I've decided I'm going to be formatting most of posts in the form of top 5 and top 10 lists of varying topics to help organize my thoughts better and to encourage a bit of discussion you all of you. With my first and probably one of my more difficult lists tackled and out of the way, (Top 5 favorite metal albums) I will try to do the same with my favorite games that I have played over the years.
This one isn't that easy for me either because I never really know what to base my judgments on. How good I got at the game, that won't work, I've loved games that a monkey could master. Total Time played, nope that won't due...as an ex-World of Warcraft player I dropped quite a bit of time into that black hole of time and money and I regret most of it. (It only took me 3 account cancellations to realize that it just plain isn't fun). So what to do? My only thing I can trust is my gut. What did I enjoy or remember the most? What did have have the most fun with? What still sticks with me? I think these are easier questions to answer, much easier.
#5: Bioshock Infinite: Too soon? I will spare you all any plot details as to avoid spoilers but this game needed to be on my list. As those who are close to me already know, I have said over and over again that I thought the story of this game was perfect. I still think its damn close too. This is one of those monumental games that the second you finish it, you know instantly that it will be discussed and revered for years. The game play is outstanding and it allows that player to effortlessly use all aspects of the environment to accomplish the given objectives. The linear but still open design keeps the game well paced for any players pace and the environments and backdrops are awe inspiring. The only reason that Bioshock Infinite isn't higher is because I need to see if it stands the test of time.
#4 The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask: Yes, Majora's Mask...not Ocarina of Time. As a kid I was obsessed with this game, I would spend every spare minute and hour I could gathering faeries, collecting bottles and trying desperately get my hands on the Fierce Diety Mask so I could finally be the Baddest Motherfucker Alive. I never really got around to playing OoT until much later and I still found that Link's second brush with evil was far more engaging. There was no damsel, he wasn't trying to be a hero, there was just the poor Skull Kid who made an innocent mistake, and a brother and sister torn apart by the evil it unleashed. Link was just trying to do the right thing by trying to heal all the pain he had discovered in these characters. I have only ever played through this game once, and there are points I can remember even as a kid where I found myself overwhelmed with sympathy for these characters. I didn't want to beat this to beat the game, I wanted to do it so that Skull Kid, Tatl, and Tael could finally be a family again...
#3 Jet Set Radio Future: The most fun I have ever had while playing a video game is when I was playing JSRF. This was the first time I had ever unlocked everything possible without it ever feeling like an effort or chore. this game almost forced me to have fun at every possible opportunity. From unlocking awesome characters to sweet graffiti tags, or just setting goals for me to top my best tricks and grids, all while I listened to the unrealistically good soundtrack that came along with it. This game taught me how music can change the entire gaming experience in a big way, and through this, made me start paying more attention to all aspects of gaming more carefully. Even if you never have or had the good fortune to play this, please at least listen to the soundtrack, its fun, exciting, and massively better than the regular electronic shit that's thrown at us today
#2 Shadow of the Colossus: This game demands to be loved plain and simple. SotC took the standard dynamic of structure and scaling and simply just turned it on its head, and did it so well none have dared to try and attempt the same pattern again. 16 enemies, all bosses, all seemingly impossibly. These things help to convey the story and emotions of the main character in ways that dialogue simply cannot. It focuses on building environments and conveying the sense of loneliness and in a way, hopelessness. This makes every victory all the sweeter once it is obtained. SotC is so spectacularly gorgeous in every way to me and it is a game I still play to this day with eager hands and a joyous heart.
#1 The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind: For me, there is no game closer to my heart than this. Morrowind...my virtual home. I play this game maybe once a year now, during the winter, when I first got it. Christmas of 2003. I remember playing it for the first time, creating my Breton wizard and setting myself loose on Tamriel. I remember getting lost in the world. Talking to everyone, doing every quest I could, exploring every cave, and reading every book. I drank in the world like water and it couldn't have been better. I must have played this game for thousands of hours between my xbox and various computers. I had different characters everywhere. I would come home from school and play my wizard on my xbox then go to my dad's house for the weekend ad play my Kajit thief on his computer. I wanted to attack this game from all angles possible. Everything seemed to change when approached from a new perspective. I couldn't believe it, I had found my game. I still find things I never knew about when I play now...old easter eggs, side quests, tokens, and unique items. It is this sense that I still have yet to see all of this game...and I hope that I never do, so that I may play it forever.
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