Board 8 > Board 8 #sports Discord Ranks Their Top 100 Video Games Finale: THE TOP 10

(+) Yeah! (+)

whoaf

---

Whiskey_Nick posted...

its never coming

I finally got on my old laptop, saved my stuff, and transferred it over to my newer laptop. It is certainly coming.
---

It is...
---

oh god, July is almost over
---

Bump
---

August is almost half over

---

but September hasn't even begun!

---

Bump
---

There are no games

---

Were there ever any?
---

nope

---

bump
---

getting closer to reaching this point
---

even closer...
---

Not any closer than last week
---

bump
---

bump
---

bump
---

pump

---

bumps
---

2. StarCraft: Brood War (PC, 1998)


I truly do not know what I can say about StarCraft as a game that hasnt been said a hundred times over. The Games Contest back in 2004 close to exhausted the discourse on the game, and for good reason; that run was both deserved and legendary.

StarCraft and its expansion, Brood War, both came out in 1998, a feat that seems impossible in todays climate, given the money-grubbing nature of companies like Activision-Blizzard and the increasingly long development times. Consider that StarCraft II came out 11 years ago, and its expansions took roughly two and a half years apiece. Itd probably take longer now. In comparison, the 9 months between StarCraft and Brood War makes for a sort of Irish twins situation. Where the original game gave a 30 mission campaign, spread across the series three races, the expansion comes in at a robust 26 missions, with new units, cinematics, and rebalanced/reinvigorated multiplayer. We didnt know how good we had it back in 98.

The late 90s were an interesting time, technologically speaking. The internet was still a relatively rare resource. Most of us, if we had internet access at all, had 56K dial-up. StarCraft came out during a time when several developments were happening that would contribute to its long-term success and popularity: the peak of LAN parties, the dawn of more available broadband internet in the States, and the proliferation of CD burners available at the consumer level.



I first played StarCraft midway through 98, and Brood War in early 99, after someone my dad knew copied a bunch of PC games (and music) onto CD-Rs. Somehow, copies of each made their way to our computer room, and I was almost immediately hooked. Id played some RTS games before (see previous entries on this list), but this one had a more compelling story, better visuals, and more engrossing gameplay than the others could have hoped. I have to assume its because, as we all know from Schoolhouse Rock and/or De La Soul, three is the magic number. Most RTS games prior had two factions. Soviets/Allies. Humans/Orcs. Arm/Core. Subsequent RTS games tried to go bigger, to mixed results. But StarCraft perfected the triangular balance, and no one else has really tried to beat it since.

I was fortunate that we got DSL pretty early, in the grand scheme of things, and I played Brood War online pretty extensively through that 2004 Games Contest run. I wasnt, and still am not, particularly great. I can be a solid contributor to a team match, can win some mid-tier 1v1s, you get the idea. But while winning was nice, it was never (entirely) the point. It was the thrill of competition, seeing how you measured up, seeing if you could outsmart dumb cheese - or pull it off yourself. Early on, it was about feeling like you were in on something other people didnt really know about. That last part changed pretty quickly, of course, but it still was a once-in-a-lifetime situation, being able to enjoy an instant classic game in its early days and into its peak, all because me, the game, and the right technology each came into the world at the right time.

---

Whoa, a write-up. I forgot this topic existed.

---

games exist!?

---

Is this all just a game to you?
---

I am now worthy of posting here. Here is a recap of my rankings:

100. Unholy Heights
99. Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure
98. Backyard Baseball 2001
97. Boxing (Atari)
96. Mu Cartographer
95. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
94. Lego Island
93. Mercury Hg
92. Persona 4 Golden
91. The Gardens Between
90. Pure
89. Batman: Arkham Knight
88. Sid Meier's Pirates! (2004)
87. Aliens Go Home Run
86. Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+
85. Nine Hours Nine Persons Nine Doors
84. Monster Rancher Advance 2
83. SimTown
82. Diddy Kong Racing
81. Super Mario Odyssey
80. Red Dead Redemption
79. Mario Party
78. Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
77. Super Mario 3D World
76. God of War II
75. Outland
74. Advance Wars: Dual Strike
73. 007 Nightfire
72. Super Solvers Mission T.H.I.N.K.
71. Grand Theft Auto III
70. WarioWare Touched
69. Monster Rancher Battle Card GB
68. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2
67. Shining Force
66. Plok
65. Monument Valley
64. The Darkness
63. The Darkness II
62. Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2
61. WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$!
60. NFL Street 2
59. Pikmin 2
58. Paper Mario
57. Oregon Trail II
56. Stardew Valley
55. Crash Team Racing
54. Mario Golf (N64)
53. Counter-Strike
52. Mass Effect + Mass Effect 2 + Mass Effect 3
51. Super Mario 64
50. Forza Horizon
49. WarioWare Gold
48. Max Payne 3
47. Mario Party 3
46. Far Cry 3
45. Grand Theft Auto Vice City
44. Last Window The Secret of Cape West
43. Super Mario Bros.
42. Linelight
41. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
40. Portal 2
39. Portal
38. Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves
37. Hotel Dusk Room 215
36. God of War III
35. Splashdown: Rides Gone Wild
34. Biker Mice From Mars
33. Killer7
32. Super Mario Bros. Lost Levels
31. DKC 2
30. DKC
29. Beyond Good & Evil
28. PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate
27. The Talos Principle
26. Rayman Origins + Legends
25. DiRT 2
24. Hitman: Blood Money
23. Apex Legends
22. Rocket League
21. Beavis & Butt-head (SNES)
20. AER: Memories of Old
19. PGR 2
18. Banjo-Kazooie
17. The Saboteur
16. Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition
15. Ori and the Will of the Wisps
14. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
13. Halo 2
12. Halo 4
11. Far Cry 2
---

Here are some hints of what's left using game genres:
- 3 racing
- 2 platformers
- 2 action-adventures
- 1 sports
- 1 arcade/puzzle?
- 1 little bit of everything to be honest
---

SC/BW is my top 1, amazing game. I miss my days on the iccup ladder, wouldnt be able to do shit anymore though

---

bump
---

bump
---

Games

---

10. Peggle (PC, 2007)


Every so often, theres a topic here asking for recommendations for a game for a non-gamer to try out. I have no idea if any current platform (I would have to assume it is on mobile though) sells Peggle, but it is always the game I mention. Now, really I mean, and for this ranking as well, all Peggle games, but for the sake of just having one game, I am highlighting the original.

The game features dozens of levels featuring pegs of all shapes and sizes placed to make certain shapes or designs. You are given 10 balls to start, and your task is to clear all the orange pegs, which are in random, but fixed positions. You have a character ability that can be triggered by hitting one of two green pegs that ,like the orange, are random but fixed once the game starts. There is also a purple peg that changes each time you launch a ball that is worth extra points. You can get extra balls by getting enough points on a single ball launch or by having your ball land in a moving hole at the bottom of the screen.

The game is incredibly simple but just obscenely fun. The audio design to elicit immediate positive reinforcement is phenomenal. From a guitar riff when you slide your ball down a line of pegs to the computerized beep from getting a lucky bounce to the choir note of getting a free ball, there are ample opportunities to trigger a sound effect, and I dont know, they just compel me to further improve myself to hear more of it.

Win or lose though, Im having a blast either way, and when I do fail, you can bet that I chuckled at my whiffs or near misses along the way. EA needs to allow PopCap to make more Peggle games, but they seem to be almost exclusively a Plants vs Zombies studio now.

---

9. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES, 1988)


Putting Super Mario Bros. 2 aside given its true origins, level design complexity of SMB3 was astounding for its era. I dont need to hash out the same things I have said for the previous half a dozen or so Super Mario games on my list, but needless to say, this was the crowning achievement for the video games of the 80s.

Worlds 3-5 stack up with some of the series. I feel like 5 is an overlooked world relative to others in the game in terms of which ones I have seen in discussions over my time here, but 5 has always been my favorite.

Im not sure how other games implemented it, but I felt that this was one of the best versions of co-op at the time. Not only were there systems in place for light-hearted competition, but making it so that if one player beat a level the other did not helped make the game more accessible and have more fruitful and fluid sessions. This is something that I really wouldnt think about at the time but came to appreciate as I got older and reflected on gaming with my sister and friends.

---

8. Super Mario World (SNES, 1990)


In the end though, the highest of the nine Super Mario games on my list is Super Mario World. SMW took the series to new artistic heights, introduced what is still the best version of Yoshi, and crafted a game that favored secrets and forging your own path. It might not have quite the sense of scale or wonder that SMB3 had, but SMW is always my first choice if I want to just to pick up an old title from the series.

I knew there were a lot of secret exits, but according to multiple sources one third of the levels (24 of 72) contain secret exits. These will lead to switches, warp stars, and new paths around the world. Now that I am a lot older and have gone through the game numerous times, I can pretty much pick and choose the path that I desire, but back when I was a little kid, I didnt have that kind of luxury. I loved the excitement and sense of mystery of realizing that there could be a secret exit not knowing what was on the other side or even unexpectedly finding out that I just found a secret exit. Sometimes the map would make it obvious that there had to be a secret exit there (sometimes it would seem obvious but the secret exit was actually on a different level), and I would go back to that level and try and figure out what. The game had a nice feature where you could exit the level for one youve already beaten, so the risk was small.

One of the coolest things about the game is that two of the worlds, Vanilla Dome and Twin Bridges, you will virtually go through a completely different set of levels for each depending on the exit you take in the first level of Vanilla Dome. While not exactly a little thing, I have come to appreciate a lot about games from the major games from my childhood and come away being even more fond of them after looking at them from different angles from the mindset of an adult. This wont be the last game on my list where that is a major factor, but Im glad that I still do this with games from my teenage and young adult life.

---

Yes this is the best.

And speaking of smb3, i always thought that world 5 got plenty of respect. At least, it does around here.
---

Peggle is a ton of fun for a mindless type game.

SMB3 > SMW but I won't fault anyone for liking one over the other.

---

7. Forza Horizon 2 (Xbox One, 2014)


While 2 lacks the wide openness of the original, FH2 is a clear upgrade in basically every meaningful area. I just want to discuss a singular aspect though, and that is the franchises famous Drivatars.

Bringing over Forza Motorsports Drivatars was an excellent move. Drivatars are not like your typical programmed AI, Drivatars are based around behavior learning. Typically, AI in racing games will behave similarly in terms of areas such as turning and driving lines, but with drivatars, they use the behavior of real players/testers/developers. I dont want or need to go into further details, but its really neat and makes for a more dynamic experience. If any of your friends previously played an event that you are racing, at least one of them will show up with their drivatar. Because I was always hellbent on beating any of my friends lap/course records on every event, it was such a refreshing and different experience racing while simultaneously scouting out how they raced to accomplish my goal.

This extended to outside of events too where among the dozens or hundreds of random people driving around France and Italy, your friends Drivatars will also be driving around doing nothing in particular. One time, I was wracking up a huge point total while tearing up the countryside while seemingly decimating ecosystems when out of nowhere, ICON came in and t-boned me in the grass far away from a road to wipe away what I had in my mind was a six-figure total. I couldnt help but laugh at the ludicrosity of the situation. Im not mad, and Im glad that the Drivatars make such a thing possible.

Because of my personal policy of only including games that I have beaten, this is the highest Forza Horizon game on my list, otherwise 3 would have definitely made it and maybe 4. Now that 5 just came out, it looks like I have some catching up to do.

---

6. Sly 2: Band of Thieves (PS2, 2004)


When I first got a PS2 back in 2003, Sly Cooper and the Thievieus Raccoonus was one of a half dozen or so games that I got with my PS2. I had been a fan of Sucker Punchers Rocket: Robot on Wheels and how well they handled platforming, so I was looking forward to their next title. Virtually a pure stealth/platformer, Sly 1 exceeded my already high expectations, and it landed on my list. The three sequels took the series in a new direction while maintaining the excellent platforming. The third game also landed on my list, but my favorite has always been 2.

Instead of rehashing what I presumably talked about Honor Among Thieves because the games are similar, I just want to say that I was constantly surprised with its gameplay, and subsequently its narrative and level design, and how impeccably they seemed to pull it all off. Tossing out new ideas left and right with aplomb and expecting things to unfold one way only to swerve and go in a different, better direction. One of my favorite minor things was how they presented heist planning and how it gave deeper meaning to all the mission markers opened up as a result.

If I were to make a list of games that were most impressive to me at the time I played it, Sly 2 would be near the top of that list as I was in middle school then. Im not implying that each of my subsequent replays, the last being about a decade ago with the remastered trilogy, made me feel less about the game. As someone who tends to go into games mostly blind and even with high expectations as I did with this game coming off of the first, I managed to be impressed at nearly every turn. Kid or not, that isnt easy to pull off, and it is part of why I will get every game Sucker Punch makes.

---

5. MVP Baseball 2005 (Xbox, 2005)


Ever since the MLB video game license went exclusive, you just didnt see many baseball games after that. The Super Mega Baseball series has probably been the best and most prominent unlicensed of the sport, but other than that, its pretty much been all MLB The Show. I have played a handful of those games over the past decade and a half, and they have all been great in general and scratching that modern baseball itch, but MVP Baseball 2005 still is and likely will always be my favorite baseball game.

Its accessible (I hate it when sports games that force you to use stick over button controls), has effective pitching and hitting systems (love the batters eye in particular), and it is equally fun to play and sim/manage a franchise. I actually used to play EVERY game from the franchise in dynasty mode. That meant over 500 major and minor league games. That became a bit much, so when I started just playing MLB games and semi-micro-managing the minor league teams, everything just clicked for me, and I could be lost in the playing/sim cycle for hours upon hours.

I have probably played north of 1000 hours into the game, including running many dynasty leagues, local play with my friends, online leagues I randomly found on the internet, and just pick-up online games. Later on when I was in college, I joined B8BL when Alec used this game, and I won the league that year, so it was pretty cool that all of my experience in the game led to that (please dont point out that I actually entered the postseason with a losing record lol). All of it was a total blast that I wish could be recaptured in another sports game, but thats probably hard to do now that I am no longer a kid. Now, if only I can forget the time I lost an online game against someone using a AAA team.

---

Whiskey_Nick posted...

its never coming

whoaf

---

It came

---

I played Sly 2-4 this year, excellent games and Sly 2 is indeed the best in the series.

---

I found Sly 2 to be much worse than Sly 1! I still haven't bothered to finish it.

MVP Baseball 2005 is the best baseball game where you actually play baseball (I prefer OOTP a bit more) so it's cool to see that on someone's list.

---

I have never played a Sly game but it's always been on my list
---

bump

---

CherryCokes posted...

2. StarCraft: Brood War (PC, 1998)

Whoa, I don't think I've ever actually seen this pic without Link plastered on against Mass Carriers for the games contest

---

---

---

---

---

---