When I write my end-of-the-year articles for various publications, I purposely avoid a top ten list. They are cliche, and since no one can actually play every movie, eat at every restaurant, read every book or play every game in a year, the lists are really just a fraction of a fraction - it’s really the top ten for what that one person remembers watching, eating, reading or playing. That’s not to say, of course, that a few top ten lists out there aren’t useful or even fun to read. In no particular order, here are ten worthwhile or fun top ten lists related to video games.
Tech Blog’s “Top 10 Strangest Game Controllers”
Really, what could be better than a dance mat for your fingers? There’s also a realistic railroad game controller, the chainsaw controller and, of course, both the world’s largest and smallest NES controllers.
The semi-static GameRankings & RottenTomatoes home page lists
It may be a little bit of cheating on my part here, but semi-static lists (they stay in one place but change their ratings) are uber useful to anyone shopping for the newest games. Both GameRankings and RottenTomatoes compile professional media scores to offer an overall rating (and yes, a few of my scores can be found on both sites). These are two very helpful, yet similar, lists.
Sorry PCMag, but since your article was “Looking Back at 2006,” it’s not really the cliched top ten list. Darn nonconformists. Instead, I favor their August 2006 “Gaming Myths” article which is far less dull than their more recent “Looking Back” article. My favorite myths: PC Games Will Fail, Handheld Games are for Kids and Games are Too Violent.
Ah, what a person can find with a Google search. I couldn’t pass up this list just based on its auspicious name. This guy takes all the all time game lists he could find, crudely crunches a few numbers and comes up with the top five ultimate games. Gotta admire the effort. What, you think I’m gonna tell?
OK , so it ain’t even out yet (remember, 2006 isn’t even over), but when it does come out, it’ll show the top selling US retail games of the year along with other, more meaningful stats than the other lists. Look for it to be posted to this site around the second or third week in January 2007.
It’s a couple years old, and a few are now main characters, but the idea is solid. Sidekicks are important, too. Just ask Robin. You have to give some credit to lists that reach back pretty far to get in the good but not not forgotten games (such as 1997’s The Curse of Monkey Island and 1985’s NetHack) and offer a good range.
OK, so it’s ten times larger than a top ten list but it’s a mighty morphin’ list based on readers’ comments and site reviews that deserves some respect. It may be a little skewed since it only includes games that got at least 1000 user ratings but it does include world releases.
As silly as it sounds, this features ten video game themed cakes. Now you can eat the Katamari. A few look professional, but they are all yummy and funny.
This one also reaches to the depths of the game cart box to pull out some goodies. They aren’t really the best ever, but it’s an admittedly lacking list that’s still fun to browse: “So we’re not saying these are the 10 hardest bosses or the 10 most stylish ones - just the 10 we remember the most.” (Honesty is an admirable policy.)
The list includes money and game makers. It’s at least interesting and a few egotistical gamers would want their names on the list as the greatest, but remember, these people were actually influential.
When I write my end-of-the-year articles for various publications, I purposely avoid a top ten list. They are cliche, and since no one can actually play every movie, eat at every restaurant, read every book or play every game in a year, the lists are really just a fraction of a fraction - it’s really the top ten for what that one person remembers watching, eating, reading or playing. That’s not to say, of course, that a few top ten lists out there aren’t useful or even fun to read. In no particular order, here are ten worthwhile or fun top ten lists related to video games.
Tech Blog’s “Top 10 Strangest Game Controllers”
Really, what could be better than a dance mat for your fingers? There’s also a realistic railroad game controller, the chainsaw controller and, of course, both the world’s largest and smallest NES controllers.
The semi-static GameRankings & RottenTomatoes home page lists
It may be a little bit of cheating on my part here, but semi-static lists (they stay in one place but change their ratings) are uber useful to anyone shopping for the newest games. Both GameRankings and RottenTomatoes compile professional media scores to offer an overall rating (and yes, a few of my scores can be found on both sites). These are two very helpful, yet similar, lists.
PC Magazine’s “Ten Gaming Myths”
Sorry PCMag, but since your article was “Looking Back at 2006,” it’s not really the cliched top ten list. Darn nonconformists. Instead, I favor their August 2006 “Gaming Myths” article which is far less dull than their more recent “Looking Back” article. My favorite myths: PC Games Will Fail, Handheld Games are for Kids and Games are Too Violent.
“The Best Video Games in the History of Humanity”
Ah, what a person can find with a Google search. I couldn’t pass up this list just based on its auspicious name. This guy takes all the all time game lists he could find, crudely crunches a few numbers and comes up with the top five ultimate games. Gotta admire the effort. What, you think I’m gonna tell?
NPD Group‘s annual video game sales report
OK , so it ain’t even out yet (remember, 2006 isn’t even over), but when it does come out, it’ll show the top selling US retail games of the year along with other, more meaningful stats than the other lists. Look for it to be posted to this site around the second or third week in January 2007.
GameSpy’s “Top Ten Videogame Sidekicks”
It’s a couple years old, and a few are now main characters, but the idea is solid. Sidekicks are important, too. Just ask Robin. You have to give some credit to lists that reach back pretty far to get in the good but not not forgotten games (such as 1997’s The Curse of Monkey Island and 1985’s NetHack) and offer a good range.
IGN’s “Top 100 Games of All Time” (updated for 2006)
OK, so it’s ten times larger than a top ten list but it’s a mighty morphin’ list based on readers’ comments and site reviews that deserves some respect. It may be a little skewed since it only includes games that got at least 1000 user ratings but it does include world releases.
GameTrailer’s “Top Ten Video Game Weapons”
They go into specific weapons across many years of games to include impossible, automatic and purely bombastic weapons and yep, even the turtle shell. Check it out on YouTube.
YouNEWB’s “Top Ten gamer Cakes”
As silly as it sounds, this features ten video game themed cakes. Now you can eat the Katamari. A few look professional, but they are all yummy and funny.
GameStop’s “Top Ten Boss Fights”
This one also reaches to the depths of the game cart box to pull out some goodies. They aren’t really the best ever, but it’s an admittedly lacking list that’s still fun to browse: “So we’re not saying these are the 10 hardest bosses or the 10 most stylish ones - just the 10 we remember the most.” (Honesty is an admirable policy.)
MTV’s “The 10 Most Influential Video Gamers of All Time”
The list includes money and game makers. It’s at least interesting and a few egotistical gamers would want their names on the list as the greatest, but remember, these people were actually influential.
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