Well, we have finally arrived at the last installment of GregHorrorShow’s Top 100 games and it has been a pleasure (plus a lot of hard work 🙂 ) to compile this list and share it with you.
Usual system applies:
I decided, as so many games mean so many different things to me, I should come up with a fair way to judge them. This is what I came up with:
Time Spent Playing
Storyline
Difficulty
Fun
Ground Breaking?
A few provisos before we hit the last few games…
Firstly this is my list of my Top 100 games. I certainly don’t expect you guys to agree with it (though hopefully you’ll agree with some of the choices 🙂 ) and would welcome any comments.
Secondly, I’m not planning on putting the scores or totals up, just listing the games in the order they came out in.
Lastly, I never owned a Nintendo or Microsoft console so my experiences on these games were limited to friend’s houses etc – bite me 😆
Like some of the rest of the Top 10 each game will also have a video for your viewing pleasure and I’ll recap the Top 100 in full before I reveal No.1.
So let’s get it going on!
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5. KILLZONE 2 (Playstation 3)
I’m sure a lot of you have read my review of Killzone 2 so this isn’t completely unexpected but I was a touch surprised that a game released in February of this year made the Top 5. The explanation for this is as follows: multi-player. The single player story mode of Killzone 2 is immense and I’m sure the game would easily have made the Top 20 based on that alone (and you can read why in the full review). But for me this is the most fun I’ve ever had playing online.
The sense of achievement in ranking up is unreal and playing with friends is great. I never thought I would get a headset but Killzone 2 made me cross that line – and often the conversation and banter between me and my friends in our own game room is some of the funniest stuff I’ve heard in a gaming environment. Even in multi-player the graphics are superb and the sense of panic created by the fantastically well designed levels is just amazing. If you own a PS3 you need to own this – even if you don’t like first person shooters you should give it a whirl, I know several people who were never into them before that are now dedicated recruits. Mr Veitch I’m looking at you.
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4. METAL GEAR SOLID (Playstation)
Metal Gear Solid is one of those few games when all the crazy feature ideas and over the top story come together to make an absolute classic. Taking on the role of Solid Snake you had to stealth your way through the levels with an array of gadgets and skills – including the infamous cardboard box disguise.
Metal Gear Solid broke the mould – not only for bringing Stealth as a genre to the forefront but for showing that games could match Hollywood movies for plot and substance. The list of characters was brilliant and the boss battles were legendary – the Pyscho Mantis battle still makes me smile just thinking about it. What other game would have a look at the other saves on your memory card and then use it to taunt you?! It freaked me out completely – then there was the whole control pad thing… anyway he was one of many great boss battles: Revolver Ocelot, Sniper Wolf and of course Liquid Snake, were all highlights. The best Playstation One game, without a shadow of a doubt.
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3. RESIDENT EVIL 4 (Playstation 2)
Resident Evil 4 marked the beginning of a new chapter for the franchise. Gone were the bumbling, shuffling (but still pretty lethal) oafs of previous Resident Evil games who were replaced by a very more ‘human’ threat: “Los Ganados.” Essentially humans infected with the La Plagas virus as opposed to mindless zombies – these guys can attack you with weapons, run, dodge attacks. It takes everything to a whole new level.
They are fast and usually attack in numbers, often leading to you retreating as they swarm your way. The level design was brilliant and you were shepherded through lots of different environments, with the inital village setting one of the most impressive. Some of the boss battles; the giant fish and El Gigante being two that were particularily memorable. The monk-type dudes in the citadel freaked the hell out of me with their weird chanting… I was too scared to move at first then realised they weren’t going anywhere so I’d better get on with it 😆 Resident Evil 4 really is a great game and everyone should have at least played the opening village level – it really is mind-blowingly good. Maybe less so now but at the time it was simply the best thing I’d ever played.
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2. GRAND THEFT AUTO III (Playstation 2)
Was this really released almost EIGHT years ago?! Our first trip to the three dimensional Liberty City was something none of us will forget. It was a unique experience on the Playstation 2 – you can steal cars? Buy guns and shoot people? Out run (and out gun) the cops? But it wasn’t about the controversy – this was a solid game with an involving storyline. Sure your character never speaks but there is plenty said by the other characters to keep things ticking over. So many classic characters: Don Salvatore Leone, Donald Love, Phil Cassidy (the One-Armed Bandit), 8-Ball and Toni Cipriani to name but a few.
It was a whole new way to play – you could do whatever you wanted. Fancy ignoring the story and taking on some cops for a bit. Go for it. Wanna make some money? Steal a cab and do some work as a Taxi Driver. There was so much to do it was almost overwhelming. Eventually people just got down to it and did whatever the hell they wanted. As long as you knew the basic controls you didn’t have to touch the story – you could just mess around for hours.
But that would’ve been a mistake because the plot of GTAÂ III was excellent and certainly worth playing through. The comedy was close to the mark but spot on – no-one was safe from a jibe. The game also featured the car radio system for it’s music content, which was great and all the songs were really good, if little known. As the game progressed you certainly found yourself tuning the radio to your favourite station as soon as you got into a car.
GTAÂ III was a groundbreaking title for many reasons but the main one has to be that it completely raised the bar for every other game out there. Us gamers had been given a glimpse of the future – what gaming could be like… a sense of freedom married with a concise, funny and involving storyline. The trip to Liberty City was a great one and the journey got better and better…
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Which brings us to the finale. Before I reveal my top game, here is a quick run down of the 99 that preceeded it:
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100 Ghostbusters
99 Splatterhouse 2
98 Ghouls N Ghosts
97 Lethal Enforcers
96 Golden Axe
95 Hard Drivin’
94 WWF Royal Rumble
93 Chase HQ
92 Singstar
91 Resistance 2
90 Destruction Derby
89 Pacman
88 RockBand
87 Syphon Filter
86 Tomb Raider
85 Red Dead Revolver
84 Out Run
83 Resistance
82 Time Crisis
81 Toejam and Earl
80 Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior
79 Donkey Kong
78 Super Punch Out
77 Final Fight
76 Micro Machines
75 Manic Miner
74 Donkey Kong (SNES)
73 WWE Legends Of Wrestlemania
72 Twisted Metal
71 Kane And Lynch
70 Black
69 Resident Evil 5
68 Space Harrier
67 Motorstorm: Pacific Rift
66 Goldeneye (N64)
65 Football Manager
64 Mario Kart (N64)
63 SOS: Final Escape
62 WWF Smackdown 2
61 Track And Field
60 Paperboy
59 Rainbow Six Vegas 2
58 Heavenly Sword
57 Street Fighter IV
56 Desert Strike
55 Captain Commando
54 Mirror’s Edge
53 Robocop
52 Space Invaders
51 GRID
50 inFAMOUS
49 Alien Trilogy
48 Resident Evil 2
47 Alien 3
46 Robocop Vs Terminator
45 Super Monkey Ball
44 Horace Goes Skiing
43 FIFA 95
42 Gauntlet
41 Speedball 2
40 Assassin’s Creed
39 Roadblasters
38 Streets of Rage
37 Sensible Soccer
36 Premier Manager 98
35 Manhunt
34 The Warriors
33 Hitman Blood Money
32 Theme Park
31 Fahrenheit
30 Grand Theft Auto
29 Rainbow Six Vegas
28 Bioshock
27 LittleBigPlanet
26 Road Rash
25 Shadow Of The Colossus
24 Mad Dog McCree
23 Operation Wolf
22 Football Manager
21 GTA San Andreas
20 God Of War: Chains Of Olympus
19 Guitar Hero
18 Mortal Kombat
17 God Of War 2
16 God Of War
15 Uncharted
14 Pro Evolution Soccer 5
13 Metal Gear 3
12 Dead Space
11 Metal Gear 2
10 Sonic The Hedgehog
9 Street Fighter II
8 Resident Evil
7 Metal Gear Solid 4
6 GTA IV
5 Killzone 2
4 Metal Gear Solid
3 Resident Evil 4
2 GTA 3
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So there you go, I’m sure a few of you have already guessed by it’s absence on the list so far but I can confirm that GregHorrorShow’s Game List No. 1 is…
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1. GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY (Playstation 2)
We wondered what on earth Rockstar would do to follow up GTA 3 – how could they come back with a new game after that? Well, they went away and raised the bar even further! Setting GTA Vice City in the 80’s was a stroke of genius and including some of the characters from GTA 3 as their younger selves was truly inspired. You see these guys with their hopes and dreams – and you know what they end up like from seeing them in GTA III, truly brilliant.
This setting also meant a chance to do everything bigger and better – fast cars? check. Lots of neon? check. Cheesy music? check!!! The music on this game was amazing and they did such a good job of picking the tunes. There was a radio station for everyone as they upped the content. One of my fondest memories of this game is driving beside the beach at sunset with “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson playing on the radio.
But it wasn’t only the music and setting of course, the storyline was great, borrowing from plenty of great gangster films and the game had plenty of new features – allowing you to buy property as you earnt more money, each one having different side missions attached to it. There were helicopters for you to fly and your character actually spoke and took a bigger role in the plot.
It also featured my favourite ever GTA mission – the bank job. Just amazing. I won’t spoil it with details for people who haven’t played it but my word what a mission! If you’re not worried about SPOILERS then watch the glorious 10 minute clip below and appreciate a work of gaming genius!
I remember having to go to a gig with work a couple of days before GTA: Vice City was released. As we went past HMV they had a sign up saying they were selling it early. I didn’t hesitate. I had the game on me all through the gig and I couldn’t wait to get home. Once I got back at the end of the night I couldn’t resist and stuck it on – it was so good I played it until about 4am before what little perception of reality I had after a night on the beers saw me get some sleep.
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Even as a big gamer that is something that happens to me very rarely with a single player game and so it’s with a large smile and a lot of happy memories that I confirm Grand Theft Auto: Vice City as Number 1 in GregHorrorShow’s Top 100 Games List! 😎
GregHorrorShow 