The original Gameboy Tetris is my favorite version. Tetris DS is fun to play around with, but I don't like that infinite spin nonsense either.
Ravenprose said:
Holy crap!
86. Darksiders
THQ decided to enter the crowed action game market with what they hoped would become a new tentpole franchise for them. Clearly taking inspiration from hack and slash action games, Darksiders provided a unique spin, the adventure half would take inspiration directly from Zelda. From the start that sounded like a dream mix but it always looked a bit rough, small team and all so I waited a bit until the game was cheap to buy it. Why did I wait? Darksiders proved that when a development team actually tries they can make levels that can match the Zelda dungeon.
The combat is servicable, far better than any Zelda game but lacks the skill of DMC or even GoW for that matter. It didn't matter because the real star of the game are the dungeon levels and puzzle solving elements you just don't see in games like this. The world is also slightly open, more in the Zelda small hub way than big open world way, but it allows some freedom to move around. The result is a grand adventure that takes a good 20 hours and always has something new around the next area. The levels get more and more complex, War grows more powerful, gets Zelda like items and the dungeons evolve. I was in love, no other game has ever replicated the 3D dungeons of Zelda like this game, not even Okami. It ends with what would be one of the best dungeons in a Zelda game. A complex maze where War gets a portal gun and now you need to solve puzzles where you teleport all over the map using this new portal power, it was a brillant dungeon that personifies everything I want in an action adventure game.
Vigil games earned my trust after this game so when Darksiders 2 hit I bought it day one. Much to my dismay the sequel focused more on loot and character building through stats than eleborate dungeon levels. Combat was better but the level design took a huge hit, puzzles were left out, not sure what happened. I have yet to get the third game which seems to have another design philosophy shift, maybe they were going for a different style per protagonist. What made Darksiders work is that they did what no one outside Nintendo even attempts to do, the complex puzzle filled dungeon, not sure why they went away from it. It's also a shame that the story has yet to move forward, Darksiders ends with one of the most hype inducing ending cutscenes I've ever seen, "not alone!" is an incredible final moment for one of the gems of the 7th generation.
I had a really good time with Darksiders. Had Darksiders 2 for quite some time. I’ve tried it a couple of times but for whatever reason I just played it for a little bit before putting it aside again and playing something else.
85. Assassin's Creed 2
The start of a new generation is always one of discovery, what kind of games would devine that generation. Open world games had begun to take off beecause of GTA and these new powerful consoles can create populated worlds that we could never imagine before. One of the first games to look like it would be that next gen showcase was Assassin's Creed. I am a sucker for big hyped gorgeous games and I also love open worlds so I gave AC a shot and came away pleased. It was a solid first effort, the assinations were great but the open world part left me wanting more, there are only so many feathers I can collect. This set the stage for a sequel to vastly improve over the original, one of those perfect sequels that is better than the original in every way and sets the standard for the series, Assassin's Creed 2 was just that.
Telling the story of the charismatic Ezio, who loves to whisper the names of Italian foods to his victims, AC2 takes place in Renissance era Italy which is already a vast improvement over the first game. Part of what makes this franchise so great is the historical fiction it plays with, there is enough real history there to actually be somewhat educational or at the very least serve as a virual reactaion of what these locations looked like in the past. I have never been to Italy but my parents once went on a trip and when I saw their pictures I recognized many of the landmarks because of Assassin's Creed. The world comes alive with realistic crowds of people, guards that hunt you down and the ability to influnce crowds to mask your escape. Unlike the bear bones first game, this sequel greatly expanded the content with mini games, the abilty to hire factions, excellent optional platforming filled tombs, loads of side missions, it goes on and on. The main missions had loads of variety, one highlight is flying a prototype handglider from Leonardo Di Vinci.
I loved my time with AC2 and sadly no other game in the franchise as matched it. They kept adding more and more gameplay systems but somehow the main assassination's started to get too scripted. AC2 had the right balance and it was fresh and exciting. Ezio was also a breakout star getting two more games because he was so popular. When I think back to the early days of that generation with the PS3 Assassin's Creed 2 is one of the key games that defined the generation.
I loved AC2. It’s the only game in the series where I bothered to complete it 100%.
I still have yet to play an Assassin's Creed game.
One of the site's forefathers.
Play fighting games!
84. Portal 1 and 2
The Orange Box, one of the best collection of games you can buy anywhere. The value was insane, you not only get the legendary Half-Life 2 and its expansions but Team Fortress 2 and the star of the box, Portal. Portal personifies Valve's desgn philosophy, you know if they actually still MADE GAMES. Portal was insanley creative, whitty, easy to understand while providing very complex challenges. The concept is easy, you have two different portals that allow you to instantly travel through them, the physics puzzles that come from that were mindblowing. Who can forget the first time they launched themselves by a rocket because they created momentum from nothing but portals. Everyone did the infinite fall through the portals at least once, the things you can do with one mechanic was so exciting.
Valve didn't just stop at making a challenging puzzle game, they infused it with memorable personality which turned what was essentially a room to room puzzle game into a game people can connect too. Take a cube, if its just a normal blank cube it means nothing to you. But draw a red heart and call it the companion cube and now you have an attachment to this inanimate object, which makes it all the more painful when you need to destroy it. It helps to have a psycho robot lead the way from puzzle room to puzzle room, infusing the game with a comedic tone that makes the player want to advance and solve these puzzles. Portal is a such a great marriage of gameplay with story, I remember how much fun those puzzles were and I will never forget the ending theme song, Still Alive. Portal was short but it included many challenges which make you replay the same puzzle rooms but with limiting objectives like only using a certain amount of portals. All of a sudden these puzzles need to be looked at in a totally different way, to me that was the beauty of it all.
Portal one felt like a prototype for a larger game, kind of because it was. Portal 2 was full end product, a game that can justify a full price. Portal 2 builds on the first by forgoing using test chambers all the time and instead create a full on narrative that takes you on an adventure. Larger cast of characters, as whitty and funny as ever. Puzzles added all new mechanics that take the Portal concept to its limits. Giant waves that carry objects down its current, paint one th floor and walls that allow you to speed up and launch yourself. Each area added a new gameplay mechanic, it was brillaint. It even had a boss battle, a puzzle game with a boss battle, an awesome one where you portal to the fucking moon, epic stuff.
The Portal games are two of the most creative, unqiue, and well designed puzzles games ever made. It is such a shame to see where Valve is now, not caring about anything but maintaining steam. Portal shows that Valve could excel in almost any genre,
I bought portal 2 many years ago to play it co-op and enjoyed it massively, both in co-op and in single player. Having never played the original and going on word of mouth, I had expected it to be more difficult. The co-op was amusing for all the unintentioned deaths as one of us accidentally (or not so much) triggered a switch too soon or misplaced a portal, and the single player campaign was a good laugh. Enjoyable game. I tried playing the original a year or so later, but drifted away before I got all too far. On a side note, I do tend to get nauseous from playing games that were made with Valve's own engine. I had it with both portals, and also with the Stanley Parable. Not sure what triggers it.
The original also sort of has a boss battle, doesn't it? Either way I loved it so much I wrote a novelty review for it.
I should play the second sometime, but geez the new narrator. 
83. Dragon Quest VIII
The first RPG I ever played was Dargon Warrior on the NES. I used to go to a family friends house, like a step uncle, and he had an NES with a whole different library than mine. One of the most intriguing games he had was Dragon Warrior with its amazing cover and he had a guide book. I was facinated by the art of the monsters, the scope of the world and the great music. I attempted to play DW many times but only got so far until one time I decided I am going to follow the guide and beat the damn thing and I did. It was the last RPG I would beat until FFVII. Still the magic of that game stuck with me, mainly the love of the famous Dragon Quest rogue gallery art that would appear with every battle.
Many Dragon Quest games came out but none really made a splash in the US until Dragon Quest 8 hit. In the era of Square making these state of the art epics it was hard for such a traditional JRPG to keep up. DQ8 was Enix way of saying oh yeah Final Fantasy, we can match you in scale and production values. When I saw the beauty of the world I was hooked, and it had a full overworld, something FFX did not do. So I bought it and many many many hours later I had finished one of the best JRPGs ever made. It is a game steeped in tradition but with all the modern bells and whistles of the time and because it stayed so true to it's roots it stood out. The random battles, the very old fashioned turned based combat, it all remained and was still very effective. Artistically the series has kept its identity, I got to see the classic monsters reborn in modern graphics looking like their traditional selves. A great story with some fun voice acting, like the english bloke Yangus. Above all it was the world which I loved exploring, the NPC I met, the dungeons I conquered and the optional challenges to overcome. Dragon Quest 8 takes the traditional formula as far as it can go.
robio said:Excellent pic, but clearly you meant to put it much higher on the list.
Clearly. My only guess would be that he couldn’t decide if it should place at 8 or 3 so he just put it at both. 
Anyway such a fantastic game. DQVIII is my favourite DQ game and is one of my all time favourite games.
robio said:Excellent pic, but clearly you meant to put it much higher on the list.
When I first posted it I had it as 8. Lol.
This is what I want, yell at me for placement, everyone debate my placement.
By the way, when DQ11 comes out of the Switch I think you'll love it. It does a good job of staying traditional, but modernizing a few very important elements.
robio said:8 to 83??? How the hell does that happen?
By the way, when DQ11 comes out of the Switch I think you'll love it. It does a good job of staying traditional, but modernizing a few very important elements.
I meant as a typo, this site was trying to force me into 8