Entertainment Weekly lists the classic games from the last 25 years
by Xav de Matos 
{ Jun 22nd 2008 at 2:30PM }
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In its historic 1000th issue, Entertainment Weekly made a point to name the new classics of the last 25 years. While EW took everything from movies to tech to task, writers Geoff Keighley, Wook Kim and Gary Eng Walk clawed through the last 25 years of gaming to list the industry's most important releases. Two Xbox-exclusive titles landed in the top 25 of the 50 title list, at number 11 the classic 2001 Xbox launch title Halo: Combat Evolved from Bungie and ranking in at number 20 was Epic's Gears of War.Other strong Xbox released titles on the list included Grand Theft Auto IV (#9), BioShock (#28), Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (#30), Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (#38), Psychonauts (#43), Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (#45), Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (#47) and Madden NFL 2005 (#50).
What are the most important titles in your gaming life and how do you think this list stacks up as a collection of gaming's new classics in the last 25 years? The full 50 title listing can be found after the jump.
- Tetris (PC)
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
- Doom (PC)
- Super Mario World (SNES)
- Guitar Hero (PS2)
- Street Fighter II (SNES)
- Super Mario Kart (SNES)
- GoldenEye 007 (N64)
- Grand Theft Auto IV (X360/PS3)
- Metal Gear Solid (PS)
- Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox)
- Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
- Final Fantasy VII (PS)
- Resident Evil 4 (GCN)
- Chrono Trigger (SNES)
- Gran Turismo (PS)
- SimCity (Mac/Amiga)
- Half-Life (PC)
- Sid Meier's Civilization II (PC)
- Gears of War (X360)
- StarCraft (PC)
- Super Metroid (SNES)
- Deus Ex (PC)
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (PS)
- Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
- God of War (PS2)
- Soul Calibur (DC)
- BioShock (PC/X360)
- Final Fantasy III (Famicom)
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (XB)
- Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (DC)
- Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS)
- Metroid Prime (GCN)
- Tomb Raider (PC/PS)
- Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo (PS)
- Star Wars: TIE Fighter (PC)
- Tekken 3 (PS)
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC/X360/PS3)
- Contra (NES)
- Okami (PS2)
- Tecmo Super Bowl (NES)
- Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi (PC)
- Psychonauts (Xbox/PS2)
- Silent Hill 2 (PS2)
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (Xbox/PS2/PC)
- Perfect Dark (N64)
- Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (X360/PC/PS3)
- WipEout (PS)
- World of Warcraft (PC)
- Madden NFL 2005 (Xbox/PS2/PC)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
OkayOctane @ Jun 22nd 2008 2:33PM
I personally think GoldenEye should have been lower 6 or 7 :D. God I loved that game.
The Visualizer @ Jun 22nd 2008 2:36PM
list looks pretty solid outside of silent hill 2 which sticks out like a sore thumb
webster1990 @ Jun 23rd 2008 8:16AM
I loved silent hill 2, it's my favourite of the series.
If anything stands out its Madden 2005. I live american football games, but what was so special about 2005?
webster1990 @ Jun 23rd 2008 8:21AM
*love
(sorry for filling up your inbox)
Vcize @ Jun 23rd 2008 12:06PM
Yeah, it's funny because 2005 was the year it started going downhill. 2004 was the pinnacle of that series.
T-BoNe254 @ Jun 23rd 2008 3:53PM
not really it started going down in 06.
2005 = hit stick
Trekster_Gamer @ Jun 22nd 2008 3:12PM
Tetris does not belong in the top slot, hands down DOOM created the billion dollar Genre that exists today where as tetris clones are a dime a dozen.
I would have also added
Elite
Super Wing Commander
Wing Commander III
Super Star Wars over any of the Marios
ScallionN @ Jun 22nd 2008 4:40PM
Tetris clones are a dime a dozen because it essentially carried the industry for a long while, and is a permanent fixture in pop culture. It was the first "casual" game. People bought gameboys because of it. Ask average people if they've heard of DOOM, and the responses will be mixed. Almost everyone knows about Tetris.
WTangoFoxtrot @ Jun 23rd 2008 1:08AM
Hell yea mate, I would any day prefer Wing Commander 3 over WC2, even if the game required like 5 cd-changes :P
WC3 was like the Crysis from back in the day when computer gaming was starting to compete with console gaming and it simply showed how much further PCs could push the limits compared to their console brothers. still, its good to see someone else appreciate wing commander.....
WTangoFoxtrot @ Jun 23rd 2008 1:09AM
Hell yea mate, I would any day prefer Wing Commander 3 over WC2, even if the game required like 5 cd-changes :P
WC3 was like the Crysis from back in the day when computer gaming was starting to compete with console gaming and it simply showed how much further PCs could push the limits compared to their console brothers. still, its good to see someone else appreciate wing commander.....
mikewalsh19 @ Jun 23rd 2008 8:16PM
Wait... are you saying that Tetris clones are more abundant than Doom clones?!
Seriously?
Both deserve to be up there, but Tetris is iconic, Doom is a classic, but everyone knows Tetris.
trevor @ Jun 22nd 2008 3:20PM
wtf. where is Super Mario Bros (nes)? that game started my gaming life.
stinger503 @ Jun 23rd 2008 3:07AM
Amen
ogvor @ Jun 22nd 2008 3:35PM
I'm glad Tetris is number one, it is such a quintessential game. Anyone can enjoy, and it has been on just about every platform and will be on every future platform until games die out or we do. I personally have Tetris on my iPod, Mac, and DS.
roach @ Jun 22nd 2008 3:56PM
Only 2 NES games on there?
Ha...yeah right... I agree..Where are Mario and Mario 3?
Bac0nator @ Jun 22nd 2008 4:07PM
Mario is eating mushrooms
Bac0nator @ Jun 22nd 2008 4:08PM
What about Pussy City Pimps>??? that game was amazing.
drewp95 @ Jul 21st 2008 5:03PM
KOTOR is that low? retards
Zack @ Jun 22nd 2008 5:07PM
Where's the blue blur at? No respect for the hedgehog with an attitude. :(
emirabal @ Jun 22nd 2008 5:21PM
Where the hell is pac man, how is pac man not a classic. SOme of these are just marketing
kevin @ Jun 22nd 2008 6:20PM
pretty sure pacman came out before 25 years ago
refinedsugar @ Jun 22nd 2008 5:27PM
Glad Deus Ex made the list, but no love for System Shock? For shame.
bigd7387 @ Jun 22nd 2008 6:21PM
Where's Super Mario 64 or did I miss it? The N64 was built for Super Mario 64 and it introduced 3d gameplay to a new level that no other games did, there wouldn't be any 3d adventure games without it. Tetris I understand since I use to play it at work on the old monochrome monitors and 512k computers but the list has some problems.
BlueJack @ Jun 22nd 2008 6:51PM
I know I'm showing my age here but come on!! Absolutely no point and click adventure games!! Where the hell is Monkey Island!!!!
blank964 @ Jun 22nd 2008 7:02PM
Once again another lousy list by people who have no clue about what they're talking about. I hope this is based on impact on society/gamers because Doom is not a better game than some of the games on this list.
At least they got Ocarina up high but seriously why the hell is GTA IV up there along with Guitar Hero?
Luke @ Jun 22nd 2008 7:10PM
This list is laughable, a lot of the games are from the past two or three years like whoever made the list just thumbed through a games magazine and looked at what's currently good. So many genuine genre-changing/forming classics are missing.
There aren't enough grains of salt in the world.
drewsny @ Jun 22nd 2008 7:51PM
why is GTA IV number 9 and why isnt gears o there or sonic the hedgehog. i could understand GTA san andreas or GTA 3 but why was GTA IV on there. also im a huge classic gamer but ive never played tetris
Xav de Matos @ Jun 23rd 2008 12:22AM
Gears is #20.
webster1990 @ Jun 23rd 2008 8:17AM
never played tetris!?!? EVER!?
h0mi @ Jun 22nd 2008 9:15PM
No game released in the last few years should be considered a "classic", and IMO no (new, not XBLA) game available for the 360, wii or ps3 could be considered a classic. While GTA4, gears of war, Bioshock, and COD4 may be excellent games, they cant be a "classic" in 2008.
yost @ Jun 23rd 2008 1:13AM
screw oblivion ,... it was a good game ,... but morrowind should of had a spot on that list...I think this list was complied by people who don't play video games...I think halo should be higher than guitar hero...
Shafnitz @ Jun 23rd 2008 2:25AM
Where's "Return to Castle Wolfenstein"?
Shafnitz @ Jun 23rd 2008 2:26AM
Sorry, I meant "Wolfenstein 3D", not RTCW.
stinger503 @ Jun 23rd 2008 4:34AM
Surprised there's no C&C.
mattclarkie @ Jun 23rd 2008 4:52AM
Another stupid list from stupid people.
Some of the games on there are O.K. But how can GTA IV be on the list so high?
I agree with Halo because it is good, and sparked a change in the industry, but apart from that very few modern games from the last 7 years should be on the list. Bioshock perhaps, because it will probably be spoken about for years to come.
demolitions @ Jun 23rd 2008 8:49AM
What meter of judgement have they used for that list? in what world you could see "Halo: combat evolved" that higher than "StarCraft"? plus, titles like "The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion", "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" and "BioShock" are TOTALLY different between platforms; and i must point out that "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic", like "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2" have been ported to PC also...
Max @ Jun 25th 2008 4:22AM
GTA IV in the top 10 WTF
wheres Sims it should be top 5 and Halo 2?
Oblivion should be alot higher ALOT .
and i hate WOW but even i know it deserves a higher a spot
rlb @ Jun 23rd 2008 9:28AM
I can't even deal with the fact that none of Sierra's classics made the list. What about the King's Quest series, the Space Quest series, The Colonel's Bequest...pretty much anything written by Roberta Williams...how about the Gabriel Knight series by Jane Jensen. These games are what drew me to gaming in general. I don't know why I let these types of best-of lists fire me up, but man, do they!
RB @ Jun 23rd 2008 9:34AM
Its a crime that "Myst" isn't on this list...
Redeye @ Jun 23rd 2008 10:12AM
Crimson Skies--once again overlooked.
*sheds tear*
Pudge @ Jun 23rd 2008 10:27AM
Grand Theft Auto IV? The game just came out for gods sake, and its not a classic. GTA3 is much more worthy for the list, but GTA4 is a piece of garbage that shouldn't be ranked above Halo.
Professor Lario @ Jun 23rd 2008 11:07AM
Why is GTA IV listed, but Halo 3 is not? If the criteria is initial impact then GTA III and Halo 1 should have been chosen. If the criteria is better game then most likely GTA IV and Halo 3 should be chosen. I am not sure what criteria were used to choose GTA IV and then Halo 1...?
ljung8erg @ Jun 23rd 2008 11:17AM
Marvel vs Capcom? (I'm guessing they had to include a Dreamcast game) Super puzzle fighter 2? (it's not that good) Perfect Dark?? (Yeah it was ok, but a classic or any kind of influence? You're 'aving a larf!) What the fudge?! While I loved Shadow of The Colossus, ICO was much better and much braver than it.
Mario 64 being left out is criminal, as is leaving out the original Mario Bros. Half Life 2 should also be there, no question.
Oh and Legend Of Zelda: A Link to the Past!!!? Pathetic excuse for an all-time list...
AxFactor @ Jun 23rd 2008 11:23AM
why Madden 2005??? If I remember right, NFL 2K5 kick it's sorry ass up and down the field that year so EA whined enough to get the NFL to sign an exclusive rights agreement.
I could understand the Madden Franchise being up there, but not 2005. And if anyone cites it's because that was year of the exclusive rights agreement then you need to rethink that. That was a dark day in gaming.
Vcize @ Jun 23rd 2008 12:10PM
I agree that '05 was an odd choice for Madden, but your last comment makes you look like a douche.
EA did not go after the exclusive rights to the NFL license. The NFL put the license up for bid on their own accord and everyone involved (included Take Two and their 2k series) put in a bid on it. EA won the bidding, and I'm sure they were more than happy to oblige, but can we get past this completely untrue myth of the ignorant in which EA supposedly got scared of competition and went out seeking an exclusive license because of it?
AxFactor @ Jun 23rd 2008 12:23PM
but really who can compete with EA's cash flow? If you put it up for bids EA has the resources to go as high as it needs to to win, especially with something like this since Madden is the staple in it's EA Sports line.
Vcize @ Jun 23rd 2008 1:20PM
Indeed, but the point is that it wasn't like EA said "holy crap guys this NFL 2k5 game is pretty good, what should we do to crush it? I know, we'll go to the NFL and buy exclusivity on the license!" which is the way everyone seems to portray it.
BinaryTrifecta @ Jun 23rd 2008 4:00PM
I would have moved a few around but ultimately the list is pretty good.
And all of the people who think that Halo 3 should be on the list need to try playing some other games. Halo 1 was a great game but it was nothing new, and the concept of the "halo" itself was blatantly stolen from the book RingWorld. 2 sequels later and I am not at all impressed.
KraziJoe @ Jun 23rd 2008 12:59PM
Bards Tale?
Ultima Online?
Ultima IV?
Ultima Underworld?
Everquest?
Might and Magic?
Fonix @ Jun 23rd 2008 1:20PM
Eh this list is kind of shaky. Mario Bros 3 was the best mario game, period. It doesn't make it, but Mario Galaxy does? RE4 makes it, but the original RE doesn't make it? I also believe that Diablo is missing from this list. At least Deus Ex made it. That still remains my favorite to this day.