Best Game of All Time?

     Talking about the best game of all time in class had me really thinking. What is the best game I've ever played? I've been playing games since I was 3 years old with the Sega Genesis. Since then I have owned every system to come after and have played hundreds of games. There is absolutely no way I can pick one out of the past 15 years of my life! Of course it's a hellafun to try and make a list. I'm not too sure of the order but it definitely is pretty close to my personal favorite. These are the top ten games I've ever played. The one rule of the list is that I can only pick one franchise too, no doubles on the list.

10. Kingdom Hearts II

     If I was making a list for the most confusing storyline of all time, this would take the cake. Kingdom Hearts isn't a series you can just jump into at any point because each game plays a significant importance to the overall story of the Xehanort saga. Each game has had an impact on me but II absorbed me into the story with beautiful worlds, the best soundtrack, and emotionally invested deeper with Sora, Goofy and Donald. Any game that can make the most cheery Disney characters into badasses must really have something special in it.

9. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

     Uncharted is the closest thing to a video game being a movie. With cinematic set pieces, amazing acting, and one of the most realistic looking games out there, there is no way you can't invest in a world like this. This game also tightened up the controls of the second game and added a sweet combat system. It also went into the psych of Drake and really answered why he does the things he does. It was a great way to end the trilogy and hope they continue to bring out more of his adventures.

8. Resident Evil 4

     Resident Evil hasn't been scary for a while and I'm still trying to figure out why. They decided to go with action and while the games are still great, I just wish they were like this one. This was the first 3rd person Resi game and it set a standard for the rest of the series. The game was also horrifying and kept me in panic mode in soo many situations. Controls were tight and had some insane zombies. Who can forget the chainsaw zombie. Leon needs more lead games like this.

7. The Orange Box

     3 Valve games in one? Your not sold yet? This was the best compilation game of all time having the  most critically acclaimed game of all time, Half Life 2. The standout of this game was definitely the introduction of Portal which was a mind challenging game filled with puzzles and hilarious dialogue. I couldn't decide whether to add Portal or Half Life to the list so why not have them both in this!

6. Super Mario 64

     This game has changed the gaming world. The first 3D Mario was definitely his best. An open world mushroom kingdom. Why not make every game like this. I remember as a kid running around the castle, exploring the coolest worlds and finding all of the little secrets hidden away in each level. Mario gets better and better every game, but he lost that non-linear experience that was found in games like this and Sunshine. Fighting Bowser in 3D was also amazing. And collecting all 120 star coins to find Yoshi at the end. This was one of the first games I truly completed everything in it and what an experience it was.

5. Shadow of the Colossus

     Whenever you hear an argument if video games are art, show them this game. This was not only PS2's masterpiece, but an artistic innovation. The game had just a boy and his horse taking on giant monster bosses, that was the game. You would travel fields, mountains, beautiful scenery to find these monsters to take down. Each monster was a puzzle to defeat and here's a question: Have you ever felt sorry for the monsters you kill in games? It's not like they were ever trying to attack you, you just have to do it to save the one you love. I cried every time I killed one of them and that's what made this game special, it was the emotion that it drew from you into a world. Beautiful game.

4. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles

     I am a giant Sonic fanboy and this is the first game I have ever played. Playing back on some games, I realize they don't age to well, but I see this getting better with age every time I play it. It was a platforming masterpiece with the best soundtrack of the entire series and that's saying something. Also the first Sonic game to involve cutscenes and a story. For 1994 thats pretty impressive. Skiing down the slopes of Ice Cap and Reaching the Death Egg in Sky Sanctuary, this game takes you on the most imaginative journey of all time.

3. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

     Now if I didn't pick Sonic as my number 1 favorite that's saying something. Since 2011, Sonic 3 has been my favorite game of all time, until Skyward Sword came out. I'm also a big Zelda fan and have a tattoo of the triforce on my chest. This Zelda game is as much of an innovation as Ocarina of Time. The Wii remote was your sword and the way you would swing it would actually be the way Link swung it in the game. Also this was the origin story of Zelda and it showed how they all ended up in Hyrule, how Zelda became the princess, and was the first time they had a love story between Link and Zelda. It was a huge change from the little elf boy must save the princess. This also featured the monster who became reincarnated into Ganondorf. This is also number 3 on my list because how emotionally attached I was to the characters. Zelda truly is a gaming experience.

2. The Walking Dead

     Next year a new best game of all time came out for me. It seems as each year, gaming gets better. Telltale released the Walking Dead which was the most unique game experience I have ever played. You decided what you did, who would live, how you treated friends, who you kill. The journey is you. You play as Lee who is taking care of this little girl, Clementine in a world becoming infected with zombies. Every decision you make puts the weight of the world on you and it's the first time I really had to think about what I had just done. It really is a depressing game as the world seems to never get better, but the moments that Clementine is happy are the ones you cherish the most. Can't wait for Season 2!

1. The Last of Us

     This year, Naughty Dog released the greatest game of all time. I played through it four times to make sure and each time it left an impact. Never have I ever felt the way I do about 2 characters like I do with this one. 20 years into an apocalyptic world, you follow a man Joel and a little girl Ellie as they travel across America to figure out a cure from an uninfectable Ellie. Following them on this adventure, there isn't any way you can't become attached to them. The little conversations they have, the people they meet, the things they have to do. You are basically teaching Ellie what the world once was as she was born in it, she only knows this world. Have you also ever played a game when your beating up a bad guy to there death, before you strike the finishing blow, they plead to you to let them go? How about when you run out of bullets, the bad guys hear that sound and they know your vulnerable and go right after you? Or what about every little sound you make could get you killed when undercover. That's how fucking powerful this is. It's the closest thing to real life. This game just knows and acts different for everyone. I won't ruin the ending to the game but it's so damn powerful. This is a must play and defines what video games are.