Let's compile a list of our most loved PC games of all time! It sounds like a bit of fun, doesn't it? Easy. If only we'd known. Here's the final part of the feature which we've spread over a number of days. It has taken the PC Zone team weeks of heated discussions, office arguments, late-night drunken text messages and email abuse to whittle down the PC's entire 20-plus year output of games into just 101 titles - and that's before it even started thinking about number one...
However, the dust has finally settled, the swearing silenced and here we are - PC Zone's 101 Best Games Ever. Enjoy this, the final instalment which runs down from 25 to the one that takes all the glory. For the rest of the list featuring the crème de la crème of PC gaming, hit the links below. And don't forget to let us know if you agree or disagree by hitting the comments field below...
25. Diablo II YEAR 2000: The dungeon crawler par excellence, Diablo II is for many still untopped in the realms of fantasy hack-and-slash. There's no denying the repetitive gameplay, but the devil of Diablo was in the intricate character stats - the bigger, better weapons and the endless quest for self-improvement. Add random generation, high production values and the marvel that was battle.net and you get a game that may never be surpassed.
24. Call Of Duty YEAR 2003: More Nazis? Oh go on then... From developers split from the MOH: Allied Assault team came another title to raise the WWII shooter bar into the stratosphere. From aerial insertion into France to a dread-filled river crossing before the smoking ruins of Stalingrad, the tension rarely relented - and when it did you'd usually been killed.
23. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows Of Amn YEAR 2000: From the RPG masters at BioWare, BGII truly felt as if you were living an adventure through a real world. Romance, deceit, your own stronghold digs and weighty decision-making were just as important as stabbing vampires in the heart. There was so much detail that it just boggled the mind.
22. Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic YEAR 2003: Here's what happens when RPG heroes BioWare raid George Lucas's cupboard: the best Star Wars game ever. Set thousands of years before Luke Skywalker was even a twinkle in Anakin's evil eyes, KOTOR was a sprawling RPG with fantastic characters (assassin droid HK-47 was unmissable) and genuinely intriguing missions. Persuade an escaped droid to return to the mourning widow who'd taken to humping him as a replacement for her dead husband, or tell her to stop being mental? The choice is yours! With a third act twist better than all the prequels combined, it was a meatbag-delighting work of art.
21. Fallout YEAR 1997: A candidate for 'brownest game ever' (along with Quake I and II), Fallout was also an intricately written jaunt through sex, violence, drug addiction and hulking green mutants in a world where the bomb has dropped. Gripping storyline, strong characters and even a few Monty Python references if you looked hard enough...
20. Eve Online YEAR 2003: Deep down, every MMO feels the same - grind, level, repeat, move on. But not EVE - the first high-gloss persistent game world to truly live beyond the minds of its creators. With player corporations constantly battling it out both via diplomacy and the occasional space fracas, it's more like the real world than any MMO. Plus it's teh pretty.
19. Quake III: Arena YEAR 1999: id Software's greatest multiplayer frag-a-thon, yet to be matched in its sheer frenetic speed. Unreal Tournament's varied environments and alt-fire modes made many new fans, but to the hardcore shooter fraternity, nothing matched Quake III's unforgiving and brutal gameplay. Rule the railgun and rule the universe.
18. Operation Flashpoint YEAR 2001: War isn't about pretty explosions, nor is it about regenerating health: it's about patience and getting killed from a very, very long way away. Like a grumpy-faced single-player Battlefield holding a tank manual, Flashpoint has trapped countless gamers in its cruel embrace. A legendary title.
17. Company Of Heroes YEAR 2006: An epic WWII strategy game with incredible graphics, realistic physics and superb AI soldiers that find cover wherever they are in the dynamically destructive environments, Company Of Heroes is a rock-solid classic. When you've finally finished slaughtering the Nazi war machine in the story-driven single-player campaign, the multiplayer skirmish mode should keep you entrenched at your PC for months.
16. Max Payne 2: The Fall Of Max Payne YEAR 2003: From the rewound whip sound bringing you back into real-time to the effortlessly cool film noir stylings and soundtrack, destruction has never been quite as satisfying as it was with Payne. A thrill-packed funhouse of violence and inventive design, it even contained a glimpse of Mona Sax's bare behind.
15. World of Warcraft YEAR 2004: So, according to official figures, you've got almost eight-and-a-half-million players paying £8.99 per month. So that's, let's see, 77 million quid a month. Cripes! Luckily, the experience justifies the global obsession, as WOW is beautiful, addictive and a genuinely wholesome experience (in game terms, if not life terms). It's also the first MMO to funnel in players from the true mainstream - a remarkable feat.
14. Football Manager 2007 YEAR 2006: It may not have the eye-sizzling graphics of other titles, but few could deny a high-league placing for the addictive footy management series begun by the Collyers in 1992. Previously known as Championship Manager, FM is the closest most of us will get to being Jose Mourinho (thank god).
13. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion YEAR 2006: Held below Morrowind after a populist revolt in the PC ZONE offices due to qualms with the levelling system and an enduring love for its predecessor, Oblivion is nevertheless an outright triumph. Beautiful, bold and endlessly inventive, it's one of the greatest fantasy RPGs of all time. From its first moments, it makes you kiss goodbye to any other waking thought.
12. Unreal Tournament 2004 YEAR 2004: Featuring an arsenal of alt-fire weaponry (the Flak Cannon remains peerless), nimble vehicles, innovative multiplayer modes and excellent AI bots, UT2004 is a violently colourful gib-splattering FPS classic and Epic's most complete shooter experience - at least until UT3 lands on terra firma.
11. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City YEAR 2003: "It should be San Andreas!" "Bollocks - how about the original GTA?" "F*** off. The first 3D Grand Theft Auto is the most genre-defining." The GTA series caused more trials and tribulations than any other in our top 101 discussions, but we eventually settled on GTA: Vice City as our choice of free-roaming adult playground. Vice City enjoyed some hilarious missions (trying to photograph a congressman in congress with porn star Candy Suxxx, for instance), a cast of Hollywood legends (Dennis Hopper and Ray Liotta), plus an unforgettable 1980s setting and soundtrack. Plus it wasn't too big, it wasn't too small: it was just right.
10. The Secret Of Monkey Island YEAR 1990: They don't make 'em like this any more. You see, Monkey Island was funny. Be it the hilarious insult swordfighting or Threepwood screaming "Elaine!" Graduate-style as his beloved was about to marry the evil LeChuck, barely a single gag fell flat. The puzzles were great too. None of this 'find rusty key put in rusty lock' rubbish. Add in a cast of unforgettable characters (not least Stan the dodgy owner of a used-ship dealership), and an ending that involved a heavily shaken can of grog, and you get a game whose innate lovability will last forever. Plus Guybrush could hold his breath for ten whole minutes: now that's impressive.
09. Battlefield 2 YEAR 2005: Are you an online FPS? "Sir, yes sir!" Are you a frag-infested representation of modern warfare packed with infantry and vehicular combat? "Sir, yes sir!" Do you have boot-and-shoot, instantly playable (well, sometimes instantly playable) 64-player online wars between gruff military types? "Sir, yes sir!" Well, that's nice. Seeing as you've taken the precedent set by BF1942, then added decent tactics and squad-play - and on a good server are the pinnacle of drive, crash and shoot gameplay - you're in the PCZ elite list. "Sir! Thank you Sir!" Good, now go and jump around on an assault course or something...
08. Doom YEAR 1993: The opening chapter was free to download, and immediately it changed everything. It was single-minded, it was obsessed with keycards, it wouldn't let you look up and down. And yet it was absolutely bloody terrifying: the growl of a pinky, the distant flare of an imp readying a fireball. Doom provided the foundations of the shooter genre we know and love today, from its use of atmospheric sound and lighting all the way through to the omnipresent cult of the exploding barrel. As iconic today as ever it was, its success and its legions of fans have made it pretty much synonymous with the concept of PC gaming. Hooray for hell.
07. System Shock 2 YEAR 1999: "Where am I? Why are the crew's innards smeared into cryptic sentences over the walls? What's that alarm saying? Compartment? Depressurising? Evacuate? Shit, what do I do now?" System Shock 2 was packed with desperate moments like this. Masterfully designed, perfectly paced, fundamentally terrifying and, in Shodan, boasting the most ingeniously portrayed arch-villain ever to occupy a hard drive. System Shock 2 is the ultimate in abject, lidless terror. If you've never played it, then dear god track down an (unforgivably rare) copy of the game. You'll thank us. After a fashion...
06. Rome: Total War YEAR 2004: From the mists they emerge, marching like one beating drum in columns of red and gold. Arrows streak down from the darkening sky. Siege towers roll towards crumbling walls, their creaking wheels thunderclaps of doom. Then, you fancy a cup of char, press escape and put the kettle on. Rome: Total War contains an inordinate amount of goodness - to label it as a mere military RTS would be an outright crime.
History, technology, entertainment, unreliable drunken generals in your northern territories and heaps of bloody death make it the greatest PC game ever crafted in the British Isles. There's no strategically minded game studio that can currently match The Creative Assembly; Medieval II: Total War is good, but the grip of Rome will last as long as the civilisation it's based on. Or at least until the next game comes along.
05. Half-Life YEAR 1998: Half-Life was infused with genius. Even if you were grumpy enough to dismiss the superb level design and robust combat, Valve created an unprecedented sense of immersion. Starting with that monorail ride, the lack of cut-scenes and indirect style of exposition made you feel like part of the storyline in a fashion that was both effective and understated. The illusion of intelligence was just as cunning; hearing the marines talking about what to do, seeing them do it, then getting flushed out by a grenade was superb, and created a feeling that was never quite equalled in the sequel. Just one thing; forget about the last level in Xen. Someone had been playing Crash Bandicoot and got carried away.
04. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind YEAR 2002: Ooh, aren't we controversial? Yes, but constant bickering among the PCZ team has left the Vvardenfell lobby victorious. The argument runs thusly: Morrowind is a better game than Oblivion, if only for the things that Bethesda sacrificed in their pursuit of making the latter that bit more action-orientated. Consider that moment three hours into the game when you realise you've covered only a minute fraction of the map - the sheer scope of Morrowind's world is breathtaking even by today's standards. It focused on creating a rich, deep back-story for every faction and race, and its lore and fantastically varied environments were more enjoyable to delve into than Oblivion's.
You were also more attached to your character and his role in the story. More practically, the taxi-like Silt Striders were infinitely better for RPG gameplay than the adventure-impeding Fast Travel feature, while the levelling system made you feel like you were actually getting progressively stronger and pushing further into the game's wilderness. The absence of voice-acting allowed characters to move beyond the somewhat restrictive vocal talents of Oblivion's actors. In retrospect, the combat was pretty crap, but hell, we stuck with it regardless, and if that's not a measure of this game's brilliance we don't know what is.
03. Civilization IV YEAR 2005: Looking deep inside the code of Civ IV would be the gaming equivalent of climbing inside the Total Perspective Vortex from The Hitchhiker's Guide - so vast, complex and limitless in potential that your mind would be mulched instantly. Thankfully then, Sid Meier saw fit to nestle a beauteous interface over his creation - letting it feel like you'd got raw history ticking away beneath it all, but keeping it manageable and non-terrifying.
From the very first selection of a decent place to settle to the point at which you first dropped the nuke (and all the pointy-sword squabbling in between), Civilization was so captivating that bedtime was always pushed into the wee small hours. You couldn't help but give human qualities to your AI opponents, analysing their movements and trying to see through their meaningless platitudes and offers of bananas in exchange for plutonium.
There was just no other game that provided such feelings of glory or impending doom - all through one simple 'end turn' key-press to boot. And with Civ IV, well that's the iteration that just nailed everything: multiplayer, looks, religion, music, modding, engine, Leonard Nimoy... Everything.
02. Half-Life 2 YEAR 2004: We gamers have become steeped in Half-Life - its engine, its Counter Strike bedfellow, its sci-fi lore, its physics, its characters spreadeagled in humorous Garry's Mod poses, and the unexpected desktop disturbance that was Steam. Because of all this white noise, the fuzzy appendages of a game installed on countless hard drives worldwide, it's easy to forget just what made Half-Life 2 (and its offspring Episode One) so damn special.
For a start, it was one of very few games that developed true emotional attachment to its characters, through dialogue, remarkable facial animation and even the odd hug and kiss. Better yet, it allowed you to play a role in some 3D action set-pieces that wouldn't be out of place in the very best of Spielberg or Cameron; to be a part of a stunningly realised future-scape not a million miles away from the mind of George Orwell. It's fair to say that elements of HL2 were slightly too in love with its own physics system; it's also fair to say the squad bits at the end were clunky - but these are flies in a jar of ointment the length and breadth of the North Sea. Valve's creation is, was and remains a vital stepping stone between the games we all love and the games our children will be playing in years to come...
01. Deus Ex YEAR 2000: Yes, Deus Ex. The greatest step the PC has ever made towards total immersion in plot, character and interactivity. A game that truly made you feel like star of the show - the fulcrum in a global conspiracy upon whom everything hinged. It was a page-turning interactive thriller, fulfilling every action-hero daydream present in the big book of male insecurities.
Hacking into mainframes without being detected, becoming a oneman killing machine as well as a creature of shadows and stealth, and turning on your cruel masters in support of the little man. Who wouldn't want to be the hero?
Deus Ex's plot was always in flux - it delighted in putting you on the spot. Do you put the bloody icing on the cake of your defection by filling Manderley with bullets, or do you walk out the bigger man? Do you protect your brother in his seedy hotel room as Men In Black start banging on the door, or do you start running? In your Half-Lifes and Dooms, the bottom line was that you were playing a game. In Deus Ex, on the other hand, you were breathing a narrative that felt as if both it, and you, truly mattered.
There was some pure trickery too, points at which the game would pull the cybernetic rug from beneath you. Who can forget being shot like a dog on the street before waking up in the evil Majestic 12 base - and slowly realising you were beneath the familiar halls of UNATCO? All this is nothing compared to the freedom Deus Ex forced on you: to use your own brain, think outside the box. Stranded on top of a building with next to no ammo and an enemy to one and all? Why not attempt to cushion your fall with cardboard boxes, jump down four stories, break your legs and crawl away at a painfully slow pace?
With its role-playing depth, its feeling of character ownership and countless ways to approach offing your foes, the fact we were never given a worthwhile sequel is among the greatest of gaming crimes. For sheer immersion, for so brilliantly disguising linearity, for convincing us that we were the centre of our own little universe and for giving us orange when we wanted lemon-lime, it's number one. We wear our sunglasses at night, and probably always will.
DEUS EX'S CREATOR WARREN SPECTOR ON BEING NO.1 "Our need to create something truly interactive - that got players 'off the rails' - drove us to solve all but impossible problems. There was a thrill, a feeling of being part of something special. Working on DX was gruelling and stressful, but none of us had a choice about it - we had to deliver the Game Of The Year - just making a good game wouldn't have been enough.
"It's incredibly gratifying to be recognised for your work. Winning more than 30 'Best Of' awards in 2001 was terrific. And hearing from players, as I still do, who've played the game numerous times is... Well, a little scary, but still cool! Having other developers tell me that DX changed the way they think about their work, and seeing games come along that were openly inspired by DX, now that's a great feeling.
"But, honestly, all the accolades pale before the experience of being part of the team that made Deus Ex. So, thanks to PC ZONE for recognising DX as a great game. But my deepest thanks go to the team that made it possible." You can read Warren Spector's full winning speech on PC Zone website.
Hmmm.. i personally dont think that GTA is deserving of such a high spot, especially on the PC.
Deus Ex is a great game, no doubt, and worthy of the top 10, probably top 5, but I still prefer Half Life 2 for pure action. Lol, my brother and I dispute this point often.
Least Oblivion wasnt number one, like PCG's latest top 100. It isn't all that great....
10) Populous The Beginning 9) Total Annihilation 8 ) C&C Red Alert 2 7) Carmageddon 6) Starcraft 5) Half Life 4) Far Cry 3) The Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion 2) Half Life 2 1) Rome Total War
talking about the places the games came I can only agree with one in that entire list, deus ex. I am sure that from reading the comments on the starcraft articles diablo will be a vastly unpopular choice on these forums, especially coming above starcraft.
3: Max Payne (PC) 2: Grand Theft Auto 3 (PS2) 1: Half Life 2 (PC)
All these games i think became the new "Benchmark" when they came out. There were no comparisons, but countless clones. (Bullet-time, Sandbox and FPS respectively.) They without a doubt all changed the face of gaming.
glad to see morrowind above oblivion for once, oblivion being the bastard step child of morrowind. all i wanted from oblivion was to have a world roughly the same but with the same functionality plus some additions to it such as being able to use all the items you can pick up. pouring liquids into jugs, painting with brushes, fishing with fishing rods etc maybe keeping pets like guars or designing your own house. instead all they did was up the graphics and reduce the world to a console friendly fantasy romp by putting towns inside walls and disallowing flying. i remember being able to jump half way across balmora after 100 hours or so gameplay. on oblivion the jumping skill (acrobatics) was completely obsolete with no difference between level 5 profficiency and level 100 profficiency.
I remember that game when it first came out, utterly incredible at the time.
Worst. List. Ever.
To all PC Zone staff: Go home, take a long hard look in the mirror, then consider why you are alive.
You'll know what to do next.
I knew there were a lot of geeks on here but come on... Everyone's going to disagree with at least a few games in that list, to be honest I'm not sure why people bother making these lists. All that happens is a load of people come on and say stupid crap, *Puts on geek voice* "Where are the works of Kutagi-san? Why isn't a game that no one's heard of and is incredibly niche at number 1?"
I disgree with some of those positions but it was an entertaining read. Good job PC Zone team.
Deus Ex deserves to be #1, it hasn't been matched since. At least Half-life 2 wasn't #1. NOLF 2, H&D 2 and Splinter Cell all should have been in the Top 50 IMO. I was plesantly surprised to see Vampire: Bloodlines as high as it was. Neverwinter Nights was too high.
I have never played Dexus ex and for all thopse winning about the choices, make one yoursevels and see how easy it is. Its impossible to please everyone.
Im not much of a pc player - ninty fanboi etc. etc. - but still, having played World of warcraft, i would have thought it would have been higher up - even if just for being able talk to bilions of people, dance naked on post boxes, and rides wolves. but ah well... who'd listen to a lonely noob like me?
Im not much of a pc player - ninty fanboi etc. etc. - but still, having played World of warcraft, i would have thought it would have been higher up - even if just for being able talk to bilions of people, dance naked on post boxes, and rides wolves. but ah well... who'd listen to a lonely noob like me?
This list is s**t, I won't say much more because it would take an essay to name everything that's wrong with it. A generic, short and flawed FPS that didn't even reach its prequel in quality and value being on number 2 is a good first indication though. Deus Ex is one of the few things good about it, though I wouldn't set it to number 1. The list also lacks worthy indie titles, especially since it names generic recent crap to fill the space that should be taken up by actual quality.
Football Manager? Are you serious?! That piece of software does not deserve to appear next to the other titles on this list. How do you expect anyone to take you seriously now?
You have a list of mostly great games there, marvels of storytelling, interactivity and engineering... Next to Football Manager. Football f**king Manager?! No story, no interactivity, and about 3 minutes worth of engineering. You people are at least supposed to know what an actual game is comprised of, and Football Manager doesn't even come close.
It is an appreciation of football, not an appreciation of what actually makes a good game, that fuelled that poor choice. I can guarantee you if this list were compiled anywhere but England, that load of toss excuse for a "game" would be nowhere to be found.
If you absolutely had to have it in there, couldn't you at least have kept it from souring the top 25?
Deus Ex is fully deserving. I'm surprised Beneath A Steel Sky didn't make it onto the list. That's still got a good place in my heart. Also nice to see Morrowind above Oblivion. Third party mods for Morrowind just added extra amounts of joy and fun, whereas with Oblivion, I found third party mods were actually necessary to make the game half decent.
OK, after a lot of thought (not easy this) I'm come up with my top 15 PC games. For the record, I've been playing PC games since the late 80's, and these are the ones that I just keep going back to.
15 - Command and Conquer 14 - Quake 13 - SimCity 2000 12 - Pirates! Gold 11 - Silent Service II 10 - Operation Flashpoint 09 - Monkey Island 2 08 - Syndicate 07 - Half-Life 06 - Doom 05 - Football Manager 2007 04 - Deus Ex 03 - Elite Plus 02 - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City 01 - Civilization 4
While I can agree that Deus Ex was a marvelously fun game, I do have to take issue with a few items on this list.
* Quake 3 arena was crap compared to Quake 2.
Quake 2 remains to this day, the most challenging FPS game ever to grace the PC. If you still have a copy join this server for proof: 67.19.248.74:27912
it's part of a network of more than 20 servers in North America where q2 still lives in all of its glory, 10 years after the release of the game.
how many other multiplayer games from 1998 have 20+ human players in a server 24/7?
ZERO.
* Alpha Centauri! Ring any bells? This game was better than any of the Civilization titles even those that came many years later.
* UFO: Enemy Unknown/XCOM: UFO DEFENSE has the most replay value of any strategy game ever. It's also considerably harder than any other strategy game I've ever seen, with layers of micromanagement and detail far exceeding every game since.
* Grim Fandango deserves to be in the top 10. I've never seen another game like it, and I probably won't ever. It was beautiful, immersive and featured the most innovative gameplay of any game I'd seen before.
* GTA #1!!! OMG this was the best GTA ever. every one of these lame 3rd person sequels is a joke.
* Red Baron. look it up, at the abandonware sites. This game was THE most amazing 3D flying game of it's day. (during a time when 3D meant plastic glasses with one blue lens and one red one.)
this game revolutionized flying combat in 3 dimensions with planes so slow you had to flap your arms to keep them out of stalls, and machine guns zipping off tracer rounds between the blades of your propeller!
there's more, but I'm only willing to put my 2 cents, not the whole friggin dollar. work calls.
* GTA #1!!! OMG this was the best GTA ever. every one of these lame 3rd person sequels is a joke.
seriously, i cant believe so many people slate the newer GTA games. They are perfectly tuned action with the most fun driving to be had in pretty much ANY game. Do you not have funny bones?
I couldn't agree more with their number one choice. Deus Ex is still one of the best games I have ever played 7 years later. And it is a crime that there hasn't been a proper sequel for it since. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that there finally will be with the anouncement of Deus Ex 3.
It is unfortunate that I missed Deus Ex when it came out. I recently tried it, and I can tell you that it hasn't aged well at all. I did the tutorial and got part way through the first level before I couldn't stand it anymore.
Probably an awesome game in its time, but without nostalgia to augment a fresh opinion of it, I was unimpressed.
It is unfortunate that I missed Deus Ex when it came out. I recently tried it, and I can tell you that it hasn't aged well at all. I did the tutorial and got part way through the first level before I couldn't stand it anymore.
Probably an awesome game in its time, but without nostalgia to augment a fresh opinion of it, I was unimpressed.
Get over graphics "needs", get over Counter-Strike-like ambitions when it comes down to FPS-esque games, and you will be able to enjoy it. Sure it's got some pretty primitive elements by now, especially as far as how basic the core controls are, but there's loads of depth, character, and a story that's as good as it ever was.
I played it last year for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it. Modern games that offer better graphics and more immersive character behaviour or whatever but fail in everything else can't hold a candle to it.
I’m glad they’ve put up a forum on this – I love top 100 lists and PC - specifically PC - games.
I was relieved Deus Ex was no.1 - it’s the best game I've played. Just compare it to its sequel, which was never believable - comparing the two is like comparing the inept Phantom Menace film to the original Star Wars.
I agree with whirlingdervish that Alpha Centuri is better than the later CIV4, believability again being one of the factors (for me at least).
I'd have liked to have seen a couple more less-heralded classics like Blade Runner - still a fantastic game, though it needs an app running to slow down your PC so you can get past a section! Why should that stand against it, or games like it, though? Clive Barker’s Undying (though not so old) was a decent enough find, though.
I take it Thief 3 represented the series? I've not played it, but it must be fantastic to be better than 2 - I never got the vibe that it was through reviews though.
I thought the high placing of Half Life and Doom was a bit wrong. The incredible first Unreal was surely just as important a landmark (and a better memory for me) but it doesn’t appear at all, even at 101. The Doom placing would have made more sense if it at least referenced genre classics like Hexen 2. At least they admitted the final level of HL was just daft.
I did find the article to be a bit low-key - it didn't have much of an introduction to it either and it only had a small mention on the cover. Mind you, I didn’t catch the DVD version. I suppose their allegiances are more with new releases.
Final point - I've never played Eve Online (I decided to avoid these kind of online games), but I find it hard to see it as a 'PC game' somehow. It has a kind of separate online existence to me. I notice that Mac users are after ports (or ‘clients’?), to join in. I suppose I crave the single player thing, that singular other-world experience, like reading a book.
I disagree with Deus Ex as #1. I've never even been able to finish the game because it was so stale and boring. The gunfights in the game were horrible, sneaking around was boring. I don't see why everyone praised the game so much and still do.
Football Manager? Are you serious?! That piece of software does not deserve to appear next to the other titles on this list. How do you expect anyone to take you seriously now?
You have a list of mostly great games there, marvels of storytelling, interactivity and engineering... Next to Football Manager. Football f**king Manager?! No story, no interactivity, and about 3 minutes worth of engineering. You people are at least supposed to know what an actual game is comprised of, and Football Manager doesn't even come close.
It is an appreciation of football, not an appreciation of what actually makes a good game, that fuelled that poor choice. I can guarantee you if this list were compiled anywhere but England, that load of toss excuse for a "game" would be nowhere to be found.
If you absolutely had to have it in there, couldn't you at least have kept it from souring the top 25?
Preach it brother! Preach it to the masses!!!!!!!
football manager doesnt count as a game... partially coz a game has to have gameplay WHAT ABOUT FABLE?!?!? that should be in there somewhere... fable was immense, you had emotional attachments to people in that game and it was immensely rewarding
Congratulations to the Zone for seeing the truth about Morrowind being better than Oblivion. Now if only you'd placed it higher and got Monkey Island at number it would be the greatest list ever.
Considering how much I disagree with this list this ill just list my top 5. As with every list (top 5 favoutrite films/music etc) its easy to criticise until you try to do it yourself. So here it is. Ill just stick it down now because tomorrow it will probably* be different:
5-F.E.A.R 4-Half Life 1 3-C&C Red Alert 2-Total Annihilation 1-GTA: Vice City
I disagree with Deus Ex as #1. I've never even been able to finish the game because it was so stale and boring. The gunfights in the game were horrible, sneaking around was boring. I don't see why everyone praised the game so much and still do.
Well, because it had a great cast of characters, a great setting, one of the best stories in a game ever, and also... despite what you may think, it had really great gameplay. Sorry you have bad taste.
I'm pleasantly surprised by this final list, the list seemed fubar in parts 1 to 3, but putting Morrowind ahead of Oblivion, and Deus Ex ahead of Half Life 2 has saved this list/
I think that Quake 1 and X-com being outside the top 25 is unforgivable. Quake was more than a game, it was a religion for many, and X-com was just brilliant. Oh well.
So there's been a revolt at PCG, eh? This list differs widly from the previous PCG top 100 (the printed version). What's going on?
MDK2 should have been in there. Steve Hill (I think) gave a poor review - and missed a fantastic game (maybe with a slowish start). One of the hardest ever too. It might have been a Playstation conversion - does that make a difference?
I like to go by games that have ingrained in my memory - the first Unreal (so atmospheric and clever too), MDK 2, Thief 2, many of the levels in ALice had everything you could want (Mcgees a true artist). Someone else mentioned Beneath a Steel Sky- that was 2000AD on a PC. Blade Runner's dramatic storytelling (by screenwriters), blew me away. They are all better games than some in the Top list IMO (inc civ3!).
I've never bought a WW2 FPS and never will. Next stop Venezuela.
IMO, so what if Half Life had groundbreaking elements -was it realy that good?
Deus Ex stands head and shoulders above anything I've seen - it's still miles ahead. However able PCs get, you need magical teamwork to come up with something pure like that.
10) Populous The Beginning 9) Total Annihilation 8 ) C&C Red Alert 2 7) Carmageddon 6) Starcraft 5) Half Life 4) Far Cry 3) The Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion 2) Half Life 2 1) Rome Total War
Rome Total War all the way!!!! most addictive game i have ever played. HL2 and Starcraft are freaking amazing too.
Sigh, Half-Life 2. The most overrated game ever. Average AI - enemies just rushed you! Zero story - why are all those aliens I slaughtered in HL now on my side? Why am I now looked at as some great hero? Who the hell are these Combine anyway? Questions never answered, and it's hard to care. Rubbish vehicle bits - nuff said here. The gravity gun - only useful in situations which had been specifically designed for it. And as for great characters, oh please. I can't believe PCZ claims it's so unique in this respect. Any good RPG or adventure game has better developed NPCs, and much better dialogue. Alex was fun, sure, but I don't even remember the names of the rest. HL2 completely failed to be anything more than a shooter, and was not innovative in the least.
ZZZZ boring! HL2 is vastly overrated, and what the hell is WoW doing there at 14? it shouldnt even be within the top 50. Its just addictive, like crack, especially to the koreans, but its got f**k all gameplay. Doom should be higher than both of those games.
I cant really argue with Deus Ex, I never really played it, only the demo.
I never agree with peoples opinions on these anyway, I know what my favourite games are and thats all that counts to me.
My top 5 games ever (if youre interested)
1. Command and COnquer: TIberian Dawn, the first C&C game is my favourite game of all time, then Red Alert, the other C&C games are poor in comparison.
2. Doom, still the best FPS ever. No other one has enemies as funny, especially the cacodemon, plus the enemies actually fight eachother, you dont see that anymore. Blood is almost on par with this game, second best FPS ever by Monolith.
3.Freespace 1 and 2. Best space sim ever, too bad they wont be making anymore, more games like this need to come out these days, it had a great story and was so much fun.
4. MechWarrior. again, we need more Mech games, come on microsoft ffs! Such a great feeling to go round in a giant mech and stomp on buildings and blow s**t out of everything.
5.Super Metroid. Awesome game with a great ending. I dont like the look of the new Metroids, 16bit is the best.
I was going to stick FF7 in because its a fantastic game to play for the first time, but it doesnt have as much replay value as the other games.
Other Favourite Games Carmageddon Space Hulk: Veangence of the Blood Angels Rollercoaster Tycoon/Theme Park No One Lives Forever 2 Unreal Tournament. Age of Empires
How the hell does Deus Ex always do so well? I played it for about half an hour then gave up, its one of the biggest piles of crap ever, i have never met anyone who has ever played it or enjoyed it yet it always does so well. Why?
I'd like to see another list like this in 5 years or so. We've had some great classics, most listed, but I feel that many greats are going to be forgotten, perticularly with the next generation of gamers. No one should have to explain who Max Payne is for example...
There are too many games out there. I say that weighing up AAA chart toppers vs. the forgetables. I would really like to see in my lifetime a year when all games we're good, so good in fact that at least 20 would end up in a list like this one.
But then we'd lose more awesome titles to progress. Makes me feel cold.
I might be losing the power to read, but I did not see Bioshock. Please tell me it's on the list - I haven't played a more atmospheric and interesting game since Deus Ex, and I personally find it more fun than that. Am I the only one that loves this game?
so boring and lame, what the HELL is World of Warcraft doing there? It's not even a good game. Oh and Half Life 2? overrated in my opinion, but still a good game. I much prfered HL1.
Posted by maugrim2712 "Deus Ex is an amazing game, and deserved NO.1 place. Half Life 2 was a big let down though, don't know why it's at No.2!"
I agree. Half life 2 is the most over-rated game of all time(imho), and Deus Ex has never been bettered. I was hoping that Bioshock would deliver a similarly enthralling experience to Deus Ex, but I got bored of it after a few hours play. I think I invested more time in Operation Flashpoint than any other game ever. ArmA was such a disappointment.
You think you`ve been sniped from aq distance in flashpoint??????????? you should play the console battlefield 2 where games nowdays are trans- map snipe affairs
My favourite 1>age of empires 2(only staregy game being played in net more than 12 years and still new players! ) 2>Mafia(the most beautiful storyline i found in a game) 3>Thief Gold(in expert mode its most challenging game..caution :not for blind shooters that shoot anything that moves ) 4>WOW(its really good)
Could agree more on Deus Ex being #1. There is no game that I have EVER come close to replaying more. Usually, I can't reply a game more than once, if that, even game I liked. Deus Ex is the exception. I still pick it up and re-install it every year or two and play at least part way through the game. A phenomenal game in the literal meaning of the word.
I might be losing the power to read, but I did not see Bioshock. Please tell me it's on the list - I haven't played a more atmospheric and interesting game since Deus Ex, and I personally find it more fun than that. Am I the only one that loves this game?
Seriously dude, check the date the poll was put up. It was like 4 or 5 months before Bioshock came out.
Starcraft and Diablo 2 are on top of my list. But currently I am playing simpler games which are just as enjoyable like Gemsweeper or Arcade Lines from http://www.lobstersoft.com
1. Doom 2. System Shock (the first one) 2. World of Warcraft 3. Half Life Series 4. Day of Defeat Source 6. Ultima Underworld Series 7. TES3: Morrowind 8. The Incredible Machine 9. Zork 10. Wolfenstein 3D 11. MS Flight Simulator series 12. Mobile 1 Rally Championship 13. Tie Fighter 14. Combat Mission - Barbarossa to Berlin 15. NetHack 16. Neverwinter Nights (thanks to the fan mods!) 17. Sam and Max Hit the Road 18. Audiosurf 19. Alone in the Dark 20. Sim City
How could you forget 'Unreal' - (the original) - there was a game you could replay several times, masses of outdoor scenes, excellent gameplay and could run on lower spec machines either using OpenGl or DirectX; I don't think any game has given me the sense of expectation and unsettled me so much as the intro music started.
How the hell does Deus Ex always do so well? I played it for about half an hour then gave up, its one of the biggest piles of crap ever, i have never met anyone who has ever played it or enjoyed it yet it always does so well. Why?
Thief: The Dark Project. Is by far the most immersive game I have ever played - before or since. I cannot imagine why it's not at the top of the list. No game has ever come close to making a thief character as heartstoppingly real as playing that game.
Well, you mentioned how you were all drunk during the decision making process, so I'll let you off for not getting the list right...
This whole article is pointless, so many people have different gaming experiences over the years and they will have wildly differing opinions about the best games ever list and what is number 1. And what this list based on? Units sold/profit made? or just teary-eyed rose tinted nostalgia?
Although if they wanted everyone bickering on what the best games ever are, they've wholeheartedly succeeded.
pleas say bioshock jus wasn't out at the time this list was written. If it was. . .WTF is wrong with you
Bioshock was overrated. It can't even hold a candle to the System Shock games. I am sure you think it is a very impressive game in the span of the 3 or 4 years that you have been playing games. But in the grand scheme of things it doesn't compare to some of the classics put on this list.
I have played system shock 2, and i do like it more then bioshock. I'm actually too scared to play SS2. But bioshock is till better then many of the games on this list.
Deus Ex - it is the best game ever for me as well. I was so disappointed by DX2 that I fear the franchise is dead, but nothing upgraded gaming as much as Deus Ex. People who don't agree may have different priorities in gaming, but honestly, if Warren and friends simply added 10 times the content on the same engine Deus Ex ran on, I'd enjoy that immensely. I could play along those plot-lines forever. It one of those games you wish was longer because playing it was so much fun. I really hope the obession with graphics takes a back seat to plot, writing, immersion, good "realism" and awesome gameplay. Deus Ex is one of the rare examples where the game, and the voice acting, were far more important than screen-shot-able screens, not that the graphics were shabby, but seriously, if they were super-nintendo grade graphics with sub-titles and no speech, the game would still rule.
The only other game that stands out as a cut above is Super Metroid, speaking of SNES.
if only indigo prophecy kept it up til the end. it could have been a legendary accomplishment, had it not been for that ending.
also, besides these lists being opinions and obviously not for everyone, there are still those very few games that are always on the lists. system shock 2 and deus ex. two of the greatest games i have ever had the joy of playing. also, however overrated Halo was, it was still one hell of a trilogy.
I haven't played all the games listed in the top 25 (yet), but I do think "Alpha Centauri"/"Alien Crossfire" deserved to be in there. And, obviously, "Dragon Age: Origins" was too recent to be considered. Best game ever as far as I'm concerned. And I can't pay homage to video games without acknowledging "World of Warcraft". A work of genius to be sure.
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Ah...Operation Flashpoint - fully deserving of the spot in the top 25 PC games ever!
I knew there were a lot of geeks on here but come on... Everyone's going to disagree with at least a few games in that list, to be honest I'm not sure why people bother making these lists. All that happens is a load of people come on and say stupid crap,
)
drunk during the decision making process, so I'll let you off for not getting the list right...
