Denham’s Favourite 15 Games of All Time

Denham’s Favourite 15 Games of All Time

This is simply my personal opinion. These aren’t the only 15 games you should play, but just 15 that I would recommend right now. I’d love to hear what your list would be!

Here we go! In no particular order, a bucket list of games that you must certainly play before you die. If I miss something on this list that you believe should be on this list, I apologise. I’m sure it deserves a place on the list, and engaging in discussion over this list is welcome and encouraged. Unless it’s something like Goat Simulator or No Luca, No. I would also like to stress that just because it doesn’t have a place on the list, it doesn’t mean it’s not good, or not even one of the best games ever made. This is simply my list.

Number 1 – Grand Theft Auto V (PS3, XB360, PS4, XB1, PC) Rockstar Games
Okay, we’re starting easy here. There’s no way you’ve experienced a brilliant game until you’ve played a Grand Theft Auto game, more specifically Grand Theft Auto V. This series has been the source of countless controversies and was arguably the primary force behind the investigations to find a link between violence in video games and real life violent crimes. Unless you’ve been living under a rock since 1997, you’ll know exactly what the open worlds of the Grand Theft Auto series offer to a player, and I’m sure that any article anywhere that includes a GTA title in its contents will have reminded you, so I won’t bother, not because I’m lazy (I’m not, I promise) but because you’ve certainly heard it all before to death and won’t need me to tell you anything you most likely already know. This in itself is a great reason to include the game on the list. Being the latest and most refined instalment of the series, it’s a hell of a game and certainly something you should play before your time comes, whether you wish to indulge yourself in some virtual uber-crime, or you want to see what the fuss is all about. Rockstar, I love you.

gtav

Number 2 – Halo 3 (XB360, XB1) Bungie
When you speak to a Halo fan and ask them what their favourite title is, nine times out of ten they respond with Halo 3, Bungie’s last addition to the Halo trilogy, but not their last title in the series. Released in 2007, it set ablaze the Xbox LIVE service with hundreds of thousands of matches running in tandem, refining the masterpiece of online gaming that Bungie had created in Halo 2, obviously the title prior, bearing the same effect. This game gave players access to ‘Forge Mode’ which allowed them to create their very own map variants, determining weapon and vehicle spawn placements and prop placement, giving essentially infinite multiplayer replayability. Alongside the ‘Theatre Mode’, it was also a powerful machinima tool allowing users to create sets, act in those sets and change the camera angle to create a cinematic experience, launching a new wave of machinima on YouTube and similar services by blasting open the accessibility of creating film in a video game. And my god, the soundtrack! Something Bungie, at least until they fired O’Donnell, got very very right with their titles. All in all, a solid first person shooter with satisfying gameplay, an intriguing story and a brilliant score. Definitely worth your attention and certainly deserving of a spot on the list.

Number 3 – The Mass Effect Series (PS3, XB360, PC) BioWare
So a story is one thing, but this story is just incredible. In Mass Effect, Bioware took to the stars and thought, instead of aliens constantly at war with each other in a bloody mess, what if these aliens were more political in how things went down? Well, Mass Effect is certainly an interesting take on a Sci-Fi game, mixing cover based shooting arenas with a story that bends to your decisions. I must admit that the fighting parts of the first two games were a little not-so-good, but the third instalment definitely made up for them. As for the story, you don’t need to know much to hop in, though I would recommend you start at the beginning of the series to avoid confusion. The voice actors are spot on, the characters are deep enough to justify their existence, and you may even find yourself falling for a few of them (Miranda, you flirt…) Nonetheless, the games are brilliant, rich in story, deep as you’d like, sport endless side missions that cause knock-on effects in the later games in the series, and despite the mountainous quantity of content, will leave you wanting more. Roll on, Mass Effect 4.

Number 4 – SimCity 3000 (PC) Maxis
Whilst this isn’t the first or, arguably, best city building simulation game, it’s a game you’ll certainly find yourself coming back to again and again and again. And again. That said, it’s a real shame EA took the series in the direction it’s heading now. Nonetheless, SimCity 3000 takes a simple theme and supplies it with endless depth. Sure, you can build a city no problem, but how efficient are the waterworks? How backed-up are the roads and highways? How likely is your nuclear power station to go into meltdown? And of course, how much money are you making? Many would argue that SimCity 4 is the best in the series, but if you ask me, and of course you would because I KNOW BETTER, SimCity 4 took the hands-on approach of 3000 and dumbed them down a little bit; roads and zones could be created by dragging boxes and were always built to be highly efficient, effectively taking that challenge away from the player. It was also way too easy to play. Anyway, SimCity 3000 is an epic little game with endless replayability and, in my heart, is an all-time classic. Play it.

BigIslandCity

Number 5 – The BioShock Series (PS3, XB360, PC, iOS) Irrational Games and 2K Marin
Story, story, story. My God, this series has one of the best narratives I’ve ever had the pleasure of shooting my way through. In any form of media. And I’ve read Mogworld. If you’re the kind of person who picks out their games for their stories, BioShock is a necessity in your library. I will absolutely not go into any detail at all with this bit, you simply must observe the incredible nature of it all first-hand… OK, I’ll go into a little detail. In the first instalment you’re sunk into an underwater city after a plane crash. You find after not long at all that civilisation has collapsed in the city of ‘Rapture’ due to everybody being addicted to ‘ADAM’ which allowed for genetic manipulation and, essentially, superpowers. Bottom line is it’s an awesome series. The jury’s out on 2, but you should absolutely go and play it if you haven’t already. I’m serious. It’s incredible.

Number 6 – Destiny (PS3, XB360, PS4, XB1) Bungie
Back to Bungie for another of their works. I was a little on the fence over this one, but I’ve recently had another Destiny kick and it’s so damn satisfying to play, so screw it, on the list it goes. Destiny has been heavily criticised for its lack of story or depth, and on the surface level at which the non-hardcore players lie that is true. It’s really when you get past the story and indulge in the rest of what Destiny offers, that’s where the meat is. Unfortunately, a lot of players didn’t quite get caught by Destiny in a way that makes it fun, as weird as that sounds. Again, Bungie nailed the soundtrack, and the game looks, feels and sounds absolutely beautiful. With daily quests, a mode that lets you play with random other players to kill the bosses for loot again, and the newly added ‘Prison of Elders’ offering up the best stuff in the game in terms of both rewards and gameplay, Destiny is a must for the next generation.

Number 7 – PAYDAY 2 (PS3, PS4, XB360, XB1, PC) Overkill
This game is one of my all-time favourites. It takes replayability and it absolutely nails it. In PAYDAY 2 you assume the role of a criminal, and your job is to complete heists, ranging from robbing banks to stealing nuclear weapons, but it doesn’t end as simply as that. Every heist has elements that are randomly generated with every new start. Things like security room placement, vault locations, keycard spawns are largely random, and so a player never really knows what kind of heist they’re getting into until they figure it out themselves, or it goes belly up. Most of the heists are also playable in a stealth mode, adding a completely different aspect to the gameplay, which can make for some interesting heisting and can be incredibly frustrating when you’ve nearly successfully ‘stealthed’ a heist and a civilian trips over a dead body and calls the cops on an unsuspecting masked robber. I’m proud to proclaim that my Steam account has about three hundred hours clocked in this game, why I’m proud of that I’m not entirely sure. And the soundtrack! Oh, the soundtrack is phenomenal! Play with Viklund’s music blasting and you’ll feel the full tension, pressure and haste of the game. It’s also fun to drive to. Be careful not to get carried away though.

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Number 8 – Fallout 3 (PS3, XB360, PC) Bethesda
Set in a post-apocalyptic Washington DC, Fallout 3 throws you in at the gruesome, bloody and oh-so-satisfying deep end. From the moment you finish the tutorial part of the game which takes place inside one of many ‘vaults’, the entirety of Bethesda’s destroyed DC is yours to explore. Of course, you’ll have to be wary of those that can kill you by simply looking at you if your plan is to explore everything right off the bat, but the game doesn’t restrict you if that’s really what you want to do. The game has a metric butt-tonne of quests for you to do, and the DLCs released only add more to the game’s experience, from giving you a glimpse at the pre-apocalypse war in Alaska to throwing an alien spacecraft at you, because why not. Even after all these years I can still find things to do here and there, and that’s why Fallout 3 is special, and if you understand the incredibly awful and soul-harrowing joke, I commend you. With Fallout 4 on the horizon, it’s a great time to pick up Fallout 3 to either get back into the swing of things, find out what you’ve been missing out on, or get yourself excited thinking of the possibilities of what they’re gonna do with Fallout 4. Go and get it if you don’t already have it, because you certainly won’t regret it. Just ignore the voice actors; it seems they spent the entirety of the voice acting budget on Liam Neeson, Ron Perlman and Malcolm McDowell. Impressive, but a little limited elsewhere, as the voices become recognisable and you lose a little of the immersion. I would like to take this chance to thank IMDb for remembering Ron Perlman’s name for me.

Number 9 – Any Super Mario Game. You pick one. Apart from those really obscure ones like the one where you have to find Mario in a long search taking you through various cities around the globe, and you can only progress by answering stupid trivia questions about the landmarks of the city you’re in. That’s awful and you know it is. I mean, why would Nintendo even endorse or push for something like that? I don’t get it. (NES/FMICM, VB, SNES/SFMICM, GB, GBC, GBA, N64, GC, DS, DSI, 3DS, WII, WIIU, PC) Nintendo
Here’s where I write about the inevitable. Mario has played an integral part in the development of the culture of the world. Well, most parts, anyway. Pretty much anyone who identifies as a gamer, or those who have even played games at all, at some point have played a Mario game in their lives. If they say they haven’t, they are either lying or were born in the 2000s. There are so damn many Mario games now, and they’re so popular you likely don’t need me to recap them, but hey: there’s the classic 2D side-scrolling platformer that everyone in existence is familiar with, there’s the range of board game styled party games featuring mini games pitting players against each other, there’s the kart racing game that’s probably the best party game ever, there’s the 3D platformers, then there’s the spin-offs, which brings me to my next game…

Number 10 – Yoshi’s Island (SNES, GBA, WIIU, 3DS) Nintendo
This game is by far one of the cutest things I’ve ever played. Cuter than the cuteness of Kirby’s Epic Yarn. It used to be the only thing I played. Of course, this was way back when Grand Theft Auto was just a particularly violent dream to me. Wonderfully simple gameplay and great artwork and character design, making the game more than appealing and oh so addictive. The music, as with any Nintendo game, really, is nice and catchy, and always memorable. Did I mention it was cute? The sounds, the art style, the story, everything. It’s a little overwhelming in the best way possible, and I love it. I was a kid, sue me.

Number 11 – The Portal Series (PS3, XB360, PC) Valve
Do you like puzzle games? No? Then you’ll love Portal. This series takes what has become expected of the puzzle genre and beaten it with a lead pipe until it was funny and incredibly addictive. I’m certain that if you’ve spent a reasonable amount of time online you will have heard something about Portal, whether it’s the credits song of the first game, ‘Still Alive’, or ‘the cake is a lie.’ With its fantastic gameplay, interesting and somewhat satirical story and brilliantly written and performed dialogue, Portal spawned a culture of fans upon its release in 2007 as part of The Orange Box that bundled Half-Life 2, Episode 1 and 2, Team Fortress 2 and Portal. Portal 2 eventually was gifted by the Gods at Valve the ability to create and upload your own test chambers to the Steam Workshop, allowing for an endless supply of puzzles to solve, and I don’t know a better universe to allow for such creation. Portal is pretty much perfect from every angle, so go play it. Please.

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Number 12 – Worms (PC, SMD, AJ, PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4, SS, SNES, GB, GBC, GBA, N64, GC, DS, WII, XBOX, XB360, XB1, iOS) Team17
Ahh, Worms. The classic of classic strategy warfare games. If you can put it into that genre. It’s pretty unique to be honest. And it’s not really that classic either, when you consider strategy games as a whole. Just ignore what I’m saying, it’s fun, alright? A great party game, timeless, and always fun, Worms is most certainly worthy of a place on the list with its countless iterations and editions and versions and whatnot. I’m going to sound a bit controversial, but my favourite Worms game was Worms 3D on the PS2 and Xbox. It was at the time where I thought randomly generated 3D battlegrounds were pretty damn interesting, but whoever I talk to about it doesn’t agree with me, so hey. It’s also available on pretty much everything you own, so you have absolutely no reason not to buy it. I’ll be disappointed in you if you do not own a copy. Did I mention Yoshi’s Island is cute?

Number 13 – Call of Duty (PC, PS2, PS3, PS4, PSP, VITA, GC, WII, WIIU, DS, XBOX, XB360, XB1, iOS) Infinity Ward, Treyarch and Sledgehammer
Got to admit, I’m not a fan of Call of Duty. I don’t like it. In fact, I hate it. This doesn’t mean, however, that it wasn’t influential in the formation of gaming as we know it today, nor does it mean it’s a bad game per se. I’m not a fan of its story, and I hate its multiplayer and that’s everything Call of Duty sports other than the ‘Zombies Mode’. Nevertheless, Call of Duty has become something of a gaming icon over its years of development, enveloping gamers in a fun and gratuitously vicious world of warfare, either alone in the campaigns or online with up to 18 players in a bloody mess. The series really took off with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in which it ditched, at least for a while, the World War II theme and went modern. Couldn’t have figured that out for yourself, could you? I could go on for hours as to why I dislike CoD, but for the sake of being impartial, it’s a strong series with a HUGE following and I don’t see it going away any time soon, and as a side note I must say that I’m interested in seeing what they do with it next. I do like the multiplayer of Advanced Warfare; that’s pretty fun. And the story of Call of Duty 4 was decent. I enjoyed Call of Duty 3’s multiplayer, too. And zombies… SHUTUP!

Number 14 – The Pokémon Series (GB, GBC, GBA, DS, 3DS, N64, GC, WII, WIIU) Game Freak and Creatures Inc.
So, yes, Pokémon. Always a fan favourite when the developers of this series wheel another one out, and I’ve bitten pretty much every time. I do enjoy the turn-based fights and the usually unsuccessful attempts to catch them all, but I do struggle to play it for long lengths of time, rather playing in short bursts during down times where there’s nothing else for me to do but throw balls at monsters. Soundtrack is great, story is pretty cut and dry good guy/bad guy plus rival sort of deal-ey, but it all rolls together so well and never fails to give you the adventurous spirit, with a sizeable open world and a lot of people with faces to rub your smug victory on. The perfect addition to anyone’s 3DS game collection and a monument to the older world of gaming, Pokémon stands as a testament to what games can be like in terms of freedom and addictiveness. If I’ve been playing Pokémon for a good 16 years, they’re doing something right.

Number 15 – Telltale’s The Walking Dead (VITA, PS3, PS4, XB360, XB1, PC, iOS) Telltale Games
To end this list is one of the best story-driven games ever made. For someone who enjoys a narrative but thinks lowly of video games, this is a fantastic entry point and absolutely will not disappoint, and for those already acquainted with video games it’s a breath of fresh air. Well, I say fresh, it’s more pungently rotten and dead and full of flies and stuff. This game, or rather these two games, will have you building up your own deep relationships with characters in the game, only for the game to submit to its tradition of killing things. Telltale went with the art style of a comic book to respect the art style of the source material, Robert Kirkman’s eponymous graphic novel series, but despite the jagged edges of the visuals and inherent cartoonish-and-therefore-unrealistic (I really do hate this weird expectation drawn forth by the cult of modern warfare shooters and the like) graphics, the game has no trouble capturing and immersing the player in its harsh world. A Steam library essential and instant classic, spawning a new sub-genre of adventure/story-based games, Telltale’s The Walking Dead is absolutely phenomenal and deserves your attention. Oh, and you certainly need to play it before you die, and all that crap.

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Well, there you have it. The 15 games you must play before you die, courtesy of me. Assuming you read the introduction paragraph, you should already know that this list was absolutely not intended as a ‘top 15 games of all time’ list, nor is it the final say in a list of games you must play before you die. Games like Shadow of the Colossus and The Legend of Zelda are absolutely great, and I fully acknowledge that, but I compose this list in the hopes that a discussion may be drawn out of it and that people may come together to share their favourite and closest games, as I have done here, so that less around-the-block gamers may be encouraged to find the gems in the ever expanding multiverse that we call gaming. If you read this far, thank you for reading. If you skimmed over the titles I suggested from top to bottom and totally disagree with my suggested titles and are sharpening the knife, I suggest that you read what I’ve written fully. Disagreeing with me is fine. I love you. Now, go away.

[GARD]
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