Video games that have been considered the greatest ever
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
While there is no universal standard by which to judge the quality of games, some games regularly feature in "best game ever" lists. Some games achieve this status simply by selling well, others by topping polls of gamers or industry critics and winning gaming industry awards. Also, many games are also considered great because of the role of them being Killer Apps
Contents |
[edit] Best selling
- Super Mario Bros. - the official Guinness Book of World Records record holder for best-selling game, at over 40 million copies sold, although it was sold packaged with the NES[1].
- The Sims - the best selling PC game, having sold over 8 million units alone and 24 million counting expansion packs[2].
- Games featuring Mario - the top-selling series of games, with over 193 million games sold in total [3].
A bestseller list will necessarily exclude non-commercial games, and games such as Minesweeper and Solitaire which are present on more than 200 million desktop PCs as part of Microsoft Windows[4].
[edit] Polls and votes
Arranged by format and publication:
[edit] Amiga
- Amiga Power - Sensible World of Soccer was number one in this magazine's 'The Ultimate All-time Top 100' (August 1996, issue 64)[5].
[edit] All-format publications
- Computer And Video Games magazine
- GoldenEye 007 - "100 Greatest Games" feature, January 2000, voted by readers[6].
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - same poll in 2001.
- Edge
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time topped the magazine's staff top 100 in 2000 [7].
- Final Fantasy XII (PlayStation 2) won the 2006 Edge Award for Best Game[8].
- Game Informer - The Legend of Zelda, The original Zelda game, noted as the best by Game Informer magazine.
- GameFAQs:
- Final Fantasy VII - won the "Best. Game. Ever." tournament of reader polls in 2004 [9].
- Final Fantasy VII - Compiled from users submitting lists of their 10 favorite games - November 5, 2005. [10].
- The Legend of Zelda game series - won the "Best. Series. Ever." tournament in 2006
- GamePro — Resident Evil 4 was noted as the best by GamePro magazine in 2005[citation needed].
- GameSpy
- IGN:
- Super Mario Bros. topped IGN's editor-compiled Top 100 Games of All Time in 2003 [13] and in 2005[14]
- Resident Evil 4 - topped IGN's top 99 games as voted by users[15].
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - topped IGN's similar list of the top 100 games in 2006[16]
- Next Generation Magazine:
- Super Mario 64 - was ranked number one by NGM's editors in its September 1996 article
- The Legend of Zelda series - held the number one title in its February 1999 article "The Top 50 Games of All Time"
- Retro Gamer - Elite is noted by Retro Gamer magazine as the best in issue 9.
[edit] Home computer
- Computer Gaming World - Civilization topped a list of the 150 best games to be released for either the PC or Macintosh in the November 1996 issue.
- GameSpot - Diablo is the current highest ranking PC game on this website[17]
- PC Gamer Best Games:
- August 1994
- 1. Doom
- 2. Civilization
- 3. Populous
- May 1997
- 1. Star Wars: TIE Fighter
- 2. Doom
- 3. Warcraft 2
- October 1998
- April 2000
- October 2001
- 1. Half-Life
- 2. Civilization III
- 3. X-COM: UFO Defense
- April 2005
- 1. Half-Life
- 2. Doom
- 3. Civilization IV
- August 1994
[edit] General video game console publications
- Electronic Gaming Monthly:
- Super Metroid topped EGM's Top 100 Games of All Time, compiled by the editors in 2001 [18].
- Tetris ranked at number one in a previous poll held in 1997 by Electronic Gaming Monthly.[citation needed]
- Super Mario Bros. ranked #1 in EGM's "Top 200 Games Of Their Time"
- Famitsu magazine's reader's poll ranked Final Fantasy X first in March 2006 [19].
[edit] Nintendo
- Nintendo Power — The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was Nintendo Power's best game on a Nintendo Console Winner.[20] (2006)
[edit] ZX Spectrum
- Your Sinclair
- YS placed 3D Deathchase first in the Your Sinclair official top 100 in the February 1992 issue.
- Chase HQ was voted number 1 in the "Readers' Top 100 Games Of All Time" (September 1993)[21].
[edit] Other publications
- Entertainment Weekly - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past was noted as the best game by this magazine[22].
- Game Developers Conference — Super Mario 64 was chosen as the best game ever by a panel of eight industry professionals at the 2002 Game Developers Conference in London [23]
[edit] Notable review scores
- Official Xbox Magazine - has given a maximum score of 10.0 out of 10.0 only to Fight Night Round 3, Gears of War, and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. This is after it had switched away from a hundred point system, and it has been mentioned that it would award a 10.0 to Halo 2, Ninja Gaiden, and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory had they been graded the same as Fight Night and Gears of War.
- GameSpot - has awarded a maximum score of 10.0 out of 10.0 to four games: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Chrono Cross, Soul Calibur and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3.
- Games TM - has awarded a maximum score of 10 out of 10 to four games: "Metroid Prime", "Burnout 3", "Gears of War" and "God of War II".
- Edge magazine - has given a maximum score of 10 out of 10 to five games: Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Gran Turismo, Halo: Combat Evolved and Half-Life 2[24]. In a short-run piece reviewing retro games, two other games to receive retroactive 10s were Elite and Super Mario Bros.. The magazine has also stated that the score was considered, but eventually rejected, for GoldenEye 007.
- Famitsu magazine - has given a maximum score of 40 out of 40 to six games: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Vagrant Story, Soul Calibur, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Nintendogs and Final Fantasy XII.
- IGN - has awarded a maximum score of 10.0 out of 10.0 to two console games: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Soul Calibur . Handheld games, which had a different review system, are 16: Pokémon Red and Blue, Pokémon Yellow, Pokémon Gold and Silver, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, Dragon Warrior III, Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, Magical Tetris Challenge, SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium, Mario Golf (Game Boy Color), Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX, Shangai,Joust, Checkered Flag, Tornado Mania and Sonic Pocket Adventure.
- Official Playstation 2 Magazine (UK) - awarded maximum scores of 10 out of 10 to fourteen games, as of issue 81: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, TimeSplitters 2, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: Double Pack, Soul Calibur II, Burnout 3: Takedown, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Resident Evil 4, Burnout Revenge, BLACK, Tekken: Dark Resurrection, Pro Evolution Soccer 6, Final Fantasy XII and Okami
- PC Gamer (U.S.) - has never awarded a maximum score of 100%, or even 99%. Two games have been awarded scores of 98%: Half-Life 2 and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
- PC Gamer (UK) - likewise has never awarded a maximum score of 100%. Their highest awarded score is 96%, shared by four games: Civilization II, Half-Life, Half-Life 2, and Quake II.
- Svet kompjutera - has only awarded score of 99% to Half-Life[25].
- Netjak has never awarded its top score of 10.0. The highest score to date, 9.8, has gone to three games: Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and Grand Theft Auto III.
- Maximum PC - has only awarded an 11 out of 10 score to what it considered the best PC game ever made, Half-Life 2.
- Official Australian Xbox magazine has only awarded a 10 out of 10 to Halo 2. Its counterpart magazine for the Xbox 360 has only awarded 10 out of 10 to Gears of War.
- Amiga Computing - Battle Squadron was rated 109%, the highest rating ever given by this magazine. (March 1990)[26].
[edit] High scores in multiple reviews
As of March, 2007, the top 10 games listed on Game Rankings, a site which averages scores awarded by numerous websites and magazines, are: [7]
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Nintendo 64 (97.7%)
- Soul Calibur, Sega Dreamcast (96.4%)
- Metroid Prime, Nintendo GameCube (96.4%)
- Resident Evil 4, Nintendo GameCube (95.8%)
- GoldenEye 007, Nintendo 64 (96.8%)
- Super Mario 64, Nintendo 64 (95.7%)
- Resident Evil 4, PlayStation 2 (95.7%)
- Half-Life 2, PC (95.6%)
- Halo: Combat Evolved, Xbox (95.6%)
- Tekken 3, PlayStation (95.6%)
As of March 2007, according to GameStats [8], the top 10 video games of all time are:
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Nintendo 64 (9.8)
- Soul Calibur, Sega Dreamcast (9.7)
- Resident Evil 4, Nintendo GameCube (9.7)
- GoldenEye 007, Nintendo 64 (9.6)
- Metal Gear Solid, PlayStation (9.6)
- Half-Life 2, PC (9.5)
- The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Nintendo GameCube (9.5)
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Wii (9.5)
- Halo: Combat Evolved, Xbox (9.5)
- Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Playstation 2 (9.4)
As of January 2007, the top 10 games on Metacritic, are: [9]
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Nintendo 64 (99)
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, PlayStation (98)
- Soul Calibur, Sega Dreamcast (98)
- Perfect Dark, Nintendo 64 (97)
- NFL 2K1, Sega Dreamcast (97)
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, PlayStation 2 (97)
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Sega Dreamcast (97)
- Halo: Combat Evolved, Xbox (97)
- Metroid Prime, Nintendo GameCube (97)
- Grand Theft Auto III, Playstation 2 (97)
As of February 2007, according to TopTenREVIEWS, the top 10 video games of all time are:[10]
- Resident Evil 4, Nintendo GameCube (3.9)
- Half-Life 2, PC (3.9)
- Soul Calibur, Sega Dreamcast (3.9)
- Metroid Prime, Nintendo GameCube (3.9)
- GoldenEye 007, Nintendo 64 (3.9)
- Resident Evil 4, Playstation 2 (3.9)
- Perfect Dark, Nintendo 64 (3.88)
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Wii (3.86)
- The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, GameCube (3.86)
- Grand Theft Auto III, Playstation 2 (3.86)
[edit] See also
- List of computer and video games considered the worst ever
- Films that have been considered the greatest ever
- List of best-selling computer and video games
[edit] References
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ Amiga Power issue 64, August 1996
- ^ (January 2000) "100 Greatest Games Of All Time". Computer and Video Games (218): 53–67.
- ^ Edge Issue 80, dated January 2000
- ^ Edge issue 161, January 2007
- ^ http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/contest/c04spr
- ^ http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/contest/top10
- ^ http://archive.gamespy.com/articles/july01/top501aspe/index4.shtm
- ^ http://archive.gamespy.com/titlefight/brackets.shtml
- ^ http://top100.ign.com/2003/1-10.html
- ^ http://top100.ign.com/2005/001-010.html
- ^ http://microsites.ign.com/kfc/top99games/10.html
- ^ http://top100.ign.com/2006/001-010.html
- ^ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews.html?platform=5&type=reviews&mode=all&sort=score&sortdir=asc
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20030611191341/http%3A//gamers.com/feature/egmtop100/index.jsp
- ^ http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2401&Itemid=2
- ^ February 2006, "NP Top 200", Nintendo Power 200: 66.
- ^ Your Sinclair issue 93, September 1993
- ^ http://www.ew.com/ew/article/commentary/0,6115,448924_8_0_,00.html
- ^ http://www.gfxartist.com/features/articles/6146
- ^ http://www.edge-online.co.uk/edgedb/search.php?search=&rating=10
- ^ [5]
- ^ [6] Amiga Computing vol 2 number 10, March 1990
[edit] External links
- Windows Solitaire is massively popular in the workplace
- GameSpot's "The Greatest Games of All Time" column
- Collection of various "top 10" lists from different sources
- Four 'Top 25 Games of All Time' articles with extended explanations (includes up to 2003)
- Game Informer's Top 100 Games
- List of top 50 games of all time with reviews