The Idea
So you're about to die.
The one item left on your bucket list, play your first video game. If this
sounds like you, then this is your list.
This is not a best games of all time list.
In fact some of these games actually have many issues. This is in fact a list
of the best most pure experiences available
in gaming today. No two of these games will be the similar. Each will be the
absolute best gaming can offer, with no duplicates or wasted time.
In order to uphold this
quality, every game on the list will be required to stand up, and still be
good, based on today's standards.
I will announce the games
in order, and deliver them every day this week. Five games will be announced
every day, continuing now with Part 4.
Games to Play Before You Die
#10-6
#10. Legend of Zelda: Wind
Waker - Gamecube
If there were a red
headed step child of the Zelda universe, it would be Wind Waker. Reason being,
Wind Waker was created with an entirely different art style than any Zelda before
it. Instead of basing the graphics on realism, they were instead created to
appear hand drawn.
Had it been labeled
Disney Presents: The Legend of Zelda, maybe there would have been no backlash.
But as it stands, Wind Waker was one of the biggest controversies to ever hit
gaming.
In the year 2000,
Nintendo showed a beautifully rendered and ‘realistic’ link, which fans assumed
would be their next game. Come 2002, Wind Waker arrives with a short childish
cartoon Link. Fans felt betrayed, and for good reason at the time.
Upon its release,
however; The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker ended up being one of the best critically
received entries in the series. Any disappointment towards the graphics faded the
second anyone went sailing across the wide expansive ocean. Ten years after its
release, what is truly astounding, is that the game is as stunning as ever. The
graphics were so original and well implemented no one would bat an eye if it
were released today.
What You're Missing: A game that is somehow still
graphically relevant and just as enjoyable now 10 years after release.
Honorable Mention: Okami
#9. Red Dead Redemption –
PS3/Xbox360
If you are reading
this and you have played Red Dead, then you already understand. Those who have
not, are likely going to have an issue with what I am about to say. This game
blows Grand Theft Auto out of the water. They are both made by the same
company, so this isn’t taking much away from GTA, but the fact is Red Dead is
leagues ahead of any other Rockstar game.
When Rockstar
invented sandbox open world gaming back in 1997, it took the public by storm.
So many copycats have show up since. Even games like Elder Scrolls owe their
worlds to what Grand Theft Auto started. But GTA was not for everyone. As fun
as it could be, the constant controversy surrounding it pushed some players
away. Turns out Sandbox Gaming was just peanut butter waiting for its
chocolate.
This chocolate came
in the form of a spaghetti western. The two formulas mesh so well together, it
is impossible to think this idea wasn’t tried earlier. Yes the game has an
amazing story, so does GTA4. What makes it special, and sets it apart, is the multiplayer
aspect. Riding in a giant open desert on horseback with your friends, while looking
for unsuspecting trains or carriages to rob, must be experienced.
What You're Missing: The only game to accurately
bring old spaghetti westerns back into the limelight they so deserve. Also, you
get an achievement for hog tying a nun and dropping her on the nearest railroad
track.
Honorable Mention: Grand Theft Auto Vice City
#8. The Elder Scrolls V:
Skyrim – PC/PS3/Xbox360
Skyrim is big. Take
that back, Skyrim is enormous. Measuring in at 14.3 square miles, it might just
be the single largest game on consoles. It is easily the most cram packed. Even
on horseback, to run from one end to another non-stop takes nearly an hour. But
likely you will be stopped by dozens of random events on the way, and even more
random places to explore.
All of these miles barely
begin to scratch Skyrim’s surface, literally. Caves, dungeons, and ruins litter
the wilderness, each expanding underground into miles of individually designed
tunnels. Some expand into the ground so far, just to walk them without a fight
or quest would take hours.
If this was all the
game had to offer, it would be enough. However, Skyrim manages to stuff hundreds
of hours of this content into a nearly realistic graphics engine. On more than
one occasion I found myself just stopping to take in the view, or to watch the
sun set over a mountaintop. No other game can claim to offer that feeling in
such a pretty and full package.
What You're Missing: Video gaming's only living
breathing world. Each character goes about their lives whether you are there or
not. In a world that takes literally hours to walk across, that means you will
miss a lot. Better get it on your next 300 hour play through.
Honorable Mention: Star Wars: Knights of the Old
Republic
#7. Shadow of the Colossus
– PS2/PS3
The Shadow of the
Colossus is in every best of anything video game list ever. So much that it is
beginning to become a cliché to include it. I say the opposite, and will bring
it up again now. For those of you, anyone, who has not experienced what this
game brings to the table, please place this at the top of your list.
There is a reason
this game is used by critics to argue that Video Games are art. As much as the
next painting, movie, song, or book this game is a work of perfectionist art.
You play a young
mute boy, whose love has contracted an illness. The only hope she has to survive
is an old god, but he needs something done first. Something dark, so dark it
will begin to mutate not only your character of the adventure, but your real
self as well.
Giant lumbering
behemoths are wandering the countryside, breathtaking in scope as well as
design. It has fallen to you to end these mystical creatures lives. Whether you
want to or not does not matter, there is only one option ahead of you to save
her life; taking theirs.
What You're Missing: The oddly sad emotion of gazing
upon something truly astonishing and beautiful. Then making the conscious
decision to end it's life.
Honorable Mention: Ico
#6. Journey – PSN/PS3
Journey is the 2012
game of the year. Dozens of games still have yet to release and I can say this
with a 100% certainty. Like the best movies, Journey is merely 2 hours long,
but will stay with you forever.
Imagine wandering
lost across an endless blinding desert. You have just started, and have no idea
where to go. A dot appears in the distance, so you go to it. It's another
player slowly gliding your way. You say hello, but Journey doesn't allow voice
chat, so you speak in only a single musical note.
The two of you come
to an agreement to continue your Journey's together. By the end of this 2 hour
excursion you will have seen and experienced so much together, your
acquaintance will almost feel like a friend. This is only exacerbated by the
ending, of which I will not spoil. However I will say that it is very open for
interpretation, and means to be on your mind weeks after finishing.
What Journey
succeeds in, which no medium but games may do, is something truly beautiful. To
put it bluntly; the most racist man in America could end up going on a Journey
with a Black Panther, and neither would ever know. In fact they would likely
finish it together, feeling as connected as if they had been friends long
before meeting.
So go take the
Journey. Turn up your sound, and just disappear from the world for a few hours.
After you are done, and you find yourself staring at your television in
disbelief, remember I said, “Your Welcome”
What You're Missing: That moment you truly connect
with someone. Regardless of age, race, or religion, you are on this Journey
together. You will push through it together, and you will finish it together.
Honorable Mention: Braid
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