IGN's top 100 games of all time

Walter

Walter

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http://top100.ign.com/2007/

IGN recently concluded their top 100 games, and I have to say, while I shouted WTF at many, MANY throughout the list, the top 10 are pretty much spot-on for my personal top 10, in the same order. I could almost predict every title. To that, I have no choice but to give props.
 
Was it just me or did they totally forget about duke nukem3d.. or the entire duke franchise for that matter.
I think they could of done a better job, a lot of the list needs to be re-ordered. I totally agree with their #1 though.

P.S.
I'm a bit sad my favorite game didn't even make it to the top 100, anyone heard of Knights of Xentar?
 
That top 10 does look more like a personal list than something objective or following a specific criteria. For example, if Mario is #1, then why does Half-Life 2 come before Doom? I guess a better game was really never made after Mario 1? Oh no, it's because they're in their spots for practically opposite reasons; great work (you know, I'd actually respect a list that tried to do an up to date count that ignored nostalgia or impact, went purely objective and technical). Also, if you go Mario 1, Tetris 2 route (creative, huh?) then I ask, where's Pacman in the top 3, let alone top 10? As Aaz pointed out, "It's THE game that popularized games" I guess they didn't play that one.

Anyway, NO PROPS AWARDED here, even if those were my own top 10, that list is, like all lists of its kind, is shit.
 
I'm with Griff. It's not that the games in their list aren't good (haven't checked all 100 to be honest), but like with every list, some of the choices really show a lack of logic and consistency in the criteria used. Basically I don't think they made a real effort to be objective.

Ramen4ever said:
Was it just me or did they totally forget about duke nukem3d.. or the entire duke franchise for that matter.
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Well the first 2 Duke games weren't bad, but they weren't particularly memorable either. Duke Nukem 3D not being in the whole top 100 sucks, though.

Ramen4ever said:
I'm a bit sad my favorite game didn't even make it to the top 100, anyone heard of Knights of Xentar?
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The name rings a bell somehow but I've never played it and couldn't tell you what it's about to save my life.

PS: Also, they call Wander mute in SotC when he just doesn't speak often. Why would he talk when you spend most of the game alone?
PPS: And why's the original Zelda n°42, after basically every other Zelda game but the unjustly unpopular second one, while it's as much of a timeless masterpiece as Super Mario Bros?
 
Well of COURSE these lists are subject to personal opinion, Aaz and Griff. That's the point.

These lists come out ever 6 months or so (IGN is a terrible offender, I see something like this every 2 months on the IGN network), they draw hits to the site and always stir up conversation.

"OMGZ Half Life was way better tahn DOOM!"
 
CnC said:
Well of COURSE these lists are subject to personal opinion, Aaz and Griff. That's the point.
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Is it really? I thought the point of having all their staff make a list together was so I'd be well-balanced and not too subjective. At least that's how they seem to advertise it. Then again, I never expect anything from those lists other than what I get.

CnC said:
These lists come out ever 6 months or so (IGN is a terrible offender, I see something like this every 2 months on the IGN network), they draw hits to the site and always stir up conversation.
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No shit. And it's not just IGN or lists of "best games", everything is fair game for most big sites. Best heroes, best female characters, best villains, best weapons, best vehicle, etc.
 
Aazealh said:
Is it really? I thought the point of having all their staff make a list together was so I'd be well-balanced and not too subjective. At least that's how they seem to advertise it. Then again, I never expect anything from those lists other than what I get.
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Yea it is subject to opinion. Unless they state what criteria they're using to judge them (money made, average scores, etc.)

Aazealh said:
No shit. And it's not just IGN or lists of "best games", everything is fair game for most big sites. Best heroes, best female characters, best villains, best weapons, best vehicle, etc.
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Of course it's not just IGN. I just see something on the IGN network doing these things often.
 
Well of COURSE these lists are subject to personal opinion, CnC. That's the point.

These lists come out ever 6 months or so (IGN is a terrible offender, I see something like this every 2 months on the IGN network), they draw hits to the site and always stir up conversation.

"OMGZ Half Life was way better tahn DOOM!"
 
Griffith No More! said:
Well of COURSE these lists are subject to personal opinion, CnC. That's the point.

These lists come out ever 6 months or so (IGN is a terrible offender, I see something like this every 2 months on the IGN network), they draw hits to the site and always stir up conversation.

"OMGZ Half Life was way better tahn DOOM!"
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I agree completely, Griff. Glad you see it that way
 
Well, I'm glad that we can still point this stuff out to each other and complain about our complaining in likewise fashion; it was so familiar, it gave me an idea for next year, SK.net Thanksgiving! Wally gets to carve the turkey, the rest of us get to get to become embarrassingly drunk.

Anyway, like I said, I'd like to see someone do a list where games like Half-Life 2 are tops on the list, but even games like Mario 64, let alone Mario 1 might not even make the cut at all. Though I fully support it's #1 all-time status, Mario 1 isn't even the best Mario game, let alone the best side scroller out there, obviously. I'd actually want to see a list of the best and most up to date games. That wouldn't preclude all the classics if their style was simply never emulated or done better, but it would be extremely rare and hard for a game so many years old to make it. That would be interesting, more useful in shining a light on some of the lost gems out there, and hey, I don't think I'd be able to complain because I probably wouldn't be familiar enough with most of the list to do so. =)


Nevermind, I'd still be able to complain, or complain about complaining, or complain about people complaining about my and other people's complaining...! :troll:
 
CnC said:
Yea it is subject to opinion. Unless they state what criteria they're using to judge them (money made, average scores, etc.)
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Being subject to opinion doesn't mean the whole point of the list is that it is subject to opinion though. And that doesn't invalidate what I originally said either.

IGN said:
Our criteria for creating this list of our picks for the Top 100 Games of All Time are as follows:

* Eligible games had to have been released no later than December 31, 2006 (perspective is a good thing)
* A number of factors were taken into consideration when selecting a winner: How good the game was compared to others of its time, its overall game design, how well it stands up over the years, how influential it has been in the realm of gaming and just plain how much fun we had playing it are all points for contention.
* The list is comprised of single, stand-alone titles and doesn't include compilations, expansion packs or add-ons.
* Titles with multiple editions such as collector's boxes, gold editions or direct re-releases have been consolidated into one single entry, with the edition deemed most deserving taking precedence.
* Updated versions of original titles were only included on the list if they were significantly different from their predecessors.
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By their own criteria their list fails in many respects. But then again as I said, this isn't something unexpected, all those lists are in the same case.
 
Aazealh said:
Being subject to opinion doesn't mean the whole point of the list is that it is subject to opinion though. And that doesn't invalidate what I originally said either.

By their own criteria their list fails in many respects. But then again as I said, this isn't something unexpected, all those lists are in the same case.
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Ditto.

My gripe wasn't that it's subjective opinion, which goes without saying, but that the standards of the list were inconsistent and contradictory. I just don't think games like Mario 1 belong in the same top 10 as Half-Life 2, and indeed they're on there for literally opposite reasons. Furthermore, judging by the make up of this list, if the same people did a top 100 FPS games tomorrow, they probably wouldn't even give Half-Life 2 the top spot despite it being the most highly rated FPS here, instead it'd go to Doom or Wolfenstein or some shit.

I think the thing we all agree is that these lists aren't to be taken very seriously (as we've shown here =).
 
Aazealh said:
Being subject to opinion doesn't mean the whole point of the list is that it is subject to opinion though. And that doesn't invalidate what I originally said either.
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Yea I don't think we're really disagreeing here.

But yea, the criteria just seems to say what's excluded, not really why the games are listed where they are. Fodder for comments like
Peregrine_Falcon said:
Where's Diablo?!
:zodd:
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Kaji-Ryohji said:
wow , RE :4 made top ten, and i thought RE: 4 was the weakest of the series
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Just going off my basic knownledge , I'd like to add credence to their choice for #1...

I remember that Metal Gear series creator Hideo Kojima has been quoted as saying, "It's simply impossible to grow tired of Super Mario Bros." Shinji Mikami, best known for the Resident Evil series further praised the title stating that, "I don't think there are many games that we can identify immediately by a simple sound effect." More to the point, in 1999, Super Mario Bros was inducted into the Guinness World Book of Records as the best-selling videogame of all time with (as of then), 40.23 million copies sold.

Still, at least Shadows of the Colossus got in the top 20. Can't get too mad with their choices after seeing that.

What amazes me most is that we didn't need one of those awesome IGN INSIDER account to look at this.

Griffith No More! said:
Well, I'm glad that we can still point this stuff out to each other and complain about our complaining in likewise fashion; it was so familiar, it gave me an idea for next year, SK.net Thanksgiving! Wally gets to carve the turkey, the rest of us get to get to become embarrassingly drunk.
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Capital idea. Maybe we can have Aaz come over on La Maifleur!
 
French equivalent of the Mayflower.

You're coming deserves an epic by-product. Air France won't cut it this time, my friend.
 
Uriel said:
French equivalent of the Mayflower.

You're coming deserves an epic by-product. Air France won't cut it this time, my friend.
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Oh. That would be "Fleur de Mai" actually. =) And if I were to come, it'd have to be in a CONCORDE! :badbone:
 
I took 3 years of French mate, I think I know what I'm talking about :P

Speaking of, did any Flight Simulators make the list? People have been saved because of those games. For reals.
 
Uriel said:
Speaking of, did any Flight Simulators make the list? People have been saved because of those games. For reals.
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I don't remember seeing one in the first 50 games (yes, I went that far).

EDIT: Checked the whole thing and nope, not there.
 
Aaz told me Zelda was 42, and all the other Zelda games basically come before it. At that point, if you don't put something of Zelda's stature in the top 10 or 20, why even arbitrarily stick it on the list at all? Oh, and the next best game after Zelda is Balder's Gate II: Shadows of Amen. I guess if both those games had been released at the same time, Zelda would have gotten the higher score regardless of context, otherwise it would be right up there with Mario, right?


Okay, after looking over more of the list with Aaz, it's just totally incomprehensible, I thought the top 10 was arbitrary, but stuff in the 80's is basically on the same level as stuff in the top 20 (yeah, they're all good games, but there's still reasons some should come before others), and the write ups do nothing to explain the difference or why what was put where, if anything they even contradict the rankings. The 70's are interesting, Sam & Max is 74, behind of Resident Evil, and ahead of FF7 at 76. Pretty blatant popularity backlash, or anti-pandering pandering if you will. Yeah, FF7 is overrated... in reality, Sam & Max was much better, only a little less good than RE! Look, I love the Sam & Max series, and Hit the Road is one of my favorite games of all time, but even I wouldn't just toss it into an "objective" top 100 like this, let alone among those titles. Ridiculous.


Sorry Wally, your fully endorsed favorite list here is a bunch of shit. =)
 
I don't disagree with any of the comments here. I acknowledge the list is virtually... no, IS worthless. I just thought it was interesting how similar mine and IGN's lists were.

Griffith No More! said:
Aaz told me Zelda was 42, and all the other Zelda games basically come before it. At that point, if you don't put something of Zelda's stature in the top 10 or 20, why even arbitrarily stick it on the list at all?
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Well, I guess their argument is the gameplay kept getting refined? The logic doesn't really follow though, as you've all pointed out. Otherwise, Super Mario World would be the #1 platformer of all time. :daiba:

Uriel said:
Still, at least Shadows of the Colossus got in the top 20. Can't get too mad with their choices after seeing that.
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Actually, even being an absolutely HUGE fan of SOTC, that was the one game whose position got the loudest audible "WHAT?!" reaction from me. It simply doesn't belong that high up on the list. It's like when I would declare Memento my favorite movie, that doesn't make it THE BEST movie of all time, it's just the one I personally gravitate to the most. I couldn't objectively explain why it belongs on... any list really.
 
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