IGN's Top 10

[CloggedDonkey]

1.why does everyone think IGN is so bad? I mean, sure, their not great, but people here treat them like they're the freaking Antichrist. just give them respect for what the are: a clock for when games come out. they will tell you "X games comes out in Y weeks".

2. that is not a correct list. it needs different games for one and the ones that should stay need different places

 

[Pimppeter2]

I agree

how dare they not have Jak and Daxter!

 

[Tdc2182]

I would agree, but you had a total asshat way of doing it. I have no idea of what Shadow of collosese is about. Half life was okay and all, but hell no for number one. WOW? seriously dude. Community doesn't make a game good. Yes, GTA3 should have been higher. And Uncharted 2 must be putting money somewhere to get that high. Where the hell is CoD4? That game pretty much revolutioized FPS's for the past three years.

 

[Weaver]

I think the list is pretty good, though I'd take uncharted 2 off it.

Where the hell is CoD4? That game pretty much revolutioized FPS's for the past three years.

Step 1: take CoD2.
Step 2: add experience and unlockables.
Step 3: somehow get hailed as the best fps game ever.

I guess I should also say that I had a hell of a good time with CoD4, but I don't think it was a revolution as much as it was an evolution.

 

[MostlyHarmless]

Hold on for a sec...

GO HALF-LIFE!

Ahem, you do realize this list was just a collection of opinions by the IGN staff. I mean, they aren't different from us as reviewers. We all have our favorites and hates. Example, I love Half-Life and despise Halo.

 

[RanD00M]

No matter how much I despise IGN for everything that it is.I have to give them props for that list.Since it's a respectable list that is not something that I would have guessed IGN published.

 

[Bloody Crimson]

ign's reviews are largely predictable and unreliable, hence their "top 10" list is worthless. they give bad reviews to good games and good reviews to bad games, IMO. ign's reviews are basically based on popularity.

Exactly. I looked up reviews for 2 games, both JRPGs. And there were both reviewed by the same guy [forgot his name]. They were only ridiculed and never were any of the good points ever brought up. It's like this guys hates JRPGs so he'll just review them all bad, which pisses me off.
Every game I get interested in I look up reviews and IGN just posts them as "Complete Shit" basically. The "super-cool stuff" like "Mass Effect 2" and all other god-awful cliche FPS and popular games get so great of ratings.

 

[Anticitizen_Two]

10. Uncharted 2 (2009)
9. Battlefield 1942 (2002)
8. Okami (2006)
7. Fallout 3 (2008)
6. Counterstrike (2000)
5. Super Mario Galaxy (2007)
4. GTA III (2001)
3. Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic (2003)
2. Shadow of the Colossus (2005)
1. Half-Life 2 (2004)

10. I haven't played Uncharted 2, and I doubt it deserves that spot. From what I can tell it's the Avatar of gaming: visual spectacle but no real substance.
9. Battlefield 2 was better.
8. I'm probably the only person who thinks this, but Okami was SO meh. Great graphics and art style, sure, but the gameplay for me was nothing special. Perhaps I haven't given it enough of a try.
7. Didn't like it very much. But then again I hate western RPG's so it might just be me.
6. Yeah, fuck that.
5. Galaxy is awesome. It was the great sequel to Mario 64 that Sunshine wasn't.
4. I personally don't give a shit about GTA games, or any sandbox games for that matter.
3. Never played KoTOR, but I'm sure it's deserving of that spot due to the near universal praise for it.
2. Shadow is a great game and deserves a spot on this list for sure.
1. Good game? Yes. Game of the decade? Hell no.

Overall I'm quite disappointed with this list. Where was Bioshock? Where was Portal? Where was WoW? (not that I've played it, but its effect cannot be ignored.) I was happy to see that no Halos or Call of Dutys made the cut though.

But Counterstrike? Really?

 

[Solid Snake2053]

Generalization much? If Half-Life 2 isn't a good game, there are no good games? Wasn't you who just called people out on expressing their subjective opinions as absolute universal law"?

Here's a few points that are, of course, my opinion, which is universal law (it's in the good book somewhere). F.E.A.R's A.I. beats HL2's down into the ground. Coordinated, intelligent, tough enemies with grenades and assault rifles beat ridiculously unthreatening and uncoordinated aliens hands-down. Bioshock boasts difficult combat as well as an intriguing story and an incredible amount of alternatives in battle from lighting your enemies on fire to electrifying them to death in water, to sending a Big Daddy after them. And let's not forget the one big point that makes all of these games better than HL2 and that is their transition between action and travel: traveling in HL2 is BORING. When you're in F.E.A.R, you're either in combat, or being terrified by Alma and her visions which ultimately lead you to the next firefight. In Bioshock, you are constantly in fear of being blindsided by a splicer while you try to move on to the next location. And in Modern Warfare, one mistake means instant death, which is pretty intense if you ask me.

Yes, there is the subtle implication that Half-Life 2 is better than those other games (which is my thought on the matter, but to each their own). What I am trying to communicate is that HL2 isn't way down the ladder from the rest of those shooters. I understand if someone likes Bioshock or F.E.A.R. more. HL2, however, is not definitively worse than that list. They all fit very snugly within the same archetype, so I consider it invalid to say one is horribly bad. Slightly inferior, maybe, but that's not what I'm arguing against.

Consider, that around release, competition was essentially DooM3 and Far Cry. The integration of competent physics was fairly groundbreaking at the time. The sense of pacing is still excellent. I personally didn't have any real issues with the short distances you had to travel; I found the occasional sense of a largely deserted wasteland supported the story and atmosphere a lot better that turning it into a non-stop Hollywood shooting gallery.

For the record: F.E.A.R. was a decidedly average shooter for me. It amounted to a generic FPS (with bullet time) attempting and absolutely failing to be scary. Whether it scares you or not, of course, is best example of subjectivity so far.

I notice you didn't bother trying to support Halo against HL2 on that list

Edit: there is one big reason why I like IGN more than most here. They didn't pander to the fanboys and make Joker #1 in their list of best comic book villains.

I can totally see where you are coming from here. My expectations for FPS games makes it difficult for me to enjoy Half Life 2, which as you say, is a game that is a little different but based on the same concept.
I just do not feel Half-Life 2 should have beat out the games that it was competing against, and if it is on IGN's list, I do not think it should be No. 1.
And as for F.E.A.R., I enjoy the mix of action and horror quite a bit (Resident Evil games and Silent Hill games rank in some of my favorite games of all time). And the difficulty of the firefights and the A.I.'s coordination really did sell that for me. It will always have a special place in my heart. And my nightmares...

Halo was a game I did not play until much later. I owned a PS2 not an XBox, so when Halo came on the scene, I was totally playing MGS2 and MGS3 and any other PS2 game (mostly RPG's). So it wasn't until last year that I began playing it and by then, I had already played other FPS games that intrigued me more. It's a good game, and hella fun to play with others...just not something I rank high.

It is an obvious point, but I suppose if a game doesn't meet someone's expectations, they are not going to enjoy it. And post vigorously against it when they see if being talked about

 

[faceless chick]

uncharted beat the prince of persia trilogy?
BLASPHEMY!

 

[thom_cat_]

I can agree with people who might find the gameplay of Hl2 boring (I don't because I am constantly rushing, fighting, backhopping or during narrative, climbing objects and making piles of physics props.

BUT SAYING THE STORY IS LAME?
OH MY GAWD. Hl2 has one of the BEST stories of ALL TIME.
It's the HL2 UNIVERSE that makes it awesome. All the civilians that you can talk to who are being oppressed by the combine overlords. And then the odd characters you meet along the way, Father Grigory... Laslo's friend from the sandtraps that says "he has something to do"... the mysterious figure of Gman.

The whole universe is full of these figures. And best of all the story telling method used means you don't have to have played Hl1 to play through Hl2 and understand what is going on.
You don't get anything at the start, and all the characters just play you down the garden path and you learn what is going on by just looking around, and not having cut scenes shoved down your throat.

It is a brilliant game, it's pace is significantly slower than a lot of todays games, but it doesn't change the fact it is a brilliant piece of story telling.

My favorite part is when people say the vehicles have the control of a brick. lawl, it only lacks in control when you put it in turbo. And the airboat? Are you telling me you've driven an airboat before? And it handled better than that?
I don't think you guys know how to drive hahaha.

 

[Terramax]

TL;DR - IGN is kinda bad.

I'm just as much cynical about IGN as the next guy, but it's their list, not yours or mine. Not that I don't agree with your points, but you just have to remind yourself it's just their opinion.

I disagree with your WoW point, however. Just because a game is successful doesn't make it an amazing experience. Some people have been playing solitaire on their PCs for years, but it doesn't make it the greatest and most fun game ever.

 

[Solid Snake2053]

TL;DR - IGN is kinda bad.

I'm just as much cynical about IGN as the next guy, but it's their list, not yours or mine. Not that I don't agree with your points, but you just have to remind yourself it's just their opinion.

I disagree with your WoW point, however. Just because a game is successful doesn't make it an amazing experience. Some people have been playing solitaire on their PCs for years, but it doesn't make it the greatest and most fun game ever.

I disagree. Solitaire is a GREAT game. Probably the most fun I have alone.

 

[Mehall]

10. Uncharted 2 (2009)
9. Battlefield 1942 (2002)
8. Okami (2006)
7. Fallout 3 (2008)
6. Counterstrike (2000)
5. Super Mario Galaxy (2007)
4. GTA III (2001)
3. Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic (2003)
2. Shadow of the Colossus (2005)
1. Half-Life 2 (2004)

10. I haven't played Uncharted 2, and I doubt it deserves that spot. From what I can tell it's the Avatar of gaming: visual spectacle but no real substance.
9. Battlefield 2 was better.
8. I'm probably the only person who thinks this, but Okami was SO meh. Great graphics and art style, sure, but the gameplay for me was nothing special. Perhaps I haven't given it enough of a try.
7. Didn't like it very much. But then again I hate western RPG's so it might just be me.
6. Yeah, fuck that.
5. Galaxy is awesome. It was the great sequel to Mario 64 that Sunshine wasn't.
4. I personally don't give a shit about GTA games, or any sandbox games for that matter.
3. Never played KoTOR, but I'm sure it's deserving of that spot due to the near universal praise for it.
2. Shadow is a great game and deserves a spot on this list for sure.
1. Good game? Yes. Game of the decade? Hell no.

Overall I'm quite disappointed with this list. Where was Bioshock? Where was Portal? Where was WoW? (not that I've played it, but its effect cannot be ignored.) I was happy to see that no Halos or Call of Dutys made the cut though.

But Counterstrike? Really?

10. they only used their best rated game from every year, so this is the worst year then. Batman instead maybe though?
9. Different year though
8. I can see your point, reasonable opinion.
7. I think it's overrated, but name me a better 08 game
6. Coming back to that
5. Agree
4. The game design and impact of the game is undeniable. Gaming's first 3D visit to Liberty is fantastic.
3. I've played it, and it does deserve this spot.

the last two, I'm gonna leave, as it's already been argued to death on here.


Counterstrike:
http://store.steampowered.com/stats/

See the bottom.

10 years on, the original CS is the 3rd most played game on Steam, with the Source Iteration being the 2nd most, not far behind MW2 and cumulatively beating it, not to mention that number 12 is also a CS game.

It't the Starcraft of FPS's, and you wouldn't hesitate to put Starcraft in a top 10 games of the previous decade list, now would you?

CS is undeniably one of the best games of the decade, and is still one of the most played of to this day.

 

[thom_cat_]

I love how Hl2 peaked at 1,642 players TODAY, AT ONCE, in a single player game that is six years old. Amazing.

 

[Lazy Lemon]

Could have been a lot worse tbh. If I were to make a top 10 I would keep GTAIII, Counterstrike, and maybe Battlefield 1942. No Deus Ex though?! Fuck that!

 

[Sentox6]

I can totally see where you are coming from here. My expectations for FPS games makes it difficult for me to enjoy Half Life 2, which as you say, is a game that is a little different but based on the same concept.

...snip...

It is an obvious point, but I suppose if a game doesn't meet someone's expectations, they are not going to enjoy it. And post vigorously against it when they see if being talked about

I think this is a very important point that doesn't get addressed as much as it could be. For me, HL2 *felt* groundbreaking when it was first released. Simply put, it was an experience considerably more sophisticated than any game I had played up until that point. Consequently, I'm always going to remember it very favourably. When games like Bioshock came along, while I found them quite enjoyable, they simply didn't push the envelope by as great a margin, at least for me. Thus the impact is not as big.

Conversely, if you're playing some of these more recent headline FPSes, and then go and play HL2 for the first time, it may feel a little like a poor cousin. In my opinion, it still compares favourably, and boasts excellent storytelling, pacing, and environments, but I'm just trying to theorise as to one reason people may not be so impressed by it...

Edit: personally, I think if you're making a 'top # of the decade' list, or any time period really, that choices should be considered in light of their impact on the genre and their place chronologically. It might be fair to argue that Bioshock is better than HL2, but conversely, I think HL2 contributed more to the FPS genre, and was a bigger achievement given the era it was created in.

 

[Asparagus Brown]

I can't believe *my favourite game* isn't on there!

Their editorial integrity has been seriously jeopardised!

 

[Firefly131]

Any one see the film ones....seriously guys why did they put every harry potter film in? I'm no fan but if I step aside from any fanboyishness.....those movies were kinda lame...any one else?

 

[pwnzerstick]

When the hell did alomost everyone start hating half life? Oh and please stop arguing over the exact placment of the games on this list I just have to say that its retarded.