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On this list of the greatest video games ever made the current “Big 3” (PS3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii) will be well represented, but you will also see several classics from now-defunct game consoles, as well as legendary coin-op arcade games and plenty of PC games. Read on to see which games made the cut.
60 – Street Fighter II - One of the best fighting games of all time, this legendary one on one brawler popularized the fighting game genre and is one of the most popular coin-op arcade games of all time. It continued that success on home game consoles, and with millions of copies sold has been a cash cow for creator Capcom for nearly 2 decades
59 – Diablo 2 - There is arguably no developer in the PC game business that develops more polished products than Blizzard Entertainment. Though their games take a painfully long time from concept to release the wait is always worth it. Diablo 2 was no exception. The sequel to the smash hit Diablo, the game is almost perfectly balanced, and with the inclusion of a beefy multiplayer component via Blizzard’s Battlenet system has virtually unlimited replayability.
58 – Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings - In the 1990s the PC game industry was turned on its ear with the popularization of the genre of real time strategy games. Dune II, Warcraft I and II, and Command and Conquer attracted legions of gamers who greedily took the leap from the relatively placid pace of turn-based strategy games to the frantic action of RTS games. Microsoft recognized the potential of the genre and launched their own historical offering with the original Age of Empires. However, with AoE II they struck a balance and a level of fun that has rarely been achieved before or since, and the game remains to this day one of the shining examples of the genre.
57 – Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar - When I set out to make this list I knew I would be including one of Richard Garriott’s Ultima games. Though there are several worthy candidates I eventually settled on Ultima IV. Quest of the Avatar was just so much huger in scope than the first 3 games, and sense of achievement I got from finally defeating the game was one of the most satisfying I’ve ever experienced in my three plus decades of video gaming.
56 – Tecmo Super Bowl - At their very core video games come down to one simple concept: fun. Yes, graphics, immersion factor, challenge, and replayability are all factors that go into making a great video game, but without the fun what is the point? Released way back in 1991 for the original NES console Tecmo Super Bowl pretty much nailed the fun factor, and as an added bonus was one of the first sports games to use representations of actual athletes in its game. Forget Madden, NCAA or NFL 2K, when I want to play a fun football game I dust off the NES and pop in a little Tecmo Super Bowl.
55 – Duke Nukem 3D - Though today’s gamers probably know the Duke Nukem franchise for the dubious distinction of biggest vaporware title of all time (Duke Nukem Forever) once upon a time 3D Realms actually released a first person shooter, and for those old enough to have played it upon its release you can agree that it was as fun a video game as any on this list. With a hero that was as crass and as amusing as he was violent Duke Nukem 3D’s replayability was through the roof, and very few FPS games before or since can top it for simple fun factor.
54 – Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness - Blizzard makes another appearance on the list of the best video games ever with this 1995 hit. The sequel to Warcraft, Tides of Darkness raised the quality bar several notches, and creating a game that in my opinion was responsible for the explosion in RTS games. Whether playing single player campaign or battling in multiplayer the game was incredibly addictive. The voice acting in the game was hilarious and all in all the game’s audio had a production value stratospheres above most other games of its era. However, it was the inclusion of the editor that allowed game owners to create their own maps to battle on that was truly the icing on the cake, and to this day thousands of gamers worldwide still wage the ongoing war between humans and orcs.
53 – Sid Meier’s Pirates - Few names in PC gaming are as synonymous with quality as Sid Meier’s. He has been at the helm of several legendary franchises and this 1987 computer game classic was the first to incorporate his name into the title. Predating the modern Windows PC the game appeared on computer systems like the Commodore 64, Amiga, the Apple II and even the original Macintosh. The game was multifaceted, not only featuring a strategic component, but also several action sequences including sword-fighting. If you have an old C64 or Apple II sitting around and want to experience Meier’s early greatness try to track down this classic on eBay or at your local flea market.
52 – NHL 94 - The greatest hockey video game ever made by mine and many other people’s reckoning EA’s NHL 94 set a gold standard that has yet to be equaled. EA themselves have continued to release yearly versions of the NHL franchise, but never seem to be able to recapture the magic that made that legendary classic so much fun. If only you could fight and make other player’s bleed (like in NHLPA 93) it would be perfect.
51 – Sonic the Hedgehog - It was a sad day for Sega Fanboys (and for gamers in general) when the creators of the Genesis, the Saturn, and the incredibly underrated Dreamcast announced they were getting out of the hardware game. Though Microsoft stepped in to fill the void in Sega’s absence in my opinion the video game industry has been poorer ever since. However, Sega continues to be a major force in software development. Sega’s little blue mascot Sonic the Hedgehog helped launch the Sega Genesis, and is to this day one of the best platformers ever created.
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