My Top 10 Favourite Video Games

   This is something I've thought about doing for a long time. Tonnes of people do top ten lists, and I'm no exception; I've compiled a few of my own. So I've decided to start sharing them with you now, on a schedule of maybe one each week.
   But before we start, I should point out that, since I can sometimes grossly overwrite stuff, I generally aim to keep the explanatory captions in my lists limited to a hundred words or so – unless I feel really passionate about the number one pick.

   So, with that out of the way, let's start with my top ten favourite video games. This should be an interesting one! :)
   While I did grow up playing games, and still maintain an interest in it today, I'm not what you'd call a gamer. (Actually, my best friend John's a far more avid gamer than I am, and it's thanks to him that I came across many of the games on this list in the first place.) But, with that said, I have played several that strike me as real masterpieces. And here they are.
   I should point out, by the way, that most of these games aren't exclusive to the platforms I specify. Most modern-generation games are released for every console, as well as the PC. I've played several of these games on multiple platforms; I'm just listing the ones I like best.
   So, without further ado, let's get started. :)

#10 = Back to the Future: The Game (PC)

Back to the Future is one of my favourite movies of all time, and this spin-off from Telltale Games does not disappoint! :) This game literally feels exactly like the movies, with the same intriguing plot and sharp sense of humour. As with many adventure games, especially from Telltale, there's more of a focus on story and puzzle solving than on action. Most of the puzzles here aren't exactly easy, but they're not so difficult as to get frustrating. It's probably nothing special by most standards, but it's such a treat for fans of the series that it deserves a spot on the list.


#9 = Sam & Max: Season One (PC)

Sam & Max is just nuts! The characters are insane, the settings are insane, the stories are insane… but there's still logic to it, there's still method in all that madness! :) Sam and Max, a tall dog and a short white rabbit respectively, are "freelance police" on a different case in each of these six episodes. It's another adventure game from Telltale, but the puzzles here are much more difficult. There are two more packaged seasons of Sam & Max, but I'll always hold the first one closest to my heart for introducing me to all this series' inspired creativity and uproarious humour.

#8 = Psychonauts (PS2)

This is another game just bursting with creativity. The eponymous Psychonauts are basically elite soldiers with enhanced mind powers, and you play a boy in a psychic summer camp. You occasionally go inside people's minds, and the visual representative worlds are pure genius – and sometimes even lead to laugh-out-loud humour. True, the jumping controls can get really frustrating, and the game does drag on a bit, with more false endings than Return of the King (yeah, no joke!), but it's still a tonne of fun to play, and it's bursting with so many clever ideas that it never ceases to amaze.

#7 = Dino Crisis (PS1)

When I was a teenager, this was probably the game you'd find me playing most often. I've always loved dinosaurs, but this is one of very few times when they've actually been scary! The great thing about Dino Crisis is that the dinosaurs rarely appear, which really keeps you on edge, because you know there could be another one around any corner. That's what makes good horror. The story does get increasingly preposterous, but I'm willing to let it pass; I still get swept up in it. Plus, I dare you to ignore that cold shiver when the screen shakes as the T-Rex gets closer!

#6 = Super Mario Bros (Nintendo consoles)

Yeah, I couldn't pick one Mario game; I'm just encompassing the whole franchise! :) Every Nintendo console has its definitive Mario title: Super Mario Bros 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Galaxy – I love them all. In any generation, the Mario franchise defines the word "fun". But then, the same can be said of Sonic the Hedgehog and Donkey Kong Country and many other old-school console games, which makes it hard not to fill the whole list with titles like that. But Mario still continues to reign supreme, so I'd say he's most deserving of a spot on the list.

#5 = Spider-Man: The Movie (PS2)

Released as a tie-in to the first Sam Raimi Spider-Man, this game rightly boasted that it went beyond the movie. It doesn't really follow the plot of the film, but instead comes up with a new story incorporating other characters from the comics, like Vulture and the Shocker. The game is immensely fun, because it really does make you feel like Spider-Man. You never get tired of beating up goons, be it with your fists or your webbing. :) But by far my favourite part is when you have to sneak around Oscorp without being seen; stealth levels like that really pile on the tension.


#4 = The Sims 2 (PC)

Since The Sims is a concept without an ending, it's more of a constant activity than a game. The countless ways in which The Sims 2 improved on the original Sims just blew my mind. You have access to just about everything you could ask for to make your Sims' home life complete. Since I don't tune into much TV, I'm currently using The Sims 2 as my alternative, a TV soap that I have complete control over! :) I haven't played The Sims 3, nor do I wish to; The Sims 2 is already more than good enough for me.



#3 = Fahrenheit [AKA Indigo Prophecy] (PS2)

Fahrenheit is more like an interactive story than a game – and a really damn good one. It's a murder story in which you play both the murderer and the police on the case, both equally determined to find the truth. It starts out relatively slow and gradually pulls you in, so that before long you're seized inescapably in the heart-stopping excitement of it all. The quick time events (moments where you simply have to press the right button at the right time), which dictate the action scenes, being so user-friendly certainly helps. Plus the characters are all memorable and the music is just fantastic.

#2 = Beyond Good & Evil (PS2)

Oh my God, I love this game! :D I can't possibly praise it enough! The world of Hillys, combining humans and anthropomorphic animals, is probably my favourite fictional world ever. It has a brilliant storyline involving a rebel organisation exposing a deadly conspiracy. Just like Spider-Man, it's full of stealth sections that really get your heart pounding. But it also has intense combat scenes, flying scenes and even racing scenes – it has everything you could ask for. :) And the music… the whole soundtrack is outstanding! Any way you look at it, Beyond Good & Evil is a masterpiece. I adore it to death.

And my #1 favourite game of all time is… Portal (PS3)

Portal is, quite simply… the most perfect thing I've ever seen in my life! I'm serious, man: I have absolutely no problems with this game whatsoever! To me, this is about as close to perfection as a piece of entertainment can get. At first, it seems like one long series of puzzles involving portals as you make your way through this testing facility (which is good enough already, 'cos I love puzzles!), but as it progresses and the real story of the game begins to surface, it gets dead serious – and the way it gradually makes that transition is amazing. I could gush on about this game for hours, but it wouldn't help any; I just can't do it justice! It's unique, creative, dark, gripping, funny… and like I said before, just all-around perfect.

   Thanks for reading. Whether or not you agree with my picks, I hope you enjoyed the list. If you haven't played any of these games yet, I highly recommend you give them a try. (Though I should mention that Portal only seems to be available in The Orange Box, a package that also includes Half-Life 2, which is widely considered to be the greatest game of all time. I too think it's an amazing game, but it doesn't quite make the top ten for me.)
   Stay tuned for another top ten list next week.