Rllmuk Top 100 Games 2017

[Nick R]

The real Rllmuk Top 100 begins here.

[Mr. Gerbik]

It took awhile to get here.

[Couch Corpse]

On 10/18/2017 at 22:31, Darwock said:

Advance Wars was way too inflexible for a strategy game - you couldn't put any creativity into your approach.

That's fair, I consider it more a puzzle game. Day's of Ruin improved things with the inclusion of commanders on the battlefield, flare units, bikes, and some fog of war fixes.

[Benny]

The sequels diluted the purity of the puzzle for me. I also don't agree that you couldn't be creative with your approach, you just had to be precise. It's true that once you cracked a mission and got S rank you had solved the "puzzle", but what a glorious puzzle it is. To be fair many turn based strategy games work like this, as once you crack the "code" you will always win.

[Loik V credern]

To stand up for Goldeneye again because i'm however days late for when people were talking about Goldeneye (were they? i don't know)

 

I played Goldeneye again on emulation, mapping the controls to resemble the N64 controller, so L1 is Z, face buttons C buttons, R1 target aim, L2 switch weapon, R2 reload. Played Frigate on 00 Agent and it was the still the most thrilling FPS i've ever played, and ever will likely play. I had dozens of goes and first was overwhelmed, shot to death, and eventually let too many hostages die. I had goosebumps, got sweats, was panicked, spinning every second to cover all angles for any enemy that might creep up.

It has such huge enemies as targets, the thud as you lay waste a round into their bodies as they crowd around a corridor door, it's the bullet ballet you perform as you strafe chaotically all around just hoping to connect wherever yet conserve your limited ammunition. Goldeneye is about the speed of the movement, pausing, shifting, anticipating, it's about the joy of connecting those shots and the array of animations that follow. No other game suceeds in what it did, not even Perfect Dark had the same playful cacophony that occurs with that amount of guards all lining up to die, computers exploding, smoke filling the air, a soldier kneeling, another dive rolling, another with only you in his sights with his twin automatics, their personalities, their harsh polygonal ugly bearded faces so sweet to catch with a bullet inches away, the blood stains that appear under their clothes, the audible thud as they fall on to the floor. Goldeneye's influence was Virtua Cop 2, it was originally on rails after all. A team filled mostly with those making their first game, they weren't so experienced and professional enough to look beyond the already established gameplay of the genre at the time. It shows in how unique it plays, the emphasis on the shooting. As soon as I played it again, dropping down into the toilets, and moved and shot an enemy, i felt the joy like I did then. The joy no other FPS since has ever captured.
 

This is what games were; small scale, focussing on what really matters; the feedback between shots fired and enemy reacting, the movement, the sound, bullets whizzing by, ricochetting, the sense of real danger where every hit leaves you breathless and stings, even now after all these years. Your final death, blood pouring down the screen, before you can even grasp what or who caught you as the camera flips and spins in all directions, a real jolt, zooming out, capturing you completely surrounded by guards still firing their weapons at you. Bond limply falling to the floor. It's incredible. It makes it real. None of this ages. It's still electrifying. If it was a film that had such energy but was filmed in low quality and you were watching it on vhs on a 14inch screen its vitality wouldn't be diminished. I watched for the first time The Experiment 2001 the other day, was pretty knocked back by its boldness and sense of anarchy. Brilliance that endures. Except in videogames. Honestly? I think there's a habit modern games can fall into where it's already established this is the genre the developer is making and we and everyone already likes it, therefore no need to start from scratch and re evaluate what exactly is fun.

 

For me actually shooting enemies is kind of the the most important thing in a FPS. A part of Resident Evil 4's unbelievability in doing everything so right was the re-introduction of hit points on the enemies, finally an acknowledgement the intimacy of the action, even if a 'shooting gallery' is what matters, above anything else. I don't think people nowadays so often use the phrase 'old games were better cos.. gameplay' but i think what they mean is that: the emphasis on the tangible quality of the interaction, the essence of the game, because these are genres being imagined, or reimagined, developers experimenting, stumbling, exploring, creating something idiosyncratic which I really think Goldeneye is. I think it's unique, and if Rare didn't make it then, no one else would have. No other modern FPS has taken it further.

Yeah, the boat is tiny. The rooms scarce. In my emulation the sky is pure stark black, like I'm in some vast empty void. I had go after go, revelling in the kind of unpredictable anarchy you can cause with how you move through the level, which doors you go through, which enemies you prod and antagonize into searching for you. The more you unsettle, the more you are likely to injure, the more likely you are to be caught off guard later on. Yeah anyway, Goldeneye. Wait, I need to express this right, it did running forward laying bullets from a machine gun into the body of an enemy better than anything, the size of the target increasing as you approach. It was just, that was it. No other game made that ordinary encounter so essential, so exciting. The thud as the bullet you shoot penetrates their body, the thud as they drop to the floor.

[Benny]

Excellent post.

 

For a modern game that I think also absolutely understands that type of fun, see the new Doom

[the_debaser]

Great post. Goldeneye was robbed. 

[Benny]

15. Metroid Prime

 

 

Original format: GC. Released: 2002

(2015 Rllmuk top 100 position: 11, number of votes: 23.)

 

The jury is still out on whether this bests Super Metroid, but it is about as close and we are probably ever going to get to that game’s atmosphere in 3D, unless Retro can perhaps be persuaded to take up the challenge again…

 

“How does one replicate the sheer majesty of Super Metroid in 3D? A question that many people may have asked before Retro Studios gave their answer: Metroid Prime.

 

Being trusted with one of Nintendo’s most well respected franchises and delivering with such assuredness was no mean feat, and Metroid Prime is an incredible piece of design.

 

From the first moment you step onto the game’s alien planet, the visual design and ethereal background sounds and music transport you into the most amazingly atmospheric world since, oddly enough, Super Metroid. Seeing the world reflected in Samus’ helmet is a neat little touch, and goes a long way to making you feel connected to your character, and is just one example of the sheer detail packed into Metroid Prime.

 

As you scan your environments for clues of how to progress, you marvel as small drops of rain splash on your visor, and strange creatures shuffle their way along amazing alien landscapes.

 

Very few games have the detail to really make you feel like you are exploring a truly alien world, but Metroid Prime feels like you are a very capable space tourist, uncovering wonder after wonder as you traverse each area with your new abilities.

 

And these abilities are unlocked at just the right times, and just the right places, replicating the wonderfully paced and complex design of the original Super Metroid.

 

The fact that it all controls perfectly in 3D is also incredible, and bounding across the levels and grappling hooking across chasms feels effortless.

 

An absolutely staggering achievement.”

 

14. Half Life 2

 

 

Original format: PC. Released: 2004

(2015 Rllmuk top 100 position: 21, number of votes: 26.)

 

I am very surprised at this, I expected Half Life 2 to take a significant drop this time, but it’s actually shot up the list instead. Perhaps people are starting to fondly reminisce now that hope of Half Life 3 or even just a third Episode is starting to wane. It may unfortunately become remembered forever as one of gaming’s great unfinished stories. If only it could have come back from the dead like Shenmue.

 

“The original Half Life has quite legendary status, introducing many innovations for its time, for example the novel idea of having interactive set pieces that happened around the player during play, which is kind of taken for granted today.

 

Half Life 2, for all it’s claims of being revolutionary when it was released, is a surprisingly similar game in many respects - physics innovation that is used for a couple of puzzles notwithstanding...

 

However, that said, Half Life 2 took the impressive world building of the original game and cranked it up tenfold. The opening section where you desperately scramble to get away from jackbooted guards is still a stand out moment and has absolutely unmatched atmosphere, that makes you feel that you are slap bang in the middle of the unfolding events of a dystopian science fiction novel.

 

The character design still seems unmatched by modern titles, and it seems literally staggering that Alyx, Barney, Dr. Kleiner et al. still seem to be more expressive and believable than has been managed by nearly every game in the last 10 years. They have a feeling of realism in their dialogue, and a sense of presence and purpose, that still makes them stand out today, and which many games can still learn from. I’m looking at you, Bioshock: Infinite...

 

Throughout the game there are an impressive number of incredible set pieces, though these would be vastly outstripped in many ways by some of those contained in Half Life 2: Episode 2, which is also notably perhaps the most polished and best constructed title in the Half Life universe.

 

Taken as a whole though, Half Life 2 and its episodes are a landmark in gaming for player involvement and set piece design, and have informed the design of many games since.”

 

revlob has a fitting eulogy: “I remember sitting down with a friend, in 1998, to play the original Half Life. As we'd both grown up with PC FPS games, Half Life represented something of a landmark, forever changing what could be expected from a first person shooter, and Half Life 2 did the same again. When story writer Marc Laidlaw recently published his ideas for the conclusion to the long-unconcluded series, it was like finding the missing last chapter to my favourite book. While other games have since offered better stories, deeper characters, and more meaningful experiences, the Half Life series has been a more memorable ride than most.”

 

13. Rez (Infinite)

 

 

Original format: Dreamcast. Released: 2001

(2015 Rllmuk top 100 position: 22, number of votes: 29. Voted best game of all time by: Jolly)

 

Now much higher placed than 2015, Rez would have a deserved place here again even just in its original form, but since then the Infinite version has been released with VR support, and it takes what is already one of the greatest gaming experiences you can have and makes it nearly transcendental. VR is absolutely the perfect fit for the entire experience, and the new Area X edition built with VR in mind is probably one of the the most incredible things that can happen to a human being short of being born.

 

“Rez is an utterly beautiful game. I don’t just mean in terms of visual design, which is itself utterly mesmerising, but in terms of the whole journey through it as a cohesive narrative and emotional experience.

 

To strip the game down to its constituent gameplay mechanics to focus on those would kind of miss the point, and do the game a disservice. We can talk about the framing of shots in for example a great film and discuss how they individually make for a great scene, but it’s all of these elements coming together that creates a great piece of artistic genius, and there is something about Rez that defies the traditional ways we would normally approach critical analysis of a “game” experience.

 

This might be just because so many games don’t try to do anything artistically new or original, and are so fixated on using traditional storytelling devices or having “realistic” or easily identifiable visual styles, that they don’t necessarily try to do things very differently from other mediums, in such a way that they can be judged on their own merits without being compared to them.

 

More than just a simple target shooting game, which the gameplay elements are at their core, Rez mixes visual stimulus and audio design with an evolving narrative that is hinted at through the way the music and landscapes evolve as you line up targets in time to the beat of the game’s constant rhythm.

 

Evolution is in fact a core concept of the game’s story, and the driving bass of the soundtrack and throbbing wireframes mimics your own heartbeat, in a beautiful illusion of synergy between human and machine.

 

Rez is a singularly perfect creation.”

 

And please welcome Jolly to take the microphone, as it’s his favourite game ever:

 

“I once spent an evening explaining to my wife how I remained unconvinced and disinterested by virtual reality. Which was great, because it meant when Rez Infinite was announced I had to backtrack frantically so that I could spend stupid money to buy an hour long game that I'd completed thousands of times before. But Infinite is worth absolutely every single penny. I mean, Rez was pretty captivating before it was able to have a complete monopoly on absolutely everything that you see and hear, but now it's like have an entire dance festival take place directly in your head. And it somehow manages to make one of the greatest games of all time better. I don't know how many times I've played through Area 5 in the past fifteen years  (I reckon it must be knocking in the hundreds) and still, STILL, Infinite had me noticing a detail I've never registered before. The Running Man boss at the end of Area 4 was rather gripping when he was restricted to a two dimensional plane on the other side of the living room. Now he's right bloody behind you. And then there's Area X. I can help but admire the colossal balls it must have demanded to of decide to add an extra level to Rez; it's like adding an extra track to a revered concept album. But miraculously, it's actually more intense, thrilling and plain brilliant than what has gone before. A heart-achingly glorious journey past neon pyramids and through wire frame cities that makes you feel like you're actually flying. This may sound completely ridiculous, but Area X is perhaps the closest I've had to a religious experience. God and the majesty of the universe is in here somewhere, between the thumping beats, pulsating visuals and the two televisions sets mounted inches from your retinas. Like anything this much fun, Rez in VR can't possibly be good for you. Every trip through the soundscape must burst a few synapses and detach you a little further from the real world (the lyrics "mind killer" have never been more appropriate). But who gives a shit? Rez Infinite is a masterpiece. A singularly fantastic vision. And It's The Greatest Game of All Time.”

 

12. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

 

 

Original format: N64. Released: 1998

(2015 Rllmuk top 100 position: 2, number of votes: 24.)

 

Well, well, well… Here’s one of the biggest surprises for the list then. It’s almost like it’s been dethroned for many people or something, but can’t think why… Even so this is a huge drop, as once we are into the top 10 even changing a single place is significant. It’s worth remembering though that it was considered the greatest game ever made nearly everywhere for years.

 

“If Super Mario 64 is what 3D could achieve as applied to something like Super Mario World, then Ocarina of Time is what happened when Nintendo thought how they could do this for A Link to the Past.

 

From the first moments you wake up in Kokiri Village and run out into the clearing surrounded by fireflies, Ocarina of Time transports you to a world of more unprecedented detail, charm, and character than anyone has ever managed to instill in any other game ever made, either in the Zelda series, or other Nintendo titles.

 

Every single location is a joy to explore, with more hidden secrets, characters and mini games than other games could dream of. It has such an abundance of overflowing ideas that it’s easy to see why there was so much material left for Majora’s Mask.

 

The controls for their time were something of a revelation, with the auto jumping and the brilliantly implemented z-targeting system (as a way of getting around the problems of sword fighting in a 3D space) that was aped but many other games since, and Link felt as much an extension of yourself as was possible at the time, and it still impresses with its simplicity.

 

The dungeon design is also second to none, with pacing absolutely spot on throughout (Water Temple notwithstanding) and their layouts, puzzles and atmosphere has not been bettered in any other game, even Nintendo’s own Zelda titles.

 

There is just something indefinable about the feel of Ocarina of Time, even when compared to other Zelda games, it has a magical and timeless quality to it that still gives one goosebumps when seeing the opening title screen again, even today.

 

The greatest action adventure, and the best game ever made. Oh wait… or is it?”

 

11. Bloodborne

 

 

Original format: PS4. Released: 2015

(2015 Rllmuk top 100 position: new entry, number of votes: 25. Voted best game of all time by: Sane, Vemsie, ChewMagma, DC)

 

Interesting what I said there about greatest action adventure in 2015… Bloodborne had only just come out then and many people who had not even played a Souls game before were just getting to grips with it, but now we can finally give it the pride of place it deserves.

 

Sharing its DNA with the Dark Souls series, Bloodborne already had an established pedigree when it comes to satisfying mechanics, obscure and arcane leveling systems, and complex, clever level design. But where Dark Souls hooked you in a way few other games could with the irresistible compulsion to see what nastiness awaited you around the next corner, Bloodborne goes one step further: it gets under your skin and crawls.

 

It hides information about what is going on brilliantly and keeps enough ambiguity to keep players desperate to seek out further knowledge and explore every path. But the deeper you go, the more horrible it becomes.

 

The sheer creativity in the multitude of horrors you face feels less like something someone designed and more like wandering through your own fevered dreams. This is richly and carefully layered in Lovecraftian themes, which is the highest praise it is possible perhaps to give for the intent of the atmosphere, as so much media that is “inspired” by Lovecraft goes about it in completely the wrong way and tends to favour spectacle over subtlety.

 

And yet Bloodborne DOES have spectacle. The unhappy and monstrous inhabitants of Yarnham can be awe inspiring in their huge grotesquery, and yet fighting them is merely the short, sharp shocks to contrast with the ever present creeping sense of dread.

 

The fighting system is one of extreme elegance: encouraged to parry and to attack full on to interrupt enemies and to restore health, it favours gutsy play and quick thinking. It tips the cautious approach favoured by Souls games on its head and in many ways makes it feel like a completely different game, even though some shared elements are there. Darting around areas and dispatching enemies can be a real joy, and experimentation with different moves and abilities is extremely rewarding.

 

Many well designed game worlds can feel like real places you are getting the chance to visit for a time, and may even evoke a rich backstory or history through subtle environmental touches, but nearly all pale in comparison to Bloodborne’s twisted nightmare.

 

None of those who voted it their favourite game wrote about why, so here are a few thoughts from those that also love it:

 

MW_Jimmy: “Bloodborne took the template of Dark Souls and took away the ponderous inch-by-inch gameplay and forced you to dance the fight. Layered with actual proper HP Lovecraft inspired mechanics Bloodborne creates a true sense of horror.”

 

Qazimod: “Is anyone even able to talk about Bloodborne without talking about those other difficult From Software titles that rhyme with Park Bowls? It's a shame, because BB has enough unique touches to stand tall on its own, and changes that DS fans glossed over were transformative for someone like me”

 

Jolly: “I've never really got this fascination with watching other people play video games; I mean, games are meant to be played right? But suddenly, this double-hard bastard came along and I found myself devouring every single frame of footage I could clap my eyes on. I couldn't stop myself.  It consumed me. It didn't stop with videos either; guides, essays, hundreds of forum posts; my thirst was never sated for a new take on what the fuck was going on. Rather like the blood transfusion procedure for which it's famous,  Yarnham can really get under your skin. But the true star here is the combat; simply the greatest battle system ever designed.  Where Dark Souls is all tippy-toey, sneaky-weaky round a corner, Bloodborne is all up-in-your-face and FUCKIN' C'MON THEN!  The moment to moment duels with the regular baddies are good enough, but the run of  boss fights is truly *astonishing*.  I roared so loud after beating Father Gascoigne I nearly woke the children up.  I punched the air so hard after Rom I nearly smashed the light fitting. I don't think I've ever truly calmed down after beating Ludwig. And the fight with Lady Maria is *so* good I should probably keep instinctual bodily reactions to myself. Bloodborne is more simply a video game to me; it's an impossibly brilliant 'thing', a wonderful whole; and it makes me go all misty-eyed and look into the middle distance when I think about it. So good. So, so, SO  good.”

 

[Jamie John]

Blammo! OoT and BB outside the top 10! That's surprised me. Excellent write ups, as ever.

[womblingfree]

Great to see Metroid Prime so far up. I didn’t even vote for it but have very fond memories.

[NEG]

Wiz n Liz is definitely in the top 10

 

....Yeah I realized a single vote doesn't count for shit days ago.

[Mr Do 71]

17 minutes ago, clippa said:

Rez? Really? The 13th best game ever? A crappy rail shooter?
Rllmuk, just gonnae no?

 

 

Oh right, silly me.

 

Best.

Vector.

Graphics.

Ever.

[Qazimod]

That's a fine bunch of games right there. Great write-ups again.  

 

Based on the appearances made by games in my own vote, I'm guessing the top 10 is reserved for the likes of Hotline Miami, Rhythm Tengoku and TxK, right? Right?

[Mr Do 71]

Such a shame with Half-Life, for my money it's got one of the greatest and most atmospheric gaming worlds ever created.

[Benny]

1 hour ago, clippa said:

Rez? Really? The 13th best game ever? A crappy rail shooter?
Rllmuk, just gonnae no?

 

 

Oh right, silly me.

 

Don't make me strip Spelunky from the list. So help me I will.

[Benny]

48 minutes ago, Qazimod said:

Great write-ups again.

 

Spoiler

I'm glad people keep forgetting that I've mostly been recycling my 2015 prose. (Despite additions.)

 

[Benny]

I have absolute power. I can rearrange in the spreadsheet people's most overrated and hated games in the top 10 at will.

 

Didn't think an Assassin's Creed would get into the top 10? Think again

[Benny]

Incidentally, now is the time for you all to start fevered top 10 speculation. You did it all last time and I want to chuckle to myself as you make assumptions.

[Cappuccino Kid]

We haven't had Alien:Isolation or a Hitman yet, have we? Surely at least one of those must have made it in...

[joeplus]

I just don't get Half-Life 2, or maybe it doesn't get me.

 

I have a weird relationship with those games. The first one was absolutely gobsmacking, so many unforgettable moments, until I got to Xen and it completely changed. Just seemed to stop being fun, I never finished it but watched the ending as my mate played it. HL2, which I played a few years ago, was a perfectly fun FPS but it just seemed totally bland. Widening out the world completely diluted all that tension that Black Mesa as a location built so brilliantly. Also got near the end and never finished it, but more out of boredom than tonal whiplash. 

[Sabreman]

Go Rez! Lovely.

[NEG]

We haven't seen Undertale on the list either, which is honestly just depressing.

[CovisGod]

30 minutes ago, NEG said:

We haven't seen Undertale on the list either, which is honestly just depressing.

 

Ah man, I genuinely loved Undertale, didn’t cross my mind when picking my list. Will Defo be in my top 20 2022 list

[Sabreman]

33 minutes ago, CovisGod said:

 

Ah man, I genuinely loved Undertale, didn’t cross my mind when picking my list. Will Defo be in my top 20 2022 list

 

For me it sits at 202023

[Oh Danny Boy]

Definite missing some older classics; defender, joust, galaga for example are all still easily top 100 games. Shmups are under represented, no Radiant Silvergun, fantasy zone or ikaruga? And definite classics from unpopular systems are missing; Panzer Dragoon Saga, Sega Rally, guardian heroes, burning rangers, Saturn bomberman! Did they get any votes? And of course you find these lists are heavily weighted towards current gen games as they are the ones most recent in peoples memories.

[matt0]

1 hour ago, grindmouse said:

 

You're not alone. I agree about Xen, but as it's only about 3% of actual game time I can forgive it. But HL>>>> HL2.

 

HL2 only gets really good after Nova Prospekt. Especially the last bit where you're gravity gun gets upgraded to work on grunts. Still, it's no HL.

 

Where s Bubble Bobble?! Robotron made it in and not Bubble Bobble? Go buy it on Arcade Classics, learn the power-up system and try playing score attack. It's still incredibly addictive and... my 7yo wouldn't have believed this... better than Rainbow Islands.

 

 

 

I sometimes wonder if I'm the only person out there who loves HL2 but can't stand HL.

 

HL for all it's innovation and ambition just does so many things that rub me up the wrong way. Breakable sequence puzzles where you don't realise you can't progress in the game until after an hour of aimless wandering around. Trial and error scripted set pieces. T junctions where going the "wrong" way leads you into automated guns that shave off half your health. Stu Campbell in one of the few times I've agreed with him described it as a 3D Rick Dangerous.

 

Half Life 2 does all the good bits of Half Life while adding suberb environmental puzzles, a more physical game world (just moving in HL one feels like I'm pushing a block of polystyrene over ice) and sandboxy combat.

[Cappuccino Kid]

12 hours ago, Cappuccino Kid said:

We haven't had Alien:Isolation or a Hitman yet, have we? Surely at least one of those must have made it in...

 

Hmm, I’ve done some calculations (well, I say calculations, I mean I scribbled some games down on a scrap of paper) and I think there’s only one spot up for grabs in the top 10 once all the usual suspects are accounted for. And I’ve just realised Arkham City was at a lowly number 84. I think rllmuk must be broken.

 

Edit: Bollocks, I’d forgotten Halo (because that’s all it deserves). That’s that then!

[Vemsie]

Nice Bloodborne write-up. What a game. Wish it would have made top ten, but it's probably one of the highest modern games on the list, so I can live with it.

 

Dark Souls number one then?

[Mr. Gerbik]

Hey, I voted for Hitman: Blood Money so I did my part! I would be very sad indeed with no Hitman at all.

 

And no Thief.

 

And no Tenchu. Damn you, 'muk!

 

7 minutes ago, Vemsie said:

 

 

Dark Souls number one then?

Yes! That would mean all is forgiven, Dark Souls deserves no less. I knew the forum wouldn't let me down!

[Stanley]

Wishful thinking.