Little did you realize that there are some games that I don't rip into with caustic and haphazard criticism. This list is always subject to change as I tend to be hideously picky about favorites and there are a lot of games out there that I still want to try. I have many honorable mentions, many intriguing omissions, and most importantly of all: I may often think a game is well designed but won't like it as much as an inferiorly designed game that has a certain magic to it for me. Then again, maybe I'm just not easily impressed by game's with strong reputations and won over by game's with weaker reputations more easily.

[Key: FAV - Favorites; HM - Honorable Mentions; NO - Notable Omissions]

(Before video games-1984)

FAV: None.

HM: Centipede (1980 - Arcade)

I love how speed builds up in this game, how the screen cycles through colors each level, how the music and sound effects build tension as the centipedes draw ever closer to your...ship (I always thought it was a floating snake head with its tongue sticking out.). The enemy variety and the awesome roller-ball that you controlled your ship with made this one of the most unique arcade games I would see for years. Later I would encounter Dance Dance Revolution, Panic Park, a Fist of the North Star boxing game, and some game where you pretended to ride a derby horse at my local Wunderland/Tilt and realize just how weird people's ideas for games could get.

HM: Galaga (1981 - Arcade)

You can allow one of your ships to be kidnapped, kill the alien who took your ship, and then combine your ships like Voltron for dual-shot ASS KICKING. That and the game is quite good, in ways that cannot be fully explained. It's challenging and yet a very fair game.

NO: Everything to do with Atari's consoles and competitors.

If this was a list of the most important contributions to the video game industry, I'd have something to say. As it stands, arcade games were all that I cared about from this time period. The Atari systems and competitors like Intellivision and Colecovision prided themselves on porting over arcade games to home consoles for the most part. Trouble is, if I wanted to play one of my earlier listed arcade games, I'd sooner play the definitive version than Atari's attempts.

NO: Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man (1980 & 1982 - Arcade)

First of all, Ms. Pac-Man is better than regular Pac-Man. If you disagree then you're a sick human being. Really though, I think the Pac-Man games are good, but not that great. I could put quarters into Centipede or Galaga for a long while, but even with Ms. Pac-Man I might play one game and then move on to something else.