P&B Ranks: The Top 42 Video Games of All-Time

[Karpaty Lviv]

43 minutes ago, Fuctifano said:

Thought Fortnite would be higher but that's probably due to the demographics here.

My 13 year old had it as 2 on his top 10 but as he's not a P&Ber I obviously didn't submit his choices.

It was great fun in the first few seasons then people got ridiculously good and it just became like Fifa. Competitive try hard shite.

[Mark Connolly]

2 hours ago, BFTD said:

 Wings Over Scotland supposedly didn't have much to do with this one; it was Cannon Fodder 2 that he was heavily involved in.

 

He was a journalist when the first one came out, and wrote in his review that he wished all old soldiers were dead. Not like him to say something controversial.

He was hired later by Sensible and was heavily involved on CF2.

[BFTD]

1 minute ago, Mark Connolly said:

He was a journalist when the first one came out, and wrote in his review that he wished all old soldiers were dead. Not like him to say something controversial.

He was hired later by Sensible and was heavily involved on CF2.

Aye, I mind the days when folk thought he was playing a character, like Charlie Brooker.

[madwullie]

For some reason I have the binding of isaac in my steam games list, but don't think I've ever played it. Might have a look over the next couple of weeks. 

[BFTD]

8 minutes ago, madwullie said:

For some reason I have the binding of isaac in my steam games list, but don't think I've ever played it. Might have a look over the next couple of weeks. 

I seem to remember it being part of several indie game bundles years ago. That's where I got my copy of the original version.

[Empty It]

It concerns me every time I hear someone over the age of 14 plays fortnite.

[SANTAN]

Takes a red neck on a video game forum to have such hot takes like "this particular game is for kids". 

Some guys clearly can't do 90's...

[Miguel Sanchez]

TIED FOR 136TH, WITH 4 POINTS AND 1 VOTE EACH

Game: Deus Ex
Platform: PC, PlayStation 2; 3
Release date: 2000
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owJCi4ge5-Q
Zero Punctuation review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_LULRj_f4w
Poll-maker comments: I have this on the PS3. I've tried to play it a few times and never managed it, despite all of the things in it I should enjoy. 

Game: Team Fortress 2
Platform: PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release date: 2007
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tmtv36m1tRs
Zero Punctuation review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dlEm_2ke8k
Game's lasting cultural impact outside of video games: 

Game: Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare
Platform: PC, Dreamcast, PlayStation 2
Release date: 2001
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuXDH-SUbmQ

Game: Mario Kart: Double Dash
Platform: Nintendo GameCube
Release date: 2003
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hZbP7hyD6M

Game: Railroad Tycoon 3
Platform: PC
Release date: 2003
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWTRaEMi7sM

(sorry the cover art is the American version, I couldn't find a reasonably-sized version of the European one)
Game: Jak II: Renegade
Platform: PlayStation 2
Release date: 14 October 2003
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_--FH5iGCk
Gameplay from noted youtuber and massive J&D fan Mystic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAwPNbqfFUM

 

Game: Dragon Age: Origins
Platform: PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release date: 3rd November 2009
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNlCCoPeghg
Zero Punctuation review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJlDkGUA2YA

Game: Battlefield 2
Platform: PC
Release date: 2005
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57VTXT_9W1I

Game: Bloodborne
Platform: PlayStation 4
Release date: 2015
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJyc-sD1DiY
Zero Punctuation review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ6v5iFf-rk
User comments: "Dark Souls has the reputation it deserves but the only way to elevate it is to fill it with Lovecraftian monsters and they only went and did it."

Game: Gran Turismo 5
Platform: PlayStation 3
Release date: 2010
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1tNVKmBZ78
Jimmy Broadbent New Year's Eve 2018 Spectacular (skip to 4:01:40 for the best countdown ever): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyPvTMHmPJA

User comments: "After F1C, the best driving game I have owned, the best of the GT series"
Poll-maker comments: I'll keep this short. After GT3 and GT4 there was probably no way GT5 could have lived up to my expectations. It could have done a much better job of it though. In spite of that I wouldn't like to count how many hours I put into this. The platinum trophy remains my proudest achievement, and despite being much better at racing games now I don't think I could beat those Vettel races again.

Game: Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
Platform: GameCube
Release date: 2001
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Xyge10USMU

Game: Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Release date: 2002
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-ktLPl9aRg
User comments (on Sapphire): "still the best Pokémon game to date, with the best lot of Pokémon. Used to replay it every summer on family holidays as a kid, so holds some nostalgia value too"
Poll-maker comments: I skipped Gen 2. This was the first Pokémon games I went into with some prior awareness about what it was going to contain. As much as I enjoyed them and as much as they are objectively good, this was really the first time where I felt unable to actually achieve a complete Pokedex and where the appeal of the concept started to wear away for me.

Game: Shenmue
Platform: Dreamcast, PC
Release date: 1999
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8RpDgxAyKI
User comments: "A pioneering game in so many ways. Dull and slow in lots of places but there was still something oddly satisfying about having to turn up to work on time and drive a fork lift for 8 hours. Frustratingly difficult but one of the first games of that kind of length that I persevered with and completed."

Game: Star Wars: Tie Fighter
Platform: PC
Release date: 1994
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geyps1bNqEc
User comments: "The final nostalgia pick, and a game I've not played since I was around 7 or 8 but it obviously left a lasting impact. Googling it to remember the name, I stumbled across reviews that suggest it was actually decent. I also found that there's a version available for Mac! It had everything I wanted when I was wee and sinking hours into watching and rewinding the Star Wars Special Edition videos: there was a joystick and you felt like you were actually piloting a TIE fighter. Terrific stuff."

Game: Pro Evolution Soccer 4
Platform: PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox
Release date: 2004
Gameplay: I'd say "it's football, innit" but has there ever been a football game with a picture of a referee on it?

Game: Forza Motorsport 7
Platform: PC, Xbox One
Release date: 3rd October 2017
Gameplay/the ultimate banter and memes from my man Super GT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0H6RxTqwWs

Game: Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Platform: Playstation 4
Release date: 10th May 2016
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3spSshYUvOU
Zero Punctuation review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGRglaMRU0Y
Poll-maker comments: I played this a few months ago and wrote a review, which contains many complaints unique to this game and applicable to the series as a whole:

Spoiler

You know what I thought when I played the first three Uncharted games earlier this year? I spent the entire time thinking "I want more Nathan Drake." I just can't get enough of this smug, boring mass-murderer who never shuts up, and never actually says anything clever or witty despite being extremely full of himself. I need more! Well, it seems Naughty Dog actually found some people who think that because with Uncharted 4 not only is Nathan Drake back and insufferable as ever, he's got a big brother who's exactly the same. And he's now married to Elena who's got even worse patter than he does. Fantastic.

 

Standard Uncharted plot applies - you are Nathan Drake and with the usual assortment of accomplices there's a treasure for you to go and find. Rather than semi-mythical concepts like El Dorado or Shangri-La however he's off looking for some pirate treasure. Now that I think about it, it's quite a literal interpretation of the concept of a treasure hunt. I don't care about the plot to offer more details. Gameplay is the usual combination of third person runny jump climby cover shooty, with the occasional ropey... swingy section. Sorry. I'm going to do this review the opposite way round to usual - gameplay first, plot/themes/narratives second.

 

Gameplay is what it is. I suppose with the amount of third person games Naughty Dog have done since the first Uncharted they should know what they're doing by now. There are a few additions to the series. The rope swinging sections where you can jump from a ledge, swing a grappling hook to a pole and swing to the next one, they're okay I guess. There are some sliding sections too, but both of these just seem inserted for a bit of variety when moving from one place to another, there's nothing exciting about them. Halfway through the game there's a new climbing mechanic introduced, the piton, where you have to press square to dig into a section of wall and jump to another ledge rather than go straight from ledge to ledge. This just proves they're adding stuff for the sake of it. It doesn't serve any purpose. It's just busywork. There are areas where you can easily reach the next ledge with the standard jump but can't until you've jammed yourself into the wall first. Why? Just get on with it.

 

Two of my biggest problems with combat in the first three Uncharteds were melee combat and stealth. Melee is fixed by finally being a much smaller part of the game. It's there if you want to, but you're not forced into it aside from one or two scripted scenes. Good. Stealth is back and there are quite a few open areas with lots of enemies and lots of different ways to approach it. This sounds like a good idea in theory, but every such area I can think of right now always has the same problem. You can stake out one enemy, watch their path, finally decide to go in for a stealth attack only to discover one of the other fifteen guys in the area can suddenly see you, and a gunfight ensues. Unlike previous games where stealth was an option but never felt tangibly rewarding, here you're encouraged to do it in areas where it's too awkward to do properly. I don't think the open-ended areas offer much to gameplay either for the same reason. Even if you plan an attack on an area the controls get too fiddly during combat, with the same button for rolling and taking cover making what you actually do when you press it a complete lottery.

 

In addition to less melee than before, there aren't as many puzzles in Uncharted 4. This is bad. The puzzles in the first two games were insulting, the third game brought them up a good bit, then here there are about three of them in the game total and they're not hard. This makes the game feel generic more than anything else, and it's a real drawback. If there's an aspect of your game that offers a bit of variety and lateral thinking, why not stick with it? Now that I think about it, the game's dumbed down in other ways. Even if you turn off the very pushy in-game hint notifications, you still get them. Stand still for more than five seconds and either Nathan or his companion will say "Hey! Try going over to this area which is extremely obviously the way through the level!" Leave me alone.

 

New to the series is a more open-ended feel to some of the sections. In some cases this is just a few extra possible paths to reach the end of a platforming section, in one or two it's a huge area with some buildings to explore. Now that I think about it though, this one section in particular acts mainly as a vehicle (heh) to listen to the character development (and I'll come to this later). While searching for pirate king Henry Avery and his treasure, Nathan, brother Sam and Sully go to Madagascar. You get a jeep and a big open area to drive around in with some vehicle based platforming which, for the most part, is a nice diversion. While there are some buildings to explore and some pointless collectables to find, none of it serves any purpose. I find it strange that a game centred around characters who go on these wild adventures is so shallow in terms of your interaction with the world.

 

Since I played the first three games on PS4, I didn't get to experience their multiplayer. Uncharted 4 has multiplayer. I played it. I was useless. It's been a long time since I played a shooter online, but this seems very focused on people who've played it for a long time having a massive advantage in terms of weapons and equipment. There's also a Survival mode which I'm still in the process of playing. To call it cheap would be an understatement. I understand it's also gone through a series of patches and rebalancing which made payable DLC weapons more effective and then less effective, so it's deliberately cheap. Still, it offers something markedly different if you enjoyed the combat. There's a massive range of weapons in the game, so it's a chance to work through those if nothing else.

 

When I come to games some time after they've been released it's usually for the same reasons. Like everyone else nowadays I have a massive backlog and little reason to buy anything when it's newly released. In rare cases if it's a game I have some interest in but don't need immediately, I try to ignore it and coverage of it until it's time to play so I can go in unspoiled. As a result the only thing I really knew about the Uncharted series was how everyone loved Nathan Drake, how he was so funny and great and it seemed like everyone who played the games really bought into his character.

 

After the first three games, I did not share this sentiment. After the fourth, I would pay full AAA price for something that just lets me harm Nathan Drake and all his friends in as many creative ways as possible. I don't get this guy at all. He doesn't have a personality, he has impeccable hair and an inability to shut up. His big brother Sam, retconned into Nathan's backstory, is the same (although he's balding). Having two of them chatting shit to one another somehow isn't even worse than Nathan on his own, it's just blander. One shit patter merchant begets another, and I don't see the point in adding one.

 

The interesting thing about Uncharted 4 is that for a brief, beautiful moment there actually is a suggestion of a character. Nathan is past his treasure hunting days. He's married Elena and they live in a suspiciously large house on his salvage company wage and her sporadic travel writing. They have an irritatingly cutesy relationship where they play Crash Bandicoot to decide who does the dishes (side-note: Nathan complains about that game having loading times, but when they're in Madagascar he champions having pen and paper with him because phone signals are unreliable - make your mind up) and he occasionally retreats to his attic with all his stolen wares from his past to reminisce. This is the first time in an Uncharted game where I was interested in what Nathan Drake thought about things, and what he did in the world. It lasts about twenty minutes.

 

If his relationship with Sam is annoying, it's nothing compared to when Elena catches up to him. Aside from a brief part of Uncharted 3 she's always been a particularly beige female character, someone who's just sort of there and is so obviously the inevitable love interest it's like she doesn't bother acting upon it because it'll so obviously happen. Fine. Here though, when she finds out Nathan lied to her about going on a salvage job, there's conflict. She's had enough, she storms out. When she goes to pick him up after they've reached the island along with the mercenary army who're there to get the treasure too, she tells him she almost didn't go back this time.

 

Great! I think. We're going to get conflict, we're going to get someone telling him what an arse he is for a change. Nope. One faux-earnest monologue later everything's back to normal and Elena's returning the awful banter with more enthusiasm than Sam ever did. Great. It's somehow even more annoying from her. It's like Naughty Dog saw an opportunity for some interesting characterisation and deliberately didn't bother.

 

There are some comparisons to make between the characterisation in Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us. During a driving section Nathan tells Elena why he never told her about his brother. The conversation eventually drifts away to some piano music while you're driving through a river and a waterfall. This isn't character development. The Last of Us' success was based in the grounded, desperate nature of the characters. Trying to transplant that into a different series that's never been like that doesn't work when it's done so briefly. You can't give people personalities in twenty seconds when they don't have any. To be clear, I don't think the characters in The Last of Us were any good either. But that style of writing is completely unsuitable for the Uncharted series, and when it's done so sparingly it just draws attention to how out of place it is.

 

The kindest thing I can say about Uncharted 4 is that its ending is seemingly unequivocal. It's an ending. I'm not going to be rushing to play any more Uncharteds that happen to be made. Number 4 isn't a bad game, but I have no interest in the characters or what happens to them. If I feel that way after nearly ten years, I guess it's just not for me.

 

Edited March 12, 2021 by Miguel Sanchez

[Stellaboz]

Deus Ex is still a fucking brilliant game to play. I ploughed so many hours into it and there's tiny hidden things everywhere. The story is great and I really enjoy the Hong Kong levels. The Versalife stuff especially.

Forget graphics and don't play with this a controller ffs, it's a mouse and keyboard job.

It's Denton! Remember the brief!

I also really enjoyed scuttling the boat full of virus, that's a fun level.

Flatlander woman...


Also, PS4 was terrific game play and I bet it still stands up fairly well today. My Master League front two of Messi and Lafferty were class.

[Homer Thompson]

Why are none of my "user comments" being posted?

Eta - and how the f**k am I the only one to pick shenmue? I can feel a headsgone coming

[BFTD]

I've tried Deus Ex a few times and could never get into it. I'd be interested in a remake, as it's old enough now that I don't think I could get past the engine these days. I'm sure I've missed out on a lot. Surprised to see it this low, considering its legendary status.

Dragon Age: Origins was mine. I'm not really into the fantasy stuff, and it's one of those horrible RPGs where you micromanage everything your characters are carrying and under which conditions they'll perform certain actions, but I guess I just liked the story. It goes on forever too, and is surprisingly amusing. I never got around to playing the expansion Awakenings, as I'd spent so long on the base game that I was sick of it by the end, but maybe one day.

[BFTD]

2 minutes ago, Mr X said:

Why are none of my "user comments" being posted?

Eta - and how the f**k am I the only one to pick shenmue? I can feel a headsgone coming

Everything I've seen about it since the re-release is that it was ahead of its time, but now the novelty's gone it's incredibly tedious and best left on the scrapheap of history.

[NotThePars]

7 minutes ago, Mr X said:

Why are none of my "user comments" being posted?

he's posting mines so he must just hate you

5 minutes ago, BFTD said:

Dragon Age: Origins was mine. I'm not really into the fantasy stuff, and it's one of those horrible RPGs where you micromanage everything your characters are carrying and under which conditions they'll perform certain actions, but I guess I just liked the story. It goes on forever too, and is surprisingly amusing. I never got around to playing the expansion Awakenings, as I'd spent so long on the base game that I was sick of it by the end, but maybe one day.

I've only played an hour and I think the criticisms you've given are why I haven't got further which is annoying cause I am interested in it. Maybe one day.

[Miguel Sanchez]

9 minutes ago, Mr X said:

Why are none of my "user comments" being posted?

Eta - and how the f**k am I the only one to pick shenmue? I can feel a headsgone coming

tbf to your comment (which I forgot and is in now) you made the game sound fucking dreadful

[Fuctifano]

PES 4 was my pick, obviously I thought that was the high point of the series, slightly surprised it never got another vote but others might have picked one either side of it. 

[BFTD]

19 minutes ago, NotThePars said:

I've only played an hour and I think the criticisms you've given are why I haven't got further which is annoying cause I am interested in it. Maybe one day.

Yeah, it's one of those games where you can find yourself struggling to remember controls in the middle of battle too, and I seem to remember there being some important actions that I didn't realise I could do until halfway through the game. You find yourself pausing constantly during fights to give orders and think about how you're going to get out of having your arse handed to you as well.

Starting to wonder why I liked it now, but I did! Played through it again a few years ago, and it was still enjoyable, despite the frustrations.

[19QOS19]

PES 4 was my pick, obviously I thought that was the high point of the series, slightly surprised it never got another vote but others might have picked one either side of it. 

If the comment was yours about if there had ever been a fitba game with a ref on the cover the answer is yes: PES3 [emoji14]

[NotThePars]

Double Dash was great. Giving you two characters to mix and match was so good. I always rocked King Boo number one though.

I voted for Bloodborne. All the Soulsborne games are good but Bloodborne has far and away the best aesthetics IMO. it's also good practice for when I move to England.

I played so much Ruby and Sapphire back in the day. It might've been the only reason I got a GBA. Rayquaza is also maybe the best legendary.

I've started Shenmue up twice in my life. I might someday go to it properly as it's sufficiently weird that I want to give it a try.

No comment on Uncharted 4 cause maybe that's where it finally clicks.

[Homer Thompson]

Everything I've seen about it since the re-release is that it was ahead of its time, but now the novelty's gone it's incredibly tedious and best left on the scrapheap of history.

I just don't know how to respond to that.

tbf to your comment (which I forgot and is in now) you made the game sound fucking dreadful

Thats kinda the point though. It sounds awful but it's not. That was the genius of it.

It wasn't just that comment, pretty sure I've had 3 games that only I voted for and you haven't posted any comments.

[Miguel Sanchez]

2 minutes ago, Mr X said:

 

 

I just don't know how to respond to that.





Thats kinda the point though. It sounds awful but it's not. That was the genius of it.

It wasn't just that comment, pretty sure I've had 3 games that only I voted for and you haven't posted any comments.

 

The only game that you voted for that's come up was Privateer 2. I missed it. Sorry.