Top fifteen video games

A while back, I created a list of my top fifteen favorite movies. Why fifteen? Why not five or ten? I love too many of them to narrow the list down to five or ten. It's the same with video games. Even now, I had trouble editing this list down to fifteen games because there are so many others that I feel should be on here.

I've already made a post about my favorites/least favorites in video games. Characters, games by genre, etc. And I did a video series on YouTube about it (which has since been made private because I've abandoned my channel). I don't know if it was more difficult to choose one favorite game by genre, or to include all genres and choose just fifteen favorite games. Either way, I've done it.

Just for the sake of clarity, allow me to explain what I look for in a video game. Gameplay is probably the most important thing, closely followed by story. If the gameplay is tedious and boring, it takes all the fun out of playing. I loved the idea behind Fatal Frame, fighting off ghosts with a camera. Acquiring different upgrades as you progress through the game. It was a nice change from picking up a gun and shooting enemies. Story is important because it's what keeps you interested in a game (usually). There is a reason why so many people consider Silent Hill 2 the best game in the series. The story is incredible.

Aside from gameplay and story, I also appreciate a great soundtrack. To go back to Silent Hill again, those games would not have been nearly as unsettling without Akira Yamaoka's brilliant compositions playing in the background.

The characters have to be likable. Otherwise you end up with a game like Resident Evil 4, where instead of rescuing the president's daughter, you want to be the one to kill her. Unfortunately, that will get you a game over.

Voiceacting is another thing that's important to me. Bad voiceacting completely takes me out of the game. Games like Uncharted have really been stepping it up though, and hopefully all games will have that quality soon.

That being said. The games will be posted over the next fifteen days. I realized after I finished writing the post that it was way too long, even by my standards.

Games that almost made the cut: Dead Space, Donkey Kong Country, Plants vs. Zombies, Persona 3.