Top 25 Favorite Games

1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater – This game almost made me cry, this game made me interested in history, this game made me realize video games are just as palpable a medium as film and literature. If I tried to explain the Metal Gear storyline for even a few minutes I think smoke would come out of my ears, so I won’t try. Anyone who’s beaten this title, knows how great it is. I salute it.

2. Kingdom Hearts II – Aside from some minor contrivances and a little convolution, Kingdom Hearts II surpasses its predecessor in terms of gameplay and story, though maybe not atmosphere and pacing. Hopefully Final Fantasy Versus XIII is almost done so they can finally get to work on III instead of milking the franchise with canon spin-offs.

3. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – Why did BioWare have to turn this into an MMO? Seriously. It’s not that I have a problem with MMOs; in fact I think it was a smart move. The only reason I’m complaining is that I never got the Knights of the Old Republic III I had been anticipating for YEARS. Oh well. At least I have Dragon Age: Origins.

4. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – IT’S OCARINA OF TIME. What else is there to say other than it's the basis by which I measure all 3-D Zelda games by.

5. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay – This game deserves so much more credit and publicity than it has. Whether or not you like Pitch Black or The Chronicles of Riddick (I personally like them just fine) this is my favorite first-person game of all time, it’s intense, it’s intuitive, it’s clever, and it’s sometimes frightening. It’s a movie-licensed game that works.

6. Conker’s Bad Fur Day – They just don’t make ‘em like this anymore. Hilarious satire, self-indulgent humor of all kinds as well as some very solid platforming.

7. Ape Escape – Talk about the days when it wasn't all about the next generic FPS title on the shelves. This is a platformer in which you capture apes with a time net and use various gadgets to progress through stage or use in your hunt for the apes. It's much better than it sounds on paper.

8. Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut – Specifically the GameCube version because it only improves something already great to begin with.

9. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver – I’ll be completely honest; this is kind of a dream project for me. I would LOVE to write and/or direct a film adaptation of the Legacy of Kain series, this is probably the most well-written and interesting take on the vampire mythos I have ever seen.

10. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception – I respectfully disagree with most out there who still feel that Uncharted 2 is the best of the three games; Drake’s Deception is the strongest for me on a narrative scale as well as the stakes feeling higher than they’ve ever been for Drake this time around, plus the mechanics have been more fine-tuned, and that makes it superior from a technical and raw standpoint alone.

11. Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage – This is more out of nostalgia, being that this was my favorite game when I was a kid.

12. Heavy Rain – I love this game. I love this game so much. I love the characters, I love the branching story. I love the dystopian/neo-noir atmosphere, and I love how it’s probably the best utilization of quicktime events to date. It's a fine example of blurring the line between a game and a film as well as a game and real-life experiences with it's immersible world and great story.

13. Crazy Taxi – This isn’t a very deep game so the only thing I say in its defense is that it is one of the most addicting arcade games I know, and from the arcade machine, to the Dreamcast, to the PS2, and even PS3, it never gets old.

14. Shadow of the Colossus – This is undoubtedly one of the strongest titles the PS2 had to offer, and its cult following as well as recent publicity with the Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection for the PS3 thankfully is helping it become more widely accessible and accepted by the general public. Slaying the varied colossi upon bleak and empty beautiful backdrops as a commendable score only builds on your immersion makes for quite a memorable time.

15. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West – This is probably one of the more overlooked titles of this generation, while not very technically impressive (gameplay-wise) this is still very much worth your time, and offers the best take on dystopian storytelling I’ve seen in a very long while, and what it lacks in gameplay, it makes up for in presentation and depth.

16. Batman: Arkham City – While I felt that Arkham Asylum was the best take on Batman in the video game world, I never thought it was an experience that couldn't be topped. Arkham City is a superior title in almost every way, narrative, scope, tone, and presentation. The Arkhamverse in and of itself is one of the best adaptations I've ever seen.

17. Final Fantasy VII – Final Fantasy VII is one of the most loved and hated RPGs ever made, with the latter group claiming it to be overrated. I can agree with them to an extent, but Final Fantasy VII still remains one of the most thematic and aesthetically balanced turn-based RPGs to date. Combined with Nobuo Uematsu's always impressive score, it's an experience few can turn away from.

18. Jak 3 – Naughty Dog took a big risk with Jak 2’s massive tonal shift from The Precursor Legacy, but it worked for the better, and they delivered with two surprisingly fantastic sequels, this one being the more favorable in my opinion. Whereas Jak 2 had very unforgiving checkpoints few and far between segments of the game as well as difficulty spikes, Jak 3 seems to have aged better with its more balanced progression, gun upgrades and contrast of Haven City and the Wasteland. And no, The Lost Frontier doesn't count.

19. Mega Man X – I have a mild respect and interest to the classic Mega Man titles but honestly Mega Man X was far superior to me in gameplay, scope, and execution, it took a basic formula and made it what it should have been in the first place.

20. Fable II – While Peter Molyneux has pretty much become a parody in and of himself, I was lucky enough not to be enveloped by the ridiculous advertising for the original Fable, and so I never built up ridiculous expectations for it, and quite enjoyed it for what it was. While I was initially skeptical, Fable II, while flawed, still succeeds its predecessor from a storytelling standpoint, more fluid and accessible melee combat as well as magic (Will) utilization and a fresh new time period and aesthetic that surprisingly works.

21. Sly 2: Band of Thieves – To keep things fair, I’m sticking to one game per franchise or series, and Sly 2 was the strongest of the now classic trilogy, improving upon Thievius Raccoonus and topping it every step of the way. Bentley and Murray as playable characters were varied and new minigames and gimmicks help keep the momentum going forward.

22. Chrono Trigger – When people talk about how “perfect” Skyrim is I tend to just roll my eyes (though I do love the game) and point at this beautiful title when it comes to RPG perfection. Akira Toriyama character design, SquareSoft developed engine, time travel, memorable characters, brilliant storytelling and intuitive combat. I got into this title relatively late, never playing it when I had a Super Nintendo nor buying the DS port. Even without the novelty, I still felt this was a flawless experience overall.

23. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 – I remember when developers actually put effort into these titles, Budokai Tenkaichi was the ultimate DBZ experience of the gaming world, boasting 161 characters, not counting their various transformations, alternative costumes and battle-damage directly imitating the events of the series and one of the most complicated yet addicting fighting engines I know. With this and the previous entries on the list there seems to be a pattern of progressive laziness after the third effort.

24. SoulCalibur III – Before SoulCalibur IV broke my heart, I played this game non-stop when I first bought it, solid fighting engine mixed with a ton of content such as an RTS-style alternative story mode, a detailed character creation mode, and the most well-handled story and bonuses of the series to date. It seems that Namco has stopped caring for every sequel afterward.

25. Pokemon Emerald – Hoenn has always been my favorite generation mostly due to the aesthetic and innovations such as diving and new inclusions such as Team Magma and Aqua and the first time the otherwise simple story has been elevated to a sense of importance with the Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza subplot. Hoenn as a region was just so full of life and variation, as well as some great Pokemon, in my opinion it was Nintendo and Game Freak's peak of creativity before they fumbled the ball with Sinnoh.