Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Annual Video Games

Here we go again, favorite video games according to the release year + bonus.


-1984



10 Solar Fox (Arkad)


9 Excite Bike


8 Millipede/Centipede


7 Boulder Dash


6 Galaxian

5 Pac Man

4 Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

3 Pooyan

2 Robotron 2084

1 Jetpac


1985

Close calls
Boulder Dash 2: Rockford's Revenge

10 Balance of Power

9 Bomberman

8 A Mind Forever Voyaging

7 Binary Land

6 Gradius

5 Space Harrier

4 Field Combat

3 Ice Climbers

2 Battle City

1 Super Mario Bros






1986

Close Calls
Alex Kidd in Miracle World

10 Solomon’s Key

9 Alter Ego (Peter J. Favaro)

8 Zanac

7 Adventure Island

6 Paper Boy

5 Bubble Bobble

4 Metroid

3 Balloon Fight

2 Super Mario Bros 2

1 Legend of Zelda


1987

Close Calls
Rainbow Islands

10 R-Type

9 Zelda 2: Adventure of Link

8 Bureaucracy

7 Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It

6 Metal Gear


5 Maniac Mansion


4 Castlevania

3 Mega Man

2 Tetris: The Soviet Challenge

1 Dungeon Master


1988

10 Snatcher

9 Hidden Agenda (Jim Gasperini)

8 Space Harrier 2

7 Ghouls n’ Ghosts

6 Arkanoid

5 Spy vs Spy

4 Ninja Gaiden

3 Mega Man 2

2 Contra

1 Super Mario Bros 3


1989

10 Dig Dug 2

9 Twin Bee 3

8 Blazing Lazers


7 Cobra Triangle


6 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

5 R-Type 2

4 Prince of Persia

3 Adventures of Lolo

2 Dungeon Master: Chaos Strikes Back

1 Final Fight


1990

Honorable Mentions
ActRaiser
Ducktales
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
Lost Patrol
Eye of the Beholder
Smash TV

10 Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers

9 Castlevania 3: Dracula’s Curse

8 Super Contra

7 Ninja Gaiden 2

6 F-Zero

5 Mega Man 3

4 Loom

3 Lemmings

2 The Secret of Monkey Island

1 Super Mario World


1991

10 Mega Man 4

9 Another World


8 Sonic the Hedgehog

7 Super Ghouls n’ Ghosts

6 Ninja Gaiden 3: The Dark Ship of Doom

5 Monkey Island 2: Lechuck’s Revenge

4 Area 88/UN Squadron

3 Street Fighter 2: World Warrior

2 Super Castlevania IV
1 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past


1992

Honorable Mentions
Mega Man 5
Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade's Revenge
The Legend of Zelda: Third Quest

10 Street Fighter 2 Turbo

9 Puyo Puyo
8 Pocky and Rocky


7 Sonic the Hedgehog 2

6 Jezzball/Maxwell's Maniac (Marjacq Micro/Dima Pavlovsky)

5 Super Double Dragon

4 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time

3 The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse

2 Super Probotector: Alien Rebels/Contra 3: Alien Wars

1 Super Mario Kart


1993

Close Calls
Jurassic Park
Mega Man X
World Heroes

10 Sonic the Hedgehog 3

9 Shadowrun
8 Gunstar Heroes

7 Bart Simpson's Nightmare

6 Doom

5 E.V.O: Search for Eden

4 Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

3 Sam & Max Hit The Road

2 The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

1 Day of the Tentacle


1994

Honorable Mentions
Donkey Kong Country
Jazz Jackrabbit
Mega Man X2

Close Calls
Micro Machines
Streets of Rage 3

10 Cyberdogs

9 Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

8 Contra: Hard Corps

7 The Great Circus Mystery: Starring Mickey and Minnie

6 Puzzle Bobble

5 Beneath a Steel Sky

4 Uni Rally/Uniracers

3 Lode Runner: The Legend Returns

2 X-Com: UFO Defense/UFO: Enemy Unknown

1 Super Metroid


1995

Honorable Mentions
Diddy's Kong Quest/Donkey Kong Country 2
Twisted Metal
Warcraft 2
Zoop

Close Calls
Mega Man 7/Mega Man X3
Micro Machines 2: Special

10 Heroes of Might & Magic

9 Full Throttle

8 Jumping Flash

7 I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream


6 The Dark Eye

5 Alien Soldier

4 Gunbird

3 Worms

2 Strikers 1945

1 Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island


1996

Honorable Mentions
Dixie Kong's Double Trouble/Donkey Kong Country 3
Donpachi
Pandemonium
Quake
Sengoku Ace Episode II/Sengoku Blaede/Tengai
Twisted Metal 2

Close Calls
C-Dogs (Cyberdogs 2)
Death Rally
Mega Man 8
Samurai Shodown 4: Yamakuzas Revenge

10 Resident Evil

9 Metal Slug

8 Leisure Suit Larry: Love For Sail

7 Three Dirty Dwarves


6 Tapestry (Daniel Ravipinto)


5 Nights: Into Dreams

4 Mario Kart 64

3 Diablo

2 Soul Blade

1 Super Mario 64


1997

Honorable Mentions
Blood
Duckman
House of the Dead
Mega Man X4
Nightmare Creatures
Shadow Warrior

Close Calls
Diddy Kong Racing
Dungeon Keeper
In the Changing Room (Jackie Craven)
Need for Speed II

10 Blade Runner

9 Worms 2

8 Fallout

7 Croc: The Legend of Gobbos

6 Diablo: Hellfire

5 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

4 Strikers 1945: Part 2
3 Starcraft

2 Dodonpachi

1 Final Fantasy VII


1998

Honorable Mentions
Banjo Kazooie
F-Zero X
Gunbird 2
LSD: Dream Emulator
Medievil
Rockman & Forte
Sanitarium
Space Bomber

Close Calls
Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now
Micro Machines V3
NHL 1999
Photopia (Adam Cadre)

10 Liero (Joosa Riekkinen)

9 Fallout 2

8 Dink Smallwood

7 Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines

6 Hexplore

5 Starcraft: Broodwars

4 Grim Fandango

3 Baldur’s Gate

2 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

1 Metal Gear Solid


1999

Honorable Mentions
Aisle (Sam Barlow)
Darkstone
Grandia
Guwange
Heroes of Might and Magic 3
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
Metal Slug X NHL 2000
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
Roller Coaster Tycoon
Soul Calibur
Vib Ribbon

Close Calls
Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty
Fight of the Sumo Hoppers (Tuomas Korppi)
Super Smash Bros
Worms Armageddon

10 Silent Hill

9 Exhibition (Ian Finley)

8 Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast

7 Castlevania/Legacy of Darkness

6 Final Fantasy VIII

5 System Shock 2

4 Unreal Tournament

3 Street Fighter 3: Third Strike

2 The Longest Journey

1 Planescape Torment


2000

Honorable Mentions
Banjo Tooie
Diablo 2
DX-Ball 2
Dragon Blaze
Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes
Metal Gear: Ghost Babel
NHL 2001
Resident Evil Code: Veronica
Space Channel 5

Close Calls
Ricochet (Counter-Strike)

10 Shade (Andrew Plotkin)

9 Galatea (Emily Short)

8 Escape from Monkey Island

7 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

6 Rameses (Stephen Bond)


5 Shrapnel/9:05 (Adam Cadre)

4 Deux Ex

3 Elasto Mania (Balázs Rózsa)

2 Baldur's Gate: Shadows of Amn

1 The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask


2001

Honorable Mention
Conkers Bad Fur Day
Cyberd
Deadline, or, Being Douglas Adams (Gunter Schmidl)
Diablo II: Lord of Destruction
Final Fantasy X
Freak Out!/Stretch Panic
Gothic
IF Arcade
Kingdom Hearts
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2
Mario Kart: Super Circuit
Pleurghburg: The Dark Age (Chrille Blomqvist)
Project Zero/Fatal Frame
Resident Evil Remake/Resident Evil Zero
Serious Sam
Super Monkey Ball
Zone of the Enders

Close Calls
Devil May Cry
Frequency
Jak & Daxter
Maximo: Ghosts to Glory
Ribbons (J.D Berry)

10 Super Smash Bros Melee

9 Rez

8 Luigis Mansion

7 Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

6 Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil

5 Max Payne

4 Shadow of Memories/Shadow of Destiny

3 Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal/Ascension

2 Silent Hill 2

1 Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty


2002

Honorable Mentions
Ketsui
Mad Maestro
Ratchet & Clank
Sly Raccoon
Super Monkey Ball 2
The Trials of Odysseus Kent (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)

Close Calls
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil (Zun/Team Shanghai Alice)
Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

10 Hobo Soccer (Magic Whisper)

9 Psyvariar: Revision/Psyvariar: Medium Unit


8 Pop n’ Music 8

7 Guilty Gear XX

6 Super Mario Sunshine

5 Ikaruga

4 Noiz2sa (Kenta Cho)

3 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3

2 Metroid Prime

1 Metroid Fusion


2003
Honorable Mentions
Espgaluda
Kya: Dark Lineage
Narcolepsy (Adam Cadre)
Soul Calibur 2
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time/Master Quest
Warioware Inc: Minigame Mania
Yume Nikki (KIKIYAMA)
Zone of the Enders: 2nd Runner

Close Calls
Amplitude
The Apprentice (Herculean Effort Productions)
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Dance Dance Revolution Extreme
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Samorost (Amanita Design)
Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4

10 Seiklus (cly5m)

9 Perfect Cherry Blossom (Zun/Team Shanghai Alice)

8 5 Days a Stranger (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)

7 Beyond Good And Evil

6 dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU

5 Silent Hill 3

4 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

3 The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

2 Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

1 Parsec47/rRootage (Kenta Cho)

2004

Honorable Mentions
A Case of the Crabs (Pinhead Games)
Beatmania IIDX 8th Style
Glass Rose
Imperishable Night (Zun/Team Shanghai Alice)
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Polarium
Thief: Deadly Shadows
Tuboflex (Molleindustria)
Tumiki Fighters (Kenta Cho)

Close Calls
Go go roppongi Stick!
Psyvariar 2: Ultimate Final
Tontie (Eyesmaze)

10 Levers (Patrick Smith)

9 Blue Chairs (Chris Klimas)

8 Cirque de Zale (Rebecca Clements)

7 Katamari Damacy

6 Mushihimesama


5 7 Days a Skeptic (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)


4 The Apprentice II: Knights Move (Herculean Effort Productions


3 Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines

2 Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

1 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords


2005

Honorable Mentions
Anna (Vince Twelve/xiigames)
Cave Story (Daisuke Amaya)
Cedric and the Revolution (Bernie)
Conker: Live and Reloaded
Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat
Electroplankton
Espgaluda 2
Facade
Guilty Gear XX Slash
Gunroar/Val & Rick (Kenta Cho)
Haunting Ground
Ossu! Tatakae! Ouendan!
Soul Calibur 3

Close Calls
The Apprentice Deluxe (Herculean Effort Productions)
Beatmania IIDX 9th Style/Beatmania IIDX 10th Style
Blue Wish (x.x)
Pop n' Music 11
Resident Evil 4

10 We Love Katamari


9 Killer 7


8 Soviet Unterzögersdorf (Monochrom)

7 Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved

6 Psychonauts

5 Experimental Gaming: Tower of Goo, On a Rainy Day, The Crowd, Gravity Head, Square Off, Attack of the Killer Swarm, Riff, Attack of the Killer Swarm, Darwin Hill (Kyle Gabler)

4 Jade Empire

3 Whom the Telling Changed (Aaron A Reed)

2 Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence

1 Pathologic


2006

Honorable Mentions
Automaton (Mr Colossal)
Hallway of Adventures (Mordalles)
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
Mushihime-sama Futari
New Super Mario Bros
Torus Trooper/Titanion (Kenta Cho)

Close Calls
Beatmania IIDX 11: IIDX RED
Blue Wish Resurrection/Eden's Edge (x.x)
La La Land 5/La La Land 4/La La Land 3/La La Land 2/La La Land (TheAnemic)
Merry Gear Solid (Arthur Mr. Podunkian Lee)
Museum of Broken Dreams (Jonas Kyratzes)
The Shivah/Blackwell Legacy (Dave Gilbert)

10 Within A Deep Forest (Nifflas)


9 Pop n' Music 12

8 Dreamfall: The Longest Journey


7 WarioWare: Smooth Moves


6 Sam & Max Episode 1: Culture Shock


5 De Baron (Victor Gijsbers)


4 Guilty Gear XX Accent Core


3 Spooks (Lively Ivy/Erin Robinson)

2 The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

1 Trilby's Notes (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)


2007

Honorable Mentions
Beatmania IIDX 13: DistorteD
Blackwell Unbound (Dave Gilbert)
Chalk (Joakim Sandberg)
Contra 4
Feed the Head (Patrick Smith)
Frozzd (Jesse Venbrux)
Hyperbound (Michael Iantorno)
La Croix Pan (TheJBurger)
Mountain of Faith (Zun/Team Shanghai Alice)
Pacman Championship Edition
Sumotori Dreams (Péter Soltész)
Rorschach (Collecting Smiles)
Samorost 2 (Amanita Design)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
Trilby: The Art Of Theft (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)

Close Calls
Game, game, game and again game (Jason Nelson)
Garden of Coloured Lights/Excellent Bifurcation (Linley Henzell)
Knytt Stories/Knytt (Nifflas)
Murder In A Wheel (Renzo “Eshaktaar” Thönen)
Nelly Cootalot (Alasdair Beckett)
Super Stardust HD

10 Immortal Defense (Radical Poesis Games)

9 Sam & Max Season 1: Cont’

8 Mass Effect

7 Mondo Agency/Mondo Medicals/Clean Asia (Cactusquid)

6 Super Mario Galaxy

5 The Witcher

4 Bioshock

3 Portal

2 Passage (Jason Rohrer)

1 6 Days A Sacrifice (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)


2008

Honorable Mentions
Achievement Unlocked
Des Rêves Élastiques Avec Mille Insectes Nommés Georges (Deirdra Kiai)
Do-Don-Pachi Dai-Fukkatsu
Fallout 3
Geometry Wars Evolved 2
How Many…
Tension/The Void
Virtual Silence/Seven Minutes (Tuukka Virtanen)

Close Calls
Blue Wish Resurrection Plus (x.x)
Free Culture Game/Queer Power/Oiligarchy (Molleindustria)
Little Girl In Underland (Lively Ivy/Erin Robinson?)
Psychosomnium/Seizuredome (Cactusquid)
Rescue: The Beagles (Nenad Jalsovec)
Self-destruct/Xoldiers (Terry Cavanagh)
The Witcher: Enhanced Edition

10 A Second Face (Jospin Le Woltaire)

9 Gateway II (Anders Gustafsson)

8 Nanobots (Lively Ivy/Erin Robinson)

7 Aether (Edmund McMillen)

6 Karoshi 2.0/Execution/Pazzon/Torque/Karoshi/Karoshi Factory/Karoshi: Suicide Salaryman (Jesse Venbrux)

5 Gravitation/Police Brutality/Between/Perfectionism (Jason Rohrer)

4 Dear Esther (thechineseroom/Dan Pinchbeck)

3 World Of Goo (2d Boy)

2 Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot

1 Braid (Jonathan Blow)


2009


Honorable Mentions
!, Robot/Shifters Box (Ben304)
4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness (Petri/Kloonigames)
Alabaster (Emily Short)
And Yet It Moves (Broken Rules)
Backup/Bars Of Black And White (Gregory Weir)
Blue Lacuna (Aaron A Reed)
Chaser (Connor Carpenter/shadestorm)
Devils Tuning Fork (DePaul Game Elites)
Play: Free Will - The Game (raitendo)
Gray (aeiowu/fucrate)
Korsakovia (thechineseroom/Dan Pinchbeck)
Harpooned (Conor O’Kane)
Nestlings (Lewis Denby)
The Path (Tale of Tales)
Small Worlds (David Shute)
Takishawa Is Dead! (Andrew Brophy)
The Endling Archive (Kazuki Mishima)
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
Ulitsa Dimitrova (Lea Schönfelder & Gerard Delmás
Walker & Silhouette (C.E.J. Pacian)

Close Calls
Au Sable/All Our Friends Are Dead (Amon26)
Eden’s Aegis (x.x)
Evidence of Everything Exploding (Jason Nelson)
Flower (thatgamecompany)
Garou: Mark of the Wolves
Gravity Bone (Brendon Chung/Blendo Games)
lose/lose (Zach Gage)
Mental Repair Inc (Renzo “Eshaktaar” Thönen)
Merry Gear Solid 2: Ghosts of Christmas Past (Arthur Mr. Podunkian Lee)
New Super Mario Bros Wii
Repent (Aaron Oldenburg)
Spectre (Vaguely Spectacular)
Super Karoshi/Focus (Jesse Venbrux)
Tales of Monkey Island
Today I Die (Daniel Benmergui)
We the Giants (Peter Groeneweg)
White Butterfly (Linley Henzell)
Windosill (Patrick Smith)

10 The Company of Myself (Eli Pülonen)

9 Time Fcuk (Edmund McMillen, William Good & Justin Karpel)

8 The Marionette (Team Effigy/Auriond)

7 Batman: Arkham Asylum

6 Judith/Don’t Look Back/Pathways (Terry Cavanagh)

5 Radiator 1-2: Handle With Care/Radiator 1-1: Polaris (Robert Yang)

4 Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

3 Dragon Age: Origins

2 Everyday The Same Dream (Molleindustria)

1 Opera Omnia/Home/Therapy Game/Mirror Stage/The Black Yeti/Signifier (Stephen Lavelle/increpare)


2010

Missed Out On
Metro

Honorable Mentions
Alan Wake
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Beautiful Escape: Dungeoneer (Nicolau/calunio)
Being There (Jordan Magnuson)
Blades of Passion (Drew Wellman)
Crimzon Clover (Yotsubane)
Conquer the Shadow World/Lackadaisium (Ultimate Walrus)
Cow Clicker (Ian Bogost)
Depict1 (Retro Affect)
Digital: A Love Story (Christine Love)
Dual Transform (Andrew Plotkin)
Eternally Us (Ben304)
Fallout: New Vegas
Feign (Ian Snyder)
Flaws (Jon Ingold)
Frenzy Defense (Jan Willem Nijman)
Hero Core (Daniel Remar)
ir/rational (Tom Jubert)
Limbo (Playdead)
My First Quantum Translocator
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
P0nd (Peanut Gallery)
Puji (Alexander Jhin, Matt McKnett, and Pat Kemp)
Puzzlebots (Lively Ivy/Erin Robinson)
QWOP (Bennett Fodd)
Sand-dancer (Aaron A Reed & Alexei Othenin-Girard)
Super Crate Box (Vlambeer)
Super Street Fighter IV
Symon (Singapore MIT Gambi Game Lab)
Technobabylon – Part II/Technobabylon – Part 1 (James Dearden)
Tedium (EddieC)
The Dream Machine Chaper 1 & 2 (Erik Zaring & Anders Gustafsson)
Tower of Heaven (askiisoft)
Which (Mike Inel)


Close Calls
...But That Was [Yesterday]/Together (Michael Molinari)
A House in California/Hummingbird Mind (Jake Elliott & friends)
The Arm/Refus Q. Jibberjabber's Day Out/Flin McGraw's Last Day (tipp)
Covetous/Good Fortune (Austin Breed)
Dragon Age: Awakening
Howard Glitch Game (Robert Allmand)
Loneliness (Jordan Magnuson)
Loved (Alexander Ocias)
Norrland/Gamma4 (Cactusquid)
Octodad (DGE2)
One Chance (AwkwardSilenceGames)
Super Meat Boy (Team Meat)
suteF (Ted Lauterbach)


10 After (Aaron Oldenburg)


9 Memory Reloaded/Leaky Worlds: A Playable Theory (Molleindustria)


8 The Journey Down: Over The Edge (Theodor Waern)


7 VVVVV/Phobiaphobiaphobia (Terry Cavanagh)

6 Super Mario Galaxy 2
5 Mass Effect 2/Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadowbroker


4 Life Flashes By (Deirdra Kia)


3 Snakes of Avalon (Igor Hardy/Ascovel & Alex Van Wijst/Baron)


2 Looming/The Day/Narthex (Gregory Weir)


1 Treatise/Hush/Modernauts/Primitive Pattern/Starfeld/100 Names/Queue/The Terrible Whiteness of Appalachian Nights/The Rose Garden/Catalan/Cascode (Stephen Lavelle/increpare)




2011

Missed Out On, Want To Play
Alice: Madness Returns
Outland
Super Mario 3D Land

Honorable Mentions
A Mother's Inferno (Dadiu/David Adler)
Animal Puncher/A Mother in Festerwood (Austin Breed)
American Dream (Stephen Lavelle, Terry Cavanagh, Jasper Byrne and Tom Morgan-Jones)
Apollo 2 (Robert Yang)
At A Distance (Terry Cavanagh)
Batman: Arkham City
Cat and the Coup (Peter Brinson/Kurosh ValaNejad)
Chainworld (Jason Rohrer)
Crime Zone (thecatamites)
Encyclopedia Fuckme and the Case of the Vanishing Entree (Anna Anthopy)
Fotonica
Freedom Bridge
Glitchhiker (vlambeer)
Gyossait (Amon26)
Hot Throttle (Cacusquid)
NightSky (Nicalis/Nifflas)
No Longer Subject to Judicial Review (NiallM)
Not Tetris 2 (Maurice Guégan)
Raccord Sniper (Nicolai Troshinsky)
Soul Brother (Jasper Byrne)
Spent (McKinney)
Suction Co-op (Gustav Dahl)
Technobabylon Part III (James Dearden)
The Dream Machine: Chapter 3 (Erik Zaring & Anders Gustafsson)
The Play (Deirdra Kiai)
To the Moon (Kan Gao)
Trine 2
Wither (Rastek)
Wunderputt (dampgnat)
You Shall Know The Truth/The Book of Living Magic (Jonas Kyratzes)

Close Calls
Labyrinths (György Dudas)
Rebirth (Daniel-D. "Guert" Guertin)
The Stanley Parable (Cakebread)
The End of Us (Chelsea Howe & Michael Molinari)
These Robotic Hearts of Mine (Alan Hazelden/Draknet)

10 Trauma (Krystian Majewski)

9 Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony (Final Form)

8 Negative Spacecraft (Chris Cornell)

7 A History of Democratic Process in Eire/English Country Tune/Salome/ Pirouette/Oíche Mhaith (Stephen Lavelle/increpare)

6 Rayman Origins

5 Balloon-Diaspora/Ruins (Jake Elliott)

4 Bla Bla (Vincent Morisset)

3 Maybe Make Some Change (Aaron A Reed)

2 Bastion

1 Portal 2


2012

Missed Out On, Want To Play
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D

Honorable Mentions
.heartbeats (Sebastian Trelles)
As Slow As Possible (György Dudas)
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition
Drawception
Home (Benjamin Rivers)
Howling Dogs (porpentine)
Intake/Ten/Fall/Closet (Maddox Pratt)
ir/rational Redux (Tom Jubert)
It's all Fun and Games Until Someone Blows Their Brains Out (Mikael Vesavuori)
Kairo (Perrin)
Knytt Underground (Nifflas)
Lim/Brace/A Synchronous Ritual/Terf War (Meritt Kopas)
Lone Survivor (Jasper Byrne)
The Love Letter (axcho and knivel)
Mari0/Not Pacman (Maurice Guégan)
Middens (John Clowder)
Mirrormoon (Team Focaccia)
Nuign Specter (Jake Clover)
Or, What Is It Like To Be A Thing? (Cameron Kunzelman)
Otherworld: Spring of Shadows
Resonance (Vincent XII)
Slender: The Eight Pages (Mark J. Hadley)
Spec Ops: The Line
Super Hexagon (Terry Cavanagh)
Tales of the Minus Lab (Alex Beachum)
Timebomb (Kenta Cho)
The Republia Times/6 Degrees of Sabotage (Lucas Pope)
To What End (Chelsea Howe, Michael Molinari)

Close Calls
Anestesia (Pedro Paiva)
dys4ia (Anna Anthropy)
First Draft of the Revolution/Bee (Emily Short)
Hotline Miami
I Remember the Rain (Jordan Browne)
Journey Down: Over the Edge HD (Theodor Waern)
Katawa Shoujo
Laza Knitez! (Team Buttfighters)
Perspective (nfyre)
Remembered/Syncope/The Question Unquestioned (Chris Klimas)
Slave of God/Promises/Sickness/The Good Sister/RAPIDFIE (increpare/Stephen Lavelle)
The Colder Light/Intercept (Jon Ingold)
The Dark Room (ThatsMrRobinson)
Thomas Was Alone (Mike Bithell)
Vidiot Game

10 Unfinished Swan

9 Almost Goodbye/Prom Week (Aaron A Reed)

8 March/Connections/Get Closer/The Path Taken/Exhaust (mindful xp)


7 Journey (thatgamecompany)

6 Unmanned (molleindustria)

5 Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD

4 Mass Effect 3/Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut

3 Thirty Flights of Loving (Brendon Chung)

2 The Walking Dead

1 Dear Esther


2013

Missed Out On, Want To Play
A Slow Year
DEVICE 6
Dishonored
Doki-Doki Universe
Dust: An Elysian Tail
F J O R D S
Guacamelee!
Kentucky Route Zero
Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
Mass Effect 3: Citadel
Metro: Last Light
New Super Mario Bros. U
Puppeteer
Richard & Alice
Resogun
Risk of Rain
Saints Row IV
Sonic Lost World
Starseed Pilgrim
Super Mario 3D World
Tearaway
Teleglitch: Die More Edition
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
The Novelist
Tomb Raider
X-com: Enemy Within
Year Walk
ZiGGURAT


Honorable Mentions
7 Days (RevoLab)
Anodyne (Analgesic Productions LLC)
Antichamber
At the Bonfire (finny)
Auti-sim
Autumn's Daughter (Ali Sajid Imami & Shumaila Hashmi)
Bioshock Infinite
Black Crown
Coloratura (Lynnea Glasser)
Contrast
Divekick
Dominique Pamplemousse (Deirdra Kiai)
Drop A Beat, Giuseppe! (Major Bueno)
Dysphoria City (Spanglypants)
Even Cowgirls Bleed (Christine Love)
Experiment 12 (Various)
Fragments of Him (Matazone & Sassybot: Mata Haggis, Tino van der Kraan, Elwin Verploegen, Henriette Sande)
Home Again (Chris Klimas)
I'm Frontline (Kenta Cho)
Inner Vision (Sunil Rao)
Jostle Bastard (Pippin Barr)
Kim's Story (Kim Moss)
Mass Effect 3: Leviathan
Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine
Naya's Quest (Terry Cavanagh)
Negative Space (Maddox Pratt)
Papers, Please (Lucas Pope)
Perspective (Pohung)
Problem Attic (Liz Ryerson)
Proteus (Ed Key & David Kanaga)
Save the Date (Paper Dino Software)
Slavoj Žižek Makes A Twine Game (Cameron Kunzelman)
Slender: The Arrival
Sluggish Morss/Sluggish Morss: A Delicate Time in Space (Jake Clover & Jack King-Spooner)
The Bridge (Case Western)
The Impostor (Deirdra Kiai)
The Last Door (Chapter 1 & 2)
The Last of Us
The Raven – Legacy of a Master Thief
The Whispering Thing (Gregory Avery-Weir)
Zero (Arturs Grebstelis)

Close Calls
Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs
Castles in the Sky (The Tall Trees)
Catachresis (Cameron Kunzelman)
Choice of the Deathless (Max Gladstone)
Depression Quest (Zoe Quinn, Patrick Lindsey & Isaac Schankler)
No-one Has To Die (StuStutheBloo)
one-two (-)
Rayman Legends
Reset (Autumn Nicole Bradley)
The Swapper
To My First Born Son/Sleeping Scared/Ollam House (increpare)





10 The Wolf Among Us: Episode 1 – Faith

9 Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

8 Knock Knock (Ice-Pick Lodge)

7 Ossuary (Future Proof Games/Gregory Weir)

6 The Walking Dead: 400 Days/The Walking Dead: Season 2, Episode 1 – All That Remains

5 Outer Wilds (Alex Beachum)

4 The Stanley Parable HD Remix/The Stanley Parable Demo (Galactic Café/Davey Wreden)

3 18 Cadence (Aaron A. Reed)

2 Metal Gear Solid: Revengeance

1 Gone Home

My inner childs favorite games










My inner (dualistically oriented) grown-ups favorite games

These are my favorite games as deemed so by the intellectual within me, by the person within who does not wish to play games only for the sake of playing them or having fun or getting better at it or appreciating the aesthetics, and so on. These games are games that transcend the time which I spend with them and contribute to the dialogue I have with myself and others concerning matters of what a good life is, what justice can be, if love is possible, and other questions of prime importance. There are a number of games that fit neither here or in ”the list of my inner child”, which are those games that gameplay-wise are very good, yet I discovered them as an adolescent (or later), and the games which have adult themes and are very well-executed, yet do not seem to have themes which I necessarily think I can incorporate into my daily living, themes that do not make me remember the game in other contexts than that of nostalgia or video game criticism.



First stage
Baldur's Gate: Shadows of Amn
Bioshock
Deus Ex
Jade Empire
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Portal
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
System Shock 2



Second stage
Grim Fandango
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot
Opera Omnia
Portal 2
Silent Hill 3
Shadows of Memories
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
The Longest Journey
World Of Goo (2d Boy)



Third (and final?) stage
Braid (Jonathan Blow)
Dear Esther (thechineseroom/Dan Pinchbeck)
Final Fantasy VII
Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Pathologic
Planescape Torment
Silent Hill 2
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords
The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask









Sequelitis

A videogame sequel begins with most vital questions already answered. Who am I? Where can I go? What can I do? How does the world work? What are the limits? Instead, I only ask: What's different this time? Is it better than the last one? Can I dual- wield? Videogame sequels traffic in features and upgrades, keeping pace with the times, meeting fan expectations. Their logic is that of the genre novel, of repetition with variation. Their pleasures are those of the tweak, the nuance. They reward the discerning palate with shades of difference. It is the death of mystery by a thousand refinements.1



In a business where sequels abound and the question of ”why” seems to get it's most clear answer in fiscal numbers or notions of ”improvement” (of game mechanics and graphics, mainly), I have great respect and derive chunky joy from sequels which make their point of departure meaningful, and also have producers who are gutsy enough to support that willing departure from established sequel-conventions of ”bigger and higher”. And sometimes, that damn sequel with improved interface and graphics, or with more nuanced game mechanics, makes me question why I was skeptical to the ”now made perfect” sequel in the first place.

We identify a series – videogame or otherwise – according to how well it obeys the formal rules established by its predecessors, much as we identify the next number in a numeric set according to whether it was derived from the set's algorithm. The act of obeying those self-made rules (along with our awareness of such obedience) becomes a trope in itself, a behavioral habit that identifies us as consumers of a product. By demanding the continuation of a series, an audience can become as typecast in its desires as the product that it demands.

The cycle of iteration creates an illusion of progress without granting true progress – freedom from the cycle, from zero, from the set. Think of escaping the cycle as a return to a state of Taoist p'uthe uncarved block that represents receptivity, passivity, and the simplicity of beginnings. Sense cycles, repetitions of personal behaviors, can never be permanently discarded. However, they can be modified toward a better identity once a person, with self-awareness, leaves that state of p'u and tries to do – and become – something new. 2




Third place, first outing
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night/Super Castlevania IV
Dodonpachi
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2
Mario Kart 64
Mass Effect 2/Mass Effect 3
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
System Shock 2
Super Probotector: Alien Rebels/Contra 3: Alien Wars '
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2/3/4

Second best, nigh the top stop
Fallout 2
Guilty Gear XX/Accent Core
Ikaruga
Lode Runner: The Legend Returns
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Metroid Prime/Super Metroid/Metroid Fusion
Portal 2
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords
Super Mario World/Yoshi's Island/Super Mario 64/Super Mario Galaxy

First place, second row
Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty/Guns of the Patriot/Snake Eater
Silent Hill 2/Shattered Memories/Silent Hill 3
Street Fighter 2: World Warrior/Third Strike
The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask/A Link to the Past/Ocarina of Time/Wind Waker
Trilby's Notes/6 Days A Sacrifice (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)

RPG's

1 RPG's
Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast
Dragon Age: Awakening
Fallout
Fallout 2
Final Fantasy VIII
Mass Effect
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines



2 RPG's
Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal/Ascension
Dragon Age: Origins
Jade Empire
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 3
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
The Witcher



3 RPG's
Baldur’s Gate
Baldur's Gate: Shadows of Amn
Final Fantasy VII
Planescape Torment
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords




Mods

Since mods often are community efforts, endlessly bettered and updated as a living ofganism, attributing them dates or specific authors can be hard. Sometimes it's possible, but for the sake of laziness I'll skip that part completely and just go ahead and tell you about the game modifications which have greatly contributed to my enjoyment of these (RPG) games.

Baldur’s Gate


Baldur's Gate: Shadows of Amn


Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal
Planescape Torment
The Bigg's Widescreen mod/Ghostdog's incredible UI mod
Qwinn's Planescape: Torment Tweaks
Planescape: Torment Ultimate WeiDU Fixpack
Planescape Torment: Unfinished Business

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords
TSL Restored Content Mod


Shmups

Boy did I used to love these. For the last five years or so, instead I've dropped out of sight, seeing how what is produced these days is very inspired by the Japanese arcade tradition. All right, so I used to love that tradition – these days I do not, but my taste for procedurally generated content and the opposite of punishing gameplay is still strong, even if it doesn't take much to put me off.

Insert Credit
Blue Wish Resurrection (x.x)
Cyberd (?)
Dragon Blaze
Eden's Aegis (x.x)
Eden's Edge (x.x)
The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil (Zun/Team Shanghai Alice)
ESPgaluda
Garden of Coloured Lights (Linley Henzell)
Gunbird 2
Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony (Final Form)
Negative Spacecraft (Chris Cornell)
Imperishable Night (Zun/Team Shanghai Alice)
Psyvariar
Psyvariar 2
Tumiki Fighters
Ultimate Stage (?)
White Butterfly (Linley Henzell)

1CC
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
Gunbird
Ikaruga
Mushihimesama
Noiz2sa (Kenta Cho)
Perfect Cherry Blossom (Zun/Team Shanghai Alice)

Self-destruct (Terry Cavanagh)
Strikers 1945
1LC
Area 88/UN Squadron
dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU
Dodonpachi
Parsec47 (Kenta Cho)
rRootage (Kenta Cho)
Strikers 1945: Part II


Independent Point & Clicks

High nostalgia factor for me, almost from the get-go, for some reason, even though I didn't exactly ”grow up” with SCUMM and LucasArts. I've clicked a lot in my life, and in games made in Adventure Game Studios especially, but I'm out of the loop also in this area. The genre needs less weird puzzles and, brace yourself, ”meaningful choices”. Or non-choices. But things that evoke some sense of purpose and has life-affirming qualities beyond the isolation of a puzzle.


2 Clicks Away From Total Awesomeness
Anna (Vince Twelve/xiigames)
Blackwell Legacy (Dave Gilbert)
Blackwell Unbound (Dave Gilbert)
Little Girl In Underland (Lively Ivy/Erin Robinson)
Mental Repair Inc (Renzo “Eshaktaar” Thönen)
Nelly Cootalot (Alasdair Beckett)
Rorschach (Collecting Smiles)
Technobabylon Part 1, 2, 3 (James Dearden)
The Dream Machine (Erik Zaring & Anders Gustafsson)
The Shivah (Dave Gilbert)
The Trials of Odysseus Kent (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)

1 Click Away From Total Awesomeness
5 Days A Stranger (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)
7 Days a Skeptic (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)
A House in California (Jake Elliott & friends)
A Second Face (Jospin Le Woltaire)
Cirque de Zale (Rebecca Clements)
Gateway II (Anders Gustafsson)
Murder In A Wheel (Renzo “Eshaktaar” Thönen)
The Apprentice Deluxe (Herculean Effort Productions)

The Clique
6 Days A Sacrifice (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)
Snakes of Avalon (Igor Hardy/Ascovel & Baron/Alex Van Wijst)
Spooks (Lively Ivy/Erin Robinson)
Soviet Unterzögersdorf (Monochrom)
The Apprentice II: Knights Move (Herculean Effort Productions)
The Journey Down: Over The Edge (Theodor Waern)
The Marionette (Team Effigy/Auriond)
Trilby's Notes (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)




Interactive Fiction

A genre wish I have held the highest hopes for, for many years now. Mostly I get frustrated over the interface problems and prefer ”less interaction” and more meaningful choices, which reflects what game I've put on this list too. And although also this is a genre I am utterly tired of right now, I have high hopes for what the future will bring.

Close Calls
Deadline, or, Being Douglas Adams (Gunther Schmidl)
Intake (Maddox Pratt)
The Play (Deirdra Kiai)
Sickness (increpare)

X
9:05 (Adam Cadre)
Aisle (Sam Barlow)
Alabaster (Emily Short)
Being There (Jordan Magnuson)
Choice of the Deathless (Max Gladstone)
Dual Transform (Andrew Plotkin)
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams/Steve Meretzky)
In the Changing Room (Jackie Craven)
Narcolepsy (Adam Cadre)
The Colder Light (Jon Ingold)


Xyz
Blue Chairs (Chris Klimas)
Blue Lacuna (Aaron A Reed)
De Baron (Victor Gijsbers)
Depression Quest (Zoe Quinn, Patrick Lindsey & Isaac Schankler)
First Draft of the Revolution (Emily Short)
Galatea (Emily Short)
Remembered (Chris Klimas)
Ribbons (J.D Berry)
Shade (Andrew Plotkin)
Tapestry (Daniel Ravipinto)

Xyzzy
18 Cadence (Aaron A. Reed)
Almost Goodbye (Aaron A Reed)
Exhibition (Ian Finley)
maybe make some change (Aaron A Reed)
Photopia (Adam Cadre)
Rameses (Stephen Bond)
Shrapnel (Adam Cadre)
Whom the Telling Changed (Aaron A Reed)


Multiplayer (3+) Games

Games to play with cherished friends, or games through which one makes new friends (and enemies). Get your ass over into the couch/in front of the keyboard and let's boot this shit and a couple of beers up!



Multi Tap
Bomberman (different versions)
Drawception
Glitchhiker
New Super Mario Bros Wii
Rayman Legends/Rayman Origins
We the Giants (Peter Groeneweg)


Mega Tap
Laza Knitez! (Team Buttfighters)
Micro Machines V3
Ricochet (Counter-Strike)
Super Monkey Ball/Super Monkey Ball 2
WarioWare: Smooth Moves


Ultra Tap
Mario Kart 64
Super Smash Bros/Super Smash Bros Melee
Unreal Tournament
Worms 2/Worms Armageddon/Worms



Co-op Games



We VS the World
Balloon Fight
Cyberdogs/C-Dogs (Cyberdogs 2)
Diablo 2/Diablo
House of the Dead
Ice Climbers
Journey
Metal Slug/Metal Slug X
New Super Mario Bros Wii
Smash TV
Streets of Rage 3

We VS We
Battle City
Elasto Mania (Balázs Rózsa)
Pocky and Rocky
Portal 2
Super Double Dragon

We Are One
Lode Runner: The Legend Returns
Rayman Legends/Rayman Origins
Super Probotector: Alien Rebels/Contra 3: Alien Wars/Contra/Contra: Hard Corps
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time
Three Dirty Dwarves

VS Games

Puji (Alexander Jhin, Matt McKnett, and Pat Kemp)
Super Mario Kart/Mario Kart 64
F-Zero
Street Fighter 2: World Warrior/Street Fighter 3: Third Strike/Super Street Fighter IV
Soul Blade/Soul Calibur
Diddy Kong Racing
Micro Machines V3/Micro Machines
Liero (Joosa Riekkinen)
Hobo Soccer (Magic Whisper)
Puzzle Bobble
Worms 2/Worms Armageddon/Worms
Spy vs Spy
Fight of the Sumo Hoppers (Tuomas Korppi)
Ricochet (Counter-Strike)
Elasto Mania (Balázs Rózsa)
Super Monkey Ball/Super Monkey Ball 2
Super Smash Bros/Super Smash Bros Melee
Guilty Gear XX Accent Core /Guilty Gear XX
Unreal Tournament