Beloved Games
Written on 2013-10-19 14:49:00
I'm still on a break from recreational programming. I've been gaming a bit to remember why I was writing an Emulator in the first place and got the idea for this article. Here are 16 games that left a major impression on me (and 4 honorary mentions) presented in something close to Autobiographical order:
Elementary School:
Middle School:
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert -- also, Starcraft
- Pokemon Blue
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
- Final Fantasy VIII
High School:
- Metal Gear Solid
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 -- also, Thrasher: Skate & Destroy
- Gran Turismo 2
- Freelancer -- also, Descent: Freespace
College:
- Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
- Super Smash Bros -- also, Super Smash Bros Brawl
- Ratchet & Clank
Present:
Certainly there have been other titles/series I've enjoyed putting hours into: Naughty Dog's Uncharted, Bethesda's Skyrim, Borderlands, and so on. But the above are the games which uniquely effected me. Each holds special nostalgic value, many represent discovery of a genre or fictional setting that I've come to love. Hell, the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series got me skateboarding in real life and I'm not sure I would have owned an Acura NSX if not for Gran Turismo.
It would be fun to do a similar list for Movies (would I have become a programmer without Hackers?) or Music. I'll call this good for now. :)
Unless otherwise credited all material 
by Brit Butler 