I don't care what Roger Ebert says. Video games are gorgeous, and have just as much potential as any other artistic medium, if not more, for video games have something that neither film, nor literature, nor any other medium really have - that being actual, full-fledged interactivity. You can have different interpretations of a novel, but the words have all been written, the pages printed, and none of that will change no matter how many times you reread the book. The frames of a movie have all been recorded or rendered already, and no amount of reviewing will change that. But with games... the frames are rendered in real-time, and, in turn, so too is everything else.

 

I love games because they're fun in a way that no other medium is. Reading Hamlet is going to give me a completely different thrill than raiding a downed alien spaceship in X-COM. The two cannot compare... or can they? I want to challenge this notion. Why do these worlds have to be so different? Why can't we take the best of all worlds and, in doing so, make some of the greatest video games ever? Experiences that transcend it all and enter into the realm of mastery that has been previously reserved for only the most "presitigous" or "respected" works that humanity has produced? It's not that hard, I don't think. It's something I would like to do, at least. Hopefully I will have the opportunity. Why not indeed.

 

Anyway, here is a list of some of my personal favorites. A lot of these games are older, but that's because things were less about money and corporatization back then. It's amazing how much things have changed in a mere decade. They really just don't make games like these anymore... but we'll see if that can be changed.

 

Go ahead and click the images for relevant links.

"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster... when you gaze long into the abyss the abyss also gazes into you..."

 

Interesting how my first experience with the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was in a video game.

 

The original Baldur's Gate, though its graphics may not have aged gracefully, is just one of those games that I will remember forever. It was the first time I actually felt I was playing in a living, breathing world that would both react to me and force me to react to it. I remember how I had a party split with a few evil characters and a few good characters, and their ideals conflicted so much that eventually the evil characters fought the good ones to the death, with me watching as half my party died in a mini civil war.

 

It's this type of dynamic game design, not just being open world, but open story as well, that I feel really exemplifies the strength of the video game medium, that being actual, full fledged interactivity. That, in addition to the really grand characters (I will never forget Minsc and his Mini Space Hamster Boo), the plot (the whole Baalspawn thing was kind of sophisticated, not to mention legendary), and the fun RTS/RPG combat and gameplay, secures Baldur's Gate a place in my hall of fame forever.

The people at Introversion Software are my heroes. The corporatization of the video game industry has left me feeling cold and disappointed with the entire medium, but Introversion is that little glimmer of hope in the sea of blackness that is the modern video game industry. They create phenomenal games with an incredibly small team (like 10 people); they do what they want, and they truly are the last of the bedroom programmers.

 

Darwinia is pretty much a masterpiece. The visual style is the very embodiment of digital grace. The game design is well conceived and fun. The sound design and music perfectly complement the aesthetics of the game. And it even has a very unique and meaningful storyline, acting as a gateway for the exploration of what it means to be human... all through its 14-pixel inhabitants, the Darwinians. Seriously, bravo.

I honestly think this is one of the greatest games ever made, and pretty much ever RPG ever made after has lived in its shadow.

 

The story is mature, powerful, spiritual, and meaningful. The characters are memorable and alive, having their own hopes, dreams, and fears. The world is rich and gorgeous, practically overflowing with life and lore. The combat is enjoyable and well designed, giving the game a real sense of action. And Nobuo Uematsu's epic four and a half hour soundtrack stands the test of time as one of the greatest game soundtracks ever, giving the game its heart and soul.

 

This is the game that made me realize just how passionate game developers could be. This is the game that made me realize just how important story and narrative could be, and how timeless they could render an artistic work to be. This is the game that made me realize how much potential the video game medium had. And this is one of the games that, though I did not realize it at the time, made me want to become a video game designer myself.

This isn't a video game. This is an ink and wash painting come to life. It's exquisite, rustic story composed of folklore and mythology infused with the vibrant, mesmerizingly gorgeous art style makes this a work unlike any other.

 

If there is any hope that games will ever be treated with the same level of respect as painting, film, and other artistic mediums, then it lies with works like Okami.

 

Too bad Clover Studios, the people that made Okami, were closed down shortly after.

As much as I love games, I actually spend more time being disappointed and frustrated by them than actually having fun. So hopefully when I say that Beyond Good & Evil is a game that I absolutely enjoyed from start to finish, the true value of that statement really sinks in.

 

This is a game whose characters actually have character, whose story is equally as enjoyable as it is meaningful. This is a world crafted with passion and meticulous fidelity to the pure essence of a vision. This game is so much fun, so unique, and so beautiful that just thinking about it, all I want to do is play it through again.

 

Of course it didn't sell well. Just not appealing enough, I guess.

Thinking about this game sends chills down my spine.

 

I heard it was really good from some internet sites or something, so I downloaded the open source version and played it. At first it looked like a crappy DOS game from the stone ages, so I screwed around for a few minutes and shut it off. More important things to do with my time, naturally.

 

Many months later, upon whim, I reinstalled it and gave it another go, this time semi-seriously. And oh my word. I was completely blown away. The premise of being cut off from earth and building a ship to make it back was absolutely genius. And yet you go back to Earth only to discover it has been enslaved by the malevolent Ur-Quan, and now you have to do your part to free the galaxy from their iron grip.

 

It is a heavily economic, story-driven game with arcade space combat tied in for action. You wander the galaxy (a truly vast affair) looking for minerals and resources to build up your ship and your fleet. Through your travels you encounter all manner of alien species, building up alliances and working towards your ultimate goal of taking on the Ur-Quan. It's quirky, humorous, and bloody amazing - it even has voice acting! The open nature of the galaxy means you can go anywhere and truly do what you want. In many respects it's more open than the Grand Theft Auto series as it allows you to engage the story however you want, whereas GTA has always been built around a linear structure.

 

And I'm not the only one who thinks this game rocks. One can easily see the game's influence in Mass Effect as you roam the galaxy looking for resources, though Bioware didn't quite manage to capture any of the original magic.

 

Seriously though, you can play this game for free (click the image) with higher resolution than the original and a newly crafted custom soundtrack (which is awesome and adds a lot to the experience). Don't make my mistake and cringe at what might appear to be a crappy DOS game. Play this game, stick with it, and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. They just don't make games like these anymore.

Screw Super Smash Brothers; this is the most enjoyable party game ever.

 

The most ridiculous, over the top, turn-based action game ever, Worms Armageddon is one of the purest incarnations of fun I've ever come across. Angles, trajectories, and a vast arsenal of weapons running the gamut from bazookas to exploding sheep, exploding grannies and holy hand grenades make this game tactical, unpredictable, and completely outrageous.

 

Single-player is all right, but playing this game on a LAN is priceless.

Freespace 2 is not groundbreaking, nor is it revolutionary. Rather, it simply does what it does so well that one can consider it one of the greatest space combat sims ever to grace the PC.

 

Though it may lack super realistic space physics, the space combat is absolutely epic. You really feel like a small fighter pilot in the midst of battling giants - large cruisers and capital ships that easily dwarf you and your wingmen. And when their beam cannons go off, you can watch as they tear through each other. It is a thing of terrible beauty.

 

The story is actually pretty well crafted, for a space combat sim. As the campaign unfolds, you develop a certain affection for your Vasudan allies, and a definite fear and respect for your enigmatic Shivan enemies. I cannot emphasize it enough; you really feel as if you are in the middle of an interstellar conflict, which, when thought upon carefully, is an incredible achievement.

 

Furthermore, I'm not alone in my admiration of this game. In fact, some people love this game so much that, because Volition released the source code for the game, they developed an entire community around modding the game and bringing it to a level comparable to modern games. Click the image and head to the website where you can download the entire game with vastly improved graphics. It brings me definite joy to know that this amazing game isn't dead quite yet. Seriously, play this game. Now.

The original Age of Wonders is a pretty dorky game, a mix of Dungeons & Dragons and Civilization. But it works, and startlingly well at that.

 

The world of Age of Wonders is rich with fantasy mythology and lore, with a myriad of well designed races to play as. It's turn-based, both in the worldview where you manage your cities and armies, as well as in combat.

 

As in Civilization, one becomes quite immersed in the world, drawn in to the point where one loses track of time. However, combat is much more visceral and army management much more enjoyable.

 

The soundtrack also merits particular note. I find that really good soundtracks often reflect the quality of the game. The soundtrack is one that I can listen to even now and feel myself being transported to the world of this game I played long ago.

 

Perhaps this is a game that will be glossed over and soon completely forgotten. But it's a game I legitimately enjoyed with few or no qualms and, to me, that unquestionably earns it a place on this list.

Call of Duty 4 is a great game. It has an interesting enough story (as much as one could expect from the tired realistic military genre) with decent characters (Captain Price and Captain MacMillan are awesome, though I didn't shed any tears when Griggs bit the bullet).

 

What makes CoD4 stand out is that they left most of the unnecessary stuff on the cutting room floor. It's a seriously hard hitting game with quite a few intense sequences. The gunship mission was especially fun, and yet the the realistic nightvision camera and the deadpan chatter of the gunship operators set a distinctly unsettling atmosphere - it felt a little bit less like killing video game people and a little more like killing real people. The flashback sniper sequence stands tall as the highlight of the single player game, though, combining stealth, assassination, some moments of insane tension (crawling underneath the vehicle convoy), all set amongst the eerily empty ruins of Pripyat, of civilization... well, empty except for a lot of men with guns.

 

CoD4 is pretty much all one could reasonably ask for from a major, modern, commercial game.

While the original Half-Life 2 is a great game, Episode 2 is all in all a much more complete experience and stands as the greatest Half-Life installment yet.

 

Though the mute Gordon Freeman gets on my nerves a bit, it's not such a big deal due to the great cast of supporting characters that carry the story. There is some genuine emotion here, which is exemplary for a video game. There are also some fantastically fun sequences, such as the tunnel turret scene that has you defend a dying Alyx from hordes of antlions.

 

There are two highlights of the overall design that drive this installment beyond what's been seen before in the series. Firstly, there are the hunters. These guys are extremely well designed enemies, intelligent and totally capable of kicking your butt. And secondly, there are the open environments, which allow the hunters to show just how nasty they can be. I remember being in a rundown building at the top floor and seeing some hunters in the distant fields through the window. No biggie, I'll deal with them later while I finish off some Combine. About a minute later, I turned around and saw a hunter staring me right in the face.

 

And then of course, there's the final battle. Now, I do find video games to be pretty fun, but I'm very cynical and critical, and most of the time I'm just picking out what I don't like about the game I'm playing rather than enjoying it. But in the final battle in Episode Two, I was completely immersed. The action got so intense, and the combat was so frantic, I was sweating. It was a rather large swath of land, with multiple points where you could rearm yourself, and you basically needed to protect the main facility from a huge army of Striders, Combine, and, of course, Hunters. You drive around to different breach points in your car, blowing up the Striders using special explosive devices. By the end of the level, I was shooting things with my basic pistol because I was out of ammo. I cannot remember a time when I had so much fun in a video game before, and got so lost in what was happening that I totally forgot about reality.

 

And through it all, the ending left me fairly shocked and quite depressed. I did not see it coming, and found myself actually, genuinely caring about the characters.

 

Maybe there's some hope for video games yet.