I don't really have the nostalgia others have for it either, I actually enjoyed it more as I got older.

The Best: The transition from the childhood to adult Link, and how you see how the world has changed, is a really memorable part every time you play the game. It makes the journey seem a lot more impactful when you see how awful things are when Ganondorf is allowed to win for a while.


72. Rayman 2: The Great Escape
The Good: One of the best 3D platformers ever made. This game is super underrated. The level design is top notch, the game is full of unique situations, the art style is good, and it's even got collectibles that are fun to seek out. Rayman gets a surprising amount of fun abilities to use, too, like charge shots and long-range tarzan ropes and flying. Variety is king in this game.

The Bad: Honestly can't think of much. Solid game. I guess some people think the character designs are dumb but I always like Rayman. Cool dude!

The Best: There's one area called the Cave of Bad Dreams where the game just shows off all it's good ideas. It's got a creepy atmosphere, the platforming is at its best, and it ends with a tense chase scene where you control yourself while seeing yourself from the perspective of the monster. It's always my favorite place in the game when I replay it.


71. Soul Caliber II
The Good: a.k.a. The game where you could use Link. I played the absolute hell out of this game when I was younger. Other games in the series are probably better, but guess what? They didn't have Link. He fit so well into the universe and was so fun to use. Had good times back-throwing my friends out of the stage (which, looking back at it, kinda looks like I treated Soul Calibur 2 like Smash Bros).

The Bad: Not many glaring flaws in this game, although it doesn't have anything that elevates it above this level either. It would be tough to go back to Soul Calibur 2 these days, with its lack of HD and no online or character creator.

The Best: I loved that stupid single player story mode. It was basically just a series of fights with flavor text but I loved it. You could go down different paths and buy weapons and stuff!!! Soul Calibur 3 has one I liked even more (in addition to a create-a-character thing I loved) but it also tended to delete my save data so eff that noise.


70. Team Fortress 2
The Good: I'm not usually big on online multiplayer FPS stuff, but Team Fortress 2 was too fun not to play. The characters and writing are really charming and witty and hadn't been run into the ground yet when the game was still early in its life. The multi-class system adds a ton of variety to the gameplay, the levels are really well-designed, and the art style sets it apart from the crowd. Lots of cool things going on here. Valve makes (made) good games!

The Bad: The whole HAT COLLECTING thing is definitely overblown (although it makes for funny jokes), but there is something to be said about the game's original style being left by the wayside. The game just looks ridiculous now and I think I preferred it when it was semi-grounded in reality. Really, in general Team Fortress 2 has gotten a bit too over-the-top for its own good. Doesn't help that the new weapons they release tend to break the game.

The Best: The Spy is my favorite class by far because I'm awful at mouse precision in online games, which I'm sure makes me some sort of stereotype, but I don't care. It's too fun to stealth and sneak behind the enemy team, waiting for the right time to strike. Most of the time this ended in horrible failure because, again, I'm bad, but every now and then you get a streak of backstabs and sentry sabotage going and you just feel like god.


69. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
The Good: This is one of those games that sets such a standard that the rest of the games in it's series spend all their time trying to live up to that standard (and failing). SotN has this crazy combination of gameplay, level design, and atmosphere that creates something way greater than the sum of its parts. Other games in the series have refined the gamplay, added more variety, and are better in an objective sense - but at the end of day, SotN is more fun and more memorable. Art style is great, too!

The Bad: This game is such a cakewalk. There's this stupid mechanic it has where it bases the difficulty of the game off of how well you do on the unloseable tutorial boss, and all it ends up doing is setting the difficulty range somewhere between "easy" and "piss easy". Not all games need to be difficult but it would've been nice if there were some degree of tension to everything, at least.

The Best: SotN has one of the best soundtracks in any video game, period. In my opinion, it's the main reason for the game's incredible atmosphere why no other Castlevania game has been able to surpass it. I also loved the reverse castle, it was such a brilliant way to extend gameplay time in a fun and unique way that probably took almost no development time to implement.


68. Kingdom Hearts 2
The Good: A game that was good enough to make fans pine for a sequel for over a decade, even as they got jerked around by spinoff games on lesser systems. The storyline is overall worse than in KH1, but it still retains a lot of that charm of exploring Disney worlds. My favorite was the Steamboat Willie one, too good. The battle system is significantly improved and the music is just as good, so overall it's better than the first game.

The Bad: This is where the series' story really starts to go off the rails. It isn't *too* bad in this game, but you see the signs of what was to come. The Disney/FF aspect starts to get marginalized in favor of the KH original characters and LIGHT LIGHT DARKNESS DARKNESS, the storyline gets really convoluted, and there's a lot of stuff that happens that isn't comprehensible unless you play a bunch of spinoff games. I think it was a ridiculous idea at the time to include a ridiculous amount of plot-important stuff in Chain of Memories, a GBA spinoff game on a different console. Didn't affect me because I played it, but still. And Square is still doing it!

I'm also still pissed off about the wasted potential with Roxas' storyline. It's been over a decade and I still can't get over it.

The Best: The battle system is incredibly mashy and incredibly fun. There's so much flash and glamour and bombast to all the battle animations, usually in the place of actual substance. The game has ridiculously long, over-the-top quicktime events all consigned to one button. The magic system is somehow worse than in KH1. And it all works! The game is a blast to play. It's impossible not to have fun when you nail some stupid midair combo while the Shimomura music swells with grandeur.


67. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
The Good: The classic example of hype backlash in game form. This and Brawl were the big, BIG things to keep track of back in the day. Those were more fun, more innocent days, when every hyped game was going to be the most amazing things you ever fucking experienced. While Twilight Princess didn't come anywhere close to living up to the pedigree that was imposed on it pre-release - nothing would - when the dust cleared, it still ended up as a great game. It has all the trappings that make a Zelda game good; lots of good dungeons, good combat, simple but fun storyline, and a unique atmosphere. I also like the art style and the wolf form, two things that are a stickler for others.

The Bad: The overworld is pretty lacking compared to other 3D Zelda games. There's still some fun stuff to do, but overall it feels empty. This isn't a very big deal to me, but after two games that were more or less defined by the overworld (MM and WW), it was jarring to a lot of people and remains the biggest reason why it's labeled as 'overrated' in a lot of circles.

The Best: Best dungeons in the series, easily. The item you get in them is usually overused within the dungeon and under-used outside of that specific dungeon, and they're still really fun to go through. Good puzzles, good atmosphere, good bosses. To me, Zelda is a series largely defined by its dungeons - there is one major exception, but in general I'm not as huge on the side quests as most people are. Who cares about random heart containers, just give me more Arbiter's Grounds and Snowpeak Temples and City in the Skies and I'll be happy.


66. Batman: Arkham Asylum
The Good: Was it even possible for games based on pre-existing franchises to be good before this came out? If you ever asked someone that, they would shrug and go "Do Goldeneye and Kingdom Hearts count?" and leave it at that. Then AA came out of nowhere and suddenly you could play as The Batman and it would actually be fun. That's one of the big reasons this game is so beloved. Well, that and how it completely rewrote the standard for what the battle system in an action-adventure game should be. Pretty much game in this genre copies the hell out of the Arkham series by now.

The Bad: The battle system, which is great for random encounters, doesn't lend itself well to good boss fights. Killer Croc especially is a huge letdown after the buildup the games gives him, and the final boss being some hulked-up Joker is...well, a joke.

The Best: This game is a really well-designed Metroidvania. It's a lot of fun to move around the Asylum, collect stuff, find hidden areas, ect. But the absolute best part of the game is the feeling it gives you of being THE BATMAN. It's a stealth game that empowers you - you aren't avoiding those guards because you can't take them, god no. You're avoiding them to instill fear in their cowardly, superstitious hearts. You are a predator stalking its prey. You are the night. AA captures the feel of being Batman absolutely perfectly.


65. Mega Man Xtreme
The Good: What's that, you say? You meant to write Mega Man X, KP? Hahaha, oh silly reader. Mega Man X isn't nearly XTREME enough for this list.

http://buccaneertri.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Xtreme.gif

This is a Game Boy port of Mega Man X. It has worse graphics, lower-quality music, and it has some weird thing where it takes some of the levels from Mega Man X and some from X2 and creates one game out of them. Still kinda confused on that. So it's a worse game in every objective sense but, you know what Mega Man X lacks that this game has? Me playing it on my Game Boy constantly, because by the way I never owned an SNES! Even in an aesthetically-gimped form, Mega Man X's level design and gameplay is as fun as it ever is, and back in the day having it in portable form was the best. I also have a big soft spot for the soundtrack of this game, it actually sounds great even with the GB sound chip.

The Bad: I used up a lot of batteries on that Game Boy.

The Best: Getting the Hadouken and Shoryuken. So overpowered. So much god damn fun to use. You shredded bosses with those moves and it didn't matter that it broke the game open because they were incredibly hard to find and you earned them. Really, in general the major upgrades in the game are all really impactful and really fun to use. Mega Man X(TREME) had a fantastic balance between difficulty and character progression.


64. Virtue’s Last Reward
The Good: This is 999 taken to another level. VLR game can't match 999 in atmosphere but it outdoes it in every other way. The twists are even nuttier but the game sets you up for them WAY better, there's a million ridiculous mysteries to uncover, the flowchart system is miles ahead of 999's replay system, the puzzles are more fun, and the way the game plays with your decisions using that flowchart system is something else. It's such a ridiculous game and I love it. Plus, 'people trapped in a place'. Alwways good!

The Bad: The 3D models are a little off sometimes, and Clover's character design is way worse in this game. Also the game spends an inordinate amount of time on showing you door opening animations and people walking through maps and I don't know why. It's also a shame that the foreboding atmosphere of 999 was toned down significantly, apparently at the request of the parent company. Hoping Zero Escape 3 brings that atmosphere back. The game also has a real issue of being mostly setup for a sequel - one that was very, very close to never happening.

The Best: I love how this game unfolds. There's a lot of crazy plot beats and the mystery has you guessing and shocked at every turn, which is extremely impressive for a game that can gives a bunch of routes to explore and a ton of freedom in how you explore them. No matter which way you go through the game, it's going to get you. Very different from 999 where you could get the Safe ending first and kill a lot of the rest of the game's tension.


63. Silent Hill
The Good: This game more or less created the 3D horror genre. Resident Evil came first but it's always been, at the most, equal parts action game and survival horror, even the earliest iterations. Silent Hill is what let people know that games could really, truly get under your skin, and to this day it's one of the best horror experiences in gaming. The old graphics only work in its favor - the best horror is, after all, left best to the gaps your imagination fills in. Silent Hill is one creepy town, and exploring its fog-etrenched corridors is an experience that other games (outside of the Silent Hill series) haven't been able to replicate.

The Bad: Some random parts of the game feel very videogame-y and undermine the otherwise impeccable tone this game creates. Like there's a random giant moth boss fight. Why? Who cares? Considering how immersive the rest of this game is, moments like that really stand out. The gameplay in general is pretty iffy, but it can help make the atmosphere better so I more or less give it a free pass...sometimes.

The Best: Every aesthetic choice in this game is brilliant. The fog, the emptiness, the sirens, the enemy designs, and of course the alternate Silent Hill that makes for an incredibly memorable experience every time it appears. My favorite personal moment in the game is one time I was walking around a building, confused on where to go next. I'd used the elevator to check all the levels but nothing was happening. I went into the elevator again, and found that a 4th floor button had just...appeared. No prompt, no notification, it was just there when it wasn't there before. I pressed it, and everything proceeded to go to hell. Silent Hill does moments like that so well.


62. Dragon Quest VIII
The Good: This is the most Dragon Quest-y DQ game ever made. It doesn't do every mechanic that the series has ever had, but everything that makes it 'Dragon Quest' is here. The story, the enemies, the character and world designs, sound effect, music, and battle system all scream Dragon Quest. As such, the game is charming as hell and a joy to play through.

The Bad: There is no possible way I could ever replay this game. It's too long, too slow. It was a great journey at the time, but by today's standards and with the lessened amount of time we all have, it would just never happen. Even back then, it was a bit much for me. I had to take several mid-game breaks during it because it was one of the longest games I've ever played and it's not a game that gives you too much momentum to keep pressing on, even if it is a great experience.

The Best: The overworld in this game is fantastic, and to this day it's one of my favorites I've ever explored. It was impressive as hell back in the PS2 era and it's still really good even by modern-day standards. There's so much to discover, and it's visually gorgeous to boot. The effect is marred somewhat by the random encounters slow battle system, but not enough to ruin the effect.


61. Final Fantasy Tactics
The Good: FFT has a lot going for it. The story is impactful, the music is fantastic, and the gameplay is incredibly varied and leads to a lot of fun classcombinations. It's a very well-designed game overall, with good pacing and a constant progression (outside of Riovanes, what is that nonsense). It doesn't quite reach the highs that some other games do, at least for me, but in general its a great experience.

The Bad: The script and translation are a disaster. FFT has a really good story and tells it so poorly. There are some good lines - Animals have no god! - but overall it's really bad and full of poor wording, misspellings, translation errors, and some stuff that is just plain incomprehensible. I never played War of the Lions, but from I've watched/read a decent amount of it and the restranslation seems way better, if a bit overdone. Wasn't a fan of how the story focused more on the Lucavi stuff as it went on, either.

The Best: The relationship between Delita and Ramza, and how that develops, is the soul of the game. It has a fantastic buildup and emotional payoff and might be the best personal storyline Square has ever written. Chapter 1 in general is my favorite because it focuses almost entirely on Delita and Ramza. Also, while others have taken its spot since then, for a while I thought FFT had the absolute best game soundtrack and it's still one of my favorites.

Side note: Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together is about as good as FFT, but I got sidetracked and didn't play enough of it so I didn't feel comfortable ranking it. Check it out if you're an FFT fan who was sorely disappointed with FFT's sequels. So, check it out if you're an FFT fan.


60. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
The Good: The definitive Metroid Prime game for me. Everything in this game is just slightly better than the others - level design, boss battles, atmosphere, ect. Even the story is kinda decent in this game. It's without flaws, but at the end of the day I just found it the most interesting and memorable game in the series.

The Bad: The animation that plays when you travel between the light/dark world takes too long. It's also a bit lame that the different kinds of beam weapons you get have an ammo system, although it's hard to ever actually run out of them. The Dark Would probably does a bit too much damage to you but it never bothered me very much honestly.

The Best: Metroid Prime 2 significantly improves on the gameplay of MP1 by actually having interesting combat situations. The boss battles are way better and more difficult, with some fights taking place entirely in morph ball form. And as far as specific areas going, Sanctuary Fortress is probably my favorite in the series.


59. Final Fantasy XII
The Good: On some days I don't even like this game that much, but then I always realize I've played it 3 times and wouldn't mind going for it again. FF12 is a very flawed game, but I like its gameplay and character progression a lot - especially in the International version, which adds a game speedup button and gives you character classes to make the party members more unique from each other. I actually enjoy doing solo characters runs of the game a lot, it makes you employ a lot more strategy. Also, just turn off Gambits people. Game is a lot more fun without them on!

The Bad: Final Fantasy XII's story is a hot mess of wasted potential. It completely falls off the map about 1/3 of the way through the game and loses any emotion/impact it may have had on the player. It switches between two main plots - the Archadian Invasion and the Occuria stuff - but doesn't give enough screentime to either of them, leaving both to wither. It's well-known that a lot of development troubles and executive meddling happened behind the scenes for this game (for example, Vaan wasn't even supposed to be the main character) and it shows. What could have been.

The Best: I love the environments in this game, always considered them up there with some of the best in gaming. The art style is gorgeous and the areas are sprawling and atmospheric, which is helped a lot by a soundtrack that sets the mood perfectly. This makes exploring the world and tracking down Hunts a lot of fun, far more fun than the actual main story of the game.


58. Left 4 Dead
The Good: Left 4 Dead came out at a time when the zombie craze was just starting to pick up steam, and proceeded to not only capitalize on that momentum but become one of the best games of its type ever made. The standard it set as a multiplayer experience is one that other zombie games have yet to match (except by maybe Left 4 Dead 2, but I never got around to that one). Valve games tend to do that. The game makes you feel powerless against the zombie horde while also being a very fair experience - attempts usually end in failure, but it's always because one (or more than one) of you fucked up. There's a variety of unique enemy types to watch out for that make each runthrough a different one than before, and it focuses heavily on teamwork.

The Bad: I'm struggling to think of something to put in this category. I have very few poor memories of Left 4 Dead. It's well-balanced, with strong gameplay and atmosphere, endearing characters, and even the people I played it with tended to be more pleasent than your general online fare. I should go back to it someday.

The Best: The real fun in this game comes from turning up the difficulty to the maximum and seeing how far your group can get. It'll almost certainly end in failure, but the levels are fairly short so you can just try again. You get better and better at the levels, working better as a group over time, until you finally manage to clear a big hurdle together and make some progress. And then the next level comes and you do it all over again. Good times.


57. Psychonauts
The Good: Psychonauts is an incredibly charming game. It combines an odd art style with an odd scenario with legitimately entertaining writing, and the result ends up way better than you would expect it to. The characters are very memorable and with a surprising amount of complexity to them. The actual gameplay is weak and tertiary to the experience of exploring people's minds, but that's okay because the experiences are so unique. There's one instance where a mind interprets you as a Godzilla-type monster that has come to terrorize an innocent population. Don't get that too often!

The Bad: There's one point in the game where you need to collect a bunch of stuff to continue and it's just not very fun and temporarily breaks the pacing of the game. The combat in the game isn't great, either. Thankfully the game seems to realize that and keeps it to a minimum, focusing on the other aspects of the game.

The Best: All of the levels after the game reaches its halfway point are really good. They saved their A-game for those. You go from exploring semi-reasonable minds to the minds of people in an insane asylum and it goes exactly like you think it would. My favorite level, which is also everyone's favorite level, is the Milkman Conspiracy. I could explain it but I think giving the name out of context is better.


56. Sleeping Dogs
The Good: This is one of the best open-world style games there out there. Sleeping Dogs takes all the core elements of the genre, cuts out the chaff, makes everything more fun, and has a good story and characters to boot. It doesn't have the insane variety of a GTA game, but what's there is great. The melee combat rips off the Batman Arkham series and is all the better for it, the driving controls are perfect, all of the side mission and story missions are fun. Just an incredibly solid, well-rounded experience.

The Bad: The story has an incredibly promising first half and just kinda fizzles out afterwards, culminating in a fairly disappointing ending. Nothing terrible or anything, it just wasted a lot of the potential it built up and takes the easy route out on the tough questions it posed to the main protagonist.

The Best: The game's main gimmick of being an undercover cop is, for the most part, executed very well. You'll go do some Triad missions and then turn around and covertly perform operations for the police. Unlike other open-world games which tend to gloss over how sociopathic your character can get when they're not in a cutscene, Sleeping Dogs actually penalizes you for doing stupid stuff like running over pedestrians when you're on the clock. It puts you in this weird mindset where you're trying to be the best crook and best cop you can be, at the same time, which perfectly mirrors the emotional turmoil the main protagonist goes through. Just a solid premise that's done well.


55. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
The Good: This game's platforming was basically the prototype for the Assassin's Creed series, and it's done better here I think. Running along walls never gets old. The time gimmick is more fun than it should be - rewinding from death is strangely satisfying and lets you take more risks and leaps of faith than you otherwise would. The level design also strikes a good balance between structured and open.

The Bad: TheKoolAidShoto once described Sands of Time as "the best game with bad combat". It's definitely the weak point - while some moves you pull off in battle are stylish and cool, for the most part it's all really simple and clunky and you find yourself longing for the next platforming section.

The Best: I love this game's atmosphere. It creates an experience that is definitely greater than the sum of its parts. Taken at piecemeal, Sands of Time has a simple story, some cool platforming segments, neat time powers, sub-par combat, and generic puzzles. But the storybook narration, and the flow of the game, and the level design, and the banter between the main characters, and the sound effects, all come together to form this adventure that stays with you. No Prince of Persia game after this one has come closing to matching the atmosphere Sands of Time had.


54. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
The Good: This game came out of nowhere for me. I picked it up because I was in the mood to try out more Atlus stuff and immediately fell in love with it. It's not perfect, but it has a lot of qualities that I love in a game, like a tense atmosphere, (mostly) realistic characters, and a constant sense of progression. Devil Survivor also doesn't pull many punches. Time progresses increments, and you miss the boat on some events or forget to do something because you were messing around, someone probably just died. It heightens the tension by a lot and makes all your choices seem important. Unlike other games, your choices actually *are* important. The battle system is broken, but in a fun way...for the most part.

The Bad: The random battle music is kinda bad, which is a problem because you listen to it far more than anything else. I got used to it but I still don't think I actually like it. The game also has a difficulty spike at the end, which I was mostly fine because my main character was broken with but ended up stonewalling a lot of people. The writing, while really strong in many places, has several iffy bits that stand out a lot, like Midori.

The Best: The atmosphere in Devil Survivor is stellar. You've got a constant clock over your head that tells you how close you are to death. You're constantly trying to prevent your own predetermined demise, all while stuck in a city that is slowly imploding on itself. Your friends and allies can die if you don't do things properly. Each hour you spend is a decision you never get back. If you mess up everything you get this horrible ending where you essentially end the world due to your own weakness. On the other hand, if you play your cards right, you can become the ruler of all demons, but only after most of your friends leave you in disgust.

I pre-ordered Devil Survivor 2 and it's one of the most disappointing games I've ever played. Makes the original seem like a happy accident.


53. Umineko no Naku Koro ni
The Good: Umineko was pre-cooked to appeal to me in a lot of ways. It involves a rich family trapped on an island they can't escape from, as interpersonal conflict and history clashes with the upcoming inheritance, followed by murders that leaves people questioning the line between fantasy and reality. That's all just in Episode 1 out of 8 - it then proceeds to completely go off the deep end in the best way possible. Combine that with a phenomenal soundtrack and you end up with got one of the most memorable experiences I've ever had. Unfortunately, I can't really recommend it to people, because...

The Bad: Umineko really, really does not have a satisfying conclusion. Umineko Chiru, the sequel, has a bunch of disappointing reveals that retroactively makes the plot worse, and the final Episode was both really dumb and actively offended me. It doesn't completely erase the amazing buildup that the first half of the series created but, and the sequel still has some amazing parts, but for reference, Umineko used to be in my Top 5 or so. A lot of the writing and prose gets more awkward with age, and the pacing is super bad at times, but really, I could've easily forgiven that if it stuck the landing. Oh yeah, and while I stockholm syndrome'd myself on the art its objectively kind of terrible.

The Best: When Umineko cracks its knuckles, ends the expository buildup, and starts to throw down, it causes hours to pass by in a flash. The soundtrack is the literal best in anything I've ever played, the sound effects are godlike and incredibly memorable, and the shitty art and nonexistant budget doesn't prevent it from somehow giving thrilling conflicts with bombastic animations. Playing Umineko alongside other people was an experience at the time. I made a freaking flowchart on how to install it because so many people on B8 were asking me about it.


52. Paper Mario 2: The Thousand Year Door
The Good: TTYD doesn't change much of the template that Paper Mario 1 created. It also didn't need to. The sequel improved most everything from the original game, having better combat and better writing and better scenarios and better party members. The charm is still all there and the art style is just as appealing. It's amost like a sequel doesn't need to have everything that made the original fun ripped out of it just to try and reinvent the wheel for no goddamn reason. Nintendo. Hint hint.

The Bad: The game has too much uninteresting backtracking, although its not a big deal overall. The real answer to this category is that we never got a Paper Luigi featuring everything that happened in Luigi's stories he tells you.

The Best: My favorite part of TTYD is the same thing as everyone elses' favorite part: The Glitz Pit. Mario as a professional wrestler? Named The Great Gonlazes? With some intrigue on the side?!? Count me in.


51. Half-Life
The Good: Modern shooters owe an incredible amount to HL1. The level design is still one of the best in any FPS game; each little room and scenario in HL1 is a unique experience that's fun to progress through. The isolated atmosphere works really well and works well with the premise about escaping one dangerous place that's completely gone to shit. Exploration is both expected and rewarded. The weapons are varied, fun, and iconic. The crowbar started here. Gordon Freeman even makes for a pretty good protagonist considering he doesn't say anything and you never see him.

The Bad: Graphics is honestly the biggest thing. This game is started to look dated, which can hurt the otherwise fantastic atmosphere. I think there's a fan mod that recreated the game in an updated engine with new graphics though, I should check that out sometime.

The Best: It has to be the level design. I have no idea how they wrung so many little unique situations out of one setting. Encounters and events never rely solely on the shooting aspect of the game and always offer a little twist to them - a kind of variety that a lot of modern FPS games are sorely lacking in. The game has few big, high-pitched moments, but its consistently very fun to play and stays that way throughout the entire game.


50. Bleed
The Good: Bleed is a game that understands the two core tenents of a good action game - movement and timing. It requires you to avoid the mess of projectiles and attacks being shot out around the screen, using a limited time slow and a triple mid-air dash, all while keeping your pistols constantly aimed at the enemy. It's fun, rewarding, and fair. You'll die a lot in Bleed but you'll also see yourself noticeably getting better over time. The game doesn't have the glitz or glamour of AAA action titles but it doesn't need them. As someone who is picky about their action games, I consider Bleed to be an impressive undertaking - if any one part of the core gameplay had been poorly-executed, the entire thing would crumbled.

The Bad: It's a short game, and the soundtrack and narrative leave something to be desired. Not that Bleed is a game about narrative, but the other two things do stick out a bit. Thankfully it's a very replayable game, and there's a sequel on the way that looks great.

The Best: The Challenge/Arcade modes in this game extends its shelf life by a lot. Seeing how far you get through the game with only one life is a true test of skill, and being able to fight two Very Hard difficulty bosses at the same time is the kind of stupidity that I love. The moment in Bleed where you slow down time, identify the only opening on the screen, and expertly weave three air dashes around a glut of bullets is a moment that never gets old.


49. Alien: Isolation
The Good: Also known as tension: the game. Playing Alien Isolation is a physically exhausting experience. A general summary of the stealth system is that if you can see the Alien, it can probably see you, and that makes you nervous to peek around every corner. You're given a motion tracker, and while that helps you sneak around, it certainly doesn't help your mental state. Watching that big dot on the screen move closer and closer makes your hair stand on end. There's character progression, and you get more items and weapons to help you survive, but you'll still always feel helpless when the Alien shows up.

The Bad: The game is actually a bit too understated at times. If you play the game cautiously (a.k.a. slowly sneaking around everywhere like a coward), the Alien doesn't appear quite as much, which is a shame because the Alien is by far the best part of the game and I pretty much wanted him around all the time. The last 1/3 of the game is still good but weaker than what came before it, and the sections where you stealth past non-Alien enemies just aren't the same. The story is a bit weak, too, with some questionable voice acting.

The Best: They absolutely nailed the feel of this game. It feels like an experience that was made people that are both die-hard fans of the original movies while also understood game design. The architecture of the space station is familiar enough that it feels like an actual space station while being different enough to feel offputting. The Alien's animations and sounds are perfect in every way; watching it wander around looking for you is both mesmerizing and terrifying. There are a bunch of custom death animations on how the Alien can kill you. The situations you get into in the game are really unique but aren't scripted and play out organically - my favorite personal story is the one time I used other people as bait to distract the Alien as I went in the opposite direction (it's okay, they were jerks). When Alien: Isolation is good, it's very, very good.


48. Killer7
The Good: There is no game like Killer7. There is no anything like Killer7. Explaining a game that defies every sense of convention is difficult, but I'll try. The big thing Killer7 has going for it is the atmosphere, which is the sum of a lot of insane stylistic choices. It combines blood-spattered violence with a fantastic cel-shaded art style and calm, collected voice acting. The menus and save rooms are offputting. Characters speak in riddles, and that's just when they're not speaking pure nonsense. Movement in Killer7 is on rails, which helps keep things moving at an unbroken pace. The plot is incredibly obtuse and strange, and refuses to explain basically anything to you. There have been essays written on trying to figure out what Killer7 is actually about. It has all the makings of being a pretentious load of drivel, but it somehow all comes together to form an unforgettable experience.

The Bad: The gameplay, while fun in the moment, is pretty simple and doesn't lend itself well to replays. The plot's obtuse nature is also a double-edged sword; while it helps creates an atmosphere and makes you analyze everything that's going on, one or two more direct answers about what the hell was going on wouldn't have hurt.

The Best: Killer7 has so many memorable parts to it. I can still remember ever Heaven Smile laugh sound like I played the game yesterday. Every character is full of personality. Andrei Ulmeyda steals every scene he's in. The final chapters where you learn what the Killer7 are - and why the Killer7 are - are haunting. But my personal favorite little moment in the entire game is the Russian Roulette scene, which is amazing from start to finish.


47. Batman: Arkham City
The Good: Arkham Asylum is a more tightly-designed game, but I had more fun with City. Flying around Gotham City is just too much fun. The level designs and scenario you get into are some of the series' best, and the game even has the decency to include one really good boss fight in Mr. Freeze. Arkham City adds just enough to the formula to make it feel fresh, without making it feel bloated.

The Bad: The Riddler clues get a little ridiculous in this game. I never bothered to get all of them, there were just too many and the ways to get them required more effort than I was willing to give. Definitely a step down from Arkham Asylum's.

The Best: Outside of the Mr. Freeze fight, I just really like moving around the city and beating up bad guys. It's really just the peak I AM BATMAN experience for me. I love standing on the edge of a rooftop and looking out over the remains of Gotham, scouting out the area and spotting a group of criminals, followed by sailing towards them and taking down one right away as the rest start freaking out. City pulls off that feeling even better than Asylum does.


46. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
The Good: Majora's Mask doesn't feel like it belongs in the Zelda series at all. The atmosphere is depressing and the dungeons are secondary to the numerous sidequests scattered throughout the world. Everything from the Happy Mask Man to the Moon to Skull Kid is creepy as all hell. Even the little moments, like putting on a mask to transform have a darker twist on them - yes, that's the sound of Link's bones breaking you're hearing. The world runs on a three-day cycle, and the only way to save is by resetting everything to day one. Or else everyone dies! I can't believe that Nintendo ever made a game like Majora's Mask.

The Bad: There aren't many dungeons, and the ones you get aren't memorable outside of the Stone Tower Temple. Considering how strongly Zelda games rely on dungeons, it's amazing this game is as good as it is. The time reset system is a big issue for a lot of people (or used to be, at least, public opinion on MM has gone way up in the past few years) but I think that if the time system were any different than it would throw off the entire game.

The Best: The combination of the time cycle and sidequest system creates a rather dreary mood throughout Majora's Mask. On the first day, people start out alright. On the second, they start to get a bit worried. By the third night, the world has gone into panic and people start freaking out about the end times. You have to watch this happen, time and time again. And while there's a bunch of interesting characters and sidequests full of depth, resetting erases anything you've done for them. You can reunite lovers, fullfill dreams, ease pains, but it's all gone by the end of the third day. Considering how much control you should have over the world, you end up feeling incredibly helpless. It's hard to think of another game that creates an atmosphere like MM does, let alone another Zelda game. Should also mention the Song of Healing here, which has got to be the most important and memorable song in the series outside of the Zelda Main Theme.