Poll: What is the best video game of all time? (read the post)

[AcacianLeaves]

Out of the above options, Super Metroid.

Personal favourite is Silent Hill 2.

i loved the silent hill series (note "loved") but my favourite and officialy best game ever is half life and hl2.

You can only pick one

So according to this poll, the Escapist ranks the Video Game industry's biggest contenders for best game ever as:

1. Ocarina of Time (by FAR)
2. Tetris
3. Final Fantasy 7
4. GoldenEye: 007
5. DOOM
6. Super Mario 64
7. Resident Evil 4
8. Super Metroid

Honestly I'm kind of surprised that Super Metroid is the lowest. That game was the best 2D platformer ever made, in my opinion. I guess OoT is no surprise. I'm kind of happy to see FF7 so high despite all the hate it gets around here. Tetris is a given. Also interesting that RE4 is so low considering I had the impression that many members of the Escapist were much younger and would gravitate towards it.

If nothing else this poll shows what kind of gamers are on the Escapist, which is interesting.

 

[FROGGEman2]

what.

I voted Super Mario 64 but the correct answer is Okami

what.

(Did you see what I did thar?)

 

[nohorsetown]

Ugh. I'm sorry, man. While I don't necessarily think this is an awesome topic or nuthin', it's pretty sad how few people actually read your "mission statement", or god forbid, clicked the link.

Anyway, Super Metroid.

-But my personal favorite which should really be on there because OMG that's so fucked up that it's not cuz what the hell, man is _________.

 

[AcacianLeaves]

no it dosen't because im pretty sure 90% of people that voted didn't vote for their favorite game because it wasn't on there. anyway why are you griefing me by pointing out the facts? on meta critic the half life series has the highest score ever. ocarina of time is not that good! i would rather play superman 64! (raises flame shield)

And I found the whole Half Life franchise to be pretty 'meh', except for Portal. Although I never played the Half Life 2 episodes. I also think Ocarina of Time is inferior to Link to the Past, but my opinion may have been different if I played OoT when it was first released rather than years later.

 

[irishdelinquent]

An interesting idea on how to rate the top games of all time. Some may not like it, since later titles are excluded just because of the lack of polls naming them. However, the list seems sound to me; I cannot think of a reason why any title there should not be. For those with nothing constructive to add, please actually read the first post or leave this thread be...we all have our favourites, and there's no need to post nothing but a complaint.

As for me, Ocarina of Time takes the cake. It is top of Metacritics for a very good reason.

 

[Artina89]

I see no Deus Ex, Half Life, Rome Total War, therefore it is an invalid poll for me

haha nintendo fanboy much?

how bout taking off the overrated crap and put some real games on there.

system shock 2.

/thread
/stupidity

Psychonauts, in my opinion, is a much better game than all the ones in that poll.

Well, none of those, where is Shadow of the Colossus?

Without an option for "other" this is nothing more than you justifying you calling some game the "Greatest of all time."

The hobbit, and there doesn't seem to be an option for that

also no next gen titles?

Final Fantasy VII for me. But this poll and thread is arbitrary.

No Deus Ex? No Toejam & Earl? No Fallout? No Perfect Dark? No StarCraft? No Monkey Island? No Portal? No Dungeon Keeper? No Thief? No Grand Theft Auto III? No Half-Life? No Faxanadu?

Abstain.

That is a lousy list.

I dont see Legend of the dragoon, also you should have picked a certain genre of game

Doom? Mario 64? TETRIS? And where's Planescape Torment?

Please actually read my post, maybe even visit the link I provided, and then reconsider voting. I'm not necessarily looking for the best game of all time, we all have our own opinions. I'm just looking for what we as a community think of the industry standard 'best game ever'. This isn't a list necessarily created by gamers, it's created by vocal members of the industry and various 'call in' type polls.

Here's a quote from the site I linked to that none of you bothered looking at:

"These lists inevitably represent a whole host of different agendas, outlooks, and opinions on what constitutes a "great" video game. Some placed a great emphasis on recognizing games that were historically "relevant" or "innovative" while others simply celebrated games that were fun to play.

The fact that PC games have such a high total overall is largely an indication that there is not much consensus over which PC games are best. Despite their groundbreaking work in many genres, in the end it seems that PC games have been unable to really capture the public's imagination in the same way console games have.

If we are to name a "golden era" of gaming, it appears to be the mid-to-late 90's. The early arcade / PC era of the 80's has apparently been largely forgotten, and few post-1999 games appear to have left much of an impact. Nintendo Power's 1997 list, though now almost ten years old, thus stands up well today, as the classics it recognized still remain amongst the most contemporarily popular."

I did vote. I voted for RE4 if your interested, but i'm just saying that Psychonauts, in my opinion is the best videogame.

 

[Nazulu]

I wouldn't say all of those have been called the best game of all time. Some are considered great because of it's originality or for doing something differently but best would be the most entertaining.

I do agree with Ocarina of Time as one of the best, at the time it had the best design and it's still the best in the series.

 

[DarkDoopliss]

Out of the options: Ocarina of Time.
Personal Favorite: Star Ocean The Second Story.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Why are all but two old as shit and the other two old? They may be the classics, but that doesn't make them better than modern games.

The best indicator of quality is standing the tests of time.

 

[ethaninja]

I would go with DOOM. It is STILL one of my favorite games.

 

[Daedalus1942]

EDIT: It might behoove you to read this before responding if you don't want to look silly.

Yeah, that's right: no 'Other' option. I know its a sin and somewhat distorts the results of the poll, but I did my best to research games that are widely considered to be contenders for the 'best ever' title in gaming. I basically used the source I listed below, enacted a 'one entry per franchise rule', and these are my results.

So vote based on the options available, even if your personal favorite isn't here, what do you consider the best game of all time?

If your answer is 'none of the above', then vote for the game you think best deserves the title - or don't vote and complain about it.

(Source of my Research: http://www.filibustercartoons.com/games.htm )


EDIT:
Sorry if I wasn't clear, but the above choices are based on a very well put together representation of the typical industry 'top 10'. It is not my personal top 10 list. It is not even necessarily what I would consider the top 10 by most people's standards. It's an amalgamation of nearly every other reliable top 10 list from around the industry, and the poll is to determine what, out of the industry's standard top 10, do members of the Escapist deem to be most worthy of the title.

... Can't vote Final Fantasy VI... damnit... Super Metroid then hands down.

 

[Daedalus1942]

Final Fantasy 7. But I would have thought FF10 is more widely regarded as the best one.

I was pretty sure the general consensus is the best FF of all time is VI (III) In America.

 

[AcacianLeaves]

Out of the options: Ocarina of Time.
Personal Favorite: Star Ocean The Second Story.

Excellent choice! I'm surprised at how few people recognize the importance and just downright enjoyability of Star Ocean 2. I still pick that game up every now and then just to tinker around with the amazing crafting system.

no it dosen't because im pretty sure 90% of people that voted didn't vote for their favorite game because it wasn't on there. anyway why are you griefing me by pointing out the facts? on meta critic the half life series has the highest score ever. ocarina of time is not that good! i would rather play superman 64! (raises flame shield)

And I found the whole Half Life franchise to be pretty 'meh', except for Portal. Although I never played the Half Life 2 episodes. I also think Ocarina of Time is inferior to Link to the Past, but my opinion may have been different if I played OoT when it was first released rather than years later.

do you know how many people would slap you even on this site. when did you play them? was it long after they came out, or soon after?

Yeah I'm aware my opinion on it is contrary, but it didn't have any of the elements I really enjoy in a shooter. I like shooters that have a great variety of interesting weapons, enemies, and bosses with a huge variety in level design and tons and tons of 'dudes to kill' to borrow a phrase from Yahtzee. Half Life 2 has what, 4 enemies total repeated with different skins? Headcrabs, Headcrab Zombies, Combine Soldiers, and Antlions. It's by no means a bad game, and maybe 'meh' is a little harsh for it, but it's just not my cup of tea. My favorite kind of FPS games are things like Painkiller, Doom 2, and Unreal. Half Life 2 does a lot of things right, but those things aren't things I think are important for an FPS game. I don't necessarily like story-telling or characters in an FPS, I just want to, well to borrow the phrase again, 'kill lots of dudes'.

 

[Srcruls]

Ok your source is complete shit. It has taken the most frequent games from these kinds of lists for the past thirteen years. So basically the oldest games will be at the top, because they have been put in these lists since 1993; where as modern games, examples from this site include MW2 and halo 3, have come up in recent years. (Well a year)

So basically this source is saying the older a game is, the better it is; which is complete bullshit. Yahtzee said it best when he commented about old games in one of his video's. (i cant be arsed to remember which one, but he was pretty negative)

You really cant just copy a list from a bad source and try to start a flame war on a web forum, cause that would be just stupid. Give the forum goers some intellegence and try to post something meaningful next time.

 

[ma55ter_fett]

I see no Deus Ex, Half Life, Rome Total War, therefore it is an invalid poll for me

haha nintendo fanboy much?

how bout taking off the overrated crap and put some real games on there.

system shock 2.

/thread
/stupidity

Psychonauts, in my opinion, is a much better game than all the ones in that poll.

Well, none of those, where is Shadow of the Colossus?

Without an option for "other" this is nothing more than you justifying you calling some game the "Greatest of all time."

The hobbit, and there doesn't seem to be an option for that

also no next gen titles?

Final Fantasy VII for me. But this poll and thread is arbitrary.

No Deus Ex? No Toejam & Earl? No Fallout? No Perfect Dark? No StarCraft? No Monkey Island? No Portal? No Dungeon Keeper? No Thief? No Grand Theft Auto III? No Half-Life? No Faxanadu?

Abstain.

That is a lousy list.

I dont see Legend of the dragoon, also you should have picked a certain genre of game

Doom? Mario 64? TETRIS? And where's Planescape Torment?

Please actually read my post, maybe even visit the link I provided, and then reconsider voting. I'm not necessarily looking for the best game of all time, we all have our own opinions. I'm just looking for what we as a community think of the industry standard 'best game ever'. This isn't a list necessarily created by gamers, it's created by vocal members of the industry and various 'call in' type polls.

Here's a quote from the site I linked to that none of you bothered looking at:

"These lists inevitably represent a whole host of different agendas, outlooks, and opinions on what constitutes a "great" video game. Some placed a great emphasis on recognizing games that were historically "relevant" or "innovative" while others simply celebrated games that were fun to play.

The fact that PC games have such a high total overall is largely an indication that there is not much consensus over which PC games are best. Despite their groundbreaking work in many genres, in the end it seems that PC games have been unable to really capture the public's imagination in the same way console games have.

If we are to name a "golden era" of gaming, it appears to be the mid-to-late 90's. The early arcade / PC era of the 80's has apparently been largely forgotten, and few post-1999 games appear to have left much of an impact. Nintendo Power's 1997 list, though now almost ten years old, thus stands up well today, as the classics it recognized still remain amongst the most contemporarily popular."

I still say The Hobbit

 

[AcacianLeaves]

Ok your source is complete shit. It has taken the most frequent games from these kinds of lists for the past thirteen years. So basically the oldest games will be at the top, because they have been put in these lists since 1993; where as modern games, examples from this site include MW2 and halo 3, have come up in recent years. (Well a year)

So basically this source is saying the older a game is, the better it is; which is complete bullshit. Yahtzee said it best when he commented about old games in one of his video's. (i cant be arsed to remember which one, but he was pretty negative)

You really cant just copy a list from a bad source and try to start a flame war on a web forum, cause that would be just stupid. Give the forum goers some intellegence and try to
post something meaningful next time.

I don't disagree about that being a flaw in the list, but you're ignoring the fact that even the most modern lists shown still have tons of similarities to the older lists. Ocarina of Time is almost always included. Tetris is almost always there. Final Fantasy VII is still common even in the 2008-2009 lists, as is DOOM.

Personally I think for a game to be considered 'the best ever', it needs to stand the test of time. A game needs to show that it can age well, that it can span a generational gap, and still be fun even a decade or more after its release. I also feel that in order for a game to be considered it should be very influential and not just be a good game - but a good game that inspires others to create equally good games and further innovation for the industry (instead of just clones).

Therefore while it is, by its nature, biased to older games - I think the fact that those games are still included in nearly every list since their release says a lot about how great they are.

 

[Mr_spamamam]

Goldeneye:007. Still a classic even now. The game that first started my wild fling with shooting things. A passion that burns to this day still