IGN's Top 25 PC Games of All Time

[binhthuy71]

First, you need to realize that this is just one among many similar lists that tried to objectively (in which it didn’t succeed at all) show some of the best games ever made.
Second, the list itself is rubbish. Some of the greatest games were missed here (some of the ones you already mentioned), while others were put up on the list very high.

CIV 4 on 2nd place? Give me a break. It should not be in top 25 to begin with.
All who oppose to this FACT are simply too addicted to the game to admit otherwise, and you need to realize why was the list composed like this in the first place.

Because IGN used admittedly loose criteria ("fun by today's standards"), subjectivity undoubtedly reared its ugly head. As to why the list was composed, my best guess is that there was little else to write about.

A few posters here have opined that CivIV was included in recognition of the series, I agree. Far from being addicted to Civ, I haven't played the game in over a month. I still think that it warrants inclusion in the list. Your statement that CivIV should not be included is a reflection of your own subjectivity. When you state that anyone who disagrees with that is "simply too addicted to the game to admit otherwise..." you are trivializing the opinions of people about whom you know nothing.

 

[acidsatyr]

Without getting into all this philosophical mambo-jumbo, trivializing or not trivializing somebody's opinions here is irrelevant when in comes to purely and objectively making a list of games that made a true revolution for PC gaming world. Surely it is hard if not impossible to be completely objective, BUT, there are some rules by which THE list should be made. And, frankly, the list here is ridiculous.
To sum it up before I even begin, it is an objective truth that CIV 4 should not be that high in the list (and if your looking for my subjective opinion, it should not be in the top 25 list at all), whether I know or don't know the people or their opinions.

 

[CivScientist]

...it is an objective truth that CIV 4 should not be that high in the list...

If it is an objective truth, that would mean you have something of a logical proof to back up this statement. I'd love to hear it.

 

[HypnosTene]

If it is an objective truth, that would mean you have something of a logical proof to back up this statement. I'd love to hear it.

Yea, any objective ways of judging games would be most welcome *a tad of sarcasm*

 

[Yakk]

Diablo really was just a good reskinning of nethack, with realtime added on.

Nethack
HoMM
Pong
Doom/Wolfenstien
Master of Orion I
Worms

 

[jeremiahrounds]

doom is the one I am sure is missing though others like moo, UO, diablo 2 are certainly contenders I could see how they might not be on the list. Diablo 2, moo2 and UO all get the nod from me though.

If you owned a computer when DooM hit and had friends you realized doom changed ~everything~. It changed expectations about what a game should do. It put 3d shooter on a machine with a slower CPU than your camcorder for free! I never seen a game so addictive to none gamers. I mean doom created gamers out of thin air. People that werent gamers would line up for their chance to shoot people in the head mostly cause nobody had ever seen anything like it anywhere. The best gaming consols didnt have a game like doom.

Carmack took a bit of the future and put it on the 486 with a clever little trick and a whole lot of assembly code, and man was it popular.

Doom.. hard to underestimate the impact doom had on gaming. BTW the number of people that played doom >>>>>> the number of people that played XCOM. I wouldnt be surprised if survey methods discovered doom was the most popular (tried) game by percentage of computer users of all time that wasnt distributed on an OS. There just arnt any sales figures cause it was free.


Up there alot is quake. No where near as big as Doom over the general populace. But quake basically did to Deathmatch what WoW did for the mmorpg. Quake turned deathmatch from a total nerd thing to something every gamer did.. I mean from what I figure quake shareware deathmatch was huge. Again though no sales figures. Nowhere near as big as doom though. Doom was in offices where you wouldnt expect games...

I remember like every computer in my Army units HQ had doom. It was like a viral video except a viral game. People made disc for each other saying "You have to try this!"

 

[Zelig]

No way Diablo should have made the list, it's like WoW, all the addictiveness, minus the quality. Planescape: Torment should have been on the list though, anyone who's played through all of the Infinity Engine games will agree it rivals either of the Baldur's Gate games.

 

[acidsatyr]

A logical proof?? What you've been smoking? What kind of a proof do you need to see that Doom, and Quake 1 (to name an example) shoulve made the list? Now, sir, if you need to be explained why these games should've been on the list in the 1st place, instead of some of the listed junk, then i don't now what to tell you..I love it when people come to forums to sharpen their philosophical skills

 

[Heretic_Cata]

No way Diablo should have made the list, it's like WoW, all the addictiveness, minus the quality. Planescape: Torment should have been on the list though, anyone who's played through all of the Infinity Engine games will agree it rivals either of the Baldur's Gate games.

Planescape got very good reviews from everyone and from players. It's just that it didn't get as much publicity as Baldur's Gate.
Same with Anachronox.

 

[Vladesch]

I suspect the people who put Oblivion on the list didn't play it too deeply. It has a terrible levelling up system where you need to be careful not to overuse some skills, and grind others to achieve max strength at the higher levels (tho there are mods that overcome this).

As well as this, all the monsters in the world levelled up as you character did, and this completely destroys the feel of the game.

On another note, I'm surprised as others are that doom or quake(world) didnt make it to the list. Doom was pretty groundbreaking for its time, and I think a lot more popular than many other games listed here.

And yes, Diablo2 should have been in there somewhere.

I would have liked to see Rise of Nations included, purely on the basis on the quality of the game, as I know it didnt sell as well as others. Im sure on a Civ forum many would agree with me

All in all, not a very good list IMO.

 

[NHJ BV]

I'm saddened that the Command & Conquer series didn't make the list. I'm even more saddened that I'm the first here to point that out. Overall, the list is fairly good, with great games like System Shock 2 in their rightful place

The adventure genre is woefully underrepresented. What's with all these WW2 shooter? Surely, one could have been removed to make room for the likes of Monkey Island. Not to mention that UT04 was picked over Quake. Sacrilege!

Grim Fandango is on it, and it's the best of the Lucasarts adventure game series in every aspect except maybe humour. While I love Monkey Island a lot, I love Grim Fandango more. It's such a great story. If you haven't played it, pick it up somewhere.

 

[HypnosTene]

A logical proof?? What you've been smoking? What kind of a proof do you need to see that Doom, and Quake 1 (to name an example) shoulve made the list? Now, sir, if you need to be explained why these games should've been on the list in the 1st place, instead of some of the listed junk, then i don't now what to tell you..I love it when people come to forums to sharpen their philosophical skills

I don't think you quite understood. We weren't demanding logical proof because we wanted them, we did it to make fun of your arguments

 

[jeremiahrounds]

Diablo2 was a whole different creature if you got into it with some regular friends. One of the interesting contrast between diablo2 and oblivion was that the more you played oblivion the more the game rules broke down, and the more you played diablo2 with friends the better the game rules got. Whats a lonely click fest becomes an intense coop experience on hell driven by a tightly tuned and HUGE gear system. Diablo2 was much fun with me and some buds, but honestly i didnt like it until some friends said no lets go coop! And then it was alot of fun for a while.

 

[Heretic_Cata]

Diablo2 was a whole different creature if you got into it with some regular friends. One of the interesting contrast between diablo2 and oblivion was that the more you played oblivion the more the game rules broke down, and the more you played diablo2 with friends the better the game rules got. Whats a lonely click fest becomes an intense coop experience on hell driven by a tightly tuned and HUGE gear system. Diablo2 was much fun with me and some buds, but honestly i didnt like it until some friends said no lets go coop! And then it was alot of fun for a while.

That's funny, i never enjoyed playing Diablo 2 with other people. I like to systematically explore every nook&cranny of every level and systematically kill every creature. In multiplayer it was all about killing the bosses as fast as possible.
Too chaotic.

 

[Helmling]

This list is deeply flawed. For one thing, it's obviously too slanted toward strategy. No iterations of Quake or Doom? Where is CS, still the best multiplayer PC game ever made? And X-com beats Civ? Now I loved X-Com. Absolutely loved it. Civ, Moo2, and X-com are my three favorite strategy games ever--but in that order. X-com in the top 5 I can see, but by any measure whether it's scope of the game, replay, pure addictiveness, industry influence, etc. Civ should outrank X-com.

 

[jafink]

I think the list is actually very good, considering that they did say that they are rating games mainly on "funness" and that because of that, sometimes newer games will beat out classics. I really needed to see HoMM 3, Diablo 2, and Counterstrike. Honestly, those are probably some of the funnest games in the world.

 

[Yakk]

X-com is at the top because having an old game that has no current popular successors at the top is just neat.

First, it increases the chance that newbies will say "what is that", and second it provides incentive for someone to pick up the X-com francise and do something with it (or even a top-notch knockoff).

 

[jeremiahrounds]

Xcom had its flaws... or maybe i played it to much... could be both. But anyone that really played xcom got really sick of looking for aliens. I think what made xcom brilliant was how it was tied into modern lore and it was so fricken tactical and brutal. I mean how many games have the guts to kill off your squad cause you didnt cover a door with a snap shot and a grenade got lobbed into your area. Or between turns when the terminator aliens ran straight at you and ripped out your guys guts only to be lost in the fog of war when your dude died. And what really made it fun was how infinitely customizable your squad was based on equipment. That really never got picked up again in another game. did you want to go heavy with one of everything? Did you want to go in with a handgun and 2 clips and 2 grenades for speed? A mixture was best. Some heavy assault dudes. Some fast shot dudes. Still though when the football dropped on your squad HA!
Or how about carrying a grenade on your own guy and he dies and now the guys on the ground with the grenade. Run! Or wanting to blow the hell out of a terrorism site only to see civilians running in your way.

 

[joasoze]

The games that I miss on that list:

1. Total Annihilation - Best RTS ever - forget Starcraft
2. Master of Orion II - Super strategy game
3. Heroes of Might and Magic III - sooo addictive

 

[Cornstalk]

Pish posh wow is a great game, if its so mind numbings easy, did you finish nax? kill c'thun? become rank 13? There are challenges in the game.

By challenge you mean go with 3-4 people you actually like and know are good players and 35 others that wouldn't have even made it to level 60 if the game wasn't so easy to solo grind in in the first place?

40 man content was a day time drama of guild politics combine with 'short bus' education. I'm sorry, but having to teach level 60 players how to use their own damn skills REPEATEDLY along with the constant brown nosing and backstabbing is not something I feel is worth 15 bucks a month for.

There are hundreds of other games available that offer more in the form of skill and challenge (particularly a player vs. player environment) then WoW could ever even DREAM about achieving. If burning crusade is any indication, they -know- damn well making the game easy will keep their large player base forking over the cash. From a business point of view it's pure genious, but from a fun game point of view... it's a steaming pile of bull poo.