IGN's Top 100 Games Of All Time

Name: Thief II: The Metal Age Platform: PC Developer: Looking Glass Studios Publisher: Eidos Year Released: 2000 Why it Made the Top 100 List: A first-person shooter where stealth is key, where being ignorant about your enemies and surroundings got you killed. Thief II surpassed the original with new abilities such as shooting buttons using arrows, invisibility, and setting and disarming traps. Practically anything you could do as a thief in a pen and paper RPG you could probably do in Thief II. Complimenting the game were its proto-Venetian setting where magic and technology co-exist and where dark, untamed forces threatened the fabric of reality. All this combined to make Thief II one of the best games of all time.

Name: BattleToads Platform: NES Developer: Rare Publisher: TradeWest Year Released: 1991 Why it Made the Top 100 List: One of the best-looking titles for the NES, Battletoads borrowed heavily from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles property. It took a trio of harmless amphibians and mutated them into a band of green-skinned, ass-kicking super heroes. What made the game so unique, apart from the admittedly rad hero and enemy design, was the varied gameplay. Battletoads splits between various play styles such as racing and climbing stages, all of which sported insane obstacles. And by insane, you should understand these challengers were wildly difficult. Battletoads was near impossible to complete. While theoretically possible to complete, few gamers could profess to beating the game without having to totally lie about it. Still, it's one of the best games that came out of the 8-bit era.

Best known for being the first game to introduce full-range movement in a first-person perspective, Ultima Underworld helped usher a new era in digital entertainment. Apart from the revolutionary viewpoint, it offered a slew of innovative ideas that changed the action-RPG genre for the better. To start, you could manually change the speed and power of attacks. You could also engage in truly engrossing puzzle solving in a 3D arena. Plus, the game just plain offered a richly detailed game world for you to tear through. Blend this with solid action, cool items and spells (not to mention weapons) and you've got a recipe for gaming greatness.

Name: Gunstar Heroes Platform: Sega Genesis Developer: Treasure Publisher: SEGA Year Released: 1993 Why it Made the Top 100 List: Side-scrolling shooters were a dime a dozen in the 16-bit days, but Treasure's frantic Gunstar Heroes managed to stand out, and for good reason. The game's controls are deceptively simple but allow for unique twists to the genre, such as crazy mine cart antics and enemy tossing, which separate Gunstar Heroes from the rest of the crowded genre. The unique level design and boss fights--which include a brief stint on the top of a flying helicopter with a boss enemy swinging on the chopper blades--remain a showcase of the time and clearly demonstrate the creative genius of developer Treasure.

Name: Contra Platform: NES Developer: Konami Publisher: Konami Year Released: 1988 Why it Made the Top 100 List: Though released first in arcades, it was the NES conversion of Contra that most of us remember with fondness. Contra's simple gameplay pioneered new standards for the side-scrolling shooter genre, with eight-way directional shooting that allowed more freedom than the typical '80s shooter. Two-player cooperative play is also a huge part of why we loved (and continue to love) the game, as we still remember the co-op tactics of our youth: player one takes the spread gun, player two grabs the laser, and no one stops shooting. European gamers may share less adoration for the game (released there as Probotector with robots in place of humans) but we'll never forget the game that forced us to memorize the Konami code.

Name: Ultima VII: The Black Gate Platform: PC Developer: Origin Systems Publisher: Origin Systems Year Released: 1992 Why it Made the Top 100 List: The Avatar is known throughout the PC gaming world as the most popular of all role-playing characters, but none of his adventures have been more trendsetting and groundbreaking than Ultima VII: The Black Gate. With the seventh Ultima, Richard "Lord British" Garriott and his team at the fabled Origin development house created a new breed of Americanized role-playing that would dictate the course of the genre and inspire other acclaimed developers such as Black Isle, BioWare and Obsidian to create their own award-winning works. The Black Gate utilized a new real-time combat system, advanced party management mechanics, a paper doll inventory screen, branching conversations, a reactive environment, and a totally navigable world in which the player could virtually do whatever he wanted. All in one game. Insanity.

Name: Prince of Persia Platform: Multiple Systems Developer: Jordan Mechner Publisher: Broderbund Year Released: 1989 Why it Made the Top 100 List: There are many of you out there today that play modern platformers and have no recollection of the original Prince of Persia. But this single game influenced the platforming genre like nothing else, and if only by capturing every gamer's attention with amazing animations and lifelike acrobatics. Although everything was 2D, there was a profound amount of realism woven into what played out on screen. Great level design, exciting swordplay and a terrific story were all available in Jordan Mechner's Prince of Persia. If you get a hold of a copy, keep it.

Name: Alone in the Dark Platform: PC Developer: Infogrames Publisher: Interplay Year Released: 1992 Why it Made the Top 100 List: Inspiring and influencing a whole slew of games, from Resident Evil to Tomb Raider, Alone in the Dark was the first third-person, 3D action title and surely one of the scariest games anyone had seen at that time. Based loosely on the style and substance of the stories of H.P. Lovecraft, Alone in the Dark was very unsettling. The player took on the role of a paranormal investigator trying to escape from a manor haunted by a ghostly pirate, an animated suit of armor, a freakishly scary tree, and more zombies than you could shake a stick at. Though the graphics seem dated today, they were cutting edge at the time.

Name: Master of Orion Platform: PC Developer: SimTex Publisher: MicroProse Software Year Released: 1993 Why it Made the Top 100 List: While Civilization offered gamers a chance to live out their dreams of world domination, the truly ambitious gamers turned to another great title in the MicroProse catalog. Building on the success of Star Lords, SimTex's Master of Orion took the 4X style of gameplay (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) to the stars, letting players build up a mighty galactic empire. Managing your empire's diplomacy, economy, technology and military was a big challenge but one that paid off with big rewards as you crushed you alien rivals. There have been other space empire games since, but none better.

Name: Dragon Warrior Platform: NES Developer: Enix Publisher: Nintendo Year Released: 1989 Why it Made the Top 100 List: Dragon Warrior (Dragon Quest in Japan) launched one of the most successful RPG franchises of all time. Enix created an addicting experience by asking players to level up their character and save up gold to buy new equipment before moving on to the next dungeon. Nintendo was so sure about the game's universal appeal that they even gave away a copy for free with a subscription to Nintendo Power. Simple by today's standards, it laid out many of the foundations that today's turn-based RPGs live by.

Name: Quake II Platform: PC Developer: id Sofware Publisher: Activision Year Released: 1997 Why it Made the Top 100 List: It's too bad there isn't more room on this list for multiplayer PC shooters. While the original was a fine game, it had a little problem of only looking nice on those expensive 3Dfx video cards. Quake 2, meanwhile, was much more forgiving, and many of us took into our hardcore hearts and fragged each other into delightful oblivion until the wee hours of the morning. It offered a streamlined and fluid brutality that's still satisfyingly memorable all these years later. It was also quite friendly to amateur creators, granting the community a treasure chest of maps, character models, character skins, game modes, and more.

Name: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Platform: PC Developer: Red Storm Entertainment Publisher: Red Storm Entertainment Year Released: 1998 Why it Made the Top 100 List: In 1998, all the Tangos in the world couldn't stand against John Clark and his band of lethal enforcers, The Rainbow Six. Realism was a word that died upon the lips of many ostentatious developers, yet seemingly out of the blue, Red Storm Entertainment swooped in from the sidelines and wowed the gaming public with a formula consisting of ruthless realism, nail-biting suspense, and carefully crafted action. Whether you were spending hours upon hours devising an iron-clad mission plan or enduring countless days without sleep conquering foes in online deathmatch, Rainbow Six had a seemingly endless amount of replay value. To this day the series remains one of the most innovative and technically refined action franchises available on the market.

Name: Herzog Zwei Platform: Sega Genesis Developer: Technosoft Publisher: Technosoft Year Released: 1990 Why it Made the Top 100 List: Whether or not you dispute its position as the industry's first real-time strategy game, Herzog Zwei was surely a revelation when it was released in 1990. Players each took charge of a giant, transformable robot and battled for control of a number of bases, creating and deploying units as needed to fend off your enemy. As the name implies, Herzog Zwei was built as a two-player game and it remained one of the most enjoyable two-player games to be found on the Genesis. It wasn't the most successful game on the system but it was easily one of the most fun and most important.

Name: Mafia Platform: PC Developer: Illusion Softworks Publisher: Gathering Year Released: 2002 Why it Made the Top 100 List: Illusion Softworks really pulled out the stops with their organized crime epic in 2002. It took the free roaming style of city-based gameplay that had become popularized in the Grand Theft Auto series, but created a much more detailed world set in the classic gangster ridden '30s. This heavy third-person action game not only provided some incredible missions both in challenge and variety. The developers managed to make all of the pieces fit together perfectly with a superb story telling the tale of one gangster's rise and fall from glory. Just make sure to pick this one up on the PC as the console versions ruin a fantastic game.

Name: F-Zero Platform: SNES Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Year Released: 1990 Why it Made the Top 100 List: While it could be argued that the newer GameCube update or even the Japan-only F-Zero X Construction Kit (N64) are the best of the franchise, the original was the one that jumpstarted the genre. It capitalized on SNES's 3D-esque Mode 7 visuals to bring futuristic racing, an incredible sense of speed, and addictive drift physics to eager gamers. In the 16-bit era it provided something unexpected and truly dazzling for the home console. It was a rare gem in its time, perfectly combining presentation and functionality to create a completely new gaming experience. Even today it is respected as one of the all-time top racers.

Sometimes, kicking someone's ass is the solution to all of your problems. In the case of River City Ransom, it was kicking several hundred people's asses that solved Ryan's problems. The wonderful art style of thick headed toughies (also found in Technos' excellent Super Dodge Ball) makes beating the crap out of your enemies and stealing their money in order to buy upgrades to beat them up more efficiently so much fun! Fighting street gangs to get your girl back was pretty popular back in the early days of gaming, but River City Ransom brought style and light RPG elements into the mix to create one of the ultimate banger experiences.

Name: Freedom Force Platform: PC Developer: Irrational Games Publisher: Electronic Arts Year Released: 2002 Why it Made the Top 100 List: Fun. It's a word we might often forget when sifting through the endless waves of gore-ridden shooters and painfully generic hack 'n slash titles that have saturated our market in recent years, but it's certainly not an idea Irrational has ever lost sight of. Those Bostonian and Australian wonder developers took fun to a whole new colorful level when they made Freedom Force. The terrific strategy-RPG took a combat system inspired by Baldur's Gate and delivered it with an amazingly intuitive interface. Irrational then infused the whole package with honest to goodness life. Freedom Force features a lighthearted storyline, excellent character development tools, and a spark -- a spark that makes us happy.

Name: Final Fantasy X Platform: PlayStation 2 Developer: Square Publisher: Squaresoft Year Released: 2001 Why it Made the Top 100 List: When Squaresoft finally got a chance to design a Final Fantasy for PS2, it went all out. Everything from the jaw-dropping visuals to the epic storyline make Final Fantasy X one of the most memorable RPGs of the last decade. Amazing elements like groundbreaking CG sequences and innovative character designs took the franchise to another level. But what else would you expect from the people that gave us Cloud Strife, the spikey-haired blonde kid that took the gaming world by storm. There's really no doubt that Tidus and crew brought us one of the most amazing adventures on PS2, thus earning a coveted spot on our Top 100 List.

Name: Final Fantasy VII Platform: PlayStation, PC Developer: Square Publisher: Squaresoft Year Released: 1997 Why it Made the Top 100 List: Cloud and his boys have been around for eight years and they're still some of the most popular characters in gaming. Him, his giant sword, and his classic RPG heightened the profile of an entire genre of gaming. FFVII gave turn-based gameplay new meaning by gluing together plot points with some of the most cutting-edge CG cutscenes around. The end result was a compelling experience that rocked our world. It's undeniable that this one game pushed boundaries that were never even thought of in that time. Even today, FFVII still holds the imaginations of gamers all over the world.

Name: Virtua Tennis Platform: Dreamcast Developer: SEGA Publisher: SEGA Year Released: 2000 Why it Made the Top 100 List: Highly addictive, incredibly simple, and visually impressive, Virtua Tennis might be described as the best version of pong ever created. Showing the same brilliance that was displayed in Crazy Taxi, SEGA was able to include a series of mini-games that had players doing everything imaginable with a tennis ball. These diversions combined with the instant party of doubles matches are more than enough to keep a Dreamcast handy. Until you pick up a controller it can be difficult to understand just how much fun SEGA was able to make tennis.