When coming up with a Top 10 of my favorite games I found it an excruciating task to meet the limit. There have been so many games that have stolen so many hours of my life and just thinking about them makes me want to go back to being a hermit in my bedroom fighting off sleep for an all-night gaming bender. While I have tried to include games from every system I have owned, some had to fall by the wayside, including those from my beloved Commodore 64. As honorable mentions, I will list my favorites here: M.U.L.E. (1983), Summer Games (1984), Impossible Mission (1984), Agent U.S.A. (1984), and Bruce Lee (1984). Go Wikipedia those titles. While I reflect on my childhood, here is my boiled-down list of my 10 favorite games:

10 - Rock Band (Xbox 360 / PlayStation 3 / PlayStation 2 / Wii; 2007)

In a world where gamers demand death-matches more often than cooperative play, this game reinforces the idea that playing together can be just as exhilarating. Harmonix has done an incredible job of putting in songs from all sorts of genres (even my favorite, indie rock, gets some representation) and has made sure the levels of difficulty range from letting your unexperienced mother rock the mic to the drums giving your joints a royal workout. Is it too early to put this in a Top 10? Not when downloadable content continuously makes the gaming experience new and exciting week after week. One of the best party games and single player games of the download generation.

09 - Katamari Damacy (PlayStation 2; 2004)

I gotta give credit to a game that sets up a plot where a drunken king knocks out all the stars from the sky and it is your job to clean up after him. To be absolutely honest, what brought me to this game was nothing having to do with the concept or the gameplay itself. The music was all over the torrents even before the game was released. The mix of current Japanese techno and early 90’s shibuya-kei has such a familiar sound but proves to be insatiable. Every song is brilliant on that album, and it turns out to be an asset in the actual gameplay. Katamary Damacy is one of those rare experiences where the act of playing the game allows your mind to relax in favor of letting your instincts guide your analog sticks. Picking up objects in order of size becomes addicting, and it is not long before you are outside imagining how close you are to picking up that lamp post. Though it is a niche game for some, the multiplayer is a little weak, and the sequels have not done much to expand on the franchise, the original game is a monument to the shroom-ingesting game designer.

08 - The Legend of Zelda (NES; 1987)

Arguably Nintendo’s first RPG. The world is open to wherever you want to go and if you follow the steps correctly you work your way into dungeons, nab some special items and uncover many secrets. Just by using the right amount of logic and reasoning you progress through this challenging world of mazes and monsters without it ever diminishing in fun. The real testament to this game is just how easy it is to pick it up and start playing at any moment. Even if you have already beaten it, there is another adventure waiting for you. Just another reason why Nintendo was my system of choice in the 80’s and 90’s.

07 - SimCity 2000 (Various; 1993)

Is it wrong for a game to be more fun when you cheat? Of course not! How else are you supposed to survive fires, riots, hurricanes, floods and alien monsters? The original SimCity laid the groundwork for a great city simulator but the 2k edition caps what the original left open. Buildings upgrade over time, advisers are just the right amount of annoying, and neighboring cities provide an opportunity to steal citizens. It did not matter if you were not making enough money; with the right cheats you were stacking highways in no time and building parks to make your feeble sims content. Even though there is no multiplayer, it is fun to compare cities to your friends’ creations and steal ideas for where to place your industry and commercial zones. One of the great moments of PC gaming.

06 - Super Mario Kart (Super Nintendo; 1992)

The Japanese are funny people. They take the most serious of actors and put them in TV game shows where they play each other in “American Gladiator”-style obstacles. This lack of sophistication makes games like Super Mario Kart completely plausible. When it was released it was marketed to be a fun side-step from the original Mario series. It is safe to say that it’s now a viable franchise as the newest edition, Mario Kart Wii, has delivered on network gameplay, imaginative courses, and devastating attacks. The original game is the standout for me because out of all the versions that have been released, the combination of great gameplay, music, level design and difficulty is what the original SNES edition balances with gusto.

05 - Civilization II (Macintosh, Windows, PlayStation; 1996)

Turn-based strategy was never so intense. In 1996, when this game was released to PCs all over the country, the few fans of the first Civilization game were treated to more graphics, more abilities, more Wonders of the World, and some of the best gameplay and combat management of any strategy game. Surprisingly not the brainchild of Sid Meier this time around, the game challenges the players towards a different challenge: becoming so technologically advanced that you could colonize Alpha Centurai. There are many ways to win (and lose) and as each year progresses, and it is a constant race with the other civilizations to either advance or get lost in the annals of history. Because of the multi-faceted levels of gameplay, campaigns could last forever and the game’s staying power has outlived it own sequels and usually places the highest of any PC game on Top 100 lists.

04 - Final Fantasy VI (III US) (Super Nintendo; 1994)

Before the 3D blunders, before the cyberpunk attitude, before the cosplayers with ridiculous 30-pound, 8-foot swords, there was the perfect RPG. FFVI provides the most amount of drama, music, characters, maps, monsters, abilities, magic, graphics and sound. It pushed the hardware of the SNES to its limits and has been lauded as one of the best video games of all time. The ending of the game has a ridiculous amount of variations as does the battle system, ensuring that no matter which character you like there is always something with him or her that you could develop. Each character’s story is rapturous, whether it is the love story of Ceres and Locke, the doomed future of Terra, the conspiracy of Shadow and Remy, or the brotherly rivalry of Sabin and Edgar. There is so much going on in the world that it is completely enveloping and is one of those games that forces you to miss school so you could keep playing. No matter how many fanboys flock to the version after this one, this game is the last of its kind and is a true testament to the beauty, emotion and complexity that is the sprite-based Final Fantasy series.

03 - Doom II (Macintosh, Windows, Various Consoles; 1994)

In the arena of PC gaming, Wolfenstein 3D was a trailblazer. Following in its shareware footsteps, id Software crafted Doom with the greatest sci-fi throwaway plot and colorful characters. Doom II, the continuation of the story, was the first commercial release of id Software and was the biggest blockbuster release of 1994 for PC gamers. The levels were fresh and updated with new objects and power-ups and the enemies were straight out of a Cronenberg movie (no, really; the growls and spats were ripped from Naked Lunch). The defining moment of this game’s existence was the fully realized networking mode. At the dawn of modems and dialing BBSes and phone numbers rather than ISPs, the game’s immense image and level libraries led to some of the most memorable fan-made levels and enemies in any game (Simpson’s mod anyone?). The stellar co-op mode and death-match battles paved the way for games like Duke Nukem 3D and the open source-breeds-innovation mentality of Counterstrike. No other PC game could be torn apart quite like this one and its a huge success story partly because of that. Whether you played it alone or with friends, the game stuck with you (you can admit you remember what IDDQD and IDKFA mean), and it did so well that Doom III didn’t come out until ten years later.

02 - Super Mario World (Super Nintendo; 1991)

If you wanted to play through the game fast enough to say you played it, you could. If you wanted to be challenged by finding extra paths to new areas, you could. If you wanted to explore every avenue, try out every level and unlock every exclamation button, colored Yoshi and star road warp gate, this game would provide you enough to last a year. The SNES got its flagship game in stunning color. The look of the game is so signature, as well as its music. The level designs are brilliant. The dimensions to the gameplay, whether intentional or sometimes a little buggy, is addictive. While the controls could be slippery at times and the star road levels a bit heavy on the challenge, the game goes to great strides to make sure you keep playing. It is so intense an experience that by the time you make it to the last level on the star map and the developers thank you not just in the credits, but in the actual gameplay, you knew you were encountering something special. Super Mario Galaxy is the shining star of console gaming’s modern era, but this game means the world to its players.

01 - Tetris (Various; 1985)

The key to making the best video game of all time is to let it fit in every situation, make it accessible to everyone, provide hours of entertainment and most of all, no matter how many versions you make of it, keep it simple. Tetris is the best game I have ever played and I will argue that it is the best video game of all time. The idea is simple: you build up the blocks until you make a row and the blocks come back down. You keep doing this, thinking up more and more strategies to keep your area empty and open for more shapes. You make all the right pieces fit in just the right places until that anticipated straight line of blocks comes from the top and you form a Tetris down the left side. Play the game now and you will be dreaming of it tonight. The fantastic music will play through your mind all day. You can play it at almost any time in almost any country on almost any console, computer or portable device. One fact remains the same: no matter how good you are, you will never win. That is why this is the best video game of all time.

Be sure to check out Mike and Andrew’s Top 10’s and send us feedback on your Top 10 favorite games! If it takes you less than a day to come up with a list, you may want to hold off for five years.