| 30 | Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES) |
| 29 | World of Warcraft (PC) |
| 28 | The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GameCube) |
| 27 | Metroid Prime (GameCube) |
| 26 | The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (Nintendo 64) |
| 25 | Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) |
| 24 | Shenmue 2 (Dreamcast/Xbox) |
| 23 | Halo 2 (Xbox) |
| 22 | The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Game Boy) |
| 21 | Half-Life (PC) |
Comments on the games I've played:
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (Game Boy Advance)
I enjoyed this, though not as much as Yoshi's Story on the N64. I felt that the inclusion of Baby Mario was a little unneeded at times, only in place to let the player make a mistake without dying, but the levels were made harder to make up for this. The game as a result felt a bit disjointed and overly frustrating at times.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GameCube)
Possibly my favourite Zelda game, but that might be because it's the first I completed. It's a stunning-looking game, with a clever story and great characters. I loved sailing across the world, exploring the sea, and just getting lost for hours on end on an outlying island. People criticise many things about the game - the triforce fetching quest, the lack of voice acting, the fact that it's not gritty and realistic - but I think that it will be a timeless game for years to come. I'm not sure if I'll ever replay it, but that's not a comment on it's quality; it's a comment on how final the finishing blow felt.
Metroid Prime (GameCube)
Stunning to look at, a good difficulty curve and amazing update of a series from 2D to 3D. I never got that far through it, because it was set inside cramped caves and I felt horribly constrained. Maybe I'll get back to it one day.
Super Mario Bros 3 (NES)
I've never played this beyond the first few levels. Maybe one for Virtual Console in the future.
Shenmue 2 (Dreamcast)
I loved the first game, completing it over a good few months, taking in the entire experience with collections from the vending machines and a very happy cat. I felt sad when I got on the boat, leaving my old life behind. On starting the second game, I was horrified when my savings were stolen as I arrived in Hong Kong, and I never quite got the enthusiasm to continue playing beyond an hour or so. My VMU still has the game save on it - and maybe I'll go back to it, if they announce that they'll be completing the story.
Halo 2 (Xbox)
The single player game was good, if a bit similar to the first game, and I enjoyed controlling a different character which meant a different style of play. It's in multiplayer that this game really shines though, and it is probably one of my favourite online games ever - only Phantasy Star Online holds better memories for me.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (Game Boy Color)
Actually, this might be the first Zelda I completed, but it's relatively far from a traditional Zelda template so might not count. Zelda's not in it, for a start. It's a masterpiece on how to design a game for a different platform; recognising that people play handheld games in a different way to console games, Nintendo designed a shorter adventure which did not feel limited by the hardware in any way.
Half-Life (PC)
I've never completed this. I loved the way the story was delivered, and the clever way that the marines were introduced firstly as friends and then as enemies. It wasn't wholly revolutionary - the building up of weapons, and the use of health and armour were well established in games already - and I got to a point where it was just a bit too difficult (I believe, from looking at a walkthrough, that it was in the chapter 'Questionable Ethics'). Of course, my save from then is lost in the mists of time. Maybe one day I'll turn god mode on.
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