Game Informer's Top 200 Games of All Time

[jerry coeurl]

Now, I've always thought that Game Informer sucked. About the only time I ever read it is when I'm on the John at my buddy's house. Anyway, to commemorate their 200th issue, they compiled a list of the 200 "best" games of all time. I can't help but think that the list itself is largely horseshit. They might as well have called it the "Top 200 Nintendo, PlayStation & PC Games of All Time," because out of a total of 200 games, only 9 of them appeared on SEGA platforms. Here's the whole thing.

1. The Legend of Zelda (NES, 1987)
2. Super Mario Bros. (NES, 1985)
3. Tetris (PC, 1984)
4. Grand Theft Auto III (PS2, 2001)
5. Half-Life 2 (PC, 2004)
6. Doom (PC, 1993)
7. Metroid (NES, 1986)
8. Final Fantasy III (SNES, 1994)
9. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES, 1990)
10. Ms. Pac-Man (Coin-op, 1981)
11. World of Warcraft (PC, 2004)
12. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES, 1992)
13. Super Mario 64 (N64, 1996)
14. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3/360/PC, 2007)
15. Final Fantasy VII (PS, 1997)
16. Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! (NES, 1987)
17. Chrono Trigger (SNES, 1995)
18. Resident Evil 4 (GameCube, 2005)
19. Metal Gear Solid (PS, 1998)
20. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64, 1998)
21. Super Metroid (SNES, 1994)
22. Contra (NES, 1988)
23. Galaga (Coin-op, 1981)
24. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS, 1997)
25. Street Fighter II (Coin-op, 1991)
26. God of War (PS2, 2005)
27. BioShock (360/PC, 2007)
28. Diablo II (PC, 2000)
29. Half-Life (PC, 1998)
30. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivious (360/PC, 2006)
31. Tecmo Super Bowl (NES, 1991)
32. GoldenEye 007 (N64, 1997)
33. Super Mario Kart (SNES, 1992)
34. Sonic the Hedgehog (SEGA Genesis, 1991)
35. Starcraft (PC, 1998)
36. Civilization (PC, 1991)
37. SimCity (PC, 1989)
38. Mega Man 2 (NES, 1988)
39. Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox, 2001)
40. Gran Turismo (PS, 1998)
41. Resident Evil 2 (PS, 1998)
42. Pokemon Red and Blue (GB, 1996)
43. Final Fantasy X (PS2, 2001)
44. EverQuest (PC, 1999)
45. Final Fantasy Tactics (PS, 1998)
46. Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3/360, 2008)
47. Super Mario World (SNES, 1991)
48. Deus Ex (PC, 2000)
49. Guitar Hero (PS2, 2005)
50. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2, 2001)
51. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, 2007)
52. Pac-Man (Coin-op, 1980)
53. Battlefield 2 (PC, 2005)
54. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox, 2003)
55. Ico (PS2, 2001)
56. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3, 2009)
57. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 (PS, 2000)
58. Mass Effect (360, 2007)
59. Adventure (2600, 1980)
60. Arkanoid (Coin-op, 1986)
61. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (GB, 1993)
62. Star Wars: X-Wing (PC, 1993)
63. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (N64, 2000)
64. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2, 2004)
65. Fallout 3 (PS3/360/PC, 2008)
66. Zork (PC, 1980)
67. Soul Calibur (DC, 1999)
68. Double Dragon (Coin-op, 1987)
69. Dr. Mario (NES, 1990)
70. The Sims (PC, 2000)
71. Age of Empires (PC, 1997)
72. Mortal Kombat II (Coin-op, 1993)
73. Rock Band 2 (PS3/360, 2008)
74. Tomb Raider (PS, 1996)
75. Super Bomberman (SNES, 1993)
76. Mario’s Picross (GB, 1995)
77. Ninja Gaiden (NES, 1989)
78. Command & Conquer (PC, 1995)
79. Kingdom Hearts (PS2, 2002)
80. Final Fantasy II (SNES, 1991)
81. Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES, 1988)
82. Left 4 Dead (PC, 2008)
83. Okami (PS2, 2006)
84. Shadow of the Colossus (PS2, 2005)
85. Metroid Prime (GameCube, 2002)
86. Super Smash Bros. Melee (GameCube, 2001)
87. Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (PC, 1995)
88. Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn (PC, 2000)
89. God of War II (PS2, 2007)
90. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii, 2006)
91. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (PS2, 2004)
92. Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (PC, 2002)
93. Skies of Arcadia (DC, 2000)
94. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (GameCube, 2003)
95. Silent Hill 2 (PS2, 2001)
96. Counter-Strike (PC, 1999)
97. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (SEGA Genesis, 1992)
98. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS3/360, 2009)
99. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (PS2/Xbox/GameCube/PC, 2003)
100. Portal (PC/360, 2007)
101. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (PC, 2002)
102. Heroes of Might & Magic III (PC, 1999)
103. Donkey Kong (Coin-op, 1981)
104. Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3/360, 2009)
105. System Shock 2 (PC, 1999)
106. Resident Evil (PS, 1996)
107. Gears of War (360, 2006)
108. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3, 2008)
109. Crash Bandicoot: Warped (PS, 1998)
110. Halo 2 (Xbox, 2004)
111. Tetris Attack (SNES, 1996)
112. Final Fantasy XII (PS2, 2006)
113. Earthbound (SNES, 1995)
114. Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri (PC, 1998)
115. Command & Conquer: Red alert (PC, 1996)
116. Advance Wars (GBA, 2001)
117. Fallout (PC, 1997)
118. Team Fortress 2 (PS3/360/PC, 2007)
119. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (Xbox, 2005)
120. Mega Man X (SNES, 1994)
121. Lemmings (PC, 1991)
122. Panzer Dragoon Saga (Saturn, 1998)
123. NHL ‘94 (SEGA Genesis/SNES, 1993)
124. Warlords (Coin-op, 1980)
125. Shadowrun (SNES, 1993)
126. Twisted Metal 2 (PS, 1996)
127. Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee (PS, 1997)
128. Metroid Fusion (GBA, 2002)
129. Homeworld (PC, 1999)
130. Kingdom Hearts II (PS2, 2006)
131. Pilotwings (SNES, 1991)
132. Quake II (PC, 1997)
133. Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (PC, 1997)
134. Borderlands (PS3/360/PC, 2009)
135. Final Fight (Coin-op, 1989)
136. Star Fox (SNES, 1993)
137. Madden NFL ‘99 (PS/N64/PC, 1999)
138. Call of Duty 2 (360/PC, 2005)
139. Wolfenstein 3D (PC, 1992)
140. Diablo (PC, 1996)
141. Civilization IV (PC, 2005)
142. Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle (PC, 1993)
143. Assassin’s Creed (PS3/360, 2007)
144. Burnout 3: Takedown (PS2/Xbox, 2004)
145. Unreal Tournament 2004 (PC, 2004)
146. Power Stone 2 (DC, 2000)
147. Super Castlevania IV (SNES, 1991)
148. Super Mario RPG (SNES, 1996)
149. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (PC, 2002)
150. ActRaiser (SNES, 1991)
151. Fable (Xbox, 2004)
152. Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht (PS2, 2003)
153. Asteroids (Coin-op, 1979)
154. LittleBigPlanet (PS3, 2008)
155. Crackdown (360, 2007)
156. Gauntlet (Coin-op, 1985)
157. Devil May Cry (PS2, 2001)
158. Pong (Coin-op, 1972)
159. Battlefield 1942 (PC, 2002)
160. Thief (PC, 1998)
161. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved (360, 2005)
162. Far Cry (PC, 2004)
163. Robotron: 2084 (Coin-op, 1982)
164. X-COM: UFO Defense (PC, 1993)
165. Peggle (PC, 2007)
166. King’s Quest VI (PC, 1992)
167. Doom II (PC, 1994)
168. Tempest 2000 (Jaguar, 1994)
169. Braid (360, 2008)
170. Ridge Racer (PS, 1995)
171. Bully (PS2, 2006)
172. Ikaruga (GameCube, 2006)
173. Lode Runner (Apple II, 1983)
174. Gunstar Heroes (SEGA Genesis, 1993)
175. Dig Dug (Coin-op, 1982)
176. Castlevania (NES, 1988)
177. Tekken 3 (Coin-op, 1997)
178. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (DS, 2005)
179. NBA Jam: Tournament Edition (Coin-op, 1993)
180. Max Payne (PC, 2001)
181. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3/360/PC, 2009)
182. Samurai Shodown (Neo Geo, 1993)
183. NFL 2K5 (PS2/Xbox, 2004)
184. Vagrant Story (PS, 2000)
185. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (SNES, 1995)
186. Marble Madness (Coin-op, 1984)
187. Infamous (PS3, 2009)
188. Planescape: Torment (PC, 1999)
189. Kid Icarus (NES, 1986)
190. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (Xbox, 2004)
191. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2, 2004)
192. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem (GameCube, 2002)
193. Jak 3 (PS2, 2004)
194. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (DC, 2002)
195. Ultima (PC, 1981)
196. Call of Duty (PC, 2003)
197. NHL 09 (PS3/360, 2008)
198. Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (Xbox, 2004)
199. Tactics Ogre (PS, 1997)
200. Beyond Good and Evil (PS2/Xbox/GameCube, 2003)

Thoughts? Comments? I could not believe that only 3 Genesis titles appeared on their list. And what's with giving every iteration of Call of Duty a spot? What the hell man.

[Iron Lizard]

I hate lists. I wouldn't mind if they were a bit off but they are always completely retarded. To put GTAIII next to Zelda and SMB is horse shit.

[jerry coeurl]

Yeah, every GTA since GTA III made it on the list, too.

[Puffy2k316]

i dont get the point of making these lists anymore

i just yawn when i see one now

[GriskaGyoran]

Clearly these people have not played too many on the Sega fronts. They do seem to be kissing Infinity Ward's ass on this one.

[Da_Shocker]

YAWN! What do u guys expect lol.

[gamevet]

The list doesn't make much sense. Are they talking about the most influential games, or the best?

Clearly, Super Metroid is a much better game than the original Metroid, and I find it hard to believe the only computer game (from the 80's) they came up with was Load Runner; Have they not played M.U.L.E, Archon or Montezuma's Revenge?

And WTF is Borderlands doing on the list?

It's time to give NFL2K5 a rest as well.

[Puffy2k316]

NiGHTS into dreams isnt better then any of these games apparently

[jerry coeurl]

NiGHTS into dreams isnt better then any of these games apparently

Or Streets of Rage II, or any of the Lunars, or any of the ECCOs, or Ristar, or Sonic 3 & Knuckles, or Castlevania Bloodlines, or Virtua Fighter 2...

[InternalPrimate]

I thought the same things when I read the list. There's like five football games there. And while I love Modern Warfare 2, it doesn't belong on this kind of list. The game needs to stand the test of time first.

And where the hell is the Lunar series?!

EDIT: Jerry beat me to it by mere seconds!

[Puffy2k316]

I wonder what their rationale was for putting Madden 99 as the first/only madden on the list. I don't recall it being that special. I think they just picked a random one.

[gamevet]

I wonder what their rationale was for putting Madden 99 as the first/only madden on the list. I don't recall it being that special. I think they just picked a random one.

Madden 99 is almost a painful experience today. I could understand putting Madden 2001, since it was a huge leap in graphics on the PS2, but NFL2K would deserve just as much praise.

[Puffy2k316]

Yeah the Maddens for the PSX/N64 were pretty boring. I'm pretty sure Gameday was actually the better game for a few years.

[Deo]

No Secret of Monkey Island, Streets of Rage II, Rampage, Virtua Fighter, Jet Grind Radio, Pitfall, or Yar's Revenge? How the hell can they skip Pitfall, the grandfather of all platformers!

[gamevet]

How the hell can they skip Pitfall, the grandfather of all platformers!

Donkey Kong preceded Pitfall by a year. I believe there were other platformers before either, but I can't recall any at this moment.