Top 10 video games YOU should play!

Hello readership,

first, an announcement. I pronounce the arrival of...the 'video game week-ends'. As I used not to post during the week-end, everything changed with the arrival of the Manly Video Game Reviews and the great success their brought to my blog. So, I will post video game related stuff here all the time, but as the week-end will replenish my inspiration for fiction, I will post about the passion I have for games!

Today, as a first of a series of Top 10, I will tell you what I think are the greatest video games of all times. I don't believe in such a concept, so I decided to call it the Top 10 video games YOU should play...because I think you should play them!

These games have formed my gamer perceptions.I'll explain why and maybe if this is gathering as much success a my last review, you can leave me comments to we can debate. This is scattered over my whole experience as a video gamer so don't whine about old titles...but if you're a returning reader...you know that of course. It's also useless to remind me the great titles I haven't played yet! It's a countdown, so we'll start at No. 10

10-River City Ransom (NES)

Back in the days of good old 8 bits NES, it took a lot to suspend the young gamers's disbelief. Formulas and genres were already piling up and crap games...well started piling up too. As one of the first genre defying game, River City Ransom brought something cool to the table;Upgrades.

As the game was glorifying weapon laden violence, it also praised study and knowledge...as a way to kick more ass with weapons. The narrative was complex and well written for it`s time. The modern beat em' up started to take shape with RCR and it`s role playing game elements. You can still play it on emulator nowadays and it still kicks the ass of a lot of games that came on later consoles.

09-Metal Slug (Complete Franchise)

I have a compulsive love for a lot of game genres. Side scrolling shooter is one of them. Especially when they are over the top, violent and don't take anything seriously. The Arcade classic is based upon the liberation of POW's out of a foreign power`s grasp..and later under the tyranny of aliens. It's as simple as that. The rest of it implies kicking a lot of ass with really big guns.

I lost so much money on that game back in the arcade days it's incredible. I had to wait to its emulator days to finally complete a playthrough. The game is hard, racist and a lot of fun. The side scrolling environment gives all the necessary room to crazy pacing and tag team fun. There`s nothing cooler than plowing your way through walls of bad guys on your way to the boss.

08-Civilization (Complete Franchise)

Empowering the gamers has always seemed to be a motto in the video game industry. Making the gamer powerful, but responsible seem to be the root of a good game. Resident megalomaniac Sid Meier seem to have got the queue. He built what could be referred as the ultimate Real Time Strategy game. Seriously what is there to do in this game but invent everything, guide humanity to light and conquer the world?

Civilization is widely played and rightfully so. It's user friendly, the controls are known by every longtime gamer and Firaxxis just polishes and polishes the game, widening the range of actions you are allowed to do. The Civilization train is already a piece of history and further chapters will only be the cherry on the top of the sundae.

07-Star Wars:Knights Of The Old Republic (PC)

A friend of mine almost broke my arm to get me to try this game. Ten minutes into gameplay, I completely forgot about the outside world and started to play until my bladder started screaming and my stomach started whipping me with digestive acid. I had discovered Bioware. The superstar RPG making company had just suckered another soul.

The great thing about KOTOR is that you really get into the Jedi history, functions and kick ass mechanic. Building your own Jedi and empowering him with the force was fun as hell and the storyline of this game is one of the strongest in whole Star Wars franchise. There is also a morals system making you do every decision considering the light/dark side duality of the science fiction epic. It's an epic and LONG campaign that will keep you nailed to your PC.

06-Grim Fandango (PC)

You might step in the air, but it was my first Tim Schafer game. I used to be into click and play games in the nineties because it's the only type of game I wasn't getting owned at and Grim Fandango was a happy surprise. The adventures of Manny Calavera in the world of the dead were completely over the top, humorous and colorful.

As most click and play games are, Grim Fandango`s interaction was relying completely on puzzle solving. They were tough, required thinking and calm because you could get infuriated sometimes. But it's all a part of a good game, making you work your ass off to get to its end. This was arguable the best click and play game...and one of the best games ever. Tim Schafer showed the world you could be as creative as you want as long as you know how to tell a tale.

05-Half Life 2 + Episodes (PS3)

There is a reason why there is not more First Person Shooters on the list. I don't like them much. Half-Life was a happy surprise. I bought The Orange Box while waiting for GTA IV and because of Portal, but I found myself more interested in the adventures of the Free Man!

Gordon Freeman is the first mute hero to make a case for himself. He dosen't talk, but Valve's in-game cinematics and dynamic environment are well adapted to the tongueless hero. Gordon's problematic was fun from the start. Because of a mismanipulation he got earth enslaved by aliens so for four titles, he just cruises the world, fueled on the power of guilt and tries to make things better. Half-Life had fun shooting, original weapons (as well as classic ones) and a surprisingly complex story for a science-fiction game.

04-Final Fantasy VI (Super Nintendo)

Probably the game I played the most in my life. I usually make one playthrough a year. This RPG has a bulk of 50-60 hours of gaming, very classic RPG interface and one hell of a steampunk epic tale. One of the great things about FFVI is that it had no hero. You had to form and manage parties. Usually all the players left the pussies behind and bulked up five characters so much that they could breeze through the storyline.

Final Fantasy VI is now a cult classic around which revolved urban legends. That's to say how much people got around the game. The world is huge, gorgeous and conceals many secrets. If you didn't have the strategy guide, you could play ten times and not discover everything. For RPG fans, this is a timeless classic, something that will not and should not be repeated.

03-Indigo Prophecy (PC, PS2)

This game hit me in the face like a base-ball bat. I picked it up as a time burner and found myself GLUED to the screen for three days before I played through the game. Quantic Dream breached wide open the scealed door of video game storytelling with that gem and based a whole game on decision-making and pacing.

Ok, the story was completely ludicrous (despite starting out promising) and the gameplay was pretty thin. But to make choices, HARD choices FASTLY was something unheard of, completely refreshed. It was a new way to bond with your character. Since I played this game, blindly following a path and shooting people in room is not as satisfying as it used to be. Quantic Dream has, in my opinion a great role to play in the future of video games.

02-Silent Hill (Complete Franchise)

There is a lot of survival horror games, but not many games that actually UNDERSTANDS horror. Silent Hill was the first and still the leader in effective horror making. The town of Silent Hill reflects the inner demons of it's inhabitants and hell...they are a lot more scary and these ready made demons you now see everywhere (vampires, werewolves, etc.).

The real place of horror is the human mind and that, Silent Hill gets it. You feel alone,alienated and the choppy controls make you feel helpless against these waves of disformed monsters. It is a game where you have to SURVIVE, not kick monsters ass. You have to fight for your life and your sanity. Isn't it interesting a franchise that made it's name on character's vulnerability?

01-Grand Theft Auto:San Andreas (PS2)

I have a soft spot for Rockstar Games and their flagship franchise. The ultra-violent urban sandbox game never was that pertinent as you are Carl Johnson some kind of customizable homicidal Forrest Gump who has to embark on a journey through the state of San Andreas to free his brother wrongly accused of murder.

There is a feeling of social movement in that game where Carl starts in the ghetto and finishes as a high time crime kingpin. That game throws everything at you. You take every mean of transportation, you have every kind of mission, from shoot em' up, to sniping, to stealth to pursuit to race. The way to success for C.J is the funnest and most diverse odyssey in video games. Writing is also very good, some of the Non Playing Characters like Mike Toreno and O.G Loc being as unforgettable as C.J was. Stil a great play today, this game hasn't aged much.








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