Time's Top 100 Games

[Bolty]

TIME Magazine has released their listing of the All-Time 100 Best Video Games. Interestingly, they put them in chronological categories. I think one of the difficulties of any such list is that if look at a game like Pong in today's eyes, it's a giant pile of turd. Games always have to be evaluated by the era they came out in. But if you ever wanted to create a list of "top" games that you felt everyone should play, you'd have to ignore 90% of older games - that's just reality. Some games like Tetris can stand the test of time, but most just can't.

Anyway, here's a synopsis of the list if you don't want to read through it all over on their website:

1970s
The Oregon Trail
Hunt the Wumpus
Pong
Breakout
Space Invaders
Adventure
Asteroids

1980s
Battlezone
Defender
Pac-Man
Zork
Castle Wolfenstein
Centipede
Donkey Kong
Frogger
Galaga
Tempest
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord
Joust
Pitfall!
King’s Quest
Lode Runner
M.U.L.E.
Paperboy
Tetris
Super Mario Bros.
Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar
Castlevania
The Legend of Zelda
Metroid
OutRun
Contra
Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards
Mega Man
NetHack
Punch-Out!!
Tecmo Bowl
Prince of Persia

1990s
Solitaire
Wing Commander
Civilization
Sonic the Hedgehog
Street Fighter II
Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty
Mortal Kombat
Doom
Myst
NBA Jam
Madden NFL 95
Marathon
SimCity 2000
Chrono Trigger
Quake
Resident Evil
Super Mario 64
Tomb Raider
Final Fantasy VII
Goldeneye 007
Myth: The Fallen Lords
Ultima Online
Final Fantasy Tactics
Grim Fandango
Metal Gear Solid
StarCraft
Thief: The Dark Project
EverQuest
Silent Hill

2000s
Diablo II
Deus Ex
The Sims
Animal Crossing
Grand Theft Auto III
Halo: Combat Evolved
Ico
Rez
Counter-Strike
Splinter Cell
Metroid Prime
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Cave Story
Half-Life 2
Katamari Damacy
World of Warcraft
Guitar Hero
Shadow of the Colossus
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Gears of War
Ōkami
Wii Sports
BioShock
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Desktop Tower Defense
Portal
Rock Band
Braid
Angry Birds
Demon’s Souls
Flower

2010s
Batman: Arkham City
Mass Effect 3

I know I'm old when I looked at the 1970's and 1980's lists and realized I've played all but five of those games personally. Check out the TIME link at the top for descriptions and screenshots of their choices.

[Chesspiece_face]

They've really made some brilliant choices for a list like this. Normally you see the basic pop-choices, but they've got some lesser known games that have had bigger impact.

Having said that I think the choice of Metroid Prime when they have overlooked Symphony of the Night is a mistake.

[Lissa]

There's a few I don't understand why they're not on the list and others I don't understand why they are.

It should be Diablo, not Diablo 2 as Diablo was the real ground breaker.
The lack of Eye of the Beholder is also another I'm surprised by it not being included.
Also Baldurs Gate missing from the list.
The lack of Meridian 99 (which is the forerunner of all MMOs)

Only a couple from the 1970s and 80s I didn't play (and both are from the 1970s).

[FireIceTalon]

No D1? Can't get down with this list.

[Occhidiangela]

I agree with F.I.T. on this list: absent D1, that list lacks completeness.

Sorry to see Missile Command not make the cut, but I understand that not all games can make the cut.

[LavCat]

I was sorry not to see Wasteland. It would have been good publicity for Wasteland 2.

And I agree D1 should have been on the list, even though I don't share the consensus that D1 was all that original. When D1 came out it reminded me of Demon Stalkers.

[FoxBat]

That's just the old "Doom without Wolf 3D?" argument IMO. Or Starcraft without Warcraft II. Especially when working within a decade, I think it's perfectly appropriate to only pick the biggest titles within a genre, even moreso within a series.

[Thenryb]

Mass Effect 3?? Please.

[NuurAbSaal]

1990s
Marathon

So glad this is included! Turned me into a Bungie fanboi.

take care
Tarabulus

[kandrathe]

I know I'm old when I looked at the 1970's and 1980's lists and realized I've played all but five of those games personally. Check out the TIME link at the top for descriptions and screenshots of their choices.

Ditto. I worked at MECC during the Oregon Trail days in the late 70's and early 80's.

When I saw Adventure -- I thought they meant Advent -- which is short for Adventure, but in those days computer program names were short.

Zork is a direct descendant of Advent, as is the horrible Atari 2600 inspired duck hunting knock off.

I got my original interest in NLP from analyzing the source code from games like Advent, Zork, and Eliza.

[LemmingofGlory]

2010s
Batman: Arkham City
Mass Effect 3

OBJECTION!

Journey over both of these. "Time" also seems to have mostly ignored handheld titles (besides phone game Angry Turds). The DS deserves to have some of its titles on the list. It didn't get to be the second best-selling console to date by having no titles of note. Pokemon. Ace Attorney. 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors. Professor Layton. C'mon, when someone says "Hey, I bought a DS" these are among the first titles you recommend.

Also, Mario Kart and/or Smash Brothers? These are the quintessential "I need to go buy 4 controllers and invite 3 friends over!" titles. I don't see anything else on the list that has the same kind of impact or gaming experience. Freakin' Animal Crossing made the list, but not these? Animal Crossing is a game you play because you're a kid with no friends stuck at home during the summer and you want to avoid your family and your only option is to play a game that has no point and no ending as a metaphor for your life as a child with no self-determination. It's not fun but it can occupy you -- like computer solitaire, daytime tv, or collecting your own urine in mason jars.

-Lemming

[DeeBye]

I like the list, but the lack of Combat for the Atari 2600 in the 1970's range was a little disappointing. That game is still a lot of fun.

[shoju]

There are a few games that I can think of that I'm surprised aren't on the list.

SeaQuest - Maybe this is my own nostalgia here, but this game was where it was at for me with the Atari 2600. As a kid, this game held the interest of my entire family for a fair amount of time.

Blaster Master - This was the first game I remember that had Vehicle combat, and external combat. I could be wrong, it might not have been the first, but it was the first that I remember on the NES.

I would echo Mario Kart not being on the list is pretty surprising. That game was the sole reason I ended up buying an N64

And no Gran Turismo. Seriously? This game completely redefined an entire genre of gaming (Auto Racing) Not having the original or 2 on the list seems.... surprising. Thank god you can't get DUI's in games. many a night was spent with Kaine drinking and racing.

Purely a "I LOVE THIS GAME WHY ISN'T IT ON THE LIST!" section of games that I love and spent a TON of time playing.
Skies of Arcadia- Made me buy a Dreamcast
Soul Reaver: Legacy of Kain - Kept me playing the Dreamcast
MDK II - Can you tell I love the Dreamcast?
Phantasy Star Online II - First "Online" Game I played frequently.
Rogue (I even have this game on my iphone and still play it.)

[kandrathe]

OBJECTION!

Well, and noticeably absent is Skyrim, which is a better game than Oblivion was in its time. Bethsoft, among others, get short shrift in this list -- I spent oodles of time with Morrowind, and player supplied mods to extend, and improve it.

As noted; Gran Turismo should be on the list, Wii Play, Call of Duty: Black Ops are also very popular. With games like Final Fantasy, it's hard to choose which should be on the list, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 12 were very good. They have Half-Life II, which is good, but the original Half-Life was better and ground breaking for AI at the time (and spun off Team Fortress, Blue Shift, Counter-Strike, etc).

I guess it's too subjective, because I look for some distinct elements in games and tend to follow the developers (e.g. Rob Pardo, Damian Isla, Hideo Kojima, and Jeff Orkin) more than franchise. Beyond the expected quality graphics and interface, the top 3 things I look for in a game are repeatability, mutability, and immersive goals. There are many design factors that promote them, including data structures, AI, depth of plots, and subplots, the number of characters, etc.

[LemmingofGlory]

A few more titles.

Either Heavy Rain or The Walking Dead deserve inclusion. Both are immersive, emotional games that encourage the player to make choices and live with them. Quitting and reloading for a better outcome is the antithesis of what these games are all about, and that's novel for interactive story titles like these. There's no "Whoops, that wasn't the right thing to do. Let's re-do that." These are games that are even entertaining to watch someone else play just to see how their story diverges from yours.

Planescape: Torment could easily unseat SW:KotoR from its spot on the list. I haven't played an RPG that I would place above it.