My list, after several hours of writing and smoking up:
25 MOST EPIC GAMES EVER!!!
25.
Fire Pro Wrestling D (Dreamcast, Japanese import)dreamcast.ign.com/objects/016/016172.htmlThe best 2D wresting game ever. You have to have a FAQ just to get through the menu screens, but what emerges for the patient is a game with serious depth, an incredible (considering it's 2D) creation system, and more match types than any other game at the time. I used to game with a couple of guys regularly, and this was always in the rotation. We got ahold of a save that changed all the names in the game to English and fixed the colors on all of the "generic" versions of popular wrestlers (a la MDickie), and being the wrestling junkies that we were, we would play this for hours on end, against each other and against the computer. Serious good times.
24.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (Dreamcast/XBox)xbox.ign.com/objects/015/015813.htmlA stellar title with a fun yet simple-to-learn approach to skateboarding, this game was also on the rotation (though not as heavily). Played a crapload of multiplayer with my wife, too. And it had Spider-Man as unlockable, which was awesome!!!
23.
ToeJam & Earl (Sega Genesis)cheats.ign.com/objects/006/006189.htmlOne of the most original games ever; I still don't know why they never made a proper sequel. ToeJam & Earl 2 was a horizontal scrolling platformer, and 3 was a 3D platformer, but nothing matched the original for pure co-op fun and awesomeness!
22.
Scene It!: Box Office Smash (XBox 360)xbox360.ign.com/objects/142/14267383.htmlI love movie & tv trivia games, and the first two Scene It! games are second to none. This second in the series was the perfect blend of... well, everything; unfortunately, they pretty much abandoned the formula with the third title, which sucks donkey wang.
21.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2/XBox)xbox.ign.com/objects/666/666605.htmlGTA: Vice City is the crown of the GTA series. With a solid sense of humor, likeable protagonist and pure all-around badassery, GTA: Vice City one-upped GTA3 on every level. Unfortunately, over the next couple of games, Rockstar would completely lose their sense of humor, opting for a more cinematic "Oscar-worthy" experience. Which makes me fucking hate them. With a passion. Even though I've 100%ed all of them except GTA4 Liberty City Stories. I fucking hate Nico Bellec.
And the (albeit very late) XBox versions of the GTA games featured the best graphics of the console set, including fully modeled engines under the hoods and the like. Very cool.
20.
Star Control (Sega Genesis)cheats.ign.com/objects/008/008853.htmlThis game, a combination of a strategy galactic sim and arcade-style conflict, was something my bud and I played every weekend. In Star Control, you fly around a randomly-created universe, going from point to point, earning resources. I think. I'm pretty sure. You take your selection of ships, of which each side has a wide variety with special abilities each, and blow the crap out of each other to control the universe. This game was ill as hell. Yeah, I just said that. Recognize, bitches.
19.
Halo 3 (XBox 360)xbox360.ign.com/objects/734/734817.htmlWhile the green circle of the massive Halo structures didn't really come into Halo 3, this was one fine-ass first person shooter. It featured up to 4-player co-op- fun as hell- as well as the ability to play online with splitscreen in some modes, which is awesome, a video capturer/editor, screen capper, and a basic level editor. While I pretty much just played through the campaign about a zillion times co-op, I still had fun in random matchmaking. Solid controls just perfect the shooter experience.
18.
Shadowrun (SNES)cheats.ign.com/objects/006/006881.htmlShadowrun was one of the best games to come out for the SNES, period. A well-crafted story led the player through an action RPG that featured unique controls and that was just one of the coolest games out there. After the final showdown, you just want a sequel so you can play some more. Not to be confused with the later release of Shadowrun for Sega Genesis, as the two games are completely different.
17.
Saint's Row (XBox 360)xbox360.ign.com/objects/747/747896.htmlHaters gonna hate, but Saint's Row spun onto the 360 in September '06, beating GTA4 by a year and a half. The game featured online multiplayer- something the GTA series had never succeeded in adding- a more wacky sense of humor, and in my own personal opinion, a cast of characters that you really grew to care for. Adding to this was the customizable protagonist; create your own character, play on through. You felt invested in the storyline, and by the end, you couldn't help but like your character. Added in unique characters you could call for specific services (past taxis and crap), perfected the gang warfare, and had 12-year-old-hooker-tight control that, after about 10 minutes of playing, didn't NEED any autoaim bullshit.
Additionally, your garage held any car you brought to it, to an extremely high limit, and you could customize the hell out of every vehicle- and if you lost it, you just paid a fee to replace it at your garage. Melee weapons are varied and fun as hell to use; vehicles control tight, and mission types are varied as well. This game was the shit, and I still can't understand how anyone can prefer GTA4 or any other GTA game after playing this. But they do. Cuz they hate. Fuck all y'all haters.
16.
Spider-Man (Sega Genesis) a.k.a. Spider-Man vs. the Kingpin (Sega CD w/ bonus "pinball" level)cheats.ign.com/objects/012/012401.htmlcheats.ign.com/objects/005/005627.htmlThis was pretty much the greatest game to ever come out for the Genesis. Spider-Man featured awesome scrolling-level webslinging and simple but fun combat to buyable upgrades and a clever "take photographs of bad guys and stuff to make money for upgrades and shit" system that just resulted in one highly enjoyable-ass game. Only one Spider-Man game is better than this in my opinion, and you'll see it on down the list. The variety of villains just added to what was already one hell of a fun game.
The Sega CD version contained (if I remember right, it's been a long while) voice acting and a "pinball" level, where Spidey, trapped in a pinball, gets beaten around the level by your flippers. Harsh stuff. But the first really "badass" Spidey game- it was basically what they'd failed to do on the Atari 2600 years and years before in regards to the web-slinging. A really truly stellar game.
15.
Worms (PS1)psx.ign.com/objects/000/000277.htmlI can't even begin to tell you how much me, my bandmates, and the friends we had over every practice (when I was around 20) played the shit out of Worms. We had our teams all renamed, and sometimes each person actually controlled a worm, when we had 16 people hanging out. We would get drunk, play our music, have friends over, get drunk, and play some Worms. It was the bomb, and I have more happy social memories of that game than any other. Great fun, and simplified over the more complex-yet-feature-rich future entries in the series.
14.
Tenchu: Stealth Assassinspsx.ign.com/objects/002/002332.htmlSo many hours, spent nearly completely still, formulating plans to silently take out guards and leap into invisibility. Moreso than any other entry in the franchise, the first Tenchu had a tighter plot, better controls, better level design, and just generally was the closest thing to a ninja simulator I've ever seen. It was so crazy, grappling hooking from place to place. Yeah, I like games where I can swing around freestyle- Spidey is the man! w00t
13.
Far Cry 2 (XBox 360)xbox360.ign.com/objects/142/14226061.htmlThis sandboxish FPS is awesome in its visuals, the stealth system in the game, and the creative use of fire. Set fire to a field to burn your enemy out of a field or a village! Blow up frickin' ANYTHING! The game also had a stellar level design kit, with which some highly creative levels have been made, especially the airplane in the sky! It's just so awesome, lol.
An awesome currency system using diamonds bought you new weapons, ammo, the works. The story was a bit lacking, but the "so simple it's wicked" go from point to point and shoot just gets so staggeringly addicted that it's insane. The only downside of the game is, it's begging for cooperative play. If they'd have thrown that in, this would probably be number 2 on the list.
12.
Burnout Paradise (XBox 360)xbox360.ign.com/objects/850/850816.htmlUtilizing an open-city map with all sorts of missions and races to do is one thing, being rewarded with cars over and over, but co-op online multiplayer featuring challenges for up to (I think) 10 or so people at the same time just created almost a random sense of community. Many were the times I sat for 4 or more hours, trying to get challenges done for as many people as I could get together with online for as long as we could stay together. It was crazy random weirdo fun, and made for a great online party-like atmosphere.
The game also has the most insane sense of speed attached to it. When you drift around a curve at 140 MPH, you really feel it- and you'd better have the reflexes to adjust your trajectory on the fly!
11.
Mercenaries 2 (XBox 360)xbox360.ign.com/objects/793/793794.htmlThis sandbox game features the most destructible environments I've seen. How many games let you destroy and sink a whole oil rig? Tons of vehicles, badass weaponry, and artillery strikes (including NUKES later in the game!) make this one of the best action games ever, with all sorts of shit to blow up.
The online co-op made this game even better. Playing with a partner, you can go through the entire game, which is just awesome as hell. Just Cause 2, the only similar game that I like more, would almost edge this game out despite the lack of building destruction on the strength of the main character's grappling hook/parachute combo, but lack of online co-op definitely hurts it.
Unfortunately, EA has pulled the plugs on all of the servers except the 360 version. No, I have no idea why.
10.
The Darkness (XBox 360)xbox360.ign.com/objects/720/720416.htmlOne of the finest singleplayer games on the planet. Whether or not you've read The Darkness comics, you'll get sucked into the insane world of Jackie Estacado as he learns of his demonic inheritance in the form of... the Darkness. Mike Patton of Faith No More and Mr. Bungle voices the Darkness in a completely UNEDITED performance that has to be heard to be believed!
This game takes you from the life of a young man in the mafia through tragedy and death, rebirth, and ultimately a measure of redemption as he journeys through one of the most frightening depictions of Hell and out the other side.
The multiplayer was tacked on and pretty shitty, and I don't think anyone plays it anymore, but the single-player is so awesome that anyone that has access to a 360 or PS3 should try it- especially if you like first person shooters with a good story and demonic powers! Heh. (And it looks awesome too.)
9.
Spider-Man 2 (XBox)xbox.ign.com/objects/566/566975.htmlBased off of the second movie in the popular series, and to a lesser extent the comic book, Spider-Man 2 is the best Spider-Man game ever. Featuring a free-roaming sandbox version of Manhattan, web-slinging was both relaxing and physically awesome, as you had to be able to find a spot to fire each web to. The game had some repetition problems with the random 'crime' missions that popped up around you, but honestly, I beat the game at least 3 times and spent several hours just swinging leisurely through the city, or navigating the map as I zipped by, thrilling in the sense of speed. SUCH a good game, and the webslinging was never as good in any of the games since. And of course, the additional villains and the associated minimission/fights were superb!
8.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance (XBox 360)xbox360.ign.com/objects/822/822965.htmlJust one of my most beloved games. Up to 4-player co-op- though you're all relegated to the same screen and it can get hectic enough to lose where you are occasionally- Marvel Ultimate Alliance is the ultimate fan service for comic readers, featuring a veritable who's who of popular (and some cult favorite) characters as they fight through level after level, earning new powers in an RPG-style environment, trying to prevent the world from falling into the clutches of Dr. Doom! This game was fun as hell, and alternate skin/model/characters for some really upped the replay value. Especially pimptastic: old west Ghost Rider. So awesome. And except in visuals, greater than the sequel in just about every way. (Though the sequel nearly took this slot on Deadpool's awesomeness in cutscenes alone.)
7.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (XBox 360)xbox360.ign.com/objects/702/702493.htmlI literally cannot tell you how many hours I've spent playing The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. I can tell you that I logged over 200 hours in Oblivion, 180 of that on the same character. Oblivion takes the open-world FPS/3rd person shooter (you can toggle) engine of Morrowind and adds a schedule to each character in the game- characters will eat, barter, talk, and do everything a normal person would need to do, including stealing if they're too poor to buy food and getting hauled away/killed by guards for it! If you fought someone in the wilderness and happened upon that same character later, they would attack you. That's insane! A huge map and so, so many entertaining quests made this game the best of the series, even if they took away the neat flight spells and the ability to kill storyline-essential characters. The ultimate fantasy game, especially when you make your forays into Oblivion, the realm's equivalent of Hell, in order to stop the evil invasion into your world and save it!
This game had too much stuff to do, it was just so awesome. Some of the DLC was crap, but several added great places you could take as your headquarters and magic items that were powerful as hell. And if you wanted, you could just get a bow and go play hunter, shooting deer and selling their meat! C'mon, that's just too cool!
6.
Bioshock (XBox 360)xbox360.ign.com/objects/793/793105.htmlThe best and most cinematic piece of artistry in video gaming. The first-person shooter-adventure Bioshock takes you from a burning plane crash into the ocean under the surface, to a water-encased world of 50's-style excess, steampunk technology, and better superpowers through genetic manipulation.
Featuring some of the best graphics, voice-acting and story I've ever seen in any video game, Bioshock is simply an awesome cautionary science fiction noir tale that takes into account your moral choices while you struggle through the decrepit, rotting undersea city of Rapture, making you jump through one hoop and then the other in your struggle to make sense of what is happening to you and return to the surface.
Anyone who enjoys videogames should be made to play this game. It's that damned good. It's true. It's damn true. (I asked Kurt Angle.)
5.
WWF No Mercy (Nintendo 64)ign64.ign.com/objects/014/014737.htmlSimply the finest wrestling game on the planet, bar none. Simple visuals coat a deceptively deep wrestling game, which uses an evolved version of the old NES "Pro Wrestling" engine in 3D, creating one of the greatest grapplers on the planet and one of the absolute best multiplayer games on any system, ever.
The create-a-wrestler, despite it's lack of visual flair, still gives you enough flexibility to make a host of real or created wrestlers and their movesets, and controls are simply outstanding. Though limited to 4 wrestlers onscreen at the same time, the game had the best interactive stage area and backstage area in any game to date, with tons of things to slam characters around in, on, through, and/or with.
Of course, the game was using a slightly modded version of the WCW World Tour/WCW/NWO Revenge engine, and it improved on the graphics in its predecessor, WrestleMania 2000, as well as adding new match types. The best wrestling game ever, in my opinion. If they just juiced up the graphics, I'd buy the hell out of a sequel.
4.
Twisted Metal 2 (PS1)psx.ign.com/objects/000/000325.htmlThe last true Twisted Metal (in my book) and the ultimate selection in the series, Twisted Metal 2 had that special blend of awesome vehicles with special abilities, vehicular combat, cool-ass levels, and wicked fun physics that the series has never been able to replicate. This game was one of the best splitscreen multiplayer titles ever, and had some of the coolest fire effects in a game to that point.
While later-gen versions of the game would try to reinvent the wheel and end up with a technically good game, the increasingly dark overtones and limit on irony and dark humor would ultimately stagnate the series. Hopefully the upcoming entry will be a return to form?
3.
Batman: Arkham Asylum (XBox 360)xbox360.ign.com/objects/142/14273491.htmlNo finer single-player experience for a comic lover- especially a Batman fan. Despite a lackluster, goofy ending, this game excels in every way, putting you in charge of one of the most awesome crimefighters in superhero history. Featuring an awesome story, stellar character redesigns, some of the best voice acting this side of BioShock (at least in parts), and the most flowingly bad-ass fighting system seen in an adventure platformer, Batman delights from beginning until the very end, where it quickly sidesteps into complete shit territory for the final confrontation.
I just can't say enough good things about this game. Everyone should play it at least once, unless they just hate superheroes.
2.
Rock Band 2 (XBox 360)xbox360.ign.com/objects/142/14257567.htmlEasily the most fun multiplayer party game (if the people you're playing with have some semblance of rhythm), I've spent more on the Rock Band franchise than any other franchise ever. Guitar Hero 2 is the only Guitar Hero game that I think comes close in terms of quality- I just don't like the Guitar Hero games at all, mostly due to their setlists- and I have a ton of downloadable content to prove it! As well as 3 guitar controllers (one of which I customized in pink and purple for my wife) and the $300 ION DrumRocker drum kit. When all else fails, Rock Band 2 is ALWAYS fun, and the more, the merrier!
1.
Saint's Row 2 (XBox 360)xbox360.ign.com/objects/882/882586.htmlThe only multiplayer game I can put over Rock Band 2 in terms of fun, even if you can only play with one partner- but this game is just incredible. Featuring even more control over your character's customization, more things to do, and the continuation of one of the coolest gang stories in videogamedom, Saint's Row 2 came out roughly 6 months after GTA4, and though it can't touch GTA4 technically, this game has the sense of humor and fun that current GTAs should've.
I've never had as much fun playing a game as playing co-op in this one. From awesome exploits (get a partner in a car and drive straight toward a gas pump and watch your car get slingshot into the sky!) to crazy glitches (vehicles getting stuck to the side of a building after an explosion- I actually have personal video of that one, lol) to just generally one-upping GTA4 in every way that mattered (including keeping the wealth of melee weapons, something the GTA series actually DECREASED), Saint's Row 2 is absolutely batshit crazy.
The first time I played it with a friend- Flintstone Kid from the OCW boards- we both went and immediately bought ammo after the initial mission. Then we got in trouble for hitting someone with a car, and the police chased us for almost 30 minutes as we ran around the city, out of ammo, but also out of money to bribe the police officers to get us go! It was white-knuckle craziness as we zigged and zagged through the streets, trying to get away from the cops, and eventually just getting gunned the fuck down.
You can hold up businesses, pedestrians, do all kinds of crazy-ass missions to rebuild your headquarters into THE PIMPINEST FUCKING NIGHTCLUB EVAR!!!, eventually customize your gang with different types (NINJAS!!!!!!) and vehicles, and generally just kick ass. A performance-based upgrade system boosts you through the game, and by the end, you're an epic badass that just loves to fuck with the coppers! Add in the awesome storyline and some CRAZYASS DLC vehicles, and you have the most epic sandbox game in existence, bar none, period.
In my 31 years of playing video games, I have never in my life had as much fun as I've had playing Saint's Row 2, especially in the online co-op. Playing this with a friend is a delight and an addiction until you reach the end- and then, you still wanna play more!!!
"). Yet it has an INCREDIBLE charm, I loved it. I never ended it, considering that I was eight at the time I played it, and I didn't care about ending games, but enjoying them. And I enjoyed plenty... Oh yeah. Hehehe.
lol... so from my small amount of games i was able to find these that really stood out as my favs growing up. 
) then I felt the environment was very.... not dull, but sort of lifeless if you know what I mean.