The Legend of Zelda

Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

Ganon, the King of Evil, breaks free from the Dark World and captures Hyrule's beloved Princess Zelda. Before she is caught, Zelda manages to shatter the Triforce of Wisdom and scatter its eight pieces throughout Hyrule. Link swears to recover the Triforce pieces and rescue Princess Zelda from Ganon's clutches.

Global score: 100% from 2 lists

Tetris DS

Nintendo DS

You can rediscover the timeless puzzle game Tetris on your Nintendo DS with Tetris DS. Now you can choose from six different game modes, all of which take advantage of the DS's touch screen. Each game mode features a theme from another Nintendo franchise, such as The Legend of Zelda or Metroid. You can challenge up to nine other players using one cartridge for local multiplayer play or three other players around the world with the DS's Wi-Fi connection.

Global score: 96% from 1 lists

Castlevania

Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

If you think it's scary on the outside, wait'll you see the basement! You're in for the longest night of your life. Ghosts, goblins, demons, wolves, bats - creatures lurking around every corner. As you descend deeper and deeper, they get thicker and thicker. Better stick close to the cavern floor - it's your only chance of finding a weapon or two. You're gonna need 'em. Because when you finally meet the Count, you know he'll be going for the jugular. So keep your courage up and your stake sharp. And say your prayers!

Global score: 92% from 1 lists

Tetris

Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

A random sequence of tetrominoes (sometimes called "tetrads" in older versions)—shapes composed of four square blocks each—fall down the playing field (a rectangular vertical shaft, called the "well" or "matrix"). The objective of the game is to manipulate these tetrominoes, by moving each one sideways and rotating it by 90 degree units, with the aim of creating a horizontal line of blocks without gaps. When such a line is created, it disappears, and any block above the deleted line will fall. With every ten lines that are cleared, the game enters a new level. As the game progresses, each level causes the tetrominoes to fall faster, and the game ends when the stack of tetrominoes reaches the top of the playing field and no new tetrominoes are able to enter. In certain versions, the game can also end if the player is able to get all the way to level 15.

All of the tetrominoes are capable of single and double clears. I, J, and L are able to clear triples. Only the I tetromino has the capacity to clear four lines simultaneously, and this is referred to as a "tetris". (This may vary depending on the rotation and compensation rules of each specific Tetris implementation. For instance, in the Super Rotation System used in most recent implementations, called "Easy Spin" in Tetris Worlds, certain rare situations allow T, S and Z to 'snap' into tight spots and clear triples.)

Global score: 59% from 3 lists

Halo 3 Limited Edition

Microsoft Xbox 360

Global score: 91% from 2 lists

Halo 3: ODST

Microsoft Xbox 360

A UNSC Orbital Drop Shock Trooper must locate his missing squad members in New Mombasa following a devastating slip space rupture caused by a Covenant cruiser.

Global score: 62% from 2 lists

Halo Wars

Microsoft Xbox 360

The year is 2531, twenty years prior to the events in Halo: Combat Evolved and the Covenant have found something on the planet Garvest. The UNSC ship "Spirit of Fire" is sent to investigate and stop whatever the enemy is up to. What the crew finds could be the only thing that stands between humanity and certain annihilation by the Covenant. Command large armies, lead them into battle, control their every move and use their abilities to gain the upper hand in combat.

Global score: 77% from 1 lists

Halo 4 Limited Edition

Microsoft Xbox 360

Global score: 73% from 1 lists

Halo: Combat Evolved

Microsoft Xbox

In Halo's twenty-sixth century setting, the player assumes the role of the Master Chief, a cybernetically enhanced super-soldier. The player is accompanied by Cortana, an artificial intelligence who occupies the Master Chief's neural interface. Players battle various aliens on foot and in vehicles as they attempt to uncover the secrets of the eponymous Halo, a ring-shaped artificial planet.

Global score: 69% from 1 lists

Halo 5: Guardians

Microsoft Xbox One

Global score: 65% from 1 lists

Halo: Spartan Assault

Microsoft Xbox One

Enlist as a Spartan soldier and sharpen your tactical skills in battle! Set between the events of Halo 3 and Halo 4, Halo: Spartan Assault, developed by 343 Industries in conjunction with Vanguard Games, is a new chapter within the award-winning Halo universe. Spanning over 30 missions in vibrant, dangerous worlds, dive deeper into the backstory of Human-Covenant wars, the origins of the Spartan Ops program, and unravel a chilling mystery in Operation Hydra.

Play through the eyes of either Commander Sarah Palmer or Spartan Davis stationed aboard the UNSC Infinity as they fight never-before-seen battles against Covenant forces. You can also join with a fellow Spartan on Xbox Live, in battle against the Flood.

Global score: 62% from 1 lists

Halo 4

Microsoft Xbox 360

Halo 4 is the start of a new saga in the Master Chief's story. This saga is known as the Reclaimer Saga. At the end of the legendary mode of Halo 3 we see Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 orbiting a planet and hear him say to Cortana "Wake me when you need me". Well now is the time to be needed. The game starts where you last left off in a torn in half ship orbiting a planet around four years after the events of Halo 3. John wakes up to Cortana screaming "John I need you!" This creates the beginning of a new saga. In Halo 4 we see a new breed of enemies called the Prometheans. The Prometheans are AIs created by the Forerunners to protect a planet. Unfortunately you're seen as a threat. However despite being made by the Forerunners the Prometheans have a much darker and more sinister plot. Also aside from the Prometheans, Cortana is turning rampant and has begun to turn on the Master Chief. As a new twist, the Master Chief will be working together with the Spartan IV's the replacements to the Master Chief.

Global score: 58% from 1 lists

Portal

PC

The game consists primarily of a series of puzzles that must be solved by teleporting the player's character and simple objects using the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device (ASHPD, also dubbed the "portal gun"), a unit that can create inter-spatial portals between flat planes. The player character is challenged by an AI named GLaDOS to complete each puzzle in the Aperture Science Computer-Aided Enrichment Center using the portal gun with the promise of receiving cake when all the puzzles are completed.

Global score: 71% from 2 lists

Portal 2

Microsoft Xbox 360

Global score: 50% from 1 lists

Halo: Reach

Microsoft Xbox 360

Global score: 46% from 1 lists

Injustice: Gods Among Us

Microsoft Xbox 360

Global score: 42% from 1 lists

Diablo III

Microsoft Xbox 360

The game takes place in Sanctuary, the dark fantasy world of the Diablo series. This world was saved twenty years prior by a handful of unnamed heroes in Diablo II, having survived the onslaught brought by the armies of the Burning Hells, who have gone mad from their ordeals. It is up to a new generation of heroes to face the forces of evil threatening the world of Sanctuary.

Players will have the opportunity to explore familiar settings such as Tristram.

The only confirmed NPCs are Deckard Cain, who has appeared in both of the previous games, and his niece, Leah, a new character who accompanies the hero in quests from time to time. The plot will revolve around two surviving Lesser Evils, Azmodan and Belial, and an artifact known as the Black Soulstone. Diablo's world map is composed primarily of two main continents with several small islands in the Northwest region. The world of Sanctuary has been dramatically changed by the destruction of the World Stone in Diablo II: Lord of Destruction.

Global score: 38% from 1 lists

Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos

PC

Warcraft III takes place in the fictional world of Azeroth. Several years before the events of the games, a demon army known as the Burning Legion intent on Azeroth's destruction corrupted a race called the Orcs, and sent them through a portal to attack Azeroth. After many years of fighting, the Orcs were defeated by a coalition of humans, dwarves and elves known as the Alliance; the surviving combatants were herded into internment camps, where they seemed to lose their lust for battle. With no common enemy, a period of peace followed, but the Alliance began to fracture. The events of Warcraft III occur after a timeskip from Warcraft II. This period was originally intended to have been documented in Warcraft Adventures, but that game was canceled in mid-development.

Global score: 35% from 1 lists

Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne

PC

Illidan Stormrage has gained the allegiance of the Naga, former Night Elves who were magically mutated during The Sundering, and became strange, reptilian creatures. The Warden Maiev Shadowsong pursues her former prisoner, Illidan, across the sea, first to the Tomb of Sargeras. However, Illidan gains an artifact known as the 'Eye Of Sargeras' and wipes out some of Maiev's best soldiers. Forced to call for help, she sends a messenger back to the mainland of Kalimdor. She asks the assistance of Malfurion Stormrage and Tyrande Whisperwind, but Maiev holds a grudge against Tyrande for her actions in releasing Illidan. Although they are able to chase Illidan to Lordaeron, while helping the Blood Elven prince Kael'Thas, Tyrande delays the advance on an Undead army that causes her to be swept away downriver: upon their reunion, Maiev lied to Malfurion, claiming Tyrande was killed in order to prevent Illidan's escape. Malfurion and Maiev prevent Illidan from using the artifact called the Eye of Sargeras, defeat his army and condemn him to death. Illidan tries to justify his actions by saying his plan was to use the Eye to destroy the Icecrown Glacier and kill the Lich King, thereby destroying their common enemy in the Undead, but Malfurion accuses Illidan of having indirectly causing Tyrande's death. Kael'thas then informs him Tyrande may have survived; Maiev's treachery comes out, and the brothers Stormrage join forces to save Tyrande. At this point, Kael'Thas supposedly takes a few more days to meet up with the human forces in the city of Dalaran, the exact same city in which they stopped Illidan. Malfurion then pardons Illidan after they save Tyrande, though he does not revoke his exile. Illidan then states that he could not join the Night Elves even if Malfurion did permit it, because his master will be enraged by his failure to use the Eye properly, and will hunt him down. Illidan departs for Outland, followed by Maiev. It seems as though Maiev would chase Illidan to the depths of the world, as she would do so. Malfurion then remarks that she has become 'vengeance itself'.

Global score: 31% from 1 lists

Crysis

PC

From the makers of Far Cry, Crysis offers FPS fans the best-looking, most highly-evolving gameplay, requiring the player to use adaptive tactics and total customization of weapons and armor to survive in dynamic, hostile environments including Zero-G.

Earth, 2019. A team of US scientists makes a frightening discovery on an island in the South China Sea. All contact with the team is lost when the North Korean Government quickly seals off the area. The United States responds by dispatching an elite team of Delta Force Operators to recon the situation. As tension rises between the two nations, a massive alien ship reveals itself in the middle of the island. The ship generates an immense force sphere that freezes a vast portion of the island and drastically alters the global weather system. Now the US and North Korea must join forces to battle the alien menace. With hope rapidly fading, you must fight epic battles through tropical jungle, frozen landscapes, and finally into the heart of the alien ship itself for the ultimate Zero G showdown.

Global score: 27% from 1 lists

Watch Dogs

Microsoft Xbox 360

The storyline of Watch Dogs game is built around the concept of information warfare, data being interconnected, and the world's increasing use of technology—questioning who exactly runs the computers they depend on. The game is set in an alternate reality version of Chicago, Illinois, which is one of many cities to feature a supercomputer known as a "CtOS" (Central Operating System). The system controls almost every piece of technology in the city, and contains information on all of the city's residents and activities which can be used for various purposes. In the game's universe, the Northeast blackout of 2003 was found to be caused by a hacker, prompting the development of CtOS. The game will follow a man named Aiden Pearce, a highly skilled hacker described as a person who uses both "fists and wits." The gameplay demo shown at E3 2012 depicted Aiden's attempt to assassinate a media mogul named Joseph DeMarco, who had been wrongly acquitted on charges of murder. In a demonstration shown at E3 2013, Pearce helps a fellow hacker named T-Bone escape after he is discovered attempting to steal a motherboard.

Global score: 19% from 1 lists

Dr. Mario

Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

A puzzle game similar to Tetris, Dr. Mario features Nintendo mascot Mario as a doctor. Gameplay consists of dropping two-sided vitamin capsules into a playing field 8 blocks wide by 16 blocks high resembling a medicine bottle, populated by viruses of three colors

Global score: 29% from 2 lists

Halo 2

PC

Halo 2 is the sequel to the highly successful and critically acclaimed Halo®: Combat Evolved. In Halo 2, the saga continues as Master Chief—a genetically enhanced super-soldier—is the only thing standing between the relentless Covenant and the destruction of all humankind.

Global score: 4% from 1 lists