Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ranks as my favorite video game of all time.
This will obviously warrant some argument from intense video gamers. However, this is my all-time favorite list. Feel free to comment and leave yours!
1. Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Sega) - Sonic came back faster and with more attitude the second time around. The levels were relatively easy and fun to play and each world offered some new crazy adventure - whether it be spiraling through tunnels under water or knocking around the casino, these Sonic levels never got boring. Maybe it was because my first system was Sega, my number one pick is Sonic and not Mario, but I just generally love the fast-paced action, and watching as I continuously outwitted Dr. Robotnik tied into the amusement of this classic game.
2. Command & Conquer: Red Alert (Playstation) - Okay, so this game may just have been fun for me because I always played with the cheat codes that allowed me to have as much money as I wanted during the skirmish mode. But who wouldn't have fun building up a ridiculously huge army with unlimited funds that consists of three barracks, hundreds of men, taser looking Christmas trees that surround your base, a couple of war factories that churn out tanks and artillery every minute, power plants upon power plants, a Navy presence and the use of an Atomic bomb? I would let my base take a little bit of a hit from the enemy, maybe even lose a power plant and then march about 90 percent of the aforementioned lineup to their Custer-like division and chuckle as they fend for their lives. Don't worry; I'm not a future dictator. It was just a video game, but a good one at that.
3. Tommy Lasorda Baseball (Sega) - This was perhaps the the most corny baseball game I ever played. When you hit a homerun, the ball became bigger than the moon; the pitcher would constantly slide around the mound like he was doing the electric slide, the music was like fast-paced elevator music and you could only see the players' heads when the ball was hit. Yet, I kept going back to it. Maybe it was because I grew up in a simpler video game world, but in playing more complicated sports games today sometimes I long for the Tommy Lasorda games of yesteryear.
4. Final Fantasy 8 (Playstation 2) - Up until I played Final Fantasy 8, I had never seen graphics so clear. I thought that this was the game that would change the future of graphics in games. I had played Final Fantasy 7 and it was a great game, but the graphics were still fit for that era of gaming. In 8, everything was so clear. I felt like I was playing a long movie, and I mean like a Lord of The Rings movie since this game took forever. Spanning four CDs, I was addicted to the lives of Squall, Rinoa, Zell and the like. This game was sort of like Pokemon for more mature audiences. I loved taming such beasts as Phoenix and unleashing its wrath on whomever should come my way. The only downside to this game was that because it was so long, I needed a break in Disc Three and walked away from it for a little while. In coming back, I couldn't remember where I was and the game was a lost cause.
5. Syphon Filter (Playstation) - I'm not really sure what it was about this game that I really took to. I think it was because I never really played Goldeneye that much and this game kind of reminded me of that James Bond, secret agent feel. It was the first real role playing game I had played too, which was fun where I had control of what I could do in my situation. I mean, there were missions I had to complete, but I could venture off into the level without time running out and find places I didn't know were there sort of thing. There was always action in this game too, whether it be exploding cop cars, blowing up a train or sneaking around with a 9mm; there was always something keeping you on the edge and that's why it's in the top 10.
6. Crash Bandicoot 1-3 (Playstation) - Crash was just a fun game to play. It was challenging at times and it was entertaining to venture into the different worlds. There was also a sense of humor into this game, as with the Aku Aku mask that Crash wore and with the quirky villains Crash would fight.
7. Desert Strike (Sega) - Perhaps I have a love for older Sega and Playstation games, but Desert Strike deserves to be on this list for its all-out warfare amid one helicopter that had to blow up everything. This was probably the hardest of the Strike games as it seemed there was never enough ammo or fuel and you always would run into a danger zone when you didn't want to. Nevertheless, this game was amusing because you got to be one guy against a whole army, but you had missiles and a maneuverable helicopter on your side. I loved it when civilians would wave at me and I would pretend like I'd pick them up and then fly a little down the road, stop and then fly some more. Yeah, classic.
8. Madden (Playstation 2) - I'm not sure of the year on this one, but I want to say it was between 99 and 04. The graphics for Madden were good starting with Playstation 2 and the game was always competitive. It was a simple, fast-paced adrenaline pumping game that you could really dig those white knuckles into the controller with on third and long.
9. SimCity 3000 (PC) - What was great about this game is that you could build so much more with such better graphics than in the original SimCity. You could build futuristic looking buildings, raise the elevation of your geography, add water, and basically do whatever you wanted. If things weren't going my way, I would always just send in a tornado or something. It was highly addictive though, and I had to force myself to take breaks from the game.
10. Donkey Kong Country (Super Nintendo) - This was perhaps my favorite all-time Super Nintendo game. I'm not hating on the Nintendo side of gaming here, but the games above just came to mind first. While Mario may be one of my favorite Nintendo games, I believe Donkey Kong is definitely the best. Kong's journeys on the mine cart or underwater just seem to outdo Mario's leaps down a flagpole.
11. Medal of Honor (Playstation 2): Scanning the woods and tunnels to kill Nazis during World War II in all kinds of weather elements had such a patriotic and historic appeal combined with modern graphics that I couldn't stop playing. I hated those attack dogs that just leapt out at you in the dark tunnels though. The sequels were good in their own right too, but nothing seemed to compare to the original in this series.
12. Super Mario World. (Super Nintendo): I recently played this game, and couldn't believe that I beat it as a kid. I couldn't get past like the fifth level. I huffed and puffed as I couldn't make jumps I used to make or ran into the annoying Koopas. But it is one of those games that no matter what age, you find yourself falling in love with.
13. NBA Jam (Sega): Who doesn't like it when that basketball lights on fire and the announcer screams "Yes!" Who needs an entire team when you have two players who can score like crazy? Newer basketball games may have the look and feel of an actual game, but none come close to the fun that this classic game had.
14. Ken Griffey Junior's Winning Run (Super Nintendo): This was just a fun baseball game. Seeing the ball get increasingly bigger as it launched off the bat and the sound of the crowd get into the game felt like you were really there. Oh, and it was almost impossible to get Griffey out. Good marketing gimmick there.
15. Mortal Kombat (Super Nintendo): This is was fun as it was addicting. You could just hit as many different buttons on the controller and you could end up dishing out a fatality by accident. I loved playing Scorpion and hearing the "Get Over Here!" yells. Certain things just go down in video game lore that you just don't forget.
16. Paper Boy (Nintendo): I don't know a funnier video game. Running away from old ladies, bees, kids that don't know how to ride a skateboard and weird kids riding a Go Kart of sorts always had me in a stress ball, but also in stitches. I don't care if I played this game on a Tuesday or a Wednesday, it was also good, clean fun.
17. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (Super Nintendo): This was probably the best of the Turtle game franchise. It combined Street Fighter with the Ninja Turtles, a brilliant idea. And each turtle had its own personality, along with the villains. So when you battled Baxter Stockman, for instance, he actually looked and acted like him. The background was phenomenal and the pacing was just right. I loved this game.
18. Pokemon Red, Blue, Yellow (Gameboy) : Gotta catch em' all! The graphics were terrible, the pacing was slow, but it was addicting as can be. Battling your creature against another was just as much fun as finding them.
19. MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat (PC): For those that didn't play this game, you stomped around in the military robot of your choice, prowling a landscape for other military robots to destroy them. It was as simple as that and as amazing as that. It was you against them, and I really did feel like I was in the future.
20. Streets of Rage (Sega): I remember being a kid playing this game where I would find a pipe and beat a scraggly dude in a bar with a mohawk over the head with it. Its violence is nothing compared to what's out there now, but it's still classic in its own right, and it never gets old.
There are several other games that could have made this list, but these are just the first ones that came to my mind. What games would make your top list?