Game Informer's New Top 200 Games of All Time

[eighteenspikes]

Why do so many lists like this place the first game in the series over superior sequels? I realize that the first attempt was probably more original and all that, but still. The original Legend of Zelda? You've got to be kidding me. Ranking Metroid over Super Metroid and Metroid Prime seems plain wrong.

I think it should be taken into account how much the game contributed to the series/genre, as well as the gameplay itself. This must be the case in THIS list because I don't think anybody really believes the gameplay of Tetris was the 3rd best of all time. Yet, the list still has the same issues you bring up. I agree that games like Super Metroid contributed more than the original and should be listed higher. On the other hand, I think Resident Evil 4 was ranked too high because it watered down many elements which made RE a memorable franchise; in that regard, I believe 2 was the "best" of the series and should have been listed highest. I also think Half-Life 2 was a huge step down from the relative innovation offered by Half-Life. But that's all subjective

 

[Neo Exdeath]

Why do so many lists like this place the first game in the series over superior sequels? I realize that the first attempt was probably more original and all that, but still. The original Legend of Zelda? You've got to be kidding me. Ranking Metroid over Super Metroid and Metroid Prime seems plain wrong.

It's called nostalgia, my friend.

 

[Ryu Shimazu]

What bothered me was almost every Zelda game was up there, they are all good, but are they all uber-influential? >.> Zelda+OoT I get , maybe a link to the past or majoras mask, but they included everything, even windwaker is up there, and graphics/story is fun, but the game is so pathetically easy...

 

[CRASHiC]

And why is that?

Because it is in NO WAY drastically different from its previous installments. Its just a slight improvement on a previous, over saturated genre. Its on the list for hype, the same reason everyone loved GTA4 when it came out, but people think its meh now.

 

[GreenFox]

And why is that?

When your talking about 200 best games of all time and the best 15 you have to look above what you like COD4 is a really good game, but they have a call of duty every year and is barely changed at all I'll give you reasons why I dont think it deserves that spot


Singleplayer
-No co-op at all
-Campaign was extremely short
-Story was almost non existent
-Ally and Enemy AI was bad

Multiplayer
-Nade spamming was to effective 3x grenades was ridiculous
-In 90% of situations you wouldn't want a gun over the M16 because its extremely accurate and most of the times a one shot kill from any range and you can easily blind fire it and use it like its a shotgun


-Too much like predecessors nothing new and doesn't invent anything new or redefine the genre

Thats alot of cons in my opinion to be the 14th best game of all time it was a fun game to watch the pretty graphics and awesome explosions and was fun at the time but it cant last as a one of the best movies of all time it reminds me kind of Transformers 2

 

[N.A.G.A.C.E]

I think it should be taken into account how much the game contributed to the series/genre, as well as the gameplay itself. This must be the case in THIS list because I don't think anybody really believes the gameplay of Tetris was the 3rd best of all time. Yet, the list still has the same issues you bring up. I agree that games like Super Metroid contributed more than the original and should be listed higher. On the other hand, I think Resident Evil 4 was ranked too high because it watered down many elements which made RE a memorable franchise; in that regard, I believe 2 was the "best" of the series and should have been listed highest. I also think Half-Life 2 was a huge step down from the relative innovation offered by Half-Life. But that's all subjective

The thing about Tetris is that it is timeless. you could pick it up today and have the same fun you had the 1st time you played it. Such a well made game which never gets old should be very high on the list since i don't think any other game has held up nearly as well as Tetris.

The thing about this list is it says its the best games ever not how much a game contributed or how nostalgic the game is but the list seems to show nostalgia. It seems to me a bunch of 30 year olds sat down and went what gme blow are minds when we were little kids and thats why LOZ is #1 when someone like me (who is 21 btw) who grew up playing many of the NES classics but also had later game to compare it to understands how great LOZ is but also how it does not hold up that well and how so many games are better then it.

Also Batman AA is pretty high up on the list. I personally think no game from 2009 should be on this list yet b/c they have not had enough time to sink in yet so we don't know how they will hold up at all. I mean i have played games i liked at the time but looking back on it even like a year later i relized it was not as good as first thought.

more on this later since i think this whole list is lacking (also super mario 2 was a bad game imo and i know some people love it i never liked it and i don't think it should be on the list at all no matter what your thoughts on it might be)

edit: also super mario 3 is better then super mario 1

edit 2: also as much as i have been negative to how this list was made i understand they might of been looking at it as how good a game was when it first came out and tried to judged with that in mind. i understand that type of thinking but its wrong u should take into account how good a game was when it first came out but there are also a lot of other factors u need to look at such as how well a game held up, and if there are sequals that are just clearly better to name a few other things u need to look at.

 

[Caleb Wolfbrand]

*looks at top 25*
*doesn't see Mega Man 2*
man **** this! xD

 

[The Real Gamer]

When your talking about 200 best games of all time and the best 15 you have to look above what you like COD4 is a really good game, but they have a call of duty every year and is barely changed at all I'll give you reasons why I dont think it deserves that spot


Singleplayer
-No co-op at all
-Campaign was extremely short
-Story was almost non existent
-Ally and Enemy AI was bad

Multiplayer
-Nade spamming was to effective 3x grenades was ridiculous
-In 90% of situations you wouldn't want a gun over the M16 because its extremely accurate and most of the times a one shot kill from any range and you can easily blind fire it and use it like its a shotgun


-Too much like predecessors nothing new and doesn't invent anything new or redefine the genre

Thats alot of cons in my opinion to be the 14th best game of all time it was a fun game to watch the pretty graphics and awesome explosions and was fun at the time but it cant last as a one of the best movies of all time it reminds me kind of Transformers 2

I could sit here and nit-pick at every flaw in a video game. It's really not that hard to do.

You guys have to remember that this is GI's top 200 games of all time, not THE top 200 games of all time .

If you can't handle the heat stay outta the kitchen.

 

[DUB]

I thought OoT should have been higher, Mega Man X should of been on it, and so should Majoras Mask.

All of those are good games, would be a hard list to make.

 

[F8AL]

When your talking about 200 best games of all time and the best 15 you have to look above what you like COD4 is a really good game, but they have a call of duty every year and is barely changed at all I'll give you reasons why I dont think it deserves that spot


Singleplayer
-No co-op at all
-Campaign was extremely short
-Story was almost non existent
-Ally and Enemy AI was bad

Multiplayer
-Nade spamming was to effective 3x grenades was ridiculous
-In 90% of situations you wouldn't want a gun over the M16 because its extremely accurate and most of the times a one shot kill from any range and you can easily blind fire it and use it like its a shotgun
-Too much like predecessors nothing new and doesn't invent anything new or redefine the genre

Thats alot of cons in my opinion to be the 14th best game of all time it was a fun game to watch the pretty graphics and awesome explosions and was fun at the time but it cant last as a one of the best movies of all time it reminds me kind of Transformers 2

Single player:

1. I agree.
2. No. (If you want an extremely short game, play Halo 3: ODST)
3. No.
4. I agree.

Multi-player.

1. You're probably the kind of player who runs to obvious spots and dies of grenades and then rage quits. Frag x3 is in the game and is a legit perk.
2. Juggernaut.
3. It still sold 13 million copies and won several awards.

 

[eighteenspikes]

3. It still sold 13 million copies and won several awards.

where's wii fit and wii play on the list? they sold 20 million copies each so clearly they aaaahahahakfjfjlsdakfdl

 

[The Real Gamer]

where's wii fit and wii play on the list? they sold 20 million copies each so clearly they aaaahahahakfjfjlsdakfdl

And how many awards did it win?

 

[F8AL]

where's wii fit and wii play on the list? they sold 20 million copies each so clearly they aaaahahahakfjfjlsdakfdl

Wii Fit isn't a game and people only bought Wii Play for the free Wiimote.

 

[GreenFox]

I could sit here and nit-pick at every flaw in a video game. It's really not that hard to do.

You guys have to remember that this is GI's top 200 games of all time, not THE top 200 games of all time .

If you can't handle the heat stay outta the kitchen.

Yes you could every game has its flaws
I just think this one has more then any other one in the top 50 list of video games but that is my opinion and IGN is more credible than I am so and yes it was extremely short ODST is shorter but thats not even a full game and was extremely dissapointing anyway =/

Also you must not have played games with good stories to think COD4 had a good one It was like a summer blockbuster movie thats about it

 

[The Real Gamer]

Also you must not have played games with good stories to think COD4 had a good one It was like a summer blockbuster movie thats about it

Honestly no I don't think the single player was the most amazing experience ever. I don't know where you got that from. Trust me when I say that I have played many, many games with good stories such as Knights of the Old Republic, Fallout 3, MGS4, the Zelda series, Chrono Trigger, and even silly ones such as Paper Mario.

BUT when you compare CoD4's campaign to the likes of Halo 3 or GoW2, CoD4 definitely comes out on top. It simply had more intense and memorable moments in it, from the sniper mission to the nuclear explosion that you are caught right in the middle of.

I don't know why we're bickering over CoD4's campaign, because everyone and their little sister knows that the game is known for the most addictive multiplayer experience in gaming as we know it today.

 

[Velox]

That list is so stupid.. Halo: CE is undoubtedly one of the top 10 games of all time and it's not even top 25.. top 10 is a VERY CONSERVATIVE statement too..

and if that's a ranking of any permutation or combination of importance, fun, classic, popularity, originality, etc. it's still way wrong.

 

[eighteenspikes]

And how many awards did it win?

More than Mike Tyson's Punch Out

 

[CRASHiC]

No FPS that did little different should be on the list. They are typical. Modern Warfare 2 has no place on the list. These games should have much more importance than just doing the typical slightly better. That's all Call of Duty does, that's all Call of Duty ever does.

 

[~ Gheb ~]

I'll never understand how people can earnestly think of Doom, GTA and Half-Life as better games than FFVI. Or most FF games for that matter.

 

[SyOn]

timesplitters 2 should be on the list

it *****

 

[F8AL]

No FPS that did little different should be on the list. They are typical. Modern Warfare 2 has no place on the list. These games should have much more importance than just doing the typical slightly better. That's all Call of Duty does, that's all Call of Duty ever does.

I guess that the Halo series shouldn't be on the list either.

 

[CRASHiC]

Halo actually did something new. It defined how Online FPS console games were to be played. That is what he did and where its influence and importance lies. Then there was the (though I may be wrong about this) the can carry two guns at a time through the campaign, that has since been seen on occasion in other FPSes. These altered the players choices, altering the players choices is something that Call of Duty has never done. The choices are always the same, the design is always the same, the only things that change are in the presentation and some very minor tweaks.

 

[F8AL]

Halo actually did something new. It defined how Online FPS console games were to be played. That is what he did and where its influence and importance lies. Then there was the (though I may be wrong about this) the can carry two guns at a time through the campaign, that has since been seen on occasion in other FPSes. These altered the players choices, altering the players choices is something that Call of Duty has never done. The choices are always the same, the design is always the same, the only things that change are in the presentation and some very minor tweaks.

The Halo series did not introduce dual-wielding. Goldeneye 007 and Perfect Dark 64 had this feature before Halo 1/Halo CE.

And you can't argue with the CoD series sales. What fix what ain't broken? It has been proven that games typically do not enjoy new IPs/games.

 

[CRASHiC]

I wasn't talking about Duel Wielding, I'm talking about limiting you to carrying two guns at one time.

Also, one game's montomy does not make up for anothers. Whenever this issue is brought up about Call of Duty the claim is always, "Its about shooting things, how could it ever change!" Well, fighting games are about hitting things, but Blazblue is radically different, though borrowing somewhat from Guilty Gear, it still is an incredibly original game. Platformers are abuot jumping on things, but even they have changed dramtically. Every genre is changing except FPS, and the only reason being because people will buy it at full price anyway.

 

[Velox]

Halo was so far advanced from Goldeneye and Perfect Dark at what point do you say the game as a whole was groundbreaking instead of nitpicking individual things that Halo may or may not have brought to the main stage. I hate how people think Halo was unoriginal.


also they had no Phantasy Star Online at all? and no Tales of Symphonia? wow. But they had Lode Runner which was awesome though, surprised even THEY knew about how awesome that game was.. I always thought I was the only kid raised on an ancient Mac.. heh

 

[eighteenspikes]

lol

Goldeneye completely revolutionized storylines, objective based gameplay, replay/unlockable content, and multiplayer for console FPS of the time (at a time when all consoles had was ****ty ports of doom/quake/hexen).

Halo offered improved graphics, and populated and accessible (albeit bland) multiplayer. Nothing else

 

[The Real Gamer]

Every genre is changing except FPS.

And yet FPS's are among the most successful genres of modern gaming... So what's your point?

 

[eighteenspikes]

i think his point is that the list of the "top 200 games of all time" should celebrate innovation and diversity and not how well they market to a military-obsessed high school demographic

 

[황미영]

i think his point is that the list of the "top 200 games of all time" should celebrate innovation and diversity and not how well they market to a military-obsessed high school demographic

That is one amazing post right there.

FPS just got this huge uplift as of late 2000. Prior to that action and adventure games used to be best selling. And to be honest it's annoying. 360 just houses all the FPS games out there, I don't just want to be playing FPS games all day... This is why I can't wait for FFXIII and Bayonetta!

 

[Brightside6382]

And yet FPS's are among the most successful genres of modern gaming... So what's your point?

That doesn't mean the games are any good lulz

 

[TP]

Super Metroid

- Very pleasing graphics
- Better than Metroid in every way
- Great music
- Never gets old
- Had a god**** map system

Metroid

- Inferior to Super Metroid in every way
- Came first
- Introduced the ability for the screen to smoothly scroll to the left (seriously)

Overall, I'd give it to SM, but Metroid's introducing leftward scrolling is honestly such a big deal that I understand their decision.

Also, FF3 should have been 7 spots higher, but kudos to them for putting it in the top 10.

 

[The Real Gamer]

i think his point is that the list of the "top 200 games of all time" should celebrate innovation and diversity and not how well they market to a military-obsessed high school demographic

Yes you're right. It should. But I don't see what all of the fuss is about, because there are only 3 FPS's in the top (10? 20?)...

Once again I'm going to repeat the question of why would you change a formula that has been working so well for so long... Change does NOT always guarentee success. I don't know where you guys are getting that from.

That doesn't mean the games are any good lulz

The amount of trolls on this site will never cease to amaze me. But I guess that's what I get for discussing 360/PS3 related games on a Nintendo-based website. W/E

 

[CRASHiC]

So you admit that FPSes DON'T change and yet you continue to buy the same game over and over again. And with Modern Warfare 2 of all things being on the top of this list, I have all the right to complain.

 

[UberMario]

Anyone else find this list to be one of the most imbalanced ever?

Spoiler

Seriously, there's so many fps games and there are things that are totally wrong such as SMW being #47 and Ms. Pac-Man being over 40 places higher than Pac-Man, not to mention the abscence of Kirby, F-Zero, Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, and Pokemon Gold and Silver.

 

[F8AL]

The amount of trolls on this site will never cease to amaze me. But I guess that's what I get for discussing 360/PS3 related games on a Nintendo-based website. W/E

I agree, it was nice while this thread lasted.

 

[N.A.G.A.C.E]

Just realized no TMNT Manhattan Project is not on the list nor was streets of Rage 2 this list just failed.

 

[CRASHiC]

The amount of trolls on this site will never cease to amaze me. But I guess that's what I get for discussing 360/PS3 related games on a Nintendo-based website. W/E

What? I'm absolutely sorry, but he was in no way trolling. No, he made a 100 percent valid point. Sales do not equal good. Popularity does in no way validate something UNLESS you are a head of a company. Transformers may have sold barels upon barrels of DVDs but that doesn't make it more valid than Doubt or There Will Be Blood. And don't dare equate his statement to fanboyism, because it wasn't. FPSes don't sum up the entire lineup of the PS3 or Xbox. There are still games like Little Big Planet, Braid, Viva La Pinata, Metal Gear Solid 4, and other incredibly original games. Wii has FPSes and tons of rail shooters as well, yet I will not give them any more praise or any less frack simply because they are on the wii.

 

[The Real Gamer]

What? I'm absolutely sorry, but he was in no way trolling. No, he made a 100 percent valid point. Sales do not equal good. Popularity does in no way validate something UNLESS you are a head of a company. Transformers may have sold barels upon barrels of DVDs but that doesn't make it more valid than Doubt or There Will Be Blood. And don't dare equate his statement to fanboyism, because it wasn't. FPSes don't sum up the entire lineup of the PS3 or Xbox. There are still games like Little Big Planet, Braid, Viva La Pinata, Metal Gear Solid 4, and other incredibly original games. Wii has FPSes and tons of rail shooters as well, yet I will not give them any more praise or any less frack simply because they are on the wii.

I'm not directly saying that you guys hate all 360/PS3 related games. I simply find it amazing how you guys can sit here and say that CoD4 is a bad game only because it didn't anything to "change" FPS's forever.

Also, he didn't even say why. To me it sounded like "har har CoD 4 sucks even though it's popular lulz." I want reasons and facts.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Where's Donkey Kong Country? **** was revolutionary back in the day.

 

[Brightside6382]

I'm not directly saying that you guys hate all 360/PS3 related games. I simply find it amazing how you guys can sit here and say that CoD4 is a bad game only because it didn't anything to "change" FPS's forever.

Also, he didn't even say why. To me it sounded like "har har CoD 4 sucks even though it's popular lulz." I want reasons and facts.

This list claims to be called "The greatest games" whether this list is "most influential games" or "great games" it's not stated but that still does not change the fact that COD4 is neither. Who here has so far said that COD4 is a bad game? We all recognize it's good but anyone who plays a plethora of games and knows anything about video games in general know that it doesn't belong on the top 25 games or even most influential.

This list is a complete joke not only because COD4 is rated so high but because its a horrendous mess of nostalgia, influence, and popularity. You can't mix these three categories with each other because one does not outweigh the other.

If you want to bust out the popularity and sales argument then tetris and Starcraft should easily take spot 1 and 2 anyways.