My rather secret love affair with video games started right around the 1986 Superbowl which pitted the New York Giants against the Denver Broncos. My father more of a Jets than a Giants fan took the points and placed a large bet on the underdog Broncos. I was and am a Giants fan but at only 7 years old my father had told me that if the Broncos covered the spread he would buy me a Nintendo Entertainment System, the expensive object of desire for myself and all of my private school friends not many of which were in possession of it so early after it’s initial release. This was my early introduction to the point spread. I could still cheer for the Giants to win but just not by too much and I’d have my Nintendo. Isn’t gambling wonderful?

The Broncos were getting creamed and I was pretty close to crying. I had told a friend of mine (who will remain nameless) that if the Broncos covered the spread that I would be getting the same NES that I’m sure he wanted as badly as I did. This friend (who I still consider a dear friend) had a jealously streak in him and called me  after the Giants had put the final nail in the coffin (39-20) only with these words “Ha ha ha, you’re not getting a Nintendo.” I hung the phone up and did my best not to bust out crying. “Who was that?” my father asked. I told him who it was and what “my friend” had said. “Oh yeah?” He smiled. “Call him back and tell him that just because he was a prick and made that phone call that I’m getting you the fucking Nintendo anyway.” I did just that, the prick felt like a prick and hung up the phone after he was put in his place. To this day I hope he learned his lesson but he probably hasn’t. The next week I had my Nintendo Entertainment System complete with Rob the robot, light gun, two controllers, Gyromite and Duck Hunt.

Since then the systems that I have owned are as follows (in the wrong order I’m sure): Genesis, Turbo-Grafix 16, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Sega CD, Game Boy, Dreamcast,  PC’s,  Xbox, The Wii and most recently Playstation 3.

I don’t claim to be an expert on video games and have friends that are overall much better at them than me and have played far more. For me instead of video games being a large chunk of my life, I’ve used them as something to have fun with now and then. I could probably count the number of games that I’ve beaten on two hands (though I have beaten all on the list) and I’m sure many of you will disagree with my five favorites. Please feel free to email or make comments.

1) Super Mario Bros (1985) - I’m of course not talking about the original Mario Bros. in which you spend most of the game jumping in and out of sewer pipes and freezing crabs and turtles. I’m talking about the first platform Mario game for the NES. Part of the reason I’m putting it at the top is because of the countless amount of amazing games that developed out of the series, specifically Mario Kart, Smash Bros , Mario Galaxy and the countless sequels and spin -offs. The other reason is because it was really the first platform game that I played and platform games along with football games quickly became my favorite types of games to play.

2) Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) – This game made me actually say “Holy shit” more than any other game that I’ve ever played. It’s also the realest game that I’ve ever played in terms of being immersed in so many facets of the game play (radio stations in your car, the way that different vehicles handle, the way that different guns recoil etc). I remember one day in particular that I was playing the game and I had just finished a really hard mission, I think it was the one where you have to plant bombs via remote controlled toy helicopters around various floors of a construction site, anyway I was very satisfied after having done this and jumping into my 80′s model Ferrari and driving over the bridge while the Miami sun was setting and listening to “Flock Of Seagulls” on the game’s car radio was all the reward that I needed. I never really dug the whole “sandbox” style of video game in which you don’t have to follow a linear path and are just free to roam and do as you will but I remember saying to myself that Rockstar had made a perfect video game. I still feel that way. I didn’t like San Andreas that much and am still messing around with IV for my PS3 but I’d be pretty surprised if anything close to Vice City was ever duplicated.

3) Golden Eye: 007 (1997) – First thing’s first is that I don’t like James Bond movies even a little bit. I also don’t really love first person shooter games. I think that Golden Eye: 007 is a spectacular video game though. From one of the first missions when you’re forced to blow up gas tanks with timed explosives to shootouts on passenger trains and sniper rifles in the snow to duking it out with three of your friends in death matches Golden Eye: 007 is trailblazing and very special. I’ve also got to think that Microsoft and Sony took notes and foresaw how lucrative a market existed in multi-player first person shooter games like Golden Eye. How the fuck did Nintendo miss the boat? I sold my Wii and one of the main reasons I did so was because of how shitty the on-line experience was. It’s a whole different ball game with Playstation 3.

4) Madden 2010 (2009)  - I’m not going to fraud I always preferred the NFL2Kx franchise to Madden especially on my Dreamcast. Those smart son of bitches over at EA Sports knew that not all football video gamers worshiped the Madden cult and in a going right for the jugular sort of move bought the exclusive rights to use NFL player names and teams from the NFL. Bye-bye NFL2Kx….I think they put out one attempt at a hall of fame game with player’s numbers instead of names which obviously did not go over well which I never played. I bought Madden 2009 for The Wii and was not impressed. I think to be fair it was more so because of the lame control scheme and shitty graphics than the actual game play. After owning my very cherished PS3 for a little bit over a half of a year now I picked up Madden the day it came out about a month back. I don’t even have words for how impressed I am. The game seems to have sped up wonderfully this year, the gang tackles are amazing, you can actually fight for a fumble in a pile up, the franchise mode is a complete experience , the ability to have on-line leagues is fabulous, yada yada yada. This is clearly the best football game ever and I will be looking forward every year to the next year’s offering.

5) Little Big Planet (2008) – This is one game I’m placing on this list which I know belongs on it but don’t know how to explain why. I love Super Mario Galaxy, and that game is the only reason that selling my Wii was a hard decision, but Little Big Planet is the best platform game of all time. From the English narration that guides you through game play to the beautiful theatrical soundtrack, to the adorable main character (sock boy) who you can dress up in millions of unique ways (mine has a priest collar an army jacket and an aviator cap) to the stunning high definition graphics, make no mistake that this is the premier platform game as of 2009. It’s so much more than just a platform game though. You can actually build your own stages with a level creator so detailed and feature packed that over 1,000,000 distinct levels have been created and uploaded to the Playstation Networkso that you can enjoy others brilliance or berate their lameness. In all seriousness, how cool is that? Sony really has created the never-ending game and one so true to the moniker that even Lionel Hutz will not be able to raise a false advertising lawsuit. Perhaps the best part about the level building is the tutorial which is so complete and helpful that a shit head like myself was able to build a basic playable level within 20 minutes. Others have come up with levels recreating Contra, Metroid and Mario Bros and ideas so original you’ve really got to get the game to fully appreciate the scope of it all. I hope that makes some sense.

Filed under: Simply The Best Tagged: | 007, Contra, Duck Hunt, Game Boy, Genesis, Golden Eye, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Gyromite, James Bond, level creator, Light Gun, Little Big Planet, Madden 2010, Mario, Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart, Metroid, N64, NES, NFL2k, Pc's, Playstation 3, Playstation Network, point spread, Rob The Robot, San Adrea, Sega Cd, Smash Bros, Sock Boy, Super Mario Bros, Super Nintendo, Superbowl, The Denver Broncos, The New York Giants, The Wii, Turbo Grafix 16, Video Games, Xbox