What are the best games ever? We pick some of our favourites!

What are the best games ever? We pick some of our favourites!

Editor's Note: Please have a look at this feature in this week's Student rather than reading it online. It's a very nice two page spread with coloured pictures and everything. Check it out!

Worms Armageddon

Prod, Rope, Baseball Bat, Shotgun, Uzi, Minigun, Dynamite, Bazooka, Homing Missile, Grenade, Fire Punch, Dragon Ball, Kamikaze, Flamethrower, Holy Hand Grenade, Banana Bomb, Priceless Ming Vase, Old Woman, Super Sheep, Homing Pigeon, Napalm Air Strike, Carpet Bomb, Inflatable Scouser, French Sheep Strike, Concrete Donkey, Mail Strike, Mad Cow, Armageddon... death... silence. Worms.

-Craig 'DF' Wilson

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Despite the ridiculous bosses, boxes and haircuts, I’ve loved the Metal Gear Solid series ever since it was reborn on the PlayStation. The level of realism set the standard for a whole generation of gaming and I’ll never forget the day the fourth wall was well and truly broken when an in-game character told me to search for the ‘CD case’. My reason for not picking MGS4? I haven’t got a bloody PS3.

-Neil Pooran

The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

Often overlooked in favour of its inferior brother Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask is a testament to just how emotionally powerful video games can be. The Zelda staples of exploring dungeons and fighting monsters take a back seat to uncovering the secrets of the people inhabiting the game’s world, who thanks to the quality of the writing seem both bizarre and utterly real. Featuring more depth than the average novel, Majora’s Mask maturely handles questions of identity, love and loss while still finding room for talking beavers and a giant mechanical goat.

-Robert Shepherd

Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if real life was more like an RPG? You would have infinite time to consider options for every sentence in a conversation and you could gain skills in any activity under the sun simply by massacring goblins.

If life was an RPG we could only hope it would be something like the undisputed king of all RPGs, Baldur’s Gate II. A superlative plot, truly lovable characters, and a miniature giant space hamster all add up to the greatest game I’ve ever played. To be honest, real life can piss off.

-Stuart Ritchie

Thief: Deadly Shadows

Forget Sam Fisher with those three stupid lights on his stupid head.  The cynical, club-wielding Garrett is the original and best sneaky bastard.  All the Thief games are good, but Deadly Shadows contains one of the most astounding (and terrifying) pieces of level design ever conceived – the Shalebridge Cradle.

-Richard Lane

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Sonic the Hedgehog started with my love affair with the hyperactive blue mammal, but Sonic 2 defined my childhood. From the sublime level design to the final confrontation against a giant mechanical egg, all set to a truly iconic soundtrack, it’s a bundle of joy to from start to finish. Forget the ridiculous sidekicks and Sonic’s downhill spiral into the third dimension- this is the best (Sonic) game ever.

-Alan Williamson

Panzer Dragoon Saga

All right, I admit it. I have two favourite games. Still deluded that Final Fantasy VII is the best role-playing game ever? Think again. Panzer Dragoon Saga is so bursting with character, drama, atmosphere, attention to detail and downright awesomeness that to use the word ‘masterpiece’ seems barely sufficient. It’s not just the best Sega Saturn game ever made; it’s the best Sega game ever made and an experience that will stay with me long after I’ve forgotten about Final Fantasy XXVI.

-AW

Sim City 2000

Start somewhere. Beside a river. Tiny houses. Small industry provides jobs. Shops sell industrial wares. More roads, less traffic. Housing sprawls everywhere. More jobs. More industry, dense factories. Fire. People unsafe. Build fire and police stations. City is large. Dense, full of smog. Water tower useless. Use a pump. Less roads, more traffic. Buses. Schools and hospitals. How about trains. Where is my income. Roads don't work. Cut back on funding. I can't cut back on funding. I WILL REGRET THIS! Sprawling mess. Done. Destroy. Start all over again.

-Jamie Manson

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2

Tony Hawk's 2 is a dangerous game. When it came out I was 11 years old, very suggestible and had all the coordination of a newborn horse. My skating career lasted about three days and four stitches, but the game stuck with me: the freedom of movement and the option to customise meant that I was still playing it two years later. The series always had great soundtracks but this was the one that sparked a teenage taste for loud, angry music and all the angsty, baggy-jeaned idiocy that comes with it. Cheers, Neversoft…

-Lyle Brennan

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Oblivion is fantastic. The graphics are stunning, the action is intense and there is always something else to do. If at any point you find yourself bored of following the well scripted and engrossing main quest, the game is saturated with a multitude of sub quests to leave you always wanting more. Oblivion solves most of the problems evident in earlier Elder Scrolls games, especially removing the chore of travelling across its sixteen square miles of forest and mountain ranges. With the option to create whatever character you imagine, the possibilities are limitless.

-Max Greene

Pacman

Wakka wakka wakka wakka! There’s no logical explanation of why playing Pacman is the delightful experience it is: in real life, being transformed into a yellow wedge and gobbling up as many glowing dots as possible before being gobbled up in turn by ghosts would be a nightmare scenario.  Yet somehow on the screen, its pure magic.  And for true fans, Primark now sells themed underwear! Wee-ee-oo bloop bloop!

-Mairi Gordon

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Most action adventure games focus on combat and add some puzzles or platform action on the side, but The Sands of Time flips this around by focusing on the platform aspect of the game. Both platforming and combat are fun, fluid, and well integrated. Combined with a great story, stunning graphics and the ability to rewind time to correct your mistakes, Sands delivers an incredibly enjoyable experience from start to finish.

-Tom Hasler