I'm making the cut-off date 1990 because home systems and PCs in the '90s became so sophisticated that they offered a better gaming experience than arcade machines. So at that point, the field gets really crowded and hard to judge. We're looking here at games that are popular, influential, and (most important) reward playing more than once. Here we go:
5. Ms. Pac Man (Midway 1981) - Believe it or not, this is generally considered the most popular video game of all time. It gets more media references than its predecessor, and with multiple maze designs and wandering prizes, it's still fun to play even today.
4. Oregon Trail (?) - First developed by a junior high social studies teacher in the '70s, this text-based game has gone through many updates and revisions over the years (there's even a complex GUI version on the market), but the original is still played and enjoyed both in and out of the classroom.
3. Zaxxon (Sega 1982) - Even after 21 years, I still can't get the hang of this game, but the fact that I try (and that so many gamers who have mastered it swear by it) tells me this one's a must for the top five. The first game to combine scrolling and 3D in the same playfield, this fast-paced shooter was truly ahead of its time.
2. NES Super Mario Bros. 3 (Nintendo 1989(?)) - Somewhere in Mario's surreal quest to consume mushrooms, collect stars of invincibility, cram his pockets with gold coins and investigate secret tunnels and caves, the rescue of his fair princess becomes an afterthough, but I swear there's a fascinating dissertation in this game just waiting to happen (and if I ever go back to grad school, I'm gonna write it). The developers of this installment in the Mario series look reverently to the past in its title character, who starred in four previous games (beginning with the golden-age classic Donkey Kong (Nintendo 1981)). But more importantly, this sophisticated game trusts in a future where video games are no longer a trade-off of a few quarters for fifteen minutes diversion. With an expansive network of puzzles and symbolism, this is an ambitious gaming experience that can be pursued for hours in front of the screen and away from it -- in places where obsessed gamers suck down gallons of Mountain Dew and talk in the secret language of the game about that time they found a huge mess of unguarded gold coins down whatever tunnel they happened into after just barely avoiding those randomly swinging wrecking balls and falling axes. More than any other title, I think Super Mario Bros. 3 ushered in the wildly creative (though sometimes overly complicated) saga-type games that seem to dominate the industry today.
1. Asteroids (Atari 1979) - This mega-hit of the golden era shows its age in the black and white graphics and ponderous 2-note soundtrack, but I think the clean angles (sharply rendered by the once revolutionary vector beam projection system -- God, I miss those vector games) and ease of handling make this a worthy contender for Greatest Video Game of All Time. Anyone can play Asteroids, and anyone can have fun playing Asteroids. Whether you're spastically blasting the crap out of the hurtling space rocks (which have the unnerving quality of passing like ghosts through each other but leaving your ship in pieces at the slightest touch) or lurking near the on-screen score display, waiting to take out that little hunter-saucer that you know is coming for you, this one demands a healthy combination of lightning-fast reflexes, patience, and subtlety. Just don't ever hit that hyperspace button, which always seems to land you in a position far worse than the one you were just in -- the most notorious red herring escape route in video game history.
Honorable mentions:
Gunfight (Midway 1975) - The first video game to use a microprocessor. But otherwise it's dull. Doesn't hold up.
Space Invaders (Midway 1978) - It was hard to leave this one off the list, but it was either this or Asteroids, and Asteroids is faster and allows for more variation in playing style. I stand by my choice.
Sim City (?) - No doubt, this was an entirely new type of game when it first came out, and it inspired a long line of successors and legions of imitators. Further, it is still played today even in its original form. But isn't this a '90s game? If it's earlier, I would seriously consider finding a place for it in the top five.
Tetris (Atari 1988) - This deceptively simple but amazingly fun game demands both hand-eye coordination and problem solving ability, and being packed in with the NES and older versions of Windows, I suspect it's the most widely played video game since the packed-in Atari 2600 version of Pac Man. But in its original form, it's a little too simple. Like Space Invaders, the difficulty is increased only by adding more speed to successive levels. I can't see bumping any of the illustrious five for this one.
Centipede (Atari 1980) - Fast paced? Hell yeah! Popular in its day? Whenever I talk to anyone born before 1973 about favorite video games, this one is mentioned more than any other ("Centipede! Oh, that was my game, dude..."). Still played today? I play it. And I'm sure many will want to kick me for leaving out the first video game that was really popular with women and programmed by a woman. But what I don't see in this game is the influential part. I don't see it inspiring hosts of other games. How 'bout you?
And now, your picks?
(GeekGirl, I know you're out there...)
take care
---jones()
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ August 02, 2003 03:46 PM: Message edited by: jones ]</font>
