This was a really difficult list to make, to limit it to 20 games everyone should play. I know there's going to be a lot of upset people because certain games weren't included, but obviously I can't have them all in a list of 20 games. I tried to limit it to games that have aged well, thus excluding titles like Goldeneye 007 or Doom. I was tempted to put Tetris on the list, but I decided to leave it off. I also tried to keep a balance of modern and classic games. Anyways, here's my list of 20 games every gamer should play.
1.The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Nintendo 64
2. Half-Life 2
PC | Xbox | Xbox 360 | PS3
3. Super Mario Bros.
NES | GBA
4. StarCraft
PC | Nintendo 64
5. Resident Evil 4
PC | GameCube | PS2 | Wii
6. Mario 64
Nintendo 64
7. Deus Ex
PC
8. Splinter Cell
PC | PS2 | Xbox | GameCube
9. Team Fortress 2
PC | Xbox 360 | PS3
10. Civilization II
PC
11. Age of Empires II
PC
12. Halo: Combat Evolved
Xbox
13. Mario Kart 64
Nintendo 64
14. Diablo II
PC
15. Serious Sam: The First Encounter
PC
16. Metal Gear Solid
PlayStation | PSN
17. Metroid Prime
GameCube | Wii
18. WarCraft II: Tides of Darkness
PC
19. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
PlayStation | Saturn | PSN | PSP | XBLA
20. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
PS3
Great list, should i be ashamed i have never finished a zelda game before but attempted like every one xD
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Wade Hinkle Reply:
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:06 PM
I hate to say it but yes!!?
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andiwivs Reply:
November 24th, 2009 at 3:52 PM
all I’ll say is, you are not alone :(
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Evan, Brave New Gamer. Brave New Gamer said: Breaking news: 20 Games Every Gamer Should Play http://www.bravenewgamer.com/2009/11/20-games-every-gamer-should-play/ [...]
I don’t think you can have 20 games ever gamer should play without breaking it down into genre’s….
Action FPS
RPG
Adventure
Strategy RTS etc..
No Final Fantasy in here??? Really??? =/
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Tyler Treat Reply:
November 24th, 2009 at 12:46 AM
Believe me, there’s a ton of games I wish I could have squeezed onto the list.
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Great list Tyler, it really is a great comprehensive list of titles…
I think Fallout 3, Super Mario Bros 3 and one of the original Donkey Kong Country titles could be on this list…
But you had to choose 20 and each one of them are worth their salt…
Great list by someone who doesn’t feel to mention every new game that’s come out this year.
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Yeah there’s quite a few good games in there, not sure I would have chosen some of them over other omissions but hey it’s all subjective.
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Splinter cell??
you serious?
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noporcru Reply:
November 24th, 2009 at 2:56 PM
i agree splinter cellwas good but what about like chrono trigger or secret of man or super mario rpg, why so much fps and serious sam really? how about something like super smash bros. melee or the original
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I know that good games are a matter of opinion but if you’re basing this on overall quality then this list is WAY off.
Pokemon (Any of them) should be number 1.
Gran Turismo, Final Fantasy, Smackdown, Grand Theft Auto, Pro Evolution Soccer and LittleBigPlanet should have made the list. I agree with the inclusion of Splinter Cell, Uncharted, Metal Gear Solid, Age Of Empires and Mario but the rest of the games on here are garbage.
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CBalty Reply:
November 24th, 2009 at 6:21 PM
Don’t ever call Deus Ex garbage kid.
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Brian Reply:
November 24th, 2009 at 10:19 PM
Smackdown? Yes indeed beats out HL2. The physics in Smackdown are 1000% better. I am sure they will get right on editing their list do to your obvious brilliance.
Brian Reply:
November 24th, 2009 at 10:29 PM
*due, sorry, I’m not a Pro Evolution Soccer Brainiac or anything.
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What? No ZX Spectrum, C64 or Amiga games listed? Yes these are 20 games that people should play but what about some of the games that defined the most of the genres listed up there….hail retro!
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Why are so many of these FPS games? You’re wasting a lot of picks.
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I could make a lot of objections to this list but I’ll say one….
Splinter Cell? Seriously? Plus what’s with the lack of RPGs?
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… what the eff is Uncharted 2 doing on there?
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David Macphail Reply:
November 24th, 2009 at 11:10 AM
Considering it’s the best game of this year and got better reviews than any 360 exclusive (Not that that’s hard) i’d say it’s pretty obvious.
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Josh Reply:
November 24th, 2009 at 7:06 PM
Wow, that comment drips of fanboyism
i like this list i especially like you put uncharted 2 on there. i am not a pc gamer, so i havent played any of the PC games on the list, am i missing out alot? but i will say i have played and beat every console game on the list!
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Trying to help Reply:
November 24th, 2009 at 6:49 PM
Man,
Nowadays owning a console is a much better option, but you have to play any strategy games on this list + diablo 2. Specially Diablo… and you don’t need a powerful PC!
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wheres ffx
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After i saw a picture of starcraft on that list i new this guy was dead on even if that is a little biased but i think this list is great i just thought modern warfare should be on it
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Maybe i missed the train but i swear, i’ve played fallout 3 in 7 seperate occasions to see if mood affected my enjoyment. I found shooting clunky and VATS to be necessary to achieve any accuracy with many weapons. And the look, feel, and plastyle just made me think they took the fallout theme and the Oblivion engine (which is definately a top 50 title) and added a quicktime element. Great list eiether way
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TF 2 is on the PS3 too.
Rtard.
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Tyler Treat Reply:
November 24th, 2009 at 10:18 PM
Yeah, I guess I forgot because no one plays it on consoles.
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Haroids Reply:
November 25th, 2009 at 12:33 AM
True.
Deus Ex….Thank you! Best experience I’ve had with a game. Half Life 2 comes close and Uncharted 2 is pretty awesome too, but Deus Ex is definitely the best for me. Vice City could have been on this list too, maybe replace Serious Sam..
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LOL wow u put uncharted 2 on there…whoever wrote this got true boss status
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i’d replace splinter cell with final fantasy 7, serious sam with duke nukem 3D, and uncharted 2 with the secret of monkey island. otherwise, really great list.
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Irish-rocker Reply:
November 24th, 2009 at 7:20 PM
Yes i totali agree about FF7 and monkey island(especailly number 4). I mean they were(and still are) two of the greatest games around.
At the same time I think we need some streets of rage or golden axe up there too, now they’re some games that have held through out the years!!!
All the same great list. Well done :-)
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Agreed with the abundance of shooters, and if you are going to put a splinter cell, at least put pandora tomorrow/Chaos theory which have a multiplayer experience that despite its very steep learning curve is unparalleled
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Not a bad list but I think you left ALOT out. Even if you only list 20 games I think most of these should make the cut.
Super Mario Bros, Super Mario bros 3, Super Mario world (at least one)
Street Fighter II
Half-Life
Super Metroid
Chrono Trigger
Final Fantasy II, III, VII, X (at least one)
ICO
God Of War, God Of War II
GTA, GTA III
at least one of the Sims games
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Awesome list, man. :D
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Lots of FPS’s on this list, a few too many for my liking but in general I like this list. Would have added Dune, man I spent years on that. Civ 3 instead of 2, personal preferance. I also went gaga over the first Medal of Honour. And one of the warhammer games too. Starcraft was a bit of a timewaster also…
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this list is totaly relative. while some are great but there are tons of other games better and more important in the industry missing in this list, Doom, Duke Nukem, Alone in the Dark, Little Big Adventure, Final Fantasy 7, Chrono Trigger, ICO, God of War, Monkey Island, Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, Sonic (2D).. the list goes on. but thanks anyway for your effort.
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You have Half Life 2 and Team Fortress 2 but no Portal. That is a game I would recomend to everyone to play especially over those other two. For me I would only include 2 of the titles from your list on a top 20 that I would recommend, but all lists are subjective.
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