Codex Top 10 Redux: Non-RPG edition

[Jaime Lannister]

So, we've had top 10 lists for movies and for RPGs, and I was curious as to what the Codex's favorite non-RPG games were.

We'll do the voting Borda style; top choice gets 5 points, 2nd choice 4 points, 3rd choice 3 points, etc.

My list:

1. System Shock 2 - FPS first, RPG second, so it counts. Amazing level design, creepy, and challenging.
2. Portal - Great puzzles, atmosphere, and mechanics.
3. Civilization IV - The whole series is awesome. I was most addicted to III, but realize IV made improvements.
4. Starcraft - Most replayable game ever. A modern chess.
5. Operation Flashpoint - Best combination of fun and realism ever. One of the best FPS campaigns ever.

So it's technically a top 5, not a top 10. Wutever.

Top 10

1. System Shock 2 - 40
2. Starcraft - 36
3. Half-Life - 34
4. Deus Ex - 29
5. X-Com: UFO Defense - 26
   Civilization II - 26
7. TIE Fighter - 23
8. Operation Flashpoint - 19
   Thief: The Dark Project - 19
   Doom II - 19

The Rest

Jagged Alliance 2 - 18
Psychonauts - 15
Monkey Island 2 - 15
Master of Magic - 15
Alpha Centauri - 14
Doom - 14
Super Metroid - 13
Pirates! - 13
Heroes of Might and Magic 3 - 13
Outcast - 12
Grim Fandango - 12
Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight - 12
Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries - 11
Hearts of Iron 2 - 9
Colonization - 9
Half-Life 2 - 9
Portal - 8
Chrono Trigger - 8
Civilization IV - 7
Europa Universalis II - 7
Sonic 2 - 7
Space Rangers 2 - 7
Duke Nukem 3D - 7
Master of Orion 2 - 7
The Secret of Monkey Island - 7
Civilization I - 7
Command and Conquer - 6
Blade Runner - 6
Unreal Tournament - 6
Thief II: The Metal Age - 6
Medieval: Total War - 6
Quake - 6
Wing Commander 2 - 6
Dungeon Keeper - 6
Dune II - 6
Front Mission 3 - 5
Return to Castle Wolfenstein - 5
Team Fortress Classic - 5
Total Anihillation - 5
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars - 5
Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun - 5
Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers - 5
Sanitarium - 5
Battlefield 1942 - 5
Shogun: Total War - 5
Grand Prix Legeneds - 5
Resident Evil 4 - 5
Oddworld - 5
Starflight - 5
Shadow of the Colossus - 5
Worms - 5
Dominions - 5
King of Dragon Pass - 5
GTA: Vice City - 5
System Shock - 5
NHL 2004 - 4
No One Lives Forever - 4
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault - 4
Sim City - 4
Pocket Tanks Deluxe - 4
Quake 3 - 4
Flashback - 4
Mega Man X - 4
Super Mario World - 4
Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin - 4
Elite - 4
Mario Kart 64 - 4
The Legend of Zelda - 4
Halo - 4
Master of Orion - 4
Celtic Tales - 4
Steel Panthers: World at War - 3
Independence War II - 3
Sacrifice - 3
Rainbow Six: Raven Shield - 3
Age of Empires - 3
Hitman: Codename 47 - 3
Aquaria - 3
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis - 3
Max Payne - 3
Lords of the Rising Sun - 3
QuakeWorld CTF - 3
Buzz Aldrin's Race Into Space - 3
Panzer General - 3
Panzer General II - 3
Wario Ware - 3
Star Wars: Empire at War - 3
Rise of the Triad - 3
Dune - 3
Ape Escape - 3
Unreal - 3
Descent 3 - 3
Metal Gear Solid - 3
Ocarina of Time - 3
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - 3
Warlords 2: Battlecry - 3
Magic Carpet - 3
Oni - 3
Privateer - 3
Jagged Alliance - 3
X-Com: Terror From The Deep - 3
Antietam! - 2
Heroes of Might and Magic 2 - 2
Dungeon Keeper 2 - 2
Gran Turismo 4 - 2
Planetside - 2
Jedi Knight II - 2
Mafia - 2
Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX - 2
Hunter - 2
Speedball II - 2
Sensible Soccer - 2
Metroid Prime - 2
GTA: San Andreas - 2
Championship Manager 3 - 2
The Curse of Monkey Island - 2
Dark Earth - 2
Counter Strike - 2
Silent Hunter III - 2
ArmA - 2
Dawn of War - 2
Syndicate - 2
Dawn of War: Dark Crusade - 2
Thief: Deadly Shadows - 2
Wing Commander - 2
Guilty Gear XX^Core - 2
The Last Express - 2
SWAT 4 - 2
Battlefield 2 - 2
Doom 64 - 2
Ninja Gaiden Xbox - 2
Warcraft III - 2
Romance of 3 Kingdoms 4 - 2
Severance: Blade of Darkness - 2
Victoria - 1
Extreme Warfare Revenge - 1
Tetris - 1
Risk 2 - 1
Full Throttle - 1
Ultima Online - 1
Jedi Academy - 1
Hitman: Blood Money - 1
Earth 2150 - 1
American McGee's Alice - 1
Broken Sword - 1
Frontier - 1
Turrican 2 - 1
Spy vs. Spy - 1
Wings - 1
Anachronox - 1
Wolf Pack - 1
Ageods American Civil War - 1
Close Combat 2 - 1
Ur-Quan Masters - 1
Freespace 2 - 1
Aliens vs. Predator - 1
Crysis - 1
Gettysburg! - 1
Falcon 4.0 - 1
Street Fighter III - 1
Killer 7 - 1
Premier Manager 99 - 1
Ultimate Soccer Manager 98 - 1

 

[Demnogonis Saastuttaja]

Hmh. Tough. Well, I'll put here games I have actually returned to recently enough to remember them, though I can't really quantify how much I like something so the order isn't important here.

1. Front Mission 3
2. Super Metroid
3. Steel Panthers : World At War
4. Doom
5. Victoria : An Empire Under The Sun

But if I had to choose objectively 5 best games of all time, it'd be very diffrent and much more difficult.

 

[Erzherzog]

Whenever I put together lists like these, I am reminded of how few games I actually play.

1. Return to Castle Wolfenstein
2. NHL 2004
3. Hearts of Iron 2
4. Sid Meier's Antietam!
5. Extreme Warfare Revenge

 

[NiM82]

1. System Shock II - The atmosphere, the tension, the audio.
2. Operation Flashpoint - Like having a sandpit full of green guys and tanks all over again.
3. Independence War II: Edge of Chaos - Only space sim where I've felt truly in control of spacecraft, gorgeous visuals, great UI and a really nice atmosphere/story.
4. Dark Forces II - Jedi Knight/MotS - Made great use of the license, lots of atmosphere, lovely level design, fun gameplay.
5. Total Annihilation - Big explosions, hectic battles, lots of scope, still looks awesome.

 

[Zomg]

1: X-Com (lol defnishon RPG argument)
2: Civilization (II if I have to pick)
3: Pirates!
4: Doom
5: Tetris

 

[Disconnected]

1. Space Rangers 2
2. Dungeon Keeper
3. Pirates!
4. Civilization 2
5. Risk 2

 

[MasPingon]

1 Outcast
2 Half Life
3 Grim Fandango
4 Chrono Trigger
5 Mafia

 

[Woohoo]

These are only sorta ranked by how much I like them. I can't really quantify how much I like one game versus another.

1. Doom II. The first real multiplayer experience I had. Co-op games the errupted into deathmatches... ah, the good times.
2. Team Fortress Classic. Still my favorite online game, too bad every server uses ghey mods.
3. Command and Conquer. Working for Seth, who was trying to kill you, then watching Kane wax the slimy dick... heh.
4. Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. "THIRTY SECONDS" and great MP. Until it turned into a game of sniping 2 pixels while trying to avoid showing those two pixels, anyways.
5. Sacrifice. No reasons required.
6. Dark Forces 2 Jedi Knight. Played the shit outta that one.
7. Heroes of Might and Magic 2.
8. Dungeon Keeper 2. Since older=better, I should probably vote for the original but I like the second better.
9. Medieval Total War. I still remember spending four hours, maybe more(especially if you count the part where I paused the game and passed out), beating off the Golden Horde as the Russians. I was facing 7-to-1 odds with a bunch of troops I had thrown together but I did it.
10. System Shock. Everyone picks System Shock 2, with good reason, but I like the first better in some ways. The interface was weird and clunky but also really interesting and groundbreaking. And the monkeys? Psssh. Invisible mutants were like the monkeys but fuckin' evil.

 

[Atomic]

1 Half-Life
2 No One Lives Forever
3 Blade Runner
4 Heroes of Might and Magic III
5 Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun

 

[Section8]

Are we considering this to be PC games only? I think it would be reasonable, if only so we can have another "Top 10 Console Games" thread. Here. On the Codex.

1. Doom 2
2. Civilization 2
3. System Shock 2
4. X-Com: Terror From The Deep
5. GTA: San Andreas

That was really fucking hard to do though. I have a huge list of games that could potentially replace most, if not all of those on a different day.

 

[mahdi]

That was really fucking hard to do though. I have a huge list of games that could potentially replace most, if not all of those on a different day.

I agree. My top 5 probably changes as much as my mood. I'll give it a shot though.

PC only:

1. Civilization II
2. X-Com: UFO Defense
3. Pirates!
4. Operation: Flashpoint
5. Full Throttle (best intro ever http://youtube.com/watch?v=PktBJ6HpNJQ)

 

[Andyman Messiah]

1. Grim Fandango
2. Thief: The Dark Project (and certain parts of its sequels)
3. Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight
4. Starcraft
5. Super Metroid

 

[Nael]

1. Alpha Centauri
2. Simcity
3. Rainbow Six: Raven Shield
4. Gran Turismo 4
5. Duke Nukem 3D

 

[spacemoose]

Hearts of Iron 2
Medieval: Total War
Unreal Tournament
Planetside
Ultima Online

 

[Amasius]

1. Jagged Alliance 2
2. Colonisation
3. Alpha Centauri
4. Master of Magic
5. Hearts of Iron 2

 

[Kendar]

1 - Operation Flashpoint
2 - Total Anihilation
3 - Outcast
4 - Duke Nukem 3D
5 - Thief : The Dark Project

 

[mahdi]

1. Jagged Alliance 2

Shit, I knew I left something out.

 

[cardtrick]

1. Civilization II
2. Pocket Tanks Deluxe
3. Age of Empires + Rise of Rome expansion
4. Portal
5. Jedi Academy

 

[Andyman Messiah]

Colonisation

FUCK.

Now I'm miserable. Best game ever. I can see myself playing it to death.

 

[mjorkerina]

1. Enemy Territory : Quake Wars
2. Quake 3
3. Civilization II
4. Command & Conquer : Tiberian Dawn
5. Hitman : Blood Money

 

[MetalCraze]

1. Operation Flashpoint
2. Command & Conquer 2: Tiberian Sun
3. Hitman: Codename 47
4. Deus Ex
5. Earth 2150

 

[SuicideBunny]

1. psychonauts
2. x-com 1/2
3. aquaria
4. portal
5. american mcgee's alice

....
6. psychonauts
7. terranova
8. syndicate
9. psychonauts
10. psychonauts

 

[ghostdog]

It would be better if it was a PC-only list. Let's make another list about console games.

1. Deus Ex
2. Gabriel Knight : Sins Of The Fathers
3. Outcast
4. Flashback
5. Indiana Jones And The Fate Of Atlantis
6. Max Payne
7. The Secret Of Monkey Island
8. Jedi Knight II
9. Broken Sword
10. Mafia

 

[Hory]

1. Halo
2. Duck Hunt
3. Parcheesi
4. The Royal game of Ur
5. Whack a Mole
6. Skeeball
7. Tug of War
8. Breaststroke
9. Charades
10. Pick-up

 

[tarkin]

1. Deus Ex
2. Heroes of Might and Magic 3
3. System Shock 2
4. Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX
5. Sensible Soccer