R#09's Top 25 Video Games of All Time! (10-7)

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Only four games today. Why? Well, because we want my favorite game of all time to have a post all its own. Trust me, it's gonna be OK.

No. 10 — Soul Calibur II

Genre: Fighting

Release: 2002

Platforms: Arcade, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox

Kicking off the top ten is my favorite fighting game of all time, Soul Calibur II. The sequel to the fantastic Dreamcast fighting game, Soul Calibur II sported mind-blowing graphics, intuitive controls, and some of the best characters and move-sets of any fighting game ever. What really sets Soul Calibur II apart from its successors (III and IV) is its campaign mode, which is the best of the series. The game lacked the destructible environments of the Dead or Alive games and the violence of Mortal Kombat, but Soul Calibur II remains to this day the pinnacle of the genre. In terms of characters, I’ve always been partial to Cervantes and Siegfried / Nightmare.

No. 09 — Super Mario 64

Genre: Platform

Release: 1996

Platforms: Nintendo 64, iQue Player, Virtual Console

I remember so vividly seeing this game for the first time. I was in a Wal-Mart, of all places — likely dragged there by my mother on a shopping trip. I was only eight years old at the time, so I wasn’t “plugged-in” at the time. I’d heard rumors about the Nintendo 64, but I really didn’t know much about it. After all, I was a Sega kid. I played SNES only when my Uncle Mike came to visit and brought it along. But there it was, on display at Wal-Mart — the Nintendo 64. 64 bits of glorious, fully three-dimensional action; vivid greens and reds and expansive environments. As I clutched that oddly shaped controller with its analog stick in my hand for the very first time, something clicked. I knew, right then, that this would be a console to remember, and, more specifically, a game to remember. Super Mario 64 took what was great about the classic side-scrolling Mario games and dropped it into the most graphically advanced console at the time. Simple gameplay, interesting enemies, colossal levels, and, most importantly, a ton of fun.

No. 08 — Unreal Tournament 2004

Genre: First-Person Shooter

Release: 2004

Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux

Now this? This is how you make a first-person shooter. Unreal Tournament 2004, the follow-up to Unreal Tournament 2003 and its prequel, the original Unreal Tournament (’99), is, at its core, the purest, most downright wickedly fun shooter of all time. The solo campaign is only the beginning — this game sports nearly a dozen different multiplayer modes, ranging from basic deathmatch, to capture the flag, to assault missions, and even a violent, football-esque game called Bombing Run. There were crazy vehicles, even crazier weapons, and solid A.I. to boot. Did I play the hell out of this game when it was released? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Do I still play it today? You’d better believe it. Unreal Tournament 2k4 has yet to be equaled.

No. 07 — Total Annihilation

Genre: Real-Time Strategy

Release: 1997

Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS

The name of this game, Total Annihilation, suggests mindless violence. It brings to mind gore, explosions, and all-out, nonsensical battle. Some of that is true, yes — the most intense moments of classic genre-definer Total Annihilation are utter and complete chaos. But what the name doesn’t hint at is the deep and engrossing strategic gameplay that put Total Annihilation on the map and changed the way real-time strategy games were made. The graphics were alarmingly good. Hundreds of units might be on the screen at the same time, blasting away at each other, explosions blossoming across the battlefield. Badass, yes. The wars were colossal. But the fact remains: Total Annihilation was, and remains today, one of the most sophisticated games in the genre. Oh, and as a side-note, the game also features one of the best soundtracks in any game ever, composed by the infamous Jeremy Soule (the John Williams of video game soundtracks).

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