This isn’t a list of the best 5 games of all time. Rather, it’s a list of the top 5 games that consumed large portions of my life…whether they deserved the attention or not…they go it.
1. 1942
An old school “forward on rails” quick-twitch, 2-D sprite based World War II game that I just thought was too freakin cool. This is the only game that I literally played for more than 24 hours straight without sleep. A few bathroom breaks. A couple chugs of soda. I think my mom even brought me some pizza. But I just could get enough of the adrenaline pumping, quick maneuver airplane fighting.
2. Chrono Trigger
This was my first major forray into RPG territory. I’d played RPGs in the past, but this one made me fall in love with them. And it had a pretty kick ass story line too. But really I mention this game because of the memories I have of playing it with my best friend at the time Chris Collier. Haven’t seen him in over 10 years (a freakin decade!). Oh, yeah, we played this one through the night.
3. Faxanadu
This was the first action-adventure game that I got sucked into. And, it was the first game where I discovered the art of jerryrigging the controller to pick up resources while your away at school! I found this spot where enemies kept getting generated and walking towards me, and I just kept the slash button held down with a marble and some tape…it did the trick every time. I’d come home with more gold than I knew what to do with. And then I’d go kick some butt. Cheating…yes. Fun…oh, definitely.
4. Warcraft/Dark Reign
These were my college networking games. Way before World of Warcraft, and even back in the day when Ethernet wasn’t the only standard for wired networks (ever hear of coaxial chains?), my buddies and I would play 8 player games for hours and hours. Best multiplayer fun I ever had. Pure joy.
5. Sim City/Populous
I couldn’t decide between the two because I poured too many hours into both of them, but I sure liked playing God regardless. Building the perfect city was always my dream, but the damned citizen were never happy. Oh well.