My Top 250 Favorite Video Games (210-201)

 210.) HQ (2017) - iOS

Developer: Intermedia Labs

Publisher: Intermedia Labs

Director: N/A

In my life, I’ve been in to two “live” game show style video games. Both games made this list, HQ was the second of those games. I believe the game is still going, bought by another company, but my time with the game was the original run, with the host Scott Rogowsky. I didn’t ever win anything of any significance (I think a couple bucks here and there), but the prize wasn’t ever really the point. I love that appointment style gaming. Be here at this time, get trivia, win prizes. It’s a fantastic idea that I’m surprised doesn’t happen more often, though I assume it has to do with the prize money and/or associate with a brand that keeps it from happening more often. I would be in front of my iPhone every night during the height of HQ though, I even remember being on vacation in Walt Disney World, sitting in the lobby of the Polynesian Village Resort, with my wife and sister and the three of us playing HQ, that’s how fun and addicting the game was during its height. 

209.) Xenogears (1998) - PlayStation

Developer: Square Product Development Division 3 

Publisher: Square Electronic Arts

Director: Tetsuya Takahashi

Right around this game was the end of old SquareSoft for me. In a lot of ways (and I think it started out as) Xenogears is a spiritual sequel to Chrono Trigger. They’re both more high concept RPGs, but Trigger is a little more accessible. Really good game, I haven’t really followed the series (?) since, going from this to Xenosaga to Xenoblade. I think it’s true that all of these are connected in some way. 

208.) The Lord of the Rings Online (2007) - PC

Developer: Standing Stone Games

Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Director: N/A

Caveat, I haven’t actually played much of this game. That’s not to say that I didn’t play the game, this was really the last PC game I played before my laptop died on me and I have no real interest in replacing it. So what I mean by all this is that I’ve ran around and explored the Shire in this game a lot. To date, this is probably the most accurate depiction of the Middle-earth that Tolkien imagined and just getting to walk and hang around in this world is worth trying the game out alone.

207.) Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (2010) - PlayStation 3

Developer: Crystal Dynamics

Publisher: Square Enix

Director: Daniel Neuberger

I’m a huge fan of the Tomb Raider games going back to the original game (possibly more on that later?). Love the first two games, made by Core, especially. The first trilogy of Tomb Raider games by Crystal Dynamics are good, but that was the period of gaming I think I’ve mentioned on this list, where I wasn’t gaming with any sort of regularity. This was the first of the Crystal Dynamics games that I enjoyed after getting back into Tomb Raider. It’s basically an updated version of Robotron 2084 for those that have played that, a twin stick shooter, but with some minor puzzles to add the Tomb Raider aesthetic. Such a fun game though!

206.) Pilotwings (1990) - SNES

Developer: Nintendo EAD

Publisher: Nintendo

Director: Tadashi Sugiyama

I don’t know if this will bear out through this list, but I’m pretty sure the SNES is my favorite video game system (it might be 360, we’ll see). Nintendo was just on fire for that generation, the game play of all their games in that period was just so good. Pilotwings, you earned different pilots licenses, perfecting each mode of flight. Just such a fun game!

205.) Life and Death (1988) - PC

Developer: Jake Smith, Don Laabs

Publisher: The Software Toolworks

Director: N/A

I’ve played a few surgery style games, none of them do for me what this game did, a lot of them are a little too silly. In Life & Death you play an abdominal surgeon and you carry about different surgeries. I’d completely forgotten about this game until I was thinking of games that I’ve loved throughout my life and I played so much of this when my Dad got his first PC.

204.) DmC: Devil May Cry (2013) - PlayStation 3

Developer: Ninja Theory

Publisher: Capcom

Director: Tameem Antoniades

So I’m not a Devil May Cry player, not that I have anything against the games, they just haven’t really grabbed me. As I said with Hellblade, I love Ninja Theory and I think it was a shame the reception this game got. Yes, they Americanized everything, but I feel like this alternate series could have run concurrently with the original DMC series. Probably my favorite combat that Ninja Theory has done though, kind of perfected what Heavenly Rain started, but I liked everything about it, the combat, story and characters.

203.) Resident Evil 6 (2012) - PlayStation 3

Developer: Capcom

Publisher: Capcom

Director: Eiichiro Sasaki

The second of three games in this section where I think it’s a shame the reception this game got. Is this Resident Evil Remake, or Resident Evil 4, or Resident Evil 2 Remake? No. This isn’t as good as the series has been. Is it a terrible game that should be panned at all costs? No. Story wise, it’s a little much. There’s four separate campaigns, I feel like you really have to be into the Resident Evil story and lore (I am) to enjoy it. But I played through all four campaigns and really enjoyed myself. Combat wise, this is my favorite Resident Evil game other than Remake 2. Seriously, watch some high level players play this game on YouTube. The amount of combat options you have is so good and I think parts of the game still look pretty good. 

202.) Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (1996) - SNES

Developer: Square

Publisher: Nintendo

Director: Yoshihiko Maekawa, Chihiro Fujioka

So, like I said. Love the SNES. And I love this era of Square, definitely more than anything before or after. And I love this era of Mario. Everything just worked so well, the game is just so charming and original for a Mario game. While the graphics were top notch at the time and look slightly dated now, I feel like the style holds up in some ways. Such a fun game though.

201.) Halo 5 (2015) - Xbox One

Developer: 343 Industries 

Publisher: Microsoft Studios

Director: Tim Longo

So the last game of the three that I talked about, that I think the reception sucks. 343 just isn’t going to make everyone happy. Halo 4 had, arguably the best story of the Halo series, but people complained about the game play. So, they retooled a bit and I think Halo 5 is the best playing Halo game. But, the story is lacking. There’s too much ancillary stuff, too many novels and podcasts that you need to consume in order to enjoy the story and I think even with all that, the story still lacks and I think, well, I don’t want to give a spoiler, but I think the main villain was a major misstep and should Infinite do a reboot of sorts, I wouldn’t blame them. Like I said though, game play wise, I absolutely love this game.