[ALL] SethMode's Top 50 Favorite Games of All Time

[SethMode]

So, a while back, our very own former owner, Leftwich, banged out a truly impressive thread detailing his top 100 games of all time. Most impressive was how he managed to, if I recall correctly, rather strictly adhere to a posting a day while doing it. I have been stuck, relegated to rather mindless office duty, for the last month, thinking that it would be ending the end of June. Well, much to my chagrin, I get another delightful two months of it. The bonus to this mindlessness is that it has given me some time to come up with a list of my own, and while doing it, I figured I'd jot down some thoughts on each of my games. Now, I only did 50 write ups, mostly because I didn't feel like doing 100, and also because in 60 days there will be less of a guarantee that I'll be able to post daily on VSN. I will, however, include a "Just Missed the Cut" with each one of my postings. Think of it as a sort of "Honorable Mention" that is in no particular order, and has no write up. Just a game I really love but not quite enough to find its way in my top 50.

Updates So Far...

#50. Mass Effect 3
#49. Kid Icarus
#48. Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
#47. Bionic Commando
#46. Mass Effect
#45. Super Meat Boy
#44. The Curse of Monkey Island
#43. Psychonauts
#42. Thief 2: The Metal Age
#41. Batman: Arkham Asylum
Some Random Fun Stuff for the First 10
#40. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
#39. Seiken Densetsu 3 (Secret of Mana 2)
#38. Quake III Arena
#37. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
#36. Demon's Souls
#35. The Legend of Zelda
#34. Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura
#33. Sam & Max: Hit the Road
#32. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
#31. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
Some Random Fun Stuff for the Second 10
#30. DuckTales
#29. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
#28. Dragon Age: Origins
#27. Portal
#26. Super Mario Bros.
#25. Final Fantasy IV (or II)
#24. Mass Effect 2
#23. DOOM
#22. Full Throttle
#21. Mega Man 2
Some Random Fun Stuff for the Third 10
#20. StarCraft
#19. Secret of Mana
#18. Half-Life 2
#17. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
#16. Diablo 2
#15. System Shock 2
#14. Super Mario Kart
#13. Baldur's Gate
#12. Super Metroid
#11. Super Mario Bros. 3

# 50

Mass Effect 3

So, kicking off this fun little time wasting, hopefully discussion inducing enterprise, is everyone’s favorite Bioware “let’s irrationally bitch about how terrible this game is because of the last 15 minutes of it” game, Mass Effect 3. Since my goal is to be mostly positive (these are my favorite games ever, the focus will be on the good, not the bad), I’m just going to say, the ending wasn’t good, but it also didn’t really bother me. As far as what I loved: my playthrough with my paragon character went off without a hitch. I barely switched discs in my 40 hour or more final romp through this glorious universe, and it was 100% glitch free. The game was the perfect “This is Your Life” Tyler (my middle name) Shepard. The combat was an improved version of ME2 (which might be making an appearance here), they brought back some more RPG elements, the dialogue trees were still top-notch as always, and the soundtrack was amazing. The big payoff though, for me, was seeing how your decisions truly impacted what happened to major characters that you came to love. Not only that, but reading how subtle choices across the first two games can come together to literally determine the fate of entire races, is pretty fucking amazing. Multiple playthroughs definitely took a little of the shine off of the idea that your choices truly matter (they have to funnel you down SOME sort of path after all) but nothing can take away that first experience I had with it, with moment after moment of me feeling like this was truly the epic conclusion to my character’s crazy and meaningful journey. Mass Effect 3 didn’t quite deliver on a lot of the promises made when the trilogy was first introduced, but god damn if it didn’t churn out an amazing final product that will be remembered (regardless of how you want to remember it) for years to come.

Just Missed the Cut:
Flashback: The Quest for Identity

[killgod]

Thanked for doing this and picking an ME game.

Groaned for leaving out Flashback!

[j.hen]

Mass Effect 3 is such a damn good game with all of the DLC, it's crazy how they could leave Leviathan and From Ashes out of the game. So much crucial elements to the story left out if you dont put up the cash for that content... I'm currently playing through ME2 right now since I had to get a new PS3 (losing all of my game saves in the process)

[mgoblue2290]

But for real, fuck that ending.

[SethMode]

Mass Effect 3 is such a damn good game with all of the DLC, it's crazy how they could leave Leviathan and From Ashes out of the game. So much crucial elements to the story left out if you dont put up the cash for that content... I'm currently playing through ME2 right now since I had to get a new PS3 (losing all of my game saves in the process)

Totally agreed. Leviathan is a pretty big game changer in terms of story. From Ashes isn't totally necessary, at least, arguably, but fuck me if having Javik around wasn't a big deal. It provided SO much backstory to a major aspect of the damn universe (the Protheans). ME3 is, I think, EA's grossiest DLC decision.

I still need to play The Citadel DLC. I've heard nothing but good things, I just don't know if I have another ME3 playthrough in me right now (and I would probably do a full 1-3 run anyway).

[j.hen]

Totally agreed. Leviathan is a pretty big game changer in terms of story. From Ashes isn't totally necessary, at least, arguably, but fuck me if having Javik around wasn't a big deal. It provided SO much backstory to a major aspect of the damn universe (the Protheans). ME3 is, I think, EA's grossiest DLC decision.

I still need to play The Citadel DLC. I've heard nothing but good things, I just don't know if I have another ME3 playthrough in me right now (and I would probably do a full 1-3 run anyway).

I got all of the DLC that was released and I'd rate them as follows:

1. From Ashes
2. Leviathan
3. Citadel
4. Omega

I don't know how many playthroughs you've had of ME but my current playthrough I felt like I had an excuse for because I lost all of my saved stuff with the new console switch. I always find myself speed rushing through ME1 to get to ME2. I'd play ME3 twice before playing either of 1 or 2 again though.

[SethMode]

I got all of the DLC that was released and I'd rate them as follows:

1. From Ashes
2. Leviathan
3. Citadel
4. Omega

I don't know how many playthroughs you've had of ME but my current playthrough I felt like I had an excuse for because I lost all of my saved stuff with the new console switch. I always find myself speed rushing through ME1 to get to ME2. I'd play ME3 twice before playing either of 1 or 2 again though.

I've only done the one playthrough from 1-3. I've probably beaten ME1 4 times, I'd say. Twice with each character. ME2 I played the most...think I beat it maybe 6 times? I've beaten ME3 twice with each character, but like I said, I kind of want to start from the beginning again with a fresh dude before playing 3 again.

Is Omega even worth it? Heard nothing but "meh" at best for it.

[Twigg4075]

I'm just so glad that people feel the need to mention me in their posts so often.

I'll just chalk it up to being awesome.

I am shocked that ME3, a game that most say is probably the weakest in the series, is on this list. Seems baffling to me.

[SethMode]

At least you have such a good sense of humor about yourself!

And most people? I would say most people go ME2 > ME3 > ME1, but I know a lot of people that have ME3 as their favorite. And all three are in my top 50, so not that baffling. And if that baffles you, just wait till my top 20. I would be surprised if you've even heard of most of them (PC Gaming wins!)

[j.hen]

I am shocked that ME3, a game that most say is probably the weakest in the series, is on this list. Seems baffling to me.

This is completely false.

[Swarley]

I am shocked that ME3, a game that most say is probably the weakest in the series, is on this list. Seems baffling to me.

Just b/c a game is the weakest in a trilogy doesn't make it not good. What's your #3 Uncharted game? Wouldn't it still be in your top 50?

[jms493]

Just b/c a game is the weakest in a trilogy doesn't make it not good. What's your #3 Uncharted game? Wouldn't it still be in your top 50?

Please dont let Twigg derail another thread...PLEASE!!

[SethMode]

So, after an impromptu decision to visit my brother for the weekend, I'm going to go ahead and throw up 49 and 48 too. In fact, I might just plan to drop two on Friday to cover me for the weekend, in the off chance that I won't be on. So, enjoy!

#49

Kid Icarus

Kid Icarus was the third NES game I owned, after the pack in Mario/Duck Hunt. My memories were mostly fond, but really only because a lot of time was spent with my siblings trying to get through the damn thing, which for a 4 or 5 year old, was literally an impossibility. My brother’s both could beat it though, so I saw the ending long before I could ever conquer it. Which, honestly, wasn’t until I was in college and played it on a friend’s pristine NES. Anecdotes aside, this game is fucking awesome. The definition of a brutal NES platformer, in which many levels went from bottom to top, and one false move and you’re dead. No extra lives, just the occasional feather you can waste your money on to fly up and save you at times. There was a password system, which was also my first experience with trying to determine whether a letter was an O or a 0 and the like, so it wasn’t impossible, but still, that only started you at the beginning of some of these brutal levels. The game was surprisingly deep though for its time, with additional weapons that can be acquired (like fire added to your arrows, or a long bow), genuinely confusing and large dungeons, and some seriously bitch ass boss fights. Throw in TOTAL DOUCHE enemies like the Eggplant Wizard, and the underrated evil prick enemy from Worlds 2 and 3 called Pluton, who would steal the aforementioned add-ons with a single touch, and the difficulty is ratcheted up even more. I still haven’t played the new one, as the style doesn’t really interest me, but I do like that they FINALLY brought back what I consider to be a classic character in Pit. I’d like to see another 2D like this one, as I would consider it not just a nostalgic piece of my childhood, but a legitimately great game.

Just Missed the Cut:
Donkey Kong Country

[CCBrink]

This is how I look at the Mass Effect series.

Mass Effect 1: Great story, but the gameplay was kind of clunky.

Mass Effect 2: Story was a little weaker since it is primarily a big recruitment mission and focuses on character development of your squadmates. Gameplay was improved and made the game more re-playable.

Mass Effect 3: Great story with how everything came together (so many moments) and gameplay was amazing.

[SethMode]

#48

Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain

The year was 1997. I was a teenager. A big fan of renting games, as everyone was at that time, this was still the era where box art helped with 90% of the decision. I had no idea what this “Blood Omen” game was about, but skulls and swords on your cover was a pretty good way to get teenage Seth to give your game a shot. Needless to say, I was blown away. Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, is a top down, exploration, action RPG with more of a focus on the action and exploration than the RPG part. Think The Legend of Zelda, only instead of a boy frolicking about in the woods fighting weird Red and Blue stress balls that fire rocks, you’re a murdered Nobleman raised from the dead as a vampire, that stomps across a medieval landscape murdering whomever he wishes, drinking the blood of captive innocents and enemies alike, shredding assholes as a giant werewolf, and all the while musing to himself how much superior he is than pretty much everyone. It’s fucking awesome. I’ve recently been playing through this game again, and it holds up surprisingly well, which can’t always be said for those old Playstation One games. Sure, the CGI looks a level of dated that is almost unbelievable, but that, and its more old school control scheme, is part of why it still holds up. The voice acting is terrific, even if it often sounds like it was recorded inside of an empty water tower, and the music is as eerie and brooding as the fiction, which tells a really memorable, and quite good, story that sets up the sequels (that I wasn’t the biggest fan of). I don’t know if this game was considered a success at the time, but if you like Zelda style games and aren’t put off by older games (older in more ways than just age), I highly recommend it.

Just Missed the Cut:
Warcraft 2