Entertainment Weekly Ranks 50 "New Classic" Games

[Logan Frederick]

Entertainment Weekly Ranks 50 "New Classic" Games

Entertainment news outlet Entertainment Weekly has selected its top 50 classic games from the past 25 years.

With gaming's demographic encompassing a new generation of gamers, many newcomers may not remember the old gems from the Frogger days. Game industry reporters Wook Kim, Geoff Keighley, and Gary Eng Walk compiled a 50-game long list of modern classics from the NES era through 2007.

Topping the charts are two timeless titles many gamers will likely agree with: Tetris, which EW describes as "a blockbuster in every sense of the word," and Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which brought "an engaging epic quest, clever puzzles, tight controls" to the third dimension.

EW's full list, from greatest to least-classic includes:
[ol]
[li]Tetris[/li]
[li]Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time[/li]
[li]DOOM[/li]
[li]Super Mario World[/li]
[li]Guitar Hero[/li]
[li]Street Fighter II[/li]
[li]Super Mario Kart[/li]
[li]Goldeneye 007[/li]
[li]Grand Theft Auto IV[/li]
[li]Metal Gear Solid[/li]
[li]Halo: Combat Evolved[/li]
[li]Super Mario Galaxy[/li]
[li]Final Fantasy VII[/li]
[li]Resident Evil 4[/li]
[li]Chrono Trigger[/li]
[li]Gran Turismo[/li]
[li]Sim City[/li]
[li]Half-Life[/li]
[li]Sid Meier's Civilization II[/li]
[li]Gears of War[/li]
[li]Starcraft[/li]
[li]Super Metroid[/li]
[li]Deus Ex[/li]
[li]Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2[/li]
[li]Shadow of the Colossus[/li]
[li]God of War[/li]
[li]Soul Calibur[/li]
[li]Bioshock[/li]
[li]Final Fantasy III[/li]
[li]Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic[/li]
[li]Marvel vs Capcom 2[/li]
[li]Castlevania: Symphony of the Night[/li]
[li]Metroid Prime[/li]
[li]Tomb Raider[/li]
[li]Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo[/li]
[li]Star Wars: Tie Fighter[/li]
[li]Tekken 3[/li]
[li]Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare[/li]
[li]Contra[/li]
[li]Okami[/li]
[li]Tecmo Super Bowl[/li]
[li]Wing Commander II: Vengeance Of The Kilrathi[/li]
[li]Psychonauts[/li]
[li]Silent Hill 2[/li]
[li]Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time[/li]
[li]Perfect Dark[/li]
[li]The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion[/li]
[li]Wipeout[/li]
[li]World of Warcraft[/li]
[li]Madden NFL 2005[/li]
[/ol]

A fine list, to be sure, but we're guessing you have your own suggestions to make, so start making them.

Source: Entertainment Weekly [http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20210005,00.html]

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[Logan Frederick]

Missing standouts to me were Super Mario 64, Super Mario Bros. and/or Super Mario Bros. 3. I'm assuming they figured Super Mario World covered those bases, but I still consider the older SMB games to be more relevant and "classic."

Even without those entries, it seems like a solid list with some questionable placement of modern titles, but good picks.

 

[BallPtPenTheif]

Wing Commander 2 was a weird grab.

especially when tie fighter did it better and with more nostalgia

 

[Thais]

I was going to say there were some odd picks (and omissions) on that list, but you two beat me to it.

 

[sammyfreak]

Call of Duty deserves CoD4's spot, while the second is more popular the first one set a tottaly new standard for FPS's.

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

All I'd disagree with is the placing of some, most of the games on here made pretty major contributions to the general flow of gaming.

 

[Reasonable Doubt]

What's with the madden on the list?

 

[Reasonable Doubt]

I know about the series but why not just put Madden (series) there instead.

 

[xysays]

I keep looking for the disclaimer: "Attention: No real gamers were consulted during the assembly of this list" Madden 2005? Seriously?

 

[TwilightClaw]

To me,it's like they asked a few people what some popular games were from back in the day and today,then put them in a list.

A lot of theses games are good,but I just feel like those who made the list wouldn't know.

 

[BallPtPenTheif]

I keep looking for the disclaimer: "Attention: No real gamers were consulted during the assembly of this list" Madden 2005? Seriously?

other than it being Entertainment Weekly, why would you assume that non-gamers made this list? examples?

 

[slyder35]

awww no Thiefeadly Shadows :-(

 

[Jumplion]

I'm not sure what the hell this list is supposed to be made of, old "classics" or a mix of old and new? Other than that, i'd disagree with most of the placements of the games but then again i'm just being picky

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Ahem...Elite? Space Invaders, Pacman, Pong, Space Wars, Star Wars, Counterstrike, The Sims...

 

[Mcrat]

No Diablo? boooo

 

[Lvl 64 Klutz]

Um... GTA IV came out in 2008, as in this year, not 2007. Why is it even on the list? At least SOME time should pass before considering a game classic, as most people would agree there's a longevity factor when calling a game classic. Same thing with Bioshock, though that's at least old enough one might argue it has the right to be called a classic.

I also COMPLETELY disagree with Super Mario Galaxy, that game was an insult to the series.

 

[Joeshie]

Golden-Eye and Halo above Half-Life?

Final Fantasy VII over Chrono Trigger?

Gears of War over Starcraft?

Seriously, whoever made this list was clinically retarded.

 

[GoldenShadow]

Golden-Eye and Halo above Half-Life?

Final Fantasy VII over Chrono Trigger?

Gears of War over Starcraft?

Seriously, whoever made this list was clinically retarded.

Agreed. And whats with calling this a list of greatest classics then add games from this year and many that aren't a year old since release. To me, Classic gaming is 2D graphics starting from the SNES back.

 

[Fire Daemon]

What, no System Shock.

Who the hell wrote this!