Last month I did a top-5 list of the worst and / or most disliked games in my collection of Xbox 360 games (that's what I play on), so now I thought I'd do a top-10 best games instead. I have about 70 games or more now and most of the games I do like, of course, so finding 10 extraordinary awesome games shouldn't be hard for me. So let's go ...
10. Left 4 Dead
Today this game was a game I pretty much even didn't wanna put on the list, but I did it anyways for the good old times I've had with it. One of my first games for the Xbox 360, I pretty much played this on a daily basis with my stepfather back in 2009 and first half of 2010 (when I was living at my mom's, that is). We had lots of fun together with this game, but since then I have, pretty understandable I hope, grown kinda tired of playing it. I have recently played it on Xbox Live with a friend of mine, but I am just too tired of the same old four campaigns over and over again. I know every inch of them inside and out, and it's the same old zombies and you get the whole picture. I have Left 4 Dead 2 as well, but I never liked that one as much, thought it was "too much / over the top" compared to the first one. But yeah, while I play this today and rather irritate myself over the many bugs, especially in the second one, rather than enjoying it and having fun, it was a great game back in the day, and still would be if I would've started playing it today, and it also still is the best zombie game I've played. I had 1,5 years of total fun with this game and that is something I'll never forget.
9. Saints Row 2
The best installment in its series, I bought this game in early 2009, being one of my first games. I bought it for a probably very common reason - it being a GTA-clone, and me being a GTA-addict. Clone or not, it's still a very good and fun game, or at least it was for its time. Unfortunately it's grown to be one of my most "broken" games which I rarely feel to play anymore, and when I do it it's like fifteen minutes tops. But this doesn't make me deny its former glory in my collection. It is one of the games I overall have played the most, as well as loved. It was also the first game I played of this series and I liked it a hundred times better than the first one, and when The Third came out a little over a year ago I ultimately thought this was still the best one. This is a real street-gang drama like it should be, with a lot more options (like the character creation, great variety of clothes, etc.). The Third did bare puff on this one. I can only hope that Saints Row 4, which I guess will come to life, will be as good as the second, or of course even better.
8. The Darkness 1 / 2
I could not decide which one is my favorite out of the great Darkness games. The first one was one of my first games for the Xbox 360 and while the gameplay isn't the most awesome I've played, the story is the thing about it that gets the big prize. The second one is better in gameplay and much of the physics, like the cell-shading graphics and that it actually looks and feels more like the original comics. Though I think I found the first game to actually be darker story-wise, but it's really just a matter of opinion and I'm sure that it differs from people to people who've played the games around the world. Personally, I'm leaving it at this, calling it even between two great games, and maybe time well give me more of a single choice which is the better one.
7. Gears of War 3
This amazing series is simply nothing but amazing. I have played all three of them and looking forward to the prequel Judgment now. One thing about the GoW games I really love is the story. It's a very great, well-written and interesting sci-fi story which really is what these games are all about. The gameplay controls always were a bit clunky but got better with each game, but that's not all. I really think they outdid themselves with each game overall. The first one was great, the second even better, and the third one the best. Now that's how it should be with games when they do series of them. Of course not all game series are like this, but GoW certainly is. If you're the type of gamer that really enjoys a good story, then GoW is easily one the finest choices you could go with.
6. Vanquish
This is a game that really came out pretty much unnoticed if I'm right. Not many people seem to know this game or wanna play it if they do. The reason because of this is most likely that it's an obvious Gears of War-clone set in a different sci-fi environment (much more white instead of the grey decay which GoW is set in), as well as the real boring cover art. I mean, if I wouldn't have seen gameplay for this and then tried out the demo, but simply seen it for the first time in some store, I would've thought it looked like some boring child's game. Clone or not, I have all the GoW games, Quantum Theory (another clone, though rather bad) and Vanquish. Now there is also Inversion which I have yet to play, but to be honest, I really think that Vanquish was slightly better than all of the GoW games. I simply enjoyed the gameplay more, especially with the abillities you have with your suite (glide). It's also a very high-paced game with 100 % action all the time. The only thing really about Vanquish that doesn't beat what GoW have is the story, which is kinda mediocre. But as I said, the gameplay is awesome and that made this one of the funniest games I ever played.
5. Bulletstorm
Gears of War gone FPS style. This is what this game is in one sentence. Created by Epic Games just like the GoW-series, this was a sure go for me. After playing the demo before its release in 2010 I was really excited about this one. It was great and fun gameplay, really cool sci-fi environments and cheesy Duke Nukem-style humour. I think the missions are very fun and the boss battles are fun and memorable, to me at least they were. I recently finished this for the third time and I'm certain that I will do it again and again. Non-stop action, funny and interesting characters (a sexy chick, of course!) and lots of skill points (my favorite being "rear entry"). The games soundtrack theme is also very great and occassionally there are moments where the music goes great with the gameplay.
4. Max Payne 3
Another masterpiece in Rockstar Games' catalogue. I loved the first two Max Payne games so this was a must for me, even if the sunny Brazilian setting sure differs from the trademark snowing or raining New York City like in the previous two games. I wasn't really sure what to expect when I was about to play it, thinking too much about the previous games. But I gotta say, this game did not disappoint! Rather the opposite, it really did left as a very worthy installment in the series, though I don't know if it's better than the previous ones. I leave that up to everyone to decide for themselves. It also has got a very good and interesting original soundtrack done by the L.A. noise band HEALTH. I liked every single second of the soundtrack during the gameplay and is easily music I could recommend as a stand-alone as well. A great combo of a great game with a great soundtrack, is the final verdict for Max Payne 3.
3. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
I never played any of the earlier Deus Ex games, but I always heard good things about them. As I am a big sci-fi fan, or rather the dystopian style which is on earth, tall buildings, flying cars and so on. I'm not a very big fan of aliens and overnatural stuff, really. Anyway, this game is a futuristic sci-fi story and that's why I decided that I must have this game. When I got it and did not expect it to be such a big surprise as it turned out to be - it was awesome! I played the story through immediately almost twice before changing to another game. It was just such a refreshing experience in gaming for me from my otherwise sandbox-style filled game collection. I've played some Splinter Cell games back in the day but never was much for the sneak-style games, but this was just what I needed at the time. The story is also cool and always kept me wanting to get further into it, and the freedom while doing everything is just great. The soundtrack is also one of the best O.S.T's ever made and alone worth getting this game.
2. Red Dead Redemption
GTA goes the wild west, not a bad idea I tell ya. The result is amazing, too! In 2008 or even early '09 before I ever heard of this game (I didn't know about Red Dead Revolver at the time either) I would've never figured that Rockstar Games would do this kind of game, but I'm really happy they did, because it's an awesome game just like everyone else of their games. The graphics are also pretty nice for the game's size, details and loads of content. I've played this one quite a lot online lately as well (I haven't had Xbox Live before, shame on me ...) and it's so fun! I'm really looking forward to another game in this series.
The only disappointment with this game was the (big) DLC - RDR: Undead Nightmare - a zombie-themed version of the game with a small, new side-story in which there is a zombie apocalypse. While I had fun playing it, I also felt disappointed in some ways. I'm not really sure in what ways, but I just feel like I'm missing some things that other Rockstar-games have, but then again, not all games can be perfect. Nonetheless, the Game Of The Year-edition of the game which I have now is a must-buy and includes every DLC.
1. Grand Theft Auto IV
The big winner in my collection and probably my favorite installment in the GTA series as well. The first GTA game I ever played (from what I recall) was GTA II, which was another thing, kinda. In 2001 I played GTA III which instantly made a huge impact on me - I loved it so much! The complete freedom to do whatever you can, and as I was just 10-11 years old at the time, it was extra cool. The year after I went on with GTA Vice City which literally changed my life at 12. The game was not only awesome, it's radio stations had great (80's) music that made my interest break into that as well. I officially became a metalhead while realizing that V-Rock had some awesome metal music, but also the synthpop and new wave channels became well played. A few years later GTA San Andreas came and expanded all boundaries and really showed that GTA was about to stay as my favorite games. After playing both VC and SA for pretty much every day straight between 2002-2007 (I wasted my youth on this, really), the latest GTA IV came out in 2008 and really did not change my habbit. I was in deep love, again.
Liberty City, which is the city in which GTA IV takes place, is based on New York City, which is a city I love in the movies and dream about going to, so it's just a perfect atmosphere for me to drive around the city as well as doing the missions. It's a great story, the best yet in fact. I liked the other GTA stories as well, but especially San Andreas' street gang-theme wasn't really my dream come true. I also really liked the DLC episodes they introduced in IV, especially the biker gang-themed the Lost and Damned (now this is the type of gang I like!).
I've just had so much fun with the GTA games for over 10 years now, and with the fifth installment, called GTA V of course, I will have at least two more years of solid GTA-fun (though I will continue to play no matter how tired I get of it).
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Some of my other cirka 70 games that didn't make the list, good as bad ones, with * for close ones:
Batman: Arkham City*
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow*
Kingdom of Amalur: Reckoning*
Devil May Cry 4*
Mirror's Edge*
Rage*
Bioshock*
Bioshock 2
Gears of War
Gears of War 2*
Dead Rising
Dead Rising 2
Skyrim
Fable II
Fable III
Prey
Turok
Timeshift
Sleeping Dogs
L.A. Noire
Saints Row
Saints Row The Third
Assassins Creed II
Racedriver: Grid
Battlefield 3
Crackdown
Alpha Protocol
Call of Juarez: Bound In Blood
Duke Nukem Forever
The Godfather II
Borderlands
Left 4 Dead 2
Dead Island
Perfect Dark Zero
The Simpsons Game
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days
Gun
The Club
F.E.A.R.
and more!
