Saturday, October 24, 2009

Top 25 PC Games of All Time

BISMILLAH


With such a large catalog of games, it's pretty easy to find 25 games that are worthy of contention as the best. In fact, we had to narrow the list to 25 from about 90 games that all were good enough to at least be brought up in conversation. So we had to make some decisions about what would be included. We came up with some loose criteria to work with to help. We looked at how good the game was in general, the kind of impact it had on the industry, and lastly, how fun it is to play by today's standards. The durability test was important to us since there have been so many excellent titles worthy of noting since last we tried to piece together a list like this in 2000. If we had just gone by importance, we'd have a hard time including anything but the games that started genres or pushed them into mass popularity.

One of the other fun problems we encountered was the overabundance of strong series and franchise titles. Some of the series released over the years could have had multiple entries on the list, forcing other titles off. So for that reason we've decided to limit the number from each series of games to one. In some cases it'll be the original, in others it'll be a sequel depending on a variety of issues, but mostly which game we consider to be better overall.

We're quite positive this list is going to generate plenty of love and, more likely, hate because even with all of the amazing games on this list, there were many more shut out, much to our disappointment. Some that didn't make the list are important games that just aren't necessarily fun by today's standards. In any case, the list we came up with is full of amazing titles, all of which we still play today, at least on occasion.

25) IL-2 Sturmovik
Developer: 1C Company
Publisher: Ubisoft
Year Released: 2001

Synopsis: We admit that IL-2 Sturmovik didn't exactly scream "best flight sim of all time" when we originally reviewed it. But thanks to a couple of excellent expansion packs and a complete dearth of competitors, the Russian-developed flight sim has grown larger and larger in our minds, virtually eclipsing all the other games in its genre. Focusing on the oft-neglected Eastern Front of World War II, IL-2 Sturmovik managed to distinguish itself with great visuals and the most realistic and sensitive flight model around. Whether flying CAP above the brilliant clouds or flying nap of the earth for some up-close tank busting action, the game really puts players in the cockpit like no other game before or since. Sturms, Yaks and MiGs may not have the cachet that Mustangs and Spitfires have, at least in America or Western Europe, but they're every bit as challenging and exciting to fly. IL-2 proves it beautifully.


24) Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six
Developer: Red Storm Entertainment
Publisher:Red Storm Entertainment
Year Released: 1998

Synopsis: The game that launched one of the industry's most celebrated and consistently enjoyable franchises, the original Rainbow Six was a revelation. While we tend to take the military-themed, one-shot-one-kill intensity for granted these days, when the original Rainbow Six premiered nearly ten years ago, there was simply nothing like it. Players took charge of a team of crack counter-terrorists as they traveled around the world rescuing hostages, disarming bombs and, of course, capping tangos. The ultra-realistic nature of the game made each mission an exercise in tactical decision-making rather than a test of the player's reflexes. A full range of cooperative and competitive online modes also set the standard for what we expect from our shooters these days. Sure, the series' later incarnations have vastly improved the AI and the visuals (not to mention the horrid pre-planning) but no game before or since has managed to capture the wonder and intensity of that first Rainbow Six game.


23) Unreal Tournament 2004
Developer: Epic Games/Digital Extremes
Publisher: Atari
Year Released: 2004

Synopsis: The original Unreal Tournament ushered in a new age of twitch shooters with an incredible pace and amazing new engine along with thrilling multiplayer team games. Unreal Tournament 2004 only upped the ante and added in a terrific new gameplay mode called Onslaught that was inspired by the Battlefield-style modes. This opened up room for players to really take advantage of the awesome kinds of vehicles first introduced in Unreal Championship. What came out was the most polished and team-heavy version of Unreal Tournament to date and remains the most fun in the series. It wasn't perfect, but it's the best twitch shooter out on the market. Those with preternatural reflexes can back that fact up by spraying your character's brains on the walls from 1000 feet with a shock rifle.


22) The Sims
Developer: Maxis
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Year Released: 2000

Synopsis: There's likely to be a few people that have a problem with The Sims being on this list. Those people don't consider that The Sims franchise is the best selling franchise in the history of gaming and appeals to all ages, sexes, races, species, and sexual orientations. There's a reason that countless expansions have been released along with a sequel and several spin-offs onto consoles. The Sims is a crazy phenomenon built on developer wackiness and player creativity. While there aren't necessarily many goals to achieve in The Sims, Maxis offered up one of the most fulfilling sandboxes in the history of gaming and let the community run with it. It's fun and incredibly important for bringing in a demographic normally reluctant to boot up a game on their PCs.


21) MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat
Developer: Activision
Publisher: Activision
Year Released: 1995

Synopsis: Though the first MechWarrior was released in 1989 and differed in its gameplay structure, it was the more straightforward MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat that really brought the franchise to popular attention. Fans of the BattleTech table top game were undoubtedly salivating in anticipation as this game's 1995 release, but the title garnered more widespread tittering with its visuals which, at the time, looked fantastic. But the game was much more than that. It was complex, requiring management of various mechanized subsystems, allowed for tons of customization, and featured an epic storyline as you smashed through challenges as a Wolf or Jade Falcon Clan member. MechWarrior 2 gave players a real sense of power, rewarded digit dexterity across the keyboard, stood as a towering example of what a PC game could be, and how a dense game can still be sophisticated enough to appeal to a wide audience.


Continue on to picks 20-11 on the next page...

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