Favorite Games Ever (Besides Ninja Gaiden, Obviously)

[talonmalon333]

That's AWESOME. I prefer classic RE, but I can't deny the masterpiece that RE4 is.

Chapter 5-2? If I remember where that is correctly, there are some great parts ahead...

[Foggle]

Shadows of the Damned is hilarious, but it's not really all that fun. As far as third person shooters go, I'd rank Vanquish up there with Max Payne 1/2 and Resident Evil 4.

I have to say that the absolutely terrible writing is one of my favorite things about RE 4. Leon's one-liners are so legitimately awful that they actually end up being awesome. Also, an exchange between Krauser and Leon right after the knife fight (I won't spoil it in case it happens after 5-2) is so abjectly stupid that my friends and I reference it at every possible instance.

[talonmalon333]

Shadows of the Damned is hilarious, but it's not really all that fun. As far as third person shooters go, I'd rank Vanquish up there with Max Payne 1/2 and Resident Evil 4.

I have to say that the absolutely terrible writing is one of my favorite things about RE 4. Leon's one-liners are so legitimately awful that they actually end up being awesome. Also, an exchange between Krauser and Leon right after the knife fight (I won't spoil it in case it happens after 5-2) is so abjectly stupid that my friends and I reference it at every possible instance.

Foogle, YOU'RE small time.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Oh yeah, I fully factor in the cheesy one-liners as part of what I love about this game as well. Its what contributes to the complete package being awesome. If it were just some generic story that a modern game would go far, it'd bore the hell out of me, but over here its actually fun to listen to the dialogue, even if its only because its funny in a way other than what the writers of this game probably intended.

Anyways, after I'm done with this game, I'll probably look into getting Code Veronica X, as well, but my priority for the next game I want to get, as of right now, is still Sonic Generations.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I decided to post up the rest of my top 25 list to complement the top 12 that I posted earlier. I've updated it from the last time that I posted this list up, earlier this year, and while most of what was in my list before is still there, I've added in 2 titles, and changed the orders of some other ones around.

For right now I'll just post the list itself, but later on I'll edit in some actual explanations for why I rank these games within my list (just like with my top 12; but just not as long or in-depth as that).

25. Star Wars: Jedi Knight II- Jedi Outcast
24. Donkey Kong Country
23. Ninja Gaiden II (NES)
22. Super Mario Bros. 3
21. Pokemon Fire Red/Leaf Green
20. Ninja Gaiden II (XBOX360)
19. TimeSplitters 2
18. Power Stone 2
17. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
16. Sonic 3 & Knuckles
15. Star Fox 64
14. Soul Calibur II
13. Resident Evil 4

I'll just say that, as a rule, I would never usually rank a game on my list until I fully completed it at least once (and usually I have to play it much more than that to be sure of where I would rank it). With RE4 its one of those special cases in which I hae played through most of the game and know that its just an instant classic and that it belongs on my list. I'm still on Chapter 5-2, but at this point even if the rest of the game somehow turned out to be utter crap (which I seriously doubt), what I've played so far is good enough for the game to rank at least this high. The thing is I'm pretty sure that by the time I actually complete the game and play the Separate Ways missions as well, it'll probably have easily made its way into my top 10 list. That said, since I still have yet to complete it, for now it ranks at this spot on my list, and even then the fact that it ranks on my list at all is saying a lot by how highly I think of it. Honestly, it hasn't been since NGB that I was this into a game when playing through it, and before NGB it was Ocarina of Time that gave me that feeling.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Just for the hell of it, I'm ranking my personal top 5 games of this gen. Please note that since all I've owned is an XBOX360 and haven't gotten much of an opportunity to play Wii or PS3 games, my list will quite obviously be biased to games for the XBOX360. That said, these are the best ones that I've personally played from this gen:

1. Ninja Gaiden II- Yeah, its flawed, but fuck any haters, I still think this game is awesome and quite honestly even in its flawed state and taking a step back from the first game, it still gave me a hell of a lot more enjoyment and replay value on the whole than any other game that I've played this gen, personally.

2. Sonic Generations- Its the only platformer that I've fully played and beat this gen, so naturally it gets ranked higher than any non-Ninja Gaiden game that I have played this gen.

3. Halo: Reach- I'm no Halo nut, but to be honest this game took me by surprise as to how good it really was. To me its the best FPS that I've personally played from this gen.

4. Alan Wake- Its the best TPS that I've played this gen, simple as that. Incidentally, it may or may not end up being topped by Max Payne 3, but that still awaits to be seen.

5. F.E.A.R. 2- Underrated sequel. Anyone who disagrees can just go fuck themselves for all I care. I'm tired of this game getting hate that it doesn't deserve. Its not quite on par with the first game, but its still a damn good game, and honestly better than any other FPS that I've played this gen, aside from Halo: Reach.

[gunswordfist]

Uhhh...Let's see:
1. MGS4- My favorite game of all time. I just love the experience
2. DMC4- 4>>>3. Nero>>>Dante.
3. Mass Effect 2- Great overall. Problem is the story isn't really important outside of getting to know Cerberus and there's very little missions against the main villains.
4. Bayonetta
5. Arkham Asylum

I obviously need to play more games this gen.

[Foggle]

Painkiller: Black Edition is currently $2.50 on Steam. I recommend it to everyone! There's a demo, too, so you'll be able to see how well it'll run (and if you like it) before buying.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Wish I could!

Top 5 games of this gen? I'll go with 10, and to be fair, I'll limit it to one per series. The first 5 have a few things that annoy me, but the experience more than makes up for any issues I have with it.

10. Donkey Kong Country Returns

Not perfect, but it gets close. A few quirks that should be ironed out by the sequel (I'll find David Wise myself if I have to, Nintendo), but it doesn't change how good the game is and how long we've been missing out on games like this for almost two gens and a decade. Hard, but fair, levels full of fun action and lots of them and great usage of the fact that this is a much more powerful system than those were. But please... NO MORE ROCKET BARRELS.

9. Deadly Premonition

The first survival horror (and technically open world!) game I've ever finished. Why? Because of several things. The story was engaging, non-intrusive, and wasn't movie like. The characters were all well defined and great to be around. The controls were not tank controls (so I could play it!) and the action took a back seat to survival and exploration which is what always intrigued me about the genre. The game was not perfect, as anyone who played it can attest to, but the whole experience adds up to a completely unique experience that has yet to be duplicated.

8. Left 4 Dead 2

I grew up in the age of co-op. My friends would come over (or I would visit them) and we'd team up to take on challenges we just couldn't do on our own. Unfortunately, co-op fell to the side in the 64 bit era to party gaming multiplayer and my co-op game play seemed lost forever. It wasn't until this gen that the magic of co-op was revisited and my friends and I could work together to accomplish goals and have a very different gaming experience. This series is the main reason. I'm not, nor will I ever, really like the whole zombie thing, but the monsters used in this game are effective and always manage to keep you on your toes. The first game was fun, but the sequel turned the game into more of a survival horror experience with more emphasis on keeping yourself alive with many more options than just shooting. Easily Valve's best game.

7. Henry Hatsworth In The Puzzling Adventure

The difficulty is disjointed, there's too many enemy rooms, and it's a bit short, but it is probably the most unique new platformer released this whole gen. There's no goofy pretentious story to distract you from boring gameplay, or overrated visual style to distract you from shallow gameplay and level design, there's a completely unique game waiting for you instead. Part puzzle game, part platformer, with some great and fun level design and tight controls lead this to be one of the ebst ideas this whole gen. Unfortunately, no one bought it, the team has since broke up (they have recently made the equally underrated Monster Tale for the DS, however), and EA doesn't seem interested in portables anymore which means we'll probably never get a proper sequel. However, this was easily the best new IP we've had this entire gen and I'm glad I got to experience it, warts and all.

6. Phoenix Wright

Fun adventure games with a text adventure bent. Unfortunately, replay value is a little shaky, but the series is perfect for portable systems leading to a perfect pocket adventure to distract you from the bigger HD blockbusters. The first was a great introduction to the genre and series, but unfortunately, the series Achilles heel (replayability) hurts it just enough to not put it higher.

5. Kirby's Return To Dreamland

The return of the king, really. What do you get when you combine Kirby Superstar's crazy experiments with Adventures straightforward approach? You get quite possibly the best Kirby game. Really, there is nothing it doesn't do better than about every other game in the series. Powers? Leagues ahead of Adventure and probably the most expansive yet. Levels? More consistent than Superstar for the most part, with plenty of secrets to keep you busy. Difficulty? It's the hardest Kirby game by far. This game has everything. Even 4 player co-op and playable Meta Knight and DeDeDe and some cool little party games as unlockables. All things aside, this is probably the BEST Kirby game. It might even beat Superstar.

4. Contra 4

Let's rock! There might have been a ton of Contra games between 3 and this one, but this legitimately feels like a true follow up to that great game and almost on par with the original NES classic. A lot of heart and soul went into this one, and anyone who calls themselves a true Contra fan simply can't pass it up. Now, how about a Castlevania 5?

3. Mega Man 9

This came out of nowhere. Easily the most unexpected gem of the gen. Who would have thought after all these years that we'd get a Mega Man 9 it would be as good as the series peak (2 and 3)? Nobody, that's for sure. Yet somehow, I'm sitting here declaring Mega Man 9 a classic after over a decade of silence from the classic series long thought to be dead. Life can be strange sometimes, no?

2. Sonic Colors (Wii)

Okay, forget what I said about Mega Man 9, THIS came out of nowhere. Sonic Colors was announced and no one cared. Everyone was focused on Sonic 4 and the "return of the series" to it former glory. But somehow, slowly, as info trickled out and E3 showed us some gameplay... Sonic Colors started turning a few heads. Then Sweet Mountain and Planet Wisp were revealed and all of a sudden Colors looked... good. No- great. The game had alternate paths everywhere, unique puzzles and exploration based around the (optional!) new power ups called Wisps. But more than just that, everything else looked great too. The story looked fun again, the music was the best in well over a decade, and there was even a new voice cast! While Sonic 4 was looking less and less like the franchise saver everyone wanted, Sonic Colors was looking to be the best Sonic game since the adventure games. Then the reviews came out, and it was real. Sonic Colors was the best Sonic game since the Adventure games, to some the best since the 2D classics since it incorporated much of what people loved about them and still included the things people loved about the 3D ones. Honestly, while Generations is probably the better game on a pure quality level, Colors has the better experience offering more content, lots of highs, and pretty much few to little lows.

1. New Super Mario Bros Wii

Wow! This one stunned me. The DS game was probably the most average Mario game ever made and yet... I couldn't help but be excited for the Wii game. 4 person co-op combining party game and traditional co-op multiplayer and stages that had Miyamoto and company involved (they had nothing to do with the DS one) lead this to finally be the Super Mario Bros 5 that I had always wanted and had been waiting for since the SNES. And the game somehow lived up to my lofty expectations! The levels had tons of routes and levels, great design, well placed secrets, and the best boss battles since Yoshi's Island (they should have had more hits, though) make this one of the best Mario games without a shadow of a doubt. Featuring almost 80 levels, multiple ways to play through them and difficulty on par with SMB3 and World lead this to be one of the best games in the series and the best game this gen. Hopefully we won't have to wait another decade for another 2D Mario game.

[Spark Of Spirit]

It really is crazy how good Paper Mario 2 and Curse Of Monkey Island still look despite releasing such a while ago.

I really wish they would rerelease Curse as I have yet to play it and love the original. (I actually didn't like LeChuck's Revenge all that much... Don't hurt me)

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

My top 10 would be almost exactly the same as it was when I posted it a few months ago, with the one exception of Resident Evil 4 being my new #6 and everything else before it being bumped down a spot on my list. That's really all that's changed, though. That said, I do think that Rocket Knight Adventures gives MMX a run for its money, but I still have yet to beat the final boss, and to be fair I haven't had ample time to replay RKA, so I think MMX might still prevail by a tad bit in the replay department.

[Foggle]

Since we all love arbitrary lists here, this is my current top 25:

25. House of the Dead: Overkill
24. Donkey Kong Country Returns (yes, this is my favorite game in the series)
23. Thief 2
22. Painkiller
21. Super Mario World
20. Jak 2
19. Resident Evil 4
18. Super Mario Bros. 3
17. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
16. Fatal Frame 2
15. Streets of Rage 2
14. Sonic 3 & Knuckles
13. Resident Evil 2
12. Metal Slug 3
11. StarCraft
10. Max Payne
9. Bayonetta
8. Yakuza 2
7. Resident Evil (remake)
6. Ninja Gaiden (Xbox/PS3)
5. F.E.A.R.
4. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
3. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
2. Deus Ex
1. God Hand

[gunswordfist]

Ah, always good to see you have Max Payne instead of Max Payne 2 and Metal Slug 3 instead of 2 on your list.

[Foggle]

I thought you liked Max Payne 2 more than the first one.

[talonmalon333]

19. Resident Evil 4

Didn't think I'd see this below REmake and RE2.

My list is overall the same. But stick Star Fox 64 and Twilight Princess somewhere in there.