Top 50 Greatest Games Ever!! As voted by the critics and YOU!!!

It's been 36 years since Pong gave birth to an entirely new form of gaming entertainment. We've had polls before about the best game of various genres (RPGs, Racers, Fighters, Star Wars, Shooter), the most Badass character, the Hottest game babe. We've had our own best game of 2007, 2006, and even the best game of the last generation (another congratulations to GTA III for that prestigious victory).

Now I'm taking this contest to a whole new level, in what will be the biggest contest poll ever for best Game, as voted on by System Wars. But this isn't just to determine the best game of 2008. It isn't even just for the best game of this generation. I'm not stopping there.

This is the poll for the Greatest Game of ALL Time. That's right, this will be the Battle Royal for which game of any platform, any year, any generation, is the very Best of the Best from all the games we've had to date.

This will go on for 4 weeks, the cut off date being Fri Jan 30. You can list any 10 games you'd like to nominate as your favourite. But there's an extra twist this time around. The winner isn't decided solely by the number of votes. The games will be scored by correlating popularity to the media consensus of merit. That is to say, points calculated by the number of votes to score rankings as determined by Gamerankings. Here's the break down;

A or less – 1 point
AA – 2 points
AAA – 3 points
Being on GR Top 20 – 4 points

As an example, if say SoulCalibur II gets 70 votes, multiplied by its 3 point value, it has a total score of 210. At the end of this contest I'll list the games with the top 20 highest scores on that criteria, which will also give us the Greatest Game of All Time.

The Golden Rule – NO Bashing!!!

This is the most important rule of this contest. Bashing of any kind will not be tolerated. Not towards any title, any series, any platform, any developer, or any brand. No comments about game this sucking, series that flopping, System-X has no good games, or disparaging any other posters selections. Yes, this may be System Wars but keep the bashing out of this thread! Breaking this rule will result in the forfeiture of your ballot.

The Other Rules

* You may nominate up to 10 games, less if you prefer, but no more than 10
* You can only nominate a particular game once
* Your nominations can only be from any generation of the post crash era (NES and onward)
* You may change your nominations at any time up to the cut off date (edit your choices in original post)
* Only games released by the end of 2008 are eligible
* Only members Level 3 and over may vote. The reason as most have surmised is a counter measure to anyone creating alt accounts to try and pad a game's score. I realize some newcomers here will be left out and I am genuinely sorry. But I feel that for the integrity of this contest, this rule is imperative.

IMPORTANT RULE UPDATE - 3rd Gen Games

There has been an issue brought up concerning games from the 1st generation after the crash as there's no accurate scoring source. Assigning a default 2 point value seemd like the most reasonable middle ground compromise going by difference of standards. But I now present a solution for evaluating the gems of that era from the ones not so memorable. And that last word was the key to it all, the really successful titles had gone on to have successful sequels, while the less memorable titles faded away. So the NEW RULE pertaining specifically to NES and Master System games;

A game that saw only a single iteration - 1 point
A game that had more than one title in the same generation - 2 points
A game that had sequels spanning outside it's original generation - 3 points

This should help balance things out better and give those much much older titles that shined in their day more of a fighting chance.

And so here we are, and from the vast treasury of gaming history, which will come out on top? 2D or 3D? Old school or cinematic immersion? How will the games of yesterday hold up to the newest technological wonders? Now we'll find out!

======

And finally, here are the results for the Top 50 Greatest Games of All Time :D

UPDATES, RULINGS, AND FAQS POST

Why Gameranking and not Gamespot scores?

I thought I'd address what is sure to be a disputed issue for this contest. We all know the standing rule; "Only Gamespot scores count". Though this seems to pertain mainly in determining flops which is one of the primary components of the game that is System Wars. But this being about the greatest game of all time, covering all generations, the scope of this is too big to go by just one site.

* So the first main reason is to go with a scoring system that encompasses a majority consensus which seems more balanced.
* Gamerankings also has their Top 20 list of all scored games, which in itself is reflective of games that received 10's from numerous sources, and is my criteria for the elite top ranking of this contest scoring system.
* Also GS scores only covers games from the past two generations and Gamerankings covers games going as far back as SNES

-

Important Reminders

* Although this is the Greatest Game of All Time contest, with a lack of scoring from anything in the pre-crash era, only games from NES and onwards are eligible
* You can ONLY nominate 10 games. I'm still seeing some people post more than one game in 1 slot (MGS all of them, FF 3 and 6, etc...) If you want to nominate more than 1 game of a series, each has to have their own slot, no sharing allowed as that has your ballot to more than the 10 game limit. IF THESE NOMINATIONS AREN'T CORRECTED, THEY WILL NOT BE COUNTED!!
* There is a case ruling allowing for Orange Box to be nominated. I reasoned that it is a scored game, is for some people their first entry into the Valve universe, and would be unfair to dismiss it from the GR Top 20 listing. But with that in mind, you can only nominate Orange Box OR each game seperately, but not both. This can't be used as a loophole to vote for a game twice.
* I did also look up that there was a package game for Mortal Kombat Trilogy (PS1, N64, Saturn) so this will also be allowed, but again, either the Trilogy OR each game individually. NOT both.
* Just a friendly reminder, be kind and spell out your nominations. I'd like to think I know every single title out there, but I don't :lol: Abbreviations can lead to confusion and miscounted tallies. I'm sure typing out 10 full names won't lead to carpal tunnel syndrome for anyone :P

1)Super Mario Bros 3

2)Shadow of the Colossus

3)Zelda: A Link to the Past

4)Metal Gear Solid 1

5)Metal Gear Solid 3

6)Half Life 1

7)Half Life 2

8 )Final Fantasy VI

9)Final Fantasy VII

10)Symphony of the Night

Best games, IMO of course:

1) Final Fantasy Tactics (Actually, War of the Lions, only for the improvements, but its the same game)

2) Super Mario Bros 1

3) Super Mario Bros 3

4) Punch-out

5) BioShock

6) Call of Duty 4

7) The Orange Box (such a gaming value)

8 ) GTA IV

9) Halo 3

10) NFL 2K5

This will go on for 4 weeks, the cut off date being Fri Jan 30. You can list any 10 games you'd like to nominate as your favourite. But there's an extra twist this time around. The winner isn't decided solely by the number of votes. The games will be scored by correlating popularity to the media consensus of merit. That is to say, points calculated by the number of votes to score rankings as determined by Gamerankings. Here's the break down;

A or less – 1 point
AA – 2 points
AAA – 3 points
Being on GR Top 20 – 4 points

As an example, if say SoulCalibur II gets 70 votes, multiplied by its 3 point value, it has a total score of 210. At the end of this contest I'll list the games with the top 10 highest scores on that criteria, which will also give us the Greatest Game of All Time.
AdobeArtist

...Can't say I understand what you're trying to say there, but here are my nominations:

1. OoT

2. Banjo-Kazooie

3. GoldenEye

4. SMB3

5. Donkey Kong Country 3

6. Super Mario 64

7. Resident Evil 4

8. Ratchet and Clank: UYA

9. Banjo-Tooie

10. AoE: Age of Kings

1.- Tales Of Symphonia

2.- Halo

3.- Resident Evil 4

4.- Golden Sun

5.- Dead Space

6.- Mass Effect

7.- Megaman X3

8.- Paper Mario

9.- Jet Force Gemini

10.- Ninja Gaiden Black

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Metroid Prime

Rock band 2

Super Mario Galaxy

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Resident Evil 4

Halo 3

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

Super Mario Bros. 3

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Metal Gear 2,

Metal Gear Solid,

Zelda Ocarina of Time,

Zelda A Link to the Past,

Super Mario 64,

GTA3,

Shadow of the Colossus,

Resident Evil,

Goldeneye,

Golden Sun 2

[QUOTE="AdobeArtist"]
This will go on for 4 weeks, the cut off date being Fri Jan 30. You can list any 10 games you'd like to nominate as your favourite. But there's an extra twist this time around. The winner isn't decided solely by the number of votes. The games will be scored by correlating popularity to the media consensus of merit. That is to say, points calculated by the number of votes to score rankings as determined by Gamerankings. Here's the break down;

A or less – 1 point
AA – 2 points
AAA – 3 points
Being on GR Top 20 – 4 points

As an example, if say SoulCalibur II gets 70 votes, multiplied by its 3 point value, it has a total score of 210. At the end of this contest I'll list the games with the top 10 highest scores on that criteria, which will also give us the Greatest Game of All Time.
MuereLoco

...Can't say I understand what you're trying to say there, but here are my nominations:

1. OoT

2. Banjo-Kazooie

3. GoldenEye

4. SMB3

5. Donkey Kong Country 3

6. Super Mario 64

7. Resident Evil 4

8. Ratchet and Clank: UYA

9. ummmm...

10. See 9

As I illustrated in my example. SoulCal II is a AAA game by gamerankings, so is attributed a 3 point value. If it gets 70 votes (by hypothetical example), it's score is 70 x 3 = 210 points. A list of the games with the top 10 highest scores will be compiled, and of course from that, greatest game ever. And thanks for your contribution. If you can think of 2 other games later on (up till Jan 30) just edit your original post :)

1. Half-Life 2

2. Battlefield 2

3. Need For Speed II

4. Legend of Zelda Wind Waker

5. Metal Gear Solid 4

6. Super Mario Bros. 1

7. Super Smash Bros. Brawl

8. Resident Evil 4

9. Star Wars Jedi Outcacst: Jedi Knight II

10. Super Mario Galaxy

:D

1. Super Mario Bros. 3

2. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

3. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

4. Metal Gear Solid

5. Final Fantasy VI

6. Perfect Dark

7. The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past

8. Super Metroid

9. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

10. Super Mario 64

Well we only need to nominate 10 and not have to give them ordering numbers right? Therefore:

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of The Patriots

Shenmue II

Final Fantasy VII

The Longest Journey

Curse of Monkey Island

Half Life 2

Super Mario 64

Shadow Hearts: Covenant

Star Ocean 2

Edit: First edit :P

1. Ninja Gaiden

2. RE4

3. MGS4

4. FFXIII

5. ICO

6. Soul Calibur II

7. SotC

8. FFVII

9. LoZ OoT

10. Super Mario Bros 3

1.Rayman (for the PS1 not the one for the wii about rabbits)

2. God of War 2

3. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3

4. Pokemon Blue

5. Ratchet & Clank

6. Super Mario Galaxy

7. Resident Evil 4

8. Grand Theft Auto IV

9. Jak 3

10.Little Big Planet

1. Diablo II 2. Pokemon Yellow 3. Super Mario Bros 3 4. World of Warcraft 5. Counterstrike 6. Animal Crossing 7. Starcraft 8. Warcraft II 9. Arcanum 10. Mortal Kombat TrilogyRigga911

Thanks for posting your ballot. Buuuuut, on a tiny little detail here, gonna have to pick just ONE game from the MK trilogy. We're also going by game scores rankings here. If you like, just pick the one with the highest score :)

[QUOTE="MuereLoco"]

[QUOTE="AdobeArtist"]
This will go on for 4 weeks, the cut off date being Fri Jan 30. You can list any 10 games you'd like to nominate as your favourite. But there's an extra twist this time around. The winner isn't decided solely by the number of votes. The games will be scored by correlating popularity to the media consensus of merit. That is to say, points calculated by the number of votes to score rankings as determined by Gamerankings. Here's the break down;

A or less – 1 point
AA – 2 points
AAA – 3 points
Being on GR Top 20 – 4 points

As an example, if say SoulCalibur II gets 70 votes, multiplied by its 3 point value, it has a total score of 210. At the end of this contest I'll list the games with the top 10 highest scores on that criteria, which will also give us the Greatest Game of All Time.
AdobeArtist

...Can't say I understand what you're trying to say there, but here are my nominations:

1. OoT

2. Banjo-Kazooie

3. GoldenEye

4. SMB3

5. Donkey Kong Country 3

6. Super Mario 64

7. Resident Evil 4

8. Ratchet and Clank: UYA

9. ummmm...

10. See 9

As I illustrated in my example. SoulCal II is a AAA game by gamerankings, so is attributed a 3 point value. If it gets 70 votes (by hypothetical example), it's score is 70 x 3 = 210 points. A list of the games with the top 10 highest scores will be compiled, and of course from that, greatest game ever. And thanks for your contribution. If you can think of 2 other games later on (up till Jan 30) just edit your original post :)

[QUOTE="AdobeArtist"]

As I illustrated in my example. SoulCal II is a AAA game by gamerankings, so is attributed a 3 point value. If it gets 70 votes (by hypothetical example), it's score is 70 x 3 = 210 points. A list of the games with the top 10 highest scores will be compiled, and of course from that, greatest game ever. And thanks for your contribution. If you can think of 2 other games later on (up till Jan 30) just edit your original post :)

micky4889

I could consider rounding the decimals up or down. .6 round up, .5 round down. I'll think about it.

Hmmm....

Pokemon Silver

Metal Gear Solid 3

Banjo-Tooie

Chrono Trigger

Donkey Kong Country

Halo

Metroid Prime

Ninja Gaiden (xbox)

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Viewtiful Joe 2 (probably only vote this series will get :P)

I gotta hand it to you, Adobe, this is a pretty genius poll.

Yoshi's Island
Vagrant Story
Secret of Mana
Super Mario World
Okami
Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past

Thats all I got for now

Hm I guess I will go with these(the list it not in order, do they have to be?).

Super Mario 64
Super Mario Galaxy
Half Life
Portal
Super Mario Bros 3 (GBA version)
Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (GBA version)
Metroid Prime
Shadow of the Colossus
Super Metroid (VC version)
Prince of Persia (2008 )

honorable mentions: Kingdom Hearts, Legand of Zelda OoT, Bioshock, Professor Layton, The World Ends With You, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, Paper Mario, Pokemon Gold, Final Fantasy VIII, Mario Kart DS.

Oh... let's see here. This takes careful thought and the thing is, my opinion changes so much. Greatest games that I have played... alright here we go (in no particular order):

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
2. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
3. Shadow of the Colossus
4. Kingdom Hearts 2
5. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
6. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
7. Final Fantasy IX
8. Fable 2
9. Lost Odyssey
10. Final Fantasy VII

The honorable mentions

• Metroid Prime
• Halo 1, 2, & 3
• Ninja Gaiden Sigma
• Final Fantasy X & XII
• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
• Resident Evil 4
• Half-Life 2
• Super Smash Bros Melee

1) Final Fantasy 7 2) Final Fantasy 8 3) Final Fantasy 9 4) Final Fantasy 10 5) Chrono Trigger 6) Starcraft 7) Diablo 2 8) Kingdom Hearts 9) Kingdom Hearts 2 10) Metal Gear Solid 4 *Question, Do remakes and expansions count as the same thing? (ie. Chrono Trigger and Starcraft [Broodwar] )blazndragon0

I think we'll have to keep this to the base games, as the expansions are just that, extra content to the main game that isn't complete or playable on its own. As for remakes, are you talking things like Tomb Raider Anniversary? Well since it's a complete self contained game, I guess those can be nominated, but not both the original and the remake, just one or the other. Which ever you think is better.

1)Diablo 2

2)Age of Empires II

3)MGS3: Subsistence

4)KotOR

5)Civ IV

6)Fallout 2

7)Planescape: Torment

8 )Bioshock

9)Crysis

10)God of War 2

I suspect OoT will win this in a landslide, especially because of the multiplier. Still, I don't think anyone can complain about that.

[QUOTE="blazndragon0"]1) Final Fantasy 7 2) Final Fantasy 8 3) Final Fantasy 9 4) Final Fantasy 10 5) Chrono Trigger 6) Starcraft 7) Diablo 2 8) Kingdom Hearts 9) Kingdom Hearts 2 10) Metal Gear Solid 4 *Question, Do remakes and expansions count as the same thing? (ie. Chrono Trigger and Starcraft [Broodwar] )AdobeArtist

I think we'll have to keep this to the base games, as the expansions are just that, extra content to the main game that isn't complete or playable on its own. As for remakes, are you talking things like Tomb Raider Anniversary? Well since it's a complete self contained game, I guess those can be nominated, but not both the original and the remake, just one or the other. Which ever you think is better.

Considering the changes in gaming media over the years,as soon as you brought in gamerankings for the best game of ALL time,things just fail right there.But then it got ridiculous..

Being on GR Top 20 – 4 points

AdobeArtist

This way it can never work.What is a much better thing to do is to subtract the games overall ranking no. from it's votes like if halo 3 has 80 votes and is at no. 40 at gamerankings then it's score will be 40.

* Since games of the 3rd gen (NES, Sega MS) aren't listed in GR, any nomination will be given a default 2 point value

AdobeArtist

With this system those games have almost no chance of winning which just destroys the purpose of finding the greatest game of "all" time.

I understand that it's not possible to have a really accurate way of determining the greatest game of all time and I appreciate the effort you have put in but this is just thouroughly flawed.This thread needs to be locked and a new scheme devised for this contest.

In no order

1: Zelda: OoT (N64)

2: Metal Gear Solid (PS1)

3: Super Mario RPG: LotSS (SNES)

4: Metroid Prime (GCN)

5: Resident Evil 4 (GCN)

6: Halo (XBOX)

7: Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3)

8: Baulder's Gate: Dark Alliance (GCN)

9: Super Mario 64 (N64)

10: Rock N' Roll Racing (SNES)

In no particular order

1. Halo 3
2. Diablo II
3. Pathways into Darkness
4. Shadow of the Colossus
5. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
6. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
7. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
8. Civilization IV
9. Pokemon Red Version
10. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

EDIT: There seems to be a varied selection of games, which is good. This is looking good so far Adobe.

I was talking like Chrono Trigger SNES vs. Chrono Trigger DS but I guess essentially, they are the same thing. Ok thanks I understand :)blazndragon0

Ahhh, so you were really talking about ports. The same example could be drawn with Bioshock going from 360 to PS3. And since they are the exact same game, it's just another multiplat. This contest is looking at the game itself, regardless of system. In most cases they'll have the same score rank anyway, but in the rare chance of a disparity, I'll use the higher score.

[QUOTE="micky4889"][QUOTE="AdobeArtist"]

As I illustrated in my example. SoulCal II is a AAA game by gamerankings, so is attributed a 3 point value. If it gets 70 votes (by hypothetical example), it's score is 70 x 3 = 210 points. A list of the games with the top 10 highest scores will be compiled, and of course from that, greatest game ever. And thanks for your contribution. If you can think of 2 other games later on (up till Jan 30) just edit your original post :)

AdobeArtist

I could consider rounding the decimals up or down. .6 round up, .5 round down. I'll think about it.

Well you do need to do something since the system you have in place makes it near impossible for any AA game to win since it would have to get 34% more votes then the AAA

( im not talking about a low end AA game here im talking about a game that gets 85%-89% but yet has to get 34% more votes then a game that scores 90% )

1 Starcraft

2 Knights of the Old Republic

3 Oot

4 Halo:Ce

5 Half Life 1

6 GTA 3/VC

7 Super Mario Bros

8 Counter Strike

9 Sword Caliber

10 Doom

1) Flashback: The Quest for Identity

2) Super Mario Bros. 3

3) Street Fighter II

4) Abe's Exoddus

5) Broken Sword/Circle of Blood

6) Shadow of the Colossus

7) Halo: Combat Evolved

8 ) System Shock 2

9) Half-Life

10) Shenmue II

I was talking like Chrono Trigger SNES vs. Chrono Trigger DS but I guess essentially, they are the same thing. Ok thanks I understand :)

Ahhh, so you were really talking about ports. The same example could be drawn with Bioshock going from 360 to PS3. And since they are the exact same game, it's just another multiplat. This contest is looking at the game itself, regardless of system. In most cases they'll have the same score rank anyway, but in the rare chance of a disparity, I'll use the higher score.

1) Flashback: The Quest for Identity

2) Super Mario Bros. 3

3) Street Fighter II

4) Abe's Exoddus

5) Broken Sword/Circle of Blood

6) Shadow of the Colossus

7) Halo: Combat Evolved

8 ) System Shock 2

9) Half-Life

10) Team Fortress

FrozenLiquid

This is the poll for the Greatest Game of ALL Time. That's right, this will be the Battle Royal for which game of any platform, any year, any generation, is the very Best of the Best from all the games we've had to date.AdobeArtist

* Your nominations can only be from any generation of the post crash era (NES and onward)AdobeArtist

Only "post crash era" but can be from "any platform, any year, any generation"? So can I nominate Pathways into Darkness, which came out on the Mac back in 1993? Its has no written reviews that I know of.

1. Metal Gear Solid 4

2. Half Life 2

3. Half Life

4. Metal Gear Solid 3

5. Socom

6. Dead Space

7.Doom

8. Postal

9. GTA3

10. Metal Gear Solid

1. Half-Life (PC - 1998.)
2. Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox - 2001)
3. Age of Empire 2: Age of Kings (PC - 1999)
4. Command and Conquer 95 (PC - 1995)
5. Civilizations IV (PC - 2004)
6. GTAIII (PS2 - 2001)
7. Perfect Dark (N64 - 2000)
8. Goldeneye 007 (N64 - 1997)
9. Super Mario World (SNES - 1991)
10. Metroid Prime (Gamecube - 2002)

Why are people voting?:|

This is a horribly flawed way of doing this.

1) Zelda: Ocarina of time (n64)

2) Super Mario World (SNES)

3) Final Fantasy 7 (Playstation)