Game Informer issue #200

I received this last week and it included a list of their top 2oo games of all time. It's a huge, impossible list, a mash-up of every type of game from 80's arcade classics to current gen consoles and PCs. Still, it makes for interesting reading and debate.

It's hard to know how they determined the list, especially since they had the audacity to rank the games 1-200 as well. Earlier classic games seem to have been given a priority (The Legend Of Zelda from 1987 is #1 while Super Mario Bros. from 1985 and Tetris from 1984 are #2 and #3) but I am not sure if that is because of perceived innovation, influence or something else altogether.

The first "modern" game to make the list is Grand Theft Auto III at #4. It's hard to argue with the impact this game had, basically inventing the sandbox-style game where you can go anywhere within the playable world and do basically whatever you please. Many games have taken this formula and expanded upon it, put it into different settings and made these games seem unique, but they all owe a debt to GTA III. A game like Assassin's Creed II, which I am enjoying right now, is a fine example of an updated version of the sandbox style game.

I find the rankings themselves to be wildly subjective (of course). Just being included on this list ought to be a reward in an of itself. Still, I was glad to see some of my favorites not only make the list but get pretty high rankings. Bioshock comes in at #27, Diablo II at #28, Half-Life at #29 and Elder Scrolls: Oblivion at #30. Other favorites of mine include Fallout 3 (#65), God Of War (#26), the recent Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (#56) and Mass Effect (#58). I was also glad to see Halo placed somewhere I feel was appropriate. While I recognize the series' greatness, in the end it is still just a standard FPS. The original Halo is ranked at #39.

My only gripes (and they really aren't serious; this is just someone else's list after all) are that:

1. X-COM: UFO Defense, a PC game from 1993 that is in my top 5 games of all time, came in at only 164.
2. The Front Page Sports Football series, a PC American football simulation that was completely innovative for the time and helped usher in season modes into modern sports games, was totally left off. It's also in my top 5 games of all time.
   
3. The Beatles: Rock Band didn't make the list. This last gripe is actually quite understandable; they only put a couple of music games on the entire list and that seemed to be for innovation only. The original Guitar Hero and Rock Band 2 cover that genre very adequately.

To see the entire list, check out Game Informer's December 2009 issue.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that Borderlands made the list and was called an "instant classic" despite the fact it was released just a couple of weeks before the list was compiled.